Search - Libby Larsen, Marin Alsop, Colorado Symphony Orchestra :: Libby Larsen: Deep Summer Music; Solo Symphony; Marimba Concerto After Hampton

Nice piece of new music

p dizzle | augusta, georgia, USA | 12/06/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"libby larsen may not be a household name beyond colorado (note who commissioned these pieces--the colorado symphony!) but she has composed some wonderful new american classical music for this album. actually, the compositions range from 1983 (deep summer music) to the 1990s. the album opens with "deep summer music" a brief tone poem capturing the essence of a late summer evening. the model seems to be charles ives' central park tone poem, with the music leading you into an imagined evening along a mountain creek with the wind in the woods. she layers the strings and percussion magnificently to create her effect. the "solo symphony" is an interesting study of the orchestra, with each section getting a chance to solo, all the while creating a whole that works beautifully. the album closes with the marimba concerto, inspired by lionel hampton. the feel is jazz freedom, but without the blues or swing. the idea seemed to be to focus on a little used instrument and allow it a chance to shine in the concerto format. the form is classical, but the marimba gives it an exotic feel. try this composer, you will enjoy her work."

Great Modern Works From A Great American Female Composer

Erik North | San Gabriel, CA USA | 03/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Libby Larsen is easily one of the greatest of all modern American classical music composers, and the fact that she is a very skillful female composer is something of an added bonus. Such is the case on this recording made by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and their Conductor Laureate Martin Alsop of three of Ms. Larsen's works--"Deep Summer Music"; "Solo Symphony"; and her 1992 Marimba Concerto.



"Deep Summer Music" is a short but very meditative tone painting of the landscape of the Midwest, in the tradition of Prokofiev's "Summer Day" and Samuel Barber's "Horizon"; while the Solo Symphony, though in the traditional four-movement form of the genre, is more like Bartok's "Concerto For Orchestra", as it gives numerous orchestral soloists a chance to shine. John Kinzie, the Colorado Symphony's principal percussionist, shines greatle in his role as the soloist in the Marimba Concerto. This instrument, normally associated with Latin-American music in general, and the music of Mexico in particular, is used here in its solo capacity as a tribute to the legendary jazz percussion maestro Lionel Hampton, and the whole work is infused with a lush, tropical spirit.



Anyone with a taste for modern classical music should get this recording without fail. It is also a fine introduction for contemporary music to those who aren't necessarily used to it. Mr. Kinzie, Ms. Alsop and the Colorado Symphony get a lot of mileage out of these great modern works from one of our most prominent female composers ever."

Modern Classical Delight

James C. Ward | Chattanooga | 10/05/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a school teacher a few years ago I became acquainted with Libby Larsen's eclectic style. It was included in the text book on American composers. The examples they used were quirky-- choral pieces with wild west noises, and a string quartet playing boogie woogie in a video no less. This recording however is something a Copland fan would enjoy. It is symphonic and "Deep Summer" is very tonal,pastoral. Later in the recording there are hints of Stravinsky's rhythms. Libby Larsen is my age and I'm proud of her accomplishments.

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