Honegger Symphony 2 etc
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Arthur Honegger
Label: Decca
Magazine Review Date: 5/1999
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 70
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 455 352-2DH
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Symphony No. 2 |
Arthur Honegger, Composer
Arthur Honegger, Composer David Zinman, Conductor Herbert Kistler, Trumpet Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra |
| (3) Symphonic Movements |
Arthur Honegger, Composer
Arthur Honegger, Composer David Zinman, Conductor Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra |
| Pastorale d'été |
Arthur Honegger, Composer
Arthur Honegger, Composer David Zinman, Conductor Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra |
| Monopartita |
Arthur Honegger, Composer
Arthur Honegger, Composer David Zinman, Conductor Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra |
Author: Robert Layton
Most rivals offer the Symphony for strings with one of the other symphonies (Karajan and Jansons with the Liturgique) or all of them in the case of Dutoit. David Zinman gives us a handful of shorter orchestral pieces ranging from the well-known Pacific 231 and Pastorale d’ete to a comparative rarity, the Monopartita. This was Honegger’s very last orchestral work and a commission from the Tonhalle Orchestra, which gave its premiere under Hans Rosbaud in 1951. So it comes from the same stable as the Fifth Symphony (or as Ansermet put it, ‘du meme tonneau’), and Harry Halbreich speaks of it as a Sixth Symphony which has imploded. It finds the composer at his most resourceful: one of its episodes hints at the slow movement of the Deliciae basiliensis Symphony. Zinman is more vital than Marius Constant and the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, and in the companion pieces he can hold his own against most comers.
The Tonhalle does not offer string playing that can match Karajan’s Berlin Philharmonic or Jansons’s Oslo orchestra, but its quality is very respectable. He gets responsive and sensitive playing from them and I miss only the last ounce of concentration one finds in either Berlin or Oslo. A finely characterizedPastoral d’ete and a Pacific 231 that sounds as if it is definitely coming in on time, and very good Decca sound – well detailed, spacious and with plenty of impact – enhances the attractions of this eminently recommendable issue.'
The Tonhalle does not offer string playing that can match Karajan’s Berlin Philharmonic or Jansons’s Oslo orchestra, but its quality is very respectable. He gets responsive and sensitive playing from them and I miss only the last ounce of concentration one finds in either Berlin or Oslo. A finely characterized
Honegger Symphony 2 etc
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