Gordon Getty Essentials

In a long composing career, Gordon Getty has written music encompassing most classical genres. On top of orchestral, chamber, and choral works, there are cantatas and solo piano pieces—and he has written four operas setting, among others, Edgar Allan Poe and Oscar Wilde. His music is rooted in tonalism but possesses an expressive, often angular melodic quality that conjures vivid atmospheres. This Essentials playlist features a wide sweep of Getty’s music, including the Walton-esque choral setting of Byron’s poem The Destruction of Sennacherib, orchestral works such as the Gaelic-sounding The Fiddler of Ballykeel, extracts from all four operas, and the most affecting of his solo piano pieces.