ON FALLEN HEROES: ORCHESTRAL WORKS BY ANTHONY...

ON FALLEN HEROES: ORCHESTRAL WORKS BY ANTHONY NEWMAN. John Dexter, viola; Robert Fertitta, organ; Christopher Lewis, piano; New York Arts Orchestra, conducted by Anthony Newman. Newport Classic NCD 60140. This disc gathers three big high-energy pieces by keyboard virtuoso Newman. All are emphatically tonal, though charged with a Prokofievan piquancy. The title piece--a.k.a. Sinfonia No. 1, memorializing the Tian An Men Square heroes--goes over the top at the end, full of odd timbral effects from strings and organ. Dexter drives the Concerto for Viola, Strings, Piano and Timpani with ready flair, while Lewis propels the Largo and Rondo for piano and orchestra with grace and alacrity. Newman leads cohesive accompaniment from a virtuoso-sounding band.