William Vincent Wallace (1812-1865): Grande Fantaisie La Cracovienne

[terry martyn]

Back in the 70s, there was a spate of Gottschalk orchestrations on LP. Over the top, and none the worse for that. I was reminded of these when I recently purchased a CD, entitled Chopinesque, issued by Naxos (available at Presto and jpc), of seventeen works by the composer of the glorious overture Maritana. Sixteen of these are piano minatures that Wallace used to play on tour, especially in the States. They have more than a whiff of gaslight Victoriana about them, and Rosemary Tuck plays them with joie de vivre. In one of them,she duets with Richard Bonynge.

The standout piece on this CD, and one that I have returned to again and again, is the 14-minute Grande Fantaisie La Cracovienne for piano and orchestra. The orchestral parts are lost, so Jeremy Silver has come to the rescue with his sympathetic orchestration, which the octogenarian Bonynge conducts. To quote Lord Charteris (referring to Sarah,Duchess of York), this piece is "vulgar,vulgar,vulgar". and utterly delightful from start to finish. It is almost as if Wallace envisaged a composition by Chopin expressly for the Hackney Empire.

[Febct]

Thanks for the tip.  The excerpts sound delightful, indeed.

Just ordered via Amazon USA.