BYSTRÖM Picnic at Hanging Rock. A Walk After Dark. Invisible Cities
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Britta Byström
Genre:
Orchestral
Label: Daphne
Magazine Review Date: 03/2015
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 67
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: DAPHNE1046
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Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Picnic at Hanging Rock |
Britta Byström, Composer
Britta Byström, Composer Daniel Blendulf, Conductor Malmö Symphony Orchestra |
A Walk After Dark: Viola Concerto |
Britta Byström, Composer
Britta Byström, Composer Daniel Blendulf, Conductor Ellen Nisbeth, Viola Malmö Symphony Orchestra |
Invisible Cities |
Britta Byström, Composer
Britta Byström, Composer Daniel Blendulf, Conductor Malmö Symphony Orchestra |
Author: Guy Rickards
Byström’s music is much involved with the nature of sound and if there is a criticism of Picnic at Hanging Rock it is that her attention to detail sacrifices a little in terms of structure. Despite being of similar size, this is a failing neither of the other works here exhibit. The viola concerto A Walk After Dark (2013) is a superbly scored and cogently argued work in six sections, playing continuously, where form and content are held in a nice balance. Dedicated to the memory of her former teacher, Anders Eliasson (1947-2013), A Walk After Dark is full of psychological light and shadow. So, too, is Invisible Cities (2013), inspired by Calvino’s novel, its recurring piano refrain – lifted from Lutosawski’s Jeux vénitiens – a guiding light through the work’s 11 sections, several of which have a haunting nocturnal feel.
Daniel Blendulf directs three splendidly committed accounts from the Malmö and Swedish Radio Symphony orchestras, and Ellen Nisbeth – for whom A Walk After Dark was written – is a model soloist. Daphne’s sound is excellent and so is this disc.
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