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Britten: Cello Symphony, Symphonic Suite From Gloriana, Four Sea Interludes [CD]

Edward Gardner Audio CD
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Recognised as one of the most talented conductors of his generation, Edward Gardner began his tenure as Music Director of English National Opera in May 2007 with a critically acclaimed new production of Britten’s Death in Venice. Under his direction, the ENO has presented a series of stellar productions, including Damnation of Faust, Boris Godunov, Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci, ... Read more in Amazon's Edward Gardner Store

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Britten: Cello Symphony, Symphonic Suite From Gloriana, Four Sea Interludes + Britten: The Turn of the Screw
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Product details

  • Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Conductor: Edward Gardner
  • Composer: Benjamin Britten
  • Audio CD (28 Feb 2011)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Chandos
  • ASIN: B004LHOZYA
  • Other Editions: MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 78,497 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

1. Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68 Four Sea Interludes, Op. 33a from Peter Grimes - Paul Watkins/BBC Philharmonic
2. Symphonic Suite, Op. 53a from Gloriana - Paul Watkins/BBC Philharmonic

Product Description

Review

This is one of the best discs of his orchestral music to have come my way in recent years and I recommend it warmly --IRR,Mar'11

Watkins is an interpreter of compelling seriousness,whose musical understanding operates at a profound level.As the cadenza unfolds,and the cello's broadening arpeggios emerge into the sunlight of the finale,accompanied by a glorious,glistening trumpet,one realises he and Gardiner have created not just a great climax,but a truly symphonic collaboration. Performance ***** Recording ***** DISC OF THE MONTH --BBC Music Magazine,Apr'11

Britten's Gloriana, on the life of Elizabeth I, has never established itself in the opera house, but it's full of wonderful music. Gardner and the BBC Philharmonic bring out the melancholy undertow and the textural subtlety lurking under the music's ceremonial surface. The performance of the Cello Symphony with Paul Watkins is similarly sensitive --Daily Telegraph 25/03/11

Gardiner's operatic experience tells in a truly theatrical suite from Gloriana. --Gramophone,May'11

Product Description

Suite symphonique de "Gloriana", op.53a - Symphonie pour violoncelle & orchestre, op.68 - Four Sea Interludes de "Peter Grimes", op.33a / Robert Murray, ténor - Paul Watkins, violoncelle - BBC Philharmonic - Edward Gardner, direction

Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars EXCITING BRITTEN FROM THE NEXT GENERATION 5 Jun 2011
By Klingsor Tristan TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Gloriana has always been the waif and stray among Britten's operas. Savaged at the time of its premiere by a regiment of critics determined to bring the young upstart down a peg or two and greeted with indifference by a first-night audience there to be seen rather than to listen, it has always struggled to find a place in the repertoire or in the discography of Britten operas. Even Colin Graham's great production at ENO in the early 70's failed to revitalise it as was expected at the time. Quite why it has remained a relative failure with only one complete recording and comparatively few subsequent productions to its name remains a mystery. At least to me. It's filled with music that shows Britten at the top of his game and the balance of public and private scenes is handled with great dexterity. The Choral Dances and Essex's 2nd Lute Song, both from Act 2, get an occasional airing and that's about it.

Britten was deeply hurt by its reception, but drew an orchestral suite from the material to try and get more exposure of its fine music. Curiously enough, like the proverbial buses, two recordings of this Suite have appeared close on each other's heels. One conducted by the composer himself in 1956 for German Southwest Radio and now this one. The Suite consists of most of the first scene with the choral interjections from the Tilting Ground given to the brass and the conversation between Essex and Cuffe cut with no loss to the musical fabric. It ends with the first appearance of the hymn to Gloriana, `Green Leaves are We', given to the strings. Essex's more familiar 2nd Lute Song follows, sung here with Pears-like tone by Robert Murray.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars 4 Sea Interludes 1 Sep 2011
By Philip Chadwick VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
One of my favourite pieces of music is the suite from Peter Grimes and this is an excellent version - add to this the cello symphony with the estimable Paul Watkins and you already have a cd worth buying, but then there is also (a new discovery for me) the Gloriana Suite!
You really need no further reasons to buy this - wonderful music superbly performed (and a lovely photograph on the cover used to promote the Aldeburgh Festival).
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Four Sea Interludes 13 Dec 2012
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Great orchestral balance and clarity from each section of the orchestra.

Fantastic playing by a great orchestra and a very accurate interpretation.
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7 of 17 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars To much ado, I bid adieux 25 April 2011
Format:Audio CD
At the urging of an Amazon friend, I composed a list of the top 100 composers a few years back. The list was based on the number of pages each composer was represented by in three musicological books -- The Penguin Guide to Classical Music, All Music Guide to Classical Music and Ewen's Musical Masterworks from 1953. I selected these books because they were readily available, did not give preference to composers from any single country, and because they did not necessarily represent only our current time.

The most shocking finding to me in this survey, by far, was Benjamin Britten coming in at No. 20 in the list, right behind Ravel and in front of Chopin. Perhaps becaue I am American, I never considered him a composer of such rank, and never did I pay sufficient attention to his music until that time came. Since then, I have dabbled widely in Britten's music, beginning with the War Requiem, Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Simply Symphony, the Violin Concerto, Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Sinfonia de Requiem, A Ceremony of Carols, Peter Grimes, Billy Budd and the music represented on this recording, which includes the sea interludes (shorn of the passacaglia) from Peter Grimes, which I think are probably his most well-known orchestral pieces to music fans.

If you don't know, this recording has been accepted critically as little less than a holy grail of Britten's orchestral music.
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