Dutilleux Orchestral Music
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Henri Dutilleux
Label: Philips
Magazine Review Date: 5/1994
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 64
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 438 008-2PH
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Symphony No. 2, 'Le double' |
Henri Dutilleux, Composer
Henri Dutilleux, Composer Orchestre de Paris Semyon Bychkov, Conductor |
| Métaboles |
Henri Dutilleux, Composer
Henri Dutilleux, Composer Orchestre de Paris Semyon Bychkov, Conductor |
| Timbres, espace, mouvement |
Henri Dutilleux, Composer
Henri Dutilleux, Composer Orchestre de Paris Semyon Bychkov, Conductor |
Author: Arnold Whittall
This disc offers a trio of orchestral works by Dutilleux which are not otherwise available together, and it scores highly for including the first recording of the 1991 revision of Timbres, espace, mouvement (1978).
Revision in this case means, primarily, expansion, in the form of a four-minute Interlude, mainly for cellos, to link the two movements. Does expansion equal improvement? The Interlude is memorable in its own right, and although it could be argued that its conclusion makes the listener wait a little too long for the powerful build-up that the second movement eventually generates, I find the synthesis of passion and refinement in Dutilleux's later style so satisfying that the change of proportion here doesn't seriously bother me.
For my money,Timbres, espace, mouvement is by some way the best work on the disc. Both the Symphony No. 2 (1959) and Metaboles (1965) function skilfully within the orbits of their essentially neo-classical models, without quite breaking through to a truly personal identity. They are considerable compositions, even so, and Semyon Bychkov is a persuasive advocate of all three scores, with a fine orchestra to hand. The recordings are very clear and precise, but there is a certain lack of depth and loss of natural perspective, at least compared with the recent Chandos release of the two symphonies, described in March by Ivor Humphreys as having ''a superbly delineated orchestral image set in a sumptuous but not overwhelming acoustic'' (''Sounds in Retrospect'', page 130). Yan Pascal Tortelier manages to convey rather more sense of mystery and intensity in No. 2 than the brightly lit Bychkov. This new issue is one to be reckoned with, even so, at least until Tortelier gets round to recording Metaboles and Timbres, espace, mouvement.'
Revision in this case means, primarily, expansion, in the form of a four-minute Interlude, mainly for cellos, to link the two movements. Does expansion equal improvement? The Interlude is memorable in its own right, and although it could be argued that its conclusion makes the listener wait a little too long for the powerful build-up that the second movement eventually generates, I find the synthesis of passion and refinement in Dutilleux's later style so satisfying that the change of proportion here doesn't seriously bother me.
For my money,
Dutilleux Orchestral Music
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