Gandolfi, Prior & Oliverio: Orchestral Works

Featuring works by three composers who have a special relationship with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, ASO Media's latest release is a celebration of both the Orchestras 75th anniversary and the two-decade tenure of its fourth music director, Robert Spano. The album captures the collaborative nature of Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, who established the Atlanta School to champion the next generation of American composers. The recording is comprised of studio recordings of Michael Gandolfi's quadruple concerto Imaginary Numbers, Richard Prior's lyrical tone poem of ...shadow and light... and James Oliverio's DYNASTY: Double Timpani Concerto, which was commissioned by and written for ASO principal timpanist Mark Yancich and his brother Paul Yancich, principal timpanist of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Michael Kurth: Everything Lasts Forever

Featuring Robert Spano, conductor, Kelley O'Connor, mezzo-soprano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus

Four of composer and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Double-Bassist Michael Kurth's original works make up this ASO Media release. The album features four works premiered by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra between 2010 and 2018, including Everything Lasts Forever, a phrase Kurth saw on a faded and peeling sign above Atlanta's Krog Street Tunnel. The irony and truth of this statement spoke to Kurth as both a composer and performer. A Thousand Words transports the listener to meaningful destinations on some of Kurth's many adventures. From a sunrise on Tybee Island to the basalt cliffs in Reynisfjara, Iceland, the music conveys the moment in the absence of images or words. May Cause Dizziness marked Kurth's first composition for large orchestra and was commissioned in celebration of Maestro Spano's 10th season as Music Director. The incomparable mezzo-soprano Kelly O'Connor joins the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus for Miserere, a story of betrayal that is written in a style that Kurth describes as "modern-primitive-sacred-spooky." Kurth, a member of the ASO for nearly 25 years, was named Best New Composer in 2017 by Atlanta Magazine. Kurthmusic.com

Robert Spano: Hölderlin-Lieder

Composed for and performed by soprano Jessica Rivera & Sonata: Four Elements performed by Robert Spano

This album, rooted in the philosophical and divine nature of creativity, consists of the Hölderlin-Lieder song cycle (2013), based on the poetry of 18th-century German poet Friedrich Hölderlin. Mr. Spano wrote the cycle for longtime colleague and collaborator, soprano Jessica Rivera, who performs the cycle on this recording.

Jonathan Leshnoff: Zohar & Symphony No. 2 "Innerspace"

By Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Robert Spano

For Jonathan Leshnoff, the unique essence of music resides in its ability to transcend our physical limitations, and transport us to places that would otherwise be impossible to go. ASO Media recordings are distributed by Naxos.

Beethoven Symphony No. 9

As part of the celebration of Robert Shaw's centenary, the Atlanta Symphony is issuing for public sale a live recording of the Beethoven Symphony No. 9, recorded in a single concert with Mr. Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus just prior to their triumphant 1988 tour to Europe. This particular concert also marked Mr. Shaw's final appearance in Atlanta as Music Director of the orchestra.

Christopher Theofanidis: Creation/Creator World Premiere

Christopher Theofanidis' original composition for soloists, chorus, and orchestra – Creation/Creator – is an ambitious undertaking. Interweaving texts and ideas from philosophy, science, religion, poetry, and literature, his Creation/Creator gives, as Theofanidis describes, a "profoundly deeper understanding of the relationship between these two subjects and to remove a limiting sense of a passive relationship between 'God' and humanity." ASO Media recordings are distributed by Naxos.

Sibelius Symphonies Nos. 6 and 7, and Tapiola

Distributed by Naxos of America, the all-Sibelius release features Music Director Robert Spano leading the Orchestra in Symphonies Nos. 6 and 7, and Tapiola. The production team includes long-time Atlanta Symphony Orchestra collaborators Elaine Martone and Michael Bishop.

Higdon: On a Wire; Gandolfi: Q.E.D.: Engaging Richard Feynman

Music Director Robert Spano leads the Orchestra in Atlanta School of Composers member, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Jennifer Higdon's new concerto, On A Wire, featuring the chamber ensemble eighth blackbird. Also features Atlanta School of Composers member Michael Gandolfi's new choral work, QED: Engaging Richard Feynman, with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus.

Theofanidis: Symphony No. 1 & Lieberson: Neruda Songs

Music Director Robert Spano leads the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Atlanta School of Composers member Christopher Theofanidis' Symphony No. 1 and Peter Lieberson's Neruda Songs with mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor. This recording is the second release on the Orchestra's record label, ASO Media.

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 - Symphonic Dances

This recording presented by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is the result of a long-standing friendship between acclaimed pianist Garrick Ohlsson and the Symphony. Mr. Ohlsson was the first soloist Spano ever worked with when he made his professional debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the two have shared many happy collaborations since.

Vaughan Williams: Dona nobis pacem, Symphony No. 4 & The Lark Ascending

World War I had not only a profound and deep impact on the world but on Ralph Vaughan Williams as well. Robert Spano and the Grammy Award-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Chorus, and production team delve into three pieces that reflect the composer's view on the war and the time itself. This recording brings an often poignant, sometimes eerie, quality to three of his most notable works. ASO Media recordings are distributed by Naxos.