Joseph Schwantner

Overview - Recordings - Scores - Books - Links

Born: March 22, 1943, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Schwantner's first work for band, and the mountains rising nowhere, is one of the cornerstones of the modern band and wind ensemble repertoire. In 1994, Donald Hunsberger wrote that "More so than any other work, this composition has probably provided the major impetus for the development of the wind band and its current repertoire during the last two decades." Hunsberger and the Eastman Wind Ensemble premiered it and have recorded it twice; it is one of their signature repertory pieces. Their original recording on a Mercury LP has not yet made it to CD, leaving their "Live in Osaka" recording as the first choice today. It is an incredible piece, and even if the original recording has never been equaled in some respects (especially in clarity of recording the percussion section), the Osaka recording reveals many of the work's wonders. Fortunately Schwantner's other band works are not being neglected, thanks to Corporon's fine recordings.

Recordings

Works	Performers	Reviews	Stores
and the mountains rising nowhere	Eastman Wind Ensemble Donald Hunsberger	North	Tower Amazon
and the mountains rising nowhere	North Texas Wind Symphony Eugene Corporon	Salas	Tower Amazon
From a Dark Millennium	North Texas Wind Symphony Eugene Corporon	McColley	Tower Amazon
In Evening's Stillness	North Texas Wind Symphony Eugene Corporon	Johnson	Tower Amazon