Composer: Arthur Bliss
Performer: Lydia Mordkovitch
Orchestra: BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Conductor: Richard Hickox
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Chandos
Catalogue: CHAN10380
Release: 2006
Size: 1.28 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
A Colour Symphony
01. I. Purple. Andante maestoso
02. II. Red. Allegro vivace
03. III. Blue. Gently flowing
04. IV. Green. Moderato
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
05. I. Allegro ma non troppo – Più animato
06. II. Vivo – Tranquillo
07. III. Introduzione. Andante sostenuto – Allegro deciso in modo zingaro
…Bliss’s Colour Symphony was the work that put him on the map and it remains one of his most characteristic achievements. …Hickox just comes out in front, projecting Bliss’s invention in full splendour. The Violin Concerto… is a splendid vehicle for a violinist of the right temperament, and Lydia Mordkovich rises to its challenges with ardour and consummate technique.
Strange we’ve had to wait such an age for a modern version of Bliss’s Violin Concerto. …it’s a meaty, characteristically red-blooded utterance firmly in the romantic virtuoso tradition and well worth getting to know. Lydia Mordkovitch… responds with unflagging conviction and her customary no-holds barred passion and receives alert, warm-hearted support. A Colour Symphony has not lacked noteworthy advocacy down the years, and Hickox’s swells the number of versions I’ve encountered to a healthy half-dozen. Most enjoyable it is, too: observant, affectionately shaped and often very beautiful.