Search - William Mathias, BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra :: William Mathias: Symphony No. 1; Symphony No. 2 (Summer Music)

William Mathias, BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra
William Mathias: Symphony No. 1; Symphony No. 2 (Summer Music)
Genre: Classical

Track Listings (7) - Disc #1
1. Symphony No. 1, Op 31: 1. Allegro moderato
2. Symphony No. 1, Op 31: 2. Vivace
3. Symphony No. 1, Op 31: 3. Molto Adagio, sempre flessibile
4. Symphony No. 1, Op 31: 4. Largamente - Allegro con brio
5. Symphony No. 2, Op 90 'Summer Music': 1. Aestiva Regio (Summer Region). Molto moderato e misterioso - Allegro
6. Symphony No. 2, Op 90 'Summer Music': 2. ('A'm gwlad gysefin yw bro s?r-hefin...')('My original country is the region of the summer s
7. Symphony No. 2, Op 90 'Summer Music': 3. ('My ark sings in the sun At God-speeded summer's end And the flood flowers now'). Allegro n

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CD Details

All Artists: William Mathias, BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra
Title: William Mathias: Symphony No. 1; Symphony No. 2 (Summer Music)
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Nimbus Records
Release Date: 12/2/1992
Genre: Classical
Styles: Historical Periods, Modern, 20th, & 21st Century, Symphonies
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 0836035260238, 710357526022, 083603526023

Synopsis

Amazon.com

William Mathias (1934-92) is a composer who belongs right beside William Alwyn, Malcolm Arnold, and Peter Maxwell Davies. His music has a definite British flair to it, but it also partakes of late-20th-century musical experiments. His Symphony 1 (1965) is full of exuberance, but not of the Romantic kind. His overall architecture is neo-Classical and his thematic expressions push the limits of tonality. It's a very dense work. Symphony 2 (Summer Music) of 1983 is far more musically adroit--but it's still dark and foreboding. Fans of 20th-century British music will want to add Mathias's music to their shelves. --Paul Cook

CD Reviews

A Colorful, Thrilling, Rhythmic Feast

Timothy Dougal | Madison, Wi United States | 10/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had read that William Mathias' music was Stravinskian before hearing this disc, so that, at least, was enough to get my attention. But Mathias is no mere imitator. While he may evoke Stravinsky's neo-classicism to a degree in his Sym. #1 from 1965, he also evokes any number of other modern composers, without sounding like any of them. The 2nd Symphony, from 1983, is even more individual in its use of the symphonic form. The music is difficult to describe. There are tunes, complex vigorous rhythms, orchestral color to burn, augemented percussion, grand moments, mystical evocations of nature, without, however, traditional sound-painting. The music in these symphonies is a heady, invigorating mix of all I like about modern music, put together in propulsive and attractive way. Oh, the sound is spacious and well-recorded, too. Don't miss it!"