Search - Roberto Gerhard, Matthias Bamert, Geoffrey Tozer :: Roberto Gerhard: Symphony No. 3 "Collages" / Epithalamion / Piano Concerto - BBC Symphony Orchestra / Matthias Bamert / Geoffrey Tozer, Piano

Roberto Gerhard: Symphony No. 3 "Collages" / Epithalamion / Piano Concerto - BBC Symphony Orchestra / Matthias Bamert / Geoffrey Tozer, Piano
Roberto Gerhard, Matthias Bamert, Geoffrey Tozer
Roberto Gerhard: Symphony No. 3 "Collages" / Epithalamion / Piano Concerto - BBC Symphony Orchestra / Matthias Bamert / Geoffrey Tozer, Piano
Genre: Classical
 
Gerhard was one of this century's major composers, and his Third Symphony is one of the first and most successful works to incorporate electronic sounds into a live orchestral context. It's very difficult to describe exa...  more »

     
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Amazon.com
Gerhard was one of this century's major composers, and his Third Symphony is one of the first and most successful works to incorporate electronic sounds into a live orchestral context. It's very difficult to describe exactly what this music sounds like--it's not tonal, certainly, but it's also very attractive as pure sound, and there are recurring ideas ("gestures" or "structures" may best describe them) that unify the musical argument. To that extent, the music is certainly "difficult," but it would be wrong to assume that it's difficulty is a function of some fiendish complexity designed to mystify the listener. In fact, all of Gerhard's music is directly communicative and highly expressive, so if you've got some time and a sense of adventure, you may want to give it a shot. --David Hurwitz
 

CD Reviews

The good and the bad
Brandon H. Borrman | New York | 12/06/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)

"The third is a grounbreaking work. Though Verese beat Gerhard in the race to bring a live orchestra together with an electronic tape, Gerhard was the first to full integrate the two. Varese placed orchestral blocks next to taped moments, but Gerhard uses the tape as another instrument, and to stunning effect. What detracts from this particular disc is the recording of the piano concerto. Somehow, all the life has been dispatched. Where once there was passion there is now only a dull wash of sound."