<<<  <<  -- 3 --  Robert Anderson    THEMATIC ECONOMY

By 1926 and the Suite in F Roussel is a fully paid-up neo-classic in the prevailing mode. Not all is gain. While the solemn dignity of the Sarabande is a delight, the rumbustious jig runs a slight risk of recalling Vaughan Williams clod-hopping over the village green.

This is not music of immediate appeal, but here it is in the safest of hands. Clearly Stéphane Denève is a Roussel devotee, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra has already shown its paces in this composer's music with an admirable Symphony No 3. The present symphony is perhaps more of a challenge, but the splendid wind solos over quietly evolving string phrases get to the heart of the matter. And where defiant brass throw down the gauntlet, the response is heady music-making of highest calibre.