Zwilich: Concerto Grosso; Symphony No. 3; Oboe Concerto

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (Composer), James Sedares (Conductor), Louisville Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Louisville Orchestra
• Conductor: James Sedares
• Composer: Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
• Audio CD (May 23, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Koch Int'l Classics
• ASIN: B000001SHU
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,907 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Symphony No. 3: Maestoso e cantabile

2. Symphony No. 3: Molto vivace

3. Symphony No. 3: Largo

4. Concerto For Oboe And Orchestra

5. Concerto Grosso (To Handel's Sonata In D): Maestoso

6. Concerto Grosso (To Handel's Sonata In D): Presto

7. Concerto Grosso (To Handel's Sonata In D): Largo

8. Concerto Grosso (To Handel's Sonata In D): Presto

9. Concerto Grosso (To Handel's Sonata In D): Maestoso

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent collection of this composer's works, June 18, 2001

By 

David R. Gaines (Rockville, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zwilich: Concerto Grosso; Symphony No. 3; Oboe Concerto (Audio CD)

Ellen Taafe Zwilich deserves more recordings than she gets, although there are those who would argue that she has more than her share for a composer who hasn't, shall we say, passed on yet. The Louisville Orchestra is hard to beat in terms of sympathetic recordings of contemporary music, and the combination of Zwilich/Lousiville is well worth purchasing. Highly recommended.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty inconsequential stuff, May 14, 2010

By 

G.D. (Norway) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zwilich: Concerto Grosso; Symphony No. 3; Oboe Concerto (Audio CD)

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b1939) has managed to carve out a certain amount of praise and respect for her works, and has for example won multiple prices. Now, I won't claim much familiarity with her output, but if the music on this disc is a representative sample, one might justifiably wonder why. I do not deny that it is often skillfully put together and well-crafted in a workmanlike manner. But the big, strong ideas are nowhere to be seen, and even the more modest good ideas are few and far between. Stylistically the music belongs to the drawing room neo-classicism/neo-romanticism mix you find in, say, Robert Ward or Lee Hoiby, with a modest touch of Americana. It is mostly tonal, in a slightly kitchy but grayly bloated manner.

The Concerto Grosso is hence an attractive enough work, but I didn't remember a thing about if after it was finished, and I do not feel like returning to it anytime soon - fake neo-baroque music in a style mixing Hindemith and Copland with the ingenuity of neither. The oboe concerto is another superfluous addition to the catalogue; there is nothing remotely notable or memorable about it. The third symphony is slightly better, but filled with formless sentimentality rather than profundity or good ideas - it is worth hearing for fans of undistinguished, well-crafted and conservative neo-romanticism, but I don't consider myself among those.

The performers can hardly be said to be the culprits either. John Mark is a fine soloists and seems to be able to get the most out of his unrewarding concerto. The Louisville Orchestra sounds a tad underrehearsed, lacking in spirit and refinement, but are generally pretty good. Still, while this is an intermittently attractive presentation of a big figure on the contemporary music scene, it offers few unqualified rewards for the average music lover. The sound is slightly murky but decent enough.