David Del Tredici.(On the Beat)(Biography)

Another, more seasoned, American composer has bounced back in the news with a flurry of recording activity. Pulitzer Prize-winner DAVID DEL TREDICI has a string of new CDs appearing this year. The first is the world premiere recording, just released by Deutsche Grammophon, of Vintage Alice, one of the string of compositions Del Tredici wrote that were inspired by the characters of Lewis Carroll. In addition to the title piece (which dates from 1972), the CD includes two works inspired by the writings of James Joyce, Syzygy and Six Joyce Songs.

Set at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, Vintage Alice was one of Del Tredici's first major steps toward tonality. Such a move was not exactly in vogue in the mid-'70s, when serial music still ruled. When Del Tredici's Final Alice turned out to be a major success, he began to take a bit of heat from the musical establishment. "My earlier works were not widely done, but Final Alice was a U.S. Bicentennial commission. The agreement was that every major orchestra that had a commission would do everybody else's--so that, and its recording by the Chicago Symphony, made it very visible. I was lucky to have BARBARA HENDRICKS for that recording. She was the perfect soprano for it. She even took elocution lessons to help her learn to handle the spoken passages." Del Tredici also has high praise for LUCY SHELTON, who ...