Marin Alsop - Wooden Prince - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, one of his greatest works, was written in the United States after the composer was forced to flee Hungary during World War II. It is not only a brilliant display vehicle for each instrumental section but a work of considerable structural ingenuity that unites classical forms and sonorities with the pungency of folk rhythms and harmonies. Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta explores darker moods through a score of marvelously poised symmetry. This follows Marin Alsop's 'riveting' (Gramophone) Baltimore Symphony recordings of Dvorák's symphonies. Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. With her inaugural concerts in September 2007, she became the first woman to head a major American orchestra. Her most recent appointment as principal conductor of the Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (OSESP), starting in 2012, marks another historic appointment for her. In 2005, Marin Alsop was named a MacArthur Fellow, the first conductor ever to receive this prestigious award. Album Tracks 1. I. Introduzione Andante Non Troppo - Allegro Vivace 2. II. Giuoco Delle Coppie Allegretto Scherzando 3. III. Elegia Andante Non Troppo 4. IV. Intermezzo Interrotto Allegretto 5. V. Finale Presto 6. I. Andante Tranquillo 7. II. Allegro 8. III. Adagio 9. IV. Allegro Molto

To get an idea of how thoroughly Marin Alsop has studied the composer's style, check out the fourth of the Hungarian Pictures (it's title translated here as InchSlightly TipsyInch). She has the orchestra playing this music with the same kind of erratic, lurch rhythm the composer used in his own piano recording, a comic effect which is difficult to reproduce in an orchestra. The performance of The Miraculous Mandarin offers the complete ballet, with it's breathtaking choral finale, not just the more commonly heard suite. Alsop gets the orchestra to play with powerful rhythmic drive (equally true in the exciting Dance Suite) and a great deal of color. Some of the power is dissipated by slightly diffuse recording, but it's still a pleasure to hear this wonderful music played with such conviction and fine style. Album Tracks 1. Opening The Girl and the Three Tramps 2. First Seduction Game The Shabby Old Rake 3. Second Seduction Game The Young Student 4. Third Seduction Game 5. The Mandarin Enters and Remains Immobile in the Doorway 6. The Girl Begins a Hesitant Dance 7. The Mandarin Stumbles-The Chase Becomes Even More Passionate 8. The Three Tramps Leap Out, Seize the Mandarin and Tear Him Away from the Girl 9. Suddenly the Mandarin's Head Appears Between the Pillows and He Looks Longingly at the Girl 10. The Terrivied Tramps Discuss How They Are to Get Rid of the Mandarin 11. The Body of the Mandarin Begins to Glow with a Greenish Blue Light - Bournemouth Symphony Choir 12. She Resists No Longer-They Embrace 13. I. Moderato 14. II. Allegro Molto 15. III. Allegro Vivace 16. IV. Molto Tranquillo 17. V. Comodo-Finale 18. I. An Evening in the Village 19. II. Bear Dance 20. III. Melody 21. IV. Slightly Tipsy 22. V. Swineherd's Dance

A modern version of the old European folk-tale about the cruel, blue-bearded prince and his many disappearing wives, Bart k's oper Bluebeard's Castle is a metaphor for the impossibility of complete love between a man and a woman. A vast orchestra. Album Tracks 1. InchMegeztwe Have ArrivedInch (Bluebeard) 2. InchEz a Kzaka!Inch InchThis Is Bluebeard's Castle!Inch (Judith) 3. InchNagy Csukott Ajt LKInch InchI See Large Closed DoorsInch (Judith) 4. First Door - InchJaj!Inch InchOh!Inch (Judith) 5. Second Door - InchMit LZ?Inch InchWhat Do You See?Inch (Bluebeard) 6. Third Door - InchOh, Be Sok Kincs!Inch InchOh, How Much Treasure!Inch (Judith) 7. Fourth Door - InchOh, Virk!Inch InchOh, Flowers!Inch (Judith) 8. Fifth Door - InchN Hogy Der a VMInch InchSee How My Castle BrightensInch (Bluebeard) 9. Sixth Door - InchCsendes Fehtavat LKInch InchI See a Silent White LakeInch (Judith) 10. InchAz Utolsem Nyitom KiInch InchI Won't Open the Last OneInch (Bluebeard) 11. InchTudom, Tudom, Kzak Know, I Know, BluebeardInch (Judith) 12. InchL a R AsszonyokatInch InchLook at the Women of the PastInch (Bluebeard)