Arriaga & Wikmanson: String Quartets

1. String Quartet No. 1 in D minor
Composed by Juan Crisostomo Arriaga

2. String Quartet No. 2 in A major
Composed by Juan Crisostomo Arriaga

3. String Quartet No. 3 in E flat major
Composed by Juan Crisostomo Arriaga

4. String Quartet in E minor, Op 1/2
Composed by Johan Wikmanson

Arriaga & Wikmanson: String Quartets,Juan Crisostomo Arriaga,Johan Wikmanson,Crd,Chamber,Classical,Classical Composers,Quartet for Four String Instruments

Average customer rating:

Cafe del Mar: Classic, Vol. 3 Manufacturer: Cafe del Mar ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Boccherini | Boccherini, Luigi | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Falla | Falla, Manuel de | ( F ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Granados, Enrique | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Tarrega | Tarrega, Francisco | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Classical | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Guitar | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Romances | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Café del Mar, Vol. 14 Café del Mar: Dreams, Vol. 4 Café del Mar: Classics, Vol. 2 Hotel Costes, Vol. 9 Café del Mar: Vue Mer ASIN: B000NQPXRQ Release Date: 2007-04-02

Tracks:

1. Danza Espa/5. Andaluza
2. Amor Brujo/Danza Ritual del Fuego
3. Gavilanes, Zarzuela/Preludio y Salida de Juan
4. Suite Espa/Granada
5. Suspiros de Espa
6. Goyescas/ [Excerpt]
7. Carmen/Intermezzo
8. En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor
9. Parrala
10. Recuerdos de La Alhambra
11. M Nocturna de Madrid
12. Romance Ano (From Juegos Prohibidos)
13. Sinfonen Re Menor/Andante

Album Details

The Third Volume of Classical Music Set to the Light Pulsations of the Scenery Generated by World's Most Beautiful Sunsets on Ibiza! the First Two Volumes of "Classics I and Ii" Presented the Works of Composers Like Beethoven, Bach, Mozart and Chopin. This Edition Takes a Southerly Turn in the Direction of Spain, featuring the Works of Popular Spanish Composers Like Maestro Rodrigo, De Falla, Albeniz, Granados, Quiroga, Arriaga and More. Like Previous Volumes, the Recording features "The City of Prague Philarmonic" with Arrangments and Direction by Alejandro Monroy.

Average customer rating: Arriaga: String Quartets Startlingly good quartets by an 18-year-old Not masterpieces but hghly tuneful

Arriaga: String Quartets Manufacturer: Naxos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music 4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Arriaga: Symphony in D Ignaz Pleyel: String Quartets, Op. 2, Nos. 1-3 Boccherini: Cello Concertos Nos. 9-12 Boccherini: String Quartets, Opp. 32 and 39 Ignaz Pleyel: String Quartets, Op. 2 Nos. 4-6 ASIN: B000BK53EC Release Date: 2005-11-15

Tracks:

1. Allegro
2. Adagio Con Espressione
3. Menuetto - Allegro- Trio Piu Moderato
4. Adagio - Allegretto
5. Allegro Con Brio
6. Andante Con Variaciones
7. Munuetto - Scherxo - Trio
8. Andante Ma Non Troppo - Allegro
9. Allegro
10. Pastorale - Andantino
11. Menuetto - Allegro- Trio Plus Lent
12. Presto Agitato

Customer Reviews:

Arriaga: String Quartets.......2006-08-12

The skill of the group is excellent but the in the recording the first violin is miked louder than the lower instruments and the lower strings are not as easy to hear. Since I bought this quartet to listen specificially to the 2nd violin part (I am playing that part in my quartet)it is more difficult to hear what I am supposed to play.

Startlingly good quartets by an 18-year-old.......2005-12-12

Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga (1806-1826) was, like Mozart, Mendelssohn and Korngold, a child prodigy composer. Until I had heard his Symphony in D and his overture 'Los esclavos felices,' which I reviewed almost two years ago, I had never heard a note of his music, having known his name only. I gave that earlier Naxos CD a very positive review, and you'll find that I am doing the same here. These three string quartets, all written when he was eighteen (and barely a year before his tragic death from pneumonia at the age of 19), are simply magnificent. They also display some progression of his talent from the first to the third. Actually, though, the first has some formal attributes that are a bit unusual for a young composer of the classical school, and it seems clear that had he lived Arriaga would have developed further and possibly become one of the lights of the burgeoning Romantic school just taking off when he died.

Arriaga clearly had a talent for writing memorable melodies. But he also had a good grasp of form, enough so that he could alter and bend the usual classical quartet form to his own ends. For instance, he starts the fourth movement of Quartet No. 1 with an adagio introduction, reminiscent of similar passages by Haydn, but then he surprises us by bringing it back, transformed, toward the end of the allegretto rondo that is the main portion of the movement. Also, in the 6/8 minuet of that quartet the first section is written with two accented beats per bar, but in the trio this becomes three beats per bar. Not earth-shaking, to be sure, but still an unusual thing for such a young composer to pull off so effectively.

The Second Quartet is probably the most conventional of the three, but the variation movement (II) is really memorable, with a long melancholy main theme that is transformed gradually as we go along. The pizzicato variation is particularly effective. The finale contains two versions of a unison cadenza-like section before and after the exposition.

The Third Quartet is most notable for its greater contrapuntal complexity than its predecessors. The second movement, called Pastorale, is possibly my favorite movement of all, not only for its lovely melodic musings, but also its instrumental sophistication. The minuet has much the feel of a dramatic scherzo, although it hews to the minuet form. The scurrying Presto finale is a fitting conclusion to this set of three marvelous quartets by a young composer barely old enough to shave.

There have been other recordings of these quartets, but I have not heard them. I am, however, satisfied with these fine performances by the Camerata Boccherini, a group with one American and three Italian string players. They are reportedly playing on 'authentic instruments' and I don't know if that means gut-strung instruments from the period in which the quartets were written. Frankly, they sound like modern instruments to me. The recorded sound is crystal clear.

If you buy this CD you will almost certainly not be disappointed.

Scott Morrison

Not masterpieces but hghly tuneful.......2005-11-23

Having enjoyed the other naxos disc with Arriagas symphony, I wanted to check this out. These three quartets are the works of a teenager which demonstrates remarkable skill at an early age. Like many of Mozart's early works these demonstarte potential. Unforunately Arriaga died at age 19. The tunefulness of these quartets is infectios. I most particullarly enjoyed the second with its andante convariaciones which seem to sound like twinkle twinkle.
This doesn't belong in the basic classical music colllection but those with interest in Spanish music.
Please excuse typos i have a neurologic disease.

Average customer rating: Pure and sweet An Absolute Wonder. BUY THIS ALBUM!

Arriaga: Complete String Quartets Manufacturer: MD&G Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Similar Items: Arriaga: Symphony in D ASIN: B00004TC4A Release Date: 2000-07-25

Customer Reviews:

Pure and sweet.......2007-03-13

The quartets of Arriaga are pleasing to some, but not preferred by others. I've heard friends say that the quartets lack depth and that the music is predictable and overly simplistic. But I've personally enjoyed all the quartets for many years, and performed all three with positive audience response. In fact, we once performed the first and third on the same program, pairing them with early and later quartets of Mozart. Most, if not all of the audience, had never heard Arriaga before, and the concert was both entertaining and educational for both audience and performers. We've also done the theme and variations from the second quartet as an encore over the years, primarily at the urging of the viola player, and, yes, that's me. If you haven't heard this movement, check it out and find out why.

This recording is outstanding. The balance of the instruments is very good and all parts are readily recognized. This is very important in Arriaga's music as often one part might explode with great vigor and tend to overshadow an intricate underpining. The sensitivity and balanced ensemble makes listening to this recording a great delight.

I did have one diappointment with the CD. The disc plays well when played directly in my CD players, including the Pioneer 6-CD changer in my car. But the last movement of the first quartet refuses to properly load into the memory of my Bose Lifestyle 4800 system. This is the only glitch I've ever had with the Bose unit. Yet the disc plays perfectly when loaded individually into the CD tray. My guess is that there is some interference on the disc from reproduction methods that is simply interfering with the recording into the Bose memory. A minor point, not worth returning the disc over, as the disc is otherwise ok, but worth mentioning here. Otherwise, this is a wonderful addition to your quartet library.

An Absolute Wonder. BUY THIS ALBUM!.......2003-09-28

The three string quartets of Juan Crisostomo de Arriaga (1806-1826) are astonishing pieces, and even more so when you consider that he was only 18 when he wrote them. The quality of his inspiration is the equal of even a Haydn or Mozart (but Arriaga does not imitate; he has his own unique, glorious voice), and both the development of his motifs and the assuredness of his part-writing are as impressive as those two masters of the string quartet form. In fact, Arriaga's teacher at the Paris Conservatoire once remarked that "It is impossible to find anything more original, or purer or more correctly written [than these quartets]", and I would tend to agree. Sample the felicity of the opening of the 2nd quartet's first movement, or the Mozartian melancholy of the 1st quartet minuet (but not the Chilingirian's version - blech!). Arriaga also had that incredible sense of taste that leads great composers to take melodies where us mere mortals couldn't dream.

Not only is the music a gem, but the interpretation is superlative. The Voces quartet is a fine ensemble playing on modern instruments, and have a warm, natural lyricism (though not at the expense of technical precision, which they have in spades). I've heard bits of other interpretations, and though I can't judge a whole from the part, other ensembles seem to have drained the lifeblood from these works (did somebody say...Chilingirian!). Oh, and I almost forgot that this version has great MD&G sound too: the players aren't balanced too forward and each instrument is easily audible.

So if you are interested in what else was going on in chamber music during Beethoven's time, enjoy discovering unjustly forgotten geniuses (would that people could've forgotten that Mendelssohn chap instead), and want to hear some superbly played, well-recorded string quartets, then for the love of all things holy, do not pass over this album. It is one of my very favorite records, along with my Vegh Beethoven and Tatrai Haydn, and I strongly suggest that you BUY IT NOW!

Average customer rating: An unexpected and majuscule musical finding !

Arriaga: Cuartetos Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi Fr. ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Similar Items: Arriaga: Symphony in D; Vorisek: Symphony in D ASIN: B0000C8WZV Release Date: 2003-11-11

Tracks:

1. I. Allegro
2. II. Adagio Con Espressione
3. III. Menuetto (Allegro)
4. IV. Adagio. Allegretto
5. I. Allegro Con Brio
6. II. Andante Con Variazioni
7. III. Menuetto (Scherzo)
8. IV. Andante
9. I. Allegro
10. II. Andantinto (Pastorale)
11. III. Menuetto (Allegro)
12. IV. Presto Agitato

Customer Reviews:

An unexpected and majuscule musical finding !.......2007-01-27

This figure of the Spanish music, is practically unknown for many people but this precocious genius was by far a true star in the musical firmament, although the shortness of his existence, Jan. 27 1806/ Jan 17 1826, deserves to occupy a major and even a most prestigious place in the chamber music. He was a talented pupil of Luigi Cherubini.

This set of Quartets surprise by the finesse, oneness and profundity. Not only in what concerns to its formal construction but the grace, charm and engaging musicality that reminds us to Haydn with little Mozart inflexions and - believe or not - narrow similarities with the last string quartets of Franz Schubert around certain musical passages.

Bilboa may be proud of his prodigal son: "The Spanish Mozart".

Average customer rating:

Concerto Köln: 20 Years [Hybrid SACD] Manufacturer: Capriccio ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Carl Philipp Emman. Bach | Bach, Carl Philipp Emman. | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Dussek | Dussek, Jan Ladislav | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Vivaldi | Vivaldi, Antonio | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Classical | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Harpsichord | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Clarinet | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Violin | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B000BJ7DE6 Release Date: 2005-10-18

Average customer rating:

Tu Memoria 12 Con Banda: De Coleccion Felipe Arriaga Manufacturer: Universal Latino ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Latin Music | Styles | Music Latin Pop | Latin Music | Styles | Music Mariachi | Latin Music | Styles | Music Mexico | International | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Latin General | Latin Music | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Latin General | Latin Music | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Latin Pop | Latin Music | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Latin Pop | Latin Music | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Mariachi | Latin Music | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Mariachi | Latin Music | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music ASIN: B000001BYI Release Date: 1997-10-14

Tracks:

1. La Venganza De Maria
2. Pescadores De Ensenada
3. Pa'que Son Pasiones
4. Que Tiene Tu Mirada
5. Cruz De Madera
6. La Peineta
7. Amores Fingidos
8. Madrecita Querida
9. Indita Mia
10. Animas Que No Amanezca
11. De Un Rancho A Otro
12. Dos Coronas A Mi Madre

Average customer rating: Teresa Carreño, Solo Piano and Chamber Works A fresh insight into Carreno's music Carmen Rodriguez-Peralta exciting pianist

Teresa Carreno : Solo Piano and Chamber Works ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Similar Items: Teresa Carreño, Pianist ASIN: B00004T26I Release Date: 2000-04-06

Tracks:

1. Une Revue a Prague, Op. 27,
2. Plainte, Op. 17,
3. Partie, Op. 18,
4. Highland, Souvenir of Scotland, Op. 38,
5. Un Bal en Reve, Op. 26,
6. Esquisses Italiennes No. 1: Venise, Op. 33,
7. Teresita Waltz,
8. Le Printemps, Op. 25,
9. Voga, Voga arr. for Violin and Piano,
10. Himno a Bolivar arr. for String Quartet and Piano,
11. -14. String Quartet in B Minor

Customer Reviews:

Teresa Carreño, Solo Piano and Chamber Works.......2001-09-28

This CD introduced me to an unknown composer. Carmen Rodriguez-Peralta gives us a colourful, lively and beatifully lyrical performance. The interpretation is crystal clear, yet full of emotion. Just beautiful!

A fresh insight into Carreno's music.......2000-07-09

Pianist Carmen Rodriguez-Peralta interprets the music of Teresa Carreno with an excitement that springs from her own Latin American heritage. The depth of sophistication, combined with a formidable technique, allow her the freedom to bring Carreno's world into focus Ð a world of dance, lyric poetry, and stunning color. It also affords a glimpse into a special corner of late 19th and early 20th century Latin music.

Carmen Rodriguez-Peralta exciting pianist.......2000-06-23

Carmen Rodriguez-Peralta brings to life the music of Teresa Carreno. The selection of pieces which Ms Rodriguez-Peralta plays is excellent, and the pianist must be be lauded for her beautiful performance; of special note is her sensitive phrasing and shading of tone. This cd makes a wonderful addition to my collection, and I hope that her next one is out soon!

Average customer rating: An Extremely Pleasant Disc--Just Roll Your Own Program! Behind Mozart's shadow? I don't think so............ Little-Known Iberian 18th-early 19th-c. Orchestral Music

Arriaga: Symphony in D Manufacturer: Naxos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Classical | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Romantic | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music | Cantatas | Romances General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music | Cantatas | Romances Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music 4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Arriaga: String Quartets Arriaga: Complete String Quartets Symphonies Concertantes Thomas Augustine Arne: Four Symphonies Boccherini: Cello Concertos Nos. 9-12 ASIN: B0000CDJKG Release Date: 2003-11-18

Tracks:

1. Overture: Los Esclavos Felices
2. I. Adagio
3. II. Andante
4. III. Minuetto
5. IV. Allegro Con Moto
6. I. Allegro
7. II. Adagio
8. III. Minuet: Allegro
9. I. Allegro Con Spirito
10. II. Andantino Con Moto
11. III. Allegro Spiritoso
12. Sinfonia
13. Overture: 'Il Duca Di Foix'

Album Description

Known as "The Spanish Mozart" after his premature death at the age of 19, Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga appears to us today as a talent of great promise. The precocious Symphony for large orchestra in D, a forerunner of Bizet's youthful Symphony in C, inhabits a world somewhere between Mozart and the early Romanticism of Beethoven or Schubert, or even of Rossini, which had already pervaded Europe but had not yet reached the Iberian Peninsula. Completing the disc are works by a group of composers who illustrate a rare continuity in Portuguese music, from the prolific Carlos Seixas, highly esteemed by Scarlatti, to the two most important Portuguese operatic composers, João de Sousa Carvalho and Marcos Portugal.

Customer Reviews:

An Extremely Pleasant Disc--Just Roll Your Own Program!.......2004-03-03

The only problem I can see with this enterprising and entertaining CD is that it is somewhat top-heavy. By that I mean the very best music is out of the way once the final chords of the Arriaga Symphony in D sound. And very fine music this symphony, by a musical prodigy who died at 19, is. As the informative notes to this CD point out, the Arriaga is work almost as astounding as Bizet's remarkably assured symphony written at the same age, 17. But while Bizet's work is all (or almost all) sunny, youthful charm, there is a pre-Romantic Sturm und Drang to the young Spaniard's symphony, with a grippingly dramatic first movement in D minor and a restless finale that starts in the same key, though its tragic overtones are softened by a tender Schubertian second melody in D major, from which the triumphant coda is drawn. There is a long, somber introduction, a patrician slow movement with more than a touch of melancholy, and a nominal minuet that recalls a Schubert symphonic scherzo. In all, this is a symphony of emotional maturity and musical craftsmanship unmatched except by Bizet and Mozart, with whom Arriaga is always compared but who didn't write a comparable symphony until he was an old man of...18 and penned his remarkable Symphony No. 25 in G minor!

Equally remarkable is Arriaga's Overture Los esclovos felices, written when the composer was all of 13. It's a very enjoyable work in the Rossinian vein but with the same sort of gentle Schubertian melodies that grace the Symphony.

Both these works have been well served on LP and CD, but these performances by Alvaro Cassuto and the young (founded 2002!) Algarve Orchestra are as fine as any I've heard and probably have the best, fully modern sound, which Naxos proudly advertises as the product of 24-bit technology.

The only hitch at all is the discmates for the Arriaga works are not at all in the same league, least impressive of all being the limp Baroque meanderings of Carlos Seixas. Better, but still no great shakes, is the Overture to Carvalho's "L'amore industrioso," whose middle section again meanders too much, though the flanking fast sections afford effective curtain-raising gestures in the same vein as an early Mozart opera overture.

Better by far are the Sinfonia by Moreira and the Overture to "Il Duca di Foix" by Portugal. Both these gents have imbibed the Italian opera overture style of Cimarosa, and they produce tuneful, colorfully orchestrated little pieces that I'm sure will prove fun to hear occasionally, especially in such enthusiastic and well-played and -recorded performances as here. But after the youthful genius that Arriaga's music represents, even they are something of a comedown. My solution? Program your CD player to play Carvahlo's work first followed by the Moreira and Portugal. Finish up with the Arriaga, and you have a very satisfying program. The Seixas will always be purely optional.

Behind Mozart's shadow? I don't think so...................2004-02-26

For comments like the one above many composers in history have to live behind the shadow of the other...He was born some exact time before or after Mozart, so what? how many other composers have not? I was born 4 months and 4 days after Shostakovich passed away, and what? I am a musician too, and so what? Juan Crisostomo Arriga also shared one of Mozart's middle names too!!!Arriga was a great composer in his own right...His music follows the criteria of the 18th century Italian style, but is a little less refined, but hey, still great music. Arriaga came to prominenece when some of his work was sent to Paris to the great singing master and teacher, Manuel Garcia(1806-1906). Arriaga is a great composer. The music of the other Portuguesse composers is great too. Carlos Seixas was mainly a harpsichord composer, very much in the vein of Scarlatti and Soler, so a symphony; in this symphony in his ouvre is a rarity as are a mass and a Harpsichord Concerto. Seixas was the one of the few if not the only one composer of his generation who did not studied in Italy...Music very different from that of Mozart...Performers and conductor do an outstanding job.........

Little-Known Iberian 18th-early 19th-c. Orchestral Music.......2004-01-10

The main attraction here, for me, are the two works by the 'Spanish Mozart,' Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga (1806-1826, reportedly born precisely 50 years to the day after Mozart), who died at the unconscionable age of 19 and who wrote only three significant works, the Symphony and Overture included here and a set of string quartets. I've long admired the quartets but had never heard these orchestral works and I must say they are quite a discovery. The Overture to his opera, 'Los esclavos felices' ['The Happy Slaves,' talk about a non-pc subject!], was written and premièred successfully in Spain when he was only thirteen. If I heard it without knowing who wrote it I would think it was a previously unknown overture by Rossini. The Overture was written in 1819 and Arriaga might possibly have known something by Rossini, but I've read that Rossini's operas were late coming to Spain and 1819 was before Arriaga had moved to Paris to study with Fétis. Of course, there were similar precedents in 17th-c. Italian opera. Still, the occurrence of Rossinian melody and decorative elements, as well as the Rossinian crescendo-accelerando toward the end, are, to my ears, virtually indistinguishable from music by the Swan of Pesaro. Add to this the thoroughly winning melodies and rhythmic vitality and you have a true winner. It is amazing to me that I'd never heard this little masterpiece. It should be, at the very least, a frequent opener for symphony concerts.

Then follows the Symphony in D (and this CD's excellent booklet annotator, Sérgio Azevedo, makes the valid point that one cannot call it either D major or D minor because Arriaga alternates between them frequently) was written when Arriaga was studying with François-Joseph Fétis in Paris. This would have been after his sixteenth birthday but the date is not precise. This symphony has often been compared to Bizet's Symphony in C for several reasons. Both of these symphonies were written by teenagers, then lost and not premièred until early in the 20th century. And they are the untroubled products of optimistic youth. Even though Arriaga's symphony opens with a Haydnesque adagio, the clouds soon part and we are launched into an Allegro vivace that, even though there is the switching back and forth between major and minor, is so rhythmically animated one cannot but smile. II is an Andante that sings lyrically. III is a lively minuet. [Fétis, an arch-conservative, must have loved this backward-looking movement.] IV is a bustling Allegro con moto whose classical orchestration [double winds and brass, strings, timpani] fairly sparkles. It reminds me a bit of the infectious finale of Haydn's Symphony No. 88.

The two works by Arriaga comprise fully thirty minutes of this CD whose timing falls just shy of an hour. The rest of the disc is made up of works by Portuguese composers: a Sinfonia in B flat by Carlos Seixas (1704-1742), the Overture 'L'amore industrioso' by João de Sousa Carvalho (1745-1798), 'Sinfonia' by António Leal Moreira (1758-1798), and the Overture: 'Il Duca di Foix,' by Marcos Portugal (1762-1830). None of them is particularly memorable, at least when compared with the works by Arriaga. The Seixas sounds vaguely like Vivaldi. Carvalho was the teacher of both Moreira and Portugal. His Overture is second-rate Italianesque music reminiscent of, say, Paisiello. The Moreira Sinfonia is actually rather nice, starts out sounding for all the world like Bellini. It continues with a bouncy (and rather simple-mindedly ingratiating) tune that is orchestrated in a wind-band style similar that of early Verdi. Of the non-Arriaga pieces here my favorite is the Overture by Portugal. There is a ceremonial quality to the opening followed by a sprightly tune that skitters all over the orchestra. There are some pleasant uses of winds in thirds and even an almost-Rossini accelerando.

This orchestra is based in the Algarve, a popular tourist destination in Portugal, and was founded only in 2002; the disc was recorded a couple of months later. Its conductor, Álvaro Cassuto, is well-known to those of us who have fallen head-over-heels in love with the music of 20th-c. Portuguese composer Joly Braga Santos. He has recorded all of Braga Santos's symphonies on Naxos and we are in his everlasting debt for that. The performances here are a bit rough and ready, not surprising for a new orchestra, but more than adequate for the music presented. There are other recordings of the Arriaga Symphony, but I've not heard them. I don't know of a recording of the Overture. And I don't believe there are widely available recordings of the Portuguese rarities here.

Recommended for the Arriaga.

Scott Morrison

Average customer rating: Surprising

Arriaga: Symphony in D; Vorisek: Symphony in D Manufacturer: Hyperion UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Classical | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Romantic | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music | Cantatas | Romances General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music | Cantatas | Romances Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Arriaga: Cuartetos ASIN: B000002ZW9 Release Date: 1995-09-19

Tracks:

1. Symphony In D Major: Allegro con brio
2. Symphony In D Major: Andante
3. Symphony In D Major: Scherzo
4. Symphony In D Major: Finale
5. Overture To 'Los esclavos felices'
6. Symphony In D Major: Adagio
7. Symphony In D Major: Andante
8. Symphony In D Major: Minuetto
9. Symphony In D Major: Allegro con moto

Customer Reviews:

Surprising.......2005-09-02

Over the last decade or so we've all been up to our snoots in second, third, fourth, and fifth string composers on CD. In the Classical world it's tough to be complaining about too much of anything and it's probably not justified; we're lucky to have recordings at all in such a minuscule niche market so an overabundance of anything is a blessing. The big problem has been sorting all this stuff out--quality-wise.

Stupidly, I've been avoiding the famed Vorisek symphony for far too long thinking it was going to be a little tired and derivative. It's actually a fairly decent and inspired work with a memorably dramatic opening. It reminds me of early Schubert but better written. It doesn't remind me of early Beethoven though (as some have claimed, and by quite a bit. Vorisek died youngish but he was clearly on his way to a dazzling Louis Spohr kind of existence--very much of his age, extremely competent, but no earth-rattler. I like this symphony a lot and the Arriaga works were an inspired choice for this disc--more early Romantic sound, more vague Schubert-ness. Again, a very striking first movement.

In case no one noticed, Sir Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (or just either one paired with others) have been turning out one first class recording after another. Mackerras is a wonder, a member of that extraordinary modern class of British musician who combines interpretive dazzle with high technical competence and a fairly low publicity-seeking ego profile. One gets tired of seeing young hopped-up kids with crazy hair waving batons around and longs for old not-so-hopped up and mature adults with crazy hair. Sir Charles looks like my dentist and that's even better.

So, if you like the verve of the early Schubert symphonies and you appreciate great conducting and playing this is the disc for you. It wears well and I return to it frequently.

Average customer rating:

Nuestra Tradicion Felipe Arriaga Manufacturer: Sony International ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Latin Music | Styles | Music Mariachi | Latin Music | Styles | Music Mexico | International | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Mexico | International | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Mexico | International | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Latin General | Latin Music | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Latin General | Latin Music | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Mariachi | Latin Music | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Mariachi | Latin Music | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music ASIN: B000PHW20E Release Date: 2007-06-05

Tracks:

1. Me Cae La Nube
2. Fina Estampa
3. Pelea de Perros
4. Solo Dios
5. Llorando Tu Ausencia
6. Peregrina
7. Caminos de Michoac
8. Corazorazoncito
9. Yuca
10. Hijo del Sol
11. Derrotado
12. Bajo el Cielo de Morelia
13. Deji Amor Alln el Norte
14. de Cocula
15. Juan Colorado

Track Listings:

1. Boccherini: String Quartets, Op. 52, Vol. 3
2. Boyce: 8 Symphonies
3. Brahms, Mozart and Busoni
4. Cabaza Percussion Quartet, Vol. 2
5. Caldara: Cantate d'Amore
6. Centone Di Sonate for Violin & Guitar (Comp)
7. Chamber Music 6: Recorder Sonatas
8. Complete Piano II
9. Croft: Anthems
10. Dvorak: Piano Quintet op. 81/Romantic Pieces op. 75

Track Listings

track listings

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