This disc of instrumental music documents a welcome return to form on the part of a composer who has not consistently fulfilled the early promise of Rust and Vanada (Argo, 12/90). Michael Torke has always written music that contrives to be both accessible and smart at the same time, but not all his pieces have managed to attain the instant memorability of The Yellow Pages, Green and the Saxophone Concerto (especially in Gerald McCrystal’s fine interpretation on Silva Screen, 6/96).
At his best, Torke manages to capture a feeling of glowing euphony and an effortless quality that is rare in new music today. If the highlights of this disc are Telephone Book and July, a great deal of credit is due to the performances which are superb. It is hard to imagine a more expressive and beautifully timed rendition of July than the one given by the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, whose approach manages to combine considerable refinement of tonal blending with the spontaneity almost of a live performance.
The first movement of Telephone Book is none other than The Yellow Pages, which Torke has recorded before for Argo on the above-mentioned disc with the London Sinfonietta. The two versions are remarkably similar in approach but the new recording with Present Music is funkier, fuller in sound and shows greater insight into the work’s structure. The two new movements, “The Blue Pages” and “The White Pages”, which also feature the same technique of ‘static transposition’, are also well characterized and sustained.
However, the CD as a whole lacks contrast and I would therefore advise a prospective listener not to hear it all the way through but to concentrate on individual works. I was impressed by “Priority”, the first movement of Overnight Mail, but in the Orkest de Volharding’s slightly loose-limbed performance the second movement sounds euphonious without ever seeming to get to the point. Similarly, both Flint and Change of Address have many striking ideas but sound slightly redundant in the context of this CD, lacking as they do the sheer inspiration of the performances of July and Telephone Book.
Nevertheless, this is truly a recording to savour, confirming that Michael Torke is one of the foremost compositional talents in America today.'