However, it is all presented in sumptuous orchestral dress, with no detail omitted that might enhance the opulence of effect. Mind you, this description is not intended to be critical or negative, unless Holdridge has more exalted pretensions. But because of its two-dimensional construction, the music can be entirely grasped in a single hearing or two. The most elaborate and ambitious work is the full-length Violin Concerto No. 2, written in 1978 for Glenn Dicterow, who performs it splendidly on this recording. The first movement, which has a terrifically compelling opening, contains the disc's only moments of emotional drama.
Interest falls off a bit during the second and third movements.
But on the whole, I can safely say that listeners who appreciate the Korngold concerto are likely to enjoy this one just as much. Also worthy of comment is the fifteen-minute symphonic suite from Holdridge's 1974 religious opera, Lazarus and his Beloved. The reservations noted above apply, but many will find this delicious fun anyway. The rest of the music is in the same vein, though a little less ambitious. The arrangement of the Albinoni Adagio is deliberately Stokowskian.