Just wondering whether anyone has encountered recordings of music by US composer, Michael Kurek?
Here's his Symphony No.2:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9374679--m-kurek-symphony-no-2-tales-from-the-realm-of-faerie-other-works
And his Symphony No.3:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9749055--michael-kurek-symphony-no-3-english
Mr Howe,
The only music I have of of his is a CD called The Sea Knows from 2017 that has a string orchestra work and some chamber works featuring harp for which I have a predilection. He was interviewed some years ago on the US public radio NPR and does have a certain rep in what is called Traditional Classical Music per Billboard in the US. From what I remember he did not start out as a neo Romantic composer but was a modernist composer early on who I guess could be called a refugee to neo Romanticism. The CD mentioned above was more along the lines of maybe RVW or perhaps Alwyn in their more romantic flights, definitely more early 20th C than late 19th C. I will take a listen to the symphony later this week.
Thanks for this information. Very helpful.
From what I can judge, the music sounds very much like attractive, but amorphous film music. Here's the first movement of Symphony No.2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKK-RHKF8Z8
I listened to the 2 movements of his Symphony 2 that I could find as well as parts of the Missa Brevis. I must say I feel I got lucky with the CD I have since to me he is much better at chamber music than choral or symphonic music. The tenuousness of his choral music was a bit surprising since he is much interested in music for the Catholic Church. I think I was on target noting an English romantic feel to the music since his forthcoming symphony 3 is called "The English". The orchestral music is competently written but as you say is more along the lines of soundtrack at best. The thought of music CDs to relieve stress also seemed to fit. My memory got jogged that the NPR interview was also about a book he wrote and I found it on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Beauty-Classical-Composer-Spiritual/dp/1621642712/ref=sr_1_1?s=music
Kurek also is much older than I thought, now going on 70. He seems to have suppressed a lot of his music since there is no sign of a Symphony 1 nor much before the mid 1990s. He was or is a music professor at the US Vanderbilt Univ. in Tennessee.
Quote from: Alan Howe on Tuesday 31 December 2024, 11:23the music sounds very much like attractive, but amorphous film music.
An excellent description, in my view, Alan. Pleasant but, for me at least, entirely forgettable....