MacMillan: The Confession of Isobel Gowdie - Adès: Chamber Symphony No. 2 - Higdon: Percussion Concerto
10/1/2008, 6 Tracks, 1:00:27
Featuring
Marin Alsop
Colin Currie
London Philharmonic Orchestra
James MacMillan
Thomas Adès
Jennifer Higdon
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Composer's Artistic Vision
James MacMillan's music, including "The Confession of Isobel Gowdie," expresses his identity as a Scot, a Socialist, and a Catholic.
Composition History
James MacMillan's "The Confession of Isobel Gowdie" was commissioned by the BBC and premiered at the BBC Proms in 1990.
Compositional Technique
Thomas Adès's Chamber Symphony, Op. 2, originally conceived as a basset-clarinet concerto, features the basset-clarinet and a deeper bass clarinet, replacing the usual bassoon.
Composition History
Jennifer Higdon's Percussion Concerto was a joint commission by three leading orchestras: the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Historical Context
James MacMillan's "The Confession of Isobel Gowdie" was inspired by the persecution of alleged witches in post-Reformation Scotland, where 4,500 Scots were executed for witchcraft between 1560 and 1707.
Performer Biography
Marin Alsop, the conductor on this album, studied with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa at Tanglewood, where she won the Koussevitzky Conducting Prize.
Performer Biography
Colin Currie, the percussionist on this album, regularly commissions and records new works, making an innovative contribution to percussion repertoire.
