THOMAS DE HARTMANN (1885-1956): Orchestral Music - Koliadky: Noëls Ukrainiens, Op. 60, Concierto Andaluz for Flute, Strings and Percussion, Op. 81, Un fête en Ukraine - Suite for Large Orchestra, Op. 62, Symphonie-Poème No. 4, Op. 90.

Description: Born in Ukraine, a student of both Arensky and Taneyev, Hartmann achieved fame as a composer in Russia in the early 1900s, and his concert music was later played by some of the major musicians of the day, primarily in Paris. Since his death, he has been remembered mainly for his association with the Caucasian mystic, G. I. Gurdjieff, whom he met in 1916, and his output for the concert hall has fallen into obscurity. The four works receiving their first recordings here reveal a major late-Romantic voice, downstream from Tchaikovsky, contemporary with Rachmaninov, and alert to the discoveries of Stravinsky and Prokofiev. (Note: the Symphonie-Poème is a miniature of a bit over five minutes in length.). Bülent Evcil (flute), Lviv National Orchestra of Ukraine; Theodore Kuchar.