franz_liszt_articleTwo hundred years ago, on Oct 22, 1811 in the Hungarian village of Doborjan, later renamed Raiding in today’s Burgenland (Austria), one of the most influential figures in the history of Western music, Franz Liszt, was born. Although from Hungarian ancestry he never learned to speak the language as he spent most of his life in France, Germany and Italy. His father was a talented musician who worked for the Eszterhazy family and was well acquainted with Haydn. The little Liszt at age of seven already knew how to write music and played Bach fugues and transposed them while “his parents ate their dessert.” At the age of nine he gave his first concert and at the age of 10 he studied under Czerny and Salieri. His fame grew quickly and as a child prodigy his father took him on European tours.

In the French capital he met Chopin and many other prominent figures of the music world. He quickly developed into a phenomenal pianist and was idolized throughout the salons. As a glamorous society beau he fell in love and ran away with a married woman, the beautiful Countess Marie d’Agoult, and had three children with her. (One of them, Cosima later married Richard Wagner.) But the love affair didn’t last. Later he met Princess Carolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein, a divorcee whom he wanted to marry but the ceremony was cancelled in the last minute by order of Pope, Pius IX. Instead he lived with her in Weimar where as Kapellmeister for the Saxon princes he reshaped musical life and attracted all the upcoming composers to his “court.”

He became a “conqueror of Europe” and his fame and fortune knew no bounds. He was also a most generous man: he returned regularly to Pest-Buda (now Budapest) and gave many concerts for charity. He was also instrumental in the creation of Wagner’s Bayreuth Festspielhaus with a large contribution of funds.

This age bred many Romantic heroes like Lord Byron, Robbie Burns, Benvenuto Cellini, Niccolo Paganini, and Hector Berlioz whose colourful lives imitated their art. Liszt was one of these but he did not die young like the others and lived to a relatively healthy 75.

Being a pianiste extraordinaire he composed mainly for the piano. His output was prolific and many pieces such as the Hungarian Rhapsodies, the Paganini Etudes, Années de pèlerinage and the b-minor Sonata have become immortal masterpieces, staples of the repertoire and difficult hurdles for any aspiring pianist. He revolutionized the piano concerto by compressing the traditional three movement structure into a single, free flowing, long movement, but still maintaining, in the form of episodes, the usual introduction, allegro, andante, scherzo and presto finale sequences.

Later in life he concentrated on orchestral writing and invented a new form, the symphonic poem. He wrote 12 of these of which Les Preludes became the most often played but according to critics, some of the others like Héroïade Funèbre, Orpheus, Mazeppa and Hamlet are superior. Following the footsteps of Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique Liszt further developed the romantic symphony with his Faust and Dante symphonies, which rival Berlioz.

Disappointed in being unable to marry his Princess, Liszt took on monastic orders and retired in a monastery near Rome. He became an Abbé and lived in a cell with minimal furnishings and an old out of tune piano with the middle D missing. Monastic life, however did not suit him. He continued to travel, visiting the Princess who lived in Rome. His journeys were mainly to Bayreuth, Budapest and of course, Rome. In his seventies his health began to fail and after catching a bad cold on one of his train journeys he died in Bayreuth in the midst of his daughter’s family in 1886 at the age of 75. Ironically, his much younger son-in-law Richard Wagner had died three years earlier in 1883.

All life must come to an end, but Liszt certainly made the most of it. A dashing romantic hero idolized by women everywhere he went, he was a magician of the piano who took pianism to a level never before imagined. As a composer he revolutionized and extended, along with Berlioz, the symphony orchestra with instrumentation and orchestral effects never heard before. His influence as a composer on his contemporaries and the next generation cannot be overestimated. Franz Liszt enriched the history of music and it is unlikely there will be another like him ever again.

04_petric_victorianA Victorian Romance - Music for the English Concertina

Joseph Petric; Boyd McDonald

Astrila AST2322652-2 (www.midtownmedia.ca/joseph)

The concertina is a distant relative of both the accordion and the bandoneon. All three were “invented” in the 19th century. Thanks to the phenomenal success of Astor Piazzolla, his tango Nuevo bandoneon compositions and performing style is popular with accordionists around the world. Now internationally renowned Joseph Petric tackles the intricacies of English concertina music from the British Victorian era on the accordion, with help from pianist Boyd McDonald.

Two multi movement works by Bernhard Molique are featured as well as George MacFarren`s melodramatic Romance. These are not deep or challenging works but are all pretty compositions that were very much the style during the 1800s. Accordion and piano as a duet often results in a tuning and intonation nightmare, but the superb fortepiano accompaniment of Boyd McDonald tosses any such fears immediately out the window. His performance provides a solid and steady support to Petric’s musical viewpoints and exceptional phrasing and bellows control.

The sound quality superbly replicates the salon atmosphere. Petric has written comprehensive liner notes that provide historical explanations. Readers interested in more information should check out the book Victorian Music for the English Concertina available at the Toronto Public Library.

I enjoy how Joseph Petric plays. However, I am a bit disappointed in his performance on “A Victorian Romance.” Stylistically I would have liked to hear more dynamic differentiation and “attachment” to the musical flow, but that’s just a personal thing. This is still an excellent release with fine performances.

 


05_brahms_brassBrahms on Brass

Canadian Brass

Opening Day Records ODR 7415 (www.openingday.com)

Though raised on Brahms’s keyboard music, I was surprised by these wonderful adaptations and performances of the Sixteen Waltzes, Op. 39, Ballade, Op. 10, No. 1, and Eleven Chorale Preludes, Op. 122. Brahms was a multifaceted composer indeed. Canadian Brass trumpeters and adapters Brandon Ridenour and Chris Coletti note on their website how easily the piano waltzes became brass music. Both bumptious waltzes and tender ones like the famous Waltz no. 15 in A Flat come off well in these spotless renderings, recorded in the clear, resonant acoustics of Christ Church Deer Park. Considering the German brass bands of his time, the settings also seem historically appropriate. The Ballade evokes a sterner tradition of medieval knights and battles in Ridenour’s adaptation for brass octet. Augmented musical forces enable a wide dynamic range, building through fate-haunted clashes to a tremendous climax.

The disc’s greatest works are Brahms’ last, the beloved 11 organ chorale preludes (adapted by Ralph Sauer) reaching back to the sacred music of Bach and further (in which brass instruments were also prominent). Along with the two trumpeters, the Canadian Brass’s personnel include Eric Reed, horn, Keith Dyrda, trombone, and original member Chuck Daellenbach, tuba. All contribute equally in such gems as O God, thou righteous God and O World, I must now leave thee, in performances that promise many fruitful hours of listening and contemplation.


07_mahler1-10Wagner – Prelude; Elgar - Cello Concerto; Brahms - Symphony 1

Alisa Weilerstein; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim

EuroArts DVD 2058068 or 2058064 Blu-ray

I ordered this disc to hear a new performance of the Elgar. The Brahms enjoys a satisfying, substantial performance but does not quite displace the top few favourites. Recorded live in the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford in 2010 it is the performance of the Elgar that sets new standards in every respect.

The premier of the profoundly beautiful Elgar Cello Concerto in 1919 was a fiasco. Elgar had not been given enough time to adequately or even inadequately rehearse the London Symphony Orchestra. Cellist Felix Salmond knew his part but the orchestra was unprepared. The critics were merciless and Elgar wanted to withdraw the work but Salmond’s devotion to the score persuaded him otherwise.

The first recording was of a truncated version with cellist Beatrice Harrison conducted by Elgar in 1920. She recorded the complete score with Elgar and the LSO in 1928. The sensitive and fragile nature of the music seems to particularly suit female performers. This is best demonstrated by the young Jacqueline du Pré, who recorded it in 1965 with cellist-turned-conductor, Sir John Barbirolli and the LSO for EMI. She tuned the world into Elgar’s most introspective statement. As an aside, Barbirolli was in the cello section of the LSO in the disastrous 1919 premier.

Who could have imagined that du Pré’s mantle would have passed to Alisa Weilerstein. Weilerstein was born in 1982 and has played cello since she was four. Her father founded the Cleveland Quartet and was concert-master of the Cleveland Orchestra. Her mother is a professional pianist and well known in musical circles. In the performance captured on this video, she plays the concerto with such assurance that it sounds like she owns it. Her musicality, sensitivity and competency as a performer are complemented by a strong, electrifying stage presence. She is at one with her instrument. A paragon. Her rapport with Barenboim and the Berliners is splendid and the performance is nothing short of spectacular, certainly worth many listenings. Unquestionably, a must have. Do it now.

Editor's note: Alisa Weilerstein receives MacArthur Fellowship - Alisa Weilerstein will receive $500,000 in no-strings-attached support over the next five years after being named as a MacArthur Fellow. The 29-year-old cellist was awarded the so-called “genius” grant by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

07_mahler1-10Mahler - Symphonies 1-10

Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich; David Zinman

RCA Red Seal 88697 72723 2

Until recently Switzerland’s Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich had little international prominence and, by comparison with Ernest Ansermet’s renowned Suisse Romande orchestra, a sadly meagre discography. That all changed with the arrival in 1995 of American conductor David Zinman. He brought an injection of fresh blood to this venerable ensemble and soon hit a home run with of a swiftly-paced, revisionist box set of Beethoven symphonies which sold over a million copies. The rejuvenating effect of his stewardship is confirmed by the genuine optimism and esprit-de-corps expressed in interviews with the members of the orchestra in an accompanying documentary covering the recording of the Sixth Symphony and the story behind its composition. (Incidentally, this DVD includes a visit to the control room where the producers claim with a straight face that they aren’t adjusting the balance through the mixing board. Not when the cameras are running, anyway.)

Few boxed sets of Mahler symphonies have ever proven themselves outstanding in all respects, though the Bernstein and Kubelik collections from the 1960s remain worthy contenders despite their age. Though Zinman’s excursion to the nine planets of Mahler’s known universe contains more hits than misses, there are a few disappointments along the way. The bulk of the ebullient First Symphony (Zinman includes the excised Blumine movement as an appendix) falls flat, the genial Fourth fails to smile, and the infinite longing of the first movement of the Ninth Symphony fails to register emotionally due to clumsy or non-existent tempo adjustments and less than subtle dynamic gradations.

The more objective middle symphonies fare best, with an excellent Third and Fifth and highly effective Sixth and Seventh symphonies, the latter two distinguished by the sweetest, most contented cowbells I’ve ever heard. The choral symphonies, Two and Eight, feature world-class vocal soloists including Juliane Banse, Anna Larsson, Birgit Remmert and Anthony Dean Griffey backed by the magisterial WDR Rundfunkchor Köln.

The set concludes with the incomplete Tenth Symphony in the rarely-heard Clinton Carpenter version, an interventionist realization that attempts to flesh out the harmonies of Mahler’s extant sketches and incorporates quotations from his previous symphonies. I’m not entirely convinced by the results but it’s fascinating to hear this alternate to the prim and proper Deryck Cooke version. My reservations aside, the mid-range price, ample documentation and exemplary sonics (including an offbeat 4.1 (sic) SACD layer for ye boys what have such toys) make this an attractive proposition and a leading contender among the avalanche of recent releases in the ongoing Mahler celebrations.


The Honens International Piano Competition, based in Calgary, commenced in the early 1990s and occurs every three years. Its next edition will take place in 2012, with a prize advertised as the largest anywhere: $100,000 cash, plus three years of management and concerts, for the first-place winner.

Another angle to the Honens Competition is the occasional issuing of CDs of past winners. Four releases have just appeared, each recorded in 2010 at the Banff Centre. They are an homage to the recently deceased Andrew Raeburn, who directed the Honens for a decade, and earlier in his career ran classical record labels in England and the US. Raeburn is listed as producer on one of these discs, the Bach release by Minsoo Sohn, a follow up to Sohn’s Liszt recording as First Laureate of the 2006 competition. The other three, featuring the 2009 laureates, were produced by Banff recording engineer Theresa Leonard.

The piano sound captured is uniformly fine, closely miked yet resonant. Music choices are diverse, and avoid much of the customary core piano repertoire - no Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Scriabin, or Rachmaninoff.

08b_honens_starodubtsevRussian Evgeny Starodubtsev presents the most interesting recital, clustered around the 1920s: Karol Szymanowski’s three bracing Masques, Paul Hindemith’s jazzy Suite (1922), Schoenberg’s Five Pieces, Op. 23 and Stravinsky’s Sonata (1924). His playing is objectivist in spirit, which may suit a neoclassical milieu.

08c_honens_tchaidzeRussian Georgy Tchaidze offers a lovely Schubert program with warmth and care. He plays the songful A Major Sonata, Op. 120, the Wanderer Fantasy, and four short character pieces like he loves them.

08d_honens_vonsattelAmerican Gilles Vonsattel delivers a compelling, mostly French recital: Ravel’s Sonatine and Gaspard de la Nuit, five selections from Debussy’s Images, and short pieces by Arthur Honegger and Heinz Holliger (b. 1939). His playing is notably colorful and expressive.

08a_honens_sohnKorean-American Minsoo Sohn’s rendering of the lofty Goldberg Variations is gentle and pianistic, with fleet tempos, lyrical counterpoint, and occasional zest. Sohn observes the repeat signs in each variation, yet almost decoration-free: his Bach journey stretches to a sobering 75 minutes, when it could have been more pleasant at under 40.

While not issued as a set, all four black-and-white CD jackets and booklets look exactly alike: sternly modern in design, with frustratingly small type. Eric Friesen, the CBC classical radio broadcaster, has supplied brief conversational liner notes, taken from his interviews with the performers. For more information visit www.honens.com.

This month I’m catching up on a backlog of solo recital CDs.

01_bach_cello_violaAnalekta has issued a beautiful 2CD set of the Bach Six Cello Suites on Viola by the outstanding English violist Helen Callus (AN 2 9968-9). Five of the Suites are in the original keys, while No. 6 is transposed up a 4th from D major to G major, apparently to enable Callus to retain more of Bach’s open-string effects. The move away from the cello tessitura – the viola is tuned one octave higher – gives the works an added brightness and a quite different feel. Callus maintains a beautiful sense of line, and handles the multiple-stopping and contrapuntal elements quite effortlessly. Recorded at Domaine Forget’s Salle Françoys-Bernier in Saint-Irénée, Quebec last year, the sound is warm and resonant.

02_bach_cello_baroqueA direct comparison is provided by the Avie Records 2CD set of the Six Suites performed on Baroque cellos (although one is from 1798) by Tanya Tomkins (AV2212). The playing here seems a bit slower and more contemplative, with a tone quality closer to a viola da gamba than a cello, but I found that it didn’t hold my interest over extended listening: I had no problem listening to the Callus set from start to finish, but couldn’t do it here. Perhaps the lack of a strong sense of pulse, particularly in the dance movements, contributed to that. Don’t get me wrong though – this is thought-provoking, intelligent and carefully measured playing, albeit somewhat cool and with not the same life or spirit as the viola set – or perhaps more accurately, with a different spirit. Tomkins’ Benvenue Trio co-member Eric Zivian composed a double for the Sarabande in the Suite No.6.

03_bach_solo_violinYou don’t have to read the booklet notes for the Linn 2CD set of the Bach Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin by Pavlo Beznosiuk (CKD 366) to realize that this is another performance by a Baroque specialist – the thin high register, the sparse vibrato, and the overall lack of a big sound make it obvious from the opening bars. Again, though, this is clearly a very personal and thoughtful interpretation. Tempos are not fast, but the dance movements in the Partitas are never allowed to drag. Beznosiuk makes some interesting choices with variations in some of the repeats, as well as with the inner workings of the chordal sections; he also changes or omits the occasional note from the standard editions, but he’s not exactly alone in that respect. Overall, though, this is an interpretation that didn’t engage me emotionally, a response that probably wasn’t helped by the distant nature of the recording.

04_ysayeThere’s another terrific CD of the Six Sonatas for Violin Solo by Eugène Ysaÿe, this time by the Icelandic-born violinist Judith Ingolfsson (GENUIN GEN 1102). I reviewed the Rachel Colly D’Alba set on Warner last February, and referred then to the startling originality and individuality of these remarkable works. They’re arguably the most significant solo sonatas since Bach’s, yet despite being well represented on CD – one single web search today turned up 16 different issues – they haven’t been recorded by many of the really “big” names in the field. It’s almost impossible to offer an objective comparison with so many choices available, but this is another impressive set that never makes the pieces sound forced or awkward. And that’s saying something.

05_emmanuelle_bertrand_cello_parleOn her latest solo CD+DVD set, le violoncelle parle (the cello speaks) (harmonia mundi HMC 902078) the French cellist Emmanuelle Bertrand presents an excellent programme: Britten’s Suite No. 3 in C minor, written for Rostropovich; Gaspar Cassado’s Suite from 1926; a relatively new (2003) and quite moving work from Bertrand’s partner and regular accompanist Pascal Amoyel called Itinérance; and a knock-out performance of the Kodaly Suite Op. 8, which really doesn’t sound like it was written in 1915. Bertrand’s breathing noises are a bit intrusive at times, but nothing can detract from the wonderful playing here. The DVD is an engrossing 47-minute film by Christian Leblé that features Bertrand talking about the music (in clear, understandable French with sub-titles) along with sections of the actual CD studio recording of each work and a fascinating look at Bertrand one-on-one with one of her students in a section of the Kodaly Suite.

06_stravinsky_violin-pianoNewton Classics has reissued the 2CD Complete Works for Violin and Piano by Stravinsky, originally issued by Philips in 1989, and played by Dutch violinist Isabelle van Keulen and Finnish pianist Olli Mustonen (8802062 2CD). The recordings were made in 1987 and 1988 in Switzerland, but sound as fresh as if they were made last week. Most of the works here are transcriptions of Stravinsky’s own orchestral works, with virtually all of them crediting Stravinsky and Samuel Dushkin as the arrangers. Stravinsky met the Polish-American violinist in 1930, when Schott, the composer’s German publisher, suggested that Stravinsky write a concerto for Dushkin. The two got on well, and as Stravinsky needed to increase his income they formed a performing duo which toured extensively throughout the 1930s. All of the music on these CDs resulted from that partnership. Van Keulen’s playing is exemplary – clean, warm, stylish and with no trace of excessive show; it’s fitting, given that what attracted Stravinsky to Dushkin’s playing was the latter’s sensitivity and a complete lack of showy virtuosity. Mustonen provides the perfect support. Beautifully packaged, and with really excellent booklet notes, this is one of the best “complete works” sets I’ve seen in a long time. Distributed by Naxos here, the budget price makes it an even more attractive buy.

07_brahms_steinbacherAn equally attractive Super Audio CD comes from PentaTone Classics, with Arabella Steinbacher and Robert Kulek performing the Complete Works for Violin and Piano by Johannes Brahms (PTC 5186 367). I always feel you can judge how performances of the Brahms sonatas are going to turn out just by listening to the first 4 bars of the G major sonata: the two piano chords and the almost hesitant off-beat entry of the violin have to be perfectly judged in all respects – tempo, dynamics, pulse, touch, style, warmth, you name it – as they set the mood for the whole work. Well, no problems here. This is classic Brahms playing, bringing to mind all the usual adjectives: warm; glowing; expansive; autumnal. Simply beautiful. I’ll be playing this one again and again.

08_rautavaaraSummer Thoughts is the title of a new Ondine CD of the Works for Violin and Piano by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, played by violinist Pekka Kuusisto and pianist Paavali Jumppanen (ODE1177-2). Rautavaara, who turns 83 on October 9, has had a highly successful career, despite apparently not understanding why: he says that he writes his music “for myself and no one else,” and is “very flattered and surprised” if someone else finds something rewarding in it. His style is very eclectic. The works here, four of which are world premiere recordings, cover most of Rautavaara’s career: Summer Thoughts and April Lines are both recent re-workings of material from the early 1970s; Lost Landscapes was a 2005 commission from Midori; Dithyrambos and Varietude for solo violin were written as the compulsory pieces for the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in 1970 and 1974 respectively; Notturna e danza was also an obligatory piece, written in 1993 for a youth chamber music competition. The most successful piece for me was, ironically, the only one in which the performers don’t actually play together. Pelimannit, or The Fiddlers, is a 6-movement piano suite from 1952 inspired by Finnish violin polska tunes notated some 150 years earlier. For this recording, Kuusisto hit on the idea of playing the actual fiddle tunes before the relevant piano sections. It works wonderfully – and there’s some tremendous fiddle playing!

09_elgar_violinNaxos has issued a 3CD box set of Elgar - The Violin Music (8.572643-45), although the performers aren’t quite what you might expect for this most quintessentially English of composers: the orchestra for the Violin Concerto and the Serenade for Strings is the West Kazakhstan Philharmonic Orchestra under Bundit Ungrangsee. The Kazakhstan-born violinist Marat Bisengaliev, who founded the orchestra in 2003, clearly has strong ties to Elgar’s home base, however: the acknowledgements in the booklet notes include reference to his work as musician in residence in Malvern, and thanks for the loan of Elgar’s violin and bow. CD 1, recorded in 2009, contains the orchestral works; CDs 2 and 3, recorded in 1998 and 2000 and previously released by Black Box Music, consist almost entirely of works for violin and piano, with Benjamin Frith at the keyboard. The concerto receives a very presentable reading, with a nicely-balanced orchestral opening and a clean, transparent sound – no “stuffy” Edwardian approach here. Bisengaliev enters sounding more like a viola, with a big tone, quite nasal in the middle and lower registers, and with a tendency to scoop a bit between notes. Although he is much better in the faster sections of the concerto – especially the opening to the third movement – he sounds a bit strained in the quieter, slower moments, which I felt didn’t have the pensive, contemplative feel that is so essential in this music. Overall, this is a performance that occasionally scales the heights, but doesn’t really plumb the depths of this very personal and emotional work. CDs 2 and 3 contain almost 30 short works for violin and piano, both original and transcriptions, as well as the E minor Violin Sonata. Bisengaliev’s full tone and constant vibrato become a bit tiresome after a while. CD2, incidentally, ends with five remarkable Etudes caractéristiques for solo violin, which I never even knew existed!

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