Kenneth Fuchs’s new album gets five-star treatment by BBC Music Magazine August 23, 2012
“Kenneth Fuchs writes tonal orchestral music of great imagination”, writes critic Anthony Burton about Naxos latest release of American composer Kenneth Fuchs’s recent orchestral works, in the BBC Music Magazine.
“On Naxos’s third Fuchs recording, everything gets five-star treatment: violinist Michael Ludwig and viola player Paul Silverthorne make the solo parts their own, and the LSO under JoAnn Falletta sounds brilliant in a spacious Abbey Road recording.” Read the complete review
The lead work, Atlantic Riband, was inspired by the great ocean liners of the twentieth century. The composer says: “As a boy growing up in the 1960s, I made many visits to the piers of New York Harbour. Standing on the edge of the sea wall and gazing up at the massive prow of a liner preparing to set sail across the Atlantic was an unforgettable experience. I had a special fondness for the SS United States, a marvel of American engineering and technology built at Newport Beach, Virginia, which captured the Blue Riband (for the fastest transatlantic crossing) on its maiden voyage, July 3–7, 1952. The ship crossed the North Atlantic from New York in three days, ten hours, and forty minutes, breaking all previous records. It also broke the westbound record on its return from Southampton, making it the fastest ship afloat. To this day, no vessel has surpassed that achievement.”
It is therefore fitting that Atlantic Riband will be premièred by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra under the baton of JoAnn Falletta at a gala concert on September 7th in Newport News, Virginia, in honour of the 60th anniversary of the record-breaking maiden voyage. A collaboration between the Virginia Symphony, The Mariners’ Museum, and the SS United States Conservancy organisation, the performance will raise funds for saving and restoring the iconic American passenger ship.
Click here for a video about the conservancy’s 60th anniversary restoration campaign, using Atlantic Riband as the musical underscore.
More collaborations by Kenneth Fuchs and JoAnn Falletta:
Kenneth Fuchs Biography & Discography
JoAnn Falletta Biography & Discography
Michael Ludwig Biography & Discography
Paul Silverthorne Biography & Discography
London Symphony Orchestra Biography & Discography |
