Leonard Slatkin Prince Rostislav Rachmaninov Sinfonia 1

Leonard Slatkin celebrated his 75th birthday in September 2019. Many of the selections in this program come from a concert given in his honor and are also a tribute to his remarkable musical family, both past and present. Historical recordings include Leonard’s cellist mother, Eleanor Aller, being conducted by Korngold in the Haydn concerto and a 1944 broadcast of his father, Felix, as a solo violinist in Brahms. Every piece here has a deeply personal connection for the family. For his composition The Raven, Leonard used Edgar Allan Poe’s poem in a work that is “almost like a concerto for speaker and orchestra.”

Leonard Slatkin’s more than 100 recordings have been recognized with seven Grammy awards and 64 nominations. He has recorded with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. European ensembles that he has recorded with include practically all the major London orchestras as well as those in Munich, Paris, Prague, Stockholm and Berlin.

"Sony Classical is pleased to announce another ten releases in its increasingly comprehensive series of Classical Masters. These new budget-priced CD box sets contain classic recordings, many of them newly remastered, by some of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century.

Pulitzer Prize- and GRAMMY® Award-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis’s Flute Concerto was inspired by and written for Marina Piccinini. Its four movements explore darker and lighter elements in various dance forms, most of which begin calmly but end up spiraling out of control. Kernis describes the songlike Air as ‘a love letter to the flute.’ His Second Symphony was composed at the time of the Persian Gulf War and signified a powerful shift of tone in his music. Non-programmatic but linear and compact, it forms a part of his ‘War Pieces’ of 1991–95. Internationally renowned flutist Marina Piccinni’s rich artistic tapestry is woven from her multinational upbringing and vibrant, global perspective. Her extensive programs include premieres by Aaron Jay Kernis, John Harbison, Lukas Foss, and Paquito D’Rivera. She has appeared as a soloist with the Boston, Vienna, Tokyo, and Toronto National Symphonies, among others.

Jamie Bernstein has reworked the narration written by her father, adding to the works frenetic complexity, which registers powerfully in this recording. Fans of heart-on-sleeve Berntsein will enjoy bold versions of his Chichester Psalms and Missa Brevis.