CHRISTOPHER ROUSE (1949-2019): Symphony No. 5*, Concerto for Orchestra*, Supplica. * - World Premiere Recordings.

Description: Pulitzer Prize and GRAMMY Award winner Christopher Rouse’s imaginative approach made him one of the most frequently performed composers during his lifetime. The Concerto for Orchestra of 2008 is a ‘hyper-concerto’ that gives each player a chance to shine; the result is a wonderfully colorful and dramatic sequence of contrast and juxtaposition that mingles virtuosity, orchestral lyricism and progressive symphonic development of ideas while the mournful intimacy and passion of Supplica (2013) unfolds somewhat like the slow movement of a Bruckner or Mahler symphony. About his Fifth Symphony (2015), Rouse writes “As is often the case in my music, the language ranges freely – but I hope in an integrated way – between a dissonant language and a more consonant one. There is no programmatic element to the work, though I do hope to transport the listener through a series of emotional states, from turbulence to serenity.” It was described as “brilliant, exciting and at times hauntingly beautiful” in The Dallas Morning News. Nashville Symphony; Giancarlo Guerrero.