Ginastera: Estancia - dance suite, Op. 8a

“The playing is polished and spirited and, if you relish catchy rhythms and vivid colours interlaced with some brooding Latin passion, then this disc is for you.” The Telegraph, 16th April 2009 ***

“Anybody who has been lucky enough to experience Gustavo Dudamel and his remarkable orchestra in a concert will want to hear this collection, a live recording from Caracas which captures the sheer joy and panache of their music-making...Dudamel has patented his own unique brand of music-making that is very special indeed.” The Guardian, 6th June 2008 *****

“A disc devoted to works by Venezuelan, Mexican and Argentinian composers (along with the Latin American-inspired Mambo from Bernstein’s West Side Story) might seem too much of a good thing, but the spirit of the performances is infectious and the music will appeal to a much wider audience than just concert-goers. The highlight here is the Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera’s brilliantly orchestrated Dances from the Ballet, Estancia (Ranch), a sort of Latin American response to Copland’s Rodeo. The Bernstein rounds off the “fiesta” in rollicking style. The verve and enthusiasm of these remarkable young musicians more than compensate for some less than inspired scores and rough edges in the playing.” Sunday Times, 22nd June 2008 ***

“I am not sure anything quite like Gustavo Dudamel and his extraordinary group of young musicians have ever hit the Proms before. Whatever you have read about the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra can't convey the brilliance and disarming exuberance of their playing” Andrew Clements, The Guardian

“There is, as expected, plenty of energy on display, from the young musicians as much as from the music itself, but there is also repose and atmosphere. Ultimately, though, it is the festive that wins out. The whole disc...is a celebration of youthful talent.” The Telegraph, 5th July 2008

“One happy consequence of the Bolívar Orchestra's ascendancy is that Latin American repertoire previously known to connoisseurs has gained circulation… the one widely acknowledged masterpiece, Sensemayá by Silvestre Revueltas, which emulates The Rise of Spring in its sound but has its own Mexican character. Dudamel paces it beautifully, slow enough for the energetic strings and forthright brass to have maximum effect as it builds up.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2008 ****

“As music writers, we often twist ourselves into a pretzel trying to define what makes one interpretation superior to the next, but there's something about this performance that just is. …it's the infectious hardcore Latin spirit that, once sampled, stayed embedded in your imagination.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2008

“Either of these two well-produced discs would make a near-ideal introduction to this versatile composer's output, featuring three of his finest orchestral inspirations. If the suite from his ballet Estancia (1942) remains his best-known work, and its malambo finale one of the most famous pieces in Latin American music, the Overture to the Creole Faust (1943) can't be far behind. Both are outgoing, 'popular' items, whereas the 'symphonic pastoral' Pampeana No 3 (1954) is more obviously serious.
All three works receive committed performances on both discs. Castagna and the Berliners find a touch more magic in the Pampeana's slower outer movements aided by Chandos's sumptuous sound, but the Danish players, led by their Venezuelan-born conductor, often have the edge in the swifter sections. In Estancia, the resonance of Chandos's recording works against the music: Bridge's drier, cleaner sound in the Carl Nielsen Hall in Odense is more successful.
And while some of Jan Wagner's tempos seem a shade deliberate compared to Castagna's, he mostly justifies them by the pacing of each work in toto.
If there's little overall to choose between the newcomers, the fourth item on each may decide the matter. On Chandos comes a scintillating account of the second, full-orchestral version of the more harmonically advanced Glosses on Themes of Pablo Casals, originally written for strings to celebrate the Catalan cellist's centenary in 1976 and rescored a year later. In contrast, Bridge restores to the CD catalogue Ginastera's Ollantay (1947), a darkly colourful and dramatic folk-triptych that could be thought of as an Argentinian Taras Bulba.
If you want only one version of these pieces the Bridge is recommended.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Either of these two well-produced discs would make a near-ideal introduction to this versatile composer's output, featuring three of his finest orchestral inspirations. If the suite from his ballet Estancia (1942) remains his best-known work, and its malambo finale one of the most famous pieces in Latin American music, the Overture to the Creole Faust (1943) can't be far behind. Both are outgoing, 'popular' items, whereas the 'symphonic pastoral' Pampeana No 3 (1954) is more obviously serious.
All three works receive committed performances on both discs. Castagna and the Berliners find a touch more magic in the Pampeana's slower outer movements aided by Chandos's sumptuous sound, but the Danish players, led by their Venezuelan-born conductor, often have the edge in the swifter sections. In Estancia, the resonance of Chandos's recording works against the music: Bridge's drier, cleaner sound in the Carl Nielsen Hall in Odense is more successful.
And while some of Jan Wagner's tempos seem a shade deliberate compared to Castagna's, he mostly justifies them by the pacing of each work in toto.
If there's little overall to choose between the newcomers, the fourth item on each may decide the matter. On Chandos comes a scintillating account of the second, full-orchestral version of the more harmonically advanced Glosses on Themes of Pablo Casals, originally written for strings to celebrate the Catalan cellist's centenary in 1976 and rescored a year later. In contrast, Bridge restores to the CD catalogue Ginastera's Ollantay (1947), a darkly colourful and dramatic folk-triptych that could be thought of as an Argentinian Taras Bulba.
If you want only one version of these pieces the Bridge is recommended.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“...first-rate in every way.” Musical America