Bennett and Duke Violin Concertos (CD Review)

by Ryan Ross 

Robert Russell Bennett: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A Major (“In the Popular Style”); Vernon Duke [Vladimir Alexandrovich Dukelsky]: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. Chloë Hanslip, violinist; Andrew Litton, conductor; Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Chandos CHSA 5371

This is one of those recordings: extended orchestral works by composers who made their mark very much elsewhere. In this case we have a pair of figures who worked in the American show business, one as an orchestrator and the other as a songwriter (primarily). To be honest, the results are about what you’d expect: respectable efforts that go over well enough but probably won’t blow your hair back. Think John Williams’s concertos, or Meredith Willson’s symphonies, or anything by Danny Elfman that is not film or TV music. You get the picture.

 

We’ll take the more successful of these two concertos first. Robert Russell Bennett wisely decided to write a lighter work explicitly “in the popular style.” This translates to some fetching themes across four movements, and an overall breeziness that shows a composer not taking himself too seriously. The jaunty first movement lasts 11+ minutes and, even if it slightly overstays its welcome by the end, elicits plenty of goodwill. The remaining sections are much shorter, my favorite of which is a lovely ABA second span heavily influenced by the theater. Nothing here rivals the Barber Violin Concerto (probably the American masterpiece in the genre), but I can see the work being successful if programmed occasionally, all the more since it clocks in at under 25 minutes and ends with a rousing send-off. As a bonus, we next get the short Hexapoda studies for violin and piano – delightfully fluffy music.

 

If I’m in a generous mood, I might argue that the Robert Russell Bennett Violin Concerto is actually a touch more compelling than the Williams, Willson, and Elfman fare I named earlier. But not even on my best day would I say the same for this Duke Concerto. It lasts only 29 or so minutes but feels longer. There is nothing offensive in it, to be sure, but its angular themes just meander and fail to hold interest. Drab orchestral and harmonic colors predominate, with only very brief moments of Songwriter Vernon Duke peeking through now and then. I was sometimes reminded of Prokofiev, but did not feel Sergei Sergeyevich’s strong personality. Duke would have done better to let his Broadway side take over more, as RRB did. Slenderer compositional voices should be strategic about where they direct energy and attempt to make impacts. Because when all is said and done, April in Paris packs more of a punch than any of the scores emanating from Duke’s classical ambitions.

 

The performances themselves are terrific. They exude about as much zip and skill as I can imagine, and (certainly in terms of sound quality) outclass their scant competition in the catalogue (Cambria CAMCD-1078 and Urlicht UAV5990, as far as I can tell). More importantly, I sense the earnestness of Hanslip and Litton loud and clear. Both scores absolutely need this. In the end, we have another Chandos winner. If you’re going to record and package this music, do it like it’s done here. Whether or not that music is terribly distinguished is another matter.