Falletta & Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Dazzle with New Music

I know people who absolutely, positively will not listen to contemporary music. If the local orchestra schedules it, they'll show up late to miss it (or not show up at all). Why? Because they assume that all modern music is dissonant and ugly. Sorry, that only describes their prejudices.

Wonderful, exquisitely beautiful classical music is being written every day. All it needs in an audience. JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic have done their part.

They've put together a program of engaging, well-crafted works. These pieces are unabashedly tonal, and yet they could have only composed now, in the 21st Century.

All four composers have a strong relationship with Falletta and the BPO. The musicians know these composers. They know what they're trying to say, and they deliver.

The BPO has recorded several Kenneth Fuchs albums. Their latest collaboration won them a Grammy. "Point of Tranquility" is a drifting cloud of swirling orchestral colors. As the piece progresses, these colors come together before dissipating into the air.

Russell Platt's Symphony in Three Movements is an homage. It's inspired by Expressionist artist Clyfford Still. This is a restless, energetic work. Spikey melodies compete with each other for attention. Yet in terms of modernism, Platt's language isn't that far removed from Shostakovich's.

BPO's first chair oboist Henry Ward gets the spotlight in a collaborative concerto. Randall Svane is a friend of Falletta. She thought his Sonata for Oboe and Piano would make a good concerto. "Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra" is the result of that commission.

Svane reworked the sonata taking advantage of the orchestra's expanded color palette. Modal harmonies add to the attractiveness of the work.

The Covid-19 lockdown inspired "The Winter that United Us.". Wang Jie's work is introspective. In places I heard hints of Sibelius, Shostakovich, Barber, and Saint-Saens. But the material, and how it's developed, is all Jie.

I hope the house was packed when the BPO performed these works. This is the direction classical music is going. It just needs audience support. Recommended.

Contemporary Landscapes
Kenneth Fuchs, Russell Platt, Randall Svane, Wang Jie
Henry Ward, oboe
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor
BPO