Arnold Rosner - Orchestral Music, Vol. 3 (Nick Palmer)

Information

Composer: Arnold Rosner

1. Nocturne, Op. 68
2. Tempus Perfectum, Op. 109
3. Symphony No. 6, Op. 64: I. Allegro agitato
4. Symphony No. 6, Op. 64: II. Adagio
5. Symphony No. 6, Op. 64: III. Grave - Allegro - Grandioso - L'istesso tempo: Grave

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Nick Palmer, conductor

Date: 2019

Label: Toccata

https://toccataclassics.com/product/arnold-rosner-orchestral-music-volume-three/

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Review

This is Toccata Classics’ fourth CD of music by the American Arnold Rosner (1945-2013), and I think it is the best so far. Previous issues have established Rosner’s compositional landscape and style, a synthesis of elements stretching from the Middle Ages to late 20th-century postmodernism: modal harmony, pre Bachian counterpoint, free tonality and a sound world of late-Romantic opulence.

The earlier orchestral volumes (there is also a chamber disc, TOCC0408) focused on a variety of works defining Rosner’s range, from his Second Piano Concerto to the harrowing From the Diaries of Adam Czerniakow (every bit as powerful as A Survivor from Warsaw; TOCC0436), to the ingenious and most striking Unravelling Dances, a deliciously ‘mad’, arhythmic bolero (TOCC0465). This new release presents two powerful utterances separated by the delightfully freewheeling Tempus perfectum (1998), an orchestral canzona in 9/8 time. The orchestration and modal harmonies may suggest Hovhaness to some listeners, but – as with those of Vaughan Williams in the darkly atmospheric Nocturne (1978) – these are fleeting; much more important is the way the music develops, in directions quite unlike either of those forebears.

The back-cover description of the 38-minute Sixth Symphony (1976) as ‘monumental’ might seem a little over-the top (the term is more usually applied to Mahler’s, Bruckner’s or the longer Shostakovich symphonies), but when you hear Rosner’s music you will understand exactly why. The monumentality here is not about length or even orchestral power, of which it has bucketloads, but expressive content. The symphony has a feeling of immensity, from the outer movements’ volatility to the central Adagio’s ‘troubled calm’, to the turbulent climax and spent coda. The performances by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Nick Palmer are eloquent and virtuoso in equal measure, and Jonathan Allen’s sound is unobtrusively sensational. Strongly recommended.

-- Guy Rickards, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2019/Mar/Rosner_orchestral_v3_TOCC0469.htm

https://www.amazon.com/Rosner-Orchestral-Music-Vol-3/dp/B07KLFK8VX

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Arnold Rosner (November 8, 1945 in New York City – November 8, 2013) was an American composer of classical music. He got his training at State University of New York at Buffalo, New York. Rejecting all the compositional trends that appeared during his career, he developed an individual style that fused elements of Renaissance music with the heightened drama and rich sonorities of late romanticism. His output comprises more than 120 works, including three operas, eight symphonies, six string quartets, and numerous choral, vocal, instrumental, and keyboard compositions. Most of his music is available on recording.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Rosner

https://www.arnoldrosnermusic.com/

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Nick Palmer is one of America's most acclaimed symphony, pops and crossover conductors. A native of Hingham, Massachusetts, he graduated from Harvard University and received his Masters and Doctoral degrees from the New England Conservatory and the University of Iowa. Palmer is Music Director of the Lafayette Symphony in Indiana, the North Charleston POPS! in South Carolina, Artistic Advisor/Principal Guest Conductor of the Altoona Symphony in Pennsylvania, and conductor of the Evening Under the Stars orchestra in Massachusetts. He has recorded for Symphonic Discoveries, Albany and Toccata labels.

https://www.nicholaspalmer.net/

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