From the opening of this 2006 release from Albany, one can immediately deduce that David Maslanka is a conservative composer who writes in a thoroughly accessible, vernacular style; don't expect any nods to the avant-garde in his tone poem 11:11 -- A Dance at the Edge of the World, or in his loosely programmatic Symphony No. 6, "Living Earth." Maslanka's music is traditional in harmony, lushly orchestrated, and expressively grounded in reflective calmness, with few dramatic contrasts. To varying degrees he draws from soft-edged minimalism and old-fashioned Romanticism for his language, but Maslanka also derives inspiration from the chorales of J.S. Bach and the Americana ballets of
Aaron Copland, as well as from film music. Yet as appealing as this may sound to listeners who want melodic, tonal music that has some of these qualities, these pieces suffer from a lack of incisiveness, a stodgy sense of rhythmic regularity, and a tendency to move in slow harmonic progressions that inhibit momentum. This may be excusable in 11:11, which seems to be based on the composer's subjective, spiritual reflections and therefore follows its own hermetic logic. But the symphony needs more propulsion and tighter tonal organization to cohere, as its structure is too loose and meandering to convey a clear sense of departure and arrival. Maslanka's predominantly meditative style is suitable for relaxed listening, and the performances by James Allen Anderson and the Appalachian Symphony Orchestra are warm and pleasant. Albany's reproduction is clear and vibrant, though the frequency range is quite wide between the extremely soft opening of the disc and its rather loud finish.