Música Mexicana Vol. 1: CHÁVEZ: Chapultepec, PONCE: Estampas Nocturnas / Ferial / Instantaneas Mexicanas, REVUELTAS: Toccata, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Enrique Bátiz.

“All the works are played with panache and style and are brilliantly characterised by Enrique Bátiz”

Classic CD

Música Mexicana Vol. 2:  CHÁVEZ: Symphony No.2 “Sinfonía India”, PONCE: Violin Concerto*, REVUELTAS: La Noche de los Mayas, * Henryk Szeryng – violin, Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México, * Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Enrique Bátiz.

“This recording is simply outstanding”

CD Compact 

MUSIC OF MEXICO, volume 3: PONCE: Concierto del Sur. CHAVEZ: Zarabanda, for Strings. SOLER (orch. HALFFTER): Three Sonatas. Alfonso Moreno (guitar); Symphony Orchestra of the State of Mexico; Enrique Batiz, conductor.

EMI-HMV digital 1651051 (c)1651054

* CHAVEZ: Zarabanda for Strings.

(M) *** HMV Green. ESD/TC-ESD 165105-1/4, Symphony Orchestra of the State of Mexico, Enrique Batiz, conductor ó PONCE: Concierto del sur

**(*); SOLER: Sonatas."

"Apart from the Sinfonia India (1936), Chavez is rarely heard these days in the concert hall and now that his own record of three of his symphonies has disappeared from view along with the Piano concerto (once available on HMV), his representation is scant. The Zarabanda for Strings comes from a ballet commissioned for Martha Graham in 1943 on the subject of Medea. Chavez subsequently made a suite from the work, scored for full orchestra. This movement is for strings alone and is rather beautiful, meditative in character and grave in feeling. Despite its brevity, just under six minutes, it is probably the most substantial piece on this record, and it is eloquently played and excellently recorded, on both disc and tape."

(The Complete Penguin Stereo Record and Cassette Guide 1986)

* PONCE: Concierto del Sur (tor guitar and orchestra).

(M) **(*) HMV Green, ESD/TC-ESD 165105-1/4, Moreno, Symphony Orchestra of the State of Mexico, Enrique Batiz, conductor ó CHAVEZ: Zarabanda ***; SOLER: Sonatas. **

"Ponce's Concerto was composed, towards the end of his life, for Segovia who recorded it in the 1950s. It does not possess either the dark intensity or imaginative resource of the "Folia de España' variations and fugue, nor is it as memorable or attractive as the Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez. Alfonso Moreno has plenty of temperament and is given the advantage of clear digital recording, albeit too closely balanced. The Mexican orchestra, though not in the front rank, plays with enthusiasm, and the Chavez on the reverse side is quite memorable. The cassette transfer is first-class."

(The Complete Penguin Stereo Record and Cassette Guide 1985)

"This is one of a series of recordings in stunning digital sonics by the talented young Mexican conductor, Enrique Batiz.. . Alfonso Moreno has proved himself to be a guitarist of both sensitivity and temperament in his recordings of three works by Joaquín Rodrigo for Angel and Varese Sarabande -all with Batiz conducting. . .

". . .the Batiz orchestra plays with so much more refinement, the recording itself is so superior, and it is so much more readily available, that it will be the obvious choice, [over Mexican RCA MRS 002 Orchestra of the University/Mata].

"This issue is one that is warmly welcomed. The playing is first-class, the interpretations generally excellent, and the sound superior. .."

(J.B.; Fanfare; January/February 1984)

 

Música Mexicana Vol. 3: RODOLFO HALFFTER: Violin Concerto, Op.11*, MONCAYO: Huapango, PONCE: Concierto del Sur**, REVUELTAS: Cuauhnáhuac, * Henryk Szeryng – violin, ** Alfonso Moreno – guitar, Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México, * Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. ** Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México. Enrique Bátiz.

“Big, brilliant sound and spirited performances”

Fanfare

MUSIC OF MEXICO, volume 5: PONCE: Violin Concerto. HALFFTER: Violin Concerto, Op.11. Henryk Szeryng (violin); Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Enrique Batiz, conductor.

EMI digital 27 0151 1 (c) 27 0151 4

* Violin concerto (rev. Szeryng)

** HMV Dig. EL 270151-1/4 [Ang. DS/4DS 38258]. Szeryng, RPO, Batiz - PONCE: Violin concerto.**

"Rodolfo Halffter, not to be confused with his younger brother, Ernesto, who completed Falla's Atlantida, composed his Violin concerto in 1942, revising it a decade later in collaboration with the present soloist. Halffter was a considerable figure in Mexican musical life head of the Ediciones Mexicanas de Musica, as well as editor of an important musical periodical. The Concerto is a well-crafted and colourful piece that is not unattractive. Szeryng gives a persuasive account of it and is well recorded. Performance and recording deserve a full recommendation. . . There is a good XDR cassette."

(The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs, Cassettes and LPs 1986)

* Violin concerto.

** HMV Dig. EL 270151-1/4 [Ang. DS/4 DS 38258]. Szeryng, RPO, Batiz -HALFFTER: Violin concerto.**

"Ponce is well known for his guitar music; he was the leading Mexican composer of his day. The Violin concerto, like that of Rodolfo Halffter, with which it is coupled, was composed in 1942, six years before his death, and first performed by Szeryng with Carlos Chavez conducting. It has a dazzlingly brilliant solo part and its invention is amiable and pleasing. However, unlike Ponce's Variations and fugue on La Folia de España, it is not a work of great substance. The distinguished soloist makes out a strong case for it and the performers are well served by the HMV engineers, un both LP and cassette."

(The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs, Cassettes and LPs 1986)

"Szeryng plays both works with masterful style and is ably supported by Batiz and the London musicians. . . All in all, this is a superior disc that enhances the repertoire."

(J.B.; Fanfare; November/December 1986)

". . .With Batiz, he [Szeryng] makes of this potentially disparate work a piece that is well-balanced and thought-provoking."

(Doug Hammond; CD Monitor; Hi-Fi News and Record Review, September 1986. London)

"Ponce's concerto, dedicated to Szeryng. . . with an outstandingly virtuosic solo partóin which, needless to say, Szeryng shines. . . it should be emphasized that this is an essentially 'serious' work. . . This record is greatly to be welcomed for opening our ears and minds to works whose quality -indeed, whose very existenceóhas gone largely unsuspected."

(L.S.; Record Reviews; Gramophone; August, 1986)

úsica Mexicana Vol. 6: PONCE: Piano Concerto* / Balada Mexicana** / Chapultepec / Danse des Anciens Mexicains / Gavota / Poema Elegíaco, * Jorge Federico Osorio, / ** Eva Suk – pianos, The State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra. Enrique Bátiz.

“Bátiz and his cohorts leave nothing to be desired in idiomatic flair. Essential”

Fanfare

PONCE: Música Mexicana Vol. 6, Piano Concerto*, Balada Mexicana**, Chapultepec, Danse des Anciens Mexicains, Gavota, Poema Elegíaco, * Jorge Federico Osorio, ** Eva Zuk – pianos, The State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Enrique Bátiz.

“Bátiz and his cohorts leave nothing to be desired in idiomatic flair. Essential”

Fanfare

PONCE: Concierto del Sur, Piano Concerto*, Violin Concerto**, Alfonso Moreno – guitar, * Jorge Federico Osorio – piano, ** Henryk Szeryng – violin, The State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, ** Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Enrique Bátiz.

“Szeryng plays the virtuoso solo part brilliantly”

Gramophone

Gramophone Good CD Guide Recommendation

PONCE: Concierto del Sur. CHAVEZ: Zarabanda, for Strings. SOLER (orch. HALFFTER): Three Sonatas. Alfonso Moreno (guitar); Symphony Orchestra of the State of Mexico; Enrique Batiz, conductor.

"Ponce's Concerto was composed, towards the end of his life, for Segovia who recorded it in the 1950s. It does not possess either the dark intensity or imaginative resource of the "Folia de Espana' variations and fugue, nor is it as memorable or attractive as the Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez. Alfonso Moreno has plenty of temperament and is given the advantage of clear digital recording, albeit too closely balanced. The Mexican orchestra, though not in the front rank, plays with enthusiasm, and the Chavez on the reverse side is quite memorable. The cassette transfer is first-class."

(The Complete Penguin Stereo Record and Cassette Guide 1985)

 

 

PONCE: Violin Concerto, HALFFTER: Violin Concerto, Op.11. Henryk Szeryng (violin); Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Enrique Batiz, conductor.

"Rodolfo Halffter, not to be confused with his younger brother, Ernesto, who completed Falla's Atlantida, composed his Violin concerto in 1942, revising it a decade later in collaboration with the present soloist. Halffter was a considerable figure in Mexican musical life head of the Ediciones Mexicanas de Musica, as well as editor of an important musical periodical. The Concerto is a well-crafted and colourful piece that is not unattractive. Szeryng gives a persuasive account of it and is well recorded. Performance and recording deserve a full recommendation. . . There is a good XDR cassette."

(The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs, Cassettes and LPs 1986)

"Ponce is well known for his guitar music; he was the leading Mexican composer of his day. The Violin concerto, like that of Rodolfo Halffter, with which it is coupled, was composed in 1942, six years before his death, and first performed by Szeryng with Carlos Chavez conducting. It has a dazzlingly brilliant solo part and its invention is amiable and pleasing. However, unlike Ponce's Variations and fugue on La Folia de Espana, it is not a work of great substance. The distinguished soloist makes out a strong case for it and the performers are well served by the HMV engineers, un both LP and cassette."

(The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs, Cassettes and LPs 1986)

"Szeryng plays both works with masterful style and is ably supported by Batiz and the London musicians. . . All in all, this is a superior disc that enhances the repertoire."

(J.B.; Fanfare; November/December 1986)

 

". . .With Batiz, he [Szeryng] makes of this potentially disparate work a piece that is well-balanced and thought-provoking."

(Doug Hammond; CD Monitor; Hi-Fi News and Record Review, September 1986. London)

 

"Ponce's concerto, dedicated to Szeryng. . . with an outstandingly virtuosic solo partóin which, needless to say, Szeryng shines. . . it should be emphasized that this is an essentially 'serious' work. . . This record is greatly to be welcomed for opening our ears and minds to works whose quality -indeed, whose very existence - has gone largely unsuspected."

(L.S.; Record Reviews; Gramophone; August, 1986)

©Ponce Concertos - Piano and Orchestra-1; Violin and Orchestra1. Concierto del sur. Henryk Szeryne (vn), Alfonso Moreno (gtr); Jorge Federico Osorio (pf); Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra / Enrique Batiz.
ASV © CD CDDCA952 (78 minutes: ODD). Item marked - from CDDCA916 (1/96) "HMV EL270151-1
Concierto del sur - selected comparison: Williams, LSO, Previn (10/72") (SONY) M2K44791

Manuel Ponce (who died nearly half a century ago, in his mid-sixties) has been called the "father of Mexican musical nationalism"; but in his Piano Concerto (his first sizeable work) there is little, it any, trace of local colour. This is a showy, conventional late-romantic work of the barnstorming variety, and despite a great deal of bravura piano writing - Ponce himself was the soloist in its first performance in 1912 - its sound and fury do not amount to much musically. Osorio (who made an agreeable record of Ponce's solo piano music for ASV, 5/95) is suitably exhibitionist: the orchestral sound is a bit shrill.

By 1941, the year of the Concierto del sur, Ponce's style had changed and matured, he having meanwhile studied in Paris with Dukas; and this is one of the best guitar concertos in the repertory (though far outdone in popularity by a much inferior work by a composer 20 years his junior); its Mexican character is evident in the festive finale. Moreno's performance is strong in urgency and intensity though, remembering John Williams's classic recording, it could have had a greater sense of poetry in the Andante.

Ponce's only other concerto, that for violin two years laid', is his best-known thanks to the championship of Szeryng, its dedicatee, and through the inclusion in its melancholy second movement of references to his famous song Estrellita (whose rights he had unwittingly surrendered to an astute publisher). Szeryng plays the virtuoso solo part -which includes a lengthy cadenza, as does the guitar concerto - brilliantly, but in the acoustic of the Mexican hall used for this mid-1980s recording the tuttis are somewhat thick and rowdy.

LS, Gramophone, August 1996