Solo playing has always been the make-or-break yardstick for pianists of any genre. That’s solo playing not playing solo, an important distinction which differentiates between exhibiting showy breaks and having an overall musical plan for the mini-orchestra that is at his or her fingertips. The solo challenge is more pronounced for improvisers since even if they’re interpreting compositions, originality is the paramount concern. These challenges don’t prevent pianists from trying their hands at solo sessions. But it’s instructive to note that the memorable ones, such as the piano dates here by an American, a Canadian, a Catalan and a Russian, use different strategies to attain matchless quality.

Agustí Fernández’s El laberint de la memòria (Mbari Musica MBARI 04 www.mbari­musica.com) is the closest to what many expect from a solo recital. That’s because the Barcelona-based pianist, best-known for his improvisational work with experimenters such as bassist Barry Guy, based the 14 ruminations which make up this program on 20th century Spanish so-called classical music. The originality results because Fernández doesn’t play any of that music but instead offers interpretations birthed from careful, repeated listening to many of those compositions. Fernández’s magisterial elucidations include such chamber music staples as subtle dynamic shifts and exposing waterfalls of carefully positioned notes, but he isn’t limited to flourishes. A kinetic piece such as Catedral for instance may have metronomic theme elaboration, but his touch is such that soundboard echoes continue to ring long after syncopated octaves flash and flow. More moderated tunes such as Tonada which melodically echo both Hatikvah and Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child use both strains to never slip into bathos while sustaining a delicate interface. Balanced precisely, L’esmoldor not only proffers a baroque-like series of gentle key strokes, but contrasts them with kalimba-like string strokes. Also for every bouncing theme exposition or instance of breezy swing, Fernández brings a tougher stance to other tracks — or as contrast on the same ones. For instance his measured, mandolin-like strums on unwound treble strings during Pluja Sorda are coupled with repeated key slaps, with the narrative becoming more staccato as sympathetic rattles and rumbles move past the strings and soundboard and begin reflecting the timbres from key-frame wood.

Another sophisticated piano explorer is Calgary-born Kris Davis, whose musical studies in Toronto led to a New York career working with the likes of saxophonist Tony Malaby. On Aeriol Piano (Clean Feed CF 233 CD www.cleanfeed-records.com) she delves into the instrument which can simultaneously express the qualities of a harp and percussion. She can do so at near-warp speed as she demonstrates on Good Citizen where high-frequency glissandi skip and slither across the keyboard until dynamic tremolos give way to hesitant plinks that could be recasting Chopsticks. She also plays at moderate tempos as on A Different Kind of Sleep, where tones unroll with taffy pull-like slowness as lower-pitched harmonies sympathetically ring. Mallet-teased strings dominate the exposition of Saturn Returns, working up to a broken-octave confrontation among internal string pops, wooden exterior slaps and stopped keyboard pulses. Her technique isn’t all reductionist though as she demonstrates on the first track which backs away from repeated flourishes and affiliated note exaggerations to reveal a balladic recasting of All the Things You Are.

Fernández’s and Davis’ under-the-hood, speaking-length explorations are taken to a logical extreme on Double Zero (Porter Records PRCD-4063 www.porterrecords.com). Inspired equally by the music of Conlon Nancarrow, Ornette Coleman, Henry Cowell and Thelonious Monk, New York state resident Denman Maroney uses temporal harmony on what he calls a “hyperpiano” to produce a keyboard program in several tempos at once. The instrument’s strings are plucked, slapped and bowed after being prepared with copper bars, steel cylinders, Tibetan prayer bowls and rubber blocks. From the first literal discord heard on this nine-part suite, the crackling friction exposed insinuates harpsichord and Celtic harp quivers, as well as kalimba and guzheng reverberations plus suggestions of a metal saw. Still his subtle keyboard phrasing on tracks such as Double Zero Part II confirms that it’s a piano which is the major sound source. This program reaches its climax on Double Zero Part VI where Maroney`s arpeggio-rich continuum that’s almost impressionistic in its exposition unfolds alongside low-pitched, tremolo blows on the prepared strings abrasive enough to sound partials and extensions as well as root tones, involving the back frame, bottom board and capotes bar as much as the speaking length. Finally a series of sweeping glissandi are backed by cymbal-like reverberations for the finale. Elsewhere his staccato touch implies a duet between a portable keyboard and an all-metal double bass, although there are still enough cascades and pitch-sliding polytones audible that the pianistic balance is never subsumed by friction-laden clips or excited string patterns.

A disparate but even more demanding approach to solo playing is displayed brilliantly on Spinning Songs of Herbie Nichols (Leo Records CD LR 632 www.leorecords.com). Unaccompanied and only using the instrument’s accepted range and properties, Simon Nabatov creates original takes on eight compositions by under-appreciated American pianist/composer Herbie Nichols (1919-1963). Although the scholarly, sporadically-recorded Nichols was Bronx born of Trinidadian parents and never lived anywhere but New York, Nabatov’s position as an outsider allows him to bring more than technical skills to a rethink of Nichols’ tunes. Russian-born and educated, Nabatov lived in New York for a decade and now resides in Köln. Closer to the European tradition than the composer, who admired Prokofiev, Nabatov’s approach often slows down the originals, introducing his own harmonic language to the late composer’s running chords and subtle swing. Hear this on a stately elaboration of The Third World. Persuasively elaborating Nichols’ polyphony with hard syncopation and popping stops, the pianist’s take is both chromatic and creative. Similarly his jocular version of Terpsichore contains enough showy glissandi to advance the juddering melody in different tempos, while the sprinkling of staccato pumps overlaid with harsh passing chords creates a recurring syncopation that builds excitement like the repeated coda on Count Basie’s April in Paris. The most profound example of the ingenuity implicit in Nichols’ writing and Nabatov’s playing occurs with Blue Chopsticks. Pushing the composer’s kinetic variant of the amateur pianist’s hoary chestnut even further out, Nabatov never loses the groove. Yet with staccato extrusions and discursive glissandi he’s able to simultaneously reflect the original line, Nichols’ rearrangement and his own variation on the theme.

Judging by these CDs, and how different each sounds, there appears to be as many original methods to treat solo piano playing as there are piano keys and strings.

For some time now, Toshiba EMI has been remastering existing stereo recordings from EMI into SACD s that have been the buzz in audiophile circles around the world, in spite of the very high price tag. More expensive yet are the SACD re-masters processed and marketed by Esoteric, selling for around $75 a disc. Both companies do their conversions in Japan from the “master tapes” owned by EMI, Decca and Sony. EMI has the real masters in its Abbey Road Studios in London and utilizes EMI technology for the High Definition Sound reissue series. The process consists of painstakingly comparing the original analog productions to determine the correct equalization and play-back curves to ensure a truthful realization of the original sound of the analog originals. This multi-step process is described in the notes that are bound into individual hard cover art books into which the discs and original production documents, in full colour, are reproduced. They are distributed by EMI Canada and sell for domestic prices. So far, there is no duplication of albums. With one exception the discs are stereo hybrid SACD/CDs. I was intrigued by the concept of an SACD version of an original monaural recording, in this case the famous Debussy’s Complete Piano Works played by Walter Gieseking (509999 559172, 4 discs). Although it should not have been, what I heard was a complete surprise. From between the speakers came the familiar sound of Gieseking’s piano, as fresh as it was when he recorded these works in Abbey Road’s Studio 3 between 1951 and 1954 when he was acknowledged as the supreme interpreter of Debussy’s piano works. It was a thorn in the French psyche that a German pianist eclipsed their own as the great Debussy interpreter. How appropriate that these treasured performances are included in this first release of the new reissues.

Bruckner’s Eighth and Ninth Symphonies are heard in recordings from 1963 and 1961 with Carl Schuricht conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, recorded in the Musikverein (509999 559842, 2 discs). Schuricht was a consummate Bruckner conductor long before the composer became fashionable, amply demonstrated in these two powerful readings.

It has been a few years since I heard the following symphonies under the baton of Otto Klemperer and I had remembered them as, well, a little stodgy. Mozart: The Last Six Symphonies with the Philharmonia and the New Philharmonia (509999 559322, 3 discs) and Mendelssohn’s Third and Fourth Symphonies plus Schumann’s Fourth Symphony with the Philharmonia (509999 559102, 2 discs). Mozart’s scores might seem to be weighed down by a modern orchestra but that was the fashion until recently. Klemperer hears it the “old” way and, in fact, makes a reasonably good case for the practice. The Mendelssohns are well sprung and the Schumann is quite convincing. The recorded sound is true to the originals … only cleaner.

This first release would not be complete without Jacqueline du Pré’s most famous recording, the Elgar Cello Concerto under the direction of Sir John Barbirolli who also conducts Elgar’s often sublime song cycle, Sea Pictures with Janet Baker at her very best (509999 559052, 2 discs). The second disc is all Delius; the Cello Concerto with du Pré, Songs of Farewell and A Song Before Sunrise all conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent. The disc is a treasure that should be gracing every collection.

Sviatoslav Richter plays piano concertos by Dvorˇák, Grieg and Schumann conducted by Carlos Kleiber (Dvořák) and Lovro von Matacic. Here is Richter in his prime (1976 and 1974) and the emerging Carlos Kleiber yet to hit the big time (509999 559892, 2 discs). Powerhouse performances from Richter in all three with matching support from his conductors.

Pianist Georges Cziffra truly was a legend in his own lifetime. He was simply untouchable in Liszt’s keyboard extravaganzas and EMI recorded him extensively including the 12 Transcendental Etudes and the complete Hungarian Rhapsodies, in addition to The Mephisto Waltz No.1 and Gnomenreigen. Recorded between 1957 and 1975 in the Salle Wagram, Paris, assembling and issuing them in this series was a stroke of genius (509999 55962 2, 3 discs).

Giuseppe di Stefano sounds very fresh singing 33 Neapolitan Songs, recorded in Milan in 1953 and 1961 (509999 55926 2, 2 discs).

In his early years, could any singer top the late Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in Schubert Lieder? Every month, music lovers everywhere looked for new releases. He was incomparable. Selected recordings from 1955 through 1959 appear on an invaluable collection, newly prepared for this series (509999 559692, 4 discs).

And one more: the Beethoven Triple Concerto with David Oistrakh, Mstislav Rostropovich and Sviatoslav Richter conducted by von Karajan in Berlin plus, from Cleveland, George Szell conducting Oistrakh and Rostropovich in the Brahms Violin Concerto and Double Concerto (509999 55978 2, 2 discs).

These reissues are a perfect example of the art that conceals the art, as there is absolutely no evidence that there have been adjustments in the sound of the originals. Maybe their motto is Do No Harm.

Complete recordings of Gotterdammerung on LP date back to a special performance centred around the renowned, now legendary, soprano Kirsten Flagstad who had been the Wagnerian soprano, recognized in opera houses around the globe. This was a concert production intended as a farewell performance recorded in the studios of Norwegian Radio, the missing passages being recorded two months later and a virtually complete version prepared for commercial release by Decca. Set Svanholm is the Siegfried with an impressive Egil Nordsjø as Hagen, supported by a first class cast with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norwegian State Radio Orchestra and a studio chorus all conducted by Øivin Fjelstad. Naxos has thankfully returned it to the catalogue in a newly restored four CD set (8.112066-69). This is a full-scale production with much to offer and little or nothing to complain about. In crystal-clear, distortion-free monaural sound with fine presence and ample dynamics, this is a full-blooded realization of the closing chapter of Wagner’s ultimate music drama, the ever fascinating, incomparable Ring cycle.

Product of musical miscegenation, jazz has always been most welcome to sound influences. Meanwhile, much of so-called ethnic music, especially from non-Western countries, features some variants of improvisation. Blending the freedom of jazz with aleatory additions from other cultures produces provocative sounds as these CDs attest. Yet all are noteworthy because, rather than using either music as mere exotica or rhythmic overlay, each is performed with the same respect.

Indian-American alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa has dealt with his dual heritage before, but on Samdhi (ACT Music 9513-2 www.actmusic.com), recorded just after he had attended an intensive two and a half week Carnatic music festival in India, it is upfront with the inclusion of the mridangam and kanjira drum playing of “Anad” Anantha Krishnan. Not willing to settle for mere Indo-Jazz lines, Mahanthappa also recruited guitarist David Gilmore and drummer Damion Reid plus Toronto electric bassist Rich Brown to lay down the sort of funk-inflected licks they would bring to a jazz-rock session. The most emblematic example of this is simply titled Ahhh. On the surface it sounds like a folksy tune with Mahanthappa’s saxophone taking the singer’s role. Yet beneath the folksiness Krishnan is pumping and double tapping as if he was on a Mumbai-recorded session, while at mid-point Gilmore and Brown churn double-timed licks as if preparing for an R&B gig. Meantime Mahanthappa’s reed line echoes as if he’s playing with a varitone attachment. Still the arrangement here is traditional enough to include a recapped head. A similar strategy is used on Killer, but there sax timbres reflect both jazzy slurs and a snake-charmer’s flute’s quivers. Overall the feature includes echoing vamps from Gilmore and Brown, heavy bashing from Reid and some shuddering frame-drum licks. With other tracks ranging from the mid-tempo ballad For all the Ladies, that includes delicate finger-style licks from Gilmore mixed with Carnatic beats, to Breakfastlunchanddinner suggesting what avant saxophonist Ornette Coleman would sound like if he played in a session built on powerful drum pops and twanging guitar runs, the sonic permutations and innovations of this CD are nearly limitless.

So too are the polyphonic textures expressed by Iraqi-American trumpeter Amir ElSaffar’s Two Rivers Ensemble in a suite inspired by the ancient Mesopotamian god of carnal love and warfare that is Inana (PI Pi41 www.pirecordings.com). Mahanthappa was initially a member of this ensemble but has been replaced by saxophonist Ole Mathisen. ElSaffer, who studied Mangam vocalizing and playing the santour or hammered dulcimer in Iraq, utilizes Middle Eastern currents alongside his microtonal trumpet skills. The sextet is filled out by bassist Carlo DeRosa and drummer Nasheet Waits plus two experts in Arabic modal scales: oudist/percussionist Zafer Tawil and Tareq Abboushi who plays buzuq or fretted lute. Throughout, Mesopotamian rhythms jostle against Balkan horn patterns, co-existing next to double bass slaps and percussion backbeats. Thus lockstep Europeanized harmonies often abut frenetic cadenzas from the soloists. Yet even at their most “ethnic,” Abboushi’s rasgueado string movements coupled with Mathisen’s multiphonic slurs could still be those of saxophonist John Coltrane working with guitarist Wes Montgomery. Furthermore, ElSaffar’s capillary blowing ranges from heraldic to hushed, with contrapuntal explorations reflecting Miles Davis’ experiments with modes and frequently seconded by bass-string pops and drum kit colouring. Note the allusions when a track such as Inana’s Dance (I, II, III) is contrasted with the extended Journey to the Underworld. On the former as free-form percussion ratamacues mix it up with layered horn notes, the tremolo trumpet slurs have more to do with New Orleans than New Babylon, while Abboushi could be strumming a Dixieland tenor banjo. Meanwhile the bassist walks as the different sections evolve parallel to one another. Journey to the Underworld, on the other, hand begins and ends with keening vocalization from ElSaffar that evolves to melismatic yodeling, with dumbek crunches, kinetic strumming and Arabic-sounding reed accompaniment. However the middle section balances on off-centre thump bass, rolls and rim shots from Waits, contrapuntal trills from Mathisen and sharper retorts from the trumpeter.

These discs involve Westerners coming to terms with their dynastic roots, but Baro 101 (Terp Records AIS-19 www.terprecords.nl) follows a different path. Named for the Addis Ababa hotel room in which it was recorded, Baro 101 captures a jam session among free jazz improvisers, Swedish baritone saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love who were performing in Ethiopia, and local Mesele Asmamaw, who plays the pentatonic scale-tuned krar or six-stringed bowl-shaped lyre. Asmamaw creates licks that could be attributed to guitar, mandolin, banjo, steel guitar or string bass and the Europeans surmise different strategies to complement each twang. Gustafsson’s bulky snorts, resonating tongue slaps and subterranean burbles usually dominate the tunes’ percussive base. This leaves Nilssen-Love free to use everything from cross sticking to bass-drum clobbering as polyrhythmic responses to Asmamaw’s multi-string forays. Nephritic cries from the reedist merely deepen the creative tension. Alternately, when he’s fully in the moment, Asmamaw vocalizes in high-pitched Amharic, accompanying himself with rapid frailing. It’s likely the Arabic lilt that appears in Gustafsson’s riffs is purely illusionary. Yet his vamping counterpoint can be related to Scottish or Iberian bagpipe vibrations the same way that Asmamaw’s percussive finger-picking simulates a banjoist’s claw-hammer picking or a mandolinist’s rapid chromatic runs. Eventually, after many crescendos of saxophone tongue stops and altissimo slurs, steady backbeat or gliding stick pressure on the drums plus string patterns that use a wah-wah pedal as well as straight strumming, the three reach a satisfying climax of chromatic snaps, pops and plucks.

Alone, but not quite solo, Brampton’s David Sait produces a unique take on mixing ethnic sounds with improv on History Ship (Apprise Records AP-05 www.guzheng.co). Although he plays a 21-string Chinese guzheng or plucked, half-tube zither with movable bridges, Sait uses arbitrary tuning to produce alternative intonation that alters the expected timbres of an instrument whose antecedent was developed about 220 B.C. As the CD progresses, the results are simultaneously deconstructed and cacophonous. Plus he adds samples of echoing voice to further counter any tendency towards the harmonious. By the time The Bells of Ischgl arrives, Sait’s improvising resembles that of two tandem guitarists, one whose crunching runs are bluesy and the other whose slurred fingering layers tone extensions on top of individual plucked notes. Processed samples, introduced here and on the concluding Wood Stack Rockslide Avalanche make the sequences dissonant, inchoate and fascinating. Creating additional percussion sounds by hand hammering the strings, while elongating glissandi so they judder as much as they skim, Sait formulates oscillations that should come from electronics but are created acoustically. Similarly, bent notes alongside distorted flat picking coupled with sampled drum smacks create a bottom for his experiments. Decisively he isolates the occasional harp-like arpeggio so that the buzzing interface plus abrasive wood patterning don’t completely obliterate string characteristics.

Using an ancient ethnic instrument for 21st-century improvising, Sait creates a soundfield well worth exploring, as do the other CDs here, which bend and blend traditional non-Western music with free-form improvisation.

Bach – St. John Passion
Choir of King’s College,Cambridge; Stephen Cleobury
Brilliant Classics 94316

Bach – St. John Passion
Bach Choir of Bethlehem; Bach Festival Orchestra; Greg Funfgeld
Analekta AN 2 9890-1

J.S. Bach’s sacred works for soloists, choir and orchestra are all mind-bogglingly wonderful, so to be appointed the task of considering these two excellent performances of his St. John Passion was a true Easter treat. The first is a new release from the Bach Choir of Bethlehem (Pennsylvania), the second a re-issue of a 1995 release featuring the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge. Both choirs have a venerable history: the Bethlehem group was the first Bach Choir founded in the USA (in 1891) and gave that country’s premiere performance of Bach’s B Minor Mass in 1900; and the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, has been one of England’s premiere choral groups for eons. The BCB is partnered in this recording project by their own Bach Festival Orchestra, playing on modern instruments, while the CKCC is accompanied by the Brandenburg Consort on period instruments.

The soloists on both recordings are all outstanding. Though all the wonderful singers in the CKCC reissue are now no longer on the regular soloist “circuit,” the combined cast listings read like a partial “Who’s Who” of the baroque scene. Of special note in the BCB performance is Charles Daniels who, as always, bestows his consummate clarity, intelligence and expressiveness upon the role of the Evangelist. The other soloists are also excellent, particularly soprano Julia Doyle who imbues “Ich forge Dir gleichfalls” with the perfect blend of delight and innocence. With the CKCC, John Mark Ainsley also sings a very fine Evangelist, and hearing the voices of Paul Agnew, Stephen Varco and Catherine Bott makes for a cheerful trip down memory lane.

Both choirs sing with impeccable ensemble and depth of expression; the Bethlehem group in particular sounds truly congregational in the chorales, a very welcome quality. The orchestral playing in both is first-class, with refined expressiveness, clarity and attention to detail, and the continuo group players in both are equally top-notch. While the thoughtful playing of the Brandenburg Consort on period instruments is a little more to my own taste, the Bach Festival Orchestra players play elegantly, adopting “historically informed” influence with skill and flexibility. Kudos to all involved in these two excellent recordings.

Cantate Domino
Ottawa Bach Choir; Lisette Canton
Independent 2011
www.ottawabachchoir.ca

The Ottawa Bach Choir celebrates its tenth anniversary with the release of this recording which includes the choir’s favourite repertoire. Bach, of course, is given pride of place with first and last selections; first being the wedding cantata, Der Herr denket an uns BWV196, and lastly the motet Der Geist hilft unsrer Schwachheit BWV226. A small baroque ensemble led by violinist Hélène Plouffe serving as orchestra shines brilliantly in the opening Sinfonia and director Lisette Canton coaxes excellent work from the choir throughout. The choir’s namesake appears again in a later setting; Knut Nystedt’s Immortal Bach, in which the theme taken from Komm süsser Tod BWV478, with layered notes from the original, is sung in different time intervals. Rather than the expected fugal effect, a unique and ethereal mass voice emerges alternating between consonance and dissonance.

Soloists shine in Monteverdi’s Beatus vir, and Messiaen’s O sacrum convivium! shows off the choir’s warm and unified responsiveness. One can only wish the Ottawa Bach Choir continues to delight their audience for (at least) another ten years.

I’ve Got A Crush On You
Measha Brueggergosman
Kelp Records 333
www.kelprecords.com

Measha Brueggergosman is one of those vexing creatures — the unpredictable artist. Just when you think you know where to place her, out comes Measha — the host of Canada’s Got Talent; Measha — the CBC’s celebrity panellist; Measha — live in concert in the Maritimes. Her recent DVD appearance in The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny welcomed with considerable critical acclaim for both singing and acting, opened the possibility of Measha, the credible Weill and cabaret performer … Well, not so fast. I’ve Got a Crush on You throws yet another spanner in the works. If you expect a solid, even and predictable collection of standards old and new, forget about it. The range of this album is enormous — from a cringe-inducing Secret Heart to a brilliant and jazzy Both Sides Now, to a hilarious send-up of Misty (with whom else but Martin Short) to the greatly nuanced title song and Embraceable You. Brueggergosman is at her best when she trusts her innate sense of rhythm, her sultry voice and the considerable talent of the accompanying musicians. The low points come when she tries to force the non-operatic works into an operatic idiom. So yet again, she confounds expectations, surprises, and at times delights — come to think about it, something that every artist should strive for. A must for her fans, and a worthy detour for the curious. I wonder what she will come up with next …

Concert Notes: “An Evening with Measha Brueggergosman” includes selections from I’ve Got a Crush on You at the Grand Theatre in Kingston on May 4 and at the Showplace in Peterborough on May 17.

Une fête Baroque
Le Concert d’Astrée; Emannuelle Haïm
Virgin Classics 50999 730799 2 7

Le Concert d’Astrée celebrated ten years together with a commemorative event at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées last December, uniting 24 soloists in a gala fund-raising display of talents for the Gustave Roussy Foundation which seeks non-standard treatments for cancer.

Rameau is the first composer selected for the gala. Natalie Dessay and Stéphane Degout are the soloists leading the choir of savages in Rameau’s Les Indes galantes; there is nothing savage about the interpretations! Anne Sofie von Otter’s plaintive “Air de Phèdre” is greatly enhanced by the string-players in the song from Hippolyte et Aricie, an opera which also affords us Jaël Azzaretti as a shepherdess in “Rossignols amoureux.”

This double CD should not be misinterpreted as purely a collection of intense baroque arias; Patricia Petibon’s “La Folie” from the ballet-bouffon Platée and the audience’s live laughter prove this.

Sometimes there are pleasant surprises in this worthy anthology. “What Power Art Thou,” the “cold song” from Purcell’s King Arthur, is performed by Christopher Purves to, dare one say it, chilling effect.

Handel’s music dominates the second CD. Sacred and secular, his most popular operas are treated with passion by singers and instrumentalists. How better to end than with the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah — with audience participation?

And there is even a rendition of Purcell’s Sound the Trumpet which, I hope, would have appealed to Purcell’s sense of humour!

Bach – Goldberg Variations
David Jalbert
ATMA ACD2 2557

Bach – Goldberg Variations
Daniel Barenboim
EuroArts 2066778

We have so many “Goldbergs” to choose from. In fact Goldbergitis fever insures us that one or more new versions will be released each year. What differentiates each of these performances? There is also the question of whether any of the new CDs will ever replace the two iconic Glenn Gould recordings. Often the choice is subjective and sentimental. I grew up listening to the Gould version but I also love Andras Schiff, Murray Perahia and the very personal and unique performance by Simone Dinnerstein. What puts new CDs in the top echelon of Goldberg recordings? I believe it is the quality of tone, effortless technique, virtuosic control and command of the contrapuntal lines, orchestrating the piano and the indecipherable quotient of magic.

David Jalbert on the ATMA label certainly has the virtuoso technique and articulation to be in the elite few. The opening Aria was beautifully shaded and his control of quick passagework in succeeding variations was crisp and articulate. I enjoyed his smooth lines which created an extremely musical flow in spite of the many embellishments and busy counterpoint. His playing was always controlled, yet incisive without being metronomic. His sensitivity to the tempi for each variation made for engaged listening. Jalbert’s tonal quality is not as warm and sweet as Dinnerstein’s or Perahia’s but his command and power at the keyboard is unquestionable. I found his trills to be remarkably even and precise. What makes this recording work for me is that Jalbert discovered the thread that links each variation and he made the performance a cohesive masterpiece.

I also like the liner notes by Robert Rival. I found his writing very informative and revealing from a composer’s perspective. It brought to life Bach’s complex and virtuosic composition technique in creating this remarkable and timeless work of art.

Released this year, the DVD of Daniel Barenboim’s performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations was actually recorded in 1992 and I was surprised to hear such a sensitive and musical interpretation. Past performances have not always lived up to expectations in tonal quality. This performance exudes energy and deep emotional commitment to the work. Barenboim uses a wide range of dynamics and articulations to create the instrumental sounds from Bach’s time.

He makes pianistic references to the famous high trumpet, the oboe, the string family and the organ. Barenboim has created an orchestra from the piano. This is no surprise as he is a highly respected conductor and it shows in his “orchestration” of each variation. His faster variations are dance-like and real toe-tappers. However, despite the speed or tempo he never loses his refined touch and exquisite control of the rhythm and ornaments. Each variation breathes musically, dances, sings or speaks in a contemplative manner. Although linked, each variation tells a unique story.

Anthony Short in his excellent program notes wrote that if Bach’s early biographer Johann Forkel is to be believed, when Bach’s extended family got together they often struck up a chorale that would mix spiritual and serious songs with comic and scabrous popular tunes of the era. These improvising harmonies produced a quodlibet which is a contrapuntal combination of several different popular songs featuring a selection of lowly brassica vegetables such as the tune for “Cabbages and turnips have driven me away, had my Mother cooked meat, I’d have opted to stay.” I feel that Barenboim captured the spirit of this quodlibet in several of the variations as well as the reflective and spiritual quality of some of the other variations.

Both Barenboim and Jalbert have virtuosic techniques and the ability to cast a spell when performing this work. Both have the communicative and musical skills to take their place in the elite group of Goldberg performers. If I had to choose between Jalbert and Barenboim I would pick Barenboim. His playing had a greater range of tonal colour and dynamics. I don’t mean dynamics as simply loud and soft but dynamics that created different moods and instrumental soundscapes. I also thought his warm touch gave him a slight edge over Jalbert. I would love to hear Jalbert record the Goldberg many years from now. I was mesmerized by his recording now but what an amazing performance he will give in the years to come. We are so lucky to have an artist like David Jalbert in Canada.

Picking your favorite Goldberg CD is such a subjective experience. Do any of them knock Gould off his iconic pedestal? Depends on the day but I believe that these two recent performances join him in that special group with others which are certain to come. This is indeed a testament to the great J.S. Bach whose music continues to be such a joy and revelation that we forever keep searching and learning from his masterpieces.

Bach; Ysaÿe; Oesterle
Aisslinn Nosky
Independent IF004
www.aisslinn.com

Suite Inspiration
Jonathan Swartz
Soundset SR1039
www.Jonathan-Swartz.com

These are two fascinating discs both of which feature strong performances of the music for unaccompanied violin by J.S. Bach and other more modern pieces which reflect and refract the glorious light of Bach’s works.

The irrepressible and omnipresent Aisslinn Nosky is one of the Toronto music scene’s precious treasures. As this, her debut solo CD, proves, she is possessed of a rock-solid technique and an open and probing musical mind. Three extended pieces for solo violin make up the program: the Partita in E Major by Bach, Eugene Ysaÿe’s Sonata Op.27 No.2 and Stand Still, written especially for Nosky in 2011 by the German-Canadian composer Michael Oesterle.

Oesterle’s captivating piece is both minimalist and lyrical and exploits the “voice” of the violin to great effect. Nosky’s performance, with its varied dynamics and articulation, brings out the fanciful character of the music as well as its fragility. The Bach partita and Ysaÿe’s sonata are inextricably linked thematically and are both given luminous performances here. Nosky’s playing and musical intentions are crystal clear throughout and her free and bright sound is well supported by the fine production values of the disc.

The Toronto-born violinist Jonathan Swartz was educated at Rice University and Mannes College, and teaches at Arizona State University, where he is active as a soloist and chamber musician. His cleverly-titled CD Suite Inspiration is filled with dance movements for solo violin by Johann Georg Pisendel, J.S. Bach and the Canadian composer Kieren MacMillan. Following a chronological order, Swartz begins the disc with the weakest piece, unfortunately. Though it is given a convincing performance, Pisendel’s A Minor Sonata doesn’t have enough interest to either move or entertain. The highlight of the program is MacMillan’s Suite No.1 and intriguing Chaconne, which — with its hypnotic, circular patterns — provides a trance-inducing, deeply satisfying conclusion to Swartz’s program.

Both Nosky’s and Swartz’s performances of Bach’s works are brave and thoughtful. My fondest wish for both players – if it’s not too corny to say — is that they keep searching their hearts for ever deeper ways to bring this music across, and that they keep revisiting this repertoire, as I know they will, throughout their careers. There is a delicious sense of abandon in Nosky’s live playing that is captured thankfully in spades, in her recording of the E Major Partita, especially in the outer movements. Swartz’s performance of the D Minor Partita, with the biblically-proportioned final Chaconne, is a little more reserved and careful and is at times marred by questionable ornamentation choices.

These are two welcome additions to any violin-lover’s collection. Bravo to both players for commissioning new works from excellent, imaginative composers and for sharing their musical “voices” so generously.

Chopin Recital 2
Janina Fialkowska
ATMA ACD2 2666

Chopin – Volume 2
Louis Lortie
Chandos CHAN 10714

Two artists, each presenting a second instalment in their Chopin discography, invite us to ponder their muse through the music of Chopin.

While both Louis Lortie and Janina Fialkowska record on Steinway pianos, their sound is remarkably different. The Lortie/Chandos recording is dark, more heavily pedaled and given more room. Whether this darker tone is the result of instrument voicing or recording equalization is unclear. But the contrast to Fialkowska’s brighter, more present sound lays the groundwork for appreciating the difference between these two pianists.

Fialkowska is quick, articulate and generous with interpretive variations in her tempi. The impression her playing gives is of an artist revelling in the energy of Chopin’s pianistic dance forms. Her command of this composer’s language leaves no doubt about her convictions to follow Chopin through the turmoil of cascading note clusters and the depths of melancholic harmonies. Her playing gives the impression that she feels quite “in-charge” of this material but never surrenders herself entirely to the seduction of Chopin’s voice. Still, she performs very much from “inside” the music.

Lortie is no less an interpreter or technician. He is adept at fluidity of phrasing and coaxing Chopin’s menacing growls to emerge from the piano’s bass register. He favours a more weighty approach that blends keyboard articulation into longer ideas. Somehow, Lortie introduces a stronger element of mystery into this same music. We recognize the composer and his language but see him in less definite terms, with more unanswered questions.

The two recordings present different repertoire with Fialkowska playing waltzes, polonaises and mazurkas, along with the larger F Minor Fantaisie and the B-Flat Minor Scherzo. Lortie, by contrast, gives us nocturnes, ballades, the Berceuse and Barcarolle. Both, however, perform the Ballade No.2 in F Major Op.38 and here we find ground for a revealing comparison.

What appears to distinguish these two extraordinary artists is the extent to which they pull back the curtain to reveal Chopin. The opening ideas of the ballade are short and tender, supported by simple but artful harmonies that return as a coda to close the work. Between them lies a bombastic and turbulent middle section that demands breathtaking technique.

Fialkowska is ready to expose both the explosive and the deeply intimate by pushing the piano to its technical limits from massive volume to notes that are barely played. It’s an all-or-nothing approach with immediate impact. Lortie, by contrast, keeps back from the brink and doesn’t take us all the way to where we know the emotional journey must surely go. This distance of untraveled emotion may be the key to the mystique in Lortie’s art — the power of unfulfilled expectation.

Both these artists command complete attention. Their interpretations are mature and eminently credible. Which of these a listener favours may depend merely upon the mood of the moment. Any serious Chopin collector should own both of these recordings.

Legends
Caroline Léonardelli; Matthew Larkin
Centaur Records CEN1110

Now here’s something you don’t come across every day: an album of music for harp and organ. Harpist Caroline Léonardelli joins organist Matthew Larkin in a singular recital of celestial sounds from the post-Romantic era. The music of Marcel Grandjany, doyen of the French harp school in North America, opens the disc in an understated fashion with his solemn and dignified Aria in Classic Style. Russia is represented by the second movement from Glière’s Harp Concerto, a livelier work with some lovely registrations provided in the arrangement by Matthew Larkin. A heavyweight from Vienna incongruously appears in the form of the Adagietto from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. I’m sorry to say the balance of the instruments here is frankly a travesty. The overstated harp part, copied verbatim from the orchestral version in an unimaginative transcription by Joachim Dorfmüller, is not, and was never meant to be, a concerto! (Mahlerians might care to seek out David Biggs’ mind-blowing performance of the complete symphony on the Gloucester Cathedral organ.) Two extended works follow by the equally obscure composers Rudolf Zingel and Alfred Holy, both entitled Légende. Athematic and teeming with arpeggios, they are well-nigh stylistically indistinguishable from each other. The Concerto for Harp by the American Leo Sowerby struck me as the most effective and imaginative work of the lot, providing numerous opportunities to demonstrate the registral varieties of the organ of Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa.

Mahler aside, the recording values are generally excellent and the artists are both at the top of their game. The packaging however is infuriating, replete with confusing layouts, virtually illegible English translations and no track timings. To add insult to injury, the identity of the very well-maintained organ is nowhere apparent until one removes the disc from its spindle. Here’s hoping Centaur gives the estimable Mr. Larkin his due in the future with a disc of solo organ music.

Wagner en Suisse
Orchestre Symphonique Bienne;
Thomas Rosner
ATMA ACD2 2580

Tribschen, the Wagner villa in Lucerne, is on the cover of this surprisingly beautiful collection by ATMA. I visited this house and its breathtaking surroundings exactly 100 years after Siegfried Idyll was first performed in its central staircase as “Symphonic Birthday Gift” to his soon-to-be second wife, Cosima von Bülow (December 25, 1870). Wagner’s Swiss exile due to political reasons is so rich in significant events, inspiration and compositional scope that volumes could be written. Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger, the completion of Siegfried will barely scratch the surface …

The original chamber version of Siegried Idyll dreamily performed recreating the intimate acoustic properties of the house, suitably starts off the program. This is followed later by Traume, an early study for the phenomenal second act love duet, dedicated to Mathilde Wesendonk, his Zurich benefactor’s wife and object of Wagner’s tempestuous love affair that inspired Tristan und Isolde. All this and much more is contained here, lovingly played by the Orchestre Symphonique Bienne conducted by a young and up and coming Thomas Rösner. His fresh inspiration breathes new soul into these works.

In stark contrast, Richard Strauss’ “sojourn en Suisse” in 1946 was not really an exile, more like an escape from the defeat of the Third Reich (whose composer emeritus he was), looking for greener pastures and a more comfortable life. His Oboe Concerto written, ironically, for an American GI oboist certainly reflects his newfound peace. Much inspired by Mozart, Strauss, by this time, abandoned his earlier, overheated post-Romantic, albeit masterful, style. Performed to perfection and virtuoso grace by Louise Pellerin, it makes an appropriate close to this highly recommendable new release.

Dvorˇák – String Quartet No.13; Cypresses
Cecilia String Quartet
Analekta AN 2 9892

Dvořák’s String Quartet No.13 in G Major was written towards the end of 1895, a particularly happy time in the composer’s life. Only a few months earlier, Dvořák had returned from his second successful tour of the USA and was now back in the familiar landscape of his beloved Bohemia. Working from his country home in Vysoká, he completed the quartet in just four weeks, putting the final touches on it on Christmas Day. The piece exudes contentment, and its buoyant spirit is clearly evident in this new Analekta recording featuring the Cecilia String Quartet.

Named for the patron saint of music, the Toronto-based ensemble formed when all four members were studying at the University of Toronto. The quartet won the Felix Galimir Chamber Music Award in 2005, went on to win first prize at the Banff International Quartet Competition in 2010 and has since made appearances both in Europe and North America. This is the Cecilia’s first recording in a series of four to be recorded for Analekta, and it’s a gem! From the quartet’s sprightly opening measures, the ensemble achieves a wonderful sense of balance throughout the finely interwoven counterpoint. The intonation is clear and precise, and there is none of the muddiness which can sometimes occur in string performance. The languorous lines of the Adagio result in a wonderful sound, while the Finale is treated with an arresting energy, the changes in mood and tempo adeptly handled.

An added bonus on this disc is the set of Cypresses Op.152. These expressions of young love initially began as songs, but were later adapted for string quartet. Together, they contain a bevy of contrasting moods, from yearning and tender to anguished and defiant. The Cecilia Quartet does them all justice, playing with an assured elegance, as it does the set of Two Waltzes Op.54 which rounds out this most satisfying recording.

Concert Note: This year’s Felix Galimir Prize will be presented to the Arkadas String Quartet in a concert at Walter Hall on Sunday May 13 at 3 PM. Arkadas will perform Beethoven’s “Serioso” quartet, Wolf’s Interlude and Bartok’s String Quartet No.6.

Toronto’s Windermere String Quartet was founded in 2005, but has only just released its first CD, The Golden Age of String Quartets, on Alison Melville’s Pipistrelle label (PIP0112). The ensemble bills itself as the Windermere String Quartet “on period instruments” and the players, violinists Rona Goldensher and Elizabeth Loewen Andrews, violist Anthony Rapoport and cellist Laura Jones, all have extensive experience with leading period instrument ensembles.

Their debut CD highlights the period at the heart of their repertoire, with Mozart’s Quartet in C Major K465, the “Dissonance,” Haydn’s Quartet in E-Flat Major Op.33 No.2, “The Joke,” and Beethoven’s Quartet in C Minor Op.18 No.4.

As you would expect, there is no overtly “romantic” approach to the playing here, but these are terrific interpretations, with fine ensemble playing, great dynamics and expression, excellent choices of tempo, sensitivity in the Mozart, a fine sense of humour in the Haydn and real passion in the Beethoven.

The recordings were made almost two years ago in St. Anne’s Anglican Church in Toronto, with the expert team of Norbert Kraft and Bonnie Silver, and the ambience is spacious and reverberant.

Period performances often display a sparsity of vibrato and a softness of attack that can make them sound somewhat flat and lifeless, and lacking in fullness and warmth — or at least, warmth the way we have come to expect it. There is never any danger of that here, though. These are period performances that blend life, spirit and soul with a perfectly-judged sensitivity for contemporary style and practice. It’s the perfect marriage, and hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for further offspring to accompany this exemplary debut disc.

Two interesting CDs of early Italian string quartets arrived recently, neither of which turned out to be quite what I expected.

Luigi Boccherini (1743–1805) is mostly remembered for his famous Minuet, but along with Haydn he was in at the birth of the string quartet form, writing close to 100 quartets, almost always in groups of six, starting with his Op.2 in 1761. The six String Quartets Op.8 from 1768 are featured on a budget re-issue CD from the Italian DYNAMIC label in excellent 1994 performances by the Quartetto d’archi di Venezia (DM8027).

Despite their brevity — the longest quartet is only 14 minutes long — and their limited emotional range, this is in no way merely functional music but true part-writing that is both well-balanced and idiomatic.

Niccolo Paganini wrote only three works in the quartet genre, but despite their being written some 50 years after Boccherini’s there is virtually no part-writing; it’s almost all first violin solo with string accompaniment. Perhaps surprisingly, this is not because Paganini wanted to display his virtuosic technique: they are, in fact, very much of their time. Paganini was a close friend of Rossini, and the music here — like Rossini’s — is essentially melodic, with no attempt at dialogue. The String Quartets Nos.1–3 are charming and competent, but with no great depth, and receive effortless performances by the Amati Ensemble String Quartet on Brilliant Classics (94287). These quartets live or die on the skills of the first violin, and happily, Dutch violinist Gil Sharon is more than up to the task.

The Goossens family was at the centre of English musical life in the first half of the 20th century. Eugene Goossens (1893-1962) is now mostly remembered for his conducting career, particularly in the USA, but he was trained as a violinist and composer. Naxos has issued an outstanding CD of his Complete Music for Violin and Piano, featuring violinist Robert Gibbs and pianist Gusztav Fenyo (8.572860).

The violin sonatas nos.1 and 2, from 1918 and 1930 respectively, are the major works here. Heifetz played the latter, and Goossens transcribed the Romance from his opera Don Juan de Manara for him. The Lyric Poem and the Old Chinese Folk-Song complete the disc.

Gibbs is simply perfect for this material, technically stunning, with a warm, sweet, lyrical sound and a fast and fairly constant vibrato very reminiscent of Heifetz. Fenyo is every bit his equal, especially in the demanding second sonata.

There is yet another CD – the third I’ve received in the past year – of the Six Sonatas for Solo Violin by Eugene Ysaÿe, this time by the American violinist Tai Murray (harmonia mundi HMU 907569). Given the number of versions available, these works obviously continue to be highly regarded and valued by violinists, even if music lovers in general seem to be unaware of their quality and significance.

This is Murray’s debut recording for the label, and it’s a real winner. She has a big, warm tone, and always keeps a clear inner line through the maze of multiple stoppings and technical challenges, with never a strained moment or jagged edge.

It’s almost impossible to recommend a single CD of these works, given the number currently available, but you really can’t go far wrong with this beautifully recorded and impeccably played interpretation.

The Chicago label Cedille has issued Volume II of The Soviet Experience, the series of String Quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich and his Contemporaries (CDR 90000 130), and it maintains the standard set by the first volume, reviewed in this column two months ago.

This time, the four Shostakovich quartets Nos.1-4 are paired with the String Quartet No.2 of Sergei Prokofiev, and the performances by the Pacifica Quartet once again show their great affinity for the music of this country and this period. The booklet notes and cover art are again outstanding.

I hope we won’t have to wait too long for the remaining volumes in this terrific series.

Naxos has issued another volume in its ongoing series of the Complete Violin Works of Pablo Sarasate. I think it’s volume six of a planned seven or eight – depending on which CD cover you believe – but I’m not sure, as the numbering system is a bit confusing: this is apparently Volume 3 of the Music for Violin and Piano (8.570893) and there have also been three numbered volumes of Music for Violin and Orchestra, two of which have been reviewed here. No matter, because it’s the music that counts, and once again the standard of composition never lags throughout the 14 short pieces.

In his booklet notes, Josef Gold rightly stresses not only Sarasate’s outstanding melodic gifts, which were far ahead of the other composers of salon pieces at the time, but also his skill in the piano accompaniments. Both aspects are fully evident on this delightful CD, which once again features the outstanding Tianwa Yang accompanied by Markus Hadulla. Melody does quite often overshadow pure virtuosity, but Yang is perfectly at ease with both. Hadulla supplies sympathetic and idiomatic support throughout.

Most of the tracks on this CD were recorded in Germany in 2007, with three of the longer tracks recorded there in late 2010. Yang apparently started the series in 2004, and while it seems to be taking quite some time to reach completion the quality of the playing and the standard of the production has remained extremely high.

Wachner, Julian – Triptych;
Concerto for Clarinet
Scott Andrews; McGill Chamber Orchestra; Julian Wachner
ATMA ACD2 2319

Sparked by multiple talents of composer-conductor Julian Wachner, this disc succeeds on all fronts! In Triptych, commissioned for the 100th anniversary of St. Joseph’s Oratory, organist Philippe Bélanger and Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain offer an exciting, insightful performance. Out of orchestral chaos the organ enters with chordal grandeur in the introductory “Logos.” An introspective two-part organ passage plus its aggressive string response become the bases for the following allegro. I was especially struck by the quiet return of the organ passage over a pedal note, now continued effectively with chimes. Bélanger and selected instrumentalists are beautifully reflective again in the middle movement “Agape,” the violins serene and inspired in the closing melody. The organist shines in the final “Angelus,” building steadily with the orchestra through tricky metre changes to a great, moving conclusion. Himself a virtuoso organist, Wachner has created long sonorities, repeated chords, and busy passages that are static harmonically to suit the highly reverberant space. Producer Johanne Goyette and engineer Anne-Marie Sylvestre deserve special mention for the sonic results.

On a lighter plane, Wachner’s eclectic Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra receives loving treatment from St. Louis Symphony principal clarinettist Scott Andrews and the McGill Chamber Orchestra. Andrews’ clarinet manages to be Coplandesque, jazzy, klezmerish and more in the expressive introduction and motoric allegro. Highly recommended.