Julian Anderson: Alhambra Fantasy
CBSO Centre, Birmingham, 31 May 2003
BCMG/Sakari Oramo
‘Alhambra Fantasy (2000) evokes the Andalusian palace both in terms of its physical presence and cultural significance. The former comes through in the percussive, toccata-like motion with which the work reaches its central climax; the latter in the lyrical strength and gradual accumulation of power which sustains the music through to its close. The result is a two-part fantasia of strong contrasts and cohesiveness – evocative in its associations yet satisfying in its abstraction.’
The Classical Source (Richard Whitehouse), June 2003