Albany Symphony Orchestra
The Albany Symphony Orchestra, of the upstate New York city of Albany in the U.S., is notable for its strong commitment to contemporary music, rivaled in America perhaps only by the Louisville Orchestra. Yet the Albany Symphony also presents programming of broad mainstream appeal.
The orchestra was founded in 1930 as the People's Orchestra of Albany by conductor and Italian native John G. Carabella, a student of Pietro Mascagni who had come to New York state to take a job as an organist at a church in the Albany suburb of Cohoes. The Albany Symphony began with just 24 members, but it grew under subsequent conductors Rudolf Thomas, Ole Windingstad, Edgar Curtis, Julius Hegyi, and Geoffrey Simon. It was Hegyi, music director from 1965 to 1988, who steered the orchestra in the direction of performing and recording contemporary music. In 1992, David Alan Miller, former Associate Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, became music director and remained in that post as of the late 2010s.
In New York's Capital District (Albany and surrounding areas), the orchestra performs at Albany's Palace Theatre and the acoustically noteworthy Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in nearby Troy. It is nationally recognized for its recordings, mostly made for labels specializing in contemporary American music. These have included New World Records, CRI, and Albany Records (unconnected with the orchestra, but headquartered in the same city). The group has also recorded for the Argo, Naxos, and London labels. The Albany Symphony won a Grammy award in 2014 for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for its Naxos recording of John Corigliano's Conjurer, featuring percussionist Evelyn Glennie. In 2019, the orchestra was heard on two Grammy-nominated albums, Michael Torke: Sky on Albany Records, and Derek Bermel: Migrations on Naxos.
In 2011, the Albany Symphony participated in the inaugural season of Spring for Music, a festival celebrating innovative programming by American orchestras, at Carnegie Hall, in New York City; it was invited back in 2013. It has received 26 awards for adventurous programming from the American Society of Composers and Performers (ASCAP), more than any other American orchestra. ASCAP has also bestowed upon the Albany Symphony the John S. Edwards Award for Strongest Commitment to New American Music in 2013 and 2014.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Discography
56 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Joan Tower: Strike Zones, Small, Still/Rapids & Ivory and Ebony
Evelyn Glennie, Blair McMillen, Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller
Classical - Released by Naxos on Jul. 23, 2021
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Joan Tower: Strike Zones, Small, Still/Rapids & Ivory and Ebony
Evelyn Glennie, Blair McMillen, Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller
Classical - Released by Naxos on Jul. 23, 2021
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Rouse: Seeing & Kabir Padavali
Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller, Talise Trevigne, Orion Weiss
Classical - Released by Naxos on Sep. 4, 2015
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Rouse: Seeing & Kabir Padavali
Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller, Talise Trevigne, Orion Weiss
Classical - Released by Naxos on Sep. 4, 2015
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Corigliano: Complete Piano Works
Philip Edward Fisher, Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller
Classical - Released by Naxos on May 12, 2023
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Michael Daugherty: Dreamachine, Trail of Tears & Reflections on the Mississippi
Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller
Classical - Released by Naxos on Mar. 1, 2018
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Michael Daugherty: Dreamachine, Trail of Tears & Reflections on the Mississippi
Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller
Classical - Released by Naxos on Mar. 1, 2018
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Christopher Rouse: Concertos
Katherine Needleman, Peter Kolkay, Eric Berlin
Concertos - Released by Albany Records on Jun. 27, 2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Christopher Rouse: Concertos
Classical - Released by Albany on Jun. 27, 2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
George Tsontakis: Anasa - True Colors - Unforgettable
Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller
Classical - Released by Naxos on Aug. 11, 2017
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
George Tsontakis: Anasa - True Colors - Unforgettable
Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller
Classical - Released by Naxos on Aug. 11, 2017
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
George Lloyd: The Symphonies Nos. 1-6
George Lloyd, Albany Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Lyrita on Mar. 1, 2024
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
George Lloyd: The Symphonies Nos. 7-12
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, George Lloyd
Classical - Released by Lyrita on Apr. 5, 2024
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Lloyd: The Violin & Cello Concertos
Philharmonia Orchestra, David Parry, Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller
Concertos - Released by Lyrita on Jul. 5, 2024
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Sky
Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller
Concertos - Released by Albany Records on Oct. 4, 2019
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
George Lloyd Symphony No. 11: II. Leggiero e brillante (Single)
Albany Symphony Orchestra, George Lloyd
Classical - Released by Lyrita on Mar. 15, 2024
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Corigliano: Complete Piano Works
Philip Edward Fisher, Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller
Classical - Released by Naxos on May 12, 2023
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The Great American Ninth
Albany Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra; David Alan Miller
Classical - Released by Albany Records on Jan. 1, 2006
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Harris: Symphonies No. 8 and 9 / Memories of A Child's Sunday
Classical - Released by Albany on Jan. 1, 2006
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Kernis: 3 Flavors, 2 Movements (With Bells) & Superstar Etude No. 3
Andrew Russo, Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller
Classical - Released by Naxos on Mar. 10, 2015
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Kernis: 3 Flavors, 2 Movements (With Bells) & Superstar Etude No. 3
Andrew Russo, Albany Symphony Orchestra, David Alan Miller
Classical - Released by Naxos on Mar. 10, 2015
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo