BMOP/Sound Releases Album By Eric Nathan Today

Known as the nation's foremost label launched by an orchestra and devoted exclusively to new music, Grammy Award-winning BMOP/sound today announced the release of Eric Nathan: the space of a door, led by conductor Gil Rose and performed by the intrepid Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP). In this portrait album of the composer's orchestral and large ensemble music, Nathan proves he is one of today's must-hear new American voices.

Nathan serves as David S. Josephson Assistant Professor of Music in composition and theory at Brown University's Department of Music. He is also Composer-in-Residence with the New England Philharmonic. His music has been called "as diverse as it is arresting" with a "constant vein of ingenuity and expressive depth" (San Francisco Chronicle), "thoughtful and inventive" (The New Yorker), and as "a marvel of musical logic" (Boston Classical Review). According to the composer, his compositions are like children "that go off into the world and grow into their own selves. I learn from them and hope they continue to surprise me. Great joy comes from witnessing what they become."

This album frames a body of work that spans eight years (2008-2016), from Nathan's student days to the present. The most recent piece is the album's eponymous track, the space of a door. Dedicated to the composer's mentor Steven Stucky, it was premiered in 2016 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Often inspired by engaging with old places such as historic churches, cathedrals or concert halls, Nathan's creative energy was sparked for the space of a door by the Providence Athenaeum built in 1836. "Mr. Nathan's cinematic the space of a door directly borrows from Brahms, taking its opening gesture from the motif that starts the Second Symphony. Rich with asynchronous strings, and full of light and shade, it hurtles toward a nostalgic end. Engaging, from a voice we will hear more of." (The New York Times)