Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Miran Vaupotić - Virtuosity: Concerti of Stephen Michael Gryč (2026) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Fanfare for a Noble Rebel
02. Harmonia mundi: I. Water
03. Harmonia mundi: II. Earth
04. Harmonia mundi: III. Fire
05. Harmonia mundi: IV. Air
06. Evensong
07. Passaggi: I. Preludio
08. Passaggi: II. Variazioni
09. Passaggi: III. Scherzi tempestosi

How to categorize Stephen Gryč’s music? On the one hand, it is firmly tonal, but it is not conservative in the usual meaning of the term. The musical language he employs is reminiscent of neoclassicism, but one that is close to Prokofiev. And yet there is something that feels almost archetypally familiar.

On VIRTUOSITY, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and three soloists aim to decrypt just what makes Gryč’s voice so unmistakably his. Trumpeter Huw Morgan, violinist Leonid Sigal, and trombonist Joseph Alessi are the album’s title-bestowing virtuosos, the latter two having had the pieces tailor-make for them by Gryč. It is in these commissions that Gryč’s ability begins to reveal its wellspring: an understanding of the idiosyncrasies of the individual musician and their instrument, bolstered and exalted by the greater whole of the orchestra.

Stephen Michael Gryč composer
Royal Scottish National Orchestra | Miran Vaupotić conductor
Joseph Alessi trombone
Huw Morgan trumpet
Leonid Sigal violin