Michael Daugherty's "Tales of Hemingway "

[Rach3]

Univ. of Michigan professor and Iowa native, Michael Daugherty's “ cello concerto “ , my first hearing today:

“Tales of Hemingway” - Michael Daugherty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ8dXCfucug

Zuill Bailey - Cello
Neeme Järvi - Conductor
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Live, Detroit,2017

I. Big Two-Hearted River
II. For Whom The Bell Tolls
III. - The Old Man and The Sea
IV. - The Sun Also Rises

There is a 2016 Naxos cd with Bailey,Nashville Symphony,Guerrero:

http://tinyurl.com/y228tqjr

Per Wiki : “The concerto was originally commissioned by the Nashville Symphony and a consortium including the Asheville Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, El Paso Symphony Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, Redwood Symphony and Virginia Symphony Orchestra. The world premiere was given by the Nashville Symphony conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero, with cellist Zuill Bailey on April 17, 2015 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_Hemingway


Very effective tour de force , worth hearing , although as seems often the case these days, strong on effects, lyricism ( nothing the matter with those ), but perhaps short of an internal logic,development,structure,complexity , that would compel frequent re-hearings over time , to hear what has been missed ? Maybe I’m too small minded ; Daugherty’s work can certainly stand with Saint-Seans, Tchaikovsky,Strauss works for the cello ( IMHO ).

Critics loved it more than I ; per Wiki :

"The world premiere performance was reviewed by Nashville music critic John Pitcher. His analysis was that the composer "approached his work as a kind of sonic landscape painter [...] Cellist Zuill Bailey played throughout with a sensuous tone and technical finesse. Music director Giancarlo Guerrero and the NSO provided colorful and dramatic accompaniment." The Midwest premiere was given by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Detroit Free Press music writer Mark Stryker described the work as having a "more soulful emotional cast...a breadth of color, texture, dynamics and feeling in the virtuoso solo writing."

"The concerto was recorded in 2015 with the Nashville Symphony and released on the Naxos label. Many critics reviewed the recording very favorably, including a 10/10 for both categories of artistic quality and sound quality from music critic David Hurwitz."

"Donald Rosenberg of Gramophone wrote:

"Tales of Hemingway for cello and orchestra (2015) portrays four of the novelist’s stories in music of sweeping drama and poetry. Daugherty sends the cello soaring and singing with the orchestra as he summons key moments in the Hemingway books. The solo writing calls for an artist of eloquent persuasion, and Zuill Bailey more than meets the score’s demands with playing that combines fervour and poetry."

" In February 2017 the piece won three Grammy Awards, for Best Classical Compendium, Best Classical Instrumental Solo and Best Contemporary Classical Composition."