José Serebrier
London Symphony Orchestra
Naxos American Classics
Symphony No. 2 (Partita), Fantasia for strings, Sonata for Violin Solo, Winterreise, José Serebrier, conductor (of course!).
This disc presents a number of significant early compositions from Maestro Serebrier’s output as well as a newer work (Winterreise dates from 1999). With these recordings, Mr. Serebrier demonstrates a wonderful sense of passion and intensity in his composing as well as in his conducting.
The flagship of this recording is his Symphony No. 2 (Partita) dating from 1958. This four movement work has all of the brash, brazen, and forceful energy that one wants from a 19 year old composer. The opening movement, “Prelude,” is graceful, sultry, explosive, and a general dynamo. The “Funeral March” second movement is powerful, dark, and somber. The brief “Interlude” is quirky, thin, and captivating. The final movement, “Fugue,” is grumbling, raucous, yet still fleeting and graceful. There are Latin American elements in the first and last movements and these elements fade in and out with skill. At times, Mr. Serebrier sounds like he could have become Uruguay’s Schnittke.
The Fantasia for strings, from 1960, is an elegant single movement with a very free sense of form (as one might expect). The somber opening in the low strings doesn’t seem to relate to the frenetic repeated chords and the end, but there in lies the work’s charm. The journey from beginning to end makes all stops along the way seem completely plausible.
I’ll be honest. I almost became physically ill after listening to the Sonata for Solo Violin. The music is gorgeous, lyrical, well constructed, and Mr. Serebrier was NINE YEARS OLD when he wrote it. I know what kind of music I was writing when I was nine, and it sure as hell didn’t sound like this. There is a profound sense of sadness and an intuitive sense of drama and melody in this movement. Mr. Serebrier has taken the last 60 years to build upon this auspicious opus.
Winterreise is the most recent work, dating from 1999. The piece is a reference to the Schubert (how could it NOT be) and does use quite a few “winter” quotations, although none of Schubert’s. The quotes are well integrated and appear as logical musical events within Mr. Serebrier’s original music.
This disc is a success on many levels. The London Philharmonic Orchestra sounds wonderful, Gonzalo Acosta’s interpretation of the Sonata is passionate and convincing. These early compositions of José Serebrier inspire me to seek out his more recent output. I only wish that I heard these pieces sooner!
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