Wind quintet The City of Tomorrow releases Blow (New Focus Recordings) on June 25, 2021
Album features the world premiere recording of Hannah Lash's "Leander and Hero" inspired by climate change, and works by Franco Donatoni & Esa-Pekka Salonen
Album release party: Join The City of Tomorrow and special guests online to celebrate the release of Blow on June 25, 8:30 pm EDT
On June 25, 2021, The City of Tomorrow releases Blow on New Focus Recordings (FCR294). The album features music by Esa-Pekka Salonen and Franco Donatoni, and the world premiere recording of a work Hannah Lash wrote for the quintet, supported by a Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant.
For Leander and Hero, Lash took inspiration from the ancient myth of a man who swims across a body of water every day to see his lover, only to be swept up by a storm and die. In this composition, she uses this story as a metaphor for climate change, turning the lovers into two birds as the protagonists who play alone or as a duo, with the rest of the ensemble acting as a type of Greek chorus. A movement from this work, "Interlude: away from the rocks" is available to stream online as a preview track.
"The title work, Blow, by Franco Donatoni was a huge part of the genesis of the ensemble", wrote the members of The City of Tomorrow in an interview. "We formed in 2010, in part to have a group cohesive enough (and crazy enough!) to play it." The piece is typical of the late Italian composer's style; music that develops and transitions in unpredictable, irregular ways. Instruments clash with each other as soloists take on various roles, confronting the group as well as their instruments.
Memoria by Esa-Pekka Salonen was written for the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, which he helped found, and similarly experiments with the idea of soloists vs. ensemble. Alto flute and horn are soloists as the ensemble builds into a single unit, culminating in a chorale that finishes the piece.
Join The City of Tomorrow and special guests online for a Virtual Album Release Party on June 25, 8:30 pm EDT.
The Album Release Party includes tracks from the album and conversations with the composer Hannah Lash, and album producers Stuart Breczinski and Jeff Means. The composer George Lewis joins in for a discussion about The City of Tomorrow's upcoming collaboration on a new work for wind quintet and electronics.
The event is free, registration (at this link) is required.
Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.