Raymond Bisha introduces a new release of three highly contrasted orchestral works, unified by the quintessentially American styles of the three composers. The optimism of Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring and the sparkling colour synesthesia of Michael Torke’s Bright Blue Music stand in stark contrast to John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 1. The latter is an intensely moving musical memorial to friends who lost their lives in the Aids epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s. The work moves from spikes of insanity punctuating Aids dementia, through stretches of poignant nostalgia to a mournful, yet peaceful conclusion. America’s National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic makes its debut for Naxos under the direction of David Alan Miller.