America

American classical music has always been a fascinating melting pot of styles, from the spirituals and jazz of the Deep South to the European influences that Jewish composers escaping Nazi Germany brought with them to the US. On this album, violinist Daniel Hope invites classical and jazz musicians, including the great jazz pianist Marcus Roberts, to explore together the idea of “American” music. Here, there are new arrangements of Gershwin, a West Side Story Suite that breathes new life into Bernstein’s masterful music, Copland’s heartfelt portraits of the Appalachian idyll and a flavour of Kurt Weill’s seductive cabaret music. Florence Price’s “Adoration”, in a version for solo violin and strings, lies at the album’s heart, a reminder of a composing talent that, until recently, lay unjustly neglected.