Early, Classical and Beyond

Hahn; Schmitt; Dubois
Ames Piano Quartet
Sono Luminus DSL-92141

This is the 14th release by the Ames Piano Quartet, the resident chamber music ensemble of Iowa State University. The quartet has been hailed for their two decades worth of well-received releases for Dorian Records, subsequently re-issued as a box set by the Virginia-based Sono Luminus label. Their latest recording features French chamber music from the first half of the twentieth century.

Best known for his vocal works, the Venezuelan-born Francophile Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947) is represented here by a late Quartet in G published in 1946. Hahn, partly Jewish and once the intimate partner of Marcel Proust, kept an understandably low profile during the war years hiding away in Monte Carlo. His elegant, finely crafted quartet betrays little personal anxiety considering the circumstances; though the tender third movement suggests a certain regret, the general tone is one of restrained optimism.

Florent Schmitt (1870-1958) enjoyed tremendous success at the outset of his career but alienated the establishment through his acidic music reviews (his habit of shouting out his verdicts in the concert hall led the publisher Heugel to brand him “an irresponsible lunatic”) and perceived pro-Germanic stance owing to his Alsatian origins. Be that as it may, his truly delightful “petit concert” Hasards Op. 96 (1944) towers over his compatriots on this recording thanks to its brilliant colours, refreshing mutability and sheer rhythmic inventiveness.

Bringing up the rear is the teacher of both Hahn and Schmitt, the distinguished Théodore Dubois (1837-1924), now mostly remembered for denying Maurice Ravel the Prix de Rome. The thoroughly conventional structure and fulsome harmonies of his impeccably proper Quartet in A minor (1907) bring to mind the music of César Franck, an impression confirmed by the cyclic return of earlier themes in the finale of the work. Schmitt remains the indubitable star of the show however and reason enough to own this intriguing collection of lesser-known repertoire.

Concert Note: Reviewer Daniel Foley’s latest composition Music for the Duke of York will receive its premiere at an afternoon concert honouring the late Antonin Kubálek at Walter Hall on November 6.

Russian Favourites
Alexander Sevastian
Analekta AN 2 9929

“Russian Favourites” showcases Quartetto Gelato accordionist Alexander Sevastian in a number of Russian solo accordion works and arrangements.

The accordion specific works are important examples of “classical” 20th century Russian accordion repertoire. Compositional acumen and the monster virtuosic strength of the Russian players created a challenging collection. Here Vyatcheslav Semionov’s Don Rhapsody No.1 is a prime example. In just under five minutes, it showcases almost everything the accordion can do. Massive chords, lyrical melodies and blasting sound walls are all controlled brilliantly by Sevastian. The work is saved from becoming a musical parody of itself primarily thanks to the composer’s clever compositional skills. Original works by Shenderyov, Korolyov, Panitsky and Zolotaryov are also featured.

Sevastian himself arranged works by Rachmaninoff, Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky. The success of any arrangement for the accordion from Romantic piano repertoire is tricky. The piano is a percussion instrument – finger articulation causes a hammer to hit a string which causes it to vibrate. Pedals figure prominently too. Lots of sound source possibilities. The accordion is a wind instrument – the bellows force air through metal reeds causing them to vibrate once buttons or keys are depressed. There is only has one sound source. That’s why sometimes an arrangement like Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise sings with its inherent flowing melodic beauty while Mussorgsky’s “The Gnome” from Pictures at an Exhibition stumbles with too many simultaneously vibrating reeds.

Sevastian is a sensitive and accomplished performer in this crowd-pleasing jewel.

Tchaikovsky - Symphonies 4-6
Mariinsky Orchestra; Valery Gergiev
Mariinsky DVD MAR0513; Blu-ray BD MAR0515

Philips issued CDs of these three symphonies with Gergiev conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in live performances from 2002, 1998, and 2004. Although they were very well received in some quarters, I found them to be quite perfunctory. Here is a wiser Gergiev in 2010 with his own orchestra live from the Salle Pleyel in Paris and the performances are polished, spectacular and substantial.

The first movement of the Fourth Symphony sounds eccentrically slow on first hearing but after listening to all three symphonies it now fits perfectly into Gergiev’s new understanding and appreciation of Tchaikovsky’s music. The Fifth Symphony is unusually stirring from the first notes to a hectic, triumphant finale. The Sixth can be driven too hard as Gergiev did in the Vienna recordings but here it unfolds with unusual respect and sensitivity. That is not to imply that it is not thrilling, which it assuredly is, but there is an atmosphere of inevitability throughout heard in no other performances that I know of. The tragic last movement, Tchaikovsky’s valedictory address, is played with intense passion and is quite final. I “Do not go gentle into that good night,” he seems to say.

There is a bonus in which Gergiev talks about Tchaikovsky’s orchestrations with interesting observations. Not an overly large orchestra, about 50 players, the textures and balances are never obscured. For me, these extraordinary, vital performances set a new standard. Perfect sound and thrilling dynamics throughout make this Blu-ray disc an uncontested first choice. Enthusiastically recommended.

Beethoven - In the Breath of Time
Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal; Kent Nagano
OSM OSMCD7437

The Montreal Symphony has much to be happy about these days. Conductor extraordinaire Kent Nagano is now in his sixth season as music director and the orchestra is sounding great. This is in part because of its new hall, which opened in September and is proving to be an acoustical gem. Furthermore, the ensemble has begun to record on its own label – OSM - and this latest offering – a two-disc set titled “In the Breath of Time” is another in the series featuring music by Beethoven, specifically symphonies six and eight, in addition to the Grosse Fuge as arranged by Felix Weingartner.

As fine an ensemble as the MSO is, there are no surprises here, nor is there any ground-breaking. Instead, under Naganos’s competent baton, the orchestra concentrates on solid musicianship, performing with a particular warmth and sensitivity. The “Pastoral” Symphony is a delight – here are the familiar bird-calls, the peasant dances and the joyful mood of life in the country as Beethoven witnessed it. The more traditional Symphony No.8 is approached with a suitable spirit of nobility and the monumental Fuge – all seventeen minutes of it – with the grandeur it deserves.

In keeping with the overall theme of time and change, the second disc concludes with a brief spoken word trilogy titled Declaration of INTERdependence, written and narrated by David Suzuki. While the recitation is moving and poignant, it’s the music itself that makes this such a satisfying recording – a fine interpretation of familiar repertoire by one of Canada’s most renowned orchestras.

Couperin - Concerts royaux

Bruce Haynes; Arthur Haas; Susie Napper

ATMA ACD2 2168

Around 1700 Pierre Naust crafted an hautboy in Paris – it may be the earliest hautboy (forerunner of the oboe) now in private hands. In 1703 Barak Norman created a viola da gamba in London. This recording unites these two instruments in some of Couperin’s concerts royaux, precisely the repertoire for which Naust’s hautboy would have been played.

The recording was originally released in 1999 but one very poignant reason explains its redistribution. US/Canadian Bruce Haynes, the hautboy soloist, died this year; reintroducing the hautboy into France (!) and five books and 50 articles on early music are his legacy.

Concert 7’s sarabande is the first opportunity to hear the Naust hautboy. It is both outwardly expressive and yet slightly sensitive; Couperin was well able to bring out the quality of this instrument.

In Concert 11, despite the rather stately quality of all eight movements, the standard of hautboy playing is always maintained. It is Susie Napper’s mastery of the gamba which gains exposure, reinforced in her duet with harpsichordist Arthur Haas in a track from Couperin’s third book of harpsichord pieces. In fact, Bruce Haynes returns with some of his most inspired playing in two musétes. Rural can only begin to describe the combination of hautboy, harpsichord and gamba as they imitate the sounds of the French bagpipe!

And then the even more varied Concert 3 (with another muzette - sic) to conclude this tribute to Bruce Haynes, and to the instrument he revived in the country of its birth.