Even though he was widely celebrated as one of the most important American musicians of the twentieth century, Leonard Bernstein has already become the subject of a critical reassessment and cautious revival in the early twenty first. This 2005 Naxos CD presents three of Bernstein's appealing but underplayed and under-appreciated concert works, the tender Serenade for solo violin, strings, harp, and percussion, the melodramatic ballet Facsimile, and the comical Divertimento for orchestra, in idiomatic, polished, and richly ...
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Even though he was widely celebrated as one of the most important American musicians of the twentieth century, Leonard Bernstein has already become the subject of a critical reassessment and cautious revival in the early twenty first. This 2005 Naxos CD presents three of Bernstein's appealing but underplayed and under-appreciated concert works, the tender Serenade for solo violin, strings, harp, and percussion, the melodramatic ballet Facsimile, and the comical Divertimento for orchestra, in idiomatic, polished, and richly expressive performances by Marin Alsop and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Violinist Philippe Quint's solo part in the Serenade is deeply felt, lyrical, and lustrous, and his ingratiating playing makes this performance easy to like from the start. The rhythmic verve and dramatically heightened lines and textures of Facsimile are classic elements of Bernstein's theatrical style -- most notable in his Broadway musicals, but equally strong in his dance pieces. The wryly...
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