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‘Lukas Foss combined his strong classical training, his love of complex rhythm, his dancelike energy and his unfailing optimism into a compositional legacy that mark him as one of the great composers of the 20th century.
Foss’s early First Symphony reflects his love of his adopted country in a work that is one of the greatest 20th-century symphonies. That enthusiasm for America also shines in his Three American Pieces, combining country fiddling and ragtime, with blues thrown in for good measure. The Renaissance Concerto is a “handshake across the centuries”, blending Monteverdi and Rameau with Foss’s great sense of musical humour. Ode, which Foss composed after D-Day to honour those who would not return, is a deeply moving landscape of crisis, war and ultimately hope.’
– JoAnn Falletta
Lukas FOSS (1922–2009)
Symphony No. 1
Renaissance Concerto
Three American Pieces • Ode
Amy Porter, Flute • Nikki Chooi, ViolinBuffalo Philharmonic Orchestra • JoAnn Falletta
Berlin-born Lukas Foss studied music in Paris before settling in Philadelphia in 1937. Though he freely explored diverse compositional styles, three of the works in this recording fall into his early neo-Classical period and exemplify his dictum that “to have a big foot in the future, you’ve got to have a big foot in the past.” Symphony No. 1 in G major is lyrical, bucolic and subtly jazz-influenced, while the Three American Pieces show Aaron Copland’s “open air” influence. Foss’s Ode expresses his feelings about the loss of American lives during the Second World War, and Renaissance Concerto is a “handshake across the centuries” ingeniously spiced with unexpected harmonic twists.
I. Andantino – Un poco Allegretto
Multiple GRAMMY-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta serves as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and music director laureate of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. She has guest conducted many of the most prominent orchestras in America, Canada, Europe, Asia and South America. She has a discography of over 125 titles, and is a leading recording artist for Naxos. She is also the recipient of many of the most prestigious conducting awards and was named Performance Today’s Classical Woman of the Year 2019 and one of the 50 great conductors of all time by Gramophone magazine.
Flautist Amy Porter has been praised by critics both for her exceptional musical talent and her passion for scholarship. Through a versatile and distinguished career as a concert performer, she has become a skilful and creative muse for composers of our time, and given numerous performances at Carnegie Hall. Winner of the Third Kobe International Flute Competition, she is also a noted recording artist and chamber musician, and a professor of music at the University of Michigan.
Violinist Nikki Chooi is concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and was previously concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. A laureate of the Queen Elisabeth, Tchaikovsky and Michael Hill International Violin Competitions, Chooi has performed as soloist with prominent international orchestras, including the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia and the Belgian National Orchestra.
The Poem of Ecstasy • Symphony No. 2
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra • Falletta
– BBC Music Magazine ★★★★
La Tragédie de Salomé
Musique sur l’eau • Oriane et le Prince d’Amour • Légende
Platts • Chooi
Buffalo Philhmarmonic Orchestra • Falletta
– American Record Guide
The Passion of Yeshua
Plitmann • Worth • Overton • Bridges • Fallon • Bass
UCLA Chamber Singers
Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra
Falletta
– Gramophone
Violin Concerto ‘The Red Violin’
Phantasmagoria
Ludwig
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra • Falletta
– ClassicsToday.com