This wonderful program of three concertos and one concerto grosso, all beautifully performed and recorded, is nearly enough to restore the confidence of the most hardened pessimist in the future of classical music.
Many will respond to the joyousness of the writing and youthful enthusiasm of the performances on offer.
The playing of the Metropolis Ensemble led by Andrew Cyr is excellent: sensitive, supportive, very accurate and finely balanced, with a lot of spirit.
To celebrate our upcoming concert, Home Stretch, Metropolis Ensemble and composer Timothy Andres are delighted to offer the mp3 of his title work, having its New York premiere on May 20. You can download it here, absolutely free, for a limited time.
“Home Stretch” was recorded on December 16, 2008 in Sprague Hall at Yale University with Timothy Andres on piano and Julian Pellicano conducting the Yale Philharmonia.
(right-click to download the mp3s, ctrl-click on a mac)
Avner Dorman writes with an omnivorous eclecticism that makes his music on Concertos both accessible and impossible to pigeonhole.
We are pleased to share that composer Timothy Andres’ debut CD release Shy and Mighty will be released by Nonesuch Records on May 18, 2010. The album includes ten interrelated piano pieces performed by Timo and pianist David Kaplan. Alex Ross from The New Yorker says the recording “is the kind of sprawling, brazen work that a young composer should write” and achieves “an unhurried grandeur that has rarely been felt in American music since John Adams came on the scene… Nothing is harder for a young composer than to find an individual voice. Andres is on his way: more mighty than shy, he sounds like himself.”
Timo’s CD Release Concert is Monday, May 17 at Le Poisson Rouge (7:30pm). Since the release also coincides with our Home Stretch concert, you can purchase tickets to our May 20 concert at Monday’s event and receive a free copy of Shy and Mighty!
“This is really good stuff, a genuine discovery, beautifully played and excellently engineered. It will make you feel good about the future of contemporary Classical music.”
Call it a guilty pleasure, but it’s great fun and filled with a youthful joy of music making. Pianist Eliran Avni is sensational.
Bob Keyes of the Portland Press Herald profiled Metropolis Ensemble and Artistic Director / Conductor Andrew Cyr during preparations for the April 5 concert I found it by the sea. The article explores the origins of Metropolis and how Andrew’s dream from rural Northern Maine became a reality in New York City.
“With boldness and vision, Cyr’s Metropolis Ensemble is accomplishing what larger orchestras around the country can merely dream about: commissioning and performing new music for an eager and enthusiastic audience in non-traditional venues… Perhaps what distinguishes the Metropolis the most, though, is its commitment to new music. Cyr embraces the notion that the future of classical music rests in its young composers.”
“Zachary and I have been working together for about two months now, and I’m constantly surprised by his imagination and facility.”
When you arrive at the Home Stretch concert on May 20, you will be handed your chair and given the opportunity to sit anywhere in the Angel Orensanz Center you like! Why not try a different location after intermission?
Looking for a truly unique perspective? Buy one of our VIP tickets and take a seat on the stage, watch the concert from the balcony, or reserve a table for four with a complimentary bottle of wine. Become a member of Metropolis Ensemble and enjoy discounts on all VIP tickets!
Lawson Taitte of the Dallas Morning News reviewed the new Metropolis Ensemble album Avner Dorman’s Concertos: “…These pieces reveal a strong common profile with tragic ferocity lurking under the sparkling surfaces.” Read the article…
David Hurwitz of Classics Today reviewed Avner Dorman’s Concertos, and awarded the album a coveted 10/10 rating for artistic quality and sound quality.
“…Metropolis Ensemble under Andrew Cyr sounds absolutely terrific no matter what Dorman asks them to do. This is really good stuff, a genuine discovery, beautifully played and excellently engineered. It will make you feel good about the future of contemporary Classical music.”
Frank J. Oteri from the American Music Center’s NewMusicBox web magazine sat down with Metropolis composer David Bruce to discuss his work Gumboots, his new opera A Bird in Your Ear, and Groanbox, the featured work at the 2009 concert with Metropolis Ensemble and The Groanbox Boys. Listen to the podcast…
Tune into KUSC Los Angeles on Friday, February 19 (9pm PST / 12 midnight EST) to hear an exclusive interview with Metropolis composer Avner Dorman and our new album Concertos. KUSC’s Jim Sjevda will interview Avner on his popular program The Record Shelf.
You can listen online or locally at KUSC-FM 91.5.
This was a Valentine’s Day we won’t soon forget, raising over $6,000 for Partners In Health and their world-class care to the people of Haiti.
“All told, twenty-six works of various lengths were performed, most contemporary and eclectic.”
Avid music blogger Grego Applegate Edwards reviewed Avner Dorman’s Concertos: “Each of the concertos has the clarity and directness of a baroque concerto… there is a compactness of expression, a delicacy of delivery… and all the freshness of the first spring flower.” Read the article…
Amanda Ameer interviewed Artistic Directo and Conductor Andrew Cyr about the marketing and online experience of Metropolis Ensemble, as well as the future of new music ensembles. Read the article…
Metropolis was really an umbrella group that brought together instrumental soloists, chamber ensembles, singers and a few composers for a benefit performance for Partners in Health.