2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marvelous music, January 22, 2009
This review is from: Bax: Orchestral Works, Vol. 7 (Audio CD)
Along with their new release of the symphonies come these reissues of orchestral works, repackaged and recombined (in order to complement rather than compete with the new Handley release, I assume). While this is an important and extremely satisfying series, volume 7 is in a class of its own, containing as it does two large-scale works and at least one indisputable masterpiece.
The Symphonic Variations hardly calls for dazzling virtuous displays (and no one familiar with Bax would presumably expect it), though that should not be taken to underestimated the technical challenges the work presents to a performer. It is a rhapsodic work and doesn't try to emulate the formal cohesion of a genuine concerto. With a work lasting nearly 50 minutes, some will think of that as a criticism, but I would emphasize that given Bax's imaginative handling of the material, his ability to conjure up moods and atmospheres and the amount of brilliant and engaging ideas, at least my attention was never close to faltering. This is an early work, but a good one and a must for all who are interested in Bax. Performances are unlikely to be bettered and the sound is fine.
But the main fare here is of course the Winter Legends, and it receives an immensely satisfying performance here by Fingerhut (though I admit I haven't heard the recording with Harriet Cohen - apparently Fingerhut takes a rather expansive view of the work in comparison). And the music is wonderful. This monumental, Sibelian work finds Bax at his most imaginative and fantastic, and the way he conjures up all the nuances of wintry images, from bleak and frozen plains and shimmeringly mysterious winter forests to stormy, forbidding but majestic mountains - all the colors, the audible play with light - is a marvel. I would place this work among not only Bax's best, but as among the truly great works of the 20th century - a wonderful work.
So, even though I haven't heard the competition, this release is immensely satisfying and strongly recommended.
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