Search - Benjamin Frankel, Werner Andreas Albert, Queensland Symphony Orchestra :: Frankel: Symphonies 2 & 3

Symphonies of a Cine-Composer

Scott Spires | Prague, Czech Republic | 02/20/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Benjamin Frankel (1906-73) was a British composer best known for his film scores, but that is only one aspect of his output. Here are two symphonies, very impressive compositions which make use of atonal / serial techniques yet have clear themes and melodies, transparent scoring, and a direct emotional appeal. They are both strongly atmospheric, reflecting perhaps Frankel's skills as a film composer.The 2nd is a formidable, aggressively bleak work, suggestive of some sort of prolonged crisis. At times it threatens to lapse into monotony (maybe due to the lack of conventional modulation), but this is a minor problem. On the whole it's a very solid, intense piece. The short 3rd Symphony is, in contrast, bright and trouble-free, with a sound somewhat like neo-classical Stravinsky. A good disc, and the composer's spoken introductions are a nice bonus."

Even I have expressed regrets for such a late discovery.

David A. Hollingsworth | Washington, DC USA | 01/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The title of my review is to the point. My discovery of Frankel's music was made this past December & I shall confess an amazement of how late this discovery was, given my otherwise resourcefulness in the obscure. But, the unearthingness yields rewards, for the music of Frankel gives us other dimensions of modern music. British composer Benjamin Frankel (1906-1973) enjoyed considerable success during his career, only to fall victim to almost total oblivion two decades since his death (much like Tubin, Atterberg, & Langgaard). Frankel, well known for his film music, was often ignored as a main 20th Century symphonist. But, many thanks must be given to all involved, including the CPO record label for its enterprising yet bold initiative. But gratitude must be given to Buxton Orr for his tireless promotion of Frankel's art as well as to Kennaway for his informative literature on the composer. High praises are also due to conductor Werner Andreas Albert and the Queensland Symphony for their authoritative performances throughout the series. And as far as the composer's chamber & concertante works are concerned, violinist Ulf Hoelscher, violist Brett Dean, clarinetist Paul Dean, and the Nomos Quartet, et al. must be given high praises also. This is an important series that will continue to expose Frankel's music as much as what Chandos is doing in its series of the music of Sir Arnold Bax. How to describe Frankel's music? His music is generally eloquent (the most used adjective in this regard), noble, and fluent (like his Quintet for Clarinet & String Quartet). Yet at the same time, his works demonstrates profundity, melancholy and emotional intensity, underlying his very seriousness in purpose. Not that every work of his are ultimately memorable, but, as for instance in his Violin Concerto & the Second Symphony, there are substance and depth in his communication: the communication which sometimes brings to mind Vainberg, Mahler, & Copland in its firm yet straightforward expression. But, he also brings to mind Sir Malcolm Arnold with a rather vivid orchestration, if sometimes lacking Arnold's flamboyancy in the writing. As far as technique is concerned, though, he absorbed Schoenberg's methods with his twelve-note serialism. A reviewer for Gramophone Magazine (name not mentioned in its website) defines serialism as the following. Serialism means an adaptation designed to hold a strong sense of a key and of a melody, but using elements of such a melody with great economy & strictness. But I agree in the reviewer that serialism need not necessarily mean aridity (or emptiness) as Frankel admirably proved. His technique is strict, but his music is communicatively varied (again, much like Vainberg or Copland). Again, not every work of his are memorable. But where his melody is often noble and genuine, it is the buildup of that melody that's compelling. And it seems that the melodies undergo something of a metamorphosis, sometimes evolving from simplicity to something more profound, maintaining its stance with little waste & hardly in danger of flagging. The Symphonies here are rather compelling cases in point. The Second, dedicated to his late wife Anna, starts off with a subtle, somewhat mournful atmosphere (fleetingly Mahlerian and even Myaskovskian). But soon enough, the mood intensifies, with the poignancy of anguish & fiercity. The orchestration, once noble yet mournful at the beginning, becomes violent as the movement develops. But the second movement hardly lets itself go, maintaining, if not, enhancing the diabolical nature of the previous movement. The finale, typical of Frankel, is introspective and haunting, and in the end, elegiac. By contrast, though, the Third Symphony starts off jovially, yet never letting go of its dignity (almost like one leaving church on a Sunday afternoon refreshed & upbeat-like in Ives' Third Symphony "The Camp Meeting"). The work has interlinking moods between the quiet uplift and the reflective, with the closing a bit ambiguous. Werner Andreas Albert draws magnificent performances from the Queensland Symphony with the recordings purely yet ideally realistic. The booklet essays of E.D. Kennaway & Orr are exemplary and I truly admire CPO decision in placing Frankel's recorded assessments of the symphonies before them on separate tracks. So, anyone new to Frankel's music should either try this disc first or another CPO disc having his Violin & Viola concerti (the third piece, Serenata Concertante for Piano Trio & Orchestra is quite a masterpiece). A Frankel revival? I would think so. Perhaps Andre Previn, who performed Frankel's music in the past, would engage in reviving Frankel's music & his status as a major 20th Century composer into a more fully-fledged endeavor.But then agian, it's just a passing thought."