{"product_id":"810038860725","title":"The National Symphony Orchestra - George Walker: Five Sinfonias - Import SACD Hybrid","description":"\u003cp\u003eCredits:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe National Symphony Orchestra\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDescription:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFive Sinfonias in Commemoration of George Walker's 100th BirthdayNoseda's song-filled conductingNSO's delicate-sounding strings and brilliant wind section are brilliantFrom January 2022, the NSO and Noseda have featured in concert all five Sinfonias by black composer George Walker, who is celebrating his 100th birthday, recorded them. The music has been digitally distributed piece by piece, but this disc is the first to appear all together in physical form. George Walker, a leading American composer and the first musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1996, was born in 1922 to a Jamaican immigrant father, a physician, and a mother who recognized Walker's talent early on by working in the U.S. government printing office. After studying piano at Oberlin, Walker studied piano and composition at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he became its first black graduate in 1945; between 1984 and 2016, he composed five Sinfonias, the first five in his lifetime. No. 1 is a two-movement work with a gentle, lyrical section and an energetic contrast. No. 2 is a gorgeous work that also features a guitar. No. 3, in three movements (rapid-modal-rapid-rapid), is a work from Walker's most productive period, with very clear and sharp harmony. No. 4, co-commissioned by the NSO and several other orchestras, including Cincinnati, to commemorate Walker's 90th birthday, breaks down and merges the rhythms of each while quoting hymns, and ends with a lot of energy. No. 5 was written in shock at the news that shocked the world on June 27, 2015, when a white supremacist 21-year-old shot and killed nine African Americans. The rhythms and scales are tense throughout, and the piano makes an appearance (reminding us that Walker also began his career as a concert pianist). Occasional singers sang and spoke, sometimes chanting, sometimes singing texts reminiscent of slavery. The piece ends in a quiet disconnection. It is a work full of anger and makes the listener think about many things.                                                                                    King International\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47788034883873,"sku":"810038860725","price":22.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0568\/8482\/2076\/files\/810038860725.jpg?v=1704827214","url":"https:\/\/cdsvinyljapan.com\/de-de\/products\/810038860725","provider":"CDs Vinyl Japan Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}