Saturday, April 28, 2012

CCC 028 - Samuel Zyman

Samuel Zyman isa  prominent Mexican composer, as well as a respected and valued member of the Julliard School of Music. And he's the next installment in our ongoing  Consonant Classical Challenge.

Zyman blends Mexican musical traditions with classical forms to create works that sound fresh and original. Yet because he uses traditional instruments in traditional ways, his music has a familiarity to it that an audience can immediately grasp.

Samuel Zyman has written for both orchestral and chamber ensembles. His quintet "Musica para Cinco" presents the essence of his blended style of composition.




Zyman seamlessly incorporates the musical language of Mexico into his compositions. Encuentros demonstrates that ability. Although the work has a Mexican "sound" to it, there's more going on here than mere pastiche. Zyman develops his themes carefully, creating a solid "classical" composition.



 Samuel Zyman has composed several works for flute. Some feature the flute in a chamber ensemble, but there are some works for flute and orchestra as well, including two flute concertos. This is a movement from his second concerto. As you can hear, it's an exciting engaging work that shouldn't sound too outre for elderly concert-goers (but should definitely seem like a welcome breath of fresh air to younger ears).



Samuel Zyman is probably better known to Mexican than American concert-goers, and that's too bad. For orchestras that are wringing their hands at what to do about dwindling audiences that lack diversity, Zyman seems an obvious choice. He's a talented composer whose musical language speaks not only to the regular concert-goer, but to those of Latino background as well.

Recommended recordings 

 The Other Conquest (La Otra Conquista): Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1998 Film)

Illinois State University Wind Symphony - Maslanka: Symphony No. 7 ; Samuel Zyman: Cycles ; Matthew Halper Concerto for Flute and Wind Ensemble

Canto de Estío

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