This release brings together three, very interesting rarities from the pen of one of the greatest symphonist of the twentieth-century, Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975).

Although The Execution of Stepan Razin is described as a symphonic poem for baritone, chorus and orchestra, it comes off more like a cantata with political overtones in somewhat the same way as Sergei Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky. Shostakovich used a poem by Yevgeny Yevtushenko for the text just as he had done two years earlier in his Babi Yar symphony (No. 13). Ostensibly it tells about the seventeenth-century, Cossack rebel Stepan Razin's unsuccessful revolt against Tsar Alexis I, who was the father of Peter the Great; but, with Shostakovich's music it becomes a celebration of the never-ending battle waged by the proletariat against brutal, repressive forces. Like the symphony it's a highly emotional piece with Russian, folk overtones. The music is extremely energetic, very colorfully orchestrated and boasts choral writing worthy of the Prokofiev mentioned above as well as Modeste Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.

The tone poem October, like his second and twelfth symphonies, commemorates the great, Russian Revolution that occurred in October 1917. While it may remind you in spots of other Soviet, symphonic, political potboilers, it's certainly several orders of magnitude better than the earlier of the aforementioned symphonies. Perspicacious listeners will detect similarities to his tenth symphony, which many think his best, and the "DSCH" (D-Eb-C-B) motif that he used so frequently.

The Five Fragments which end this concert are fascinating, squirrely scraps that were reportedly "practice runs" for his fourth symphony. Be that as it may, you'll find them delightfully playful, devil-may-care tidbits, which at times seem to be spoofing what many consider the "dodecacophony" dished up by the likes of Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg and Anton von Webern. Taken as a whole, this piece might easily be mistaken for a recently discovered, long lost, Shostakovich symphony written around the same time as his off-the-wall, valedictory fifteenth.

All of the performances are superb with bass-baritone Charles Austin in commanding voice and the Seattle Symphony Chorus and Orchestra under conductor Gerard Schwarz in top form.

Those who prefer a wetter (more reverberant) sound will find the recording quite spectacular.

One final thought. There are two, fairly recent, outstanding, boxed set releases of all fifteen symphonies that you should be aware of. One of them under conductor Rudolf Barshai should appeal to bargain hunters, while the other with Dmitri Kitayenko on the podium (see the newsletter of 16 Januray 2006), is in hybrid, CD(2)/SACD(2/5.1) format and guaranteed to give audiophiles a fearful earful. (P060330)

-- Bob McQuiston, Classical Lost and Found (CLOFO.com)

It's amazing that the name of Hungarian born Jeno Hubay (1858-1937) is not better known today when you consider what an influential violinist, conductor and prolific composer he was. In fact he founded the "Hungarian school" of violin playing and the list of his proteges reads like a "Who's Who" of famous fiddlers that includes such greats as conductor Eugene Ormandy, who began his career as a violinist, Joseph Szigeti, Sandor Vegh and Tibor Serly. This disc is certainly proof that he was also a truly great composer. The two concertos and suite included here are stunning discoveries and we have the Hyperion folks to thank for them in this their sixth "Romantic Violin Concerto" release.

Hubay first studied with Joseph Joachim and then Franz Liszt, but there is none of the former's dense, Brahmsian orchestration nor the latter's episodic, almost manic-depressive, mood swings to be found in these pieces. On the contrary there's a French fluidity that undoubtedly reflects the influence of Hubay's final teacher, and good friend, Henri Vieuxtemps. An endless, inspired melodic outpouring spiced with frequent, virtuosic a la Zingara touches assure you just about as tasty a paprikash as you've ever encountered. The influence of Magyar folk music is certainly evident, but in a more generalized, stylistic sense rather than the literal references to it found in the paprika-laced works of Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly.

The performances are superb and the sound is good making this disc a "must" for all romantics.

By the way, Hubay's remaining two violin concertos (numbers three and four) are available on the third volume of Hyperion's "Romantic Violin Concerto" series. You'll probably want to take a look at the other, four, previous releases in it too, because they're also well worth your attention. (P060329)

-- Bob McQuiston, Classical Lost and Found (CLOFO.com)

It never rains but it pours and this would seem to be the case for Swedish, modern music with the concurrent release of two discs featuring lesser known works of Kurt Atterberg (1887-1974) and a third with some by Bo Linde (see below).

he highlight on this CD of Atterberg's music for string orchestra is his thirty-minute Sinfonia per archi. That's what the composer called the 1959 arrangement of a string quintet he had written six years earlier. It's a major addition to the chamber music cannon and when you hear it you'll wonder why you haven't encountered it before now. There's a dramatic urgency, sense of foreboding and at times a wistfulness that oddly enough may remind you of Bernard Herrmann's magnificent suite for strings that he synthesized from his legendary score for the film Psycho. Do you suppose he knew and was inspired by the Atterberg?

Three shorter works follow. There's an Adagio amoroso for Violin and Strings, which certainly lives up to its name. Then comes an intermezzo that's somewhat in the spirit of Edward Grieg and made up of two stately sounding, outer sections surrounding an inner, pensive one. The third is a tiny, mournfully moving prelude and fugue.

The program concludes with his seventh suite, which he reworked from his incidental music for a Stockholm production of William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. All the drama of the original remains, and when one hears it, Jean Sibelius' considerable output for the stage is bound to come to mind.

Outstandingly sympathetic performances by the Camerata Nordica (formerly the Camerata Roman/Sweden) and good sound make this disc a winner.

By all means be sure you also check out the other Atterburg CD referred to above, which features his stunning violin concerto along with a couple of other wonderful orchestral discoveries (see the newsletter of 18 April 2007). (P060328)

-- Bob McQuiston, Classical Lost and Found (CLOFO.com)

This disc is just plain fun and a good time is guaranteed for all those feeling adventurous enough to try it. Sir Hamilton Harty (1879-1941) was probably better known as a famous concert pianist and conductor, but the fact remains he was also one of the greatest, Irish composers of the twentieth century.

The Comedy Overture is a brilliantly orchestrated, pops delight and certainly stands right up there with the best of Sir Arthur Sullivan.

Fantasy Scenes (from an Eastern Romance), might be considered Sir Hamilton's answer to the spate of Slavic, Eastern inspired, musical pictures that appeared around 1900 from such composers as Anton Arensky, Mily Balakirev, Alexander Glazunov, Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Anatole Liadov, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. In fact there's more than a passing resemblance to elements of Arensky's three suites for orchestra (originally for two pianos), and particularly the second one, which is better known as Silhouettes.

In keeping with the composer's considerable abilities as a pianist, the concerto is a virtuosic tour de force in the best romantic tradition -- Frederic Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninov move over! Big tunes are in evidence everywhere and there are more than a couple of thematic shamrocks in the last movement.

All the performances of these highly colorful, upbeat works are simply terrific and the recorded sound is excellent making for a disc that can't help but leave you with a smile.

And while we're on the subject of music from the "Emerald Isle," make sure you hear Harty's outstanding A John Field Suite, honoring the great Irish pianist and composer of the same name (He originated the nocturne, not Chopin!), as well as Sullivan's Irish Symphony. Then, of course, there are the wonderful symphonies (seven of them) by another Irishman, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. So much music, so little time! (P060327)

-- Bob McQuiston, Classical Lost and Found (CLOFO.com)

Thanks again Naxos for once more championing the cause of some music that deserves a much wider audience. The two concertos presented here bear out the fact that Swedish composer Bo Linde (1933-1970) has languished in obscurity far too long.

The concerto for violin is quite simply among the most gorgeous pieces of modern, Scandinavian music you could ever hope to hear. It's in two movements, but throughout the whole work the composer contrasts rhapsodic passages of commanding, melodic beauty with virtuosic, agitato ones to great effect. It shows that Linde, unlike his teacher Lars-Erik Larsson, was a master of extended symphonic forms; but, still there's an overall simplicity, transparency and directness that's reminiscent of Larsson.

The cello concerto was reportedly the composer's favorite work and, if we can believe the album notes, had the distinction of being written over the telephone during hours of calls between Bo and the soloist to whom it was dedicated. Be that as it may, it's in the traditional three movements and much more progressive than the previous piece. There's a seriousness of purpose and intensity present that will remind you of the concertos by Sir William Walton and Dmitri Shostakovich for the same instrument.

Hearing this disc one cannot help being saddened to learn that the composer died in his prime at the early age of thirty-seven. Let's just hope that Naxos will make more of his music available to us. But in the meantime, make sure you explore that of his fellow countryman Kurt Atterberg (see above). (P060326)

-- Bob McQuiston, Classical Lost and Found (CLOFO.com)

Looking for something off-the-beaten-path, but definitely worth the detour, then try these Japanese selections.

Composer Shiro Fukai (1907-1959) had a penchant for French music of the 1920-30s. The Four Parodies for Orchestra included here dates from 1936. It began life in 1933 as a suite consisting of five movements dedicated to Manuel de Falla, Igor Stravinsky, Gian-Francesco Malipiero, Maurice Ravel and Bela Bartok respectively. The composer then dropped the Malipiero and changed the honoree of the last to Albert Roussel. In its final form each of the remaining four sections certainly pays musical homage to its dedicatee, but the piece as a whole is a unique Fukai creation, which sounds a bit like the composer was applying for membership in "Les Six."

Creation is an imaginative, whipped, green tea of a balletic brew flavored with extracts of Ravel and Stravinsky. It was designed to promote Japanese nationalism by commemorating the 2600th year of the Emperor. It's in three scenes dealing with such diverse subjects as Nipponese mythology, evolution and the chaotic state of international affairs circa 1940, when it was written.

The symphonic picture Songs of Java dates from 1942 and is the most Asian sounding of the three works here. It begins with a Javanese folk melody that's repeated over and over in a succession of ever changing, brilliantly orchestrated passages that build to an overpowering crescendo in somewhat the same manner as Ravel's Bolero. It then shifts melodic and rhythmic gears in forceful ostinato passages that gradually dissipate into a tintinnabular mist. Chances are the composer knew Kunihiko Hashimoto's first symphony dating from two years earlier, because it contains a very similar, equally effective, musical construct.

The performances are excellent and the recordings, very good with the latter two being world premieres.

If you like these pieces from "The Land of the Rising Sun," you might also want to investigate the symphonic works of Toshiro Mayuzumi (see the newsletter of 9 February 2006) and Saburo Moroi. (P060325)

-- Bob McQuiston, Classical Lost and Found (CLOFO.com)