The Romantic Piano Concerto Vol. 53

Marc-André Hamelin; RSO Berlin; Ilan Volkov

Hyperion CDA67635

Like a big meal, the Max Reger piano concerto in F minor, Op. 114 is a challenge both to serve up and to digest. Admired by Berg and Schoenberg for his commitment to modernism, Reger nevertheless admitted that his concerto would be misunderstood for years. Its critical rejection in 1910 caused him personal distress, loss of health and an early death at age 43.

Pianist Marc-André Hamelin’s performance in this recording is a jaw-dropper. He meets Reger’s relentless demand for highly articulate virtuosity with apparent ease. He also finds rare melodic ideas in an otherwise dense storm of rhythmically driven motives.

Reger’s music is contrapuntally thick and Hamelin works wonderfully with conductor Ilan Volkov to ensure that the orchestral score remains balanced, especially in the concerto’s often frenetic outer movements. The second movement, however, allows only a partial respite from this tumult. The tender moments here are a compliment to both pianist and conductor and provide a stark contrast to the rest of the work.

The Steinway used in the recording stands up remarkably well. Despite the heavy playing its tuning holds rock steady throughout the entire first movement – nearly eighteen minutes!

The other item on this CD is a clever choice. Its late 19th century vintage creates a sense of relief following the Reger. Richard Strauss’ Burleske is also a demanding work, but it comes across as light, airy and slightly impish – as perhaps a “burleske” should.

Rachmaninoff - Symphony No.2; Lyadov – Enchanted Lake

Orchestra dell’Academia Nazionale de Santa Cecilia; Antonio Pappano

EMI 9 49462 2

“If there were a Conservatory of Music in Hell, Rachmaninoff would receive from it the first prize for this symphony.” So wrote one critic after the first symphony’s premier in 1897, for which the composer had the fondest hopes... a dismal event, due in no small part to an inebriated conductor, Alexander Glazunov, who was shamefully ill-prepared. This failure led Rachmaninov to enter a state of self-doubt and lethargy, even though he was known around the world as the composer of the Prelude in C sharp minor, opus 3. Eventually, after three months of daily treatment by Dr. Dahl, a psychiatrist and hypnotist who practiced a form of autosuggestion, his confidence returned.

Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony followed in 1907, for which the composer conducted the premier. It is unashamedly romantic. Rachmaninov was of the late Romantic Era remaining a 19th Century composer who lived and wrote well into the 20th. Even though he revolutionised nothing nor ventured beyond the established instrumentation and traditional forms, his every composition is unmistakeably Rachmaninov.

There is no shortage of fine performances available, some with cuts, beginning with the splendid Vladimir Sokoloff / Cleveland recording of 1928 but Pappano’s is at least equal to the best and in some respects better. From the opening bars there is a mood of tranquility and repose, a feeling of being... not of doing. The Scherzo still bustles but more open and less agitated. The Adagio lingers and luxuriates in the sensuality of Rachmaninov’s gorgeous score. Pappano lets them out in the finale’s allegro vivace bringing the symphony to a triumphant close. I loved it!

The performance of Lyadov’s Enchanted Lake from the same 2009 concerts in Rome is a perfect set-up for the symphony. The six minute, diaphanous impressionist water colour barely rises above pianissimo without a ripple.

EMI has also recorded Pappano conducting the four Rachmaninov concertos with the Berlin Philharmonic in Concertos One and Two and the London Symphony in Three and Four. Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes is totally attuned to both the composer’s introspection and gutsy strength (Concertos 1&2 on 7488132 and 3&4 on 6405162). Andsnes has the full measure of these concertos with hand-in-glove support from Pappano and the two orchestras producing mighty performances of genuine stature captured in you-are-there sound. In a time when it seems that volume, brilliance and speed are the sole qualities sought after by audiences it is inspiring to hear superb performances in which the essence of the composer’s score is recognised and well served.

Rachmaninov’s own performances of the concertos and the Paganini Rhapsody with Stokowski and Ormandy with the Philadelphia Orchestra, recorded from 1929 to 1941, are still available from RCA. They are, as one might deduce, definitive (616582, 2 CDs).

As an aside, in the late 1930s American audiences were asked which living composers would be played one hundred years hence. The radio audience rated Sibelius first, then Richard Strauss and in third place, Rachmaninoff (as it was spelled then).

Stravinsky - Rite of Spring; Pétrushka

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra; Andrew Litton

BIS BIS-SACD-1474

Igor Stravinsky once recalled that his fondest memory of his abandoned homeland was “The violent Russian spring that seemed to begin in an hour and was like the whole Earth cracking.” In 1913 his ballet Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) shook the musical world awake and still carries a tremendous wallop. Andrew Litton, late of the Dallas Symphony, is currently in his eighth season as director of Norway’s Bergen Philharmonic, an orchestra he has honed to a new standard of excellence. His new Stravinsky recording on the BIS label is a welcome triumph of studio engineering in an age of unremarkable reality-TV style concert performances. The production of The Rite of Spring (engineered by Matthias Spitzbarth) provides an astoundingly transparent sound stage, almost as if we were listening through the mind’s ear of the composer. Litton’s steady hand suits this objective music well and the orchestra rises to the challenge of this notoriously difficult score. Audiophiles are in for a real treat.

Unfortunately the performance of the decidedly more romantic tale of the puppet Pétrushka, while technically flawless, is sorely lacking in drama and sheer visceral impact. While it does offer the opportunity to hear the rarely performed original 1911 orchestration, Litton’s reticent reading pales in comparison to the vibrant 1971 recording of this version with Pierre Boulez and the New York Philharmonic or for that matter Stravinsky’s own 1960 performance of the revised score. Stay for the Rite and take a powder on the puppet show.

Violinist Mark Fewer, never one for simply sticking to the standard repertoire, has combined with pianist John Novacek on an absolutely stunning CD of Sonatas for Violin and Piano by the American composer George Antheil (Azica ACD-71263) which grabs you by the ears right from the start and never lets go. In the early 1920s Antheil was a fixture of the “Americans in Paris” social scene, where he was befriended by the poet Ezra Pound and the American violinist Olga Rudge, for whom the first two sonatas were written in 1923. Sonata No.2 is an astonishing single-movement aural onslaught, parodying and distorting a whole range of well-known melodies and styles over a percussive chordal accompaniment; it could almost have been written by Charles Ives. Sonata No.1 is no less challenging, and calls for a huge range of unorthodox effects, Antheil’s music at that time reflecting his fascination with machines and mechanical noise. Sonata No.4(2) dates from 1947-48, when Antheil was back in America, and having second thoughts about his avant-garde years; it leans more towards Prokofiev than to the percussive Stravinsky of the earlier works. Although the fourth sonata Antheil wrote, it was officially termed his “New Second Sonata” after he disowned the original No.2 and revamped Nos.1 & 3 into a single “new” No.1. The unfinished Solo Sonata from 1927 completes the CD. Antheil gave the manuscript to Rudge; now in her papers at Yale, it has never been performed before. The first movement is complete; the second merely a few haunting minutes. Fewer and Novacek are both simply brilliant throughout. The booklet notes by Mauro Piccinini are outstanding, contributing enormously to a fuller understanding of the music’s background. Recorded at McGill’s Schulich School of Music, the sound quality matches the stunning performances.

I’ve raved about the Dutch violinist Janine Jansen before; Beau Soir, her new CD with pianist Itamar Golan - and her first recital disc - is yet more proof of her musical artistry and sensitivity (Decca 478 2256). The Debussy and Ravel sonatas are the backbone of a programme of French pieces, including Debussy’s Beau soir and Clair de lune, Messiaen’s Thème et Variations, Fauré’s Après un rêve and Lili Boulanger’s Nocturne. Richard Dubugnon, who wrote a concerto for Jansen in 2008, also contributes four miniatures; he noticed the common nocturnal theme in some of the selected works, and suggested structuring the CD as a musical journey from evening through to morning, writing his pieces to supply the missing parts. They fit perfectly. Jansen clearly has an innate understanding of the French sound, with its subtlety and delicacy, and offers interpretations that are full of nuance, shimmering warmth and ravishing sensuality. I just wish they would dispense with the cheesy booklet photos: she really doesn’t need them.

The Debussy and Ravel Violin Sonatas, along with the Franck, are also featured on a CD - apparently her first - from young British violinist Jennifer Pike (Chandos CHAN 10667), who has been attracting a good deal of attention in England since winning the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in 2001 at the age of 12. There’s a different mood to the Debussy here, less subtle and more straightforward than the Jansen, and with less of a “French” feel about it. The Ravel fares better, with the last movement in particular benefitting from Pike’s drive and energy. The Franck is competent and workmanlike without being in any way memorable. The experienced pianist Martin Roscoe provides solid support.

Another young European garnering a lot of attention is the Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang, whose CD of the Grieg and Strauss Violin Sonatas with pianist Michail Lifits (EMI Classics 9 47639 2), together with the Bartok Solo Sonata, is also a first recital disc, following her well-received debut CD of the Sibelius and Prokofiev No.1 concertos. Frang, her label’s Young Artist of the Year in 2010, is understandably at home with the Grieg, and there is also fine playing in the Strauss, but at first sight the Bartok seems an odd stable-mate. Still, Frang’s clean, almost easy-sounding performance makes it feel possibly a bit less visceral and more “mainstream” than usual. This is clearly a player to watch.

If the CD is becoming an obsolete technology and a commercial dead duck, then somebody apparently forgot to tell Naxos. This month sees two more CDs from British violinists, as the label continues to make significant and invaluable contributions to the recorded repertoire by taking the road less-travelled.

The English composer William Alwyn (1905-85), previously best-known for his film scores, has been particularly well-served by Naxos, with over a dozen CDs of his orchestral, chamber and vocal music issued to date. Scottish violinist Lorraine McAslan is the soloist in his Violin Concerto (Naxos 8.570705), with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under David Lloyd-Jones. Astonishingly, the work has never received a professional concert performance: the closest it came was a private violin and piano performance in 1940, the year after it was completed. It was considered for a Henry Wood Promenade concert in 1943, but rejected by the BBC, and was finally resurrected for a commercial recording in 1993. The CD blurb describes it as “romantic and rhapsodic”, and it is fully that, and more, with a big “main title” movie opening, a beautifully atmospheric slow movement, with shades of Vaughan Williams, and a strong finale. McAslan, who seems to specialize in lesser-known English concertos, is very much at home here. I found her lower tone a bit on the nasal side, but in the higher register she is terrific - assured and brilliant in tone. Alwyn’s wonderful gift for orchestration is also on display in the Miss Julie Suite, a three-movement arrangement by Philip Lane of music from Alwyn’s early 1970s opera. It’s a brooding, dramatic, sweeping score with superb orchestral colour. No wonder Alwyn was so successful with his film scores. The short Fanfare for a Joyful Occasion, a short work for brass and percussion from 1958, completes an immensely satisfying CD, with the crystal-clear recording quality well up to the usual Naxos standard.

The second Naxos disc features the Violin Sonatas of the Welsh composer William Mathias (1934-92), performed by Sara Trickey and Iwan Llewelyn-Jones (Naxos 8.572292). The Sonata No.1 was written in 1961 on a commission from the Cheltenham Festival, where it was first performed in 1962. It has a sparse, angular opening - “spiky and aggressively rhythmic” in the composer’s words - with a lyrical middle movement and an energetic finale. Sonata No.2 was a commission to celebrate Mathias’s 50th birthday in 1984; the booklet notes rightly refer to the “four vividly contrasted movements” making “virtuosic demands of both performers.” I found the third work on the disc, the world premiere recording of the Violin Sonata (1952), to be the most enjoyable - perhaps surprisingly, given that Mathias apparently chose not to recognize it. Written when he was 18, and between school and university, it was the first work of the composer’s to be performed in public, and was the first entry in Mathias’s personal catalogue of compositions, albeit without an opus number. It was subsequently withdrawn and never performed again. In 1992 Mathias reviewed his entire catalogue, and chose to rehabilitate some of his withdrawn works - but this wasn’t one of them. Since his death, however, his estate has occasionally given careful consideration to the limited release of the withdrawn scores, and agreed to the inclusion of the work in this CD. Sara Trickey is a precise and accurate player, with a sweet tone, possibly a bit thin at times, but not a great deal of tonal or dynamic contrast. Her vibrato seems a bit unfocussed in the slower passages, and she only really seems to take flight in the faster, rhythmic sections. On this evidence I’m not sure I would call her playing “fiery and passionate” (the quote from The Strad magazine that dominates her publicity material) - The Guardian’s reference to her “clean-cut precision” seems much more appropriate.

I doubt if any record label has done as much for the promotion of American music as has Naxos with their ongoing and comprehensive American Classics series. Two new CDs in the series feature the violin works of two established but quite different composers now in their 50s.

Wolfgang David is the soloist in the Violin Concerto of David Gompper, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Emmanuel Siffert (Naxos 8.559637). The disc highlights the problems you can encounter trying to review contemporary music, when you probably don’t know the composer or his works, and have no scores to consult. The booklet notes, by Gompper himself, did little to help in that regard; in fact, far from being an aid to understanding, they just made things more obtuse. In Spirals, for instance, we are told that “…the Fibonacci series is applied to all musical parameters, including pitch distribution, density control and formal and micro-rhythmic structural formulations.” Great. But, hey, music either communicates or it doesn’t, and this does. This is someone who clearly knows exactly what they’re doing, and the description of Gompper’s music on the CD cover - “tightly-organised yet free-flowing” - is spot-on. The Violin Concerto, which occupied Gompper for the best part of a decade, is a substantial work in the traditional three-movement form, and after a tough opening settles down into an often lyrical and beautifully orchestrated piece. David and the RPO are in top form. Ikon, from 2008, is a representation of a 19^th-century Russian house icon that the composer obtained in Estonia that year while on tour with David. Flip, from 1993, was written for a chamber orchestra, and playfully flips or switches various musical ideas and borrowed snippets. Spirals, despite the complex programme note, is a highly effective 2007 work in which David is joined by violinist Peter Zazofsky. I still have no idea what Gompper means about the framework, but it really doesn’t matter: you don’t have to understand the architect’s blueprints to appreciate an impressive building.

Lawrence Dillon, on the other hand, is an instantly accessible composer, and the CD of his Violin Music marks the recording debut of the Mexican-American violinist Danielle Belen (Naxos 8.559644). Her playing is terrific from the outset, with a full, warm tone and a daunting technique. There isn’t a single moment on the entire CD when you don’t feel that she is in complete control, both technically and musically. There are seven pieces here, covering a period of 25 years. The story behind the two solo violin works, Mister Blister - the opening track - and Fifteen Minutes, is quite fascinating, and was the genesis for the CD. In 2006, Dillon was one of fifteen composers asked by violinist Piotr Szewczyk to write a short solo violin piece of a few minutes’ duration; Dillon left the project for several months and, becoming somewhat confused, thought he was to write a one-minute piece. He ended up writing sixteen, and, unable to pick one, sent them all to Szewczyk. The virtuosic Mister Blister was rushed off in a single afternoon when the error was pointed out. The other sixteen pieces were rearranged into Fifteen Minutes; Szewczyk ended up premiering both works and putting them on his website, where Belen found them while looking for an American composer to feature on her debut CD. They are varied and quite dazzling - and in one of the movements Belen is even required to accompany herself on a kazoo! The earliest work on the disc is Façade, a deceptively simple student work from 1983 that I found quite captivating, but which apparently caused a stir at its premiere. Frequently performed since then, it is a particular favourite of Belen’s. David Fung is the accompanist. Canadian born violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez joins Belen for the Bacchus Chaconne, a 1991 work that Dillon wrote as part of his coming to terms with the last-minute loss of a commission for a cello concerto that he was just completing after 18 months’ work. The Violin Sonata Motion, from 2008, was originally scored for flute and piano, although Dillon had always had a violin adaptation in mind; he finally made this when Belen contacted him in 2008 to ask about recording his complete violin works. Fung is again the accompanist, as he is in The Voice, a transcription of an aria from Dillon’s 2001 opera Buffa. Stan Muncy accompanies Belen on marimba in Spring Passing, a 1997 version of an elegy Dillon wrote for his father, who died when the composer was only 2. The always-reliable Naxos team of Norbert Kraft and Bonnie Silver handled the production at St John Chrysostom Church, Newmarket, and the CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. The former location, with its added resonance, was used for the solo string works.

Chamber Music for Harp

Valérie Milot; Antoine Bareil; François Vallières; Raphael Dube; Jocelyne Roy

Analekta AN 2 9985

Gifted young artist Valérie Milot here performs significant twentieth-century works with vigour and elegance. Trained in Quebec and at Juilliard, Milot opens with Germaine Tailleferre’s Sonata for solo harp (1953), capturing telling moments in this occasionally bittersweet piece. She gives a straight-ahead reading of the march-like opening movement, changing moods for the sultry habanera. Milot’s accomplished technique fully realizes accumulating dance-like energies in the finale.

Ravel’s piano Sonatine appears in Carlos Salzedo’s transcription, as reworked by violist François Vallières who joins Milot and flautist Jocelyne Roy. It doesn’t take orchestral colour to transcribe Ravel effectively! His impeccable voice-leading and harmonic “nudges” bring solo lines alive, as the performers demonstrate.

Chez R. Murray Schafer the outdoors beckons. Apparently Wild Bird (1997) received its title from violinist dedicatee Jacques Israelievitch’s “rather orange hair.” Whatever ― skittering, trilling, “nyah-nyah’s” among other birdcalls characterize the leading violin, the harp playing a supporting role. While birdsong and scale constructions evoke Messiaen, the flair, drama, and humour that violinist Antoine Bareil and Milot bring out are pure Schafer.

Philippe Hersant’s chant-based Choral features cellist Raphäel Dubé with Milot. Evocative harp sonorities undergird passionate cello outcries, resolving in a mystical close. Then all performers join in Jean Françaix’s engaging Quintet No. 2 for Flute, String Trio, and Harp for a fine upbeat ending.

Music of Stefan Wolpe Vol. 6

David Holzman

Bridge Records Bridge 9344 (www.BridgeRecords.com)

Stefan Wolpe (1902-1972) is still one of the underappreciated great composers of the twentieth century. It has been said by someone that Wolpe has all the complexity of Carter or Boulez, but with the added bonus that Wolpe can swing.

Pianist David Holzman is a persuasive advocate of Wolpe, having known and studied with him. This is his second disc for the Bridge label’s ongoing Wolpe series, his first from 2002 garnering a Grammy nomination. The works span 1926-1959 and range from epigrammatic to large-scale forms. The breadth of Wolpe’s character is in evidence here. An impassioned dramatic sense, rigorous intellect, lightness and wit all have a place.

Four Studies on Basic Rows (1936) is a work for only the most intrepid pianists, exploring particular intervallic relations while making extraordinary pianistic demands. The fourth of these, Passacaglia is a masterly construction of tempestuous drama and brooding introspection. Mr. Holzman’s ability to bring clarity to the dense counterpoint and thick textures is remarkable. An entirely different interpretation from Peter Serkin’s excellent 1986 recording on the New World label, Holzman brings an earthiness to this important work. The Toccata in Three Parts (1941) is a similarly challenging work, its double-fugue finale again presenting Mr. Holzman’s virtuosity.

The disc also features many aphoristic miniatures. Pastorale, a gem from 1941 will surprise those familiar with Wolpe with its gentleness and lyricism. Wolpe’s interest in Jewish folk music is represented by the dance-like Palestinian Notebook (1939), written after his sojourn in Jerusalem (1934-38).

One very enjoyable feature of both of Mr. Holzman’s Wolpe discs are his own liner notes, with a personable and sometimes amusing quality.

Astounding complexity and unabashed simplicity co-exist in Wolpe’s musical world. The concluding miniature Lively. Why not? will put a smile on anyone’s face.

Land of Living Skies - Canadian Woodwind Trios

Members of Estria Woodwind Quintet

Centrediscs CMCCD 16811

“Land of Living Skies” is an intriguing disc featuring Étienne de Médicis, oboe d’amore; Pauline Farrugia, clarinet; and Michel Bettez, bassoon ― all members of the Estria Woodwind Quintet (l’Estrie being Quebec’s Eastern Townships). The five recent works by Quebec composers show the group’s commitment to commissioning new music and promoting the reed trio.

Denis Gougeon’s poetic Le Chant de Pauline is a highlight. From the opening solo clarinet section onward the composer displays an assured voice, maintaining an active line that carries through the breaks and fissures of trills, bend tones, and flutter-tonguing. Clarinettist Farrugia, the work’s dedicatee, handles everything confidently and with feeling, as do de Médicis playing oboe d’amore in the ensuing duet, and Bettez completing the trio on bassoon. Ensemble and intonation are impeccable and all obviously believe in this work ― perhaps as a life journey?

Sudbury-based Robert Lemay’s atonal Fragments also impresses. Each of the nine miniatures has a distinct profile, with such arresting effects as microtonal pitch variations and pulsating dynamics. I like the mysterious static passages in Alain Perron’s Land of Living Skies II, and the use of chant and chorale in Marc O’Reilly’s Le poisson rouge. Stewart Grant contributes his neoclassical Serenata Estria to the reed trio’s repertoire, his mastery of free counterpoint being a clear inspiration to all.

33

Alex Pangman

Justin Time JTR 8569-2 (www.justin-time.com)

Toronto teems with jazz vocalists, but few, if any, are as faithful to the genre’s early years as “Canada’s Sweetheart of Swing” Alex Pangman. Reminiscent of Connee Boswell, Mildred Bailey and the youthful recordings of Fitzgerald and O’Day, smooth-voiced Pangman has carved out her niche by charming listeners the old-fashioned way. Beginning with a jubilant take on the seldom-sung I Found a New Baby, this, her fifth recording, is devoted to songs made popular in 1933.

In her ongoing quest to uncover hidden American songbook gems, some of the album’s best cuts include a cheerful homage to Connee Boswell (Hummin’ to Myself), a timeless Jack Teagarden specialty (A Hundred Years from Today) and a pair of Bing Crosby rarities (Thanks and I Surrender Dear, the latter a poignant duet with Ron Sexsmith). It is Pangman’s immaculate diction, delivered ever so earnestly, that makes her an ideal candidate to rescue these titles from obscurity. That said, lyrics aside, the success of this recording owes plenty to Alex’s seven-piece band, The Alleycats. Pianist Peter Hill swings mightily as always, as does Drew Jurecka, who skilfully doubles on violin and alto saxophone; both Hill and Jurecka contribute clever arrangements. Also sensational throughout are clarinettist Ross Wooldridge and trumpeter Kevin Clark. As Ella Fitzgerald would say, “this band will swing you to good health!” On that note, this is Pangman’s first recording since undergoing a double-lung transplant in 2008. A triumph!

At Somewhere There

Evan Parker; Wes Neal; Joe Sorbara

Barnyard Records BR0321 (www.barnyardrecords.com)

Without a hint of condescension, veteran British tenor saxophonist Evan Parker allies his skills with the talents of Torontonians bassist Wes Neal and drummer Joe Sorbara in this first-class essay in free improvisation. During the single track, recorded live at local performance space Somewhere There, rhythms, pitches and tones are mixed, matched, mulched and multiplied with a timbral blend that makes it seems as if the trio members have collaborated for years.

Balancing methodical plucks and brawny strums with a hint of sul tasto extensions, Neal marshals his strings to create an unremitting chromatic pulse. For his part, Sorbara pops, plucks, strikes and bounces rhythms on the sides and tops of his drums to tint and roughen the narrative. Delicate bell pings, rattling chains and, more frequently, the harsh application of a drum stick along a cymbal, mark transitions.

Meanwhile Parker, who has been involved in similar ad-hoc improvising since the mid-1960s, varies his output from intense flutter tonguing to glottal punctuation; and from flattement smears to cadenzas of bird-like twittering. Yet even as his inventive free-flowing timbres inflate, constrict or propel the performance in unexpected directions, he never loses its linear thread. A master of cooperation not dominance, even his intervals of nearly superhuman circular breathing are not challenges but an invitation to further group counterpoint. By the finale his occasional pan-tonal bent notes and nephritic explosions have become merely one element in this group’s sonic picture, separate but equal to the bassist’s double stopping or the drummer’s ruffs and rolls.

A key participant in the Koerner Hall Aspects Of Oscar concert series was bass ace Dave Young, who’s now recorded an 11-track studio version that swings with both simplicity and strength. Dave Young Quintet - Aspects Of Oscar (Modica Music MM0111 www.daveyoung.ca) features on six Peterson tunes and five standards A-list jazzers Robi Botos (piano), Kevin Turcotte (trumpet), Reg Schwager (guitar) and Terry Clarke (drums), all in top form. The opening OP classic Wheatland showcases authoritative bass propulsion and relentlessly appealing playing by bandsmen before Broadway standards time. Then it’s OP’s best ballad (When Summer Comes) given poignant treatment, as were Chaplin’s Smile and Bernstein’s Somewhere. The legend’s bouncy tune Cake Walk energizes Clarke, Just Friends roars, but perhaps the best jazz comes with OP’s rare excursion into the classical world, his Bach Suite (recorded with Young, Joe Pass and Martin Drew in 1986). Here are the utterly winning Andante and Fugue movements plus Bach’s Blues.

Nancy Walker has played enough piano to know how to keep listeners interested however hard she pushes the boundaries of familiarity. Her 11 original compositions on Nancy Walker - New Hieroglyphics (Indie NW 2011-01 www.nancywalkerjazz.com) are often fiercely inventive, while some amazingly seem ripe for dancing. The opening Mehndi pulses with life, drummer Ethan Ardelli permanently on fire, bass Kieran Overs a big-toned mainstay and guitarist Ted Quinlan always ready to wail or deliver strong counterpoint to the pianist’s delightful ideas, always confidently expressed - later he brings new levels of intensity to Federico. The title piece (and others) exploit elements of musical theory but you don’t need to drown in semantics to enjoy the off-kilter keyboard fancies plus a vigorous pulse. Imprint has bravura guitar and expansive imagination, Companion Moon has many memorable moments while with Take You There it’s back to the dance floor. A fine album well worth seeking.

The Walker-Overs team is also in action on Mikko Hilden Group - Nova Scotia (Addo AJR007 www.addorecords.com), the first recording by the Swedish-born, Hogtown-based guitarist, one of many trying to find an individual voice amid the tsunami of string practitioners. He just about succeeds, however, with ringing tones cleanly struck, a passion for lyrical melody and uncommon improv. Hilden penned the six originals – lasting just a miserly 38 minutes – which exercise a quartet rounded out by drummer Will Foster. Willowbrook has a bold core with good piano comping, Secret Sun’s forceful, unusual theme is compelling with Walker’s counter-theme rebellions, while Rocket Fuel catches fire when Hilden’s tough lines assault snaky piano phrases. The title tune has profound moments with expert idea development, generating a powerful sense of collective achievement. June 14 2008 mournfully commemorates the drowning death of E.S.T. leader Esbjorg Svensson.

Another stylish CD that boasts original content and elegant execution while examining different approaches is Reg Schwager Trio - Chromology (Rant Records 1039 www.regschwager.com). Schwager composed eight of the 11 songs and works comfortably with bass Jon Maharaj and drummer Michel Lambert. The album engages the listener for 53 minutes.

Self-taught Ottawa pianist Peter Hum is likely more known in the jazz community for his prodigious blogging but clearly has wordless talent too, as attested by his debut release Peter Hum Quintet - A Boy’s Journey (PJH001 www.peterhum.com). Leading three other Ottawa-born bandsmen - tenor saxman Kenji Omae, alto and soprano Nathan Cepelinski and bass Alec Walkington – plus drummer Ted Warren, the boss cruises through ten neat, original tunes secure in his players’ long-established musical camaraderie. However, more than once the apparent comfort level seems complacent, with tempos sedate and drive and urgency at a premium. Horns get plenty of room, with rugged tenor and alto slither easy to differentiate, and this aids interesting tracks like Take The High Road, Big Lou and Sojourner’s Truth, Hum showing electric piano skill on the last two. Best jazz comes with the energized Unagi and the cleverly structured closer Three Wishes with its snarling saxes.

A while ago I raved (in an unpublished review) about pianist Chris Donnelly’s debut disc Solo declaring it as good an entry in the crowded keyboard stakes as any recently experienced, with technical prowess, mesmerizing touch and effortlessly imaginative approach evident. The Canada Council commissioned him to compose music based on the work of Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher. The result is Chris Donnelly - Metamorphosis (Alma ACD32212 www.chrisdonnellymusic.com). More words from my earlier piece apply here too – “swashbuckling verve”, “truly accomplished” “crammed with subtlety”, “significant musical event.” There are ten movements, with the music working as a concert with minimal interruption. Of most note are the particularly dazzling You enter the fountain, the invigorating In the chimera of notes, the percussive You hear the voice and the bustling Saying you are the azure. I have two problems, however. It sounds too much like a classical recital à la Glenn Gould – and the cover art is absurd.

*The Dixie Demons CD Fossil Fuel won the 2011 Canadian Collectors Congress album-of-the-year award. The band narrowly beat out Jeff Healey’s Last Call and the Vic Dickenson–Jim Galloway Quintet’s Live In Toronto albums, says Congress spokesman Gene Miller. The Toronto-area Demons are co-leaders Dan Douglas (trombone) and Ross Wooldridge (clarinet) plus Steve Crowe (trumpet), Phil Disera (banjo), Chris Lamont (drums) and Doug Burrell (tuba). The 13^th annual award was presented at the annual meeting of the Congress, which specializes in classic and traditional jazz, on April 30 in Toronto.

More than 60 years after the big band era, improvising musicians still organize large ensembles to take advantage of its wider scope and range of colors. Such is the versatility of the arrangements possible with large bands as these sessions demonstrate, that each sounds completely unique while maintaining the same excellence.

Over nearly 71 minutes on Totally Gone (Rai Trade RTP J0021 www.italianinstabileorchestra.com), the all-star aggregation of 17 of the country’s most accomplished players who make up the Italian Instabile Orchestra (IIO) demonstrate the combination of technical skills and rambunctious good spirits that has kept the band going since 1990. Unsurprisingly the climatic track, Ciao Baby, I’m Totally Gone/It Had to be You, is a case-in-point instance of the band’s expansive talents. Switching between timbral dissonance from squeaky spiccato strings and snoring brass slurs on one hand with sibilant, staccato section work that could have migrated from Fletcher Henderson’s band, the IIO’s texture is simultaneously mainstream and avant-garde. This is made clearest when a sequence of pure air forced from Sebi Tramontana’s trombone turns to plunger polyrhythm as he’s backed by harmonized reeds and strings, and ends with him vocalizing the second half of the title backed by Fabrizio Puglisi’s key-clipping piano and Gianluigi Trovesi’s undulating clarinet obbligato. This sense of fun is also expressed on No Visa, a jazzy hoedown which leaves room for sul ponticello fiddling from violinist Emanuele Parrini, funky tenor saxophone vamping from Daniele Cavallanti, a brassy mid-range fanfare and the entire band vocally riffing in unison. This doesn’t mean that compositional seriousness isn’t displayed alongside the theatricism. The multi-tempo Gargantella, for instance is as much a nocturne as a capriccio. Here closely-voiced and massed horns and strings move adagio beneath strained brass notes and a snorting, altissimo showcase for baritone saxophonist Carlo Actis Dato until the tone poem is completed by polished, string movements given shape by the clattering cymbals and wood block pops of percussionists Vincenzo Mazzone and Tiziano Tononi.

With rock-influenced electric piano and guitar prominent, Pierre Labbé’s 12-piece big band takes a different approach on Tremblement de fer (Ambiances Magnétiques AM 202 CD www.actuellecd.com), performing a seven-part suite the saxophonist composed for a Montreal festival. A POMO sound essay, the composition is animated by contrapuntal clashes between sections which include four bowed strings, two brass, two reeds, plus guitar, piano, bass and percussion. Although linked, each track can be appreciated on its own. Despite its Arabic title, Le 2e Souk is actually a showcase for Jean Derome’s improvisations on successively, alto saxophone, flute and bass clarinet. Throughout his staccato peeps, sibilant slurs and flutter tonguing are matched by tremolo slides, sawing and scratches from the violinists, violist and cellist. Lavra, on the other hand masses Balkan-sounding string discord with irregular pulses from guitarist Bernard Falaise and drummer Pierre Tanguay as soprano saxophonist André Leroux carries the melody. Resolution comes when trombonist Jean-Nicolas Trottier abandons plunger tones to slurp his way up the scale, accompanied by the strings and pianist Guillaume Dostaler’s steady comping. Tanguay, whose hand taps are suitably exotic when playing darbuka, contributes muscular ruffs throughout. His steadying backbeat is particularly necessary on the final La Fille et la grenouille. Sounding like what would happen if a street-corner Sally Ann band wandered into a country music session, the tune mixes up the bugling from the brass players, rooster crows and spits from the reeds, a bow-legged rhythm with cow-bell pings from Tanguay, and Falaise contrasting his best pseudo-steel-guitar C&W twangs with the somewhat schmaltzy tutti horn lines.

Taking a different tack is percussionist Pierre Favre’s Le Voyage (Intakt CD 186 www.intaktrec.ch), which mutates standard big-band harmonies with unique sound blocks in the drummer’s compositions. Utilizing a saxophone choir of soprano, alto, tenor and baritone to create concentrated organ-like chord pulsations, Favre’s intermezzos parcel the solos out among guitarist Phillipp Schaufelberger, trombonist Samuel Blaser and clarinettist Claudio Putin. With the rhythmic thrust doubled by string bass and bass guitar, the results evoke baroque ballads as certainly as big band swing. An example of the latter is Wrong Name where Putin’s florid twitters trill chromatically, while around him harmonized reeds throb in unison, prodded from adagio to andante tempo by cross-patterning cracks and pops from the drummer. Les Vilains on the other hand could be modernized Renaissance court music, with the reeds playing formalized close harmonies as if they were a string quartet, with cascading and irregular timbres doled out from Schaufelberger’s harsh, slurred fingering. Favre’s sound architecture is most obvious on Akimbo where reed shading becomes sonically three-dimensional as the drummer’s clips emphasize the symmetry between the guitarist’s string snaps plus Blaser’s plunger grace notes.

Practically standing the big band tradition and its head, American gigantism is emphasized on Fred Ho and the Green Monster Big Band’s Year of the Tiger (Innova 789 www.innova.mu) since the Chinese-American composer bursts with so many sociological and musical tropes that a 21 musicians are needed to express them. A Marxist populist Ho packs within 70 minutes, a five-part suite honouring African-American big bands; a trio of Michael Jackson songs; the Johnny Quest TV show theme song; a couple of Jimi Hendrix hits; plus excerpts from his chamber opera featuring the band plus an adult and a children’s choirs. These extracts are notable for how he blends formalist bel canto singing with instrumental looseness from an improvising ensemble, whereas Ho’s arrangement of the Hendrix melodies play up their jazz-rock linkage as tremolo trombone slurs and roistering sax vamps parallel the double-tracked vocals. More seriously, adding an anti-capitalist recitation from poet Magdalena Gomez to Jackson’s Bad and Thriller, already evocatively sung by Leena Conquest, defines the werewolf and zombie sound effects within the context of mindless consumerism, mocked by guffawing brass and a slurping tenor sax solo. The CD’s heart is contained in the six selections of Take the Zen Train, which manages to reference both Pete Seeger and Duke Ellington. Using instrumental pulsations and layering, with bellowing brass reverb and tension-and-release variants plus the vibrancy of frequent tempo changes, Ho composes tonal portraits for his soloists. Outstanding are cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum’s whispering and peeping ballad feature; the stop-time slurs and gutbucket expansions from bass trombonist David Harris; plus an interlude which matches alto saxophonist Jim Hobbs’ reed masticating alongside the composer’s snorting baritone sax runs. Seeger’s left-wing orientation is apparent in some of the tune titles including Quarantine for the Aggressor. Whether used for program music or for timbral amplification, big bands remain a preferred form of expression for players and composers.

She Was A Boy

Yael Naim; David Donatien

tot ou tard 3231742 (www.yaelweb.com)

Having one of your songs hand-picked by Apple CEO Steve Jobs to represent the launch of a new product is a little like winning the lottery. It can be a blessing and a curse, but French-Israeli singer-songwriter Yael Naim and partner David Donatien took advantage of the windfall brought by New Soul to hole up in their Paris apartment and take time and care producing “She Was a Boy,” the third album in Naim’s young career.

At first listen, the collection of 13 songs sounds much like a lot of releases by female singer-songwriters these days: quirky, cute and catchy. But if you dig into the lyrics a bit you’ll hear depth and anguish that belie the bouncy melodies. (I guess having the Israel Defense Forces as your musical training ground will do that to a girl.) The opening track Come Home speaks of the pain and guilt of being independent from one’s family, accompanied by a lively New Orleans-style party track.

Naim also accomplishes what many musicians attempt but few achieve: a true melding of musical cultures. Man of Another Woman beautifully marries Indian melody with Western modality and the laid-back bluesy lament Never Change sounds like a modern, humbler Billie Holiday. One of the main strengths of “She Was a Boy” is the light-handed use of an arsenal of instruments which enhance but never overwhelm the charm of the songs.

Danse des Bresloques

Fanfare Pour Pour

Monsieur Fauteux m’attendez-vous? MFMV? 18 (www.actuellecd.com)

In a bad mood? Listen, laugh and dance to the uplifting “Danse des brelogues” by Fanfare Pourpour. This is happy music from an eclectic happy “big band” of 20 performers well versed in musical idiosyncrasy, style, wit, and technical know-how (not to forget a superb taste in haberdashery!). Nothing atonal here, as the styles range from French waltzes to jazz to Klezmer-like tunes to tango and samba beats to everything in between played on trumpets, saxophones, clarinets, guitars, banjo, accordions, violins, percussion, euphonium, and musical saw, plus vocal soloists and a choir.

Under the direction of Jean Derome and Nemo Venba, the players are a smorgasbord of Quebec musical masters – Altobelli, Babin, Belanger, Bourque, Derome, Duguay, Del Fabbro, Guilbeault, Hubler, Lajeunesse, Letarte, Menard, Nicolas, Nisenson, Poizat, Proulx, Sabourin, Tanguay, Venba and Vendette. A number of these great musicians provide the fifteen original compositions featured on this, the band’s fourth release. The works are group specific or originate from dance, theatre or film. The arrangements of the tunes are so strong, and designed to illuminate the group’s tight ensemble sense while maintaining a continuous improvisational feel. There are also a few tiny aural treats to remind one that the performers are “new musicians” as well.

Sound quality is superb. The French language only liner notes are thorough. Time to take out whatever moves you and boogie along with Fanfare Pourpour’s freewheeling musical spirit.

De la nuit au lever du jour

Azam Ali

Terrestrial Lane Records 013111 (www.azamalimusic.com)

I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising that a collection of lullabies isn’t a terribly upbeat album, but “De la nuit au lever du jour” also has an unexpected solemnity and stateliness to it. These aren’t your everyday cute little bedtime ditties, at least not to my Western ears. Iranian-Canadian singer Azam Ali has chosen songs from a variety of Middle Eastern cultures, plus a few of her own compositions, and sings them in Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Kurdish and Azeri. Unless you understand these languages (or the French the lyrics are translated into in the liner notes), you’re free to enjoy these songs from a purely musical standpoint and Ali’s skill and beauty as a singer are undeniable. Her childhood spent in India and her comfort with the quarter-tone are also apparent in some of her compositions, such as Tendresse, written for her son, and the Kurdish Lai Lai. Ali has enlisted expert musicians from each of the regions to accompany her on traditional instruments, such as oud and saz, as well as the contemporary, Montreal-based Bozzini String Quartet. “De la nuit au lever du jour” is a meditative, transporting work.

The Metropolitan Opera has instituted a program to issue classic Saturday afternoon performances from the past preserved on their own archive tapes, entrusting them to Sony Classical which is issuing them at re-issue prices. The first batch includes Tosca, Die Walküre, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Le Nozze di Figaro, Romeo et Juliette (Gounod), La Bohème, and Il Barbieri di Seviglia.

The first two to come my way are Tosca and Die Walküre. The Tosca, dating from April 7, 1962, finds Leontyne Price in the title role with Franco Corelli as Cavaradossi and Cornell MacNeil as Scarpia. The conductor is Kurt Adler (804682, 2 CDs, mono). My intention was to first dip in at significant points but I was immediately engaged from the opening bars, listening through to the finale of the Third Act. A little history... on a Sunday afternoon in January 1955 a younger Leontyne Price’s Tosca was heard and seen across the continent in the NBC Television Opera Theatre with David Poleri as Cavaradossi. She was back in The Magic Flute as Pamina in 1956 and finally in 1960 she was Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Judith Raskin and Cesare Siepi. Hence, she was no stranger to the MET audience who accorded her an enthusiastic ovation as she arrived on the stage in Act One, even before she had sung one note. Her Tosca heard on these CDs is inspired and beautifully characterized opposite Corelli whose voice was quite incomparable for its beauty and ease of delivery, making this an important document. The sound is clean and clear throughout. The booklet includes a complete synopsis of the events on stage and all the cues (30) are given but no libretto. Let’s hope that future releases will include the legendary 1961 Turandot with Corelli and Nilsson conducted by Leopold Stokowski.

The Die Walküre is from February 24, 1968 with Jon Vickers, Leonie Rysanek (Siegmund and Sieglinde); Karl Ridderbusch (Hunding); Thomas Stewart is Wotan, Birgit Nilsson is Brunnhilde and Christa Ludwig is Fricka. The conductor is Berislav Klobucar (85308, 3 CDs, mono). This was part of the Ring Cycle brought to the Met by von Karajan who was to be in charge of every aspect of the productions from casting to sets and stage lighting. It didn’t turn out too well, beginning with an inevitable clash of personalities between MET general manager Rudolph Bing and Karajan. In total, Karajan conducted only the premier performances of this production on November 21, 24, 27 and December 2 and 5, 1967 to the critical acclaim of both audience and press, with Gundula Janowitz as the first Sieglinde. For this February performance the conductor was the Croatian Klobucar and Rysanek replaced Janowitz. To hear this ensemble of singers performing live in faultless sound will be reason enough to acquire the discs.

Music lovers with an enquiring mind, who also have some interest in Mahler, particularly the unfinished Symphony No.10 and how it found its way, more or less (actually more) to the concert stage will applaud a new release from Testament (SBT3-1457, 3CDs at a reduced price). Deryck Cooke, critic, musicologist, pianist, author, etc. aroused the music world’s attention when he announced that he had prepared a performing version of Mahler’s unfinished symphony. On December 19, 1960 listeners to the BBC Third Programme heard Deryck Cooke introduce and explain the journey to Mahler’s Tenth, followed by the performance by Berthold Goldschmidt and the Philharmonia Orchestra, annotated by Cooke. The third CD in this set contains the recording of the first ever performance played by The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Goldschmidt. The complete performance dates from August 1964 predating Ormandy’s “first recording” by over a year. Certainly a unique and fascinating release.

Deryck Cooke also authored a fascinating study of Wagner’s Ring, I Saw the World End (Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780193153189, paperback). Intended to be a multi volume study, the author died before he finished but what there is here is a scholarly yet unpretentious and thought provoking revelation and a definitive statement on aspects and illusions in the monumental opus. A must read for some. Cooke also devised and narrated a unique exposition on The Ring in a two CD set, An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen (Decca 443 5812). Cooke identifies the various leitmotivs and follows their permutations and combinations as they appear and re-appear, which can be a revelation and illumination to even those who know it all. Quite important to the narrative are the passages where the character is saying one thing but the music beneath discloses that what he or she really means or intends is something quite different. The illustrations are from Decca’s Solti cycle with The Vienna Philharmonic. The discs can be heard and re-heard without any sense of ennui.

Following his big win in Moscow’s Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in 1958, Van Cliburn was a hot ticket, playing to sold out houses wherever he appeared. He played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Fritz Reiner during April 1960 and RCA was there to document the performances. They taped the Brahms Second Concerto on the 8^th and the Schumann A minor on the 12^th. Unreleased until now, these RCA recordings have finally been issued (Testament SBT2-1460, 2CDs at a reduced price). The performances are sunny and uncomplicated with all concerned in top form. The Schumann enjoys a beautiful presentation, sensible phrasing and a distinctive conversational collaboration. The Brahms is just a wee bit lower on the adrenalin scale. In excellent stereo sound, one wonders why we had to wait so long.