The Most Important Recording Projects Ever: Bridge Records' Complete George Crumb Edition
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- Опубликовано: 22 дек 2023
- From Bridge Records:
On March 3, 2024 Bridge Records will release Volume 21 of its Complete Crumb Edition, a recording project begun in 1982, and completed 42 years later with this final installment. The Crumb series documents the late American composer's complete catalog of works, spanning Crumb's seventy-five year compositional career. Project producer David Starobin writes that "the series benefited tremendously from George's participation in the recording and post-production of these documents." Over the decades Crumb also made appearances on the series as pianist, percussionist, narrator, and video commentator.
Series annotator Dr. Steven Bruns writes: "Since the founding of Bridge Records in 1981, the Complete Crumb Edition has been an integral part of the label's mission. This final installment includes composi tions from the beginning, middle, and end of Crumb's long and distinguished career."
Volume 21 features the world premiere recording of the composer's penultimate composition, the percussion quintet Kronos-Kryptos (Time-Secret), performed by a quintet of percussionists from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. (Crumb's final work, Metamorphoses, Book 2 can be heard on Volume 20 of the series, performed by Marcantonio Barone). Volume 21 also includes Crumb's second acknowledged composition, the Sonata for Solo Violoncello (1955), performed by cellist Timothy Eddy, as well as two performances of Crumb's piano solo, Processional (1983), played by pianists Gilbert Kalish (keyboard version) and Marcantonio Barone (version with inside piano additions).
Bridge's Complete Crumb Edition has been awarded numerous international awards including the Cannes International Critics Award, two Grammy nominations, and a Grammy Award for Crumb's largest work, Star-Child. Critic David Hurwitz wrote that "Bridge's decision to embark on a complete edition of George Crumb's music remains one of the most significant recording projects currently in progress, as well as one of the most artistically successful." (Classics Today.com)
A shy and warmly eloquent personality, George Crumb was honored with numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize (1968), and a Grammy Award (2001). Festivals devoted to his music have taken place across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. George Henry Crumb was born in Charleston, West Virginia in 1929. He made his home in Pennsylvania, in the same house where he and his wife of more than 70 years raised their three children, and where he died in February of 2022.
George Crumb's music is published by C.F. Peters Corp. The Complete Crumb Edition recordings will be available at www.BridgeRecords.com 
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GLORIOUS!!!!! Will Bridge Records ever put all of this into a box? (Tell 'em I'd pay full price for it) That would be a treasure... I have one good name-dropping George Crumb story: My best friend, David (different one) and I grew up each with that Nonesuch "Ancient Voices of Children" disc. David had a dog that howled, magnificently and wildly, whenever the vocalist sang "inside the piano" during that recorded performance. It worked every time and I never witnessed that dog ever howling, literally singing, other then while that record was played. Well, as I almost reluctantly and suddenly became a composer -- switched my major in college and everything -- I was almost immediately invited to meet with George Crumb at a luncheon after a few masterclasses. Miraculously, I was seated directly in front of him! I probably hadn't even composed a tiny piece of music yet, but here I was -- a "composition major" -- eating a salad inches away from this amazing composer. He didn't say much, so I summoned up the courage to tell him the story of my best friend's dog. I hoped it would amuse him. Instead, he kind of rolled his eyes and said, "Everybody's a music critic." That was that but, hey, I got to start out my career as a composer eating dinner with George Crumb. His music was always enjoyable. He kept your interest no matter where he went. We got to perform a work of his in his presence. I got to play one of the odd percussion instruments. I cherish the experience.
The most important clump ever!
Great, thanks and kudos to Bridge for this commitment. I just ordered the set.
Amazing video, Dave. Love the passion along with the information.
I agree completely!
(6:22) "..one of the really great voices...in all music." Amen. As a "hippie-era" composer myself, I can't overstate the effect of Crumb's music on the musical world in the late 60's. It was difficult to escape his influence...so why try? "Echoes of Time and the River" was performed when it was brand new by the Cleveland Orchestra and the ever-trusty Louis Lane; I missed it by a year..but then caught it on TV (!) in one of the Boston Symphony's amazing telecasts in 1976 (Ozawa). I also seem to recall catching a live radio performance of "Star Child" in the late 70's with Ormandy and Philadelphia.
Whatever, Crumb was the real deal and, as you point out, a very modest, retiring sort of guy. I had the honor of interviewing him in a pre-concert event with the Chicago Symphony, and I must confess I was rather star-struck and doubt that I made a lot of sense. Incidentally, that concert consisted of 2 works: "Ancient Voices of Children" and, after intermission, the Bruckner 4th, all conducted by "Zubie" Mehta. Go figure. LR
I love this choice! Didn't know there was going to be one more disc. I'm going to pre order it as soon as I can.
This is the most successful and engaging recording of Black Angels I've heard on CD - by far.
This'll probably spur me to give Crumb a try, though he may be a bit too avant-garde for my tastes. If we're considering other "important recording projects," though, I'd probably nominate the label Bru Zane's effort to recover and record forgotten French music of (mainly) the nineteenth century. Some incredible stuff there!
They just put the whole CLUMP on sale. 22 cds and a dvd. Mine's ordered!
And his scores look as beautiful as they sound.
Hope they box all these cds. It's quite difficult to get them here in Spain.
He was a professor on campus when I was an undergraduate. I wouldn't hear his music for another 20 years, but I truly wish I had known who he was and had just dropped by his office one day, "Hey, George, you're great!"
Damn, there's another composer I never heard of, and I will have to go and buy even more CDs to correct my ignorance. Watching your videos is an expensive hobby. 🤣
Boy, THIS one is a big deal! Crumb was born the same place I was, but it doesn't seem to have hindered him any. Love his music. First thing I ever heard by him was ANCIENT VOICES OF CHILDREN, didn't care for it, and then I heard the 1st volume of MAKROKOSMOS, BLACK ANGELS (Friedkin used NIGHT OF THE ELECTRIC INSECTS in THE EXORCIST, of course, but I'm no fan of that movie) , and VOICE OF THE WHALE and was made a fan for life.
And MUNDUS CANIS is hilarious. "yoda...Yoda...YODA!"
Do I see a Crumb Cube in the future? Crumb Box? Crumb Rhomboid?
Hello there! I’m a new sub and I was wondering what you think of Garrick Ohlsson’s Rach 3? I have the opportunity to see it live with the ASO and I want to know what your thoughts are as I am unfamiliar with him. I have always wanted to see it live so I want to make sure it’ll be a good performance, there is a recording available of him playing with the ASO I believe so I’ll give it a listen at some point but I want to know if you are familiar with him.
Thanks in advance
You never can know if it will be a good performance or not, but that shouldn't stop you from going. He's a fine artist with a long and very respectable pedigree, and he certainly has the chops to do the music proud. Just go listen with an open mind. If you like it then it will have been worth your time, and don't worry about how "good" it's supposed to be.