Carlos Simon: Four Symphonic Works National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center & Gianandrea Noseda

• Carlos Simon (b. 1986): The Block:
• 1Simon: The Block06:36
• Tales – A Folklore Symphony:
• 2Simon: Tales – A Folklore Symphony: I. Motherboxx Connection04:48
• 3Simon: Tales – A Folklore Symphony: II. Flying Africans04:46
• 4Simon: Tales – A Folklore Symphony: III. Go Down Moses (Let My People Go)08:16
• 5Simon: Tales – A Folklore Symphony: IV. John Henry04:43
• Songs of Separation:
• 6Simon: Songs of Separation: I. The Garden04:39
• 7Simon: Songs of Separation: II. Burning Hell04:18
• 8Simon: Songs of Separation: III. Dance03:16
• 9Simon: Songs of Separation: IV. We Are All the Same05:24
• Wake Up! Concerto for Orchestra:
• 10Simon: Wake Up! Concerto for Orchestra20:02
• Total Runtime01:06:48

Info for Carlos Simon: Four Symphonic Works

The conclusion of a digital series by Gianandrea Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra, Carlos Simon: Four Symphonic Works brings together a collection of pieces by Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence, Carlos Simon. Tales-A Folklore Symphony delves into African American culture and folklore. The work touches upon a wide breadth of ideas-from Negro Spirituals sung by enslaved prisoners to comics by the Afrofuturist creative duo, Black Kirby. Simon's short orchestral study, The Block, takes inspiration from the visual art of the late Romare Bearden, an artist whose work reflected African American life in urban cities as well as the rural American south. Songs of Separation for mezzo-soprano and orchestra was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra in connection with Simon's current residency as Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence. The work takes it's inspiration from a set of four poems by the 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi. Completing the album is the composer's Wake Up! Concerto for Orchestra, which asks it's audience to consider their own awareness in an increasingly chaotic society.

The recording features Simon’s short orchestral study, The Block, which takes inspiration from the visual art of the late Romare Bearden, an artist whose work reflected African American life in urban cities as well as the rural American south.

Tales—A Folklore Symphony delves into African American culture and folklore. The work is an exploration of African American folklore and Afrofuturist stories.

Songs of Separation for mezzo-soprano and orchestra was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra in connection with Simon’s appointment as Composer-in-Residence. The work takes its inspiration from a set of four poems by the 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic Jalāl al-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī and features mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges.

Completing the album is the composer’s Wake Up! Concerto for Orchestra, inspired by the poem Awake, Asleep, written by the Nepali poet Rajendra Bhandari. The poet, “warns of the danger of being obliviously asleep in a social world, but yet how collective wakefulness provides ‘a bountiful harvest of thoughts,’” said Simon in his liner notes.

J'Nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda, conductor

Gianandrea Noseda
is one of the world’s most sought-after conductors, equally recognized for his artistry in both the concert hall and opera house. The 2021 – 2022 season marks his fifth as Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra.

Noseda’s artistic leadership has inspired the NSO and in 2019, he and the National Symphony Orchestra earned rave reviews for their first concerts together at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. The 2019–2020 season saw their artistic partnership continue to flourish with the launch of a new NSO recording label distributed by LSO Live for which Noseda also records as principal guest conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. The first recording on the label featured Dvořák’s Symphony No 9 and Copland’s Billy the Kid.

Noseda became General Music Director of the Zurich Opera House in September 2021 and will lead multiple productions each season. The centerpiece of his tenure will be a new production of the Ring Cycle, marking his first performances of Wagner’s tetralogy. From 2007 to 2018, Noseda served as Music Director of the Teatro Regio Torino, where his leadership and his initiatives propelled the company’s global reputation resulting in a golden era for this opera house.

National Symphony Orchestra
Founded in Washington, D.C. in 1931 by Hans Kindler, the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) has always been committed to artistic excellence and music education. Now, nearly 90 years later, the NSO continues to thrive in this capital city. In 1986, the Orchestra became an artistic affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where it has performed a full season of subscription concerts since the Center opened in 1971. In addition, the 98-member NSO regularly participates in events of national and international importance, including official holiday celebrations for Memorial and Independence Days through its regularly televised appearances on PBS on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol for Capital Concerts, live-streamed performances from the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on medici.tv, and local radio broadcasts on Classical WETA 90.9FM, making the NSO one of the most-heard orchestras in the country.

Gianandrea Noseda serves as the National Symphony Orchestra’s seventh music director, joining the NSO’s legacy of such distinguished leaders as Christoph Eschenbach, Leonard Slatkin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Antal Doráti, Howard Mitchell, and Hans Kindler. Its artistic leadership also includes Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke and Artistic Advisor Ben Folds.

Since assuming the leadership of the NSO, Gianandrea Noseda has brought a renewed sense of energy and focus to the orchestra, which has resulted in wide-ranging recognition from local, national, and international publications, increases in subscription and single ticket sales, and the expansion of the Orchestra’s reach through livestreamed concerts and recordings. The New York Times called the NSO and Noseda’s recent Carnegie Hall appearance 'spectacular', while the Washington Post wrote that 'there’s a certain flair going on at the National Symphony Orchestra', consistently reinforcing that this artistic partnership continues to gain momentum.

Additionally, the NSO’s community engagement projects are nationally recognized, including NSO In Your Neighborhood, which annually comprises a week of performances in schools, churches, community centers, and other unexpected venues; Notes of Honor, which offers free performances for active, veteran, prior service, and retired members of the military and their families; and Sound Health, a collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its affiliated organizations. Career development opportunities for young musicians include the NSO Youth Fellowship Program and its acclaimed, tuition-free Summer Music Institute.

Booklet for Carlos Simon: Four Symphonic Works