Chopin Volume 4 – Waltzes; Nocturnes
Louis Lortie
Chandos CHAN 10852

The early waltzes that Chopin composed were meant to be small personal gifts and tributes – most of them were not even intended for publication. That changed somewhat after the composer’s visit to Vienna in 1831. The precocious 21-year-old reported back to Warsaw with breathless astonishment: “Waltzes are regarded as works here!” By “works” he meant recognized musical pieces, worthy of publication. That he could have doubted that astonishes us equally – these are not throwaway ditties, despite their slender size. Somehow, Chopin managed to squeeze into a space of three to four minutes compositions with their own mutable rhythms and containing micro-movements within their minute frames.

To master Chopin’s waltzes, one needs an equally mutable, mercurial talent. Louis Lortie, the incredibly accomplished Montrealer now residing in Berlin, possesses such talent. For many of us, Lortie is not the first name that comes to mind when you think of master pianists. Yet it is enough to start listening to him play these waltzes to realize the magnitude of his gift. They virtually cascade from his fingers, simultaneously inviting us into a reverie whilst invoking a desire to dance along. Only on a couple of occasions does Lortie rush the tempi, perhaps as if he could not believe that the impulsive, romantic Chopin had really marked them as “moderato.”

Mahler – Symphony No.2 “Resurrection”
Catherine Wyn-Rogers; Ailish Tynan; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; Gerard Schwarz
Artek AR-0061-2

I must admit to a certain leeriness when I first laid eyes on the hideous artwork that adorns this recording. Gerard Schwarz and Gustav Mahler facing off, mano a mano, in some sort of grudge match? Has the conductor noted for his advocacy of neglected American music turned a new leaf? As it turns out, the provenance of this live recording is misleading. Though bearing a 2015 copyright, it is actually unreleased material from a Mahler cycle intended for the RLPO Live label, an enterprise launched shortly before Schwarz’s five-year reign in Liverpool that began in 2001. A sponsorship has now brought these tapes back to life. And what of the interpretation? A decent first movement, distinguished only by the unusually broad tempo afforded the secondary theme, followed by a so-so Menuetto. Suddenly from the Scherzo onward the orchestra rallies and everything thereafter is admirably compelling. When we finally arrive at the finale the rafters are shaking!

The sonic quality captured in Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall is most impressive (courtesy of David Pigott, a member of the horn section) and the contribution of the choir is simply outstanding. There remain a few anomalies: the second disc contains only the finale, though the fourth movement vocal solo is designated to be followed without a break by the finale. Usually the break between discs (if needed) occurs after the first movement, where Mahler specifically asks for an extended silence. The editing of the booklet is also frustrating. Schwarz’s accomplishments receive a four-page paean, while the generic description of Mahler’s work rates a mere two, with the remainder devoted to dreary accounts of the secondary roles the singers have appeared in over the years and a page’s worth of white space. Judicious pruning would have easily made room for the pithy, indispensable lyrics for the vocal sections of the work. Recommended nonetheless.

Rachmaninov – Piano Concertos 2 & 3
Stewart Goodyear; Czech National Symphony; Heiko Mathias Förster
Steinway & Sons 30047

Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 owes its existence to a renowned neurologist by the name of Dr. Nikolai Dahl. At the time, the young composer was despondent over the failure of his first symphony in 1897. But under the good doctor’s guidance, he regained his confidence and creative urge – and the result was the most famous of his four piano concertos. To many people’s ears, the piece has almost become too well known since its premiere in 1901. But this fact certainly didn’t deter Canadian pianist Stewart Goodyear on this Steinway recording featuring both the second and third concertos performed with the Czech National Symphony, with Heiko Mathias Förster conducting.

Since concluding his studies at the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School, this Toronto-born artist has earned an international reputation, and this CD provides ample proof. From the opening measures, his approach to the familiar repertoire is bold but elegant, demonstrating a flawless technique that never succumbs to empty virtuosity. Absent too, is any trace of overt sentimentality, something that is all too easy to do with Rachmaninov. The poignant and wistful Adagio and buoyant finale also prove to be a perfect pairing of artist and orchestra, with the CNS performing with a confident assurance under Förster’s baton.

In many ways, the Concerto No.3 from 1909 is an extension of the second, but even more so – larger in scope and perhaps even more technically demanding. Nevertheless, Goodyear and the CNS rise to the occasion with a polished performance certainly equalling – but not necessarily surpassing – established recordings by Argerich and Ashkenazy. Again, soloist and orchestra produce a warmly romantic sound, particularly in the second movement Intermezzo where the delicate interplay between strings and soloist is particularly admirable.

These are fine performances all around – kudos to Goodyear, Förster and the musicians from Prague for tackling this familiar music and for doing it justice in a very compelling way.

Great Ballets from the Bolshoi –
The Nutcracker; Sleeping Beauty; Giselle;
The Flames of Paris
Bolshoi Ballet
BelAir Classics 306103

The scores of the two Tchaikovsky ballets, particularly The Nutcracker, should be familiar to ballet enthusiasts and Adam’s Giselle to a lesser degree. The choreographer in all three is Yuri Grigorovich, a name that may be familiar to patrons of the “Live from the Bolshoi” ballets shown as special events at the Cineplex theatres that show the “The Met: Live in HD” operas.

However, The Flames of Paris, Stalin’s favourite ballet, may be known of in name only. It was “a classical ballet with music by musicologist and composer Boris Asafyev based on songs of the French Revolution, and originally choreographed by Vasili Vainonen.” It was premiered in November 1932 by the Kirov Ballet and the Bolshoi mounted it in July of 1933. Its original agitprop elements were communist propaganda showing in no uncertain terms the decadence of capitalism leading inevitably to chaos. Of course, the revolutionaries slaughter the aristocrats and there is general rejoicing. In 2008, the original choreography and staging were reconstructed for the Bolshoi by Alexei Ratmansky, who added a love story and expanded the choreography with his own. The company has very recently toured with it to much acclaim, from Hong Kong to London. The 2010 live production is seen here.

The Russians’ astronomical standards of ballet are on full display in every piece. Not only is every dancer in perfect form but each is also of uniform size, which is visually impressive in itself. All the dispositions and angles achieved by the ensemble, once seen, cannot be imagined being done differently. Not only are the visual elements stunning; the sets, the choreography, the costumes and the orchestral renditions all exceed every expectation. There are four different conductors with possible variations in the orchestral personnel, always producing a very Russian sound which could easily and comfortably compete with the best studio productions from elsewhere. The power and authority of the playing is constantly thrilling. The sound is stunning, and in terms of musical reproduction supremely satisfying to even the most critical and jaded ears.

So you don’t care to watch ballet? Then don’t watch and simply listen. You will never hear finer interpretations and productions of this music anywhere in the recorded repertoire.

20th-Century Women Composers
Trio des Alpes; Lorna Windsor
Dynamic DCS 7717

This is inspired programming, with the works on this disc thoroughly complementing each other. All three composers represented here were born within a quarter-century of each other. They each write in an expressive style that marks the transition from romanticism to modernism. None are musical innovators. But as women, they are rightly regarded as pioneers today.

Amy Beach, who was born in Boston in 1867, is the most well-known composer here. Her Trio for violin, cello and piano is a complex, virtuosic work, which ends with a memorable flourish. Swiss soprano Lorna Windsor’s performance of four art songs are engaging enough to make me want to explore more of Beach’s enormous song repertoire.

English composer and violist Rebecca Clarke enjoyed what she called her “one whiff of success” when she introduced her Viola Sonata in 1919, and then, soon after, this lovely Trio. Flamboyant, intense, driven, this is an exciting work, especially as performed by the Swiss-based Trio des Alpes.

The youngest composer here, Frenchwoman Lili Boulanger (sister of the influential teacher and composer Nadia), was only 25 when she died in 1918. The Trio des Alpes brings out the moody expressivity of her two contrasting pieces for piano trio, the first, D’un soir triste, plaintive, the second, D’un matin de printemps, exuberant.

These fine pieces are too rarely heard, making this thoroughly enjoyable disc particularly significant.

Shostakovich – Piano Quintet;
String Quartet No.2
Takács Quartet; Marc-André Hamelin
Hyperion CDA67987

This recording of Shostakovich’s chamber works is an absolute delight – hauntingly beautiful, insightful and, above all, highly sentient to the mix of turmoil and soaring of Shostakovich’s life as expressed through his music. Chamber music was perceived as an act of bourgeois elitism in Stalin’s Soviet Union, even though it was precisely the form that allowed the most intimate connections between composer, musicians and their audience. So it is no surprise that Shostakovich composed eight symphonies before his second string quartet was premiered in 1944. Interestingly enough, 13 more string quartets followed in rapid succession.

String Quartet No.2 in A Major shows little connection to the stormy events of the Second World War (as opposed to his symphonies), appearing to be much more personal. It was composed in a mere 19 days and includes wonderful folk melodies, syncopated rhythms and minor modes of Gypsy/Jewish inflections. The Takács Quartet’s playing is robust and energetic in the first movement and deeply touching in the Recitative, where violin improvisatory lamentations are supported by the rest of the ensemble playing soft seventh chords. Outstanding solos are intercepted with close-knit ensemble sound in the third and fourth movements, which end majestically yet uncharacteristically in the minor key.

The Piano Quintet in G Minor premiered in 1940, becoming one of the most beloved piano quintets of all time. It contains five movements, with the emotional tension peaking in the ethereal Intermezzo and ending with a cleverly innocent Finale. Pianist Marc-André Hamelin is dominantly powerful in percussive sections while adding sublime textures to the ensemble sound in contemplative parts. Highly recommended.

UK DK
Michala Petri; Mahan Esfahani
OUR Recordings 6.220611

Another offering from Danish recorder player Michala Petri’s own label, this disc serves up a smorgasbord of modern-era music from Denmark and Britain, played by Petri and Tehran-born, London-based harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani. It’s to be much appreciated that Petri remains so committed to the commissioning, performance and recording of new works for the recorder.

Off the top, Malcolm Arnold’s Sonatina reveals the interpretive unity and precise ensemble which make this such a successful duo, and the six little movements of Benjamin Britten’s Alpine Suite receive the best performance they’ve probably ever had. Gordon Jacob’s Sonatina and Encore are quite beautiful, but marred a little by some pungent tuning on the alto recorder. (That said, when Petri plays at blistering speed or sings a counter melody along with herself, she’s right on the Cleartune money.)

Given the title of Henning Christiansen’s piece – It’s Spring – one might expect the recorder to be typecast in its centuries-old role of bird imitator par excellence; and indeed it is, with the addition of some harpsichord bumblebee imitation. The aleatoric, post-modern angst of Daniel Kidane’s Tourbillon and Axel Børup-Jørgensen’s Fantasia provide a different mood and are very welcome here. Along with Vagn Holmboe’s Sonata, they also strike a more equal musical partnership between the two instruments than much of the other music. Mahan Esfahani’s playing is a real delight and I find it a little sad that the harpsichord parts here don’t all make better use of him.

George Rochberg – Complete Flute Music 1
Christina Jennings; Lura Johnson;
June Han
Naxos 8.559776

The WholeNote’s 20th season has brought symmetry: in the September issue I reviewed Marina Piccinini’s marvellous CD of Paganini’s 24 Caprices; in this last issue the recording of George Rochberg’s flute music includes 20 of his 51 Caprice Variations (on Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 in A Minor), a significant addition not only to the already long list of compositions based on this work but also to the flute repertoire.

Like the original Caprices, Rochberg’s variations were written for the violin. Jennings has adapted “…those best suited to the flute while representing the enormous stylistic range of [the] whole set.” It is to her credit both that the Caprice Variations sounds as if it was written for the flute and that her formidable technique is up to its prodigious technical demands.

The common thread binding the other two compositions, Between Two Worlds and The Fires of Autumn, could be considered to be the obsession of 20th-century composers with finding a new musical language. I can hear the composer’s voice in the atonal language of the first and the adopted Japanese idiom of the other if I consider them explorations, part of this search; but, Rochberg’s language and his voice seem most convincingly related in the Caprice Variations, which are so deeply rooted in the western musical tradition. Perhaps T.S. Eliot was right: “…the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

Morton Feldman: Two Pianos and other pieces 1953-1969
John Tilbury; Philip Thomas
Another Timbre at81x2
(anothertimbre.com)

Along with John Cage and Christian Wolff, Morton Feldman was a key figure in the mid-century development of indeterminacy as a component in composition, creating works that emerge anew in each performance. This 2CD set focuses on a crucial period in his development and includes pieces for two pianos as well as pieces for three and four pianos and piano in various small ensembles. While the earliest, Intermission 6 (1953), presents the performers with various bits of notation and the direction to play in any order, the other pieces employ sequential notation that plays with time, whether using notes without rhythmic values or instructing musicians to sound a note when the decay of the previous one has begun.

In his extensive notes (available through anothertimbre.com), Philip Thomas emphasizes Feldman’s preoccupations with sound and time: they’re key to the way this special world ultimately involves us. While these works are designed to develop great structural complexity, the focus on sounds and their incremental evolution draws us ever further into the instant of the work’s coming into being, its evolving architecture stretching to erase its own boundaries. These works lead directly to Feldman’s later massive essays in time without being overshadowed by them.

Here John Tilbury and Philip Thomas bracket their program with two performances of Two Pianos (1957), each subtly distinct from the other. The complexity expands on the later Two Pieces for Three Pianos (1966) and the ensemble piece, False Relationships and the Extended Ending (1968). Tilbury may be Feldman’s most incisive interpreter (he first performed one of his works in 1960); his collaborators here share his attention to sonic nuance.

New York Stories
Micah Barnes
LoudBoy ODCD02
(micahbarnes3.bandzoogle.com)

Micah Barnes has long established himself as one of the most engaging vocal performers and contemporary, jazz-infused tunesmiths on the scene today. Perhaps best known as a member of the iconic vocal group The Nylons, Barnes has also crafted a serious solo career by employing his considerable skills as a musician/keyboardist in conjunction with his sumptuous baritone voice, quirky narrative humour, showmanship and innate ability for direct emotional (and artistic) communication.

Barnes’ new recording is the result of many live performances that were focused on perfecting his original material prior to ever stepping into the recording studio – and the highly personal songs (of which three were co-written with J.P. Saxe and one with Russ Boswell) easily bring the rapt listener along for the wild ride. Barnes has surrounded himself here with a fine ensemble, including Michael Shand on keyboards, talented brother Daniel Barnes on drums and voice, the above mentioned Boswell on bass and voice and Saxe on vocals.

Top tracks include New York Story – a nostalgia-saturated valentine to the great city itself and the clever After the Romance (The Rent) – a character song in search of a Broadway show. Barnes’ voice has never been richer and more laden with experience, and his vocal control has never been more succinct, as illustrated by the bluesy standout Starting Tomorrow and the funky cool Harlem Moon. The heart-rending Some Other Man clearly establishes Barnes as a fine contemporary songwriter and the closing track, I’ve Been Awake Too Long evokes incredible, bittersweet longing.

Begin
Alister Spence; Joe Williamson; Christopher Cantillo
Alister Spence Music ASM 003 (alisterspence.com)

What world music really should be, this high-quality session involves the talents of multi-stylistic Australian pianist Alister Spence, subtle Swedish drummer Christopher Cantillo and authoritative Canadian bassist Joe Williamson. Now Stockholm-based, Vancouver native Williamson is part of this trio whose reference points are musically broad while lacking any affectation.

Constantly pushing each of the tracks forward, the pianist’s world view is as wide as the Australian outback, emphasizing attention to cultivated detail that melds Keith Jarrett’s exploratory feints, dynamic jabs à la Cecil Taylor and the bouncy playfulness of Paul Bley, usually simultaneously. Hear this at work on Place, where after probing piano innards and hammering the keys, Spence unexpectedly bursts out with a textbook definition of jazz swing. Consistently a group effort, though – even when Spence’s playing is at its most jaunty – his pointed improvising on Tip for instance is sympathetically extended with tap-dance-like clacks from Cantillo and Williamson’s bowed continuum.

Knowingly attuned to one another’s strategies and willing to mix up the performances to make them new, Williamson, for example, often uses a resolutely steady bass line to second the pianist’s widely spaced spikes and winnowing plucks on Fetch before Spence cunningly recaps his intro. Elsewhere, as on Allow, each rhythm partner uses static drum buzz or string pulls to create edginess on this warm balladic track. Other times as cymbals swirl and drum tops are scrubbed, Spence and Williamson expose nearly identical timbres, balancing inside-piano string strums and unforced bass string plucks.

With even more unexpected approaches they can utilize on this disc’s lucky 13 tracks, the hope is that this trio didn’t just Begin but will continue to make CDs like this for a long time.

Evolve
Andria Simone
Independent GKM 1018
(andriasimone.com)

There’s been a major resurgence of R&B/soul singers in the last several years, led by the fabulous and tragic Amy Winehouse. Many singers have tried to imitate Winehouse’s singing style and production
techniques and, as a result, most blue-eyed soul records released lately sound very similar and, frankly, tired. So it’s a real pleasure to hear a relatively new singer who is treading her own path. With the aptly named Evolve, Toronto-based singer Andria Simone is developing a style all her own. That said, there are influences apparent in her big, gutsy voice, but how can you be a blues and soul singer and not have greats like Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin show up?

Evolve establishes Simone not only as a singer to be reckoned with, but as a songwriter of note too. The majority of the tracks are co-written by her and producer Greg Kavanaugh and there are touches of a variety of styles in the mix, but all are hard-driving. The one cover, Sunshine of Your Love, burns with the heat of a thousand suns. Simone’s backing band – and I hesitate to call them a backing band since they contribute so much to the overall musicality and funkiness of the record that they’re more like collaborators – consists of bassist Mark Wilson, guitarist Dave Kirby, saxophonist Brian Dhari, drummer George Nikolov and keyboardist Anthony Brancati. Evolve doesn’t break brand new ground, but it delivers solid groove and energy.

Just as international improvisers sometimes find a more welcoming atmosphere for their sound experiments in Canada than at home, so too have Canadian record labels become a vehicle to release notable free music sessions. Attesting to this openness, two of the most recent discs by British saxophone master Evan Parker are on Canadian imprints. But each arrived by a different route. One of the triumphs of 2014’s Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Quebec, this performance of Seven by Parker’s ElectroAcoustic Septet (Victo 127 victo.qc.ca) is available on Victo, FIMAV’s affiliated imprint. Consisting of one massive and one shorter instant composition, Seven literally delineates the electro-acoustic divide. Trumpeter Peter Evans, reedist Ned Rothenberg, cellist Okkyung Lee and Parker make up the acoustic side, while varied laptop processes are operated by Ikue Mori and Sam Pluta, with George Lewis switching between laptop and trombone, with his huffing brass tone making a particular impression during a contrapuntal face-off with Parker’s soprano saxophone during Seven-2. At nearly 46 minutes, Seven-1 is the defining work, attaining several musical crests during its ghostly, meandering near-time suspension. Allowing for full expression of instrumental virtuosity, dynamic flutters, flanges and processes, the laptoppists accompany, comment upon or challenge the acoustic instruments. Alternately wave form loops and echoes cause the instrumentalists to forge their reposes. Plenty of sonic surprises arise during the sequences. Undefined processed-sounding bee-buzzing motifs, for example, are revealed as mouth and lip modulations from Evans’ piccolo trumpet or aviary trills from Rothenberg’s clarinet. In contrast the electronics’ crackles and static are often boosted into mellower affiliations that sound purely acoustic. Eventually both aspects meld into a climax of bubbly consistency with any background-foreground, electro or acoustic displays satisfactorily melded. More percussive Seven-2 has a climax involving fragmented electronics pulsating steadily as first Evans, then Rothenberg and finally Parker spill out timbres that confirm formalism as much as freedom.

While Seven’s domestic release seems almost mandatory, Montreal-based Red Toucan’s decision to release UK-recorded Extremes (RT 9349 symaptico.ca/cactus.red) demonstrates its commitment to this music. Parker on tenor saxophone, alongside Paul Dunmall, another intense British tenor specialist, plus American drummer Tony Bianco, offer a three-track masterclass in free-form improvisation. With the drummer keeping up a constant barrage of smacks, whacks, ruffs and pops in the propulsive Elvin Jones tradition, the saxophonists dig into every variation and shading of reed and metal tones like an updated John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders. Unlike the maelstrom of bedlam-like expression in which some sound explorers operate, however, Dunmall and Parker play with relaxed intensity. This isn’t a cutting contest either, but a demonstration of how saxophonists can function as separate parts of a single entity. With the final Horus especially adding affirming motes to the jazz tradition via glossolalia and faint echoes of Sonny Rollins’ East Broadway Rundown, each player maintains his individuality no matter how many harsh snorts or siren-pitched expressions are unleashed. Parker’s tone is distinguished by lighter vibrations and swifter split tones while Dunmall’s timbres are darker and grittier. With intuitive timing the tenors attain concluding connection, showcasing rowdy theme variations on the 30-minute-plus title track and polyphonic expressiveness on Horus. Overall, the result is head expanding, not head banging.

A trio concerned with the linkage between notated and improvised sounds is Lisbon-based, EarNear; its self-titled debut CD appears on the Rimouski-based TourdeBras label (TDB90012 CD tourdebras.com). Conversant in many genres, violist João Camões, pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro and cellist Miguel Mira expose textures unique and unexpected for a chamber ensemble. Although strident, speedy and high pitched much of the time, generic continuum is maintained with Mira connectively thumping out what would be the bassist’s role in jazz. On the other hand barbed wire-like sharpened sweeps from Camões, plus inner piano plinks, plucks and crackles confirm the modernity of the performance on tracks such as Airfoil. The responsive nature of the trio’s narrative is such though, that even Gõmbõc, the lengthiest and most cerebral performance, is tempered with sympathetic piano chording and bass string pressure. This leads to a tonal resolution of what begins as a cacophonous battle, with rugged low-pitched string scrubbing on one side and euphonious textures expressed in bell-like, near-harpsichord vibrations on the other.

Golden State II’s (SGL 1610-2 songlines.com) situation is atypical since drummer Harris Eisenstadt is a Canadian and Songlines is a Vancouver imprint. But Eisenstadt is based in Brooklyn and other members of this working quartet – bassist Mark Dresser, bassoonist Sara Schoenbeck and clarinetist Michael Moore – are Americans, natives of California: the Golden State. Here much of the emphasis builds on the divergences between Schoenbeck’s rhinal smears and Moore’s honeyed trills. For example, Agency, a near blues, validates the bassoon as a frontline instrument with hard gusts from Schoenbeck’s horn doubled by Moore as the theme is propelled by rim shots and double bass stops. A Kind of Resigned Indignation is an analogous showcase for Dresser’s profound facility, as he moves from sul ponticello minutiae to focused walking, maintaining bedrock toughness while spurring the others. Defining chamber jazz much differently than EarNear does, the drummer’s knocks and sweeps give the CD a rhythmic base propelled with sophisticated understatement. Animatedly reaching a climax of suspended time on Seven in Six/A Particularity with a Universal Resonance, the quartet blends reed smoothness, curlicue percussion pops and string sweeps into a distinct chromatic form. The result is as mellow, unhurried and sunny as the Golden State or Vancouver.

Canadian labels’ openness to experimentation goes back at least to the early 1970s, with Sackville’s series of Toronto-recorded original sessions featuring then-emerging players from Chicago and New York. Reissued with two additional tracks, 1974’s Trio and Duet (Sackville/Delmark SK3007 delmark.com) hints at why Anthony Braxton’s vision may have been too difficult for some jazz fans of the time. Accompanied by bassist Dave Holland and playing alto saxophone on five tracks, Braxton creates his own variations of standards. While his stripped-down performances may appear slightly frenetic compared to mainstream versions, despite solid timekeeping and a triple-slicing showcase from the bassist on You Go to My Head, the melody remains. If tracks such as Embraceable You or On Green Dolphin Street include more altissimo slurs or squeaking sheets of sound than were common four decades ago, in 2015 the versions would frighten only the most hidebound neo-cons. Yet if Braxton’s standards side was accepted he turns around on what was the LP’s other side and creates a 19-minute modernist piece titled HM-421 (RTS) 47, featuring himself on clarinet, contrabass clarinet, chimes and percussion, Leo Smith on pocket trumpet, trumpet, flugelhorn and percussion plus Richard Teitelbaum on Moog synthesizer, with textures the keyboardist pioneered as a member of Musica Elettronica Viva. Spatial and carefully sequenced, the Moog’s flanges set up a juddering, staccato ostinato over which Smith and Braxton layer muted peeps and stentorian puffs plus chime and conga-like pumps. Yet even if Teitelbaum’s oscillations resemble a Model T warming up rather than the futuristic electronics of today, the graceful playing expressed by all means that at this early date Braxton and the others had perfected the subtle art of matching electronic and acoustic textures without conflict.

The brilliance of this CD substantiates Sackville’s vision. It also suggests that years from now the concept of Canadian labels releasing foreign-sourced experimental music will more likely be praised for foresight rather than eccentricity.

Calgary-raised, Toronto-educated and now based in New York, pianist/ composer Kris Davis has built a substantial reputation at the cutting edge where jazz blends freely with classical and improvised inspirations. However, Save Your Breath (Cleanfeed CF 322 CD, cleanfeed-records.com), by her new ensemble Infrasound, is her most exciting work to date. What might draw a composer to create an octet combining the chordal density of piano, organ and guitar with the inchoate depths of four bass clarinets? The answer is apparent everywhere here in thick, welling music that moves from haunted opera house to the real depths provided by shaking low frequencies, all of it combined in ways both masterful and mysterious to create a music that you definitely haven’t heard before. Among the cast of bass clarinetists, Ben Goldberg is profound on Always Leave Them (Wanting More) and Joachim Badenhorst incendiary on Whirly Swirly.

Ottawa trumpeter Craig Pedersen’s Quartet has just released its third CD, Ghosts (cpm-006, craigpedersen.com), as remarkable for its concentration as its brevity. Less than 18 minutes long, the five-part work suggests roots in the 1960s avant-garde – the braying, village-band dirges of Albert Ayler (Ghosts, though, is Pedersen’s, not Ayler’s) and the linked suites of Don Cherry – but Pedersen has his own voice. His compositions can reduce and repeat melody, insisting on its essence in Something to Like, or hint at musical travels: a Latin beat, a Middle-Eastern mode, the wail of flamenco. Within the intensely collective enterprise, each individual voice presses forward, whether it’s alto saxophonist Linsey Wellman and bassist Joel Kerr on Sung Song or drummer Eric Thibodeau on Clothesline. At the work’s conclusion, the highly vocal trumpet and saxophone give way to actual chanting.

Chantal de Villiers emphasizes the connection between jazz and soul music on Funky Princess (Independent CDV 052014, chantaldevilliers.com) and lives up to the billing by delivering the kind of rich tenor saxophone sound – think Gene Ammons to Grover Washington – that saturates a melody as much as it articulates it. The emphasis is definitely on fundamentals, with strong rhythmic grooves provided by some of Montreal’s finest, bassist Fraser Hollins and the drummers Rich Irwin or Dave Laing. The Shadow of Your Smile and Dexter Gordon’s Panther supply further touchstones, but de Villiers is adept at fashioning her own anthems, like the opening Groovy Step, a slice of solid jazz funk. Alto saxophonist Rémi Bolduc appears, adding a lighter touch, while Burt De Villiers contributes further heft with Hammond B3 organ.

Cory Weeds closed his Cellar Jazz Club in Vancouver at the end of February 2014, but it hasn’t hampered his career as a saxophonist or his vigorous Cellar Live record label, which continues to release sessions from the club and further afield. Weeds’ musical ideal is hard bop: hard-edged, blues-inflected, modern jazz as defined in New York in the late 50s and early 60s. It’s much in evidence in several recent releases.

Weeds marks the label’s 100th release with his own Condition Blue, The Music Of Jackie McLean (Cellar Live CL111214, cellarlive.com), paying tribute to the great alto saxophonist. Weeds brings his own alto sound to this – no one should try to duplicate McLean’s unique, acid-toned, slightly sharp delivery – touching on aspects of McLean’s style from the drum-like phrasing of the title track to the abstract Capuchin Swing and the serpentine coil of Jacknife. The back-up is an organ trio, with Mike LeDonne, guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Joe Farnsworth bringing a gentler, burbling, almost dream-like ambience to McLean’s visceral art.

Drummer Curtis Nowosad made his recording debut two years ago. A recent graduate of the University of Winnipeg’s Jazz Studies Program, he led a band made up of his teachers, mixing a hard bop approach with material sourced from Pink Floyd to Tupac Shakur. Nowosad is currently living and studying in New York, but he reassembled the same band for Dialectics (Cellar Live CL010115), including the stellar saxophonist Jimmy Greene. The repertoire is much more conventional, mostly Nowosad originals that frankly reference works by hard bop masters like Horace Silver and Duke Pearson. It’s consistently lively work, and Nowosad stands out on his Afro-Cuban arrangement of Monk’s Bye-Ya.

Louis Hayes and the Cannonball Adderley Legacy Band Live at Cory Weeds’ Cellar Jazz Club (Cellar Live CL120513) was recorded in December 2013, shortly before the club closed. Though the presence of Canadian musicians is limited to Weeds sitting in on Sack of Woe, he fits right in, no small accomplishment. Hayes was 76 at the time, as precise as when he was propelling Adderley and Horace Silver in his 20s. With alto saxophonist Vincent Herring and trumpeter Jeremy Pelt in the front line, the band plays the soulful bop and blues of Adderley’s repertoire (Dat Dere stands out) with as much élan as any contemporary group might manage.

The highpoint of Weeds’ current crop is by an expatriate Torontonian, tenor saxophonist Grant Stewart who established himself in New York 25 years ago. His Trio (Cellar Live CL111014) is boiled down to just tenor, bass and drums, but while it’s reminiscent of Sonny Rollins’ great orations, the resemblance takes nothing away from Stewart’s achievement. It’s spontaneous dialogue at the highest level, with the saxophonist at once as meaty and abstract as his model, whether cascading through chord changes or in intimate rhythmic dialogue with bassist Paul Sikivie and drummer (and brother) Phil Stewart. The trio spins particularly memorable variations on Everything’s Coming up Roses.

The late Finnish conductor Paavo Berglund was renowned for his performances of Sibelius and Nielsen, although he conducted works of other composers including Shostakovich. Berglund conducted in Toronto at the invitation of Jukka-Pekka Saraste in 1994 and was well received. He was one of but two conductors that I have seen conducting with their left hand, the other being Elmer Bernstein in London with the LSO on July 4, 1976. A release from Testament finds Berglund in front of the Berlin Philharmonic on May 18, 2001 playing the Shostakovich Eighth Symphony and the Stravinsky Piano Concerto with Olli Mustonen (Testament SBT2 1500, 2 CDs). Arguably, this is the Shostakovich Eighth to end all Shostakovich Eighths. The formative specifics of Shostakovich’s Stalinist experience that are heard in Russian performances are here revealed to apply to a universal human condition. The events at the core are allowed to unfold with a natural weight and clarity and a sometimes deliberate pace that allows the music to have an impact without piling up the events. In other performances, even the great ones, sometimes these masses become so dense and obstructive that it is “impossible to see the trees for the forest.”

This is not simply a very good performance. It is monumental! The expansive, unencumbered sound allows every nuance to be heard in the correct perspective. The Stravinsky Piano Concerto also benefits from this clear approach where the clarity of the sound in the Philharmonie supports the attitude of soloist and conductor. This was an evening when nothing could go wrong.

Last fall Arthaus Musik published a superb and I believe essential documentary entitled Richard Strauss and his Heroines (102181, DVD). This film by Thomas von Steinaecker featured such luminaries as Brigitte Fassbaender, Renée Fleming, Dame Gwyneth Jones, Christa Ludwig and Franz Welser-Möst; also the composer’s grandson Christian Strauss. There was the love-hate relationship between Strauss and his wife Pauline, who was a year older than he when he was hired to teach her as an upcoming soprano. Her father was wealthy and well known whereas Strauss was the son of a brewery industry family. His father was also one of Germany’s best-known horn players who had played in Munich at the premiere of Tristan and Isolde. Here is a revealing and fascinating recounting and exploration of Strauss’ portrayal of women in Salome, Elektra, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Liebe der Danae and of course Der Rosenkavalier and finally the Four Last Songs.

A further documentary, Richard Strauss at the End of the Rainbow (Cmajor 729908 DVD and 730004 Blu-Ray) sees Strauss as the last great composer of the era (the end of the rainbow), the true successor to Wagner and debatably the greatest composer of the 20th century. This production by Eric Shultz delves deeply into Strauss’ works and their interpretations, including parts of a one-on-one lesson on elucidation given by Brigitte Fassbaender to a winning young soprano, Emma Moore from Wollongong. Musicians and Strauss scholars are interviewed and there is an abundance of previously unreleased footage of Strauss conducting and going about everyday life. Most enlightening is the charismatic pianist Stefan Mickisch who delves into many well-known works. In sum, this is a unique 97-minute appreciation of Strauss, his strengths and weaknesses, his life and works. Learn the one thing he could do that Wagner could not. A must-have presentation if there ever was one.

A reminder: Last year Decca issued a specially priced collection of their recordings of the late Clemens Krauss, Strauss’s friend and trusted interpreter, conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in what truly are incomparable, definitive performances of eight Strauss tone poems and a complete Salome, recorded in the early 1950s in the very finest sound. (Decca 786493, 5 CDs)

Over the past year we have enjoyed four volumes containing rare performances of the young Martha Argerich given in her early 20s and the series continues with a release of a joint recital with Ruggiero Ricci in Leningrad on April 21, 1961 (Doremi DHR-8040). Ricci, who was some 29 years her senior, was already established internationally as one of the leading violinists of all time. It is inevitable from her enthusiasm displayed here that Argerich would soon be recognized as one of our finest pianists. The recital opens with an enthusiastic version of Beethoven’s Third Violin Sonata Op.12 No.3 played with obviously great delight. Ricci proves that he is not only the master of pyrotechnics but a genuine classical violinist. The Prokofiev Sonata for Solo Violin Op.115 is of particular interest because it was Ricci himself who had premiered the work in Moscow two years earlier. Two Bartók works, the Sonatina in D for violin and piano and the Sonata for solo violin, will keep you on the edge of your seat as will the Sarasate Introduction and Tarantella for violin and piano Op.43. A generous bonus comes from Baden-Baden on February 4, 1960 with Ernest Bour conducting Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major. Argerich has made this concerto her special vehicle and, arguably, this version is a better collaboration than many of her commercial recordings. The sound is clear and vibrant throughout.

An unexpected visitor in my store many years ago was the man who, as I recall, headed the Decca team making videos of performances of their artists. He had returned from Eisenstadt where he worked with Christopher Hogwood. To the surprise of conductor, orchestra and crew, the sound that Mr. Hogwood had believed emulated the sounds of the Haydn orchestra during Haydn’s time sounded quite wrong there. Lesson learned. L’Oiseau-Lyre and Hogwood’s planned Complete Haydn Symphonies Edition with The Academy of Ancient Music was well underway when it ended with the break-up of L’Oiseau-Lyre. Symphonies 1-75, completed from 1988 to 1995, together with four later symphonies, mostly recorded earlier, occupy a new boxed set from Decca (4806900, 32 CDs). Widely acclaimed at the time of their original issue, as times and tastes have changed these performances sound better and better.