Review: Mystic Mountain
“Heartfelt, …highly effective. Music for a documentary… powerful, within the technical command of many orchestras.” – Dr. David Katz, Founder and chief judge of The American Prize (July 2020)
“Stunning, gloriously simple, and will make any audience gasp. I can see a slide show display behind the orchestra (ala Grand Canyon Suite) showing a climb up a mountain and reaching the summit. Absolutely awesome display of how to keep it simple!” – Glenn Lenhard, Principle Trombonist for Tampa Bay Symphony (October 18, 2018)
Peace, Nature & Renewal Album Review – Cinemusical
Peace, Nature, and Renewal: The Music of Mark Dal Porto
Originally posted on Cinemusical
Mark Dal Porto teaches at Eastern New Mexico University. His work has received wide recognition in a variety of genres, several of which are represented on this new collection of his music. The current release includes two of his orchestral works, a woodwind quintet, music for oboe, and several choral pieces creating a varied program to introduce his music to a broader audience.
The two orchestral works frame the other material. The opening Song of Eternity takes its inspiration from an ancient Chinese text. After an almost Copland-esque opening, the music begins to take shape as a more Neo-Romantic tone poem with some striking orchestral writing that grows slowly until it nearly explodes from the orchestra. The final moments bring us back to a more reflective quality in this quite evocative work. …
Peace, Nature & Renewal Album Review – Review Graveyard
Peace, Nature, and Renewal: The Music of Mark Dal Porto
Originally posted on www.reviewgraveyard.com
A selection of composer Mark Dal Porto’s work is collected on the Navona Records release Peace, Nature & Renewal. The album is the perfect introduction to the composer whose style is wide in scope but perfectly focussed on pure quality…
From the opening, reflective ‘Song of Eternity’, which has obvious influences of Mahler and Prokofiev with the occasional hint of Holst. To the off-kilter three-part ‘Exotic Animals’, composer Mark Dal Porto’s body of work is diverse and never dull.
What’s intriguing about Porto’s compositions is that he’s not afraid to experiment. The album opens with tracks that are conventional, comfy classical pieces, before slowly throwing a little experimentation in on pieces like ‘Romance’. This is a track that is still grounded in traditional classical music, but there’s a little insight into the composer’s …
Peace, Nature & Renewal Album Review – Textura
Mark Dal Porto: Peace, Nature & Renewal
Originally posted at www.textura.org
Mark Dal Porto’s material has been characterized as neo-Romantic, pensive, and evocative, and certainly the seven works on this memorable collection exemplify such qualities. Dal Porto, an Eastern New Mexico University music professor who’s also a guest composer and conductor at the institution, is well-served by Peace, Nature & Renewal, which is distinguished not only by the calibre of the works presented but a set-list that includes orchestral, chamber, and choir performances. Recorded between 2012 and 2018, the release features the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, Vox Futura, Arcadian Winds, and oboist Tracy Carr. Don’t be surprised if composers such as Mahler, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Richard Strauss come to mind as you listen to the recording, with Dal Porto’s compositions aligning themselves to the stylistic tradition associated with those figures more than recent ones.
Drawing for inspiration from …
Peace, Nature & Renewal Album Review – Midwest Record
“A master at impressionistic work, this set does bring you in touch with peaceful feelings and the grandness of things larger and more mysterious than ourselves.” – Midwest Record (2/25/19) “Music that makes you think and feel, Dal Porto is only at the start of a long, rewarding road.” – Midwest Record
Review: Valley Of Enchantment
“…the audience had every reason to rise to their feet in a standing ovation at the close of this awe-inspiring number, recognizing the genius of its composer.
…orchestras only very rarely premiere magnificent new compositions even remotely comparable to Valley of Enchantment.” – Dr. Bryce Christensen, Professor, Southern Utah University (February 24, 2017)
Review: Song of Eternity
“Song of Eternity is such a wonderful work and we need more like it. For me, it has the quality of sweet, dramatic melancholy … Equally important, it is so well-crafted, with idiomatic writing for all instruments and a structure that ties everything together.” – Dr. Paul Cummings, Conductor, Humboldt Symphony (July 28, 2015) “It is my sincere privilege to tell you what a magnificent work Mark Dal Porto’s Song of Eternity is! Our Philharmonia spent the Fall semester experiencing this dynamic piece of orchestral music, and to a person, from student amateur to Buffalo Philharmonic professional, everyone raved about the emotional power and expressive serenity of this piece! I strongly encourage you to contact Mark about performing his masterpiece. It’s 7:00 of color, intensity, subtlety, and passion.”>
– Paul Ferington, Music Director, Buffalo State Philharmonia Orchestra (retired) (February 1, 2015) “I’m told there have …
