Chris Walden: Symphony No. 1 - The Four Elements

Walden's first symphony is most assured when it is evoking vast open spaces and aspects of nature.
Gramaphone

2008 GRAMMY NOMINATIONS:
"Best Orchestral Performance"
"Best Classical Contemporary Composition"

Born in Hamburg, Germany, Chris Walden is a successful practitioner of composition and arrangement in the Los Angeles commercial galaxy. He also creates and records a wide range of big band jazz, with three such recordings for Origin Records including the Grammy-nominated Home of My Heart (82439). His most recent, Kurt Marti Suite (82482), employs a chorus from Hamburg, thus dipping its toes into the classical world.

Now Walden has gone the whole way, with a beautiful, completely accomplished First Symphony. There are obviously many elements that go into making a symphony - not just the four classical ones (earth, air, etc.) that inspire this composition. And amazingly, Walden, on first go, commands them all. One catches influences: Sibelius, surely; the way a line takes pause and releases into dance is reminiscent of Mahler, for instance. Walden depicts nature by the gracious sonorities that date back to Beethoven. Yet this is no pastiche. The Symphony sings in its own voice. Nor does the music betray his mastery of commercial and big band realms - except in the one element of highly developed, constant communicative chops.

Production Info:

Composed, conducted, and produced by Chris Walden
Recorded at the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox Studios, Los Angeles, Dec 2007
Mixed at Capitol Studios, Hollywood
Recording and mixing engineer: Al Schmitt
Assistant engineer and Protools operator: Steve Genewick
Boothreader: Tim Davies
Orchestra contractor: Gina Zimmitti
Assistant to Chris Walden: Will Forbes
Mastered by Robert Vosgien at Capitol Mastering
Video filmed and edited by Chris Settlemoir
Enhanced CD authoring by MonkeyShark
Photographs: Beate Walden
Cover design and layout: John Bishop
Publicity: Costa Communications
Executive Producer: Chris Walden

Reviews of Chris Walden: Symphony No. 1 - The Four Elements

All About Jazz (Victor L. Schermer)
Chris Walden is probably best known to AAJ readers as a big band leader and composer. But his interest in developing other forms has already garnered him two Grammy nominations, and here he ventures into the serious orchestral realm. He takes the four elements?Earth, Water, Air and Fire?and uses them as the basis of four symphonic movements in the ...

All Music Guide (Stephen Eddins)
**** 4-stars German-born Chris Walden is best known as a jazz performer (he created his own big band), for his writing for film (he has scored over 40), and for his orchestral arranging (his clients are as diverse as Paul Anka, Sheryl Crow, Barbra Streisand, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra). His first symphony is the first piece of absolute mus ...