Notes and Editorial Reviews
This is one of the best Hovhaness recordings to come along in quite a while. Yes, much of his music has a familiar, repetitive quality: bells and gongs, rippling harps, sinuous Eastern melodies, the occasional fugue (especially in the symphonies), the use of glissandos, soft chord clusters, and rhythmically free episodes inspired by his study of Korean and Japanese traditional music, and a love of simple prettiness connects all of these pieces. But this doesn't mean that they are identical.
For example, Floating World is a symphonic poem that includes a clear march episode (unusual in Hovhaness) and a more pungent harmonic language than we usually find. The symphony, in three
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movements of modest length, has a directness and concision that really is "symphonic", comparatively. Both Ode to the Temple of Sound and Meditation on Zeami are just plain gorgeous, in the vein of Mysterious Mountain or Fra Angelico. All are CD premieres, and all are splendidly played and recorded by the orchestra of the University of Miami. Fans of the composer, and you know who you are, will definitely want this.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
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Works on This Recording
1.
Ode to the Temple of Sound, Op. 216 by Alan Hovhaness
Conductor:
Chung Park
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Frost Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1966; USA
2.
Symphony no 10, Op. 184 "Vahaken" by Alan Hovhaness
Conductor:
Chung Park
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Frost Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1944; USA
3.
Floating World, Op. 209 "Ukiyo" by Alan Hovhaness
Conductor:
Chung Park
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Frost Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1964; USA
4.
Meditation on Zeami, Op. 207 by Alan Hovhaness
Conductor:
Chung Park
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Frost Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1963-1964; USA
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