Starter Packs

Complete your collection with these curated titles, grouped at a special discount.

Shop Now
Flagello: Symphony No. 2; Rosner: Symphony No. 8 / Bertman, U. Of Houston Wind Ensemble
Naxos

Flagello: Symphony No. 2; Rosner: Symphony No. 8 / Bertman, U. Of Houston Wind Ensemble

$9.99
$19.99 Save 50%

Details

Composer
FLAGELLO ROSNER
Artist
David Bertman
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
May 28, 2013
Catalog #
8573060
UPC
747313306077

About



FLAGELLO Symphony No. 2, “Symphony of the Winds” 1. Concerto Sinfonico (trans. Merlin Patterson). 1,2 Odyssey 1. Valse Noire (trans. Walter Simmons) 2. ROSNER Symphony No. 8, “Trinity” 1 • 1 David Bertman, cond; 1 University of Houston Wind Ens; 2 University of Houston Sax Qrt • NAXOS 8.573060 (74:37)


The first thing regular readers will notice about this release is a heavy Fanfare presence. Our longtime reviewer Walter Simmons transcribed Flagello’s Valse Noire for saxophone quartet; that haunting, minor-key waltz was originally composed in 1964 for accordion. A more recent contributor, Merlin Patterson, transcribed Flagello’s Concerto Sinfonico (a concerto for saxophone quartet and orchestra) for symphonic band. The disc was produced by Merlin Patterson, with Walter Simmons as executive producer. Also, Fanfare reviewer Carson Cooman contributed to the digital editing of the recording. Under the circumstances it would be difficult for me to give this release a bad review; luckily, there is no need. The music is first-rate and the performances are excellent.


The second of Nicolas Flagello’s two symphonies was written for wind band in 1970 but did not receive its first public performance until nine years later. This kind of lengthy delay was typical during the final stages of the composer’s career, when his music was considered unfashionably romantic—if it was considered at all. The three movements’ subtitles convey the overall mood: The first is “The Torrid Winds of Veiled Portents,” the second, “Dark Winds of Lonely Contemplation,” and the third, a fugue, is called “The Winds of Re-birth and Vitality.” Like all of the composer’s works that I have heard, it is what I would call “high stakes” music. The emotional content is turbulent in the restless first movement, itself another ghostly waltz, but there is no relaxation of tension in the plaintive aria of the second movement nor in the finale, which engages in some tough contrapuntal writing. Throughout, Flagello’s sense of structure and the effectiveness of his scoring show the highest degree of expertise. This must be exciting music to play, and certainly stretching technically; I was struck by some tricky writing for trumpet in the second and third movements. Simmons’s notes do not mention it, but I wonder whether Flagello turned to this medium in the hope of emulating the success of his mentor Vittorio Giannini, whose Symphony No. 3 of 1958 for wind ensemble became a major repertory piece.


The characterful tone poem Odyssey of 1981 teems with even more “veiled portents” than the symphony, despite its comparatively jaunty central section. The tension of the grim opening is fearsome—so much so, I was reminded of Max Steiner’s atmospheric score for King Kong.


Naxos has previously released a fine recording of the original version of Flagello’s Concerto Sinfonico , and it is enlightening to compare the two. Patterson’s transcription is first-rate; like all good arrangements, it never hints that the work might have been conceived for different forces. Hearing the saxophone quartet as a sub-group of the wind ensemble clarifies the counterpoint (of which there is a lot in this work) and points up the intricacies of the interplay between the concertante and ripieno groups. The version with full orchestra sounds more like a concerto, with the soloists set in higher relief against the texture of strings. Again, it is a tough work but full of integrity, and though it was Flagello’s final completed composition it shows no sign whatsoever of his failing mental and physical condition.


Arnold Rosner is a younger composer than his discmate. Their two symphonies are quite unalike, except that both composers use tonal harmony. Rosner’s primary influence is the music of pre-Baroque eras, and I think the sonorities of the symphonic wind band emphasize this. The first movement of his symphony (titled “Ave Maria”) has an authentic feel of antiquity about it, almost as though it were a transcription of a Palestrina motet. A brass cantus firmus in the third movement (“Pythagoras”) brings overtones of Gesualdo, while the frequent use of sparkling tuned percussion across the top of the polyphonic texture suggests court music of the medieval period. Yet there is a freedom in the handling and development of this material that is distinctly 20th century. (The symphony was composed in 1988.) It is a fascinating and beautiful piece, probably my favorite of the composer’s works that I know.


The sound is close-up in the Naxos tradition, but that is no problem because the University of Houston Wind Ensemble plays magnificently. Its blend, attack, and range of dynamics are all this music requires and more, under Bertman’s strong direction. Playing standards have varied in the Naxos Wind Band Classics series, but this is one of the very best and a welcome addition to the growing Flagello discography.


FANFARE: Phillip Scott

Tracklist 11 tracks

  1. 1 Odyssey, Op. 74 09:07
    Track
    1
    Title
    Odyssey, Op. 74
    Duration
    09:07
    Composer
    Nicolas Flagello
    Ensemble
    University of Houston Wind Ensemble
    Conductor
    David Bertman
  2. 2 Valse Noire, Op. 45b (arr. W. Simmons for saxophone quartet) 05:38
    Track
    2
    Title
    Valse Noire, Op. 45b (arr. W. Simmons for saxophone quartet)
    Duration
    05:38
    Composer
    Nicolas Flagello
    Ensemble
    University of Houston Saxophone Quartet
  3. 3 I. Moderato comodo: The Torrid Winds of Veiled Portents 06:31
    Track
    3
    Title
    I. Moderato comodo: The Torrid Winds of Veiled Portents
    Duration
    06:31
    Composer
    Nicolas Flagello
    Ensemble
    University of Houston Wind Ensemble
    Conductor
    David Bertman
  4. 4 II. Aria: Dark Winds of Lonely Contemplation 06:07
    Track
    4
    Title
    II. Aria: Dark Winds of Lonely Contemplation
    Duration
    06:07
    Composer
    Nicolas Flagello
    Ensemble
    University of Houston Wind Ensemble
    Conductor
    David Bertman
  5. 5 III. Fuga: The Winds of Re-birth and Vitality 03:33
    Track
    5
    Title
    III. Fuga: The Winds of Re-birth and Vitality
    Duration
    03:33
    Composer
    Nicolas Flagello
    Ensemble
    University of Houston Wind Ensemble
    Conductor
    David Bertman
  6. 6 I. Allegro non troppo 09:20
    Track
    6
    Title
    I. Allegro non troppo
    Duration
    09:20
    Composer
    Nicolas Flagello
    Ensemble
    University of Houston Saxophone Quartet, University of Houston Wind Ensemble
    Conductor
    David Bertman
  7. 7 II. Lento movendo: quasi alla barcarola 04:58
    Track
    7
    Title
    II. Lento movendo: quasi alla barcarola
    Duration
    04:58
    Composer
    Nicolas Flagello
    Ensemble
    University of Houston Saxophone Quartet, University of Houston Wind Ensemble
    Conductor
    David Bertman
  8. 8 III. Allegro giusto 06:54
    Track
    8
    Title
    III. Allegro giusto
    Duration
    06:54
    Composer
    Nicolas Flagello
    Ensemble
    University of Houston Saxophone Quartet, University of Houston Wind Ensemble
    Conductor
    David Bertman
  9. 9 I. Ave Maria 06:54
    Track
    9
    Title
    I. Ave Maria
    Duration
    06:54
    Composer
    Arnold Rosner
    Ensemble
    University of Houston Wind Ensemble
    Conductor
    David Bertman
  10. 10 II. Le Rondeau du Monsieur le Diable 06:06
    Track
    10
    Title
    II. Le Rondeau du Monsieur le Diable
    Duration
    06:06
    Composer
    Arnold Rosner
    Ensemble
    University of Houston Wind Ensemble
    Conductor
    David Bertman
  11. 11 III. Pythagoras 09:28
    Track
    11
    Title
    III. Pythagoras
    Duration
    09:28
    Composer
    Arnold Rosner
    Ensemble
    University of Houston Wind Ensemble
    Conductor
    David Bertman