Arnold Rosner - Orchestral Music, Vol. 4 (Nick Palmer)

Information

Composer: Arnold Rosner

• Scherzo for Orchestra, Op. 29a
• Concerto Grosso No. 2, Op. 74
• Variations on a Theme by Frank Martin, Op. 105
• Canzona secundi toni, Op. 63
• A My Lai Elegy, Op. 51

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Nick Palmer, conductor

Date: 2024

Label: Toccata

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

Review

Arnold Rosner’s extraordinary Requiem (A/20) was my Critics’ Choice for 2020, the third volume of his orchestral works (5/19) my pick the previous year; can Vol 4 follow in their wake? Well, every chance! This is another fascinating programme, compelling and appealing in equal measure, superbly played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra – who sound as if they have been playing this music all their lives (rather than just in occasional visits to the studio over the past 10 years) – under Nick Palmer, who joined the project for Vol 2, taking over from David Amos.

Rosner (1945-2013) was eclectic as a composer, and these four works – the digital version of the album has a bonus track, the bracing Canzona secundi toni for brass (1975) – are fine examples of how he synthesised elements from the entire history of Western music into his unique personal style. While it is fun to tick off the allusions – Shostakovich here, Bach there, John Adams-like minimalism in a key episode in the harrowing symphonic poem A My Lai Elegy (1970‑71, rev 1993) – these should not distract from the symphonic thrust and laser focus of Rosner’s expressive purpose.

The Scherzo salvaged from Rosner’s withdrawn Fourth Symphony (1964) is a gem of a piece and would make a splendid concert opener. The Concerto grosso No 2 (1979) is another real find, an orchestral concerto more in the Hindemithian mould than the Bartókian, a work of real depth. The Variations on a Theme by Frank Martin (1996) is more relaxed, a beautifully crafted tribute to the Swiss master.

A My Lai Elegy is the largest and deepest work on the album, a 25-minute protest at the appalling 1968 massacre of over 500 civilians of all ages during the Vietnam War, but also prompted by the shootings of students in 1970‑71 at campuses in Ohio and Mississippi. It is music of horror and nightmare, mostly not graphic – the percussive outbursts do sound like fusillades – but rather of the theatre of the imagination, deeply unsettling and utterly gripping. Very strongly recommended.

— Guy Rickards

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

Arnold Rosner (November 8, 1945 – November 8, 2013) was an American composer. He studied music at State University of New York at Buffalo, New York. A staunch traditionalist, Rosner rejected all the compositional styles that seized the limelight during the course of his career. He instead developed an individual style that fused elements of Renaissance music with the heightened drama and rich sonorities of late romanticism. Rosner's output includes three operas, eight symphonies, six string quartets, three a cappella Mass settings and the large Requiem, three piano sonatas, and a host of other orchestral, choral, and chamber works.

***

A native of Hingham, Massachusetts, Nicholas Palmer graduated from Harvard University and received his Masters and Doctoral degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Iowa. He is currently Music Director of the Altoona Symphony and the North Charleston POPS!, and was also Music Director of the Lafayette Symphony for 16 years. A favorite guest conductor in Europe, Mexico, and South America, Palmer has conducted the Europa Philharmonie, the Orchestra di San Remo and the Czech Radio Orchestra. He has recorded for Symphonic Discoveries, Albany and Toccata labels.

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