Portal:Oregon/Selected article/129

Music for a Time of War is the 2011 concert program and subsequent album by the Oregon Symphony under the artistic direction of Carlos Kalmar. The program consists of four compositions inspired by war: Charles Ives' The Unanswered Question (1906), John Adams' The Wound-Dresser (1989), Benjamin Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem (1940) and Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 4 (1935). The program was performed on May 7, 2011, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon, and again the following day. Both concerts were recorded. On May 12, the Symphony debuted at Carnegie Hall, repeating the program at the inaugural Spring for Music Festival. The performance was broadcast live by KQAC and WQXR-FM, the classical radio stations serving Portland and the New York City metropolitan area, respectively. The concerts marked the Oregon Symphony's first performances of The Wound-Dresser as well as guest baritone Sanford Sylvan's debut with the company. In October 2011 the recording was released on CD by Dutch record label PentaTone Classics. The album marked the orchestra's first recording in eight years and Kalmar's first with the Oregon Symphony. The live performances and album received favorable reviews; the recording debuted at number 31 on Billboard's Classical Albums chart, and made several lists of the best classical recordings of 2011. The album earned three recognitions from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for the 2013 Grammy Awards. Kalmar and the Oregon Symphony were nominated in the categories Best Orchestral Performance and Best Engineered Album, Classical (along with engineers Jesse Lewis and John Newton, and mastering engineer Jesse Brayman). Producer Blanton Alspaugh received the award for Producer of the Year, Classical for his contributions to Music for a Time of War, among other recordings.