Vienna-born, English-based composer Horovitz is a professor of composition at the Royal College of Music. He has written a dozen ballets, an oratorio, an opera based on the 1939 movie Ninotchka, five string quartets and nine concertos, of which this CD gives us four. The items in his list of works which most caught my eye were those he created for the Hoffnung Festival – including the Horrortorio.
The Clarinet Concerto opens with a rather strict sonata form first movement, but all three movements partake of the composer’s effort to bring jazz elements into the classical structure. The Euphonium Concerto reminded me of Vaughan Williams’ Tuba Concerto – it’s actually the first real concerto for the Euphonium. Horovitz began his Violin Concerto while studying with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Bach’s concertos were his model in pitting the solo violin against the string orchestra, but the style of the work was influenced by that of Les Six. The Jazz Piano Concerto began as a concerto for harpsichord, but it was found to be equally effective on the piano and has received more performances in that form. The performers are set up in a sort of concerto grosso layout, with the piano, bass and drums on the left and the strings on the right. The center movement of the three is titled Slow Blues. The piece has also been choreographed and performed as a ballet. Its themes and harmonies reminded me of American composer Don Gillis.
– John Sunier
