With nine operas, seven symphonies, six ballets, four piano concertos plus concertos for organ, violin, saxophone, and two pianos plus enormous quantities of vocal, chamber, organ, and church music to his credit, it can rightly be said of Australian composer Malcolm Williamson that "works seemed to pour from him." Of course, the question is: with an output that vast, how good can it be? As provided by this 2007 Chandos disc of Williamson's orchestral works performed by the
Iceland Symphony Orchestra led by
Rumon Gamba, the answer is good -- but not good enough to stick in the memory. A post-modernist influenced by
Messiaen and
Boulez but unwilling to surrender either his devotional origins or his populist inclinations, Williamson's vast output is represented here by his early, three-movement Elevamini (Symphony No. 1), his later two-movement Epitaphs for Edith Sitwell for string orchestra, his later yet five-movements-in-one Symphony No. 5 "Aquero," and his quite late, one-movement Lento for string orchestra. In the Iceland's competent and committed but by no means compelling performances, Elevamini comes across as earnest but empty, the Epitaphs as sincere but showy, the Symphony No. 5 as well crafted but hollow, and the Lento as pretty but shallow. Aficionados of art music from the antipodes may wish to check out Williamson; others may wish to pass. Chandos' sound on location in Iceland is very bright, very colorful, and very vivid, but perhaps a bit too close for comfort.