Mark Pinto

Mark Pinto Recommends: Game Music

Mark Pinto — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 23:08:12 +0000

Let me make one thing clear: I am not a gamer. I am, however, an admirer of the recordings of La Pieta, the Canadian all-female string orchestra, and their leader, violinist Angele Dubeau. In particular, I appreciate their impeccable musicianship and the good taste of the arrangements that are composed for the ensemble. In recent recordings, they've championed the music of notable contemporary composers Philip Glass, John Adams, and Arvo Part, all favorites of mine.

Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace

Mark Pinto — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 20:43:06 +0000

Landing at No. 1 of a 2008 top-10 list of works by living composers in the U.K. was The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace by Karl Jenkins. I was fortunate to be in the audience last fall as the Main Line’s Wayne Oratorio Society performed it in concert. I was transfixed.

Commissioned for the new millennium and premiered in 2000, The Armed Man uses the medieval French song “L’Homme Armé” (The Armed Man), the basis of innumerable 15th- and 16th-century Mass settings.

Mark Pinto Recommends...Vittorio Giannini World-Premiere Recordings

Mark Pinto — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:35:17 +0000

This world-premiere recording of two chamber masterpieces by Philadelphia native son Vittorio Giannini definitely rates a “Wow!” When I aired his compelling Piano Quintet on New Releases a couple of months back, I found myself continually turning up the volume in the studio as each ear-catching phrase poured forth.

Mark Pinto Recommeds...VERDI: COMPLETE BALLET MUSIC FROM THE OPERAS

Mark Pinto — Thu, 31 May 2012 16:32:00 +0000

Think you know your Verdi operas? With this month’s selection, featuring the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra with Jose Serebrier on the podium, you might be surprised at how much music Giuseppe Verdi wrote for his operas that is rarely heard in public today.

Mark Pinto Recommends...The Allentown Band: Pennsylvania Pioneers

Mark Pinto — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 13:52:54 +0000

If you enjoy wind band music of the toe-tapping and head-bobbing variety, or appreciate Pennsylvania musical history, you're sure to be delighted and captivated by the Allentown Band's latest release. Pennsylvania Pioneers celebrates 18 composers from across the Commonwealth, from the mid-19th through the mid-20th centuries.

Mark Pinto Recommends...

Mark Pinto — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:17:00 +0000

Howard Hanson: Symphony No.2, "Romantic," Lux Aeterna, Mosaics

Seattle Symphony with conductor Gerard Schwarz

Naxos has re-released the late '80s/early '90s recordings by Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony of the symphonies of American composer Howard Hanson (1896-1981). Esteemed during his lifetime as a composer, conductor, and educator, his music has been surprisingly under-recorded. Thus, these reissued CDs containing all seven symphonies and other choice orchestral and choral works are most welcome. The recording I've selected offers a new generation of admirers an excellent introduction to the music of this true American treasure.

Mark Pinto Recommends...

Mark Pinto — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:57:00 +0000

Michael Torke: Tahiti

Who says classical music has to be profound to be enjoyable? If you listen to classical music to "chill out," this disc is for you - with the composer's stamp of approval. Michael Torke says that he "always wanted to write a composition that would inspire a woman - coming home from a long day of work - to draw a bath, light candles, and listen to it on her pink iPod." And he has, times two, with "Tahiti," the title composition, and "Fiji" - fun pieces with a depth that listeners can explore.

Mark Pinto Recommends...

Mark Pinto — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 16:26:00 +0000

Michael Daugherty: Route 66

Marin Alsop conducts the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

This month we're off on a musical road trip out West with composer Michael Daugherty. Daugherty, born in 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, draws much of his inspiration from the icons of American popular culture. With works inspired by Superman, Jackie Onassis, Liberace, Elvis Presley, Niagara Falls, Mount Rushmore, and even our own fair city, nothing is seemingly off-limits to his vivid imagination. He composes in a postmodern style that alternates between abstraction and realism, referencing elements of the jazz and pop music he grew up playing, with a strong sense of musical structure.

Mark Pinto Recommends...

Mark Pinto — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:36:00 +0000

Rued Langgaard: Music of the Spheres

You don't need to listen long into Langgaard's Music of the Spheres to know you're experiencing something remarkable - a sound world decades ahead of its time (1918). This is visionary music by a Scandinavian composer who forged his own way despite the criticism of, and rejection by, the musical establishment in his own country.

Mark Pinto Recommends...

Mark Pinto — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:50:00 +0000

The Complete Choros

and Bachianas Brasileiras

Heitor Villa-Lobos

Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra and soloists

One of my favorite composers is the underrated Brazilian, Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959). This multi-disc set of instrumental music offers masterful performances of his two great nationalistic series, the Choros and the Bachianas Brasileiras. The Brazilian musicians playing here feel the music deeply, and speak it fluently. A final disc is devoted to his complete works for solo guitar - exquisitely performed.