Scriabin composed most of his single-movement fourth symphony The Poem of Ecstasy between 1905 and 1908 in Italy and France. He originally intended it to be called Poème orgiaque (‘Orgiastic Poem’) with its unprecedented raw sensuality and overpowering aesthetic, taking chromaticism beyond even Wagnerian voluptuousness. His earlier Symphony No. 2 in C minor adopts César Franck’s cyclical ideas to which Scriabin layered sweeping climaxes, majestic intensity and rich orchestral colour that enliven its five movements with ceaseless invention.

REVIEW:

The Poem of Ecstasy is an extremely effective piece. JoAnn Falletta’s sleek, graceful performance, at 19 minutes, is on the swift side of things, and well balanced for transparency and texture. The Buffalo Philharmonic paints in lovely light colors, and nothing drips. The electronic organ used by the orchestra supplies a fine weight for the conclusion of the piece. Falletta delivers the last apocalyptic chord after a slight pause, all the more effective given the fact that this has been a swift performance unencumbered by needless rubato. The Poem of Ecstasy emerges gleaming and appealing.

Falletta’s traversal of the Second Symphony is, if anything, even better, and almost relentless. This reading is ablaze with forward motion, bringing the piece home in 40 minutes. Scriabin has not provided many moments for the music to catch its breath, so it turns out that an effective counter to this is to speed one’s way through the score and gradually ratchet up the tension.

Falletta does not linger excessively over the slow movement. This is where conductors can get into trouble dwelling on atmosphere. In the propulsive last third of the symphony, Scriabin seems to tighten his compositional approach, as if aware of this pitfall, and the Buffalo Philharmonic is with him all the way, brass and percussion snarling through the whiplash winds of the Tempestuoso and ultimately hitting paydirt with the memorable march that brings the symphony to its powerful and optimistic conclusion. 

The Naxos engineers are to be congratulated throughout. The recorded sound is utterly natural and true to the hall. Falletta deserves kudos for daring to be brisk and for knowing how to build satisfying climaxes. This is the best version of the Second Symphony I have heard.

-- Fanfare (Steven Kruger)

"This collection of recordings is especially meaningful for me because it charts my growth as an orchestral composer from my years as a student – when the Marimba Concerto was composed – to more mature work such as Moonlight. It also reflects the wonderful relationship I have enjoyed over the years with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop. The Marimba Concerto, which reflects my love of Mozart’s piano concertos, also represents my most direct and unguarded voice as a composer. The City was originally intended as a portrait of the city of Baltimore and more generally of the American city, but the death of Freddy Gray while in police custody and the subsequent unrest in Baltimore sent me in an unexpected direction with the piece." -- Kevin Puts

REVIEW:

Marin Alsop, as well as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, have contributed significantly to this composer’s prominence, as they do here. Their playing reveals the diverse aspects of the works. Thus they do not overload the Marimba Concerto with unnecessary context, and in The City they show the demanding bustle of American cities with concisely figured playing. They offer the soloists colorful panoramas on which to develop.

Ji Su Jung was very interested in the marimba concerto and thus offered it for recording. Personally, the instrument is not particularly close to me, but Ji Su Jung elicits wide spectrums from the work with superior technical execution that proves the stylistic possibilities of use despite a unified sound.

With this fresh addition to the solo repertoire, oboist Katherine Needleman has found a rich field of activity for her instrument that she fills with virtuosity and creative inspiration.

-- Pizzicato

Justin Holland was an important African American figure in the national US anti-slavery movement as well as being a significant figure in guitar composition and methodology. As a composer he synthesized European models and embraced popular, church and parlor songs generating a rich variety of works. A master of virtuosic variations, his arrangements are witty, elegant, and colorful, culminating in Carnival of Venice, which shows the full range of his gifts, sweeping in breadth and dazzling in effect.

REVIEW:

Collectors of a certain age may remember this attractive pairing of Mozart’s 17th and 27th piano concertos through its original LP release on Vox’s subsidiary label Candide. It also turned up on CD as part of Vox’s long gone budget Prima series. Newly remastered for Vox’s new Audiophile Series, this 1978 Elite Recordings production supervised by Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz retains its vivid impact and vibrant detail.

Notice the orchestral ritornellos’ ebb and flow under Stanisław Skrowaczewski’s leadership, and how the forward woodwinds and singing strings conversationally interact. Even in loud tuttis one can take dictation from each orchestral strand. Pianist Walter Klien’s Mozart playing is a model of clarity, projection, poise, and proportion, and he never puts an unbalanced or uneven phrase forward. He’s also one of the few pianists on disc who doesn’t approach Mozart’s final concerto with kid gloves, meaning that his slow movement is full-bodied and fluent rather than ethereal and wispy, and that he doesn’t underplay the finale’s scampering thrust. Sometimes Klien’s phrasing falls into square and tinkly assembly line patterns.

You won’t find the witty inflections and dabs of color that you hear from Peter Serkin or Maria-João Pires in K. 453’s wonderful theme and variations finale. Nor does Klien’s clean yet regimented articulation in K. 595’s first-movement development section match Richard Goode’s harmonic subtlety and feeling for chamber-like repartée. Still, these interpretations won’t steer you wrong. And while I have the floor, we need a truly complete boxed set edition of Skrowaczewski’s Vox recordings!

-- ClassicsToday.com (Jed Distler)

Sir Arthur Sullivan called Edward German ‘the one man to follow me who has genius’. Notwithstanding German’s success in operetta, especially with Tom Jones and Merrie England, orchestral music was always central to his life. Stylistic affiliations with French and Russian music – not that common in British music of the time – are often evident. German, like Elgar, was a stylistic cosmopolitan whose music is, paradoxically, quintessentially English, and the ‘Norwich’ is indeed an outstanding late 19th-century British symphony. German gave us another superb symphony too, albeit in miniature, with his Welsh Rhapsody, a brilliant orchestral showpiece that remains his most performed extended orchestral work.

REVIEW:

In the mid-1990s, Marco Polo set about recording much of Edward German’s orchestral music. This programme was issued in 1995, and is now one of four discs re-released on Naxos.

I have not heard German’s 1st Symphony. His four-movement 2nd Symphony subtitled ‘Norwich’ is apparently even finer. It was commissioned by the Norwich Festival Committee. It has assured orchestration and inventive colours, and its material is often memorable and always clearly presented. There have been other recordings over the last fifty years, but none is now available.

The second movement Andante con moto, the real star for me, is overwhelmingly enchanting. But we start with a sonata-form Allegro preceded by a dark, slow introduction marked Andante maestoso. This powerful movement compares interestingly with the lighter touches of the later Allegro scherzando and the boisterous finale. The last movement at times brought to my mind anything by Dvořák and, possibly less surprisingly, Eric Coates. To me, this is the finest British symphony before Elgar; some of you might even prefer it. David Russell Hulme’s excellent, detailed booklet notes remind us that Elgar thought very highly of Edward German.

German’s most performed orchestral work may be the Welsh Rhapsody, written for the Cardiff Music Festival of 1904. The booklet writer calls it symphonic, and I know what he means. It falls into four distinctly different movements of varying tempi and mood. German uses several traditional melodies. The third part is a whirling Scherzo. The finale begins with a chorale-like idea, and moves into the famous ‘Men of Harlech’ tune developed with much enthusiasm. You might think it’s a little over the top, but it brings the work to a great climax, so it often gets a standing ovation.

The Valse gracieuse was originally part of the Leeds Suite written for the Leeds Festival in 1895. This beautifully scored piece proved so popular that German revised it twenty years later to make an independent concert waltz. If you know German’s famous Tom Jones or his Merrie England with its waltz-songs, then the main melody of Valse gracieuse may remind you how good a tunesmith he could be.

I have known this music for over twenty years, and it never fails to please. The performances and recording are a joy, and do the music proud.

-- MusicWeb International (Gary Higginson)

Luis Humberto Salgado was an essentially self-taught Ecuadorian composer inspired equally by the folk music of his country and by currents in contemporary modernism. He defined himself as a ‘polytechnic’ composer, absorbing folk motifs and individual dances into an eclectic, vibrant and highly personal idiom. This can be heard in the Viola Sonata where the lively sanjuanito indigenous dance is evoked in music of sophisticated harmonies. The Cello Sonata is more neo-Classical, while Selene commemorates the moon landing of 1969 in striking, unconventional sonorities. Salgado’s Woodwind Quintet combines pentatonic scales and serial techniques to create a ‘polychrome fabric’. World premiere recordings.

Considered the most important Brazilian composer next to Villa-Lobos, Camargo Guarnieri had an inestimable impact on the musical life of his country, with a body of piano music that represents the composer’s most distinctive stylistic features. Guarnieri was a consummate improviser and many of his piano works reflect a sense of ease and intimacy, giving the impression that they were composed in a flash of instantaneous inspiration. This is particularly true of the ‘character pieces’ in this volume, from the autobiographical Improvisos and Momentos, to the intimate nostalgia of the Valsas. Volume 1 of this edition can be heard on Naxos 8.572626-27.

Albert Ketèlbey was an excellent pianist, touring Britain and honing his craft as an expert tunesmith as musical director of London’s Vaudeville Theatre. Hugely popular in its day, the delightful miniature In a Monastery Garden placed Ketèlbey at the forefront of British Light Music composers. From the unashamedly sentimental Bells Across the Meadows to the impressive Suite Romantique and the famous In a Persian Market, Ketèlbey’s music takes us back to a nostalgic era of palm court salons and imaginative reverie. (From Marco Polo 8.223442).

The two leading operatic composers of their time were Rossini and Auber, one now fêted, the other largely overlooked. In 1831 Auber and his long-standing librettist Eugène Scribe produced Le Philtre, which took the concept of petit opéra to the extreme, even outdoing Rossini’s Le Comte Ory in depicting a rural setting peopled not with Arcadian shepherds but with ordinary country folk. Auber’s Franco-Italian style can be heard in the work’s ensembles, while elsewhere the opera shimmers with rich arias, buffo elements and delightful cavatinas. Le Philtre was an unalloyed success receiving 243 performances and inspired Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore.

REVIEWS:

The sonorous lyrical tenor Patrick Kabongo as Guillaume achieves a great artistic achievement in every respect. His elegant phrasing, the tones set freely from above, his dramaturgically precise, word-creative ability: all this shows great class.

The Mexican baritone Emmanuel Franco as the dashing militarist Joli-Coeur and the Italian bass Eugenio Di Lieto as the cunning businessman with a weakness for the right medical diagnosis Fontanarose remain sonorous and full of humour, and take advantage of the abundant situational comedy they offer. All three male protagonists succeed in stylistically exemplary fashion in both the French and the Italian influences of the score, influenced by Rossini, with all the rondeaus, cavatinas, cabalettas, strophic airs and brilliant couplets.

-- Merker Online

The viability of the horn trio was definitively established by Brahms in 1865. He had learned the natural horn as a child and infused his Trio with a range of moods, including a deeply felt slow movement in honor of his mother who had died earlier in the year and a carefree finale which explores the horn’s hunting legacy. Inspired by this precedent, Lennox Berkeley’s Trio is lively and characterful with a sequence of ingenious and playful variations. GRAMMY-nominated Jonathan Leshnoff is one of America’s leading contemporary composers and his 2016 Trio moves from darkness to light, and is full of pointed syncopations, before arriving at a joyous conclusion.

Marco Pütz gained international recognition after winning awards for his compositions in the mid-1990s. Accessibility and enjoyment for both audiences and musicians are a central element in Pütz’s music, and he is renowned for numerous symphonic, wind band and chamber works that have become standard repertoire throughout the world. Euphonia’s Voice is part of an exploration of lesser-known instruments, and the virtuoso contrasts of joy and grief in Chapters of Life are always at the service of expressiveness – the power of love, life and the commemoration of those close to us forming a theme throughout much of this superb program.

Niklas Sivelöv has proved a prolific symphonist over the past ten years or so, with six completed symphonies and a seventh currently in progress. The Symphony No.1 (Nordico) was written in the summer of 2013, during a surge of creativity following the birth of the composer’s son on 30th July of that year. The title may be understood both as a reflection of Sivelöv’s upbringing in the north of Sweden, and of at least some of his strongest influences, most notably of Sibelius. The music is bursting with energy and momentum, infused with all the verdant colors of the Nordic forest, its deep blue sky, and – in winter – the all-enveloping snow. The work is in three movements of more or less equal duration, lasting in total around half an hour. The writing is highly virtuosic, making considerable demands upon a standard-sized orchestra, the forces extended only by a large percussion section and – as usual for Sivelöv – a substantial part for his own instrument, the piano.

Also available: Schumann-Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 1 "Spring" & 2 / Alsop, ORF Vienna RSO

Robert Schumann’s Fourth Symphony was initially conceived not long after the success of the First, but the dramatic original single-movement version confused audiences, and substantial revisions resulted in the eloquent masterpiece we hear today. This and the Third Symphony owe a great deal to Beethoven, with the ‘Rhenish’ sharing much of the joy and effervescence of the ‘Pastoral’ Symphony. Gustav Mahler’s subtle re-orchestrations were made in the light of instrumental innovations and the increase in size of the symphony orchestra towards the beginning of the 20th century, making them ideal for performance today.

Learn more about this release and the previous volume on the Naxos podcast!

REVIEW:

The Mahler versions are infrequently recorded, and it was not a surprise to see this release land on classical best-seller lists in early 2023. Far from trying to turn Schumann into Mahler, these versions actually thin out the texture; Mahler cut out some of the brass lines to make the music more transparent in the hands of a 100-player orchestra. This is ideally suited to Alsop’s approach to these works, which is light and clear. The biggest differences are in the Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 120, where Mahler eliminated repeats and restored other features of Schumann’s original version of the work, which was also championed by Brahms but vehemently rejected by Clara Schumann; it is interesting to hear this hybrid version. Well executed in every way, this is an essential release for Schumann buffs.

-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)

OFFENBACH / ROSENTHAL: Gaite Parisienne / Offenbachiana

The commission for Cinderella came from the Kirov Ballet in 1940, soon after their production of Romeo and Juliet. In the early part of 1941 Prokofiev was absorbed in the composition of the new ballet, which he explained should be as danceable as possible, conceived in the traditions of the classical ballet, with pas de deux, variations and waltzes. The German invasion of the Soviet Union in June diverted his attention to the composition of an opera based on Tolstoy's War and Peace, and Cinderella was not finished until 1944. It was first staged at the Bolshoy Theatre in Moscow on 21st November 1945. Several months later Prokofiev arranged three orchestral suites from the ballet, basing them largely on the pieces transcribed for solo piano, Opus 95 and Opus 97. He explained that the suites were not simply mechanical excerpts from the original score but had been reworked and recast in symphonic form. Although the basic ideas remain the same, there are changes in orchestration and subtle variations in tempi, with fragmentary ideas from the score condensed into short movements of melodic and virtuosic ingenuity. Suite No.1 opens with an Introduction that presents two of the themes directly associated with Cinderella, the first sad in character and the second suggesting her dreams of happiness. In the Pas de chale and Quarrel the Ugly Sisters are embroidering a shawl for the ball at the Prince's palace. The dance turns into a squabble, as they quarrel as to who should wear it. The Winter Fairy, who completes Cinderella' s transformation, is heard before the Fairy Godmother, whose magic changes Cinderella into a beautiful princess. The Mazurka precedes the entry of the Prince at the grand ball in the palace, while Cinderella goes to the ball finds her about to leave for the palace, warned by her Fairy Godmother of the one condition she must remember. Cinderella's Waltz leads to Midnight, as the clock strikes twelve and Cinderella rushes away, realizing that the spell is now broken. National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine

The Invisible City of Kitezh, completed in 1905, is a remarkable opera that fuses folklore, mysticism and realism. Its subject is the story of the advancing Mongol army�s entry to Great Kitezh and the city�s subsequent miraculous survival. Rejecting archaisms and the more religiously inclined suggestions of his librettist, Rimsky-Korsakov sought to create an opera that �is contemporary and even fairly advanced�. It is therefore through-composed, hinting at times at Wagnerian procedure, and flooded with the composer�s rich, apt and brilliant orchestral palette, fully supportive of the powerful vocal writing.