Description
Leonard Bernstein - Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story", Candide - Overture, Prelude, Fugue and Riffs / Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Paavo Järvi / Simon Rattle, LEonard Slatkin / EMI Classics Audio CD 2008 / American Classics
UPC 5099920662622
MADE IN THE EU
TOTAL TIME: 74:28
English Summary:
Here's an odd, all-Bernstein disc. It starts out with heavily sentimentalized performances of the Candide Overture, Facsimile (Choreographic Essay for Orchestra), and On the Town (Three Dance Episodes) with Leonard Slatkin leading the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, follows that with an aggressively brash performance of the Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story" with Paavo Järvi directing the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, follows that with a heavily rhythmic performance of Prelude, Fugue and Riffs by Simon Rattle and the London Sinfonietta, and concludes with a pair of dull and dreary performances of excerpts from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and Mass sung by baritone Bruce Hubbard accompanied by the Orchestra of St. Luke's under Dennis Russell Davies. One could, of course, argue that, except for dull and dreary, these are all perfectly appropriate ways to approach Bernstein's music. To do so, however, would be to underestimate the music. Bernstein's music can be described as sentimental, brash, and rhythmic, but it can also be described as warmhearted, witty, and sublime. These latter aspects of Bernstein's music are altogether missing here. For Slatkin, Bernstein is a kind of composing André Kostelanetz, for Järvi, an American cousin of Prokofiev, and for Rattle, a middle-brow Stravinsky. Recorded in sound that ranges from the very close Rattle, the very loud Järvi, the very smooth Slatkin, and the very dry Davies, this disc cannot be recommended except to diehard fans of the performers.
Artists & Credits:
Marc Aubort | Producer |
Anthony Caronia | Executive Producer |
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra | Orchestra |
Dennis Collins | Liner Note Translation |
Martin Cotton | Liner Notes |
Georgina Curtis | Design |
Dennis Russell Davies | Conductor |
Mike Hatch | Balance Engineer |
Bruce Hubbard | Baritone (Vocal) |
Paavo Järvi | Conductor |
Alain Lanceron | Executive Producer |
Patti Laursen | Producer |
Dick Lewzey | Balance Engineer |
Barbara Liberman | Piano |
London Sinfonietta | Orchestra |
Gudrun Meier | Liner Note Translation |
David R. Murray | Producer |
John Newton | Balance Engineer |
Joanna Nickernz | Producer |
Orchestra of St. Luke's | Orchestra |
Peter Quantrill | Editorial |
Simon Rattle | Conductor |
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra | Orchestra |
Leonard Slatkin | Conductor |
Tom Wood | Editing |
Michelle Zassenhaus | Photography |
Tracklist:
1
Overture to Candide, for orchestra
2
Facsimile, Choreographic Essay, for orchestra (from the ballet)
Dance Episodes (3) from "On the Town", for orchestra
3
The Great Lover
4
Lonely Town (Pas de deux)
5
Times Square: 1944
Symphonic Dances (9) from "West Side Story", for orchestra (orchestrated with Ramin & Kostal)
6
1. Prologue
7
2. Somewhere
8
3. Scherzo
9
4. Mambo
10
5. Chacha
11
6. Meeting Scene
12
7. Rumble
13
8. Finale
14
Prelude, Fugue & Riffs, for clarinet & jazz ensemble
15
Scena
16
A Simple Song, for voice & piano (from "Mass")