Darius MILHAUD (1892-1974)
Milhaud conducts Milhaud
Les Quatre Saisons (1934-53) (Concertinos de: Printemps
[8:44]; Eté [13:27]; Automne [9:48]; Hiver [12:28])
rec. June 1958, Philips
Saudades do Brasil, Op. 67 (1920-1921) [23:50] (complete: Overture;
no. 1, Sorocaba; no. 2, Botofogo; no. 3, Leme; no.
4, Copacobana; no. 5, Ipanema; no. 6, Gavea; no. 7, Corcovado;
no. 8, Tijuca; no. 9, Sumaré; no. 10, Paineras; no. 11,
Larenjeiras; no. 12 Paysandu))
rec. Studio A, Capitol Tower, Hollywood, 10-12 September 1956
Szymon Goldberg (violin) Printemps; Ernst Wallfisch (viola) Eté;
Geneviève Joy, Jacqueline Bonneau (pianos) Automne; Maurice Suzan (trombone)
Hiver.
Ensemble de Solistes des Concerts Lamoureux/Darius Milhaud
Concert Arts Orchestra (Saudades)/Darius Milhaud
First issued as Philips 00-576, June 1958 (Saisons); Capitol P8358.
PRISTINE AUDIO PASC 272 [67:17] 
That spring morning sense of revival of sunshine's joy and power suffuses
the Printemps Concertino. Seascapes seem to sparkle and glint. This
is Milhaud streaming delight through Goldberg's playing. This is done with
as much apparent facility as Elgar drawing music from the air around Malvern's
rivers and hills. The score is in constant and lively motion - active, winged
and soaring. The Concertino d'Eté is soaked in summer's buzzing heat
with the textures as intricately busy as those in Printemps. The pulse
is slower and there is room for a shade more dissonance among the viola-led
riches - the merest veneer. Joy and Bonneau counterpoint thoughtfully the
more circumspect and less impulsive writing. Interesting choice of Milhaud's
to place Winter last and to make the chosen solo instrument the trombone.
The soloist is given gamely impudent as well as reflective music to play.
Its dartingly tireless energy is variously reminiscent of Berg, Tippett and
Stravinsky.
The Saudades refer to "an ardent longing for an absent place," in this
case Brazil - its bustle, its unnerving wilderness and its carnival. Each
of the thirteen separately-tracked episodes carries a dedication: Ipanema
- loud, dangerous and defiant - to Artur Rubinstein and Tijuca - laid-back
and slyly-urbanely Waltonian - to another pianist, Ricardo Viñes. The music
has something in common with the sultry luxuriance and jungle thickets of
Villa-Lobos's Floresta do Amazonas. There's popular culture too - both
languid (Corcovado and the tango-inflected Sumaré) and haywire.
We might think of other railway pieces of the 1920s when we hear Paineras.
Larenjeiras flutters and hiccups with Amerindian currents and jazz.
Paysandu is said to be an evocation of the feminine spirit in Brazil
but its main theme reminds me of episodes from Elgar's Enigma; no really!
The sound throughout out has been very nicely captured by Andrew Rose. It
accordingly makes an extremely attractive disc or download. One must however
accept a hiss typical of these mid- late- 1950s mono originals. It's a negligible
concession in a bargain that works well for the accommodating listener.
I do not recall Les saisons being reissued before but this Saudades
has been out on EMI Classics Great Recordings of the Century 3
45808 2 and not so very long ago.
The delightful tonal wares on display here share their lissom yet tangy character
with those on the Milhaud
VoxBox which I welcomed in a retrospective review in 2005.
Rob Barnett
Delightful tonal wares on display … lissom yet tangy character.