John Matthew Myers, Myra Huang
Format Details:
Release Date: 13 May 2022
Label: Avie
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 0822252251227
Genres: Classical Twentieth Century
Description
Tenor John Matthew Myers makes an auspicious recording debut with Desiderium, an album that conveys yearning, separation, loneliness, distance, intimacy and longing for connection, through music by American and American émigré composers. An album for our times.
The star of tenor John Matthew Myers is rapidly in the ascendent. His debut album, Desiderium, coincides with his Metropolitan Opera debut in Brett Dean's Hamlet. Desiderium – "an ardent desire or longing, a feeling of loss or grief for something lost" – beautifully showcases Myers' mellifluous voice. His thoughtful programme of works by American and American émigré composers opens with Samuel Barber's yearning Knoxville: Summer of 1915 – rarely heard sung by a tenor – and transitions to Charles Griffes' similarly searching settings of 3 Poems of Fiona Macleod, and Andre Previn's 4 Songs for Tenor and Piano. What follows is A Letter from Sullivan Ballou, set to the words of a poignant letter by an American Civil War officer, by John Kander (of Kander and Ebb musical theatre fame). Rounding out the recital are 4 Walt Whitman Songs by German-born composer Kurt Weill, including the classic O Captain! My Captain!
John Matthew Myers says, "Call me a big-hearted Romantic. Each song on this album conveys yearning, separation, loneliness or distance but also a sense of intimacy and longing for connection." It certainly does. Desiderium is an auspicious debut album, and one especially attuned to our times.
Tenor John Matthew Myers, declared an 'artist to watch' by Opera News, has rapidly established himself as one of today's exceptional young voices. He has collaborated with companies such as the New York Philharmonic, Verbier Festival, Santa Fe Opera and LA Opera; he made his surprise Los Angeles Philharmonic debut in 2017 as Mao in John Adams's Nixon in China conducted by the composer. In recent seasons Myers has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera covering roles in Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades, Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and Wagner's Die Meistersinger, and in May 2022 he will be making his debut there in Brett Dean's Hamlet.
Acclaimed by Opera News as being 'among the top accompanists of her generation,' and '...a coloristic tour de force' by The New York Times, Grammy Award-nominated pianist Myra Huang is highly sought after by today's leading singers. Huang is invited regularly to perform throughout the U.S., including Carnegie Hall, The Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, The Kennedy Center, and The 92nd St Y. Huang was chosen as the recipient of The Samuel Sanders Collaborative Artist Award for 2019 by The Classical Recording Foundation for her consummate artistry. Regular collaborations include recitals with Lawrence Brownlee, Sasha Cooke, Joshua Hopkins, John Matthew Myers, Will Liverman, Eric Owens, Nicholas Phan, and Susanna Phillips. Huang is an avid recitalist and recording artist. She is a two- time Grammy nominee for her albums 'Gods and Monsters' and 'Clairières' with tenor Nicholas Phan on the Avie label. Huang is the Head of Music for the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera, mentoring and sculpting the highest talent in the upcoming generations. Additionally, she is Head Coach at The Aspen Music Festival, as well on the faculty of the Collaborative Piano department at The Manhattan School of Music. Huang is a Steinway Artist
"Myer's relatively demure debut is full of soulful earnestness and enterprising musical intelligence" - Gramophone
"deeply engaging" and "warmly recommended" – MusicWeb International
"Myers' expansive tenor expressed pathos and hope." — Star-Telegram
"Nixon in China was a resounding success. the magnificent John Matthew Myers was impressively nonchalant about his ridiculous range as Mao" – Stage and Cinema
Tracklisting
Danbi Um; Juho Pohjonen
Christopher Tyler Nickel, Sarah Jackson
Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Bruce Wolosoff
Charles Owen
Proteus Ensemble; Stephen Shellard
Benjamin Hochman
Apollo's Fire; Jeannette Sorrell
