# La chronique du disque (May 2013)



## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

En français 



> *The rules will be kept simple:* _here's what I found, here's where I found it, here's a couple of sentences about it and (possibly) some opinions_.
> 
> Not unlike Olympic Figure Skating, I will provide *two sets of marks *(letters A to D) on _sound quality (SQ)_ and on _overall impression (OI)_. These grades are entirely subjective, but here are some guidelines:
> 
> ...


My Acquisitions for May









*Meyerbeer: Struensee - Les Patineurs*
[eMusic]​
Giacomo Meyerbeer is one of the movers and shakers of what we have come to call _Grand Opera_: _Le Prophete_, _l'Africaine_, and so many more. This disc provides a different look at Mayerbeer's music - a complete performance of the incidental music to a play by his brother Michael (Struensee), as well as a pastiche-ballet made of excerpts of his operas called "Les Patineurs" and the prelude to l'Africaine. The performances are, generally, solid and the music fo the play was something of a discovery for me. *A for SQ, A- for OI*.









*Dompierre: 24 Préludes*
[eMusic]​
François Dompierre is one of Canada's best known composers and musical commentators - a role he only picked up over the last few years on Radio Canada's _Espace Musique_ radio network. Dompierre, as part of his programme, will sometimes improvise at the piano, and I think some of these improvisations - and prodding by pianist and fellow radio commentator Alain Lefèvre - have resulted in this set of 24 preludes (in the vein of Bach, Chopin and Shostakovich, set for every major and minor key). Dompierre has made forays into jazz, popular and what some might call pseudo-classical music over the length of his career, and these preludes are a great reflection of these tendencies. These are works that require all the piano skill Lefèvre can muster, whilst staying true to the composer's knack for giving the public what they like. Generally fun to listen to, I did find that the set got a little predictable. *A for SQ, A- for OI*.









*The Sea Hawk [Original Film Score] *
[Torrent]​
Tomorrow (May 29th) is a milestone day in modern music - the premiere of _The Rite of Spring_ - and for the past few weeks, I have been preparing blogs and montages having to do with composers who - shall I say - didn't get the memo about this new music thing. One such composer is Erich Korngold, whose musical style makes him the last great romantic composer. Korngold, who had a great repurtation in Germany before the Second World War, spent the war years in Hollywood, where he composed some of the landmark scores of the industry at a time where escape was a great need. His Academy-Award winning score for the Errol Flynn film _The Sea Hawk_ is indicative of what Korngold could accomplish, and is a direct forebear to the great modern scores of John Williams and Maurice Jarre. This performance by the Utah Symphony is one of the few complete recordings to have been made of this luscious score, with even a pair of sung numbers. The recording is true to the Master's vision. *A for SQ, A for OI.*









*Khachaturian: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra*
[eMusic]​
Dame Moura Lympany (1916 -2005) was one of the first in an internationally successful group of female British piano virtuosos to emerge in the twentieth century and excelled in the Russian repertoire. One of the pieces most closely associated with her is the Khachaturian's Piano Concerto in D-flat, which she premiered in Britain in 1940. This recording of the Khachaturian Piano Concerto with Anatole Fistoulari and the London Philharmonic Orchestra suffers from a poorly engineered recording session: - it sound is disappointingly muddy, and it detracts from an otherwise excellent performance of an at-time banal work. *C+ for SQ, B+ for OI*.









*Beecham - Chabrier, Mozart, Delius, Debussy, Saint-Saens, Berlioz, Massenet (1955-1959)*
[eMusic]​
Sir Thomas Beecham is probably one of the more underrated conductors of French repertoire, and this interesting set of BBC broadcasts shows off a lot of that great insight - and the virtuosity of his ensemble. My only reservation is the _cheeky _download options I was faced with from eMusic. I'm all for enticing a buyer to download the whole album by withholding some tracks, but forcing me to download two tracks of _Beecham addressing the audience_ to get the rare recording of Delius' _Brigg Fair_ is kind of sad. These are, for this series, less-than-stellar mono performances. *B for SQ, B+ for OI*.

*Tomorrow, "I Think You Will Love This Music Too" will feature a new podcast "This Day in Music History: 29 May 1913" at its Pod-O-Matic Channel . Read more May 29 on the ITYWLTMT Blogspot blog.*


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