Varèse: Arcana, Octandre, Etc / Lyndon-gee, Castets, Et Al

$19.99
Label
Naxos
Release Date
August 1, 2001
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      VARESE
    • ORCHESTRA / ENSEMBLE
      Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
    • PERFORMER
      Christopher, Maryse, Lyndon-Gee, Castets
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      August 01, 2001
    • UPC
      636943482025
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      8554820
    • LABEL
      Naxos
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    Works ⌄

    1. Arcana

      Composer: Edgard Varèse

      Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Christopher Lyndon-Gee

    2. I. Assez lent

      Composer: Edgard Varèse

      Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Christopher Lyndon-Gee

    3. II. Tres vif et nerveaux

      Composer: Edgard Varèse

      Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Christopher Lyndon-Gee

    4. III. Grave

      Composer: Edgard Varèse

      Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Christopher Lyndon-Gee

    5. Chanson de La-haut

      Composer: Edgard Varèse

      Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Maryse Castets

      Conductor: Christopher Lyndon-Gee

    6. La Croix du Sud

      Composer: Edgard Varèse

      Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Maryse Castets

      Conductor: Christopher Lyndon-Gee

    7. Integrales

      Composer: Edgard Varèse

      Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Christopher Lyndon-Gee

    8. Deserts

      Composer: Edgard Varèse

      Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Christopher Lyndon-Gee

    9. First Electronic Interpolation (beginning)

      Composer: Edgard Varèse

      Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Christopher Lyndon-Gee

    10. First Electronic Interpolation (conclusion)

      Composer: Edgard Varèse

      Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Christopher Lyndon-Gee

    11. Second Electronic Interpolation (beginning)

      Composer: Edgard Varèse

      Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Christopher Lyndon-Gee

    12. Second Electronic Interpolation (conclusion)

      Composer: Edgard Varèse

      Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Christopher Lyndon-Gee

    13. Third Electronic Interpolation (beginning)

      Composer: Edgard Varèse

      Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Christopher Lyndon-Gee

    14. Third Electronic Interpolation (conclusion)

      Composer: Edgard Varèse

      Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Christopher Lyndon-Gee


Play this recording of Arcana next to the recent Boulez/Chicago on DG, and you're in for a big surprise. No, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra isn't Chicago, and Naxos has paid for a recording of great immediacy and clarity of texture by accepting a very dry, attenuated bass. But musically, Christopher Lyndon-Gee blows Boulez away. His Arcana is only about a minute faster, but sounds about ten times more exciting, more dynamic, more rhythmically emphatic, more committed. Here is a conductor who understands what the composer means when he writes a triple forte, and he charts an unerring course from the pounding opening right through the mysterious closing bars.


The other works offer still more evidence of extraordinarily communicative musicianship. Tangy wind sonorities give a playful edge to Octandre's acerbic central movement, and a vocal, human warmth to its outer ones. Déserts, unlike the Boulez version, includes its taped interpolations and explores a stunning sonic landscape in which Lyndon-Gee's contributions sustain the work's atmosphere far more impressively. Intégrales reveals greater sensitivity to dynamic gradation than Boulez permits his Chicago players, and Offrandes' mysterious, sensual landscapes still mesmerize despite the dryness of the sound and the close-up focus on the otherwise fine soprano, Maryse Castets. In short, this wholly unexpected surprise of a disc will delight Varèse fans. You won't find Chailly's level of polish and sophistication, but Lyndon-Gee's interpretations offer a wholly winning freshness of their own. Now dare we hope for Amériques from these same forces?
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com