There are two things I admire about the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of JoAnn Faletta. First, their high performance standards. Even their basic repertoire recordings make you sit up and take notice. Second, their commitment to expanding the repertoire. Experience has taught me that I can trust Faletta and the BSO. If they’ve […]
JoAnn Falletta
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Schmitt – Antoine et Cléopâtre
Up until about 1940, Florent Schmitt was one of most frequently-performed living French composers. Although his music virtually disappeared from the repertoire after the Second World War, recent recordings (like this one) have helped a new generation rediscover this remarkable composer. The two orchestral suites Florent Schmitt extracted from his 1920 musique de scène “Antoine […]
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Jack Gallagher – Symphony No. 2 Ascendant
What better way to present a new work than with a world-class orchestra and conductor? Jack Gallagher’s second symphony gets such a treatment, and the results are stunning. JoAnn Falletta and the London Symphony Orchestra perform with assurance, bringing out all the expressive energy of the music. And there’s a lot for them to work […]
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Falletta and Buffalo Philharmonic Excel with Early Bartok
A young Bela Bartók wrote he was “roused as by a clap of thunder at the first performance of Also sprach Zarathustra.. The work brought me to a pitch of enthusiasm. I felt a reaching out to something new. I threw myself into the study of Strauss.” That inspiration is quite evident in this collection […]
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Kenneth Fuchs – Falling Man Stands Up to Comparison
This release is the fourth such collaboration between Kenneth Fuchs and JoAnn Falletta — and it’s of the same high quality as the other three (see my review of Atlantic Riband). This time around, Falletta and the London Symphony Orchestra present three Fuchs works for baritone and chamber orchestra. Roderick Williams is the baritone soloist, […]
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Gliere Symphony No. 3 – An epic journey
Gliere’s sprawling symphony takes the listener on an epic sonic odyssey. From the somber opening bars that foreshadow the arrival of the heroic Il’ya Muromets, to the closing chords where Muromets and his brave Bogatyrs knights are defeated and turned to stone, Giere weaves a tightly-constructed narrative that’s both coherent and immersive. The first recording of […]
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Tyberg Symphony Saved from Holocaust
Austrian composer Marcel Tyberg’s career (and life) was cut short by the Second World War. Despite being a devout Roman Catholic, he was arrested by the Nazis in 1943 because his great grandfather was Jewish. Fortunately, he entrusted his music to a friend before his death in 1944 en route to Auschwitz. Tyberg didn’t compose […]
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Marcel Tyberg – A Voice Not Silenced
Marcel Tyberg finished his third symphony in 1943, shortly before his arrest by the Nazis and death at Auswitz. Fortunately, he entrusted all of his scores to a friend and so they survived the war. The symphony is a marvelous post-romantic work, and reminds me very much of Bruckner’s 4th Symphony without in any way […]
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Adolphus Hailstork – An American Port of Call
American composer Adolphus Hailstork has been quietly building up an impressive catalog of well-crafted works. This new collection brings some of them to light. Hailstork’s Symphony No. 1 is an expansive work with plenty of energy. Hailstork’s melodies are always tuneful and rhythmic, which makes this symphony sparkle. For the most part, the work’s thinly […]