Corigliano: Circus Maximus (Third Symphony) & Gazebo dances [Blu-ray]

Academy Award and Pulitzer Prize winning composer John Corigliano's Third Symphony is performed by the University of Texas Wind Ensemble.

For the past three decades I have started the compositional process by building a shape, or architecture, before coming up with any musical material. In this case, the shape was influenced by a desire to write a piece in which the entire work is conceived spatially. But I started simply wondering what dramatic premise would justify the encirclement of the audience by musicians, so that they were in the center of an arena. This started my imagination going, and quite suddenly a title appeared in my mind: Circus Maximus.
The Latin words, understandable in English, convey an energy and power by themselves.
But the Circus Maximus of ancient Rome was a real place - the largest arena in the world. 300,000 spectators were entertained by chariot races, hunts, and battles. The Roman need for grander and wilder amusement grew as its empire declined.
The parallels between the high decadence of Rome and our present time are obvious. Entertainment dominates our reality, and ever-more-extreme 'reality' shows dominate our entertainment. Many of us have become as bemused by the violence and humiliation that flood the 500-plus channels of our television screens as the mobs of imperial Rome, who considered the devouring of human beings by starving lions just another Sunday show.
The shape of my Circus Maximus was built both to embody and to comment on this massive and glamorous barbarity.
Circus Maximus was built to be a 35-minute surround sound piece. I had always wanted to write a piece in which the audience was in the center of the activity, unlike the traditional setup in which an audience watches and hears an orchestra play through a proscenium in one direction only. Circus Maximus was the result of this desire - a work with players scattered all around the hall, providing a dizzying live audio experience. Naturally, the only way to capture this in a sound recording is by recording and playing the work in surround sound. Blu ray finally offers the means to make this possible - and listeners at home can now experience a work in which they are truly surrounded by music. -----John Corigliano----

Треклист:
Circus Maximus: Symphony No. 3 for large wind ensemble (2004)
Introitus
Screen/Siren
Channel surfing
Night Music I
Night Music II
Circus Maximus
Prayer
Coda: Veritas

Gazebo Dances for band (1972)
Overture
Waltz
Adagio