With dozens of Milhaud discs to choose from, a “10 Best” list will help shorten the casual listener’s shopping list. Elektra/Nonesuch 9 71316-2 piano music played by William Bolcom. ADDA 581292 vocal music directed by Bernard Desgraupes. Hyperion CDA66594 Le boeuf sur le toit and other works directed by Ronald Corp. Chant du Monde LDC […]
Continue ReadingLa création du monde
Orchestral Works – Concertos
Milhaud’s stature as a master orchestrator is apparent in current concerto recordings. Of these, the greatest gem is the Concerto no. 1 for cello (1934) in a superb performance by Mstislav Rostropovich and the London Symphony Orchestra under Kent Nagano (Erato 2292 45489-2). The first movement, “Nonchalant,” opens with a brief prelude much like a […]
Continue ReadingVocal Music – Quartets
The vocal quartet was a favorite vehicle for Milhaud, represented on The Classical Collector by three excerpts from Les amours de Ronsard (1934) for vocal quartet and orchestra. These settings of Ronsard poems are dedicated to the memory of Claude Debussy, but the cycle’s shape and mood are closer to Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer. Technical inadequacies […]
Continue ReadingBallets – La création du monde
La création du monde, the 1923 jazz ballet for eighteen instruments (originally performed with sets by Fernand Léger) is, of all Milhaud’s works, the one with the firmest footing in the repertoire. Of the numerous available recordings the oldest is a 1932 performance conducted by the composer (Pearl Gemm CD 9459). Needless to say, this […]
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