Juon Orchestral Works Vol.2

[Aramiarz]

Dear friends
  In this days Sterling release the second vol!

[Alan Howe]

I sincerely hope it's better than Vol.1!

[Aramiarz]

Me too!

[Alan Howe]

http://www.christof-escher.com/en/discs.html

The CD will incude:

Symphony in F sharp minor, Op. 10 (1895)
Suite in 5 movements Op. 93 (1935)
Moscow Symphony Orchestra
Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana
Christof Escher

[Aramiarz]

Thank You! It will be in december

[Mark Thomas]

Good Oh!

[Alan Howe]

The CD is now advertised on Sterling's website:
http://www.sterlingcd.com/catalogue/cds1104.html

[Wheesht]

I bought this at a Juon concert last week, but haven't got round to listening to it yet. The Suite was recorded in Lugano back in 2004, the Symphony in Moscow in 2011.

[Alan Howe]

The early Symphony in F sharp minor (1894) is a more enjoyable work than the later Symphony in A minor.  However, in reality it's all pretty bland stuff, distinctly sub-Tchaikovskian in style, and at its best when the composer isn't trying too hard. No, this falls into the category of an occasional, largely undemanding listen. Worth rescuing? Just barely. But I can think of a (large) hatful of more deserving causes than this.

[Aramiarz]

I have the Cd, the suite is very interesting,
The prelude (vorspiel), is very charming, as one pastoral, contemplative, very nice piece!

[Mark Thomas]

I'm rather slow off the mark on this one, and I wish I could say that the wait was worth it - but it wasn't. The youthful Symphony is desperately thin fare. It betrays the influence of Tchaikovsky and Glazunov clearly enough, without ever approaching the level of inspiration exhibited by either master on a poor day.  When Juon is doing bucolic charm it's pleasant enough, if unremarkable, but as soon as he attempts something more serious, all the empty huffing and puffing cruelly exposes Juon's lack of genuine inspiration. The whole 40 minute construction is surface gloss, but there's nothing underneath. The Suite of four decades later is a much more honest piece of work but, again, higher on charm than it is on substance. Two CDs, two disappointments. I can't say that I view the prospect of more recordings in this series with much enthusiasm, but hope springs eternal, I suppose...

[Alan Howe]

Agreed. And to think that Wilhelm Berger's symphonies from roughly the same period haven't yet been commercially recorded. Now there's an absolute master-composer...

[Gareth Vaughan]

Hear, hear...

[sdtom]

This sounds like one to pass on.
Tom