Phils 12: Ginastera, Tomasi, Rachmaninoff

Ginastera: Variationes Concertantes
Gisele Ben-Dor, Israel Chamber Orchestra
Naxos 572249

Ginastera is an Argentinian who writes melodies with a semi-Semitic edge; Ben-Dor is a Jew from Uruguay who was trained in Israel. Add liquid lyricism, tight rhythms, and a slightly klezmer clarinetist to the Israel Chamber Orchestra’s superb soloists, and you get a superb performance. In Variation V the strings even use vibrato vs. non-vibrato to add to the poignancy. Engineering is excellent.

WebTip: The original Koch release of Ben-Dor’s recording is now available at an outrageous price; why pay $30 for a used copy when the album has been reissued at budget price on Naxos.

Tomasi: Trumpet Concerto
No recommendation. Only two recordings are available: Winton Marsalis on Sony and Sergei Nakariakov on Teldec.

Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3
Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony
Vox

Hands down, Slatkin paces this Russian-in-America symphony so that it becomes not just an integral whole (in lesser hands it feels segmented) but an exciting, lyrical, melancholic, and ultimately triumphal work. On CD it has always been part of a 2-CD Vox Box along with Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2. Slatkin’s way with No. 3 is the only one I can recommend, but at $6 or less what’s there to quibble about!