The relationship between Welsh composer Daniel Jones and the BBC was a close one. In the third installment of Daniel Jones’s symphonic recordings, Lyrita presents two prime examples. Symphony No. 3 was completed in 1951 and premiered the following year in a BBC broadcast. David Jones conducted the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra. Jones’ fifth symphony […]
Orchestral music
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Salvatore Di Vittorio release not up to par
To me, this release is something of a puzzle. We have a composer conducting the orchestra he founded in a program of his own works. I enjoyed Salvatore Di Vittorio and the Chamber Orchestra of New York before. Their Respighi release is a knockout. But not this. The compositions are fine. They’re well-constructed. Di Vittorio, […]
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Pancho Vladigerov Orchestral Works 2 has the good stuff
This installment of Capriccio’s reissues features Pancho Vladigerov’s shorter orchestral works. It includes the Bulgarian Rhapsody “Varda” — Vladigerov’s most-performed work. The collection also includes his Seven Symphonic Bulgarian Dances, his Romanian Dances and Symphonic Sketches suites, and the Bulgarian Suite. In his country, Vladigerov’s music is the embodiment of Bulgarian classical music. Capriccio’s series […]
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American Discoveries an exceptional EP
I almost consider this an EP rather than an album. The total playing time is around 30 minutes. But I’m interested in quality over quantity, so the album’s length isn’t an issue. Reuben Blundell and the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra present three works culled from the Edwin A. Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music at the Free […]
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John Robertson Symphonies Underserved by Performances
John Robertson is a mostly self-taught composer who has really come into his own in recent years. This is the fourth release of his music from Navona. To me, it’s something of a mixed bag. The major works included here are his last two symphonies. Symphony No. 4 was written in 2017, and Symphony No. […]
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Early Music by Walter Braunfels Promising
For their ninth release of music by Walter Braunfels, Capriccio concentrates on some of his earlier music. Braunfels had the misfortune to fall between two stools. Before WWII, he was considered too modern (by the Nazis), and after the war, too conservative by everyone else. Listening to a century after the fact, I think his […]
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Julian Carrillo Orchestral Works show originality
I sometimes wonder what would have happened had Harry Partch and Julian Carrillo had ever met. Both created their own musical languages — and instruments to play them. Both subdivided the octave into microtones, much smaller subdivisions than traditional sharps and flats. Would they have inspired each other? I like to think so. This release […]
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Paul Wranitzky Orchestral Works worth a listen
Sure — Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven were the major figures in 1800s Vienna. But they were the only ones. Vienna was the center of the musical world, and talent came from all over. Like Paul Wranitzky from Moravia. He and his brother Anton found fame and fortune in Vienna. In the 1790s he contacted both […]
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New release celebrates individual voice of Elisabetta Brusa
This installment in Naxos’ series features two works by Elisabetta Brusa: her second symphony, and “Simply Largo.” These are the same performers that recorded her first symphony in Volume Three, and the quality remains high. The Ulster Orchestra has a full yet open ensemble sound. The soloists (if not great) are very good, and Daniele […]