Ernest Bloch: Concerti Grossi 1 & 2

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Bloch composed the first movement of his Concerto Grosso No. 1 as an instructional piece for his conservatory students. It proved to be so popular that he went on to complete the work, and the rest is history, as they say. The works collected on this disc represent the "other side" of Bloch's multi- faceted musical personality, a far cry from the luxurious exoticism of his "Jewish" works, like Schelomo. Both concerti grossi have become classics of the chamber music repertoire, delighting musicians and listeners alike, but they haven't gotten quite the attention on disc that they deserve. As you can hear for yourself, they repay every ounce of attention that you give them. --David Hurwitz

Tracks:

Con Grosso No.1: First Movt: Prld (Allegro Energico E Pesante)
Con Grosso No.1: Second Movt: Dirge (Andante Moderato)
Con Grosso No.1: Third Movt: Pastorale And Rustic Dances (Assai Lento - Allegro)
Con Grosso No.1: Fourth Movt: Fugue (Allegro)
Con Grosso No.2: First Movt: Maestoso - Allegro
Con Grosso No.2: Second Movt: Andante
Con Grosso No.2: Third Movt: Allegro
Con Grosso No.2: Fourth Movt: Tranquillo - Animato
Str Qt No.1: First Movt: Andante Moderato - Poco Piu Animato
Str Qt No.1: Second Movt: Allegro Trenetico

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Bloch Recordings.......2004-05-13

This compilation of Ernest Bloch's two Concerti Grossi and String Quartets is superb. The true essence of Bloch's intense, vibrant music is brought through quite well, especially in the 1st (Prelude) and 4th (Fugue) movements of Concerto Grosso #1. This CD is an excellent buy for any Neo-Classical or 20th Century music connosouir.

Bloch in Neo-Baroque Mode.......2001-04-30

Howard Hanson and the Eastman Rochester Orchestra established the benchmark for performances of Ernest Bloch's (1880-1959) two CONCERTI GROSSI (1925 and 1952) with their recording on Mercury in 1959. Bloch wrote the first CONCERTO GROSSO while on faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music, one of his stopover assignments on the way to Berkeley, California, and (in retirement) Agate Beach, Oregon. It seemed modern to audiences of the day but is likely to strike contemporary ears as late-Romantic in its vocabulary. Some of the "Jewish" Bloch surfaces here and there in the score - in the opening Prelude and again in the ensuing slow movement ("Lament"). The Third Movement ("Pastorale and Rustic Dances") sounds a bit like the corresponding movement from Magnard's THIRD SYMPHONY. In the Finale, Bloch works up an exciting fugue, bringing back the "Jewish" motif from the Prelude for the stretto. Dalia Atlas delivers a performance less tense, perhaps, than Hanson's, but in bringing out the work's lushness she opens it to another view which we ought to be happy to have. If THE CONCERTO GROSSO NO. 1, despite its name, is not very baroque at all, the CONCERTO GROSSO NO. 2 from more than a quarter of a century later, better lives up to the nomenclature. Where CG No. 1 used strings and piano, CG No. 2 limits the forces to strings, but subdivides the voices to make for a thornier contrapuntal texture - one more in line with what Bloch showed he could do in his first two string quartets. Less immediately accessible than CG No. 1, CONCERTO GROSSO NO. 2 neverthelesss offers more nourishment in the long run. As Colin Wilson noted forty years ago, Bloch's music often has a faintly English quality, and this is apparent in CONCERTO GROSSO NO. 2, some passages of which sound like Elgar or Bliss. Again, Atlas and the "Atlas Camerata" give a muscular performance and do a slightly better job than Hanson's Eastman Rochester players did in bringing out the work's moments of mystical yearning. The CD tracks the four sections of CONCERTO GROSSO NO. 2 separately; Atlas also introduces brief pauses where other performances (e.g. Hanson's) link the movements (four in all) without pause. The separate tracks are an advantage in getting to know the work. The concluding fugue is especially dense and tends to reveal its inner workings only on repeated audition. For good measure, Atlas serves up Bloch's STRING QUARTET NO. 1 (1916), maybe the most audacious and radical score that he wrote. We get two movements, the first and second, arranged for string orchestra. In conception and layout, the QUARTET is so enormous that this music tends to make the two companion-pieces seem a bit trifling; but the CONCERTO GROSSO NO. 2 becomes, in this program, something of a return to a spiky nearly atonal musical language that Bloch ameliorated after his emigration to America. Bloch has enjoyed a revival on CD recently, although many of the issues seem to have dropped from the catalogue. A few years back, Atlas committed to silver disc the hitherto unrecorded SYMPHONY IN E-FLAT (1954) along with two interludes from the opera "MACBETH" (1902) and the "THREE JEWISH POEMS" (1913). In the early 90s, the Laurel label put out a CD of the CONCERTO SYMPHONIQUE FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA (1948), coupled with CONCERTO GROSSO NO. 2. Those interested should seek out these discs. They should also snap up the present one. It is a worthy addition to the Bloch discography. [P.S. If Bloch appeals to you, I recommend that you become acquainted with the Swedish composer Gösta Nystroem (1890-1966), who shares many traits with the author of "SCHELOMO." Both Bloch and Nystroem were obsessed by the sea, both employed baroque structures in a modern context with late-Romantic harmonies, and the work of both is animated by a strong mystic impulse in the direction of pantheism. Nystroem's SINFONIA CONCERTANTE FOR CELLO AND ORCHESTRA (1947) is the large-scale rhapsodic counterpart of Bloch's slightly earlier VIOLIN CONCERTO (1938). Nystroem's SINFONIA ESPRESSIVA (1932) bears a strong anticipatory resemblance to Bloch's SINFONIA BREVE and SYMPHONY IN E-FLAT.]

Average customer rating:

A surprise...

Ernest Bloch: Concerti Grossi 1 & 2

Manufacturer: Cpo Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000001RTO
Release Date: 1994-01-25

Tracks:

Prelude
Dirge
Pastorale And Rustic Dances
Fugue
Allegro Comodo
Andante
Allegro
Humoresque Macabre
Obsession
Calm
Chinese
Maestoso - Allegro - Maestoso
Andante
Allegro
Tranquillo - Animato

Amazon.com

Bloch composed the first movement of his Concerto Grosso No. 1 as an instructional piece for his conservatory students. It proved to be so popular that he went on to complete the work, and the rest is history, as they say. The works collected on this disc represent the "other side" of Bloch's multi- faceted musical personality, a far cry from the luxurious exoticism of his "Jewish" works, like Schelomo. Both concerti grossi have become classics of the chamber music repertoire, delighting musicians and listeners alike, but they haven't gotten quite the attention on disc that they deserve. As you can hear for yourself, they repay every ounce of attention that you give them. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

A surprise..........2004-05-17

This CD is one I consistently return to and never tire of. The concerti grossi are fairly well known and deserve to be even better known They were the reason I originally bought this CD, but the other two works are their equal. The concertino is absolutely haunting and the 'Episodes" are a revelation. The styles among the works are related only in their superb craftsmanship; there is no predictable 'Bloch' style here to my thinking. The performances and recording are first rate.

Ernest Bloch: Concerti Grossi 1 & 2/ Quincy Porter: Ukrainian Suite

Average customer rating:

Excellent CD but not worth $100!

Ernest Bloch: Concerti Grossi 1 & 2/ Quincy Porter: Ukrainian Suite

Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Concerto Grosso No. II For String Orchestra With Piano Obbligato: Prelude: Allegro energico e pesante
Concerto Grosso No. II For String Orchestra With Piano Obbligato: Dirge: Andante moderato
Concerto Grosso No. II For String Orchestra With Piano Obbligato: Pastorale And Rustic Dances: Assai lento
Concerto Grosso No. II For String Orchestra With Piano Obbligato: Fugue: Allegro
Ukrainian Suite: Largo
Ukrainian Suite: Allegro moderato
Ukrainian Suite: Andante con moto
Ukrainian Suite: Presto
Ukrainian Suite: Andante
Ukrainian Suite: Allegro
Concerto Grosso No. II: Maestoso
Concerto Grosso No. II: Andante
Concerto Grosso No. II: Allegro
Concerto Grosso No. II: Tranquillo

Amazon.com

Ernest Bloch's Concerto Grosso No. 1 for String Ochestra with Piano Obbligato (of 1924-25) is a genuine masterpiece, and outside of his other masterpiece Schelomo for cello and orchestra (written in 1916), it is probably the work he's best known by. Though neo-classical in structure, the Concerto Grosso No. 1, is intensely emotional. It partakes, as so much of Bloch's music, of his Jewish roots, with the strings carrying the melodies and themes throughout. Concerto Grosso No. 2 (1953) is more controlled, stately, a product of the composer's later years. The Quincy Porter companion, the Ukrainian Suite (1920) is an understated student piece that fits the Bloch works nicely. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

Excellent CD but not worth $100!.......2006-05-13

This is a fantastic CD, but no CD is worth almost $100! It really galls me that some people who sell products on Amazon try to ask us buyers for such outrageous amounts of money for something that should cost far less, even if it is an out-of-print item. I sincerely hope that no one will spend what is currently being asked for this item ($99.94). Give me a break!

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