Classical Music CDs at ArkivMusic Cart Wish List My Account Gift Certificates Newsletter Help
Holiday Shipping Guid
elines
Composers | Conductors | Performers | Ensembles | Operas | Labels | ArkivCDs | DVDs | Search | More... Weekend Specials
New Releases Recommendations Top Sellers On Sale CDs Under $10 Broadway Reissues Super Audio CDs MP3s Blu-ray Discs Listen Magazine
 Home > Labels >
WGBH Radio WGBH Radio theclassicalstation.org
 McKay: An American Dance Symphony / Nardolillo
Release Date: 09/30/2008 
Label:  Naxos   Catalog #: 8559330   Spars Code: n/a 
Composer:  George McKay
Conductor:  John Nardolillo
Orchestra/Ensemble:  University Of Kentucky Women's ChoirUniversity Of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra

Number of Discs: 1 
Recorded in: Stereo 
Length: 1 Hours 2 Mins. 

CD  $8.99
Add To Your Cart
In Stock
Add To Your Cart

MP3 $7.99
In Stock: Usually ships in 24 hours.
Notes & Reviews   Works on This Recording   Sound Samples   
 Notes & Reviews Back to Top 
This is one interesting release! McKay's Epoch is a four-movement symphonic ballet dating from 1935, a sort of American equivalent to Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe, or Novak's Nikotina. It's very entertaining. The first movement, "Symbolic Portrait", contains an atmospheric evocation of Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum. The second movement, "Pastoral", includes some lovely writing for wordless female choir. If these first two movements perhaps lack a little in contrast (save for the Poe episode), then the third movement, "Westward!", and the finale, "Machine Age Blues", more than make amends. It would be great to see this piece choreographed, as originally intended, but the music has more than enough character to sustain listening independently of the staging.

The performance sounds remarkably accomplished for theoretically amateur performances. I have often remarked that the evidence of increasing technical standards isn't to be found in our major orchestras, which always attracted the best players, but rather in the second tier, youth, and school groups, who often deliver thoroughly professional results. John Nardolillo directs a confident, colorful interpretation and gets his players to respond with evident enthusiasm. The University of Kentucky Women's Choir also sounds very smooth and aptly ethereal in the second movement. The engineering perhaps could be a touch richer and more tactile, but it's perfectly fine. Impressive.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

 Works on This Recording Back to Top 
1.  Epoch "An American Dance Symphony" by George McKay
Conductor:  John Nardolillo
Orchestra/Ensemble:  University Of Kentucky Women's Choir,  University Of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1935 
Date of Recording: 2/2007 
Venue:  Singletary Center, Lexington, KY 
 Sound Samples Back to Top 
Epoch
I. Symbolic Portraits
Epoch
II. Pastoral
Epoch
III. Westward
Epoch
IV. Machine Age Blues
 About ArkivMusic  Contact Us  Partner Program  Institutional Sales  Terms & Conditions  Privacy Policy  Help  Your Account  Shortcuts  
ArkivMusic - The Source for Classical Music!

Copyright ArkivMusic LLC, 2009.
Data supplied by Muze, Inc. Copyright 1948-2009. For personal use only. All rights reserved. Muze logo
Reviews provided by ClassicsToday.com Copyright 1999-2004