This Naxos disc pairs the English chamber orchestra the Northern Sinfonia with conductor James Sinclair. Sinclair is now the foremost scholar working within the field of Charles Ives' music and has edited the main catalog of Ives' works. While Sinclair has recorded some of the shorter pieces on this disc before, some of the performing editions used here represent the latest word in terms of Ives scholarship. Even to anyone who has heard practically every commercial recording made of all of these pieces, this Naxos disc ...
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This Naxos disc pairs the English chamber orchestra the Northern Sinfonia with conductor James Sinclair. Sinclair is now the foremost scholar working within the field of Charles Ives' music and has edited the main catalog of Ives' works. While Sinclair has recorded some of the shorter pieces on this disc before, some of the performing editions used here represent the latest word in terms of Ives scholarship. Even to anyone who has heard practically every commercial recording made of all of these pieces, this Naxos disc comes as a revelation. The tempi in the Symphony No. 3 are more flexible than in most past recordings, and in some passages they may seem quicker than what an experienced Ivesian is used to. But the movements run at about the same length as they usually do, as Sinclair creates contrast through playing other sections somewhat slower. The edition used of Washington's Birthday is particularly striking. Those who know the work well will hardly recognize the opening section, which is...
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