Jeffrey Khaner (flute), Michael Ludwig (violin), Joseph Alessi (trombone); Boston Modern Orchestra Project/Gil Rose
BMOP Sound 1095 78:39 mins
Samuel Jones, now in his eighties, is in the line of American composers following a traditional path, with forebears including his teacher Howard Hanson, Barber and Copland. Given his background as a conductor, he’s a fine orchestrator, but, in a style of music where memorable melodies are a must, he doesn’t always provide them.
The Flute Concerto from 2018 displays the positive side of his musical character as well as the drawbacks: it begins with a strong idea which never quite develops, and the underlying harmonies are too slow-moving to have momentum. It’s much the same in the Interludio, although the waltz-like scherzo feel does give it some rhythmic thrust, but the finale, where Jones quotes American patriotic songs, has more variety and interest, and Khaner plays with sensitivity and technical ease.
There’s greater variety in the Violin Concerto, in terms of harmonic interest and melodic outreach, with Ludwig an eloquent soloist, dispatching the cadenza in the first movement with virtuosity. In its lyricism and overall structure the Concerto reminded me of Barber’s: it has the same warmth and lushness in the first two slowish movements, with a fast finale where Jones can’t resist a more spacious second theme.
The Trombone Concerto is much more of a showpiece, exploiting the whole range of the instrument, and its ability to move between long-breathed melody, outgoing bombast and more athletic passagework – in the right hands. Alessi certainly has those hands, especially in the cadenzas, and the writing is particularly telling when he is paired off with the orchestral brass. All the soloists are beautifully balanced in the recording, with the orchestra clear and responsive.