Thursday, 4 September 2025

Ibert: Symphonie Marine

Day 247

Ibert: Symphonie Marine

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Louis Frémaux

I knew Ibert from his riotous Divertissement and a few shorter pieces but this Symphonie Marine was new to me. It dates from 1931 but apparently the composer forbad performances of the work until after his death, Quite why nobody knows because there is certainly nothing remotely offensive or objectionable about the peice. On the contrary is a fairly typical light-hearted confection of the type that French composers were so good at turning out. The scoring evokes the world of Ravel and Debussy, particularly in the use of the harp, but there is also a prominent saxophone part which does bring some jazz overtones.

An enjoyable diversion then - no masterpiece but then it is unreasonable to expect every work to be a masterpiece. B roads can be more interesting than motorways.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Mayer: Symphony no 1

 Day 365 Emelie Mayer; Symphony no 1 in C minor NDR Radiophilharmonie  Leo McFall For my final piece in 2025 I continued my exploration of w...