GEORGE ANTHEIL : Symphony №. 3 'American' · Symphony №. 6 'After Delacroix' · Spectre Of The Rose Waltz · Archipelago · Hot-Time Dance (BBC Philharmonic · John Storgårds) (2019) Tree Version | WAV + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

The fortunes of American composer George Antheil declined after his daring Ballet Mécanique, an accompaniment to a Dada film by Fernand Léger. He wrote film music, which shows up as an influence in the music on this release by the BBC Philharmonic and Finnish conductor John Storgårds. And he flirted with jazz and with major classical styles of the day, never quite finding a fully original voice again but always maintaining an appealing level of ambition. Storgårds is the latest of a diverse group of conductors (including Eugene Goossens) to champion Antheil's orchestral music, and he's not as unlikely a champion as he might seem. Finns have always been enthusiastic programmers of Russian music, and Antheil's models here are Russian: Shostakovich, principally, and to a lesser extent Prokofiev. This is true even in the case of the Symphony No. 3, subtitled "American," whose sound collages suggest that Antheil was familiar with the music of Ives by this time, but whose finale is pure Prokofiev. The Symphony No. 6 ("Delacroix," referring to programmatic inspiration by that painter's Liberty Leading the People) brings several Shostakovich symphonies to mind, which is hardly surprising: Shostakovich appeared on the cover of Time during the war and was an extraordinarily popular figure in the U.S. Probably the strongest pieces are the short ones. The opening Archipelago is in the vein of Milhaud's Brazilian pieces but is lush, with harp glissandos and a bit of everything else, where Milhaud is concise and brisk. The little Hot-Time Dance (the reference is not to Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight but to an old election-night custom) offers a Shostakovich-like clarinet theme, but here Antheil is economical and treats the little tune in a bewitching way. The BBC Philharmonic keeps up with detailed, difficult parts and what was likely unfamiliar music. This album can be recommended to anyone with an interest in American symphonic music. James Manheim
GEORGE ANTHEIL (1900-1959)
1.    Archipelago    (6:01)
2-5.    Symphony No. 3 'American'    (24:47)
6.    Hot-Time Dance (American Dance Suite No. 1; Election Dance)    (4:33)
7-9.    Symphony No. 6 'After Delacroix'    (26:12)
10.    Spectre Of The Rose Waltz    (4:53)
Credits : 
Conductor – John Storgårds
Orchestra – BBC Philharmonic

KORNGOLD : Symphony in Fis-Dur · Abschiedslieder (Linda Finnie · BBC Philharmonic Orchestra · Edward Downes) (1993) APE (image+.cue), lossless

The two substantial selections on this Chandos release represent the early and late phases of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's impressive career and show the wide stylistic range and versatility of his work. The lush post-Romanticism of the Lieder des Abschieds, Op. 14, is typical of the youthful Korngold's music from the early '20s, and this haunting work is contemporary with his operatic masterpiece Die tote Stadt. These four orchestral songs partake of the musical language of Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss, particularly in their poignant harmonies, richly colored orchestration, and overwhelmingly melancholy moods. In contrast, the Symphony in F sharp major is a rough-hewn and problematic work that reflects the tensions of tonal modernism in the years following WWII, as well as the difficulties the composer faced in using the expanded Romantic symphonic form for the first and only time. The 1992 performance of the songs by contralto Linda Finnie and the BBC Philharmonic, conducted by Edward Downes, does justice to Korngold's tenderly lyrical side, while the same orchestra and conductor give the symphony a muscular reading that is striking in its vehemence and power. Chandos delivers excellent reproduction in both offerings, though the sound is somewhat crisper and more concentrated in the recording of the symphony. Blair Sanderson    Tracklist & Credits :