Gordon Getty: Orchestral Works

Neville Marriner / Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

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Gordon Getty: Orchestral Works Review

by James Manheim

Gordon Getty, by some reckonings the world's richest individual, is also a classical composer. He has generously supported opera and also composed the Falstaff-themed Plump Jack, whose overture is included here. Most of the music for which he has gained wide attention is vocal, but here is a selection of instrumental pieces, recorded in London, for a boutique Dutch audiophile label no less, with the 86-year-old Neville Marriner returning to the podium before the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields to do the honors. The London location is actually the least surprising, for Getty's style is more British than American. Getty has said that he is "two-thirds a 19th-century composer," and the Stravinsky-like dances in the Ancestor Suite, extracted from ballet music that you may not recognize as being inspired by the writings of Poe, doesn't do much to jazz up the conservative atmosphere. Yet the music doesn't exactly fit the neo-Romantic category; it's economical and brisk, for one thing, and it's full of little flashes of novelty -- listen to the end of the Overture to Plump Jack, for example -- that don't come from any other specific place. The short pieces on the second half of the program are pretty light stuff, but taken for what it is, Getty's music is competently done. Transparent sonics and a performance by the ensemble perhaps best suited to the music are both helpful, and you might put this disc on a top-notch stereo and quiz your friends as to the composer. Booklet notes are in English, German, and French.

Track Listing

Title/Composer Performer Time Stream
1
Overture "Plump Jack"
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 12:10 SpotifyAmazon
Ancestor Suite
2
Zwei Walzer
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 02:51 SpotifyAmazon
3
Waltz of the Ancestors
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 01:49 SpotifyAmazon
4
Schottische
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 01:19 SpotifyAmazon
5
Waltz - Ländler
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 03:52 SpotifyAmazon
6
Polka - Polonaise
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 02:54 SpotifyAmazon
7
Gavotte
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 01:43 SpotifyAmazon
8
Gothic Waltz
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 02:36 SpotifyAmazon
9
March - Sarabande - Presto
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 04:53 SpotifyAmazon
10
Madeline
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 03:30 SpotifyAmazon
11
Ewig Du
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 04:40 SpotifyAmazon
12
Finale
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 01:59 SpotifyAmazon
13
Tiefer und Tiefer
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 04:12 SpotifyAmazon
Homework Suite
14
Seascape
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 01:11 SpotifyAmazon
15
Giga
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 00:42 SpotifyAmazon
16
Ghost Waltz
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 00:55 SpotifyAmazon
17
Berceuse
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 02:14 SpotifyAmazon
18
Night Horses
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 01:07 SpotifyAmazon
19
The Fiddler of Ballykeel
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 03:02 SpotifyAmazon
20
Raise the Colors
Gordon Getty
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Neville Marriner 02:34 SpotifyAmazon
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Gordon Getty: Orchestral Works

Neville Marriner Discography Browser