Lang / Gilfry / Tao: Loser

Lesley Leighton: Loser
Title: Loser
Artist: Lang / Gilfry / Tao
Label: Cantaloupe
Product Type: COMPACT DISCS
UPC: 713746315528
Genre: Classical Artists

An opera in one act for solo baritone voice, solo piano and ensemble, David Lang's 'the loser' has been lauded by the New York Times as a "boldly unconventional" work, and that's almost putting it mildly. 'the loser' is based on the Thomas Bernhard novel of the same name, in which an anonymous narrator and once-promising concert pianist retells the story of his friend's suicide. As it turns out, both were students in the same master class, taught by Vladimir Horowitz, as a young Glenn Gould. Playing in the shadow of Gould brings both to the realization that true greatness will never be theirs, wrecking both their lives forever. As David Lang tells it, "The story is not at all about Gould, Horowitz, or classical music. On one level, the novel is an intense tour-de-force of character development, as the narrator tells you more about himself and his world. In it's own strangely beautiful way, however, it's also about perfectionism, hard work, how we justify our lives to ourselves, and how we learn to appreciate beauty and become alienated from it at the same time." Featuring Rod Gilfry (baritone), Conrad Tao (piano) and the Bang on a Can Opera Ensemble conducted by Lesley Leighton, 'the loser' premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2016 and made it's west coast premiere at the LA Opera in early 2019. Tracked in New York and Los Angeles, the studio recording recaptures what the LA Times described as "a mesmerizingly virtuosic performance by Rod Gilfry, destined for the annals of opera."

Tracks:
1.1 The Loser
1.2 Scene 1: Even Glenn Gould, Our Friend
1.3 Scene 2: Strangely Enough
1.4 Scene 3: It's Not My Way
1.5 Scene 4: Glenn Is the Victor
1.6 Scene 5: Those Who Live in the Country
1.7 Scene 6: I'm the Survivor
1.8 Scene 7: Glenn Died at the Perfect Moment
1.9 Scene 8: The Loser Was a Born Loser

Audio Sample:
All soundclips are provided by Tidal and are for illustrative purposes only. For some releases, the tracks listed may not accurately represent the tracks on the physical release.

Lang / Gilfry / Tao: Loser

Product-type:CD

Regular price $19.99
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