Williams: The Five Sacred Trees (Bassoon Concerto) / Takemitsu: Tree Line / Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2, Op. 132 "Mysterious Mountain" / Picker: Old and Lost Rivers

John Williams (Artist), Toru Takemitsu (Artist), Alan Hovhaness (Artist), Tobias Picker (Artist), Judith LeClair (Artist), London Symphony Orchestra (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 18, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000029TZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #120,728 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #40 in Music > Classical > Instruments > Reeds & Winds > Bassoon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Picker is the real surprise, November 6, 2000

By 

J. Peters (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Williams: The Five Sacred Trees (Bassoon Concerto) / Takemitsu: Tree Line / Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2, Op. 132 "Mysterious Mountain" / Picker: Old and Lost Rivers (Audio CD)

Williams, although best known for his film music, shows himself once again to be a great classical composer and conductor. The most attention goes of course to the bassoon concerto of Williams. This is an excellent impressionistic piece with some very moving and some very arrousing melodies. It starts with a lamenting solo for the bassoon that promisses the listener a very good use of the bassoon's lyrical qualities. The second part is a very lively, celtic-like dance in which the major parts are for the violin and the bassoon. The third part is a very gentle almost medieval solo-melody for bassoon accompanied by harp. The fourth movement resembles Williams film music the most. Think of the "mysterious movements in the undergrowth" kind of music Williams wrote for Jurassic Parc. Without pase the fifth movement follows which is again a more contemplation of the bassoon which uses features from the first movement. Judith LeClair's performance of this technically difficult piece is impeccable. The Five Sacred Trees is followed by a very moody piece of Toru Takemitsu. Although undoubtedly not a bad composition or performance, this is not music that I find very interesting. It's too unsubstantial and unmelodic for me. The fact that this piece is incuded on this CD is the only reason for four and not five stars. The symphony of Hovhaness is really breathtaking. From the first few bars of the first movement, the tone for the entire symphony is set. Williams performs this piece with great tenderness. But for me, the real surprise was the last piece: Old and Lost Rivers from Tobias Picker. Picker is not very well-known outside the U.S., which is really a shame. This piece of Picker is absolutely the most beautiful work of this CD and one of the most beatiful pieces I've come across in recent years. It's a tonal with no real melody but continually recurring chords. It knows few climaxes but is gentle and tender. Williams performance, though rather on the fast side, is very well balanced and with a clear vision of the piece. Over all, I find this a very satisfactory CD which offers a very well balanced (except for Takemitsu) and pleasing compilation of contemporary pieces.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MODERN MUSIC OF BEATHTAKING BEAUTY, April 22, 2004

By 

Larry L. Looney (Austin, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Williams: The Five Sacred Trees (Bassoon Concerto) / Takemitsu: Tree Line / Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2, Op. 132 "Mysterious Mountain" / Picker: Old and Lost Rivers (Audio CD)

This disc contains great performances of some of the finest examples of sheer beauty in 20th century music that I've heard in some time - in a recording of exceptional quality. It's a wonderful opportunity for those who equate `20th century music' with `cacophony' and `discord' to experience how incredibly beautiful it can be. I discovered it while browsing - the Ansel Adams cover photography caught my eye, which then widened when I saw the bassoon reference prominently displayed (one of my favorite instruments).

The title piece, a concerto for bassoon and orchestra by John Williams, takes up roughly half the disc. The five-movement composition is an homage to the majestic and sacred qualities of trees. Williams says he wrote the concerto with the bassoon in mind, believing it to be `haunted' by `the spirit of the tree from which it is made'. Utilizing Celtic imagery and titles, each of the five movements evokes one of the legendary trees featured in the mythology of that ancient culture. The mood and tone of each section reflects the characteristics attributed to those trees: the sturdiness of the oak; Tortan, the mythical tree associated with witchcraft; the yew, symbol of destruction and creation; the ash, symbolic of strife; and Dathi, the tree-muse of poets and the last tree to fall in the mythological Celtic forest, appropriately placed at the end of the program. Williams translates his reverence for the forest into his music skillfully and with great feeling, and the performance by Judith LeClair and the LSO complement his vision perfectly, bringing the `personality' of each of the movements to life with sensitivity and passion.

Toru Takemitsu has long been one of my favourite modern composers - I discovered his work back in the 1970s, and I soon learned that I could count on the intelligence and quality his music. It has never failed to both challenge and reward me. Listening to the work included here, `Tree line', I'm amazed at the complexity and delicacy represented in this short (under ten minutes) example of his work - I've often compared his compositions to the work of traditional Japanese brush artists, whose works achieve so much with apparently so few strokes. The beauty of the haiku form of poetry also comes to mind. Takemitsu was a master at combining the ancient spirituality and traditions of Japan with modern classical music.

I haven't heard much by Alan Hovhaness - an oversight I plan to correct. The piece which represents this composer here, his Symphony no. 2 (`Mysterious mountain') is, I'm told by a friend who is well-schooled in classical music, one of his most widely appreciated. An American composer who pioneered the `fusion' of western and eastern ideas and traditions, his writing as showcased here is breathtakingly beautiful - I was especially taken with the layers-upon-layers sound of the strings. The notes here indicate that this piece was intended to pay homage to the great American landscape painters of the 19th century Hudson River School - and it evokes the images they captured on canvas beautifully.

The last piece on the CD is `Old and lost rivers' by Tobias Picker - another composer with whose work I am sadly unfamiliar. The shortest work on the album (under five minutes), it's a masterful exercise in tranquility and beauty. It certainly makes me want to seek out more compositions by Picker.

The four pieces presented here go together perfectly in theme and mood - and the recording is of stellar quality, made crystal clear through the full digital recording process, which utilizes the 20-bit technology. The notes are informative and well-written, and the graphics are appropriate and lovely. It's a wonderful package for multiple senses.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent buy for fans of Williams or classical music, August 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Williams: The Five Sacred Trees (Bassoon Concerto) / Takemitsu: Tree Line / Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2, Op. 132 "Mysterious Mountain" / Picker: Old and Lost Rivers (Audio CD)

A little known fact about legendary conductor and composer, John Williams of the Boston Pops, is that he also composes many concert pieces. It's no wonder that this new piece has recieved so much crtitical acclaim in its first appearance in 1995. This recording features wonderful moments with Ms. LeClair and the London Symphony Orchestra. This music is as good as, if not better, than many of his film scores.... an excellent buy for fans of classical music or his film music.