Search - Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic, Columbia Symphony Orchestra :: Bernstein: Prelude, Fugue and Riffs

Jazz music by the best

Marc Haxer | oak park, mi usa | 08/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"benny goodman. leonard bernstein. the columbia jazz ensemble. zino francescatti. the new york philharmonic and columbia symphony orchestra. it doesn't get any better than this. the "prelude, fugue, and riffs for clarinet and jazz ensemble" with goodman and bernstein performing together is an absolute knockout!! don't hesitate; this compact disc is a worthy addition for anyone's musical library. buy it!!"

Bernstein with fresh, youthful exuberance

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 01/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The most famous collaboraiton between Leonard Bernstein and choreographer Jerome Robbins was West Side Story, but in the Forties they had a smash with the ballet Fancy Free. It's a jazzy, pop offspring of Copland and sitll extremely enjoyable (as much fun when revived on stage as here on CD). Its scenario of three sailors on leave for a night on the town was then borrowed for the hit Broadway musical, On the Town. There were dance interludes in the plot that have been excerpted here, based on several of the show's big tunes.



Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs was written for Benny Goodman; it's a mini-concerto for clarinet along the lines of Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto and Copland's clarinet concerto, but jazzier and more exuberant than either. LB didn't have to imitate the jazz idiom; he grew up with it. The most serious piece here is the violin concerto titled Serenade that depicts various characters sitting aorund the banquet table in Plato's Symposium. The rather pretentious references have little resonance for listeners, but the work remains solid--I've never been able to follow it with full enjoyment, but this recording with Francescatti is riveting."

The Best Fancy Free Out There

B. R. Merrick | 10/12/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Prelude, Fugue & Riffs is incomparable. The Serenade after Plato's "Symposium" is superior to von Dohnányi's interpretation: a rich, highly emotive performance with technical expertise that deepens the sound.



And this is the best Fancy Free you're going to find just yet. The only drawback is that it's in mono, so there's no way to augment (or fully restore) the original sound for the modern listener's ears. If you can stomach that, you'll hear everything that this ballet is about on this recording with the Columbia Symphony. The tempos are smart, with bravado brass, a jazzy piano, and woodwinds and strings that can keep up with it. The orchestra lives up to the title. All in all, an album that preserves some deserving performances for musical history."