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Customer Reviews
It's a mystery to me why the Britten Violin Concerto isn't played more. It's certainly equal to those of Prokofiev and Shostakovich (and shares with the latter's No. 1 the use of a massive passacaglia for one of its movements) and comes close to the Berg Concerto in my opinion. Written in 1938, the concerto is a serious work reflecting Britten's concerns about the situation in Europe; it was also written not long after he had heard the première of Berg's equally elegiac Violin Concerto. I have heard one previous recording of the concerto by Mark Lubotsky with orchestra conducted by Britten himself. (I believe Ida Haendel also recorded it, and that would probably be a marvelous performance, but I've not heard it.) Without question, Lorraine McAslan is more secure player than Lubotsky and additionally she brings a honeyed tone in the more lyrical passages and an astringent bite in those that are dramatic and desperate. The sound is much superior to that of the Lubotsky/Britten performance; however, the latter has been coupled with the Richter/Britten performance of the Piano Concerto and that is a definite plus, although I have quite liked Joanna MacGregor's more recent account of the Piano Concerto (also conducted by Bedford and re-released on Naxos.)
'Canadian Carnival' Overture is an early work, written while Britten and Pears were in Canada prior to settling in the US in 1939. It is a light piece, redolent of Copland's wide-open-spaces 'American' sound. It is rarely played but in this performance one wonders why. It would be a perfect concert opener, with its brash and optimistic tone. It contains an off-handed treatment of the Canadian folksong, 'Alouette,' at mid-point, and then returns to the opening trumpet fanfare idea in a massive climax. An entirely agreeable piece, not major Britten but worth hearing. And it is given a good performance here.
'Mont Juic: A Suite of Catalan Dances' was a joint effort of Britten and his friend, fellow-composer Lennox Berkeley. They wrote it in memory of a mutual friend who had died in an airplane crash in 1937. Berkeley wrote the first two movements, Britten the last two, although each had a hand in the orchestration and form of the others' movements. Each of the movements is brief -- the whole thing lasts only twelve minutes -- and is based on a collection of infectious Catalan folksongs. Again, not a major piece, but an enjoyable one.
The reason to buy this issue is the marvelous performance of the Violin Concerto.
Scott Morrison
It's a mystery to me why the Britten Violin Concerto isn't played more. It's certainly equal to those of Prokofiev and Shostakovich (and shares with the latter's No. 1 the use of a massive passacaglia for one of its movements) and comes close to the Berg Concerto in my opinion. Written in 1938, the concerto is a serious work reflecting Britten's concerns about the situation in Europe; it was also written not long after he had heard the première of Berg's equally elegiac Violin Concerto. I have heard one previous recording of the concerto by Mark Lubotsky with orchestra conducted by Britten himself. (I believe Ida Haendel also recorded it, and that would probably be a marvelous performance, but I've not heard it.) Without question, Lorraine McAslan is more secure player than Lubotsky and additionally she brings a honeyed tone in the more lyrical passages and an astringent bite in those that are dramatic and desperate. The sound is much superior to that of the Lubotsky/Britten performance; however, the latter has been coupled with the Richter/Britten performance of the Piano Concerto and that is a definite plus, although I have quite liked Joanna MacGregor's more recent account of the Piano Concerto (also conducted by Bedford and re-released on Naxos.)
'Canadian Carnival' Overture is an early work, written while Britten and Pears were in Canada prior to settling in the US in 1939. It is a light piece, redolent of Copland's wide-open-spaces 'American' sound. It is rarely played but in this performance one wonders why. It would be a perfect concert opener, with its brash and optimistic tone. It contains an off-handed treatment of the Canadian folksong, 'Alouette,' at mid-point, and then returns to the opening trumpet fanfare idea in a massive climax. An entirely agreeable piece, not major Britten but worth hearing. And it is given a good performance here.
'Mont Juic: A Suite of Catalan Dances' was a joint effort of Britten and his friend, fellow-composer Lennox Berkeley. They wrote it in memory of a mutual friend who had died in an airplane crash in 1937. Berkeley wrote the first two movements, Britten the last two, although each had a hand in the orchestration and form of the others' movements. Each of the movements is brief -- the whole thing lasts only twelve minutes -- and is based on a collection of infectious Catalan folksongs. Again, not a major piece, but an enjoyable one.
The reason to buy this issue is the marvelous performance of the Violin Concerto.
Scott Morrison
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