Blue Electra
Last Dance at the Surf | To the New World
Michael Daugherty, Composer | Anne Akiko Meyers, Violin
David Alan Miller, Heinrich Medicus Music Director | Albany Symphony
Released April, 2025
This recording showcases three new evocative works by GRAMMY Award-winning American composer Michael Daugherty, exploring the triumphs and tragedies of flight. Blue Electra is a dramatic violin concerto inspired by the sensational life and mysterious disappearance of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart in 1937. Last Dance at the Surf is a one-movement dance symphony for orchestra that reflects upon rock ’n roll legend Buddy Holly’s final performance in 1959 at the Surf Ballroom in Iowa and his tragic death in a plane crash just hours after his show. To the New World for orchestra celebrates the triumphant Apollo 11 moon mission in 1969 and Neil Armstrong’s historic moonwalk. Under the baton of GRAMMY Award-winning conductor David Alan Miller, the Albany Symphony is joined by GRAMMY Award-winning violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, who performs Blue Electra with electrifying musicality and emotion.
“Much of the music has a cinematic quality, like the simple, undulating idea Daugherty uses to tie together the richly scored opening movement.”
“Daugherty (and the engineers) skillfully balance Meyers against a highly colorful orchestral background, superbly furnished by the Albany Symphony under David Alan Miller.”
