Agócs, Harrison & Rodríguez: Works for Violin & Percussion Orchestra

Featuring

Frank Epstein
Nicholas Kitchen
Aziz Bernard Luce
George Nickson
Kazuki Oya
Matthew McKay

Rieko Koyama
Joe LaPalomento
Kevin Kosnik
Dan Wozniak
William McVay
Sean Van Winkle
Nathan Vendel
Luis Herrera Albertazi
Harrison Honor
DoYeon Kim
Jackson Rowles
David Uhlmann
Shan Wang
Tennison Watts
Leigh Wilson
New England Conservatory Percussion Ensemble
Robert Xavier Rodriguez
Lou Harrison
Kati Agócs

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Composition History

This album brings together three concertos for violin and percussion orchestra, an unconventional combination pioneered by Lou Harrison in 1959.

Composer Biography

Lou Harrison, a composer on this album, studied with Henry Cowell, who introduced him to music from Native America, China, and Indonesia.

Compositional Technique

The percussion orchestra in Lou Harrison's Concerto includes conventional instruments alongside carefully calibrated extras like suspended wash tubs, resonating clock coils, and flowerpots.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Lou Harrison, a composer featured on this album, was instinctively open to Eastern influences, using colorful combinations from conventional and homemade percussion instruments.

Composition History

Kati Agócs's Concerto for Violin and Percussion Orchestra was commissioned by the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University for the New England Conservatory Percussion Ensemble in 2018.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Robert Xavier Rodríguez's Xochiquetzal is a programmatic work based on Mexican subjects, featuring folk melodies and designed to be performed with dancers.

Composition History

Robert Xavier Rodríguez's work Xochiquetzal was commissioned by a consortium of percussion ensembles, including the New England Conservatory, and premiered in 2014.