Having listened to
this disc, it came as no surprise to
this reviewer to learn from the composer/conductor’s
biography in the booklet notes, that
Christopher Gunning is primarily a composer
of music for film and television. The
music is well crafted and the scoring
clean-cut.
The central section
of the dramatically vivid Storm
colourfully reflects the title of the
work (even it’s hard to banish thoughts
of Britten’s Peter Grimes when
listening to it). The musical language
may be a little unvaried in places,
so that there are times when it all
veers dangerously toward the monotonous,
but on the other hand there are exciting
aural experiences to be had. Stravinsky
occasionally comes to mind when the
writing is at its most rhythmically
vibrant (particularly in the piano concerto),
but there is also no doubt that the
music of his mentor Edmund Rubbra lies
at the core of his approachable tonal
idiom and its eloquent harmonic language.
The symphony is in one through-composed
movement, a loose-fitting garment in
terms of its structure but nevertheless
one which concentrates the mind for
the most part.
Olga Dudnik gives an
impressively energetic and commanding
account of the piano concerto, while
Gunning himself guides the Slovak Radio
Orchestra through his music to produce
committed performances of all three
works.
An exhilarating disc,
and one which will not disappoint.
Christopher Fifield