This fine disc makes a superb introduction to Frank Bridge’s orchestral music. The performance of Enter Spring has greater clarity and rhythmic spring than Richard Hickox’s recent Chandos version, and in The Sea, James Judd offers the most exciting finale on CD. In the first movement, though, Charles Groves’ interpretation (EMI) remains the most focused and shapely of phrase. The two shorter works, the impressionistic Summer and the charming Two Poems, have plenty of atmosphere and spirit. The New Zealand Symphony’s lean sonority suits the music well–Bridge never was much given to Romantic fuzziness–and Naxos provides clean, impactful sonics. If I don’t have much else to say it’s because there’s no need to. This is simply well conducted, well played, and well recorded, and an excellent bargain. [9/9/2004]
