Search - Martial Singher, Darius Milhaud, Orchestre National :: Milhaud: Composer, Pianist & Conductor

A beguiling disc of vintage performances composed, conducted, accompanied, or supervised by Darius Milhaud himself. Marguerite Long's light touch is perfect for the lucid, transparent Concerto, whose second movement, a lapping barcarole, clings to the memory. The Violin Concertino is an eight-minute tuneful gem redolent of springtime; Milhaud later added three brief pieces to form his Four Seasons. The Quartet is a slight charmer, with what sounds like a hoedown in the finale. The song cycle is based on Eastern European Jewish melodies, and it's beautifully sung by the young Martial Singher. By far the best-known work is La Création du Monde. Milhaud leads an idiomatically oily small French orchestra in a performance that sounds more Pigalle and less jazzy than those we're used to by Bernstein, Carew, or Munch. The Suite Française is another slight charmer, short pieces based on provincial dances. There's more to Milhaud than meets the ear here but, aside from the songs, it's a fine sampler of the lighthearted boulevardier aspect of his work in the 1920s and 1930s. An appealing disc made valuable by the composer's authoritative presence. --Dan Davis