from The Tuscon Weekly: Musical Notes (June 25-July 2, 1997)
The Catalina Chamber Orchestra Goes On Record
By Emil Franzi
The Catalina Chamber Orchestra (CCO), now in its sixth year, just continues to get better with age. Their first, self-titled recording -- taped last November at the Berger Performing Arts Center--is a worthy venture combining two debut works by local composers, and two lesser-known works by well-known 20th century masters.
The latter, including Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 35 for trumpet and strings, by Dmitri Shostakovich (1933), is a fun piece by the Russian composer and pianist, whose better known works are marked by emotional extremes. Unlike the tragic intensity of many of his symphonies, the four movements of this piece, which clock in at about 20 minutes, offer music lovers a rarer glimpse of one of the finest composers of the 20th century.
Pianist Christopher Cano's playing on the piece shows his numerous local awards are well-deserved; and Christopher Ackerman, the orchestra's principal trumpet, performs his part with aplomb. Under the leadership of CCO music director Enrique Lasansky, the trio is well-supported by the CCO's 22 string players. It's certainly a recording that compares favorably with many of the 20 others currently available.
The music of the short-lived Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) has become better known, but the five-minute "Ocho for Radio" has but two currently recorded rivals. Originally composed for a radio play, the title informs you that it's originally for eight players. A nice addition, well performed, for anybody's musical library.
But the crown jewel of the disk is the 25-minute Clarinet Concerto, by Richard Faith. Faith spent most of his adult life in Tucson with the University of Arizona School of Music. His lushly romantic music, out of fashion until the 1980s, was shamefully ignored throughout his long residence here, although this concerto was premiered by the Tucson Symphony in 1987, in a rare performance of a homegrown work. Faith has since returned to his native Indiana, but it's rewarding to see this long-overdue homage on a local recording.
The Clarinet Concerto is a pleasure from start to finish--reminiscent of composers Gerald Finzi and Samuel Barber, with echoes of Rachmaninoff and Puccini.
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