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Post by Slinger on Feb 28, 2019 21:00:59 GMT
| Credits
London Symphony Orchestra
JoAnn Falletta - Conductor
Jeffrey Biegel - Piano
Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen - Counter Tenor
D.J. Sparr - Electric Guitar
Tim Hugh - Cello
Timothy McAllister - Alto Sax
Christine Pendrill - Cor Anglais
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I think, perhaps, that this one could even appeal to some people who don't listen to classical music as a rule. Kenneth Fuchs was a totally new composer to me, not to mention he was one of those "nasty" modern blokes I'm generally very wary of. Still, the latest Naxos newsletter said they'd just been awarded a Grammy for his latest effort, so I thought it deserved a quick listen, at least. I loved it. In fact, I scrapped the "Classical Album Choice" I already had written (you'll suffer that next time around) and wrote this one in its stead. Fuchs has composed music for orchestra, band, chorus, and various chamber ensembles. With Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson, he created three chamber musicals, The Great Nebula in Orion, A Betrothal, and Brontosaurus, which were originally presented by Circle Repertory Company in New York City. Fuchs's operatic monodrama Falling Man (text by Don DeLillo, adapted by J. D. McClatchy) was presented at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of 9/11. His music has achieved significant global recognition through performances, media exposure, and digital streaming and downloading throughout North and South America, Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, and Australia. The London Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of JoAnn Falletta, has recorded five albums of Fuchs's music for Naxos American Classics, for which he/they have garnered several Grammy nominations prior to this album, their 5th, which won the 2018 Grammy Award Award in the category Best Classical Compendium (JoAnn Falletta, conductor; Tim Handley, producer), announced by the Recording Academy at the 61st annual awards ceremony in Los Angeles, February 10, 2019. I could go on, but it would all be copy and paste, because you probably know as much about him as I do. Give it a listen. Make your own mind up. Find out more for yourselves, if you care to. One last comment from me? It left me wanting more. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. |
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Post by MartinT on Feb 28, 2019 21:55:42 GMT
Thanks, Paul. I know nothing about him or his music, so I shall step into the unknown and report back.
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Post by julesd68 on Mar 1, 2019 0:02:13 GMT
Paul's write up leaves me thinking I should certainly have heard of this guy but I haven't!
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Post by John on Mar 1, 2019 5:39:39 GMT
I have this in my playlist and really enjoy it. A rare top mark from me
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Post by MartinT on Mar 1, 2019 7:10:19 GMT
There's a bit of Respighi in there and more than a whiff of Holst. It sounds very enjoyable and I'll bet it would make for an excellent concert. I've never heard of the conductor or the pianist either, but then that's often the case with Naxos. Excellent all-round, I'm giving it a Forte!
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Post by julesd68 on Mar 1, 2019 9:49:46 GMT
Well I managed to make it to the end but only just!
The piano feels like a spectator to the orchestra and doesn’t have much reason to be there.
The music veers awkwardly from a 60’s / 70’s film soundtrack style (Jerry Goldsmith meets Gershwin) to something more modern and shmaltzy …
Just not my cuppa.
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 1, 2019 17:04:20 GMT
The piano concerto is fun. Nicely brassy and percussiony to make it interesting in a popular kind of way.
Gave up on the song cycle, I just don't generally like that sort of thing.
The "electric guitar concerto" kind of had a Sky feel to it - I hate Sky, but this was a bit less irritating, just a bit. Definitely easy listening, which is fine for what it is even though I don't go for it. It outlasted its welcome for me.
I do like the sound of alto sax, but Rush noodles along rather than goes anywhere much. All very 'pleasant' but meh. Mood music, I guess, for when you are feeling mindless. ... and having just read Jules' comments, schmatlzy - yep, that's it!
So 3/5 in its own context. But, as with Jules, not really my cuppa, either.
1/5 compared to the classical greats, but then it isn't trying to be that so the album gets a 3 from me, grateful that I don't have to listen to it again.
EDIT - Oops - I "reviewed" the whole album, rather than just the piano concerto!
Revise to 4/5 then, I guess, taken in its own context. Definitely the best thing on the album.
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Post by Slinger on Mar 1, 2019 17:18:37 GMT
The piano concerto is fun. Nicely brassy and percussiony to make it interesting in a popular kind of way. Gave up on the song cycle, I just don't generally like that sort of thing. The "electric guitar concerto" kind of had a Sky feel to it - I hate Sky, but this was a bit less irritating, just a bit. Definitely easy listening, which is fine for what it is even though I don't go for it. It outlasted its welcome for me. I do like the sound of alto sax, but Rush noodles along rather than goes anywhere much. All very 'pleasant' but meh. Mood music, I guess, for when you are feeling mindless. ... and having just read Jules' comments, schmatlzy - yep, that's it! So 3/5 in its own context. But, as with Jules, not really my cuppa, either. 1/5 compared to the classical greats, but then it isn't trying to be that so the album gets a 3 from me, grateful that I don't have to listen to it again. EDIT - Oops - I "reviewed" the whole album, rather than just the piano concerto! Revise to 4/5 then, I guess, taken in its own context. Definitely the best thing on the album. You might want to revise that again, Jerry. I did actually mean for the whole album to be taken into consideration, as I thought the pieces were quite varied. There wasn't room to put that in the title, though, and I forgot to stress it in the body. My cock-up. |
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 1, 2019 17:27:10 GMT
Ah, OK - back to an over-generous 3/5!
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Post by MartinT on Mar 1, 2019 17:42:43 GMT
Oh dear, I only marked the PC. Otherwise it would barely get a 2/5.
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