Joseph Horovitz was born in Vienna in 1926 but came to live in England in 1938. Since the early 1960's he has been Professor of Composition at the Royal college of Music, of which he is a Fellow. He holds two Ivor Novello Awards and in 1996 he received the Gold Order of Merit of Vienna. His works include twelve ballets, notably Alice in Wonderland, two one-act operas, nine concertos and music for orchestra, brass and wind bands; plus chamber music and choral works including the spoof, Horrortorio (for the Hoffnung concerts). He has also composed scores for Son et Lumière productions, theatre, radio and over 70 TV plays including Agatha Christie and Rumpole of the Bailey dramas.

This is a collection of some of his accessible, short, genial works.

The Sinfonietta (1971) begins with an exuberant, Allegro that darts engagingly hither and thither. It is followed by a slow and more dignified hymn-like movement. High spirits are rejoined in the rollicking tarantella-like Con brio finale. The Oboe Concerto (composed as recently as 1993), played with keen sensitivity by Nicholas Daniel, begins in pastoral mood with, as Horovitz describes in his CD booklet notes, "the solo moving swiftly, sometimes quirkily, like a fast brook through meadow and woodland." The middle movement returns to the hymnal, contrasted with passages where the oboe rhapsodises over almost static string material. The finale is a jolly, dancing rondo which has rustic associations at first but then swings through oddly assorted styles evoking - "Victorian music-halls, Parisian salons or Viennese band-stands." The light-hearted Jubilee Serenade (1977) is scored for strings with pairs of oboes and horns and is another quaint mix of styles. It is written basically as a neo-classical work with the energetic first Allegro movement, reminiscent of Holst in this vein. The second is a lovely Andantino with the oboe singing a pastoral song over pizzicato strings. The Allegretto is fun: it features horns in calypso rhythm while the Finale's fugue is nice and jazzy.

James Watson's virtuoso trumpet playing sparkles  in Horovitz's extrovert Trumpet Concerto (1963) scored for full orchestra. The outer movements are brilliantly colourful but I was drawn to the beautiful poignancy of the lyrical Lento moderato slow movement. The Finale is a rondo with some complex rhythmic patterns derived from Latin American music. The remaining two short attractively melodic items, Canzonet and Rondino (both 1956) come from a Suite for Strings and their content reflect their titles.

The Royal Ballet Sinfonia respond enthusiastically to these essentially light music pieces for their composer-conductor.

Reviewer

Ian Lace

 

Ian Lace