Search - Tredici, Bryn-Julson, Knussen :: Alice Symphony

Live recording doesn't do the piece justice

Ryan McSweeney | Orange County, CA | 02/19/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have a ton of respect for Del Tredici, not least for his single-minded penetration into the weird, wonderful (and more than a little scary) world of Lewis Carroll's famous "Alice" books. But this CD would not be my suggestion for an introduction to this unique composer's work--except for the fact that it seems to be the only one available! The live recording blurs orchestral textures into a mishmash and robs the soprano solo of any intelligibility--a big no-no in the highly verbal world of Carroll/Del Tredici. In performance, Phyllis Bryn-Julson was amplified, but instead of feeding the pickup from her microphone directly into the recording equipment, the engineers appear to have let general miking of the entire stage cover everything. As a result, much of the humor and detail gets lost. A properly miked studio recording is really necessary to get a piece like this across.Why, oh why hasn't the radiant recording of this composer's Pulitzer Prize-winning "In Memory of a Summer Afternoon" (yes, it's also inspired by the Alice universe, but is cast in a more accessible idiom, strongly reminiscent of Strauss and Mahler) been released on CD? Do yourself (and Del Tredici) a favor and see if you can track down a copy of the LP (from around 1980, I believe) and give it a listen. If you're anything like me, you'll definitely come away wanting more!"

The spirit of the "Alice" books in aural form

Ryan Mitchley | Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa | 10/04/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Del Tredici charts a unique course in 20th century music. He is not scared of tonalism (albeit a rather eccentric tonalism) where and when it pleases him. The Alice compositions, especially the Alice Symphony, remain remarkably true to the spirit of Lewis Carroll's books. Eccentric humour and number games are given their appropriate aural realisations in this work; the certain darkness present in Rev. Dodgson's writings is not absent, either. The musicianship on the recording is exceptional, although it is obviously impossible to compare it with other recordings. Listeners should approach with a fairly open mind . . . although the Symphony is certainly not hard to listen to. Definitely a CD that will impress / intrigue composer and musician friends!"