This exciting new album contains Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Sergei Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances, and the world premiere recording of Gabriela Lena Frank’s Three Latin American Dances.     

Music and dance are as old as mankind itself. This recording presents dance modes from three cultures: music by an American of Peruvian-Jewish descent (Frank, b.1972 Berkeley CA) living in California, an American steeped in the culture of New York City (Bernstein), and a Russian (Rachmaninov) living in America.  

Frank's Three Latin American Dances received their world premiere April 23, 2004 with the Utah Symphony under Keith Lockhart, two days before this recording session. Only her second orchestral work, it already demonstrates a solid and imaginative command of the medium. Under Lockhart’s direction the Utah musicians deftly combine Frank’s rhythms, melodic outlines and the instrumental colors of her ancestral land; each dance sustaining its own unique mood and character.   

Right from its opening night on Broadway on September 26, 1957,West Side Story became one of the biggest success stories in the history of American music.The dynamic interplay of the ‘voices’ in this musical play are as dramatic as they are romantic and tragic when Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is played out in the streets of New York by Lockhart and the Utah Symphony.  

Exceptionally brilliant orchestration contributes significantly to making the Symphonic Dances one of the finest scores in Rachmaninov’s catalogue.To an otherwise normal-sized orchestra, the composer added a large number of percussion instruments that shine, glisten and tinkle: glockenspiel, xylophone, piano, chimes, triangle, tambourine, cymbals and two harps. Recorded in Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, all the Symphony’s players become one single instrument in the hands of Maestro Lockhart as they present this lush and popular work.     

Founded in 1940, the Utah Symphony has become a vital presence on the American music scene through its distinctive performances worldwide and its well-known recording legacy, including a 1982 recording of Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique (RR-11) on Reference Recordings. 

Under Keith Lockhart, whose tenure as Music Director began in 1998, the Symphony continues its commitment to the music of our time, recording and premiering a number of American works including the Frank piece on this CD. 

Mr. Lockhart has conducted the Symphony in the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in a national PBS broadcast, on the Emmy award winning Salute to the Symphony broadcasts and led the Symphony on its first European tour in 19 years in April 2005. As a guest artist, Mr. Lockhart has conducted major symphony orchestras worldwide. On May 10th Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops launch their 2006 season, his 12th as their conductor. Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, Lockhart began his musical studies with piano lessons at the age of seven. He holds his undergraduate degree from Furman University in South Carolina and his M.F.A. in orchestral conducting from Carnegie-Mellon University.     

2006 marks the 30th Anniversary year of Reference Recordings, the esteemed independent record label dedicated to the highest standards of recording art and technology. RR’s classical and jazz recordings have received extraordinary praise worldwide for both performance and sound quality. Grammy® nominations include six 'Best Engineered, Classical” for engineer Keith O. Johnson and a “Classical Producer of the Year” nod for J.Tamblyn Henderson in 1998. Keith is also a co-inventor of the HDCD® recording technology used in this production.