JONATHAN LESHNOFF (b.1973): Violin Concerto, Distant Reflections (Charles Wetherbee [violin], Baltimore Chamber Orchestra; Markand Thakar), String Quartet No. 1 "Pearl German" (Carpe Diem String Quartet).
Catalogue Number: 03K094
Label: Naxos
Reference: 8.559398
Format: CD
Price: $11.98
Description: The 25-minute concerto, in five movements and suggested by a Holocaust survivor's story, contains fleeting influences from the usual 20th century suspects: Prokofiev, Barber (in its lyrical slow sections) and Shostakovich, while the percussion scoring lets us know that Leshnoff is fond of Crumb, but the dramatic tension and carefully calibrated ebb and flow of intensity in the work make its composer one to look out for. Reflections shows another aspect of Leshnoff - his interest in medieval, Renaissance and early baroque music, while the equally attractive and approachable quartet is a "Four Seasons" work whose subtitle is the dedicatee.