Reviews
Rose’s work has received praise from a variety of sources.
Gerald Elias, former member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra then, Associate Concertmaster of the Utah Symphony Orchestra, Abramyan String Quartet founder and first violin, and now an acclaimed writer and crime fiction novelist said of Rose’s string quartet, “Danses pour Quatuor”: “I enjoyed listening to the “Danses” which I found clever and engaging”; of the first violin concerto: “could be a strong addition to any programme”; of the piano quartet (“for DSCH”): “You compose with an impressively confident and clear voice. I can express nothing but admiration for your continued achievement.”; of the third symphony: “Terrific” and of the slow movement of the cello sonata: “sublime.”
Jeremy Hulin, music professor at the Maastricht Conservatorium and, from 1993 to 2005, first conductor at the Aachen Opera Theatre said of the first symphony: “Everything seems to grow organically from the beginning with a lot of variety in it and a lot of open-air atmosphere – quite an achievement.”
Peggy Nolan, cellist with the Eblana String Trio said of the piano quartet: “wonderful music” and of “Transformations for String Trio”: “The string writing was very well-written indeed! Everything was very logical and we enjoyed the interplay between parts.”
Katherine Jenkinson, cellist, said of Rose’s music generally: he “is able to write beautiful long lyrical lines and takes advantage of the entire range of the instrument he’s writing for”; of “Danses pour Quatuor”: “I was immediately struck by how well Rose writes for string players” and of the piano trio: “this is well considered and lies beautifully for the instruments. Rose is certainly a composer to look out for, gaining reputation with every composition. It has been a joy working alongside him.”
John Gerson, concertmaster of The Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest said of “Planetary Conjunctions”: “I find it to be a fantastic work. Each movement has a special character” but “it also tells a longer story. The string and brass writing are especially lovely and there are also some great moments in the percussion” and of the piano trio: “I loved the piece. There are so many beautiful moments. It’s a wonderful work.”
The Art Music Lounge said of the cello sonata: it is “full of dissonance from the very first note and plays on dissonance throughout. This is not to say that the music is vapid or uninteresting; on the contrary, it is full of interesting ideas. I particularly liked the second movement with its insistent march rhythm, allied to rising and falling chromatic passages. All in all it’s a very clever piece.” The Strad said of the same piece: “Although the sonata follows a similar movement trajectory to that of the Shostakovich, Rose’s music owes more to Hindemith’s angular style. The invention is fluent.”
BBC Music Magazine said in relation to the CD of the piano trio: “A master of unconventional form taking only the broadest of cues from the seven-movement continuity of Beethoven’s Op. 131 String Quartet, Rose sacrificed composing for the law but has since made up for lost time. Like most composers when they took up the piano trio form he has much to lament, in this case USA shootings and war crimes in Syria which lie behind the cumulative elegy of the final movement. Despite that, and constant reference to a Passacaglia theme, the essence is mercurial, sometimes even playful, and the light which shines through allows the work to end in peace. It’s certainly a richly wrought and fascinating addition to the piano trio repertoire.” The Gramophone Magazine said of the same piece: “The work is cast in seven movements, with anticipatory or recollective links drawing these into a cohesive yet intentionally non-seamless whole. Most impressive are the second-movement passacaglia with its combative dialogue for strings and piano, then the final Largo, whose elegiac intensity pointedly underlines those mass shootings and war crimes such as provided the creative spur.”
The Kodaly String Duo of Vienna said of “Jeux, Danses et Fetes”: “the musical effects and the rhythmic combinations surely will capture the audience’s attention and they will enjoy every second of this composition.”
Ruth Rogers, the leader of the London Mozart Players and guest leader of many other orchestras as well as founding member of the Aquinas Piano Trio, said: “I have recorded and performed Rose’s string quartet and piano trio. He is a thoughtful composer who takes great care of the details and I have enjoyed playing his colourful, imaginative and original pieces. His music is fresh and always interesting and he understands how to get the best out of instruments in terms of texture and colour.”
Huntley Dent of Fanfare Magazine said of Rose’s Piano Trio, “[it] is a remarkable and almost seamless transition between the Romantic idioms of Smetana and Rachmaninoff. He modeled the work in seven continuous movements, citing Beethoven’s String Quartet, op. 131, as a precedent, although unlike Beethoven, Rose provides linking music between the movements. There’s a good deal of scrupulous craftsmanship at work employing traditional forms like the fugue and passacaglia, circular returns to previous material, solos for each instrument, and a general sense of close joinery. Contrast is provided by the 12 tempo indications as the music shifts in mood and speed. The fourth movement, marked Adagietto, is “an extended wistfully lyrical and at times passionately elegiac centerpiece to the whole work.”
Form has little to do with emotion, and where Rose succeeds best is in his ability to connect emotionally with the listener. His themes display a gift for melody, and he makes dramatic use of instrumental color. The result is unexpectedly successful—unexpected because one feels that this must be a Russian work, so closely aligned with Shostakovich in dramatic variety and Rachmaninoff for passionate elegy that the connection seems undeniable. However, no mention of any influences is provided in the program notes, so I can only judge by ear. In any event, the work is a triumph of traditionalism without a trace of tiredness or routine.”
Ken Meltzer of Fanfare Magazine said of the Stone Records disc pairing cello sonatas by Rose and Shostakovich performed by cellist Katherine Jenkinson and pianist Alison Farr: “In her introductory comments, included in the CD’s liner notes, Jenkinson relates that upon receiving the score of the Rose Cello Sonata, she “immediately spotted similarities between his sonata and that by Shostakovich, and thought they would together form a good CD pairing.” Indeed, the similarities will, I think, be apparent to anyone who listens to this recording. Both sonatas are in four movements. An angular opening movement leads to a playful, ironic scherzo, followed by an extended and emotionally searching slow-tempo movement. The finales of each attempt to resolve the conflict of previous movements, but perhaps not in entirely convincing fashion. That approach to finales is certainly a Shostakovich trademark. In the case of the final movement of the Rose Sonata, an extended, introspective episode capped by the brief, manic closing bars, brought to my mind the parallel sequence in the Elgar Cello Concerto. Both the Rose and Shostakovich Sonatas embrace a Neoclassical esthetic. In his liner notes on the works, Rose mentions Shostakovich’s acknowledgement of the influence of Stravinsky in his Cello Sonata. Rose, too embraces that influence in his sonata, particularly in the second movement scherzo, with its striking echoes of L’histoire du soldat. Rose and Shostakovich both explore the cello’s expressive potential, particularly in its middle and lower registers. I don’t want to give the impression that the Rose Cello Sonata is in any way an imitation of the Shostakovich. Each composer speaks in his own individual voice. And it’s no small compliment, I think, to say that in this recording, the Rose Cello Sonata justifies its place alongside the Shostakovich. I appreciate the opportunity this CD gave me to hear the music of Rose, a self-trained composer who practiced law before devoting himself entirely to music, beginning in 2001. I look forward to listening to more of his works.
Jenkinson’s introduction, the artist bios, and Rose’s excellent program notes all enhance this first-rate production. A worthy project and one, I think, that merits your attention; recommended.”
The Composer with the Iuventus String Quartet (Ruth Rogers, Elizabeth Willams, Rose Redgrave and Katherine Jenkinson)
