New Music From Bowling Green: Volume 9
Albany, 2024
8/10
Listen to New Music From Bowling Green: Volume 9
A very atypical series that actually has the composers talk about their work, the Bowling Green Philharmonia flesh out pieces by Mikel Kuehn, Shulamit Ran, Gabriela Frank, Louis Karchin, and Augusta Read Thomas.
After Kuehn’s comments on his piece, “Sfumato” brings both tense and pretty string interaction that’s unpredictable and even a bit mysterious, and “Yearning for Solo Violin & Strings with Cello Obligato” follows, where Caroline Chin’s violin and Brian Snow’s cello bring a stirring component to the very meticulous delivery of the Ran original.
Halfway through, by “Illapa: Tone Poem for Flute and Orchestra”, by Frank, emits a distinct intimacy, as Conor Nelson’s dreamy flute guides the eloquent album highlight, while “Four Songs on Poems of Seamus Heaney” recruits Heather Buck’s soaring soprano that cultivates much richness amid the textured mood via Karchin’s vision.
Thomas’ “Galaxy Dances, a tone poem” exits the listen, and is full of exciting percussive ideas that suits the exploratory strings and booming finish.
Emily Freeman Brown handles conducting here, and her skills have guided orchestras in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and South America, and those experiences certainly help shape this unique body of work.
Travels well with: Patrick Yim- New Waves; Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra- Harmony In Black