Saturday, August 16, 2008

The Gathering Note: Works of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor & Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges


[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Violin Concerto; Lorraine McAslan, violin; London Philharmonic Orchestra; Nicholas Braithwaite, conductor; Lyrita SRCD.317 (2007)]

The Gathering Note
There’s always more
August 16, 2008 by oznitorres
“If you want to know the honest truth, the only reason why I wanted to write on any blog was to spread the Gospel of Classical Music, to persuade and convert citizens of this planet to the best music around. Recommending new pieces to those of us who are still developing their admiration for this music is one of the best ways of shedding light on the shaded corners of composers we know, and potentially brand new composers. My list, like Fogel’s or Carstensen’s is a personal assessment of music that I listen to that other people might not recognize right away. I’m convinced of their worth, and I hope you will to.”

“Concerti
3. Violin Concerto in C major, Op. 5, no. 1 of Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Mozart wasn’t entirely original as you might have surmised by his countless “inspirations” from composers like Johann Christian Bach and Michael Haydn. In the realm of concerti, Mozart was influenced by this French-Black composer, whose music has many of the same suave features that Mozart’s music has. This concerto, the first of three on the disc, will make that immediately apparent.”

“4. Violin Concerto in G minor, Op. 80 of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: This is a fabulous violin concerto in the Dvorak mode, and will delight you instantly. This British-Black composer was heavily influenced by Dvorak, and it comes through beautifully in this recording with violinist Philippe Graffin.” [Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Full Post (1875-1912) are profiled at AfriClassical.com along with 50 other classical composers, conductors and instrumentalists of African descent]





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