Willem van Otterloo is best remembered as a conductor, but he produced a small body of works for orchestra and wind ensemble still played with some frequency in the Netherlands. He was considered one of the foremost Dutch composers between the wars, but after the Second World War he stopped composing and devoted himself solely to conducting. The four pieces recorded here, a suite for strings, a Symphonietta for winds, and two works for brass and percussion, don't reveal a particularly original voice, but they're attractive ...
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Willem van Otterloo is best remembered as a conductor, but he produced a small body of works for orchestra and wind ensemble still played with some frequency in the Netherlands. He was considered one of the foremost Dutch composers between the wars, but after the Second World War he stopped composing and devoted himself solely to conducting. The four pieces recorded here, a suite for strings, a Symphonietta for winds, and two works for brass and percussion, don't reveal a particularly original voice, but they're attractive works that completely succeed on their own modest terms. While it's hard to characterize distinctive elements of van Otterloo's style, it's possible to detect a French influence, with some of Milhaud's eclecticism. He frequently overlays this post-Impressionist sound with a strongly propulsive rhythmic drive that's reminiscent of Vaughan Williams' or Holst's music for wind ensemble. The Nocturne movement of the Serenade for brass and percussion is particularly lovely, a delicate and...
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