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Live Recordings From Mandel Concert Hall

Walker album art and rendering

About the Composer

A trained concert pianist, George Walker (1922–2018) later turned to composition, writing ninety pieces for orchestra, chamber orchestra, and a variety of other instruments and ensembles. The four works on this Cleveland Orchestra album were recorded in live performances in the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center in Cleveland.

Walker’s early lyrical work Antifonys (for string orchestra, 1968) was recorded in October 2020. Also featured is Walker's Lilacs (for voice and orchestra), which received the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Music and is a setting of lines from Walt Whitman’s poem “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.” The Cleveland performance is with soprano Latonia Moore from concerts in March 2022. Two one-movement symphonies are also included: Sinfonia No. 4, “Threads” (2012) and Sinfornia No. 5, “Visions” (2018), recorded at concerts in October 2021.

Track Listing

GEORGE WALKER (1922–2018)

Antifonys (for string orchestra)

Sinfonia No. 4, “Threads”

Lilacs (for voice and orchestra)

Sinfonia No. 5, “Visions”

Audio Formats

Physical: CD (Hybrid SACD)

Digital (Streaming/Download): on all major digital music platforms including Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon Music (high-quality Lossless Audio and Apple Digital Masters on Apple Music / 24-bit download).

Companion Booklet

The album disc release will feature a booklet featuring insights about George Walker’s music and legacy, including program notes on all four pieces and a biographical overview of Walker’s life.


℗ 2022 The Cleveland Orchestra and Musical Arts Association