Search - Matthew Halper, David Maslanka, Samuel Zyman :: Illinois State University Wind Symphony - Maslanka: Symphony No. 7 ; Samuel Zyman: Cycles ; Matthew Halper Concerto for Flute and Wind Ensemble

By now the Illinois State University Wind Symphony under Kenneth Steele has achieved renown for their adventuresome Albany recordings (TROY500, TROY600, TROY755 and TROY774-775). One of the composers prominently featured in these releases is David Maslanka, who, after Vincent Persichetti, is probably the most important American composer for band. His Symphonies 4 and 5 are featured in this series, and the Symphony No. 7, as Maslanka explains, is a Symphony of ?old songs remembered:? ?I am strongly affected by American folk songs and hymn tunes. With one exception all the tunes are original, but they all feel very familiar. The borrowed melody is from the 371 Four-Part Chorales by J.S. Bach. Each song has a bright side and a dark side, a surface and the dream underneath.? Samuel Zyman, a long-time Juilliard faculty member, is one of the most prominent Mexican composers. His Cycles is a one-movement work that consists of several distinct sections that appear and alternate ?cyclically? throughout the work. Matthew Halper?s works are widely performed and his Flute Concerto is an expansive, dramatic work that covers a wide musical terrain in a single movement.