Arnold Rosner Chamber Music - Always a Pleasure

Another recording of Arnold Rosner's music is always welcome (in my opinion). Rosner was something of a musical outsider, much like Alan Hovhaness. Rosner wrote Hovhaness' entry in Groves and was an acknowledged authority on his music.

Like Hovhaness, Rosner wrote in a tonal language that was unconcerned with the conventions of traditional harmony. Hovhaness used Eastern modes, Rosner drew more from Western medieval and Renaissance traditions. Both lack the active forward motion implied in major and minor scales.

The chamber works collected here share many similarities. The modal melodies move in surprising and wonderful ways. Harmonies feature open fifths in parallel motion. There are false relations between voices. And yet these are works that could never have been written at any time before the 20th Century.

The works are all well-recorded and well-performed. I especially enjoyed Maxine Neuman's performance of the Danses a la Mode for Solo Cello. Her sensitive reading brings out subtle links between Rosner's motifs.

If you're a fan of Hovhaness, you should give Rosner a listen. If you're not a fan, Rosner's music deserves an audition. Each of his compositions is a world unto itself -- one that invites the listener in and tarry a while. It's an invitation I can't resist.

Arnold Rosner: Chamber Music
Sonata No.1 for Violin and Piano, Op. 18
Sonata No. 2 for Cello and Piano, Op. 89
Danses a la Mode for Cello Solo, Op. 101
Sonata for Bassoon and Piano, Op. 121
Curtis Macomber, violin; Maxine Neuman, cello; David Richmond, bassoon; Margaret Kampmeir, Carson Cooman, piano
Toccata Classics TOCC0408