BBC Symphony Orchestra, Geoffrey Tozer & Matthias Bamert - Gerhard: Symphony No. 3, Epithalamion & Piano Concerto (1997)

Gerhard was one of this century's major composers, and his Third Symphony is one of the first and most successful works to incorporate electronic sounds into a live orchestral context. It's very difficult to describe exactly what this music sounds like--it's not tonal, certainly, but it's also very attractive as pure sound, and there are recurring ideas ("gestures" or "structures" may best describe them) that unify the musical argument. To that extent, the music is certainly "difficult," but it would be wrong to assume that it's difficulty is a function of some fiendish complexity designed to mystify the listener. In fact, all of Gerhard's music is directly communicative and highly expressive, so if you've got some time and a sense of adventure, you may want to give it a shot. -- David Hurwitz