An Uncommon Woman

An Uncommon Woman
© Koch International Classics
3-7469-2
In 1999, Marin Alsop and the Colorado Symphony released an all-Joan Tower CD on the Koch International Classics label. This week the Library of Congress added "Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman" to its National Recording Registry. Librarian of Congress James H. Billington added 25 new sound recordings to the registry for their cultural, artistic and/or historical significance to American society and the nation’s audio legacy. "By preserving these recordings, we safeguard the words, sounds and music that embody who we are as a people and a nation," said Billington.

Each year, the Librarian, with advice from the Library's National Recording Preservation Board, selects 25 recordings for the registry. Tower's music is in good company: this round's inductees include "Joan Baez," Baez's first solo album; the rhythm and blues classic "Stand by Me," one of the most-broadcast songs of the 20th century; Sly and the Family Stone's "Stand!"; saxophonist Gerry Mulligan's exquisite rendition of "My Funny Valentine"; and Radiohead's landmark "OK Computer."

Tower's celebrations of the uncommon woman join two of her orchestral works on the disc:
   Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (1986)
   Concerto for Orchestra (1991)
   Second Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (1989)
   Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (No. 5) (1993)
   For the Uncommon Woman (1992)
   Duets (1994)
   Third Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (1991)

Learn more at the Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Board.

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