HESKEL BRISMAN: Selected Works = Profiles; Sinfonia Breve; Andante Sostenuto; Cassandra’s Muse – Slovak Radio Sym. orch./Kirk Trevor; except Cassandra’s Muse – Moravian Philharmonic Orch./Vit Micka – MMC Recordings MMC2160, 40:06 **** [Distr. by Albany]:
The MMC label has been responsible for the recording of hundreds of orchestral works by some of the leading figures in contemporary classical music. Composer William Thomas McKinley founded the label and such artists as conductor Gerard Schwarz and clarinetist Richard Stolzman are involved in its releases. Heskel Brisman – who lived until 2001 – had Luigi Dallapiccola as his most notable teacher, but writes in a romantic and usually tonal-sounding style – even though much of it is not tonal.
The MMC label has been responsible for the recording of hundreds of orchestral works by some of the leading figures in contemporary classical music. Composer William Thomas McKinley founded the label and such artists as conductor Gerard Schwarz and clarinetist Richard Stolzman are involved in its releases. Heskel Brisman – who lived until 2001 – had Luigi Dallapiccola as his most notable teacher, but writes in a romantic and usually tonal-sounding style – even though much of it is not tonal.
His Profiles began as a children’s piano suite and are orchestral sketches of various animals. The elegiac Andante was arranged from a movement of the composer’s first string quartet. The three-movement Sinfonia Breve seems to have a narrative drive which includes some dramatic orchestral outbursts and even comic touches, all resulting in an up and optimistic feeling.
– John Sunier
