Search - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Karel Husa, Sergey Prokofiev :: Temple University Wind Symphony

An Inspired Mix of Classics for Band

M. C. Passarella | Lawrenceville, GA | 11/12/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a wonderful program of music for band that is mostly executed very well. Only a couple of reservations keep me from giving it my full endorsement. First of all, from what I've read on Amazon.com, I'm not alone in finding Clarinetist Anthony Gigliotti's intonation to be flat, fluent and virtuosic though his playing may be in other regards. Needless to say, this shortchanges Rimsky's charming Clarinet Concerto. I have nothing but praise for the other wind soloists, though, especially Trombonist Eric Carlson, who seems to find no terrors in Rimsky's grueling cadenza, which requires him to play stratospheric harmonics and delve into what seems to be the upper range of the tenor tuba. The notes to this recording tell us that posterity has determined the Trombone Concerto to be the least engaging of Rimsky's three concerti for wind solo and military band. Yeah? Tell that to most trombonists and trombone devotees. Rimsky's concerto is at the center of the repertoire, with a slow movement that lets the trombone croon (as it rarely does) and a knockout finale that defines the word "swaggering."



To get my objections out of the way, the second problem is with the sound. Some of the climaxes in the Rimsky Variations and in Music for Prague 1968 seem saturated. Maybe it's the pressing of my CD that's at fault. Otherwise, the sound is very truthful and full, though it has the chilly air of the studio about it.



But then we get to hear Karel Husa conduct his own music, an instant classic among contemporary works for band. If this isn't a definitive performance, it is special enough to be in a class by itself. And the Prokofiev is an inspired choice to round out the program. One of first works Prokofiev wrote when he returned to Russia in the 1930s, the March is his attempt to show that one of the bad boys of musical modernism had the right populist sentiments at heart. It manages to recall the music of the great 19th-century Russian composers while at the same time being fully contemporary. It is the thinking man's music for the masses, a thoroughly characteristic piece by a modern master.



The members of the Temple University Wind Ensemble are up to all the challenges of Husa's demanding music and prove respectful accompanists in the three concertos. In short, despite my reservations, this is a very entertaining disc."

Gre

P. Alvarez | Killeen, Texas United States | 07/31/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These are great concertos for Trombone, for CLarinet

and for Oboe. I read in the composer's autobiography

that in fact R-K did not regarded these concertos

highly, in fact for him they were just a teaching

devise, they don't even bear an opus number in

R-K's catalog of works. The Oboe concerto

is called also "Variations on a theme of Glinka"

and the clarinet concertot is refer to as:

Konzertstuck for Clarinet and Band. Rimsky-Korsakov

wrote these concertos when he was still inspector

of naval bands in the Russian navy. To me

these are great works that deserve more

recognition than what they get.I believe

that they wonderful works. The Trombone

Concerto for instance the soloist get a lot

of work especially in the last movement.

A five star recording indeed and too bad

the composer did not like them."