Lori’s second solo album – Dreaming (Amazon, iTunes) – was released on May 1, 2003. The CD features singers Jennifer Check, Patricia Green, Sari Gruber, Randall Scarlata and William Sharp; doublebassist Gary Karr; and pianists Warren Jones and Lori Laitman.
“This is a stunning collection of widely varied songs by one of the finest art song composers on the scene today…Lori Laitman deservedly stands shoulder to shoulder with Ned Rorem for her uncommon sensitivity to text, her loving attention to the human voice and its capabilities, and her extraordinary palette of musical colors and gestures.” (Gregory Berg, The Journal of Singing, Jan/Feb 2004)
“Now here’s a composer displaying a rare gift for comedy…Men with Small Heads, a little cycle for baritone and piano, is hilarious and the prize is the duet Dreaming, about singers wishing for good reviews…Definitely music and a composer worth watching.” (John Story, Gramophone Magazine, October 2004)
“Holocaust 1944 is a powerful song cycle both for the performers and the audience. Each part is very exposed and technically challenging. The subject matter, confronting genocide on a personal level, is so intense one would need to take great care in programming the work. The work has an impact reminiscent of Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder or Strauss’ Four Last Songs, yet due to the starkness and transparency of the instrumentation, this work is somehow more intimate.” (Hans Sturm, Bass World, October 2004)
