Sinfonieorchester Basel, Ariane Matiakh
Music by the marvelous, but unjustly underrated composer and Aural Alchemist Charles Koechlin is invariably a real discovery. Koechlin can daub with notes as Seurat daubed with bright pigments on canvas; [he] could, whenever he wished, bathe his music in the impressionist glories of Debussy and Ravel or give it the delicacy of Faur and then toughen it up with some Roussel-like grinding rhythms. (Robert Reilly) He is an impressionist dreamboat. With a title like The Seven Stars Symphony, and following so closely on the heels of the equally enchanting Vers la vote toile (Toward the Vault of the Stars), one might think the work was some spectacular, colourist, celestial bonanza. In fact, its Koechlins ode to his favourite film stars but no less bewitching for that.
Ariane Matiakh’s performance of the symphony is beautifully done and can be recommended alongside James Judd’s 1995 account for RCA.
The Basel Symphony Orchestra’s performance under Ariane Matiakh has a wonderful lithe elegance, which matches the beauty and refinement of Koechlin’s writing in every respect.
The Basel Symphony Orchestra under Ariane Matiakh illuminates the suspense: curtain up and lights on!
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