Charles-Marie Widor - Symphony No. 2; Cello Concerto (Martin Yates; Torleif Thedéen)

Information

Composer: Charles-Marie Widor

• Les Pêcheurs de Saint-Jean, orchestral preludes
• Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 41
• Symphony No. 2 in A major, Op. 54

Torleif Thedéen, cello

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Martin Yates, conductor

Date: 2013

Label: Dutton

https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CDLX7303

-----------------------------------------------------------

Review

Hats off to the RSNO and Martin Yates for resurrecting these three substantial orchestral works by Charles-Marie Widor, the composer who has led many a couple of newlyweds back down the aisle with the Toccata from his Fifth Organ Symphony. His output was sizeable and extended way beyond the organ loft of Saint-Sulpice. We have here his Cello Concerto (1878), the Second Symphony (1882) and – best of the lot – three preludes from his opera Les pêcheurs de Saint-Jean (1905), all of them apparently recorded for the first time.

Shades of various composers flit in and out of this music – Wagner, Saint-Saëns, Schumann and César Franck. But it’s one of those intriguing discs that make you want to hear more of a composer now renowned only for one part of one organ work. The joints of the Cello Concerto do creak a bit but the French folk-like material is charming. Torleif Thedéen is a tasteful exponent of it, opening out passionately when given the chance. Contrary to accepted practice, the finale’s coda ends tranquilly. Although George Bernard Shaw said of Widor’s Second Symphony that ‘Berlioz himself, in his most uninspired moments, could not have been more elaborately and intelligently dull’, it has strong ideas and a sure impulse, while the operatic orchestral preludes exude genuine dramatic colour. Well worth exploring.

-- Geoffrey Norris, Gramophone

More reviews:
https://www.classical-music.com/reviews/orchestral/widor-les-pechers-de-saint-jean

https://www.amazon.com/Charles-Marie-Widor-Cello-Concerto-Symphony/dp/B00C9EAYVA

-----------------------------------------------------------

Charles-Marie Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the late Romantic era. Widor was a prolific composer, writing music for organ, piano, voice and ensembles. Apart from his ten organ symphonies, he also wrote three symphonies for orchestra and organ, several songs for piano and voice, four operas and a ballet. As of 2022, he is the longest-serving organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, a role he held for 63 years. He also was organ professor at the Paris Conservatory from 1890 to 1896, and then he became professor of composition at the same institution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles-Marie_Widor

***

Martin Yates (born in London) is a British conductor. He studied at the Royal College of Music and Trinity College of Music. Yates made his conducting debut in 1983, and has since appeared regularly at several major opera houses including Paris, Vienna, Dresden, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo, Naples, Rome and Tokyo. From 1994 to 1999, he was the principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in London, and from 2010 to 2014, principal conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the Cambridge University Music Society. Yates has made over 100 recordings, including many world premiers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Yates

***

The Swedish Cellist, Torleif Thedéen, gained international recognition in 1985 by winning three of the worlds most prestigious cello competitions: the Hammer-Rostropowitsch, the Pablo-Casals and the European Broadcasting Union's International Tribune. Since then Torleif Thedéen has been giving concerts all over the world, and he is one of the most highly regarded musicians in Scandinavia. Thedéen is also active as a chamber musician, and as such appears in prestigious concert venues worldwide. Since 1986 he has recorded numerous CD’s for BIS, featuring standard repertoire as well as contemporary music.

https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Thedeen-Torleif.htm

https://www.torleifthedeen.com/

-----------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!