Arnold Rosner: Music for Symphonic Wind Band
Arnold Rosner (1945–2013) was a New Yorker through and through, but his musical language reached across time and culture, clothing the modal harmony and rhythm of pre-Baroque polyphony in rich Romantic colours, thus producing a style that is instantly recognisable and immediately appealing. Having written his Eighth Symphony for symphonic wind band, he took a liking to the medium, composing seven more works for this popular feature of American university life, none of them recorded before now. Their inspiration is eclectic – from ethnic material and natural phenomena to religious stimuli – but Rosner’s unerring balance of dignity and energy is common to all of them and stamps them with a sound that is uniquely his.
Density512
Jacob Aaron Schnitzer, conductor
Nicholas Perry Clark, conductor
Listen To This Recording:
Dances of Initiation, Op. 98 (1993) (8:18)
- I. Maestoso (2:06)
- II. Andante moderato (3:06)
- III. Allegro (2:56)
- Eclipse, Op. 100 (1994) (12:27)
- RAGA!, Op. 104 (1995) (10:45)
- De Profundis, Op. 91 (1991) (10:11)
- Now Cometh the Redeemer, Op. 119 (2005) (10:01)
Three Northern Sketches, Op. 117 (2003) (13:16)
- No. 1, Ice Sculpture (3:50)
- No. 2, Pastorale (3:14)
- No. 3, Aurora (6:12)
- Lovely Joan: Rhapsody on an English Folksong, Op. 88 (1990) (8:39)
First Recordings
Gramophone :
‘Having been mightily impressed by previous Rosner albums from Toccata Classics, I approached this newcomer of wind band works with high expectation. I was not disappointed. […] this fine, varied programme should entice the ear. […]
Now Cometh is the masterpiece of nobility of spirit. […] De profundis [is] a compositional tour de force. […]
Recorded in the Bates Concert Hall in Austin, Texas, the sound Andrew DiRemiggio-Stoltz is first-rate. Well worth investigating.’
—Guy Rickards, Gramophone
Charlottesville Classical :
‘What surprised me is that this release features works for symphonic wind band. Without strings, Rosner’s music has an immediacy to it, bristling with raw power.
Rosner’s masterful orchestrations are idiomatic to the ensemble. None of this business of just substituting clarinets for strings! That gives Rosner’s wind band music a distinctive sound. […]
All these works are world premiere recordings. I hope we’ll start seeing them show up on concert programs. Every piece is a gem. […]
Density512 is a first-rate ensemble, dedicated to contemporary music. They play with commitment, expression, and enthusiasm. Arnold Rosner was truly a unique composer with a voice all his own. And it’s a voice that is accessible to modern audiences. If you’d not heard Rosner before, this is the album to start with. This is Rosner unfiltered.’
—Ralph Graves, Charlottesville Classical