Release Date: September 8, 2017
Catalog #: NV6108
Format: Digital & Physical
21st Century
Orchestral
Large Ensemble
Orchestra

Tomorrow’s Air

Contemporary Works For Orchestra & Large Ensemble

Hilary Tann composer
Hans Bakker composer
Daniel Perttu composer
Jan Järvlepp composer
Pierre Schroeder composer
Paul Osterfield composer

Navona Records is proud to present TOMORROW’S AIR, a collection of contemporary music for large ensemble, written by composers in a variety of styles and genres. Listeners will recognize several names as PARMA regulars, including Daniel Perttu, Hans Bakker, and Paul Osterfield.

The album opens with Hilary Tann’s Anecdote for solo cello and orchestra. Inspired by Wallace Stevens’s nature musings in his poem “Anecdote of the Jar,” the work casts the cello solo as a soliloquy, its message elaborated and transformed by wilder orchestral textures. Hans Bakker’s Cantus follows, an intriguing and expressive work for string orchestra. The intimate drama of Cantus is contrasted by mystery and majesty in Daniel Perttu’s lyrical overture To Spring. Written in honor of his daughters, To Spring was inspired by William Blakes poetic ode of the same name. In his profoundly emotional string orchestra piece In Memoriam, Jan Järvlepp honors the memory of his late brother—conforming to no style or influence but that of his own intense grief. Following In Memoriam is Pierre Schroeder’s Late Harvest, a lush, emotional work for strings, clarinet, and piano that forms a part of his eleven-movement magnum opus Voyage. Closing the album is Paul Osterfield’s concertante wind ensemble piece Silver Fantasy, a vibrant celebration of the flute and piccolo with lyrical melodies, dynamic rhythmic energy, and Ivesian pastiche. Together, the works that make up TOMORROW’S AIR encompass a wide spectrum of emotion and drama.

Listen

Hear the full album on YouTube

Artist Information

Hilary Tann

Composer

Welsh-born composer Hilary Tann lived in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York where she was the John Howard Payne Professor of Music Emerita at Union College, Schenectady. Her compositions have been widely performed and recorded by ensembles such as the European Women’s Orchestra, Tenebrae, Lontano, Marsyas Trio, Thai Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Hans Bakker

Composer

After he finished his studies piano, church organ, and choral conducting at the Dutch Institute for Church Music in Utrecht, Hans Bakker (b. 1945) worked as a teacher at two music schools in the Netherlands. He also conducted two choirs and was active in the improvisational music scene. His career in music was followed by the study of Sanskrit. After obtaining his master's degree at the University of Amsterdam, he returned to music, becoming completely occupied by teaching at Globe Center for Art and Culture in the city of Hilversum.

Daniel Perttu

Composer

“Music has always been a kind of magic for me, a portal to other realms. When I was young, I was inspired by fantasy novels such as The Lord of the Rings, and I’m still drawn to myths and legends. I’ve written works on themes ranging from the sorcery of Merlin to the Callanish Stone Circle and the Torngat Mountains. My aim is to write music that invites audiences into other worlds, so they can re-discover their own sense of wonder." –Daniel Perttu

Jan Järvlepp

Composer

Composer Jan Järvlepp creates a genuine European/American musical fusion by combining the excitement of rock and jazz rhythms with the large-scale classical structures found in orchestral and chamber music. The seriousness of his well-thought-out forms and the immediacy of contemporary rhythmic and melodic ideas make a potent brew that is appealing to both open-minded classical listeners and pop music listeners who are searching for something new.

Pierre Schroeder

Composer

Pierre, a French native, came to music as a child, studying classical piano and transcribing themes from movie composers on the family’s piano. Emotions are in the center of his work, and reviewers have often noted cinematic elements in his music, while describing “an imaginative musical craftsman at work, capable of evoking real wonder, mystery, reverence, and celebration.”

Paul Osterfield

Composer

Composer Paul Osterfield was born in Nashville TN in 1973. Spending his formative years in Northeast Ohio, he composed and performed as a cellist throughout middle school and high school, in addition to studying violin, piano, and conducting. His early efforts as a composer were recognized in 1990, when the United States Copyright Office and the Library of Congress awarded Osterfield first prize in their Young Creators’ Contest. The following year, that winning work was performed by the Cleveland Orchestra on their Family Key Concert Series.

Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra

Orchestra

The Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the foremost and oldest symphony orchestras in the Czech Republic. It is based in the historical capital of Moravia, the city of Olomouc, and has been a leader of music activities in the region for the past 70 years. Its artistic development was directly influenced by distinguished figures from the Czech and international music scene.

Lindsey Goodman

Flutist

Flutist Lindsey Goodman is a soloist, recording artist, chamber collaborator, orchestral musician, educator, and clinician whose “palette of tone colors includes cool silver, warm chocolate, the bright colors of a sunrise, and the deep blue of midnight.” (The Flutist Quarterly) Renowned for her “energy and artistry, conveying her exuberance and creativity” (Pittsburgh in the Round), Lindsey has performed solo and chamber concerts, taught masterclasses, and given presentations at countless series, festivals, and universities.

Karolina Rojahn

Pianist

Karolina Rojahn is a Los Angeles based pianist who has dedicated the last decade of her career to premiering and recording contemporary music repertoire. She has premiered over a hundred new works and collaborated with various classical music labels, most notably Naxos, having released over 43 recordings of chamber and solo piano music, including 5 piano concertos written specifically for her.