American Mavericks

"Tilson Thomas and the San Franciscans were at their best in honoring the monuments of the maverick tradition... Other orchestras hardly touch this music, but in San Francisco it has become standard fare, and the authority of the playing was staggering." - Alex Ross, The New Yorker

“Michael Tilson Thomas has always been a committed advocate of the American radicals of the first half of the 20th century. Here, he conducts works by Henry Cowell and his pupil Lou Harrison alongside a brilliantly virtuosic and detailed account (in its 1927 revision) of Amériques, the first work Edgard Varèse completed after he settled in the US in 1915.” - Andrew Clements, Guardian (UK)

This release from Michael Tilson Thomas and the Grammy award-winning San Francisco Symphony features stunning live recordings from the SFS's wildly successful American Mavericks festival. Presented in premium audio hybrid SACD, American Mavericks includes performances of four works by three influential but seldom heard twentieth century masters. Performances of Henry Cowell's Synchrony and his Piano Concerto, with Jeremy Denk on piano, combine Cowell's distinctive musical language with exceptionally expressive playing to produce a powerful musical experience. Lou Harrison's eclectic compositional style and organ soloist Paul Jacobs's spectacular virtuosity are on full display in Harrison's Concert for Organ with Percussion orchestra. This one-of-a-kind disc concludes with Edgard Varèse's monumental Amériques and the orchestral siren that has influenced generations of composers.