LALO Symphonie Espagnole
MANÉN Concierto Español
YANG TIANWA, Violin
Barcelona Symphony / Darrell Ang
Naxos 8.573067 / *****
There
is a long-standing joke that the best Spanish music was written by French
composers. The most famous work titled Symphonie Espagnole (Spanish
Symphony) was composed by Édouard Lalo (1823-1892) - a Frenchman - in 1875
and was actually a violin concerto dedicated to Spanish violin virtuoso Pablo
Sarasate.
On this disc of Spanish violin concertos, one gets the complete five
movement version, including the fiery central Intermezzo which is occasionally
omitted, as in Jascha Heifetz's famous RCA Victor recording.
Its
coupling is the Concierto Español (Spanish Concerto) by the
now-forgotten Joan Manén (1983-1971), who was a prodigy on both violin and
piano. His 1897 three-movement concerto was dedicated to Fritz Kreisler and has
every bit the Mediterranean flavour, infectious rhythms and charm of the Lalo.
The central Lamento is particularly beautiful, book-ended by two
spirited movements of hot-blooded Hispanic drama.
The
supreme irony is that Manén was from Barcelona, in the state of Catalonia that
is seeking to break away from Spain. The excellent Barcelona Symphony supports
the Chinese wunderkind Yang Tianwa, who had recorded Sarasate's solo and
concertante works to great acclaim, and Singaporean conductor Darrell Ang.
Whoever says music is not universal should listen to this and ponder.
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