Knussen Conducts Knussen

I think that this would be one of the 5 CDs I would want to take along with me. For those unaware of British conductor/composer Oliver Knussen's precocious beginnings--he conducted the London Symphony in his Symphony No. 1 at age 15. Perhaps a "modern day Mozart" might be too strong, because it would imply a prolific amount of work (compositions) to show for it: but 'wunderkind' will do. Decades later, admirers of his work eagerly await the next masterpiece. His music simply 'sparkles' The listener is confronted with a density of melodic ideas (similar to polyphonic and polyrhythmic lines of Elliott Carter). While Carter's music can seem 'too much' for the ears to confront, Knussen's keen orchestration is so clear and lucid that in spite of the many lines going on, you can follow any and/or all at the same time. The disc opener "Fireworks with Flourish" is a kaleidoscopic fanfare unrivaled in contemporary music. Based on the "Feu d'Artifice" of Stravinsky, listening to them back to back one can hear hints peaking through the surface and texture of the Knussen, but he still retains his own compositional voice. My other favorite is the first of the Whitman Settings, for soprano and orchestra, "A Noiseless Patient Spider" sung exquisitely by Lucy Shelton. What can I say, Knussen's command of the orchestra is everywhere evident. He can have the full orchestra blasting different musical lines against the soprano, but she can ALWAYS be heard and understood. It is a must-have disc. If you are a listener curious what is being written in the here-and-now, but were never sure what to buy. This would be one of the best discs to purchase.

One just wishes there were more Knussen cds. All of the works on this disc are gems. The music snaps, dazzles, celebrates. But the Horn Concerto is the center piece of the disc, a 14-minute inspiration balancing the distant sonority of Barry Tuckwell's Horn against the closer, more rapid orchestral flurries. You'll come back to this work again and again. Knussen's a great conductor, but I wish he'd conduct less and compose more.

I certainly hope Deutsche Grammophon's release of Knussen's two Sendak operas have enjoyed real success, for those were absolutely marvelous works that would deserve any success they might have. Newcomers to the composer may be advised to start there. Although there are many fascinating, superb things on this disc, it may easily strike one more as a collection of (albeit brilliant and glittering) chips from the composer's workbench than anything really substantial. To a certain extent this may reflect the composer's artistic outlook, and Knussen appears to have expressed a preference for minutely wrought, exquisitely detailed masterworks, often with a certain playful, quirky nature, and certainly plenty of color. Certainly the composer most often brought to mind is Ravel, and that would be the Ravel of L'Enfant et les sortileges.

Flourish with Fireworks is a short(ish) showpiece for orchestra, inspired by Stravinsky's Fireworks and consisting of small, ingenious and brilliant variations set over a fairly complex rhythmic pattern that may initially sound chaotic but is pretty clever - the most remarkable thing here is nevertheless the wonderful scoring. It is followed by a small set of orchestral excerpts from "Higglety Pigglety Pop", a superbly crafted kaleidoscope of colors though not as effective on its own as it is in the opera. I am, perhaps, less sure about the Two Organa; Knussen takes the basis in medieval plainchant and toys around with it in various complex ways, though if there really is a point to it I am not sure I get it.

The horn concerto for Barry Tuckwell is glittering and atmospheric, stylistically reminiscent of Britten (though with Ravel not far away either); it is music of flittering shadows and evanescent lights, though with momentum and surging power as well as poetry. It is a fascinating work, and certainly one that it is worth returning to. The enchanting Music for a Puppet Court is based on a puzzle canon by John Lloyd but subjected to Knussen's wide-ranging and quirky imagination. The results are fragile, delicate and glittering. As for the Walt Whitman settings, they constitute another set of miniatures - brief impressions or snapshots expressed in three very brief poems, with orchestral color sketches supplied by the composer. To a certain extent they strike me as just more of the same, however, and not quite on the level of the best works on this disc (though there are still details to be fascinated by).

"... upon one note" is a tribute to Purcell for clarinet, violin, viola, cello and piano and is, as one might suspect, a fantasia on Purcell's fantasia - it is a piece of huge fun and, once again, glittering detail. It is impeccably performed, as is all the works on this disc; the London Sinfonietta conducted by the composer is clearly on top form, as is Barry Tuckwell in the concerto. Some may find Lucy Shelton's soprano in the Whitman settings a little too free with the text in favor of creating a rich sound, but overall I am not going to complain too much. The sound is excellent as well. In sum, then, while not really a disc to investigate the composer at his best there is still plenty of remarkable music here - on a small scale, to be sure, and not all of it strikes me as equally successful, but this is a disc for anyone who are able to enjoy colorful and listener-friendly though not simple contemporary music.