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             


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

REVIEW


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

 

 

alternatively
CD: MDT AmazonUK AmazonUS
Sound Samples & Downloads

Synergy
Michael DAUGHERTY (b.1954)
Brooklyn Bridge for Solo Clarinet and Symphonic Band (2004) [26:54]
Michael BURRITT (b.1962)
Duo Concertante for Clarinet and Percussion (2006) [11:16]
David GILLINGHAM (b. 1947)
Concertino for Four Percussion and Wind Ensemble (1997) [9:11]
J.M. DAVID (b.1978)
Fantasy Etudes, Book II for Clarinet, Basset Horn, and Chamber Winds (2007) [9:40]
Scott MCALLISTER (b.1969)
Black Dog for Solo Clarinet and Wind Ensemble (2003) [10:45]
The Columbus State University Wind Ensemble/Robert W. Rumbelow
rec. Legacy Hall of CSU’s RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, Columbus, Georgia, USA, March 2007
NAXOS 8.572319 [67:46]

Experience Classicsonline

I understand why this is issued under the Naxos Wind Band series, but it’s almost a recital disc for the truly excellent John Bruce Yeh. A member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, he plays on all the pieces except the Gillingham. The program follows an arch progression from solo to duet to quartet and back again. All told, it’s a very satisfying progression – bravo to whoever designed it.

The repertoire itself is mostly excellent – the McAllister may be a bit too long, and I wasn’t fully convinced by the Stravinskyesque touches of the David, though it has grown on me. But all the works have their charms, and the Daugherty is a wonderful surprise, the best work of his I’ve heard. The first movement opens the disc in tremendously convincing fashion, drawing the listener in for the full length of the work. The second movement accesses a tenderness and harmonic sensitivity I didn’t give Daugherty credit for. The fourth movement is a witty romp that doesn’t feel disposable the way this type of music sometimes can. The Burritt is also very accessible, in a standard fast-slow-fast shape and filled with memorable melodies and colors. I hope it has more of a life outside of this disc! The percussion soloist is Yeh’s daughter, and she was in high school when she recorded this remarkable performance. Yeh’s wife joins him on the David, where she also plays extremely well – what a family! Finally, the Gillingham is another excellent, colorful work which has already found a place in the repertoire. Moving steadily from a place of stillness and suspense to one of dramatic declamation, it is playable by an excellent amateur group but doesn’t feel like a “compromised” work at all. This performance cleanses the palette effectively for the rest of the disc yet also feels very much of a piece with the rest of the program.

Then there are the performances. Yeh dominates the disc, and completely inhabits these pieces, making each performance feel definitive. He’s a fabulous player who deserves this level of exposure. As for the band, their performances are thrilling, extremely precise and well rehearsed while still being very musical – there’s a palpable sense that everybody cares about every note. It’s a balancing act few wind bands seem to be able to achieve on recordings, with too many erring on the side of precise-but-not-musical - an understandable but regrettable error. On this disc, there’s a real sense of communication from composer, through ensemble, to listener. Congratulations and appreciation to everyone involved with this project for achieving it.

Benn Martin

 

 

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






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.