Brno

LEGENDS AND LIGHT VOL. 2 from Navona Records leaves no stone unturned. From the vast expansiveness of the open sea to the microscopic particles of our world’s chemical makeup, this follow-up to 2018’s LEGENDS AND LIGHT is an ambitious collection of new works for large ensemble performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Brno Philharmonic. In this album, seven composers offer their insights into the components of our world through music, with works highlighting cultures, locations, forces of nature, and human life. While many of the pieces are arranged for orchestral ensembles, listeners will also find Scottish Great Highland bagpipes and Irish Uilleann pipes featured on the album, offering a deeply rewarding listening experience.

AMERICAN SCENES, from composer Samuel A. Livingston is, as its title suggests, a painterly tribute to America. The album’s title piece, Three American Scenes, is a three-movement suite that expresses the grandeur of the American west, the serenity of a mountain lake at dawn, and the bustle of a busy day in a large city. The album opens with Celebrating the Fourth, which depicts an American Fourth of July celebration. The final two selections feature works for concert band with a solo instrument – the flute, in Silvertube Variations, and the clarinet, in Balkan Dance. In that last selection, Livingston turns his attention beyond our shores, to the harmonies and rhythms of the folk music of the Balkan countries, especially Bulgaria and Macedonia. Altogether, AMERICAN SCENES is thoughtfully-crafted and unabashedly jubilant, expressing appreciation for America and the world beyond with refreshing sincerity.

Symphony No.12 "Lodger" represents the conclusion of a thirty year artistic collaboration for Philip Glass using elements of music and texts by David Bowie and Brian Eno. It premiered in January 2019 with vocalist Angélique Kidjo, organist James McVinnie and John Adams conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Philip Glass began his path as a composer of symphonies in 1992 at age of 55 with "Low Symphony" based on music by Bowie and Eno. It was followed in 1995 by Symphony No.4 "Heroes" also based solely on the music of Bowie and Eno. Over two decades later, after Bowie's death in 2016, Glass returned to the idea of concluding the trilogy by approaching the album Lodger as a symphonic subject. This world-premiere recording from Filharmonie Brno and conductor Dennis Russell Davies features Angélique Kidjo and organist Christian Schmitt.