Symphonic Music: May 2008 Archives

Boris Lyatoshynsky
(1895-1968)

Symphony #2, Op. 26
Symphony #3 in B Minor, Op. 50

Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra/Theodore Kuchar
Marco Polo 8.223540 76:40

Listening to these symphonies is almost a tour of the Russian symphony: there are Tchaikovsky, Glière, early Stravinsky, Rachmaninov, Myaskovsky, Shostakovich and so on. The feeling is mostly optimism and triumph with little of the bleakness that pervades his last symphonies. The recording (Kiev, 1993) has that somewhat reverberant sound typical of many recordings from Russia, where the engineers may have learned their craft.

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Richard Arnell
(1917-)

Symphony #3, Op. 40
Overture "The New Age", Op. 2

Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Martin Yates
Dutton Epoch CDLX7161 72:10

Arnell wrote his third symphony in America where he lived during World War II. It runs over an hour and is in six movements; the first and fifth each serve as a short prelude to the allegro movement that follows. Much of the second movement derives from a beautiful and very English hymn-like theme. Apart from a sense of unease in the andante, the mood of the symphony is otherwise essentially extrovert. There are traces of Walton, Alwyn, Rubbra, Arnold (at his most rambunctious), even Brian. The brass writing and the orchestration generally is especially impressive.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Other Arnell of interest on Dutton Epoch:
CDLX7184: Piano Concerto and Symphony #2
CDLX7194: Symphonies 4 and 5
CDLX7195: Lord Byron: A Symphonic Portrait (with Dunhill: Symphony in A Minor)

Aaron Copland
(1900-1990)

Grohg ¹
Prelude for Chamber Orchestra ²
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! ²

¹ Cleveland Orchestra/Oliver Knussen
² London Sinfonietta/Oliver Knussen
Argo 443203-2 68:27

Two half-hour ballets framing a somewhat eerie little prelude: the nicely sinister Grohg, and jazz-influenced Hear Ye! Hear Ye!. All of this music was written before Copland was 35, and is rarely heard.

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Domenico Cimarosa
(1749-1801)

Oreste
Artasese
La Circe
Alessandro nell'Indie
L'Italiana a Londra
L'Armida immaginaria
La donna sempre al suo peggior s'appiglia
Il fanatico per gli antichi Romani
Giannina e Baerardone

Toronto Chamber Orchestra/Kevin Mallon
Naxos 8.570279 67:27

A CD to be dipped into occasionally rather than played through at a sitting. Several are little three-movement sinfonias. These are charming works, all but guaranteed to give pleasure.

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Johan Halvorsen
(1864-1935)

Symphony #2
Symphony #3

Trondheim Symphony Orchestra/Ole Kristian Ruud
Simax PSC1062 62:15

Like many other Scandinavian composers, Halvorsen studied in Germany: his music reflects this, and inevitably, Edvard Grieg. These two rarely-encountered symphonies are well worth exploring.

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