BLOCH: 4 Episodes / 2 Poems / Concertino / Suite Modale

Album review

Amidst the plethora of soloists and orchestras performing on this 2007 Naxos disc are two things the listener can depend on: the rugged, evocative, and above all Romantic music of Ernest Bloch and the strong, colorful, and dedicated conducting of Dalia Atlas. The four works range from the Swiss-American composer's early Two Poems: Hiver and Printemps from 1905 through his mature Four Episodes from 1926 and late Concertino for flute and viola from 1948 to his very late Suite Modale for flute and strings from 1956. These four works are divided among three ensembles: the Slovak Radio Symphony in the Two Poems, the Soloists of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in the Four Episodes, and the eponymously named Atlas Camerata Orchestra in the Concerto and Suite Modale, the latter two works featuring dulcet-toned flutist Noam Buchman and sweet-toned violinist Yuri Gandelsman as soloists. And every work is given an ideal performance by every player in each ensemble. Atlas clearly believes in Bloch's genius, and with the polished performances of the various soloists and ensembles, she makes as convincing a case as can be imagined for the ardent late-Romanticism of the Two Poems, the ironic post-Romanticism of the Four Episodes, and the lucid neo-Romanticism of the Concertino and Suite Modale. Sonically, the Slovak Radio Symphony gets the richest, lushest recording while those by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Soloists and the Atlas Camerata Orchestra are closer yet cooler.
© TiVo

Details of the original recording : 52:29 - DDD - Enregistré au Yaffo Tel Aviv Music Center le 31 octobre 2005, à la Salle de concert de la Radio Slovaque en juin 2006 et à la Salle de Concert Bloch à Haïfa en Israël le 31 octobre 2001 - Notes en anglais & allemand