Igor Markevitch - Orchestral Works Vol. 4 (Christopher Lyndon-Gee)

Information

Composer: Igor Markevitch

1. Rébus: I. Prélude
2. Rébus: II. Danse
3. Rébus: III. Gigue
4. Rébus: IV. Variations
5. Rébus: V. Fugue
6. Rébus: VI. Parade
7. Hymnes: I. Prélude
8. Hymnes: II. Hymne Premier – Hymne du Travail
9. Hymnes: III. Hymne Second – Hymne au Printemps
10. Hymnes: IV. Hymne Troisième
11. Hymnes: V. Hymne à la Mort

Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra

Christopher Lyndon-Gee, conductor

Date: 2010

Label: Naxos

https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.572154

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Review

Although commissioned, and written as such, as a ballet, Rébus never seems to have been danced! It doesn’t matter for it makes a splendid six movement orchestral suite. Because of the ballet element there is, perhaps, more thematic interweaving than one might normally get in an orchestral suite, but this only aids the listener when listening to it for the first time. It’s a more difficult piece than L’envol d’Icare, which was written two years later, but here the composer is coming to terms with a neo-classical style, which, perhaps, doesn’t sit too comfortably on his young shoulders. That said, it’s a fine piece of work, with each movement clearly and distinctly characterised with spiky orchestration and a sense of fun. It might be that there is just a little too much insistence on repetitive rhythms - the final Parade is almost too much to bear in its continued sameness, but as he had dance in mind when composing there is probably a really good reason for this.

 

The Hymnes consist of a Prelude and three Hymns with the Hymne à la Mort added later, and being a version of the last of the Trois Poèmes for voice and piano of 1935. According to the notes, as late as 1980 Markevitch was making small changes to the score - surely this proves that he never lost sight of his musical roots as a composer. This performance uses the original score as Lyndon-Gee sees the later edition as “… crude, and by no means tonally more effective than the original.” This is a much more serious work than Rébus, and it’s hard to believe that it was written only a year later, so great is the assurance of the composer in his use of material and of the orchestra, when compared to the earlier piece. The second Hymn is especially elegant, starting as a clarinet solo, over sustained strings, and developing into a duet with flute. This is quite beautiful. The following movement is full of rhythmic interplay, and it’s very exciting and freely tonal, but Markevitch spoils what he has written by putting two loud common chords at the end, which are totally out of place with the rest of the music. The final Hymne à la Mort is very slow and packed with atmosphere, the music quietly making its weary way to its conclusion, ending with the stroke of a bell.

-- Bob Briggs, MusicWeb International

More reviews:

https://www.naxos.com/Review/Detail/?catalogueid=8.572154&languageid=EN

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Orchestral-Works-IGOR-MARKEVITCH/dp/B0030UO9PE

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Igor Markevitch (July 27, 1912 – March 7, 1983) was a Russian-born composer and conductor. He studied at the École Normale in Paris under both Alfred Cortot and Nadia Boulanger; later, he studied conducting with Pierre Monteux and Hermann Scherchen. Markevitch was rated among the leading contemporary composers in the 1930s, but decided to give up the composition and focus exclusively on conducting after falling seriously ill in 1941. As a conductor, he was much admired for his interpretations of the French, Russian and Austro-German repertory, and of twentieth-century music in general.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Markevitch

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Christopher Lyndon-Gee studied music at Durham University, and subsequently in Rome with Franco Ferrara. He was also invited by Leonard Bernstein to Tanglewood, where he studied with Maurice Abravanel and others. During the 1990s Lyndon-Gee’s international conducting career took off; he developed a busy international career as a freelance conductor, which has taken him to Germany, Italy, England, Holland, Poland, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and the US. Lyndon-Gee records extensively for the Marco Polo and Naxos, specialising in neglected composers such as Arthur Bliss, Igor Markevich and George Rochberg.

https://www.naxos.com/person/Christopher_Lyndon_Gee_31762/31762.htm

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