Christian Tetzlaff’s effortless virtuosity, purity of intonation, and slight emotional reticence perfectly suits Sibelius, making this the finest available collection of the Finnish composer’s music for violin and orchestra. In the concerto, Tetzlaff’s relative coolness makes the music sound more like Sibelius and less like a violin concerto, which is all to the good. That doesn’t mean he lacks anything in sheer technique: indeed, his first-movement cadenza impresses as one of the most impressively concentrated and musically satisfying on disc. Tetzlaff’s slow movement sings but avoids panting and heaving, while the finale realizes the music’s gentle melancholy as well as its more thrusting elements. He’s nicely accompanied by Thomas Dausgaard, whose gentle support perfectly suits the overall interpretation.
2016 marks the 40th anniversary of Jean Martinon’s death. This 14-CD collection focuses on Martinon’s activity with the Orchestre National de l’O.R.T.F between 1968 and 1975 and on repertoire – much of it French – that complements the works by Debussy and Ravel that feature on Martinon’s best-known recordings. The box brings together recordings he made for both EMI and Erato and also includes the first commercial releases of live recordings kept at France’s Institut national de l'audiovisuel (INA) and dating from 1970 (Roussel’s Symphony No 3), 1971 (Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin) and 1972 (Falla’s complete Three-Cornered Hat).
Unlike some of the old RCA and Columbia Records classical works on LP, the DGG performances are excellent for getting the dynamics as realistic as possible, and this is an excellent example of this. Lalo I believe was French but with Spanish ancestry, I presume that is why he was paired with Bizet. But I find their styles of composition are not alike. Lalo loves to use various tempos of 3, either waltz type tempos or 6/8, but what I find interesting is that his music can at times be very fiery, probably due to the Spanish influence. This is displayed in many of the pieces in CD#2, and I've not found another composer who does this so effectively. He also is a master of orchestral color, using castanets, cymbals, and other percussion perfectly.
Hector Berlioz, France’s greatest Romantic composer, exemplifies the spirit of his age – yet his genius was also ahead of its time. Reflecting his colourful life, his music is astonishing for its originality and ambition, and for orchestration of groundbreaking brilliance. This, the first-ever complete Berlioz edition, comprises carefully selected recordings and even includes works completely new to the catalogue. The accompanying booklet, lavishly illustrated, contains a fascinating commentary from Berlioz biographer David Cairns, whose words bring the composer’s music still more vividly to life.
French composer and pianist Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921) wrote five symphonies; however, only one of them, the Third “Organ” Symphony, became at all popular. Even so, its popularity is so immense, it doesn’t matter that the others have found relatively little favor. They’re still interesting, but quite overshadowed by their big brother. It’s good to have them all together in one package if for no other reason than curiosity’s sake. Who knows; a person familiar only with the Third might soon find a new favorite among the others.