Gregory Fritze - Overtures & Symphonies (Rafael Sanz-Espert)

Information

Composer: Gregory Fritze

• London Overture
• A Day in Valencia
• Waterplace Park
• Sinfonía de Valencia

London Symphony Orchestra

Rafael Sanz-Espert, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: Naxos

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Prize-winning composer Gregory Fritze has created more than one hundred works for diverse ensembles and is widely respected as a teacher. The four compositions featured on this album share a programmatic focus. A celebratory overture vividly portrays the vitality, diversity, and pageantry of London, while two symphonies draw inspiration from Fritze’s experiences in Valencia, reflecting the city’s warmth, landscape, and festive spirit. The overture Waterplace Park, inspired by a popular gathering spot in Providence, Rhode Island, is a lively and engaging work distinguished by the inclusion of five unusual instrumental soloists.

Gregory Fritze, born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1954, began studying piano at six and tuba at ten, later pursuing composition with James D. Craig and continuing his training at the Boston Conservatory and Indiana University, where he earned a master’s degree. A prize-winning composer and Fulbright Scholar, he has written more than one hundred works performed over a thousand times in 26 countries. Fritze taught at Berklee College of Music for 36 years, including 14 as department chair, mentoring more than twelve thousand students. An accomplished tubist and conductor, he has also been a prominent advocate for Spanish wind music worldwide.

Rafael Sanz-Espert, born in Valencia in 1960, studied at the Conservatorio Superior de Música and began his career as a virtuoso saxophonist, becoming one of the first in Spain to record a solo saxophone album. He performed for over a decade with the Banda Municipal de Valencia before establishing himself as a leading conductor in the international wind music scene. In 2002 he became principal conductor of the Banda Municipal de Música de Bilbao, later holding similar posts in Madrid and Valencia. He has conducted more than a thousand concerts and appeared as a guest conductor across Europe, the Americas, and Africa.