Search - José Serebrier, Orchestre de Chambre de Toulouse, Carole Farley :: José Serebrier: Symphony No. 3 and other works

Eclectic set of modern compositions - recommended

S. A. Felton | southern OR USA | 01/02/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Given all the great classical music that has been composed over
the centuries, it's not easy for a modern composer to find his or her
own niche'. Some resort to bizarre tonal structures or other contrivances
to sound "modern." The music that Mr. Serebrier, a well-known conductor,
composed for this CD, sounds fresh and contemporary, but he doesn't overdo
trying to sound modern. Rather the technique he uses on a number of
tracks is to emphasize the strings to create a atmosphere of mystery,
mystery to provoke the listener to go into a meditative state of
psychological reflection.

Much of the time his style works very well, as on the 10th track,
"Momento psicologico." In other instances, like the second and third
movements of his newly composed third symphony, I felt that the mood
was too meditative, too repetitive in that sense. Yet the first movement of
the symphony is a real "grabber," and the final movement, with a beautiful
female singing arrangement, is very fine, and leaves you fulfilled with the
work. Perhaps if I had the opportunity to hear this piece performed live
I would realize that it is wholly great. Finally, I found the intensity of
mood perhaps labored to the point of brooding in the last 2 pieces, which
are ironically dedicated to couples who are close friends of the composer -
one would think they might be uplifting to symbolize friendship! Maybe this
is the composer's giving voice to the quiet angst many feel in these
(troubled) times.

This CD is also like a "greatest hits" of the composer. It contains
an amazingly mature work he composed when he was only 14, "Elegy for
Strings," while the third symphony discussed above was composed 50 years
later. In addition to these works, the CD contains a very well-composed
and performed 2-movement composition for the accordion, which the composer
states he had never composed for. This spatial piece, again also including
the strings for "inner reflection," would make a great soundtrack for an
old-style, romantic, European movie! My compliments again to Naxos for making their fine recordings
reasonsably priced, so that it's worth taking a chance on CD's that
seem appealing but not worth the risk for the high price other labels
charge, which for me discourages experimenting. This CD is definitely
worth the higher price in my opinion, but you don't have to pay it! It
surely deserves the Grammy nomination it has received."