Both these violin concertos have been long-neglected for the same reason: their composers were much better-known for their achievements in musical theatre rather than for their works for the concert hall. Robert Russell Bennett studied composition in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, and his output includes seven symphonies. He also orchestrated some of the highest-profile musicals in Broadway history, including works by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Rodgers and Hammerstein. (Richard Rodgers modestly claimed that Bennett’s skills in instrumentation had made his music ‘sound better than it was’.) Vladimir Alexandrovich Dukelsky changed his name to Vernon Duke at the suggestion of his friend Jacob Gershovitz – better known as George Gershwin. Duke received a rigorous training in classical music at the Kyiv Conservatory, was friends with Prokofiev, and composed ballet scores for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets russes, in Paris, as well as three symphonies. He remains better known as the creator of hit shows, such as Cabin in the Sky, and as the composer of numerous songs that became jazz standards, including April in Paris. Chloë Hanslip, Andrew Litton, and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra play both concertos with aplomb, and Andrew Litton also performs as pianist in Bennett’s Hexapoda, for violin and piano.
ROBERT RUSSELL BENNETT
Concerto (1941) 23:52
1. I Allegro moderato – Andante (slow and dramatic) – Tempo I (Allegro moderato) – Sempre animato – (listesso tempo) - Cadenza – Con brio 11:22
2. II Andante moderato – Moderato (meno lento) – Broad and dramatic – Allegretto moderato – Tranquillo, quasi lento – Allegretto – Tempo I 6:32
3. III Vivace – 1:27
4. IV Allegro non troppo vivo – Un poco meno vigoroso – Tempo I – Presto 4:24
Hexapoda (1940) 7:38
5. I Gut-Bucket Gus. Very slow and sustained in rhythm 1:52
6. 2 Jane Shakes Her Hair. Animato 1:05
7. 3Betty and Harold Close Their Eyes. Lazily1 :43
8. 4 Jim Jives. Fast and very strict 0:57
9. 5 --- Till Dawn Sunday. Vivo caldo 1:54
VERNON DUKE
Concerto (c. 1941 –43) 28:55
10. IAllegro molto – [ ] – A tempo – Subito meno mosso – Tempo I – Cadenza – Allegro giusto – Moderato assai – Adagietto – Pochissimo più (risoluto) 10:20
11. IITempo di Valse (moderato) – Più mosso – A tempo – Più mosso – A tempo – Pochissimo meno – Rubato sempre – Tempo I 4:51
Tema con Variazioni e Coda
12. [Tema. ] Risolutissimo – 1:06
13. Variazione I. Non troppo moderato – 1:46
14. Variazione II. Poco lamentoso – Pochissimo accelerando – Tempo I – 2:40
15. Variazione III. Giocoso (Allegretto non troppo) – Misterioso – 2:11
16. Variazione IV. Sostenuto e pesante – 1:14
17. Variazione V. Andantino – Poco più – Tempo I – Poco più mosso – 2:03
18. Variazione VI e Coda. Ben ritmato (Moderato) – Rubato sempre – Allegretto – Pochissimo meno – Allegro non troppo – Coda (L’istesso tempo) – [ ] – A tempo (giocoso) – Subito piu mosso 2:37
