What a delightful surprise! Two of these works, the elegantly neo-classical Concerto Grosso and the colorful Three Symphonic Versions, were recorded by Dorian in Venezuela some years ago under Eduardo Mata--and quite well too, but these newcomers offer every bit as much energy with even greater clarity of texture. The percussive finale of Versiones (Xilófono) gains in stature in this performance, the variety of incident belying its brevity (just three minutes). In the Concerto Grosso for string quartet and orchestra, the four soloists offer smoother timbres than Dorian's Cuarteto Latinoamericano, with absolutely no loss of verve or rhythmic incisiveness. The exchanges between quartet and orchestra also register more effectively, with a less jarring sense of separation between them thanks largely to conductor Maximiano Valdés' more graceful and discreet accompaniments.


The Symphonic Dances are new to CD--and are wholly characteristic. Gregoriana, the second movement of four, sounds like the little brother to the first movement of the Versiones. The opening Overtura typifies Orbón's brilliant sense of instrumental color allied to artful formal control. If you enjoy, say, Copland of the famous ballets, then you will love this music as well. The final dance offers a riot of rhythmic and instrumental fireworks, and like all of Orbón's music it lasts not a second too long.


As noted above, the playing of the Asturias Symphony Orchestra is very fine. The players sound right at home in the idiom despite the fact that the composer, though of Spanish origin, spent most of his career in Cuba and later the United States, his music owing as much to the New World as to the Old. First rate recorded sound rounds out this superb collection, perhaps the best release thus far in Naxos' Spanish music series and certainly one of the most important and purely enjoyable.


Perhaps Naxos can get its hands on the composer's long-thought-lost Symphony in C and give us a premiere recording along with the remaining orchestral works (there are only a couple of others). Like so many of his Spanish forebears, Orbón's output is very small, but it's of the highest quality and always is superbly crafted. Don't miss this chance to get to know him. [2/21/2004]
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com