Various Composers - English Orchestral Works [Tate-English Chamber Orchestra] 

This is a fun disc, filled with things off the beaten track, and English Composers without an Elgar or Vaughan Williams in sight, 67 minutes of music, with 9 tracks [nearly 8 minutes per piece], it's not only a lovely compilation disc in its own right, but can also be used as a lead in to discover more in certain avenues, if you like a certain work / Composer, it's easy to follow it up with searching some more down that path, but for me this disc fills a gap that most other discs don't, a great chance to just forget about other things and to get away to an imaginary place on the front cover, played this a few years ago [15th November 2012].

Jeffrey Tate is English, he's now 72, he recoded this back in 1985, the front cover is gorgeous, goes along with the music very much, a hazy less focused shot of a river scene with trees, the use of a green and blue filter very prominent, the lettering is nice too, plus the EMI logo brings a dash of a different colour.

On this listen i liked tracks 1, 3-5 & 7-9, with track 1 'The Banks Of Green Willow' by Butterworth the outstanding piece of music, it's a short orchestral 'Idyll', but it's truly lovely, it starts off with a solo clarinet introduction [0:00-0:15], announcing the folk tune, before the sweet strings come in, the whole thing is just awash with the English countryside, and the oboe plays a significant part of the nostalgia of the piece [1:04-1:13], in the middle section it can get quite fast and robust [2:34+], but it settles back down into the reflective pastoral music as before, with the oboe presenting a gorgeous endearing solo [3:50-4:22], and the flute following suite also [4:24-5:04], backed by some tender string writing towards the end, a solo violin takes over for a slightly darker sound [5:13+], and within here there's some of the most affecting string playing of the piece [5:43-6:00], it's breathtaking really, it's a shame that Butterworth died in the Somme at 31, he would have been the next Delius. 

Here's the Butterworth piece being performed on YouTube.

Holst - The Planets [Dutoit-Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal]

I seem to be playing this work quite a bit recently, this is the first disc of this work i bought, way back in 1999, and so this is the sort of benchmark i've judged all the other Planets discs on, this version is highly rated, though i must admit it's recorded a tad quiet, appeared in my Blog three years ago [16th April 2012].

Charles Dutoit is Swiss, he's now 78, and this was recorded in 1986, i don't think the front cover is any great shakes, but the music on the inside is great.

On this listening i was most impressed by Mars / Jupiter / Uranus, and this time i felt that Jupiter was the best, it's full of really good tunes, very British, there's a nationalistic flavour to the main tune in the middle, here's my synopsis,
4 Jupiter / The Bringer Of Jollity [8:01] - Jollity?, i guess a sort of jovial mirth, fun if you like, though Holst's choice of word is strange, though in the middle section there's a real sense of contentment!, straight away there's no real intro, right into the celebrations, there's lots of trumpet / brass here [0:33+], busy woodwinds, Holst uses the horns a lot [1:00-1:11], and i love the way Holst brings in the glockenspiel [1:11+], and the flutes [1:26+], the music gets faster and builds up to something, but then comes to a sort of quiet stop, i like the way low twanging strings make a real effect here [2:45-3:02], and then comes the majestic two minute middle section [3:04-5:02], full of swooning strings and noble horns, Holst slowly builds this up to something truly passionate [4:13+], and then in a spirit of grandeur takes it to an apotheosis [4:36+], sounding like some Elgar Pomp and Circumstance March, the opening comes back, and Holst draws all the themes / ideas together, and a nice flourish to end it all off with. 

Here's Andrew Manze conducting Jupiter on YouTube.

Various Composers - Italian Overtures / Intermezzi / Preludes [Gavazzeni-Orchestra Del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino]

This is my fourth listen to this disc, and my third to get in my Blog [17th November 2010 & 28th December 2011], it's an excellent little compendium of eight Italian Composers, and there's a tendency to delve into the less well known stuff, and that's very welcome indeed, it was good to familiarise myself with some of these 'unknown' pieces today.

Gianandrea Gavazzeni is Italian [1909-1996], mainly an Opera Conductor, which explains the pieces on this disc, he recorded this disc way back in 1957 and 1958, which explains the oldness of the recording, still excellent by the way, and in stereo, the front cover portrait is really excellent [by Leonardo Cendamo], a clear focused shot of Gavazzeni wearing a hat, nice light on his upturned face, love the lettering too, listing the Composers.

Well this recording is fairly old, it needs some more warmth / bass to it, a certain bloom i guess, but it's still amazing for something that's nearly sixty years old, on this listen it was Ponchielli's Waltz Of The Hours i liked the best, but i also thought tracks 2-5 & 8 were excellent too, and it's track 4 Catalini's La Wally Prelude that i found so endearing, it's actually the prelude to Act 4 of the Opera, it starts with shimmering low strings, probably violas, with ghostly high woodwinds [0:00-1:08], it's wonderfully mysterious music, an offstage solo trumpet joins in [1:08-1:35] the thing then returns to the opening again [1:36-2:02], the higher strings come in with harp, Catalani makes a real varied and atmospheric canvas, lighter music comes in, shimmering violins with flutes, and pizzicato lower strings with a tambourine [3:15-3:41], now that's some heady combination!, and very effective musically too, the music gets angry with the high violins [3:59+], and then dark clouds of brass come in [4:20+], with intense strings in the background, lots of tragedy here, Catalini can't help but bring the wonderful opening back again [5:28-6:05], this time subdued, as the music then takes on a more noble conclusion, woodwinds give some sort of coda [6:38+], the end is gentle and beautiful, it's really something worth getting to know, it will be a firm favourite every time you get to hear it.

Here's Gavazzeni playing this Prelude on YouTube.

Tchaikovsky - Capriccio Italien [Dutoit-Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal]

Here's a lovely disc of Tchaikovsky Overtures and Ballet music, a great introduction to the Composer, but much more too, it's a great way to collect some of his lets say 'war' music, with a generous 65 minutes of music, everything on here i so much enjoyed, even the 1812 Overture, which is in danger of become too well known and played, this disc makes me realise even more what a wealth of glorious tunes Tchaikovsky had inside of him, appeared in my Blog a few years back [25th December 2011].

Charles Dutoit is Swiss, he's now 78, this disc was recorded in 1986, though is a reissue of an earlier disc, the front booklet cover is a painting [by Christian Sell], showing the Franco-Prussian war, i don't usually like paintings as front covers of dics, but this is an excellent one, showing sharp detail, there's a certain diagonal top left to bottom right line of attack in the picture, the lettering is great too, though i have somewhat of an issue with promoting '1812' over the other works on the disc.

On this listen i was really impressed with Capriccio Italien, not an Overture as such, it's really a Fantasy, it was composed from a trip that Tchaikovsky took to Rome, and seeing a Carnival, but there's certainly elements of military and marching to the whole thing, its opening trumpet / brass fanfare is excellent [0:00-0:41], sharp and strong and noble, almost a call to arms, and then right after comes a march like beat by the horns / lower brass, while the strings play an ominous tune of their own [0:42-2:07], it's has an excellent 'beat' to it, one of the best things in the piece, it's when the opening fanfare comes back in more glory [2:55-3:11], and now the strings are creating the march, with the woodwind the melody [3:19-3:56], and then comes the carnival music [4:16+], a lot happier and fun, but still has that element of military march about it, after a theme as such, Tchaikovsky creates variations of it, each one seemingly more sparkling than the rest [5:02+], trumpets and glockenspiel, there's a certain waltz about the thing too, Tchaikovsky revels in the glockenspiel [6:12+], and the music has a real sparkle about it, there's also a certain degree of Spanish Flamenco to the central section [7:22+], where also a strong waltz comes into play, but the ominous opening vibes come back [9:41+], towards the end there's brilliant string and brass playing, quick and sharp [11:12+], eventually leading onto a majestic statement of the carnival tune [13:07+], at the end you might think it's going to break out into the 1812 Overture, a lovely kaleidoscope of sounds.

Here's Jurowski conducting this piece on YouTube.

Holst - The Planets [Ozawa-Boston Symphony Orchestra]

I've listened to this work a lot, even though i haven't got a lot of recordings of it, this is my third recording, and this is its maiden voyage, i sort of grew up with the Planets, even before i properly got into Classical music, there always seemed to be a vinyl LP of the Planets hanging around, i used to love Saturn the best [Holst's favourite], so it was good to try a different version, and get a different perspective.

Seiji Ozawa is Japanese, he is now 79, a long and distinguished recording career, he spent a lot of time at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and he recorded this back in 1979, this disc is a re-issue on the Philips 'Insignia' series, a wonderful bunch of discs, this one shows a lovely portrait of Ozawa [by Christian Steiner], very black & white, apart from the face, and the pink box with the lettering, nicely laid out.

It was Jupiter and Uranus i enjoyed the most, i must admit on this first listen, i found Ozawa a little low key, Mars should be menacing, and was a little on the tame side, Uranus needs to be ostentatious, a little too refined for my taste, but still the whole thing was colourful enough, maybe i need to listen to the whole thing at a louder volume, so here's my thoughts on Uranus,
6 Uranus / The Magician [5:41] - A piece with lots of brass and percussion, it's all over the place, stops and starts, all sorts of ideas coming in from nowhere, a real jumble at times, and yet wholly Holstian, it certainly has a similarity to Dukas's The Sorcerers Apprentice, another piece on the theme of Magic, i love the use of the xylophone [0:38-0:54], Holst nearly breaks into brass band music [1:24-1:45], reminiscent of his Hammersmith Overture, and then he breaks into a march [2:29+], using the timpani expertly, the whole thing comes to a head, and it explodes into a cacophony of sound [3:36+], with the xylophone again at the forefront of the riot, surprisingly the whole thing comes to a sudden 'end' [4:10], but it's a false ending, the sad strings and twanging harp are interrupted by the bassoon, and the rest of the mob come in again [4:44+], and then there's this desolate peace, but then it does have this dead ending of a couple of dull thuds [5:33 & 5:35], a strange piece indeed, but then there's Neptune...

Here's Mackerras conducting Uranus on YouTube.

Mussorgsky / Ravel - Pictures At An Exhibition [Gergiev-London Philharmonic Orchestra]

Notice how i call this a Ravel composition, and not merely by Mussorgsky?, i don't think Ravel gets enough credit here, his contribution isn't merely to put some colour into a black & white photograph, he has to make major decisions of orchestral colouring and instrumentation, the end product is half his, this is the first time this disc appears in my Blog, and only the second time i've played it, there used to be a time i felt that Pictures At An Exhibition was a bit pandering to Classical novice, nice fun tunes, but serious classical music?, now i feel a lot warmer towards this composition, there's real sophistication there too.

Valery Gergiev is Russian, he's now 61, he made this recording back in 1989, it's amazing that some of these digital recordings are now almost 'half a lifetime away' for the Artists that recorded them!, the front cover photograph [by Fernando van Teylingen], is really artistic, showing Gergiev dressed up, baton in hand [though i believe he now rarely uses one], the props of a chair and music stand, love the orange shadow, and the box with the letting is fantastic, very well laid out.

Pictures At An Exhibition consists of ten pictures, but there's fifteen tracks when you factor in the promenades between pictures, so i liked numbers 1-2, 4, 7 & 13-15 the best, and it was the last two tracks that i felt were the best, Mussorgsky seems to build up the whole thing for a real finale, so here's my feeling on these two pieces,
The Hut On Fowl's Legs [3:28] - After the mystery and quiet of 'Cum Mortuis In Lingua Mortua', 'The Hut On Fowls Legs' can sound like a bunch of yobs bursting in on a candlelight vigil, the drums break the silence, but it's the brass that really do the destructive work [0:23+], strings are frantic, strangely enough there's this central respite [1:09-1:34], the flute gently undulates while the bassoon mumbles away, i like the way the xylophone comes in to give it colour, but the yobs come back to their desecration [2:26+].
The Great Gate Of Kiev [5:24] - Which culminates without a break, straight into 'The Great Gate Of Kiev', the brass fanfare in splendour, it's a great moment that gives satisfying musical release [0:00-0:57], but then strangely there's a lull of peace, of a woodwind plainchant [0:58-1:31], before the brass splendour comes back again [1:32-2:03], only for the woodwind plainchant to come back [2:03-2:35], and then the bells toll [2:35+] what a great idea, it's almost a funeral procession that slowly develops into a frenzy, i love the glockenspiel here, a blaze of brass glory, the very end is well done, with an extra sense of regal fanfare [4:41+], a nice loud and satisfying end.

Here's Gergiev conducting these last two pictures on YouTube.

Various Composers - English Orchestral Music [Tate-English Chamber Orchestra] 

I usually don't like these 'compilations', all famous bits and pieces, but this one is a peach, made up of some fantastic things, nine works representing four Composers, concentrating on the short period just before the First World War, and just after [1911-1928], each piece can be considered fairly serene, and all composed with a small Orchestra in mind, this is the way to compile a varied programme like this, i especially found the Bax pieces something of a refreshing variety.

Jeffrey Tate is English, he's now 69 years old old, he recorded this disc way back in 1987, the front cover photograph is certainly ideal for the programme inside, a picture of a willow beside a stream, heavily swamped in blue and green filters, but it creates a nice colour combination, and a full listing of the tracks on the disc.

This is the perfect disc if you want to explore things a little further afield than the usual, i especially liked tracks 1, 4 & 6-9, nothing truly stood out as the best, but the sheer exuberance of the last piece by Bax 'Dance In The Sunlight', is worthy of a mini synopsis, sounding something that Arnold would write, fairly irreverent at times, and like it says in the title, very much in the dance mode, at times you can get a whiff of British Light Music, but Bax is more inventive than that, his instrumentation, especially in the woodwind is complex enough to make you dig deeper, right away the main tune comes in, dominated by the clarinet / clarinets [0:04+], but augmented by the flutes / oboes, you can just imagine the whole thing as Film Music from the Forties or something, a lovely little tune, usually Bax gets a bit heavy and possibly lost in his compositions, but here he's just having lots of fun, the piece explodes in a nice brass forte [0:51+], it's amazing what Bax can do with such a simple tune, there's quite a long passage for the flute in the background [3:01+], adding to a certain mystery of the passage, , the whole thing lasts for less than five minutes, the main tune returns in glory [3:33+], and it's so lovely to hear it again, a piece that certainly will become a charming companion.

Here's a link to the whole album on AllMusic, which gives a 30 second sample of each track.

Smetana - Ma Vlast [Levine-Wiener Philharmoniker] 

Smetana's Ma Vlast is a mammoth work, lasting here over 76 minutes, you have to have a bit of time on your hands to indulge, a work so long can have a tendency to lose your attention if it's weak, but i never find this with Ma Vlast, though i do find that i can't listen to it all that often, in fact this is the very first time that Smetana appears in my Blog. 

James Levine is American, he's now 69, because of health problems he's been out of action for quite a while, he recorded this disc live in 1986, the front cover may look like a photo from afar, but really it's a painting by Rudolph Distler.

The second movement Vltava / Moldau is justly hailed as the cream of these six Symphonic Poems, it represents the main river running through the breadth of the Czech Republic, almost a biography of the river as it winds its way through the land, it lasts roughly 12 minutes, and of course has very different sections, a quicksilver flute opens things, with the odd pizzicato [0:00-0:57], Smetana seems to like intros like this, the strong string theme that follows is very nationalistic in flavour, and of course it has a lovely 'flow' to it, as you would realise a Symphonic Poem about a river would, when the brass come in, and the busy strings [2:48+] it makes a heady steam of almost a brass band, and Smetana can't resist a lively dance [3:44+], i just love the way Smetana uses a very gentle ethereal way with the music [5:24-7:36], high treble violins, though quiet, and flutes in the background, it's quite ghostly, and very soothing too, of course Smetana finished on a real forte, bringing in the main tune from the first movement, in resplendent glory [10:03+], the ending is nice, like waves going up and down, though growing quiet, the whole things is a lazy trip down the river, just letting the current take over. 

Here's Alexis Hauser conducting the second movement Vltava on YouTube.

Strauss - Waltzes [Maazel-Wiener Philharmoniker] 

The Waltzes of Johann Strauss are wonderful, they don't get the recognition in my Blog they deserve, this is only my second Strauss disc in my Blog, and this is good for me in that there are works that i haven't heard on this disc, and it's good to expand my reach with this Composer, though he composed over 500 works, it's not practical to listen to everything he created. 

Lorin Maazel is American, he's now 82, he made this live recording [i guess from the New Years Concert] in 1980, the booklet front cover is a design by Artist Victor Vasarely entitled 'Tetcie ii', which permeate through this series of '3D Classics', this one has a green tinge to it.

Well for me it was obviously 'The Blue Danube' which is the most ingenious thing that Strauss ever wrote, it has a real swagger to it that's irresistible, there's a long introduction [0:00-1:47], shimmering strings and horns to start with, the 'real' Waltz doesn't start until [1:49+], there's serenading strings, piping flutes / piccolos, and gentle side drum to keep the beat, Maazel indulges in having a little fun, slowing things down and quieting things for effect, so that when the louder / faster music comes in it creates a greater extreme [5:04-5:33], i love the 'military band' oompah section [6:19-6:48], i like the way Maazel brings back the main theme at the end [8:08-8:46], it's a nice little roller coaster of a piece.

Here's Lorin Maazel conducting 'The Blue Danube' on YouTube.

Wagner - Overtures & Orchestral Music [Jansons-Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra] 

Not that long ago Wagner's music used to be a closed book to me, i'm not an Opera lover, even though i do find Arias very nice, Wagner epitomises everything that i don't like in Opera, very looong works, the singing almost descends down into speech, unbelievable storylines, and even the purely instrumental music isn't conveniently presented as proper Overtures at the start of every Opera, and yet, he's a great Orchestrator, i'm sure he could of made some wonderful Symphonies, so this was actually the first disc i bought [back in 2007] that was wholly dedicated to his music, so what a pleasant surprise to really get into some of this stuff, since then i have bought other collections too, but his still remains on the fringes of my collection.

Mariss Jansons is Latvian, he is now 69 years old, he made this recording in 1991, the front cover portrait of Jansons is by Rory Carnegie, a white background, and nice shadows behind him, good pose, nice colours, the black lettering is nice.

Well i found all of these 8 pieces almost equally as good as each other, it was hard to pick a 'winner', but certainly tracks 1, 4, 6 & 8 maybe just pip the others, and i guess it's the Tannhauser Overture that i found full of the real essence of Wagner, it's the longest piece on this disc, starting out with a solemn nobility by the lower woodwinds and horns [0:00-0:56], before branching out into the cello's and strings, it  truly starts to blossom [1:52+], and unfolds into a glorious fanfare on the trombones, underpinned by excited violins playing high in the treble [2:08-2:58] it's truly glorious stuff, those strings continue to come back like waves, sometimes high, sometimes low, but they're so contagious!, in the middle of the piece it goes off on a tangent, lighter music that gives a welcome respite from the darkness of the opening, but it sounds like something that Weber or Suppe would write, not Wagner at his best, the opening music comes back [10:35+], this time with very busy but light violins, and again the music froths up to a crescendo [12:15-13:42], the brass really do pull out all the stops in majesty, a lovely piece of music. 

Here's Georg Solti conducting the Tannhauser Overture on YouTube.

Various Composers - Overtures & Intermezzi [Varviso-Staatskapelle Dresden] 

What an excellently compiled disc this is, a really well chosen programme, a lovely mix of different composers, and some very well chosen works, this is not like some compilations by Karajan / Marriner etc, that bring together a bunch of different performances recorded at different times, but this is a planned recital, all recorded together for this disc especially, some real thought has gone into it, the works were composed roughly around the same time, the first half of the disc is dedicated to Italian Composers, and the second half to French Composers, i love the way it mixes some very well known works, with some rarer items, the end product is more than the sum of its parts.

Silvio Varviso is a Swiss Conductor, he was born in 1924, and died nearly 6 years ago in 2006, he recorded this disc in 1983, the front cover picture [by Vulvio Roiter] is strange, i think it's of a mummer at the Carnival of Venice, yes Venice does get snow, but i don't think at Easter when the Carnival is, i guess this is a bird man, it's actually a really good shot, i like the lace wings, the black of the guy in stark contrast to the white of the snow, the lettering is excellent also, listing all the Composers, a great idea visually.

There was so much good stuff on here, one after another i was wowed at the inventiveness of so many great Composers, the military / brass in the Rossini Thieving Magpie, the Ponchielli Dance Of The Hours is a favourite of mine on this disc, and the different sections are thrilling, the Mascagni Intermezzi is something i would love to have played at my funeral!, and the Saint-Saens Bacchanale is full of Eastern flair and wonder, but very surprisingly the piece that really got to me was the Puccini Intermezzo from Manon Lescaut, a piece that on previous listenings hadn't truly caught my attention, it starts off very low key, almost like a String Quartet, Cello and Viola playing a duet, but when it opens up [1:15-1:48], the whole thing explodes into a sad refrain that only Puccini knows how to do, and then the strings swoon [1:48+], it's a glorious moment, Puccini really knows how to tug those heartstrings, and also he knows how to brings the piece down into a lovely refrain after a forte [3:04+], and even further along there's a cherishable moment of denouement on the refrained violins [3:29-3:46], Puccini certainly knows how to bring things to a close, the closing thoughts of this short piece are expertly done [4:01+], wow! a nice new favourite.

Here's Pablo Varela conducting Puccini's Manon Lescaut Intermezzo on YouTube.

Wagner - Overtures & Orchestral Music [Sinopoli-Staatskapelle Dresden] 

I am not someone who can listen my way through a 2 or 3 hour Opera, too much filler, too much talky bits, but when you strip an Opera Composer like Wagner away from his Operas, you end up with some exciting orchestral music, if only Wagner had decided to become a Symphonist like Mahler!, what you end up with is chunks of things, mainly his Overtures and Preludes, now i don't claim to listen to Wagner extensively, but the more i listen to him, the more i enjoy this 'vocal-less' stuff.

Giuseppe Sinopoli is Italian, he died of a heart attack roughly 11 years ago, while conducting Verdi's Aida, he is very much an Opera Conductor, he has a penchant for slow speeds and luxurious textures, he recorded this disc in 1995, the front cover photo [by Ludwig Schirmer] is of Sinopoli standing in the Staatskapelle Dresden Concert Hall, empty of people, you can feel the grandeur of the building, one thing it doesn't show is a good view of the ceiling, and the chandelier in the middle, quite impressive, there's a nice orange glow to the whole thing, and it gives off a sense of scale with the rows of seats, very orderly.

The two pieces i really enjoyed here were Das Liebesverbot Overture [The Ban On Love], and the Tannhauser Overture, the first is unknown to me, and it's good to listen to something new, what else has Wagner got secreted away in the middle of some Opera?, ultimately i find it's this new piece that takes first prize, it lasts nearly 9 minutes long here, it sounds like some trifle from Johann Strauss, or the fizz from an Offenbach Overture, it's great fun, it comes from an early Opera from Wagner, that was a resounding flop, it shows Wagner in a lighter jovial mood, he got more serious in his later works, so it's a shock to the system if you've never heard it before, from Wagner's pen it truly sounds comical and a send up joke at first, the thunderous Polka at the beginning is ingenious [0:05-0:38], and of course it keeps coming around again and again, after some more serious music tries to take over, it keeps inching its way back in, and goes full blast on its silly bubbly-ness, just listen to the frivolity of the high woodwind, especially the piccolo, it's like a marching band on helium! [3:32-3:47], the snaps and whipcracks are great too, near the end there's a trumpet fanfare chorus [6:32-6:40], Wagner throws all sorts of stuff into the mixing bowl, and it finishes with an exhilarating ending, getting faster and faster, i especially like the very end, three abrupt loud stops [8:38-8:47], something Beethoven would do after an Overture, it's a real clown of a piece.

Here's Daniel Harding conducting the Das Liebesverbot Overture on YouTube.