There's some great stuff coming in this series, which is going to be released on 50 CDs over the next two years and then be reconfigured into a libraries and universities-only, 80-CD box set with archival material in 2005-06. On the more avant-garde front, it's going to include music by Robert Starer, Ralph Shapey and Philip Glass. And yes, Zorn is represented, by "Kol Nidre" at the very least. Of the discs listed below, which is the initial release due out next Tuesday, the klezmer concertos are a big mess of fun; the Golijov in particular, while not on the level of his 'Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind,' is a really odd, electronics-tweaked miniature. And if you've got a taste for the mainstream classical music tradition, the Weill is pretty facinating: a disc of excerpts from a rare opera on the history of the Jewish people, it includes sections that suggest the influence of Bach, Puccini, Richard Strauss, Shostakovich... and once in a while, even Weill (one movement in particular trips around like the Threepenny Opera overture). I'm usually a Naxos booster, but these are particularly special: The Milken Foundation sunk 13 years and $17 million dollars into this project, and it shows in the lavish notes and the more-famous-than-usual performers. Not all of the music is great, but it's worth preserving. Approximately 600 pieces were recorded in total, only 100 of which had ever been recorded before, and nearly twice that many requiring massive reconstruction. Nicest thing of all is that these things retail for $6 or $7 dollars apiece, depending on where you shop. At that price, it's easy to risk experimentation. Steve Smith ssmith36@sprynet.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lang Thompson" <wlt4@mindspring.com> To: <zorn-list@lists.xmission.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 11:31 PM Subject: Naxos & Milken's American Jewish Music series This appears to be a new series from Naxos. More info at http://www.milkenarchive.org/articles/articles.taf?function=detail&ID=16 The Milken Archive of American Jewish Music Klezmer Concertos and Encores SCHOENFIELD . STARER . GOLIJOV . WEINBERG David Krakauer, clarinet / Scott Goff, flute / Alberto Mizrahi, tenor / Barcelona Symphony / Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Seattle Symphony / Gerard Schwarz, conductor 8.559403 The Milken Archive of American Jewish Music Introducing the World of American Jewish Music BRUBECK . BERNSTEIN . MILHAUD and others Various artists 8.559406 The Milken Archive of American Jewish Music Mario CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO: Naomi and Ruth, Op. 27 . Sacred Service for the Sabbath Eve, Op. 122 and others Ana Maria Martinez, soprano / Academy and Chorus of St. Martin-in-the-Fields / Sir Neville Marriner, conductor / Ted Christopher, baritone / The London Chorus / Ronald Corp, conductor 8.559404 The Milken Archive of American Jewish Music Abraham ELLSTEIN: Great Songs of the Yiddish Stage, Vol. 1 Robert Abelson, baritone / Bruce Adler, tenor / Robert Bloch, tenor / Joanne Borts, mezzo-soprano / Amy Goldstein, soprano / Benzion Miller, tenor / Elizabeth Shammash, mezzo-soprano / Nell Snaidas, soprano / Simon Spiro, tenor / Vienna Chamber Orchestra / Elli Jaffe, conductor 8.559405 The Milken Archive of American Jewish Music Kurt WEILL: The Eternal Road (Highlights) Ted Christopher, baritone / Ian Denolfo, tenor / Karl Dent, tenor / Constance Hauman, soprano / James Maddalena, baritone / Barbara Rearick, mezzo-soprano / Vale Rideout, tenor / Hanna Volschlager, mezzo-soprano / Ernst Senff Chor / Rundfunk Kinderchor Berlin / Gerard Schwarz, conductor _______________________________________________ zorn-list mailing list zorn-list@mailman.xmission.com To UNSUBSCRIBE or Change Your Subscription Options, go to the webpage below http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/zorn-list