Robert Russell Bennett’s 1941 Violin Concerto is in A-major and ‘In the Popular Style’. It sure is: instantly attractive in tunefulness and vibrancy, and never predictable. The first movement includes an impressive cadenza, the slow movement is quite lovely – heartfelt – and the buzzing two-section Finale, bringing Hanna & Barbera’s cartoon series Tom and Jerry to mind, is pure showtime. The early-1940s Violin Concerto by Vernon Duke [Vladimir Alexandrovich Dukelsky] is less successful, with unengaging material in the opener with a placed-too-early meandering cadenza. The next movement, a waltz (apparently), refuses to charm, and the lengthy Finale, a Theme and Variations, continues the awfulness despite the obviously excellent performance (so too for the Bennett) captured in bright and immediate sound. There’s more Bennett to enjoy, Hexapoda (1940), ‘Five Studies in Jitteroptera’, varied vignettes for which Andrew Litton jumps with distinction to a piano to partner the committed-throughout Chloë Hanslip. Do try the listening tracks (link below) and if you are more-positive about the Duke, great; if not, then the eight RRB tracks can be downloaded. Otherwise, it’s Chandos CHSA 5371 [SACD].
https://www.chandos.net/products/reviews/CHSA%205371
R. R. Bennett’s masterly Porgy and Bess Symphonic Picture…