Shakespeare Songs, Mandolin Concerto, Oboe Concerto
English Chamber Orchestra
Nimrod Borenstein conductor
SOMM RECORDINGS SOMMCD 0719
Nimrod Borenstein was born in 1969 and is a British-French-Israeli composer and conductor. He is a Laureat of the Cziffra Foundation and an alumnus of the Royal College of Music where he studied the violin with Itzhak Rashkovsky. Awarded the highest scholarship from the Leverhulme Trust, he was a composition student of Paul Patterson at the Royal Academy of Music. In 2014 he was elected an Associate.
This recording contains two concertante works, one for mandolin and one for oboe, and a cycle of five songs for soprano and orchestra. The Concerto for mandolin and orchestra is a spirited attempt to create, for this delicate plucked string instrument, a musical structure comparable to many violin concertos. The composer makes the point that, ‘the instrument has the same four strings as the violin and therefore similar possibilities for the left hand.’ The first movement is full of contrasts, agitated passages followed by long, lyrical intense phrases from the orchestral strings; manic energy interspersed with moments of stillness. The second movement also contains stark contrasts, with the soloist sometimes playing alone or almost alone. The final movement seems to occupy the same territory as one of Liszt’s Mephisto Waltzes, indeed the composer describes at as ‘an evening with Mephistopheles’.
The set of Shakespeare Songs exists in two versions, one for voice and piano and the version for voice and orchestra. However, while originally intending to orchestrate the earlier work, the composer found that a new approach was required. The number of bars and the solo part are the same, but otherwise it is a very different work. In his writing for the voice, Borenstein makes no extreme demands; the word setting sounds natural and each sonnet has an atmosphere of its own. (Borenstein says in his notes that he spent weeks listening to Sir John Gielgud’s recitations of the poems.) Sarah Fox is very persuasive in her interpretations; the words are clear and the orchestral writing never overwhelms the voice. This is a most enjoyable cycle.
The Concerto for oboe and orchestra, Légende was written for Sanja Romić for the 100th anniversary of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. Unusually it is in two movements rather than three. The composer says in his notes that he wanted to set himself the challenge of writing a two-movement work. The first movement is somewhat introspective, while the second is a rondo, with alternating fast and slow passages, and an energetic conclusion.
An engaging release which will prove enjoyable to anyone interested in approachable contemporary music.
Review by Martyn Strachan