Masterpieces in Miniature; Claude Debussy: La plus que lente; Leo Delibes: Cortège de Bacchus from Act III, Sylvia; Frederick Delius: On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring; Antonin Dvorak: Legends, Op. 59: No. 6 in C sharp minor; Gabriel Fauré: Pavane, Op. 50; Edvard Grieg: Våren, elegiac melody for strings, Op. 34 No. 2; Charles Ives: The Alcotts; Henry; Litolff: From Concerto symphonique, No. 4 Op. 102: Scherzo; Gustav Mahler: Blumine (original 2nd movement of Symphony No. 1); Sergei Rachmaninov: Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14; Franz Schubert: Rosamunde, D797: Entr'acte No. 3; Sibelius: Valse Triste, Op. 44 No. 1; Yuja Wang, piano, San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas; 1 SACD SFS Media 0060; 2010/2013/2014 (78'08) – Review by Remy Franck
As Michael Tilson Thomas turns 70 and looks back into his childhood and his 20 years long time as Music director of the San Francisco Symphony he has gotten kind of melancholic and assembled a number of tender music pieces for this very special album which reminds him memories from his parent’s home or from his studies with Heifetz…It’s just the first track, Henry Litolff’s Scherzo, which is full of energy and sparkling alertness.
So, with great style and huge amounts of charm, MTT presides over a very enjoyable collection of little masterworks. For sure he is not only committed to lightness and tenderness, he has his very own ideas about the music and brings his heart in every piece.
Even though the program pretends no great profundity, it certainly charms and moves the spirit.
The clear, spacious recording fully captures the elegance of the San Francisco Symphony’s playing and is perfect in it’s careful balance of strings and winds.
Zwölf Stücke mit meist ruhiger Musik, die Michael Tilson Thomas nicht ohne Gefühle von Nostalgie und Melancholie dirigiert. Das Orchester spielt auf hohem Niveau, und die Tonaufnahme ist räumlich sowie gut ausbalanciert. Ein hundertprozentiges Wohlfühl-Programm.
