Albert Roussel Complete Symphonies, Orchestral Works 4 CD

The French composer Albert Roussel (1869-1937) was ideally placed to develop a unique musical style. His background was more colourful than most of his fellow composers (he initially studied mathematics and worked as a naval officer before devoting himself to music), while his early years as a composer saw him exposed to a barrage of rich but conflicting musical influences: the impressionist movement (spearheaded by Debussy) and the more traditional approach of the Schola Cantorum (championed by d'Indy and Franck). Roussel absorbed the wide-ranging styles that he heard around him, blending and modifying them to establish his own distinctive voice – a voice that can be perceived clearly in his music for solo piano. Traditional musical forms are a frequent point of inspiration: in the Suite in F sharp Op.14, Roussel uses rustic dances as a basis to explore both counterpoint and tonal disintegration, while the Bach-inspired Prélude et Fugue demonstrates the neo-Classical style that he was drawn to in his later period. Above all, Roussel's piano music is characterised by its unique synthesis of rationality and feeling.

The only available complete recording of the wonderful symphonic output of Albert Roussel, one of the most significant symphonists of the early 20th century and one of France's greatest exponents of the form.