The chapel, even when quiet, is filled by its own sound. The rustling pops from the cooling boards pierce through it, simultaneously transforming and defining it. Is this what John Cage meant when he said, "There is no silence?"
VIII What sounds more hopeful than a stage-full of musicians honking, climbing scales,…
As can be seen from the diagram (fig.1), the piano and orchestra were laid out for the Rhapsody and Preludes sessions much as if we had been recording a Mozart concerto. This was appropriate, as pianist Hyperion Knight was directing the musicians—some of New Mexico's finest—from the piano for these performances. The 9' Steinway D piano had had its lid removed and was placed with the performer's back to the microphones. (Listeners should note that the bass notes of the piano will appear to come from left of center and the treble notes from the right, the…
As George Gershwin relaxed with a game of pool at the Ambassador Billiard Parlor on Broadway in January 1924, his brother Ira browsed through the New York Tribune. Ira's attention was captured suddenly when he read "George Gershwin is at work on a jazz concerto"—and the advertised premiere was scheduled for February. As it turned out, George was just as surprised by the announcement as his brother. He had discussed the possibility of writing a "serious" concerto utilizing jazz idioms for a Paul Whiteman concert, but the budding composer had no…
"They Can't Take That Away from Me" started out as a simple repeated-note rhythm, but when Ira suggested the lyric "…
As you will have gathered from Wes Phillips's comments, in addition to making a traditional two-channel recording sampled at 44.1kHz for release on CD, we also captured a surround-sound version sampled at 96kHz. This was the idea of Steven K. Lee of Canorus Inc., who distributes dCS and Focus Audio products in the US. With the cooperation of dCS Ltd. and Nagra USA, Steve assembled an array of four dCS 902D 96kHz/24-bit A/D converters and three Nagra-D, each fitted with the v2.0 version of the control software, which allows the machine to be…
Hyperion Knight, piano and musical direction, was born in California and his debut at age 14, playing the Beethoven G-major Concerto, was lauded in the press for its "remarkable virtuosity." He attended the San Francisco Conservatory where he studied with Nathan Schwartz and graduated at the age of 19. Graduate studies took him to the Cleveland Institute of Music and studies with Eunice Podis and Paul Schenly. Hyperion received the Arthur Loesser award upon graduation, receiving both a master's degree and a doctor of musical arts degree by the age of 22.
…
Rhapsody: Works for Piano & Orchestra by George Gershwin (DDD) STPH010-2
Hyperion Knight, piano
Rhapsody in Blue, arranged by Joe Cea
Hyperion Knight, piano; Krzysztof Zimowski, Anthony Templeton, Carol Swift-Matton, Linda Anderson, violins; Katherine Reynolds, Christine Johnson Rancier, violas; Joan Zucker, cello; Jean-Luc Matton, double bass; Robert Dorer, trumpet; Debra Taylor, trombone; Tia Perdomo, clarinet; Lori Lovato, bass clarinet; Jeff Cornelius, Steven Kimple, percussion.
[1] Rhapsody in Blue 15:59
Three…