Goyanna CD Review
by Harry Long
Our last issue of FSM (Vol. 4, No. 4) featured a Franz Waxman cover
story to introduce our new Prince
Valiant CD release. It also had a sidebar by Doug Adams reviewing some
recent recordings of Waxman concert works. Here is a review by Harry Long
featuring another perspective on a significant late Waxman piece.
Goyanna ***1/2
Franz Waxman
Orquestra Simfonica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, conducted
by Lawrence Foster
Koch International Classics - 3-7444-2H1
20 tracks (8 works) - 71:32
Of all the composers whose careers spanned the Golden and Silver Ages
of Hollywood, Franz Waxman was probably the most flexible in altering his
style to the demands of differing assignments (consider the vastly different
sounds of The Bride of Frankenstein, The Philadelphia Story, Prince
Valiant and Sunset Boulevard, just to cite several at random).
About the only constant was an inarguable gift for melodic invention and
a propensity to base his inventions on jazz rhythms.
Although he turned out fewer concert compositions than Rozsa and Herrmann,
one of them, the "'Carmen' Fantasie" - here arranged for trumpet
rather than violin - has become a concert staple. His works might be considered
miniatures, except that they are concise, never small. This might be a
result of his jazz band and film scoring background; both are genres which
call for clarity and precision.
The scintillating "Sinfonietta for String Orchestra and Timpani"
clocks in at just over 12 minutes, yet is so rich that it leaves the impression
of a far longer work. After a portentous three-note opening, with muttering
kettledrums, the strings dance off in a carefree whirl, intermittently
colored with dread. The latter mood informs the second movement with a
measured drumbeat underlying slithering and melancholy strings - and highly
reminiscent of the creation sequence from Bride of Frankenstein.
The third movement defiantly reasserts the frolicsome opening with near
fury at times.
The "Sinfonietta" is easily my favorite of the Waxman concert
pieces I've heard, but the "Introduction & Scherzo for Cello and
Orchestra" is also quite wonderful - an epic and dramatic piece, despite
its brief playing time.
The "Goyanna" are four sketches inspired by the Spanish Master's
paintings. The first features one of Waxman's most meltingly lovely melodies
in depicting a Marquesa. Nifty jazz rhythms mark "Country Dance,"
and thanks to a liberal application of castanets has the most Latin sound
of the group. More rapturous melody, this time dramatic and somber, marks
"The Miracle of St. Anthony." "The Witch's Sabbath"
is fun and quirky; since it is based on one of Goya's early quaint depictions,
it never threatens to get out of hand.
For a composer who, in his movie work, seemed to be a fount of melodies,
it is surprising that so much of Waxman's concert work is adaptations of
pieces by classical composers, such as the "'Carmen' Fantasie."
Even two movements of the "Goyanna" are based on existing works.
The most insanely inspired, however, is the "Auld Lange Syne Variations."
Each of the first three sets the old ditty in the style of Mozart, Beethoven
and Bach, respectively; the fourth's title, "Homage to Shostakofiev,"
says it all.
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