MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


CD REVIEW

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger


alternatively Crotchet

Gustav HOLST (1874-1934)
Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra Op.49/H175 (1929) [14:54]
St Paul’s Suite Op. 29 No.2/H118 (1913) [12:26]
Brook Green Suite H190 (1933) [6:01]
A Song of the Night for Violin and Orchestra Op.19 No.1/H74 [8:14]
Lyric Movement for Viola and Chamber Orchestra H191 (1933) [11:32]
A Fugal Concerto for Flute, Oboe and Strings Op.40/H152 (1922) [8:26]
Janice Graham (violin), Sarah Ewins (violin), Andriy Viytovych (viola), Anna Pyne (flute), Philip Harmer (oboe)
English Sinfonia/Howard Griffiths
rec. St Clements Church, Islington, London, November 2005
NAXOS 8.570339 [61:33]



I was expecting good things here but by and large I was disappointed. Since the disc largely replicates the running order of Imogen Holst’s old Lyrita LP I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to judge the newcomer against the standards set on that disc. You won’t need to dust down your vinyl – it’s out on Lyrita SRCD223.
 
The Lyric Movement for Viola and Chamber Orchestra is one of the more successful performances. Andriy Viytovych is a good player but neither he nor Howard Griffith really quite summons up the sheer level of atmosphere that Cecil Aronowitz, the ECO and Imogen Holst managed. I was also distracted by the over-prominent flute.
 
Griffiths is in a tearing hurry in the Brook Green Suite. He’s obviously not the kind of conductor to be seduced by its central movement – which is neither tender nor affectionate – and his off-hand professionalism does little for Holst. The big entries are over-done and this brusque approach also does for the finale. Imogen Holst is steadier and wittier.
 
It’s déjà vu all over again in the St Paul’s Suite. To be frank I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more perfunctory run-through than this. Surely the answer to treacly go-rounds is not this kind of indifference. The finale’s Greensleeves counter-theme is too fast, dynamics are not graded and the outsize contrasts make mincemeat of the thing.
 
Not having much luck I turned in mounting desperation to A Fugal Concerto. Yes, this sounded vibrant and forthcoming but no, next to William Bennett, Peter Graeme and co. this sounds, again, less than stellar.  At a steadier tempo the Lyrita crew bring out the witty baroque elements but Griffiths is again too brusque and his soloists lack personality. Everyone concerned makes a right old meal of the Adagio’s pizzicati.
 
Even the Concerto for Two Violins suffers from this straight-backed and apparently wintry approach. Emanuel Hurwitz and Kenneth Sillito took fourteen and a half minutes over this and the young guns zip by in 11:54. Well, timings aren’t everything and I often favour fast tempi - but not here. I liked the rare A Song of the Night for Violin and Orchestra – did I detect a modicum of affection for the thing?
 
Even at Naxos’s price I would avoid this and head straight for the Lyrita. The performances there are warmly convincing but lack nothing in spine. These Naxos ones are, I’m afraid, decidedly off-putting.
 
Jonathan Woolf

British Composers on Naxos page

 



 


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

Return to Review Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.