Ernesto Halffter - Sinfonietta; 2 Esquisses Symphoniques; etc. (Adrian Leaper)

Information

Composer: Ernesto Halffter

1. Habanera
2. Cavatina
3. 'Al Amanecer' for violin and orchestra
4. 2 Esquisses Symphoniques: I. Paysage Mort
5. 2 Esquisses Symphoniques: II. La Chanson du Lanternier
6. Sinfonietta in D: I. Pastorella (Allegro)
7. Sinfonietta in D: II. Adagio
8. Sinfonietta in D: III. Allegretto vivace (Minuetto)
9. Sinfonietta in D: IV. Allegro giocoso

Mikhail Vostokov, violin

Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria

Adrian Leaper, conductor

Date: 2000

Label: ASV

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Review

Vivacious music - by a composer remembered chiefly for his association with de Falla - and played with winning panache

The major item in this attractive programme of early orchestral works by Ernesto Halffter (1905-89) is the Sinfonietta in D, written when he was 20 and for which he received a National Prize in 1925. In it one hears the neoclassical Stravinsky of the then still very recent Pulcinella, though distilled through de Falla's Iberian sensibility. Reviewing the CPO rival account of this thoroughly engaging score, the late Lionel Salter termed it most appositely 'blithe-spirited', but also noted the curious preferential billing of the violin, cello and double-bass soloists. While they do appear from time to time, so do most of the rest of the orchestral instruments, and the flautist and oboist, in particular, could justifiably feel aggrieved at being left out. The Gran Canarian players respond to the music with a verve that leaves their Frankfurt rivals - who perhaps just have the edge in precision of execution - sounding rather neutral by comparison. It is not a matter of tempos, either, since Tang is overall a touch swifter than Leaper.

Matters are more even in the Esquisses (also 1925), though Leaper's reversal of the order adopted by Tang, with the faster 'Chanson du Lanternier' with its resonances of Petrushka placed second, is more effective. In both works, then, this newcomer is to be preferred, though CPO's versions are in no way inadequate. The three shorter items are not otherwise available, and all impress in various ways. The longest is Habanera, a nine-minute tone-poem on the subect as much as the dance itself. Cavatina (1933) and Al amanecer ('At Dawn', 1937) are exquisite miniatures, here lovingly rendered. A treat.

-- Guy Rickards, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 8

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2000/aug00/halffter.htm

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Ernesto Halffter (16 January 1905 – 5 July 1989) was a Spanish composer and conductor. He was born in Madrid and studied at the Colegio Alemán. His Sinfonietta is one of his earliest and best works; it shows the influence of Domenico Scarlatti. Later, he became more nationalistic with Rapsodia portuguesa for piano and orchestra. In 1934 Halffter became director and conductor of the Seville Conservatory of Music; his only pupil was the Finnish composer Ann-Elise Hannikainen. Halffter also completed Manuel de Falla's opera Atlántida, which the older composer left incomplete when he died in 1946.

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

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Adrian Leaper (born 1953) is an English conductor. Leaper studied horn and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music and for eight year was co-principal horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra. He was Principal Conductor of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria (1994-2001) the RTVE Symphony Orchestra in Madrid (2001-2010). He has made many recordings for the Naxos Records label. He has conducted for all four major London orchestras, the Moscow, Vienna and Prague Symphony Orchestras, in addition to many other radio, philharmonic, and symphony orchestras around the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Leaper

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