Jan Valta, State Chamber Orchestra of Žilina - Respighi: Trittico Botticelliano; Martinů: Sinfonietta La Jolla (1994)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 200 Mb | Total time: 46:04 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Point Classics | # 2671852 | Recorded: 1994
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 200 Mb | Total time: 46:04 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Point Classics | # 2671852 | Recorded: 1994
Martinu's alternately bustlingly neo-classical and genially lyrical Sinfonietta La jolla (named after the Californian town whose Music Society commissioned it) is otherwise absent from the CD catalogue at present, and this lively account is welcome. It is one of his most relaxed works, approaching light music at times, especially in the circus-like exuberance of the finale, but the lyrical element continually returns and before the coda a string chorale is heard that more than hints at the luminous simplicity of the finest late Martinu. Valta's is a very good performance, marred only by the rather forward placing and somewhat atmosphere-less sound of the concertante piano and by a certain lack of warmth (La Jolla is distanced from the Pacific by a degree or two of latitude) in the violins.