Fans of twentieth century
European music know the toll taken on
Soviet composers by the excesses of
Stalinism, and the loss of home and
sometimes of life suffered by Jewish
musicians in Nazi Germany. Yet totalitarianism
and violence extended much further in
the last century than central and eastern
Europe. Antonio José was killed
in the Spanish Civil War in 1936, at
the age of 33.
The liner notes for
the recording, by Enríque Martínez
Miura, provide a helpful overview of
the life of the composer, whose full
name was Antonio José Martínez
Palacios. Despite the turbulence of
José’s time and place, he wrote
music in the accessible, upbeat nationalistic
style common around the turn of the
century away from the musical capitals.
As with other such composers - I think,
for example, of Bartók - José
collected and published his country’s
folk music and incorporated it into
his own writing.
It is perhaps surprising,
then, that the Sinfonía castellana
sounds as much French as it does Spanish
or Castillian. The symphony’s Nocturno
in particular, has a Debussy-like impressionism
that may evoke visions of a Monet painting.
Like the second-tier impressionistic
composers, José’s use of the
colors of the orchestral palette is
masterful, but his development of the
musical story-line can be less than
compelling. As the liner notes put it,
"there are no well-defined thematic
contrasts."
The Suite ingenua
for piano and strings is my favorite
work here. It is, at ten minutes, a
miniature piano concerto, with a beautifully
elegiac "Balada" as the middle
movement. The outer movements are rhythmic
and propulsive, the piano and strings
by turns pushing each other forward.
I am as unfamiliar
with the performers as I was with the
composer. Alberto Rosado is the pianist
in the Suite ingenua. All of
the works feature the Castile and León
Symphony Orchestra, which was formed
recently in 1991, and conductor Alejandro
Posada Gómez. All concerned bring
complete passion and skill to these
performances.
As is so often the
case, Naxos has brought to our attention
a little-known composer who deserves
a hearing. For someone just beginning
to explore the "Spanish Classics"
series, I would recommend more familiar
names such as Rodrigo or Turina. José’s
music is good, but it is not great.
It also may be imperfectly representative
in light of its strong French flavor.
For those, on the other hand, curious
to explore the by-ways of Spanish orchestral
music, this recording is an important
document.
Brian Burtt
see also review
by Rob Barnett
Castile and León Symphony Orchestra/Alejandro
Posada 
