Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A fine compilation of Rawsthorne's chamber works, 10 Sep 2000
By A Customer
Rawsthorne's music is undergoing a renaissance of sorts as far as recorded performances are concerned. In the concert hall, forget it! He has been consigned to the forgotten tonal composers of the mid-20th century by the powers-that-be still reigning at BBC Radio 3 and timid concert hall promoters, and would be considered far too difficult for Classic FM. In short, too approachable for the purists, too difficult for the conservatives. Although in his later years he used the serial techniques (of Shoenberg) to a greater or lesser degree, they were always subject to the overall dominance of tonality. So if you go no further than Tchiakovsky, this music could seem difficult - but not too difficult. If you like the piano concertos of Bartok, there will be no problem. His is a highly individual voice and you will find it in abundance on this fine disc. The finest work in my opinion is the Concerto for Ten Instruments (1961) - a string quintet, including double bass, and a wind quintet. It is beautifully written. A joyful 1st movement gives way to a soulful Andante poco doloroso, reminiscent of Holst's Neptune at one point. A rhythmical 3rd movement, then the final lento sostenuto beginning with a chord gradually built up by all the instruments in succession and then followed by beautiful contrapuntal writing and silvery harmonies. Listen to the magical opening of the Suite for flute, viola and harp (1968). Why, one asks, is this not played as a companion piece to Debussy's famous sonata? This is imaginative writing of the highest order. All the other works are late except for the Sonatina for flute, oboe and piano (1936). They are all worth exploring. The performances are excellent and we should be indebted to Naxos for bringing us this repertoire.....
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A fine compilation of Rawsthorne's chamber works, 10 Sep 2000
By A Customer
Rawsthorne's music is undergoing a renaissance of sorts as far as recorded performances are concerned. In the concert hall, forget it! He has been consigned to the forgotten tonal composers of the mid-20th century by the powers-that-be still reigning at BBC Radio 3 and timid concert hall promoters, and would be considered far too difficult for Classic FM. In short, too approachable for the purists, too difficult for the conservatives. Although in his later years he used the serial techniques (of Shoenberg) to a greater or lesser degree, they were always subject to the overall dominance of tonality. So if you go no further than Tchiakovsky, this music could seem difficult - but not too difficult. If you like the piano concertos of Bartok, there will be no problem. His is a highly individual voice and you will find it in abundance on this fine disc. The finest work in my opinion is the Concerto for Ten Instruments (1961) - a string quintet, including double bass, and a wind quintet. It is beautifully written. A joyful 1st movement gives way to a soulful Andante poco doloroso, reminiscent of Holst's Neptune at one point. A rhythmical 3rd movement, then the final lento sostenuto beginning with a chord gradually built up by all the instruments in succession and then followed by beautiful contrapuntal writing and silvery harmonies. All the other works are late except for the Sonatina for flute, oboe and piano (1936). They are all worth exploring. The performances are excellent and we should be indebted to Naxos for bringing us this repertoire...
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