Known
to blend Impressionism with characteristics of American music, Philip Lasser is
a New York City-based composer who is on faculty at Juilliard. He boasts an
impressive education, including studies with composer David Diamond and work
with Narcis Bonet and Gaby Casadesus – both colleagues of Nadia Boulanger. He’s
currently director of the European American Music Alliance, a school that
trains composers, musicians, and conductors in the tradition of Boulanger. He’s
also artistic director of Gaspard, a performing group based in New York City
who focuses on performing French salon-type concerts.
Lasser’s
works have been performed by the Atlanta Symphony, Seattle Symphony, New York
Chamber Symphony, and others, by artists including Kristjan Jarvi, Zuill
Bailey, and Simone Dinnerstein. You perhaps are familiar with one of his works,
The Circle and the Child, a piano
concerto written for Dinnerstein and sometimes heard on 90.9. Lasser used the
Bach chorale Ihr Gestirn’, ihr hohen
Lüfte as inspiration for this piece. Listen to him explain more about its
conception here.
And
here’s a performance of The Circle andthe Child for your listening pleasure.
