Around the World in 80 Minutes
Pupils of the Yehudi Menuhin School/Maxim Rysanov, Matthew Taylor, Tom Yang, Otis Enokido-Lineham
rec. 2023, The Menuhin Hall Stoke d’Abernon, UK
Orchid Classics ORC100290 [78]

I have been a fan of Jules Verne’s novel Around the World in Eighty Days from my primary school days. Later, I discovered the 1956 film with David Niven as Phileas Fogg, and almost every American and British actor available then. The analogous conceit in this programme takes us on an around-the-world musical journey in eighty minutes.

The voyage gets off to a great start with W.H. Reed’s characteristically nostalgic arrangement for string orchestra of Edward Elgar’s Chanson de Matin. Originally for violin and piano, it is best known in the composer’s own orchestral transcription, but there are arrangements for many other instrumental forces.

We leave England for a stop in Sunny Spain, celebrated with Pablo Sarasate’s Navarra, (Danza Espagnole) for two violins and orchestra. It is a delightful tribute to his Basque birthplace. It features the Jota, a traditional dance from Northern Spain.

Back over the border to La Belle France. Claude Debussy’s Danses for harp and string orchestra showcased Pleyel’s then new chromatic harp. There are two movements: the eerie Danse sacrée and the energetic Danse profane. The soloist, Rebecca You, gives a lovely account of this work.

Our travels now take us to Poland, to hear Witold Lutosławski’s Four Silesian Melodies for four violins, attractive arrangements of folk tunes. Still in Eastern Europe, we hear Béla Bartók’s Romanian Dances in an arrangement by Arthur Willner with further modifications by Maxim Rysanov. The seven well-wrought dances from Transylvania reflect Bartók’s enthusiasm for collecting folk song. Next, we listen to the short Pirin by Bulgarian-British composer Dobrinka Tabakova. She devised it for solo viola but arranged for orchestra for this disc. It “draws [its] inspiration from the Gadulka, a Bulgarian folk instrument”. It evokes the rocky, wild and striking Pirin mountain range. Just before leaving Europe, we hear Armenian composer Arno Babajanian’s heartbreaking Elegy in memory of Khachaturian arranged for piano and strings. It is one of the loveliest pieces on this record.

Now to the Eurasian Steppe, where we hear Chinese instrumentalist and composer Huang Haihuai’s Horse Race across the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. This energetic work inspired by Mongolian folk music was arranged for strings by Tom Yang.

Our traveller now jumps six thousand miles to Tasmania, to find Peter Sculthorpe’sLittle Suite for string orchestra. He is known for fusing Western classical and Aboriginal music, but this is a delightful bit of light music. There are three movements, a Sea Chant, a Little Serenade and a Left Bank Waltz. It has the feel of a film score about it.

An even longer journey takes us from Hobart to Nigeria for Fela Sowande’sAkinla from the African Suite.This number is a dazzling fusion of cultures, Western, African and Caribbean.

Now we cross the Atlantic to Buenos Aires. Andrés Martín presents his take on the nuevo tango style, made popular by Astor Piazzolla. La feria de San Telmo, one of Tres Tangos, is scored for two double basses “in a charged showcase depicting a bustling Argentinian market”.

Next, into neighbouring Brazil. In 1917, Frenchman Darius Milhaud went there as secretary to the French ambassador, a post he held for nearly two years. He was impressed by the local music. Scaramouche, a character from the commedia dell’arte, was a cunning servant who indulged in trickery and knew how to escape trouble. Milhaud penned his eponymous suite as a piano duo. In this recording, the last-movement samba Brasileira is heard arranged for four pianists/eight hands on two pianos.

I was impressed by Leo Brouwer’s minimalist evocation of the “pitter-patter of rain across exotic landscapes”. Scored for a four-guitar ensemble, the Cuban Landscape with Rain has constantly shifting patterns of sound, building up to a huge climax. It is part of his Paisajes series, which illustrates various Cuban scenes.

Florence Price was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her contribution is the rip-roaring third-movement Juba from the Piano Quintet. And now, George Gershwin and his Three Preludes for piano, a subtle fusion of classical and jazz elements. This arrangement for violin, guitar, and double bass has the hallmarks of the Quintette du Hot Club de France and Stéfane Grappelli. They make a hip farewell to the Americas.

The last leg: we cross the Atlantic again to arrive on the Emerald Isle. It does not come as a surprise that the chosen tune is the Londonderry Air, arranged here for string orchestra by Mika Petrovic. Not as effective as Percy Grainger’s or Hamilton Harty’s transcriptions, it retains the nostalgia and features lovely harmonies.

The latter-day Phileas Fogg would now make his way to George Best International to board a flight bound for Heathrow. And then down to the Reform Club to indulge in a glass of Taylor’s Port before collecting on his wager.

The helpful liner notes do not give all the dates of composition or arrangements, and the dates of the arrangers are not included. I have supplied those where possible: I think this is essential information for any disc. The recording is typically excellent.

The Yehudi Menuhin School, founded in 1963 by the renowned violinist, is a prestigious music school in Surrey, England. It nurtures gifted children, offers specialist tuition and a stimulating academic environment, regardless of economic background.

I cannot fault the performances on this disc. The repertoire is a well-chosen selection of old favourites and new discoveries, with several arrangements and not a few originals.

John France

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Contents
Edward Elgar (1857-1934) arr. William Henry Reed (1876-1942) Chanson de matin, Op15 No 2 (1897/1939)
Maxim Rysanov, conductor
Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908) arr. Quentin Thomas
Navarra, Op 33 (1889)
Coco Tomita (violin), Yume Tomita (violin)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Danses sacrée et profane for harp and string orchestra (1904)
Rebecca You (harp)
Matthew Taylor, conductor
Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994)
Four Silesian Melodies (1954)
Vadym Perig (violin), Jana Jakovljevic (violin), Mariam Obolashvili (violin), Robin Wilson (violin)
Béla Bartók (1881-1945) arr. Arthur Willner and Maxim Rysanov Romanian Folk Dances (1915)
Maxim Rysanov, conductor & viola
Dobrinka Tabakova (b.1980)
Pirin (2000) Maxim Rysanov, conductor
Arno Babajanian (1921-1983) arr. Sasha Parker, Elegy in memory of Khachaturian (1978)
Maxim Rysanov, conductor
Huang Haihuai (1935-1967) arr. Tom Yang Horse Race (1950s)
Tom Yang, conductor
Peter Sculthorpe (1929-2014)
Little Suite for string orchestra (1983)
Otis Enokido-Lineham, conductor
Fela Sowande (1905-1987)
“Akinla” from African Suite (1944)
Otis Enokido-Lineham, conductor
Andrés Martín (b.1981)
La feria de San Telmo (?)
Levi Andreassen (double bass), Nathan Perry (double bass)
Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)
“Brasileira” from Scaramouche, Op 165b (1937)
Alasdair Howell (piano), Richard Zhang (piano), Zeynep Ozden (piano), Mischa Carr (piano)
Leo Brouwer (b.1939)
Cuban Landscape with Rain (1984)
Kotone Ozaki (guitar), Jason Zheng (guitar), Simon Nivy (guitar), Henry Lin (guitar)
Florence Price (1887-1953)
“Juba” from Piano Quintet in A minor (c.1935)
Clara Wernig (violin), Lucrezia Lavino Mercuri (violin), Jemimah Quick (viola), Filippo Ramacciotti (cello), Jude Usborne (piano)
George Gershwin (1898-1937) arr. Richard Wright, Three Preludes (1925)
Ignacy Stefanowicz (violin), Suyla Polat (guitar), Lukas Hall (double bass)
Traditional arr. by Mika Petrovic Londonderry Air
Maxim Rysanov, conductor