Home  |  Hi-Fi Audio Reviews  Audiophile Shows Partner Mags  News       

 

 

Enjoy the Music.com Review Magazine

George Whitefield Chadwick
Orchestral Works From An Early Master

Review by Wayne Donnelly
Click here to e-mail reviewer

George Whitefield Chadwick: Orchestral Works from an Early Master

CD Number: Reference Recordings RR-2104CD

 

  George Chadwick (1854-1931) was a prominent figure in American musical life, known both as a composer and as Director of the New England Conservatory of Music for 35 years. Judging from the selections collected here, Chadwick's orchestral music was well crafted, energetic, and frequently graced with attractive melodies, especially in his slow movements. His incorporation of folk tunes, marches and dance music prefigures his fellow New Englander Charles Ives.

Chadwick composed three "official" symphonies, but thereafter chose to title his four-movement symphonic pieces, avoiding the term "Symphony." Two such works are presented here. The four movements of the 30-minute Symphonic Sketches, one of Chadwick's best-known works, are entitled "Jubilee," "Noel," "Hobgoblin" and "A Vagrom Ballad." Sandwiched between the vigorous outer movements, the lovely "Noel" and scherzo-like "Hobgoblin" stand out as most inspired. Throughout this work and elsewhere, I hear passages reminiscent of Dvorak, who was resident in America near the end of the 19th century and who most certainly influenced American composers through both his music and his writings. The Suite Symphonique shares many of its sibling's stylistic traits, but to these ears the Suite sounds less vivacious -- although still worth hearing.

Among the other works in this set, Tam O'Shanter comes across as a good-humored romp. The brief, beautiful Elegy is appropriately mournful, and the quasi-Wagnerian Melpomene Overture is darkly dramatic. The nine-movement Aphrodite contains some of Chadwick's most delicate orchestral writing. Everything on these two CDs is certainly good enough to warrant occasional concert programming.

This 2-for-the-price-of-1 set is another of Reference Recordings' several repackagings of earlier releases, and as we might expect, the sound of the orchestra is very well captured -- although not quite as spectacularly as on the label's Minnesota Orchestra recordings. The Czech State Philharmonic of Brno is not the equal of Prague's illustrious Czech Philharmonic, but it is a good group nonetheless, digging into these unfamiliar pieces with spirit. Conductor Serebrier offers sturdy interpretations, although I can imagine more exciting ones -- perhaps by my local band, American music champion Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. I recommend this set to anyone interested in less traveled musical paths or in the state of American symphonic music at the turn of the 20th Century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     
 

Quick Links


Premium Audio Review Magazine
High-End Audiophile Equipment Reviews

 

Equipment Review Archives
Turntables, Cartridges, Etc
Digital Source
Do It Yourself (DIY)
Preamplifiers
Amplifiers
Cables, Wires, Etc
Loudspeakers/ Monitors
Headphones, IEMs, Tweaks, Etc
Superior Audio Gear Reviews

 

 


Show Reports
HIGH END Munich 2024
AXPONA 2024 Show Report
Montreal Audiofest 2024 Report

Southwest Audio Fest 2024
Florida Intl. Audio Expo 2024
Capital Audiofest 2023 Report
Toronto Audiofest 2023 Report
UK Audio Show 2023 Report
Pacific Audio Fest 2023 Report
T.H.E. Show 2023 Report
Australian Hi-Fi Show 2023 Report
...More Show Reports

 

Videos
Our Featured Videos

 


Industry & Music News

High-Performance Audio & Music News

 

Partner Print Magazines
audioXpress
Australian Hi-Fi Magazine
hi-fi+ Magazine
Sound Practices
VALVE Magazine

 

For The Press & Industry
About Us
Press Releases
Official Site Graphics

 

 

 

     

Home   |   Hi-Fi Audio Reviews   |   News   |   Press Releases   |   About Us   |   Contact Us

 

All contents copyright©  1995 - 2024  Enjoy the Music.com®
May not be copied or reproduced without permission.  All rights reserved.