04 classical 01 fialkowska schubertSchubert – Piano Sonatas D664 and D894
Janina Fialkowska
ATMA ACD 22681

These two sonatas are dissimilar works, coming as they do from very different periods in Schubert’s life, albeit only seven years apart. The earlier Sonata in A Major is thoroughly pleasant with familiar echoes of Mozart and Haydn throughout. Altogether, it’s a finely crafted piece with a conventional three-movement structure and competently developed ideas.

While this description sounds bland, the beauty of Fialkowska’s approach is that she actually understands this and refuses to make more of the sonata than it deserves. Instead, she plays each movement with a strict no-nonsense approach leaving aside the over-romanticized interpretations attempted by some other pianists. She finds just the right balance between the technical requirements of the music and the smaller but clearly still-emerging voice of the composer in this musical form.

In the second sonata (G major) Fialkowska acknowledges the more substantial content. Here, Schubert places technical demands in greater service of the music’s development allowing the performer new heights of invention and emotion. The opening movement is huge and Fialkowska plays it with a sustained commitment to holding its thematic ideas together until the triple forte ending.

The succeeding slow movement weaves a tender melody around a more stormy response which Fialkowska never allows to grow out of control. After a light dance movement, she plays through a fourth and final movement that ends quietly with a tasteful sense of anti-climax.

Throughout both sonatas, Fialkowska’s seasoned touch is a tribute to her mature understanding of Schubert’s actual intentions. Fialkowska’s Schubert is the real McCoy.

 

04 classical 02 strauss raritiesStrauss – Josephslegende; Love Scene from Feuersnot; Festmarsch
Royal Scottish National Orchestra;
Neeme Järvi
Chandos CHSA 5120

Richard Strauss, reigning overlord of the orchestral tone poem and emerging monarch of the operatic stage at the turn of the century, had been seriously intrigued by the prospect of writing a ballet since 1900, partly because, as he confided to his parents, “One does not have to worry about singers and can storm about in the orchestra.”

In 1912 he witnessed a sensational performance of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in Berlin and, through his librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal and the diplomat Count Harry Kessler, arranged a commission from the celebrated troupe. The end result was a gargantuan, 65-minute pantomime (subtitled “Action in One Act”) with an incredibly detailed scenario based on the biblical episode of Joseph’s enslavement at the Egyptian court by Potiphar, updated to the era of the Venetian Renaissance for the sake of sumptuous costuming. The central role of Joseph was designed for the stupendously talented Vaslav Nijinsky, though by the time of the premiere Strauss was disappointed to learn that Diaghilev had dismissed him after a lover’s quarrel and replaced him with Léonide Massine. Strauss himself conceded that while composing the work he felt frustrated with the “boring” piety of the saintly young Joseph and the angel that guards him but even so his score roars to life with his grandly erotic depictions of the suicidal attempts by Potiphar’s wife to seduce the reluctant underage Israelite. Sadly for Strauss and all concerned, the 1914 Parisian premiere was swiftly followed by the onset of the Great War and the ballet fell into obscurity.

Josephslegende demands such an immense orchestra that stagings of the work are quite rare and there are precious few recordings available (notably by Sinopoli and Iván Fischer) for comparison. This compelling new performance by Neeme Järvi, conductor laureate of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, is a welcome addition, plushly recorded by Chandos in a hybrid SACD format. Two brief works, an orchestral excerpt from the early opera Feuersnot and the juvenile Festmarsch Op.1 (composed at the age of 12!) fill out the disc. Though Josephslegende is perhaps not among the composer’s greatest achievements, the sheer orchestral magnificence of this little-known score is immensely captivating.

04 classical 03 degaetano chopinDeGaetano – Concerto No.1;
Chopin – Concerto No.1
Robert DeGaetano;Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra; John Yaffé
Navona Records NV5929

I always look forward to CDs that feature composer/pianists. The results usually portray the performer in their best light. The composer/pianist knows the instrument intimately and shows off the pianists’ unique skills to their best advantage. Such is the case with Robert DeGaetano’s first piano concerto. Virtuosic technique blazes through this concerto. Scintillating runs and octaves are spectacular. I loved the opening, which reflects the composer’s intent on showing the universe breathing. I would have liked more development of that mood however, instead of the constant runs. The second movement was charming with hints of the rhythms and jazz of New York. The orchestration sounded retro in a good way. The third movement was a more intimate, reflective performance and a prelude to the last dance-like movement. Hints of Italian tarantellas, overtones and brilliant technique brought this dazzling concerto to its finale. Bravo for an imaginative first piano concerto.

The idea of programming Chopin’s First Piano Concerto with his own has merit. DeGaetano went the extra mile in having John Yaffé revise the orchestration due to questions about the originality of Chopin’s. Yaffé began his work with the 1910 version by Mily Balakirev as the point of departure for his own. It will be available for other performers in a published version. There is not enough room in this review to discuss orchestration so I will address the performance. DeGaetano is an excellent technician and musician. He has a lot of fire and energy in his playing. I would prefer more breadth and breath in both the opening orchestral tutti and the piano. More singing tone and a vocal approach would help elevate this into a stunning performance. The third movement is dancelike and the syncopated rhythms could convey this more. However, I think the CD is valuable in showing off two opus one concertos and with exemplary performances they deserve a listen.

04 classical 04 mosh pitMosh Pit (One Piano Four Hands)
Zofo
Sono Luminus DSL-92167
sonoluminus.com

Listening to two pianists at a single keyboard usually sets up an expectation of something slightly heavy and possibly ungainly. Zofo, however (love that name!), blow all that away with their euphoric energy. These two are young, driven and fearless. There is no repertoire from which they shrink. They exude a “take no prisoners” approach yet perform with an interpretive competence and originality that leaves listeners wanting to hear more.

Gershwin’s Cuban Overture is so fresh and alive I hardly recognized it and checked the liner notes to ensure it was really Gershwin’s own version of his orchestral score. This is a terrific way to open the disc and it grabs you instantly.

Nancarrow’s Sonatina immediately shifts to an intense and delicate discipline that is by contrast, quite arresting. Zofo’s gift for extracting and delivering melody makes this work seem all too short. Likewise, Samuel Barber’s Op.28 Souvenirs, a bouquet of tuneful post-romantic ideas, are also played with profound engagement.

Two sets of dances by John Corigliano and Allen Shawm set a new stage for Zofo as the pair work ever so seductively with shifting rhythms to leave listeners embraced by the constant sense of movement.

Finally, the disc’s major work, Schoenfield’s Five Days from the Life of a Manic Depressive, isn’t nearly as frightening as the title suggests. Rather, filled with a humourous cynicism about contemporary music, it becomes a good-humoured showpiece by its end, closing the CD with the same kind of energy that opened it.

robbins 01 djokic jalbertCello sonatas, featuring the G minor sonatas by Rachmaninov and Chopin, is the outstanding new release by the Canadian duo of cellist Denise Djokic and pianist David Jalbert on the ATMA Classique label (ACD22525).

The Rachmaninov Sonata Op.19 is a relatively early work, written at the same time as his Second Piano Concerto and at the end of a three-year period of depression caused by the failure of his First Symphony. It’s a marvellous work, melancholy at times, but passionate and virtuosic, and full of those typical Rachmaninov melodies.

When Chopin wrote his Op.65 sonata in 1846, his health was failing and his affair with the writer George Sand was coming to an end; three years later he would be dead. Listening to it back-to-back with the Rachmaninov, it’s quite striking how similar their moods are at times; despite the gap of over 50 years between them, they seem to be soulmates.

The final track on the CD is Rachmaninov’s Vocalise, written in 1915 following the deaths of the composer’s friends and colleagues Sergei Taneyev and Alexander Scriabin. The transcription is by Leonard Rose. Not surprisingly, it’s no mere afterthought but a perfect fit with the two major works.

Djokic is in tremendous form throughout the disc, as is Jalbert, a top soloist in his own right — in fact, you only have to look at the composers’ names to realize how demanding and virtuosic the piano writing will be. The instrumental sound is warm and vibrant, and the interpretation everything you could ask for.

robbins 02 latin american guitarToronto-based guitarist Warren Nicholson is a graduate of Hamilton’s McMaster University and the Manhattan School of Music, and made his solo debut at New York’s Weill Recital Hall in 1998. He has been active as a teacher and performer ever since, but Latin American Guitar Favourites (warrennicholsonguitar.com) is his debut CD. It features works by two early 20th century South American guitar masters, together with works by two contemporary Latin composers.

The program opens with the Cinq Préludes by the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos, followed by four pieces by Cuba’s Leo Brouwer: his Dos aires populares Cubanos and Dos temas populares Cubanos. Milonga, by the Argentinian Jorge Cardoso, and five pieces by the Paraguayan Agustín Barrios Mangoré complete the recital. In the final track, Una limosna por el amor de Dios, Nicholson displays a fine control of right-hand tremolo.

The playing throughout is accurate, clean and thoughtful, although perhaps a little too reserved at times. The guitar tone is lovely and the recorded sound is warm and clear.

There is, unfortunately, no information at all regarding recording dates or location, and there are no timings for the individual tracks; the CD clocks in at just under 50 minutes.

robbins 03 holmboe concertosThere is another excellent release from the Danish national label, Dacapo Records, this time featuring Concertos by the Danish composer Vagn Holmboe (6.220599). Holmboe, who was 86 when he died in 1996, produced an enormous number of strongly tonal compositions, many of which have inevitably been overlooked. The three highly accessible works on this CD are all world premiere recordings, and one — the Concerto for Orchestra (1929) — is believed to be a world premiere performance as well.

Lars Anders Tomter is the soloist in the Concerto for Viola Op.189 from 1992. Written for Rivka Golani, it’s a work which immediately shows strength and personality. Violinist Erik Heide performs the Concerto for Violin No.2, Op.139 from 1979, although the number is somewhat misleading; there is an earlier violin concerto from 1938 that carries the designation No.1 but has never been performed, and this current work is apparently regarded as “the” violin concerto. Again, it’s a two-movement work, with hints of Samuel Barber as well as Carl Nielsen, especially in the beautiful slow movement.

robbins 04 wendy warnerDima Slobodeniouk conducts the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra in the concertos, and the orchestra takes centre stage for the Concerto for Orchestra, a single-movement work from 1929 that has apparently never been performed. It’s a very attractive piece, quite heavy on brass and percussion, and again with distinct hints of Nielsen, who was the examiner when Holmboe auditioned for the Royal Danish Academy of Music, and who clearly influenced the young composer’s early works.

Cellist Wendy Warner adds to an already impressive discography with a CD of the two Cello Concertos of Joseph Haydn, paired with the Cello Concerto In C major by Josef Mysliveček (Cedille CDR 90000 142). Drostan Hall leads Camerata Chicago in excellent orchestral support.

The Haydn concertos are relatively recent additions to the cello repertoire, the C major work having been discovered and first performed in the early 1960s. The D major concerto was long believed to have been written by Anton Kraft, a cellist with Haydn`s Esterhazy orchestra, until Haydn`s original score was discovered in the 1950s. The virtuosic cadenzas here are by Maurice Gendron and Emanuel Feuermann.

Mysliveček was a contemporary and acquaintance of Mozart, and known at the time mostly for his operas and concertos. His cello concerto is actually a transcription of one of his violin concertos and features a good deal of playing in the higher register.

Warner is a simply marvellous player, with great tone, lovely phrasing, and agility and technique to burn. She effortlessly holds our attention throughout a simply dazzling and delightful CD.

robbins 05 rachel barton pineThere is more thoughtful and intelligent playing of the highest order on Mendelssohn & Schumann Violin Concertos, where violinist Rachel Barton Pine is joined by the Göttinger Symphonie Orchester under Christoph-Mathias Mueller (Cedille CDR 90000 144). The two Beethoven Romances are also included.

It sometimes seems that there can’t be anything left for a soloist to say with the Mendelssohn, but Barton Pine would doubtless disagree; “The older I get,” she says, “The more difficult this ‘easier’ concerto becomes.” Her approach here is sensitive and low-key, but no less effective for that. It’s thoughtful playing with a light touch, and with tempi that are kept moving; no time for wallowing in sentiment here, but no lack of feeling either.

The Schumann concerto has had a troubled history. Written shortly before Schumann’s 1854 suicide attempt that led to his entering the sanatorium in which he would die two years later, it was never fine-tuned to the composer’s satisfaction, and was suppressed by its dedicatee, Joseph Joachim, not long after Schumann’s death. It resurfaced in Germany in the 1930s due primarily to the efforts of violinists Jelly d’Arányi and Yehudi Menuhin, but plans for a premiere were hijacked by the Nazis, who hoped to promote it at the expense of the Mendelssohn concerto, with its Jewish connection. The concerto has its technical problems, in particular an exceptionally difficult solo part in the last movement which makes an ideal tempo almost impossible, but it has a particularly beautiful slow movement. Mueller was responsible for Barton Pine’s deciding to record the work, and the soloist has done her work here, making judicious changes where she felt necessary; in particular, she and Mueller make the final movement work extremely well.

The performances of the Beethoven F major and G major Romances follow the approach set in the Mendelssohn, with a clear tone, slow and spare vibrato and a nice sense of movement.

Barton Pine’s own extensive and excellent booklet notes contribute to another top-notch Cedille issue. 

robbins 06 nigel kennedyI must admit to having approached the latest Nigel Kennedy CD, Recital (Sony 88765447272) with a great deal of trepidation. Kennedy’s huge talent has never been in doubt, but he has often been a lightning rod for controversy; some of his career choices have been – well, a bit puzzling, to put it mildly. In particular, his crossover rock/jazz CD projects have been wildly erratic, and at times almost inexplicably bad.

“Music inspired by Fats Waller, J .S. Bach, Dave Brubeck and more…” says the sticker on the front of the jewel case, and perhaps that’s the clue to why this particular CD is such an overwhelming success: the standard of the basic material is much higher than on some of Kennedy’s other projects, particularly the Polish ones. It’s also music which Kennedy says he has either grown up with or feels as if he has grown up with, so there is clearly a strong affinity with the material.

There are four Waller numbers here, and one Brubeck – Take Five, of course – plus numbers by Ze Gomez and Yaron Stavi and two originals by Kennedy himself. The Bach tracks were inspired by the Allegro from the Sonata No.2 in A minor for Solo Violin and the first movement of the Concerto in D minor for Two Violins.

Kennedy is joined by Rolf Bussalb on guitar, Yaron Stavi on bass, Krysztof Dziedzic on drum (singular, note) and Barbara Dziewiecka on second violin and viola on selected tracks.

Kennedy is not the greatest of jazz violinists, but his playing on this disc is very sophisticated, very original and highly entertaining. He uses his enormous technical skills to great effect, creating a quite different sound to most jazz players. Even in the standards he “shreds” in places – and it works! The Fats Waller tracks in particular are simply terrific, and the takes on Bach are a real blast.

The sense of freedom – and of fun – is obvious throughout the disc, with group laughter clearly audible on some of the tracks. This is Kennedy being Kennedy at his best: sounding like no one else, having a ball, and making terrific music. The entire CD is an absolute delight, and a real winner.

01-Voce-VioloncelloLa Voce del Violoncello: Solo Works of
the First Italian Cellist-Composers
Elinor Frey; Esteban la Rotta; Susie Napper
Passacaille 993
passacaille.be

The program of this very welcome new disc spotlights the earliest solo repertoire for the violoncello, dating from the mid-1600s to the first half of the 18th century in Italy, showcasing music by Colombi, Vitali, Galli, Ruvo, Domenico Gabrielli, Dall’Abaco and Supriani. Not household names to be sure, but they all wrote some great music for the cello — and in Elinor Frey, they have an advocate of the first order.

As one might expect from a recording of early Baroque music, many shorter pieces are featured here: ricercars, toccatas, capriccios, short sonatas and a few pieces on dance basses. Most are unaccompanied, with a few accompanied in tasteful fashion by theorbo or guitar by Esteban La Rotta, or by the continuo team of La Rotta and cellist Susie Napper.

The variety of this well-paced program makes for intriguing listening, as does the use of various historical tunings and pitches — what a palette of colours! Vitali’s lovely Bergamasca and Passa galli, Giulio de Ruvo’s diminutive Romanelle and Tarantelli, Dall’Abaco’s sonatas and Colombi’s Ciaccona were my personal favourites the first time around, but as I revisit this CD I’m sure that every piece will get its turn in the limelight. What a pleasure. Frey’s playing is adroit, expressive and engaging; and she also appears to have the happy ability to marry her own voice to those of the composers, rather than getting in their way.

02-Bach-StringsBach – Reconstructions and
Transcriptions for Strings
Furor Musicus; Antoinette Lohmann
Edition Lilac 110910-2
editionlilac.com

When I first learned of this disc, I had it in my mind that it was no more than a compilation of Bach arrangements along the lines of those overly lush and romantic versions as orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski c.1958. On the contrary, nothing could be further from the truth on this Edition Lilac label CD titled Reconstructions and Transcriptions for Strings with music by the Leipzig cantor stylishly presented by Furor Musicus under the direction of Antoinette Lohmann.

Formed by Lohmann in 2008, Furor Musicus comprises a group of Dutch musicians who have all played together in various other ensembles over the years and who wished to continue to perform music from the Baroque period. This is a delightful disc featuring four works, the Orchestral Suite No. 2 BWV1067, a short fugue, the Concerto BWV1053 and seven movements from the famous Goldberg Variations, all the pieces in the form of reconstructions or transcriptions that could have existed for strings.

Lohmann points out that the suite — most often heard performed by flute and strings — was probably based on an earlier work written a whole tone lower and conceived for strings alone. With all due respect to flutists, this interpretation is utterly convincing, the ensemble achieving a wonderful sense of poise and transparency. On the other hand, the concerto is most often heard performed by keyboard, although Bach’s original intentions remain unclear. Nevertheless, Lohmann’s skilful and elegant performance on the viola in the solo part seems very natural, and that Bach was a violist himself makes for a convincing argument that he may well have intended this concerto for his own use. The two remaining pieces — the short Fugue BWV539 and seven movements from the Goldberg Variations— are both transcriptions, and once again demonstrate a keen affinity for the music and further proof that under Lohmann’s careful direction a baroque string ensemble is a viable means of enjoying this well-known fare.

Back to top