Performer: Jack Brymer, John Ogdon, John Wilbraham, Celia Nicklin, Michael Laird
Orchestra: Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields
Conductor: Sir Neville Marriner
Number of Discs: 10
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Decca
Catalogue: 4782759
Release: 2011
Size: 2.19 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
CD 01
Stravinsky: Pulcinella (Concert Suite)
01. 1. Sinfonia
02. 2. Serenata
03. 3. Scherzino
04. 4. Tarantella
05. 5. Toccata
06. 6. Gavotta con due variazioni
07. 7. Vivo
08. 8a. Minuetto
09. 8b. Finale
Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète (1947 Version)
10. 1. Birth of Apollo
11. 2. Variation of Apolllo (Apollo and the Muses)
12. 3. Pas d’action (Apollo and the 3 Muses)
13. 4. Variation of Calliope (the Alexandrine)
14. 5. Variation of Polyhymnia
15. 6. Variation of Terpsichore
16. 7. Variation of Apollo
17. 8. Pas de deux (Apollo and Terpsichore)
18. 9. Coda
19. 10. Apotheosis
CD 02
01. Strauss: Metamorphosen for 23 Solo Strings
02. Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
03. Baermann: Adagio for Clarinet & Strings in D-Flat Major (formerly attrib. Wagner)
CD 03
Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Sz. 106
01. 1. Andante tranquillo
02. 2. Allegro
03. 3. Adagio
04. 4. Allegro molto
Bartók: Divertimento for Strings, Sz. 113
05. 1. Allegro non troppo
06. 2. Molto adagio
07. 3. Allegro assai
CD 04
Stravinsky: Capriccio for piano & orchestra
01. 1. Presto
02. 2. Andante Rapsodico
03. 3. Allegro Capriccioso
Shostakovich: Concerto for piano, trumpet & strings
04. Allegro moderato
05. Lento
06. Moderato
07. Allegro con brio
CD 05
Walton: Sonata for Strings
01. 1. Allegro
02. 2. Presto
03. 3. Lento
04. 4. Allegro molto
Prokofiev: Visions fugitives, Op. 22 – Arranged Rudolph Barshai
05. 1. Lentamente
06. 2. Andante
07. 3. Allegretto
08. 4. Animato
09. 5. Molto giocoso
10. 6. Con eleganza
11. 8. Commodo
12. 9. Allegretto tranquillo
13. 10. Ridicolosamente
14. 11. Con vivacita
15. 12. Assai moderato
16. 13. Allegretto
17. 14. Feroce
18. 15. Inquieto
19. 16. Dolente
CD 06
Bizet: Symphony in C
01. 1. Allegro (Allegro vivo)
02. 2. Andante (Adagio)
03. 3. Scherzo (Allegro vivace)
04. 4. Finale (Allegro vivace)
Prokofiev: Classical Symphony
05. 1. Allegro
06. 2. Larghetto
07. 3. Gavotte: non troppo allegro
08. 4. Finale: Molto vivace
CD 07
01. Schönberg: Transfigured Night, op. 4
Hindemith: Fünf Stücke
02. 1. Langsam
03. 2. Langsam – Schnell
04. 3. Lebhaft
05. 4. Sehr langsam
06. 5. Lebhaft
Webern: 5 Movements for String Quartet, Op. 5 – Arr. by Webern for orch. (1929)
07. 1. Heftig bewegt
08. 2. Sehr langsam
09. 3. Sehr bewegt
10. 4. Sehr langsam
11. 5. In zarter Bewegung
CD 08
01. Barber: Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 (Live)
Ives: Symphony No. 3 – “The Camp Meeting”
02. 1. Old Folks Gatherin’ (Andante maestoso)
03. 2. Children’s Day (Allegro moderato)
04. 3. Communion (Largo)
05. Copland: Quiet City for Cor Anglais, Trumpet and Strings (Aaron )
06. Cowell: Hymn And Fuguing Tune No. 10
07. Creston: A Rumor
CD 09
01. Butterworth: A Shropshire Lad – Rhapsody
02. Butterworth: The Banks of Green Willow
03. Butterworth: Two English Idylls
Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10
04. 1. Introduction & Theme
05. 2. Adagio
06. 3. March
07. 4. Romance
08. 5. Aria Italiana
09. 6. Bourrée Classique
10. 7. Wiener Waltzer
11. 8. Moto Perpetuo
12. 9. Funeral March (II)
13. 10. Chant
14. 11. Fugue & Finale
CD 10
Grieg: Holberg Suite, Op. 40
01. 1. Präludium (Allegro vivace)
02. 2. Sarabande (Andante)
03. 3. Gavotte (Allegretto) – Musette (poco più mosso) – Gavotte
04. 4. Air (Andante religioso)
05. 5. Rigaudon (Allegro con brio)
Grieg: Two Elegiac Melodies, Op. 34
06. 1. Heart-Wounds
07. 2. The Last Spring
08. Sibelius: Valse triste, Op. 44
Nielsen: Little Suite, Op. 1
09. 1. Präludium
10. 2. Intermezzo
11. 3. Finale
Wirén: Serenade, op.11
12. 1. Preludium
13. 2. Andante expressivo
14. 3. Scherzo
15. 4. Marcia
Sibelius: Rakastava, Op. 14
16. 1. The Lover
17. 2. The Path Of His Beloved
18. 3. Good Evening!…Farewell!
For many listeners, Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields led the charge for authentic performance style (albeit, while still using modern instruments) in the late 1960s and 1970s with their polished recordings of Classical masterpieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Joseph Haydn, and Ludwig van Beethoven. But there is a solid representation of Romantic and modern repertoire in their catalog, which is generously offered in Marriner & The Academy: 20th Century Classics. Most of the selections are certainly works of the modern era, and composers such as Béla Bartók, Igor Stravinsky, Dmitry Shostakovich, Benjamin Britten, Sergey Prokofiev, Arnold Schoenberg, and Anton Webern, among others, belong at the center of this survey. Yet the inclusion of 19th century music by Richard Wagner, Heinrich Baermann, George Bizet, and Edvard Grieg, as well as post-Romantic works by Carl Nielsen, George Butterworth, and Richard Strauss, make the theme of the ten-disc set a little confusing. Yet these discs are worthy reissues of albums first released by Argo (presented here in cardboard sleeves that feature the original cover art) and content was put over period consistency for the coherence of the program (e.g., Bizet’s Symphony in C was coupled with Prokofiev’s “Classical” Symphony, or Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll paired with Strauss’ Metamorphosen). Putting that consideration aside, the works chosen are all well-suited to the chamber orchestra proportions of the Academy, and the playing is exceptional, in many cases the musicians’ best. The sound quality of these recordings varies a little from disc to disc, as should be expected in a set of this broad scope, but the ADD reproduction is clean and clear in every track.