Yo soy Maria
Marie-Josée Lord
ATMA ACD2 2663

Yo soy Maria is the follow-up album to the JUNO-nominated, stunning debut, self-titled Marie-Josée Lord. As such, it may display just a touch of the sophomore slump. Lord is a popular artist. She makes that very clear at every appearance, including the recent, standing room only and filled with standing ovations, Toronto debut at Koerner Hall. She rejects the label of opera diva in her pre-concert intro and later interjections from the stage. Whatever her protestations (which the audience clearly loved), SHE IS A DIVA. That is mostly by virtue of her incredible voice, the sharp-as-a-blade, soft-as-velvet dramatic soprano that absolutely amazes not just with its power and range, but most of all, the precise control so apparent in the quiet moments. If you were to combine the voices of Jessye Norman and Renée Fleming, with a dash of Maureen Forrester, you just might create something akin to Lord’s apparatus, but it is very much an original voice, not imitating or emulating anyone else.

Lord embraces music of all provenance, from operatic arias to popular songs and renders it all her own. On her new album, the eyebrow-raising chestnuts such as Besame mucho sound interesting all of a sudden. Kyrie from Misa Criolla is a tour de force, but the Aria from Bachianas Brasileiras No.5 does not reach the sublime heights achieved by Bidu Sayao or Arleen Auger. Overall, I still get the impression that Lord is most comfortable in French, her native tongue. Despite that, in concert she was a credible Violetta and incredibly moving Rusalka. Something tells me a third album is afoot. It will, of course, be a bestseller, just like the other two. She is, after all, a popular artist with a fantastic voice.

The Guerra Manuscript Volume 2: 17th Century Secular Spanish Vocal Music
Juan Sancho; Ars Atlántica; Manuel Vilas
Naxos 8.572876

The University of Santiago de Compostella’s libraries are an indispensible source of information regarding Spanish music. Many tonos humanos (secular songs) were copied by José Miguel Guerra; his name is given to the Guerra manuscript. It is Ars Atlántica’s aim to record all 100 of these tonos humanos.

 In this recording the instruments accompanying tenor Juan Sancho comprise a two-course Spanish harp based on a 1704 original – a highly contemporary touch – and a four- and five-course pair of guitars based on originals even older than the manuscript!

 From the start Juan Sancho’s clear Spanish tenor voice brings the songs to life. Juan Hidalgo’s Ay de mi dolor, despite its sorrowful title, places varied demands on Sancho’s vocal range. This is comforted by what immediately follows, Dichoso yo que adoro, in turn benefiting from the guitar accompaniment. It was rare for instruments to be specified but harp and guitar are known to have been used frequently. As an example, Hidalgo exploited the range of both tenor and baroque harp in his La noche tenebrosa.

 Many of the songs on this particular recording are of anonymous composition. Frescos airecillos with its beautiful guitar embellishments is one such example; what a shame that we do not know who composed this beautiful and expressive piece.

 Among the composers who can be identified (sometimes by similar songs appearing in other manuscripts where they are attributed) are Hidalgo and José Marín. The latter exploited his talents as a tenor, composer and guitarist to write Amante, Ausente Y Triste, although the notes in this recording indicate he did not have too much time for composing, having been sentenced to exile and the galleys!

 All of the songs in the Guerra manuscript will be recorded in this series – they will form a joyful and informative contribution to our knowledge of the Spanish Baroque.

Handel – Messiah
Karina Gauvin; Robin Blaze; Rufus Müller; Brett Polegato; Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir; Ivars Taurins
Tafelmusik TMK1016CD2

Handel's Messiah was first performed in Dublin in 1742 and in London on numerous occasions between 1743 and 1759. After Handel's death, performances grew larger in scale, culminating in the Crystal Palace performance of 1857 with its 2,500 musicians. Something of that big band effect can be heard in the performances conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent. In his 1959 recording his tempi are ponderous with huge rallentandos at the end of movements. He also re-orchestrated a great deal of the work.

A major event in the recording history of Messiah was the performance conducted by Charles Mackerras in 1966. Mackerras used modern instruments but nevertheless communicated his understanding of baroque performance practice. Soloists were encouraged to decorate their parts, something heard to especially fine effect in Janet Baker's handling of the da capo in He was despised. Since then there have been many historically informed performances: my own preference is for the one conducted by William Christie. Just listen to the buoyancy of For unto us a Child is born or to the radiance which Barbara Schlick brings to I know that my Redeemer liveth.

The new Tafelmusik recording holds up well. The orchestra and choir are excellent. As for the soloists, tenor Rufus Müller is very good, baritone Brett Polegato is outstanding and soprano Karina Gauvin is out of this world. I am of two minds, however, about the countertenor: he is good in O thou that bringest good tidings, but He was despised drags and other arias need greater evenness than Robin Blaze brings to them.

Over the years Tafelmusik made a number of recordings for Sony. Many of these have been deleted but some of them have been brought back by Arkivmusic and now by Tafelmusik's own label. This recording is new, however, and it is also the first live recording of the orchestra. I hope that there will be many more. The achievements of Tafelmusik have been immense and further recordings should bring them to the attention of a wider audience.

Tafelmusik’s annual Messiah performances take place at Koerner Hall December 19 through 23.

Bach - Brandenburg Concertos; Shostakovich – Preludes (arr. Maute)
Ensemble Caprice; Matthias Maute
Analekta AN 2 9996-7

The Montreal-based recorder/flute player, composer and conductor Matthias Maute has established himself as one of the country’s finest baroque musicians and his Ensemble Caprice maintains a busy annual touring and recording schedule. The oft-recorded Brandenburg Concertos are given lively performances by Maute and his excellent Montreal colleagues, with stellar work from violinist (and violist in the sixth concerto) Olivier Brault, oboist Matthew Jennejohn, trumpeter Josh Cohen and, perhaps especially, harpsichordist Erin Helyard, who handles the challenging solo part in the fifth concerto with elegance and style.

There is a certain hyper-energetic quality to the playing that is at first attractive, but can become exhausting. Maute’s approach, even in the slow movements, is aggressive and rustic, with extreme dynamic contrasts, accents and abrupt endings to phases and – sometimes – whole movements. This is certainly not easy listening, but it gives a fresh, honest and immediate feel to the music making, emphasizing the improvisatory nature of Bach’s music.

Maute’s liner notes are fanciful and entertaining, as he analyzes each concerto in terms of instrument hierarchy, trying to prove that Bach was making subversive political statements with these pieces.

Each concerto is preceded by a short work by Shostakovich, originally for piano, but orchestrated by Maute especially for the Bach forces. These preludes (and one fugue) were apparently inspired by Shostakovich’s adjudication of the 1950 International Bach Competition and his admiration of the Well-Tempered Clavier. The performances are tremendously successful and their inclusion lends a special flavour to the whole program.

Devienne - Six Trios, Op.17
Mathieu Lussier; Pascale Giguère; Benoît Loiselle
ATMA ACD2 2583

Although François Devienne (1759-1803) was quite well known in France in the late 18th century, he has received little attention in recent times. Devienne was a very prominent bassoonist and flutist in the royal court of France prior to the French Revolution. For five years he was a member of Cardinal de Rohan’s household orchestra, a group popular with Queen Marie-Antoinette. During the period of the revolution, bands and orchestras changed names many times and Devienne seems to have spent that time in military bands only to emerge as a professor at what is now the Paris Conservatory.

This series of Six Trios Op.17, for bassoon, violin and cello, has never been recorded before. So we owe a debt of gratitude to Montreal bassoonist and conductor Mathieu Lussier for bringing these delightful works to our attention. At all times Mathieu Lussier’s bassoon playing is flawless. His articulation is crisp, clear and dazzling in the fast passages and his tone is full and rich with a lyrical quality rarely heard on bassoon.

While this CD definitely highlights the bassoon, Pascale Giguère on violin and Benoît Loiselle on cello certainly don’t take a back seat here. There is an almost seamless transition between the performers as each takes centre stage with the melody. It’s a unified ensemble. Throughout, the strings make limited use of vibrato as befits the genre. With eyes closed, one is easily transported back to the household of Cardinal de Rohan or the Queen before the violence of the revolution.

In addition to the six trios, the CD contains transcriptions of three airs from Devienne’s opéra comique Les Visitandines. For these selections, the trio is augmented with a viola in the capable hands of Jean-Louis Blouin. These provide a pleasant contrast, yet remain in the spirit of the musical times when they were written and performed.

As one who has, in the past, struggled with the diabolical fingering system of the bassoon, I have two very mixed reactions. Is the virtuosity displayed by Mathieu Lussier a challenge? Do I get my bassoon out of its case and practice diligently as I once did, or do I advertise a bassoon for sale? In the meantime, I will enjoy this CD of delightful happy music performed by true virtuoso musicians.

Christmas came early for me with the release of so many new Beethoven sonata CDs. Each pianist has done an exemplary job in recording their interpretation of the Beethoven masterpieces and I wish I could write more. All of these releases deserve detailed critiques. Some CDs resonated more with me than others but it is an entirely subjective reaction. All performances were impeccable musically and technically. However, we all respond differently to the individual voices and inflection of each performer’s unique phrasing and tempo. In fact we are listening to each pianist translate Beethoven’s musical speech. Music as a language has been a constant metaphor throughout the centuries before and after Beethoven. Greeks and Romans associated music with spoken rhetoric and musical execution may be compared with the delivery of an orator. By way of the spoken voice or musical gesture, performers hope to capture the hearts and attention of their listeners and arouse or quiet their passions by transporting them to a sublime musical experience. As pianos improved with more rapid decay of sound, quick and efficient damping and variation of timbre from one register to another, Beethoven began writing for the articulate brilliance of a “speaking music.” He also immersed himself in the treatises of authors such as Johan Mattheson and Emanuel Bach, discovered from reading ancient rhetoric by the Greek and Roman writers. Beethoven learned through the classical oratory to describe music as gestural art and cultivate the art of eloquent musical discourse and musical declamation. Here are the pianists who spoke to me in their Beethoven CDs.

Stewart Goodyear: Beethoven – The Complete Piano Sonatas (Marquis MAR 513) I had the pleasure of hearing Stewart Goodyear perform the entire set of Beethoven Sonatas at a marathon in Koerner Hall last June. He is an amazing pianist with formidable technique, stamina and fortitude. His talent is promethean and his playing eloquent and polished throughout the set. Like an orator, Goodyear takes you on a dramatic operatic journey, embracing every nuance and detail. Beethoven had carried the declamatory style into the new century with articulative tools such as legato and slurs crossing bar lines to subsume points of arrival. Beethoven used speech-mimetic effects in his keyboard works in order to approximate speech articulation. According to Czerny, he adopted the methods of singers and recommended putting words to passages or listening to string or wind instruments. Goodyear has given much thought to the form and structure of each sonata. I might quibble here and there about certain tempi or tonal nuance but his level of artistry is truly exceptional. His command of the keyboard and depth of emotion, especially in the last five sonatas is moving and intense. Like a good book, once you start listening it is difficult to stop and that is a remarkable accomplishment for this young artist.

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet: Beethoven – Piano Sonatas Volume 1 (Chandos CHAN 10720) I love these three CDs. They spoke to me on so many levels. The warm, velvety sound Bavouzet achieves suggested an intimate conversation, almost whispered at times. More robust movements were lively but enveloped in honeyed tonal colours. I was mesmerized and hypnotized by the tenderness and sensitivity in his playing. Every phrase, every nuance and ornament was lovingly played. Bavouzet’s shaping of phrases was fluid and his articulation superb. The cantabile lines sang and the quiet, tranquil movements were introspective. The faster, more robust movements had great energy and pulsed with rhythmic inflection. The piano writing in the early sonatas embraced a multitude of textures, borrowing from the symphonic style, string quartet and other chamber music. Bavouzet emphasized this in his playing. In his program notes he is as articulate as in his performance. He asks the question: “Why record more Beethoven?” “And if Beethoven’s music is still alive within us and continues to inspire and inform us about how we relate with the world, is it not absolutely crucial that we should be alert to its enduring vitality and modernity? And why should music lovers be denied the opportunity to associate the new insights of living musicians with this immortal repertoire?” Excellent words and playing. Volume 1 includes sonatas from Opp.2, 7, 10, 13 and 14.

Javier Perianes: Beethoven – Moto perpetuo: Sonatas Opp.26, 31, 54, 90 (Harmonia Mundi HMC 902138) This recording couples four sonatas which end with “moto perpetuo,” a selection that deliberately underlines their similarity but also the diversity of the results Beethoven achieves using the same basic idea. Beethoven explored, like no one else, the possibilities of this compositional concept. The incessant repetition of the moto perpetuo has influenced keyboard composers and performers since before Bach. However, the development of the piano and its quicker action ensured the receptivity of this mode of writing. As to the tempo of these fast movements, Carl Maria von Weber speaks “of human pulse as a model of tempo as informed by an apprehension of periodicity in declamation. The beat, the tempo must not be a controlling tyrant nor a mechanical driving hammer, it should be to a piece of music what the pulse is to the life of man.” There also has to be a contrast in the music of speed. A presto needs tranquil moments to prevent the illusion of excessive speed. Javier Perianes performed the slow tranquil moments with tenderness and warmth. Beautifully shaped phrases were liquid and flowed effortlessly from one to another. I was very impressed with his musicality and the direct way he approached the music. The moto perpetuo movements did not use daredevil tempos but were articulate and exciting. I loved the care with which he pushed and pulled the musical phrases, slow or fast. Nothing was unnatural and accents were not harsh. His tone always retained warmth and was deep with rich colour. Here was another CD I couldn’t stop listening to and I look forward to more Beethoven from this excellent pianist.

Christian Leotta: Beethoven – Piano Sonatas Volume 4 (ATMA ACD2 2489) Chords are in music what words are in language. A harmonic sentence or period consists of several chords that are connected. A succession of many sentences constitutes an entire speech and a composition consists of a succession of many periods. Christian Leotta chooses to speak not only in volumes but in unique ones. His inflections in musical speech might not be to everyone’s taste but his declamatory playing commands that you listen. According to Beethoven’s critical comments on Czerny’s playing, he wanted all the rhythmic accents stressed quite heavily. He did not want flat performances, even if they were eloquent. Christian Leotta obliges us with his personal interpretation of the sonatas. He has a prodigious technique and an innate musicality. I admire his attention to the form and structure of each movement and his exquisite detailing. Volume 4 includes sonatas from Opp.2, 7, 10, 28, 81a and 90 and in it Leotta has presented us with another extremely worthy CD that deserves many hearings.

Luisa Guembes-Buchanan: Beethoven in D (www.beethovenpianoworks.com) I liked the care with which the choices were made for this self-produced CD. The three sonatas presented share the tonality of D (two major and one minor) but are radically different from one another in character. I did enjoy her intense leading of the musical phrase. Her interpretations draw you in. In a few spots she neglected pushing through to the end of the phrase. Some of the accents were too harsh and she needs to vary the tonal quality of the accents. Like in speech it is the inflection that is powerful, not necessarily the shouting. Although some of the playing was rough I did enjoy the energy and the slow movements were played with deep emotion and feeling. I could feel the pain and longing of Beethoven.

Debussy
Angela Hewitt
Hyperion CDA67898

Angela Hewitt first achieved international recognition for her interpretations of the music of Bach – was that really 27 years ago? Since then, the Ottawa-born pianist has proven to the world that her talents are truly eclectic, with a repertoire ranging from Handel to Messiaen. And how appropriate now that we’ve come to the end of 2012 – the 150th anniversary of the birth of Claude Debussy – that she should return once again to France for music by the musicien from Saint-Germaine-en-Laye.

This latest CD on the Hyperion label comprises many of Debussy’s major piano works, including the Suite bergamasque, Children’s Corner, Pour le piano, Masques, L’isle joyeuse and Deux Arabesques. Nevertheless, in recording such well-known repertoire, Hewitt had a tall order to fill. What amateur pianist with some degree of proficiency hasn’t tried his or her hand at least a few of these chestnuts? The challenge was thus a question of breathing new life into these oft-performed pieces. Not surprisingly, she succeeds admirably. Opening with the familiar Children’s Corner suite from 1908, Hewitt brings a particular freshness and vitality to the music, from the tongue-in-cheek Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum to the good-humoured Golliwog’s Cake-walk. Similarly, with the Suite bergamasque, each miniature demonstrates a wonderful sense of tonal colour, particularly in the famous Clair de lune. In contrast is L’isle joyeuse, music of gregarious buoyancy, inspired in part by Watteau’s painting L’embarquement pour Cythère.

My only quibble – and it’s a minor one – are the tempos, at times slightly brisker than we’re accustomed to. Yet this is not always the case. La Plus que lente is all sensuousness, performed with just the right degree of hesitancy and tempo rubato, thus rounding out a fine recording of much-loved repertoire.

Is there too much Mahler being performed these days? The venerable Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink believes so, contending that a “Mahler cult” has created a glut on the market which is distorting orchestral programming in favour of this formerly maligned composer and threatening to marginalize even the mighty Beethoven. There are even those, he claims, who never set foot in a concert hall unless Mahler is programmed. Hopefully, he concludes, Mahler mania will fade away in due time (like the collapse of the Dutch tulip mania of 1637 perchance?). It is a peculiar assertion coming from a man who has recorded the entire cycle of symphonies twice over and continues to churn out new performances with a global selection of orchestras; even so, Mahler himself predicted his symphonies would someday surpass Beethoven’s in popularity. Any conductor or ensemble worth their salt these days feels duty-bound to tackle them, regardless of their capability for or empathy with the complex and demanding works. It helps too that Mahler’s own conducting experience led him to virtually “idiot-proof” his scores with extremely detailed performance instructions throughout, and his obsessive retouching of his instrumentation after every performance has resulted in new editions continuing to appear to this day. Especially in the recent double centenary years this has led to many high-profile integral cycles springing forth bearing a uniform, streamlined quality all too often indistinguishable from each other.

It is therefore refreshing to come across these very interesting and idiosyncratic performances from the Stuttgart Philharmonic, which began appearing without much fanfare once a year on the Dreyer Gaido label soon after the young (born 1971) Gabriel Feltz was appointed director of the Stuttgart ensemble in 2004. Feltz has yet to make his conducting debut on this continent and this orchestra’s recordings have only recently been added to the Naxos catalogue. A remarkable feature of these discs is the conductor’s own insightful program notes, replete with music examples (!) and cogent arguments for Feltz’s interpretations, which often contradict or re-interpret the printed scores. The most daring example is undoubtedly the startling up-tempo interpretation of the rabble-rousing march midway through the first movement of the
Third Symphony (CD 21065), utterly contradicting Mahler’s call for a steady tempo throughout this section. Other examples are less radical yet still telling: the compulsive alternations of nimbleness and near panic of the

Fourth Symphony’s (CD 21072) ostensively charming opening movement; the utter serenity Feltz brings to the famous Adagietto of the Fifth Symphony (CD 21052), so often bathed in an excess of sentimentality; or the positively erotic atmosphere he conjures towards the end of the second “Nachtmusik” of the Seventh Symphony (CD 21041).

I especially enjoyed reading his statistical argument for the placing of the Scherzo as the second movement of the Sixth Symphony (CD 21045), settling once and for all a specious argument that has gone on for decades amongst musicologists. His interpretation of the first movement of the Sixth is notable for its urgently martial clip, offset by a luxuriant pulling back of the tempo for the secondary theme in just the right proportion. Feltz’s solution to the potpourri finale of the Seventh at first seems counterintuitive; he emphasizes the disjointedness of the rondo form rather than smoothing it over, yet it somehow works quite successfully.

Of all these performances perhaps the massive Third Symphony takes pride of place for the excellent unnamed trombone soloist in the first movement, the unmannered gracefulness of the middle movements and the very moving alto solo (Alexandra Petersamer) in the penultimate movement; only the finale seems to fall a bit short in sonic intensity. Perhaps the orchestra was a bit tuckered by this point however; these are all live performances including ofttimes thunderous applause at their conclusions from the otherwise respectfully taciturn audience.

The sound is clear and spacious, with no evident sonic trickery, though I did find the volume needed to be cranked a bit higher than normal to bring the string section into focus. Though there are unquestionably finer isolated performances of these works to be found in the ever-growing Mahler discography, very few contemporary cycles exhibit the integrity of vision Feltz brings to these works. I look forward to enjoying the remaining five symphonies in this cycle in the years to come; there’s never enough Mahler for me!

Rachmaninov - Symphony No.2; Dances from Aleko
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; Vasily Petrenko
EMI Classics 9154732

Early in his career Rachmaninov was regarded as a gifted pianist, an occupation that supported the unrecognized composer. By his last decade, living in the United States, he was recognized both as a composer and an extraordinary concert pianist. I was told by a friend who was a member of the New York Philharmonic during the Toscanini era that the maestro asserted that Rachmaninov’s performance in Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto in 1933 remained peerless. The Second Symphony was written in during 1906 and 1907, half a dozen years after the now signature Piano Concerto No.2 and is solidly of the romantic era, full of great tunes in the recognizable Russian tradition. Performances were often truncated in order not to burden audiences with a 60-minute symphony. Into the LP era, too, shortened versions were recorded.

 Under an unsympathetic baton, the first movement can seem endless and tiresome, an impression put to rest by some fine recorded performances, none more convincing than this one.

Here Petrenko’s penetration into the score produces a reading of unusual empathy that quickly draws the listener’s attention to the composer’s sensitivity and yearning, tension and release. There is Russian lushness aplenty from musicians who clearly love what they are playing.

The second movement, marked Allegro Molto in the opening, is given a perceptibly broader tempo than is favoured by others but, to my ears, it has panache.

The third movement, Adagio, is quite exquisite as Petrenko preserves the tranquility and nostalgia implicit in the score with wistful memories of the first movement. The triumphant rush of the last movement brings this superb recording to a rousing finale. If you are up for some orchestral thrills and a startlingly real recording with dramatic dynamics and astonishing body from the very quietest passages to ravishing tuttis then this recording is a must, even if it duplicates other performances in your collection.

Lugano Concertos
Martha Argerich and Friends
Deutsche Grammophon 477 9884

Martha Argerich! For lovers of piano music such as myself, the very name conjures up feelings of near reverence for a veritable icon in the world of classical music. Ever since she wandered into an EMI recording studio in London in 1965, aged 24, to record her first major album, she has rightfully enjoyed an international reputation as a charismatic pianist and recording artist. Since 2002, Argerich has also assumed the role of impresario, annually gathering musicians for the Martha Argerich Project, part of the Lugano Festival held every June – and it’s from this event that her latest offering is based, a fine four-disc set of live recordings on the Deutsche Grammophon label titled Martha Argerich Lugano Concertos.

This is a beautifully packaged collection, with extensive notes and photographs in book-in-sleeve format. Drawn from past festivals, the music was recorded over seven summers, with repertoire spanning a period of 150 years. Not all the other artists taking part are well known but included in the group are pianists Paul Gulda and Gabriela Montero, the Lugano Percussion Group and the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana under a number of different conductors including Gabriela Chmura, Ion Marin and her one-time husband, Charles Dutoit.

At first impression, the listener is immediately struck by the set’s eclecticism. Yes, they all involve ensembles of various sizes, but the music comprises a myriad of styles and periods, with works by such diverse composers as Beethoven, Schumann, Bartok, Brahms, Milhaud and Stravinsky. The set opens with the classically refined Piano Concerto No.1 by Beethoven, music from around 1800. Here, Argerich demonstrates her typically flawless technique and a certain robust quality that seems particularly suitable for the music of a young composer on the verge of fame. In complete contrast is the Concerto for Two Pianos by Francis Poulenc, where she and her pianist partner Alexander Gurning along with the Swiss-Italian Orchestra conducted by Ersmo Capilla easily capture the cheeky and exuberant spirit of this music written in 1932.

Not all the pieces involve large ensembles. For example, the Divertissement à la Hongroise by Schubert finds Argerich on stage with pianist Alexander Mogilevsky in a thoughtful interpretation of Schubert’s homage to the Hungarian folk idiom. For a delightful 2005 performance of the Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes, she’s joined by pianist Gabriela Montero and the Swiss Radio Television Chorus directed by Diego Fasolis.

Martha Argerich Lugano Concertos is indeed a fine testimony not only to Argerich’s talents as a performer, but also to her skill at gathering and showcasing talent, both well known and less familiar. All have come together for the purpose of making music on a very high level – and what a perfect holiday gift the set would make for the music lover on your list!

Violinist Jacques Israelievitch has been active with a solo and chamber career since stepping down from his 20-year stint as concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 2008. He has compiled a fascinating CD catalogue on the Fleur de Son Classics label over the past 12 years, and two new issues were received this month. Well, one new issue and one not quite so new, by the look of it.

French Violin Sonatas (FDS 58005), in which Israelievitch is ably accompanied by the outstanding pianist Kanae Matsumoto, is certainly new – it’s scheduled for release on November 13 and at the time of writing is not even listed on the label’s website – but it was recorded more than two years ago at the Chautauqua Institution in New York state. Israelievitch is, not surprisingly, very comfortable with these four works from his native country. He has a quite distinctive style, with a gentleness and a sweet softness to his playing that makes the violin very much a feminine instrument in his hands. That’s not to say that it lacks intensity or strength, though, as the spiky opening of the lovely Poulenc sonata proves.

The rarely-heard sonata by Gabriel Pierné is a cyclical, post-Franck work from 1900 that apparently did much to establish the violin sonata as a serious chamber music form in a French music world that was dominated by opera.

The Debussy sonata was the last work that the composer was to complete; the 1917 premiere with the young violinist Gaston Poulet was also Debussy’s last public performance. There’s a direct link here: in 1944 Poulet became a professor at the Paris Conservatoire, where one of his future pupils would be a certain Jacques Israelievitch.

A fine performance of the Ravel sonata completes a fascinating CD, beautifully presented in a glossy digi-pack.

The New Arts Trio has been the trio-in-residence at the Chautauqua Institution since 1978. Pianist Rebecca Penneys is the only original member; cellist Arie Lipsky joined in 1996 and Jacques Israelievitch in 1999.

Their 30^th Anniversary Recital is available on New Arts Trio at Chautauqua (FDS 58000), just received but apparently issued in 2010. There are solid if not spectacular performances of Dvořák’s “Dumky” Piano Trio and Astor Piazzolla’s Primavera Porteña, along with two works written for the Trio in 2008 – Michael Colina’s Idoru and Ella Milch-Sheriff’s Credo. The Dumky is by far the major work here, though, both in content and in length.

The Brahms Clarinet Quintet has long been one of my favourite works, and you can usually tell within the first few bars what sort of performance it’s going to be. The greatest praise I can give the performance by the Tokyo String Quartet with clarinettist Jon Manasse on the new harmonia mundi CD Brahms Quintets Op.34 & Op.115 (HMU 807558) is that after the opening bars I wrote “Glorious opening – wistful, warm, autumnal – clarinet tone just right – strings beautifully judged” and then spent the next 38 minutes basking in as engrossing and satisfying a performance of this wonderful work as I can remember.

The same high standard continues with the Piano Quintet, Op.34 where the Tokyo Quartet is joined by Jon Nakamatsu in another perfectly-judged performance. Again one to cherish.

Sometimes, as a reviewer, you just stop listening critically and simply get lost in the performances. That’s what happened here, and what can possibly top that?

The excellent Hyperion series The Romantic Violin Concerto reaches Volume 13 with another outstanding CD, this time featuring Anthony Marwood and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Douglas Boyd in the Schumann Violin Concertos in D Minor and A Minor – the latter a direct transcription by the composer of his Cello Concerto – and the Phantasie in C Major (CDA67847).

There seems to be renewed interest in these works, which for many years – until 1937 for the D Minor and 1987 for the A Minor – remained unplayed and unheard; this is the second set I’ve received in just over a year, following Ulf Wallin’s meticulously researched performances on the BIS label, reviewed in September 2011.

Marwood, as usual, is simply outstanding in this, his third contribution to the highly acclaimed series.

There is more Schumann, this time the Piano Quartet, Piano Quintet and the Märchenerzählungen, on a new Naxos CD by the Fine Arts Quartet with Xiayin Wang on piano (8.572661).

The Quartet and Quintet were written in 1842, Schumann’s “year of chamber music”, and are given the level of performance you would expect from musicians of this standing. The Fine Arts, after all, have been around since 1946, although obviously none of the current players is an original member. Until just last year, however, three of the four members – the two violinists and the cellist – had been together for 30 years.

The Märchenerzählungen (Fairy Tale Narrations) Op.132 was written in 1853, a mere four months before Schumann’s failed suicide attempt, although there is nothing in the music to suggest this. It is a work that is new to me, and is played here in Schumann’s optional version for Violin, Viola and Piano, the violin replacing the clarinet of the original. Quartet members Ralph Evans and Nicoló Eugelmi join Wang in bringing out all the warmth of these four charming pieces.

The recordings were made two years ago (apparently it often seems to take a long time for CDs to reach the market). Since then cellist Wolfgang Laufer has been replaced by Robert Cohen.

The six string quartets of Haydn’s Op.33 are featured on a new 2CD set from Analekta in performances by the Eybler Quartet (AN 2 9842-3). The performers – violinists Aisslinn Nosky and Julia Wedman, violist Patrick Jordan and cellist Margaret Gay – are all well-known on the Canadian early music scene through their affiliation with groups such as Tafelmusik and I Furiosi, so there’s no doubting that we are in good hands here from a stylistic point of view.

On first hearing, I did find the tone to be a bit thin, but then for me it’s the usual question of competing balances with period performances: purity of tone versus a thinness of sound; lack of – or sparingly used – vibrato versus a lack of warmth. It all comes down to a matter of personal taste, and if you’re used to a fuller sound in your Haydn quartets – even if it’s not really appropriate – then this might not be for you. There is no doubting, however, that these are highly enjoyable, technically sound performances and idiomatic interpretations, lovingly played and beautifully recorded at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto.

The order of the individual quartets is a bit strange, given that the timings for the six works don’t vary that much and the keys are all different: CD1 has quartets five, one and six, while CD2 has quartets two, four and three.

Missa Brevis – A Mass for Accordion
Matti Rantanen; Marko Ylonen
Siba Records SACD-1009

Finnish accordionist Matti Rantanen is one of the bedrocks of European “classical” accordion as a teacher at the Sibelius Academy and an international performer. Here he performs mainly solo music with numerous liturgical references.

The transcriptions of Haydn and Mozart are well conceived. Rantanen’s expertise makes each work sound legitimate on the accordion, however a wider dynamic range in the Haydn and more playfulness in the Mozart would have added to the listening experience. Though originally written for cello and piano/organ, Ahti Sonninen’s Hymns of Zion for cello and accordion is a lyrical tone poem duet with cellist Marko Ylonen.

The title track Missa Brevis – A Mass for Accordion is a modern take on the old form. The accordion emulates the qualities of the church organ with its held long tones, florid arpeggios and chunky chords, while the range of dynamics, multi-note glissandos and subtle differentiations on articulation are so very accordion exclusive. Similar sentiments surface in Tapio Nevanlinna’s Hug. Petri Makkonen’s Chorale Prelude is exquisite. A former accordion student of Rantanen, Makkonen’s personal relationship with the instrument must have aided in his balanced writing of a florid right hand against held low tones in the left. Unfortunately, the huge glissando connecting the opening section to the middle lyric melody comes across as a “trick” instead of a bridge. The last two chords are delightful.

Rantanen’s musical personality makes this recording a thoughtful and intriguing expose of fine accordion musicianship and composition.

Surveying the array of jazz reissues and box sets that have appeared since the dawn of the compact disc, one might imagine that all of the major work has already found its way onto CD. It turns out that’s still not the case, as scrupulously remastered and researched collections continue to appear. The year’s best CD sets include a compilation of the first 25 years of an early master’s recordings, highlights from a year in the life of a great jazz composer, previously unreleased performances by esteemed pianists and an expansive work of new music that took 34 years to realize. There’s even a bargain box of 25 varied CDs, many of them undeniable classics.

Since launching in 1983, Mosaic Records has set the highest standard for jazz reissues, searching for the best possible sources, ensuring that sets are as complete as possible and packaging them in a handsome, uniform style with definitive accompanying texts. This year Mosaic released an extraordinary portrait of one of the few genuine giants of jazz: Classic Coleman Hawkins Sessions 1922-1947 (Mosaic #251: www.mosaicrecords.com). It’s an extraordinary historical sweep, beginning with Hawkins as a teenage clarinetist in Mamie Smith’s Jazz Hounds, following him through his long tenure with Fletcher Henderson to features with the Mound City Blues Blowers (an early example of racial integration in the recording studio) and Count Basie. There are also towering performances like his famous 1939 Body and Soul and examples of his expanding sponsorship of the early luminaries of be-bop.

The latest Mosaic release is the seven-CD Charles Mingus: The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65 (Mosaic #253). It includes the explosive bassist-composer’s performances at New York’s Town Hall, Amsterdam, Minneapolis and the Monterey Jazz Festivals in 1964 and 1965 with bands ranging from five to 11 pieces. Mingus was at his creative peak in the mid-60s, launching challenging new compositions like Meditations on a Pair of Wire Cutters, all supported by a cast of distinguished musicians, including the brilliant reed player Eric Dolphy in the last months of his life, trumpeter Johnny Coles, tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, pianist Jaki Byard and Mingus’ perpetual rhythm partner, drummer Dannie Richmond. At times, the music feels like it might ignite the CD player. Much of this material originally appeared on LP, but most of it has never appeared on CD and there are also newly discovered concert segments.

Pianist Bill Evans is one of the best-documented musicians in jazz, with expansive box sets chronicling his work for multiple labels and two seven-CD sets chronicling his last performances. Now more has come to light and it will be welcome news to fans of Evans’ luminous, limpid harmonic exploration: Live at Art d’Lugoff’s Top of the Gate (Resonance Records HCD-2011 www.resonancerecords.org) devotes its two CDs to Evans’ two sets of October 23, 1968 with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell. Evans could create and sustain dream states, propelled by the most complex interaction and the subtlest extensions of harmony that jazz had ever heard at the time. Gomez is never less than brilliant and the charging energy the two bring to My Funny Valentine raises the set to essential listening.

Sleeper (ECM 2290/2291) is another lost session by a highly influential pianist: Keith Jarrett. The two-CD set comes from a 1979 Tokyo concert by Jarrett’s distinctive European Quartet with saxophonist Jan Garbarek, bassist Palle Danielsson and drummer Jon Christensen. The music is imbued with a lyricism and an openness that combine to sweep a listener along. There’s a melodic clarity that can suggest folk music, and Jarrett’s compositions provide distinct thematic flavours, including the Middle-Eastern Oasis and the gospel-hued Chant of the Soil.

If you’re an adventurous listener, there’s also a contemporary masterpiece that arrived this year in a four-CD set: Wadada Leo Smith’s Ten Freedom Summers (Cuneiform Rune350-353 www.cuneiformrecords.com). The cutting-edge trumpeter/composer began composing works inspired by the struggle for African-American civil rights back in 1977 and continued the work until 2010 when he was commissioned by Southwest Chamber Music to add new works and set them for his own Golden Quartet/Quintet and the chamber ensemble. The result is four CDs of hard-edged, intensely involving music that is probing, elegiac and magisterial by turn. It’s rarely easy listening, but it’s a stunning integration of political and musical issues and composed and improvised idioms, undoubtedly a major musical work.

If you’re looking for an instant record collection, Sony is producing a series called The Perfect Jazz Collection (Sony 8697720092), with two volumes so far. It might not be perfect, but it’s very good, whether you’re discovering or recalling jazz as it appeared in the LP era, with 25 CDs in mini-LP format drawn from Columbia and RCA labels in each release. In the first volume, you get excellent late work from Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington; masterpieces by Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis (Kind of Blue, no less, the ultimate jazz record), Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Dave Brubeck, Erroll Garner, Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus; and hard bop, soul jazz and fusion classics by Art Blakey, George Benson and Herbie Hancock, respectively. There are also great records you might never come across otherwise, like pianist Martial Solal at Newport ’63. Are there terrible records included? There might be two or three, but even Sonny Meets Hawk (a weird meeting of saxophone greats Sonny Rollins and Coleman Hawkins when Rollins was creating his own version of the avant-garde) and Bird (the soundtrack to the Clint Eastwood film about Charlie Parker that grafts new rhythm tracks on old Parker performances) are “interesting.”

Alive at Musideum
Sophia Perlman; Adrean Farrugia
Independent #AS1012 (www.sophiaperlman.com)

This latest CD project from luminous vocalist Sophia Perlman and gifted pianist Adrean Farrugia was recorded “Live” at an intimate, evocative venue boasting one of Toronto’s finest pianos – the ideal spot for capturing this intimate, eclectic and thoroughly splendid performance. Perlman and Farrugia have a profound chemistry and sensitivity to their individual creative modalities, and the collection of tunes is diverse, to say the least.

The duo explores compositions from such far-flung artists as David Bowie, Gershwin, Thelonious Monk and Geri Allen. These are bold, original choices in repertoire – rendered with an intuitive, high musicality and purity of intent that is reminiscent of the work of Alan Broadbent and the late Irene Kral.

Standouts include a clever, contemporized reworking of Gershwin’s But Not For Me, featuring a rhythmic piano part and Perlman’s horn-like scat singing. Also, her rich, sensual, alto voice caresses the melody of a rarely performed Ellington composition, All Too Soon. Certainly one of the most interesting tracks is the duo’s interpretation of David Bowie’s anthem against the mundane, Life on Mars. Also gorgeous – albeit deliciously melancholy – is a legato take on the Tin Pan Alley classic After You’ve Gone, and Farrugia’s dynamic solo piano performance on Geri Allen’s Feed the Fire clearly establishes his position as one of the finest and most technically gifted pianists on the scene today.

Kudos must go to Donald Quan and Roger Sader for their superb job of onsite recording. Every lovely, melodic and complex nuance has been beautifully captured.

Christmas Kiss
Diana Panton
Independent DIA-CD-5605 (www.dianapanton.com)

If the post isn’t already taken, I’d like to nominate Diana Panton as Canada’s jazz sweetheart. With this, her fifth CD in about as many years, Panton firmly establishes herself as a steadfast source for pretty and accessible song collections. Though she works in the jazz realm and collaborates with some of the most respected jazz players in the industry – Don Thompson on bass and piano, Reg Schwager on guitar and Guido Basso on flugelhorn and trumpet – Panton takes quite a straightforward approach in her singing. She picks finely written pieces, usually from a few decades ago, and delivers them in an honest and endearing way. With Christmas Kiss, winter and holiday tunes get the velvet glove treatment. Although most will be familiar such as Winter Wonderland and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, there are a few lesser known selections such as C’est Noel Cheri and the title tune, written by Panton and Thompson. Dave Fishberg’s Snowbound epitomizes cool yet cozy comfort, especially with the addition of Thompson’s tasteful work on vibes. And for that perennial duet, Baby it’s Could Outside, R & B legend and fellow Hamiltonian, Harrison Kennedy, plays the role of the persuader. The CD release event is December 10 at the Old Mill Inn.