Music for a Time of War

Music for a Time of War is a 2011 concert program and subsequent album by the Oregon Symphony under the artistic direction of Carlos Kalmar. The program consists of four compositions inspired by war: Charles Ives The Unanswered Question (1906), John Adams The Wound-Dresser (1989), Benjamin Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem (1940) and Ralph Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 4 (1935). The program was performed on May 7, 2011, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon, and again the following day. Both concerts were recorded for album release. On May 12, the Oregon Symphony repeated the program at the inaugural Spring for Music Festival, at Carnegie Hall. The performance was broadcast live by KQAC and WQXR-FM, the classical radio stations serving Portland and the New York City metropolitan area, respectively. The concerts marked the Oregon Symphony's first performances of The Wound-Dresser as well as guest baritone Sanford Sylvan's debut with the company. In October 2011 the recording of the Portland performances was released on CD by PentaTone Classics. The recording debuted at number 31 on Billboard Classical Albums chart. The album earned three recognitions from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for the 2013 Grammy Awards. Producer Blanton Alspaugh received the award for Producer of the Year, Classical for his contributions to Music for a Time of War and other recordings. Program Music for a Time of War contains four 20th-century classical compositions based on the theme of war. Kalmar stated that the program was not inspired by current events and that not every composition was written specifically because of war. He also warned that audiences should not attend the performances anticipating an optimistic conclusion: