RECORDING OF THE MONTH     CHOPIN Waltzes and Impromptus Vladimir Feltsman £11 post free World-wide VIVALDI The four seasons London Mozart Players/Juritz £12 post free World-wide BEETHOVEN Symphonies 4 and 5 LSO/Yondani Butt £12 post free World-wide

Dimitri NICOLAU (b. 1946) Dances and Melodies op. 125 [26:35] Zwei Goethe-Lieder op. 138 [10:44] Three Dances op. 190 [10:34] Summer Dance [3:47] In Memoriam à Siegfried Behrend op. 102 [8:13] Gertraud Erhard (sop) Armin Korn, Christian Wernicke, Andreas Schumacher (guitars) Das Badische Zupforchester/Arnold Sesterheim rec. SW Studio, Karlsruhe. DDD ANTES EDITION BM 31.9209 [61:22]

Greek-born Nicolau has channelled much of his creativity into writing for the mandolin and guitar - often for massed ensembles. This grew from a rejection of Western things in the period 1950-1970. The song-and-dance-inspired op. 126 is called Dances and Melodies and comprises five movements. Each carries a traditional title although strangely some are in French. Loosely speaking the feel of this music is comparable with a Russian balalaika ensemble with much delicious resort to massed tremolo. The penultimate movement is For Two Blue Eyes and is darker and almost threatening. The music has a slight Zorba accent and this is mixed with intimations of Turkey and further East.   The skilled Badische Zupforchester returns for the op. 138 Zwei Goethe-Lieder which pull off a lovely lilting mediation between lieder cantilena and the massed style we know from the op. 126 work. These two should make a stimulating and unpredictably disconcerting contribution to any Lieder evening. They set two of the most illustrious Goethe poems Gretchens Klage and Mignon.   The orchestra drops away in favour of three guitars for the Three Dances op. 190. Here the style is more oblique, almost Webernian but with crosscuts of Greek rhythmic fibre enlivened with much tapping on the bodies of the instruments. The short oblique Nocturnal Interlude is followed by a hummable feel-good Summer Dance which deserves the widest coverage. It recalls the writing of Rodrigo in the Concierto Madrigal.   Nicolau's In Memoriam à Siegfried Behrend is strong and dissonant. It is full of urgent fantasy, hysteria and fear amid the tremolo and the quiet feral ululation of the swannee whistle.   To Western ears this music will seem abstruse and exotic. It is recommended for just these reasons.   Rob Barnett     Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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