With the three works on this disc, we are dealing with three different aspects of Polish-French-American composer Alexandre Tansman. In the "Symphony [No. 2]" from 1926, he is a neo-classical modernist à la Les Six with a crisp, vivacious style. In the "Symphonie Concertante (Symphony No. 3)" from 1931, he is a jazz-age shape-shifter àl a
Gershwin with a bright, insouciant style. And in the much later "Quatre Mouvement pour orchestre" from 1968, he is somewhere past
Stravinsky and heading out toward
Boulez with a style that travels from harsh dissonance to clashing cacophony. As previously in this series dedicated to Tansman's symphonies,
Oleg Caetani and the
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra play magnificently with more than polished professionalism. There's flash in the colors, muscle in the rhythms, and steadfast conviction in the interpretations. One feels the thrill of the "Second Symphony"'s opening Allegro giusto, the dread in the "Quatre Mouvement"'s opening Notturno, and the
joie de vivre of the Sinfonia Concertante's central Tempo americano. Recorded in brilliant digital sound by Chandos, this disc should at least be heard by listeners attracted to the symphonies of
Honegger,
Roussel, and
Dutilleux.
