Corigliano: Symphony No.1 / Of Rage and Remembrance [Box set]

John Corigliano (Composer), Leonard Slatkin (Conductor), National Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: National Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
• Composer: John Corigliano
• Audio CD (September 17, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003G1M
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,780 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of two, June 29, 2000

By 

Joshua Saulle (Yonkers, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Corigliano: Symphony No.1 / Of Rage and Remembrance (Audio CD)

It is amazing (although perhaps not once you hear this music) that a modern symphony dealing with a difficult and controversial issue like AIDS should be given not one, but TWO excellent recordings by major American orchestras (the other being the premiere recording with the Chicago Symphony and Daniel Barenboim). But that simply indicates the importance and magnitude of this piece. It is certainly one of the best symphonies by an American composer, possibly one of the greatest symphonies of the 20th century. And of the two recordings available, this is to my mind the finest. Slatkin's direction is much tighter, giving the faster more rhythmic sections more clout, whereas in Barenboim's version, the orchestra lacked that precision. Some might prefer Barenboim's Mahleresque sound (like an orchestra so big it can barely hold itself together) but Slatkin achieves amazing power through precision without sacrificing the work's epic breadth. As an added bonus, there is the choral work 'Of Rage and Remembrance' which you should listen to only after hearing the symphony.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Terrific absolute music too, July 24, 2000

By 

Mark McCue (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Corigliano: Symphony No.1 / Of Rage and Remembrance (Audio CD)

The extra-musical considerations of these works are interesting in and of themselves, but they are in no way necessary for an understanding and enjoyment of these considerable achievements by Corigliano.

The composer has come some way from the piano concerto that Hilde Somer recorded in San Antonio back in the late '60s. There is the same rythmic pulse, the same intense desire to innovate while remaining accessible. There's more content in ideas and art surrounding those ideas that remind me strongly of Penderecki, Panufnik,Rieti, Nicholas Flagello and Creston without in the least way being derivative. Corigliano, truly an original voice, deserves to be in such distinguished company.

My only concern is that these works have been pinned as so occasional that they might meet the fate of period pieces, much as some of the fine 1970s works of Gould, Carter, or Gregg Smith: we don't hear them any more because they've been so oft-discussed and fraught with situational association.

The National Symphony has mended its somewhat slack ways proliferated under the Slavka regime. Antal Dorati would have been proud to hear the exquisite execution DC's superlative orchestra affords these affecting works.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A truely incredible piece of music., October 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Corigliano: Symphony No.1 / Of Rage and Remembrance (Audio CD)

John Corigliano's first symphony, "Of Rage and Remebrance", is an amazing piece of music. Corigliano attempts to capture the feelings he has experienced with dealing with the lost of his dear friends, who died of AIDS.

The first movement, titled "Of Rage and Remembrance" deals with the struggle of attempting to understand and accept the loss of his friends. The listener gets a sense of the conflicting feelings of sorrow and anger. Very powerful.

My favorite is the second movement, where he shows, musically, the decaying of the mind of his friend. His friend was a clarinet player and you can hear throughout the movement the nature of the carefree theme as it goes through fits of fast paced insanity and mind numbing slowness.

The cello solo in the third movement is one of the most hauntingly beautiful melodies I've heard. The entire piece ends with open muted brass sounds, representing the vastness of the ocean. This picture displays Corigliano's idea of emptiness but acceptance. This is a rather bleak view of death, but is honest with human emotions

A beautiful recording of an amazing piece