Paul Ben-Haim: Music of Israel: Symphony No. 1, Pastorale variée & Pan

Despite obvious differences in emphasis throughout the programme, the composer’s armoury remains remarkably consistent, not least in demonstrating his superb feeling for instrumental colour...The... — BBC Music Magazine, January 2021, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 30th Oct 2020
Catalogue No: CHAN20169
Label: Chandos
Length: 60 minutes

BBC Music Magazine

January 2021

Orchestral Choice

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Ben-Haim: Pan, Op. 17

Work length15:23

$4.00

$4.80

$5.60

Claudia Barainsky (soprano)
BBC Philharmonic
Omer Meir Wellber

I. Sehr Ruhige Bewegung

Track length7:13

$2.00

$2.40

II. Zwischenspiel. Andantino molto rubato

Track length3:30

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

III. Sehr langsam und ruhig beginnen

Track length4:40

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Ben-Haim: Pastorale variée, Op. 31b

Work length16:58

$7.00

$8.40

$11.20

John Bradbury (clarinet)
BBC Philharmonic
Omer Meir Wellber

Thema. Sostenuto e Dolce

Track length1:53

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 1, Lo sesso movimento

Track length1:50

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 2, Un poco più mosso

Track length1:35

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 3, Calmo

Track length2:16

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 4, Ancora più calmo

Track length2:24

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 5, Allegretto, poco a poco accelerando

Track length1:45

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 6, Epilogue. Molto calmo e misterioso

Track length5:15

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Ben-Haim: Symphony No. 1

Work length28:22

$7.00

$8.40

$7.20

BBC Philharmonic
Omer Meir Wellber

I. Allegro energico

Track length10:32

$3.00

$3.60

$2.40

II. Molto calmo e cantabile

Track length9:22

$2.00

$2.40

III. Presto con fuoco

Track length8:28

$2.00

$2.40

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About

Paul Frankenburger (born in Munich on 5 July 1897) was a successful conductor and composer in Bavaria, until he lost his position at the Augsburg Opera owing to a financial crisis at the opera house. In 1933, he left Germany and immigrated to Mandatory Palestine. Immediately upon arriving in the new country, he changed his name to Paul Ben-Haim, and within a few years he had established himself as a cultural icon, a highly esteemed and influential composer, and the founder of a new musical tradition. Some consider Ben-Haim the national composer of the young state established in 1948, fifteen years after his immigration. The compositions on this album are closely linked to those dramatic years, during which he changed homelands, swapped identities, and, to a large degree, even replaced, or forged, his own unique personal style. mer Meir Wellber, the new Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, makes his Chandos debut with this first album in a series devoted to exploring the music of Israel.

Reviews

January 2021

Despite obvious differences in emphasis throughout the programme, the composer’s armoury remains remarkably consistent, not least in demonstrating his superb feeling for instrumental colour...The First Symphony is the most substantial work here...[the Presto finale] performed with mesmerising urgency by Wellber and the BBC Philharmonic...In total contrast, the central slow movement is more lyrical and impassioned, an oasis of relative calm which inspires some tremendously eloquent playing.

March/April 2021

Ben-Haim’s First Symphony is an astonishingly fine work, structurally coherent in three movements, gorgeously orchestrated, accessible, and sounding considerably like Hindemith in its memorable tightness of expression and controlled energy. It blossoms tonally in places in an almost cinematic way and transcends Hindemith’s style in conveying a touch of Middle Eastern exoticism along the way.

December 2020

It’s good to see the music of the Munich-born Israeli composer Paul Ben-Haim receiving increasing attention from record companies...It’s difficult to imagine the work [Pan] receiving a more sympathetic and impassioned performance than this one by Claudia Barainsky and Omer Meir Wellber...Altogether, a very worthwhile and rewarding release.

Paul Ben-Haim: Music of Israel

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