Kevin Puts (born 1972, St. Louis) puts (sorry!) his local orchestra through its paces, albeit an ensemble of international standing (an upwards trajectory secured during the Slatkin era), in music that speaks directly without it being obvious or self-consciously contrived to be liked. I’ve known Puts’s name for a while but only now these examples of his music. Concerto for Orchestra is cast in three pairs of two movements. slow-fast, each titled, notable for melodic generosity (V: ‘Sicilienne’ is an intimate example of Put’s heartfelt writing, which rises to cinematic intensity) or being rhythmically deft, colourfully scored invention: the work concludes with whooping horns on the hunt, sonorous brass and pealing chimes, a big finish. Silent Night Elegy derives from Puts’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night, this orchestral precis elegiac at its outset if varied across its twenty-three-minute whole, developing into a dramatic and dynamic sequence that holds the attention, making the stage-work ripe for investigation. Finally, Virelai, a perky, joyous miniature, rhythmically diverting. Current SLS music director Stéphane Denève secures superb playing that is brightly and clearly recorded in the pre-refurbed Powell Hall. Delos DE3620.
Concerto for Orchestra (2023)
Silent Night Elegy (2020)
Virelai (after Guillaume de Machaut) (2019)
One of the first concerts in the renovated Powell Hall…