This Vancouver ensemble’s debut recording provides a brilliant solution to the problem that Debussy’s seminal Sonata for flute, viola and harp posed to the world since its 1915 debut: where can we get more of this? The instrumentation is like an accidental miracle, insofar as the viola’s range and colour suits being paired with flute like a sibling. And the harp’s limited dynamic range is muted in comparison to the piano, so the harpist can play out aggressively without drowning out the other players.
 
Trio Verlaine’s answer is to rescore works by Debussy and Ravel for the same ensemble. Part of this recording’s success is of course the ensemble being just that, an actual ensemble, so the performances by Lorna McGhee, David Harding, and Heidi Knutzen are assured and enthralling. Also, the recording quality demands that sound engineer Don Harder be congratulated.
 
Some of the work of creating more repertoire had already been done. For example, Ravel’s 1905 Sonatine, which was originally a solo piano piece, had been later scored for flute, cello, and harp by Carlos Salzedo. Scott Nickrenz then reset it with viola replacing cello. But the most evocative arrangements here, like Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin, were especially arranged for Trio Verlaine by Vancouver composer Jocelyn Morlock, whose approach is edgier and more crystalline than some of the cosier, more lush-sounding renditions. The eight scores performed on this disc clock in at just under 75 minutes and nothing of its content becomes repetitive, ragged or gimmicky. It’s one of a kind.
 
John Keillor

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Mahler; Schnittke; Brahms - Piano Quartets Avery Ensemble Zephyr 001-B (www.averyensemble.org )

 
The first thing that strikes you about this interesting CD is the brevity of two of the works, the Mahler and Schnittke combined coming in at under 18 minutes.
 
There is, however, a strong link between the two. The Mahler, written when the composer was only 16, is the only completed movement from a planned quartet; a 24-bar Scherzo fragment is the only other extant music. Schnittke took the melody from this Scherzo for his own single-movement quartet, written in 1988; the Mahler fragment is played unedited at the end of the Schnittke work.
 
The Mahler is a dark, brooding and somewhat Brahmsian piece that shows the young composer’s ability but not his later individuality. The Schnittke, however, is an intense and demanding work, and not an easy one to listen to despite its brevity; it takes longer to read - let alone understand - cellist Hans Twitchell’s extremely technical booklet note than it does to listen to the complete work.
 
The Brahms Piano Quartet No.1 in G minor, Op.25 receives a workmanlike if somewhat pedestrian performance.
 
I’m not sure if the somewhat muddy sound is due to the scoring, the recording balance, or the performance, but the piano frequently seems heavy, and the middle strings are often difficult to distinguish. Certainly the Avery Ensemble seems to be in full control technically, but I really don’t hear what the booklet bio calls their “remarkable chemistry” and “unrivalled virtuosity”.
 
Canadian violist Steven Larson, incidentally, is also a member of the Adaskin String Trio whose 2-CD recording of the complete Beethoven String Trios on musica omnia (mo0106) is well worth checking out.
www.musicaomnia.org.
 
Terry Robbins

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Mahler - Symphony No.9 Berliner Philharmoniker; Simon Rattle EMI 5 01228 2

 
Simon Rattle has always been keen to attend to the details of the orchestral fabric while taking a more impetuous approach to the architectural whole. This live Berlin performance from 2007 reveals a more organic approach, perhaps emerging from the evolving courtship between the conductor and this history-laden ensemble. There is still a great deal of fussiness but much less impulsiveness. Whether this is appropriate for Mahler depends on your conception of this valedictory work. For those who buy the myth of the composer as sickly invalid at the end of his rope (as his hinky widow would have us believe) histrionics would seem an essential component. Rattle rather surprisingly keeps his cool and looks to the larger structure of the work. This approach is at its least convincing in the turbulent Rondo-Burleske movement in which the mood swings of the slower central section are glossed over and the biting sarcasm only hits home towards the end. The deliberately paced first movement also betrays moments of less than shattering impact, notably the underplaying of the trombone’s death-motive at the climax of the development. In the finale however the Berlin strings win the day with their passionate tone in a performance filled not with the customary despair but with a spiritual transcendence. Abbado and Karajan have both left us historic recordings with this same orchestra with similarly Apollonian approaches which top this performance, so it’s at best a bronze star for Rattle.
 
In a sign of the times, the performance was pre-released as an mp3 download before being released as a 2 CD set for the price of a single. The package includes a computer application enticing you to join the EMI club, write your own review, and win prizes! I should be so lucky.
 
Daniel Foley

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Portraits: Elgar - Enigma Variations; Mussorgsky/Ravel - Pictures at an Exhibition Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Peter Oundjian TSO Live (www.tso.ca )

Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition; Borodin - Symphony No. 2; Polovtsian Dances Berliner Philharmoniker; Simon Rattle EMI 5 17582 2

 
Regular TSO concert goers may remember hearing Elgar’s Enigma Variations and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition earlier this season. Caught up the thrill of the occasion one may suspend the critical factor and respond enthusiastically to the event but not have the luxury of critiquing the actual performance in their Monday morning chair. The TSO themselves, not the CBC, recorded these two events which are available for download on their site, TSO.ca, under “TSO Live – Portraits”. The “hard copy” to which I am listening is probably not intended for general distribution as it has neither a catalogue number nor a bar code. The Elgar comes off very well indeed. The performance is vitally fleet-footed and recorded in appropriately exuberant and dynamic sound with accurate perspectives. The Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures, however, is not quite so successful. Oundjian does not have anything fascinating to say about any of the episodes which tend to be on the slow side without being reflective leading to a pervasively sombre effect. The sound is appropriately robust with convincing perspectives. The TSO’s earlier recording of Pictures conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste from March 1996 has been re-issued by Warner Music (Apex CD 388432). This brilliant recording is unique, using orchestrations by Leo Funtek and Sergei Gortschakov as selected by Saraste. Great idea, great recording.
 
EMI recorded Pictures with Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic in the Ravel orchestration during live performances given in December of last year and has issued it on CD together with Borodin’s Second Symphony and the Polovtsian Dances, all from the same programme. The difference in engineering philosophy is most revealing. Setting aside the stature of the orchestra and the venue, the Philharmonie, the EMI sound is brilliant, sinewy and expansive revealing both the trees and the forest. The performance under Rattle must be highly recommended for his suave and poetic shaping of each picture captures even the jaded listener’s attention through to the very last bar. The Old Castle’s aura of past grandeur is unmistakeable; The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks is impertinently chatty. The imaginary Great Gate of Kiev demonstrates Rattle’s expertise as he makes this familiar episode sound newly minted. The Borodin Second Symphony, another familiar piece, is treated to a vigorous performance of great power while remaining quite translucent. The Polovtsian Dances, sans choir, is another tour de force and a natural crowd-pleaser. This surely was an evening to be remembered for those present in the Philharmonie. For us, this disc contains performances and recordings that, individually or collectively, sweep the field.
 
Bruce Surtees