Ernest Bloch - Symphony in C sharp minor; Poems of the Sea (Dalia Atlas)

Information

Composer: Ernest Bloch

1. Symphony in C sharp minor: I. Lento - Allegro agitato ma molto energico
2. Symphony in C sharp minor: II. Andante molto moderato
3. Symphony in C sharp minor: III. Vivace
4. Symphony in C sharp minor: IV. Allegro energico e molto marcato
5. Poems of the Sea: I. Waves: Poco agitato
6. Poems of the Sea: II. Chanty: Andante misterioso
7. Poems of the Sea: III. At Sea: Allegro vivo

London Symphony Orchestra
Dalia Atlas, conductor

Date: 2011
Label; Naxos
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.573241

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

The LSO play Bloch’s Symphony in C sharp minor marvellously and Dalia Atlas conducts it with understanding and conviction. She is of the opinion ‘that this is Bloch’s greatest and best work’; I shall further quote her in describing it as ‘a large-scale neo-romantic symphony, written when the composer was only 20 and scored for a Mahlerian-sized orchestra in the perfect neo-romantic form customary at the time. Like the symphonies of Mahler, Bruckner, Richard Strauss and others the work reveals exceptional depth and maturity. Without searching for external influences, Bloch attempted solely to express his innermost self.’

The richness and colour of the orchestration are very striking indeed. The first movement is too long but well structured; the slow movement is agreeably lyrical; the scherzo, opening tellingly with trumpet fanfares, is ‘virtuosic’. The finale includes a fugue and closes with a triumphant march, taken from the second movement, but then concludes quietly and tranquilly.

All in all it is undoubtedly impressive, when played with such conviction and so well recorded too. But in the end, I ask, is it really a masterpiece as Dalia Atlas seems to suggest? I fear not. Although it is in many ways rewarding to listen to and interesting to study, it is, for me, not a memorably great work.

Listening to the atmospheric music of the Poems of the Sea, inspired by Walt Whitman, which acts as a coupling, one discovers an evocative magic, a feeling of inspiration, missing in the symphony. This too is played very well indeed.

-- Ivan March, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2013/Oct13/Bloch_symphony_8573241.htm
http://www.allmusic.com/album/ernest-bloch-symphony-in-c-sharp-minor-poems-of-the-sea-mw0002564591
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/17/bloch-symphony-c-sharp-minor-review
http://www.classicstoday.com/review/finally-another-bloch-symphony-c-sharp-minor/
http://www.amazon.com/Bloch-Symphony-sharp-minor-Poems/dp/B00E3ISHMI

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Ernest Bloch (July 24, 1880 in Geneva, Switzerland – July 15, 1959 in Portland, USA) was a Swiss-born American composer.  Bloch's musical style does not fit easily into any of the usual categories; he studied variously with Eugène Ysaÿe, Jaques-Dalcroze, Iwan Knorr and Ludwig Thuille, as well as corresponding with Mahler and meeting Debussy. Many of his works - as can be seen from their Hebrew-inspired titles - also draw heavily on his Jewish heritage. He held several teaching appointments in the U.S., with George Antheil, Frederick Jacobi, Quincy Porter, Bernard Rogers, and Roger Sessions among his pupils.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Bloch

***

Dalia Atlas (born 1933 in Haifa, Israel) is a classical orchestral conductor. She graduated from the Music Academy of Jerusalem and has received various prizes, nationally and internationally for her life achievements. Her rich repertoire includes about 750 scores, among them unknown music, some of her discoveries, and also arrangements of her own. Atlas has recorded more than twenty CD's, particularly of unusual repertoires, which she has also performed in concerts and at international festivals. She is a noted champion of Ernest Bloch's music, and has recorded his neglected orchestral works for ASV and Naxos.

http://www.dalia-atlas.com/

--------------------------------------------------------------------

MP3 CBR 320kbps

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!