Mahler arr. Schoenberg – Songs
Susan Platts; Charles Reid; Roderick Williams; Attacca Quartet; Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players; JoAnn Falletta
Naxos 8.573536

Arnold Schoenberg’s quixotic concert series, Vienna’s “Society for Private Musical Performances,” was established in 1918 to perform the latest new music. No applause was permitted at these events, every work (you wouldn’t know what was on offer until you got there) was heard twice, and absolutely no music critics were allowed. The towering figure of Schoenberg’s acolyte Alban Berg personally checked your credentials at the door. Over the course of three seasons some 100 works were performed. The repertoire spanned an era beginning with the works of Gustav Mahler, presented in chamber music arrangements prepared by Schoenberg and his minions. The master would mark up the original scores and leave it to others to do the donkey work.

The most ambitious of these Mahler transcriptions, the song cycle Das Lied von der Erde, was never completed as the series eventually failed under the burden of rampant postwar hyperinflation. It was not until 1983 that Rainer Riehn brought Das Lied to fruition. Over a dozen discs devoted to the Society’s Mahler arrangements have appeared since then. In the current offering the sure-footed baritone Roderick Williams makes a compelling impression in the opening Gesellen cycle which, due to the transparency of its original scoring, works well in transcription, though the feebleness of a mere two violins (members of the Attacca Quartet) is an ongoing concern. British-Canadian contralto Susan Platts, well-known for her sensitive Mahler performances, is joined by the stentorian Charles Reid in Das Lied. The latter is a true Heldentenor though I question the casting of such a powerful voice in this more intimate setting.

The ensemble of a dozen players and their direction by Buffalo-based conductor JoAnn Falletta is admirable, with special kudos for clarinetist Ricardo Morales and the noble horn of Jacek Muzyk. A peculiar low rumbling is detectable in the quieter moments from the session captured at Norfolk’s Robin Hixon Theatre in 2015; complete texts and translations are included.

Mauricio Sotelo – El Público
Klangforum Wien; Coro del Teatro Real; Pablo Heras-Casado
BelAir Classics BAC134

Theatrical works about theatre and its relation to the audience (“el público”) are usually metaphors for reality. There’s nothing remotely realistic, though, about this opera, a 2015 world-premiere production from Madrid’s Teatro Real.

Andrès Ibáñez’s libretto, based on a play by Federico Garcia Lorca, deals with an “underground” production of Romeo and Juliet and the conflicted relationship of the director, Enrique (baritone José Antonio López) and his lover Gonzalo (baritone Thomas Tatzl). Ibáñez’s text, despite frequent references to “love” and “masks” is as surreal as the stage action; I had to consult the booklet synopsis to get any inkling about what was happening.

Enrique’s take on Shakespeare includes horses (!) trying to seduce Juliet (soprano Isabella Gaudí), freshly risen from her tomb. When he then casts a teenage boy in her place, “the public” violently rebels, leading to Gonzalo’s death. Along the way, we see a Roman emperor, Jesus, a magician and a short silent film of animated silhouettes.

What held me throughout as a member of “the public” was the most essential element of any effective opera – the music. Mauricio Sotelo’s “spectral” orchestral score is riveting – rhythmic and atmospheric, with glittering percussion and spicy interludes of flamenco vocals and guitar.

Extended sequences for semi-nude male dancers and an array of bizarre, extravagant costumes make El Público almost as much a surrealistic modern ballet as an opera. Either way, it offers a fascinating experience both for ears and eyes.

Philip Glass – Einstein on the Beach
Lucinda Childs Dance Company; Philip Glass Ensemble; Michael Riesman
Opus Arte OA1178D

Einstein on the Beach (1976) is the groundbreaking collaboration of three New York artists in full career stride: director/visual artist Robert Wilson, composer/musician Philip Glass and choreographer/dancer Lucinda Childs. It’s been hailed as one of the most significant artistic achievements of the 20th century. LA Opera’s website touted the most recent production with “Einstein on the Beach breaks all rules of conventional opera.” Or does it? In a video interview the year previous, Glass was asked to describe the opera then being prepared for its 2012 restaging and subsequent tour. “We’re talking about the elements of movement, image, text and music,” replied Glass. “…that’s all there is.…Opera’s the only [theatrical] form that uses all four consistently.”

Einstein employs all those elements in addition to clocking in at a respectably opera-length four and a half hours, certainly qualifying in scope and scale. Its resolutely non-narrative structure plus its highly repetitive and tonal minimalist score however did pose a bracing challenge to general opera audiences of the 1970s. And Glass’ interpretation of the non-plot aesthetic of Einstein is clearly articulated in the libretto. Singers recite numbers, solfège syllables and short sections of poetry rather than lyrics employed in the service of advancing the story as in conventional opera. This was then a startling innovation, and it remains one still today to a degree.

If there is no story, then what’s the work about? Wilson’s series of powerful recurrent stage images drawn from the famous physicist Albert Einstein’s life serve as the work’s frame. The dramatic device is imaginatively underpinned by Glass’ composition for soloists, chorus and his instrumental ensemble. It’s further explored by the masterfully conceived and movingly performed modern dance sequences choreographed by Childs.

This new DVD release accurately reflects the superb 2012 production I saw at Toronto’s Luminato that same year. Highlights of that performance included violin virtuoso Jennifer Koh made up to resemble Einstein – a lifelong amateur violinist – and the impressively precise chorus masterfully conducted by the veteran Glass Ensemble member Michael Riesman. David Cromwell’s improvised soulful modal jazzy saxophone solo is a standout on the DVD, as is the reflective aria in the Bed scene, both in Act IV.

In the final scene a bus driver tenderly retells one of the oldest of stories, that of the wondrous beauty and boundlessness of romantic love. Isn’t that a theme which fuels many an opera? I find Einstein a touching, moving and oddly reassuring work, one which I’ll be revisiting soon.

Erik Chisholm – Simoon (Opera in One Act on a play by Strindberg)
Irwin; Sheffield; Thantrey; Drummond; Music Co-OPERAtive Scotland; Ian Ryan
Delphian DCD34139 delphianrecords.co.uk

Luke 4:24 “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.” These biblical words must have been ringing in Erik Chisholm’s ears like derisive laughter. Born in Glasgow in 1904, the concert pianist and composer was promoting the Scottish musical tradition from the very beginning. In addition to incorporating folk music in his compositions, he also co-founded the Scottish Ballet Society and Celtic Ballet. After that, in Glasgow, he set up the Active Society for the Propagation of Contemporary Music. Aside from bringing the likes of Szymanowski, Bartók and Hindemith to Scottish audiences, he also conducted the British premieres of many operas, including Les Troyens by Berlioz.

Despite all this, he was never offered a position commensurate with his efforts in his native country. So in 1946, when he was offered the Chair of Music at Cape Town University in South Africa, his decision might have been painful, but also swift. He spent the rest of his life there, after some travels to India. He produced many operas, but also composed a great deal, including a triptych of operas – Murder in Three Keys – of which Simoon is the last part. Based on a short play by August Strindberg, Simoon was never performed in a full version during the composer’s lifetime. The subject matter, as gloomy as the uprooted Scot’s preferred music, is a tale of revenge and “murder by suggestion,” as Chisholm has referred to it. Polished orchestral characterizations, Bartók-like cascading moods and an overlapping of Western and Eastern musical idioms are just three reasons why this opera should have been recorded long ago. As it is, with the help of the Erik Chisholm Trust, it is making its long overdue debut – and rightfully in Scotland!

Derek Holman – A Play of Passion
Colin Ainsworth; Stephen Ralls; Bruce Ubukata
Centrediscs CMCCD 23016 musiccentre.ca

This Centrediscs release offers a fine selection of works by distinguished Canadian composer Derek Holman (b.1931). British-born Holman’s vocal expertise shows here in well-chosen texts and effective settings with memorable moments. His musical style addresses emotionally difficult terrain with sensitivity and a sure touch, pensive yet not morbid. Canadian tenor Colin Ainsworth’s tone, diction and phrasing are praiseworthy throughout, as are the secure support and interpretative contributions of collaborative pianist Stephen Ralls.

A few song highlights: in the elegiac cycle A Lasting Spring (2004), I especially appreciate the setting of Robert Herrick’s To Music, including the repeated text “melt my pains” as the poet asks for a glimpse of heavenly light. In The Burning of the Leaves from A Play of Passion (2010), Ainsworth delivers a heartfelt warning of poet and composer against idle nostalgia in a thrilling passage capped by the disc’s highest note (C). From the same cycle, the setting and singing of Care-charmer Sleepe (Samuel Daniel) with its insomniac repeated treble line, are hypnotic and wonderful. Another subtlety: the final song of The Death of Orpheus (2005) has an insubstantial little arpeggiated downward figure, the ghost of Greek mythology’s most famous musician not rising, but here going down to Hades a second time (post-death) to meet Eurydice in the Elysian Fields. The disc also includes Bruce Ubukata with Ralls, ably playing the clever, often bi-tonal two-piano work Variations on a Melody by Doctor Arne (1999).

Thread of Winter
Leslie Fagan; Lorin Shalanko
Canadian Art Song Series (canadianartsong.ca)

Winter
Voces8
Decca 483 0968

Johann Gottlieb Goldberg – Beyond the Variations
Rebel; Jörg-Michael Schwartz
Bridge Records 9478 (bridgerecords.com)

Mi PalPita il Cor: Baroque Passions
Dominique Labelle; Musica Pacifica
Navona Records NV6056
(navonarecords.com)

This is a CD devoted to love – and not necessarily happy love. The sleeve notes list the manifestation of love to be discovered on this recording as “sighs, laughter, angry outbursts and lassitude.”

Venetian-born Agostino Steffani’s Guardati o core opens the CD – a frolicking aria with words warning not to be won over by Cupid because you end up with trouble, sorrow and difficulty. Oh, and continue with the recitativo (you’ll get immeasurable bitter pain) and the aria (“flee, then, the realm of the archer-boy”) and not even Dominique Labelle’s rendition can help you.

Giuseppe Sammartini was well respected for his woodwind expertise, well apparent from the dignified flourishes of his opening and more than confirmed by the first Allegro. Sammartini composed with vigour and panache. The slightly strangely specified Andante e staccato reflects a depressed lover, depressed until he or she is revived by the second Allegro.

In Handel’s Arioso e recitativo, Labelle is made to sing that she “feels her heart beating for reasons she does not know.” Worse, she sings in a slightly hushed, conspiratorial tone that although her heart has been pierced by one of Cupid’s arrows, if Cupid could possibly do the same (fatally) to one of her competitors in love then she will complain no more. Again, very depressing, but how lucky that Labelle can fill the whole range of demanding emotions.

Georg Philipp Telemann’s Quatuor No.3 (G Major, 1738) restores our spirits. Judith Linsenberg’s recorder-playing contributes greatly to the rather dreamy quality of the Légèrement second movement, the Gracieusement of the third merely adding to it. For those who love rural tableaux, there is the Vite with the spirited violin playing of Elizabeth Blumenstock, and the following Gai. Finally, there is another unusually specified movement – Lentement-Vite-Lentement-Vite. Once again, violin and recorder are allowed to entertain us.

Dominique Labelle returns for a final flourish with the cantata from Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Orphée. Enjoy the complex voice and violin combination in Que du bruit and several very short but poignant pieces. The last movement, En amour il est un moment, is a worthy representative of Baroque romance from instruments to lyrics to Labelle’s interpretation.

Schumann – Symphonies 1-4
Berliner Philharmoniker; Sir Simon Rattle
Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings 140011 (2 CDs + Blu-ray)

Schumann was the consummate Romantic composer, whose compositions from consequential piano works, chamber music, song cycles, concertos, staged works and symphonies, etc. remain in the active repertoire. Except for the staged works that enjoy rare outings. Schumann was also a busy author, publisher and critic.

I have attended many performances of one or another of the four Schumann symphonies and acquired or listened to recordings by the great and not so great conductors and orchestras. Many have been mighty achievements but very few found the composer behind the printed notes. The most popular misreadings are those that emulate Brahms.

Over the years conductors had almost universally decided that Schumann lacked the skills to orchestrate and so many dutiful performances perpetuated just this. Mahler re-orchestrated all four symphonies which were recorded by Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhaus Orchestra for Decca. In the early 1990s, conductor Florian Merz and the Klassische Philharmonie Düsseldorf recorded the four symphonies and other orchestral works for ebs. Employed were the critical editions of the scores commissioned by the Robert Schumann-Gesellschaft in Düsseldorf, which chose Schumann’s own 1851 re-orchestration of the 1841 Fourth (ebs 6088, 3CDs).The visceral Düsseldorf performances, while enthusiastic, are entirely objective. However, a genuine curiosity on a separate disc (ebs 6091) is a bold re-orchestration of the Fourth Symphony based on the original version of 1841 revised in 1891, 35 years after Schumann’s death, by Brahms and Franz Wullner.

Just as orchestras and other ensembles have learned to play Mozart with reduced forces and appropriate instruments, in order to produce the overall soundscape that Schumann envisioned it is essential to know and understand what the composer had in mind. Schumann should not be performed with the entire body of the modern symphony orchestra. Mendelssohn was Schumann’s teacher and both scored their works for the classical-size orchestra of, say, 50 players tops, to achieve the transparency and voicing intended. Rattle explains so much on this subject, making the enclosed Blu-ray disc so valuable in the understanding and background of so many facets of these works. Also by believing Schumann’s marked tempos and natural orchestral balances, the music can be incredibly profound without being heavy or slow. A fascinating and most informative part of Rattle talking about Schumann is the story of the Fourth Symphony and the reason for his decision to use Schumann’s original 1841 version…the one considered unplayable by many orchestras.

No doubt about it, this is an absolutely essential package for all Schumann appreciators and others. The set contains CDs but the exemplary sight and sound of the live performances on the Blu-ray disc moves the viewer right into the Philharmonie.

Tchaikovsky – The Nutcracker; Symphony No.4
Mariinsky Orchestra; Valery Gergiev
Mariinsky MAR0593

There are those who think The Nutcracker is a children’s ballet. There are others whose only experience of the ballet is the constant and dreadful repetition of its greatest hits in shopping malls at this dark time of year. To both groups: listen to the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev perform the entire score, paying particular attention to the Waltz of the Flowers and the Intrada to the Pas de Deux immediately following. The rating “adult entertainment” could well be applied to these passionate expressions.

Gergiev is known for eccentric technique but also for wringing amazing performances from the players he leads. Mariinsky is his house band, so they have lots of practice following his tiny obscure gestures. They can turn on a dime out of an outrageous Presto, they phrase as a choral unit, the strings are encouraged to emote, and on this recording at least one hears observance of the composer’s more subtle dynamic indications. Although arguably chestnuts, they’re delicious, and so much fresher than the overcooked versions we are often fed while choosing gifts.

The remainder of disc two is Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. The symphony predates the ballet by a good 14 years, from the period before and immediately following his failed marriage. Pit bands love to perform concert music, an assertion audibly demonstrated here. Delicacy and ferocity alternate, melancholy gives way to joy and returns. The relationship between conductor and players is so solid, lending brilliant assurance to the performance that wildly (romantically) swings through the gamut of expression and tempi. They perform, understandably, as artists who love and treasure their heritage. The Canzonetta is breathtaking in its lyricism, and then one can almost imagine a choreography for the Scherzo movement involving two opposing teams of folk dancers, the strings versus the winds.

Strauss – Elektra; Der Rosenkavalier (Suites)
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Manfred Honeck
Reference Recordings FR 722 SACD (referencerecordings.com)

Some of us may remember back in the 50s something called “Opera without Words” (Stokowski was good at these) specially created for folks who couldn’t stomach all the singing but were more comfortable with the orchestra. Until now Elektra had escaped such treatment even though Strauss is one of the most symphonic of all opera composers and well suited for orchestral excerpts and suites (e.g. Dance of the Seven Veils etc.). But in Elektra the voices and the action are so closely intermeshed that the total devastating impact has to come from seeing or at least listening to the complete score.

Nevertheless Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck, newly appointed music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony, did decide to extract most of the orchestral score into a 35-minute suite. Certainly done with love and expertise and a thorough empathy with the opera, the particularly gruesome story with its moments of dark forebodings, evil lurking in the shadows, bloody murders, piercing shrieks and animals tortured is well brought out, as well as moments of filial and brotherly love, ecstasy and exuberance. Unfortunately, to fully appreciate program music like this, an audience not familiar with the opera will have to read the printed notes and that can be pretty annoying at a concert.

Der Rosenkavalier however is an entirely different story and the Suite created by Arthur Rodzinski is a wonderfully enjoyable concert piece. We are still blessed with the memory of Karajan and even more Carlos Kleiber’s sublime performances, a hard act to follow, but Honeck’s main strength is the beautiful, spacious orchestral sound and sumptuous hidden details he brings out with somewhat slower tempi.

Rachmaninov – Symphony No.1; Balakirev – Tamara
London Symphony Orchestra; Valery Gergiev
LSO Live LSO0784

Rachmaninov’s Symphony No.1 certainly didn’t have the smoothest entry into the world. At its premiere in March of 1897, the (possibly) inebriated conductor, Alexander Glazunov, had already expressed his doubts about it and gave a less-than-stellar performance. As a result, the scathing reviews were enough to shatter Rachmaninov’s confidence as a composer for four years. Since that time, the piece has come to be better regarded and is presented here as the last in a cycle of the complete symphonies featuring the London Symphony and Valery Gergiev.

From the menacing chords that open the first movement, it’s clear that Gergiev and the LSO have full command of this challenging score – and challenging it is. Rachmaninov rarely ever again demonstrated such raw emotion in his orchestral writing and the sometimes strident tone can be a bit of a challenge. Nevertheless, the LSO delivers a suave and polished performance despite brisker tempos than we might be accustomed to. The warmly romantic strings meld perfectly with the stirring brass, particularly in the second and fourth movements and the bombastic finale is approached with much panache without ever resorting to empty virtuosity.

An added bonus is Balakirev’s Tamara, a work the composer considered his finest. Based on a sultry love-poem by Mikhail Lermontov, the score is an exercise in oriental exoticism so favoured by Russian composers of the period. Gergiev and the LSO offer up a convincing performance of this sensuous music, from the mysterious beginning to the tumultuous finale before quietly fading away. Are there shades of Scheherazade here? Quite possibly. Under Gergiev’s skilful baton, the result is a wonderful blending of cultures, rounding out this outstanding three-disc cycle. Highly recommended.

Stravinsky – The Firebird; Nikolaev – The Sinewaveland
Seattle Symphony; Ludovic Morlot
Seattle Symphony SSM1014

The Firebird brought the world’s attention to Igor Stravinsky, who at the time of the premiere of the ballet was an unknown composer not yet 30 years old. His first collaboration with Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, the score is broadly romantic, full of tricks practised by Ravel and Debussy. The ballet itself is rarely performed, perhaps owing too much to novelty and exoticism (pre-war Paris was all agog over things Russian), but the score remains an orchestral staple. Musically less challenging to audiences than its next of kin The Rite of Spring, the score is full of delicious moments for the ear and no more dissonant that Rachmaninoff.

This new release from the Seattle Symphony under music director Ludovic Morlot is delightful, if conservative. Moment follows descriptive moment of a fine rendering. The musicians exhibit polish in portraying the supernatural tale, but there may be a flaw inherent in the product itself: Stravinsky bridled at the job of creating too literal a musical narrative for the folk-inspired story. Perhaps his lack of investment cursed the music. Although perhaps perfect, this performance isn’t thrilling. I still believe there are possible interpretations where the terrors of Kastchei’s infernal garden are made relevant: not just polished but gripping.

Rounding out the disc is an homage to Seattle’s own Jimi Hendrix from Vladimir Nikolaev, another young composer a century later reworking the folk music of his own ethos into music that may well have staying power. Sinewaveland is the more powerful and effective performance.

In Search of Great Composers
Four films by Phil Grabsky
Seventh Art Productions SEV194

There is so much brilliant music brilliantly performed, historical and musical commentary, excitement and beautiful visuals in this documentary collection of five DVDs about Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn and Chopin that even the most bored individual with a disdain for music history will find something worth the view!

Each composer receives a respected, informative and surprisingly original recollection of their personal and professional lives. In Search of Mozart (2006) chronologically follows every road the composer travelled throughout his life with his music being centre stage. This 25,000 mile journey (that’s over 40,000 km for us Canadians) is followed by foot – such as in the modern day Salzburg sidewalks packed with cell phone-toting pedestrians – and behind the wipers of a rainy-day windshield. These visuals almost become travelogues were it not for the intersecting clips of commentary. Of course the music performed by soloists, singers and orchestras is world class with the noteworthy clip of trumpet soloist Falk Zimmermann performing from Leopold Mozart’sTrumpet Concerto in D setting the stage for more great music. Initially the jump cuts between landscape, commentary and performances created some confusion, but over the course of the film this technique increased viewing interest.
Next in the series is the two-DVD set In Search of Beethoven (2009). Beethoven aficionados may not learn anything new, but Grabsky’s approach through letters, historical facts, personal Beethoven issues, star-performer commentaries and especially the footage of their performances is superb. A highlight here is Emanuel Ax performing in clips from the Waldstein and Appassionata piano sonatas. The second Beethoven DVD features complete performances, scenes and an interview with the director.
In Search of Haydn (2012) is especially fulfilling, as the composer may not be as famous as Mozart and Beethoven, though respected by both. Grabsky’s film shows us a composer who also wrote substantial, worthy music. In this chronological documentary the focus is on the music with the great illuminating performances that should tweak one’s interest to explore more of Haydn’s output. Of note are Ronald Brautigam’s takes on Keyboard Sonata No.1 and Keyboard Sonata No.9, and Marc-André Hamelin’s performance clip from the Keyboard Sonata No.34.

Finally, In Search of Chopin (2014) takes the same approach. The documentary formula is used, but the presentation of personal facts seems pressed for time; for example, the passing mention of Chopin’s soap opera-like relationship with George Sand. But the piano performances and commentaries by the pianists should be on every piano student’s must-see-and-apply list. Of special note are performances by Daniel Barenboim and Brautigam again.

Filmmaker Phil Grabsky needs to be greatly congratulated for all the time, research, dedication, detail and reaching out to historians, musicians, performers and orchestras to create these four In Search Of documentaries. His love, respect and curiosity of everyone portrayed – composer, historian and performer – is reflected in each film. This is more than music history – these are visual and aural musical stories. All the camera close-ups, from musicians’ hands working their beloved instruments, to tree twigs and rain in scenery, are thought-provoking, especially against the clear audio of the music. Grabsky’s excitement for his material resonates throughout, subsequently broadening the excitement of the viewer. Watch, learn, enjoy, listen and be inspired!