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

RAUTAVAARA : Modificata; Incantations; Toward the Horizon (Colin Currie, Truls Mørk, John Storgårds) (2012) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The works on this CD span over 50 years of Einojuhani Rautavaara's career, the earliest, Modificata from 1957, and the latest, Percussion Concerto, "Incantations," from 2008-2009. The album is filled out by another late piece, Cello Concerto No. 2, "Towards the Horizon," from 2008. It's intriguing to hear how much has changed and how much has held steady in his musical expression. "Prævariata," the first movement of Modificata, was the first Finnish serial work. The pitch choices may have been determined serially, but instead of the edgy angularity of much serial music of the era, this piece is full of the Romantic, sweeping lines that characterize Rautavaara's most familiar style; in a game of Guess the Composer, an astute listener might easily suggest Rautavaara, based on the use of the kinds of grand, lyrical gestures that have persisted throughout his career. With the two concertos, fans of the composer are in more familiar territory. Both pieces have evocative titles that suggest mystery and the unknown, and are essentially lyrical and strongly melodic. In the Percussion Concerto that means ample use of marimba and vibraphone. In both works Rautavaara conjures up images of mysterious wind-swept landscapes with a signature device: passages of swirling activity, often in the woodwinds, coursing over a slow-moving bass and under a soaring, lyrical melody. John Storgårds leads the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra in atmospheric and energetic reading of the scores. The concertos feature the soloists for whom they were written. Cellist Truls Mørk plays with a sweet, singing, intense tone that suits the character of the concerto well. Scottish percussionist Colin Currie manages the composer's demanding score with ease and panache. Ondine, sound is clean, detailed, and nicely ambient. by Stephen Eddins  
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