Two months ago while writing about Richard Powers’ Orfeo I mentioned that I had neglected to add Steve Reich’s Proverb to my record collection when it came out on Nonesuch in 1996 featuring Paul Hillier’s Theatre of Voices with Steve Reich and Musicians. Although that recording is now a collector’s item (but still available for download), I am pleased to note that there is a new recording which features this lush work for three soprano and two tenor voices, two vibraphones and two synthesizers (sounding vaguely like small baroque organs,) performed by the SWR Vokalensemble, Stuttgart under the direction of Marcus Creed. America (Hänssler Classic CD 93.306) also includes choral works by Aaron Copland (Four Motets), John Cage (Five), Morton Feldman (Rothko Chapel), Leonard Bernstein (Missa Brevis) and Samuel Barber (A Stopwatch and an Ordnance Map). It is an eclectic mix of mostly religious works spanning much of the 20th century. Copland’s motets date from his student days in Paris and they evidently so impressed his teacher, Nadia Boulanger, that she used them as examples for several decades. Copland himself we are told in the liner notes was less fond, declaring them “schoolboy works exhibiting some influence of Mussorgsky, whom I greatly admired back then. They may in a certain sense satisfy curiosity – people may perhaps like to know what I did as a student – but it is not really my style.” That being said, they do provide a warm and welcoming opening to the disc, albeit with occasional moments of close harmonies and dissonance, in the alternating movements of entreaty to and praise of God.

Rather than a biblical text, Reich’s Proverb draws on a sentence from the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein – “How small a thought it takes, to fill a whole life” – and treats it in a number of ways over the course of 14 minutes. At times reminiscent of Reich’s 1981 Tehillim, although much more subdued, it is also evocative of the organa which Perotin introduced c.1200. This is followed by a fairly late work by John Cage, Five, composed in 1988 as one of the 52 Number Pieces which occupied much of the last six years of his life. As with many of Cage’s “compositions” there is a set of instructions rather than a score per se, with many of the creative decisions left to the performers. In this case each of five actors is simply given five pitches to sing within prescribed “time brackets” and left to decide when to actually begin and end. As such the result will be different in each performance. I found this rendition mildly akin to a streamlined version of Ligeti’s Lux Aeterna made so familiar in the soundtrack of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Morton Feldman’s piece was composed in 1971 for performance in the non-denominational of the same name in Houston, Texas designed as a place of quiet meditation, which houses 14 site-specific paintings by Mark Rothko. The music, nearly half an hour in length, scored for soprano, alto and mixed choir with one percussion (timpani, vibraphone), celesta and viola, is indeed very meditative. The singers’ ethereal vocalise can at times be mistaken for electronic textures and the instruments, especially the viola, enjoy long solo passages that are at least as important as the voices in this quiet masterpiece.

Like Cage’s Five, Bernstein’s Missa Brevis dates from 1988 and is a late work in the composer’s oeuvre. This mostly a cappella setting of the Catholic mass was written for an adaptation of Jean Anouilh’s play The Lark. Once again the voices are accompanied (intermittently) by percussion (timpani, tambourine and bells). Samuel Barber is represented by a relatively early work (1940) which is quite modern, at least in the context of this relatively conservative composer. Once again the choir is complemented by timpani – I found the preponderance of kettle drums on this choral disc to be quite striking (if you’ll excuse the pun) – and is otherwise unaccompanied. The text, lamenting the death of a soldier of the Spanish Civil War (and by extension war itself) is by Stephen Spender. I was unfamiliar with this setting and find it unlike those wonderful lyrical works by Barber with which we are normally presented. One might have expected to hear yet another rendition of Barber’s Agnus Dei (a vocal setting based on his famous Adagio) in this context, so I am particularly pleased to be presented with an atypical work rather than the expected.

For that, and a number of other reasons, this is a very strong disc, with committed performances of some rarely heard repertoire. It is interesting that it is a German choir presenting it. But that brings me to my one reservation about this release. I mentioned that this is a disc of mostly religious works, but I found the emphasis on four of the composers’ Jewish heritage in the liner notes a bit strange. Even creepy, considering that of the four, only Copland’s texts from the Old Testament can be considered Jewish. As mentioned, Reich’s is a secular philosophical quotation, Feldman’s wordless setting is meant for a non-denominational chapel and Bernstein’s is from the Catholic Church. So of what relevance is it that Copland was born “the son of Lithuanian-Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn,” Reich “born to German-Jewish parents in New York City,” Feldman “the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn” or that Bernstein was “the son of Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants in Massachusetts” – especially when all we are told of Cage is that his father was an inventor and that Barber was born in Pennsylvania? At first I imagined a possible anti-(or pro)-Semitic agenda, but after discussions with a number of colleagues I have decided that it is actually just a case of lazy scholarship. I have found that if you check the Wikipedia entries for all six composers, the biographical section commences with exactly the information offered here. So unless Wikipedia is part of a larger conspiracy, I think we can accept the seeming emphasis on Jewish heritage which marred my enjoyment of this otherwise excellent disc, to be inadvertent and an editorial misjudgment.

Italian composer Luciano Berio (1925-2003) is probably best known for his Sinfonia for orchestral forces and vocal octet with its texts by Samuel Beckett and Claude Lévi-Strauss and musical quotations from Mahler, Ravel, Stravinsky, Ives and others, and for his series of 14 Sequenzas for solo instruments. Toronto audiences had the rare opportunity to hear all 14 of these (and one of the six alternate versions as well) in January 2013 at the University of Toronto in a marathon performance organized by Joseph Petric and David Hetherington featuring some of this city’s finest musicians. The series spans Berio’s creative output from Sequenza I for flute composed in 1958 to Sequenza XIV for cello written a year before his death. About midway through, in 1976, Berio wrote his homage to the violin, an instrument of which he had “tortuous” memories as a result of his own studies as a teenager. This Sequenza VIII is based around the dissonance of the major second interval between the notes A and B and culminates in an extended ten-second long double-stopped A-B which in the words of violinist Carolin Widmann who wrote the program note for Universal Edition, which is quoted in the CD booklet, are “ten seconds of A-B which are an eternity.” Five years later Berio returned to the material of Sequenza VIII and expanded it into Corale for solo violin, two horns and strings. For this performance on the Oberlin Music label (Luciano Berio – Huang Ruo OC 14-01) violinist David Bowlin is joined by the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble under the direction of Timothy Weiss in a rare opportunity to hear the two versions back to back. It is quite an exhilarating experience.

American-based Huang Ruo, whose website defines him as composer, conductor, pianist and folk singer, was born in China in 1976, the year the Chinese Cultural Revolution ended and, incidentally, the year Berio composed his violin Sequenza. After winning the Henry Mancini Award at the International Film and Music Festival in Switzerland in 1995, Huang moved to the USA where he did his undergraduate studies at Oberlin Conservatory and then completed masters and doctoral degrees in composition at Juilliard. We are presented with two works here, again one for violin alone and one for solo violin and large ensemble, but in this instance the composition process was reverse to that of Berio in that the Four Fragments for solo violin were extrapolated from the existing Violin Concerto No.1 “Omnipresence.” Although we are told that Huang’s music takes equal inspiration from Chinese ancient and folk music, as well as Western avant-garde, rock and jazz, I find these particular pieces to be firmly grounded in the modernist Western Art Music tradition with only occasional melodic suggestions of his homeland in the solo lines. The result is extremely effective, with none of the downfalls often associated with “hybrid” art. Soloist David Bowlin is in fine form in all of the offerings and has obviously made this repertoire his own. My only qualm about this release is the three-paneled cardboard packaging, which is simply too tight to be able to remove the disc without gripping it with fingers on the playing surface of the CD.

I would have thought with the 40th anniversary of Shostakovich’s death just over the horizon (2015) that there would be no unearthed treasures left in his catalogue. It was therefore a pleasant surprise to receive Shostakovich – Six Romances; Scottish Ballad; Michelangelo Suite in what purported to be world premiere recordings featuring Canadian baritone Gerald Finley and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under Thomas Sanderling’s direction (Ondine ODE 1235-2). It turns out that in the case of the Six Romances on Verses by English Poets it is the version for large orchestra which had disappeared after the premiere in the 1940s that has not been recorded before. It also uses the original English texts for which Shostakovich had used Russian translations, so this is new on two counts (although conductor Sanderling had recorded the English version before using Shostakovich’s chamber orchestration). The composition dates from the same period as the Eighth Symphony and bears some resemblance to that mammoth work. To my ear it is also reminiscent of the oratorio The Song of the Forests which Shostakovich wrote in 1949. Annie Laurie, A Scottish Ballad is Shostakovich’s 1944 orchestration of an 1835 setting by Lady John Scott (Alicia Ann Spottiswoode) of William Douglas’ lament on unrequited love.

Shostakovich wrote the Suite on Poems by Michelangelo Buonarroti for bass and piano using Russian translations in 1974, the 500th anniversary of the birth of the great Renaissance artist. Orchestrating it the following year was one of his very last projects. The orchestral version was premiered several months after his death conducted by his son Maxim. This recording uses Michelangelo’s original Italian texts and there is an extended essay by Finley in the booklet which discusses the intricate process of Setting Michelangelo to Shostakovich. Finley was obviously very involved and dedicated to this project and his fine bass-baritone voice makes the music shine. All in all, these are welcome additions to the canon.

We welcome your feedback and invite submissions. CDs and comments should be sent to: DISCoveries, WholeNote Media Inc., The Centre for Social Innovation, 503 – 720 Bathurst St. Toronto ON M5S 2R4. We also encourage you to visit our website thewholenote.com where you can find added features including direct links to performers, composers and record labels and additional, expanded and archival reviews.

David Olds, DISCoveries Editor

discoveries@thewholenote.com

Mozart – Opera & Concert Arias
Karina Gauvin; Les Violons du Roy; Bernard Labadie
ATMA ACD2 2636

While Mozart’s concert arias were normally composed as additions to an opera score or as substitutions for other arias, the two represented on this recording were composed specifically for concert performance: Misera, dove son, composed for Countess Baumgarten and Ch’io mi scordi di te?…Non temere, amato bene which was originally intended for insertion for performance in Idomineo. However, the version Gauvin performs was adapted for the farewell concert of Nancy Storace, a singer much adored by Mozart. Gauvin’s superb purity of tone and dramatic interpretation shine in this aria. The orchestration calls for piano obbligato, deftly handled by Benedetto Lupo. One can imagine Storace and Mozart thoroughly enjoying the breakaway passage where the orchestra withdraws to feature the two.

Another wonderful exchange between instrumentalist and singer occurs in Non più di fiori from the opera La Clemenza di Tito with André Moisan’s gorgeously expressive basset horn obbligato. The opera arias featured are also marked by a superb sensitivity to the deeply emotive undertones in Mozart, especially Susanna’s deeply moving Act IV aria Deh vieni non tardar from The Marriage of Figaro. This recording demonstrates that Karina Gauvin shares a trait with Mozart: the ease and grace with which it falls on the ear of the listener belies the true complexity and supreme artistry inherent in the crafting of a truly exquisite performance.

Schubert – Wanderers Nachtlied
Matthias Goerne; Helmut Deutsch; Eric Schneider
Harmonia Mundi HMC902109.10

This is the eighth volume in Matthias Goerne’s epic project to record Schubert’s songs and cycles. Goerne meets every expectation of delivering the drama and emotion of the texts by Rückert, Goethe and other poets, especially as he masters so well the musical vehicle in which Schubert has set them.

But these performances transcend preoccupation with technical and stylistic correctness. At this stage in the singer’s relationship with his composer one begins to ask just how deeply one artist has ventured into the soul of the other? There is, in Goerne’s singing, a sense of ownership of Schubert’s ideas, and with that, an exercise of interpretive license quite unlike anything other Schubert singers have ever done.

The single item that will stop listeners in their tracks is the title lied, Wanderers Nachtlied, oddly buried partway through the second disc. The speed and dynamics of this interpretation are not just unconventional, they are wildly unorthodox. First impressions are shock and incredulity. How Goerne sustains the pianissimo and daringly slow tempo is technically stunning. Even more so is the realization that this is not a self-indulgence but a bold re-invention of Schubert’s original impulse. It’s unlikely that the composer ever intended this lied to be sung this way, but Goerne does it and makes it work, credibly and movingly. Simply masterful. Goerne has a unique artistic conviction that informs all his singing. It’s what will make his Schubert recordings an interpretive benchmark.

Verdi – Arias
Krassimira Stoyanova; Munchner Rundfunkorchester; Pavel Baleff
Orfeo C 885 141 A

In my journey last year through all of Verdi’s 26 operas I found one thing in common. The most interesting character, in conflict between her love and other, higher moral issues is nearly always the woman: Traviata, Aida, Luisa Miller, Amelia, Elisabetta…, the list is endless. Verdi was very partial to the lead sopranos, even his wife was one. It was true “he murdered sopranos,” he was so demanding and non-compromising: ”Pay attention to the quality of the voice” he so ordered Boito while selecting the right soprano … “to the intonation and above all to the intelligence and feeling.”

Intelligence and feeling could be the trademark of Krassimira Stoyanova, Bulgarian-born, who quickly rose to fame as leading soprano of the Vienna State Opera and is nowadays one of the most sought-after soloists worldwide. This new album is her third solo release, the previous two having won some prestigious awards.

The ambitious program takes us to the very core, the heart of Verdi, to roles of high vocal demands and intense emotional complexity. All of them are a rare treat for a Verdi-phile such as me. Stoyanova’s range is amazing: from the young and innocent Giovanna d’Arco through the tortured and victimized heroine Luisa Miller to the pinnacle of vocal grandeur of Don Carlo, in the supremely difficult and challenging aria Tu che le vanità. Certainly no stranger to these pages, I reviewed her Desdemona back in April 2007, in a DVD of Verdi’s Otello.

Gershwin – Porgy and Bess
Eric Owens; Laquita Mitchell; San Francisco Opera; John de Main
EuroArts Blu-ray 2059634 (also on DVD)

Porgy and Bess was conceived by Gershwin to be an American folk opera. After a preliminary run in Boston, Porgy and Bess premiered in New York City on October 10, 1935 at the Guild Theater, playing only 124 performances. Productions of varying versions were mounted over the years but it was not until 1976 when the acclaimed Houston Grand Opera production, featuring the complete score with an all- black cast, that Porgy and Bess was widely recognized as an opera. That production came to Toronto in 1976 and those of us who attended it well remember that special and unique evening. A driving force behind that Houston production, David Gockley is the executive producer of the very impressive 2009 live production from San Francisco seen here.

The two leads are sung by bass-baritone Eric Owens and soprano Laquita Mitchell. Owens appears at the Met and was seen and heard around the world as Alberich in the Met’s 2010-11 Ring cycle transmissions. Locally, he’s in the current COC production of Handel’s Hercules. Mitchell, whose repertoire also includes Verdi, Puccini and Mozart, is sought after by important opera houses including Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Washington and the Opéra Comique in Paris. Included in a perfectly cast production are Karen Slack as Serena, Chauncey Packer as Sportin’ Life and Lester Lynch as Crown.

I was initially concerned about the operatically trained voices enunciating the patois of the text while singing at a speaking tempo. Either they got better at it or I became accustomed to it. The many well-known songs (hard to think of them as arias) are framed by the action and sound spontaneous. The set, choreography and stage direction create a mise-en-scène that immediately draws us into Catfish Row.

All in all, this is a performance of genuine stature and an important release.

Greatest Hits, Vol.1
Elmer Iseler Singers; Lydia Adams
Independent EIS 2013-01 (elmeriselersingers.com)

Recorded and released to mark the 35th Anniversary season of the Elmer Iseler Singers, this disc features some of the choir’s most requested performance pieces. This may be, after all, a choir with one of the longest histories in Canadian choral music. In a previous life as the Festival Singers (founded long before in 1954) the 20-voice professional chamber choir took on the name of its founder in 1979. Directed by Lydia Adams since 1998, the choir has continued to perform and record a variety of works whilst serving as a champion of Canadian choral composers.

This latest offering was expertly recorded by Keith Horner and Robert DiVito in what Horner describes as the “spacious acoustics” of Toronto’s Grace Church on-the-Hill. Peppered amongst favourites by Eleanor Daley, Healey Willan, Allister MacGillivray, Paul Halley, Leon Dubinsky and Rita MacNeil are traditional Mi’kmaq and Inuit chants arranged by the conductor, traditional American songs and spirituals, with a little Schubert and Mendelssohn added for good measure. As always, the choir is impeccable and soloists Anne Bornath, Gisele Kulak, Andrea Ludwig, Alison Roy and Nelson Lohnes shine forth with gorgeous clarity, as do guest artists Shawn Grenke, piano and Clare Scholtz, oboe.

Derek Holman – Ash Roses
Mireille Asselin; Lawrence Wiliford; Liz Upchurch; Sanya Eng
Centrediscs CMCCD 19914

The Canadian Art Song Project was founded in 2011 by tenor Lawrence Wiliford and pianist Stephen Philcox with a mission to build on the rich legacy of Canadian song, especially art song, through performance, recording, commissions and editing. There is no finer example of Canadian art song composers to feature than the English-born and longtime Canadian resident Derek Holman. Holman has written a prolific number of choral works in addition to his opera, oratorio, keyboard, chamber and orchestral compositions. In Ash Roses, two song cycles and two collections are featured in this first all-Holman recording.

Wiliford sings with passion, power, and clear articulation in The Four Seasons, an eight-song cycle commissioned by the COC in memory of Richard Bradshaw. Set to a number of British poems, it is a moving collection rich in lyrical tonality, word painting, contrasting moods and subtle harmonic shifts. In Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal, Wiliford is joined by soprano Mireille Asselin in a virtuosic duet. Asselin shines in the song cycle title track Ash Roses. The at times witty text of Canadian poet Tricia Postle is given a more atonal setting with vocal interval leaps and shifting rhythmic piano accompaniment. Pianist Liz Upchurch is unbelievable in her accompaniments – these difficult piano parts sound effortless thanks to her awesome musicality and technique. Harpist Sanya Eng accompanies Wiliford admirably in the intricate Three Songs for High Voice and Harp.

Holman ends these compositions with simple luscious resonating cadences leaving the listener begging for more Canadian art songs.

The Art of Melancholy –  Songs by John Dowland
Iestyn Davies; Thomas Dunford
Hyperion CDA68007

Half a century ago a countertenor was still seen as unusual, some would say unnatural. There are now a substantial number of countertenors and I would rate Iestyn Davies as one of the very best, judging from the record under review and also from the recent recording of Handel’s Belshazzar, in which he sings the role of Daniel. He has a strong and very even voice with an excellent sense of pitch. He has himself said that for him the finest countertenor is Andreas Scholl and he has commented on Scholl’s ability to create “a column of sound which doesn’t weaken and stays absolutely even.” The comment fits Davies’ own singing.

Melancholy was a common malady in early 17th-century England. Think of Hamlet or of Jaques in As You Like It. It could become an affectation and it was delightfully parodied in Ben Jonson’s Every Man in his Humour, in which a character calls for a stool to be melancholy upon. Davies, however, believes strongly that, for Dowland, melancholy is more than just a pose. That conviction accounts for the passion which Davies brings to the songs on this disc.

Davies is ably accompanied by lutenist Thomas Dunford, who also has five solos. They include The Frog Galliard, a performance which, for good measure, throws in Greensleeves as an excursion. Davies sang in Vancouver, Banff and Calgary a couple of months ago. I hope we shall hear him in Toronto soon.

Terra Tremuit
Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal; Christopher Jackson
ATMA ACD2 2653

Several Renaissance composers dwell on the subject of world catastrophe – the cataclysms, floods, epidemics that will lead to humanity’s end. On this disc Christopher Jackson’s studio (40 years old this year) interprets doom-laden compositions by six such composers.

 An all-too-short one-minute motet Terra tremuit by William Byrd, with its sometimes clashing parts, sets the scene. Antoine Brumel’s five-movement Earthquake Mass for 12 voices follows, starting with a serene “Kyrie eleison” and a “Gloria” initially gentle but where the discordant music finally reflects the sinister nature of this compilation. It is certainly the case during Brumel’s “Sanctus, Benedictus”; his demands on the vocal abilities of the singers to change from high to low, and to perform melodic leaps must surely be intended to reflect the events of an earthquake.

 Then there are the composers who followed in the footsteps of Brumel. Vaet and Crecquillon, as employees at the court of the emperor Charles V, saw first hand the terrors of absolute power; not surprisingly they bring a mellow and melancholy richness to their compositions – both are terrified as they look to the last day and their judgment. More formal is Palestrina’s Terra tremuit. This depicts the aftermath of the earth’s trembling and the quiet that pertains as God rises in judgment.

 And if the sky does fall in, at least you will have been warned well in advance by some of the greatest early composers.

Le Jardin de Monsieur Rameau
Les Arts Florisants; William Christie
Les Arts Florissants Editions Edition AF002

Le Jardin des Voix is a two-week training program for young singers, organized by the ensemble Les Arts Florissants. It was launched in 2002 and this recording represents its sixth edition. Le Jardin de Monsieur Rameau was devised by Paul Agnew, the Associate Director of Les Arts Florissants. It was given as a semi-staged entertainment, first in Caen (in Normandy) and then on a tour that took the musicians as far west as New York and as far east as Helsinki.

In an interview printed in the booklet that comes with the CD, Agnew expresses the view that a normal training program may help a singer to perform the role of Gilda or that of Masetto but is of little help in 18th-century French opera. The training these young singers received has certainly paid off in their idiomatic command of both the literary and the musical language of the works performed. They are also very well attuned to each other.

The music of Rameau is central to the disc but there are also arias, duets and ensembles from Montéclair, Campra, Grandval, Dauvergne and Gluck. When I saw the track list I was concerned that the overall effect would be terribly fragmented, but I need not have worried. The program flows beautifully. I was especially taken with the alto-tenor duet from Rameau's Les fêtes d'Hébé, with the baritone aria from the fourth Act of his Dardanus and, most of all, with the heavenly quartet from his Les Indes galantes, which closes this recording.

Italian Memories
Mauro Bertoli
Independent (maurobertoli.com)

Despite Italy’s long-standing reputation as a country of vocal music, there is also a keyboard tradition going back as far as Frescobaldi – and what better way of sampling 300 years of Italian keyboard music than with this new recording titled Italian Memories with pianist Mauro Bertoli?

Born in Brescia, Italy, Bertoli has established an international reputation within a fairly short time, having appeared in recital and as a soloist with numerous chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout the world. A recipient of the prestigious Giuseppe Sinopoli award in 2006, Bertoli has been artist-in-residence at Carleton University in Ottawa since 2009. Italian Memories is his fourth recording, and one that clearly brings him back to his roots.

The CD opens with four miniatures by three composers, Benedetto Marcello, Mattia Vento and Domenico Paradisi. Bertoli’s playing is elegant and poised, easily demonstrating how well music originally intended for harpsichord can sound on a concert grand. The name Muzio Clementi is a more familiar one – is there a piano student who hasn’t played music by this Italian-born composer who spent most of his life in England and whose reputation rivalled that of Haydn? The two sonatas presented here are a delight, and Bertoli makes ease of the sometimes breakneck speed required of the performer. A complete change of pace comes with two brief and languorous pieces by Martucci and the Diario Indiano by Ferruccio Busoni, an homage to Native American culture. The latter is a true study in contrasts where Bertoli’s wonderful sense of tonal colour is juxtaposed with a formidable technique.

The final work is a true tour de force, music not by an Italian but by the 12- year- old Franz Liszt – the Impromptu Brilliant on Themes by Rossini and Spontini. Here, both Liszt and Bertoli pull out all the stops in this flamboyant piece, thus rounding out a splendid program of music that deserves greater exposure.

Brahms – String Quintets
Takács Quartet; Lawrence Power
Hyperion CDA67900

The string quintet, as an art form, offers ingenious possibilities for creating unique harmonies and colours, and Brahms took full advantage of that. While he was known to have some difficulties establishing the right medium for his creative ideas, with string quintets he had found a perfect vehicle for expressing the depth and uniqueness of his artistry. Edvard Grieg allowed for the same sentiments in one of his letters: “How different the person we call Brahms now suddenly appears to us! Now for the first time I see and feel how whole he was both as an artist and as a human being.”

In String Quintet in F Major, Op.88, we hear Brahms’ signature use of eighth notes against triplets enhanced by syncopation in the first movement. The second movement combines the characteristics of two movements by means of alternation, thus expressing both dark colours that evoke mystery and a light, pastoral character. The rhythmic energy of the closing movement grants a boisterous mood to the fugal subject. The String Quintet in G Major, Op.111, opens with a grand, densely scored first movement, followed by two middle movements with more alluring, dreamy melodies. The final movement follows the thread of different and at times surprising tonalities.

The members of the Takács Quartet and Lawrence Power present cohesive and thoughtful performances. They are equally at ease expressing melancholy and introspection as they are at bringing out the complexity of Brahms’ writing. Their vibrato is so exquisite that it makes every note meaningful. If you find yourself in a mood for contemplation, this is a perfect recording for such moments.

Dvořák – Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op.104
Alisa Weilerstein; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Jirí Bělohlávek
Decca B0019765-02

When we think of great cello concertos only a handful come readily to mind, namely those from the Romantic composers; Dvořák, Elgar, Schumann, Saint-Saëns, plus Prokofiev and the two from Shostakovich. Of course, there are also these popular named works: Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote, Bloch’s magnificent Schelomo. For the average music lover, the Dvořák and the Elgar are most likely to come to mind.

Neither of the two wants for excellent recorded performances from past and present luminaries, but today’s artist to listen for is Alisa Weilerstein and she has recorded both (her EuroArts DVD and Decca CD recordings of the Elgar were reviewed in these pages in October 2011 and December 2012 respectively). From the moment of her entry in the first movement of the Dvořák we are aware of her flawless and stimulating technique, producing thrilling sonorities with assurance and rhythmic precision. 

Under Bělohlávek, the Czech Philharmonic has regained the sound and authority of the past, playing with palpable enthusiasm and partnering in a very exciting and satisfying performance, superbly recorded.

Just a thought: a photograph of the recording session shows Weilerstein facing into the orchestra which may account for the total involvement of everyone concerned.

Six shorter show pieces are included: Lasst mich allein, Op.82 No.1; Rondo in G Minor, Op.94; Goin’ home; Songs my mother taught me, Op.55 No.4; Silent Woods, Op.68 No.5 and an exciting Slavonic Dance in G Minor, Op.46 No.8. Even though she does not yet have a recognizable, distinctive sound of her own, Weilerstein excels with an engaging rendering of each piece, closing out this most welcome disc.

Fauré – Nocturnes and Barcarolles
Stéphane Lemelin
ATMA ACD2 2466

Stéphane Lemelin’s program interweaves Fauré’s complete nocturnes and barcarolles (13 of each) on this two-disc release, providing an ideal chronological overview of the composer’s development. Lemelin’s program notes are clear and interesting. For example, he notes that while the pieces became less nocturne- or barcarolle-like over the composer’s lifetime, the publisher retained those generic names in an effort to boost sales!

Interpretively, Lemelin follows Fauré’s abstention from rubato yet maintains expressiveness with inflections and sense of breathing, in the manner of a Fauré mélodie (art song). Technically he executes well, from the clarity and filigree work of Barcarolle No.2 to the rumbling bass, octaves and even tone clusters of Nocturne No.12. Stylistically, many listeners will find the experimental works of the years 1902-1913 most difficult to appreciate: here Lemelin is uncompromising in projecting the bleakness and obsessive quality of Nocturne No.10, or the repetitive melody and harmony (for this chromatically sophisticated composer) of Barcarolle No.9. And yet, on repeated hearing I find that these pieces too reveal many beauties.

As for Fauré’s accessible early pieces, Lemelin sets a high standard of commitment from the beginning. His playing of Nocturne No.1 is full of harmonic interest and emotional depth. Though Barcarolle No.1 is fairly conventional Lemelin elevates it, capturing the beauty of texture and occasional twists of chord direction that will become stylistic trademarks. And so it goes, onward from these works and throughout this wonderful set.

James Ehnes is back with a program of Russian music on his latest CD, Khachaturian/Shostakovich (ONYX 4121). Ehnes is joined by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under Mark Wigglesworth in a solid performance of the Khachaturian Violin Concerto. The slow middle movement is particularly lovely here, and the “Allegro vivace” final movement really sparkles. Recorded in the orchestra’s Melbourne concert hall, the violin seems to be a bit far back in the balance at times, but the overall sound is full and resonant.

Shostakovich is represented by two works from his series of 15 string quartets – the Quartet No.7 in F Sharp Minor, Op.108 and the Quartet No.8 in C Minor, Op.110 – played here by the Ehnes Quartet, an ensemble formed in 2010 in which Ehnes himself is joined by violinist Amy Schwarz Moretti, violist Richard O’Neill and cellist Robert deMaine. The quartets, both written in 1960, are highly personal in nature, with the Op.110 in particular being essentially autobiographical. Dedicated “To the Victims of Fascism and War,” it quotes from six of Shostakovich’s earlier works and is dominated by his signature monogram D-S-C-H, the German designation for the notes D, E flat, C and B natural. It is a work that consistently reduced Shostakovich to tears, both in its composition and in performance. The playing here is dynamic and thoughtful, although perhaps a bit too polished at times; the aching, yearning sense of melancholy, desolation and despair so essential to the Op.110 in particular doesn’t always come through.

Shostakovich’s influence is clearly audible in an outstanding 2-CD set of the music of Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996), the Polish/Soviet composer who, with Shostakovich’s help, settled in Moscow in the early 1940s. The two composers shared a close friendship and clearly influenced each other. For many years Weinberg’s music has been unjustly neglected, but that has gradually been changing, with an ever-increasing number of CDs exploring his extensive and hugely impressive output. This latest issue on the German ECM Records label (ECM 2368/69) featuring Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica makes a massive contribution to the growing appreciation of Weinberg’s music.

Three of the works – the Concertino Op.42 for Violin and String Orchestra, the Sonatina Op.46 for Violin and Piano and the String Trio Op.48 – are from the period 1948-50, when toeing the Party line was more than just a sensible idea; Reading between the musical lines, the excellent booklet essay on Weinberg, refers to his being “under suspicion and shadowed day and night for five years from 1948 to 1953.” Like so much Soviet music of the time, these works are immediately accessible, but always with the sense of added meaning lurking beneath the surface.

The two other works – the monumental and towering Sonata No.3 Op.126 for Solo Violin from 1978, which Kremer rightly puts on the same level as the Bartók sonata, and the Symphony No.10 Op.98 for String Orchestra from 1968 – are from a period when the mature composer clearly enjoyed a greater sense of freedom, both politically and musically.

It’s a quite stunning set, with the performers outstanding in all respects. Kremer is as good as I’ve ever heard him, and this is clearly music very close to his heart.

Hyperion’s The Romantic Violin Concerto Volume 15 features the music of Polish composers Emil Młynarski (1870-1935) and Aleksander Zarzycki (1834-1895) (CDA67790). Młynarski enjoyed a hugely successful international career as a violinist, conductor and composer, and is represented here by his two violin concertos, No.1 in D Minor Op.11 from 1897 and No.2 in D Major Op.16 from 1916. The style is typically late Romantic, with echoes of Wieniawski and Dvořák. The first concerto virtually disappeared after its initial success, and apparently remained unplayed until 2011. The second concerto is clearly a more confident and individual work that has stayed in the repertoire.

Zarzycki was primarily a virtuoso pianist before concentrating on composition and teaching. His Introduction et Cracovienne in D Major Op.35 and Mazurka in G Major Op.26 are both delightful virtuosic pieces. Violinist Eugene Ugorski is terrific, with a big tone and a large and constant vibrato which is perfectly suited to the style of these works. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Michał Dworzyński provides excellent support.

British violinist Jack Liebeck is superb on another outstanding Hyperion disc, this time a recital of Kreisler Violin Music, accompanied by pianist Katya Apekisheva (CDA68040). The Viennese violinist Fritz Kreisler was one of the most outstanding and instantly recognizable players in the first half of the 20th century. As the excellent booklet notes by the ubiquitous Tully Potter point out, Kreisler`s continuous use of vibrato was considered to be a revolutionary new style of playing; he was also renowned for his pure, sweet tone and his immaculately clean and accurate double-stopping.

Although there is now ample opportunity for us to hear Kreisler himself in recorded performance – there are well over a dozen Kreisler CDs in the Naxos Historical series alone – he is still mostly remembered for his compositions, transcriptions and arrangements. Some of the compositions, of course, were the subject of a mini-scandal in the mid-1930s when Kreisler, who had passed them off as being by various Baroque and Classical composers, even claiming to own the original manuscripts, finally admitted that they were his own compositions. They are now usually listed as “in the style of…” The most well-known (and arguably the best) of these, the Pugnani Praeludium and Allegro, opens this recital in fine style. Other “in the style of…” compositions are the Boccherini Allegretto and the Cartier La Chasse, the latter full of the dazzling double-stops that Kreisler could handle so comfortably. As can Liebeck, quite clearly.

The four most popular Kreisler compositions – Schön Rosmarin, Tambourin chinois, Liebeslied and Liebesfreud – are here, the latter two, incidentally, having been originally passed off as being by the Austrian waltz composer Joseph Lanner. The lesser-known Syncopation, Toy Soldiers’ March, Caprice viennois, Polichinelle and Marche miniature viennoise are also included, along with the fascinating Recitativo and Scherzo for solo violin. Four Kreisler arrangements fill out the program: Gluck’s Mélodie from Orfeo; De Falla’s Danse espagnole from La vida breve; Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance in E minor; and Tartini’s G minor Sonata The Devil’s Trill, where Liebeck’s superb multiple-stopped trills bring an outstanding CD to a jaw-dropping conclusion.

There is a good deal of competition in recordings of this repertoire, but Liebeck and Apekisheva provide as lovely playing of these beautifully crafted works as you could wish to hear.