Search - Dallapiccola, Keith, Watkins :: Orchestral Works 2

Far from easy listening

Kuhlau | UK | 01/26/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Nothing is quite as it seems in Dallapiccola's substantial Partita (very much the main meat of this release). Or indeed, in any of the music on this disc. It all has a faintly nightmarish quality - like strolling through a landscape you thought you knew well, only to find it shifting around, above and beneath you.



Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra have the measure of this unsettling yet captivating music. They guide us safely through the weird and wonderful sound world of the Partita, then leave us to negotiate alone the altogether eerier world of Dialoghi. This fragmented work just about convinces you of its disjointed unity. Certainly more so than the closing, Three Questions With Two Answers - music that's cautious and almost reluctant to be.



The four short Liriche Di Antonio Machado also bear the never-know-quite-what-to-expect hallmark that's stamped onto everything on this release. Some may even find the wandering nature of these miniature songs uncomfortable.



Will hearing this release make you want to explore volume one of Dallapiccola's orchestral works (also on Chandos)? That depends. Do you want music to put you at your ease, or keep you on your toes? If it's the latter, buy without hesitation."