BMOP/Sound To Release Hartke And De Ritis Albums

Known as the nation's foremost label launched by an orchestra and devoted exclusively to new music, BMOP/sound today announced the release of two new recordings: Anthony Paul De Ritis: Pop Concerto (Released February 2017) and Stephen Hartke: The Ascent of the Equestrian in a Balloon (Released March 2017). Under conductor Gil Rose, the musicians of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) shine on these spirited recordings interpreting and performing the music of two of today's most innovative composers.

Highbrow meets lowbrow, funky meets cultured, and soloists meet their shadowy doubles in Anthony Paul De Ritis: Pop Concerto. This is the second release of the Boston-based composer's work on the BMOP/sound label. Written for the celebrated guitar virtuoso Eliot Fisk, Pop Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra is a virtuosic exploration of the sound, groove, and textures of four landmark pop songs: Seal's Bring It On, Alanis Morissette's You Oughta Know, U2's Beautiful Day, and Michael Jackson's The Way You Make Me Feel. Amsterdam is a kinetic, energetic orchestral showpiece, while Riflessioni features bassoonist Patrick de Ritis (no relation to the composer) in an interactive setting of electronic reflections and echoes. The infectious Ballet evolved from the composer's doctoral dissertation, and underscores his enduring devotion to the rhythms of dance; highlighted on this track is Duo X88, made up of pianists Vicky Chow and Saskia Lankhoorn, both consummate performers of contemporary music.

The whimsically titled The Ascent of the Equestrian in a Balloon is a perfect window into the mind of composer Stephen Hartke, whose boundless imagination and creativity shine in this latest release. Inspired by a quirky, surreal 18th-century woodcut, Ascent was written in celebration of the composer's two-year-old son's birthday. Spanning a period of three decades, the other works on the disc cover a range of characters and influences. Alvorada is a melodic, polyphonic exploration of medieval lyric poetry. A Brandenburg Autumn, written for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra's "New Brandenburgs" commissioning project, is a modern dialogue with one of Bach's groundbreaking orchestral works. And Muse of the Missouri is rooted in a sense of place: the celebrated fountains of Kansas City, MO, where the composer has many friends and colleagues.