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Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 1

Christopher Alan Schmitz composer

London Symphony Orchestra | Stefan Sanderling conductor
Amy Schwartz Moretti violin

Release Date: May 10, 2024
Catalog #: NV6627
Format: Digital
21st Century
Concertos
Orchestral
Orchestra
Violin

The violin concerto is a challenging setup to write for: it beckons with promises of both might and fragility. Composer Christopher Alan Schmitz is well-versed in both the theoretical and practical aspects of composition: his resulting VIOLIN CONCERTO AND SYMPHONY NO. 1 gets the balance just right.

The tonal language is reminiscent of Bruckner and Mahler, as raw emotion mixes with splendor. The ultimate success of this precarious, heady concoction rests on the shoulders of conductor Stefan Sanderling and particularly, violinist Amy Schwarz Moretti, member of the acclaimed Ehnes Quartet. Stirringly written and performed to perfection, a success it is.

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Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
01 Violin Concerto: I. Dark Christopher Alan Schmitz Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin; London Symphony Orchestra | Stefan Sanderling, conductor 14:02
02 Violin Concerto: II. Warm (Romanza) Christopher Alan Schmitz Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin; London Symphony Orchestra | Stefan Sanderling, conductor 9:23
03 Violin Concerto: III. Electric Christopher Alan Schmitz Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin; London Symphony Orchestra | Stefan Sanderling, conductor 5:00
04 Symphony No. 1 (Land of the Free): I. Threads of Resilience Christopher Alan Schmitz London Symphony Orchestra | Stefan Sanderling, conductor 3:53
05 Symphony No. 1 (Land of the Free): II. Shadow Empire Christopher Alan Schmitz London Symphony Orchestra | Stefan Sanderling, conductor 10:08
06 Symphony No. 1 (Land of the Free): III. Viral Veil Christopher Alan Schmitz London Symphony Orchestra | Stefan Sanderling, conductor 2:58
07 Symphony No. 1 (Land of the Free): IV. Sins of Inaction Christopher Alan Schmitz London Symphony Orchestra | Stefan Sanderling, conductor 4:21
08 Symphony No. 1 (Land of the Free): V. Whispered Prayers ("Agnus Dei") Christopher Alan Schmitz London Symphony Orchestra | Stefan Sanderling, conductor; London Voices | Ben Parry, chorus master 8:29

Recorded September 23 & 26, 2023 at St. Luke’s in London, United Kingdom
Recording Session Producer Steve Moretti
Recording Session Co-Producer Simon Kiln
Recording Session Engineers Neil Hutchinson, Jonathan Stokes (Classic Sound Ltd.)
Mixing Simon Kiln, Steve Moretti
Mastering Simon Kiln

Executive Producer Bob Lord

VP of A&R Brandon MacNeil
A&R Danielle Sullivan

VP of Production Jan Košulič
Audio Director Lucas Paquette

VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Kacie Brown

Artist Information

Christopher Alan Schmitz

Composer

Christopher Alan Schmitz composes solo, chamber, and ensemble music that has been described as “sublimely gorgeous” (Fanfare) and “pensive…hard-driving…and whimsical” (American Record Guide). His compositions have been performed and recorded internationally, featuring a broad range of musicians and styles from the London Symphony Orchestra to the USAF Airmen of Note, in venues ranging from New York City (Carnegie Hall) to Alaska (Denali National Park) and London (St. Luke’s Church). Schmitz’s educational music has appeared in concert programs at all levels of development and his recent solo and chamber works have been performed by artists such as the Cortona Trio, Svyati Duo, Terell Stafford, Amy Schwartz Moretti, and Denson Paul Pollard, among others.

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London Symphony Orchestra

London Symphony Orchestra

Orchestra

Widely acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, The London Symphony Orchestra was named by Gramophone as one of the top five orchestras in the world. A world-leader in recording music for film, television, and events, it was the official orchestra of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games ceremonies, memorably performing Chariots of Fire on stage in the opening ceremony, conducted by Simon Rattle and with Rowan Atkinson.

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Stefan Sanderling

conductor

Born in East Berlin in 1964, the son of the late legendary conductor Kurt Sanderling, Stefan Sanderling studied musicology at the University of Halle and conducting at the conservatory in Leipzig before leaving East Germany to continue his studies in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California.

From 1990 to 1995, Sanderling was General Music Director at the Brandenburgische Philharmonie and the Potsdam Opera. He was Music Director of the Philharmonic Orchestra and Staatstheater in Mainz 1995–2001 and served as Music Director of the Orchestre de Bretagne in France (1996–2004), before taking up his post as Music Director of The Florida Orchestra (2002–2014). He was Music Director of the Chautauqua Symphony orchestra (2007–2011) and was Principal Conductor and Music Advisor of the Toledo Symphony (2002–2017). From 2015–2018, Sanderling was Chief Conductor of the “Symphony Orchestra of the Principality of Liechtenstein.”

Also an active recording artist, Sanderling made his first recording on the Sony Classics label with the London Symphony Orchestra, quickly followed by three CDs with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra featuring symphonies by Haydn and Mendelssohn. For Naxos, he has recorded the complete Tchaikovsky Orchestral Suites with the RTÉ National Orchestra of Ireland and Stravinsky’s ballet Pulcinella with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He made numerous recordings for ASV with the Orchestre National de Bretagne.

Amy Schwartz Moretti

violin

With a distinguished career of broad versatility, violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti is equally accomplished as chamber musician, concertmaster, soloist, and educator. Recognized as a deeply expressive artist, she appears as soloist and chamber music artist at music festivals and concert series internationally. She is a member of the Ehnes Quartet, touring and recording with violinist James Ehnes, violist Che-Yen Chen, and cellist Edward Arron.

In 2007, she became the inaugural director of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Georgia, leading their new string program for gifted young artists within the School of Music supported by full-tuition scholarships. Since then, together with founder Robert McDuffie, she has developed and guided this unique program. She has established and expanded the Fabian Concert Series bringing esteemed artists to campus for performances and classes. As professor in the Townsend School of Music, she is honored to hold the Caroline Paul King Chair in Strings and teach the violinists of the Center. Before joining Mercer University, Moretti was concertmaster of the Oregon Symphony in Portland. Her professional career began as concertmaster of The Florida Orchestra in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater.

She has served as guest concertmaster for the Atlanta, Houston, and Pittsburgh symphony orchestras, The New York Pops and Hawaii Pops, and the festival orchestras of Brevard, Colorado, and Grand Teton. She has received multiple Juno awards for her recordings with James Ehnes and has also recorded for Chandos, Harmonia Mundi, Onyx Classics, CBC Records, BCMF/Naxos, and Sono Luminus. The Cleveland Institute of Music has recognized her with an Alumni Achievement Award and she is the 2014 San Francisco Conservatory of Music Fanfare Honoree. In December 2018, Moretti was selected as one of Musical America’s “Top 30 Professionals of the Year.”

Moretti lives in Georgia with her husband and two sons. She performs on her treasured Jean Baptiste Vuillaume violin made in Paris in 1874. This recording of the violin concerto written for Moretti by Mercer colleague Christopher Schmitz is meaningful on many levels. It serves as a reunion for Moretti with the London Symphony Orchestra and former Florida Orchestra music director Stefan Sanderling.

Selected as concertmaster for the 1991 Southern Belle Youth Orchestra, named after the telephone company and made up of the top young players from the southeast, Moretti performed side by side as a teenager with the London Symphony Orchestra in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Notes

The Violin Concerto is a three-movement virtuosic showpiece written for and dedicated to Amy Schwartz Moretti. While this work is built on a traditional concerto design, it draws from a wide variety of influences that span classical and romantic symphonic works, dance music, and contemporary jazz. Each of its three movements depicts, in turn, a different emotional tone: Dark, Warm, and Electric. The entire work is around 30 minutes in duration.

— Christopher Alan Schmitz

Land of the Free speaks of a tenuous state of American freedom in which our delicate equilibrium of checks and balances struggles to endure. In this modern era of social media, perception supersedes reality and the immediacy of online dialog encourages provocation over critical inquiry. The symphony’s five movements depict an emotional journey through this reality — feelings of resilience, confusion, dread, love, anger, sadness, desperation… and, ultimately, hope. The work ends with an increasingly desperate prayer for peace, sung by a choir to the words of the Latin Mass movement “Agnus Dei” (“Lamb of God”):

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

The entire work is around 30 minutes in duration.

— Christopher Alan Schmitz

Sheet music for Symphony No. 1 and the Violin Concerto will be available this summer through Alias Press!