Alexandre Tansman - Symphonies Vol. 3 (Oleg Caetani)

Information

Composer: Alexandre Tansman

• Symphonie [No. 2] in A minor
• Quatre Mouvements pour orchestre
• Symphonie concertante (Symphony No. 3)

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Oleg Caetani, conductor

Date: 2008

Label: Chandos

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Review

With the three works on this disc, we are dealing with three different aspects of Polish-French-American composer Alexandre Tansman. In the Symphony [No. 2] from 1926, he is a neo-classical modernist à la Les Six with a crisp, vivacious style. In the Symphonie Concertante (Symphony No. 3) from 1931, he is a jazz-age shape-shifter àl a Gershwin with a bright, insouciant style. And in the much later Quatre Mouvement pour orchestre from 1968, he is somewhere past Stravinsky and heading out toward Boulez with a style that travels from harsh dissonance to clashing cacophony. As previously in this series dedicated to Tansman's symphonies, Oleg Caetani and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra play magnificently with more than polished professionalism. There's flash in the colors, muscle in the rhythms, and steadfast conviction in the interpretations. One feels the thrill of the Second Symphony's opening Allegro giusto, the dread in the Quatre Mouvement's opening Notturno, and the joie de vivre of the Sinfonia Concertante's central Tempo americano. Recorded in brilliant digital sound by Chandos, this disc should at least be heard by listeners attracted to the symphonies of Honegger, Roussel, and Dutilleux.

— James Leonard

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Alexander Tansman (12 June 1897 – 15 November 1986) was a Polish-born French composer. Born in Łódź to Jewish parents, he studied piano, composition and conducting before earning a law degree from Warsaw University. After moving to Paris in 1919, he gained recognition as a pianist and composer, influenced particularly by Stravinsky and Ravel. His international career included performances and tours across Europe, Asia and America. During World War II, he fled to Los Angeles with his family. Although he continued composing prolifically after returning to Paris, his neo-Classical style gradually fell out of favor.

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Oleg Caetani (born 1956 in Lausanne) is an Italian conductor and son of Igor Markevitch. He studied under Nadia Boulanger, and trained in conducting and composition at the Santa Cecilia (with Franco Ferrara), Moscow (with Kirill Kondrashin), and St Petersburg (with Ilya Musin) conservatories. Caetani began his career in Berlin and held leadership roles in major German opera houses. He became chief conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2005 but departed in 2009 due to conflicts. His recordings include Shostakovich symphonies, as well as works by Tansman, Stephan, Tchaikovsky, Gounod and Donizetti.

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