Menotti: Violin Concerto, Muero Porque No Muero, Oh Llama de Amor Viva & Death of Orpheus

4-5 Star Concerto, the Rest... Eh.

     

Menotti wrote some truly beautiful music. The Spoleto Festival has put out at least one other phenomenal recording of his works. The concerto is played very well here. There's a lot of life and color, though it seems to me that that has slightly more to do with what was written than with how it's played. Koh is sing-song throughout, which is required for Menotti, who was a fantastic operatic composer. But it seems to me that the orchestral forces are held back just a touch. It's still worth listening to, and it's definitely enjoyable. The works for orchestra, chorus and vocal soloists, on the other hand, do not sound nearly as great as they should. If you've ever heard Menotti's "Amahl and the Night Visitors," then you know how well this man wrote choral music. I found the soloists' expressive abilities to be strained and quite tiresome after a while. Neither the chorus nor the orchestra were able to wake these pieces up. Therefore Koh's violin, together with Menotti's musical genius, are the only two things really saving this one.