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PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER PRAISES ROUSE'S FLUTE CONCERTO

Philadelphia Inquirer music critic David Patrick Stearns reviewed the March 2 performance of Christopher Rouse's Flute Concerto by the Philadelphia Orchestra, noting that the "Time is right for the truth of [Rouse's] 'Flute Concerto'." Stearns writes "New symphonies and concertos have a way of going into hibernation shortly after being born: Christopher Rouse's Flute Concerto, for one, was reasonably interesting as it came and went over its initial round of performances in the mid-1990s. Now, it returns in an era that needs it. The Philadelphia Orchestra premiere on Thursday at the Kimmel Center seemed made for this year, this month, this moment."

"Now out of the prosperous 1990s and into an era of threatened civil war in Iraq and plummeting corporate ethics, Rouse's concerto is an island of truth."

"Ten years ago, Philadelphia's conservative public might have resisted it. But Thursday's audience was visibly altered by this encapsulation of humanity's extremes of cruelty and kindness."

To read the entire article from the March 4, 2006 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer, click here.

December 12, 2004 — The New York Times named Christopher Rouse's recent Ondine CD, containing world premiere recordings of Der gerettete Alberich, Rapture, and Violin Concerto, as one of its Best Classical CDs of 2004.

Allan Kozinn's August 2004 review extolls that "part of what makes Christopher Rouse's music so much fun is that beneath its veneer of fluid gestures and brilliant orchestration lies a subversive and sometimes perverse sense of humor." Kozinn continues that "[Der gerettete Alberich] exploits [percussionist Evelyn Glennie's] ability to produce not only a torrential noise but a percussion line that seems almost to sing...Its dark, gentle string writing and pitched percussion line suggest inner reflection if not regret. Not that this self-examination lasts long. The finale, opening with the Zeppelin quotation, is an unbridled dance of triumph...Mr. Rouse's Violin Concerto [is] a more conventionally neo-Romantic work...a graceful but sturdy barcarole."

Rouse shares honors on the list with such composers as Beethoven, Bach, Davies, Ives, Mahler, Messiaen, Mozart, Schubert, and Theodorakis.

Rouse's CD is getting attention on other annual lists, as well: Jim Svedja of Los Angeles's KUSC-Classical FM named the Ondine recording on his 2004 Guide to Gift Recordings. Click here for the entire list.

For only the fourth time in its history, the Pittsburgh Symphony has designated a living composer to be the Orchestra's Composer of the Year. For the 2004-05 season Christopher Rouse, one of America's most prominent composers of orchestral music, has been selected.

During the course of the concert season, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will perform several works by Rouse, who will be in Pittsburgh for the performances and to participate in various educational activities, with a special focus on young composers. Rouse's works have won a Pulitzer Prize (Trombone Concerto) and a Grammy Award (Concert de Gaudi), the latter of which Pittsburgh audiences will hear May 6 and 8. Rouse is not a stranger to Pittsburgh audiences. The Pittsburgh Symphony commissioned and performed the World Premiere of Rapture in 2000, and presented the work again in 2002. Prior to that, under Leonard Slatkin in 1983, the Orchestra performed The Infernal Machine, which was again performed under Mariss Jansons in 1999. During the 2000-01 season, the Orchestra performed his Der gerettete Alberich and during 2001-02, Seeing.

Pittsburgh will perform Rouse's Phaethon in September, one of several of the composer's scores inspired by mythology. Two Rouse works stand out in December when David Zinman conducts the Orchestra in The Nevill Feast, which takes its title from the enormous and elaborate feasts mounted in England during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and his Symphony No. 2, historically earning praise with each performance.

For more information, visit The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's website.

CHRISTOPHER ROUSE WINS GRAMMY FOR CONCERT DE GAUDI FOR GUITAR & ORCHESTRA

Christopher Rouse won a Grammy Award for 'Best Classical Contemporary Composition' from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences for his 'Concert de Gaudi for Guitar & Orchestra' written for and performed by Sharon Isbin (Teldec New Line 8573-81830-2). It marks the first time a guitar concerto has ever received a Grammy in this category.

The award was announced at the 44th annual Grammy Awards on February 27, 2002 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in a televised ceremony broadcast to over 1.7 billion viewers in 175 countries.

ROUSE ELECTED TO THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS

One of Nine Artists, Writers, and Composers Honored

Artists Richard Artschwager, Leon Golub, and Catherine Murphy; the writers Richard Hass, Romulus Linney, George Plimpton, and Edward Said; and the composers Christopher Rouse and Joseph Schwantner have been elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters. John Hollander, Secretary of the Academy, who made the announcement on March 6, will induct the new members at the Academy's annual Cememonial on May 15.

Members are elected annually to fill vacancies in the Academy's membership of 250 American artists, architects, writers, and composers. Nominations made by members are first submitted for vote by department (Art, Literature, Music). The names of candidates who receive the highest number of votes from the members in their discipline are then placed on a ballot that is sent to the entire membership. The honor of election is considered the highest formal recognition of artistic merit in this country.

The Academy was founded in 1898 to "foster, assist, and sustain an interest in literature, music, and the fine arts." Each year, the Academy honors over 50 artists, architects, writers, and composers (who are not members) with cash awards. The amounts of these prizes range from $2500 to $75,000. Other activities of the Academy are exhibitions of painting , sculpture, architecture, and menuscripts; publications about the Academy's history and events; and, through the Richard Rogers Awards, reading and performances of new musicals. The American Academy of Arts and Letters is located in two landmark New York buildings, designed by McKim, Mead & White and by Cass Gilbert, on Audubon Terrace at 155th Street and Broadway.

NEW YORK CITY BALLET WORLD PREMIERE OF FRIANDISES

Christopher Rouse's new dance work, FRIANDISES, will receive its world premiere with the New York City Ballet, choreography by Peter Martins, on February 10, 2006. The Juilliard Dance Ensemble will present the work with choreography by Adam Hougland beginning on February 22, 2006. For more information see the Performance Calendar.

FRIANDISES will also be featured on PBS's "Live from Lincoln Center" on April 3, 2006, as part of their broadcast of 100 Years of The Juilliard School: A Gala Celebration.

Der gerettete Alberich, Rapture, and Violin Concerto all receive their world premiere recordings on a new Ondine CD featuring the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leif Segerstam, and soloists Evelyn Glennie and Cho-Liang Lin.

Click here for more information and to listen to excerpts.

On May 7th's Opening Night at Pops, Keith Lockhart led the Boston Pops Orchestra in the world premiere of The Nevill Feast, a Boston Pops commission from Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy-winning composer Christopher Rouse. This entertaining eight-minute work recalls the great celebratory feasts of the Middle Ages with a modern-day rock-and-roll twist.

TELDEC RELEASES RECORDING OF ROUSE'S CONCERT DE GAUDI

Teldec has released a CD of Christopher Rouse's 1999 guitar concerto, Concert de Gaudi. The Gulbenkian Orchestra of Lisbon, Portugal performs, with Sharon Isbin as soloist and Muhai Tang conducting. This world premiere recording was released by Teldec on May 15, 2001 (Teldec Classics 8573-81830-2). For more information, click here.

Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times gives this recording his top rating of four stars: "If Sharon Isbin won a Grammy this year for her...Dreams of the World, then she deserves a Nobel for this recording of two terrific new guitar concertos, written for her and played with gripping persuasiveness. Christopher Rouse, a composer with a plucky taste for classic rock and a contradictory tendency to slip into dark Shostakovichian moods, shows off neither here. Instead he sets conventional Spanish guitar style surrealistically on its ear. His [Concert de Gaudi] begins as though it was a sequel to Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez gone wonderfully awry. The middle movement, however, is the work's treasure, with a lyricism that is about as compulsively memorable as the beloved middle movement of Rodrigo's concerto."

The Dallas Morning News says of Concert de Gaudi, "It's uncommonly beautiful and here's predicting it's going to be performed and recorded a lot... Its emotional impact is reminiscent of Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain." Barrymore L. Scherer of Public Arts comments "Wonderfully eclectic... From the opening swirl of flamenco-style gestures, through the poignant, ballad-like slow movement and the scintillating finale, the score kaleidescopically presents memorably expressive passages."

Concert de Gaudi was jointly commissioned by the Norddeutsche Rundfunk and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for Sharon Isbin, with additional funding provided by Richard and Jody Nordlof. It is published by Boosey & Hawkes.

COMPOSER CHRISTOPHER ROUSE HONORED WITH A.I. DuPONT AWARD AT DELAWARE SYMPHONY CONCERTS

Wilmington, DE - January 10, 2001 - The Delaware Symphony Orchestra announced that composer Christopher Rouse has been named as the recipient of this year's Alfred I. duPont Award to, "a distinguished American composer, who has made a significant contribution in the field of contemporary orchestral music," for his Flute Concerto. Rouse was previously honored with the Pulitzer for his Trombone Concerto, and the Kennedy Center's Friedheim Award for his Symphony No. 1. Rouse's Flute Concerto will be played at the DSO's fourth Classical Series concerts, along with Brahms' Symphony No. 2 and Strauss' Burleske in D minor for Piano and Orchestra, with DSO conductor Stephen Gunzenhauser, as well as guest pianist Diane Walsh, on February 8, 9, and 10, at the Grand Opera House. Delaware Symphony flutist Carol Brown Beste will perform Rouse's Flute Concerto. Thursday's performance begins at 6:30 PM, Friday and Saturday performances both begin at 8:00 PM. Tickets are priced from $14 to $54. Concert previews take place one hour prior to each concert. Christopher Rouse will participate in the previews along with Delaware Symphony musician Chuck Holdeman. Call 302-652-5577 or 1-800-37GRAND for tickets.

As a part of the Delaware Symphony's Education Outreach Programs, Christopher Rouse will visit students at Brandywine High School on February 9th. DSO bassoonist and composer Chuck Holdeman worked with theory and band students for several weeks at area schools to help them create original compositions based on Christopher Rouse's music. Rouse will listen to the compositions and offer comments and encouragement to the students. The music that Rouse chooses will be played by the winning students at a Performance Preview in the Function Room of the Grand Opera House one hour prior to the three concerts.

Saturday night's concert has traditionally been Educators' Night, when area teachers are invited to attend the concert in recognition of their service to Delaware's young people. This year the McKean High School Highlander Chorale will perform before the concert and during intermission. In addition, this year the Delaware Symphony Association has joined with the Jessie Ball duPont Fund in creating the Jessie Ball duPont Educator Award. The award was created to honor a Delaware teacher who has excelled in, and made a significant contribution to, the field of music education. The first winner is Marcia Schiff Acero, a music teacher at Colwyck Elementary School, New Castle, Delaware. Acero will receive a plaque and a $1,000 stipend at the concert on Saturday. Nominations came from the Delaware Music Educator's Association and the Delaware State Music Teachers Association. This award was created as a way to honor an outstanding music teacher, and to honor the late Jessie Ball duPont. Mrs. duPont was a devoted teacher before her marriage to Alfred I. duPont. After their marriage, Mrs. duPont continued to support the cause of the importance of education. "Early, I realized that love and knowledge were the only things of value," she wrote. During her lifetime she gave hundreds of individual scholarships as well as major donations to almost two hundred colleges and universities.

Today's DSO brings music to thousands of Delawareans through its Classical, Pops, and Chamber Series, its Kent & Sussex Series, and its education outreach programs. Friday's concert is sponsored by DuPont and the Alfred I. duPont Foundation. Saturday's concert is sponsored by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. The Delaware Symphony is supported, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency committed to enhancing and supporting the arts in Delaware.