Richard Danielpour, American composer on CD

The first of Danielpour's orchestral CDs - for Delos, 1992 - shows him in a more volatile, almost angry, voice compared to his more approachable and listenable follow-up discs for SONY. On the other hand, this one exhibits a somewhat more distinctive voice, albeit with some Stravinsky sprinkled throughout. In his recordings for SONY, his tonal palette has grown into one which recalls the soundworld of Michael Torke and John Adams, with a hint of John Williams too.

This Delos, however, establishes Danielpour as the real deal. He could not possibly have more persuasive advocates than Gerard Schwarz and the fabulous Seattle Symphony, aided by spectacular Delos recording quality. If these pieces are not Danielpour's most easily enjoyable or approachable, it is interesting to hear him testing the waters with some of his earlier creative thoughts and orchestration prowess. The First Light is one of his most unique and adventuresome, but certainly sounds like he had some pent-up anger while writing it. After getting that off his chest, he lightens up with The Awakened Heart, a set of 3 tone poems which sounds rather like modern-day band music. If that seems like faint praise, I'm afraid it is. Others have criticized this composer as being "derivative", and this piece may give some credence to that observation. The Symphony (#3) is for soprano soloist, rather than the traditional orchestra one usually associates with a symphony. I came away thinking he has grown as a composer with future compositions, heard on SONY. 

Despite these committed performances and excellent sound, I'd recommend getting to know Danielpour's music with his two SONY discs before venturing out with this one on Delos. And also, don't miss his chamber music CD on Koch, which actually might become a favorite of many.
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I enjoyed rather more, both of his SONY discs. On the 1997 set conducted by David Zinman, we hear two of Danielpour's very best works: his Concerto For Orchestra and Anima Mundi. For the former, some have suggested Bartok as inspiration; that may be, but fortunately, it sounds nothing like Bartok's famous work of the same name. I say "fortunately", because it is distinctively Danielpour and he makes no effort to imitate Bartok. To suggest otherwise is nonsense. His Anima Mundi, an absolute masterpiece, instantly submerges us into the familiar Danielpour "sound" I've described above: one very much reminiscent of Michael Torke and John Adams, with perhaps a hint of John Williams - and occasionally, Stravinsky - mixed in.

His follow-up disc for SONY, conducted by Zdenek Macal, contains music combining elements from both soundworlds heard on the previous discs. Celestial Night has a bit of the angry, morose atmosphere of First Light; while Toward the Splendid City returns us unmistakably to the flavor of Michael Torke. Best of all is Danielpour's third masterpiece (alongside both on the Zinman disc), Urban Dances. This set of 5 dances each has its own character, unique from the others - full of life, color and the spirit of the dance.

Danielpour has been enormously lucky on record in having the most sympathetic and energizing advocates for his music. For Delos, it's Gerard Schwarz and the fabulous Seattle Symphony. For SONY, Macal and the Philharmonia and Zinman with the Pittsburgh. These conductors draw totally committed and brilliant orchestral playing from their respective orchestras, elevating much of this music toward greatness. It speaks volumes that conductors (and orchestras) of this stature have recorded his music. So too has Danielpour been lucky with superb recorded sound quality from both labels. Taken as a whole, this is wonderful music and I enjoyed every minute of it. I'd love to hear his early Piano Concerto, but cannot find that it has ever been recorded. And I want to get to know his chamber and solo piano music a little better on the wonderful 1995 Koch compilation.