Piano Concerto "Spiritualist" - (2016)
Poems of Life (Song Cycle) - (2017)
Glacier - Concerto for Electric Guitar and Orchestra - (2015)
Rush - Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra - (2012)

All the pieces on this new Naxos CD are world première recordings, two of which are recent commissions. And yet all of it sounds very congenial and accessible. I would even say that Going to the Sun, the final movement of Glacier (Concerto for Electric Guitar and Orchestra) could very well appeal to anyone, regardless of their musical tastes or levels of interest in music in general. The music of American composer Kenneth Fuchs (b. 1956) has a modest and humble charm about it that instantly draws you in and doesn't try to beat you over the head with intellectual psychobabble or arrogance.

The main work on this recording, the Piano Concerto "Spiritualist", was actually composed for featured pianist Jeffrey Biegel, so who better to take it out for a test drive. It has a distinctly populist demeanour to it, with two effervescent outer movements framing a deeply expressive, and yet playful, inner movement. It leaves behind the same impression that the famous Piano Concerto in G by Maurice Ravel does. One particular trait or technique used here by Kenneth Fuchs, especially noticeable in the last movement, is that even when the pianist is rhapsodising away, the orchestral writing grounds everything together by emphasizing the main theme throughout.

One thing I've noticed that today's composers haven't quite mastered is writing songs for the solo voice. Lately choral works in general have been quite impressive, but compositions for a single voice have missed the mark, including this orchestral song cycle for countertenor titled Poems of Life. The orchestral writing is effective, and countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen sounds commited, but in my opinion the vocal part is lifeless.

The two commissioned works, Glacier - Concerto for Electric Guitar and Orchestra and Rush - Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, offer interesting excursions into different soundscapes, most particularly the electric guitar concerto, in which guitarist D.J. Sparr either melds and blends within the orchestral fabric, or glitters at times like a rock guitar wizard. Its various movements were inspired by the rugged landscape of Montana. On the other hand, and by nature of its instrument, the Alto Saxophone concerto is jazzier in sound and expressively free flowing and has an almost improvisatory feel to it. Very well played by saxophonist Timothy McAllister.

For the audio buffs out there, it's worth pointing out that these sessions were recorded at Abbey Road Studios.