Sequoia 16

This program represents American orchestral music in all of its verve and expressive variety. Following the sensational success of Rhapsody in Blue, Gershwin’s Concerto in F was his first foray away from jazz bands into the concert hall, recorded here for the first time in a new critical edition by Timothy Freeze based on the composer’s own notation and performances. John Harbison’s Remembering Gatsby is a foxtrot that evokes the sonorities of 1920s dance bands, while Joan Tower’s Sequoia reflects her fascination with these silent giants of the tree world. Walter Piston’s contribution to the development of 20th-century American music cannot be underestimated, and his Fifth Symphony successfully blends twelve-tone modernity with reflective profundity and a finale that evokes a spirit of joy and optimism.