Like many American composers of the twentieth and twenty first centuries, Lee Actor's career did not begin entirely devoted to music. Born in Denver in 1952, he began his studies and early employment in engineering and supplemented it with later studies in composition. His works extensively rely on his use of color and rhythmic diversity. The jewel of this album of his compositions is the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, performed by
Pip Clarke and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. The concerto is rather reminiscent of Samuel Barber's violin concerto in its treatment of the violin and orchestra as opposing forces, in the neo-Romantic musical sensibilities, and the colors used in both the solo violin and the orchestra.
Clarke's playing is both warm and intense, with ample technical prowess to deliver Actor's sometimes virtuosic demands. This contrasts nicely to
Clarke's robust, vibrant tone in the lush "Meditation" movement. The problem on this album -- in the violin concerto as well as the engaging Second Symphony and the compelling single-movement Concerto for timpani and orchestra -- is actually with the orchestra itself. While the strings provide a reasonably secure backdrop, the winds in this orchestra are positively wretched. Poor intonation, nasal sound quality, sloppy articulation, and dull dynamics are enough to turn what otherwise would have been a quite enjoyable performance into barely acceptable one.