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Scottish Ensemble - Debussy & Takemitsu - Classic FM

As is the case actually on this next album, which runs for only 55 minutes. The reason for getting it though is the opportunity it gives to appreciate some rarely heard music. The main piece here is Jonathan Morton's arrangement for strings of Debussy's String Quartet. Morton is the Artistic Director and leader of the Scottish Ensemble, and they give a good account of themselves here. I'm not sure though that I don't prefer the original by quite a wide margin. But the fillers include three pieces by Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996), an eclectic Japanese composer, who could write very difficult music, but also some accessible stuff, including guitar arrangements of Beatles tunes. For those who want something a bit more challenging than the norm, this is worth hearing - perhaps at least download the Takemitsu pieces.

Classic FM
01 July 2016