Welcome to ‘Dodd’s Discoveries’, a review series from NativeDSD Senior Music Reviewer Bill Dodd. This series focuses on Bill’s latest selections, with new reviews regularly. And the best part… the albums featured in the most current review will be available at a reduced price! Click the button below to see all of Dodd’s Discoveries and to find the current album(s) on sale.
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This England€19,99 – €28,49
Many would say that the big three of the top English composers of the 20th Century would be the three whose music makes this album one of the hidden gems available at NativeDSD
Elgar is celebrated for his Symphonies, his Cello Concerto, and (of course) The Enigma Variations and the Pomp and Circumstance Marches. Elgar’s Cockaigne Overture may not be his most celebrated work, but it is a delightful trip to London at the turn of the last century. It’s short, light, and full of happy nostalgia.
Benjamin Britten’s Four Sea Interludes and Passacaglia is a favorite of mine. The music consists of non-vocal passages from his opera, Peter Grimes, which work very well as a standalone suite. Haunting, exciting, superbly orchestrated, this music has become part of the standard repertoire.
But the shining jewel on this album is Ralph Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 5. The Fifth contains some of the most beautiful music ever written, yet when performed properly has the drama and tension that keeps it interesting. Maestro Carlos Kalmar and the Oregon Symphony might not be the first group you’d think of in this music, but they are excellent! And that excellence is on full display thanks to a fine Pentatone recording.
No “stiff upper lips” here– just great music to fall into.
Also consider…
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Vaughan Williams and MacMillan – Oboe Concertos€23,99 – €32,49
