Sinfoniettas: Poulenc, Prokofiev, Britten in Bloomington, MN

This recording of rarely heard orchestral works from three well-regarded composers was made as conductor
Dima Slobodeniouk
was nearing the end of his tenure as chief conductor of the
Lahti Symphony Orchestra
in 2021; he was succeeded later that year by
Dalia Stasevska
.
Slobodeniouk
and the
Lahti Symphony
have had a successful partnership, with several notable recordings previously issued. Starting this program is
Poulenc
's
Sinfonietta, FP 141
. Written in 1947 for the first anniversary of the BBC's The Third Programme, this would be the composer's only work in the symphony genre, borrowing, sometimes more obviously than not, from the neo-classical stylings of
Stravinsky
and nearly quoting
Mozart
mostly stayed away from larger forms, finding success with his songs, chamber music, and religious works, but this
Sinfonietta
displays the composer's charm and gift with melodic phrasing. The
Sinfonietta, Op. 5
, by
Prokofiev
(heard here in its final revision from 1929, which the composer assigned as his
Op. 48
) is a youthful work, even in its revised form. A light and airy neo-classical work that, along with his
Classical Symphony
, can trace to the mature
symphonic writing. While the sinfoniettas of
and
are light and airy works, the
Sinfonietta, Op. 1
Britten
has a more mature sound, even though he was only 18 when it was written. The harmonic structure of the work is influenced by the Second Viennese School through his teacher and dedicatee of the work,
Frank Bridge
. Originally written for wind quintet and string quintet,
later revised it for chamber orchestra, which is what is presented here. A thoroughly enjoyable hour of lighter music that will be nearly unknown to many listeners but should be accessible to a wide audience.
BIS
' engineers make good use of the
's magnificent Sibelius Hall home. ~ Keith Finke