Starter Packs

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

Shop Now
Shilkret, Högberg, Lindberg: Trombone Concertos / Neschling
BIS

Shilkret, Högberg, Lindberg: Trombone Concertos / Neschling

$21.99

Details

Composer
HOGBERG, FREDRIK LINDBERG, CH
Artist
John, Christian, Neschling, Lindberg
Format
SACD
Label
BIS
Released
Sep 01, 2005
Catalog #
BIS-SACD-1448
UPC
7318599914480

About





It is tempting to think of Nathaniel Shilkret?s Trombone Concerto as Rhapsody in Blue light, as there are many similarities, and the Swedish composer openly expressed his debt to Gershwin. According to the liner notes, it was, in fact, Shilkret himself who conducted the premiere of Rhapsody in Blue , after Paul Whitman, who usually gets the credit, could not agree on tempos with the composer. But the works are not really kissing cousins. Shilkret?s opening movement owes more to central European light dance music than to American jazz, sounding as if it would be right at home at a Viennese pops concert, or even as a Hollywood soundtrack from the 30s (most of which were written by central European émigrés). The next two movements are filled with blue notes and syncopation, conjuring the jaunty swagger of An American in Paris more so than the Rhapsody . The Concerto was first performed, in 1945, under the combined direction of Tommy Dorsey and Leopold Stokowski, who commissioned the work. Lindberg?s performance sounds spot-on, casually virtuosic, with wonderful expressivity and tonal luster.


This CD is worth acquiring for the Shilkret alone, which is a good thing, since the rest of the program is, well, a bit weird. Please notice I didn?t say bad; this is a matter of taste. My colleague William Zagorski enjoyed an earlier BIS recording of Lindberg?s Helikon Wasp , among other pieces, seeming to enjoy the iconoclastic bent of the composer, for whom ?arid musicological debate is excoriated.? Indeed.


The contemporary Swedish composer Fredrik Högberg gives us the campy concerto subtitled ?The Return of Kit Bones,? with English dialogue, supposedly inspired by Spaghetti westerns, but with heavy doses of schlocky Broadway musical mannerisms as well. Sensitive listeners should be prepared for the occasional scatology. Charming and rather goofy stuff this, and, musically, as light as a feather.


Trombone fanciers will surely want to hear the fabulous playing of Christian Lindberg showcased on this CD, and the Shilkret Concerto is a veritable revelation. Suggestion for a future release; the Shilkret along with the equally neglected and completely delightful Trombone Concerto of Nino Rota.


FANFARE: Peter Burwasser

Tracklist 7 tracks

  1. 1 I. — 12:09
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. —
    Duration
    12:09
    Composer
    Nathaniel Shilkret
  2. 2 II. Andante più mosso 06:22
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Andante più mosso
    Duration
    06:22
    Composer
    Nathaniel Shilkret
  3. 3 III. Allegro, Bright boogie woogie tempo 04:20
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Allegro, Bright boogie woogie tempo
    Duration
    04:20
    Composer
    Nathaniel Shilkret
  4. 4 I. Part 1 07:29
    Track
    4
    Title
    I. Part 1
    Duration
    07:29
    Composer
    Fredrik Högberg
  5. 5 II. Part 2 05:32
    Track
    5
    Title
    II. Part 2
    Duration
    05:32
    Composer
    Fredrik Högberg
  6. 6 III. Part 3 05:52
    Track
    6
    Title
    III. Part 3
    Duration
    05:52
    Composer
    Fredrik Högberg
  7. 7 Helikon Wasp 16:31
    Track
    7
    Title
    Helikon Wasp
    Duration
    16:31
    Composer
    Christian Lindberg