Search - Thompson, New Jefferson Chamber Players :: Randall Thompson String Quartets & Piano Pieces

Thompson Gems

Cory | Virginia | 09/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Contents:

1-4 String Quartet 1 in D Minor (7:57, 11:12, 7:20, 7:16)

5 The Little Prelude (1:22)

6 Song after Sundown (4:10)

7-10 String Quartet 2 in G Major (2:56, 4:20, 7:35, 5:11)

New Jefferson Chamber Players

Alexander Ross, Violin

Deanna Lee, Violin

Richard Marshall, Viola

Anthony Ross, Cello

Richard Zimdars, Piano

Label: Bay Cities



The Bay Cities label produced a number of good CDs in the early 1990s by American composers. Because these works are chamber works, it appears that they were recorded in a studio, unlike some other Bay Cities recordings which are (poor) live recordings.



Randall Thompson, famed for his choral music, also wrote works for instruments, of which his symphonies are the most famous (especially the second). However, his instrumental music is often overshadowed by his success as a choral composer. But even in instrumental works, such as Song after Sundown, it is composed in choral form. The works for string quartet and works for piano on this CD are beautiful and standard neo-Romantic Thompson. I lament the lack of recordings available for Thompson's instrumental works including his opera, Solomon and Balkis."