Those Who Teach Can Also Play

As shibboleths go, the hoary “those who can do, those who can’t teach,” must rank at the very top of the list. Besides libelling the majority of educators who devote themselves to the task of imparting knowledge to students, it negates the activities of those who teach and do. Here are some musicians who maintain a full-time teaching career along with consistent gigging.

Case in point is American drummer Gerry Hemingway, now on the faculty of the Hochschule Luzern in Switzerland. This commitment doesn’t stop him from being part of many working bands. One is The Who trio, filled out by pianist/synthesizer player Michel Wintsch and bassist Bänz Oester, both Swiss natives. Zoo (Auricle Aur 14+15; gerryhemingway.com/auricle) is one all-acoustic CD and another featuring Wintsch on keyboards, each of which demonstrates the drummer’s sensitivity. On some of the electronic tracks his percussion colouration is such that its unobtrusiveness is reminiscent of the drum pulses in the film Birdman. Hemingway is a full partner on these discs however. On Sloeper for instance, which could define the acoustic jazz trio, he relaxes into poised and positioned accents which chime clockwork-like alongside Oester’s juiced-up thwacks, allowing Wintsch to extend the line. Subsequent nimble piano inventions are met with Gatling gun-like swats from the drummer until the exposition reverts to simple swing. Hemingway’s unfussy paddling keeps the exposition flowing even when the pianist unleashes evocatively flowery chords. Introduced by arpeggiated double-bass string shaking, Raccitus confirms that hard back beats and cymbal clangs can manoeuvre a gentle melody into a dramatic narrative of resonating strength. With capricious echoes and processing from the synthesizer adding unforeseen granular synthesis and oscillated wiggles to the program, the percussionist adopts cutting-edge techniques. On the extended Lamp Bowl for example, dealing with timbres that could come from Hammond organ, murmuring computer programs or signals from outer space, Hemingway’s polyrhythms break up the narrative at the same time as they steady the beat. Considering Wintsch’s playing is equally protean, highlighting both vivid acoustic melodies and buzzing electric oscillations, the drummer’s rugged pops plus staccato interjections from the bassist further ground the piece. Hemingway’s artful shadings in both settings confirm why the professional development days on his teaching calendar are marked by playing opportunities with ensembles of various sizes.

Size is no hindrance for bassist Michael Formanek, who teaches at Baltimore’s Peabody Institute. The 71-minute, multi-sectional The Distance suite he composed is performed with élan and ebullience by the specially organized 19-member Ensemble Kolossus (ECM 2484 ecmrecords.com). Notable for more than its enormity, the effect of listening to the CD’s ten tracks is like standing in front of a large painting of an important 19th-century battle. While the canvas initially draws you to the conflict in the foreground, very soon you begin noticing the details on the scene’s periphery. It’s the same with Exoskeleton, the CD’s eight-part centrepiece. Introduced by the bassist’s own pedal-to-the-metal string pumping, the work quickly settles into sequences that alternate vamping section work with solo expression. With five reed and eight brass players, the undulating horn crescendos often put into bolder relief, or are put into bolder relief by, the sophisticated musings issuing from Kris Davis’ linear piano lines or guitarist Mary Halvorson’s darkened finger picking. This means that despite huffing theme variations by the four trombonists in the early sequences, a finger-snapping rhythm remains. Subsequent tonal deconstruction in the form of a duet between tenor saxophonist Chris Speed and cornetist Kurt Knuffke, or trumpeter Ralph Alessi’s tongue flutters contrasting with trombonist Alan Ferber’s more moderated blasts, are kept in check by Formanek’s strong arrangements. Not only does the layered note colouration flow around the soloists, but acting like a drill sergeant, the guitarist’s hammered notes never allow the sound excursions to travel off into uncharted musical paths. All this doesn’t weaken the compositional thrust in any way and by the penultimate section, A Reptile Dysfunction, concentrated polyphony generated by growling horns plus thick smacks from the bassist and drummer Tomas Fujiwara give way to a polished chamber-like duet. Oscar Noriega’s contralto clarinet tones brushing up against Patricia Brennan’s chiming marimba reveals one more painterly detail of the composition. Finally, Metamorphic, the climax, involves trumpeter Dave Ballou’s polished grace notes soaring like a dove of peace over vamping, bellicose multiphonics that involve every other player. Ballou’s brassy resolution helps direct the suite to wrap up with the same intensity with which it began. With detailing demanding repeated listening, Formanek’s creative triumph is confirmed.

On a much smaller scale, but with the same sort of sonic concordance is Cosmopolitan Greetings (Red Piano RPR 4699-4419-2 redpianorecords.com), where a quartet featuring pianist Frank Carlberg, who teaches at Boston’s New England Conservatory, plays three of his originals and three free improvisations. Although not a regular group, there’s no fissure between the academic and the jobbing musicians: guitarist Joe Morris, bassist Pascal Niggenkemper and drummer Luther Gray. If anything, the pianist’s writing and versatility come across like line drawings which break a solid page of text in a publication. Thematic links to Thelonious Monk’s crooked time sense (especially on Now and Forever) and Herbie Nichols’ joyous abandon (more pointedly on Get it?), allow Carlberg to create a space where bop, cool and free impulses intersect. On the second tune for instance, the melody is paramount, with a drum solo offering a lesson in how to gradually minimize the tempo while maximizing swing. Elsewhere, as on the title tune, Niggenkemper’s string segmentation suggests minimalism, tempered with keyboard clip-clops; while walking and sliding bass stops plus ratcheting guitar licks turn Cadillac Squawk, another Carlberg line, into unexpectedly relaxed Third Stream-like music. Like a champion kayaker crewing on a larger boat, veteran free improviser Morris expresses himself with nuanced distinction within the group improv that’s Who Eats Who. As his guitar picking creates time dislocation alongside Gray’s clattering fills, the piece reaches its zenith as keyboard swabbing gives away to fluid squirms from Carlberg, making the finale as dramatic as it is didactic.

Piloting a mid-course between freedom and formalism are the seven compositions on Life After Life (Allos Documents 012 allosmusica.org), written and performed by percussionist Eric Platz. Platz, a music professor at Brandon University (BU) in Manitoba, is joined by cellist Leanne Zacharias who also teaches at BU, local electric bassist Don Benedictson, who recorded the disc, and Chicagoan James Falzone, who plays clarinet and adds a shruti box drone to some tracks. Three successive variants on the title track are chamber music-like duos, the last confirming the near-identical timbres of cello and clarinet; the first two demonstrating that Falzone and Platz can produce enlightened textures with the organization of synchronized swimmers plus the improvisational smarts that could imagine Jimmy Giuffre playing with Max Roach. Elsewhere, Zacharias, equally capable of plucking a swing line, emphasizes the innate woodiness of her instrument which joins with moderato clarinet tones and the timbered parts of Platz’s kit to form an appropriately tree-spanning confluence that delineates the composer’s mystical vision of Redwood Vesper. These inferences, plus sonic seasoning that bring in rock music-like rhythms via Platz’s back beat plus an exotic shruti box buzzing, are part of the CD’s 21-minute chef-d’oeuvre Blood Meridian. More closely related to the integration of separated impulses than blood, the sectional piece begins with droning undulations that sound electronic as well as acoustic, then introduce a rhythmic undertow that shares space with wheezing clarinet puffs, marimba pops and cello riffs. Like a radio shunting from one station to another, additional sequences include a duet with dreamy cello strokes and whimsical clarinet yelps; maracas shakes, bell pealing, wood-block echoes; and human-sounding panting and breathing. Ultimately the composition memorably resolves itself as the wave form oscillations cease and an overlay of clarinet trills signal a triumphant resolution. Conclusively, the drummer’s echoing pop puts an onomatopoeic period on the program.

The art of the late conductor Hans Knappertsbusch is to be heard on countless performances of Wagner’s Ring Cycle from Bayreuth as well as other Wagner music dramas and in performances of the orchestral works of the Romantic composers – all audio discs, with only four works on video. They are Beethoven’s Leonora Overture No.3 and the Fourth Piano Concerto with Wilhelm Backhaus together with the Vorspiel und Isoldes Liebestod from Tristan sung by Birgit Nilsson, all from the Wiener Festwochen in 1962. From 1963, only one item: Act One of Die Walküre in a concert performance sung by Claire Watson (Sieglinde), Fritz Uhl (Siegmund) and Josef Greindl (Hunding). The orchestra throughout is the Vienna Philharmonic.

Arthaus Musik has issued them on a single Blu-ray disc, A Tribute to Hans Knappertsbusch (109213) in a video quality typical of the time or maybe a little better, supplied by the ORF. Filmed in black and white in 4:3 format. Watching Knappertsbusch in action it is easy to see how he achieves those long lines with such ease. He seems to draw the orchestra out rather than imposing on them. Hard to explain but I believe it is there to see. The veteran Backhaus, still well in command of his instrument, and Knappertsbusch are of one mind in this elegant, patrician performance. Nilsson is Nilsson. The Walküre first act is sung flawlessly but today we have been spoiled by so many videos of the actual opera that it is very hard to visualize what they are singing about or to empathize with any confrontation when they are simply standing there awaiting their turn. I think that the disc is still desirable if only to see and hear Knappertsbusch, Backhaus and Nilsson. 

My first thought when I opened a package from Naxos and found Shostakovich – The Complete String Quartets with Quatuor Danel (Alpha 226) was, here’s something for Terry Robbins’ Strings Attached column. Although I love them dearly, I already have half a dozen sets of the quartets and after all, how many is enough? But then I made the mistake of opening the (Pandora’s) box. So, sorry Terry! I was immediately immersed in the sound world that has captivated me time and again, since my first exposure almost 50 years ago with the Borodin Quartet’s Melodiya-Seraphim vinyl set of the then complete quartets Nos.1 through 13 (now available in a digitally remastered four-CD set from Chandos). I also remember being deeply moved by the Beethoven Quartet rendition of the 13th in a pairing with the late Violin Sonata performed by David Oistrakh and Sviatoslav Richter. That one-movement Adagio quartet, written in 1970, seemed at the time to be the epitome of darkness and quiet despair. As had been the case earlier in the cycle, Shostakovich followed this morose work with the almost playful String Quartet No.14 in F-Sharp Major, Op.142 in 1973. But as we know, especially in his final years, playfulness was at a premium and the final work in the mammoth cycle returns to doom and gloom, if perhaps with quiet resignation. The String Quartet No.15 in E-Flat Major, Op.144 (1974) is in six movements – Elegy, Serenade, Intermezzo, Nocturne, Funeral March and Epilogue – every one of which is adagio in tempo with the single exception of the Funeral March marked adagio molto (very slow). As I mentioned, there is much gentle resolve in this work with only occasional abrasive interjections reminding us that Shostakovich was not entirely willing, in the words of Dylan Thomas, to “go gentle into that good night.”

When I started to write this I did not know what form my words would take. Having spent most of the past month revisiting these great works I have had various responses to this particular set. I initially assumed it was a new recording, but careful examination of the booklet – annoyingly printed in white text on a pale green background – reveals that it was actually recorded from 2001 to 2005 by the Bayerischen Rundfunk, and a search on the internet turned up that it was initially released on the Fuga Libera label a decade ago. Although there are extensive program notes – thankfully printed in legible black text – including an encomium by Frans C. Lemaire and a 16-page essay about the quartets themselves by David Fanning, nowhere in the 50-page bilingual booklet is there a word about the ensemble itself. Fortunately they have a comprehensive and up-to-date website (quatuordanel.eu) from which I was able to glean that one of the two Danel brothers, cellist Guy, and the violist Tony Nys, have since left the quartet. The violinists Marc Danel and Gilles Millet remain and their commitment to Shostakovich is ongoing with live performances of the quartet cycle in Manchester and Lyon in recent months. The group was founded in 1991, is based in Belgium and has a particular interest in modern and contemporary repertoire – Rihm, Lachenmann, Gubaidulina, Dusapin Jörg Widmann and Bruno Mantovani – although their upcoming recording projects focus on Tchaikovsky, Franck and late Beethoven.

Regarding the Shostakovich set itself, I found the performances nuanced, idiomatic and convincing and at about $35 the Alpha reissue is excellent value. I have mixed feelings about the order in which the quartets are presented however. Rather than a chronological presentation, each of the five discs presents three quartets from more or less different periods. I found this most satisfying on the final disc where Quartet No.1 is followed by Quartet No.10 and then the ultimate Quartet No.15, effectively giving an overview of the composer’s oeuvre in 77 minutes. Less effective was the opening disc on which we find Quartets Nos. 2, 7 and 5. Certainly for shorter listening sessions, one disc at a time, this is a well-balanced approach. But for binge listening, as I am prone to, I prefer to experience them in the order they were written. For this sort of total immersion I recommend spending just a few dollars more for the Decca reissue of the 1999 Deutsche Grammophon recording Shostakovich – The String Quartets by the Emerson String Quartet (475 7407).

The next entry doesn’t go back quite as far as my discovery of the string quartets of Dmitri Shostakovich, but I have known multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter Ted Parkinson for about 35 years. He is a dear friend, so unlike my usual “professional conflict of interest disclaimer,” I must say outright that this relationship goes much deeper than that. A frequent participant in my backyard and house party jams, Ted always has something to add to the mix, whether it’s his jazz-inspired hollow-body guitar complements to the songs of others or his own quirky compositions which run the gamut from basic blues, to pop rock and alternative ballad stylings. I have known that Ted has been working on his debut solo CD for the past four years and I’ve heard various mixes during that time. I am pleased to say, as are Ted and his long-suffering (no, let’s just say very patient) wife Joan, that the finished product My Neighbourhood (tedparkinson.com) is now available. Like many first releases it is a compendium of many decades of creativity and, not surprisingly, many stylistic variations. Although Ted is adept at guitar, keyboards, reeds and drums, he has enlisted “professional help” for this project. His main collaborator is producer/engineer Fred Smith who suggested supplementary players to fill out the mix. Smith himself adds a couple of instruments dear to my own heart, tenor banjo and mandola.

Ted, a native of Whitehorse, came to Toronto, and later Hamilton and now Kitchener, via Victoria, B.C. The songs reflect various aspects of his geographic and emotional development. I can only assume that February Spring is a remnant of his days in Victoria. And speaking of his time on the West Coast, while doing some spring cleaning a couple of days ago I unearthed a relic of Ted’s years at the University of Victoria in the form of An exciting, new, four song E.P. by The Tumours released in 1980. This punk-edged, new wave band with heavy-metal lead guitar featured my old buddy on saxophone and backing vocals. After moving to Toronto in the mid-80s Ted was for a while a member of the proto-punk band Violence and the Sacred. Not much of his “angry young man” roots remain in the songs collected on My Neighbourhood, but it was a fun trip down memory lane to listen to the long lost tracks which took me back to my own time at CKLN-FM in its heyday. Highlights of the new album include the title track, My Brother’s a Mormon, Discovery and University Town. You can watch a live performance of this last on Ted’s website.

I mentioned that Ted Parkinson is a frequent flyer at my backyard music parties and last summer he brought a friend, well a Facebook friend anyway. It seems that in the ever-shrinking world of social media Ted came across another Whitehorse native, jazz singer Fawn Fritzen, and when it turned out that she was spending a few months of professional development in Toronto, he decided my backyard would be a good place to meet in person. So on a couple of occasions last season we were graced with her strong, warm voice and our folky ramblings expanded to encompass some jazz standards and torch songs.

I was pleasantly surprised when Fritzen’s CD Pairings (fawnfritzen.com) appeared on my desk a couple of weeks ago. Recorded in Whitehorse and at Toronto’s Canterbury Sound, the disc was produced with her longtime collaborator Daniel Janke. As the title suggests, Pairings is primarily made up of duets and features a number of iconic figures including George Koller, Reg Schwager, David Restivo, Steve Amirault, a trio comprised of Richard Underhill, Kelly Jefferson and Shirantha Beddage, and of course, producer Janke. Fritzen shows herself adept in languages with lyrics in English, German and French and a comfort zone that embraces standards (Gershwin, Caesar and Youmans, Berlin and Porter), bluesy originals, a swinging arrangement of Burton Cummings’ Straighten Out and a growly Please Send Me Someone to Love. This is quite a brave project: accompanied in most instances by only one instrument (double bass, piano, jazz guitar or percussion), and occasionally in sung duet with the accompanists, Fritzen’s voice benefits from this exposure and rises to every occasion.

Concert Note: Fawn Fritzen will launch Pairings with intimate performances in Toronto at Jazz Bistro on May 8, St. Catharines at the Mahtay Café on May 9, Waterloo at the Jazz Room May 10 (where accompanists will include Ted Parkinson) and Ottawa at the Steinway Piano Gallery May 11.

Shameless self-promotion: In one final note I would like to tell you about a performance coming up on Wednesday, June 15. I have often mentioned my administrative association with New Music Concerts and also the music parties in my backyard (and elsewhere). In a surprising act of bravado I will be donning my folky duds to host a fundraiser on behalf of New Music Concerts at “Coffee House 345” (aka Gallery 345 on Sorauren). I will be bringing my eclectic repertoire, 6- and 12-string guitars and a few musical friends along for the ride. Thanks to NMC’s board of directors, there will be complimentary snacks and libations. More details will follow in the June edition of The WholeNote, but for advance reservations you can call 416-961-9594.

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, “buy buttons” for on-line shopping and additional, expanded and archival reviews.

David Olds, DISCoveries Editor
discoveries@thewholenote.com

There’s another lovely release from Duo Concertante, the Newfoundland-based husband and wife team of violinist Nancy Dahn and pianist Timothy Steeves, this time a two-CD set of Bach’s Six Sonatas for Violin and Keyboard (Marquis MAR 81521).

In an interview with the duo in the booklet notes, Steeves admits to having no reservations about playing Bach on the piano, given the instrument’s connection with Bach’s music for over 200 years. Dahn also uses a modern instrument, but notes that although they knew they were going against a trend they found that focussing on the language, harmony and style of the sonatas still enabled them to play them in a way that was historically informed.

A German press review during their recent European tour noted the beautiful balance in the Bach slow movements – on the one hand not too romantic, on the other not too austere – as well as the ease, lightness and naturalness in the fast movements; it’s an observation more than justified by the performances here. There’s warmth, clarity, sensitivity and empathy to spare, with crystal-clear violin lines, faultless intonation throughout the most difficult passages and a thoughtful and always sensitive piano contribution.

You tend to run out of superlatives with performances like these, and there’s simply not much you can do other than sit back, listen and be carried away by the complete artistry. Suffice it to say that this is as totally satisfying an account of the sonatas as I have heard.

Take one of my favourite violinists – Gil Shaham; add one of the best accompanying orchestras around – the New York ensemble The Knights under Eric Jacobsen; throw in one of my favourite conductors – Stéphane Denève; and have them perform two of my favourite 20th century concertos – the Prokofiev No.2 and the Bartók No.2 – and it’s not surprising that the new CD 1930s Violin Concertos Vol.2 on Shaham’s own Canary Classics label (CC16) was the first one I took out of the box when this month’s discs arrived.

It should also be no surprise that it more than lived up to expectations. The 1930s was a simply astonishing decade for new violin concertos, with works by Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Berg, Prokofiev, Bartók, Szymanowski, Hindemith, Barber, Britten and Walton among others. Shaham started this series with a two-CD set featuring the concertos of Barber, Berg, Britten, Hartmann and Stravinsky and is clearly intrigued by the extent to which the works reflect the spirit of a turbulent era; he has been exploring this repertoire in concert performances since the 2008/2009 season.

The Knights are the support in the Prokofiev, with Denève leading the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra in the Bartók. Shaham’s trademark mixture of a warm sweet tone, faultless technical assurance and impeccable musical intelligence make for immensely satisfying interpretations of both works, and he is matched by both orchestras and conductors every step of the way.

No word yet on a Volume 3, but here’s hoping.

Christian Tetzlaff also has a new concerto CD pairing the Dvořák Violin Concerto in A Minor Op.53 and the Romance in F Minor Op.11 with the Fantasy in G Minor Op.24 of Josef Suk on a Super Audio CD (Ondine ODE 1279-5). John Storgårds conducts the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

Suk, who was Dvořák’s son-in-law, was a topnotch violinist (and grandfather of the Czech violinist Josef Suk) who is probably best remembered as a composer for his early Serenade for Strings. His music is very much in the tradition of Smetana and Dvořák – indeed, despite stylistic differences his music often sounds very much like that of his father-in-law.

The Fantasy is a substantial single-movement work from 1903, and while attempts have often been made to view it as being in three-part concerto form it is essentially a rhapsodic and passionate work with numerous tempo changes, and one which makes great demands of the soloist.

The Dvořák concerto has never quite made itself at home in the top echelon of violin concertos, but it’s an absolute charmer from the early 1880s – bright, lively, typically Dvořák throughout, and with a simply lovely slow movement. The Romance pre-dates it by several years and, much like the Beethoven works with the same name, is more about linear phrasing and clarity and beauty of tone than pure virtuosity.

Tetzlaff meets all the demands, both technical and emotional, with ease and conviction, and with passion and sensitivity, throughout a really lovely CD.

In 1852 the 14-year-old Max Bruch wrote a string quartet to apply – successfully – for the scholarship of the Mozart-Stiftung (Mozart Foundation) in Frankfurt. While musicologists researching Bruch’s music knew of its existence, the work was always considered lost – until January 2013, that is, when Ulrike Kienzle, researching a book on the history of the Mozart-Stiftung, found the manuscript in a box in the foundation’s archives.

The String Quartet in C Minor, Op. Posth., is an astonishingly self-assured and mature work, bursting with energy and full of flowing melodies and rich harmonies. It’s the opening work on a simply outstanding CD of Max Bruch Complete String Quartets performed by the Diogenes Quartet (Brilliant Classics 95051). The String Quartets No.1 in C Minor, Op.9 (which, as it turned out, incorporated a substantial amount of material from the earlier work) and No.2 in E Major Op.10, both also early works from 1859 and 1861 respectively, complete the disc.

Not unexpectedly, the influences of Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Schumann are plain to hear, but these are far from being mere stylistic copies, despite the composer’s youth. They also remind us not only of how wonderfully gifted a composer Bruch was, but also of how little he strayed from his German Romantic roots throughout his long life.

These are rarely heard but simply beautiful works (there’s that word “beautiful” in a Bruch review again) beautifully played and beautifully recorded. The Diogenes Quartet is apparently recording the complete Schubert string quartets for Brilliant Classics; I, for one, can hardly wait.

In November 1918, shortly after the end of the First World War, Arnold Schoenberg founded the Association for Private Musical Performances “to provide artists and art lovers with a real and precise familiarity with modern music” – in Alban Berg’s words, “from Mahler up to now.” Members frequently transcribed large orchestral works for chamber ensembles.

Max Reger, who died in 1916, seemed to be especially favoured by the group, although his music was generally regarded by the critics as being excessively long, overly chromatic, turgid and far too complicated. In fact, it’s more a case of an overabundance of creative ideas making it difficult for the listener to discern the overall shape and form in Reger’s music.

That’s certainly true of his Violin Concerto in A Major, Op.101, completed in 1908. It’s a simply huge work (almost one hour) but melodic and accessible, and very much in the post-Brahms tradition – in fact, Reger mistakenly believed that his concerto would soon become as popular as the Brahms. The German Capriccio label has been issuing a series of recordings by the Linos Ensemble of chamber transcriptions made for the Association for Private Musical Performances, and the 1922 arrangement of the Violin Concerto by the violinist Rudolf Kolisch for flute, clarinet, horn, piano, harmonium and five strings is featured on the latest volume (C5137). Winfried Rademacher is the solo violinist.

The original full orchestral version in a performance by Tanja Becker-Bender was reviewed in this column in April 2012, and it’s clearly the more satisfying of the two, although the chamber version does clarify the texture to some degree as well as rendering the virtuosic solo part more playable. There have been various attempts over the years to apply cuts to the concerto, but it has retained its original length and structure – not to mention difficulty – and as a result has remained on the fringe of the repertoire.

Rademacher does full justice to the solo part, and the Linos Ensemble is excellent in this 2010 recording, apparently made for German radio. However, while the reduced forces may well help to reduce the complexity of the work they also make its more ponderous and meandering moments more apparent, and reduce the concerto’s overall effect.

Still, it’s an interesting alternate view of a complicated and challenging work.

Speaking of Tanja Becker-Bender, her latest release is a two-CD set of Béla Bartók: The Works for Violin and Piano with pianist Péter Nagy (SWR 19003 CD). Each performer also takes a solo turn in the spotlight, Becker-Bender with the Sonata for Solo Violin BB124 and Nagy with the Piano Sonata BB88 from 1926.

CD1 has the two Rhapsodies for Violin and Piano and the two Sonatas for Violin and Piano. CD2, in addition to the two solo works, has the early Andante in A Major (a simply beautiful piece) and the Sonata in E Minor from 1902 and 1903 respectively, as well as the Romanian Folkdances in the transcription by Zoltán Székely, to whom the Rhapsody No.2 was dedicated. The two early works are both late Romantic in style, but everything else here clearly reflects the composer’s lifelong fascination with Magyar folk music that began in 1905.

There’s terrific playing from both performers, with Becker-Bender mixing toughness with the brilliance where necessary without ever compromising the interpretation. The second movement of the Rhapsody No.2, in particular, is quite superb.

There’s another outstanding violin and piano recital disc (Accentus Music ACC 303711), this time from violinist Judith Ingolfsson and pianist Vladimir Stoupel with works by the French composer Albéric Magnard and the German Rudi Stephan, both of whom were killed in the First World War. It’s the first in their three-CD series Concert-Centenaire that will also feature works by Gabriel Fauré and Louis Vierne.

Magnard and Stephan were both killed in somewhat bizarre circumstances, Magnard in September 1914, when his house was burned down by the advancing German army after he had shot and fatally wounded two German soldiers – Magnard’s remains were never identified – and Stephan in September 1915, when he was shot by a Russian sniper two days after his unit had moved into trenches on the Eastern Front; he was apparently the first casualty in the 900-strong unit and was only 28.

Stephan was considered to be one of Germany’s leading young composers, but it’s difficult to judge from this distance – his works were neglected in the 1920s and 1930s, and many of his unpublished manuscripts were destroyed in the Allied bombing raids in 1945. He is represented here by his Groteske for Violin and Piano from 1911, the manuscript for which was only discovered in 1979 in the Bavarian State Library; it’s a short but really effective piece that shows the influence of pre-war Impressionism.

Only 49 when he was killed, Magnard was considered one of the greatest French composers of his era; his style owed more to Vincent d’Indy and César Franck than to Debussy. The major work on the disc is his Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major Op.13 from 1901; it really is a very impressive piece.

Ingolfsson’s playing is simply superb throughout a fascinating CD, with Stoupel providing terrific support.

Lang Lang’s new release The Chopin Album (Sony 8872548960) is a demonstration of his belief that Chopin is all about emotion. The sheer amount of it that he releases from the dense black spots on Chopin’s pages is a wonder.

There is something about the way the human brain is wired that allows gifted pianists to play the way they do. A single player can sound like two people, with hands at every point of the keyboard, drawing melodies out of dense swirls of elaborate runs and arpeggios. The scale of this genius grows when one considers that composer-pianists first conceived such phenomena in their minds then coded them to paper fully expecting their conceptions to be interpreted accurately. Pianistic genius is something shared inexplicably between creator and performer. Obviously Lang Lang is a pianist who really connects this way with Chopin.

Because technique has long since ceased being a barrier, Lang Lang concentrates on content. He plays the 12 Etudes Op.25 with complete commitment to the power of both force and fragility. It would be difficult to find another performance where emotional poles are so distant from each other. The Nocturnes in E-Flat Major Op.55 No.2 and F Major Op.15 No.1 are amazing examples of this approach.

Every track is a treasure and the listening experience simply begs to be repeated.

Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov has all the fire of his mid-20s age. On Tchaikovsky – Piano Concerto No.1, Mariinsky Orchestra; Valery Gergiev (Mariinsky MAR 0530) Trifonov leaves no doubt that he can conquer the most difficult passages Tchaikovsky has written into the score. Trifonov and Gergiev take many of these tutti passages at blazing speeds, making them truly exciting. But all this would be nothing if Trifonov couldn’t retreat, as he does so effectively, into the concerto’s introspective moments. The second movement offers a generous sanctuary for this repose, where Trifonov shifts between wistfulness and playfulness. But it’s the two outer movements that really underscore the contrasts of Tchaikovsky’s large-scale vocabulary. The whole concerto frequently has a balletic feel, which is no surprise with Gergiev conducting.

While the concerto gave us all the muscle of this young pianist, the rest of the disc is a moving testament to his gift for tenderness. The Chopin Barcarolle, and the Shubert/Liszt Frühlingsglaube are played with great vulnerability. Die Forelle, similarly moves with great care, but impressive technique, through Liszt’s rapid and skittish portrayals of the legendary trout.

The final track is wisely given to Liebeslied (Widmung) wherein Liszt speaks to Schubert’s original idea in broader more embellished keyboard style and creates a grand final impact by building the simple musical idea into a great edifice. Trifonov really shines in these smaller scale works with flawless technique, intelligent and deeply believable interpretations.

Not many pianists can boast of having performed all the Beethoven concertos in a single season. Paul Lewis can. When one considers this, his 15 recordings, and sees his discography is mostly Schubert and Beethoven, we begin to understand this artist. While such specialization early in a career may be unusual, one can’t argue with the results.

Lewis in Schubert – Piano Sonata D.845 (Harmonia Mundi HMC 902136.37) leaves no doubt that he is a master of Schubert’s musical language. His grasp of the large forms like the Wanderer Fantasy in C Major Op.15 D760 and the Sonata No.16 in A Minor Op.42 D845 is often orchestral in conception.

The smaller forms like the Four Impromptus Op.Posth.142 D935 are wonderfully fresh and credible. The Impromptu No.2 in A-Flat Major is moving in its simplicity and fluid middle section. No.4 in F Minor is often Listzian in its delivery, suggesting that Schubert was a finer pianist than history might have allowed.

Lewis plays the Six Moments Musicaux Op.94 D780 in a beautifully contemplative posture, especially the final Allegretto. It’s a memorable performance.

Italian pianist Luca Buratto is the 2015 Laureate of the Honens Piano Competition. His two-disc set Live at Honens 2015 (Honens 201601CD) of performances at the competition is a reminder of how well-rounded the judges expect the winner to be. The latest “Complete Pianist” has assembled a live performance program of impressive variety to demonstrate his abilities as soloist, accompanist and ensemble player.

The standard repertoire items for solo piano reveal Buratto’s unerring grasp of the genre. His inspired approach to the final movement of Schumann’s Fantasy in C Major Op.17 moves it to a new level of dark and rich solemnity. He delivers Debussy’s L’isle joyeuse with a rare sparkle and remarkable firepower for the ending. Etudes 15 and 16 for Piano by György Ligeti are breathtaking in their closing measures, restating at maniacal speed, the opening ideas originally heard at a meditative pace. This is brilliant interpretation and performance.

Buratto’s recording includes songs by Viardot and Obradors, sung by Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, Mozart’s “Kegelstatt” Trio K498 for piano, viola and clarinet and other works variously combining the voice with the wind and string instruments.

The true highlight of the set is, however, the Hindemith Sonata for viola and piano in F Major Op.11 No.4. Buratto and violist Hsin-Yun Huang understand this music at the deepest level, capturing all the melodic beauty in Hindemith’s writing. This is especially effective in the second and third movements where the theme and variation format offer seemingly endless opportunity for restatement. The 2015 Honens recording is a must-have.

All performance art benefits from the companionship of passion and intellect. When a highly intelligent artist with impressive academic credentials undertakes a quest to know a composer at the most essential level, we have to listen. In her new recording Liszt – Sonata in B Minor, Petrarch Sonnets, Variations on Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Sagen (Malachite Cu20301), Maria Razumovskaya informs her pianistic virtuosity with a profound understanding of Liszt and the nature of his music.

The Three Petrarch Sonnets are exquisitely cast in a pictorial yet spiritual way. Razumovskaya fully grasps the pilgrimage Liszt undertook both physically and creatively. The Sonnets have a simple and ethereal quality in their performance that is quite remarkable. It’s an approach that’s very similar to her treatment of the Variations on Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Sagen. So much of this piece is played introspectively. It ends with very a moving statement of the Bach chorale.

The anchor of Razumovskaya’s program is, of course, the B Minor Sonata S178. This may possibly be the least tormented and most contemplative performance I have heard. There is a confidence of statement found throughout even the darkest and most troubled passages which seem to point naturally to all the moments of modal and emotional resolution. It’s an effective interpretation based on a direct inquiry of Liszt’s intention at every moment and constantly reconciled with the person Razumovskaya knows him to be. It’s a very satisfying approach, the companionship of passion and intellect.

Rosanna Scalfi Marcello – Complete Solo Cantatas
Darryl Taylor; Jory Vinikour; Ann Marie Morgan; Deborah Fox
Naxos 9.70246-47

Rosanna Scalfi was an initially self-taught singer with a strong voice and an exceptionally wide range. Her social background was quite humble. Benedetto Marcello, the Venetian nobleman and composer, heard her and she became first his pupil, then his (secret) wife. These cantatas used to be attributed to Benedetto Marcello and have only recently been assigned to Rosanna Scalfi Marcello. They are her only known compositions.

The cantatas are very much in the style of Alessandro Scarlatti and the young George Frideric Handel earlier in the 18th century. Each cantata has two arias, separated by a recitative; in many cases a recitative also comes before the first aria. Each aria is structured as a da capo: the initial section establishes the key of the piece, a middle section gives us a contrasting key or keys, while the conclusion goes back to the key originally established. John Glenn Paton, in an informative essay that comes with these discs, points out that there is considerable experimentation within the conventional framework. The second recitative in the cantata Ecco il momento, for instance, begins in F-sharp minor, then works its way towards the remote key of F Minor before moving back to the original key.

It is a pity texts are not available, not even on the Internet. There is, however, a recent edition of the score by Paton and Deborah Hayes, published by ClarNan Editions (clarnan.com).

Texts and translations are available on the Naxos website (naxos.com/sungtext/pdf/9.70246-47_sungtext.pdf#) and there is, a recent edition of the score by Paton and Deborah Hayes, published by ClarNan Editions (clarnan.com).

The cantatas are beautifully sung by the countertenor Darryl Taylor with able assistance by Jory Vinikour, harpsichord, Anne Marie Morgan, baroque cello, and Deborah Fox, theorbo.

Luigi and Federico Ricci – Crispino e la Comare
Colaianni; Bonfadelli; Boscolo; Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia; Chorus of Teatro Petruzzelli; Jader Bignamini
Dynamic 37675

The operas by the brothers Luigi and Federico Ricci were popular in their day which was the middle of the 19th century. Now they are rarely performed, although there was a recent staging of Federico’s La prigione d’Edimburgo in Edinburgh, an apt choice since that opera is based on Sir Walter Scott’s The Heart of Midlothian. There have been a few modern revivals of Crispino e la Comare, beginning with that in Wexford in 1974. The production on this DVD was filmed at the Valle d’Itria Festival in Marina Franca, in Puglia, in 2013.

Although the librettist is Francesco Maria Piave, now largely known for his work with Verdi, and although the Riccis called the work Melodramma fantastico giocoso, this is really old-fashioned opera buffa, with little of the seriousness which Goldoni and Galuppi had introduced in the late 1740s, let alone the way da Ponte and Mozart transformed the genre in the 1780s. Conductor and director are good at keeping the action moving. Some of the acting, however, is diabolical. The best performance comes from the baritone Domenico Colaianni as the much-put-upon cobbler Crispino, while the soprano Stefania Bonfadelli as Crispino’s wife Annetta copes well with her technically demanding part. A cute little dog comes close to stealing the show. I suppose that is inevitable once you introduce animals!

Mozart – Don Giovanni
D’Arcangelo; Pisaroni; Damrau; DiDonato; Villazón; Erdmann; Mahler Chamber Orchestra; Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Deutsche Grammophon 477 9878

Deutsche Grammophon has always been at the cutting edge of recording technology and marketing strategy. Today, when we are inundated with DVDs of live performances, they decided to go back to basics and re-record all seven of Mozart’s greatest operas in state-of-the-art digital sound, superb acoustics and with the best modern casts available. To launch the series at the Baden-Baden festival, summer home of the Berlin Philharmonic, Don Giovanni was performed in concert form with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (Claudio Abbado’s orchestra), taken over by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the young firebrand Canadian maestro who has risen to astronomical heights in recent years. His intuition into Mozart is uncanny, tempi on the brisk side, and his control, concentration and intensity never flag. The demonic drive of the first act finale has a Furtwänglerian mastery and moves like a steamroller.

The cast is headed by Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, an incarnation of the Don Juan legend whose performance I’ve seen, admired and reviewed (The WholeNote, November 2014), a magnificent presence. (He sings the Champagne Aria in 70 seconds!) Exciting new basso Luca Pisaroni’s Leporello is a fascinating character with Italian charm and elegance. The two noble ladies are highly accomplished spectacular voices – Diana Damrau’s Donna Anna has superb musicianship and perfect vocal accuracy, Joyce DiDonato as Donna Elvira is an indignant and anguished powerhouse – but for me the most impressive was Mojca Erdmann’s (Zerlina) voice of heavenly beauty, soft and demure, with an edge of steel when necessary. Rolando Villazón, who rediscovers himself as a Mozart tenor, adds a new refreshing dimension, an erotic, Latin sentimentality to Don Ottavio. Vitalij Kowaljow’s Commendatore’s thunderbolts will chill your blood as he drags poor Don Juan into the fires of hell.

Verdi – Giovanna d’Arco
Jessica Pratt; Jean-François Borras; Julian Kim; Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia; Riccardo Frizza
Dynamic 37676

Jeanne d’Arc, a.k.a. St. Joan, was a martyr, sold out by her own people after saving them and France from sure defeat by the British in 1430, but the young Verdi’s richly melodic, over-romanticized opera has little to do with historical truth.

At the summer festival of Valle d’Itria, a mountainous region of Puglia, southern Italy, the opera comes to us live from the open air, a rather windy courtyard of the Ducal Palace, undoubtedly a thrilling experience for the lucky festival crowd. Nevertheless this is a low-budget, minimalist production with a small chorus, small orchestra, young, talented singers and an excellent conductor. While it is musically certainly satisfactory, the overall grandeur of this opera demands a more substantial scale.

Its main strength is English-born star soprano Jessica Pratt in the spectacular title role having all the vocal requisites, especially in her ringing high registers. She has become famous in Rossini repertoire and this is probably her first Verdi role, so she is severely tested in the physical and emotional intensity a Verdi heroine demands. An exciting, radiant young tenor, Jean-François Borras is energetic and passionate, ideal for Charles VII. The third principal, the Korean Julian Kim, tries very hard to be a Verdi baritone, a fine voice, but unfortunately he is far too young for the role of the old father Giacomo, a real challenge for even a seasoned mature baritone. The young Italian conductor, Riccardo Frizza, has Verdi in his veins.

It must have been difficult to convey the event in a video, being in almost total darkness, in a video and the sound is less than ideal. Still…an interesting new issue, but no rival to the 2008 Tutto Verdi set with Svetla Vassileva (who simply is Giovanna) plus the immortal Renato Bruson as Giacomo, which I would consider as a benchmark.

Honegger & Ibert – L’Aiglon
Gillet; Barrard; Dupuis; Sly; Guilmette; Lemiuex; Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal; Kent Nagano
Decca 478 9502

R. Murray Schafer – Loving
Fallis; Gudgeon; MacPhail; Terrell; MacLeod; Savard; New Music Concerts; Robert Aitken
Centrediscs CMCCD 22516

R. Murray Schafer’s 70-minute bilingual “synaesthetic” chamber work Loving (Toi) was written between 1963 and 1965 (the same year he wrote the pivotal book, The Composer in the Classroom) and was first performed on the Radio Canada television program L’Heure du Concert in 1966. A few months later it was rebroadcast on the CBC English network. Over 13 years, L’Heure du Concert (produced by Pierre Mercure) brought a spectacular 133 operas and 133 ballets to CBC national television audiences. Mercure’s production of Loving (Toi) was his last, leaving several elements unfinished at the time of his sudden death at age 39. Fortunately, the Canadian Music Centre’s Centrediscs label recently reissued the excellent 1978 New Music Concerts recording of the first complete production that was originally released on the Melbourne Records label. It was conducted by Robert Aitken and features strong performances by the entire group, including singers Mary Lou Fallis, Susan Gudgeon, Jean MacPhail, Katherine Terrell and Trulie MacLeod, actor Gilles Savard, members of the Purcell String Quartet and Nexus, among others.

Loving (Toi) is Schafer’s first work for the stage (the 1978 NMC performance which toured four cities was semi-staged), predating the Patria series, his string quartets, and other works he is most known for. Clues that point to Schafer’s subsequent eclectic blending of multicultural mythological characters are abundant here, with Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of fertility, love, war and sex, cohabiting the work with the Greek god of love, Eros, in what Schafer calls a “confrontation between the male and female psyches.” Interspersed are the qualities and attitudes of Modesty, Vanity, The Poet, The Man and The Woman, each given supporting colouration within the ensemble (Modesty as strings plus accordion, Vanity as plucked instruments, Ishtar with percussion and Eros using bells).

Schafer’s writing is broadly expressive, a free-flowing synthesis of the avant-garde mannerisms of the epoch, warmly recorded spoken text, simple yet effective electroacoustic episodes, florid harp writing and long vocal lines that sometimes foreshadow the neo-Romanticism that dominates his later work. While Schafer describes Loving (Toi)as ambiguous and exploring the depths of the unconscious, his consideration of human sexuality now seems dated in its binary focus on masculine and feminine. Fifty years later, however, the piece retains the sense of sonic inventiveness and integrated plurality that is synonymous with his best work.

R. Murray Schafer – Apocalypsis
Various Artists
Analekta AN 2 8784-5

John Corigliano – The Ghosts of Versailles
LA Opera; James Conlon
Pentatone PTC 5186 538

The Ghosts of Versailles in retrospect makes for an impossible opera: a play within a play, with numerous principals. No wonder it graces the stage so rarely – it’s prohibitively expensive to produce, a fate shared with another grand opera, Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots. Initially commissioned for the Metropolitan Opera’s 100th season, it arrived…eight years late. This long gestation period is partially explained by its ambition: to combine a tribute to Mozart and Rossini with the pivotal episode of the French Revolution, the so-called Affair of the Necklace, which turned the French populace against Marie Antoinette.

The way to do all this is by the means of the Culpable Mother, Beaumarchais’ sequel to the Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. Corigliano references Mozart and Rossini cleverly during the staging of an opera for The Ghosts of Versailles, Marie Antoinette, her king and court. Though ostensibly an opera buffa, the score turns darker in Act II, reflecting the horrors of the Revolution. It is hard to believe that 25 years since its premiere, this is the first full recording of the opera. The credit goes to James Conlon, the artistic director of the Los Angeles Opera, who has also committed to record rarely heard operatic pieces by Schreker and Zemlinsky. Full marks go to the extensive team of this live recording, who manage, according to the composer himself, to recapture the greatness of the Met premiere. An additional bonus is the SACD recording, delivering on compatible players, incomparable resolution and dynamic range.

Bruckner – Symphony No.9
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Mariss Jansons
RCO 16001

On his knees, the ailing Anton Bruckner beseeched God, “Let me be well, I need my health to finish the Ninth.” The devout composer even dedicated the symphony to “lieben Gott.” Apparently, God disdained the dedication: Bruckner died before completing the work.

Although Bruckner scored some of the fourth movement and various completions have been performed, the Ninth is almost always presented, as on this CD, unfinished, ending with the sublime Adagio. This movement, along with the Adagios of Bruckner’s Seventh and Eighth, and those of Beethoven’s and Mahler’s Ninths, ranks among the most profound and exalted slow movements in all music.

Yet many music-lovers scorn Bruckner for his disjointed lumbering, often conducted at lugubrious tempi. Devoted Brucknerites wallow in this expansive timelessness; this CD is not for them. Instead, it makes an ideal, painless way to introduce Bruckner-scorners to this transcendent music.

Recordings of the Symphony No.9 often last an hour or more; this performance, while under 55 minutes, is no superficial run-through. In the opening Misterioso, Jansons favours cohesive lyrical flow over mystery and granitic grandeur. Nonetheless, the movement ends in a sonically stunning climax, highlighted by the RCO’s magnificent brass.

The Scherzo, with its powerfully punctuated, rugged main theme, emerges unusually cheerful and buoyant, with tightly accented rhythms. In the closing Adagio, Jansons and his great orchestra produce glorious, heaven-storming, organ-like sonorities, bringing this Ninth to a memorable conclusion. Recommended to all Bruckner scorners.

Dvořák – Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8
Houston Symphony; Andres Orozco-Estrada
Pentatone PTC 5186 578

Every so often a disc comes along that is truly cross-cultural and this is certainly one of them. The renowned Colombian-born conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada leading the Houston Symphony in Dvořák’s seventh and eighth symphonies on the Dutch Pentatone label is proof indeed that music in the 21st century is truly a global affair.

Dvořák was at the height of his fame early in 1884 when he received a commission by London’s Royal Philharmonic Society. The resulting Symphony No.7 is a dark and dramatic work, heavily influenced by the political situation in Bohemia and the composer’s ongoing troubles with his publisher Simrock. Nevertheless, its premiere in April 1885 was a huge success and the work has remained a landmark ever since.

Orozco-Estrada and the Houston Symphony masterfully evoke a sense of tragedy and tension throughout, creating a dark but warmly romantic sound particularly in the second movement Poco Adagio. The third movement Scherzo is all lightness and grace while the grand and triumphant fourth receives a fittingly solid and heroic performance.

The much sunnier Symphony No.8 was completed in 1889 and received its premiere in Prague early the following year. In contrast to its predecessor, the music is cheerful and optimistic and the precision, expression and energy created by the Houston Symphony make this an exciting performance. The wistful third movement waltz contains just the right amount of sentimentality while the buoyant finale – introduced by the famous trumpet fanfare – is a true tour de force with Orozco-Estrada and the orchestra going for the gusto all the way to the brilliant conclusion.

This is an exemplary recording, one that can rightfully take its place alongside the more established performances. Judging from this CD, fine music-making does indeed transcend international boundaries. Highly recommended.