Arnold Rosner; Carson Cooman - Chamber Works (London Piano Trio)

Information

Composer: Arnold Rosner; Carson Cooman

• Rosner - Piano Quintet No. 2, Op. 103
• Rosner - Sonata No. 2 for Violin & Piano, Op. 54
• Rosner - String Quartet No. 6, Op. 118
• Cooman - Kaleidoscope Sky, Op. 1359
• Cooman - Sonata No. 3 for Violin & Piano, Op. 950

London Piano Trio

    Robert Atchison, violin

    David Jones, cello

    Simon Callaghan, piano

Jackie Hartley, violin

Elisa Bergersen, viola

Date: 2022

Label: Convivium

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Review

This release presents music by two American composers with two very distinctive styles. Arnold Rosner used Medieval and Renaissance music as a starting point for his own work. Carson Cooman’s music is also tonal, although he seems inspired by Century trends.

Rosner’s Piano Quintet No. 2, Op. 103 is one of the high points of the album (for me). Here Rosner’s neo-medieval style is tempered with Impressionism. And it works. The music sounds timeless.

There’s a restless energy present, especially in the polyphonic passages. The London Trio is supplemented with Jacki Harley, violin and Elisa Bergersen, viola. These five performers deliver that energy. They also take time to savor the beauty of Rosner’s elongated melodies.

Cooman’s Kaleidoscope Sky, Op. 1359 was composed for the London Trio. Cooman explains the title — and the music — was inspired by the landscape of Nantucket Island. The single-movement work seems to continually evolve and change. I could picture the early evening sky looking out into the Atlantic doing much the same.

I think having the commissioning artist perform a work adds to the listening experience. The London Trio worked with Cooman. And he wrote to the strengths of both the individual performers and the ensemble. The music builds gradually. But Cooman’s distinctive motifs engage the ear and guide the listener.

Rosner and Cooman have different but not incompatible styles. The London Trio (and friends) deliver a compelling program. This is contemporary music most audiences should relate to.

And for me, any release that adds to Rosner’s recorded catalog is an automatic winner.

— WTJU

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Arnold Rosner (November 8, 1945 – November 8, 2013) was an American composer. He studied music at State University of New York at Buffalo, New York. A staunch traditionalist, Rosner rejected all the compositional styles that seized the limelight during the course of his career. He instead developed an individual style that fused elements of Renaissance music with the heightened drama and rich sonorities of late romanticism. Rosner's output includes three operas, eight symphonies, six string quartets, three a cappella Mass settings and the large Requiem, three piano sonatas, and a host of other orchestral, choral, and chamber works.

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Carson Cooman (born June 12, 1982) is an American composer and organist. He attended Harvard University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts, and graduated with a Master of Music from the Carnegie Mellon University. Cooman's catalog as a composer includes hundreds of works in many forms—from solo instrumental pieces to operas, and from orchestral works to hymn tunes. His compositions have been recorded for Naxos, Albany, Artek, Gothic, Divine Art, Métier, Diversions, Convivium, Altarus, MSR Classics, Raven, and Zimbel labels. Cooman is also an active organist who specializes in contemporary music.

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For the past 20 years the London Piano Trio have been touring, recording, and teaching across the globe to rave reviews. They were artists in residence at the Gibbs Music Festival in 2008–14, at St John’s Smith Square in London in 2014–16, and at the Festival Jalesnes, Venantes, France. Their interest in promoting English music has resulted in them recording the complete trios of Donald Tovey, Henry Cotter Nixon, and Cecil Armstrong Gibbs. They have also actively commissioned works by composers such as Christopher Gunning, Jed Balsamo, Gavin Bryers, Clement Ishmael, Christopher Weeks and Carson Cooman.

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