The New American Scene III

Solstice, by Donald Erb, is celebratory in nature. It was commissioned by the Ohio Chamber Orchestra and premiered on June 3, 1988. It was originally intended to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Organization, but the premiere occurred one year later. About his Lyric Intermezzo George Perle writes: "The Lyric Intermezzo was composed on commission from the Seattle Symphony and completed April 12, 1987, but its very first conception goes back some years before that, when my friend (now my wife), Shirley Rhoads, played Schumann's Waldszenen for me. I decided that I too would like to write a set of lyrical Charakterstucke for the piano." William Duckworth's Mysterious Numbers stemmed from an experiment that essentially involved collaboration of a composer with an ensemble to create a new work while an audience witnessed the process during a series of workshops. It happened in Florida in 1995-96, as part of a series of residencies at the Atlantic Center for the Arts by the New Performance Group of Seattle. Salvatore Martirano writes about Isabela "that it was originally aimed at music festivals celebrating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America. However, music festivals celebrating Columbus ran aground as the implications for native Americans became apparent. Whether from habit or from a persistent motive, what started as a working title became a name as I considered that like Columbus, who began a journey across the sea without knowing where his course would lead him. "I began to compose without really knowing what would result from my plan." This disc contains the result of Martirano's own voyage.