This second release in Naxos’ two-disc series of Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s complete overtures inspired by various Shakespeare plays fills a serious gap in the catalog. Written largely after the composer (who was Jewish) escaped fascist Italy and subsequently established himself successfully in Hollywood, the music is wonderful. Much of it, naturally, has a “film music” sort of sound, but in these enlightened times there’s no longer anything wrong with that. Castelnuovo-Tedesco called these pieces “overtures”, but they are really closer to symphonic poems or suites, based on particular episodes of each play (and even specific speeches).
As the above list of titles suggests, most of these are comedies, and the music is correspondingly light and tuneful. It’s also very nice to see music inspired by Shakespeare’s less familiar works. The composer does manage to strike a deeper note in The Merchant of Venice, which is also the longest work on the program, and the exuberant scoring for large orchestra is always effective. So are these performances, which are very attractive and confident, particularly given the unfamiliarity of the music (there are several world-premiere recordings made from manuscript copies of the scores). The sonics perhaps could offer a touch more clarity and dynamic range, but they certainly do the music justice. Strongly recommended. [10/11/2010]
