Franco Ferrara
Fantasia tragica
Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma; Francesco La Vecchia, conductor
Naxos
Franco Ferrara
was many things: a brilliant pianist and violinist, a teacher, a
conductor -- and a composer. Ill health forced him to give up public
performance at age 47, so the bulk of his reputation these days rests on
those who studied conducting with him, such as Roberto Abbado, Andrew
Davis, Riccardo Muti, among many others.
This new release from Naxos, Fantasia tragica,
features four world premiere recordings by this master musician.
Ferrara certainly isn't the first 20th Century conductor who wrote
music. There's George Szell, Jose Serebrier, Wilhelm Furtwangler, and
(of course) Gustav Mahler. Ferrar isn't quite on the level of Mahler,
but his works are more tightly constructed than Furtwangler's.
Francesco La Vecchia and the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma present four
world premier recordings of Ferrara's music. They provide an excellent
reading of this material, giving the listener a great introduction to
these unknown works.
This is accessible and appealing music, indeed! While sitting clearly in
the 20th Century, Ferrara's compositions stay safely with the bounds of
tonality. To my ears, the compositions sounded somewhat like mid-career
Shostakovitch, without the Russian accent.
That's not to say this a a bad recording -- far from it! Ferrara has
some original music ideas, and his intimate knowledge of how an
orchestra works allows him to come up with some very effective and
moving tonal colors. In a way, it's sort of like comfort food. Ferrara
doesn't challenge, but rather reassures with his music.
I found the Fantasia tragica particularly appealing. Like Ravel's Bolero, the work gradually builds in volume as more instruments enter
the mix. But there's no driving percussion here -- just a long,
beautifully-crafted melody that moves inexorably upward, winding its way
through the orchestra.
This would be a great disc to give to someone who's ready to move beyond
the basic repertoire. There's still plenty of touchstones with the
familiar, but the spark of originality Ferrara brings to his music makes
the exploration worthwhile.
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