Adler: Chamber Orchestral Works New York Classical Players & Dongmin Kim

• Samuel Adler (b. 1928): Arcos Concerto:
• 1 Adler: Arcos Concerto: I. Slowly and Very Lyrically 03:20
• 2 Adler: Arcos Concerto: II. Fast and Fluid 03:48
• 3 Adler: Arcos Concerto: III. Slow and Quiet 04:17
• 4 Adler: Arcos Concerto: IV. Fast and Vigorous 04:43
• Elegy for String Orchestra:
• 5 Adler: Elegy for String Orchestra 07:22
• Beyond the Pale:
• 6 Adler: Beyond the Pale 10:39
• Come Let’s Dance:
• 7 Adler: Come Let’s Dance 03:16
• Gedenkfeier:
• 8 Adler: Gedenkfeier 06:23
• In the Spirit of Bach:
• 9 Adler: In the Spirit of Bach 03:55
• Charles Ives (1874 - 1954):
• 10 Ives: Variations on "America" (Arr. S. Adler for String Orchestra) 08:16
• Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934):
• 11 Holst: The Planets, Op. 32, H. 125: IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity (Arr. S. Adler for String Orchestra) 08:21
• Total Runtime 01:04:20

Info for Adler: Chamber Orchestral Works

The music of Samuel Adler – born in Mannheim in 1928 but long since one of the leading figures of American music – has its roots in the Neo-Classical clarity of composers like Copland and Hindemith, who were among his teachers. The works on this album arose from a range of impulses: a Neo-Baroque concerto grosso and a tribute to Bach encase a series of tributes to lost individuals and traditions; and two jeux d’esprit – Ives’ tongue-in-cheek Variations on America and Holst’s ‘Jupiter’ from The Planets – both bring jollity in Adler’s idiomatic arrangements for string orchestra.

Sooyun Kim, flute (Tracks 1–4)
Michelle Farah, oboe (Tracks 1–4)
Yoonah Kim, clarinet (Tracks 1–4)
Taylor Smith, bassoon (Tracks 1–4)
Charles Neidich, clarinet (Track 6)
New York Classical Players
Dongmin Kim, conductor

New York Classical Players
Inspiring performances, luminous sound, and exceptional musicianship are the hallmarks of the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet. Renowned for its dynamic interpretations and polished, expansive colors, the group has rapidly distinguished itself as one of the preeminent ensembles of its generation, dedicated purely to the sound and depth of their music. The Quartet has appeared at the world’s most important venues since its founding in 2002.

Following a 2019 summer season that had the ensemble crossing North America for appearances at music festivals from Banff to Bard, the Parker Quartet began its sixth year as faculty members of Harvard University’s Department of Music in the group’s role as Blodgett Artists-in-Residence. Recent seasons included performances and residencies around the United States and Europe, including at the University of Iowa, the University of Chicago, the Wigmore Hall, the University of South Carolina, the Schubert Club, Skidmore College, and Kansas City’s Friends of Chamber Music.

The Quartet has been influential in projects ranging from the premiere of a new octet by Zosha di Castri alongside the JACK Quartet at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity; to the premiere of Augusta Read Thomas’s Helix Spirals, a piece inspired by the Meselson-Stahl DNA replication discovery; to the “Schubert Effect,” in collaboration with pianist Shai Wosner at the 92nd Street Y. Other recent highlights include appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress, the Slee Series in Buffalo, and New York’s Lincoln Center Great Performers series. The Quartet also continues to be a strong supporter of their friend and frequent collaborator Kim Kashkashian’s project Music for Food by participating in concerts throughout the United States for the benefit of various food banks and shelters.

The Quartet has been particularly focused on recording projects this past year. For ECM Records, they recorded Dvořák's Viola Quintet, joined by Kim Kashkashian, as well as Kurtag's Six Moments Musicaux and Officium breve in memoriam. Under the auspices of the Monte Carlo Festival Printemps des Arts, they recorded a disc of three Beethoven quartets, due to be released this fall. The Quartet’s recording featuring Mendelssohn’s Quartets Op. 44, Nos. 1 and 3, was widely lauded by the international press, and their debut commercial recording of Bartók’s String Quartets Nos. 2 and 5 for Zig-Zag Territoires won praise from Gramophone: “The Parkers’ Bartók spins the illusion of spontaneous improvisation… they have absorbed the language; they have the confidence to play freely with the music and the instinct to bring it off.” Their Naxos recording of György Ligeti’s complete works for string quartet won the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance (the last string quartet to win this category).

Recent collaborations include those with acclaimed artists like violist Kim Kashkashian, featured on their recent Dvořák recording; violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg; pianists Anne-Marie McDermott, Orion Weiss, Vijay Iyer, and Shai Wosner; members of the Silk Road Ensemble; Kikuei Ikeda of the Tokyo String Quartet; clarinetist and composer Jörg Widmann; and clarinetists Anthony McGill and Charles Neidich.

Founded and currently based in Boston, the Parker Quartet’s numerous honors include winning the Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Grand Prix and Mozart Prize at France’s Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, and Chamber Music America’s prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award. Now Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University’s Department of Music, and also in-residence at the UofSC School of Music, the Quartet’s numerous residencies have included serving as Artists-in-Residence at the University of St. Thomas (2012–2014), Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Minnesota (2011– 2012), Quartet-in-Residence with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (2008-2010), and as the first-ever Artists-in-Residence with Minnesota Public Radio (2009-2010).

The Parker Quartet’s members hold graduate degrees in performance and chamber music from the New England Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School, and the Quartet was part of the New England Conservatory’s prestigious Professional String Quartet Training Program from 2006–2008. Some of their most influential mentors include the original members of the Cleveland Quartet as well as Kim Kashkashian, György Kurtág, and Rainer Schmidt.

Dongmin Kim
is quickly establishing himself as one the most inspiring and versatile conductors of today. He is the Music Director of the celebrated and innovated New York Classical Players(NYCP), a chamber orchestra comprised of today's most gifted instrumentalists. His recent and upcoming engagements in the world's prestigious stages include Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Herbst Theatre, Faulkner Performing Arts Center, Seoul Arts Center, the Lotte Concert Hall, to name a few.

Since founding NYCP in 2010, Mr. Kim has led over 150 concerts in the NYC metro area, three international tours from Asia to South America, a statewide residency with seven state universities in Arkansas, and a US national tour with superstar soprano Sumi Jo. Mr. Kim collaborates with some of the world’s renowned artists, including Miriam Fried, Donald Weilerstein, Kim Kashkashian, Cho-Liang Lin, Pamela Frank, Charles Neidich, Peter Wiley, Carol Wincenc, HaeSun Paik, Chee-Yun, Jasmine Choi, and Richard O’Neill.

Mr. Kim’s career highlights include a guest appearance with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center and sold-out performances of The Magic Flute with the Seoul Arts Center Festival Orchestra. He also had been on the podium with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Virginia Symphony, and Winnipeg Symphony, among others.

He was awarded the distinguished Herbert von Karajan Fellowship by the members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, which resulted in a residency at the distinguished Salzburg Music Festival. Mr. Kim was a conducting staff at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra as the Schmidt Conducting Fellow. He worked with Andrew Litton, Raymond Leppard, Mario Venzago, Christoph Poppen, Lynn Harrell, André Watts, Garrick Ohlsson, and Lang Lang.

As a keen advocate of contemporary music, Mr. Kim has premiered over 50 compositions and led various contemporary ensembles. He has performed leading composers such as George Crumb, Harrison Birtwistle, Jennifer Higdon, David Dzubay, Dobrinka Tabakova, Vivian Fung, Eric Nathan, and Texu Kim.

A noted violinist, Mr. Kim has served in principal viola positions, including the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra under the baton of Michael Tilson-Thomas. As a recitalist and chamber musician, Mr. Kim has performed throughout the United States, South America, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

A native of Seoul, Mr. Kim has dual studies in Orchestral Conducting and Viola at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. His conducting mentors include Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Christoph Eschenbach, Leonard Slatkin, Sergiu Comissiona, Imre Pallo, Gustav Meier, and David Effron.

Mr. Kim resides in New York City with his wife, Sally, and lovely dog Moi.

Booklet for Adler: Chamber Orchestral Works