Album Notes

MEET THE COMPOSER

Composer-Violinist-Musical Archaeologist Elisabeth Waldo has created a 60 minute Score of mystical beauty. Her reputation as an authority on New World Music has been of long standing. Early years were spent in rural Eastern Washington on a family Ranch near the Yakima Indian Reservation. From the time she was five years old, Elisabeth and her violin were inseparable. Her teachers were Immigrants from European Countries who had settled in rural communities and were a real inspiration to this tiny musician. A Scholarship to attend the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, upon the recommendation of Jascha Heifetz, was followed by symphony experiences in Youth Orchestras under Maestro Leopold Stokowski. While performing in Mexico City over Radio X.E.W. (Cadena Azul) the great Muralist Diego Rivera heard her music and as a result, changed the direction of her musical career. Diego believed that Ms. Waldo's highest calling would be to create new Idioms based on the rich Cultural Heritage of great Indian Civilizations of the past, and to develop new scores for the future.

STORY of the SCORE for "LAND OF GOLDEN DREAMS"

From my pastoral setting at historic Rancho Cordillera del Norte, at last I have completed a 60 minute work that has given me the opportunity to express my passion for the Mythic, Historic and Cultural Roots of this Golden Land. From the beginning, I turned to the story of legendary Queen Califia who in 1521 beckoned the Old World to explore the New. I have often crossed borders, invoked impressionism, encouraged improvisation, embraced traditions and "primitivismo". Fusion of these elements all contribute to a new Genre for California musical styles. I am dedicating my "Land of Golden Dreams" C.D. and all performances of this material to my late husband, Dr. Carl S. Dentzel, an unending resource for historic detail and encouragement during my process of interpreting California as the World.