George Walker: Five Sinfonias completes the cycle of George Walker’s music from the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. In January 2022, the National Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Gianandrea Noseda began performing and recording the complete cycle of George Walker’s five sinfonias, in celebration of the composer’s 100th birthday. Remembering and honoring the music of George Walker is particularly special for the National Symphony Orchestra given the mutual connection to Washington, D.C. and its unique history of collaboration and commissions.
These recordings were taken during the live performances in January 2022, and May and June of 2023 in the Concert Hall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The physical booklet also contains portraits taken by Frank Schramm during the last 14 years of the composer’s life. On the release of this CD, the first that encompasses all five of Walker’s sinfonias, Gregory Walker, George Walker’s son, said, “The National Symphony Orchestra’s unprecedented recording offers an opportunity to experience my father’s compositional evolution in context for the first time. Peter Laki’s text, Frank Schramm’s photography, and, of course, the committed artistry of Maestro Nosed and the musicians make a compelling argument for this music’s enduring significance.
“The sinfonias of George Walker have been an extraordinary musical discovery for me,” said Music Director Gianandrea Noseda. “They are concise in expression, rigorous in structure, and they have their own unique sound world. I am certain that these performances confirm that George Walker is one of the great composers of recent times.”
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda, Conductor
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.Total time: 01:05:15
Additional information
| Label | |
|---|---|
| SKU | NSO0007D |
| Qualities | DSD 512 fs, DSD 256 fs, DSD 128 fs, DSD 64 fs, DXD 24 Bit, FLAC 192 kHz, FLAC 96 kHz |
| Channels | 2ch Stereo, 5 Channel Surround Sound, 2ch Stereo & 5ch Surround |
| Artists | |
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| Original Recording Format | |
| Release Date | September 29, 2023 |
1 review for George Walker: Five Sinfonias
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The performance is terrific. The recording is excellent. The soundstage via balanced headphones is exquisite. Well done recording engineers. So, how about the music you say? I am rather new to George Walker. These pieces are rather engaging at first. But by the time you listen to the full set, they all sound alike. I kept waiting for an actual melody to be stated and developed. But that never happened. This sounds more like a movie score than classical music fare. Granted, I understand that is it modern and George was pushing frontiers, but it still grew a bit tiresome to me, hence 4 stars instead of 5. All other aspects are fantastic. No regrets, I will listen to this again from time to time, if perhaps for just the recording quality. Kudos to Gianandrea Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra. Well played!
Steve Horne (verified owner) –