Tomás MARCO (b.1942)
Symphony no.2 Espacio Cerrado (1976) [15:16]
Symphony no.9 Thalassa (2009) [24:25]
Symphony no.8 Gaia's Dance (2008) [22:17]
Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra/José Serebrier
rec. Carranque, Málaga, Spain, 5-8 October 2010. DDD
NAXOS SPANISH CLASSICS 8.572684 [61:58]
Prolific Spanish composer Tomás Marco has a formidable musical and
intellectual pedigree. He has published many books, including a Spanish-language
history of 20th century music and the Spanish avant-garde. His teachers include
Maderna, Boulez, Ligeti, Adorno and Stockhausen.
On that basis, the would-be listener could be forgiven for expecting to be
thrust into the thick of avant-gardist ruminations in this, the first CD from
Naxos to feature Marco's music. Certainly, there are no truly hummable tunes
on offer here, least of all in the oceanically noisy Symphony no.9, Marco's
latest. That said, the memorably punchy Symphony no.8 at least should appeal
to anyone with a taste for Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. Its three movements
are titled Gondwana, Laurasia and Pangea, giving an indication
of the almost primeval earthiness of the pan-continental dance elements that
constitute the fundamentals of this work.
Marco states, however, that the "aim of the work is not to portray any of
these dances in a kind of recognisable entirety". Instead the Symphony resembles
the first-born from a marriage between the opening of Prokofiev's Scythian
Suite and Alexander Mossolov's Iron Foundry, particularly in the
final section, which consists of an insistent series of machine-rhythmic ostinatos.
From the Eighth Symphony it is a fairly easy step - all right, plunge - into
the claustrophobic melodies, inscrutable harmonies and swelling rhythms of
the other two. The early Second is in effect rather like a 'softcore' precursor
to the Ninth.
The Málaga Philharmonic have been around for twenty years or so and
formed some admirable associations with conductors and soloists throughout
that period. Here the string ensemble seems occasionally hesitant, but in
general there is a good sense of rehearsal and unity. The musicians dig deep
to meet Marco's frequently quite strenuous technical requirements.
Apart from the ongoing obloquy of having his surname widely pronounced as
if he were French, José Serebrier is still something of an under-appreciated
conductor, despite his many successful recordings. He is also rather scandalously
neglected as a composer, again despite the long-standing availability of several
CDs of his music. For Naxos he has combined both jobs on at least four occasions
to date, making recordings of his First, Second and Third Symphonies, the
lattermost a second time for DVD indeed (8.559183, 8.559303, 8.559648, 2.110230).
For the Málaga Philharmonic he does a sterling job at the front, guiding
them through the candle-lit labyrinths of Marco's scores towards greater illumination.
Spain-originated recordings are not always immaculately engineered, and it
must be said that sound quality here falls more into the "all right" category
than anything higher. A look at the audio track waveforms reveals the 'sliced-off'
peaks and troughs typical of pop-grade microphones or zealous codec application.
The 'damage' is most noticeable in the loudest passages, but whilst it is
undoubtedly an annoyance that should have been prevented, it does not detract
overly from the main thing, which is Marco's stirring music. The English-Spanish
booklet notes are by Marco himself, well written and informative. There is
a photo of the whole Orchestra, but so small it turns every player into a
black-and-white blob. Serebrier's biography is bigger, reflecting his long,
illustrious career to date.
Those who find their appetites whetted by Marco's inventive, provocative Symphonies
can turn to another recent release, this time on the Dynamic label: a valuable
collection of Marco's surprisingly rare guitar music - altogether more accessible
than the Symphonies too - splendidly performed by Marcello Fantoni (CDS 708).
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at reviews.gramma.co.uk
Inventive, provocative Symphonies.
see also review by Paul
Corfield Godfrey