Bennett Complete Works for Piano and Orchestra
A very fine finale to this impressive survey of Richard Rodney Bennett
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Label: Metronome
Magazine Review Date: 11/2009
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
Stereo
Catalogue Number: METCD1071

Author: Bryce Morrison
Following the previous volumes of works for solo piano and for piano duo and duet, Martin Jones completes his survey of Richard Rodney Bennett with the works for piano and orchestra. Once more, you could hardly wish for a more sympathetic and scintillating soloist, his playing offset by a no less idiomatic response from the RTÉ orchestra under David Angus. Metronome's sound and balance, too, are exemplary, adding to a disc of exceptional quality and finish.
The Piano Concerto (1968) was inspired (and first performed) by Stephen Kovacevich and mirrors not only that great pianist's expertise but also Bennett's own virtuoso prowess. Jones meets every challenge, whether in the mercurial Scherzo, the Lento's bittersweet rumination or the final manic Vivo with unflagging brio and style. Like the piano concertos of Peter Mennin (1958) and John Corigliano (1968), Bennett's skill is contained within a scrupulous impersonality, breaking out in Party Piece into Gershwin-inspired high jinks. Bennett's Reflections on a Theme of William Walton are wide-ranging and varied and there is much to admire in Dream Dancing with its hallucinogenic Adagio tranquillo and Debussy-inspired Molto vivo (which quotes directly from Masques).The inspiration here is also literary: Dylan Thomas's "A Winter's Tale" and Keats's "The Eve of Saint Agnes" respectively. Once more, performance and recording are ideal, providing a fitting climax to a brilliantly worthwhile musical journey.
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