New York-born, Bolivia-raised and US-educated, American composer Joan Tower celebrates her dual American heritage on this 2008 Grammy award-winning recording from the Nashville Symphony, conducted by Leonard Slatkin. Containing pieces written within the last two decades, this recording puts on display brilliant evidence of Tower's ability to consistently compose alluring new music.

Written in 2005, Made in America is a musical portrayal of an epic journey across the United States, with shades of the tune from "America the Beautiful" interwoven throughout the piece. The journey heard in the music is comparable to that of the piece itself in recent years; as of 2007, Made in America has been performed in all fifty states.

Tambor , a veritable whirlwind of sound, attests to Tower's partiality for rhythm and percussion as a result of her upbringing in South America. Tambor's Beethovenian drama and bravado stand in contrast to the more texturally varied Made in America.

In her Concerto for Orchestra, Tower uses a style of composition, similar to the traditional single-instrument concerto but with broader possibilities, in which different instruments and sections of instruments are featured during solo passages. Towards the beginning of Concerto for Orchestra: Part I for instance, the French horn is featured as a solo instrument and lightly accompanied by the orchestra. Later on in the piece a frantic motive is exchanged between different sections of instruments, creating frenzy just before the music calms and the cello section of the strings play completely unaccompanied. The frantic motive returns after this, culminating in a duel-styled interplay between the trumpets. The beginning of Concerto for Orchestra: Part II begins violently, quickly dropping in volume as a violin duo emerges from the battle-mist.

These three orchestral works by Joan Tower (who turns 70 this month) are beautifully crafted, audience-friendly and sure to suggest to the listener stimulating musical tales.

Featured Tracks:
Made in America
Concerto for Orchestra: Part I