“With the Americana Symphony, Mark O'Connor provides his answer to a question that has intrigued U. S. composers since the debut of Dvorak's New World Symphony in 1892: "How do you write the great American Symphony?"

With an innovative form that combines historical narrative with classical and folk variation principles, the Americana Symphony contains all of the hallmarks of O'Connor's musical style: instrumental virtuosity, rhythmic drive, poignant lyricism, and probing counterpoint.  O'Connor's compositional skill and attention to orchestration is evident in every bar of this score.  This revelatory work is a joy for performers and audience members alike.

David Wallace, D.M.A.
Graduate Studies / Literature & Materials of Music Faculty, The Juilliard School
Senior Teaching Artist, the New York Philharmonic”

“A hit!”

– Marin Alsop, Conductor and Music Director, Baltimore Symphony

“...a serious work by a composer who may someday become a new Gershwin, bridging the gap between popular and classical music…overall both the effect of the piece and the playing of the orchestra might
be summed up by the symphony's finale, which was triumphant, joyful and
suffused with characteristically American optimism.”

– The Ledger, Lakeland, Florida

“The form of variations on O'Connor's own haunting "Appalachia Waltz" was compelling evidence that O'Connor's mastery continues to mature. - Metro Santa Cruz



"an infectious hoedown" - San Fransisco Classical Voice



"Its impassioned writing is triggered by the evocative and rich melody of O'Connor's excellent fiddle work, Appalachia Waltz." - The Sacramento Bee

”

Dear Mark,

Congratulations on the release of your new disc.  I have been enjoying listening to it, many times now.  I truly love the special sound you achieve in your harmonic language.  I also love to hear you play you own concertos.  It is very special to hear the creative and interpretive synergies going on at the same time.

All the best, and BRAVO!

Dr. Kenneth Fuchs
Professor of Composition
Department of Music
University of Connecticut

•----------------------------------

"Absolutely beautiful work that resonated with me.  Bravo!"  

– Kenneth Fuchs, Composer

“I first met Mark O'Connor 12 years ago when I was overseeing marketing for
Sony Classical and Mark was recording the first Appalachia Waltz album with
Edgar Meyer and Yo-Yo Ma.  I was instantly taken aback at Mark's ability to
communicate absolutely perfectly in a variety of musical languages.  One of
the high points in my thirty years of working with musicians was watching
Mark place his bow across Yo-Yo's arm to demonstrate how to achieve a
"fiddle" style on the cello.  Mark's staggering resume as an instrumentalist
is well known but it is now though his own compositions that he has  really
begun to stretch out into a much broader and very unique musical pallet.
His compositions bridge American folk traditions with the world of western
"classical" music in a way that is absolutely pure and genuine.  Whereas
Dvorak and Copland painted symphonic landscapes using melodies inspired by
the Americana tradition, Mark actually comes from that tradition itself.
He's lived it every day of his life.  And you hear it in every note of
Americana Symphony.”

– Gilbert Hetherwick
(Former President of Sony Classical Action
November 12th, 2007

“I'm happy to write praise for Mark O'Connor's new symphony. It was a thrill
to conduct, and I am looking forward to another opportunity to perform it
again soon.  For me personally, very few pieces of new music have the same
emotional and visceral effect as this symphony.  It has such power and
beauty, and these traits are expressed in original ways that are pure
O'Connor and truly American.

I am overjoyed that the pairing of the O'Connor Symphony with Dvorak's
"New World" Symphony in Dubuque this weekend seemed to resonate with so many
people. They seem to complement one another in so many ways: each work
utilizing American folk material while painting landscapes of our country,
and expressing American sensibilities.  In Dvorak's symphony, the struggles
seem more war- like, with broad strokes painted by a composer who never
truly felt at home in this country, and whose homesickness pervades the
work.  In the O'Connor symphony, the struggles lead to an ultimate sense of
home and belonging, and of being American.

My decision to end our Dubuque Symphony concerts with the O'Connor symphony
rather than Dvorak's "New World" was carefully thought through, and
O'Connor's score did deliver just as much emotional power and catharsis as
Dvorak's.

It was a privilege to be among the first to perform this symphony. For me,
O'Connor's Americana Symphony has become a place where joy, dance,
tenderness, and majesty all converge to make me more alive…to make me
whole again.

”

– William Intriligator
Music Director & Conductor, Dubuque Symphony
October 8th, 2007

“Our audience really embraced the Symphony and I couldn't be more pleased…A
lot of our subscribers stay home when they hear the words "new work."  But,
in this case, they came out in force and were incredibly proud to be part of
a truly American symphony experience, thanks in large part to the wonderful
media coverage that we were able to garner because of Mark's popularity in
many genres.

To the other Group 5/6 orchestras involved in this consortium of orchestras
that commissioned the work and haven't performed it yet, you are in for a
real treat and I can't wait to hear about your experiences.  For those of
you who really love Mark's body of works through his many projects over the
years, this Symphony is a great way to expose your audience and orchestra to
a work that embodies all of Mark's life's experiences and his wonderful
compositional technique.  The music is what truly excites me as an Executive
Director…I'm already looking forward to talking to our Music Director about
programming this Symphony again in a few years.  I know that everyone there
will tell their friends about it.

Sorry to be so excited and a little verbose, but this was by far the best
concert experience I've had in my 3 ∏ years in Lakeland.  Our next concert
is Two-Fifths of Beethoven.  You figure it out.
”

– Bev Hendricks
Executive Director
Imperial Symphony Orchestra
Lakeland FL
October 9th, 2007

“This symphony [Americana Symphony] was just premiered by conductor Marin
Alsop at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music on August 3rd in Santa
Cruz, CA to ovations that lasted for several minutes.  The work was
commissioned by a consortium of 20 American orchestras and composed in part
as a challenge to O'Connor from several conductors who said he should
attempt to write "the Great American Symphony."  (These conductors contended
that while there were many worthy symphonies being written by noted
contemporary American composers, most of these works were indistinguishable
from works by their European and Asian counterparts; in essence, these works
did not really sound "American" . . .  in other words, in the minds of these
conductors, American symphonic music has reverted back to the cultural
situation of the 1890s, and new, representative American styles must be
explored.)  O'Connor's Symphony No. 1 is a strong, contemporary answer to
the same challenge Dvorak faced, and students will be able to perceive
similar tools and approaches in O'Connor's work.  There are also a number of
personal parallels (e.g. Dvorak was a fiddler, etc.)”

– David Wallace
Juilliard School

“Dear Mark,

I am writing to thank you for the wonderful concert you performed for us last month at Orchestra Hall.  The level of musicianship you brought to the stage was extraordinarily impressive, as were your new compositions.  We were honored that you chose Minneapolis for the premiere of your new music!

I am so looking forward to the opportunity to have the Minnesota Orchestra perform your new Americana Symphony. Like your last orchestral works, and the your quartets and trios, the piece is instilled with that insightful combination of American folk tradition combined with the melodic sounds of our era as well. The musical landscapes you create, always capture your own musical roots, those of the Americana tradition!

Having known you these past seven years, I am always inspired by your unique musical style for the violin and all the settings that you compose for.  I look forward to working with you again soon, and to being one of the lucky orchestra's to make Americana Symphony come alive!”

– Lilly Schwartz, Minnesota Orchestra

“...congratulations again on the premiere of the Symphony...it is a big step, a major move, and a tremendous amount of work.  You're right, not many people realize the immensity of the project. But, boy, I can certainly appreciate it.”

– Jennifer Higdon, composer

“"Love your Americana Symphony and your Concerto #6 CD- it's dynamite!"  ”

– -Pulitzer Prize Winning Composer, Joseph Schwantner



Mark O'Connor's "Americana Symphony" RECEIVES CRITICAL PRAISE AND IS A NATIONAL BESTSELLER

"a monumental work...inevitably will be compared to Copland"
    -Associated Press

"as unrepentantly tonal, accessibly melodic and sonically spacious as a great Elmer Bernstein film score"
   -Los Angeles Times

"This is one of the most enjoyable contemporary orchestral CD's heard in quite some time."
   -ConcertoNet.com - The Classical Music Network

"the six-movement Americana Symphony, and what a thrill it is"
   -Sonicboomers.com

"Mark O'Connor provides his answer to a question that has intrigued U. S. composers since the debut of Dvorak's New World Symphony in 1892: "How do you write the great American Symphony?"
   -David Wallace- Juilliard School

"Americana Symphony" may well be regarded one day as one of this country's great gifts to the classical music canon, as well as being a pivotal moment in the rise of the new American classical music"
   -David McGee (Spin, Rolling Stone, Barnesandnoble.com, BluegrassSpecial.com)

"One might have expected little more than warmed-over Copland, but the results are actually highly listenable. Anyone who has enjoyed O'Connor's work with Ma and Meyer will greet this new work with interest."
   -All Music Guide