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 The Catalina Chamber Orchestra Goes On Record. By Emil Franzi THE CATALINA Chamber Orchestra (CCO), now in its sixth year, just continues to get better with age. Their first, self-titled recording--taped last November at the Berger Performing Arts Center--is a worthy venture combining two debut works by local composers, and two lesser-known works by well-known 20th century masters. The latter, including Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 35 for trumpet and strings, by Dmitri Shostakovich (1933), is a fun piece by the Russian composer and pianist, whose better known works are marked by emotional extremes. Unlike the tragic intensity of many of his symphonies, the four movements of this piece, which clock in at about 20 minutes, offer music lovers a rarer glimpse of one of the finest composers of the 20th century.
The music of the short-lived Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) has become better known, but the five-minute "Ocho for Radio" has but two currently recorded rivals. Originally composed for a radio play, the title informs you that it's originally for eight players. A nice addition, well performed, for anybody's musical library. But the crown jewel of the disk is the 25-minute Clarinet Concerto, by Richard Faith. Faith spent most of his adult life in Tucson with the University of Arizona School of Music. His lushly romantic music, out of fashion until the 1980s, was shamefully ignored throughout his long residence here, although this concerto was premiered by the Tucson Symphony in 1987, in a rare performance of a homegrown work. Faith has since returned to his native Indiana, but it's rewarding to see this long-overdue homage on a local recording. The Clarinet Concerto is a pleasure from start to finish--reminiscent of composers Gerald Finzi and Samuel Barber, with echoes of Rachmaninoff and Puccini. The CCO orchestra interacts nobly with clarinetist Jerry Kirkbride, formerly principal clarinetist with the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera National Company, and currently a UA prof and principal clarinet with Arizona Opera. But the CCO really proves itself in the four-movement, 17-minute Catalina Dances, by the 27-year-old Paul Richards, who's had three works premiered by the CCO and received his master's degree from the UA. I hear Stravinsky, Walton, Hindemith and a couple of other guys who really understood rhythm. And if that says "derivative," so what? So was Bach. This is a complex set of dances, and like other 20th-century music that stayed in hiding during the atonal occupation, it's fun and listenable. Since its inception, the CCO has performed numerous world premieres and works by local composers. Tucson has long had a disproportionate number of good composers--as it has a disproportionate number of able authors--and most of them have been shabbily ignored, beginning with the venerable Robert McBride, now 85. Suffice to say that the UA's current composer in residence, Daniel Asia, saw the world premiere of his 2nd and 3rd Symphonies with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, not here at home with the TSO.
As a relatively new local group, the CCO will surprise many unfamiliar
with the depth of their musicianship and the ability of their
fine young conductor. The only minor problem with this recording
is a boxy sound, which may be the result of either the engineering
or the acoustics at the Berger Center.
The Catalina Chamber Orchestra ($14.99) is available at Border's Books and Music and Hear's Music, with a portion of the proceeds donated to the local Boys and Girls Club. It's also rumored to receive airplay on KUAT-FM, 89.1. |
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Pianist Christopher Cano's playing on the piece shows his numerous
local awards are well-deserved; and Christopher Ackerman, the
orchestra's principal trumpet, performs his part with aplomb.
Under the leadership of CCO music director Enrique Lasansky, the
trio is well-supported by the CCO's 22 string players. It's certainly
a recording that compares favorably with many of the 20 others
currently available.
