Richard Wernick
Concertos for Piano and Violin
BRIDGE 9082

Richard Wernick's music is much admired among a growing group of fans. The premiere recordings of these two major scores add significantly to the Wernick discography and reveal a composer of passion and vision. Played brilliantly by pianist Lambert Orkis, Wernick's Piano Concerto is a work that reconciles modernism with classical architecture- a work of extreme contrast and overreaching unity. The composer leads Symphony II in an impassioned reading.

Wernick's Violin Concerto is given a heroic performance by soloist Gregory Fulkerson, and Symphony II, led by music director, Larry Rachleff. Wernick's virtuoso orchestral accompaniment is played with great intensity by Symphony II- otherwise known as the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, and is captured in hair-raising sonics!

Reviews:

“Wernick uses dissonant counterpoint; his rhythms are dramatic and driving; his orchestration is colourful, his lineage eclectic, his gift for oppositions, for characterization strong. ” - MusicWeb International