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American Music of the XXth Century Samuel BARBER (1910-1981)
Adagio for Strings(1938) [7:10] Aaron COPLAND (1900-1990) Fanfare for the Common Man (1943) [3:07] Appalachian Spring (1944) [26:01] Leonard BERNSTEIN (1918-1990) Candideoverture (1956) [4:07]
Symphonic Dancesfrom West Side Story (1958-61)
[24:36] Tobias PICKER (b.1954) Old and lost rivers (1986) [6:36]
Scottish
Chamber Orchestra/Jukka-Pekka Saraste (Barber);
London Philharmonic/Carl Davis (Fanfare); London
Symphony Orchestra/Richard Hickox (Appalachian);
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Andrew Litton (Candide);
Minnesota Orchestra/Edo de Waart (Dances);
Houston Symphony/Christoph Eschenbach (Rivers)
rec. dates and locations not given VIRGIN
CLASSICS 391339 2 [71:52]
Moving as we do towards the end of
the noughties, it is hardly surprising
that our perspective on the last century is in some ways
in a state of reflective evaluation. This pleasant compilation
safely covers the middle-of-the-road when it comes to American
Music of the XXth Century, and only the noise
of Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man is likely to
wake elderly relatives from their afternoon nap, dreaming
about how much better it all was back then.
This hodge-podge of
orchestras and conductors has been compiled from recordings
from between 1988 and 1991, all recent enough, all well played
and for the most part decently recorded. The programming
is a bit strange, with the Adagio for Strings being blown out of
the water by that Fanfare,
but it does balance the neo-Copland Old
and lost rivers with which the disc calmly fizzles out.
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Adagio
for Strings is possibly the least satisfactory track,
good enough as a performance but not really jerking any tear-ducts,
and with a strangely right-channel heavy recording which
makes it sound like having a balcony seat behind the double
basses.
Carls Davis starts the disc proper
with a brash Fanfare
for the Common Man, which is how it should be – cracking
brass which makes the hairs on your neck stand on end. This Fanfare might
just have been a tad swifter and tighter, and as I say, it
does stand like a pillar of lead between the emotional Adagio and
the gentle opening of Appalachian
Spring, but it will certainly blow away the cobwebs on
your woofers.
Richard Hickox’s Appalachian
Spring pretty much presses all the right buttons. It
doesn’t quite remove my current favourite, Michael Tilson Thomas
with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra on RCA. The more
searching moments can seem to pass by without making as
much of an impression, but with gorgeous solos, plenty
of bounce and a warm sense of chamber musicianship where
it counts this is a version to savour.
Leonard Bernstein’s inevitable show-stopping
contribution opens with a terrific performance of the overture
to Candide,
the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Andrew Litton having
great fun with Bernstein’s virtuoso orchestration. Edo de
Waart is
not a conductor I would immediately associate with West Side Story, but the Symphonic
Dances have plenty of pizzazz, with the Minnesota Orchestra
having the idiom and essential toughness of the musical content
deep in their veins. Richly recorded, this is a source which
Virgin would appear to have mined at least twice already,
on one of those ‘Ultraviolet’ discs, and a two CD set from
1999 which also has the Litton’s Overture and Hickox’s Appalachian
Spring. This performance deserves its continued place
in the catalogue however, with gorgeous expressive playing
in the ‘Somewhere’ and Meeting Scene movements, a punishing Mambo and Rumble and a beatific Finale.
Old and
lost rivers is one of Tobias Picker’s most popular works. A kind of tone poem, it
covers similar ground to Copland at his more reflective,
and is aptly described as a ‘Texan pastorale’ by
Anthony Short in his booklet notes. It also sums up the
content of this disc well enough – enjoyable and safe as
houses. If you are looking for a place to find a whole
bunch of American classics on one well-filled and nicely
presented compilation then this is as good a start as any.
Do check your shelves first however, there’s a chance you
may find you have most of it already.
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