In the mid-1980s there was some commotion in Dutch musical life. A reviewer accused the Dutch composer Hans Cox of making a good living from the Holocaust. He was referring to the, in his view, large number of works that Cox had commissioned for various commemorations of the persecution of the Jews. Justified or not, the comment could be made for quite a few contemporary composers, of which the
… American composer Benjamin Lees (* 1928) could undoubtedly be one of them. His Symphony No. 4, subtitled 'Memorial candles', recorded here, was written in 1985 as a' homage to the victims of the Holocaust ', as are more of Lees' works. It is not a matter of setting the undoubtedly good intentions of Lees entirely aside, but in tackling this theme, which is happening more and more often at the moment, he nevertheless raises some suspicion, as it were, of wanting to piggyback on the strong emotions of the historical events. That in itself may be defensible, but when one listens to Lees' music and hears nothing more than a stylistic receptacle, to which Barber, Copland and Shostakovich, among others, have contributed, one cannot escape the impression that especially the theme of compassion ( of the audience), because the music clearly cannot do it alone. For this work, Lees used poetry by the American poet Nelly Sachs, sung here by mezzo-soprano Kimball Wheeler. She is accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine conducted by Theodore Kuchar. (JvG) what is happening more and more often at the moment, he nevertheless somewhat suspects himself, as it were, of wanting to hitch a ride on the strong emotions of historical events. That in itself may be defensible, but when one listens to Lees' music and hears nothing more than a stylistic receptacle, to which Barber, Copland and Shostakovich, among others, have contributed, one cannot escape the impression that especially the theme of compassion ( of the audience), because the music clearly cannot do it alone. For this work, Lees used poetry by the American poet Nelly Sachs, sung here by mezzo-soprano Kimball Wheeler. She is accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine conducted by Theodore Kuchar. (JvG) what is happening more and more often at the moment, he nevertheless somewhat suspects himself, as it were, of wanting to hitch a ride on the strong emotions of historical events. That in itself may be defensible, but when one listens to Lees' music and hears nothing more than a stylistic receptacle, to which Barber, Copland and Shostakovich, among others, have contributed, one cannot escape the impression that especially the theme of compassion ( of the audience), because the music clearly cannot do it alone. For this work, Lees used poetry by the American poet Nelly Sachs, sung here by mezzo-soprano Kimball Wheeler. She is accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine conducted by Theodore Kuchar. (JvG) he nevertheless somewhat suspects himself, as it were, of wanting to hitch a ride on the strong emotions of historical events. That in itself may be defensible, but when one listens to Lees' music and hears nothing more than a stylistic receptacle, to which Barber, Copland and Shostakovich, among others, have contributed, one cannot escape the impression that especially the theme of compassion ( of the audience), because the music clearly cannot do it alone. For this work, Lees used poetry by the American poet Nelly Sachs, sung here by mezzo-soprano Kimball Wheeler. She is accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine conducted by Theodore Kuchar. (JvG) he nevertheless somewhat suspects himself, as it were, of wanting to hitch a ride on the strong emotions of historical events. That in itself may be defensible, but when one listens to Lees' music and hears nothing more than a stylistic receptacle, to which Barber, Copland and Shostakovich, among others, have contributed, one cannot escape the impression that especially the theme of compassion ( of the audience), because the music clearly cannot do it alone. For this work, Lees used poetry by the American poet Nelly Sachs, sung here by mezzo-soprano Kimball Wheeler. She is accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine conducted by Theodore Kuchar. (JvG) wanting, as it were, to piggyback on the strong emotions of historical events. That in itself may be defensible, but when one listens to Lees' music and hears nothing more than a stylistic receptacle, to which Barber, Copland and Shostakovich, among others, have contributed, one cannot escape the impression that especially the theme of compassion ( of the audience), because the music clearly cannot do it alone. For this work, Lees used poetry by the American poet Nelly Sachs, sung here by mezzo-soprano Kimball Wheeler. She is accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine conducted by Theodore Kuchar. (JvG) wanting, as it were, to piggyback on the strong emotions of historical events. That in itself may be defensible, but when one listens to Lees' music and hears nothing more than a stylistic receptacle, to which Barber, Copland and Shostakovich, among others, have contributed, one cannot escape the impression that especially the theme of compassion ( of the audience), because the music clearly cannot do it alone. For this work, Lees used poetry by the American poet Nelly Sachs, sung here by mezzo-soprano Kimball Wheeler. She is accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine conducted by Theodore Kuchar. (JvG) listen to music and hear nothing more than a stylistic receptacle, to which Barber, Copland and Shostakovich, among others, have contributed, one cannot escape the impression that it is especially the theme that must ensure the compassion (of the audience), because there the music that clearly cannot finish alone. For this work, Lees used poetry by the American poet Nelly Sachs, sung here by mezzo-soprano Kimball Wheeler. She is accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine conducted by Theodore Kuchar. (JvG) listen to music and hear nothing more than a stylistic receptacle, to which Barber, Copland and Shostakovich, among others, have contributed, one cannot escape the impression that it is especially the theme that must ensure the compassion (of the audience), because there the music that clearly cannot finish alone. For this work, Lees used poetry by the American poet Nelly Sachs, sung here by mezzo-soprano Kimball Wheeler. She is accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine conducted by Theodore Kuchar. (JvG) because there the music clearly cannot do it alone. For this work, Lees used poetry by the American poet Nelly Sachs, sung here by mezzo-soprano Kimball Wheeler. She is accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine conducted by Theodore Kuchar. (JvG) because there the music clearly cannot do it alone. For this work, Lees used poetry by the American poet Nelly Sachs, sung here by mezzo-soprano Kimball Wheeler. She is accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine conducted by Theodore Kuchar. (JvG)more
