ALAN HOVHANESS (1911-2000): Symphony No. 1 "Exile", Op. 17/2, Armenian Rhapsodies No. 1, Op. 45, No. 2, Op. 51 & No. 3, Op. 189, Saxophone Concerto, Op. 344, Song of the Sea for Piano and Strings.

Description: Some of the earliest surviving Hovhaness: the 1933 Song of the Sea, a six-minute exercise in serenity with the piano riding on the gently undulating cushion of the strings; and the symphony of 1936 (which we offered in Stokowski's 1942 performance with the NBC Symphony back in January of 2010), a three-movement work of 22 minutes, a tribute to the exiled and murdered Armenians of the Turkish genocide. Full of sinuous Middle Eastern melodies, it is mournful, solemn and, finally, epic in quality. The Rhapsodies (all from 1944 regardless of opus numbers) use various Armenian songs and dances; the late (1980) concerto is included since it looks back to his idiom of the 1930s. Kenneth Radnofsky (sax), John McDonald (piano), Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Gil Rose.