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Reviews
The Baltimore Sun
Former Annapolis conductor proves her mastery of Latin
American style
'Colorful' first recording done of Mexican piece
By Phil Greenfield
The recording studio continues to be a hospitable setting
for the talents of Gisèle Ben-Dor, whose six-year stint
at the helm of the Annapolis Symphony ended in spring
1997.
Ben-Dor, who maintains a bi-coastal career with the
Santa Barbara (Calif.) Symphony and the Pro Arte Chamber
Orchestra of Boston, began her recording career auspiciously
in 1995 with a well-received anthology devoted to the
music of Hungarian Bela Bartok issued on the Centaur
label.
Her second disc, also released in 1995, was devoted
to the works of Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera.
With the London Symphony and Israel Chamber Orhcestra
in tow, Ben-Dor, Uruguayan by birth, demonstrated her
affinity for the Latin style in feisty, expertly colored
accounts of Ginastera's "Glosses on Themes of Pablo
Casals" and "Varaciones Concertantes."
Now come two more additions to the Ben-Dor discography,
both worthy entries to the classical catalog, especially
for ASO fans wishing to keep tabs on the Annapolis alumna
as she ascends the slippery ranks of her profession.
Ben-Dor's new recording for Koch International, the
first-ever of Mexican Silvestre Revueltas' ballet suite
"La Coronella," reaffirms her mastery of the Latin American
idiom.
Ben-Dor's account is a white-knuckle ride through the
score. Her command of the various Mexican idioms infused
into the suite sounds plenty authentic to me, with atmosphere
and hot-blooded brio lurking around every bend in the
score.
Her Santa Barbara Orchestra is impressive in both the
ballet and in "Itinerarios," a 9-minute lament spotlighting
the plaintive sounds of a solo saxophone. The Califorania
brass are first-rate, and while the strings could be
weightier and the solo oboe less nasal, the overwhelming
impression is of a talented orchestra playing its collective
heart out.
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