Review of “Poema – 1. ad astra,” by Alexander Shelley and the NAC Orchestra

After recording the symphonies of Brahms and Schumann, Alexander Shelley and the National Arts Center (NAC) Orchestra take on Richard Strauss, whose two symphonic poems are paired with two Canadian works: Dark Night, Bright Stars, Vast Universe by Kelly-Marie Murphy and The Infinite Reaches by Kevin Lau. In these excellent choices among recent creations in the country, Shelley sees responses respectively to the momentum of Don Juan and the transcendence of Mort et transfiguration. But it is obviously on Richard Strauss that we will judge the relevance of the project. And the surprise is of high caliber. The limit, expected and obvious, is not having the softness and sap of the colors of Vienna, Amsterdam or Berlin. But the orchestra devotes itself body and soul to the passionate vision of its conductor, a great Straussian who deploys a judiciously scrutinized and detailed orchestral reading (the balance of the bass strings at the beginning of Mort et transfiguration !). This first volume of the “Poema” series is truly fascinating.

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To watch on video