Richard Whitehouse, Classical Source
Brown has been careful to assemble the basic symphonic constituents with a view to their intimating but not confirming the 'classical' format. The result is a 21-minute piece of subtle and affecting contrasts, evoking composers as diverse as Stravinsky, Nielsen and Lennox Berkeley, but with a formal ingenuity and thematic profile that are already personal.... the sensitivity with which Brown handles his forces was never in doubt.
The Sinfonietta contains the basic ingredients of a Symphony - viz. an Allegro, a Scherzo, a slow movement and a final Allegro. In this case, these elements are compressed into a one-movement form and the final Allegro is a recapitulation of the first, albeit with considerable variation. There is also a short fugue, for strings alone, between the opening Allegro and the Scherzo, which consolidates the musical ideas used throughout the piece.
World Premiere: Sinfonietta
Tuesday 19th February 2002
London Chamber Orchestra | Conducted by Christopher Warren-Green | Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Works: Sinfonietta
