559336 bk Hovhaness US 14/4/08 22:27 Page 5

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Formed in 1891 as the Scottish Orchestra, and
AMERICAN CLASSICS
Photo: Peter Devlin
subsequently known as the Scottish National
Orchestra before being granted the title Royal at
its centenary celebrations in 1991, the Royal Alan
Scottish National Orchestra is one of Europe’s
leading ensembles. Distinguished conductors
who have contributed to the success of the
orchestra include Sir John Barbirolli, Karl Rankl,
HOVHANESS
Hans Swarowsky, Walter Susskind, Sir
Alexander Gibson, Bryden Thomson, Neeme
Järvi, now Conductor Laureate, and Walter
Guitar Concerto No. 2
Weller who is now Conductor Emeritus.
Alexander Lazarev, who served as Principal Symphony No. 63 ‘Loon Lake’ • Fanfare for the New Atlantis
Conductor from 1997 to 2005, was recently
appointed Conductor Emeritus. Stéphane
Denève was appointed Music Director in 2005. Denève’s first recording with the RSNO, Albert Roussel’s
Javier Calderón, Guitar
Symphony No. 3 and the complete ballet Bacchus et Ariane (Naxos 8.570245) was released in May 2007, and in
November received the Diapason d’Or de l’Année for Symphonic Music. The orchestra made an important
Royal Scottish National Orchestra • Stewart Robertson
contribution to the authoritative Naxos series of Bruckner Symphonies under the late Georg Tintner, and recorded a
complete cycle of the orchestral works of Samuel Barber under former Principal Guest Conductor Marin Alsop. The
orchestra performs a busy schedule of concerts across Scotland with annual appearances at the Edinburgh
International Festival and regular performances in the BBC Promenade Concerts in London.

Stewart Robertson
A native of Glasgow, Stewart Robertson is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. He studied piano
with Denis Matthews, conducting with Otmar Suitner at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and with Hans Swarowsky in
Vienna. He gained his early experience in opera and ballet at the opera houses of Cologne and Zurich and at Scottish
Opera, where he was Music Director of the touring company. Subsequently he became Music Director of the San
Bernardino Symphony and the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, where he was a champion of new music and a
frequent broadcaster on National Public Radio. His international career has brought engagements throughout the
world in concert-halls and opera houses, with performances that demonstrate his wide range of musical interests. In
addition to his position as Music Director and Principal Conductor of Florida Grand Opera, he is Music Director of
the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, Artistic Director of Opera Omaha, and has been named Music Director Emeritus of
Alan Hovhaness and Javier Calderón working on the Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra, 1979.
Glimmerglass Opera.

8.559336 5 6 8.559336
559336 bk Hovhaness US 14/4/08 22:27 Page 2
Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000)
Fanfare for the New Atlantis • Guitar Concerto No. 2 • Symphony No. 63 ‘Loon Lake’
composers of the past, Handel, Mozart, Schubert,
Sibelius, and Verdi. (Hovhaness had some objection to
Verdi’s early orchestrations; but in some respects he
was like Verdi, since both had an abundance of
melody.)
Hovhaness, then, stood alone, as did his concept of
contemporary music. To him it meant bringing back the
music of the past, going all the way back to the original
sources and then adding his own originality and new
voice. Throughout his long composing career he sensed
the cosmic consciousness of the new directions that
music would take, that music must take. In the late
1960s he had started writing “romantic” music with
Symphony No. 22 ‘City of Light’ (Naxos 8.559158),
Symphony No. 24 ‘Majnun’ and other works. He was the
pioneer of neo-romantic music.
He once said, in a CBC interview in October, 1968,
Alan Hovhaness was one of the most prolific composers referring to the contemporary music of that time:
of the twentieth century. He stood alone among
composers who otherwise were writing according to the “A certain form of beauty has its place in the
flow of modern thinking, opposed to melody and world. Naturally, ugliness is important, but
emotion, and dismissing classical form and contrapuntal there should be a balance between beauty and
writing. ugliness. If everything is ugly, if I only hear the
Hovhaness was born with melody. Even as young as noise in the street, the noise of traffic – this
four years old, he was hearing melodies in his head, and certainly isn’t music. (Especially us today in
thought everybody else did also. Then one day, when he living, having to cross a street everyday – I
was still in early elementary school, Schubert’s music think we need something besides that.) And we
was being introduced to class – he liked the music and may be satisfied by some kind of beauty – not a
thought, “Mr. Schubert wrote that music, but I am beauty which merely copies a beauty of 100
hearing my music in my head, so I should write it down.” years ago or 200 years ago, but our own beauty,
So his music came from his head – even orchestral a new kind of beauty.”
music, complete in sound and form. Then he put it down
on paper, using his mastery of musical knowledge, Hovhaness’s 434 opuses include 67 symphonies,
combined with his developing skill and technique. Even concertos, chamber music, and music for all
though he was an excellent pianist, he used the piano combinations of instruments, also music for the voice –
only after the music was written down on paper – just to operas, oratorios, cantatas, anthems, and songs.
examine its accuracy. Hovhaness completed his Fanfare for the New
I feel that he was born in the wrong century by Atlantis, Op. 281, on 2nd February, 1975. That is all I
God’s mistake and he makes me think of the great know about the piece, yet I chose it for this recording
8.559336
because I was attracted by the title. Atlantis is the
legendary island that supposedly existed west of
Gibraltar and was sunk into the ocean by an earthquake.
This subject was of interest to the composer and he
often talked about it. His interest in Atlantis could have
been from Francis Bacon’s The New Atlantis. He was a
member of the Bacon Society and believed that
Shakespeare was Bacon’s pen name. I heard the piece
for the first time at the recording session in Scotland – I
visualized Atlantis rising from the depths of the ocean
and knew I had made the right choice. This fanfare is a
celebration of the rebirth of Atlantis – it is Hovhaness’s
symphonic extravaganza.
The Concerto No. 2 for Guitar and Strings,
Op. 394, was commissioned by the famous Spanish
guitarist Narciso Yepes. Hovhaness completed the score
in June 1985 but the première did not take place until
1990 at the Granada Festival; this was the only
performance of the piece I know of, and Yepes died
shortly after that.
Previously, in 1984, Alan and I had met Yepes at a
performance of Spirit of Trees in Carnegie Hall. That
piece had been commissioned by the world-renowned
Spanish harpist Nicanor Zabaleta. He and Yepes
performed the piece together all over the world. After
the performance, Zabaleta and Yepes invited us to a
Spanish restaurant, along with their wives. Zabaleta and
his wife were tall and had a distinguished appearance
and manner; on the other hand, Yepes was short and
lively, full of life. His wife was very much supportive of
her husband and had a lovely personality.
After that meeting the commission came from
Yepes for the guitar concerto and a contract was signed
in January 1985. All the communication for the
commission was done by Mrs Yepes by her letters. She
wrote them in her cute, broken English – “Please write
concerto as your heart inspires you. Be free in
composing for my husband, because he is very clever
and will be able to play all you write on his guitar”.
Shortly after the guitar concerto was completed, I
heard from her about their son’s accidental death. I am
sure Yepes was affected by this tragedy and could not
2 3
do much with the concerto. This première recording is
performed by Javier Calderón, the virtuoso Bolivian-
born guitarist. He had commissioned Hovhaness’s first
guitar concerto but could not make its première
recording because of our lost communication, but we
later restored our contact and he is the soloist for the
second concerto instead.
The concerto begins mysteriously, with the solo
guitar accompanied by the murmuring sound of strings;
then comes a lively dance in an Arabic or Moorish
mood (but it is a Hovhaness original). The second and
fourth movements are like the first – lively dance-like
music and rhythmic patterns changing rapidly – 4/4, 6/4,
2/4, 5/8, 3/8, and 7/8; the latter is often used by the
composer, who specified putting the accent on the first
and fourth beats of the measure. Pizzicato upper strings
over a bowed bass section create a percussive sound (to
me, almost electronic) unique to Hovhaness’s music.
This delightful dance-like music is partly written in
fugal form; as usual, the composer has a way to disguise
these forms into appealing, easy-to-listen-to music. The
third movement is the only slow movement. It is written
in traditional Hovhaness symphonic style. The guitar
cadenza by Javier Calderón comes towards the end of
the movement.
Symphony No. 63 ‘Loon Lake’, Op. 411, was
composed in 1988. Hovhaness was 76 years old at that
time. The commission came in September 1987 from
the New Hampshire Music Festival in conjunction with
the Loon Preservation Society – they specifically
requested the sound of the loon cry to be in the
symphony. (Many loons can be found around the lakes
around New Hampshire.) A large amount of the
commission fee was donated by Mr and Mrs Huntington
Damon.
Hovhaness grew up in a suburb of Boston. His
mother was a descendant of a family who came from
Scotland and settled in New England. One of the
happiest memories of his childhood was visiting his
uncle’s farm in New Hampshire. This symphony
expresses the composer’s nostalgia for the New
Hampshire countryside. He was tall and slender and did
8.559336
not drink or smoke. He loved a good old-fashioned a cluster of sounds which describes the lake’s activities
breakfast of orange juice, scrambled eggs, and toast, so and its surroundings. The harp and percussion (timpani,
his music is never heavy, but grand, as nature’s large chimes, and glockenspiel) are the ripples and
contrasting changes, wind, rain, and storm. movement of the water on the lake. The piccolo imitates
The symphony was written in two movements and the birds’ cries.
contains two distinct bird-song themes, a loon and a Loon Lake had its première on 18th August, 1988,
hermit thrush, played by the piccolo, one after the other. with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra,
This occurs in two different sections of the symphony. conducted by Thomas Nee. Hovhaness later revised the
Even though the subject of the symphony was the loon, ending of the symphony (by my request) with a brilliant
Hovhaness’s interest was the hermit thrush, a bird that trumpet obbligato based on the hermit thrush song,
lives in the New England countryside. He had heard together with the full orchestra reaching a climactic
their calls in his childhood and was fascinated by them. ending. The new version of the symphony was
They sang their song repeatedly in succession, but each performed in the New Hampshire Festival on 2nd July,
time in different pitches. That interested him and he 1991, and this is the version recorded here.
never forgot them, so he took this opportunity to put As always, I would like to express my appreciation
them in his symphony, along with the loon cry. The to Klaus Heymann for producing and releasing
symphony is constructed around melodies which are Hovhaness’s music on his label Naxos.
played by solo instruments (flute, oboe, English horn,
horn, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone) one after another
and accompanied by the orchestra. The orchestra creates Hinako Fujihara Hovhaness
Javier Calderón
Photo: Alan Mills At the age of seventeen Javier Calderón thrilled the audience of his native
city of La Paz, Bolivia when he played with the Bolivian National Symphony
Orchestra. He was then invited to the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont,
and soon after was awarded a scholarship for study with Andrés Segovia in
Spain. Calderón, who is also an accomplished cellist, studied interpretation
with János Starker. He has received dedications from many composers, not
least Alan Hovhaness, who wrote his First Guitar Concerto for him. Javier
Calderón now tours extensively in the United States, Europe, South America
and the Far East. He appears regularly as concert soloist with orchestras and
in solo recitals throughout the world. He has performed chamber music
concerts with cellist Yo Yo Ma and has been featured at numerous
international music festivals. His recent recordings have been warmly
received, and he holds the position of Professor at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, (USA) School of Music, where he founded and heads
the guitar programme.
4 8.559336
559336 bk Hovhaness US 14/4/08 22:27 Page 2
Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000)
Fanfare for the New Atlantis • Guitar Concerto No. 2 • Symphony No. 63 ‘Loon Lake’
composers of the past, Handel, Mozart, Schubert,
Sibelius, and Verdi. (Hovhaness had some objection to
Verdi’s early orchestrations; but in some respects he
was like Verdi, since both had an abundance of
melody.)
Hovhaness, then, stood alone, as did his concept of
contemporary music. To him it meant bringing back the
music of the past, going all the way back to the original
sources and then adding his own originality and new
voice. Throughout his long composing career he sensed
the cosmic consciousness of the new directions that
music would take, that music must take. In the late
1960s he had started writing “romantic” music with
Symphony No. 22 ‘City of Light’ (Naxos 8.559158),
Symphony No. 24 ‘Majnun’ and other works. He was the
pioneer of neo-romantic music.
He once said, in a CBC interview in October, 1968,
Alan Hovhaness was one of the most prolific composers referring to the contemporary music of that time:
of the twentieth century. He stood alone among
composers who otherwise were writing according to the “A certain form of beauty has its place in the
flow of modern thinking, opposed to melody and world. Naturally, ugliness is important, but
emotion, and dismissing classical form and contrapuntal there should be a balance between beauty and
writing. ugliness. If everything is ugly, if I only hear the
Hovhaness was born with melody. Even as young as noise in the street, the noise of traffic – this
four years old, he was hearing melodies in his head, and certainly isn’t music. (Especially us today in
thought everybody else did also. Then one day, when he living, having to cross a street everyday – I
was still in early elementary school, Schubert’s music think we need something besides that.) And we
was being introduced to class – he liked the music and may be satisfied by some kind of beauty – not a
thought, “Mr. Schubert wrote that music, but I am beauty which merely copies a beauty of 100
hearing my music in my head, so I should write it down.” years ago or 200 years ago, but our own beauty,
So his music came from his head – even orchestral a new kind of beauty.”
music, complete in sound and form. Then he put it down
on paper, using his mastery of musical knowledge, Hovhaness’s 434 opuses include 67 symphonies,
combined with his developing skill and technique. Even concertos, chamber music, and music for all
though he was an excellent pianist, he used the piano combinations of instruments, also music for the voice –
only after the music was written down on paper – just to operas, oratorios, cantatas, anthems, and songs.
examine its accuracy. Hovhaness completed his Fanfare for the New
I feel that he was born in the wrong century by Atlantis, Op. 281, on 2nd February, 1975. That is all I
God’s mistake and he makes me think of the great know about the piece, yet I chose it for this recording
8.559336
because I was attracted by the title. Atlantis is the
legendary island that supposedly existed west of
Gibraltar and was sunk into the ocean by an earthquake.
This subject was of interest to the composer and he
often talked about it. His interest in Atlantis could have
been from Francis Bacon’s The New Atlantis. He was a
member of the Bacon Society and believed that
Shakespeare was Bacon’s pen name. I heard the piece
for the first time at the recording session in Scotland – I
visualized Atlantis rising from the depths of the ocean
and knew I had made the right choice. This fanfare is a
celebration of the rebirth of Atlantis – it is Hovhaness’s
symphonic extravaganza.
The Concerto No. 2 for Guitar and Strings,
Op. 394, was commissioned by the famous Spanish
guitarist Narciso Yepes. Hovhaness completed the score
in June 1985 but the première did not take place until
1990 at the Granada Festival; this was the only
performance of the piece I know of, and Yepes died
shortly after that.
Previously, in 1984, Alan and I had met Yepes at a
performance of Spirit of Trees in Carnegie Hall. That
piece had been commissioned by the world-renowned
Spanish harpist Nicanor Zabaleta. He and Yepes
performed the piece together all over the world. After
the performance, Zabaleta and Yepes invited us to a
Spanish restaurant, along with their wives. Zabaleta and
his wife were tall and had a distinguished appearance
and manner; on the other hand, Yepes was short and
lively, full of life. His wife was very much supportive of
her husband and had a lovely personality.
After that meeting the commission came from
Yepes for the guitar concerto and a contract was signed
in January 1985. All the communication for the
commission was done by Mrs Yepes by her letters. She
wrote them in her cute, broken English – “Please write
concerto as your heart inspires you. Be free in
composing for my husband, because he is very clever
and will be able to play all you write on his guitar”.
Shortly after the guitar concerto was completed, I
heard from her about their son’s accidental death. I am
sure Yepes was affected by this tragedy and could not
2 3
do much with the concerto. This première recording is
performed by Javier Calderón, the virtuoso Bolivian-
born guitarist. He had commissioned Hovhaness’s first
guitar concerto but could not make its première
recording because of our lost communication, but we
later restored our contact and he is the soloist for the
second concerto instead.
The concerto begins mysteriously, with the solo
guitar accompanied by the murmuring sound of strings;
then comes a lively dance in an Arabic or Moorish
mood (but it is a Hovhaness original). The second and
fourth movements are like the first – lively dance-like
music and rhythmic patterns changing rapidly – 4/4, 6/4,
2/4, 5/8, 3/8, and 7/8; the latter is often used by the
composer, who specified putting the accent on the first
and fourth beats of the measure. Pizzicato upper strings
over a bowed bass section create a percussive sound (to
me, almost electronic) unique to Hovhaness’s music.
This delightful dance-like music is partly written in
fugal form; as usual, the composer has a way to disguise
these forms into appealing, easy-to-listen-to music. The
third movement is the only slow movement. It is written
in traditional Hovhaness symphonic style. The guitar
cadenza by Javier Calderón comes towards the end of
the movement.
Symphony No. 63 ‘Loon Lake’, Op. 411, was
composed in 1988. Hovhaness was 76 years old at that
time. The commission came in September 1987 from
the New Hampshire Music Festival in conjunction with
the Loon Preservation Society – they specifically
requested the sound of the loon cry to be in the
symphony. (Many loons can be found around the lakes
around New Hampshire.) A large amount of the
commission fee was donated by Mr and Mrs Huntington
Damon.
Hovhaness grew up in a suburb of Boston. His
mother was a descendant of a family who came from
Scotland and settled in New England. One of the
happiest memories of his childhood was visiting his
uncle’s farm in New Hampshire. This symphony
expresses the composer’s nostalgia for the New
Hampshire countryside. He was tall and slender and did
8.559336
not drink or smoke. He loved a good old-fashioned a cluster of sounds which describes the lake’s activities
breakfast of orange juice, scrambled eggs, and toast, so and its surroundings. The harp and percussion (timpani,
his music is never heavy, but grand, as nature’s large chimes, and glockenspiel) are the ripples and
contrasting changes, wind, rain, and storm. movement of the water on the lake. The piccolo imitates
The symphony was written in two movements and the birds’ cries.
contains two distinct bird-song themes, a loon and a Loon Lake had its première on 18th August, 1988,
hermit thrush, played by the piccolo, one after the other. with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra,
This occurs in two different sections of the symphony. conducted by Thomas Nee. Hovhaness later revised the
Even though the subject of the symphony was the loon, ending of the symphony (by my request) with a brilliant
Hovhaness’s interest was the hermit thrush, a bird that trumpet obbligato based on the hermit thrush song,
lives in the New England countryside. He had heard together with the full orchestra reaching a climactic
their calls in his childhood and was fascinated by them. ending. The new version of the symphony was
They sang their song repeatedly in succession, but each performed in the New Hampshire Festival on 2nd July,
time in different pitches. That interested him and he 1991, and this is the version recorded here.
never forgot them, so he took this opportunity to put As always, I would like to express my appreciation
them in his symphony, along with the loon cry. The to Klaus Heymann for producing and releasing
symphony is constructed around melodies which are Hovhaness’s music on his label Naxos.
played by solo instruments (flute, oboe, English horn,
horn, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone) one after another
and accompanied by the orchestra. The orchestra creates Hinako Fujihara Hovhaness
Javier Calderón
Photo: Alan Mills At the age of seventeen Javier Calderón thrilled the audience of his native
city of La Paz, Bolivia when he played with the Bolivian National Symphony
Orchestra. He was then invited to the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont,
and soon after was awarded a scholarship for study with Andrés Segovia in
Spain. Calderón, who is also an accomplished cellist, studied interpretation
with János Starker. He has received dedications from many composers, not
least Alan Hovhaness, who wrote his First Guitar Concerto for him. Javier
Calderón now tours extensively in the United States, Europe, South America
and the Far East. He appears regularly as concert soloist with orchestras and
in solo recitals throughout the world. He has performed chamber music
concerts with cellist Yo Yo Ma and has been featured at numerous
international music festivals. His recent recordings have been warmly
received, and he holds the position of Professor at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, (USA) School of Music, where he founded and heads
the guitar programme.
4 8.559336
559336 bk Hovhaness US 14/4/08 22:27 Page 2
Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000)
Fanfare for the New Atlantis • Guitar Concerto No. 2 • Symphony No. 63 ‘Loon Lake’
composers of the past, Handel, Mozart, Schubert,
Sibelius, and Verdi. (Hovhaness had some objection to
Verdi’s early orchestrations; but in some respects he
was like Verdi, since both had an abundance of
melody.)
Hovhaness, then, stood alone, as did his concept of
contemporary music. To him it meant bringing back the
music of the past, going all the way back to the original
sources and then adding his own originality and new
voice. Throughout his long composing career he sensed
the cosmic consciousness of the new directions that
music would take, that music must take. In the late
1960s he had started writing “romantic” music with
Symphony No. 22 ‘City of Light’ (Naxos 8.559158),
Symphony No. 24 ‘Majnun’ and other works. He was the
pioneer of neo-romantic music.
He once said, in a CBC interview in October, 1968,
Alan Hovhaness was one of the most prolific composers referring to the contemporary music of that time:
of the twentieth century. He stood alone among
composers who otherwise were writing according to the “A certain form of beauty has its place in the
flow of modern thinking, opposed to melody and world. Naturally, ugliness is important, but
emotion, and dismissing classical form and contrapuntal there should be a balance between beauty and
writing. ugliness. If everything is ugly, if I only hear the
Hovhaness was born with melody. Even as young as noise in the street, the noise of traffic – this
four years old, he was hearing melodies in his head, and certainly isn’t music. (Especially us today in
thought everybody else did also. Then one day, when he living, having to cross a street everyday – I
was still in early elementary school, Schubert’s music think we need something besides that.) And we
was being introduced to class – he liked the music and may be satisfied by some kind of beauty – not a
thought, “Mr. Schubert wrote that music, but I am beauty which merely copies a beauty of 100
hearing my music in my head, so I should write it down.” years ago or 200 years ago, but our own beauty,
So his music came from his head – even orchestral a new kind of beauty.”
music, complete in sound and form. Then he put it down
on paper, using his mastery of musical knowledge, Hovhaness’s 434 opuses include 67 symphonies,
combined with his developing skill and technique. Even concertos, chamber music, and music for all
though he was an excellent pianist, he used the piano combinations of instruments, also music for the voice –
only after the music was written down on paper – just to operas, oratorios, cantatas, anthems, and songs.
examine its accuracy. Hovhaness completed his Fanfare for the New
I feel that he was born in the wrong century by Atlantis, Op. 281, on 2nd February, 1975. That is all I
God’s mistake and he makes me think of the great know about the piece, yet I chose it for this recording
8.559336
because I was attracted by the title. Atlantis is the
legendary island that supposedly existed west of
Gibraltar and was sunk into the ocean by an earthquake.
This subject was of interest to the composer and he
often talked about it. His interest in Atlantis could have
been from Francis Bacon’s The New Atlantis. He was a
member of the Bacon Society and believed that
Shakespeare was Bacon’s pen name. I heard the piece
for the first time at the recording session in Scotland – I
visualized Atlantis rising from the depths of the ocean
and knew I had made the right choice. This fanfare is a
celebration of the rebirth of Atlantis – it is Hovhaness’s
symphonic extravaganza.
The Concerto No. 2 for Guitar and Strings,
Op. 394, was commissioned by the famous Spanish
guitarist Narciso Yepes. Hovhaness completed the score
in June 1985 but the première did not take place until
1990 at the Granada Festival; this was the only
performance of the piece I know of, and Yepes died
shortly after that.
Previously, in 1984, Alan and I had met Yepes at a
performance of Spirit of Trees in Carnegie Hall. That
piece had been commissioned by the world-renowned
Spanish harpist Nicanor Zabaleta. He and Yepes
performed the piece together all over the world. After
the performance, Zabaleta and Yepes invited us to a
Spanish restaurant, along with their wives. Zabaleta and
his wife were tall and had a distinguished appearance
and manner; on the other hand, Yepes was short and
lively, full of life. His wife was very much supportive of
her husband and had a lovely personality.
After that meeting the commission came from
Yepes for the guitar concerto and a contract was signed
in January 1985. All the communication for the
commission was done by Mrs Yepes by her letters. She
wrote them in her cute, broken English – “Please write
concerto as your heart inspires you. Be free in
composing for my husband, because he is very clever
and will be able to play all you write on his guitar”.
Shortly after the guitar concerto was completed, I
heard from her about their son’s accidental death. I am
sure Yepes was affected by this tragedy and could not
2 3
do much with the concerto. This première recording is
performed by Javier Calderón, the virtuoso Bolivian-
born guitarist. He had commissioned Hovhaness’s first
guitar concerto but could not make its première
recording because of our lost communication, but we
later restored our contact and he is the soloist for the
second concerto instead.
The concerto begins mysteriously, with the solo
guitar accompanied by the murmuring sound of strings;
then comes a lively dance in an Arabic or Moorish
mood (but it is a Hovhaness original). The second and
fourth movements are like the first – lively dance-like
music and rhythmic patterns changing rapidly – 4/4, 6/4,
2/4, 5/8, 3/8, and 7/8; the latter is often used by the
composer, who specified putting the accent on the first
and fourth beats of the measure. Pizzicato upper strings
over a bowed bass section create a percussive sound (to
me, almost electronic) unique to Hovhaness’s music.
This delightful dance-like music is partly written in
fugal form; as usual, the composer has a way to disguise
these forms into appealing, easy-to-listen-to music. The
third movement is the only slow movement. It is written
in traditional Hovhaness symphonic style. The guitar
cadenza by Javier Calderón comes towards the end of
the movement.
Symphony No. 63 ‘Loon Lake’, Op. 411, was
composed in 1988. Hovhaness was 76 years old at that
time. The commission came in September 1987 from
the New Hampshire Music Festival in conjunction with
the Loon Preservation Society – they specifically
requested the sound of the loon cry to be in the
symphony. (Many loons can be found around the lakes
around New Hampshire.) A large amount of the
commission fee was donated by Mr and Mrs Huntington
Damon.
Hovhaness grew up in a suburb of Boston. His
mother was a descendant of a family who came from
Scotland and settled in New England. One of the
happiest memories of his childhood was visiting his
uncle’s farm in New Hampshire. This symphony
expresses the composer’s nostalgia for the New
Hampshire countryside. He was tall and slender and did
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not drink or smoke. He loved a good old-fashioned a cluster of sounds which describes the lake’s activities
breakfast of orange juice, scrambled eggs, and toast, so and its surroundings. The harp and percussion (timpani,
his music is never heavy, but grand, as nature’s large chimes, and glockenspiel) are the ripples and
contrasting changes, wind, rain, and storm. movement of the water on the lake. The piccolo imitates
The symphony was written in two movements and the birds’ cries.
contains two distinct bird-song themes, a loon and a Loon Lake had its première on 18th August, 1988,
hermit thrush, played by the piccolo, one after the other. with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra,
This occurs in two different sections of the symphony. conducted by Thomas Nee. Hovhaness later revised the
Even though the subject of the symphony was the loon, ending of the symphony (by my request) with a brilliant
Hovhaness’s interest was the hermit thrush, a bird that trumpet obbligato based on the hermit thrush song,
lives in the New England countryside. He had heard together with the full orchestra reaching a climactic
their calls in his childhood and was fascinated by them. ending. The new version of the symphony was
They sang their song repeatedly in succession, but each performed in the New Hampshire Festival on 2nd July,
time in different pitches. That interested him and he 1991, and this is the version recorded here.
never forgot them, so he took this opportunity to put As always, I would like to express my appreciation
them in his symphony, along with the loon cry. The to Klaus Heymann for producing and releasing
symphony is constructed around melodies which are Hovhaness’s music on his label Naxos.
played by solo instruments (flute, oboe, English horn,
horn, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone) one after another
and accompanied by the orchestra. The orchestra creates Hinako Fujihara Hovhaness
Javier Calderón
Photo: Alan Mills At the age of seventeen Javier Calderón thrilled the audience of his native
city of La Paz, Bolivia when he played with the Bolivian National Symphony
Orchestra. He was then invited to the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont,
and soon after was awarded a scholarship for study with Andrés Segovia in
Spain. Calderón, who is also an accomplished cellist, studied interpretation
with János Starker. He has received dedications from many composers, not
least Alan Hovhaness, who wrote his First Guitar Concerto for him. Javier
Calderón now tours extensively in the United States, Europe, South America
and the Far East. He appears regularly as concert soloist with orchestras and
in solo recitals throughout the world. He has performed chamber music
concerts with cellist Yo Yo Ma and has been featured at numerous
international music festivals. His recent recordings have been warmly
received, and he holds the position of Professor at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, (USA) School of Music, where he founded and heads
the guitar programme.
4 8.559336
559336 bk Hovhaness US 14/4/08 22:27 Page 5

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Formed in 1891 as the Scottish Orchestra, and
AMERICAN CLASSICS
Photo: Peter Devlin
subsequently known as the Scottish National
Orchestra before being granted the title Royal at
its centenary celebrations in 1991, the Royal Alan
Scottish National Orchestra is one of Europe’s
leading ensembles. Distinguished conductors
who have contributed to the success of the
orchestra include Sir John Barbirolli, Karl Rankl,
HOVHANESS
Hans Swarowsky, Walter Susskind, Sir
Alexander Gibson, Bryden Thomson, Neeme
Järvi, now Conductor Laureate, and Walter
Guitar Concerto No. 2
Weller who is now Conductor Emeritus.
Alexander Lazarev, who served as Principal Symphony No. 63 ‘Loon Lake’ • Fanfare for the New Atlantis
Conductor from 1997 to 2005, was recently
appointed Conductor Emeritus. Stéphane
Denève was appointed Music Director in 2005. Denève’s first recording with the RSNO, Albert Roussel’s
Javier Calderón, Guitar
Symphony No. 3 and the complete ballet Bacchus et Ariane (Naxos 8.570245) was released in May 2007, and in
November received the Diapason d’Or de l’Année for Symphonic Music. The orchestra made an important
Royal Scottish National Orchestra • Stewart Robertson
contribution to the authoritative Naxos series of Bruckner Symphonies under the late Georg Tintner, and recorded a
complete cycle of the orchestral works of Samuel Barber under former Principal Guest Conductor Marin Alsop. The
orchestra performs a busy schedule of concerts across Scotland with annual appearances at the Edinburgh
International Festival and regular performances in the BBC Promenade Concerts in London.

Stewart Robertson
A native of Glasgow, Stewart Robertson is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. He studied piano
with Denis Matthews, conducting with Otmar Suitner at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and with Hans Swarowsky in
Vienna. He gained his early experience in opera and ballet at the opera houses of Cologne and Zurich and at Scottish
Opera, where he was Music Director of the touring company. Subsequently he became Music Director of the San
Bernardino Symphony and the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, where he was a champion of new music and a
frequent broadcaster on National Public Radio. His international career has brought engagements throughout the
world in concert-halls and opera houses, with performances that demonstrate his wide range of musical interests. In
addition to his position as Music Director and Principal Conductor of Florida Grand Opera, he is Music Director of
the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, Artistic Director of Opera Omaha, and has been named Music Director Emeritus of
Alan Hovhaness and Javier Calderón working on the Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra, 1979.
Glimmerglass Opera.

8.559336 5 6 8.559336
559336 bk Hovhaness US 14/4/08 22:27 Page 5

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Formed in 1891 as the Scottish Orchestra, and
AMERICAN CLASSICS
Photo: Peter Devlin
subsequently known as the Scottish National
Orchestra before being granted the title Royal at
its centenary celebrations in 1991, the Royal Alan
Scottish National Orchestra is one of Europe’s
leading ensembles. Distinguished conductors
who have contributed to the success of the
orchestra include Sir John Barbirolli, Karl Rankl,
HOVHANESS
Hans Swarowsky, Walter Susskind, Sir
Alexander Gibson, Bryden Thomson, Neeme
Järvi, now Conductor Laureate, and Walter
Guitar Concerto No. 2
Weller who is now Conductor Emeritus.
Alexander Lazarev, who served as Principal Symphony No. 63 ‘Loon Lake’ • Fanfare for the New Atlantis
Conductor from 1997 to 2005, was recently
appointed Conductor Emeritus. Stéphane
Denève was appointed Music Director in 2005. Denève’s first recording with the RSNO, Albert Roussel’s
Javier Calderón, Guitar
Symphony No. 3 and the complete ballet Bacchus et Ariane (Naxos 8.570245) was released in May 2007, and in
November received the Diapason d’Or de l’Année for Symphonic Music. The orchestra made an important
Royal Scottish National Orchestra • Stewart Robertson
contribution to the authoritative Naxos series of Bruckner Symphonies under the late Georg Tintner, and recorded a
complete cycle of the orchestral works of Samuel Barber under former Principal Guest Conductor Marin Alsop. The
orchestra performs a busy schedule of concerts across Scotland with annual appearances at the Edinburgh
International Festival and regular performances in the BBC Promenade Concerts in London.

Stewart Robertson
A native of Glasgow, Stewart Robertson is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. He studied piano
with Denis Matthews, conducting with Otmar Suitner at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and with Hans Swarowsky in
Vienna. He gained his early experience in opera and ballet at the opera houses of Cologne and Zurich and at Scottish
Opera, where he was Music Director of the touring company. Subsequently he became Music Director of the San
Bernardino Symphony and the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, where he was a champion of new music and a
frequent broadcaster on National Public Radio. His international career has brought engagements throughout the
world in concert-halls and opera houses, with performances that demonstrate his wide range of musical interests. In
addition to his position as Music Director and Principal Conductor of Florida Grand Opera, he is Music Director of
the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, Artistic Director of Opera Omaha, and has been named Music Director Emeritus of
Alan Hovhaness and Javier Calderón working on the Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra, 1979.
Glimmerglass Opera.

8.559336 5 6 8.559336

8.559336
Alan
Playing
Time:
59:29
HOVHANESS
(1911-2000)
Disc made in Canada. Printed and assembled in USA.
compact disc prohibited.  &  2008 Naxos Rights International Ltd.
Unauthorised public performance, broadcasting and copying of this
All rights in this sound recording, artwork, texts and translations reserved.
1 Fanfare for the New Atlantis,
Op. 281 (1975)
Concerto No. 2 for Guitar and
HOVHANESS: Guitar Concerto No. 2
Strings, Op. 394 (1985)*
2 I. Andante, allegro vivace
3 II. Allegro giusto
4 III. Andante misterioso con nobiltà,
andante maestoso
5 IV. Adagio, allegro giusto
Symphony No. 63, ‘Loon Lake’,
Op. 411 (1988)
6 I. (Prelude) Largo solenne, andante pastorale 4:16
7 II. Andante misterioso, maestoso, presto, allegro
giusto, allegro moderato, andante maestoso 22:31
WORLD PREMIÈRE RECORDINGS
Javier Calderón, Guitar*
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Stewart Robertson
Recorded at Henry Wood Hall (RSNO Centre),
Glasgow, UK, on 12th and 13th January, 2007
Produced and edited by Peter Newble
Engineer: Andrew Lang (K&A Productions Ltd.)
Publisher: Hovhaness-Fujihara Music Co., Inc.
Booklet notes: Hinako Fujihara Hovhaness
8.559336 (edited by Daniel Shelhamer)
NAXOS
Cover image: Silent Landscape #2 by Jun Fujihara
(Photographer: Michael Ter-Minasian)
(used with kind permission)
CMYK
NAXOS
AMERICAN CLASSICS
6:57 Alan Hovhaness was one of the most
prolific composers of the twentieth
HOVHANESS: Guitar Concerto No. 2
century. He stood alone among
26:05
composers who were otherwise writing
6:10 according to the flow of modern
4:35
thinking, opposed to melody and
10:55 emotion, and dismissing classical form
4:26 and contrapuntal writing. Fanfare for
the New Atlantis is a symphonic
celebration of the rebirth of
26:27 the legendary island of Atlantis.
The Guitar Concerto No. 2 is full of
lively dance-like music and rapidly
changing rhythmic patterns. Symphony
No. 63 ‘Loon Lake’ is full of nostalgia
for the New Hampshire countryside
of Hovhaness’s youth. It was
commissioned by the New Hampshire
Music Festival in conjunction with the
Loon Preservation Society, who
specifically requested the sound of the
loon cry to be in the symphony. All
three works are world première
recordings.
www.naxos.com
8.559336