Something New In Recordings

[Chuck Jackson]

As a person who makes a substantial part of his living airing and talking about music, it is hard not to get more than a little jaded by the constant stream of works issued or re-issued by the mainstream composers(yes, I put Mahler and Bruckner in that category). No matter how many times you hear Bruckner 7, it is still Bruckner 7.

Recently we have gotten the complete symphonies of the Swedish composer Kurt Atterberg(1887-1974) in the station. Better known as a conductor, Atterberg's symphonies are a breath of fresh air. Each of them is an essay in beautiful melody combined with post Straussian harmonic language that never rolls over into the realm of turgid or the maudlin. The brass writing is beautiful, think of Carl Neilson writing idiomatically for brass instruments. Not that I dislike Neilson, but he tends to write some fiendlishly difficult things when it really isn't needed for musical purposes.

The other kicker is that all the orchestras performing are North German Radio Orchestras from Hannover, Frankfurt, and the like. THEY are astoundingly well played, great ensemble and layering, beautiful orchestral sound, and some of the nicest ENSEMBLE brass playing I have heard on record. Ari Rasilainen conducts. All of the symphonies are on the German CPO label. If you need a change, or just a pallete cleaning, PLEASE consider these symphonies by a long forgotten composer.

On a last note, we recieved a Bruckner 5 that is a live recording from 1979 with the Orchestre National De France. WOW!!!!! Maybe the best Bruckner 5 I have heard. If you can stand just a little trumpet vibrato, look this one up. It is on the Radio France Naive label, CD V5000. You may be suprised. Great tuba playing throughout.


Cheers,

Chuck

[Chuck(G)]

I've got the CD of Atterberg's Symphony No. 2 in F performed by the Swedish Radio Symphony/cond. Svig Westerberg. It sounds like a work with a lot of potential, but Westerberg makes it sound kind of dull and lifeless. It shares the CD with his Suite No. 3 for violin, which has a somewhat better performance.

[Chuck Jackson]

Having gone through and listened to other performances, including the one you mentioned, I note a distinct lack of music making that Rasilainen invests his recordings with. Please do not write off this great composer because of a few "throw-off" recordings. This music deserves to be heard.

Chuck

[gwwilk]

Here is a link to the collection: http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/alb ... m_id=94197

[Chuck(G)]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Chuck, how about some similar recommendations on performances of the lesser-known Russian symphonists, like Krennikov and Taneyev (definitely some good stuff there!)?