Daugherty: - Metroplolis Symphony, Deus ex Machina
2011 Grammy Winner - Best Orchestral Performance Wholenote Discoveries - October 2009
The recording returns Daugherty’s Metropolis Symphony to the catalogue in a brand new performance conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero. The five movement piece, inspired by the Superman comic strip is tour-de-force for orchestra and a challenge for conductor and engineer alike to keep the instrumental balances intact and yet have every voice heard. How well they succeed is demonstrated in the first movement, Lex, an exhilarating moto perpetuo, the like of which you’ve never heard before. In fact, when I first heard the Zinman/Baltimore version on Argo some 15 years ago I thought that “Lex” referred to Lexington Avenue (who reads liner notes!) and it fitted perfectly... the non-stop, inexhaustible pulse of the city, the hustle and bustle of people and machines punctuated by police whistles from all directions. Krypton; MXYZPTIK; Oh, Lois!; and the Red Cape Tango follow. The Red Cape Tango is a whimsical set of treatments of the Dies Irae to a tango rhythm. On the same disc and new to the catalogue is Deus ex Machina, a piano concerto inspired by trains of the past and the future written in 2007. All this benefits from a state-of-the-art recording. Recommended to all except music lovers with hang-ups. Bruce Surtees
Price: $19.98