Henk Badings - Symphonies Nos. 3, 10 & 14 (David Porcelijn)

Information

Composer: Henk Badings

• Symphony No. 3
• Symphony No. 10
• Symphony No. 14 (Symphonisches Triptychon) "Flämische"

Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra

David Porcelijn, conductor

Date: 2010

Label: CPO

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

Review

Henk Badings’ music recalls that old “do-it-yourself Hindemith” joke: start with a C major chord, write whatever you want in the middle, and end with a C major chord. Actually, Badings usually leaves out the opening C major chord, but he does have the kindness to “go tonal” at cadences, and he writes arresting tunes and motives. He’s really a very good composer, as the previous release in this ongoing series suggests, and if you enjoy his models–Honegger, Milhaud, Hindemith, and Bartók–then you’re going to enjoy these pieces very much. They date from 1934-68.

Symphony No. 3, with its polytonal counterpoint and angular harmonies, falls very much into the Honegger/Milhaud school. In No. 10, a 17-minute piece in four pithy movements, Hindemith features in the first two movements (the trumpet tune at the beginning), and Bartók in the last two. Symphony No. 14 introduces hints of the ethnic music of Badings’ Indonesian childhood, while the slow finale starts like the third movement of Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta before yielding to a ravishing central melody of curiously exotic character.

The performances here are mostly very good, especially considering how unfamiliar the music must have been to the orchestra and the exposed nature of much of the writing (there are some very high and awkward violin passages in all three works). There are a few moments of tentative ensemble, and the brass could be more assertive, but David Porcelijn, always a sympathetic interpreter of contemporary music, once again proves himself. The engineering is a little bit cavernous but captures the music’s color and atmosphere quite well.

— David Hurwitz

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

Henk Badings (17 January 1907 – 26 June 1987) was a Dutch composer born in Bandung, Java, Dutch East Indies. Initially trained as a mining engineer and palaeontologist, he turned to music full-time in 1937. He held several academic positions, including director of the Royal Conservatory at The Hague during World War II. A prolific composer, Badings created over a thousand works, including fifteen symphonies, four string quartets, and numerous other orchestral and chamber pieces. His legacy has seen renewed interest in the 21st century, with recordings by the German label CPO and a dedicated festival in Rotterdam in 2007.

***

David Porcelijn (born 7 January 1947) is a Dutch composer and conductor. He studied flute, composition, and conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Music in The Hague. Porcelijn has conducted major orchestras worldwide, including the London Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony. He held leading roles with ensembles such as the Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, and the RTS Symphony Orchestra in Belgrade. A co-founder of Ensemble M, he promoted contemporary music from 1974 to 1978. Porcelijn has recorded extensively and taught conducting in both the Netherlands and Australia.

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