{"product_id":"svendsen-orchestral-works-vol-1","title":"Svendsen: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1","description":"Svendsen is undergoing a mini-renaissance at the moment. CPO                     and Naxos have devoted some volumes to his symphonic and orchestral                     compositions, and now Chandos comes along with the first volume                     (of four) in its orchestral series. \u003cbr\u003e                    \u003cbr\u003e                    One thing for which Svendsen has always been saluted is his                     masterful orchestration. It’s rich but not upholstered, characterful                     without being garish. In most respects it’s perfectly suited                     to his material. That in the first volume is well selected to                     show the variety of source material available to him, and almost                     everything was written in the 1870s, around the time when the                     composer was in his mid 30s. \u003cbr\u003e                    \u003cbr\u003e                    \u003ci\u003eKarneval in Paris \u003c\/i\u003eis genial and high-spirited. Looking                     at the score over the composer’s shoulder a friend said to him;                     ‘It looks amusing’ and sauntered off. Indeed, it is amusing                     in its capricious and romantic moments, and the friend – Richard                     Wagner, no less – was perfectly right. Svendsen always paces                     his paragraphs with perception, and here, as elsewhere, one                     feels the music just the perfect length. I would only add that                     the work seems to me more Carnival than Parisian. Efficient,                     taut but not especially emotive \u003ci\u003eRomeo and Juliet \u003c\/i\u003edemonstrates                     Svendsen’s professional skills. It doesn’t draw out much in                     the way of sub-surface depths but is assuredly competent. A                     wholly different work is the \u003ci\u003eFest-Polonaise\u003c\/i\u003e of 1873.                     This is a big, swaggering affair, brassy and percussion-rich                     with an eye for lissom decorative writing too. \u003cbr\u003e                    \u003cbr\u003e                    Another of his bigger ten-minute studies is \u003ci\u003eZorahayda \u003c\/i\u003ederived                     from a story by Washington Irving on a Moorish theme. This is                     one of Svenden’s ‘legendary’ topics, and his wistful, superbly                     illustrative response is one of the finest things here. There’s                     a role for solo violin, and plenty of fertile and imaginative                     colour and atmosphere. Neeme Järvi directs with apt sympathy.                     I wonder if anyone remembers the old LP recording of this made                     by Grüner-Higge with the Oslo Philharmonic? \u003cbr\u003e                    \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e                    The two Norwegian Rhapsodies are by turn bucolic, avuncular                     and stirring – and the leisurely central panel of the Second                     is especially lovely. \u003ci\u003eTräume\u003c\/i\u003e is arranged from Wagner’s                     \u003ci\u003eWesendonck Lieder\u003c\/i\u003e whilst \u003ci\u003eThe Girl’s Sunday on the                     Mountain Pasture (Sæterjentens Søndag)\u003c\/i\u003e is a newly harmonised                     version of an original by Ole Bull. Another tiny example of                     the warmth of his timbral imagination comes in the shape of                     the folk song \u003ci\u003eLast year I was Herding Mountain Goats (I Fjol                     gjætt’e Gjeitinn)\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e                    \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e                    Thus several facets of Svendsen’s art can be appreciated here;                     legend, tone poem, orchestrations, folksongs, rhapsodies, and                     a juicy polonaise. The recordings bloom very nicely and the                     Bergen orchestra plays with polish and enthusiasm. These are                     pretty much front-runners now, but the historically minded should                     still hang on to that Odd Grüner-Hegge disc as well as Øivin                     Fjeldstad’s Oslo recordings of Svendsen’s music. Outclassed                     sonically, they still rank high in the discography, but CD-minded                     listeners will be delighted with the new Chandos series. \u003cbr\u003e                    \u003cbr\u003e                    -- Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49682415321368,"sku":"095115169322","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/1908310.jpg?v=1747233991","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/svendsen-orchestral-works-vol-1","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}