Disc two, with the Capriccio, Sinfonietta (for strings) and Sinfonia (for large orchestra).
This is even better, more impressive than disc one. Make that double. The Sinfonia was composed for the famous Schubert contest of 1928 that also saw as entries the Gothic symphony of H. Brian, Atterberg’s 6th (who won), Schmidt’s 3rd, Irgens-Jensesn’s Passacaglia and many others. The story behind the judging is quite interesting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1928_International_Columbia_Graphophone_Competition#Submissions_and_zone_judging.
It seems that to some of the jurors (check that list of luminaries!) the Marek and Brian works were superior to Atterberg’s and were « considered outstanding but eventually rejected as 'in a modernistic vein inappropriate to the occasion « .
In any case, IMHO it’s a real masterpiece, a 32 minute, one movement work of great structural and harmonic sophistication and striking thematic material. If one could imagine a cross between works as divergent as Schmitt’s
Salammbô, Reger’s
Hiller Variations and Ravel’s
Daphnis et Chloé, without extra percussion or vocal parts (it is very classically scored) it might give an idea of Marek’s idiom here. I found it enchanting and immensely sophisticated.
The
Capriccio is a kind of orchestral pastiche along the line of Strauss’
Rosenkavalier waltzes, without the inebriated horns. The Sinfonietta is a surprisingly big work. Marek composes in big paragraphs, making the work sound like a real symphony rather than a serenade. The first movement in particular is really imposing. This, too, is a major work. All the performances are excellent (Philharmonia Orchestra) and in superb sound.
This twofer is a major find I cannot recommend too highly.
