Reviews
MusicWeb International reviews Cello Libris: new CD on BIS
This generously filled new issue - its title translates as ‘Cello Book’- contains a trio of substantial works for the instrument; a sonata with piano inspired by Shakespeare’s Tempest, a setting of Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale for choir with cello, and most impressive of all a full-scale cello concerto. One of the attractive features common to all three pieces is the elegance and symmetry of Gordon’s formal designs; the composer writes superbly for the orchestra while its delicately varied expressive content packs a lingering emotional punch. Gordon’s cello concerto impresses more with each hearing. It is fierce and uncompromising and superbly played by Møldrup and the Copenhagen Phil under Lan Shui.
The disc concludes with Gordon’s setting of John Keats’ immortal Ode to A Nightingale. The vocal writing seems incredibly challenging; the Danish choir copes splendidly both with the chromaticism of Gordon’s piquant harmonies and in terms of their projection of Keats’ singular language - there are flashes of vocal writing which recall Britten at his best.
It is high time listeners were presented with an extended opportunity to become acquainted with Geoffrey Gordon’s music and not for the first time we can be grateful to BIS for making this happen.
Richard HanlonMusicWeb International
Fanfare reviews Jeux de Création on new Naxos CD....
A superb new Naxos release, Jeux de création, spotlights Anne-Sophie Bertrand, the French-born solo harpist of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Bertrand commissioned Jeux de création from composer Geoffrey Gordon. The work’s title (also the title of the Naxos CD) refers to Gordon’s incorporation of thematic material from Debussy’s Jeux and Milhaud’s La création du monde. Gordon’s Jeux de création ... conjures an inviting, dreamlike soundscape, one that complements in a most beguiling fashion the numerous Impressionist works on this recital.
Ken MeltzerFanfare
Allgemeine Zeitung reviews Geoffrey Gordon's Nes quón porroit for solo cello
"The text of a ballad by Guillaume de Machaut inspired the American Geoffrey Gordon to write a work that alternates between deep lamentation and rioting: 'Nes quón porroit' refers to a separation during the plague in the 14th century."
Allgemeine Zeitung
Bachtrack reviews the Canadian premiere of PUCK - fleeing from the dawn
"An impressive work, expertly orchestrated and with apocalyptic accents, the creation of American composer Geoffrey Gordon, PUCK – fleeing from the dawn (inspired by the world of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream ) is executed with power and attention to detail."
Emmanuele BernierBachtrack
Minnesota Orchestra gives 'Prometheus' concerto a fiery premiere
What does a bass clarinet look and sound like? Even classical aficionados can be hard-pressed to answer that question. Hardly any concertos have been written for the instrument, buried deep in the underbelly of the orchestra.
One exception is "Prometheus" by American composer Geoffrey Gordon. First heard earlier this year in London, the work received its U.S. premiere Thursday morning at Orchestra Hall.
Soloist Tim Zavadil's ripely rounded bass clarinet tone bestowed an element of dignity on the suffering Prometheus, tracking his gradual obliteration from public memory through a twisting solo cadenza to the unsettling memory-wipe of the piece's fade-to-black conclusion.
Terry BlainStar Tribune
English String Orchestra records Saint Blue
Geoffrey Gordon’s Saint Blue, inspired by two Kandinsky paintings ('All Saints 1' and 'In Blue', well worth a web search), is by far the best work on this engaging disc; a taut and exhilarating single movement concerto, wonderfully played by soloists Simon Desbruslais and Clare Hammond.
Chris AchenbachClassical Ear (UK)
BBC Music Magazine reviews Saint Blue
"Geoffrey Gordon's Saint Blue is inspired by two Kandinsky paintings, All Saints I and In Blue and constructed as 'a sonic exploration of the sacred and profane,' with the trumpet deployed first as an instrument of heavenly summons, then as the bluesy soul of jazz in this complex, richly-satisfying work."
Kate WakelingBBC Music Magazine
JACK Quartet and Anthony McGill premiere Gordon QUINTET
".....the darkly seductive Clarinet Quintet by Geoffrey Gordon received its world premiere with the wonderful clarinetist Anthony McGill joining the JACK players.
Mr. Gordon’s Clarinet Quintet combines a similar zest for sonic experimentation with a four-movement structure built around thematic signposts — reiterations of an opening motif — that guide the listener through a colorful and atmospheric journey. That motif is built on accordion-like layered string chords from which the clarinet emerges almost coyly, with a veiled sound and sinewy flutter.
Across four movements, the interaction between clarinet and strings changes, with moments of bright commonality and others in which the warm, musky clarinet tone contrasts with the sharper and glossier one of the string quartet. In the third movement, small cells of players break away for a series of arresting duos and a trio that chart different interpersonal dynamics. The work ends softly on a languid low clarinet trill, which Mr. McGill played so quietly that the final notes were not so much heard as felt as gently pulsating airwaves."
Corinna Da Fonseca-WollheimThe New York Times
New York Times reviews Fathoms at Carnegie Hall
The engaging and colorful “Fathoms” links to the past with unabashedly programmatic, extroverted storytelling.
Corinna da Fonseca-WollheimThe New York Times
Morgenavisen Jyllandsposten reviews world premiere of Gordon's Cello Concerto
"The Copenhagen Philharmonic gave the audience goose bumps at the world premiere of Geoffrey Gordon's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, inspired by Thomas Mann's novel Doktor Faustus.