GERHARD, R.: Concerto for Orchestra / Symphony No. 2

Most classical music listeners tend to shy away from music that falls into the category of "atonal". This isn't surprising. Most atonal music is horrible. There's lots of horrible tonal music too, of course, but usually you can sleep through it undisturbed, and therein lies the difference between the two. So, as with all other types of music, there's good atonal and bad atonal. Roberto Gerhard is very, very good atonal. In the first place, the fact that he operates within a very high level of dissonance doesn't mean that his music lacks emotional expression, melody, contrast, or character. Best of all, he's a spectacular orchestrator, and regardless of how difficult his music may be, it always sounds meaningful, and it falls brilliantly on the ear. This is especially true of his Concerto for Orchestra, a stunner by any standard. The Second Symphony is a tougher nut; Gerhard was in the midst of revising the piece when he died, and this recording presents the original version. Matthias Bamert and the BBC Symphony deserve a huge amount of credit for taking the time to present this difficult music with such confidence and virtuosity. A stunning disc for the musically adventurous. --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com