Search - Wolpe, Kalitzke :: Symphony 1 / Yigdal Cantata / Chamber Pieces 1 & 2

Great surprises in this budget Wolpe album

12/08/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Who would have guessed that Wolpe would appear in a new super budget album in the late 1990's? The good news is that it is very good (though I perfer the CRI release of the Symphony). The Yigal Cantata is quite a surprise, representing a tonal composition by this great "atonal" composer. It is in a style reminiscent of Hindemith but, if it dare be said, better and more carefully composed than much of Hindemith's music. The performance is thoroughly committed and the delivery of the text stunningly emotional. The Chamber pieces 1 and 2 are very great music played quite well. It would be welcomed if Arte Nova would continue to release neglected master works of the later 20th century. It is certainly a boon to adventurous music students of all ages."

Great disc for five bucks.

Karl Henzy | 01/06/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wolpe is a good example of a modern composer who was not himself an inventor of new forms, but who accepted the innovations of his more famous contemporaries and used them to make music that is just first-rate. The Symphony is composed along the lines of Schoenberg's serialist method (a la Variations for Orchestra), while the Chamber pieces seem to have incorporated the lessons of "total" serialism. All of them have vibrant rhythms and striking colors, and the writing is never predictable. This music won't be featured in historical accounts of the great 20th-century innovators, but it sure makes for a good listening experience, and at five bucks, you can't beat it."