Released on February 22, the disc, recorded in September 2021 by the Lviv National Philharmonic under the direction of the excellent Theodor Kuchar, is the first in a series of releases aimed at reviving the music of Thomas de Hartmann (1885- 1956). Toccata plans, or planned, to make six albums in two years. This volume 1 explores the Ukrainian roots of this composer trained in Saint Petersburg, exiled in Paris then in New York, and remembered for his collaboration with the mystic George Gurdjieff, for whom he composed the music associated with the exercises and movements. (sacred dances) of opening of consciousness. The present orchestral works were composed by this pupil of Taneyev and Arensky between 1940 and 1955. The quality goes crescendo, from a suite of very folk carols to a formidable Andalusian concerto for flutewritten for Jean-Pierre Rampal, and to a very colorful Feast in Ukraine. Contrary to Silvestrov’s current meditative music, here is a backward-looking colorist romanticism, pleasant to discover.
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