James DePreist - Bravura - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Under the title InchNachtschattengewächseInch, the Duo Neubauer with Stefan Neubauer, clarinet, and Severin Neubauer, saxophone presents both well-known and new works, which reflects all that is abysmal and inscrutable of the night in art, especially in music. InchLife starts when fear endsInch, is what Severin Neubauer wrote beneath the score of Rush, in which he depicts various states of anxiety. Life will be wonderful again once the fears dissipate. Yet, on closer inspection, neither such ostensibly gloomy titles as InchRepastInch (Yuki Morimoto), InchElegieInch (Gregory Wanamaker), InchShadowInch (Dora Cojocaru), and InchMoonInch (Gerald Resch), nor the aforementioned fears turn out anything near as dark as one might think. Instead, they are transformed into a beacon of light for all things new, which come in the shapes of a bouquet, the Blumenstrauß (InchHanatabaInch), a reunion (Réunion 2), and an upbeat dance tune (Francis Poulenc). Night leads to day. That's life! In that spirit, let's celebrate life - and while we're at it, let's celebrate the night, too! (Stefan Neubauer)

James DePreist - American Contrast [COMPACT DISCS] date 05/27/2003

Mahler's Fifth Symphony, a work of huge emotional and structural range, was his first purely orchestral work since the First Symphony of 1888, and his first orchestral work to dispense with both the human voice and overtly programmatic elements.