Carolin Widmann, LPO, Vladimir Jurowski - Julian Anderson: In lieblicher Bläue; Alleluia; The Stations of the Sun (2016)

This is the fourth disc to be devoted exclusively to the music of Julian Anderson and the second such venture on the LPO’s own label, reflecting his stint as Composer in Residence with the orchestra, 2010-14. Intriguing as it is, I’m not sure newcomers would be best advised to start with In lieblicher Bläue (2014-15), which contains some spatial and symbolic elements not readily perceptible in audio format. Carolin Widmann’s physical location and posture change throughout. At one point a vaguely Schnittke-like gesture requires the soloist to lay down the bow and play using a pencil. While the composer’s lucid explanatory note survives inept editing, those familiar with Friedrich Hölderlin’s late prose-poem may have a head start in appreciating music at once lyrical and beautifully voiced but elusive by design in its troubled search for identity.

There is more concerto-like display in the companion pieces. The joyous Alleluia, commissioned for the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall following its refurbishment in 2007, was originally programmed as an up beat to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and makes memorable and idiomatic use of the London Philharmonic Choir, with whom the composer himself has sung. The writing is characteristic in its insistent mix of glitter and grit, new (American) colours added to an eclectic pick of the 20th-century bran tub. Homegrown influences are more strongly felt in The Stations of the Sun (1998), a ‘carillonading and tumultuous’ yet emotionally engaging Proms commission of which composer-conductor Oliver Knussen made the first studio recording some years ago. The two share a fondness for skirling woodwind and meaningful harmonic movement.

If Vladimir Jurowski’s punchy performances were indeed captured live with only minimal patching, they are all three remarkably accomplished. Applause has been expunged and the sound is good too.

Review by David Gutman, Allmusic.com

The music of English composer Julian Anderson suggests a latter-day Sibelius who has heard some electronic music and some contemporary world music traditions. He has written a good deal of music for chorus, an aspect of his work suggested by the well-wrought Alleluia that here received its world premiere. He is perhaps especially effective when writing lightly programmatic works for large orchestra, a talent that has brought him some of Britain's top residencies. The chief attraction here is In lieblicher Bläue ("In lovely blue"), a "poem for violin and orchestra" whose imagery is inspired by a poem of Friedrich Hölderlin that likens a church steeple to a flower blooming against blue sky. Both violin and orchestra are manipulated to suggest brilliance and a hyper-Romantic intensity. Violinist Carolyn Widmann transmits the force of the work even though the listener is deprived here of her actions following stage directions (for part of the work she turns her back to the audience, for example, symbolizing the poet's increasing withdrawal from society). This is a work that might have benefited from a bonus video disc or file. But the final The Stations of the Sun, from 1996, is also a highly effective work, a general evocation of the seasons for a large orchestra with a massive percussion section. The London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir under Vladimir Jurowski are nicely recorded at Southbank Centre with an immediacy that captures the considerable excitement of these live performances.

Review by James Manheim, Allmusic.com