Wonderful, often angst-ridden music, (opening of Tatra); disarmingly beautiful tunes (Lady Godiva theme), and, well...more angst-ridden music, (Eternal Longing). Great music for walking through rainy streets without an umbrella after a breakup if you get my point. : )
When it comes to the B-listers, Novak, IMHO is one of the real deals. There's a little bit of Tchaikovsky, a little bit of R. Strauss, delivered with Dvorak's accent. A bit of Schrekernian drunken ecstasy in places as well, but without the miles of bluster. His music rarely lapses into a ramble, his harmonies are pungent in all the right places, and his narrative arcs are well-constructed and satisfying. Relatively concise, too; for a composer with Post-romantic leanings. In the end, Novak was his own man.
This will be my first JoAnne Falletta/Buffalo recording. My previous Novak was kindly produced by Virgin and Chandos, though the Chandos was marred by their signature glassy string sound of the time.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Topic - Lesser-known Composer Alert: New Novak Release on Naxos - jdaniel@jps.net 08:15:19 04/14/17 (5)
- Novak - Amphissa 19:51:56 04/15/17 (3)
- Another vote for the Šejna on Supraphon... - Daverz 18:00:43 04/16/17 (1)
- Wow - our server didn't mangle the haÄek in your subject line! [nt] ;-) - Chris from Lafayette 21:07:27 04/16/17 (0)
- Thanks. I"m not familiar enough with Novak to be picky, so I'll take my chances with Falleta. nt - jdaniel@jps.net 21:48:56 04/15/17 (0)
- RE: Lesser-known Composer Alert: New Novak Release on Naxos - gussclarinet 12:52:14 04/14/17 (0)