Eric Ewazen - Life's Journeys (Linda Strommen)

Information

Composer: Eric Ewazen

• Hold Fast Your Dreams (Concerto No. 2 for Oboe)
• A Summer's Journey
• Autumn Night for oboe and piano

Linda Strommen, oboe

Angela Park, piano

Tiffany Choe, soprano

Kevin Murphy, piano

Aram Arakeylan, piano

Date: 2026

Label: Albany Records

_____________________

Life’s Journeys features oboist Linda Strommen in a compelling showcase of her decades-long collaboration with composer Eric Ewazen. The album opens with Hold Fast Your Dreams, a lush, neo-Romantic oboe concerto that elegantly navigates the complexities of the human experience toward a peaceful conclusion. It is complemented by A Summer’s Journey, an expressive song cycle for soprano, oboe, and piano that evokes the fluid imagery of Schubert’s Die Winterreise, and Autumn Night, which captures the season through rich tonal colors. Throughout these distinctive pieces, Strommen delivers an elegant, captivating performance designed to transform, heal, and inspire.

American composer Eric Ewazen is a highly prolific figure whose extensive repertoire is a staple for brass, percussion, and woodwind ensembles globally. A faculty member at The Juilliard School since 1980, Ewazen earned his doctorate there after studying under legendary masters like Milton Babbitt and Gunther Schuller. His music appears on approximately seventy commercial albums, recorded by elite musicians from major orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony. An influential global educator, Ewazen has held guest residencies at over 150 universities across thirty countries, cementing his reputation as a vital force in contemporary international classical music.

Linda Strommen is a distinguished Professor of Oboe at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and a veteran guest faculty member at The Juilliard School. Her illustrious performance career includes tenures with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and numerous major American symphonies. A dedicated champion of contemporary music, Strommen has commissioned and premiered prominent works by composer Eric Ewazen, including his oboe concerti. Beyond her extensive orchestral and festival appearances, she is an internationally recognized authority on reed making, co-authoring Understanding the Oboe Reed. A Cleveland Institute of Music alumna, her pedagogy continues to shape premier global woodwind musicians.

High Resolution 24-bit / 44.1 kHz