This excellent review was published on www.iclassics.com.


Marx: Orchestral Works Vol. 2

Conductor Steven Sloane and the Bochum Symphony continue their survey for ASV of music by the unjustly neglected Austrian composer Joseph Marx (1882-1964) with this collection of opulently orchestrated songs sung by soprano Angela Maria Blasi and mezzo Stella Doufexis. In a previous interview with iClassics, Sloane made the case for Marx: "He is one of these amazing composers who have been lost in the shuffle. It's truly surprising because he has a very popular style. He was adored in his lifetime as a composer, and it's just astounding that his music isn't played today. He was a prolific composer of the post-Mahler stamp – a fervent advocate of the German Romantic style and a strong opponent of the second Viennese School. You'll hear many influences in his music, including the Impressionism of the '20s – particularly Debussy – and the music of Richard Strauss. What sets it apart is Marx's very skilled use of orchestration. He knows the orchestra well, and though the music is dense, he gets precisely the sound he wants. The tunes are just fantastic, and the orchestration really marvelous." The first installment of the series, Marx: Complete Orchestral Music Vol. 1, was a triumph for Sloane and his orchestra, receiving a top rating from BBC Music Magazine (Five Stars for Performance and Sound): "Anyone with a penchant for the lush orchestral soundscapes favored by such composers as Schreker, Zemlinsky and Korngold will surely warm to the abundant glow of the 'Nature Trilogy'...A performance of stunning beauty and conviction supported by suitably opulent engineering."