American Masters for the 21st Century

Say you start a group called the Society for New Music, commission composer-stars-in-the-making and do it for thirty years straight, you might expect your scrapbooks to be quite interesting. What you might not realize is that your efforts now constitute a major segment of the backbone of contemporary American concert music and you have premiered a boatload of chamber works by composers who have gone on to distinguished careers. Such is the case with Syracuse’s Society for New Music founded by Neva Pilgrim, who opened their treasure chest of commissioned works from 1972 – 2002 and has put them together as the 5-CD set entitled “American Masters for the 21st Century.”

Although this is a retrospective collection, the names included show the enduring nature and current relevance of the top-quality work. The most common words in the composers’ bios are “Pulitzer,” “Guggenheim,” and “Koussevitsky.” East Coast zip codes are well represented. Some artists include Christopher Rouse, Steven Stucky, Augusta Read Thomas, Daniel Godfrey, Howard Boatwright, Brian Israel, and Richard Wernick. Of course, the performers are New York’s finest. If you have a long winter evening ahead of you or just want some one-stop shopping for some of the best music you might have missed over the last three decades, check out this set.

1: Steven Stucky Sappho Fragments • Brian Israel String Quartet No. 2 • Elizabeth Alexander My Aunt Gives Me a Clarinet Lesson • Robert Keefe Riff, Variations on a Gershwin Tune (or Two) 2: Christopher Rouse The Surma Ritornelli • Robert Palmer Carmina Amoris • Earl George Arioso Daniel S. Godfrey Scrimshaw, Festoons • Joseph Downing Partita VI • Malcolm Lewis 3 Etudes • Dana Wilson Dancing with the Devil 3: Melinda Wagner Sextet • Harris Lindenfeld from the Grotte des Combarelles • Christopher Hopkins Sonatas in Dark to Light • Ron Caltabiano Clarinet Quartet • Ann Silsbee Wakings • Howard Boatwright Adoration & Longing 4: David Liptak Rhapsodies • Roberto Sierra Cronicas del discubrimiento • Richard Wernick A Poison Tree • Samuel Pellman Crane Songs • Augusta Read Thomas Bells Ring Summer • Ping Jin 2 Etudes 5: James Willey Society Music • Nicholas V. D’Angelo Some Summer Sun • Syd Hodkinson Epitaph & Scherzo • Dexter Morrill Six Dark Questions • Liu Zhuang Wind Through Pines • Rob Smith Dance Mix