Leon Kirchner: Orchestral Works
Leon Kirchner (piano), Diana Hoagland (soprano), Alexander Heller (bassoon), Allan Vogel (oboe), Allen Beard (percussion), James Buswell (violin), Laurence Lesser (cello), Lorin Hollander (celeste), Nobuko Imai (viola), Paul Dunkel (flute), Richard Stoltzman (clarinet), Robert Routch (horn)
This disc includes a premiere recording made in 1992 with Leon Kirchner conducting his Music for Orchestra with the orchestra he founded at Harvard along with two historic releases from the SONY Columbia catalog, both featuring Leon Kirchner, as a pianist in his Piano Concerto No. 1 with Dimitri Mitropoulos conducting, recorded 1956 and as a conductor in Lily (for soprano and chamber ensemble), recorded 1973. Leon Kirchner (1919-2009), composer, conductor, and virtuoso pianist, was recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal in 2009, and an Honorary Doctorate at Harvard in 2001. He received the New York Music Critics Circle award, the Naumburg Award, Pulitzer Prize, and the Freidheim Award, and commissions from the Ford, Fromm, and Koussevitzky Foundations, the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Symphony, Spoleto and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festivals, the Boston Symphony, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. Kirchner studied with Arnold Schoenberg, Roger Sessions, and Ernest Bloch. He was composer-in-residence and a performer at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Tanglewood Music Center, Tokyo Music Today (Takemitsu Festival), and the Spoleto, Charleston, Aldeburgh, and Marlboro Music Festivals.
Stream/Buy
Choose your platform
Track Listing
| Title | Composer | Performer |
|---|---|---|
| Music for Orchestra | Leon Kirchner | The Former Harvard Chamber Orchestra, Leon Kirchner, conductor |
| Lily for Soprano and Chamber Orchestra | Leon Kirchner | Diana Hoagland, soprano, James Buswell, violin, Nobuko Imai, viola, Laurence Lesser, cello, Paul Dunkel, flute, Richard Stoltzman, clarinet, Allan Vogel, oboe, Alexander Heller, bassoon, Robert Routch, horn, Allen Beard, percussion, Lorin Hollander, celeste, Leon Kirchner, piano and conductor |
| Piano Concerto No. 1 | Leon Kirchner | Leon Kirchner, piano, New York Philharmonic Society Orchestra, Dimitri Mitropoulos, conductor |
Reviews
- “
"The performances here are excellent... Soprano Diana Hoagland, who worked closely with the composer...delivers a brave performance, with the theatrical oomph of a Broadway chanteuse combined with the elegance and beauty of tone of a Mozart soprano. In all, a powerful and important release."
- “
"Advocates of Kirchner's First Piano Concerto consider it one of the finest works in the genre...The performance, especially Kirchner's commanding playing, is inspiring. ...Today Kirchner's intriguing approach to opera seems hardly outside the bounds. The time may have come for a revival of 'Lily.' Perhaps this recording will help."
- “
"This recording is a fascinating glimpse into Kirchner as a technical and formal master...you may still find his music an eccentric and captivating experience."
*Album cover provided for Editorial use only. ©Albany Records. The Albany Imprint is a registered trademark of PARMA Recordings LLC. The views and opinions expressed in this media are those of the artist and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views and opinions held by PARMA Recordings LLC and its label imprints, subsidiaries, and affiliates.