Composer: Steven Roy Gerber
Performer: Emily Davis
Orchestra: English Symphony Orchestra, English String Orchestra
Conductor: Kenneth Woods
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Nimbus
Catalogue: NI6423
Release: 2021
Size: 337 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Sinfonietta No. 1
01. I. Poco allegro (arr. Daron Hagen)
02. II. Moderato (arr. Daron Hagen)
03. III. Presto (arr. Daron Hagen)
04. IV. Mesto – Coda (arr. Daron Hagen)
String Sinfonia No. 1
05. I. Moderato (arr. Adrian Williams)
06. II. Lento (arr. Adrian Williams)
07. III. Maestoso, Con moto (arr. Adrian Williams)
08. IV. Postlude (arr. Adrian Williams)
Lyric Pieces for Violin and Strings
09. I. Introduction and Berceuse
10. II. Passacaglia
String Sinfonia No. 2
11. I. Allegro maestoso (arr. Adrian Williams)
12. II. Intermezzo (arr. Adrian Williams)
13. III. Theme and variations (arr. Adrian Williams)
Sinfonietta No. 2
14. I. Fantasy (arr. Adrian Williams)
15. II. Variations (arr. Adrian Williams)
Most of the music on this recording consists of arrangements of chamber music pieces by Steven Gerber (1948-2015), commissioned by the Gerber Trust to help make performances of his music more accessible for chamber orchestras, smaller symphony orchestras and string orchestras. Taken together with Gerber’s beautiful Two Lyric Pieces for Violin and Strings, they provide a fascinating overview of Gerber’s development as a composer over most of the last 20 years of his working life.
Steven R. Gerber was born in 1948 in Washington, D.C. and made his home in New York City, where he died on May 28, 2015, aged 66. He received degrees from Haverford College and from Princeton University, where he received a 4-year fellowship. His composition teachers included Robert Parris, J. K. Randall, Earl Kim, and Milton Babbitt.