Following is a selected discography of ”McTeague” composer William Bolcom`s music. All recordings are on CD unless otherwise marked.
No recording unfortunately exists of Bolcom`s magnum opus, the evening-long cantata ”Songs of Innocence and of Experience.” Lyric Opera general director Ardis Krainik says her company is working on securing a grant to make an audio recording of ”McTeague.”
”Casino Paradise.” Bolcom and Arnold Weinstein`s 1990 cabaret opera about greed, starring Joan Morris and Timothy Nolen. Koch International Classics 3-7047-2.
Symphony No. 4; Session I. St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Morris, mezzo-soprano. New World Records 356-2. A major American symphony, complete with a haunting vocal finale, a setting of Theodore Roethke`s ”The Rose.”
Brass Quintet (with works by Ralph Shapey, Maurice Wright and Jacob Druckman). American Brass Quintet. New World Records 377-2. Second Sonata for violin and piano; Duo Fantasy; ”Graceful Ghost” rag. Sergiu Luca, violin;
Bolcom, piano. Elektra Nonesuch 79058-4, cassette. Prime examples of Bolcom in his chamber music vein.
Twelve New Etudes for piano (with Wolpe: ”Battle Piece”). Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano. New World 354-2. Although perhaps less strikingly original than other recent Bolcom works cited here, the dozen piano etudes won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for music. Hamelin plays them brilliantly.
Violin Concerto; Fantasia Concertante for viola and cello; Fifth Symphony. Luca, violin; American Composers Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davies, conductor. Argo 433 077-2. The shades of Mozart, Joe Venuti, Wagner and many others drift through the pages of these ebullient, life-giving scores, yet the dominant voice is unmistakably Bolcom`s.
