The Post and Courier: Charleston’s classical scene rises ‘Under an Indigo Sky’ with Billboard No. 2 spot
Charleston’s claim to classical fame has reached a new crescendo.
Composer Edward Hart’s new recording, “Under an Indigo Sky,” has come out on a high note, hitting the No. 2 spot on Billboard’s Traditional Classical Album ranking.
The recording, released by Navona Records, includes two original works by Hart, a Charleston native.
A violin concerto, “Under an Indigo Sky” was written expressly for and features Charleston Symphony’s artistic director and concertmaster Yuriy Bekker as soloist and folds in the composer’s impressions of various regions of South Carolina.
The Post and Courier
By Maura Hogan
Charleston’s claim to classical fame has reached a new crescendo.
Composer Edward Hart’s new recording, “Under an Indigo Sky,” has come out on a high note, hitting the No. 2 spot on Billboard’s Traditional Classical Album ranking.
The recording, released by Navona Records, includes two original works by Hart, a Charleston native.
A violin concerto, “Under an Indigo Sky” was written expressly for and features Charleston Symphony’s artistic director and concertmaster Yuriy Bekker as soloist and folds in the composer’s impressions of various regions of South Carolina.
“A Charleston Concerto” spotlights the Grammy Award-winning Harlem Quartet in performance with Charleston Symphony, conducted by Ken Lam, during the CSO’s 2021-22 season and homes in on the past, present and future of Charleston, layering in the rhythms and cultural touchstones of the locale.
Read more here.
Seen and Heard International: Hometown hero Jonathon Heyward returns to Charleston in triumph
Jonathon Heyward, newly anointed as music director of the Baltimore Symphony, was greeted with warmth and energy, cheers and whistles when he came out on the Gaillard Hall stage to conduct the Charleston Symphony for the first time, an authentic hometown hero. When he turned around to lead the audience in the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’, it seemed like everybody in the sold-out hall was singing with a full-throated musicality that made this one of the best performances of the anthem I had ever heard.
From the first bars of Florence Price’s 10-minute ‘Dances in the Canebrakes’ in William Grant Still’s colorful orchestration, Heyward elicited detail while maintaining momentum and showed great tempo choices, always organic and natural. The clarity and precision of his conducting was reflected in the exuberant playing by the combined forces of the Symphony and the Youth Symphony, in which Heyward had once played cello. He was keen on articulation and integrated small bits into the whole without ever seeming rushed. With his back to the audience, he monitored the proceedings with marionette-like moves on the podium.
Seen and Heard International
By Laurence Vittes
Jonathon Heyward, newly anointed as music director of the Baltimore Symphony, was greeted with warmth and energy, cheers and whistles when he came out on the Gaillard Hall stage to conduct the Charleston Symphony for the first time, an authentic hometown hero. When he turned around to lead the audience in the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’, it seemed like everybody in the sold-out hall was singing with a full-throated musicality that made this one of the best performances of the anthem I had ever heard.
From the first bars of Florence Price’s 10-minute ‘Dances in the Canebrakes’ in William Grant Still’s colorful orchestration, Heyward elicited detail while maintaining momentum and showed great tempo choices, always organic and natural. The clarity and precision of his conducting was reflected in the exuberant playing by the combined forces of the Symphony and the Youth Symphony, in which Heyward had once played cello. He was keen on articulation and integrated small bits into the whole without ever seeming rushed. With his back to the audience, he monitored the proceedings with marionette-like moves on the podium.
Read more here.
Photo Credit: Alyona Photography