Belgian-born Charles-Auguste de Beriot (1802-1870) was not only a celebrated violin virtuoso, but also a romantic composer of some note as evidenced by these three concertos. Published between 1841 and 1851 they are generally characterized by lovely broad melodies, which if anything sound a bit ahead of their time.

The earliest one here, his second, is in the standard three movements, and while at times it bears a resemblance to Nicolo Paganini's showpieces in this genre, there's a warmth and sincerity which set it quite apart from the music of that Italian virtuoso.

The fourth concerto is of more original design because it's a one movement structure with three interconnected subsections. Two distinguished contrasting themes are introduced in the first section, which is followed by a lovely independent intermezzo and a concluding third part where the opening melodies undergo a beautifully embellished reprise.

The seventh concerto is in three connected movements and features the most bel canto aria-like melodies of all. The lyrical, but robust first part introduces a lithe and beautiful andante that sets the stage for the melodically outstanding finale.

Violinist Laurent Albrecht Breuninger handles this virtuosic music with great aplomb and the accompaniment provided by conductor Frank Beermann and the Northwest German Philharmonic is most sympathetic.

The recorded sound is very good making this release a winner.

By the way if you like this disc do try the violin concertos of Beriot's Polish counterpart Karol Lipinski. (P061220)

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

Devotees of the Roy Harris (1898-1979) third symphony will want this re-release from Albany, particularly since it's now a hybrid, CD(2)/SACD(2/5.1) disc. Like Frederick Delius and Sergei Rachmaninov, Harris is one of those composers whose style is so individual that he's usually instantly recognizable, and that is certainly true here.

The eighth symphony was written in 1962 on a commission from the San Francisco Symphony and pays tribute to that city and its patron, Saint Francis of Assisi. Like the third symphony it's in one movement consisting of five subsections, but that's where the similarity ends. It's a brilliantly orchestrated, lyrically crystalline piece with almost chamber-like textures as opposed to its more serious and denser sounding predecessor. Also, whereas Harris' third is absolute music, his eighth is programmatic and relates to various aspects of Saint Francis' life as well as the founding of the order that bears his name. Apparently much of the thematic material is drawn from an earlier work, Canticle of the Sun, which also honored Saint Francis. A solo trumpet represents his voice and one cannot help wondering if Harris might have been influenced by Alan Hovhaness' use of that same instrument in such works as his Saint Vartan Symphony and Prayer of Saint Gregory. Another distinguishing feature of the eighth is the addition of an amplified piano as a concertante instrument.

Harris' ninth also dates from 1962 and is another "city symphony," so to speak, as it was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra and dedicated to that burg of brotherly love. Unlike the eighth, it has the austerity of the third, but it’s in three separate movements, which have subtitles drawn from the preamble to the U.S. Constitution. The final movement consists of three continuous parts, which bear inscriptions drawn from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Reportedly all these quotations are merely a guide to the general character of the work and not meant to suggest a program. Like the third symphony it’s filled with those wonderfully expansive sounding open fifths so typical of Harris' later music. It opens with a beautifully constructed fast moving sonata-allegro that's followed by a slow chorale-like section. Both of these movements must rank among the composer’s best, and set the stage for the winsome, contrapuntally complex finale.

A delightful tiny suite, Memories of a Child's Sunday, fills out the disc. It's full of snippets from children's songs and represents Harris at his most playful.

Conductor David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony Orchestra couldn't be better proponents of this great American composer's music.

These recordings, which were originally released on conventional CD, have been subjected to some "ZAREX" electronic wizardry (see the excellent notes for details) to produce the hybrid disc. The stereo CD and SACD tracks as well as the multi-channel SACD tracks are totally convincing. You'll love it, and those of you who are audiophiles should definitely take note. (Y061219)

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

American music lovers as well as audiophiles are certainly going to want this spectacular companion to the Charles Ives (1874-1954) first and fourth symphonies release recommended in the newsletter of 6 December 2006. It features his second and third symphonies and is also a hybrid, CD(2)/SACD(2/5.0) disc.

The second symphony dates from 1902, and like the first symphony it's an eclectic late-romantic effort, but filled with even more of those Ivesian idiosyncrasies that would later become so characteristic of his later music. The spirits of Johannes Brahms, Antonin Dvorak, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Richard Wagner are still in evidence, but a multitude of those marvelously quirky references to hymns, folk ditties and college songs are ingeniously integrated into the score. Nowadays this is probably Ives' most popular work and it's hard to believe it had to wait until 1951 to receive its premiere under the great Leonard Bernstein. But better late than never and when you hear Andrew Litton's highly polished, sympathetic reading you'll appreciate it all the more. From its reserved melancholy beginning to that irreverent "raspberry" of a final chord, Litton's attention to detail and ability to bring out every nuance of this complex American masterpiece is quite remarkable.

The third symphony, subtitled "The Camp Meeting," was written in 1904 and inspired by religious meetings the composer had attended in his youth. It's in three movements which are based on earlier music he had written in conjunction with his job as an organist and choirmaster in Manhattan. The mood is quite reverential and, as might be expected, references to hymn tunes predominate. Unlike the boisterous second symphony, which almost plays itself, the third requires special handling to be most effective, and Litton's skillfully balanced dynamics and careful phrasing assure this.

The concert concludes with General William Booth enters into Heaven, a tiny cantata for baritone, chorus and orchestra. Many consider it the finest of Ives' works in the song category and you'll find his genius for mixing the sacred with the profane simply astounding.

The Dallas Symphony Chorus and Orchestra give superlative performances under conductor Andrew Litton, who brings out every nuance of this multifaceted pieces. The emphasis here is on elegance and clarity unlike some of the more hyped-up renditions that have appeared in the past.

Although derived from live performances, the recordings are superb and the audience is as quiet as a mouse. Ives' complicated music is tailor-made for multi-channel, as those with theater systems will discover. Both the conventional and SACD stereo tracks couldn't be better and far surpass the competition. Audiophiles will find this a demonstration quality release. It's also available in conventional, CD(2) format. (Y061218)

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

Organ buffs are going to find this first of three discs from Priory devoted to the music of Luis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély (1817-1869), a must. He was one of the most celebrated French organists during the romantic era and noted for his fabulous improvisations. Based in Paris for his entire career, he was first at St. Roch, then La Madeleine, and finally the prestigious Saint Sulpice right up until his death. It's interesting to note that two other great, French organist-composers followed in his footsteps; Camille Saint-Saëns at La Madeleine, and Charles Marie Widor at Saint Sulpice.

Although Lefébure-Wély's improvisatory skills are lost to us today, his formal compositions aren't, and we're fortunate to have a good introductory sampling of them on this first CD.

L'Organiste Moderne, published towards the end of his life, contains thirty-four short pieces that were apparently based on his improvisations. The first fourteen of them are on this release, and they cover an amazing variety of moods.

Several of these are of particular interest. There are two lovely pastorals (Nos. 1 and 7) with a low pedal point of seismic proportions in the former, and what sound like avian twitters in the latter. Then there's a verset (No. 4) that could easily pass for a delicate pas de deux, and an offertoire (No. 5), which would make a good circus march, if transcribed for calliope. A tiny sonata (No. 8) brings to mind Alexandre Guilmant's more extended works in this form. A somber fugue (No. 10) is notable for its Brahmsian overtones. Another offertoire (No. 12) is a joyful, lyrical outpouring with a magnificent coda containing references in the pedal to the old familiar B-A-C-H motif.

This release is filled out with the first two of four offertoires that comprise the composer’s Opus 35. Both are very festive sounding pieces that are sure to please.

Incidentally the remaining selections from L'Organiste Moderne and his Opus 35 will be on the next two discs in this series (see the newsletter of 27 February 2008).

Organist Richard Lea delivers superb performances of everything here on a large English organ (Metropolitan Cathedral Liverpool) that lends itself really well to this type of repertoire.

The recorded sound is excellent, particularly if you're partial to highly reverberant acoustics. So, bring on all the rest, Priory! (P061217)

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

This is the third volume in Chandos' survey of Dmitri Shostakovich's (1906-1975) film music, and in many ways it's the most interesting.

It begins with a suite drawn from his music for Hamlet, which many consider one of the finest film scores ever written. He composed several extended numbers for this movie, which grouped together make up the extremely effective concert piece offered here. The music stands entirely on its own without any need for visual support. It's Shostakovich at his most elemental with jagged, stabbing motifs on one hand and simplistic mournful melodies on the other.

Following this we get what must be one of the strangest examples of scoring in all of cinema -- the music for the great battle scene in The Unforgettable Year 1919. It takes the form of what sounds like an excerpt from some lush romantic piano concerto that might have been written by Sergei Rachmaninov. In fact it's similar in mood and length to Hubert Bath's Cornish Rhapsody, which had appeared six years earlier and was derived from his score for the English film Love Story.

Next there's a suite from Five Days and Five Nights, a movie about the Germany city of Dresden that was totally annihilated by firebombing during World War II. It's a very moving score that portrays the horror of a city in ruins through the use of the Dies Irae and Dresden's liberation and rebirth with references to the Ode to Joy from Ludwig van Beethoven's ninth symphony. On the whole, the music is reminiscent of the composer's eleventh and twelfth symphonies.

The program concludes with a suite from The Young Guard. The score was highly praised by the Soviet authorities and could be labeled by some as kowtowing to the Stalinist regime. Still, it's certainly head and shoulders above the drivel that usually accompanies today's mindless, special-effects-stuffed epics.

The performances here couldn't be more sympathetic with recorded sound that's in the best Chandos tradition. (P061216)

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

Czech born Paul Wranitzky (also known as Pavel Vranicky, 1756-1808) was a contemporary of Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna, and extremely popular in his day. When you hear this outstanding hybrid, CD(2)/SACD(2/5.1) disc, you'll understand why!

The first selection -- even if it had no other distinction -- must have one of the longest titles in all of classical music. To wit, Grande Sinfonie caracteristique pour la paix avec la Republique francoise. Be that as it may, this is a 20 carat classical diamond, which you'll immediately want. The piece is in the best classical period tradition, and displays a gift for melody that might be explained by all those Bohemian folk ditties, which the composer must have heard as a youngster.

It's probably best described as a four movement “Battle Symphony” commemorating the conflict and restoration of peace between Austria and France towards the end of the eighteenth century. After a suspenseful Haydnesque beginning, a couple of delightfully lively themes are introduced. Wranitzky develops these in most ingenious fashion and ends with a thrilling coda. The second movement is an adagio with a central funeral march that will call to mind Ludwig van Beethoven's Eroica Symphony (No. 3). Next, instead of the usual minuet, we get a unique Wranitzky creation in the form of what might be called a scherzo militaire. It includes some wonderful marches and battle music punctuated by periodic whacks on a big bass drum that, depending on your sound system, just might knock you halfway across the room. The finale begins with a lovely unassuming melody that gives way to a couple of scurrying themes, magnificently developed and rolled into a fabulous coda worthy of "Wolfie." Great stuff, but wait, there's even more!

The Opus 52 symphony is much more conventional, but just as inventive and endearing. It begins hesitantly, but then a couple of catchy themes are introduced. The first of these starts off like something out of Haydn's La Poule Symphony (No. 83) then suddenly shifts gears and goes into a sequence that's pure Rossini. A very inventive development section and another winning coda conclude the first movement. Alternately flowing and robustly accented themes characterize the adagio, which is followed by an energetic, strikingly orchestrated minuet. The last movement is an infectious romp that may remind you of the finale from Haydn's Drum Roll Symphony (No. 103).

These performances are so electric that your hair will stand on end, and they leave what little competition there is in the dust!

The recorded sound is terrific. And while the stereo CD and SACD tracks create a most impressively wide, yet detailed soundstage, the multi-channel SACD track will literally put you in the concert hall. But watch out for that monster drum! Classical period enthusiasts and audiophiles will love this release, which ranks as one of the year's best. (Y061215)

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