Jacques Ibert's music took shape during tumultuous years, but never lost its fundamental lightness, even when the French neoclassic school had begun to decline. Jazz influences are present, but they are largely sublimated into a subtle kind of rhythmic freedom that sets Ibert apart from his contemporaries. The music depends on total smoothness in the grand French conservatory tradition, breaking first into upturned corners of the mouth and then, occasionally, if properly shaped by a sympathetic conductor, into a full smile. ...
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Jacques Ibert's music took shape during tumultuous years, but never lost its fundamental lightness, even when the French neoclassic school had begun to decline. Jazz influences are present, but they are largely sublimated into a subtle kind of rhythmic freedom that sets Ibert apart from his contemporaries. The music depends on total smoothness in the grand French conservatory tradition, breaking first into upturned corners of the mouth and then, occasionally, if properly shaped by a sympathetic conductor, into a full smile. The Orchestra of the Suisse Romande is not French, but they're a veteran outfit with years of tradition, and they follow the baton of Neeme Järvi with flawless coordination. Järvi is a versatile conductor, but in French music of the 20th century he is truly to the manner born. Sample any of the movements of the Divertissement (tracks 7-12) or the Suite symphonique ("Paris," tracks 14-19), programmatic works both composed in 1930. They would seem delicate if everything were not so...
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