Joeseph James
"Wanderer Fantasy" after Schubert
"Fantasie" after Schumann
English Chamber Orchestra
Orlando Jopling, Conductor
Members of the Schubert Ensemble
"A magnificent work, extremely convincing, which allows the two greatest piano fantasies of the 19th century to be listened to with a different ear"
Abeille Musique
Abeille Musique, November 2007
We know the orchestral version of Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy arranged by Liszt, originally for solo piano and transcribed for piano and full orchestra. But who has ever heard about a "Concerto Grosso" version for string quartet and string orchestra conducted by Joseph James? First who is Joseph James? Simple, he has twenty fingers, four biceps and two heads and his name, really s Stanley Joseph Seeger AND Francis James Brown. Almost a double-headed composer.
The two musicians met in the 1950's while studying under Dallapiccola; they are well-known for their film scores (such as "Priest of Love") and their adaptations of the past composers' works.
The present rewriting, which Schubert and Schumann would have definitely supported, respects the original score most scrupulously, including the pianistic moments which, with a little magic, easily become strong violinist movements. A magnificent work, extremely convincing, which allows the two greatest piano fantasies of the 19th century to be listened to with a different ear.
