The works on this CD were all written in the 1990s, yet they are romantic and quite accessible to any listener. They all have something to do with New York City. The first movement of the autobiographical Celestial Night depicts a person's manic life in the city, followed by a spiritual awakening in the second movement as he discovers a larger, more peaceful cosmos that is bigger than his own actions. Toward the Splendid City is a memory of New York, a hustling, bustling piece laced with snatches of the Beatles, Leonard Bernstein, and something like early Stravinsky. Urban Dances is a ballet commissioned by the New York City Ballet and chronicles a day in the city, beginning at high noon and ending with the sunrise as the city comes to life. All of the compositions are tremendously exhilarating and alive; though largely tonal, this is definitely music of today. Zdenek Macal, who commissioned Toward The Splendid City, conducts with authority and insight. All of the rhythms are tight and accurate; Macal's conceptualization is assured and on the mark. The orchestra plays with both precision and passion; you have the feeling that every note is just as it should be. The engineering is also first-rate, resulting in full bodied sound that has warmth yet plenty of detail. The percussion section sounds awesome, as do the virtuoso horns. This is one of the best and most enjoyable releases of contemporary music to come along in quite a while.

--Rad Bennett