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Taylor: Through The Looking Glass; Griffes: Poeme, Pleasure Dome Of Kubla Khan / Schwarz, Seattle Symphony
Naxos

Taylor: Through The Looking Glass; Griffes: Poeme, Pleasure Dome Of Kubla Khan / Schwarz, Seattle Symphony

$9.99
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Details

Composer
TAYLOR GRIFFES
Artist
Schwarz, Goff
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Aug 28, 2012
Catalog #
8559724
UPC
636943972427

About

Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony recorded a great deal of music, originally for Delos, now on Naxos. Much of the discography, while good, was ephemeral—yet another disc of standard repertoire—but some of it was really important: symphonies by Hanson, Piston, and Diamond, for example, and this disc. No one much cares today about music critic/composer Deems Taylor’s often charming but conservative music, but his suite Through the Looking Glass, based on Alice in Wonderland, really is worth hearing. If you know John Alden Carpenter’s Adventures in a Perambulator then you know what to expect: good tunes, colorful scoring, and a nice, light touch.

The Griffes pieces are famous, of course, as the works of one of America’s great “might have been” composers. The Poem for Flute and Orchestra is the best known, followed by the exotic Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan and The White Peacock. These evocative miniatures all point to a major talent, a life tragically cut short at the age of 36. Both here and in the Taylor work the performances are uniformly splendid: extremely well played, and just about perfectly conducted regarding tempo, texture, and balance. Scott Goff plays the flute solo in the Poem with finesse and lovely tone.

The original Delos recordings always were a bit low-level and dull on top, but this one at least has transferred well, once you find a comfortable volume setting. A great disc for collectors of turn-of-the-(20th)-century Americana.

-- ClassicsToday.com

Tracklist 12 tracks

  1. 1 No. 1. Dedication 05:09
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 1. Dedication
    Duration
    05:09
    Composer
    Deems Taylor
    Ensemble
    Seattle Symphony
    Conductor
    Gerard Schwarz
  2. 2 No. 2. The Garden of Live Flowers 04:02
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 2. The Garden of Live Flowers
    Duration
    04:02
    Composer
    Deems Taylor
    Ensemble
    Seattle Symphony
    Conductor
    Gerard Schwarz
  3. 3 No. 3. Jabberwocky 09:44
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 3. Jabberwocky
    Duration
    09:44
    Composer
    Deems Taylor
    Ensemble
    Seattle Symphony
    Conductor
    Gerard Schwarz
  4. 4 No. 4. Looking-Glass Insects 02:54
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 4. Looking-Glass Insects
    Duration
    02:54
    Composer
    Deems Taylor
    Ensemble
    Seattle Symphony
    Conductor
    Gerard Schwarz
  5. 5 No. 5. The White Night 09:35
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 5. The White Night
    Duration
    09:35
    Composer
    Deems Taylor
    Ensemble
    Seattle Symphony
    Conductor
    Gerard Schwarz
  6. 6 Poem 10:38
    Track
    6
    Title
    Poem
    Duration
    10:38
    Composer
    Charles Tomlinson Griffes
    Performer
    Scott Goff
    Ensemble
    Seattle Symphony
    Conductor
    Gerard Schwarz
  7. 7 The White Peacock 06:10
    Track
    7
    Title
    The White Peacock
    Duration
    06:10
    Composer
    Charles Tomlinson Griffes
    Ensemble
    Seattle Symphony
    Conductor
    Gerard Schwarz
  8. 8 The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan, Op. 8 (version for orchestra) 10:50
    Track
    8
    Title
    The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan, Op. 8 (version for orchestra)
    Duration
    10:50
    Composer
    Charles Tomlinson Griffes
    Ensemble
    Seattle Symphony
    Conductor
    Gerard Schwarz
  9. 9 No. 1. The Lake at Evening 03:45
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 1. The Lake at Evening
    Duration
    03:45
    Composer
    Charles Tomlinson Griffes
    Ensemble
    Seattle Symphony
    Conductor
    Gerard Schwarz
  10. 10 No. 2. The Vale of Dreams 02:57
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 2. The Vale of Dreams
    Duration
    02:57
    Composer
    Charles Tomlinson Griffes
    Ensemble
    Seattle Symphony
    Conductor
    Gerard Schwarz
  11. 11 No. 3. The Night Winds 01:38
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 3. The Night Winds
    Duration
    01:38
    Composer
    Charles Tomlinson Griffes
    Ensemble
    Seattle Symphony
    Conductor
    Gerard Schwarz
  12. 12 Bacchanale 04:22
    Track
    12
    Title
    Bacchanale
    Duration
    04:22
    Composer
    Charles Tomlinson Griffes
    Ensemble
    Seattle Symphony
    Conductor
    Gerard Schwarz