David Danzmayr & Oregon Symphony – Andy Akiko: Beneath Lighted Coffers (SACD hibrid)

Andy Akiho, born in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1979, is a “groundbreaking” (Los Angeles Times) Pulitzer Prize finalist and composer whose bold works unfold complex and unexpected patterns, transcending the preconceived boundaries of classical music. Hailed by The New York Times, Akiho has earned international acclaim for his large-scale works that emphasize the natural theatricality of live performance. He is the only composer to have been nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Contemporary Classical Composition” category in 2022, 2023 and 2024. “Beneath Lighted Coffers,” a work commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra, was written for one of Andy Akihos’ musical role models, the Trinidadian steel pan virtuoso Liam Teague. The five movements were inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, a structure that Akiho visited almost daily after being awarded the American Academy’s 2014 “Luciano Berio Rome Prize” in Composition. Akiho spent most of 2015 in Rome, where he visited the Pantheon almost every day. “I have never been so impressed by an architectural masterpiece,” he enthused. “The energy this building radiates is unique.” Akiho’s “Concerto for Steel Pans & Orchestra” is an early work originally written for the composer and the Yale Philharmonia, and performed by them in 2011. The round, metallic shimmer of the steel pans weaves together with the fuller sound textures of the orchestra, creating an inviting and unusual sonic palette. Akihos’s use of low-register instruments – particularly the bass clarinet, contrabassoon, trombone, and tuba – forms a strong, contrasting anchor to the rippling high tones of the pans. The music is alternately fiercely energetic, authoritative, contemplative, and dreamy.

As “Jean Vollum Music Director” of the Oregon Symphony, David Danzmayr has established himself as a competent and visionary leader. He has a proven commitment to innovation and to performing works by composers from underrepresented communities. Danzmayr is widely regarded as one of the most talented and exciting conductors of his generation. He received his musical training at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, where, after initially studying piano, he went on to study conducting in the class of Dennis Russell Davies. He has won prizes at some of the world’s most prestigious conducting competitions and has quickly become a sought-after guest conductor for orchestras around the globe. In recent years, Danzmayr has demonstrated his skill as an interpreter of a wide range of repertoire. Danzmayr leads the versatile and innovative ProMusica Chamber Orchestra in Columbus and previously served as chief conductor of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, music director of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra of Chicago, and associate conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Glasgow.

The Oregon Symphony, a multiple Grammy Award nominee led by Music Director David Danzmayr, reaches hundreds of thousands of people annually through concerts, educational initiatives, and community programs. With a 129-year tradition, it is the sixth-oldest orchestra in the United States and the oldest in the western United States. Its home venue is the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland’s downtown cultural district.

Reference Recordings has been responsible for many award-winning CDs, SACDs and LPs in the fields of classical, jazz, blues and world music in recent years. All releases are recorded with the conviction that the sound of a recording is just as important as the music itself.

MUSICIANS

David Danzmayr: conductor
Oregon Symphony

Recorded live at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon, USA on April 29, 30 & May 1, 2023 (“Beneath Lighted Coffers”) and October 5,6 & 7 (“Concerto For Steel Pans & Orchestra”) 

We recommend the use of „L’Art du Son” CD/DVD conditioner for even more sonic improvement.

Lista pieselor

1.    Andy Akiho: “Beneath Lighted Coffers” Concerto For Steel Pans & Orchestra

I.    Portico
II.    Twenty-Eight
III.    Oculus
IV.    Corelli
V.    Performance

2.    Andy Akiho: “Concerto For Steel Pans & Orchestra”