Dominic Dousa Archive

Dominic DOUSA:  Musical Portrait of the American Southwest – Stephen Nordstrom (vla.) / Dominic Dousa (p.) – Blue Griffin

by Audiophile Audition | Jun 20, 2017 | Classical CD Reviews

A Musical Portrait of the American Southwest – Stephen Nordstrom (viola), Dominic Dousa (piano) Blue Griffin CD GR 429 TT: 73:37 [dist. by Albany] ****: A fine recording with premier performances and the composer at the piano The music on this disc takes its inspiration from the land referred to as the American Southwest, a region extending from the Great Plains of western Texas northwestwards to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and southwards to the desert lands of New Mexico and Arizona. The works on this program evoke the spirit of this land with a variety of lovely pieces for viola and piano. The composer, Dominic Dousa performs at the piano. The disc contains two works, Reflections on a Desert Winter and Mountain Song. Within the titles work are movements that reflect the unique Western ambiance. The music nicely evokes the subject matter, without having to use some of the more cliche’d and overused ‘Americanism’s’  originally made popular by Copland and others. (of course when Copland wrote them, they weren’t overheard or overused.) The music is lyrical, very listenable, and while I am biased toward the Southwestern theme living as I do in Arizona, anyone would enjoy the music on […]