| Notes From Alan Pierson, conductor of Alarm Will Sound: The Van Gogh opera is amongst my favorite Michael Gordon works: it's hard-hitting, edgy, but includes music of impassioned lyricism. On first hearing it, I was immediately moved by the story Michael tells of Van Gogh's life - his adolescent anxieties, professional challenges, and the sort of transcendence that comes with his eventual institutionalization. Michael brings a directness and intimacy to the Van Gogh story by sharing it entirely through the artist's own private letters, and this emotional directness makes for some of his most powerful music. |
ARTISTS
Alan Pierson, conductor
Sarah Chalfy, soprano
Matthew Hensrud, tenor
Clay Greenberg, bass
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet, bass clarinet
Payton MacDonald, percussion
Dennis DeSantis, percussion
Courtney Orlando, piano
Ryan Ferreira, electric guitar
Caleb Burhans, violin
John Pickford Richards, viola
Stefan Freund, violoncello
Miles Brown, double bass |