Search - Branco, Santos, Jesús Amigo :: Luis de Freitas Branco/ Joly Braga Santos

Get in line, people....

greg taylor | Portland, Oregon United States | 04/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"to thank me for writing this review. I cannot believe that I am the first person to write a review of this 2005 recording.

This is the first recording of the Freitas Branco "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra". Why, I have no idea. Luis de Freitas Branco wrote this in 1916 at the ripe old age of 26 (the same age as Alexandre de Costas when he played on this recording). Frietas Branco had been experimenting with the various techniques of musical modernism at the time including "atonal micropoliphony" (I am quoting here from the liner notes). But he was soon to turn to a personalized form of neoclassicism. It sure shows in the Concerto. This strikes my ears as a beautifully mature classical work with a very centered tonality.

The violin part is very present throughout and very lyrical. It does not require any sort of extended technique but obviously must be played with great focus and musicality.

De Costa is outstanding as is the Extramadura Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jesus Amigo. I cannot stress enough the quality of the playing and recording. The balance between the soloist and orchesta is perfect throughout the orchestra's dynamic range. The individual sections of the orchestra are clear even when playing en masse. To my ears, this is the way classical music should be recorded. I will be curious to read what other reviewers have to say about it.

There are two other pieces on this CD, both by another Portuguese composer, Joly Braga Santos.

The first piece is Encruzilhada which means Crossroads (1967). It is music for a ballet. It tells the story of a young woman celebrating her engagement, who is led astray by a bunch of ne'er-do-wells from the city, who manages to get away and returns to reconcile with her beau. The form is baroque based on a sequence of five dances.

The other orchestral piece by Braga Santos is Divertimento No.1 (1961).

Braga Santos was a student of Freitas Branco's. But from the opening of Encruzilhada it is clear that we are listening to a somewhat more modern aesthetic. There is a clear sense of melody as Braga Santos seems to enjoy taking traditional folk themes and reworking them. But the Encruzilhada displays a problem that I sometime have with listening to balletic music instead of watching the ballet. There tend to be sudden (and dramatic) shifts in the music that seem random without the context of the story being told by the dance.

The Divertimento to me is more successful as a recording. Maybe I am just responding to the thematic material more but I feel it also has to do with the fact that in this piece, Braga Santos, is writing to show off the orchestra and not the dancers. And again, the Extremadura Symphony does themselves proud. They all play with panache, feeling and great skill. In fact, my only problem with the packaging of this CD is that nowhere is there a listing of the orchestral personnel.

In the final analysis it comes down to this. There are several types of great performances. One thinks of Stravinsky debuting the Rite Of Spring in Paris. But, on a lesser scale, there are performances that define a piece. Where there are perfect combinations of soloists, conductors, orchestras and compositions that combine for definitive recordings or performances. My reaction is always, "doG, I wish I had been in the audience". I might be overwrought but I believe this will come to be thought of as such a recording. Give it a listen, O lover of classical music, and tell me what you think.

"