RSNO/Oundjian/Doric String Quartet
Absolute Jest/Naive and Sentimental Music
Chandos
THE leave-taking of music director Peter Oundjian from the RSNO has had a series of way-markers, of which this second disc of the music of John Adams, recorded over three days at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall at the end of last summer should not be overlooked. A follow-up to the Dr Atomic Symphony disc on Chandos, it confirms the team as first rank interpreters of the composer’s music.
The better-known and larger work, Naïve and Sentimental Music, might draw more purchasers, and they will not be disappointed with a recording that is a little brighter and sharper than the first one by its dedicatee Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Phil on Nonesuch, and features Scotland’s award-winning guitar virtuoso Sean Shibe. But for Adams aficionados the greater interest may lie with the newer work, previously recorded by the San Francisco Philharmonic and the St Lawrence Quartet under Michael Tilson Thomas, paired with his Grand Pianola Music of 30 years earlier.
Here the balance between the incisive playing of the quartet and the orchestra seems better realised, and there is an irresistible building momentum in the performance. The roots of the work lie in Beethoven, specifically the late quartets and his Symphony No. 9, and while recognising those borrowed themes in the score is not essential to enjoyment of the Adams, it may helpfully send some contemporary music fans back to check out his inspiration.
Keith Bruce
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here