Released on March 6, 2026, Betsy Jolas: Orchestral Works is the first monographic album devoted to the orchestral music of French-American composer Betsy Jolas. The recording, performed by the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (OBC) under the baton of its music director Ludovic Morlot, kicks off celebrations for Jolas' centenary, which lands on August 5 this year. The programme brings together four orchestral works spanning the composer's recent output. Known for her independent spirit, Jolas has long resisted strict stylistic affiliations, drawing inspiration instead from a wide range of traditions.
The album opens with Letters from Bachville (2019), jointly commissioned by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Described by the composer as a dreamlike personal stroll through Leipzig, the piece follows the imagined traces of Bach while reflecting on the many ways his music resonates in contemporary listening.
A Little Summer Suite (2015), commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic for Jolas’ ninetieth birthday, unfolds as a continuous sequence of seven movements inspired by the idea of “wandering music”, alternating strolling passages with more stationary musical moments.
Latest (2021) takes its title from the possibility that it might have been Jolas’ final orchestral work. Rich in colour and rhythmic fluidity, the score features a vivid role for percussion and even incorporates the musicians’ voices, weaving autobiographical elements such as memories of Bali and references to jazz.
The album concludes with B-Day (2006), written to celebrate both the tenth anniversary of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and her own eightieth birthday. The piece playfully transforms the familiar "Happy Birthday" melody through a sequence of inventive variations.
Recorded at Pau Casals Hall in L’Auditori de Barcelona, the album is currently available in digital format and will later be released on CD. Listen to Betsy Jolas: Orchestral Works now on Spotify.