WCO Recordings

Close to the Music

Recorded under the direction of Music Director & conductor Andrew Sewell, this debut CD, Close to the Music, released July 28, 2004, includes some of the finest selections in chamber orchestra repertoire. (75 minutes)

All tracks are taken from Maestro Sewell's programs during his first four years of tenure with the WCO and are arranged onto this collaborative 75 minute disc. Recorded in the Norman Mitby Theater in Madison, Wisconsin, Maestro Sewell describes the CD as "an important milestone for the orchestra."

From the spectacular violins in Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 to the blazen finale of Igor Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite, this CD is a must for classical music lovers everywhere.

Track Listing: (click on the track name to hear a brief audio clip)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750):
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791):
Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K385 Haffner

Arthur Honegger (1892-1955): Pastorale d'eté

Douglas Lilburn (1915-2001): Four Canzonas

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971): Pulcinella Suite


REVIEW:

WCO, Maestro Sewell Offer Exceptional CD
Madison Capitol Times, Jacob Stockinger

Like Moses leading his tribes through the desert, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra maestro Andrew Sewell has been leading the ensemble through the wilderness that struck suddenly that hot summer day in 1998 when the WCO's longtime conductor David Lewis Crosby died. Over the past four years, Sewell has left his own mark on the orchestra. The ever popular Concerts on the Square have grown both in musical seriousness and performance quality. The winter Masterworks season consistently joins up with fine soloists to produce outstanding performances and good attendance, if not full houses.

In addition, the WCO does more tours and special events. Journey's end -- the Promised Land, if you will -- comes a year from now when the WCO prepares to move to its permanent home, the remodeled Capitol Theater in the Overture Center. In the meantime, on the brink of such a homecoming, Sewell and his ensemble have reached another landmark: the first CD done by the WCO. Close to the Music was officially released at Wednesday night's Concert on the Square.

Whether you are a fan of the summer Concerts on the Square or the winter classical concerts, you will find this to be exceptional listening at home, in the car or on your personal CD player while you exercise. As always, Sewell's instincts prove right on the money in this generous CD, which offers more than 75 minutes of music and accessible program notes written by Sewell himself.

For one thing, Sewell selected whole pieces, not just snippets or movements. His ability in Baroque, Classical and modern gems can be sampled in J.S. Bach's lively Third "Brandenburg" Concerto (with a beautiful second-movement cadenza by Concertmaster Suzanne Beia); Mozart's dramatically melodic and rhythmically driven "Haffner" Symphony; and Stravinsky's light-hearted and charming "Pulchinella Suite," which showcases the various sections of the ensemble. All performances show the same close care with detail, especially the way competing voices are balanced and clear.

Sewell's penchant for discovering or reviving more exotic fare is heard in Arthur Honegger's impressionistic "Summer Pastorale" and "Four Canzonas" -- pensive orchestral songs without words -- by the composer Douglas Lilburn, who was, like Sewell himself, a native New Zealander. Both are beautiful and very accessible modern works. The live recording was made in the Mitby Theater of Madison Area Technical College, where the WCO moved from the Wisconsin Union Theater two years ago. Yet the sound is present and full. The engineering, done by local recording artists Buzz Kemper and Steve Gotcher of Audio for the Arts, is as first-rate as the playing and the interpretations.

The CD should convince anyone who harbors fears that going to hear the WCO at Mitby will be a disappointing sonic experience. The CD costs $12 and is available from Barnes & Noble, Border's, the Exclusive Company and several other local and online retailers as well as from the WCO's main office. For information, call 257-0638 or visit www.wcoconcerts.org.