Mailbag: “Opinion Pieces…”

January 20, 2014

Dear Michael Barone,

How wonderful to be blessed tonight with such an array of concerted works - Calvin Hampton's most intriguing and lovely concerto (I only met Calvin once, in 1971 when we were part of the group of commissioned composers by St. Lukes in Greenwich Village; he was a most interesting and inventive person), Paulus's overblown Concerto #3, and the curious Krenek piece. The Saint-Saens now playing on my computer is truly welcome. My thanks for the programming, and keep up the thoughtful work.

Always listening for something new,

Brian Fennelly

Brian,

Thanks for your good words.  I was delighted by the Hampton when I recorded its premiere in 1980 (you can find that performance in the PIPEDREAMS Program Archive), and its freshness has not diminished with many repeated hearings.  The Saint-Saens is a curiosity, understandably not so well-known as his Symphony No. 3, but fun to discover (and this the only really decent recorded performance it has been given).  

What did you think of the Dinda concerto last week, or the Laurin, Locklair or Decker pieces premiere on that same occasion (all accessible in the PD archive)?

I do try to keep things interesting.  More to come.

:-)

JMB

JMB

 

 

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