Franco Alfano - Symphonies 1 & 2 - Yinon, Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester, Frankfurt

 

Release Date: 03/22/2005 Label: CPO Number of discs: 1 Composer: Franco Alfano Performer: Israel Yinon cd info/ buy

Review:

These two symphonies sound very much alike, being big, somewhat formless hunks of glittering orchestration featuring plenty of harp, triangle, glockenspiel, and celesta in an idiom midway between Puccini and Schreker. Crescendos are almost invariably capped with suspended cymbals, final chords would be nothing without a flourish of tam-tam: in short, it's all very theatrical, very pretty, and great fun. If the tunes were more memorable we would really have something, but the rich, impressionistic harmony and sheer atmosphere offer ample  compensation, while the slow movement of the Second Symphony really is quite beautiful. Heaven knows where the First got its "Classica" nickname: you might as well name your pet goldfish similarly, for all that the term applies to any musical form or function. Israel Yinon does his usual fine job in bringing this rarely-heard music to life, and his Frankfurt forces, aside from a touch of occasionally tepid brass, play with enthusiasm. The sound is just right: warm and full.--David Hurwitz

 

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