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CLIFFORD: The Cowes Suie. Dargo: A Mountain Rhapsody.
An Irish Comedy Overture. A Pageant of Youth. Left of the Line. Victorian Polka.
Hunted
. Voyage at Dusk MENDELSSOHN: Heimkehr aus derFremde Overrture, Op. 89. Concerto in E
for Piano Concerto. CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E inor, Op. 11 (orch.
Miy Alekseyevich. TERTERIAN: Symphony Nos. 2 and 4. soghomon Soghomonian: Shoger
(Jan (Dear Shuger).Traditional: Noobar-Noobar) Australian-born composer and conductor Hubert Clifford (1904- 0 1959) had a major career as a composer of fil music. He was a favorite of the BBC and wrote a great deal of light music for them. On recordings his music has been neglected although Chandos some years ago issued a performance of a major work of his, Symphuony No. 1, which I plan to investigte. This superb new SACD offers many of Clifford's shorter works including some of his film music. Clifford was a master orchestrator, and obviously has a sense of humor. His music is inventive and he gives the entire orchestra plenty to do.Performances are outstanding with the BBC Orchestra directed by Ronald Corp. With the exception of The Coves Suite, all of these are world premiere recordings. Enginers have provided an outstanding multi-chnnel sonic picture. Thank you, Dutton/Epoch! Mendelssohn was incredibly prolific. There are a number of his works that are virtually forgotten today including all five of his operas. Best-known of these is his 1829 opera Heimkehraus der Fremde (Son and Stranger), and this disk begins with the overture to that opera. Surely it is not one of Mendelssohn's finer works but it is welcome to have the opportunity to hear this minor Mendelssohn. He wrote many concertos and concerted works, and in 1842 started to write a new piano concerto which he didn't finish. Only sketchy fragments of it remain, and Martin Yates has "realized and completed" the score, now a three-movement 28-minute work. It is charming indeed, a welcome if dubious addition to the Mendelssohn catalog. Another oddity is the "Grand Concerto" which actually is Chopin;s Piano concerto No. 1 reorchestrated by Russian composer Mily Alekseyevich Balikarev. This composer wrote in the grand Russian tradition. He loved Chopin's music and orchestrated several of the short piano pieces—but he felt Chopin's orchestration for his concerto could be improved. So he added instruments, did some readjustments, leaving the piano part intact. It is quite different indeed from what we hear elsewhere, and it is good to have the opportunity to hear a modern recording of it. Pianist Victor Sangiorgio plays well enough, but cannot match the virtuosity and insight of many other performances. Still this is a welcome, unusual release. The recordings were made January 15-16, 2914 in England's Sage Gateshead Hall One, and audio is excellent. Chandos has an intriguing SACD called Voices from the East featuring music by Armenian composer Avet Rubeni Terterian (1929 - 1994). The Bournemouth Symphony is heard under the dynamic direction of its principal conductor, Ukrainian Kirill Karabits. Already they have recorded for Chandos Karayev's Seven Beauties ballet (REVIEW). Soghomon Soghomonian, (1869 - 1935) , commonly known as Komitas in Armenian, was an ordained Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, and arranger. One of his works, the very brief Shoger Jan )1:29), is included on this disk as well as the traditional Noubar-Noubar (2:25). Both of these are quoted frequently in the two of the eight symphonies by Terteriuan, Symphony No. 3 written in 1975, and Symphony No. 4 composed the following year but revised in 1984. Both are half-hour works with three movements. These symphonies exemplify tragedy, the contemplation of human existence ub a diined wirkd. The composer's younger brother, Herman, died in 1975. This event also influenced Symphony No. 4. Both works are scored for a large orchestra, and many unusual native instruments. Both symphonies contrast violent, discordant outbursts with pianissimo passages, Symphony No. 4, with the exception of a violent outburst in the first movement, is more contemplative than its predecessor. It ends with a slow, quiet fade into nothingness. These symphonies are challenging listening experiences, that collectors surely should investigate. The orchestra is perfect in this demanding music. Recordings were made March 30 - 31, 2019 in The Lighthouse, Poole Dorset. Engineering is magnificent, capturing the wide range of percussive unique sounds in splendid multi-channel sound. Don't miss this1 R.E.B. (November 2019) |