Toward the splendid city danielpour full#

So too has Danielpour been lucky with superb recorded sound quality from both labels. It speaks volumes that conductors (and orchestras) of this stature have recorded his music. These conductors draw totally committed and brilliant orchestral playing from their respective orchestras, elevating much of this music toward greatness.

For SONY, Macal and the Philharmonia and Zinman with the Pittsburgh. For Delos, it's Gerard Schwarz and the fabulous Seattle Symphony.

Toward the splendid city danielpour full#

This set of 5 dances each has its own character, unique from the others - full of life, color and the spirit of the dance.ĭanielpour has been enormously lucky on record in having the most sympathetic and energizing advocates for his music. Best of all is Danielpour's third masterpiece (alongside both on the Zinman disc), Urban Dances. Celestial Night has a bit of the angry, morose atmosphere of First Light while Toward the Splendid City returns us unmistakably to the flavor of Michael Torke. His follow-up disc for SONY, conducted by Zdenek Macal, contains music combining elements from both soundworlds heard on the previous discs. To suggest otherwise is nonsense. His Anima Mundi, an absolute masterpiece, instantly submerges us into the familiar Danielpour 'sound' I've described above: one very much reminiscent of Michael Torke and John Adams, with perhaps a hint of John Williams - and occasionally, Stravinsky - mixed in. I say 'fortunately', because it is distinctively Danielpour and he makes no effort to imitate Bartok. For the former, some have suggested Bartok as inspiration that may be, but fortunately, it sounds nothing like Bartok's famous work of the same name. On the 1997 set conducted by David Zinman, we hear two of Danielpour's very best works: his Concerto For Orchestra and Anima Mundi. I enjoyed rather more, both of his SONY discs. And also, don't miss his chamber music CD on Koch, which actually might become a favorite of many. I came away thinking he has grown as a composer with future compositions, heard on SONY.ĭespite these committed performances and excellent sound, I'd recommend getting to know Danielpour's music with his two SONY discs before venturing out with this one on Delos. The Symphony (#3) is for soprano soloist, rather than the traditional orchestra one usually associates with a symphony. Others have criticized this composer as being 'derivative', and this piece may give some credence to that observation. If that seems like faint praise, I'm afraid it is. After getting that off his chest, he lightens up with The Awakened Heart, a set of 3 tone poems which sounds rather like modern-day band music.

The First Light is one of his most unique and adventuresome, but certainly sounds like he had some pent-up anger while writing it. If these pieces are not Danielpour's most easily enjoyable or approachable, it is interesting to hear him testing the waters with some of his earlier creative thoughts and orchestration prowess. He could not possibly have more persuasive advocates than Gerard Schwarz and the fabulous Seattle Symphony, aided by spectacular Delos recording quality. This Delos, however, establishes Danielpour as the real deal. In his recordings for SONY, his tonal palette has grown into one which recalls the soundworld of Michael Torke and John Adams, with a hint of John Williams too. On the other hand, this one exhibits a somewhat more distinctive voice, albeit with some Stravinsky sprinkled throughout. The first of Danielpour's orchestral CDs - for Delos, 1992 - shows him in a more volatile, almost angry, voice compared to his more approachable and listenable follow-up discs for SONY.