Search - Paulus & Larsen, Marriner :: Paulus: Symphony in Three Movements; Larsen: Symphony "Water Music"

If this disc is still in print, you absolutely must have it. Libby Larsen (b. 1950) is a Minnesota composer whose music draws from many sources, but, as in Symphony: Water Music (1985), it's clear that her sources are based in nature and are purely imaginative. The symphony doesn't pay homage to Handel; instead it tries to capture the breezy feeling of wind on water, birds racing through the sky. Its rhythms are quirky and it's filled with all sorts of brilliant tone clusters. Stephen Paulus (b. 1949) composes a more rugged music, with many more discordant elements. Still, his Symphony in Three Movements (1986) does intrigue. --Paul Cook