David Leisner, Lars Ranch, Gerard Schwarz - Alan Hovhaness: Symphony No. 60, Guitar Concerto, Khrimi...

Listening to a work of Armenian-American composer Alan Hovhaness, you recognize his characteristic style in a few measures. His music is often broadly expansive, painting sonorous landscapes that often use brass instruments to blend with and accentuate the strings. Also, while his peers experimented with serialism or highly intellectually challenging styles, Hovhaness maintained his world music-infused neo-Romantic style throughout his life. The result is an enormous body of work that are all a joy to listen to.
Alas, much has not been recorded. On this Naxos CD, we get 3 different pieces. The first 'Khrimian Harig' is a mystical work named for the late 19th century Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. Scored for solo trumpet and orchestra, it demonstrates that even early on, Hovhaness had a keen ability to incorporate non-western music into the traditional classical forms. The second piece is his Guitar Concerto. We get a distinctly Spanish voice to guitar is it with th we get Spanish voice to guitar with the orchestra. The final word is Symphony number 60, 'To The final work is Symphony number 60, 'To the Appalachian Mountains'. It is a beautiful piece that in the grand tradition of Dvorak and Copeland, incorporates folk tunes from the Appalachian Mountains into the symphonic score.
For those unfamiliar with Hovhaness, this album is a fantastic introduction to his music. For those who are fans already, it reinforces his mastery of the musical idiom.