This is the first classical CD released in the Starbucks Hear Music line and is a cooperative project between the coffee chain entertainment division and the Seattle Symphony. It’s a winner – sure to appeal to a wide cross-section listeners, including some who may not own a single classical recording yet. Instead of just throwing together a sampler of classical tracks (as the Hear Music series has done with some jazz compendiums from Concord, charging $19 when the reissue tracks are available from Concord for $10 or less), the Symphony’s music director Gerard Schwarz came up with the idea of commissioning six leading composers of today. They were asked to choose any classical work or theme they felt a special connection with, and to somehow transform, rework, rearrange it into a new piece. Maestro Schwarz added his own three-movement brass concerto based on one of Handel’s Concerto grossi. He sees the project in the spirit of Brahm’s famous Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn. There were many such works throughout music history, but there haven’t been many recently. He chose composers with whom he has worked and he feels they exemplify the great compositional talents of 21st-century America.
All of the works are a delight, and it’s wonderful to hear such accessible and enjoyable new music promoted in such an effective manner. Right away I have to say my favorite was John Harbison’s gorgeous arrangement of Thelonious Monk’s tune Ruby, My Dear. It’s not a bit avant or dissonant and full of rich string writing, but not corny or ersatz in the least. I could hear it over and over. It’s the only selection that bent Schwarz’s intent a bit in choosing a jazz tune to transform, rather than a classical one.
David Schiff’s rethinking of the Infernal Dance from The Firebird is a great opener on the disc, and the Kernis orchestral transcription from his own string quartet is a lovely, ethereal work. Schwartz’s own brass concerto brings Handel into the 21st century, providing a strong conclusion to the concert. All the works are fascinating examples of the process of transforming concert music from one form to another. The variety of genres and approaches adds much interest to the musical flow, as well as the fact that a couple of the original sources will probably not be familiar to classical listeners.
– John Sunier
