MARTINU, B.: Revue de cuisine (La) / Harpsichord Concerto / Musique de chambre No. 1 / Les rondes (Hill, Holst Sinfonietta, Simon) 8.572485
RIISAGER, K.: Symphonic Edition, Vol. 1 (Aarhus Symphony, Holten) - Symphony No. 1 / Danish Pictures 8.226146
These two composers have distinguished traditions of nationalistic music behind them, but they both cultivated a more cosmopolitan compositional style.
The most enjoyable work on the disc,
Klods Hans, is a sort of cross between Strauss’s
Till Eulenspiegel and Malcolm Arnold’s
Beckus the Dandipratt…it’s colorful, bumptiously humorous, with mock-military asides from the prominent snare drum—as full of nonstop action as Strauss’s work is, with its highly detailed program.
Comoedie, described as a “prelude to a Danish comedy,” is in the same vein of hustling, bustling good humor.
…Riisager’s
Symphony No. 1…demonstrates that his talents did not lie in the symphonic vein.
…there are enough other pleasures here, enthusiastically presented by the very fine Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, to merit an unstinting recommendation. Dacapo’s sound is typically excellent: rich, vibrant, capturing string tone in an especially flattering way. © 2012
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