Gerhard: Symphony No. 2 & Concerto for Orchestra

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Although the avowed purpose of Gerhard's Concerto for Orchestra (1965) was to highlight the orchestra as an entity rather than its constituent sections or instruments, and while it may not have... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 More…

Release Date: 1st Feb 1999
Catalogue No: CHAN9694
Label: Chandos
Length: 54 minutes

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Gerhard: Concerto for Orchestra

Work length23:38

Album only

Matthias Bamert, BBC Symphony Orchestra

Gerhard: Symphony No. 2

Work length31:02

Album only

Matthias Bamert, BBC Symphony Orchestra

I. Poco sostenuto - Allegro assai

Track length13:16

$2.15

$2.60

II. Lento - Comodamente - Molto vivace

Track length17:46

Album only

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2010

Although the avowed purpose of Gerhard's Concerto for Orchestra (1965) was to highlight the orchestra as an entity rather than its constituent sections or instruments, and while it may not have the immediate universal appeal of, say, Kodály's or Bartók's works with the same title, it has never been surpassed for its imaginative handling of instrumental sonorities or for its virtuoso demands on the players. It has to be said right away that this is a stunning performance: not merely does the BBC SO rise spectacularly to the work's demands, but Bamert shows himself exceptionally skilful at securing internal balances. It's worth quoting Gerhard's own words: 'My favourite listener is one who does not read explanatory programme notes … I stand by the sound of my music, and it is the sound that must make the sense…a work of music takes shape only in the mind of the listener.' Gerhard's Second Symphony has been represented on disc only by the revised version (Metamorphosis) which had had to be completed by Alan Boustead (available on Auvidis Montaigne); although Gerhard may have felt the original too cerebral, it was at least all his, and tough going as it undoubtedly is, it's very welcome to all interested in the mental processes of this quite exceptional musician. The opening of the work's second section, with its clicking percussion, is hauntingly mysterious, and the final nightmare palindrome Scherzo (of which only a fraction exists in the Boustead version) is one of his most astonishing creations. With first-class recording throughout, this must be regarded as an essential disc for all admirers of Gerhard.

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