National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Álvaro Cassuto - Braga Santos: Symphony No. 4, Symphonic Variations (2002)

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National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Álvaro Cassuto - Braga Santos: Symphony No. 4, Symphonic Variations (2002)

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If you have got this far, you will already have an idea of what awaits you in the music of Braga Santos. So I would just give a brief summary about the composer. He lived from 1924 to 1988 where he died as a result of a stroke. Although he was composing through the middle of the 20th century, for much of the time he avoided the musical trends of the period, obviously thinking there was still more that could be said within a tonal framework. Around 1960 he changed his style of composition, exploring the musical trends that had been occurring during his life. He wrote his first four symphonies in a short period between the ages of 22 and 27. These are all a product of his tonal period, and to any lover of the Romantic Symphony, all four are deserving of being in their collection.

Braga Santos showed a mastery of orchestration and form with his first symphony, reaching a peak with the works such as on this present recording. Other reviewers have amply conveyed the pleasures in store for the listener. The two works make a brilliant pairing, and Marco Polo (Naxos) have presented these works in brilliant performances.

The Symphonic Variations which lasts 15 minutes, take the form of such a work a step further than is usually found, in that the variations are blended into a unified and flowing whole more tightly than is usual, giving the effect of a Symphonic Poem. This is a highly contrasted and exciting work with an overriding mood of triumph, making a brilliant opening for the CD. As is typical of much of his music, he moves back and forth between quietly delicate and melodic passages that crescendo to thrilling climaxes. It opens with a gentle statement of the theme, proceeds as described above, and concludes with first a gentle restatement of the theme which quickly rises to a brilliant concluding statement by the brass riding over the full orchestra and coming to an immensely powerful conclusion.

The Symphony, his longest, starts rather like the preceding work with a quiet statement of the theme on solo bassoon over tremolo strings, and then this wonderful work unfolds from there. Braga Santos, as has been perceived by other reviewers, showed eclecticism in his writing. One can detect influences from numerous composers at various points, but it is not as if he lacked originality, needing to base his compositions on ideas he heard from other composers: although his musical language is largely in the style of the late Romantic period, he always speaks with a distinctive and unique voice that is instantly recognisable and immensely appealing, and obviously a product of a different time.

The Symphony is imbued with melody, no more so than in its finale which is structurally more like an epilogue based on the clear statement of a long, flowing and inspiring melody leading to a brief but spectacular conclusion which is a progression of chords stated by full orchestra and ample percussion. In between the quiet beginning of the first movement, and this glorious conclusion, is a Symphony of great inventiveness amply showing again his mastery of the orchestra, of appealing thematic material, and of musical form and development. Although it easy on the ear, the work, in fact, is a challenge for the orchestra, demanding players of high skill to handle such things as his frequent changes of irregular time signatures, to name one aspect particularly present in the fourth movement. Braga Santos fully understood the nature of the symphony, but did not feel the need to be constrained to sonata form.

Like all the other reviewers, I recommend this CD in particular, and, in fact, all of his first four symphonies, to all lovers of the Romantic Symphony. The National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland rises to the demands of the occasion, with highly polished playing, and is complemented by superb engineering.

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National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Álvaro Cassuto - Braga Santos: Symphony No. 4, Symphonic Variations (2002)

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