Robert Trevino upgrades the repertoire with Americascapes

Maestro Robert Trevino is certainly adventurous. It's not enough for him to program an album of four American composers. No, he had to choose four composers who are seldom programmed. And he also goes even further and programs works that are rarely recorded -- even for these composers. Bravo.

La mort de Tintagiles is one of Charles Martin Loeffler's best-known works. Yet it has only been recorded once before. Loeffler was fascinated with the viola d'amore. He wrote several works for it, including this one. 

"La mort" sounds to me like a blend of Wagner and Debussy. And an exceptionally beautiful one at that. Hearing this piece alone is worth the price of admission. 

The only work I had previously heard by Carl Ruggles was Suntreader. It's his signature piece and has been recorded just five times. Evocations is even more obscure. 

This marks its second recorded appearance. The 1942 work straddles the line between tonality and atonality. It has the angry power of "Suntreader," but here it's bubbling under the surface. Evocative, indeed -- and a little unsettling.

Howard Hanson is well-represented in recordings (relatively speaking). His 1920 tone poem Before the Dawn receives its recorded world premiere here. 

Hanson's post-romantic lyricism is in full force. The work flows from one exquisitely beautiful section to another. Why did we have to wait so long to hear this?

Henry Cowell is another American composer still waiting for his due. The Variations for Orchestra has only one previous recording, and that's a shame. Cowell was an early adapter of many avant-garde techniques. And he always adapted them for his own purposes. 

Cowell wrote Variations in 1956.  But they compare favorably to today's post-tonal compositions. 

The Basque National Orchestra has an impressive sound. I especially liked their ensemble balance (as recorded). 

Robert Trevino isn't presenting a set of musical curiosities here. His interpretations bring out the inherent musicality of these works. And his direction shows the beauty of their construction. 

If I had my way, every orchestral conductor in the United States would get a copy of this release. There is so much more to American music than Appalachian Spring.

Americascapes: Loeffler, Ruggles, Hanson, Cowell
Basque National Orchestra; Robert Trevino, conductor
Ondine ODE 1396-2