Album

History has been unfair to the works of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, but this belated premiere recording of his Violin Concerto in G minor—intended to redress the neglect—may inadvertently give the impression that this composer's music cannot stand on its own without bolstering comparisons to works by his greater contemporaries. Pairing this work with Dvorák's Violin Concerto in A minor creates expectations of parallels that are unnecessary and misleading, for Coleridge-Taylor is only tangentially linked to the Bohemian master through a shared interest in African-American spirituals as thematic material. Other than that, Coleridge-Taylor's modest Concerto seems more attuned to currents of British light music in the Edwardian era; its strengths and weaknesses should be judged in that context and in light of his other accomplishments, but not against Dvorák's unavoidably superior masterpiece. With that caveat, Coleridge-Taylor's Concerto is a fine work of youthful ingenuity and fin de siècle eloquence, and Philippe Graffin and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, under Michael Hankinson, deliver it with tender feeling and bold drama. Their performance of Dvorák's Concerto is also deeply felt and equally energetic, but it overwhelms the previous work and almost compels the listener to go back to the CD's beginning, to reassess Coleridge-Taylor's achievement as something quite different in material, purpose, and expression.

© Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide

CD 1
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Composer Violin Concerto in G-, Op.80 Work 31:34 Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Michael Hankinson Conductor, Philippe Graffin Violin
1	1.Allegro maestoso. Vivace	11:39			Album Only
2	2.Andante	9:22			$0.99
3	3.Allegro molto	10:33			Album Only
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Violin Concerto in A-, Op.53 Work 31:04 Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Michael Hankinson Conductor, Philippe Graffin Violin
4	1.Allegro ma non troppo	11:16			Album Only
5	2.Adagio ma non troppo	10:08			Album Only
6	3.Finale: Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo	9:40			$0.99