Charming, inventive, and easy on the ear, American composer William Wallace’s music is so conservative (early Barber is about as adventurous as it gets) that you feel almost guilty liking it so much. Of course, there’s no rule that a composer has to engage the big stylistic questions and trends of the 20th century–or does he? I suppose it’s a matter for future generations to decide, and in the meantime why not enjoy some well crafted music of modest aims that does exactly what it sets out to do and never outstays its welcome?
The two finest works here are also the two largest. Piano Concerto No. 2 begins with a witty fugue, and never looks back. Only about 17 minutes long (with a particularly sweet four-minute central moderato) the piece seems to play itself, so easy and appealing is its progress. Well written, well scored, and well played by Olga Dudnik, it’s a perfect “pops concert” piece. So, for that matter, is the Dance Suite, which consists of Overture/Allemande, Courante, Minuet, and Tarentella finale. There’s some genuinely memorable melodic writing here, though the Symphonic Variations and brief Giga! make less of an impression.
The Introduction and Passcaglia, though, would open any concert in rousing fashion, while the brief Epilogue for String Orchestra closes this program with a wistful smile. The various orchestras and performers, while perhaps not uniformly world-class, certainly meet the music on its own terms. They are all well recorded, and in the final analysis Wallace’s music will give at least as much pleasure as, say, John Ireland’s. In short, don’t expect heaven-storming masterpieces here, but there’s also little that will disappoint. Pleasant.
