IDAGIO | Taylor: Through the Looking Glass - Griffes: Poem - The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan 636943972427

Featuring

Gerard Schwarz
Scott Goff
Seattle Symphony
Deems Taylor
Charles Tomlinson Griffes

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Griffes's music combines the rich harmonic palette of German Romanticism with the sophisticated instrumental color and texture typical of the French Impressionist school.

Historical Context

This recording features two American composers, Deems Taylor and Charles Tomlinson Griffes, whose work was largely obscured by more famous contemporaries like Copland, Ives, and Gershwin.

Composition History

Griffes composed Poem for Flute and Orchestra for Georges Barrère, a celebrated flutist for whom Edgard Varèse later wrote his famous Density 21.5.

Composer Biography

Deems Taylor was a prolific composer, but he was better known during his lifetime as a writer, music critic, and commentator, even hosting Walt Disney's landmark film Fantasia.

Composition History

Deems Taylor's orchestral suite Through the Looking Glass, inspired by Lewis Carroll's story, was initially completed in 1919 for chamber orchestra and later expanded for full orchestra.

Performer Biography

Scott Goff, the flutist on this recording, was the Principal Flute of the Seattle Symphony and Opera for 42 seasons and also served as Principal Flute for the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra.

Composer Biography

Charles Tomlinson Griffes, born just a year after Taylor, died at the untimely age of 36, preventing him from achieving more despite his imaginative compositions.