Having just put aside
the recent Naxos issue of Kaddish
[review]
I was enthusiastic about discovering
more of Bernstein’s music, which, short
of the ‘Prelude, Fugue and Riffs’ which
I’ve known since being in nappies, I
was disturbed to find I knew hardly
at all. As one might expect, this is
somewhat lighter material than Bernstein’s
religious music, but in the Bournemouth
Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop’s
capable hands it certainly doesn’t lack
in heft.
The Serenade is
nothing short of being a violin concerto,
and quite a substantial and demanding
one at that. In some ways it occupies
a similar emotional world to Lourié’s
‘Concerto da Camera’ or Stravinsky’s
‘Apollon Musagète’, being lyrical
and restrained – here and there with
a slightly other-worldly character which
reflects its subject matter. Bernstein
described it as a "series of related
statements in praise of love",
and each movement is derived from characters
in Plato’s Symposium. Such figures
provide the impetus for declamatory
writing for the solo violin and extended
conversations with the orchestra. There
are barely any jazz allusions and while
there are some typical excursions into
a kind of ‘salon’ style, Bernstein allows
himself to explore themes and motives
at greater depth than almost anywhere
else in his compositions. Possibly for
this reason he called it his "most
satisfying" work, and who are we
to disagree.
Facsimile was
written for a ballet choreographed by
Jerome Robbins, and has the post-war
spiritual malaise as its central theme.
Two men vie for the attentions of a
woman, but without sincerity or true
meaning to their relationships the whole
thing ends in vacuous and inconclusive
frustration. The drama is essentially
psychological, and much of the music
in the first part has a wistfully lyrical
atmosphere, with excellent, sensitive
solos from the orchestra. The second
section involves a concertante piano
part in sparring with a more burlesque
orchestral development, which builds
to a suitably rhythmic climax before
settling into a short coda which reprises
the atmosphere of the opening.
The Divertimento
for Orchestra was one of Bernstein’s
last compositions, and is a celebration
and tribute to the Boston Symphony Orchestra;
with a two note ‘B-C’ (Boston Centenary)
motif running throughout. Bernstein
revels in the full spectrum of the orchestra’s
potential, with sardonic dances, his
own little ‘Enigma’ movement (Sphynxes),
a strip show (Blues), a Memorial
to deceased members of the Boston
Symphony, and appropriately finishing
with an absurd march: ‘The BSO Forever’,
which I’m sure made the Bournemouth
‘BSO’ players smile.
The playing here is
superb throughout, from Philip Quint’s
marvellous solo violin to the farting
contrabassoon in the Divertimento.
Marin Alsop’s interpretations are straightforward
and eloquent, allowing Bernstein’s voice
to speak clearly and convincingly. I
defy anyone to find themselves sorry
they bought this CD – it’s what we former
employees of Farringdon Records call
‘a winner.’
Dominy Clements
Philip Quint (violin) 
