Chandos’ third installment in their George Antheil series features works from a variety of sources. It includes his Symphony No. 1 and several shorter works. To my ears, Antheil’s first symphony, “Zingareska,” is the least successful of his six. John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic give it their best. Their performance is first-rate. The underlying […]
Chandos
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British Tone Poems, Vol. 2 delivers on quality
This volume of British Tone Poems features outstanding works by lesser-known composers and lesser-known works by outstanding composers. Either way, it’s a win-win for the listener, especially with these performances. Rumon Gamba and the BBC Philharmonic deliver beautiful and insightful performances of a mixed bag of music. This round features two world-premiere recordings. And the program […]
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Light entertainment from new Eric Coates release
Eric Coates was the master of light classical music. His compositions were consistently tuneful, appealing, light-hearted and immediately appealing. All without being banal or trite. Now that’s artistry! This release launches a multi-disc recording cycle of Coates’ orchestral music. John Wilson spent several years editing Coates’ orchestral music. These new performing editions are the basis […]
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George Antheil Symphonies Channel Copland
Before I received a copy of this release, I only knew George Antheil through one work: the Ballet Mechanique. But Antheil was about more than scoring sirens and airplane propellors. Antheil’s Symphony No. 3 paints a series of evocative tableaux; Latino California, Creole New Orleans, Promontory Point, Baltimore. In this 1940s work, Antheil uses the […]
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Tasmin Little Plays a Favorite
In a Violin Channel interview, Tasmin Little named Brahms as her favorite composer. I think that affection is evident in this release. There’s an easy familiarity in these performances I find quite appealing. The Violin Sonata No. 1 was developed from two earlier songs by Brahms. The lyrical nature of the material is at the […]
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Tasmin Little Plays Exceptional Music by Exceptional Women
Tasmin Little presents a solid program of late-Romantic violin works. As always, her performances let the emotional content of this music blossom forth in beauty. Little has done other outstanding recordings of this repertoire (her Brahms album springs to mind). She seems to have a natural affinity of the late-Romantic style. Oh – and all […]
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Ruth Gipps Symphonies — Old Fashioned? Well-crafted!
The 21st Century seems to be the time for the re-discovery of women composers. Obscurity could result from many factors. Some careers were frustrated by societal conventions, as with Amy Beach. Sometimes race was the issue, as with Florence Price. In the case of Ruth Gipps, it seemed to have been something not uncommon with […]
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Florent Schmitt Symphony No. 2 “busy for everyone”
Florent Schmitt extracted two orchestral suites from his ballet “Antoine et Cléopâtre.” Stylistically, the score bears a strong resemblance to Ravel’s “Daphnis et Chloé” (also from a ballet). The touches of orientalism and sometimes gooey harmonies remind me more of Richard Strauss’ “Salome.” Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony seem to relish the rich texture […]
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Chandos Release of Arriaga – Mozart with a smile
If you’re not familiar with Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, this release is an excellent introduction. Arriaga was dubbed the “Spanish Mozart,” and with good reason. Like Mozart, he had a natural facility for the piano, and for composition. And like Mozart, he died young. Arriaga wrote his opera “Los esclavos felices” when he was fourteen. […]