04 Classical 02 Busoni StraussThe Romantic Violin Concerto Vol.16: Busoni; Strauss
Tanja Becker-Bender; BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Garry Walker
Hyperion CDA68044

The 16th instalment of Hyperion’s ongoing survey of Romantic violin concertos is devoted to two early works by Richard Strauss (1864-1949) and Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924). Though Strauss is immensely better known than his near-contemporary, his Violin Concerto is clearly the weaker of the two works. A product of his teenage years, this D minor concerto was composed in1881-2 for his violin teacher Benno Walter. While Strauss would later admit that he found learning the violin unpleasant and physically taxing, it’s quite evident he well understood the bravura aspects of the now-forgotten showpiece concertos by the likes of Ernst, Spohr and Léonard his teacher favoured. The three movements of the concerto are textbook examples of proper academic form and conventional orchestration without a trace of any distinct personality, though the sprightly finale does provide moments of comic relief from the otherwise echt-Deutsch ponderousness of this dismally anodyne work.

Thankfully a distinct voice and a fascinating amalgam of a unique pan-European viewpoint is magnificently evident in Busoni’s D-Major concerto, conceived in 1896-7 for the Dutch violinist Henri Petri (father of the pianist Egon Petri) and championed in the 20th century by Joseph Szigeti, whose still-available 1958 recording is unfortunately compromised by his arthritic condition at the time, but is musically electrifying. Were it not for Szigeti’s advocacy, Busoni might have willingly disavowed this fascinating work which grows more impressive with repeated hearings and clearly deserves a more prominent place in the violin repertoire than that afforded the Strauss concerto.

Tanja Becker-Bender, the Hamburg-based German violinist and champion of both neglected and contemporary works, is the outstanding soloist, drawing a beautiful tone from a loaned 1710 Stradivarius and exhibiting complete technical mastery. Garry Walker and the Scots BBC orchestra provide a crisp and spirited accompaniment in this nicely recorded disc. Come for the Strauss if you must, but stay for the Busoni; you won’t be disappointed.

 

04 Classical 03 Stravinsky RiteStravinsky – Le Sacre du Printemps; Petrouchka
Les Siècles; François-Xavier Roth
Actes sud ASM 5

Today the sole authorized performance version of Le Sacre du Printemps is the 1947 revision, edited by Stravinsky in order to maintain the copyright and hence his royalties. His own recordings including the 1940 New York Philharmonic-Symphony (Naxos 8.112070) claim 1913, which they surely are not. Stravinsky’s amanuensis Robert Craft’s 1995 recording with the LSO is designated as the 1947/1967 version… the master’s final thoughts on the subject. But what were his first thoughts?

In 1919 Stravinsky was asked to correct the original score of Le Sacre which contained a number of copyists’ errors. He agreed to do just that but could not resist the opportunity to not merely make corrections but to re-think and re-compose passages and by so doing created, in essence, the 1919 version. Musicologists agree that we can never know what exactly was in the original score that the orchestra played, or attempted to play on May 29, 1913. Due in no small fact that as orchestral musicians now move freely between orchestras around the globe, the definable character or sound of a particular area or country has all but evaporated. French orchestras once had a “French sound” and Russian orchestras had their sound and so on. Even the choice of instruments has changed. Stravinsky wrote for the timbre of the instruments in the Ballets Russes orchestra, a far cry from that of today’s stalwart instruments.

This live recording uses a reconstruction of the original score, devotedly researched as a labour of love by a number of scholars. Les Siècles is a group of “outstanding young players pooled from the finest French ensembles.” They have access to and play instruments from every period spanning the Baroque to modern eras. Every collector must acquire a copy of this unique and exciting evocation of the original Le Sacre and the effervescent Petrouchka. The translucent recording is of demonstration quality with true perspectives. So if you already have several recordings… get this one. It will be your first.

 

723385342137 450Mahler – Symphony No.5
Budapest Festival Orchestra; Ivan Fischer
Channel Classics CCS SA 34213

Slowly building what promises to be a complete survey of Mahler symphonies, Ivan Fischer’s latest release (preceded by Symphonies 1, 2, 4 and 6) is his most impressive achievement so far in this cycle. In some ways it might be considered a middle-of-the-road interpretation; the tragic, funereal profile of the first two movements in particular seems unusually constrained. Consider for example the operatic, borderline vulgarity of the “oom-pah” trombones so tellingly brought to the fore in the classic Bernstein Vienna Philharmonic recording from days of yore; here their barbaric yapping is barely audible. It’s not, as it turns out, a question of misjudged orchestral balances or engineering oversight, for in general the detail of sound is exemplary throughout, spectacularly so in the dynamic layering of the intricate polyphony of the grand fifth movement finale. Rather, Fischer’s’ devil dwells in the details, with the grand histrionics we have come to expect in Mahler subdued to highlight the large-scale architecture of this sprawling work.

The virtuoso Budapest forces respond most elegantly throughout; their accord with their conductor and founder in the famous Adagietto is positively psychic. It’s a pity however that the obbligato horn soloist placed at the front of the stage in the rustically rendered central Scherzo movement is not credited. Splendidly recorded in Budapest, this SACD features a spacious sound stage with the first and second violins divided to the left and right of the stage and exceptionally pristine sound. This is a refreshingly idiosyncratic performance that deserves a place near the top of recent Mahler recordings.

 

04 Classical 05 Saint-Saens CelloThe Romantic Cello Concerto Vol.5: Saint-Saëns
Natalie Clein; BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Andrew Manze
Hyperion CDA68002

Outside musicological circles, the name Auguste Franchomme is probably unknown today, but during his long lifetime, he earned a reputation as a renowned cellist and composer. Not only did he inspire Chopin to write his one and only piece for cello and piano but he also provided the impetus for Camille Saint-Saëns’s first cello concerto in 1872. Saint-Saëns went on to produce two other works for the instrument, all of them included on this fine recording – the fifth in Hyperion’s Romantic Cello Concerto series – featuring cellist Natalie Clein and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Andrew Manze.

British-born Clein studied at the Royal College of Music and later with Heinrich Schiff in Vienna. She attracted world attention at age 16 when she won the BBC Musician of the Year award, and since completing her studies, has appeared in concert halls throughout Europe, North America, Australia and Asia.

Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No.1 runs the whole gamut of emotions. It opens dark and impassioned, but there are also periods of quiet intimacy and sprightly good humour. Clein’s performance is commanding and technically flawless, her warm and resonant tone particularly suited to this late-Romantic repertoire. Thirty years lapsed before Saint-Saëns completed his second cello concerto in 1902. More serious in tone, it was chosen as a Conservatoire test piece by Gabriel Fauré. Saint-Saëns himself said of it: “It will never be as popular as the first, it’s too difficult.” Challenging is indeed the word, with its virtuosic passagework and frequent double-stopping required of the soloist. Clein meets the difficulties with ease and the orchestra under Manze’s skillful baton provides a solid and sympathetic foundation.

An added bonus is the inclusion of three shorter works, the optimistic La muse et le poète (with violinist Antje Weithaas), the Allegro Appassionato, and as an encore, an arrangement of the familiar The Swan from the Carnival of the Animals, thus rounding out a most satisfying recording.

 

04 Classical 06 RubinsteinAnton Rubinstein – Piano Quartets
Leslie Howard; Rita Manning; Morgan Goff; Justin Pearson
Hyperion CDA68018

“Russians call me German, Germans call me Russian, Jews call me Christian, Christians a Jew. Pianists call me a composer, composers call me a pianist. The classicists think of me as futurist, and the futurists call me a reactionary. My conclusion is that I am neither fish nor fowl – a pitiful individual.” Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein playfully described himself this way in his posthumously published book Gedankenkorb. While he is better known as one of the greatest 19th-century pianists and educators (he founded the St. Petersburg Conservatory, the first of its kind in Russia), Rubinstein also had a long and productive composing career.

The two piano quartets presented on this CD are premiere recordings of these pieces. Piano Quartet in F major, Op.55bis was originally written as a quintet with winds and the reduction for the string version was quite successful. The string’s sonority (with slightly more prominence given to the cello) certainly enhanced typical romantic gestures, lush harmonies and flourishing piano lines.

Piano Quartet in C-Major, Op.66 is clearly the stronger of the two – more cohesive, with more emotional depth and a touch of beautiful dark sonorities. The third movement, Andante assai, stands out with its stately piano lines and a dramatic violin solo that brings in a dash of gypsy spirit before settling into a peaceful melody. The ensemble playing is strong and close knit. Leslie Howard’s articulation is refined, bringing a sparkling quality to more virtuosic piano lines. Strings are juxtaposed nicely, achieving lovely colours in unison parts. Recommended for rainy afternoons – not exactly masterpieces, but these quartets could certainly take you on an interesting journey.

04 Classical 07 Kayla WongAllure
Kayla Wong
Independent (kaylawong.net)

Unlike many young artists, who tend to stick to familiar repertoire when releasing their first recording, pianist Kayla Wong thought outside the box and produced a CD of music almost entirely from the 20th century. She explained: “The composers on this CD are ones that I have always been drawn to on a deep musical level” and the result is an intriguing combination of music by Lecuona, Ravel, Rachmaninoff and Barber on this debut release titled Allure.

Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Wong studied at the University of Victoria and the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Since then she has appeared in concert throughout North America and Asia, including recitals at Carnegie Hall and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

Wong’s deep affinity for 20th century music is evident from the first chord of Lecuona’s Ante El Escorial, one of three compositions included by the Cuban-born pianist/composer. Her playing is dramatic and polished, at all times capturing the subtle rhythms and nuances which are such an inherent part of his style. Lecuona’s slightly older contemporary Maurice Ravel is represented by two of his most famous compositions, Jeux d’eau from 1901 and Une barque sur l’océan from the set Miroirs, written four years later. Dazzling and difficult, this music broke new ground when it first appeared and Wong approaches its formidable technical challenges with apparent ease. Indeed, her flawless technique seems to have no limitations, evident again in the Rachmaninoff Moments Musicaux Op.16 where a warmly romantic tone further enhances a fine performance. Of all the compositions on this disc, Samuel Barber’s Piano Sonata Op.26 from 1948 is undoubtedly the least familiar. Its four movements are a study in contrast, from the strident opening to the bold finale in the form of a fugue – a true technical tour de force which Wong brings off with much bravado.

In all, this is a very impressive recording from a young artist – “alluring” indeed – and we certainly hope to hear from her again in the future.

 

Terry 01 Wood WorksThere is some simply beautiful music on Wood Works, the latest CD from the Danish String Quartet (Dacapo 8.226081), but it’s not necessarily what you would expect to hear. In their description of the recording the quartet members say that they borrowed a selection of Nordic folk tunes that are very close to their hearts and “let the music flow through the wooden instruments of the string quartet.” All but one of the 13 tracks are arrangements by the quartet members, and they are very effective, retaining the simplicity of the folk music while adding a quite modern touch in places. Some of the tunes, as you would expect, are clearly fiddle-based in origin, but there is a lovely range of mood and tempo here. I’m not sure why they felt it necessary to add an anonymous jazz trumpet solo to Five Sheep, Four Goats, though!

On the sleeve notes the quartet wonders “Does it work?” Yes, it does. It’s a charming, relaxing and thoroughly satisfying CD.

Terry 02 Tianwa YangViolinist Tianwa Yang has often been featured in this column over the past few years, mainly because of her outstanding Naxos series of the complete violin music of Pablo Sarasate, and she has now let loose her remarkable talents on the Sonatas for Solo Violin Op.27 by Eugene Ysaÿe (Naxos 8.572995).

This is the fourth CD I’ve received that features all six of these astonishing works, arguably the greatest contribution to the solo violin repertoire since the Bach Sonatas & Partitas that were, in part, their inspiration, and it again highlights the difficulty in trying to make comparisons between the various versions. There are close to two dozen currently available on CD, and while many of the biggest names are missing there are certainly enough outstanding recordings to make choosing a top recommendation virtually impossible.

The good news, of course, is that there’s no need to. This is clearly one of those epic works – like the Bach unaccompanied – where owning one version is simply never enough. Tianwa Yang’s current performance, where her faultless technique enables her to delve deeply into the heart of these remarkable sonatas, is certainly one that you’ll want and will keep going back to.

Terry 03 ProkofievThe brilliant young Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova adds yet another stunning CD to her catalogue with Prokofiev Violin Sonatas and Five Melodies (Hyperion CDA67514). Cédric Tiberghien, her regular keyboard partner, is missing this time, but the outstanding British pianist Steven Osborne proves to be an ideal choice as replacement.

Prokofiev’s music for violin and piano seems to be attracting a lot of recording attention these days: this is the third CD of the same three works to come my way just this year, following the James Ehnes and Jonathan Crow discs reviewed in this column in February and April respectively.

As fine as those CDs were, Ibragimova proves to be quite irresistible in her performances here, showing the same fire, intensity, subtlety and intellect that helped make her live Wigmore Hall 3CD set of the complete Beethoven sonatas with Tiberghien such a remarkable issue.

Terry 04 Joseph AchronThere’s another CD of violin music by the early 20th-century Russian Jewish virtuoso Joseph Achron, this time on a Naxos CD of his Music for Violin and Piano featuring Buffalo Philharmonic concertmaster Michael Ludwig and pianist Alison d’Amato (8.573240).

Achron not only had a remarkable career as a soloist but also enjoyed great success as a composer, although his music fell out of favour following his death in 1943, just short of his 57th birthday. Most of his works have remained unpublished, and those that were in print suffered badly: his early publishers went out of business following the Russian Revolution, and nearly a dozen works published by Universal Edition were forced out of print by the Nazis when Achron was blacklisted in the 1930s. Achron’s music does seem to be making a comeback, however. Hagai Shaham’s terrific 2CD Hyperion set of the Complete Suites for Violin and Piano was reviewed in this column in September 2012, and Naxos has also issued the Violin Concerto No.1 in a performance by Elmar Oliveira.

The titles here are mostly short early pieces from before the First World War that encompass many different moods. Michael Ludwig’s big, rich tone is perfectly suited to the style and nature of Achron’s music, deeply influenced as it was by Jewish folklore and melodies, and he and d’Amato give performances that are idiomatic and technically stunning.

Terry 05 PizettiBy coincidence, there was also a new CD by the afore-mentioned Hagai Shaham in a recent selection of discs, this time featuring Violin Sonatas by Italian composers Ildebrando Pizzetti and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco with Arnon Erez as keyboard partner (Hyperion CDA67869). Both composers died in 1968, but Castelnuovo-Tedesco was 14 years the younger, and studied with Pizzetti in his youth.

Both are represented here by a single sonata and three short songs.

Pizzetti’s Violin Sonata in A Major dates from 1918-19, and although it premiered to somewhat mixed reviews it was considered to be a major addition to the Italian chamber music repertoire, Castelnuovo-Tedesco devoting an in-depth article to it in a 1920 Turin music magazine. It’s an easily accessible work with – not unexpectedly – clear links to the war years; the central movement is a Prayer for the Innocents. The Tre canti from 1924 were transcribed by Pizzetti from his original cello and piano version.

Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Sonata quasi una fantasia Op.56 was written in 1929, and features a big, sweeping first movement that makes great technical demands on the players, a dance-like middle movement and a calm epilogue. The Tre vocalizzi Op.55 were written the previous year for wordless voice and piano, and arranged for violin in 1930 by Mario Corti, an early advocate of the violin sonatas of Pizzetti and Respighi. Not surprisingly, perhaps, there are touches of Respighi here, but they’re lovely pieces, really stretching the violinist and ending with a delightful Tempo di Fox Trot (“American Music”).

Shaham’s playing is, as always, passionate and seemingly effortless in its handling of the technical challenges, but his constantly fast and intense vibrato can be a bit unsettling at times. The overall balance is fine, but there are moments when the two performers seem somehow to be a bit disconnected.

 

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