Benjamin Britten: Piano Concerto; Soirées Musicales; Matinées Musicales

Benjamin Britten (Composer), Kimmo Korhonen (Conductor), Okko Kamu (Conductor), Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Ralf Gothani (Performer), Ralf Gothoni (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Ralf Gothani, Ralf Gothoni
• Orchestra: Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Kimmo Korhonen, Okko Kamu
• Composer: Benjamin Britten
• Audio CD (November 29, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ondine
• ASIN: B000003780
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #366,533 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rare recording of Soirees by Rossini/Britten, July 25, 2002

By 

Frank Lin - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Benjamin Britten: Piano Concerto; Soirées Musicales; Matinées Musicales (Audio CD)

While there is a number of fine Britten Piano Concerto recordings in the market today, it is difficult to find any recording of Soirees/Matinees Musicales. So the focus of this review is on the latter, presumably the quasi-filler of the release.

Rossini wrote Soirees Musicales and Matinee Musicales as Italian aria pieces mostly for solo soprano and piano accompaniment in soiree and matinee settings, though these pieces contain movements for soprano duet and tenor solo. I had spent many years looking for their recordings without success, until I finally bumped into one in a store in Berlin (Dussmann) last year. It is made by an Italian company.

Britten arranged these two pieces into orchestral pieces (without voice), which are included in this recording. A few movements were dropped by Britten. The orchestration gives a somewhat whimsical feel, especially when some fortissimo passages are accentuated with timpani. Overall the arrangements have an upbeat, flippant, and comedic mood, in contrast with the lingering, melodramatic, romance-centric original. In fact the arrangements might be more typical in a Boston Pops concert than at Berlin Phiharmonic.

The performance in "Soirees" and "Matinees" are sound and energetic. The sound is not lush but crisp and invigorating.

Compared to "Soirees" and "Matinees," the piano concerto is a totally different work. This is a 20th century composition typical of Britten's style -- esp. like Peter Grimes, with some resemblence to the style of Shostakovich. Gothani, the pianist, gives a spirited performance and meshes well with the orchestra. I like the tempo of this reading by conductor Komu. I'm not too familar with Komu -- I just know he does some Swedish works for Naxos.

Recommended -- even just for the two esoteric Rossini pieces.

5.0 out of 5 stars Britten's Brilliant Brain, September 27, 2008

By 

B. R. Merrick - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Benjamin Britten: Piano Concerto; Soirées Musicales; Matinées Musicales (Audio CD)

If Solomon Volkov can be trusted, the only Western contemporary that Shostakovich liked was Britten. I tend to believe it, because they both knew the meaning of economy of sound with a large orchestra, and both had a knack for taking the folk idioms of their respective countries and striking at them from an almost humorous angle, delving into and back out of tonality and harmony. I never know quite what to expect when I first hear a work by either composer.

The Piano Concerto goes from one extreme to the other. There are apparently other recordings without the original third movement. I'm not sure why you would want to dispense with it. What this concerto needs is an orchestra that can hold back when necessary, and really lay it on when Britten calls for it. The Helsingborg Symphony and Kamu are ready, willing and able.

The orchestrations of Rossini's music are about as modern as Britten could have arranged them. Once again, the players punch these out with as much gusto as they can. There may be other great recordings of these works, but I'm sure I will never have a need to find out.