COMPOSERS: Kubelik
LABELS: Panton
WORKS: Orphikon; Cantata Without Words; Inventions and Interludes
PERFORMER: Bavarian RSO & Chorus, Kühn Children’s Chorus/Rafael Kubelík
CATALOGUE NO: 81 1264-2 DDD
It has become increasingly rare to encounter a great conductor who also happens to write music of real substance. Unfortunately, Rafael Kubelík does not fall into this category. While the three works on this disc reveal a considerable mastery of the orchestra and, in particular, an imaginative use of wordless chorus (the Cantata reminds me of Szymanowski), there’s little evidence of a sufficiently strong musical personality to sustain one’s attention through quite extended stretches of music. Erik Levi
Kubelik
It has become increasingly rare to encounter a great conductor who also happens to write music of real substance. Unfortunately, Rafael Kubelík does not fall into this category. While the three works on this disc reveal a considerable mastery of the orchestra and, in particular, an imaginative use of wordless chorus (the Cantata reminds me of Szymanowski), there’s little evidence of a sufficiently strong musical personality to sustain one’s attention through quite extended stretches of music. Erik Levi
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:32 pm
