Irving FINE (1914-1962)
Complete Orchestral Works
Toccata Concertante (1947) [11:05]
Notturno for Strings and Harp (1951) [13:14]
Serious Song , a Lament for String Orchestra (1955) [9:33]
Blue Towers (1959) [3:06]
Diversions for Orchestra (1960) [8:57]
Symphony (1962) [21:07]
Boston Modern Orchestra Project/Gil Rose
rec. Rogers Center for the Arts, North Andover, MA, 12 May 2014 (Notturno and Serious Song); Jordan Hall, Boston, MA, 15 May 2014 ( Blue Towers, Diversions and Symphony); Jordan Hall, June 30 2014 (Toccata Concertante)
BMOP/SOUND 1041 SACD [66:56]
To the list of those such as Toccata who fill the gaps of
neglected music, I’m happy to add the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Some
of their releases have been too avant-garde for me, but there’s nothing
about these recordings of the music of Irving Fine to scare the horses. In
fact much of the music is as direct in its appeal as fellow American composers
Aaron Copland – Fine’s older contemporary – and Leonard Bernstein. There’s
plenty of online information about the composer from The
Irving Fine Society and elsewhere and the site enthusiastically reviewed
the Delos album of Fine’s music (below).
The informative booklet – freely available here
– speaks of Fine’s gift for lyricism and quotes Aaron Copland's and Virgil
Thomson’s approval of his ‘keenly conceived sonorities’ and ‘unusual melodic
grace’. The cover art – a portion of a painting by Grace Hartigan, reproduced
in full in the booklet, ‘modern’ yet recognisably within the mainstream tradition
– gives a clue to the nature of Fine’s music. If you like the one, you will
probably like the other.
It may well be that Fine’s music has been neglected for the very reason that
I find it attractive. Listen to the closing movement of Diversions,
The Red Queen’s Gavotte (track 10) and you’ll see that it’s too clearly
within the mainstream tradition for the current orthodoxy of 1960: a trendier
composer would have broken up the dance even more than Ravel does at the end
of La Valse.
Not surprisingly, the Symphony of 1962, composed shortly before Fine’s death,
is the meatiest work here, though even that is no tougher than, say Bliss’s
Colour Symphony from forty years earlier. Though it’s by no means
imitative, the second movement, Capriccio (track 12), combines elements
of Stravinsky’s neo-classical style with Ravel’s jazz-influenced music.
There is not too much competition in the UK catalogue for this new album,
with just two recordings wholly devoted to his music: one of chamber and vocal
music from the Library of Congress on Bridge 9123 and a Delos recording featuring
the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra/Joel Spiegelman in Blue Towers, Diversions,
Symphony and Toccata Concertante, as on BMOP, plus an arrangement of a
piano work, Music for Orchestra (DE 3139: review).
I listened to and enjoyed some of the works on that Delos recording courtesy
of Qobuz.
Choice between the two can be safely made on whether you prefer the orchestral
arrangement of Music for Piano (Delos) or Notturno and Serious
Song (BMOP). Music for Piano/Orchestra is attractive but I’d go
for the new recording.
Though the recording is available as an SACD, I listened to a press review
mp3 download. Albeit that it’s only at 192kb/s, the sound is good enough
for me to be confident that the SACD will sound first-rate. I’m all the more
certain of that because I was also able to listen to it in better sound as
streamed from Qobuz.
As with the neglected music which Toccata has been bringing us, this is not
an urgent recommendation, but I have greatly enjoyed hearing it and I believe
that you will too. My review of another BMOP recording, of music by Elena
Ruehr (BMOP/SOUND 1039), is in the pipeline as I write; it should be online
by the time that you read this. It’s powerful music in a modern idiom which
nevertheless contains an appealing beauty and I enjoyed that too.
Brian Wilson
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