Customer Reviews

Alan Hovhaness: Symphony No. 22 ("City of Light"); Cello Concerto

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wow. I had never heard Alan Hovhaness before, but decided to give this budget disc on Naxos a try. After all, I had been impressed with a number of other discs in the label's "American Classics" series. I was a little tentative though, because I have heard Hovhaness compared to Philip Glass and Arvo Part, two composers who I find incapable of sustaining long form works. While Hovhaness shares some traits with those composers, particularly in his simple (but not simplistic!) harmonic language, he has a much firmer grasp of drama and structure. The cello concerto is an overwhelmingly slow work, with about 90% being slow or moderate in tempo. Nonetheless, the cello writing is beautiful, though certainly not virtuosic, and the interplay between the various sections of the orchestra give it a chamber-music feel.
The Symphony, however, is the real masterpiece on this disc. It is a grand, towering, moving work that reminds me of Rautavaara meets Bruckner. It is still mostly moderate in pace, but more varied in its tempos than the cello concerto. The finale is one of the greatest things I have ever heard, and I have heard a *lot* of music and have hundreds and hundreds of CDs in my collection. It has an air of brilliance and triumph that, to me (and I kid you not), rivals the finale of Beethoven's Ninth (albeit minus the vocal soloists).
If you are new to Hovhaness, this is a magnificant place to start.

If you're a Hovhaness completist (that's a joke, son!) or a listener whose taste runs to the musical orientalism of, say, Lou Harrison, you'll want to hear Hovhaness's early Cello Concerto. Long before the East-meets-West raprochement was fashionable, or even acceptable, in American music, Hovhaness was apparently doing it in works as ingratiating as the concerto. Though the piece is somewhat wayward and includes more than its share of longeurs, it also has that static, contemplative beauty that can be found the best of Hovhaness's later works, as cello and winds toss modal filigrees about between hymn-like episodes for the orchestral strings and brass. It all has a rather hypnotic effect that you want to return to. And then it's always good to hear the legendary Janos Starker again, even if the concerto is hardly a showpiece for the solo cello.

On the other hand, if you like the classic Hovhaness of "Mysterious Mountain," you will certainly relish the "City of Light" Symphony. While architecturally the two works are dissimilar (the fast music of "Mysterious Mountain" coming toward the center, while the reverse is true in the later work), they both have the same by turns reverential and monumental quality that places them, for me, among the finest of American symphonies. At the mystical heart of Symphony No. 22 is the gentle second movement called "Angel of Light," apparently a reminiscence by the composer of Christmas as a child. Magically inflected by harp and then celesta, it effectively combines the naive and the deeply spiritual. The last movement retuns us to the majesty of the first movement but with an added triumphalism that builds to a resounding close punctuated by the tam-tam. Bruckner would have understood. In fact, this music clearly marks Hovhaness as America's Bruckner among symphonists, not bad company to be in, I'd say.

Hovhaness himself conducts the symphony on this CD, and the performance can certainly be thought of as difinitive. And since this recording was licensed from Delos (a real coup for Naxos, I think), the CD benefits from Delos' usual high production standards. For many collectors, this will be a must-have disc.

The late Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000)was a prolific and gifted American composer. He enjoyed a degree of popular success during his lifetime although he did not achieve the critical recognition he deserved. His work is melodic, accessible and heavily influenced by eastern music, mysticism, and nature.

Naxos has included this CD consisting of Hovhaness' early Concerto for Cello Opus 17 (1936) and his 1971 Symphony, "City of Light" as part of its "American Classics" series designed to introduce the listener, at budget prices, to the range of American achievements in the composition of classical music. Hovhaness merits inclusion in this series (he deserves more than one disc); and this CD is a good introduction.

The Cello concerto of 1937 is an early work. The recording here dates from 1999 and features the renowned cellist Janos Starker playing with the Seattle Symphony. The concerto shows Hovhaness, I think, under the deep influence of Jean Sibelius, whom he visited as a young man. The concerto is in three movements with the outer two slow and lengthy movements surrounding a brief allegro movement. There is substantial interplay in the outer movement of this work between the cello and the solo flute together with long orchestral interludes. There are long, melodic lines and moments of lyricism particularly in the third movement. The liner notes repeat a legend that has grown with the telling that Hovhaness destroyed "close to 1000" works in 1940 but spared this concerto. Hovhaness did have a commendable capacity for self-criticism, but my understanding is that this story and the number of works at issue has grown with the years. Be that as it may, this cello concerto is an appealing work.

The second work on the CD, the 1971 "Symphony of Light", Opus 236 is music on a high level. Hovhaness wrote this symphony under a commission from the Birmingham Symphony Orcestra (Alabama). The recording here dates from 1992 and features Hovhaness himself conducting the Seattle Orchestra.

This is a four-movement symphony of about 30 minutes featuring extended slow opening and concluding movements surrounding two exquisite, very short movements. The work well deserves its name "City of Light". It is in an eloquent, elevated, mystical tone throughout. It features long intertwining string themes played by the strings with comments from the winds, and percussion. It has a highly eastern flavor. The climax of this symphony is in its final movement which closes with an extended fugue on a lengthy melody played in the lower strings.

As I listended to the Symphony, I couldn't help remember the Birmingham, Alabama of 1963 in which police dogs and fire hoses were unleashed on Martin Luther King and his followers in the cause of Civil Rights. This symphony, written only eight years after these events, speaks to me of a city of promise and love, dedicated to high ideals and open to all. The music is both elevated and accessible and paints a tonal picture of aspiration for Birmingham specifically, perhaps, but for all our cities as well. This is music of a uniquely mystical and American stamp.

The listener will enjoy getting to know the works of Alan Hovhaness in this fine CD.

While the rest of the "classical" music world was paving the road to hell with serialism a la Shoenberg and "experimentalism" a la Cage, a select few of the more sensible composers stuck with good old reliable tonality to get their point across. Sadly, it is the more "avante garde" composers that are remembered today (more because their music was different than good).

Alan Hovhaness was one such composer than undeservedly fell by the wayside. Halfway between the impressionism of Ravel and the (what would be) minimalism of Philip Glass, Hovhaness's music tends to rely on fairly static, dronelike harmonies, long but often repeated (and modal) melodies, and a marvelously measured blending of Eastern and Western sounds. At a time when "classical" music became more bizarre and less accessible, Hovhaness was a uniquely unique, yet accessable composer.

While other amazon reviewers seem to prefer the Symphony ("City of Lights"), I want to chime in to rave about the Cello concerto.

In contrast to "City of Lights," the Cello concerto is suprisingly sparse sounding (especially considering that it is scored for a full orchestra). Where the symphony's first movement utilizes bold, rich, and full chords, the cello concerto's first movement generally consists of one instrument (cello or flute, mostly) playing a melody over a drone provided by the strings (with a little wind coloration here and there). The melodies in this first movement (using the phrygian mode) are some of the most hauntingly sweet melodies I have heard, sounding like a darker version of Ravel.

By contrast, the second movement (less than three minutes) is a rhythmically steady allegro with a Germanic sounding cello melody in front of steadily pulsing pizzicato strings.

The third movement returns to the slow, haunting beauty of the first, this time throwing a harp into a substantial supporting role. The soft melody is thrown back and forth between the cello, clarinet and flute.

In all candor, this cello concerto is like no piece of music I have ever heard before: at the same time, so sparse and so rich, so simple yet so interest-keeping and full of flavor. As evidenced by my four star review, it is not that I disliked the "City of Lights" symphony. It is simply that, at least to this reviewer's ears, the cello concerto is so beautiful as to render "City of Lights" a supporting act. (Of course, as disagreements in music have more to do with taste than rights and wrongs, you should get this wonderful CD and judge for yourself!)

I bought this CD on a whim, not being familiar with much of Hovhaness' work other than "Mysterious Mountain". The real gem on this recording is the Starker performance of the Cello Concerto. There are few cellists around who can get such a powerful and dark sound out of the instrument as he does without sounding forced. The performance is emotionally compelling from the first bar to the last. A pleasant surprise for me was the Seattle Symphony which plays gorgeously in both the Cello Concerto and the Symphony No.22. The lower brass, in particular, display stunning ensemble playing and total security in intonation. Their interjections communicate nicely with the cello part in the Concerto. Altogether a highly recommendable disc.

Alan Hovhaness, a fascinating and prolific exotic among American composers, sought to combine Eastern and Western thought--not only musical, but religious--in his work. Dissatisfied with his progress as a composer, Hovhaness burned more than 1,000 apprentice works in 1940 (he was only 29!). One of the few early Hovhaness works that escaped the bonfire was his Cello Concerto of 1936; even so, it was not performed until 1975 or recorded until 1999, the year before the composer's death. Listening to this sinuous, poignant work, alternately delicate and majestic, I can only wonder how it took so long to make it to disc. Janos Starker, one of the great modern masters of the cello, is the soloist on this disc, with Dennis Russell Davies conducting the Seattle Symphony; their account of this work argues cogently for its being made a permanent part of the repertoire. The Cello Concerto is accompanied here by one of Hovhaness' major symphonies, "City of Light," conducted by Hovhaness himself; less immediately lovable than the Cello Concerto, nevertheless it stakes its claim as an eloquent, big-hearted work of art.

I'm starting to make a living here reviewing classical music from the point of view of a guy who doesn't know much about classical music - especially anything technical. I have ears - that's about the extent of my qualifications. If you already know a bunch about classical music, then you know more than me and can disregard this review. If not, this is maybe the only review for you!

That said, this is some of the easiest to hear modern music I've ever heard. At times it sounds, frankly, like a film soundtrack. When it doesn't, it is even more beautiful. I read in This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession that the history of Western art music could be interpreted as gradually elevating timbre (sound, without regard to melody or rhythm) above all other considerations (or something like that) - and at times on this CD I think I can hear what that might mean. In general however, there are supremely catchy and pretty melodies, pleasing harmonies. Making perhaps a really wild leap, I'd recommend this to fans of Screenplaying (Music from the Films ...) because they both obviously strove above all to create beautiful, elevating music.

Until now, had anyone asked (they hadn't of course) I'd've recommended something by Takemitsu - perhaps Takemitsu: Requiem; Twill by Twilight - as a first exposure to modern-sounding (as opposed to "neo-romantic" or something) music. Of course, there are other very accesssible examples of modern music, and more famous ones to boot, such as Holst: The Planets or Carl Orff: Carmina Burana.

Well, and if you're just interested in beautiful music and not trying to "understand 20th century music" or something, this is definitely for you. You can't beat the price, and you can definitely listen to this over and over - enjoy yourself and impress your friends!

I became an instant fan of Alan Hovhaness upon first hearing his "Mysterious Mountain" conducted by Fritz Reiner. Finally I had found a composer whose training was rooted in Western music, yet incorporated many ideas and sounds from Middle-Eastern and Eastern music, including mysticism and open-endedness in structure of composition.

And being that the cello is one of my favorite instruments to listen to, I felt very excited about giving this recording a listen. What I like most about the concerto is that it is not designed as a display of virtuosity for playing the cello, but rather the cello has its voice within the greater context of the entire piece. There are also several quiet passages throughout in which one hears the interplay between cello and flute.

I also very much enjoy listening to "City of Light". The magisterial playing succeeds in creating "an imaginary city with a million lights".

I do agree with a previous reviewer that these compositions represent "filler material" for one's collection. For certainly this recording has filled my cd player for several weeks now, while also filling my spirits with sonorous and mystical sounds that help turn a grinding day into an evening of musical contemplation in which I search for my own city of light.

This Renaissance of music by American composer
Alan Hovhaness is great, Mr. Hovhaness is
one of my favorite composers; but why now?
why not when Mr. Hovhaness was still around?
so he too could have enjoyed his music performed
by the very best. This is a great recording and
the Cello Concerto is just a smash hit!!!
Starker, Mr. Davies, and a above all Mr. Hovhaness
did a wonderful job. I just wish Mr. Hovhaness had
lived long enough to hear Starker play the Cello Concerto..
Great recording at the great Naxos price...

Alan Hovhaness's music defies description, until you listen carefully. Thoroughly twentieth century, but hardly modern, the idiom is reminiscent of the folk song composers of the earler part of the century. The music is almost defaintly modal, but there are non-Euroepan influences mixed into the cocktail. The 22nd Symphony and Cello Concerto coupled on this disc offer a good introduction to the composer's highly individual yet sometimes less than memorable voice. The performaces are good, without being brilliant. But it's still superb value for money.