Night Skies: Orchestral Music of Katherine Hoover
Katherine Hoover, born in West Virginia in 1937, is a successful flutist and composer. More than a dozen of her compositions have been recorded, several more than once (and her Kokopeli for solo flute at least four times). However. there has never been an entire LP or CD devoted entirely to her music until now. Intellectually stimulating yet accessible, Hoover’s music has been very popular with audiences outside “new music” circles.
Night Skies includes four orchestral works of Hoover’s, all first performed since 1987. Three of them -Two Sketches, Eleni: A Greek Tragedy, and the title work–are performed by the Slovak Radio Symphony orchestra under the direction of American conductor Joel Eric Suben. In Eleni the vocal soloist is mezzo-soprano Denisa Danielova. These recordings were supervised by the composer. The Double Concerto is played by a U.S. orchestra making its recording debut: the Wisconsin Philharmonia, conducted by Vartan Manoogian, with violin soloists David Perry and Suzanne Beia.
Night Skies was inspired by the famous Henri-Edmond Cross painting, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That painting, reproduced with the permission and assistance of the Museum, makes for most appropriate and impressive cover art. All of these compositions have been peformed successfully in the U.S. to critical and audience acclaim
Night Skies: “Hoover’s music mixes elements of old and new, in a masterful blending of old and new into a cohesive whole.” –Harrisburg Patriot-News
Two Sketches:”Hoover’s Two Sketches scored with immediate accessibility and an impressive combination of depth, maturity, and power.” –San Francisco Eraminer
Eleni:”The first standing ovation for a contemporary work in our orchestra’s history.” Carolann Martin, conductor, South East Kansas Symphony
Double Concerto: “It delighted our soloists, orchestra, and audience alike” –Paul Mori, conductor. Baltimore Bach Ensemble
Complete Contents
Two Sketches(10:55)
1. Winter Sands (5:19)
2. Turnabout (5:36)
3.Eleni : A Greek Tragedy (15:10)
Tracks 1- 3 Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Joel Eric Suben, conductor – Denisa Danielova, Mezzo-Soprano
Double Concerto (16:52)
4. #1 (5:50)
5. #2 (6:08)
6. #3 (4:54)
David Perry & Suzanne Beia (violins), The Wisconsin Philomusica, Vartan Manoogian, conductor.
7. Night Skies (24:52)
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra – Joel Eric Suben, conductor.
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra recordings were supervised by the composer
Total Disc Time 67:53
Buy Katherine Hoover – Night Skies via Qualiton USA
Or Buy Night Skies – Orchestra Music of Katherine Hoover via amazon.com
Amazon.com review:
A hint of Morton Feldman atmospherics, a taste of klezmer, a tone poem–it can all be found in the diverse output of American composer Katherine Hoover. And on Night Skies, the Slovak Radio Symphony under Joel Eric Suben performs a fascinating cross-section of her works. “Turnabout,” one-half of Two Sketches, is a sonic palindrome in which the orchestra literally turns around and plays the short piece backward. Eleni: A Greek Tragedy is apparently where the klezmer comes in; its layerings of Greek melodies and spiky orchestrations create a moving lament. The title track is an orchestral tone poem where percussion and flute create a storm to remember. The flute is given prominence in many of Hoover’s works (she’s also a flutist), but the variety of her output on Night Skies is what’s really astounding. These pieces brim with inventiveness and energy. –Jason Verlinde
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