On his second disc of South American music for Chandos, Gabriel Castagna conducts works by a fellow Argentinian, Alberto Ginastera. The repertoire on this recording is rare on CD, making this a vaulable addition to the catalogue.
"…if any recording can make you appreciate Ginasteras music, this new release from Chandos is an excellent candidate for the job… I can sincerely recommend you try it." --Fanfare
"…if any recording can make you appreciate Ginasteras music, this new release from Chandos is an excellent candidate for the job… I can sincerely recommend you try it." --Fanfare
“Either of these two well-produced discs would make a near-ideal introduction to this versatile composer's output, featuring three of his finest orchestral inspirations. If the suite from his ballet Estancia (1942) remains his best-known work, and its malambo finale one of the most famous pieces in Latin American music, the Overture to the Creole Faust (1943) can't be far behind. Both are outgoing, 'popular' items, whereas the 'symphonic pastoral' Pampeana No 3 (1954) is more obviously serious.
All three works receive committed performances on both discs. Castagna and the Berliners find a touch more magic in the Pampeana's slower outer movements aided by Chandos's sumptuous sound, but the Danish players, led by their Venezuelan-born conductor, often have the edge in the swifter sections. In Estancia, the resonance of Chandos's recording works against the music: Bridge's drier, cleaner sound in the Carl Nielsen Hall in Odense is more successful.
And while some of Jan Wagner's tempos seem a shade deliberate compared to Castagna's, he mostly justifies them by the pacing of each work in toto.
If there's little overall to choose between the newcomers, the fourth item on each may decide the matter. On Chandos comes a scintillating account of the second, full-orchestral version of the more harmonically advanced Glosses on Themes of Pablo Casals, originally written for strings to celebrate the Catalan cellist's centenary in 1976 and rescored a year later. In contrast, Bridge restores to the CD catalogue Ginastera's Ollantay (1947), a darkly colourful and dramatic folk-triptych that could be thought of as an Argentinian Taras Bulba.
If you want only one version of these pieces the Bridge is recommended.”
All three works receive committed performances on both discs. Castagna and the Berliners find a touch more magic in the Pampeana's slower outer movements aided by Chandos's sumptuous sound, but the Danish players, led by their Venezuelan-born conductor, often have the edge in the swifter sections. In Estancia, the resonance of Chandos's recording works against the music: Bridge's drier, cleaner sound in the Carl Nielsen Hall in Odense is more successful.
And while some of Jan Wagner's tempos seem a shade deliberate compared to Castagna's, he mostly justifies them by the pacing of each work in toto.
If there's little overall to choose between the newcomers, the fourth item on each may decide the matter. On Chandos comes a scintillating account of the second, full-orchestral version of the more harmonically advanced Glosses on Themes of Pablo Casals, originally written for strings to celebrate the Catalan cellist's centenary in 1976 and rescored a year later. In contrast, Bridge restores to the CD catalogue Ginastera's Ollantay (1947), a darkly colourful and dramatic folk-triptych that could be thought of as an Argentinian Taras Bulba.
If you want only one version of these pieces the Bridge is recommended.”
The Gramophone Classical Music Guide 2010
