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Track Listings
| 1. Symphony No.4 "Nostalgic" - TPO/Klas |
| 2. Symphony No.5 "Fennica" - TPO/Klas |
| 3. The Great Wall of China - TPO/Klas |
Product Description
BBC Music Magazine
The spirit of Shostakovich permeates Englund's Fourth Symphony, written in 1976 and dedicated to the memory of an (unnamed) great composer. In the adagio first movement, scored for strings, there's the intensity and harmonic palette of the opening or slow movement of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, while in the second movement, tick-tock percussion and pizzicato strings are interrupted by side-drum rat-a-tats reminiscent of so many Shostakovich scherzos. The third movement, entitled 'Nostalgia', adds in Sibelius's Tapiola and Bach's Air on the G String, while in the finale, it's back to Shostakovich, with strong echoes of the First Cello Concerto in both melody and rhythm. Although the music steers clear of pastiche, I kept being distracted into thinking 'what was that?', rather than listening to what was there. There's none of this overt grave-robbing in the Fifth Symphony, a concentrated one-movement piece that was Englund's response to the Second World War, though there's something of the muscle of Stravinsky's Symphony in C. The Great Wall of China comes from incidental music for a surrealist play by Max Frisch, and here the elements of parody and quotation are deliberate and enjoyable: if you like the Jazz Suites by Shostakovich (here he is again) you'll love this.
Performance *****
Sound *****
© BBC Music Magazine 2001
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
On a Virgin Voyage with Einar Englund, 15 Sep 2008
By Moldyoldie - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Einar Englund: The Great Wall of China (Audio CD)
Finnish composer Einar Englund's Symphony No. 4 (1976) is in four movements, only one of which can be described as uptempo, which takes the listener on an emotional ride on orchestral strings with occasional respites emanating from a colorful plethora of percussion. This one presents some fascinating sounds and aural pictures evocative of time and remembrance. Englund quotes Sibelius's Tapiola in the movement labeled "Nostalgia" whence the symphony derives its sobriquet.
The single-movement Symphony No. 5 (1977) utilizes a full orchestra in evoking the composer's terrible WWII experiences in an alternating fast/slow/fast/slow sequence which is very reminiscent of Shostakovich's most harrowing and powerful symphonic utterances.
The eight-part The Great Wall of China (1949) is music for an obviously parodistic play which includes a rumba, a tango, jazz, gongs, and a "March a la Shostakovich" -- great fun!
The 24-bit recording is incredibly vivid and one can't imagine performances more committed or convincing. This is a composer definitely worth exploring further.
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