8.572350

Peter MAXWELL DAVIES (b 1934)
Symphony No 3 • Cross Lane Fair*
Mark Jordan, Northumbrian pipes*
Rob Lea, bodhran*
BBC Philharmonic • Peter Maxwell Davies

Peter Maxwell Davies’s Symphony No. 3 is the product of symmetry and proportion based on the principles of Renaissance architecture. It is also a dynamic and thrilling seascape, one that both invokes medieval chant and summons up the violent buffeting of the waves, and the stirring cliff-face full of nesting birds. The dual inspirations of proportion and the natural world are seamlessly coalesced, and the Symphony teems with evocative sounds and brooding passages both expansive and time-defying in their beauty. Cross Lane Fair is a lighter work, scored for Northumbrian pipes, bodhran (an Irish drum) and chamber orchestra, inspired by the memories of a fairground that Maxwell Davies visited as a child.

8.572922

Ferruccio BUSONI (1866-1924)
Clarinet Concertino, Op 48*
Flute Divertimento, Op 52**
Rondò arlecchinesco, Op 46^†
Gesang vom Reigen der Geister, Op 47
Tanzwalzer, Op 53
Eine Lustspielouvertüre, Op 38
Giammarco Casani, clarinet *
Laura Minguzzi, flute **
Gianluca Terranova, tenor^†
Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma
Francesco La Vecchia

All six of these orchestral works exemplify Busoni’s personalised classicism. The Lustspielouvertüre (Comedy Overture) is light, and almost Mozartian in clarity, whilst Gesang vom Reigen der Geister (Song of the Spirit Dance) is a delicately scored chamber piece, forward-looking in both style and content. Both the Concertino for Clarinet and the Flute Divertimento reveal Busoni’s affinity for solo instruments; the former is deftly organised and the latter more obviously capricious. The spirit of Johann Strauss II haunts the infectious Tanzwalzer and the Rondò arlecchinesco unleashes Busoni’s broadsides of wit.

8.660312-13 • 2CDs

8.572683

Franz Xaver DUSSEK (1731-1799)
Four Symphonies in:
G major (Altner G4)
B flat major (Altner Bb2)
A major (Altner A3)
B flat major (Altner Bb3)
Helsinki Baroque Orchestra
Aapo Häkkinen

Mozart’s friend Franz Xaver Dussek (in whose summer villa he completed Don Giovanni) was a pianist, celebrated teacher and the leading composer of instrumental music in Prague. Like his compatriot Wanhal, Dussek completed his musical training in Vienna and, unsurprisingly, his works reflect the strong influence of composers such as Hofmann, Haydn and Dittersdorf. Dussek’s symphonies, most of which appear to have been composed in the 1760s and 1770s, are works of great charm and vivacity, cleverly orchestrated and full of striking melodic ideas as this recording amply demonstrates.