New York Youth Symphony (CD review)

Works by Florence Price, Valerie Coleman, and Jessie Montgomery. Price: Ethiopia’s Shadow in America; Coleman: Umoja: Anthem of Unity for orchestra; Price: Piano Concerto in One Movement; Montgomery: Soul Force. Michelle Cann, piano; Michael Repper, New York Youth Symphony. AVIE AV2503.

This is a remarkable recording for at least three reasons that jump immediately to mind. First, of course, is the music. Not long ago, Florence Price would have been considered an unknown composer, but over the past year or two (pretty much coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic, curiously and morbidly enough) her music has begun to attract attention and there have been some excellent recordings of some of her compositions recently, a couple of which I reviewed here: https://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2022/04/recent-releases-no-27-cd-reviews.html,

On this new release, there are two pieces by Price, but there also two much more recent compositions by two living composers, Valerie Coleman (b. 1970) and Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981).

The next reason is the orchestra, a remarkable group of young musicians. The New York Youth Symphony was founded in 1963 not only to provide opportunities for young musicians but also to bring music to the greater New York community and provide a vehicle for composers to get their compositions played. According to the liner notes: “Though its First Music program, NYYS has commissioned and premiered over 100 works by American composers and received 15 ASCAP awards for Adventuresome Programming.” Of course we should also recognize their conductor, Michael Repper, who has led them since 2017 and sees as his mission to use music as a vehicle for positive change within communities, and the piano soloist, Michelle Cann, who has been a champion of the music of Florence Price.   

Finally, there is the way the recording was made, which was not typical of an orchestral recording. It was recorded in November 2020, as the grim reality of COVID-19 was beginning to really sink in. The musicians and engineers were bound and determined to make this recording, but at the same time, equally bound and determined to do so as safely as possible. That meant that the sessions simply could not be conducted as they normally would, with the orchestra assembled together in the same space. Following social distancing guidelines, it just wasn’t going to work. As a result, they devised a plan to record the album in pieces, so to speak, with different section of the orchestra recording their parts at different times, playing against a “click track,” and then mixing down the various tracks into the final master from which the CD was produced. There is a brief video available on YouTube that offers an overview of the process:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8ZzMfFBOa8&t=183s

The recording was produced by the industry veteran Judith Sherman, who also had a hand in the engineering, editing, and mixing. Over her career she has been nominated for a Grammy 17 times, winning 12 of them, most recently earlier in 2022 for Classical Music Producer of the Year. The recording team (Isaiah Abolin, lead recording engineer; Neal Shaw, Teng Chen, Joe Cilento, assistant engineers; Jeanne Velonis, production assistant; Sherman, John Kilgore, Velonis, editing; Kilgore, Sherman, Repper, editing; Sherman, Velonis, mastering) did a highly believable job of assembling a convincing whole from the separate parts. Bill Heck and I have had several discussion about how contemporary digital recording technology offers such a powerful, flexible tool for capturing the sound of musical performance when wielded by engineers who really know what they are doing, which is clearly the case here.

The excellent engineering is evident early in the program as we are treated to a bit of Telarc-style bass in the colorful opening measures of Florence Price’s Ethiopia’s Shadow in America. Despite the recording have been made by mixing multiple tracks together, the background is dead silent. As the piece continues, various sections of the orchestra get their turn to shine, with exuberant phrases being tossed back and forth from woodwinds to strings, then to brass, with percussion also given their chance to join in the fun. If you’ve not heard this piece before, you are in for a treat. Next up is Umoja (Swahili for “Unity”) by Valerie Coleman (b. 1971), which was originally composed as a song for women’s choir, later rearranged for wind quintet, and now rearranged once again for orchestra as presented here. From the mysterious opening, with its sense of “space music,” the music seems to unfold itself into something grand and very American-sounding, heroic in its sweep and vision. Although Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement is so titled, there really can be heard three distinct movements or sections, it’s just that they are played without pause. The piece opens with trumpet, then the piano, with the music taking on a wistful, longing feeling. The second movement is lyrical and melodic, while the third movement is infused with rhythmic energy. The more I listen to this composition, the more I begin to think that it might be my favorite of Price’s works. The program closes with Soul Force by  Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981), a work in one movement that according to the composer “attempts to portray the notion of a voice that struggles to be heard beyond the shackles of oppression… Drawing on elements of popular African-American musical styles such as big-band jazz, funk, hip-hop and R+B, the piece pays homage to the cultural contributions, the many voices, which have risen against aggressive forces to create an indispensable cultural place. I have drawn the work’s title from Dr. Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in which he states: ‘We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.’” The music starts with percussion, then brass, with strings and winds getting their turn as the music unfolds. For all its syncopated energy – and there is plenty – the music is remarkable in never losing its dignity.

Dr. Samantha Ege of Oxford University, a leading scholar of the music of Florence Price who is also a concert pianist who has played and recorded some of Price’s music has contributed some brief liner notes. Combined with the excellent engineering and interesting program (not just another recording of Beethoven symphonies – as much as we all love Beethoven, it is always nice to have something new and different), it all adds up to a new release that is well worth seeking out for a good listen.

KWN

Meet the Staff

Meet the Staff
John J. Puccio, Founder and Contributor

Understand, I'm just an everyday guy reacting to something I love. And I've been doing it for a very long time, my appreciation for classical music starting with the musical excerpts on the Big Jon and Sparkie radio show in the early Fifties and the purchase of my first recording, The 101 Strings Play the Classics, around 1956. In the late Sixties I began teaching high school English and Film Studies as well as becoming interested in hi-fi, my audio ambitions graduating me from a pair of AR-3 speakers to the Fulton J's recommended by The Stereophile's J. Gordon Holt. In the early Seventies, I began writing for a number of audio magazines, including Audio Excellence, Audio Forum, The Boston Audio Society Speaker, The American Record Guide, and from 1976 until 2008, The $ensible Sound, for which I served as Classical Music Editor.

Today, I'm retired from teaching and use a pair of bi-amped VMPS RM40s loudspeakers for my listening. In addition to writing for the Classical Candor blog, I served as the Movie Review Editor for the Web site Movie Metropolis (formerly DVDTown) from 1997-2013. Music and movies. Life couldn't be better.

Karl Nehring, Editor and Contributor

For more than 20 years I was the editor of The $ensible Sound magazine and a regular contributor to both its equipment and recordings review pages. I would not presume to present myself as some sort of expert on music, but I have a deep love for and appreciation of many types of music, "classical" especially, and have listened to thousands of recordings over the years, many of which still line the walls of my listening room (and occasionally spill onto the furniture and floor, much to the chagrin of my long-suffering wife). I have always taken the approach as a reviewer that what I am trying to do is simply to point out to readers that I have come across a recording that I have found of interest, a recording that I think they might appreciate my having pointed out to them. I suppose that sounds a bit simple-minded, but I know I appreciate reading reviews by others that do the same for me — point out recordings that they think I might enjoy.

For readers who might be wondering about what kind of system I am using to do my listening, I should probably point out that I do a LOT of music listening and employ a variety of means to do so in a variety of environments, as I would imagine many music lovers also do. Starting at the more grandiose end of the scale, the system in which I do my most serious listening comprises Marantz CD 6007 and Onkyo CD 7030 CD players, NAD C 658 streaming preamp/DAC, Legacy Audio PowerBloc2 amplifier, and a pair of Legacy Audio Focus SE loudspeakers. I occasionally do some listening through pair of Sennheiser 560S headphones. I miss the excellent ELS Studio sound system in our 2016 Acura RDX (now my wife's daily driver) on which I had ripped more than a hundred favorite CDs to the hard drive, so now when driving my 2022 Accord EX-L Hybrid I stream music from my phone through its adequate but not outstanding factory system. For more casual listening at home when I am not in my listening room, I often stream music through the phone into a Vizio soundbar system that has tolerably nice sound for such a diminutive physical presence. And finally, at the least grandiose end of the scale, I have an Ultimate Ears Wonderboom II Bluetooth speaker for those occasions where I am somewhere by myself without a sound system but in desperate need of a musical fix. I just can’t imagine life without music and I am humbly grateful for the technology that enables us to enjoy it in so many wonderful ways.

William (Bill) Heck, Webmaster and Contributor

Among my early childhood memories are those of listening to my mother playing records (some even 78 rpm ones!) of both classical music and jazz tunes. I suppose that her love of music was transmitted genetically, and my interest was sustained by years of playing in rock bands – until I realized that this was no way to make a living. The interest in classical music was rekindled in grad school when the university FM station serving as background music for studying happened to play the Brahms First Symphony. As the work came to an end, it struck me forcibly that this was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard, and from that point on, I never looked back. This revelation was to the detriment of my studies, as I subsequently spent way too much time simply listening, but music has remained a significant part of my life. These days, although I still can tell a trumpet from a bassoon and a quarter note from a treble clef, I have to admit that I remain a nonexpert. But I do love music in general and classical music in particular, and I enjoy sharing both information and opinions about it.

The audiophile bug bit about the same time that I returned to classical music. I’ve gone through plenty of equipment, brands from Audio Research to Yamaha, and the best of it has opened new audio insights. Along the way, I reviewed components, and occasionally recordings, for The $ensible Sound magazine. Most recently I’ve moved to my “ultimate system” consisting of a BlueSound Node streamer, an ancient Toshiba multi-format disk player serving as a CD transport, Legacy Wavelet II DAC/preamp/crossover, dual Legacy PowerBloc2 amps, and Legacy Signature SE speakers (biamped), all connected with decently made, no-frills cables. With the arrival of CD and higher resolution streaming, that is now the source for most of my listening.

Ryan Ross, Contributor

I started listening to and studying classical music in earnest nearly three decades ago. This interest grew naturally out of my training as a pianist. I am now a musicologist by profession, specializing in British and other symphonic music of the 19th and 20th centuries. My scholarly work has been published in major music journals, as well as in other outlets. Current research focuses include twentieth-century symphonic historiography, and the music of Jean Sibelius, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Malcolm Arnold.

I am honored to contribute writings to Classical Candor. In an age where the classical recording industry is being subjected to such profound pressures and changes, it is more important than ever for those of us steeped in this cultural tradition to continue to foster its love and exposure. I hope that my readers can find value, no matter how modest, in what I offer here.


Bryan Geyer, Technical Analyst

I initially embraced classical music in 1954 when I mistuned my car radio and heard the Heifetz recording of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. That inspired me to board the new "hi-fi" DIY bandwagon. In 1957 I joined one of the pioneer semiconductor makers and spent the next 32 years marketing transistors and microcircuits to military contractors. Home audio DIY projects remained a personal passion until 1989 when we created our own new photography equipment company. I later (2012) revived my interest in two channel audio when we "downsized" our life and determined that mini-monitors + paired subwoofers were a great way to mate fine music with the space constraints of condo living.

Visitors that view my technical papers on this site may wonder why they appear here, rather than on a site that features audio equipment reviews. My reason is that I tried the latter, and prefer to publish for people who actually want to listen to music; not to equipment. My focus is in describing what's technically beneficial to assure that the sound of the system will accurately replicate the source input signal (i. e. exhibit high accuracy) without inordinate cost and complexity. Conversely, most of the audiophiles of today strive to achieve sound that's euphonic, i.e. be personally satisfying. In essence, audiophiles seek sound that's consistent with their desire; the music is simply a test signal.

Mission Statement

It is the goal of Classical Candor to promote the enjoyment of classical music. Other forms of music come and go--minuets, waltzes, ragtime, blues, jazz, bebop, country-western, rock-'n'-roll, heavy metal, rap, and the rest--but classical music has been around for hundreds of years and will continue to be around for hundreds more. It's no accident that every major city in the world has one or more symphony orchestras.

When I was young, I heard it said that only intellectuals could appreciate classical music, that it required dedicated concentration to appreciate. Nonsense. I'm no intellectual, and I've always loved classical music. Anyone who's ever seen and enjoyed Disney's Fantasia or a Looney Tunes cartoon playing Rossini's William Tell Overture or Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 can attest to the power and joy of classical music, and that's just about everybody.

So, if Classical Candor can expand one's awareness of classical music and bring more joy to one's life, more power to it. It's done its job. --John J. Puccio

Contact Information

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"Their Master's Voice" by Michael Sowa

"Their Master's Voice" by Michael Sowa