Pulitzer Prize- and three-time GRAMMY award-winning composer, Jennifer Higdon, continues to write what the Chicago Sun-Times describes as music “both modern and timeless”. Duo Duel for two pitched percussion instruments and orchestra is a double concerto of scintillating, high-speed virtuosity: “don’t blink – you might miss something!” she advises the listener. Concerto for Orchestra demands the utmost in technical accomplishment from all members of the orchestra. The first movement was written last to give a clearer picture of what was needed to start a work that is both an orchestral celebration and a true virtuoso tour-de-force.

Leave it to Christoph Eschenbach and the Houston Symphony to deliver one of the more impressive classical discs of 1999: a pairing of the violin concertos of John Adams and Philip Glass. Hearing the works of these two American music mavericks side-by-side is a study in contrasts: Adams's postmodernist composition from 1993 is filled with spooky overtones, as the violin threads its way through the piece, always at the forefront. It doubles as a ballet (the NYC Ballet cocommissioned the piece), yet never forgets the traditional violin-concerto form. Glass's composition from the late '80s is less complex. It, too, is based around a traditional structure of three movements, but these are passages we've heard from the composer for the last decade, though never quite so well assembled.

Violinist Leticia Moreno, the Houston Symphony and its Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada present two world premiere recordings of works by contemporary composer Jimmy López Bellido. Aurora, for Solo Violin and Orchestra, and Symphony No. 2: Ad Astra share a fascination for the stars. While Aurora is inspired by López Bellido’s years in Finland, and particularly the privilege to witness northern lights, Ad Astra is an homage to humanity’s spirit of exploration, and dedicated to the people of NASA, whose bravery and vision continue to inspire humanity’s most ambitious dreams. López Bellido’s symphony adds a new dimension to the notion of per aspera ad astra (“through hardship to the stars”), which has been one of the central narratives of symphonic composition since Beethoven’s days.

Haydn’s stupendous, joyous and uplifting oratorio Die Schöpfung (The Creation) is thrillingly brought to life in this recording with Andrés Orozco-Estrada conducting the Houston Symphony, with the Houston Symphony Chorus and the acclaimed operatic soloists Nicole Heaston, Toby Spence and Peter Rose. With its startling dramatic gestures, bold orchestral colours and sublimely beautiful word painting, Haydn’s astonishing depiction of the Genesis creation story remains his supreme masterpiece and one of the best-loved works in the entire choral repertoire. In a vivid series of tableaux, from the creation of light to Adam and Eve’s love duet, Haydn brings to life the birds, beasts and angels which all rejoice in soaring, life-affirming music. Andres Orozco-Estrada writes: “What I love most about this piece is the tone painting and the richly colored way the music describes nature and animals. We tried to give the listener the possibility to imagine the musical illustrations Haydn composed in the “Creation,” which distinguish this outstanding work of art from others.”