STEPHEN MICHAEL GRYC (b.1949): Concerto for Winds and Percussion, SUSAN BOTTI (b.1962): Terra Cruda, JESS LANGSTON TURNER (b.1983): Rumpelstilzchen.

Description: Gryc's Concerto - the title suggests the idea of the 'Concerto for Orchestra', but emphasizing the equal virtuosity and flexibility of the modern wind ensemble - is in four movements in the traditional symphonic layout. The fanfare introduction gives way to an eloquent melodic section; there follows a lively scherzo, richly scored slow movement and a cheeky finale. The sections of the ensemble are given ample opportunity to shine in virtuosic and expressive material, in an appealing tonal vocabulary. Terra cruda deals with the subject of aggression in menacing blocks of sound, heavily orchestrated in dark, dense textures. After a while the ominous mechanistic ticking and snarling fanfares give way to shell-shocked lament. Turner's piece illustrates three key episodes from the Grimm brothers' fairy-tale; a motoric spinning wheel, with the malignant gnome's snarling laughter; the maiden's overwhelming sorrow at the terrible bargain she made with the creature, and Rumpelstiltskin's furious departure after his defeat. Just as the tales are often sinister and violent, this is not a 'pretty' or lightweight piece but a substantial suite with powerful dramatic content and emotional heft, ingenious and colorful orchestration and bravura ensemble writing, in an appealing tonal idiom. The Hartt School Wind Ensemble; Glen Adsit.