Steal the Night
Holly Cole
Alert Music Inc. 61528-10449

For a performer with as much stage presence as veteran Toronto jazz singer Holly Cole, a DVD-CD package of a live performance seems like an ideal vehicle. Steal the Night was recorded live at Glenn Gould Studio in 2011, and is a fine representation of the gamut of musical charms of Cole and bandmates John Johnson, reeds, Davide DiRenzo, drums, Rob Piltch, guitar, Aaron Davis, piano and David Piltch, bass.

We’re treated to some of her classic repertoire such as Calling You and I Can See Clearly Now plus the newer You’ve Got a Secret and a smokin’ version of Charade. However with most of her between-song patter edited out of the footage, Cole’s big personality doesn’t come through as much as one might hope. So where the DVD really shines is in the short documentaries in the extras section. Holly in Japan is a fascinating glimpse into a slice of Japanese culture and Cole’s many fans there. Coming to Toronto is a mini-biography with interviews of Cole, jazz broadcaster Ross Porter and, most revealingly, Cole’s family. Best of all The Trio digs into the evolution of the unique sound of the band and provides a well-deserved tribute to the contributions long-time collaborators Aaron Davis and David Piltch made to the musical force that is Holly Cole.

Kaeshammer Live!
Michael Kaeshammer
Alert Music Inc. 61528-10439

Michael Kaeshammer is a prolific guy. Since 2001 he has released six studio albums, the latest in 2011, and much of them populated with his own songwriting. Add to that this DVD-CD of a live performance, and that’s quite a body of work for someone of his relative youth. The other striking thing about Kaeshammer is his love — one might even say obsession — for New Orleans-style music. It comes across in his songwriting as well as in his philosophy toward performing, which, despite his monster skills on piano, is more about having a good time than extended jazz soloing.

Having seen Kaeshammer play live, I have first-hand experience of what a joyful performer he is. Even when it’s just him at the piano, he can command a room with his charisma and energy. Watching a DVD of one of his concerts isn’t a substitute, but it comes close. Especially since Kaeshammer Live! was recorded in an “in the round” setting in an intimate hall in Toronto, so the cameras were able to get in close and capture a variety of angles of the band (which includes three horns and two backing singers). Drummer Mark McLean’s expressive playing is especially fun to watch, and the “cutting contest” between him and Kaeshammer on a Fats Waller tune is one of the highlights of the concert.

Kaeshammer Live provides a concise sampling of the personal and musical journey this ever-evolving musician has taken from smokin’ hot boogie woogie piano player, to romantic balladeer and back again to a musical place that is uniquely his.

Boomerang
Andrew Boniwell and the Uncertainty Principle
Independent
www.andrewbonniwell.com

I enjoyed this CD — I have to admit that very often when I see a release with all original compositions I approach it with some trepidation, but there is no uncertainty with this recording. The compositions are inventive and the musicians all bring a cohesive and creative energy to the music. I hope that the leader/composer doesn’t mind if I say that some of the pieces bring to mind the work of Horace Silver; it is certainly meant as a compliment.

The musicians who lend their talents to the music of Mr. Bonniwell are bassist Mark Cashion, drummer Mike McClelland, Kevin Turcotte on trumpet and Richard Underhill on alto sax.

This recording is yet another good example of the fine talents right here on our own doorstep.

Anatomical Signatures
Gia & The Unpredictable Update
Independent GIA 00008
www.giaionesco.com

Don’t let the somewhat unwieldy title put you off. This is a double CD of music described by Romanian born Gia as “jazz meets symphonic meets rock meets balkanic meets world music.” And indeed it is an eclectic program of original compositions by the leader. Approach it with open ears and you will find much to enjoy.

The group comprises Pat LaBarbera (saxes), Johnny Johnson (saxes), Levon Ichkhanian (guitar), Wilson Laurencin (drums), Alan Hetherington (assorted percussion), Pat Kilbride (bass), Clifford Ojala (saxes/clarinet) and Gia Ionesco on keyboards. An all-star line-up indeed and I would have liked more information in the sparse liner notes.

There are, not surprisingly, European influences in the music and while you won’t end up singing many of the themes, you will be moved by the musicianship on this album.

Dusted Machinery
John Butcher; Toshimaru Nakamura
Monotype Records mono 041
www.monotyperecords.com

Classic man versus machine improvisation: British saxophonist John Butcher matches his skills against the distinctive audio feedback produced from a so-called no-input mixing board given near-anthropomorphic cunning through the manipulations of Japan’s Toshimaru Nakamura. By connecting the board’s input to its output, Nakamura’s blurry oscillations evolve in ever-changing textural pitches from grinding croaks to ear-splitting yowls. It’s a tribute to the talents of Butcher that his perceptive reed thrusts and rejoinders evolve as appropriately as they do. Although by the final track he adopts a mechanized strategy by adding feedback loops to his reed playing, on the other pieces Nakamura’s signal processing, oscillations and indistinct mechanical static confront what Butcher can produce only with tongue, lips, mouth, throat and fingers.

On Maku for instance, while motor-driven drones pulsate from thunderously loud to blurry fuzz tones, Butcher’s tenor saxophone sequences involve smears and expansive vibratos so that each Nakamura-originated texture meets a responsive sonic action. Moreover, while the machine’s voltage flanges may be so powerful that they’re nearly visible, the reedist’s multiphonic overblowing produces equivalent timbres that in split seconds leap from dog-whistle-like altissimo to basso growls, and from pianissimo to fortissimo. Overall, Butcher uses flutter-tongued intensity to chip away at the board-created solid sound block.

Using the soprano saxophone on Knead and Nobasu respectively, Butcher’s nasal split-tones, nephritic growls, key percussion and surprisingly lyrical interludes substantiate his human-ness. Conclusively he demonstrates that with original ideas and profound techniques man can lead machine to cooperate in creating a memorable sound program.

Because She Hoped
Benoît Delbecq; François Houle
Songlines SGL 1592-2
www.songlines.com

Dazzlingly interactive, this third duo disc by Vancouver clarinettist François Houle and Parisian pianist Benoît Delbecq exposes rugged as well as impressionistic textures. Delbecq, who often prepares his strings with implements, and Houle, whose extended techniques include circular breathing and split tones, are modest as well. They allow the improvisations to evolve organically rather than calling attention to their skills.

Yet two versions of the clarinettist’s Pour Pee Wee end up being completely distinct. Houle smears intense vibrations atop Delbecq’s uninterrupted wooden key clicks in 120 seconds during the first variant; the second, three times as long, finds the pianist’s sour and percussive motifs enlivened by passing chords and staccato asides, as circling glissandi and tremolo flattement presage a final swinging pulse from Delbecq. This unforced jauntiness is also expressed on the un-clichéd Clichés, composed by saxophonist Steve Lacy who influenced them both. Delbecq’s marimba-like string pops are perfect down-to-earth accompaniment to the concentric and jaunty melody elaborated by Houle. When reed squeaks and syncopated lines unite for the finale the textural release illuminates the note-perfect, yet moderated playing of both.

Throughout, unmatched textural command from the two maintains a melodic flow. Whether the base performance encompasses atmospheric liquid clarinet runs and sympathetic keyboard chording on Duke Ellington’s The Mystery Song, or turns Delbecq’s castanet-like polyrhythms plus Houle’s tremolo pitchslides on the pianist’s Ando atonal, a final variant reveals an innate modern tonality. The reedist’s title tune similarly demonstrates that sympathetic romanticism can eventually result from a narration that begins with tongue slaps and key clipping.

Canadian and Russian Improvisers

Unlike many Canadian improvisers, François Carrier is no homebody. Peripatetic, the Montreal-based alto saxophonist spent months gigging in Italy and England, was one of the few Westerners to play the Kathmandu Jazz Festival, and most recently has put out discs recorded during his 2010 Russian concert tour. A session such as All Out (FMR CD 321-0911 www.fmr-records.com), recorded with his long-time associate, Toronto drummer Michel Lambert, and St. Petersburg pianist Alexey Lapin, is not only notable musically, but also shows how erudite players from two of the world’s northern hemisphere nations have much in common.

Carrier’s reed strategy includes elements of Cool Jazz note gliding as well as avant garde dissonance, and the Russian pianist constructs proper responses with alacrity. Ride, for instance, leaves the bomb dropping and clattering to Lambert’s kit as Lapin’s multi-fingered kinetic runs syncopate alongside Carrier’s spiky vibrations and false-register nasality plus dexterous explorations in the tenor register. Despite the saxophonist squeezing out multiple theme variants until he reaches conclusive downward runs, Lapin stays the course with unflappable chording as the drummer balances both men’s lines with military precision. In the solo spotlight, Lambert approximates the power of Art Blakey on Wit with cross-sticking rim shots and bass drum thumps, the better to later mix it up with Lapin’s dynamic cadenzas plus Carrier’s stuttering rubato lines and quivering split tones. The percussionist also asserts himself on Of Breath with a mallet-driven solo of whacks, bangs and ruffs, leading to the crescendo of high intensity further propelled by Lapin’s metronomic pulsing and Carrier’s flattement and triple tonguing.

Lambert’s talent is given full reign on the Maïkontron Unit’s Ex-Voto (Rant 1140 www.jazzfromrant.com). Although he and Carrier often seem like the inseparable Damon and Pythias of Canadian Jazz, this trio CD features the drummer with bassist/cellist Pierre Côté and saxophonist/clarinettist Michel Côté. Both Lambert and reedist Côté also play the maïkontron, a valves and keys reed instrument with a range below the bass saxophone’s. Lambert has divided the CD into tableaux based on images from Hieronymus Bosch, although the performance is actually less programmatic than intuitive, with straightforward pulsing as well as dissonant timbre extensions. Despite a forbidding title, a track such as Marinus (Tableau 9) for instance, is an out-and-out swing piece. It features pin-pointed snare work and clean cross sticking from Lambert, unbroken vibrations from the bassist and Michel Côté’s clarinet exploring the theme with mid-range chirping and tonguing. Other tunes such as Votivae Noctes (Tableau 4) are slow paced and constrained, as Côté’s supple clarinet line contrasts markedly with the maïkontron’s blurred snorts and an at first quivering, then walking, cello line from Pierre Côté. As reed split tones accelerate, they’re exposed nakedly beside splayed string motions. The reeds’ burbling and puffing plus the string player’s sul tasto strumming end up creating other tableaux elsewhere, with sly references to half-recalled ballads, or in contrast, intricate multiphonics. Lambert’s drum versatility is given expanded showcases on Fluctus …, the first part of Tableau 10, and Praestigator, the introduction to Tableau 19. Praestigator features kettle drum pops and faux gamelan-like resounds playing off rhino-like snorts from the maïkontron; the irregular counterpoint of Fluctus … matches clarinet shrieks with hand slaps and pats, suggesting congas and steel drums.

Uncharted Waters
Ensemble Polaris
Pipistrelle Music PIP1212

With their third and latest release, Uncharted Waters, Toronto-based, multi-cultural, multi-instrumental, quantum world music group Ensemble Polaris continues to delight on all levels — conceptually, musically and creatively. Co-produced by Patrick Jordan and the ensemble, the CD continues the group’s mandate of exploring the “idea of the North” and includes 18 intriguing and visceral tracks that embrace the folk music of Scandinavia, the Balkans, France, Italy and even Venezuela. Utilizing a mind-numbing array of ethnocentric instruments (including Swedish pipes, bouzouki, recorders and accordions) as well as the rich, sumptuous voice of Katherine Hill, the ensemble achieves a musical cohesion and level of communication and symmetry that might not seem possible on paper, given the diversity of the elements involved.

One of the strongest tracks is guitarist Marco Cera’s Ninin. This stirring violin feature is dedicated to his Italian great uncle — an avid violinist. Also of note is a traditional Orkney Islands air, re-worked as Get Him, and sung stunningly by Hill in her soulful, pitch-pure alto. The rhythmic Dry Toes Waltz is an infectious (dry?) toe-tapper, re-imagined by Jew’s harpist Ben Grossman, and the haunting Norwegian Lullaby Jeg Legges I Min Vugge Nu is a precisely set gem, presented simply and beautifully as a moving duet between Hill and Alison Melville’s recorder. Also noteworthy are the sensual El Domador De Tarenque (a fusion of an Argentinean Tango and an Italian Tarantella) and Steklat Fran Sarna — a traditional Swedish wedding banquet song, rendered masterfully on Swedish pipes by Kirk Elliott.

EMI continues to issue well-chosen performances by the greatest musicians of the recent past in artist-driven compilations of recordings from the 1930s forward.

Their most ambitious collection was the 2008 issue of the complete EMI audio recordings by Herbert von Karajan in two boxes: the complete orchestral recordings on 88 CDs and the operas and vocals on a second box of 72 discs. In all of these compilations the most up to date transfers from their own archives are utilized making these boxed sets the ultimate source for acquiring and listening to the individual performances by deservedly legendary artists doing what they did best. All of the sets come in neat clam-shell packaging with informative booklets at about $5 per disc.

It was said of Bruno Walter that he could make any orchestra he conducted sound like the Vienna Philharmonic. In Bruno Walter – The Early Recordings (EMI 679026 2, 9 CDs) we hear him with the Vienna Philharmonic in performances from 1935 to 1938. These performances set the standard by which others were judged for years to come and music lovers everywhere argued the “correctness” of Walter versus Toscanini, particularly in Mozart. This collection includes some recordings with the British Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony and the Paris Conservatory Orchestra but the real gems are with the Vienna Philharmonic, recorded in the Musikvereinssaal. In addition to works by Mozart, Schubert, Haydn, Johann Strauss and Wagner with Lotte Lehmann and Lauritz Melchior, there are the celebrated recordings of Mahler, including Kindertotenlieder with Kathleen Ferrier and Das Lied von der Erde, live from 1936 with Kerstin Thorborg and Charles Kullmann. Also that remarkable live Mahler Ninth dating from January 1938 when the atmosphere in Vienna before the Anschluss was fearfully chaotic. I still find this performance utterly devastating although, after the war, Walter expressed some discomfort with how his inner turmoil and apprehension was clearly reflected in the recording. Those sentiments elevate this Ninth from an historic performance to an irreplaceable historic document. The final CD, Remembering Bruno Walter is an interesting appreciation.

Not as widely appreciated as he well deserved to be was Rudolf Kempe (1910–1976), born in Dresden and in 1929 appointed first oboe of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig. He was a master conductor in every sense of the word. An engagement in 1951 by the Vienna State Opera spring-boarded him to international acclaim and he was soon in demand in opera houses and concert halls around the world. He declined the earnest invitation to become music director of Covent Garden. The knowledgeable listener will be, I believe, delighted with the instrumental balances in familiar works which emerge here as ensemble pieces involving every player without the necessity of any spotlighting of a particular instrument or section for heightened effect. The various engineers involved over the many orchestras featured appear to have documented exactly what they heard. I confess that I did not fully appreciate these qualities in the performances/recordings as they were issued over the years. Beethoven’s First, Third, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies (Munich Philharmonic) are followed by the Third and Fourth of Brahms (Royal Philharmonic). One needs only to hear the beautifully turned and polished account of the usual four excerpts from Mendelssohn’s incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Royal Philharmonic), particularly the feather-like transparency of the Overture, to know that there is indeed something very special about the conductor. In the four Richard Strauss tone poems, Don Juan, Don Quixote (with Paul Tortelier), Till Eulenspiegel, Ein Heldenleben, and in Tod und Verklärung plus Dance of the Seven Veils (all with the Staatskapelle, Dresden), we again hear the transparency, even in the tuttis, that is one of Kempe’s trademarks. It takes a very rare sensibility to have the closing moments of Heldenleben unfold across the orchestra and bloom rather than merely getting louder. Karajan could do it and so does Kempe. EMI included generous helpings of Wagner, both orchestral and operatic, and two discs of what Beecham termed lollipops, all in full-range correctly balanced sound. This admirable collection, Rudolf Kempe, Shy Genius of the Podium (EMI 629557 2) contains 11 CDs and this listener wishes there were more.

Frederick Delius (1862–1934), for those who may not know, was an English composer who spent his last years in France where he gradually became blind, relying on his amanuensis Eric Fenby to write down the scores as he dictated them. In the pre-LP days the music of Delius was esoteric, the recordings were few and far between and almost exclusively conducted by Beecham on Columbia 78s funded by the Delius Trust which was financed by Delius’ late widow Jelka who had willed her entire estate to the dissemination of her husband’s music (phew!). Beecham was named to have complete authority over every aspect. Some of these Beecham recordings have been assembled, together with others from the 1930s forward, in a Delius 150th Anniversary Edition (EMI 8417527) comprising 18 mono and stereo CDs. Included are critically esteemed performances of concertos, tone poems, operas, choral and chamber music. Conductors include Beecham, Barbirolli, Sargent, Groves, Meredith Davies, Mackerras, Hickox, Marriner, Handley and the aforementioned Fenby. The complete details of this definitive edition with detailed track listings can be found at emiclassics.com.

DECCA also has a commemorative edition of Delius essentials in contemporary recordings on eight CDs (4783078) which will satisfy the less committed collector. Check this package on deccaclassics.com.

In 1968 the late Ken Russell made a remarkably sensitive movie of Delius’ last five years in collaboration with Eric Fenby, with Max Adrian as Delius and Christopher Gable as Fenby. The Song of Summer is available on DVD in Ken Russell at the BBC (300001708), a collection of six of Russell’s BBC films. Whether you care for Delius or not, this is a must see.

Marie-Josée Lord
Marie-Josée Lord; Orchestre Métropolitain; Giuseppe Pietraroia
ATMA ACD2 2649

“A star is born” should be the headline in The WholeNote on the occasion of the announcement of the 2012 JUNO nominees. I speak in particular of one contender for Classical Record of the Year, Vocal and Choral Category, the self-titled Marie-Josée Lord. Alas, it takes a long time to become an overnight success. Lord has been charming Quebec audiences with her magnificent voice since her debut in the fall of 2003. Be it Liu, Mimi, Nedda, Suor Angelica or Carmen – passionate, dispossessed or heartbroken heroines are her royal domain. But there is also Gershwin’s Bess and Marie-Jeanne of Plamondon’s super-hit Starmania. Each of these roles gets transformed by Lord’s smoky, fascinating voice. Soft and velvety in the lower registers, it has a lovely, robust and crystalline quality in the upper range. To call her “a soprano” is like describing Mozart as “a composer.” Her voice has the power to send shivers down your spine, make you grip the armrest and lean forward in your seat. This artist is all her own, not emulating anybody else’s style, rendering her instantly recognizable and unforgettable. With all this attention on the vocals, one barely notices the competent, if sometimes ham-fisted playing by the Orchestre Métropolitain under Giuseppe Pietraroia.

These selections are well known, but you have never heard them sung like this. I have yet to see Lord sing on stage, but if this recording is anything to go by, it will be a memorable occasion.

Fauré - Requiem; Cantique de Jean Racine
Philippe Jaroussky; Matthias Goerne; Choeur et Orchestre de Paris; Paavo Järvi
Virgin Classics 50999 070921 2

Fauré once described his requiem mass as “gentle in temperament, as I am myself.” He believed that a funeral service should provide comfort and solace to those in mourning, and therefore chose the liturgical texts “which are prayer-like, which plead for something and which look towards the heavens rather than towards hell.” For example, Fauré abandoned the fiery “Dies Irae” except for a fleeting appearance in the “Libera me” and conductor Paavo Järvi, despite large forces at his disposal, respects Fauré’s intention, bringing forth the transcendent beauty of the piece by using a light touch throughout. At the start, the orchestra and chorus are barely perceptible with the subsequent crescendo sublimely subtle and gradual. It is within the harmonic framework that the composer imbues this work with emotion and Järvi ensures a warm and lush delivery through the subtle metamorphoses. Warm, rich and deep tones from baritone Matthias Goerne mirror the orchestration perfectly, while a delightfully unconventional twist is provided by engaging the pure, yet mature timbre of countertenor Philippe Jaroussky for the “Pie Jesu.”

The other choral works included on this CD are the deeply inspirational and gorgeously performed Cantique de Jean Racine, the playfully quirky Pavane and the recording debut of a youthful (and hence more volatile) work, Super flumina Babylonis (By the rivers of Babylon). There is one instrumental work, the magnificent Elégie for cello and orchestra, featuring Orchestre de Paris’ superb principal, Eric Picard.

Concert Notes: The Hart House Singers present Fauré’s Requiem and Tavener’s Three Songs with soloists and orchestra under David Arnot-Johnston, in the Great Hall, Hart House, on March 24. The Choir of the Church of St. Nicholas Birchcliffe features Fauré’s Requiem and Messe Bass in a programme of music for Lent on March 30 at 7:30pm. The Amadeus Choir will perform Fauré’s Requiem at All Saints Kingsway Anglican Church at 4pm on April 1.

Ponchielli - La Gioconda
Deborah Voigt; Elisabeth Fiorillo; Ewa Podles; Richard Margison; Carlo Guelli; Carlo Colmbara; Gran Teatre del Liceu; Daniele Callegari
ArtHaus Musik 107 291

This latest video production of La Gioconda from 2005 is most notable for its staging and sets by architect and theatre designer Pier Luigi Pizzi. The stylized set of interconnecting stairways and a colour scheme dominated by greys with accents of deep blue, scarlet and orange creates an all-pervasive sense of approaching death in decaying Venice during the terror of the dreaded Council of Ten. The effect is so dazzling that one is reminded of frescoes of the 16th century Paolo Veronese.

It is an extremely difficult and expensive opera to produce mainly for its demand of top singers, six in all, in all vocal ranges. In today’s world there are no more Callases, Tebaldis, Bergonzis and Pavarottis (even Domingo is now a baritone), the great stars of the late 20th century who brought their glory to this formidably demanding opera. Today we have Deborah Voigt, one of the few remaining dramatic sopranos with stamina and power to cope with the gruelling title role. Her voice and characterization have what it takes and it’s a great thrill to hear her carry over the top of the choruses and the orchestra. In terms of power Canadian tenor Richard Margison surely belts out the murderous high notes, but the Italianate inflection and charm of the likes of a Pavarotti is unfortunately missing. Still … the beautiful aria “Cielo e il mar” is very successful and warmly applauded. Another great credit to the performance is Ewa Podles, familiar to Toronto audiences, whose sympathetic portrayal and mellifluous alto voice of the abused blind mother is simply heartbreaking. Neither Carlo Guelfi as the evil Barnaba nor Elisabetta Fiorillo as Laura measures up to the historic legends in these major roles, but the conducting of Daniele Callegari is outstanding especially in the exquisitely choreographed, beautifully executed “Dance of the Hours.”

Mahler - Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen; Kindertotenlieder
Julie Boulianne; Ensemble Orford; Jean-Francois Rivest
ATMA ACD2 2665

The emerging Canadian mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne makes her debut solo recording on the ATMA label with an exquisitely sung pair of orchestral song cycles by Gustav Mahler, in relatively unfamiliar chamber versions, along with five lieder by Mahler’s wife/muse and notorious Viennese femme-fatale Alma Schindler-Mahler-Gropius-Werfel.

The arrangement of the first of the song cycles, the formative Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer, 1884-5), was prepared by Arnold Schoenberg in 1920 for his short-lived concert series, the ultra-exclusive Society for Private Musical Performances. Though the glowing canvas of the symphonic original has been reduced to a monochrome ensemble of ten instruments (including the rarely-heard harmonium, uncharacteristically perfectly in tune and unobtrusive in this recording) the integrity of the composition still shines through. The same can be said for conductor Reinbert de Leeuw’s masterful reduction for Amsterdam’s Schoenberg Ensemble of the Kindertotenlieder cycle (1901-4), Mahler’s settings of the elegies poet Friedrich Rückert wrote commemorating the tragic deaths of his two children.

Boulianne’s voice, precise and well balanced with a voluptuous lower register, is ideally suited for this repertoire. Jean-François Rivest conducts a well-balanced though emotionally reticent ensemble. The album closes with five very attractive songs by Alma Mahler which her husband, upon the advice of Sigmund Freud, edited and arranged to have published in 1910 as recompense for his ill-considered ban on her own composing career upon their marriage in 1902. Accompanied by pianist Marc Bourdeau, Boulianne brings to life the captivating charm of these scarce remnants of Alma’s youthful dreams.

The Flute King - Music from the Court of Frederick the Great
Emmanuel Pahud
EMI Classics 0 84230 2

The programme of this two-CD set of music from the court of the flute-playing Prussian emperor Frederick the Great provides an intriguing snapshot of a significant time and place in the flute’s repertoire. The first disc features concertos by C.P.E. Bach, Benda, Frederick II himself and his flute teacher Quantz, in which flutist Emmanuel Pahud is accompanied by the geographically appropriate Kammerakademie Potsdam. The playing from everyone involved is pleasant enough, though a sameness of musical character and lack of nuance pervade the performance of these pieces, some of which require extra imaginative “juice” to bring them completely off the page. On the other hand, the inherent dynamic theatricality of CPE Bach’s Concerto in A Minor isn’t exploited well enough.

Disc Two presents us with J.S. Bach’s Musical Offering trio sonata and sonatas by Frederick, his sister Anna Amalia, J.F. Agricola and C.P.E. Bach and here the playing is imbued with greater creativity of spirit. Pahud, perhaps inspired by his colleagues, harpsichordist Trevor Pinnock, cellist Jonathan Manson and violinist Matthew Truscott, plays with increased variety of colour and articulation. J.S. Bach’s inestimable trio sonata receives an affectionate and thoughtful rendition, and of special note are Anna Amalia’s Sonata in F Major and the opening Siciliano of Frederick’s Sonata in B Minor.

Although it’s unfortunate that this recording doesn’t take more of Quantz’s own interpretive advice into account, it’s still a worthy compilation of music from 18th century, flute-focused Potsdam.

Concert Notes: Alison Melville curates and performs in “A Musical Bestiary” featuring vocal and instrumental music about creatures of earth, sea, sky and myth for the Toronto Consort at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre March 23 and 24. Melville is also involved in “The Bird Project” which will be featured in a noon-hour multi-media presentation at Walter Hall, University of Toronto on March 15.

Schubert - Piano Sonatas
Boris Zarankin
Doremi DHR-71153

If the listener didn’t know it before, this CD confirms that Boris Zarankin possesses an ardent empathy with Schubert. From the opening bars of the first movement of the great Sonata in B-Flat Major, marked molto moderato, there is almost a quasi religious awakening and as the music unfolds, further dimensions are revealed that one does not hear in other versions of this familiar work. Well, not quite. Hearing Zarankin conjured up the performance by Valery Afanassiev recorded live at the Lockenhaus Festival in 1986 that has lingered in my memory as an interpretation with the same intense, poetic introversion. However, listening to that performance once again, as attractive as it is, Zarankin is the more poetic, realizing the tragedy of Schubert playing out the last chapter of his life.

In both sonatas Boris Zarankin is in a class of his own, fully justifying his venturing into such frequently charted repertoire. Zarankin has his own ideas about playing these sonatas but I sense that they are also Schubert’s.

These recordings were made last August in Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto and engineered by Clive Allen who is responsible for the eminently truthful and dynamic, wide-range sound.