MacDowell Orchestral Works Vol. 1 - a mixed bag

​Here we have an enticing new recording of the music of Edward MacDowell on Chandos. And who better to bring it to life like no one else can than John Wilson. But surprisingly, this isn’t the lavish multi-channel SACD treatment Wilson normally merits from this label; this is a standard CD. Nor is it played by Wilson’s own Sinfonia of London; this is the BBC Philharmonic. So warning bells were already sounding.
 
And indeed, while the sound is very good, it can’t match what the label regularly produces with the Sinfonia of London on SACD. It sounds very much like Wilson's other CD-only recordings with the BBC Philharmonic, specifically the series of orchestra music by Eric Coates, which lack a bit of spaciousness and sparkle.
 
But it doesn't really matter, SACD wouldn’t really have helped elevate this program to greatness anyway. In all truthfulness, MacDowell just isn’t a great composer. And not even John Wilson can convince us otherwise (though he makes a valiant effort). MacDowell, who studied briefly in Paris, but chiefly in Germany, is steadfastly orthodox, harmonically and creatively, and his music exhibits little "American" flavor. (All the music recorded here, save for "To A Wild Rose", was written during his time in Germany.) And he’s not really adept at orchestration; thick, dense textures tend to predominate his sonic palette, with little variety.
 
This is particularly true of the very "Lisztian" 2nd Symphonic Poem, Lancelot und Elaine, and the early 1st Piano Concerto. While MacDowell’s 2nd Piano Concerto has received some favorability with a few recordings over the decades (most notably Earl Wild's 1967 RCA record), curiously, Wilson has chosen to begin this series with the relatively unknown 1st, which isn’t a great piece of music. However, I was pleased to see the wonderful pianist, Xiayin Wang, as his soloist. She hasn’t recorded very much over the past few years, and I was immediately reminded how excellent she is. She plays all of MacDowell’s big chords and notey passagework with aplomb. It’s not her fault there just isn’t an abundance of musical substance to be uncovered from the score - though the presto 3rd movement, which is reminiscent of Litolff’s famous Scherzo, contains endless passages of impossibly fast notes which show her effortless virtuosity at its most dazzling.
 
Certainly the central section of the program is the best by far. After the concerto, we hear 2 fragments of a planned symphony which MacDowell began writing in 1886 but never completed. He prepared these 2 little sections in 1890 after his return to the United States. And they are terrific! An energetic Allegretto Feroce, followed by a lovely “Song”, are real gems - but alas play for just 8 minutes combined. If only MacDowell hadn’t abandoned the project, this might have matured into a real triumph for him. It is followed by the one tune MacDowell is famous for (a one-hit wonder if there ever was one) - the simple, delicate piano miniature, To a Wild Rose (from the collection “Woodland Sketches”), in an orchestration by Victor Herbert. It is positively lovely here in Wilson’s sensitive hands.
 
Finally, another potential for real success appears in the 3rd Symphonic Poem, Lamia, which was never published or performed during MacDowell’s lifetime. This type of piece is a John Wilson specialty, and he makes a very compelling case for it, bringing the most out of its large, sprawling orchestral expanse. It has a multitude of tempo indications within its 13-minute length, which Wilson illuminates with vivid characterization. He keeps the listener engaged and the BBC Philharmonic on its toes, and I’m almost convinced MacDowell is a better composer than I thought.
 
I hesitated buying this CD. I've never been terribly fond of MacDowell's music in the first place, and, frankly, I was rather put off by the cover. That closeup picture of a rather bashful Xiayin Wang in stark relief is oddly disconcerting. The piano concerto takes up just 24 minutes of the program, and it certainly isn't the highlight musically by any stretch. So making the pianist the star attraction on a collection of "Orchestral Works" seems ridiculously unwarranted and more than a little gratuitous. Couldn't Chandos have found a more appropriate picture for the cover - oh I don't know, maybe of the composer? Or perhaps a lovely rose? Or even their celebrity conductor, who is undoubtedly the real star of this show anyway? In any event, while this music is certainly worth a listen, the series thus far doesn't inspire me to continue with future installments.