Reviews and occasional notes on classical music

Reviews and occasional notes on classical music

"Music, both vocall and instrumental, so good, so delectable, so rare, so admirable, so super excellent, that it did even ravish and stupifie all those strangers that never heard the like." - Thomas Coryat, after hearing 3 hours of music at the Scuola di San Rocco in Venice, 1608.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

A sad tale, but worthy music

From November 12, 2013:


Marcel Tyberg left his compositions in the care of a family friend before he was captured and murdered by the Nazis in 1944. The manuscripts made their way to America, and came to the attention of Buffalo Philharmonic Music Director JoAnn Falletta. The result is this splendid disc, along with a previous recording by Naxos of Tyberg's Third Symphony. As sad and compelling as this story is, the music has great power in its own right. The Second Symphony, written under the strong influence of Anton Bruckner, is majestic and lyrical. There is lightness in the Scherzo, and a glowering and transformative neo-classical Preludium and Fugue at the end. The BPO is in splendid form, and Falletta keeps the music going, so as not to fall into the trap of over-sentimentality.

The Second Piano Sonata was written in 1920, but eschews modernism in favour of a quiet romanticism reminiscent of Brahms. Pianist Fabio Bidini proves a more than capable champion of this interesting music that looks back to a different world. Kudos to Naxos for bringing this music to a wider audience.

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