Sir Richard Rodney Bennett’s Concerto for Orchestra (1973) is less familiar than the more celebrated works in the genre by Bartók or Lutosławski. This piece features on a new recording, the fifth volume in an ongoing project dedicated to the composer’s orchestral works by conductor John Wilson, who was a close friend and protégé.
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Similarly to other recent contemporary works in this genre by composers such as Rouse and Higdon, Bennett’s concerto fully utilizes the sections and soloists of the symphonic orchestra, creating a fascinating combination of large-scale textures and intimate, chamber-like dialogues. Wilson proves an excellent advocate for the work, leading the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in a performance that is transparent yet never clinical, clearly relishing the score’s drive and originality. Chandos’s excellent SACD and Dolby Atmos engineering helps make this a captivating listening experience.
Sonnets to Orpheus is, in all but name, a cello concerto in five movements. Bennett cleverly orchestrates the accompaniment so that the cello is joined primarily by the strings during melodic sections (with interesting timbral colors added by the winds, harp, and piano), and supported by the fuller orchestra in the climaxes, where the brass provides extra punch. Cellist Jonathan Aasgaard delivers a persuasive performance, impressively navigating his instrument’s higher registers, moving from a tumultuous outcry to barely a whisper (notably 4’00” to 5’00” on track 13).
John Wilson (image: ©️ Astrid Ackermann)
The final movement of the Concerto for Orchestra is a theme and variations, a form also used for the concluding work on the program, Diversions for chamber orchestra. Composed in 1989, making it the most recent piece here, its theme is based on the folksong ‘Whistle and I’ll come to you, my lad’, and it features two interludes that quote other folksongs. For this listener, the work is musically the least challenging on the program. I also found its material less interesting than that of the two preceding concertos. However, the full dedication and excellent delivery of the ensemble are never in doubt.
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Album Details |
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|---|---|
| Album name | Bennett – Orchestral Works, Vol. 5 |
| Label | Chandos |
| Catalogue No. | CHSA 5266 |
| Amazon Music link | Stream here |
| Apple Music link | Stream here |
| Artists | BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, John Wilson |
