America [LP Set]

by Daniel Hope, Zuercher Kammerorchester

Overview

Violinist Daniel Hope perhaps overestimates the degree to which American music is terra incognita for his European listenership; West Side Story has had many London productions, and for a long time, Gershwin was more common on European concert music programs than he was stateside. "We know a piece is from America the moment we hear it," Hope says, "But what makes music sound American?" One may not get an answer to this here, despite Hope's being pictured in front of a 1960s Ford Fairlane, but he does offer an attractive range of vernacular-tinged American pieces, arranged for violin and orchestra by Paul Bateman with a variety of accompaniments. (The West Side Story Suite here is not the same as the one performed by Joshua Bell some years ago.) The jazzy Gershwin Song Suite doesn't work so well; the violin isn't integrated with what's happening in the jazz trio, and a similar problem appears in A Change Is Gonna Come, despite a fine vocal by Joy Denalane. However, the rest of the program is very strong. Hope moves into music where the violin fits logically, including longer sets of tunes by Bernstein and Weill, a piece of Ellington's Black, Brown & Beige (the program might have benefited from a few more of these), and more "classical" selections by Copland. The final America the Beautiful is pure Hope, schmaltzily appealing. Hope's Zuercher Kammerorchester by now has very supple responses to what he is doing. This is a release that will please Hope's growing cadre of fans. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	05/13/2022
Label:	Deutsche Grammophon
UPC:	0028948621538
Rank:	129587

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Daniel Hope   Primary Artist,Violin,Conductor
Zuercher Kammerorchester   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Joy Denalane   Primary Artist,Vocals
Marcus Roberts Trio   Primary Artist,Ensemble
Joscho Stephan   Primary Artist,Guitar
Alexander Ponet   Primary Artist,Percussion
Sylvia Thereza   Primary Artist,Piano

Technical Credits

Daniel Hope   Liner Notes,Executive Producer
Duke Ellington   Composer
George Gershwin   Composer,Original Material
Sam Cooke   Composer
Leonard Bernstein   Composer,Original Material
Samuel A. Ward   Composer
Paul Bateman   Arranger,Composer,Original Material
Marcus Roberts   Mixing,Editing,Arranger,Producer,Liner Notes,Recording Producer
Kurt Weill   Composer,Original Material
Aaron Copland   Composer
Frank Stewart   Photography
John Weston   Engineer
Chuck Stewart   Photography
Lynn Moore   Management
Christoph Classen   Editing,Producer,Recording Producer
Florence Price   Composer
Rene Moeller   Mixing,Engineer
Angelika Meissner   Executive Producer
Guarneri del Gesu   Instrument Design
Fred Munzmaier   Design
Siegfried Lauterwasser   Photography
Eva Reisinger   Booklet Editor
Felix Schoen   Liner Note Translation
Daniel Engstfeld   Executive Producer
Leonie Petersen   Product Manager
Nicole Albring   Creative Producer
Christina Khosrowi   Project Coordinator
Revna Karacabeyli   Coordinating Producer
G. Nelidoff   Photography
Derek Lane   Mixing
Erik Almas   Cover Photo,Photography