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Korngold: Symphonic Serenade; Griffes / Pittau, Et Al


Release Date: 06/27/2006 
Label:  Asv Gold Catalog #: 4020   Spars Code: n/a 
Composer:  Erich Wolfgang Korngold,  Charles Tomlinson Griffes
Conductor:  SIomne Pittau
Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Symphony Orchestra
Number of Discs: 1 
Recorded in: Stereo 
Length: 0 Hours 59 Mins. 

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Notes and Editorial Reviews


The American Impressionist composer Charles Tomlinson Griffes enjoyed a brief vogue in the earlier part of the last century, but then fell into obscurity, perhaps because a little of his favored faux Orientalism - like the ersatz Americana of Carlisle Floyd and Douglas Moore - goes a long way. Griffes originally wrote the four Roman Sketches for piano, though he only got around to orchestrating two of them, with the first, The White Peacock, attaining independent status as a concert piece. The producer of the present disc, Craig Leon, who Read more claims expertise as both an arranger and an ethnomusicologist, has completed the task, matching Griffes's own orchestral style nicely. Not examining the booklet carefully until after I heard the disc, I had no idea that the arrangements weren't all the composer's.

The White Peacock goes nicely; the gorgeous liquid woodwind solos are a delight. Night begins with a harder edge before blossoming into coruscating sonorities, with full-bodied horn duets answered by the woodwinds. The Fountain of the Acqua Paola remarkably works a Debussyan harmonic palette, generating activity from strings of parallel chords, into rich, Ravelian textures. In the concluding Clouds, the celesta accents in the more lightly-scored passages represent perhaps too obvious a pictorial stratagem, but the music again opens out voluptuously at peak moments.

The title Symphonic serenade may seem oxymoronic, and, indeed, Korngold's "serenade" for strings is no trifling one: the score is laid out on a "symphonic" scale, with the first and third of its four movements each running for over ten minutes. Surprisingly, it's not the rich, Romantic style of the composer's film music that dominates this score. The outer movements are driven by the vigorous, strongly profiled rhythms of Neo-classicism. The finale's third theme, at 2:09, would have fit right into Stravinsky's Dumbarton Oaks! The pizzicatos of the Intermezzo are aggressive, even spiky - nothing like the Playful Pizzicato of Britten's Simple Symphony. The broad, concentrated chorale that begins the Lento religioso suggests Bruckner, but other influences make themselves felt as the movement proceeds: vaulting leaps out of late Mahler, hints of the slow movement of Nielsen 2, and even a bit of anguished Expressionism. Yet Korngold's craftsmanship fuses this potpourri of influences into a persuasive musical stream with a compelling, impeccable logic.

The young Italian violinist-turning-conductor, Simone Pittau, finds just the right touch for Griffes, touching in detail with a light hand - as noted, the LSO woodwinds shine - while maintaining a firm rhythmic backbone, and he has a good grasp of Korngold's arching structures as well. The wide-ranging engineering strikes a good balance between detail and warmth in the Griffes; the Korngold sounds a bit blurry, perhaps because the string playing, while basically accurate, doesn't quite offer pinpoint precision. For those interested in these less-well-trodden corners of the repertoire, this definitely merits a recommendation.

-- Stephen Francis Vasta, MusicWeb International  Read less

Works on This Recording

1. Symphonic Serenade in B major, Op. 39 by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Conductor:  SIomne Pittau
Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1947; Hollywood, Californi 
2. Roman Sketches (4), Op. 7 by Charles Tomlinson Griffes
Conductor:  SIomne Pittau
Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1915-1916; USA 
 Notes: Arranger: Craig Leon. 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 1 Customer Review )
 Brilliant performance and recording November 23, 2012 By George Leigh (Alderley, Queensland) See All My Reviews "This disc marks Simone Pittau as one of the finest conductors alive, and I am at a loss as to why he is not more widely known and employed. Korngold's music is notoriously difficult to conduct, but Pittau does a superb job, letting the music speak for itself and bringing out only the important orchestral parts. This symphony is one of Korngold's three great post-war works (the others being the Symphony in F-sharp and the Violin Concerto), and is perhaps the most classical in spirit of the three (it was composed in his head while he was in hospital after a heart attack). The Griffes is an attractive work and well performed. The recording quality is excellent." Report Abuse
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