Christopher Cerrone's 'High Windows' Finds an Elusive Balance

Christopher Cerrone is one of those “on-the-brink” artists. The Brooklyn-based composer, riding an impressive wave of accolade and acclaim for his opera Invisible Cities, can seemingly not be heard enough, accumulating important commissions and performances across the country.    This episode of LPR Live offers a bird’s eye view of his work for string quartet and string orchestra, High Windows, and features a performance by Quartet Senza Misura, Metropolis Ensemble and conductor Andrew Cyr. Cerrone’s music strikes that elusive balance between intense emotion and meticulous craft, and combines ornamental dissonance with luminous triadic harmony in a singular language. You’ll hear from Cerrone and the Metropolis Ensemble director Andrew Cyr about High Windows’ unlikely source material, the pitfalls of writing string orchestra music, and, for Cyr, what it feels like to literally be in the middle of such intense music.  This concert was recorded live at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City on April 7, 2014.  Christopher Cerrone’s High Windows was used by arrangement with Schott Music Corporation, New York.