NYT: 5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now

Doug Cuomo's saxophone concerto, a raft, the sky, the wild sea with Joe Lovano, Winston-Salem Symphony and conductor Michelle Merrill is among the selection.

Excerpt from NYT Review

By Seth Colter Walls

"Recently, I wrote about the health of “classical Americana” in light of Carnegie Hall concerts that offered works by Duke Ellington and John Adams. Among the responses I received was an email from the composer Douglas J. Cuomo. He included a link to his latest concerto. I’m glad he did."

"...Cuomo’s “a raft, the sky, the wild sea” makes for a strong half-hour of listening. Though often hushed, it also features surges of energy that draw succor from the language of swing. And while the orchestral aesthetic on offer has a noirish interest in seduction, it’s never obvious during moments of harmonic swell.

"Listen for the way Cuomo’s orchestral material informs Lovano’s lovely (and largely improvised) solo part."

— Seth Colter Walls

Read full NYT article here.

Listen to "a raft, the sky, the wild sea"