• Naxos releases CD of chamber music by Kenneth Fuchs

  On April 1st, Naxos released Kenneth Fuchs’s fourth disc on its “American Classics” label. The disc consists of three chamber works:

  I. Falling Canons was composed especially for pianist and host of NPR's From the Top, Christopher O'Riley. The work grows out of compositional elements from Falling Man, an extended scena for baritone voice and orchestra based on a fragment from Don DeLillo’s powerful post-9/11 novel Falling Man. The London Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of JoAnn Falletta, will record Falling Man by Kenneth Fuchs for Naxos in August 2013.

  II. String Quartet No. 5 ("American") was commissioned especially for the Delray String Quartet, based in South Florida. The large-scale work embraces in sound and spirit the stylistic influences of the American symphonic school that have dominated Fuchs’s recent orchestral scores. The music is alternately lyrical and playful, sometimes brusque and muscular, at times elegiac, and it is meant to suggest the resilience and brash optimism of the American spirit.

  III. Falling Trio was commissioned by American pianist Jeffrey Biegel for Trio21 with violinist Kinga Augustyn and cellist Robert deMaine. The première performance was given at Bargemusic, an enclosed floating chamber music venue moored under the Brooklyn Bridge with a picture window view of lower Manhattan and Ground Zero.

  For details, see the feature on this disc on the Naxos website

• Gramophone magazine video interview with Kenneth Fuchs

  James Jolly, editor-in-chief of Gramophone magazine, interviewed Kenneth Fuchs and conductor JoAnn Falletta after the recording of Fuchs’s third and most recent disc with the London Symphony Orchestra. Jolly has posted on Gramophone’s blog a video interview, “A session report – with photos – from Abbey Road for Kenneth Fuchs’s new Naxos album.” See the Gramophone video interview.

• Naxos releases third CD of music by Kenneth Fuchs

  
  Naxos released a recording of works by Kenneth Fuchs on its "American Classics" label in August 2012. The CD features the London Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of internationally known conductor JoAnn Falletta, with soloists Michael Ludwig, concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Paul Silverthorne, principal violist of the LSO. The CD was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, the legendary recording facility in London, with Grammy Award-winning producer Tim Handley and engineer Jonathan Allen in charge of recording and production. The CD includes five works:

  • Divinum Mysterium (Concerto for Viola and Orchestra)
  • American Rhapsody (Romance for Violin and Orchestra)
  • Atlantic Riband (for Orchestra)
  • Concerto Grosso (for String Quartet and String Orchestra)
  • Discover the Wild (for Orchestra)

  Reviewing the CD, BBC music calls Fuchs “a master of orchestral writing.” Full review here
  The CD and individual tracks are available for download at Naxos, Classics Online and iTunes.

• U.S. Air Force Band of Flight premières From the Field to the Sky

  The United States Air Force Band of Flight, Daniel W. Boothe, Commander and Conductor, commissioned Kenneth Fuchs to write From the Field to the Sky (Celebration Fanfare for Brass and Percussion). The Band of Flight Concert Band performed the première as part of “Summon the Heroes: A Veterans Day Concert” on November 3. The concert paid special tribute to all veterans and their families and included two world premières, a variety of marches, vocal selections, patriotic music, and a concert finale featuring more than 100 children from the Kettering Children’s Choir. The Concert Band presented the piece on a tour of Michigan, including Battle Creek, Interlochen, Dearborn, Port Huron, and Grand Rapids — see performance information below.
  Kenneth Fuchs and 1st Lieutenant Daniel W. Boothe

• 150th Anniversary Commission

  The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, André Raphel, Music Director, has commissioned Kenneth Fuchs to compose a fanfare-overture for orchestra in celebration of the sesquicentennial of West Virginia statehood. The première will take place at a commemoration concert on June 20, 2013. Following the orchestral première, Fuchs will also create a version of the work for band, which will be performed by high school ensembles throughout West Virginia. For more information about the WSO, visit their website at: http://wheelingsymphony.com/2012/05/09/announcing-our-2012-2013-season/

• Sylvan Winds perform Autumn Rhythm

  

  Morejon, Halvorson, Kabalin, Fuchs, Vinnitsky and Davis
  Sylvan Winds performed Kenneth Fuchs’s Autumn Rhythm (Idyll for Woodwind Quintet After a Painting by Jackson Pollock), on a program titled Art as Muse, at the Jack Tilton Gallery in New York City, May 23, 2012. The quintet members are Svjetlana Kabalin, flute; Kathy Halvorson, oboe; Pavel Vinnitsky, clarinet; Adrian Morejon, bassoon; and Eric Davis, horn. For the ending of Autumn Rhythm, three instruments change to their deeper-pitched counterparts: flute to alto flute; oboe to English horn; and clarinet to bass clarinet. Hear the ending as performed by members of the London Symphony Orchestra:
  

  Wind Quintet: Autumn Rhythm

• Hal Leonard publishes Canticle to the Sun

  Hal Leonard Corporation is publishing the piano-reduction version of Canticle to the Sun (Concerto for Horn and Orchestra). Kenneth Fuchs wrote this concerto for Timothy Jones, principal hornist of the London Symphony Orchestra. The concerto is based on the hymn tune “All Creatures of Our God and King.” The solo part and piano reduction are available from Hal Leonard; orchestral parts are available on rental from Theodore Presser Company.

• Delray String Quartet premières and records String Quartet No. 5 (“American”)

  

  Luo, Cotik, Fuchs, Fleischman and Jaffé
  The Delray String Quartet, which commissioned Kenneth Fuchs to compose his String Quartet No. 5 (“American”), gave the work its première performance on Sunday January 15 at The Colony Hotel and Cabaña Club in Delray Beach, Florida. Read a review here. The performance was repeated at All Saints Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale on January 20 and Sunday January 22 at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Coconut Grove. The following day, the Delray String Quartet recorded the work, with the composer in attendance and the legendary Judith Sherman as producer. Naxos will release the recording, along with Trio21 performing the Fuchs Falling Trio and pianist Christopher O’Riley performing Falling Canons, both of which Sherman recorded last year. The commission for the quartet resulted from the Delray String Quartet’s performance of Fuchs’s String Quartet No. 4 in December 2010. The quartet members are Mei Mei Luo and Tomas Cotik, violins; Richard Fleischman, viola; Claudio Jaffé, cello. For more information about the Delray String Quartet, visit their website at www.delraystringquartet.com

• Spartanburg Philharmonic premières Falling Man

  Kenneth Fuchs takes a bow with baritone James Maddalena and music director Sarah Ioannides following the world première of Falling Man by the Spartanburg Philharmonic on September 10, 2011. The work sets to music the prologue of Don DeLillo’s searing post-9/11 novel Falling Man, with a libretto by poet J.D. McClatchy. The Spartanburg Herald-Journal called the work “remarkable,” with “orchestral interjections of great beauty and power.”

  Falling Man is cast in the form of a dramatic scena for baritone voice and orchestra. The work’s principal melodic and harmonic elements are organized around a falling 12-tone theme, fragments of which emerge at the outset, first in the orchestra and then with the setting of the first line of text, “This was the world now, a time and space of falling ash and near night.”

• Trio21 premières Falling Trio

  Trio21 — Jeffrey Biegel, piano, Kinga Augustyn, violin, and Robert deMaine, cello — commissioned Kenneth Fuchs to write Falling Trio for the opening concert of their 2011–12 season and performed the world première at Bargemusic in Brooklyn, New York, on September 18, 2011. The trio is based on the theme of Falling Man and was performed with lower Manhattan and the rising Freedom Tower as the backdrop. The group recorded the work the following day for inclusion on an upcoming disc of Fuchs’s chamber music to be released by Naxos. For more information about Trio21, visit their website at www.trio-21.com.

  The Falling Man theme is organized around a sequence of 12 different descending pitches and is developed as a set of seven fantasy variations, each a canon on successive ascending scalar pitches. Falling Trio also features a lyrical “reconciliation theme,” interpolated twice in the work, with which the instruments attempt to reconcile the work’s tonal and non-tonal musical language.

• JoAnn Falletta rehearses Canticle to the Sun in Chile

  Music Director JoAnn Falletta and Principal Horn Jacek Muzyk, both of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, performed Canticle to the Sun (Concerto for Horn and Orchestra) with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile, Santiago, Teatro Universidad de Chile, July 8-9, 2011. Read a review excerpt here.

• Space Coast Symphony Orchestra performs United Artists

  

  Collins, Fuchs and Biegel
  On June 25 and 26, at Merritt Island and Vero Beach, Florida, the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra and conductor Aaron Collins performed Kenneth Fuchs’ United Artists. The program included concertos by Keith Emerson and Leroy Anderson performed by Jeffrey Biegel. Photo: Rod Ostoski

• Blog features Kenneth Fuchs's choral music

  Read the feature about Kenneth Fuchs's choral music on the Yelton Rhodes Music blog Choralicious!

• Christopher O’Riley premières Falling Canons

  Christopher O'Riley, one of the leading pianists of his generation and host of NPR's From the Top, gave the première performance of Kenneth Fuchs's Falling Canons for piano at the Caramoor Festival on July 30, 2010, in Katonah, New York. He continued to perform them in concerts during the 2010—2011 season. The seven canons are based on the theme from Fuchs's extended work for baritone voice and orchestra Falling Man. Hear three preview performances O'Riley gave on From the Top broadcasts:
  

  Falling Canon No. 1
  

  Falling Canon No. 2
  

  Falling Canon No. 3

• Saxophone concerto commission

  Ryan Janus, principal saxophonist of the United States Air Force Academy Band (Colorado Springs), has organized a consortium to commission Kenneth Fuchs to compose a saxophone concerto. Fuchs is composing both a band and orchestral version of the concerto. For more information about the project, visit Ryan Janus's website at www.ryanjanus.com/commissions.html

• Air Force Academy Band records United Artists

  The U.S. Air Force Academy Band (Colorado Springs, Colorado), has released Windscapes, a disc that includes Kenneth Fuchs’s United Artists. Lt. Col. Larry H. Lang, commander and conductor, commissioned the band transcription from the original work for orchestra. Score and parts available here. Hear an excerpt from United Artists:
  

  United Artists (for Band)

• Hal Leonard publishes United Artists and Discover the Wild for wind ensemble

  Hal Leonard Corporation has published Discover the Wild (Overture for Band) as part of its Concert Band Series. The company, America’s largest seller of band music, describes the piece: “this powerful work opens with the horn section stating the main theme … A beautiful and lyrical middle theme creates a mesmerizing and calming effect before the opening theme and faster pace makes a return for the dramatic finish. Concisely scored with an intriguing variety of textures, this is an impressive work for contest or festival. Dur: 4:40." Score and parts available here. Discover the Wild is Fuchs’s second addition to the Hal Leonard Concert Band Series. The first, United Artists, was published in 2009: “From the striking opening chords to the blazing woodwind passages and dynamic brass and percussion writing, you are in for a special treat with this powerful concert opener by acclaimed composer Kenneth Fuchs. Commissioned by the USAF Academy Band, Colorado Springs, CO, this is certain to become an important addition to the repertoire for winds. Dur: 5:30." Score and parts available here.

• Second Fuchs CD with the London Symphony Orchestra

  Naxos released a new disc of orchestral and chamber works by Kenneth Fuchs recorded by conductor JoAnn Falletta leading the LSO. A conductor visiting London reported, "The orchestra started raving about your music the moment I got here! And don’t forget: that praise is coming from the musicians." The disc is available for sampl­ing and down­loading at Amazon, Naxos and iTunes, and available for pur­chase as a CD at Amazon. Repertoire includes
  • United Artists (for Orchestra)
  • Canticle to the Sun (Concerto for Horn and Orchestra), composed especially for principal Timothy Jones
  • Autumn Rhythm (Idyll for Woodwind Quintet After a Painting by Jackson Pollock)
  • Fire, Ice, and Summer Bronze (After Two Works on Paper by Helen Frankenthaler), for brass quintet
  • Quiet in the Land (American Idyll), for flute, clarinet, English horn, viola, and cello.
  See photos from the recording sessions here.   Falletta photo: Jim Bush

• Kenneth Fuchs tracks available on iTunes

  Three albums of music by Kenneth Fuchs — Canticle to the Sun and An American Place, both recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, and String Quartets 2, 3, 4, recorded by the American String Quartet — are available for sampling and downloading from iTunes. Also available is Christina’s World, recorded by the University of Miami Wind Ensemble. See links here.
  Left: 2005 Grammy^®Award nominee, "Best Instrumental soloist with Orchestra" (Thomas Stacy, English horn, and JoAnn Falletta, conductor, for Eventide) and "Producer of the Year, Classical" (Michael Fine)

• Air Force Band of Liberty records On Silver Wings

  The U.S. Air Force Band of Liberty (Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts), has released On Silver Wings, a disc that includes Kenneth Fuchs’s piece of the same title. Lt. Col. Larry H. Lang, commander and conductor, commissioned three of the nine works, including On Silver Wings. The CD is sent primarily to the military, libraries, schools, and universities. To request a copy, write to
  SSgt Jason Millot
  NCOIC Media
  USAF Band of Liberty
  25 Chennault St.
  HAFB MA, 01731
  Five tracks are available online in MP3 format. Hear an excerpt from On Silver Wings, by Kenneth Fuchs:
  

  On Silver Wings

Performances

• Atlantic Riband (for Orchestra) — Mid-Atlantic première

  This will be a gala collaboration by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the S.S. United States Conservancy and The Mariners’ Museum. The event honors the 60th anniversary of the record-breaking maiden voyage of the S.S. United States (July 3–7, 1952), on which the ship captured the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing, a record equaled by no other passenger ship. The S.S. United States was built in Newport News, Virginia (1950–1952).
  Virginia Symphony Orchestra
  JoAnn Falletta, conductor
  September 7, 2012, 8:00 p.m.
  Ferguson Center for the Arts
  Newport News, Virginia

• String Quartet No. 5 (“American”)

  Delray String Quartet
  (Mei Mei Luo and Tomas Cotik, violins; Richard Fleischman, viola; Claudio Jaffé, cello)
  
  • Sunday, October 7, 2012, 3 p.m.
    Arts at St. John's
    St. John's United Methodist Church
    4760 Pine Tree Drive
    Miami Beach, Florida
    
  • Sunday, October 14, 2012, 4 p.m.
    Music at St. Paul's
    St. Paul's Episcopal Church
    188 Swinton Avenue
    Delray Beach, Florida
    

• Atlantic Riband (for Orchestra)

  Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra
  Toshi Shimada, conductor
  October 20, 2012, 8:00 p.m.
  Garde Arts Center
  New London, Connecticut

• From the Field to the Sky (Celebration Fanfare for Brass and Percussion) — première

  United States Air Force Band of Flight
  Daniel W. Boothe, Commander and Conductor
  
  • November 3, 2012, 7:30 p.m.
    National Museum of the United States Air Force
    Wright-Patterson AFB
    Dayton, Ohio
  • Monday, November 5, 7:30 p.m.
    W.K. Kellogg Auditorium
    50 W. Van Buren Street
    Battle Creek, Michigan
  • Tuesday, November 6, 7:30 p.m.
    Interlochen Center for the Arts
    Corson Auditorium
    4000 Highway M-137
    Interlochen, Michigan
  • Wednesday, November 7, 7 p.m.
    Ford Community & Performing Arts Center
    Michael A. Guido Theater
    15801 Michigan Avenue
    Dearborn, Michigan
  • Thursday, November 8, 7 p.m.
    Port Huron Northern Performing Arts Center
    1799 Krafft Road
    Port Huron, Michigan
  • Friday, November 9, 7:30 p.m.
    The St. Cecilia Music Center Royce Auditorium
    24 Ransom Street NE
    Grand Rapids, Michigan

• Canticle to the Sun (Concerto for Horn and Orchestra)

  Space Coast Symphony Orchestra
  Aaron Collins, conductor
  Juan Berrios, French horn
  • Friday, November 9, 2012, 10:30 a.m.
    St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church
    Melbourne, Florida
  • Saturday, November 10, 2012, 7:00 p.m.
    The Scott Center
    Melbourne, Florida
  • Sunday, November 11, 2012, 3 p.m.
    Trinity Episcopal Church
    Vero Beach, Florida

• Eventide (Concerto for English Horn and Orchestra)

  Kevin Chavez, English horn
  Carol Ann Archer, piano
  November 16, 2012, 8 p.m.
  California State University at Long Beach
  Long Beach, California

• United Artists (for Band)

  DePauw University Band
  Craig Paré, conductor
  November 18, 2012, 3 p.m.
  Kresge Auditorium
  DePauw University
  Greencastle, Indiana

• Discover the Wild (Overture for Band)

  Eastern Regional High School Band
  Bentley Shellahamer, conductor
  January 5, 2013, 7 p.m.
  University of Connecticut
  Storrs, Connecticut

• Rush (Concerto for E-flat Alto Saxophone and Concert Band)—première (second movement only)

  United States Air Force Academy Band
  Lieutenant Colonel Donald E. Schofield Jr., Commander and Conductor
  Ryan Janus, saxophone
  • Colorado Music Educators Association Conference
    January 25, 2013, 8 p.m.
    Broadmoor Hotel
    Colorado Springs, Colorado
  • Fifth Annual Festival of Winds
    February 14, 2013, 6 p.m.
    Hoag Hall
    Colorado State University
    Pueblo, Colorado

• From the Field to the Sky (Celebration Fanfare for Brass and Percussion)

  University of Connecticut Wind Ensemble
  Jeffrey Renshaw, conductor
  February 28, 2013, 7:30 p.m.
  von der Mehden Recital Hall
  University of Connecticut
  Storrs, Connecticut

• Evensong (for Horn and Guitar)

  Mickayla Haynes, horn
  Joshua Moore, guitar
  April 7, 2013
  Ciminelli Recital Hall
  Buffalo State College
  The State University of New York

• Quiet in the Land (Idyll for Mixed Quintet) — New York première

  Chris James, flute; Kevin Chavez, English horn; Kyle Yecke, clarinet;
  Midori Witkoski, viola; Benjamin Larsen, violoncello; Kyle Ritenauer, conductor
  Social Networking Concert
  April 23, 2013, 7:30 p.m.
  St. Peter's Church (619 Lexington Avenue)
  New York City

• Rush (Concerto for E-flat Alto Saxophone and Concert Band)

  Greater Hartford Youth Wind Ensemble
  Glen Adsit, conductor
  Carrie Koffman, saxophone
  June 2, 2013, 7:30 p.m.
  Millard Auidtorium
  The Hartt School
  Hartford, Connecticut

• From the Field to the Sky (Celebration Fanfare for Brass and Percussion)
  Rush (Concerto for Eb Alto Saxophone and Concert Band)

  United States Coast Guard Band
  Jeffrey Renshaw, conductor
  Greg Case, saxophone
  June 9, 2013, 2:00 pm
  Leamy Hall
  Coast Guard Academy
  New London, Connecticut

• Forever Free (Fanfare-Overture for Orchestra) — world première

  Wheeling Symphony Orchestra
  André Raphel, conductor
  June 20, 2013
  Wheeling Heritage Port Amphitheatre
  Wheeling, West Virginia

• Ostinato Fantasia (on the theme FCHS) — world première

  Todd Wilson, organ
  American Guild of Organists
  Regions I and II Convention
  July 3, 2013, 10:30 a.m.
  Asylum Hill Congregational Church
  Hartford, Connecticut

• Discover the Wild (Overture for Orchestra)

  Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra
  Sarah Ioannides, conductor
  September 28, 2013, 7 p.m.
  Twichell Auditorium
  Converse College
  Spartanburg, South Carolina

• String Quartet No. 4

  Delray String Quartet
  (Mei Mei Luo and Tomas Cotik, violins; Richard Fleischman, viola; Claudio Jaffé, cello)
  The program, "Three Centuries of String Quartets," includes Haydn, Op. 20, No. 5, and Tchaikovsky No. 1.
  • All Saints Episcopal Church
    Fort Lauderdale, Florida
    Friday, March 7, 2014, 8 p.m.
  • The Colony Hotel and Cabaña Club
    Delray Beach, Florida
    Sunday, March 9, 2014, 4 p.m.