Customer Reviews

Alan Hovhaness: Symphony No. 60; Guitar Concerto; Khrimian Hairig

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The reputation of the American composer Alan Hovhaness (1911 -- 2000) continues to grow. Hovhaness was a prolific composer of 67 symphonies and about 400 other works. He wrote in a highly personal, mystical style that emphasized his Armenian roots, his devotion to nature, and his interest in Eastern thought and music. His music is accessible and enjoyed substantial popular appeal during the later years of the composer's life. But it was not always well-received by critics.

This CD is the third that Naxos has devoted to the music of Hovhaness in its "American classics" series. It offers two world-premiere recordings. These releases offer an outstanding opportunity at a budget price to get to know Hovhaness' music. The first two CDs featured Hovhaness early cello concerto and symphony no. 22, the "City of Light" and a collection of three of Hovhaness' six symphonies for wind band. The most recent, CD offers three works in differing forms from relatively early in Hovhaness' career to near the end. Gerard Schwarz, music director of the Seattle Symphony (Hovhaness spent the final years of his life in Seattle) and long a champion of the composer conducts the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. It is good to see a European orchestra offer sympathetic performances of Hovhaness in a short early work, and in the first recordings of a guitar concerto, and a late symphony. The composer's widow, Hinako Fujihara Hovhaness, has written excellent notes for the CD.

The CD opens with a work called "Khrimian Harig", opus 49, composed during the mid-40s. This is a work of about 8 minutes for orchestra and solo trumpet, played here by the orchestra's first trumpet, Lars Ranch. This is a highly lyrical, mystical work in which the trumpet represents an ancient Armenian prophet leading his people through persecutions to the path of faith. Much of the work is call-and-response between trumpet and orchestra. Hovhaness later adopted this work into a composition titled "Return and Rebuild the Desolate Places" opus 213 which appears on the earlier Naxos CD of Hovhaness' music for wind band.

Hovhaness' guitar concerto opus 325 was composed in 1979 and it is performed here by the American guitarist and composer David Leisner. This three movement work is highly idiomatic for the guitar and balances the voice of the instrument well against the larger forces of the orchestra. In the opening movement, slow, ominous statements of a theme for orchestra and bells alternate with long, guitar solos of a reflectively Spanish cast. The middle movement is in a concertante style as the guitar part alternates with a variety of solo passages for bassoon, cello, wind choir, and violin. The finale begins dramatically in a statement for the full orchestra. The stern orchestral writing alternates througout with softer, lyrical sections for the soloist. This is an intriguing, successful work in a difficult genre.

The final work on the CD is the Symphony no. 60 "To the Appalachian Mountains" opus 396 which also receives its first recorded performance. Hovhaness wrote this work in 1985 under a commission to celebrate the cultural heritage of the State of Tenessee. Apparently, the work was not well received in its opening performances, and that is unfortunate. This is one of Hovhaness' longer symphonies, over one-half hour in length, and it is lovely. Hovhaness combines his love for eastern music and nature with passages of distinctively American folk themes, virtually in the manner of Aaron Copland's popular works. With good reason, the composer referred to this work as his "Americana" symphony.

The work opens with a slow passage for flute and harp followed by a long flowing melody for strings. Near the end of the movement, the melody turns into a fugue, backed by pulsating drums and chimes. The second movement is an allegro which opens with a folklike mountain theme in the strings. This is followed by a melancholy English horn solo soon joined by the flute. After an outburst by the full orchestra, the folk theme returns to close the movement. The brief third movement opens with the harp and is based upon an old mountain tune called "Parting Friends." The finale opens with a large, slowly rocking theme in the strings followed by sections reminiscent of mountain dances before the opening material returns with brass and bells to close the work. I loved this symphony, particularly in its use of folk-sounding material (all of which were originally composed, with the exception of the tune in the third movement) and in its imaginative orchestration.

Listeners wanting to get to know Hovhaness and his distinctive style will enjoy this CD and its companions on Naxos. I am looking forward to further releases of Hovhaness' music in the "American classics" series.

Robin Friedman

It will be another sleepless night. Quite by accident I stumbled upon this CD which contains excellent performances of several more works of Alan Hovhaness that I did not know. It arrived today in the mail with the last of the Harry Potter series. While my 11 year old daughter devours the words of the writer of her generation, I sit downstairs in my basement office, transported by the sounds of the master musician of my generation. The music coming from my aged stereo is music of such beauty, such grace and such wonder that it will not leave me. The sounds will play in my soul throughout the night: While others in the house sleep, I will hear in silence his Christmas Symphony, his haunting Prayer of St. Gregory, the mysterious and oh, so lovely, Khrimian Hairig, a testament to the faith of the Armenian people, so excellently performed on this CD, and the majesty of the 60th Symphony, now my favorite, and one of his later compositions.

Hovhaness was a true artist. He was somehow able to go beyond composition; it is as if he revealed music itself, the purpose, the essence of music beneath the notes. I think I understand what his wife meant when she called him "music itself". So yes, I do indeed recommend this CD and pray that I will discover more like it. The music is illuminating; the performances are flawless. Surely there will be other nights in which to sleep.

This is a superb introduction to the works of Alan Hovhaness, a long-neglected 20th Century American Composer. The Trumpet Concerto (Khrimian Hairig) is well-played and has a serious thoughtful quality to it. This work should be performed more often by orchestras. The Guitar Concerto is also entertaining and well-played and deserves more playing time with larger orchestras. The Symphony No. 60 (!) is a work more typically associated with Hovhaness - upbeat positive music with no ties to the modern school of classical music. The conductor Gerard Schwartz has spent much of his career championing the works of lesser known American composers and does a great job here. The recording is excellent as well.

Much as I love certain works of Alan Hovhaness, his symphonies start to sound the same after a while. The Guitar Concerto (the first) is written in a colorful, creative style with less repetition than some other works. It is peaceful, like most of Hovhaness music, but has a slight edge to it as well. The short piece Khrimian Hairig is also highly engaging. If you are new to Hovhaness you'll like Symphony #60 but for me it is the other two pieces that make this disc special.

I find the music of Hovhaness quite lovely and haunting. The fact that he wrote a number of works for guitar just makes him even cooler! That said the recording of this guitar concerto, played by David Leisner has some issues. The biggest is balance. I found myself constantly turning up the volume for the guitar and down when the orchestra came in. Part of this is the writing but I think more falls on Naxos and the recording engineers. We are in the 21st century, I do think that this problem could have been better solved.

Mr. Leisner's playing is nice and his love for the work comes through.

The other works on the album are true Hovhaness with influences of folk melody and mystical sounds.

I look forward to hearing more music by Hovhaness, I do hope Naxos improves on its recoding techniques for works with guitar.

This is a truly lovely recording of three enjoyable compositions that very few music lovers have ever heard. That it is available at a budget price makes me want to shout at music lovers to say they should drop everything and give this CD an audition.

Khrimian Hairig is an elegiac piece for trumpet and orchestra. It is simple and beautiful, not at all virtusoic in the traditional sense (no fireworks from the trumpeter), but wonderfully expressive.

That same mode of expression is maintained in the Guitar Concerto. Once again there is no flash, no boom and sizzle; just wonderfully rich music that you may well find yourself wanting to play over and over again for pure enjoyment. "Quietly powerful" is the best phrase I can conjure to describe something so magically delightful.

The recording closes with Symphony No. 60, "To the Appalachian Mountains." Once again we encounter music that is comfortable yet fresh, expressive but not bombastic. The three pieces on this CD seem to fit together so well that it is hard to believe they were not originally written to be played together. But that does not mean they all sound the same. They have something of the same mood, but each is profoundly different from the other.

My goodness, this is a nice recording! I simply can't praise it enough.

This CD contains a first-rate guitar concerto, one that I hope joins the standard repetoire. The rest is excellent Hovhaness. All-in-all, a good addition to a Hovhaness collection.

Naxos is doing us all a favor in issuing these CD's of Hovhaness' music. This one is superb. The guitar concerto is first rate and deserves to become a Western classical music repertory piece. It is that good. The Symphony # 60 is also superb and Khrimian Hairig is a must hear piece. Now, when do we get a recording of the Violin Concerto? I was at the premiere, and it remains a piece I would love to have in my collection of recordings.

A few years ago, I purchased a recording of Hovhaness's "Mysterious Mountain" Symphony. It was the first time I ever listened to music from Hovhaness, and after my first listening, I immediately took a liking of the composer's music. Now, I had the chance to purchase another Hovhaness CD. This particular one from Naxos features a short work, a concerto, and a symphony. Khrimian Hairig is a lyrical work that's only eight minutes long, while the Guitar Concerto contains some warmhearted guitar melodies and is thirty minutes long. "To the Appalachian Mountains" is the sixtieth symphony that Hovhaness wrote in his lifetime. It's more of a homage to the folklore, history, and the natural beauty of the Appalachian Mountains. There are a few moments of flat orchestrations and uninspiring melodies in all three compositions, but that doesn't detract from the overall beauty of Hovhaness's music.

Gerard Schwarz conducts the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra with precision and clarity. The soloists (Lars Ranch and David Leisner) give nice performances of both trumpet and guitar. The Berlin Radio, while not what you would expect for Hovhaness's music, sound first-rate. Finally, sound quality from Naxos is quite an accomplishment, considering the budget price for this CD.

Grade: 8.8 out of 10