Brahms - Piano Music Vol.3
Antonin Kubalek
Independent ak01 (www.cdbaby.com)

The Czech Republic’s loss was surely Canada’s gain the day Anton Kubálek decided to flee political unrest in his homeland in 1968 to settle in Toronto. Since that time, he has quietly carved out his niche, earning a reputation as an outstanding pianist, pedagogue, and recording artist, his talents exemplified in the nearly 20 CDs produced for the Dorian label.

This latest offering is one originally intended to be Volume 3 in a series of music by Brahms, but Kubálek managed to obtain the rights, and has released it personally. Recorded in 1995, it features four early works: the Sonata Op.1, the Ballades Op.10, the Variations on a Hungarian Song Op.21 #2, and the Scherzo Op.4. The sonata is a large-scale work - Brahms first attempt at the form - and from the opening chords, Kubálek treats this confident music with a bold assurance. Considerably more mysterious and dramatic are the four Ballades Op.10, music from 1854 inspired by the Scottish poem Eduard. The Variations and the Scherzo (Brahms earliest extant composition) abound in technical challenges, while possibly proving that the composer’s piano music is sometimes less than “pianistic.” But Kubálek meets the difficulties with apparent ease, demonstrating both virtuosity and intense lyricism, and without the flashiness that often characterizes the playing of many of his younger contemporaries. As always, he remains the consummate musician.

Since the fall of communism in 1989, Kubálek has travelled back to the Czech Republic several times in order to give recitals and hold master classes, but luckily for us, he has no intentions of returning permanently. May he continue to share his talents - both in concert and on fine CDs such as this one - for a long time to come.

Jeunesses Musicales Canada 60
Various Artists
Analekta AN 2 9927-8

Since the founding of Jeunesses Musicales du Canada 60 years ago in 1949 by Gilles Lefebvre following a meeting with Father J.H. Lemieux, Anaïs Allard-Rousseau and Laurette Desruisseaux-Boisvert, the admirable organization has been supporting young artists embarking on their concert careers through concert tours, scholarships, competitions, and just plain good advice on the various options available to them. Many acclaimed Canadian artists have played the JMC circuit – no wonder then that this two CD compilation features a plethora of world class Canadian JMC talent extracted from a number of previous Analekta releases.

Space prevents me from naming everyone, so here are my gems. The set kicks off with a gut wrenching performance of a man's heart breaking by bass Joseph Rouleau (with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden) in “Elle ne m'aime pas!” from Verdi's Don Carlos. Violinist James Ehnes is perfect in the Adagio from Bach's Sonata in G Major BMV 1021. Ensemble Caprice's take on Vivaldi's Concerto in C major RV 533 is surprisingly successful in its spirit. It is a joy to hear pianist Anton Kuerti as the accompanist to violinist Angèle Dubeau in Schubert's Sonata for violin and piano in D Major. The Gryphon Trio's rendition of Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires meticulously captures the quality of the composer's own performances.

I only wish more contemporary music had been included (even though harpist Valerie Milot is excellent in Salzedo's Scintillation). Also, performance dates would have made the liner notes more complete.

This is a fine release to enjoy time and time again, and a fitting tribute to JMC's 60 years of work with Canada's finest musicians.

Shostakovich - Symphony No. 8
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; Vasily Petrenko
Naxos 8.572392

The Eighth Symphony of Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) was composed in the summer of 1943 as Soviet forces turned the tide of war with their decisive victory at the Battle of Kursk. Though it is less well-know than its much-hyped predecessor, the garish “Leningrad” Symphony, it is in all respects a far superior work. The epic five-movement structure of the Eighth is balanced on a pair of memorable Scherzo movements that move from biting sarcasm to sheer terror, flanked by a poignant 25-minute opening movement and a finale terminating in an atmosphere of serene resignation. The ambiguous, highly personal language of the work was criticized for its dearth of overt patriotism and was poorly received. Christened the “Stalingrad” Symphony by Soviet propagandists, performances of the work were officially banned in 1948 and the work was not heard again in Russia until 1956.

This superb Naxos disc marks the third installment of a very promising series of Shostakovich symphonies conducted by Vasily Petrenko with the Liverpool Philharmonic. Though a mere 34 years old, the Russian maestro clearly has the Liverpool ensemble in his thrall. With his uncanny knack for drawing together the disparate elements of Shostakovich’s prolix language into a coherent argument and an equally fine ear for subtle interpretive details, Petrenko makes a very strong impression indeed. The recording is bright and spacious, the performance is excellent, and the price can’t be beat.

Minds
Ara Malikian; Daniel Del Pino
Non Profit Music NPM0911





No Seasons
Ara Malikian; Non Profit Music Chamber Orchestra
Non Profit Music NPM093 (www.nonprofitmjsic.org)

The Lebanese-born Armenian violinist Ara Malikian is one of the younger generation of soloists who, while classically trained, are not afraid to let other musical styles influence their playing.

Malikian, currently concert-master of the Madrid Symphony Orchestra, has recorded the solo works of Bach, Ysaÿe and Paganini, but is clearly very much at home in these two CDs of mostly contemporary – and mostly Spanish and Argentinian – works, where his love of gipsy and tango music in particular makes him an ideal interpreter.

The “Minds” CD is a selection of shorter works for violin and piano. Only Gerald Finzi’s lovely Elegy and an early Kodaly work, the Brahmsian Adagio, are not recent compositions. Astor Piazzolla’s Tanti Anni Prima is a beautiful opening track; Lera Auerbach’s Postlude is short but sweet.

Marjan Mozetich’s Desire at Twilight is recorded here for the first time, as is Agua y Vino by Fernando Egozcue, formerly one of Piazzolla’s arrangers.

Jorge Grundman’s sonata What Inspires Poetry, also a premiere recording, is the biggest work on the disc, but also unfortunately the least appealing for me, with too much formulaic writing and little character. Elena Kats-Chermin’s Russian Rag, in the same vein as William Bolcom’s Graceful Ghost, is a charming closer.

There are three larger works on the oddly-titled “No Seasons” CD. (An RTVE concert of the same works by the same artists was called – more logically - 12 Seasons)

Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires were originally written as separate pieces for his quintet with bandoneon between 1964 and 1970. This arrangement is by Leonid Desyatnikov, who added direct quotes from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Malikian is again clearly in his element with Piazzolla’s idiosyncratic music.

Joan Valent’s Four Seasons in Mallorca fits Malikian’s style perfectly, but Grundman’s Four Sad Seasons Over Madrid, for soprano, violin, piano and string orchestra, is a disappointment. Susana Cordon has a big voice, but really struggles with her English pronunciation. Not that it matters – despite her singing at full belt, the unsympathetic setting and heavy orchestration make her words almost inaudible.

Each CD comes in a beautifully-produced hard-cover booklet in English and Spanish, although the English translation is awkward at times. Sound quality is excellent throughout.

Ricochet
Adrean Farrugia
Independent AF0610

There is a dedicated group of younger musicians in Toronto making their mark on the jazz scene. This CD features the music of one of the outstanding members of that coterie, Adrean Farrugia. He is in the company of some of Toronto's leading players performing a programme of mostly original compositions. The one exception being Blackberry Winter, a little heard song by Alec Wilder and Loonis McGlohon in a beautiful duo performance by Adrean and vocalist Sophia Perlman who is heard on two more of the album's eight tracks using her voice very effectively in wordless vocals.

Adrean's strengths as a composer are much in evidence, displaying a wide spectrum of musical traditions which he has absorbed and developed into his own creative personality. The broadness of his musical palette is impressive, ranging from Meadowlark which features the cello of Kiki Misumi to the driving layers of sound on Situmani which features the horns of Kevin Turcotte, Kelly Jefferson, Sandar Viswanathan and William Carn. Andrew Downing on bass and Anthony Michelli on drums add immensely to the success of this recording and are joined on a couple of compositions by tabla player Ravi Naimpally.

This is contemporary music of a very high standard and an excellent addition to the growing body of artistic work by Mr. Farrugia.

Time/After Time: A Jazz Suite
Geordie McDonald
Sonavista Records (geomic@interlog.com)

Audaciously taking on nothing less than a history of our sad planet, from the big bang to its potential post-apocalypse, veteran local drummer Geordie McDonald has put together a multi-faceted two-CD set that melds futuristic, multi-ethnic and contemporary improvisations.

“Time/After Time” is an instrumental parable that begins with a brief electronically propelled explosion and ends with more than 12½ minutes of McDonald’s inventive polyrhythms on drums and ancillary percussion including a bell tree, claves, oversized cymbals, woodblocks and rain sheets. The suite encompasses the skills of 18 [!] of Toronto’s top improvisers plus New York-based trombonist Roswell Rudd, whose inventive brays and slurs perfectly fit the primitive-modern CD the drummer organized.

Organized is the key word since McDonald only composed one track. The others are group improvisations or themes written by the other players such as alto saxophonist/Shuffle Demon Richard Underhill; trumpeter/Flying Bulgar David Buchbinder; baritone saxophonist/educator David Mott; and inventive flutist and bass clarinetist Glen Hall.

A perfect example of this contrapuntal concordance both in writing and playing occurs on Hall’s Tribal Survival. Accompanied by vibrating resonations from John Rudel’s congas and Rick Lazar’s doumbek, the vamping horn section plus staccato hocketing from vocalists Maryem Tollar and Sophia Grigoriadis, the trombonist splutters cross tones throughout, working up to a climax of staccato, flutter-tonguing.

Further Rudd duets that include a low-pitched, plunger-and-slurs face-off with Mott, and Buchbinder and the trombonist advancing their version of modern tailgate styles, confirm that McDonald recruited the perfect crew for this project.

Saturday Matinee
Michael Louis Johnson; The Red Rhythm
Urban Meadow um2010001 (www.urbanmeadow.ca)

Every Saturday afternoon in a tiny casual bar located at Dundas St. W. and Ossington in the Queen West area of Downtown Toronto Red Rhythm recreate jazz standards from the swing era and originals composed by leader Michael Louis Johnson. This recording captures the atmosphere of these sessions - nothing earth shattering and a strong emphasis on entertainment. Leader Johnson has an enthusiasm that largely compensates for what has to be described as a limited technique on trumpet. He brings the same zeal to his vocals which are featured on every track.

The solo department is without doubt in the hands of guitarist Roberto Rosenman and bassist Terry Wilkins with rhythm guitarist Patrick Gregory giving solid support. There are also guest appearances by Bob Stevenson on clarinet and Chris Bezant on guitar which add in no small measure to the quality of the recording.

Entertaining is the key word when describing Johnson's approach to his craft - The Hobo Knows being a prime example. The second half of the CD in particular demonstrates just why the group is so popular with its small but loyal following.

Cellar Live is a Vancouver jazz club with its own prolific record label (www.cellarlive.com) and an owner-performer-composer chief in the enterprising Cory Weeds, who’s also a deejay and record producer. Here are two of its newest releases.

Trumpeter Chris Davis is a relatively new member of the West’s jazz elite and he shows why with Baila Bonita (Cellar Live CL020510). In an unusual combo with alto saxist Ian Hendrickson-Smith, bass Adam Thomas and drummer Jesse Cahill, U.S.-born Davis soon suggests the style, fluency and attack of a 1960’s Freddie Hubbard, though tune structures are more complex and demanding, often involving pleasing unison runs. On six of the nine tracks he wrote, Davis displays well-thought-out ideas. The front line’s especially chipper on West 42nd Street, offers a brawny All That Glitters with the leader’s throwback Latin trumpet while the craftily charted You Dig is a post-bop rallying cry with busy pulse-stirring Cahill roaring vigorously here and on the succeeding Iniquity. Elegant muted trumpet, pretty alto counterpoint and provocative march beat round out this impressive disc.

The boss has to have an occasional piece of the action, so here’s The Cory Weeds Quartet declaring Everything’s Coming Up Weeds (Cellar Live CL011909). The music’s played by the band Weeds brought to Ontario earlier this year – American trumpeter Jim Rotondi plus western stalwarts Ross Taggart (piano), John Webber (bass) and Willie Jones III (drums). The leader on tenor and Taggart contribute three cuts apiece, and the mood’s soon set for a typical mainstream performance with the opening B.B.’s Blue Blues highlighting Weeds’ hard-blowing approach and buzzing thrust on I’ve Never Been In Love Before and how he lovingly handles a ballad (Little Unknown One). The boss’ best tunes are Bailin’ On Lou which has catchy hooks and the punchy 323 Shuter. (Not to diminish this session, Toronto has a number of bands of this calibre – why aren’t they heard more on record?)

An album honouring the great music of the late Steve Lacy, an American who spent his last years in France, is well worth seeking for enjoyable interpretations of eight of his songs by Toronto band The Rent whose Musique De Steve Lacy (Ambience Magnetiques AM 197 CD www.actuellecd.com) is a very accessible commentary on a leading avant-garde figure’s legacy. Kyle Brenders renders soprano sax, Lacy’s instrument, alongside suave improviser Scott Thomson (trombone), Wes Neal (bass), Nick Fraser (drums) and Susanna Hood (voice) – the latter a vast improvement on shrieking Lacy vocalist (and wife) Irene Aebi. Brenders’ abrasive tone goes beyond most Lacy, but there’s witty trombone counterpoint and attention-grabbing solos. With voice added the Lacy spirit comes across best. If the title track is merely chirpy, the five-part suite Blues For Aida is beautifully worked, voice fully integrated with horns. Other gems include an austere The Bath and an upbeat A Ring Of Bones.

Brownman, the artist formerly known as Nick Ali, is a hyper-busy trumpeter who heads six bands, is music director for others and turns up everywhere on the musical map. Here he’s the core of Brownman Electryc Trio’s Juggernaut (Browntasaurus Records NCC1701E www.brownman.com). It’s a lively, entertaining and hip tilt at some standards on which he’s backed by the electric bass of Tyler Edmond and drummer Colin Kingsmore on six lengthy tracks. The atmosphere is seriously funky and draws on rock, hip hop, drum ‘n bass and more, with a burning Yesteryear, just recognizable as an ear-bursting take on Yesterdays, opening the show at The Central. The music’s muscular and quick, much of it thrilling if you can deal with the decibels. The group is at its best when playing together, as Brownman employs a host of pedals and devices that let him dub his instrument electric. Enjoy spirited, original versions of Stolen Moments, Coltrane’s 26-2, Hubbard’s Red Clay and two Brownman tunes, Evolution Revolution and the titlepiece.

The Worst Pop Band Ever may be the jazz world’s worst title (but then there’s JMOG of course) but the quintet makes smart if curious music. Dost thou believeth in science? (PPFTS-002 www.wpbe.bandcamp.com) is a 10 track collection of jazz improv inflicted on would-be or real pop tunes (I think) interspersed with earnest scratchings on turntables by LEO37. Leading with an insistent beat is drummer Tim Shia, with saxman Chris Gale, bass Drew Birston and keyboardist Daffyd Hughes. It’s all easy on the ear, expertly and effortlessly delivered with elaborate solos and surprising heat. There’s also a laconic vocal from Elizabeth Shepherd on the Bacharach-David authentic pop tune Close To You. Bandsmen are responsible for most of the others, of which my ‘top of the pops’ are Man Down, Pul, and Bits And Pieces.       

The third album by Toronto’s Scott Marshall offers 71 minutes of reflection on 14 pieces designed to show his versatility and finesse in the company of pianist Marcel Aucoin, bass Wes Neal and drummer Nick Fraser. Yet The Scott Marshall Quartet on Vignettes (amy music SMT003 www.scottdouglasmarshall.com) lacks the focused excellence of his previous entries “Face It” and “New Moments Of Time”. The leader composed 12 of the 14 tunes and on them plays tenor sax, soprano sax and flute, as dexterously as on classical, pop and world music outings but there’s little beyond the competent-plus mainstream to excite here. There are however interest-piquing moments, such as the two versions of The Vespers, Glamourama, Ode To Old School and Lope.

Although the romantic image of a lone trumpeter has been standard in jazz since the time of “Young Man with a Horn”, musically it’s actually more difficult for a trumpet to be the sole horn in a band – at least until freely improvised music rewrote the rules a few decades ago. The reason is simple: unlike the saxophone’s many keys which the soloist can manipulate for different timbres, the trumpet has only three valves and a length of tubing. Brass players thus most often work with a reed partner or as part of an ensemble. However these CDs, featuring mostly Canadian casts, show that notable sessions can appear no matter the instrumental make up.

Toronto-born, Brooklyn-resident David Smith’s Anticipation (Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records BJUR 015 www.bjurecords.com) is the most conventional of the discs, with Smith and Montreal-born drummer Greg Ritchie playing in a quintet filled out by tenor saxophone, guitar and bass. Working out on one standard, a Coltrane line and five originals, the band rarely strays from the expected head-solo-head formula, with Smith’s bright playing amply backed by saxophonist Kenji Omae and guitarist Nate Radley. Standouts are the trumpeter’s compositions, Bittersweet, a gentle line celebrating his daughter’s birth with tremolo tonguing; and The Question, a contrafact of Monk’s Ask Me Now, built on cascading horn lines from Omae and a tough brassy break from Smith. Throughout Smith illustrates his instrument’s restrictions, since many of his solos feature complementary runs from Omae, while Radley’s fleet-fingered chording and limber picking dominates most of the tunes.

Ex-Torontonian, now Montrealer, trumpeter Gordon Allen plus saxophonists Jean Derome and Philippe Lauzier take an equally standard role as backing horn section on Montreal band Klaxon Gueule’s Infininiment (Ambiances Magnétiques AM 194 CD www.actuelle.com). Throughout the 13 minimalist tunes the horns extend or amplify improvisations from the band’s core trio – guitarist Bernard Falaise, bassist Alexandre St-Onge and percussionist Michael F. Côté. Concerned as much with mood and texture as melody, the scene-setting arrangements frequently find single horn parts providing brief commentary on Falaise’s popping guitar licks, St-Onge’s pulsating rhythms or the knitting-needle-like clatter of Côté’s delicate drumming. The bass line serves as a pedal point drone on Momo Pèle, for instance, which fades away following dissociated drum beats, but not before Allen has pumped out a bugle-like reveille. In contrast singular note extensions from one saxophone plus chromatic mellow timbres from the trumpeter inflate from distanced peeps to provide a counterweight to dissonant guitar-string snaps and abrasive strums on Brown Suinte.

Altering the paradigm so that each instrument is as important as any other creates a more equitable and satisfying performance – and boosts the trumpet’s role. Toronto’s Jim Lewis, Andrew Downing and Jean Martin demonstrate this On a Short Path from Memory to Forgotten (Barnyard Records BR 0311 www.barnyardrecords.com). Consisting of 10 instant compositions, there is no foreground or background instrument. One tune for example could be a capriccio, as Lewis’ joyful trumpet blasts define the theme; another is dependent on Downing’s thumping bass pulsations; and almost all are illuminated more by the splashes of multiphonic color Martin creates with gamelan-like bell tones and triangle resonation than a steady beat from his regular kit. Showcasing Lewis’ phrasing, which ranges from staccato heraldic blasts to graceful flutters, is Eight, the tune in which his moderated a capella puffs give way to a rubato, double-time version of theme and finally to aviary chirps plus whistling resounds. These intertwine with martial rolls and rebounds from Martin and walking slap bass from Downing.

A refinement – or coarsening – of this strategy is displayed by Vancouver’s Inhabitants, on A Vacant Lot (Drip Audio DA 00579 www.dripaudio.com), which adds the guitar of Dave Sikula to the basic trumpet (JP Carter), bass (Pete Schmitt) and drums (Skye Brooks) trio. Another major difference is the use of electronics, with Carter’s heavily miked trumpet’s pulsating alongside Sikula’s folksy strums. Eschewing a steady beat Schmitt and Brooks still use string strokes and harsh backbeats to prevent otherwise airy timbres from ascending into the stratosphere. Pacific Central is the representative track. After a minimalist introduction that’s mostly acoustic guitar and trumpet peeps, the piece opens up and accelerates to full-bore polyphony with hard drum ruffs, staccato guitar licks and trumpet shakes which cascade chromatically then fade, while still encouraging the group’s affiliated pulses. This is electrified music with a touch of dissonance.

By crafting new roles for trumpeters within improvising combos, these Canadian players have produced memorable CDs.

Hive
Gamelan Madu Sari
Songlines SGL 2406-2 (www.songlines.com)

Vancouver’s brave label Songlines Recordings has just released the second fine album by that town’s Kyai Madu Sari. Playing a complete Javanese gamelan, this group of composers and musicians has been developing innovative music and theatrical productions since 1986. Their ambitious and delightfully rewarding album documents a new level of artistic sophistication and an ability to communicate their voice to a wider non-gamelan-centric audience.

“Hive” is constructed around three things: the group’s provocative shadow theatre production Semar in Lila Maya, the full possible instrumental range of the Javanese gamelan, and vocals up front in the mix. In fact those unfamiliar with the world of Javanese gamelan music may be surprised at the prominence of the glorious solo and choral singing in much of it.

Ben Rogalsky’s compositions illustrate all three threads beautifully. His song From Heaven to Earth deftly draws on two music genres for inspiration: the old-fashioned syncretic Indonesian folk style kroncong and the more recent Javanese campur sari. Behind Rogalsky’s backing of gamelan allied with mandolin, cello and string bass, are the warm and communicative vocals of the composer, Jessika Kenney and the chorus. The same vocal group is heard to good, though very different, effect in English composer Alec Roth’s eerie Full Fathom Five.

The Javanese born and long-time west coast resident Sutrisno Hartana's two elegant compositions are the most Javanese in feeling and conception of the works presented here. “Hive” is a rich and rewarding musical experience that challenges as well as it soothes – and magically manages to do it on several cultural levels at once.

Project Bali X
Giri Kedaton
Independent GKN-10809 (www.girikedaton.com)

First of all, Projet Bali is defiantly not your chill-out ambient gamelan album. It is however a genre bending, skillfully composed, performed and recorded compilation by the crack Montreal Balinese gamelan group Giri Kedaton. Never academic, it incorporates with élan Western popular and classical musical elements with straight-up and twisted Balinese gong kebyar instrumentation and musical textures.

Glancing at the album’s titles is a dead giveaway to the cheeky culture-mashing intentions herein. Bali Hillbillies layers gong kebyar with the rock trinity: electric guitar, bass and drum set, with blood-pumping results. Ritual du Citadin continues the rock trope mirroring drum set breaks with kendang (drum) and ceng-ceng (Balinese multiple cymbals) features, underscored by spacey synth textures and rippling kotekan (interlocking patterns) provided by the rest of the gamelan.

The musical and material ‘metal’ metaphor is brought to the surface in Jembatan Metal. I find that the tempestuous Balinese kebyar (“burst in flame”) music & heavy metal rock energies and gestures suit each other so well that it made me wonder what took so long to marry them?

The album also embraces a Radiohead cover, surf rock vibes, synth soundscapes, Cuban bata drumming, Ennio Morricone references and techno beats, all quite comfortably and unapologetically cohabiting with gong kebyar music.

Thanks to Giri Kedaton’s twenty-six dedicated and skilled Quebec musicians and composers “Projet Bali” is one thrilling cross-cultural voyage worth taking repeatedly with little fear of culture shock.

OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLES – Fine Old Recording Re-released
By Bruce Surtees

Hungarian violinist Johanna Martzy (1924-1979) had a unique, pure and tender, quasi angelic tone. Now an icon and cult figure and even though she recorded for major labels including EMI and DG, her records are in such demand that it is not unusual that her LPs at ‘second hand’ specialists are priced in the thousands of dollars. In the last 20-30 years there have been extensive efforts to locate her live broadcasts and each such find is welcomed as a treasure by collectors. One British label was for many years devoted exclusively to Martzy broadcasts. A new DOREMI CD (DHR-778) has the Beethoven Concerto which she did not record commercially and appears here for the very first time as does the Mozart sonata in B flat major, K454. Her performances are striking, at the same time disarmingly exquisite, unforced without Romantic excess. The ease and purity of her playing is different from and unmatched by her peers. In the concerto she is supported by Otmar Nussio and the Radio Svizzera Italiano Orchestra live from 1954 and by Jean Antonietti in the Mozart live from Berlin in 1955. In clear sound, this is a treasure indeed.

Gustav Mahler: The Complete Edition (DG 47788256, 18 CDs) contains every published note; the symphonies and song cycles, plus the Klavierquartettsatz from 1876. Rather than offering the symphonies by one conductor in one of the many complete cycles from the DG, Decca, and Philips, Alan Newcombe, the editor of this edition selected 10 different conductors in performances that best served the composer. Most of us will have preferred versions, but each of the performances selected here has solid strengths. I had lost sight of what a marvellous Mahler conductor Raphael Kubelik was but his performance of the First with The Bavarian Rundfunks is both lyrical and dynamic. Mehta with the Vienna Philharmonic take the Second with Ileana Cotrubas and Christa Ludwig. Haitink’s 1966 recording of the Third with the Concertgebouw and Maureen Forrester remains, for many, a performance of choice. The sensitivity of the Boulez Fourth from Cleveland was unexpected while Bernstein’s Vienna Fifth has not lost its impact. The Sixth with Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic from 2006 may be considered definitive. The Seventh is from 1994 with Sinopoli and The Philharmonia and Solti’s justly lauded performance of the Eighth from 1971 with the Chicago Symphony recorded in Vienna’s Sofiensaal still packs a mighty wallop. As it should, with The Vienna State Opera Choir, The Vienna Singverein, The Vienna Sangerknaben and eight supreme soloists recorded by Decca’s now legendary recording team headed by Kenneth Wilkinson. The Ninth here is the second Karajan, recorded live at his request in 1982. The final Deryck Cooke realization of The Tenth is conducted by Ricardo Chailly with The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. Blumine, the original second movement of the First Symphony is handled by Ozawa and The Boston Symphony while the interesting curiosity Totenfeier, which was reworked to become the first movement of the Second Symphony, is played by Boulez and the Chicago Symphony. Das Lied von der Erde played by Giulini with The Berlin Philharmonic, Brigitte Fassbaender and Francisco Araiza, is a worthy contender in the Das Lied sweepstakes. Of the song cycles, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Kindertotenlieder, and the Rückert-Lieder enjoy outstanding interpretations by Thomas Hampson accompanied by Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic. Das klagende Lied was recorded by Riccardo Chailly conducting the Berlin Radio Symphony, the Dusseldorf Musikverein and five of the best solo voices of the day (1989). The startling originality of this early work is vividly conveyed both in performance and recording. Das Knaben Wunderhorn is performed to perfection by Anne Sofie von Otter and Thomas Quasthoff with Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic. The 17 Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jungendzeit is entrusted to three artists, Bernd Weikl, Anne Sofie von Otter and Thomas Hampson. The Piano Quartet movement is played by Oleg Maisenberg, Gidon Kremer and Veronika and Clemens Hagen. Finally, Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra play the Entr’acte from Die drei Pintos, Weber’s unfinished opera that Mahler completed and orchestrated from the composer’s sketches. A nice touch. All together a very impressive package in every respect... doubly so as the price for the package is what one would have paid for a just few of the symphonies not so long ago! Unfortunately there are no translations of the texts included but they can be readily downloaded.

Paavo Järvi who distinguished himself with a reenergised Beethoven Symphonies cycle for RCA returns to Virgin Classics with a very impressive Mahler Second with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony plus the Orfeon Donostiarra choir of San Sebastian and soloists Alice Coote, mezzo, and soprano Natalie Dessay (50999 694586, 2 CDs). I had expected a good performance, not necessarily a great one. However, this is a spectacular one and a demonstration quality recording. Järvi has true Mahlerian sensibilities and this performance reveals an empathy that eludes many prominent conductors. It seems that any orchestra can be a Mahler orchestra under the right conductor. Järvi flawlessly balances his orchestra (he has been their music director since 2004) so that no lines are obscured. Even the glockenspiel towards the finale in the last movement is clearly heard without breaking out of the fabric. The off-stage forces are in the correct distant perspective with no diminished presence. There are rests between particular passages that are quite differently judged from any other performance that I’ve heard; their heavenly lengths appropriate for a “Resurrection” (couldn’t resist that). This is a not to be missed performance delivered in splendid, uncompressed sound.

Included in Audite’s release of four archive recordings issued in a Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Birthday Edition is the recital of Mahler Lieder recorded live on 14 September 1971 in the Philharmonie in Berlin (95.634). These discs are copied directly from the master tapes of Deutschlandradio so the fidelity of the stereo recording is first class. By 1971 Fischer-Dieskau was established as the consummate lieder singer, his beautifully shaded tones and sensitivity to the texts never more in evidence than here. Daniel Barenboim, his accompanist, was a perfect colleague. There are four songs from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit; two Rückert-Lieder, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen; and Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Full texts are enclosed.

When she was 16 years old, cellist Ofra Harnoy emerged as a phenomenal musician with a distinctive style and sound. She was wooed by record companies and by the time she was 20 she had been signed to an exclusive contract by RCA Red Seal, which meant that she was promoted world-wide and engaged to appear and record with major international orchestras, such as the London Philharmonic. This kind of contract, signed in New York, was the first awarded to a Canadian since Glenn Gould. DOREMI CD (DHR-6607) contains three concertos recorded for Fanfare before the RCA signing and subsequently reissued by RCA in the mid 1980s. The light-hearted, flamboyant Offenbach Concerto in G major, with Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Symphony is followed by Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations and the Saint-Saëns no.1 both with Paul Freeman and the Victoria Symphony. Strikingly apparent throughout all three are Harnoy’s natural musicality and effortless execution, giving performances worthy of a dedicatee. To our loss, by about 30, with her prestigious career in full bloom, she stopped performing. This CD is a shining reminder of an exceptional talent.

Toronto concert goers won’t soon forget the Sibelius Festival in Roy Thompson Hall last April. Guest conductor Thomas Dausgaard inspired the Toronto Symphony to achieve and sustain unsuspected levels of refinement and charm from shattering tuttis to hushed pianissimos. Dausgaard is a master of this repertoire as are and were other conductors, notably Beecham, Barbirolli, Koussevitzky, Karajan, Osmo Vanska, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Leonard Bernstein. The Unitel videos of four Sibelius Symphonies (1, 2, 5, & 7), with the Vienna Philharmonic under Bernstein have been released by Cmajor on 2 DVDs (702208). Some 20 years have passed since the live performances but age has not lessened their immediate impact. Symphony No.2 from October 1986 is a performance not of crescendo upon crescendo but of perfectly judged tempi and dynamics culminating in a definitive final statement. This is not possible if the conductor, as often happens, ‘gives it away’ too early and too often. The First, from February 1990 was recorded a bare eight months before the conductor’s death. Bernstein, although clearly enervated after the first movement (you can see it in his face and body), could not have offered a more searing valedictory address. The Fifth has real pulse and tension waiting to be relieved only by the final considered chords. Very special. In truth, they are all special, conducted by the wunderkind who never lost his heuristic mind. Excellent video definition, faultless camera work and thrilling five channel audio make this set quite irresistible.

Since Daniel Barenboim made his celebrated recordings of the Brahms Concertos with Barbirolli and the Philharmonia in 1967 we have seen and heard him in this repertoire many times. Barenboim’s Brahms is authoritative, vigorous and second to none. On a recent DVD of the First Concerto we heard him with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic and now another performance has arrived from EuroArts (2022020108), recorded on May 1, 2004 in the Herodes Atticus Odeon in Athens. Simon Rattle conducts the Berlin Philharmonic during their first European concert tour after he took over as chief conductor. Even though it is an open air event, the sound is remarkable and the balances ideal. The orchestra plays with splendid vitality, confirming, as if it were necessary, the wisdom of his appointment. The orchestra offers a passionate reading of Brahms Piano Quartet No.1 op.25 in the orchestration by Arnold Schoenberg. This performance by Rattle and company has the impact and scale of another Brahms symphony. Watching the video reveals the high level of excitement and enthusiasm of the players and conductor. Brahms enthusiasts must not pass this by.

O,FORTUNA is Tony Palmer’s film offering a warts and all portrait of the late Carl Orff, the composer of Carmina Burana, Der Mond, Oedipus, Prometheus, Antigonae, Der Kluge, Music for Children, etc, etc (TP-DVD113). Orff was a man who would tolerate nothing short of perfection in performances of his work and who burst into a vitriolic attack against those who fell short. There are no actors: everyone seen and heard are the actual musicians and producers involved with Orff, his wives and offspring. Orff is seen in interviews and in demanding encounters with his colleagues. No complete performances are included in this DVD which provides extensive insights into this complex composer and human being who, as wife number three says, should have been born 2500 years ago. One thing is sure: you will listen to his works with fresh ears hereafter.

Jascha Horenstein was an iconic conductor who, although he was in demand on every continent, did not become the music director of a major orchestra even though he conducted them regularly. He was considered by many to be in the league of Furtwangler and Klemperer. DOREMI has a DVD of the Beethoven Ninth with the ORTF (DHR-7960) from October 31, 1963 with an all-star cast, Pilar Lorengar, Marga Hoffgen, Josef Traxel and Otto Weiner. This is one of only two known videos of Horenstein conducting. One suspects that a 30 second drop in sound level of the opening bars held back any official release. Nevertheless, this is an essential item for collectors, in spite of the picture quality of a vintage VHS with sound to match.

Long-established jazz groups have become as common as pop hits based on Mozart melodies topping the charts – they sometimes exist. But with accomplished improvisers tempted by side projects, bands often reconstitute and sidemen regularly have their own gigs. In most cases, though, this doesn’t affect the music’s quality.

Two bands confirm these realities. Ken Vandermark’s Vandermark5 (V5), which is at SPK (Polish Combatants Hall) June 17, has been together with only one personnel change for almost 15 years. Yet even Chicago-based Vandermark is involved in multiple side projects, as The Frame Quartet - 35 mm demonstrates. V5 members, cellist and electronics-player Fred Lonberg-Holm and drummer Tim Daisy are represented as well. Meanwhile saxophonist Dave Rempis, a V5 fixture for 10 years, shines on Cyrillic, a duo with drummer Frank Rosaly. New York pianist Matthew Shipp, whose trio plays June 13 at Gallery 345 on Sorauren Ave. is similarly part of numberless formations. Nu Bop Live involves some of his cohorts, who won’t be in Toronto. For an idea of what piano/bass communication sounds like involving Michael Bisio, the bassist who is in Shipp’s Toronto trio, there’s Session at 475 Kent  with Connie Crothers.

The Non-V5er on 35 mm (Okka Disk OD 12078 www.okkadisk.com) is Nate McBride, whose thick acoustic bass lines, electric bass thumps and manipulated wave forms distinguish this disc. Strident friction from Lonberg-Holm additionally gives the CD’s five long selections a rough-hewn quality, enhanced by Daisy’s reverberating and pinpointed cymbal slaps, not to mention Vandermark’s soloing which encompasses straight-ahead licks or tongue slaps on tenor saxophone and feathery clarinet trills. This is especially notable on Theatre Piece (for Jimmy Lyons) which links decisive sawing from the cellist, restrained plucks from the bassist and clatters, pops and rim shots from the drummer as Vandermark’s sound ranges from tremolo pitch-sliding on the clarinet to tongue-moistured saxophone flattement, flutters and split tones. Mid-way through, the tempo halves to allegro to expose faux romantic cello sequences that gradually shatters into sul ponticello lines mated with harsh, low-pitched saxophone rasps, balanced on crackling and buzzing electronics. Eventually the piece ends with an exposition of disconnected timbre-shredding from Vandermark and a conclusive string slap from the cellist.

Halve the number of players and double the performance intensity for Cyrillic (482 Music 482-1064 www.482music.com). Completely improvised, the selections include those with cymbal-chiming funk grooves, replete with honking reed patterns, plus others featuring smeared double-tonguing from Rempis, where he never seems to stop for breath, matched with rim shots and side spanks from Rosaly. Most impressive are In Plain Sight and How to Cross When Bridges are Out. The former, which could be a deconstructed classic R&B line, gains its rhythmic impetus from Rempis’ guttural baritone saxophone snorts. The latter is like a face off between never-ending ratcheting, rolls and ruffs from Rosaly’s Energizer Bunny-like drumming and Rempis’ Eric Dolphyish-alto saxophone with its broken-octave staccato runs and wide split tones. Changing the agitato tempo to andante, the tune slips into uncharted aleatory territory, echoing with excitement and abandon.

Both those adjectives are also on show on Shipp’s CD Nu Bop Live (Rai Trade RTPJ 0015 www.matthewshipp.com), especially on the 26-minute Nu Abstract suite. Putting aside the many-fingered staccato patterning on other tunes, the pianist initially restricts himself to occasional plinks, as drummer Guillermo Brown use electronics to unload crackling signal processing and hissing voice patches. After the pianist constructs a many-layered impressionistic response, he joins with William Parker’s fluid bass line and saxophonist Daniel Carter’s tightened reed snarls, in multi counterpoint. The performance swells to shrieking horn glossolalia, stretched and scattered bass-string movements and the pianist’s cascading note patterns. Climaxing alongside Brown’s explosions of drags and bounces, Shipp’s raw, exposed notes layer the interface alongside Carter’s strident altissimo cries and Parker’s triple-stopping.

Sophisticated piano-bass double contrapuntal interaction get an even better showcase on Session at 475 Kent (Mutable 17537-2 www.mutablemusic.com) as every tune is a culmination of Crothers’ thickly voiced, chromatic chords working out a challenge or response to Bisio’s chiming, slapping string reverberations. Chamber interludes, the CD’s four lengthy tracks evolve similarly to Resonance, the CD’s climatic finale. With Bisio double-stopping and pulling his strings fortissimo, Crothers’ glissandi and metronomic pumping, gradually give the sympathetic dynamic a novel undercurrent of unrelieved tension – embellished by the pianist’s strumming syncopation and the bassist’s woody string-stopping. Lightening her touch with freer harmonies, Bisio follows and shifts downwards into diminished pulses until the notes from both directions merge into a satisfying, protoplasmic whole.

There’s no shortage of forceful pianists in Montreal and one of the most promising on the A-list is South Korea-born Min Rager, whose First Steps (Effendi FND09 www.ragermusic.com) is very welcome five years after her sterling debut “Bright Road”. The all-original ten-track mostly mainstream program sparkles from the start of the opening blues Nothing To Gain, Nothing To Lose, heartily aided by an equally A-list of sidemen that includes excellent trumpeter Kevin Dean, alto Donny Kennedy and drummer Andre White. The title-piece is a sneakily smart take on the Coltrane classic (Giant Steps of course) while other unabashedly modern tunes have a plethora of slithery solos, confidently delivered, that punctuate melodies and attractive harmonic structures. As well as offering slick counterpoint, Rager conjures filigree runs that sound entirely appropriate on Bella, a duo with Dean, followed by the even more arresting ballad Persistence Of Memory a trio take with Dean and American tenor Walt Weiskopf. Passing is a high-voltage burner, Dean scores again on Portrait Of Miles, with Goodbye Manhattan a passionate slow blues, just one gem in an illuminating set.

Bassist Al Henderson is a formidable bandleader (notably his quartet and quintet) and composer (notably his work with Time Warp and recasting Duke Ellington) so it’s no surprise he’s in ambitious mode on the Juno-nominated Al Henderson Septet - Regeneration (Cornerstone CRST CD 132 www.alhenderson.ca). He taxes his all-star companions with a 10-piece program anchored by a six-part suite inspired by the architectural vision of Raymond Moriyama, specifically his ideas for the Canadian War Museum. This in turn has led Henderson to muse on the nature of war and the result is a work of both quality and interest interpreted with some distinction by his team – hornmen Alex Dean and Pat LaBarbera, pianist Richard Whiteman, drummer Barry Romberg and a pair of cellists, Matt Brubeck and Mark Chambers. With a difficult set of ideas to convey, this nonetheless must be successful. There’s other material here that nods to Inuit artist Turataga Ragee (Spirit Owl) and punta rocker Andy Palacio (Palacio) plus other tracks that offer chamber jazz, vaudeville and reflective passages.

Toronto guitarist Roy Patterson is always worth hearing, a long-term member of the local string elite and an artist replete with driving notions and thriving imagination. He justifies this on Roy Patterson Trio – Atlantic Blues (Toronto Jazz Composers Collective TJCC AS 001 www.roypatterson.com). For this elegant eight-tune master class the leader is supported by ageless sidemen bass Don Thompson and drummer Terry Clarke for long workouts on a mix of standards and three Patterson tunes, a live session recorded at Zooma Zooma Café in Jordan Village on the Niagara Escarpment. The musical atmosphere is warm, subtle, sophisticated and intimate, ripe with creative ingenuity, and the threesome works as one unit with playing that’s almost spiritual. Patterson’s deft fingering keeps melodies intact and everything precise and detailed. His title tune is suitably broody, Water is freewheeling pleasure, the exotic sheen of Brazilian music comes through on Jobim’s Favela, yet one gets the feeling that the guitarist is even more appealing when he casts off the unmistakable influence of Jim Hall. One question remains. Why is this Patterson’s first album in eight years?

The prolific Andrew Downing, his reputation as bassist-bandleader-composer already established, takes a bold step with his newest album Silents (Black Hen Music BHCD-0058 www.andrewdowning.com). His fascination with silent movies has led to this examination by a dozen musicians of a pair of early 20th century films – horror masterpiece The Cabinet Of Doctor Caligari from 1920 by Germany’s Robert Weine and the fantasy tale Impossible Voyage from 1904 by France’s George Melies. Downing has created 18 tunes that pinpoint episodes in the films and the execution by the players – Downing forsaking bass for cello – is very satisfying. You’d love to be watching the plots unfold with this sophisticated music accompanying them, especially the 12 creepier pieces for Caligari, a tale wherein the evil doctor is exposed as a serial killer. Impossible Voyage is weird, narrating a trip by car, train and submarine by travellers who survive it all, even when the train reaches the sun! Among the players, clarinettist Quinsin Nachoff and bassoonist Peter Lutek stand out, while there’s disciplined work from the strings, notably bassist Joe Phillips – but all should take a bow.

The group dubbed Red Blue Green offers a debut album of 11 originals where de facto leader – pianist Tom Richards – dominates action with playing that suggests he’d be comfortable in any musical niche. On Transparent Thesis (Pet Mantis Records PMR006 www.petmantisrecords.com) he has clearly digested diverse approaches and revels in dark compositions, shifting time signatures, switching from lyricism to abstraction and is fully in control though there’s less jazz focus on occasion. He gets sympathetic backing from bass Andrew Pacheco and drummer Jay Sussman in what’s free improv with an innate sense of structure. The trio is both thoughtful and adventurous, keeps jarring elements to a minimum, inserts classical influences and, importantly, play quieter than The Bad Plus. Best tunes: Song For Under A Bridge, Recovery and Lost Arrow.