Alexander Prior - composer & conductor - child prodigy from England

[Marcus]

I have just listened again to Alexander Prior's Concerto for Piano, two Violins,  Cello & Orchestra, "Velesslavitsa". (Toccata classics TOCC 0109) This is a remarkable recording :
First, the composer Alexander Prior was just 16 years old when the recording was made. He was born in England in 1992, and has already wriiten 4 Symphonies, 3 Piano Concertos, Horn Concerto, an Opera, a Ballet, plus other works. As a conductor, his repertoire already includes many standard works, operas, symphonies, concertos etc. He has already conducted the first 8 Mahler symphonies, not a bad feat for a 16 year old.
Apart from the composer, who conducts the orchestra on this disc, the artists, are also very young: Zhang Xiao Ming,piano, 10 years old when the recording was made, Michael Province, violin 1 , 13 yrs, Simone Porter, violin 2, 12yrs , & Nathan Chan,15yrs, cello. Nathan Chan, also a conductor, conducted Mozart Variations at age 3, & Beethoven's 5th Symphony at age 4, with the Palo Alto Philharmonic Orchestra.
Alexander has promised to write a cycle for each of these performers, some already have been written, but other works planned are a Suite for Violin & Orchestra, Cello Concerto & Harp Concerto.
The work itself is a 3 movement work of some 45 minutes, and the premiere was televised on Channel 4 TV in 2009. Prior has Russian heritage, on his mother's side, and most of his works are said to reflect this.
The 3 movements are: 1.Maestoso - Allegro 17'08", 2. Grave 17'42", 3. Presto 11'45"
HIs style is one of late romantic, with a definate russian flavour.Think of Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Mussourgsky,Rimsky- Korsakov, plus Richard Strauss. All composers represented in various degrees, but Prior is also forging his own style. His orchestration is very competent, and the varying tempos, instrumentation  & colour, point to a young composer of fantastic talent. In the second movement, which I particularly like, the interplay between the instruments is evidence of a master at work. As you would expect, there are some "facile"moments, but generally, the quality is fairly even throughout.One cannot expect too much at this early stage of his career.The young performers are surprisingly excellent in their execution of the work,  reaffirming their prodigious talent.
Alexander Prior  has also dabbled in Electronic works, (not my cup of tea), so it remains to be seen how the music language will unfold, but at present, his love is for "romantic" music, and most works written to date are within that idiom. I look forward to hearing more of his works.
After the recent release of Symphonies by Carson Cooman (USA b.1982) (Naxos 8.559329), and Jay Greenberg (USA b.1991)Symphony no5 (Sony Classical #82876868452), I thought the future of music was in good hands, now with the Prior disc, I know it is. I can recommend this disc.
Marcus

[thalbergmad]

I remember watching this on TV and thought it fascinating. It was made all the more interesting as we were taken through all the auditions of the soloists as well.

Excellent TV viewing with more drama than "Emmerdale", but it sometimes bothers me when such young people are put in incredible stressful situations.

This young man definately knows his own mind and more than held his own with others with 60 years more experience than him.

I thought the concerto as most excellent piece.

Thal

Thal