Joly Braga Santos - Piano Concerto; etc. (Goran Filipec; Álvaro Cassuto)

Information

Composer: Joly Braga Santos

1. Symphonic Overture No. 1, Op. 8
2. Symphonic Overture No. 2, Op. 11 'Lisboa'
3. Viver ou Morrer, Op. 19 – Prelude
4. Pastoral
5. Romance
6. Symphonic Prelude
7. Intermezzo
8. Piano Concerto, Op. 52: I. Allegro vivace
9. Piano Concerto, Op. 52: II. Largo
10. Piano Concerto, Op. 52: III. Allegro moderato

Goran Filipec, piano
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Álvaro Cassuto, conductor

Date: 2018
Label: Naxos
https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.573903

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

This disc fills a useful gap in the discography of Portugal's greatest twentieth-century composer, Joly Braga Santos. There have already been a couple of recordings of the Symphonic Overture No. 3, but none of Nos. 1 and 2 (subtitled "Lisbon"). Viver ou Morrer (To Live or To Die) is the very substantial prelude to a radio opera about women searching for their (dead) husbands on the battlefield. It’s a funeral march, not surprisingly, full of dark colors and brooding melodies. Perhaps a bit long for the material, it’s still a moving and beautiful work. The next four pieces, all composed for chamber orchestra in 1955/6, show Braga Santos at his most captivating. Check out the Pastoral (sound clip), two minutes of pure delight, but then all four are wonderful examples of his genuine craftsmanship and skill. The writing for harp is especially effective.

This performance, with pianist Goran Filipec the intrepid soloist, is probably as fine as we’re going to get for quite a while, and with Álvaro Cassuto on the podium we know that the music is in capable hands. This is a terrific disc full of wide-ranging music. Do try it.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2018/Sep/Braga_Santos_PC_8573903.htm
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2018/Oct/Braga_Santos_PC_8573903.htm
https://www.allmusic.com/album/joly-braga-santos-piano-concerto-symphonic-overtures-nos-1-and-2-mw0003200624
https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.573903&languageid=EN
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Braga-Santos-Symphonic-Overtures-Philharmonic/dp/B07FSJK2DC

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Joly Braga Santos (May 14, 1924 – July 18, 1988) was a Portuguese composer and conductor. He studied violin and composition at the National Conservatoire of Lisbon, and was a disciple of Luís de Freitas Branco. After the Second World War, he was able to go abroad, having studied conducting with Hermann Scherchen and Antonino Votto, and composition with Virgilio Mortari. Braga Santos was considered the leading Portuguese composer of the 20th century. He wrote six symphonies, three operas, chamber music for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles, film scores, and several choral works.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joly_Braga_Santos

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Goran Filipec (born 1981 in Rijeka) is a Croatian concert pianist. He studied piano at the Academy "Ino Mirkovich" and later specialized in Köln, Tuscany, Moscow and The Hague. During his early career Filipec won top prizes at international piano competitions, including the José Iturbi Competition, the Concurso de Parnassos, the Gabala Competition, and the Concorso Pianistico Internazionale Franz Liszt. Filipec has performed internationally, having performed at the Carnegie Hall, Auditorium di Milano, Mariinsky Theatre, and other concert halls of Europe, North and South America and Japan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goran_Filipec
https://www.goran-filipec.com/

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Álvaro Cassuto (born 1938) is a Portuguese composer and conductor. He was born in Porto, Portugal, and studied in Lisbon and Berlin. Cassuto has been music director of the Portuguese Radio Symphony, the New Portuguese Philharmonia, the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, the Algarve Orchestra and the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Koussevitzky Memorial Prize. Cassuto has recorded many highly successful CDs for the Strauss, Portugalsom, Marco Polo and Naxos record labels, notably a series of recordings of Portuguese composers for Naxos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81lvaro_Cassuto

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