PAUL HINDEMITH (1895-1963): Concerto for Clarinet, 1947 (1st movement)
HINDEMITH: Concerto for Horn, 1949 (1st movement)
HINDEMITH: Concerto for Trumpet, Bassoon and Strings, 1949 (2nd movement)
HINDEMITH: Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Harp and Orchestra,
1949 (finale, including Mendelssohn "Wedding March"!)
Frankfurt Radio Orchestra & Soloists/Werner Andreas Albert, cond
CPO CD-999.142 (www.cpo.de)
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After some years as a notorious "bad boy" of German music, Hindemith settled into a substantial career (and mission) of creating music which provided satisfaction to both the player and the listener. While rarely "sumptuous" in any romantic sort of way, his compositions are well-knit, surging with ideas and resolutions. This album of "wind concertos" from his mature years offers many rewards. Benny Goodman premiered the Clarinet Concerto, and the multi-soloist piece includes, in its finale, a direct quote of the entire melodic line from Mendelssohn's popular Wedding March - a surprise for Hindemith's wife (the premiere of the piece happened on the occasion of their silver wedding anniversary). Beautifully accomplished, every note.
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HINDEMITH: Trauermusik (1936)
Brett Dean, vla; Queensland Symphony/Werner Albert, cond
CPO CD-999.492 (www.cpo.de)
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Hindemith's new viola concerto ("Schwandreher," also included on this disc, along with two other concerted pieces featuring viola) had been scheduled for its premiere during a BBC broadcast when King George V died. In its stead, Hindemith substituted this lovely, solemn, heartfelt miniature (for solo viola and strings, lasting but eight minutes), which he composed in just a few days. A touching tribute. The album is part of an ongoing Hindemith cycle for the CPO label... worthy and rewarding.
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HINDEMITH: Dance of the Wooden Puppets, fr "Tuttfäntchen" (1922)
(Christmas Fairy Tale Suite)
Queensland Sym Orch/Werner Albert, cond
CPO CD-999.527 (www.cpo.de)
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A total charmer, this sweet suite features brief movement based on traditional holiday songs, plus this witty, lively "fox trot." A childish delight, and real surprise.
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HINDEMITH: Violin Concerto, 1939 (finale)
Leonidas Kovakos, vn; BBC Philharmonic/Yan Pascal Tortelier, cond
Chandos CD-9903 (www.chandos.net)
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Premiered by the Concertgebouw just two months before the Nazi takeover of Holland (Hindemith was already persona non grata in Germany, had fled to Switzerland, and soon was on a boat to the United States), this piece reflects both the seriousness of those times and the great tradition of the best of German music... in line with Beethoven and Brahms, modernized. There is real sweep to the thematic essences and their development, and all is handsomely done by orchestra and soloist alike. An interesting comparison to the CPO item immediately above (which includes this same concerto). Hindemith was both prolific and important. Virtually all of his work repays the involved listener, and surely that is the case here.
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"Dancing on Water" (music for clarinet, plus...)
MICHAEL JON FINK: As is Thought/Aurora (bass clarinet, harp, vibraphone)
PETER GARLAND: Dancing on Water (clarinet, marimba)
DANIEL LENZ: Song(s) of the Sirens (clarinet, voice, piano)
Marty Walker, clarinet (with friends)
ColdBlueMusic CD-05 (www.coldbluemusic.com)
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Walker is the glue which holds this disparate collection of mild-mannered, soul-filling collection of contemporary "meditations" together - think Satie and Morton Feldman, and you come close to the overall mood. Delicate textures prevail, calm yet not quite trance-inducing, the thinking-listener's slow lane. Packaging is beautiful to the eye, though low on content (no notes, essentially). But the point is to listen.
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JEAN TITELOUZE (1563-1633): Magnificat Verses (with chant)
Yves-Guy Prefontaine, organ (recorded at the Grand Seminaire, Montreal)
Atma CD-22120 (www.ohscatalog.org)
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Titelouse was the father of the "French classic style," and wrote with a colorful, evolved polyphony. These brief organ verses, interspersed by alternate sung chants, explore both the sonic potentials of the period instruments and the emotional states of the Virgin Mary as she sang "her song." Prefontaine plays with elegance and panache - stylish without making a point of it. The Seminaire instrument (by Guilbault-Therien) is superb, too.
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RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958): Symphony No. 2, "London"
(1st movement)
London Symphony/Richard Nickox, cond.
Chandos CD-9902 (www.chandos.net)
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Always attuned to the sense of his homeland, always sounding "English" while being original and personal simultaneously, V.W. here weaves folk tunes, street calls, the chimes from Westminster, and even the moist essence of the timeless Thames into his four movement portrait of a day in the life of London town. We begin at dawn and devolve at twilight - magic from beginning to end. Superb sound.
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