03-KolesnikovPavel Kolesnikov – Live at Honens 2012
Pavel Kolesnikov; Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra; Roberto Minczuk
Honens 201203-4CD
www.honens.com

Like a particle accelerator, the triennial Honens Piano Competition is a highly charged event probing the secrets of the stars. Ten semi-finalists compete for five coveted spots in a final round. These rarities are all in their 20s, unimaginably gifted and ready to explode from their orbits. Meanwhile, audiences sit breathlessly on the edge of their seats in Calgary’s Jack Singer Concert Hall to witness flashes of genius and streaks of energy that rival the deepest mysteries of subatomic physics.

Is there a Honens particle? It seems so. Every three years the competition’s laureate receives $100,000 cash and a half million dollar career launch with recording and support. Now that’s a career accelerator.

2012 Honens laureate Pavel Kolesnikov emerged from his field with a blazing technique and a moving interpretive ability. His winning performances, captured in live concert recordings, demonstrate why. With a program of Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn, Kolesnikov proves how note-perfect technique can coexist with the most bombastic and the most tender keyboard expressions. His Schumann Kinderszenen Op.15 is utterly convincing in portraying the composer’s impish, nostalgic and heartfelt vignettes. These may, despite their lack of musical heft, be the most beautifully interpreted pieces on the two CDs.

Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No.1 is innovatively light and playfully energized and contrasts markedly with the darker, heavier performances that have become historical standards. Similarly, Chopin’s Sonata in B Minor, Op.58 is reborn in an astonishing new lightness.

Kolesnikov has conquered the Romantics. He is still very young. His next conquests should be equally surprising.

04-Bruckner-6Bruckner – Symphony No.6
Orchestre Metropolitain du Grand Montréal; Yannick Nézet-Séguin
ATMA ACD2 2639

Ludwig Spiedel, the 19th-century German writer on music and theatre, once referred to the music of Anton Bruckner saying: “It is no common mortal who speaks to us in this music.” This was high praise indeed, particularly as the Austrian-born composer who lived from 1824 to 1896 has sometimes been unfairly compared to his more renowned contemporary Johannes Brahms. Yet Bruckner now seems to have come into his own, and among his many admirers is the Quebec conductor extraordinaire Yannick Nézet-Séguin who has already recorded Symphonies Nos. 4, 7, 8 and 9 on the Atma Classisque label, and has now turned his attentions to the Sixth, again with the Orchestre Métropolitain.

Written between 1879 and 1881, this symphony is the music of a composer at mid-life, confident in his abilities and looking to the future with optimism. The large four-movement work reflects this forward-looking attitude, and is treated here with great aplomb. From the bold and passionate opening movement through the languorous Adagio, a lively Scherzo and the exuberant Finale with its prolific use of brass, the orchestra demonstrates a deep engagement with the music, displaying rich tonal colours and a full dynamic range. This is indeed music making with a true sense of grandeur. It seems that everything Nézet-Séguin and the OM choose to play turns to gold, and this disc is no exception. It’s a must-have for devotees of Bruckner’s music, and it may even sway those who up to now have stayed away. Highly recommended.

Bruckner – Symphony No.6
Orchestre Metropolitain du Grand Montréal; Yannick Nézet-Séguin
ATMA ACD2 2639

Ludwig Spiedel, the 19th-century German writer on music and theatre, once referred to the music of Anton Bruckner saying: “It is no common mortal who speaks to us in this music.” This was high praise indeed, particularly as the Austrian-born composer who lived from 1824 to 1896 has sometimes been unfairly compared to his more renowned contemporary Johannes Brahms. Yet Bruckner now seems to have come into his own, and among his many admirers is the Quebec conductor extraordinaire Yannick Nézet-Séguin who has already recorded Symphonies Nos. 4, 7, 8 and 9 on the Atma Classisque label, and has now turned his attentions to the Sixth, again with the Orchestre Métropolitain.

Written between 1879 and 1881, this symphony is the music of a composer at mid-life, confident in his abilities and looking to the future with optimism. The large four-movement work reflects this forward-looking attitude, and is treated here with great aplomb. From the bold and passionate opening movement through the languorous Adagio, a lively Scherzo and the exuberant Finale with its prolific use of brass, the orchestra demonstrates a deep engagement with the music, displaying rich tonal colours and a full dynamic range. This is indeed music making with a true sense of grandeur. It seems that everything Nézet-Séguin and the OM choose to play turns to gold, and this disc is no exception. It’s a must-have for devotees of Bruckner’s music, and it may even sway those who up to now have stayed away. Highly recommended.

—Richard Haskell

05-GolaniHidden Treasure – Viola Masterpieces
Rivka Golani; Michael Hampton
Hungaroton HCD 32721-22

I well remember riveting Toronto performances by now London-based violist Rivka Golani, and cherish this disc. York Bowen’s Phantasy is flamboyant English post-romanticism, with a rich harmonic palette and ecstatic climaxes. Golani’s trademark fiery style and Michael Hampton’s mastery of the florid piano part mark this performance. George Enescu’s Concert Piece is also a knockout; Golani’s virtuosity shows in both expressive double-stopped passages and rapid filigree work. In the masterly In Memoriam (1949) by her teacher Ödön Pártos (1907–1977), dedicated to victims of the Holocaust, the duo captures evocatively the sense of an anguished funeral procession.

Golani is noble in the opening and fleet of finger in the ensuing Allegro of Henri Vieuxtemps’ Sonata in B-Flat Major. The duo projects a remarkable Barcarolla as though from a distance, and paces it extremely well. This is a very fine performance of an undeservedly neglected work. Anton Rubinstein’s Sonata in F Minor is a weaker piece, with uninspired melodies and tedious sequences in the first two movements. Things improve with Rubinstein’s third movement, a Scherzo, with Hampton producing delicious double-thirds in its Turkish-style trio section.

Mendelssohn’s precocious Sonata in C Minor composed at age 15 is notable as the earliest sonata for viola and piano, and a delightful rendition of Efrem Zimbalist’s Sarasateana suite of Spanish dances rounds out the recording.

01-Duo-Concertante-BeethovenThere’s a lovely new 3-CD set of the Beethoven Complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano from Canada’s own Duo Concertante, violinist Nancy Dahn and pianist Timothy Steeves (Marquis MAR 81517). The two have been playing together since 1997 — Beethoven’s “Kreutzer Sonata” was the first thing they played together, and they took their duo name from the composer’s inscription above the title — and the Beethoven sonatas have apparently always been a part not just of their repertoire, but of their daily lives. My first impressions were that for all the clean playing and fine ensemble work these were still fairly low-key performances, but they quickly won me over. By the second CD, with lovely readings of the “Spring” and “Kreutzer” sonatas placed around the Sonata in A major Op.12, No.2, I was more than convinced.

There are certainly more high-powered versions available — the Ibragimova/Tiberghien Wigmore Hall set I reviewed in December 2011, for example — but the sensitivity and musical intelligence of these performances more than compensate for any lack of sheer technical fireworks. Dahn and Steeves play these wonderful sonatas as if they are visiting old friends, and the sense of intimacy and emotional involvement is palpable throughout the three discs.

I’ve received several CDs of the Bach Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin BWV 1001-1006 over the past few months, all of which feature some quite stunning playing. There are two complete 2-CD sets and one half-set.

02-ArzewskiCecylia Arzewski, whose performances are available on Bridge Records (9358A/B), enjoyed a stellar orchestral career with the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony for almost 40 years. Her playing here is of the highest quality — warm, sensitive, intelligent, and with a great feel for phrasing and tempo; even in the fastest movements there is always a clear sense of pulse, and room to breathe at the beginnings and endings of phrases. Rhythmic articulation is crisp and clear, the multiple stopping handled with clarity and apparent ease, and the sense of line always secure.

03-Bach-Amandine-BeyerExactly the same can said for the complete recording by the French Baroque specialist Amandine Beyer (Zig-Zag Territoires ZZT110902), although there is a somewhat lighter tone and an added rhythmic snap and vitality to her playing that makes it an even more rewarding listen; even the Sonata movements have a dance feel to them. The one major difference — not immediately apparent unless you have perfect pitch or play the two versions back-to-back — is that Beyer apparently tunes to Baroque pitch, so her performances are a semi-tone lower than Arzewski’s.

Beyer’s set also includes a Solo Sonata by Johann Georg Pisendel, a German virtuoso and exact contemporary of Bach’s; the two met in 1709, and Pisendel may (depending on which set of booklet notes you choose to believe) have owned a copy of Bach’s Sonatas & Partitas, and may even have influenced their composition.

04-FaustThe half-set is the second volume of the complete recording by Isabelle Faust, now available on harmonia mundi HMC 902124; the three works, however, are the first half of the set of six. Again, there is wonderful playing here, with some terrific presto movements, relaxed and almost meditative slower movements, and clean, beautifully controlled playing in the fugues.

Perhaps surprisingly — or maybe not, given the huge advances in the understanding of period performance techniques — all three performers take essentially the same approach to the choices of ornamentation and the interpretation of some of the chordal configurations, although obviously there are some differences in tempo, bowing and phrasing.

If you are interested in these wonderful works you probably already own one or more versions; if you do, you can add any one of these to your collection without reservation. In an interesting aside on the issue of modern or period instrument, Arzewski says that her goal was to be as true as possible, using a modern (my italics) violin and bow, to Bach’s style, although her instrument is the 1714 Petrus Guarneri of Mantua, which in its original condition pre-dates the Sonatas & Partitas themselves. Beyer, meanwhile, plays a Baroque violin, but one made by Pierre Jaquier in 1996, with an Eduardo Gorr bow from 2000; both were made over 275 years after the works were written.

05-KohThere is more outstanding Bach playing from the ever-reliable Jennifer Koh on Bach & Beyond Part 1, her latest CD from Cedille Records (CDR 90000 134). I’ve commented before on Koh’s imaginative programming as well as her marvellous playing, and this CD is more than up to her own high standards. It records the first of a three-part series of recital programs that Koh initiated in 2009 to explore the history of solo violin works from Bach to the present day. Each recital features two of the Bach Sonatas & Partitas paired with solo compositions from the subsequent centuries.

I really can’t say enough about Koh’s playing or her programming; it’s a perfect marriage of ability and intellect that puts her on a different level than most performers, and this CD is a classic example of that. It opens with Bach’s E Major Partita No.3, which is followed by Ysaÿe’s Sonata No.2, a work which quotes both the preceding Bach Partita and the Dies Irae chant. Kaija Saariaho’s short Nocturne, a tribute and memorial to the composer Witold Lutosławski, also quotes the E Major Partita and the Dies Irae, while Missy Mazzoli’s Dissolve, O My Heart (the title is taken from Bach’s St. John Passion) takes its material cue from the Chaconne from Bach’s Partita No.2 in D Minor. The complete D Minor Partita fittingly closes a marvellous CD that Koh describes as a journey from light through darkness, and back to light.

The playing throughout is exemplary, with a wonderful purity in the Bach and a clear empathy in the contemporary works. The remaining two volumes of this fascinating project should be well worth waiting for. 

06-CelloquyThe Cedille label is dedicated to promoting musicians from the Chicago area, and cellist Ani Aznavoorian is joined by the composer on another new issue, Celloquy, which features the music of the Russian-born American Lera Auerbach (CDR 90000 137). Auerbach is a prodigiously talented individual: a concert pianist, composer, librettist, author and visual artist. Two of her poems are featured in the CD booklet. The three cello and piano works here are the 24 Preludes,the Cello Sonata and the brief

The 24 Preludes from 1999 are short, virtuosic and extremely effective pieces that explore the extreme ranges of both instruments. Auerbach writes that “re-establishing the value and expressive possibilities of all major and minor tonalities is as valid at the beginning of the 21st century as it was during Bach’s time.” This is especially true given the way that tonality has been treated over the past 100 years or so, and she certainly covers a good deal of stylistic ground in the Preludes. No.12 is a simply beautiful melody, albeit one with disturbing undertones; No.13 is a Bach-style cello solo; No.14 is a diabolic variation on Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture; No.16 is a grotesque waltz. No.24 quotes the themes from all the preceding movements, “as in a final stream of memories,” in the words of the excellent booklet

The Cello Sonata is another terrific piece, written in 2002. Again, warm, lyrical passages are found alongside sections of dissonant and technically challenging writing, in what is clearly a very emotional work. The Postlude is a reprisal of No.12 of the Preludes, but with a prepared piano that gives the music a distorted and quite bleak sound; it’s a haunting ending to a simply outstanding CD.

07-Tokyo-String-Quartet-At the time of writing, the renowned Tokyo Quartet has just given its farewell performances in Toronto, a city it has visited some 45 times during its long career. Its final concert will be at Yale University in June. The ensemble’s farewell CD of quartets by Dvořák and Smetana has just been issued by harmonia mundi (807429), with impassioned performances of Dvořák’s Quartet No.12, Op.96 (“The American”) and Smetana’s painfully personal Quartet No.1 in E minor, “From My Life.” It certainly wasn’t their final recording, however. While these quartets were recorded in 2006, the glorious performance of the autumnal Brahms Clarinet Quintet, also on the harmonia mundi label and reviewed here last December, was recorded in 2011, and if anything, has a much greater feeling of wistful farewell about it. Still, either CD will stand as a testament to the standard this remarkable group attained, and to the loss their retirement represents to the chamber music world.

08-Jerusalem-Quartet-and-Sharon-Kam--Brahms-Clarinet-Quintet--ArtworkThere is another beautiful recording of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet, again on the harmonia mundi label, this time by the Jerusalem Quartet with clarinettist Sharon Kam (HMC 902152). It’s a bit breathy at times, but very warm, albeit with not quite the same wistfulness as the Tokyo Quartet version with Jon Manasse, mentioned above. The string playing in particular is really quite lovely. There is equally gorgeous playing in the Brahms String Quartet No.2 in A minor, Op.51 No.2. This is full-blooded Brahms, rich and expansive, warm and passionate, thoughtful and contemplative, and with a wonderful dynamic range.

01 Harmonious BlacksmithSentirete Una Canzonetta
Harmonious Blacksmith;
directors Joseph Gascho, Justin Godoy
www.harmoniousblacksmith.com

Improvisations characterize this anthology, and they are both vocal and instrumental. Harmonious Blacksmith draws on the improvisations found in the instrumental instruction books of mid-16th century Italy. Ah Hong (soprano) brings an intense quality to Sentirete Una Canzonetta by Tarquinio Merula; the more rustic Se l’aura spira tutta vezzosa draws on Hong’s vocal expertise in tandem with Justin Godoy’s recorder playing — the latter well in keeping with the demands imposed on the baroque recorder by any of that era’s greatest composers. This mastery is again reflected in Giovanni Battista Fontana’s Sonata 3, with its hints of baroque country-dance movements.

In solo instrumental terms, Joseph Gascho’s inspired harpsichord playing interprets the virtuoso quality of Girolamo Frescobaldi’s Toccata 1 (Libro 2). Godoy’s recorder playing in Ricercar is up to the demands of the music by Jacob van Eyck. Nicola Matteis, who died after the heyday of Italian improvisation, introduces gentility to the instrumental pieces in this compilation. More spirited, not to say impassioned, is Nika Zlatarić’s cello playing in Giovanni Antonio Bertoli’s Sonata 7.

Godoy’s arrangement of pieces by five composers under the title More palatino is an intense and entertaining combination demonstrating just what baroque composers could bring out of their instruments — and their players. In fact, this attractive recital of baroque variations confirms that they were never confined to the harpsichord or lute.

02 Bach FluteBach – Flute Sonatas
Andrea Oliva; Angela Hewitt
Hyperion
CDA67897

On this recording Andrea Oliva and Angela Hewitt make a convincing case for playing Bach’s music on contemporary instruments. Hewitt’s nuanced approach to the master’s contrapuntal writing, especially evident in the long B minor sonata’s Andante opening movement, allows for an exquisite clarity and independence of the “voices.” Flutist Oliva brings a wide range of expression, from tender pathos in the Largo e dolce second movement of the same sonata to riveting bravura excitement in both Allegro movements of the E minor sonata. He brings effortless technique and consistently incisive but not aggressive articulation to everything he plays; this was particularly evident in the Allegro second movement of the Sonata in C Major. And then there was the confident repose of his relaxed and intelligent phrasing in the opening Allegro Moderato of the E-flat major sonata, the sparing but highly expressive use of vibrato in the famous Siciliano second movement of the same sonata, the persuasive use of dynamic contrasts to delineate episodes in the first movement of the B minor sonata and the exquisite pianissimos, allowing the melodic line of the piano to come out, later in the same work.

Extraordinary as it may sound, having played all these sonatas many times, even I was surprised by the beauty of the Andante third movement of the Sonata in E Minor. There is artistry in this recording that seems to get better every time you listen to it.

01 Sonatas and SuiteSonatas & Suite
Steven Dann; James Parker
ATMA
ACD2 2519

The accomplished musicians featured on this disc need little introduction to Toronto audiences familiar with their frequent appearances on the local chamber music scene. Their recital together on the ATMA label provides an intriguing opportunity to explore the repertoire of French viola works from the turn of the 20th century.

Pride of place in this collection goes to the central work in the program, the sonata by Charles Koechlin (1867–1950), a truly outstanding composition and a major contribution to the viola repertoire. Completed in the midst of the First World War, the work is dedicated to fellow composer and erstwhile violinist (and violist) Darius Milhaud who premiered the work in Paris in 1915. Koechlin’s crystalline harmonies, supple rhythms and melodic inventiveness are inimitable and it is a pleasure to see his music gradually attracting the attention it deserves. Throughout the four movements of the work the unusually wide-ranging piano writing is very much at the forefront of Koechlin’s thought, with the viola often receding into the background texture. Parker’s evocation of Koechlin’s kaleidoscopic quasi-orchestral textures is masterful and Dann’s artistry is movingly eloquent throughout.

The two flanking works receive their first recorded performances here. Pierre de Bréville (1861–1949) was a noted professor, music critic and the author of a biography of César Franck, a mentor whose influence permeates his finely crafted sonata which, though composed in the war ravaged days of 1944, still speaks the dainty language of the fin-de-siècle. The spirited opening and lively finale of the 1897 Suite in three parts by the celebrated organist Charles Tournemire (1870–1939) provide a rousing conclusion to this excellent and enterprising disc.

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