Bamert

Another superb addition to Matthias Bamert's splendid series of recordings with the BBC Philharmonic of the orchestral music of Ernst von Dohnányi, this 2004 disc brings together three concerted works from the composer's early years in Tallahassee, FL. But although they were composed between 1946 and 1952, the Piano Concerto No. 2, the Violin Concerton No. 2, and the Concertino for harp and chamber orchestra all sound as if they could have been written between 1896 and 1914 in Budapest, Hungary: although war and fascism had driven Dohnányi from his place and time, it did not drive from him his place and time. Indeed, the works on this disc are just as tuneful and romantic as Dohnányi's earlier works and anyone who enjoyed them will enjoy these.

At a time when Schoenberg and Stravinsky were thought of as opposite poles, Roberto Gerhard was combining the density of the one with the dynamism of the other in a wholly personal synthesis. You can hear this in the Piano Concerto's mood swings from the dark and brooding to, in the finale, a Spanish take-off that Chabrier would have thought off the wall. Gerhard's 1960s music is in-your-face modernism that holds you in its grasp, embracing sound with an enthusiasm that remains inspirational today. Listen to the tape part of the Third Symphony–a cut-and-paste job that trounces most of the computer-music generation in its imagination and feeling for what's possible. Epithalamion features material originally intended for, of all things, Lindsay Anderson's film This Sporting Life. Not that its impact is any less than coherent; the percussion writing alone has a fantasy that will keep you entranced. Well prepared performances, superbly recorded. This is still music of the future.

This is the second issue in the Chandos cycle of Parry's orchestral and choral works in which Matthias Bamert is conducting the London Philharmonic. It is splendid to hear this neglected music so sensitively and enthusiastically interpreted by a non-British conductor. Although two of the works on this disc—the Fifth Symphony and the Elegy for Brahms—have been previously recorded for EMI in 1978 by Boult with the same orchestra (11/87—nla), I have no hesitation in declaring that these are finer performances and interpretations. Boult loved Parry's music, but Bamert finds more passion and mystery in it. Sir Adrian seemed more concerned with its structure, trusting that the emotion would emerge of its own accord, as no doubt it would have done if he had been younger and fitter when he made his recording.

This is the second issue in the Chandos cycle of Parry's orchestral and choral works in which Matthias Bamert is conducting the London Philharmonic. It is splendid to hear this neglected music so sensitively and enthusiastically interpreted by a non-British conductor. Although two of the works on this disc—the Fifth Symphony and the Elegy for Brahms—have been previously recorded for EMI in 1978 by Boult with the same orchestra (11/87—nla), I have no hesitation in declaring that these are finer performances and interpretations. Boult loved Parry's music, but Bamert finds more passion and mystery in it. Sir Adrian seemed more concerned with its structure, trusting that the emotion would emerge of its own accord, as no doubt it would have done if he had been younger and fitter when he made his recording.

Dohnányi's penchant for quality musical entertainment bore popular fruit with his perennially fresh Variations on a Nursery Theme. Howard Shelley's performance is a model of wit and style, blending in with the orchestra whenever the moment seems right and employing an ideal brand of rubato. Bamert's conducting is properly portentous in the Introduction and charming elsewhere, whether in the musicbox delights of the fifth variation, the animated bustle of the sixth or the seventh's novel scoring (plenty for the bassoons and bass drum).

The best-selling Contemporaries of Mozart series is one of Chandos’ longest-running recording projects and we are delighted to add a selection of symphonies by the Salzburg composer Leopold Mozart to the collection. Conducted by Matthias Bamert and the London Mozart Players, the broad range of Leopold’s symphonic style is on clear display in the charming symphonies recorded here. All the works are recorded for the first time.

The pioneering Chandos recordings of Parry’s symphonies by Matthias Bamert and the London Philharmonic confirmed that the concert world of Victorian England was not just a void waiting to be filled by Elgar. More than one expressive vein considered typically Elgarian was first tapped by Parry, and extended by him with professional flair. His symphonies established an independent vision, and cannot be dismissed as mere precursors of a greater composer.

Chandos’ first disc of orchestral music by Cornelis Dopper was very enjoyable, but this is better still. The Third Symphony, subtitled “Rembrandt” (apparently for no particular reason), enjoys the virtue of brevity. Composed in 1904/05, its opening may remind listeners of Elgar, and it’s every bit as good: stately, a bit foursquare, rich strings backed by harp. However, once the allegro gets going there’s no looking back as Bamert and his orchestra attack the music with unbridled gusto. The Andante features some gorgeous writing for solo winds backed by harp; the scherzo is an earthy sort of country dance; and the finale, though it ends triumphantly, spends most of its time exploring surprisingly delicate, nocturnal moods, with particularly Romantic soft brass fanfares echoing through the texture. It’s all over in 29 very pleasant minutes.

Matthias Bamert’s Contemporaries of Mozart project is one of Chandos’ longest-running and most successful recording series. Mozart’s unquestionable genius has tended to eclipse the work of many otherwise excellent composers who were writing at the same time as he. Often successful in their day, many of these composers fell into neglect over subsequent decades and were in some cases almost forgotten. Matthias Bamert has shown just how rich this area of the repertoire is, and each of his CDs received superb critical acclaim.