Early, Classical and Beyond

Transformation
Gallery Players of Niagara
Independent GPN14002 (galleryplayers.ca)

Chamber transcriptions of vocal or orchestral music are nothing new – as early as the 1780s, Bohemian composer Joseph Tribensee was arranging arias from Mozart operas for woodwind ensembles, helping to bring music from the opera house onto the street. The tradition continues today, and among the most recent offerings is this delightful disc aptly titled Transformation, featuring arrangements of works by Beethoven, Ravel and Schumann performed by the Gallery Players of Niagara.

The disc opens with Beethoven’s Violin Sonata Op.24 “Spring” – as transcribed for flute, violin, viola and cello by GPN violist Patrick Jordan. Here, the deft arrangement is greatly enhanced by elegant and finely-nuanced playing in which the ensemble achieves a particularly sensitive balance at all times.

Ravel thought highly enough of his keyboard suite Le Tombeau de Couperin to produce an orchestral version in 1919. In this particular arrangement for oboe, clarinet, violin, cello and piano, Trevor Wagler indeed achieves what he set out to do – to remain as faithful to the original as possible. The playing is both graceful and spirited, while the inclusion of the piano is an attractive reminder that the suite was originally conceived for solo keyboard.

Most transcriptions diminish the original orchestration, but in the case of the third work – Schumann’s famous song cycle Dichterliebe Op.48 – the resources are augmented, comprising an unusual combination of string quartet, classical guitar and double bass, all joined by Canadian baritone Brett Polegato. Yet Patrick Jordan’s arrangement in no way hampers the mood of quiet introspection, and the six members together with Polegato’s warm interpretation achieve a wonderful sense of intimacy right up to the anguished finale, Die alten, bösen Lieder.

Transformation is appealing on two levels – tasteful and sympathetic arrangements coupled with some fine music-making. It’s perfect listening for a brisk day in February – or for that matter, any time of year.

Debussy – Images; Preludes II
Marc-André Hamelin
Hyperion CDA67920

Internationally recognized French-Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin has an impressively extensive repertoire and an astounding discography of approximately 60 albums recorded on the Hyperion label. Hamelin originally developed a reputation as a virtuoso performer of little-known, and fiendishly difficult, late-19th and early-20th century music. This CD showcases Hamelin’s masterful technical control and intriguing interpretive vision as he ventures into the world of Impressionism with a recording of Debussy’s Images (complete) and Préludes, Book II.

Written between 1905 and 1907, the two volumes of Images feature Debussy’s six well-known favourites Reflets dans l’eau, Hommage à Rameau, Mouvement, Cloches à travers les feuilles, Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut and Poissons d’or. Suited to the composer’s rare moments of overt virtuosity, Hamelin executes the intricate passagework with fluidity and ease, exposing an array of subtle tone colours.

The first book of twelve Préludes was composed in 1909-1910, with the second set published three years later. Each Prelude has a descriptive title and the works are considered some of Debussy’s finest compositions for piano. Hamelin effectively captures the different moods of each piece, bringing a brooding quality to the dark Brouillards and Feuilles morts, complexity to Ondine, and a subtle playfulness to the comic General Lavine. The final prelude Feux d’artifice (Fireworks), the most difficult of the set, catapults this beautiful album to a resplendent close.

Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition; Schumann – Fantasie
Paul Lewis
Harmonia Mundi HMC902096

For the first time in memory I found myself truly listening to Mussorgsky’s music. The score itself is not unfamiliar to most music lovers and collectors for whom the only reason for hearing a new performance is surely to assess the pianistic and athletic prowess of the performer. Not so here… not at all. From the opening Promenade there is a real sense of discovery that is unlike any other version, recorded or live, that I have ever heard. This is patrician playing in the very best sense of the word.

There is more than a sense of musical narrative here. His art makes maximum use of the ups and downs of the journey that arcs the music through its climactic episodes with patrician ease. He is always the empathetic observer. This may seem obvious but Lewis is the only performer of whom I am aware, who, instead of imposing his pianistic stamina on the score, successfully plays the music from within, thereby revealing the unsuspected, hidden beauties, the ebb and flow, tension and release as carefully written by the composer.

The listener to this unique performance may well conclude that any orchestration of it is superfluous, losing many of Mussorgsky’s subtlest nuances. Most pianists end up with a demonstration of how loudly they can erect the Great Gate of Kiev, now judged to be a measure of a great performance. Lewis employs extraordinary control in restraining his performance to achieve maximum effect without limiting its power, thereby rather strengthening it.

A stroke of genius on someone’s part was to follow the extroverted Mussorgsky with the substantial, inward-looking Schumann Fantasie. Many of the greats have recorded this work but Lewis stands behind none of them.

The sound is exemplary.

Fauré; Pierné – Trios avec piano
Trio Wanderer
Harmonia Mundi HMC 902192

Here are two piano trios that belong in anyone’s strings-and-piano chamber music collection! One surprise: I have always found the technically challenging finale of the Fauré Trio, Op.120 problematic on account of its quirky, off-balance character. But Trio Wanderer turns this into a positive quality by emphasizing it rather than smoothing it over, with spiky accents and precise articulation that never interfere with overall fluency. In the wonderful Andantino they capture both the sentiment of the opening melody and the probing character of motivic development and harmonic exploration that follows. Both in this and the opening movement, I found myself moving from admiration of the elegance and clarity of playing to appreciation of subtle effects of light and shade, the nuances that make Fauré’s music such a delight when well-performed.

The Trio, Op.45 by Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937) is the strongest work I have heard by this composer. The extended opening movement seems to receive its energy from an enigmatic, syncopated figure in the piano, which grows and changes in myriad ways. Pierné’s palette is darker than Fauré’s, with thicker sonorities and dynamics ranging from fortissimo climaxes to whispering string harmonics. Trio Wanderer is adept in this dramatic style, and equally so in the dance style of the bouncy middle movement, influenced by the Basque zortzico. A highly inventive theme and variations featuring amazing fingered harmonics on the violin rounds off the work.

Turina – Chamber Music for Strings and Piano
Lincoln Trio
Cedille CDR 90000 150

Bullfighting, Andalusian rhythms, Spanish flavoured motifs and French aesthetics – this is the world of Joaquín Turina (1882-1949), a relatively unknown Spanish composer and pianist. This double CD presents the chamber works written over the 30-year period of his most prolific time as a composer. Compositions include several piano trios, a piano quartet and a piano quintet as well as a sextet written for solo viola, piano and string quartet. Turina, born in Seville, spent most of his life in Spain, with the exception of the period between 1905-1914, when he studied piano and composition at Schola Cantorum in Paris. French influence on his music is apparent – as a matter of fact, Turina adopted and used César Franck’s principle of cyclic composition in most of his works. Late Romantic elements are also present in his lush melodies and cinematic atmosphere, especially in slow movements. But what makes his music alive is virtuosic piano writing coupled with rhythmical sounds of his native land, Andalusia.

Among many interesting works presented here, Circulo, Op.91 stands out for me. It depicts the day as a circle – not with youthful vigour but rather with the restraint of a life lived – and brings out the essence of Turina’s musical aesthetics.

Members of the Lincoln trio – Desirée Ruhstrat (violin), David Cunliffe (cello) and Marta Aznavoorian (piano) – not only play with passion but also highlight beautifully the sublime sounds of muted strings (Turina loved using this effect) and effortlessly convey the fugal aspects present in many of these compositions. The ensemble sound blossoms in larger works, with each guest artist (violists Ayane Kozasa and Doyle Armbrust, violinists Jasmine Lin and Aurelien Fort Pederzoli) adding a bit of individual sound to Turina’s music.