Search - Benjamin Lees, Theodore Kuchar, Kimball Wheeler :: Benjamin Lees: Symphony No. 4 "Memorial Candles"

For Me, Disc is Disappointing in One Respect

Eugene G. Barnes | Dunn Loring, VA USA | 12/26/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There's so much to like about this CD - great piece of music, superbly played and well-conducted. James Buswell giving his all on the violin. A painful message to contemplate in those dark nights of the soul. It's all there -- BUT the mezzo-soprano solo. Sadly, Ms. Wheeler's voice is weak, at times to the point where one long-held note does not sound stable. She has her moments (where she sounds like the old British contralto Gladys Ripley, a voice of infinite sadness at "what-might-have-been"), but these are not enough to carry the day. It may be Ms. Wheeler had a bad cold the days they recorded (or got a Ukrainian version of Montezuma's revenge, who knows?). Well, given the price and unavailability of any other recording of the work (and the fact that the mezzo part is less than 50% of the symphony), I'd say buy it and experience the good music. (As you can see, no one else thought Ms. Wheeler was a liability.) But if at any time another recording comes along, you may want at least to compare the two."

A profound and moving meditation on the Holocaust

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 03/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Naxos is to be praised for bringing us so much otherwise unknown American music. I was knocked out by this symphony the first time I heard it and have listened to it now perhaps 15 times. I keep finding new things in it. Structurally it's as tight as anything I've ever heard from Lees, whose music I've explored for thirty years now. (I hope to God his new Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra are recorded soon; talk about a knockout!) I disagree with the preceding reviewer who complained about Kimball Wheeler's voice. It sounds luscious to me and perfect for the Jewish cantillation of the vocal part. Buswell is his usual sterling self. I heartily recommend this piece for its emotional wallop."

A master of tension and pathos

George Orner grogeri@erols.com | Baltimore, Maryland | 01/02/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As I am allowed 1,000 words about this composition, I shall be brief. Mr. Lees has done in one symphony what has taken other composers in this century many compositions to attempt an overview of a period in history. He fills this wonderfully played recording with a constant tension of sounds that kept this listener with a tight grip on my chair. So many details in the Symphony. There is no point to delve. Oh well, the solo playing and singing, the texts all work. The orchestra, unknown to me, played with dedication as if they were living every moment. Give Mr. Lees credit for sounds of the truth that occurred in the darkest time in our century if not all history."