José Serebrier has sporadically composed when his responsibilities as a conductor have permitted it. This album is a brief survey, covering
Serebrier's bouts of creativity from the early Elegy for strings (1952) to the Symphony No. 3 (2003).
Serebrier's strengths are found in his short pieces, where his spontaneity and sense of instrumental color are allowed free play, without formal constraints. The Passacaglia and Perpetuum Mobile, Dorothy and Carmine!, and George and Muriel are imaginative miniatures, unique to the occasions for which they were commissioned. More introspective and personal, the Variations on a Theme From Childhood, the Elegy, and the Momento Psicológico reveal
Serebrier's serious side without pretense, and the directness of these essays recommends them. Less original and profound is the featured Symphony No. 3. While this brooding work may be regarded as a kind of partita, it is a symphony in name only. Still more problematic is the work's derivative nature, since its devices and sounds -- particularly, the mournful soprano part in the finale -- have been exploited by other composers more effectively and with greater emotional impact. The
Toulouse Chamber Orchestra, conducted by the composer, responds with energy to this work's technical demands, though its fine playing is insufficient to make it convincing.