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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Until the 1980s when Chandos came out with their series of CDs with music of Sir Hamilton Harty, my only association with his name was as the arranger of bits and bobs of Handel that would occasionally feature in the programs of my provincial American hometown orchestra, always labeled as by 'Handel-Harty.' Then I became familiar, via the Chandos recordings, of a couple of the pieces included here -- the Comedy Overture and the Piano Concerto, the latter played by Malcolm Binns. Those recordings were by the Ulster Orchestra as here, but under the direction of Bryden Thomson. Those recordings -- along with his Irish Symphony -- let me know that Harty's expert orchestrations sounded more Russian than English and that his music was unfailingly tuneful, and that the music had more than a tinge of an Irish brogue.
The 1906 Comedy Overture is a brisk, bustling, good-humored romp -- only later does one realize that it is in fairly classic sonata-allegro form -- with a particularly beguiling lyrical second subject in the woodwinds. This performance is actually better than the Thomson-led recording if only because the Ulster Orchestra seems more confident here. (I still reocmmend that Chandos recording, though, because it contains Harty's 'Irish Symphony,' a performance that betters the competing rather too-fast version on an earlier Naxos CD.)
'Fantasy Scenes (from an Eastern Romance)' is a negligible effort, although again one marvels at Harty's abilities as an orchestrator. Musically, though, it is a pale imitation of the then-exotic Eastern sound captured by composers like Rimsky-Korsakov and Stravinsky. There is some embarrassingly trite hootchy-kootchy music that is hard to listen to. Ketelbey did it better. The performance, though, is expert.
Peter Donohoe, well into his valuable ongoing project of recording British piano concertos, is a bankable commodity in anything he plays. I loved his recording of the Second Concerto of the obscure Mancunian composer, Thomas Pitfield., and I can hardly wait to hear his just-released recording of the John Foulds concerto, 'Dynamic Triptych.' The Harty concerto takes its musical gestures from the Tchaikovsky/Rachmaninoff school and although not rising quite to their level, is an entirely pleasant concoction. I particularly liked the lyrical second movement with its Chopinesque filigree and dramatic brass interjections. The third movement is a rumbustious Irish jig with quotations of 'The Wearin' of the Green.' This strikes me as a better performance than the concerto's previous recording with pianist Malcolm Binns, although I must admit that in the confusion of a recent move I've not been able to find the Binns CD to make a direct comparison.
Sound is good, the playing of the Ulster Orchestra under Takuo Yuasa is excellent, and for the piano concerto this is the one to have.
Scott Morrison
The 1906 Comedy Overture is a brisk, bustling, good-humored romp -- only later does one realize that it is in fairly classic sonata-allegro form -- with a particularly beguiling lyrical second subject in the woodwinds. This performance is actually better than the Thomson-led recording if only because the Ulster Orchestra seems more confident here. (I still reocmmend that Chandos recording, though, because it contains Harty's 'Irish Symphony,' a performance that betters the competing rather too-fast version on an earlier Naxos CD.)
'Fantasy Scenes (from an Eastern Romance)' is a negligible effort, although again one marvels at Harty's abilities as an orchestrator. Musically, though, it is a pale imitation of the then-exotic Eastern sound captured by composers like Rimsky-Korsakov and Stravinsky. There is some embarrassingly trite hootchy-kootchy music that is hard to listen to. Ketelbey did it better. The performance, though, is expert.
Peter Donohoe, well into his valuable ongoing project of recording British piano concertos, is a bankable commodity in anything he plays. I loved his recording of the Second Concerto of the obscure Mancunian composer, Thomas Pitfield., and I can hardly wait to hear his just-released recording of the John Foulds concerto, 'Dynamic Triptych.' The Harty concerto takes its musical gestures from the Tchaikovsky/Rachmaninoff school and although not rising quite to their level, is an entirely pleasant concoction. I particularly liked the lyrical second movement with its Chopinesque filigree and dramatic brass interjections. The third movement is a rumbustious Irish jig with quotations of 'The Wearin' of the Green.' This strikes me as a better performance than the concerto's previous recording with pianist Malcolm Binns, although I must admit that in the confusion of a recent move I've not been able to find the Binns CD to make a direct comparison.
Sound is good, the playing of the Ulster Orchestra under Takuo Yuasa is excellent, and for the piano concerto this is the one to have.
Scott Morrison
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Hamilton Harty's music is immediately accessible, well-crafted, and does not deserve the neglect it has largely fallen into.I was therefore looking forward to this latest Naxos release: spreading the word, if you like. Unfortunately, despite my general admiration for Peter Donohoe, as far as the 'meat' of this CD is concerned, the performance of the piano concerto is a severe disappointment- not because of the technical accomplishment of the soloist, which is never in doubt, but through a perverse interpretation which does not allow the concerto to demonstrate its true colours.
The sad fact is that this reading of the score is taken at a hectic pace which does not allow the fine melodic writing any space to breathe, highlights weaknesses in the orchestral ensemble and misses so much of the filigree detail. The recording is a full seven minutes shorter than the classic Malcolm Binns performance on Chandos and the outer movements are blurred at speed: what makes sense in Binns' account appears bizarre here.
Strange that the Ulster Orchestra appears in both outings for this piece.
My rating would have been much lower had it not been for the quality of the recording and the orchestral playing in the accompanying Comedy Overture and Fantasy Scenes, both of which contain vivid and enjoyable music.
All in all, a lost opportunity.
The sad fact is that this reading of the score is taken at a hectic pace which does not allow the fine melodic writing any space to breathe, highlights weaknesses in the orchestral ensemble and misses so much of the filigree detail. The recording is a full seven minutes shorter than the classic Malcolm Binns performance on Chandos and the outer movements are blurred at speed: what makes sense in Binns' account appears bizarre here.
Strange that the Ulster Orchestra appears in both outings for this piece.
My rating would have been much lower had it not been for the quality of the recording and the orchestral playing in the accompanying Comedy Overture and Fantasy Scenes, both of which contain vivid and enjoyable music.
All in all, a lost opportunity.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
At last, Northern Ireland's greatest composer (after the late Howard Ferguson) gets the calibre of professional committment he deserves. Donohoe has done yet another outstanding job by virtue of his effortless virtuosity and sharp musical intelligence. This man is surely underrated in Britain. The Harty concerto is a big-boned Romantic beast with a certain Tchaikovskian flavour and more than a hint of Irish melancholy. There is nothing offensive to the ear here - I recommend this lovely work Harty-ily!!
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