Search - Irving Fine, Joel Spiegelman, Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra (Moscow Radio) :: Fine: Blue Towers/Music For Orchestra/Diversions For Orchestra/Toccata Concertante/Symphony

A composer who died too young

William J. Coburn | Basking Ridge, NJ USA | 07/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first recording of Irving Fine I ever purchased was an LP that had the composer conducting his only symphony and Erich Leinsdorf conducting the Serious Song and the Toccata Concertante. Years later I found it had been reissued in CD format on the Phoenix label. Not long after I came across this recording which opens with the short piece Blue Towers. Contrary to what the other reviewer has said, I find Blue Towers to be bracing and lively.

Two of the pieces on this recording duplicate two of the works on the older recording, the symphony and the Toccata Concertante. The other two are Music for Orchestra and Diversions for Orchestra; the latter had been previously recorded by the Louisville Orchestra. They are both good pieces.

I recommend buying both of these CDs if you can afford to. This recording has the better sound. The other has tauter performances.

The most impressive piece on both recordings is the symphony. It uses twelve tone technique, except unlike Schoenberg, Fine repeats his themes and they are memorable. Fine packs a lot of good music into a little over twenty minutes. Regretably, Fine passed away less than two weeks after he premiered the symphony at Tanglewood."