The music of Joaquín Turina, written between the world wars and largely tonal, fell into disfavor during modernist rule and its associated ideology of linear historical development. But, although tonal, it is not really conservative: it merges French Impressionism and Spanish folklore in a thoroughly blended medium, and its colorful Spanish scenes conceal extremely artful orchestration and sequences of events that only seem joyously spontaneous. It is good to hear it being programmed with increasing frequency by major ...
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The music of Joaquín Turina, written between the world wars and largely tonal, fell into disfavor during modernist rule and its associated ideology of linear historical development. But, although tonal, it is not really conservative: it merges French Impressionism and Spanish folklore in a thoroughly blended medium, and its colorful Spanish scenes conceal extremely artful orchestration and sequences of events that only seem joyously spontaneous. It is good to hear it being programmed with increasing frequency by major orchestras outside Spain, and this release by the BBC Philharmonic under Spanish veteran Juanjo Mena offers a fair sampling of his talent. The two major works, the Danzas fantásticas, Op. 22, and the Sinfonía sevillana, Op. 23, are close in time and similar in style. Neither title is literal; Sinfonía is not really a symphony, but rather offers music evocative of Spanish places and forms of expression (the "Orgia" final movement does not, the booklet assures you, mean what you think it...
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