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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Naxos have been doing Alberto Ginastera proud in recent times with excellent recordings of both chamber and orchestral works. Following on from the release - or re release of the original Conifer recording of the complete ballets Panambi and Estancia we are treated to world premiere suites from both. There are more well known suites compiled by the composer but Giselle Ben-Dor has compiled these in a way that provides more balance and reflection of the ballets drama rather than a few fiery showpiece dances. This works very well: it is not, as was suggested on the MusicWeb, a re release of a few numbers from the full ballet recordings.
Panambi, Ginastera's first published work, a folk based tale with plenty of darkness and savagery. The music combines elements of Bartok's Miraculous Mandarin, Stravinsky's Rite and Revueltas' Night of the Mayas. To be fair the Revueltas piece came after the Ginastera.
I would have liked this to have been the opening piece on the disc because it would have flanked his final work - Popol Vuh; a work inspired by the Mayan myth of creation. In spirit, though at opposite ends of Ginastera's career, they occupy the same world. Popol Vuh is in a much more "advanced" atonal language but given the often percussive dominance in Panambi that doesn't make for much difference. Both seem to alternate between night music, mystery and convulsive power. It's worth noting that Popol Vuh was left incomplete by Ginastera at his death but was only missing one movement out of nine so this still amounts to a very powerful, substantial and convincing work.
The Estancia Suite, whilst beginning and ending with the same showpieces, is enhanced by adding a slow movement and swapping an alternative quick third movement, giving it a balanced Bartokian fast-slow-fast-slow-fast structure. Estancia, whilst based on Argentine culture is more Coplandesque and extrovert. The Ollantay suite returns to the native Indian theme but is generally more gentle and lyrical than Panambi and Popol Vuh: it's a work that is more approachable than those two and deserves to be heard more often.
Finally, the Five native Argentina Dances act as light relief, orchestrated for this recording from Ginastera piano pieces, by Shimon Cohen.
As a compilation this is terrific. My only reservation, and hardly an insurmountable one for listeners, is the order of the works - I would have preferred Panambi to open the recording followed by Ollantay then Estancia, the Five Dances then finish with the dark power of Popol Vuh. It's easy to arrange that when playing them so it's not an issue.
Having Estancia and Panambi in these new suites is a great bonus because although the full ballets are available they, like nearly all other ballets, are enhanced by picking the key moments into a suite. Giselle Ben-Dor has chosen very wisely and outdone the composer in her choice of pieces.
The recorded sound is outstandingly clear and spacious throughout (you might want to turn the volume up a bit to get the full impact though) and I cannot find anything to criticise about these fine performances. The performances and sound quality are remarkably consistent given the fact that these are by three orchestras in three different locations: LSO at Abbey Road; Jerusalem SO in Jerusalem and the BBC Wales SO at Broadcasting House in Cardiff: A remarkable achievement.
For a first introduction to Ginastera's orchestral music this is the ideal place to start - a marvellous programme, lovingly performed in terrific sound at a budget price. Thanks to the Naxos series of Ginastera works, I've gone from being merely curious about his works to being an out and out fan - he was a major voice in twentieth century music. Highly recommended.
Panambi, Ginastera's first published work, a folk based tale with plenty of darkness and savagery. The music combines elements of Bartok's Miraculous Mandarin, Stravinsky's Rite and Revueltas' Night of the Mayas. To be fair the Revueltas piece came after the Ginastera.
I would have liked this to have been the opening piece on the disc because it would have flanked his final work - Popol Vuh; a work inspired by the Mayan myth of creation. In spirit, though at opposite ends of Ginastera's career, they occupy the same world. Popol Vuh is in a much more "advanced" atonal language but given the often percussive dominance in Panambi that doesn't make for much difference. Both seem to alternate between night music, mystery and convulsive power. It's worth noting that Popol Vuh was left incomplete by Ginastera at his death but was only missing one movement out of nine so this still amounts to a very powerful, substantial and convincing work.
The Estancia Suite, whilst beginning and ending with the same showpieces, is enhanced by adding a slow movement and swapping an alternative quick third movement, giving it a balanced Bartokian fast-slow-fast-slow-fast structure. Estancia, whilst based on Argentine culture is more Coplandesque and extrovert. The Ollantay suite returns to the native Indian theme but is generally more gentle and lyrical than Panambi and Popol Vuh: it's a work that is more approachable than those two and deserves to be heard more often.
Finally, the Five native Argentina Dances act as light relief, orchestrated for this recording from Ginastera piano pieces, by Shimon Cohen.
As a compilation this is terrific. My only reservation, and hardly an insurmountable one for listeners, is the order of the works - I would have preferred Panambi to open the recording followed by Ollantay then Estancia, the Five Dances then finish with the dark power of Popol Vuh. It's easy to arrange that when playing them so it's not an issue.
Having Estancia and Panambi in these new suites is a great bonus because although the full ballets are available they, like nearly all other ballets, are enhanced by picking the key moments into a suite. Giselle Ben-Dor has chosen very wisely and outdone the composer in her choice of pieces.
The recorded sound is outstandingly clear and spacious throughout (you might want to turn the volume up a bit to get the full impact though) and I cannot find anything to criticise about these fine performances. The performances and sound quality are remarkably consistent given the fact that these are by three orchestras in three different locations: LSO at Abbey Road; Jerusalem SO in Jerusalem and the BBC Wales SO at Broadcasting House in Cardiff: A remarkable achievement.
For a first introduction to Ginastera's orchestral music this is the ideal place to start - a marvellous programme, lovingly performed in terrific sound at a budget price. Thanks to the Naxos series of Ginastera works, I've gone from being merely curious about his works to being an out and out fan - he was a major voice in twentieth century music. Highly recommended.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A useful collection of Ginastera orchestral music
28 July 2010
Format:Audio CD
It's interesting how many of the orchestral scores of the very greatest Latin American composers were written for the ballet. The Brazilian Villa-Lobos wrote more than a few, as did the Mexicans Carlos Chavez & Silvestre Revueltas, and most of these works are of very high quality. But perhaps the most impressive ballet scores come from the Argentine composer Alberta Ginastera. This disc includes a wide range of ballet scores, from the first, Panambi, op. 1, to his very last work, Popol Vuh, left unfinished at his death in 1982. As well, this fine new Naxos disc includes an extended suite from one of Ginastera's finest works, Estancia, a nostalgic evocation of the fast-disappearing gauchesco world; the Suite de Danzas Criollas, in a new orchestration by Shimon Cohen; and Ollantay, a post-war score based on an Incan poem.
As with the recently-released Naxos disc of Revueltas music, we have here a collection of fairly recent and older recordings from various orchestras, all conducted by the excellent conductor Gisele Ben-Dor. Naxos has packaged 1997-2006 recordings made in Wales, Israel, and Abbey Road, though there are unfortunate overlaps with other CDs. Still, at a bargain price this may not be a major disadvantage.
For me the most interesting work here is Popol Vuh: The Mayan Creation. The original commission for the work, from Eugene Ormandy & the Philadelphia Orchestra, goes back to 1957, though Ginastera didn't begin work on the piece until the early 1980s. It's interesting that Ginastera should have set Popul Vuh for his ballet, since this is the same text used by Edgard Varese in his avant-garde classic Ecuatorial (1933). While Ginastera's music isn't as cutting edge, these creation stories have called forth some of his most impressive orchestral sounds. That's saying a lot, since Ginastera is a master of the orchestral palette.
Once again we tip our hats to Gisele Ben-Dor, and hope that she's in the recording studio again soon, with more premiere performances of such great Latin-American music.
As with the recently-released Naxos disc of Revueltas music, we have here a collection of fairly recent and older recordings from various orchestras, all conducted by the excellent conductor Gisele Ben-Dor. Naxos has packaged 1997-2006 recordings made in Wales, Israel, and Abbey Road, though there are unfortunate overlaps with other CDs. Still, at a bargain price this may not be a major disadvantage.
For me the most interesting work here is Popol Vuh: The Mayan Creation. The original commission for the work, from Eugene Ormandy & the Philadelphia Orchestra, goes back to 1957, though Ginastera didn't begin work on the piece until the early 1980s. It's interesting that Ginastera should have set Popul Vuh for his ballet, since this is the same text used by Edgard Varese in his avant-garde classic Ecuatorial (1933). While Ginastera's music isn't as cutting edge, these creation stories have called forth some of his most impressive orchestral sounds. That's saying a lot, since Ginastera is a master of the orchestral palette.
Once again we tip our hats to Gisele Ben-Dor, and hope that she's in the recording studio again soon, with more premiere performances of such great Latin-American music.
Explosive symphonic spectaculars
14 Oct 2011
Format:Audio CD
I got to know Ginastera's Estancia, likely his best known work, ages ago on an LP with recordings conducted by Enrico Batiz. At that time it didn't make a lasting impression. But this CD surprised me with an unexpected level of compositional skill and refinement. Another feature that took me by surprise is the jaw-dropping energy that the female conductor of Israeli extraction Gisèle Ben-Dor brings to the performance of these pieces. Particularly in the two ballet suites - Panambia op. 1 and Estancia op. 8 - the London Symphony Orchestra seem to be at the very edge of their seats!
Stylistically, these pieces oscillate between athletic primitivism and a poignant, rustic lyricism à la Copland (with whom Ginastera studied). They are symphonic spectaculars in the true sense of the word, featuring an abundance of explosive rhythms and memorable tunes. What also strikes is Ginastera's fantastic mastery of the orchestra, even in his op. 1 which he wrote at the tender age of 20.
In addition to the ballet suites the CD includes three orchestral works that feature an interesting stylistic palette. The Suite of Native Dances op. 15 is very short and probably the least memorable of the package. Ollantay (A Symphonic Tryptich), op. 17, inspired by Incan lore, is much more substantial. Here the colours are muted and the symphonic argument more differentiated than in the suites. The most notable piece on this CD is the unfinished opus Popol Vuh: The Mayan Creation, op. 44. Allegedly this was a commission by Eugene Ormandy which Ginastera was very slow to take up and eventually he continued to work on it for almost 20 years. It was still unfinished by the time of his death in 1983. But 8 of the 9 planned sections were performable and the premiere took place in 1989 by Leonard Slatkin and the St Louis Symphony. Popol Vuh is a 25 minute orchestral fantasy that is a cross between, say, Varèse and Ravel. The Mayan creation is depicted as a sequence of expressionistic orchestral tableaux that ascend from the depths of The Everlasting Night to the Dawn of Mankind. There are no great tunes and punchy rhythms here, but there is no denying that this piece provides evidence of an unflagging creativity and an unbroken musical imagination.
Popol Vuh and Ollantay are very capably performed by the BBC Welsh Orchestra with Ben-Dor at the helm. Although the CD collates recordings with different orchestras and venues, the sonic picture is remarkably consistent. The sound is rather resonant, with fairly good bass and mid-range but a mushy top end. As a result in the most frenzied tuttis the orchestra tends to shrink into a blur. But I'm not complaining as this CD has given me a good deal of listening pleasure.
Stylistically, these pieces oscillate between athletic primitivism and a poignant, rustic lyricism à la Copland (with whom Ginastera studied). They are symphonic spectaculars in the true sense of the word, featuring an abundance of explosive rhythms and memorable tunes. What also strikes is Ginastera's fantastic mastery of the orchestra, even in his op. 1 which he wrote at the tender age of 20.
In addition to the ballet suites the CD includes three orchestral works that feature an interesting stylistic palette. The Suite of Native Dances op. 15 is very short and probably the least memorable of the package. Ollantay (A Symphonic Tryptich), op. 17, inspired by Incan lore, is much more substantial. Here the colours are muted and the symphonic argument more differentiated than in the suites. The most notable piece on this CD is the unfinished opus Popol Vuh: The Mayan Creation, op. 44. Allegedly this was a commission by Eugene Ormandy which Ginastera was very slow to take up and eventually he continued to work on it for almost 20 years. It was still unfinished by the time of his death in 1983. But 8 of the 9 planned sections were performable and the premiere took place in 1989 by Leonard Slatkin and the St Louis Symphony. Popol Vuh is a 25 minute orchestral fantasy that is a cross between, say, Varèse and Ravel. The Mayan creation is depicted as a sequence of expressionistic orchestral tableaux that ascend from the depths of The Everlasting Night to the Dawn of Mankind. There are no great tunes and punchy rhythms here, but there is no denying that this piece provides evidence of an unflagging creativity and an unbroken musical imagination.
Popol Vuh and Ollantay are very capably performed by the BBC Welsh Orchestra with Ben-Dor at the helm. Although the CD collates recordings with different orchestras and venues, the sonic picture is remarkably consistent. The sound is rather resonant, with fairly good bass and mid-range but a mushy top end. As a result in the most frenzied tuttis the orchestra tends to shrink into a blur. But I'm not complaining as this CD has given me a good deal of listening pleasure.
6 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Wonderful ripoff - even at Naxos prices
7 July 2010
Format:Audio CD
This is a frustratingly marketed disc: seemingly for the Ginastera "completist" (though perhaps a listener who had caught "Malambo" on the radio and was curious to hear more from the great Argentine composer would also pick it up), fully one-third of the disc consists of previously (re)released material. The "casual" Ginestera listener (if such a creature exists) would be better served by the Naxos re-release (originally Conifer:Alberto Ginastera: Panambí (Ballet, 1937) / Estancia (Complete Ballet, 1941) - London Symphony Orchestra / Gisèle Ben-Dor) of Gisele Ben-Dor's marvelous "World Premiere" recording of the complete Estancia and Panambi ballet scores (Panambi Estancia).
And therein lies the problem, for the Ginastera completist will no-doubt already own that disc in one incarnation or the other. Fully 26 minutes of the present disc are excerpts from that very recording, re-fashioned as so-called "extended suites." The booklet notes go to great lengths (hubris, anyone?) to praise the superiority of these "extended" suites to those that the composer may have designed himself, and the gurus at Naxos (alas, how the mighty succumb to the illness of the marketing hordes) deign to place an asterisk next to them and proclaim them "World Premiere Recordings"!
By this logic, I could purchase the rights to some out-of-print recording of, say, Grieg's complete incidental music to Ibsen's Peer Gynt, drop a few movements here and there, and fashion my own "suite" from the remainder, claiming that it's the newest, most improved, "World Premiere Recording" of never-before-heard material. Of course any idiot who knows how to press the track advance button could will have stumbled upon a similar "suite."
And for that reason I'm deducting two stars from what should be a five-star review.
The remainder of this disc (about 46 minutes) - original release material as far as I can tell - is very well played and recorded. The now out-of print "World Premiere Recording" of Ginastera's final (and incomplete) work, Popol Vuh, that Slatkin recorded with the St. Louis SO (Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps; Ginastera: Popol Vuh; Haydn: The Creation: Representation of Chaos) is slightly superior, the eerie depths of the work brought out that much more fully (and the very creative Haydn and Stravinsky couplings make it well worth seeking out a used copy).
The true "World Premiere Recording" of Shimon Cohen's orchestration of the Suite de Danzas Criollas (compare with the original piano version: Ginastera: Complete Piano & Organ) and Ben-Dor's recording of Ollantay (the only work here I didn't already own a recording of - though there are three or four alternatives available here at Amazon.com), round out the disc.
If only Naxos had included a new recording of one of the Cello Concertos (the no-doubt informed but sometimes painfully out-of-tune recordings by the composer's widow beg for a better rendition), or Pampeana No.3, or Jubilum, or even more new orchestrations of Ginastera's chamber works, instead of the "extended suites," this would have been a most attractive disc. At least we can hope that the enterprising label will eventually bring us those works, having already recorded so much of Ginastera's oeuvre.
And therein lies the problem, for the Ginastera completist will no-doubt already own that disc in one incarnation or the other. Fully 26 minutes of the present disc are excerpts from that very recording, re-fashioned as so-called "extended suites." The booklet notes go to great lengths (hubris, anyone?) to praise the superiority of these "extended" suites to those that the composer may have designed himself, and the gurus at Naxos (alas, how the mighty succumb to the illness of the marketing hordes) deign to place an asterisk next to them and proclaim them "World Premiere Recordings"!
By this logic, I could purchase the rights to some out-of-print recording of, say, Grieg's complete incidental music to Ibsen's Peer Gynt, drop a few movements here and there, and fashion my own "suite" from the remainder, claiming that it's the newest, most improved, "World Premiere Recording" of never-before-heard material. Of course any idiot who knows how to press the track advance button could will have stumbled upon a similar "suite."
And for that reason I'm deducting two stars from what should be a five-star review.
The remainder of this disc (about 46 minutes) - original release material as far as I can tell - is very well played and recorded. The now out-of print "World Premiere Recording" of Ginastera's final (and incomplete) work, Popol Vuh, that Slatkin recorded with the St. Louis SO (Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps; Ginastera: Popol Vuh; Haydn: The Creation: Representation of Chaos) is slightly superior, the eerie depths of the work brought out that much more fully (and the very creative Haydn and Stravinsky couplings make it well worth seeking out a used copy).
The true "World Premiere Recording" of Shimon Cohen's orchestration of the Suite de Danzas Criollas (compare with the original piano version: Ginastera: Complete Piano & Organ) and Ben-Dor's recording of Ollantay (the only work here I didn't already own a recording of - though there are three or four alternatives available here at Amazon.com), round out the disc.
If only Naxos had included a new recording of one of the Cello Concertos (the no-doubt informed but sometimes painfully out-of-tune recordings by the composer's widow beg for a better rendition), or Pampeana No.3, or Jubilum, or even more new orchestrations of Ginastera's chamber works, instead of the "extended suites," this would have been a most attractive disc. At least we can hope that the enterprising label will eventually bring us those works, having already recorded so much of Ginastera's oeuvre.
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