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Naxos

American Classics - Bernstein: Serenade, Etc / Alsop, Et Al

$19.99 Only 2 left

Details

Composer
BERNSTEIN
Artist
Alsop, Bournemouth So, Quint
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Nov 15, 2005
Catalog #
8559245
UPC
636943924525

About





Bernstein?s Serenade for solo violin, strings, harp, and percussion was inspired by Plato?s Symposium and the composer described it as a ?series of related statements in praise of love.? This is the only performance I know which treats it that way, rather than as a snazzy solo concerto. It?s partly to do with conductor Marin Alsop?s measured approach to tempo: the work bounces along, but the syncopated rhythms never race out of control, and moments of excitement are never whipped up in order to generate a buzz. It?s also partly to do with the soloist. Philippe Quint?s smooth-toned violin persuades and cajoles: there are flights of fancy, but there is also reasoned argument. In short, this really does sound like a group of articulate protagonists in intellectual parlay (a situation Bernstein himself loved to be in). Marin Alsop was a protegee of the composer, and here she salutes his memory by taking the program of the Serenade seriously. The aforementioned sections of the Bournemouth orchestra are disciplined and tight.


The ballet score, Facsimile , perhaps needs to be drawn out of its shell a little more; it is the least flashy of Bernstein?s early concert works. Alsop and the orchestra do it justice, but this is one of those rare cases where only the composer (on Sony and Deutsche Grammophon) can bring it to shining life. Jerome Robbins?s ballet was set to a nihilistic scenario of ?post war malaise and the spiritual vacuum of modern man,? to quote the notes. (I thought the post-war era was optimistic! Robbins should have been around now.) The music is, likewise, a little gray, though Bernstein?s natural ebullience peeps through whenever it can. In any case, the playful moments need to be more playful, the dramatic fortes a little more dramatic than they are allowed to be here. The prominent piano part is nicely integrated into the orchestral fabric in this spacious recording.


Facsimile is an exception to my theory (which I?m sticking to) that, generally, Bernstein?s music speaks for itself and it?s musicality suffers when points are over-emphasized or climaxes inflated. The late Divertimento (written for the centenary of the Boston SO) provides a good example. Once more, Alsop reins in the highjinks and as a result, the piece seems more substantial and less ?occasional? than usual. These works are available in the composer?s recordings and many other fine interpretations exist (such as Hilary Hahn?s dazzling Serenade, with David Zinman conducting the Baltimore SO on Sony?if it?s still around) but Naxos gives us more than mere bargain-basement versions. These are smart, sharply realized, well-recorded performances.


FANFARE: Phillip Scott

Tracklist 14 tracks

  1. 1 I. Phaedrus - Pausanias: Lento - Allegro 06:56
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Phaedrus - Pausanias: Lento - Allegro
    Duration
    06:56
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Philippe Quint, Timothy Walden
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  2. 2 II. Aristophanes: Allegretto 04:40
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Aristophanes: Allegretto
    Duration
    04:40
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Philippe Quint, Timothy Walden
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  3. 3 III. Eryximachus: Presto 01:35
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Eryximachus: Presto
    Duration
    01:35
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Philippe Quint, Timothy Walden
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  4. 4 IV. Agathon: Adagio 06:56
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Agathon: Adagio
    Duration
    06:56
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Philippe Quint, Timothy Walden
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  5. 5 V. Socrates - Alcibiades: Molto tenuto - Allegro molto vivace 11:11
    Track
    5
    Title
    V. Socrates - Alcibiades: Molto tenuto - Allegro molto vivace
    Duration
    11:11
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Philippe Quint, Timothy Walden
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  6. 6 Facsimile 18:38
    Track
    6
    Title
    Facsimile
    Duration
    18:38
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  7. 7 I. Sennets and Tuckets: Allegro non troppo, ma con brio 01:40
    Track
    7
    Title
    I. Sennets and Tuckets: Allegro non troppo, ma con brio
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  8. 8 II. Waltz: Allegretto, con grazia 01:59
    Track
    8
    Title
    II. Waltz: Allegretto, con grazia
    Duration
    01:59
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  9. 9 III. Mazurka: Mesto 01:55
    Track
    9
    Title
    III. Mazurka: Mesto
    Duration
    01:55
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  10. 10 IV. Samba: Allegro giusto 01:09
    Track
    10
    Title
    IV. Samba: Allegro giusto
    Duration
    01:09
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  11. 11 V: Turkey Trot: Allegretto, ben misurato 01:46
    Track
    11
    Title
    V: Turkey Trot: Allegretto, ben misurato
    Duration
    01:46
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  12. 12 VI. Sphinxes: Adagio lugubre 00:46
    Track
    12
    Title
    VI. Sphinxes: Adagio lugubre
    Duration
    00:46
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  13. 13 VII. Blues: Slow blues tempo 01:40
    Track
    13
    Title
    VII. Blues: Slow blues tempo
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop
  14. 14 VIII. In Memoriam: March, "The BSO Forever" 04:18
    Track
    14
    Title
    VIII. In Memoriam: March, "The BSO Forever"
    Duration
    04:18
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Marin Alsop