It’s hard to know just why these pieces are neglected. Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in C minor, Op.66, is every bit as charming as its better-known predecessor in D minor and, like all of this composer’s works it seems, it contains a playful and energetic Scherzo reminiscent of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Edouard Lalo was one of the most celebrated French composers of the second half of the 19th century, yet virtually all we hear today is the Symphonie Espagnole and the opera Le Roi d’Ys. He was an outstanding violinist and avid chamber musician. The Trio in A minor, Op.26, composed in 1879, is almost symphonic in scope and provides a virtuosic workout for all of the players. The Gryphon Trio show themselves to be well up for the task, once again affirming their status as one of Canada’s premiere ensembles. Now if only they’d record a few of the works they’ve commissioned by some of Canada’s leading composers…

David Olds

Concert note: A more adventurous side of the Gryphon Trio can be heard in a Soundstreams Canada/Music Toronto co-presentation at Glenn Gould Studio featuring music by Canadian Omar Daniel and Australian Elena Kats-Chernin on May 7.

Once Upon a Time/Il était une fois...  Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà Analekta AN 2 8719

Angèle Dubeau is something of a media darling in Québec, as the popular host of a pair of long-running television programmes. A Member of the Order of Canada since 1996, she was also honoured with the Société Saint-Jean Baptiste Calixa-Lavallée prize. Analekta's catalogue lists no less than 20 discs from this accomplished artist, including four fabulously successful recordings with La Pietà, an elite consort of women string players she founded in 1997. This recent addition to the catalogue is compiled from the previous four discs. There is a companion volume (Analekta ANDVD 9 8720) that has the distinction of being the first classical DVD ever produced in Quebec.

La Pietà performs with a hard-driven, vibrant tone and considerable rhythmic élan. They transcend the normal performance routine by offering up sonic spectacles. This approach is not entirely appropriate for all genres and their performance of Vivaldi's variations on La Folìa has something of a mechanical quality to it. They seem most comfortable with music as theatre, favouring works which have some extra-musical association to them. Sentimental selections from movie scores by John Williams, Stanley Meyers and Ennio Morricone are but one example of this tendency. From the concert hall, boiled down arrangements of Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances and Bartók's Romanian Folk Dances are both given bumptious readings. Theatricality comes to the fore in the selections by Saint-Saëns and Dompierre from their best-selling disc Infernal Violins, tracks which are turned into visual spectacles on the DVD. 

Daniel Foley

Mahler: Symphony no.2; Totenfeier Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Ricardo Chailly Melanie Diener; Petra Lang; Prague Philharmonic Choir DECCA 470283-2 (2 CDs for the price of one)

Decca issued all but two of Mahler’s completed symphonies recorded by Toronto’s favourite visiting orchestra with their departing conductor. The Second Symphony is no stranger to local audiences as Andrew Davis opened Roy Thompson Hall with it and we have heard it here several times since then.

Chailly’s Mahler is the complete opposite of, or the antidote for, the Leonard Bernstein school of thought about this overwhelming masterpiece. Whereas Bernstein conveys a sense of determination, of apprehension, Chailly’s conception is quite comfortably pastoral. Under Chailly the listener has the impression of the composer himself experiencing nostalgic and unhurried memories of the pleasures of nature. In the fifth movement there begins a call back to the reality of the human condition expanding to the finale’s over-the-top closing pages when all becomes unfettered and heavenly joy reigns.

As is to be expected from Decca, the sound is sonorous and accurate but to be really picayune, the closing pages sound a little congested as if every one of the hundreds on stage was doing his or her best to be heard. In a less worthy performance who would care? 

The tone poem, Totenfeier, is Mahler’s stand-alone early version of the first movement of the Second Symphony. While the orchestration is only slightly different, it is an education to hear what Chailly does with it. A change in approach to virtually the same score produces a determined, dramatic statement with a different arch from a symphonic movement. 

Bruce Surtees
 

Sigame D.D. Jackson  Justin Time - Just 177-2

In his mid-thirties, but already a veteran pianist/composer, D.D. Jackson is back with Justin Time Records, after a brief dalliance with RCA Victor, and, on this showing, it was the right move. All the music on this CD is his own and, to his credit, he manages to sustain a creative vitality throughout. The other musicians contributing their considerable talents to this CD are all young emerging talents making their mark on the contemporary New York scene. Bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Dafnis Prieto make up the basic trio, except for the lone solo piano excursion on Prologue, which is, oddly enough, the last piece on the CD. Making guest appearances throughout the programme are guitarist Freddie Bryant and long time associate, violinist Christian Howes. The Welcoming sets the tone for the album with its rhythmic warmth and catchy theme. D.D.'s compositions are full of interesting twists and turns, sometime angular in their lines, relying heavily on a percussive, rhythmic concept, as in Cubana-Funk, and at other times full of lyricism as in For Desdemona, a haunting ballad written as a tribute to the late writer/photographer Desdemona Bardin. 

Jackson likes to take chances and follow his musical heart. Lots of musicians can play very well, but don't necessarily “make music”- don't speak through their instrument. Mr. Jackson however tells a good story. Congratulations to D.D. for his music and to Justin Time for giving him the freedom to express it. 

Jim Galloway
 

Jean-Marie Leclair: Second Livre de Sonates à deux violons Marc Destrubé & Chantal Rémillard Atma ACD2 2241

Jean-Marie Leclair was perhaps the greatest violin genius of 18th-century France, celebrated for his brilliant playing as well as his compositions which blended the French and Italian styles in a most creative and tasteful fashion. This new CD on Atma presents the six sonatas of his opus 12, his second set of violin duets published in the 1740s. Requiring great musical understanding and technical wizardry, these duets receive a magical performance here by two of Canada's leading baroque violinists, Chantal Rémillard and Marc Destrubé.

The characteristic elegance, richness of sonority and expressive demands of this music are all met with both meticulous attention to detail and enthusiastic delight. The musical mind melding between the performers is quite extraordinary, as is the blend of their sounds. It's not a given that a recording of unaccompanied violin duets would be so entertaining and affecting, but the combination of this composer, these performers and this production team has resulted, in this case, in a recording of great beauty.

Alison Melville

Food, Wine and Song Orlando Consort Harmonia Mundi HMU 907314

If you're looking for great value, this recording certainly delivers.  In addition to vocal music that spans over 350 years, you'll also receive a 120 page guide with lyrics (often bawdy) translated in five languages, historical research and a collection of recipes you will want to try out at your next 'authentic' rogues and wenches party! My copy even came with a rough set of wooden spoons and spatulas to be used however I see fit.

The Orlando Consort's clear voices make their debut on Harmonia Mundi with this beautifully performed, and often complex repertoire. The music ranges from the 13th to 15th centuries with France, England, Italy, Burgundy, Spain, Portugal and Germany represented, on the theme of eating, drinking and making merry. Many pieces on the disc are about popular foods and wines, often cross-referenced to specific recipes in the booklet such as Boiled beef and mutton with spicy bread sauce, Haddock in ale, and Saffron cake. Contributing chefs include Clarissa Dickson Wright of "Two Fat Ladies" fame. Unlike Martha Stewart's "food" discs that appeared some years ago offering pleasant background music to accompany each course, this disc is a truly educational experience, providing concrete social context to music of another age.  In short, history you can sink your teeth into!

Dianne Wells

Wagner - Bryn Terfel Berlin Philharmoniker; Claudio Abbado Deutsche Grammophon 4713482

In this recording, Terfel chooses Wagner's greatest bass-baritone roles - The Flying Dutchman, Hans Sachs from Die Meistersinger, Wolfram from Tannhauser, Parsifal's Amfortas, and the Ring's Wotan.  A significant step for Terfel, who has prudently refused many offers to sing the role of Wotan over the past eight years.  Now, it would appear, he is ready.

I have been enthralled by Bryn Terfel's larger-than-life voice and charm ever since the first time I heard him.  He has the extraordinary ability to make the transition from mighty rage to gentle sensitivity easily and seamlessly.  This is exactly what Wagner, in particular, demands. His opera characters are conflicted souls, requiring a great range of emotional interpretation. The most dramatic example can be heard in the god Wotan's Farewell aria from the third act of Die Walkure, sung for his beloved Valkyrie daughter Brunnhilde, who has damaged his "heart's holiest pride".

Terfel's voice is powerful as a war-god's anger, yet as tender as the most loving father who must face a bittersweet parting. The Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Claudio Abbado manifests pure fire throughout the disc, particularly brilliant in the opening selection: The Flying Dutchman overture. Vivid and exciting, this disc was well worth waiting for.

Dianne Wells

Barber: Violin Concerto; Souvenirs; Serenade for Strings James Buswell Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Marin Alsop Naxos 8.559044

Naxos has released a third recording in their ongoing series dedicated to the orchestral music of Samuel Barber. This time the headliner is Barber’s Violin Concerto; like the three other, lesser-known works on the disc, it makes for a welcome revisit to one of America’s best composers. 

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, under the leadership of young American conductor Marin Alsop, again proves the Old World can effectively conjure up the New. Their silvery leanness suits the modern Romanticism of Barber’s works.

This quality matches the solo violin of James Buswell. He avoids the pitfalls that lurk in Barber’s concerto by balancing overt emotional lyricism with New England reserve. His playing is extremely clean, but never brittle, even in the finale’s furious moto perpetuoso.

The most infectious piece on the disc is Souvenirs, a saucy ballet suite that recalls the Palm Court orchestras of the past. The RSNO winds and brass, in particular, shine in these vignettes. The strings have their moment, too, in Barber’s first opus, a diverting piece of juvenilia entitled Serenade for Strings. 

But it is another early work, Music for a Scene from Shelley, which provides the most potent reminder of Barber’s best qualities. Its classical form, unabashed voluptuousness of tone, and dramatic pulse all foreshadow the creator of Vanessa. Here, as elsewhere on the disc, Alsop adeptly leads the RSNO forces, coaxing forth Barber’s kaleidoscopic colours and building patiently to those inevitable, glorious climaxes.

Brian McMillan
 
 

Restless Urban Primitive Oliver Schroer's Big Dog Music BD0101

Happily, violinist Oliver Schroer's Restless Urban Primitive is low on calculation. Rather, he seems content putting together shards of music (sometimes coupled with various sound bites, like a foot treadle sewing machine recorded while searching for a spice market in Istanbul). Schroer's playing is honest and wacky. From the beautiful solo Hymn of the Wandering Souls (a blend of Turkish and western baroque sounds) to the anthem style Let the Bells Ring Out, the playing makes no attempt to please anyone's tastes other than his own.  That philosophy might have gone just a little too far with the track Door Fragment, but such is the case with experimental style recordings.

I would have preferred less writing in the liner notes. Writing about music is a tricky thing and I found that Schroer’s stories give away too much information - he should leave more to the listener's imagination. The best-shared experiences in music are those that bring about a sense of commonality and connection through the deep mystery of creativity that Schroer speaks about so much in his words.

All that said, congrats to Schroer for daring to put out what he's interested in, and not letting others sculpt or mould his attempts into too much of a package.  If some of the tracks lack depth (like his recording of a squeaky door hinge and the subsequent rosining of the bow that ensues), it is only because sometimes a Door Fragment is just a door fragment.

Mark Fewer
 

WORTH REPEATING
 
 

The Parlour Grand Vol.1 and 2 36 Favourites from a Bygone Era Robert Silverman, piano Marquis Classics ERAD 161, ERAD 201

Among the more peculiar entries in Robert Silverman's catalogue of recordings are these two albums of sentimental reminiscences of a time when the piano ruled the roost of the respectable home. These mostly minuscule selections are performed with affection and a sense of mischievous fun on instruments of the period.

The familiar, warmed-over chestnuts by Liszt (Liebestraum), Mendelssohn (Spinning Song) and Beethoven (Für Elise) are the least of the first volume's campy charms. The 18 tracks of the album include knuckle-busting thrillers like Sinding's Rustle of Spring, emotive excesses such as Gottschalk's lugubrious The Dying Poet and Gautier's dreadful Le Secret, the last of which is just the sort of insipid drivel that made classical music unpopular. (After this final cut the pianist is heard to exclaim, "Ma, can I go outside and play baseball now?")

There is nothing particularly striking about the anonymous 1898 parlour grand used in Vol. 1 (1993), other than the fact that it is in tune. The acoustic is as dry as a drawing room and the microphones are unfortunately placed in such a way as to faithfully render Silverman's vocalising in the quieter passages. Volume 2 (1997) represents a considerable technical improvement, with audiophile engineering by Anton Kwiatkowski of virtuoso performances on a splendidly reconditioned 1913 Érard grand piano. In contrast to the first volume, the repertoire of 18 selections is more akin to the concert hall than the parlour, though still firmly rooted round the turn of the century.
 

Daniel Foley

Concert note: Robert Silverman performs Chopin’s Piano Concert No.2 with Sinfonia Toronto on May 4 at Glenn Gould Studio.

Shostakovich: Symphony no.10; Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D Karel Ancerl, Czech Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic  Wolfgang Schneiderhan, violin DG Originals 463666-2

One of the finest conductors to hold the post with the Toronto Symphony was Karel Ancerl. Born in 1908 in Czechoslovakia, after studies at the Prague Conservatory he became assistant to Hermann Scherchen in Berlin in 1931. From 1934 he was frequently engaged as conductor for the Czech Radio. He died in Toronto in 1973 after a series of illnesses that began in concentration camps during the Second World War. He had taken over the Czech Philharmonic in 1950 but fled the Russian invasion in 1968, settling in Toronto the following year.

A recognized authority on Shostakovich symphonies, Ancerl made this recording of the 10th with his Czech Philharmonic in Munich in 1955. Although it is mono, the sound is brilliant and not at all constricted. 

Stravinsky was another Ancerl specialty and he drives the Berlin Philharmonic at a jaunty pace, which should immediately win over the non-believers in Stravinsky. Wolfgang Schneiderhan, ex concertmaster of The Vienna Philharmonic, was a champion of 20th century music and approaches this concerto like an old friend. The stereo recording, made in 1962, belies its age.

Speaking of Schneiderhan, another DG “Original” remains my very first choice of all the Beethoven violin concerto recordings: Schneiderhan with Eugene Jochum and the Berlin Philharmonic in May 1962 (DG 447 403-2). In addition to a smashing performance, an added bonus is Schneiderhan’s cadenzas, based on Beethoven’s own written for the version for piano and orchestra, op.61a. 

Bruce Surtees

Sibelius: Symphonies 1, 4, 5, 6 and Karelia Suite. Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; Herbert von Karajan EMI 72435 74858-2 (2 CDs for the price of one)

Karajan recorded the First Symphony only once (1981) while the others in this package enjoyed several recordings for both EMI and DG. The EMI recordings, all with his own producer Michel Glotz, are to be preferred. 

There is a chapter in Elizabeth Schwarzkopf’s book, “On and Off the Record,” devoted to von Karajan wherein she quotes from Sibelius’s unsolicited letters to expressing his total admiration for the recordings of his symphonies conducted by Karajan.

It is the fashion in some circles to damn Karajan’s recordings of anything and everything with uninformed, negative criticism or mercifully spare us their verbiage by ignoring them altogether. Certainly, some of his recordings are of unfashionable performances but others are superlative. These recordings belong in the latter group.

This First Symphony must be the most thrilling on record. It just teems with energy. Under Karajan this is an heroic statement. Sibelius saying “Here I am!” The players are consistently alert with unbridled energy. Not for one second does anything sound tentative… triumphant brass and muscular percussion make the work sound patriotic. As they used to say in a previous generation, “This will thrill the pants off you!”

The new transfers of the works on these CDs, all from analogue tapes, are state of the art using EMI’s Abbey Road Technology. ART for short. 

Bottom Line: Sibelius was right. These performances are the best around. And they sound like it!

Bruce Surtees
 

DISCS OF THE MONTH
 
 

Handel: Gloria Emma Kirkby, soprano Royal Academy of Music Baroque Orchestra Laurence Cummings, organ and conductor with Handel: Dixit Dominus Hillevi Martinpelto, soprano, Anne Sofie von Otter, alto Stockholm Bach Choir, Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble Anders Öhrwall, conductor BIS CD-1235

Handel: Gloria, Dixit Dominus; Vivaldi: Gloria RV 589  Gillian Keith, soprano; The Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists  John Eliot Gardiner, conductor Philips 462 597-2

Handel: Gloria; works by Handel, Bach, Vivaldi Suzie LeBlanc, soprano Académie Baroque de Montréal Alexander Weimann, harpsichord and director ATMA ACD2 2215

The Gloria for solo soprano, strings and continuo featured on these three discs was rediscovered in the library of the Royal Academy of Music in London two years ago, bound up in a collection of Handel opera arias.  After much research, controversy, and media hype, it has been “definitely” (according to the editor of the score published by Bärenreiter) attributed to Handel.

It certainly sounds like Handel, with gorgeous melodies, dazzling passagework, rich textures and thrilling contrasts in mood. Less typically, for Handel, it is concise, the six movements lasting just under sixteen minutes. It is a splendid showpiece, demanding refined dramatic powers, as well as fluent coloratura technique. All three recordings are wonderful.

Pre-eminent British soprano Emma Kirkby is unmatched for vividness and substance. Although she takes the final movement of the Gloria, “Quoniam tu solus,” unbelievably fast, her profound interpretation of the text is sublime. Her breathtaking virtuosity is matched by the Royal Academy of Music Baroque Orchestra under Cummings. Handel’s masterful Dixit Dominus is a well-chosen companion-piece from the same period, but this fine performance from 1988 is buried in over-resonant church acoustics and a less than immediate recording quality. 

Canadian soprano Gillian Keith, the delightful Papagena in Opera Atelier’s wonderful production of Mozart’s Magic Flute in Toronto last fall, is nuanced and radiant. Her voice shimmers beguilingly in the dialogue with the solo violin in the Laudamus te. Gardiner gets highly articulated ensemble playing from his large forces. This disc also includes very fine performances of Dixit Dominus and Vivaldi’s magnificent Gloria RV 589, both with the outstanding Monteverdi Choir. 

Canadian soprano Suzie LeBlanc, who frequently performs with Tafelmusik and The Toronto Consort, has a distinctively natural and richly coloured voice, which achieves moving poignancy in the chromatic word painting of the Qui tollis. She shapes each phrase exquisitely. The small, superb Académie Baroque de Montréal, lead by harpsichordist Alexander Weimann, offers vibrant and stylish support. This disc highlights the Gloria with an engaging program of arias and instrumental movements by Handel, Bach and Vivaldi.

In the Handel Gloria, Kirkby’s passionate conviction sets the standard. But Leblanc and Keith are both so expressive and agile that choice comes down to programming. The glimpses of the original score in the Keith and Kirkby booklets are nice touches, and suggest other gems that might lie hidden in libraries across Europe waiting to be rediscovered.

Pamela Margles

Concert Notes: Meredith Hall gives the Canadian premiere of Handel’s Gloria at 8:00 pm on Saturday May 11 at Christ Church Deer Park with the Toronto Chamber Choir lead by David Fallis. Suzie LeBlanc sings Handel’s Gloria and joins countertenor Daniel Taylor, tenor Benjamin Butterfield and bass-baritone Daniel Lichti for Handel’s Dixit Dominus at the Elora Festival on July 12 at 8.00. Emma Kirkby sings Handel’s Gloria with Tafelmusik next season, April 9 – 13, 2003 at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre. Tafelmusik also presents A Handel Celebration featuring arias and choruses with Charles Daniels and the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir May 22-26 at Trinity-St. Paul’s and May 28 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts.

Catalogues and review copies of CDs should be sent to:
The WholeNote, 60 Bellevue Avenue, Toronto ON M5T 2N4

For more information contact David Olds at dolds@interlog.com or call 416.535.7740.