Early, Classical and Beyond

Dall’Abaco and the Art of Variation
Elinor Frey; Accademia De’Dissonanti
Passacaille 1141 (passacaille.be)

While the term “supergroup” is usually applied to bands like The Traveling Wilburys and Temple of the Dog, the term also suits the Accademia de’ Dissonanti, composed of members who are each gifted performers in their own right and come together to make consistently stunning recordings.

This disc features music by Giuseppe Clemente Dall’Abaco (1710-1805), and is the premiere recording of his two cello trios and three cello sonatas. If the name is unfamiliar, that is because Dall’Abaco’s compositions are relatively new to modern audiences: The musical output of this cellist-composer has only emerged in recent decades, and its craftsmanship and charm have won over both performers and listeners alike. 

Born in Brussels, Dall’Abaco spent the majority of his childhood at the Bavarian court in Munich, where his father, composer Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco, was employed as Kapellmeister. Throughout the 1730s and 1740s, the cellist’s reputation grew as he began to travel and perform in important European cities such as London, York, Paris and Vienna, eventually becoming renowned as Europe’s most gifted cellist.

Featuring the equally gifted (and very much alive) cellists Octavie Dostaler-Lalonde, Elinor Frey and Eva Lymenstull, as well as harpsichordist Federica Bianchi and theorbist Michele Pasotti, each work on this recording is a delight to listen to. The cello trios are rich and complex, with intertwining melodic lines and timbral blends that create fascinating polyphonic effects. The cello sonatas, with variations composed by Elinor Frey, are grin-inducing in their joviality, but never superficial.

This recording is a revelatory introduction to one of history’s “newest” composers, and a welcome return to the masterful musicians that make up early music’s own supergroup, the Accademia de’ Dissonanti.

Fantasia
Igor Levit
Sony 19658811642 (igor-levit.com)

Notated improvisatory style has been a facet of western music as far back as the Renaissance and this two-disc Sony recording simply titled Fantasia featuring pianist Igor Levit in an attractive exploration of piano repertoire following this principle spanning a 300-year period. The Russian-born soloist began his musical studies at the Salzburg Mozarteum and in 2005, was the winner of the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv.

An arrangement of the Air from Bach’s Orchestral Suite No.3 may seem an unusual opening for a recording of music focusing on extemporization, but Levit’s interpretation is refined and understated. In contrast is the renowned Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue BWV903, very much a bravura piece of formidable invention. Levit delivers a compelling and well-balanced performance, his phrasing always clearly articulated. Even more challenging is the Piano Sonata in B Minor by Liszt, a composition of herculean difficulties. Levit is seemingly unfazed by the technical challenges and easily fashions the ever-contrasting moods into a cohesive whole.

Disc two opens with Berg’s angular and at times unsetting Piano Sonata Op.1, a fine example of his early style. Nevertheless, the magnum opus of the disc and the set itself is Busoni’s 34-minute Fantasia Contrappuntistica. The piece is truly substantial in scope and borrows from several musical styles involving a subdued and introspective opening, a complex Bach-like fugue followed by a dramatic section with dissonant chordal progressions leading to an unexpectedly quiet conclusion. Kudos to Levit for tackling this oddity and making the most of it. 

The inclusion of shorter pieces such as Liszt’s Der Doppelganger and Busoni’s Nuit de Noel further contribute to a well-balanced program.

Beethoven – Hammerklavier Sonata; Stockhausen – Klavierstück X
Marc Ponthus
Bridge Records 9584 (bridgerecords.com)

The French pianist Marc Ponthus is a fascinating individual, devoting much of his career to the performance of the 20th century’s most demanding avant-garde music. Known for presenting monographic recitals in which only compositions by Stockhausen, Boulez or Xenakis are performed, Ponthus has carved a unique niche for himself in a pianistic world overrun by repeated presentations of Mozart, Schumann and Chopin.

Not that there’s anything wrong with canonic repertoire, of course, and Ponthus demonstrates this first-hand with his latest recording, putting Beethoven’s monolithic “Hammerklavier” Sonata on the same program as Stockhausen’s landmark Klavierstück X. Aside from the fact that both works are performed on the same instrument, these pieces – composed nearly 150 years apart – are decidedly different: one is the pinnacle of classical sonata form, while the other is a masterwork of contemporary piano literature, an eruption of ordered disorder.

Ponthus’ performance of Klavierstück X is thrilling, his control of this physically and intellectually demanding score immediately apparent. (There are so many glissandi that the pianist is required to wear gloves with the fingers cut off.) Although the first impression of this music may be of chaos, every component of this music is highly prescribed and structured, and Ponthus wrestles Stockhausen’s complex ideas into a profoundly convincing performance. 

If the “Hammerklavier” receives a shorter mention here, it is only because of its status as one of Beethoven’s most renowned and striking piano works. Ponthus approaches this music like a chameleon, and it is difficult to believe that this is the same person who was tackling Klavierstück  X only a few moments prior. The rhythmic vitality of Beethoven’s writing is brought to the forefront here, and this performance is full of vigour and bravado, while never becoming a caricature of itself.

Schubert – The Complete Impromptus
Gerardo Teissonnière
Steinway & Sons 30220 (steinway.com/music-and-artists/label/Schubert-the-complete-impromptus-gerardo-teissonnière)

Impromptu means “improvised,” a genre popular in 19th-century salons. It seems to be easily dashed off in one sitting although it’s hard to believe this, given their melodic richness, level of invention and perfection of form. Schubert’s eight pieces are part of the curriculum for any aspiring piano student about grade eight and up and I tried my hand on at least three of them. My greatest accomplishment was Op.90 No.4 in A-flat Major, with those gorgeous cascades rippling down like water with a wonderful melody emerging in the left hand and a passionate Trio I loved playing. But I must admit that the difference between amateur and professional pianists being immeasurable (Somerset Maugham), so this new issue of The Complete Impromptus, all eight of them, under two opus numbers (90 & 142) by a pianist critics regard as an artist of “extraordinary musicianship and rare sensibility,” Puerto Rican-born American Gerardo Teissonnière, is most welcome. In fact, the pianist is having a remarkable career on two continents, recipient of many awards; this recording is his second one on the prestigious Steinway & Sons label.

Some of my favourites are the popular, very impressive No.2 Op.90 in E-flat Major, perpetuum mobile-like, light hearted and fast with an exquisite contrasting Impromptu. No.3, Op.90 in G-flat Major (with 6 flats) is relaxed and introspective with a harp-like mid-register in the right hand that reminds me of Schubert›s ever-present obsession with water and a fearsome undercurrent in the left hand bass.

I loved the most the ambitious Impromptu No.1 Op.90 in C Minor, with its notable key change into major in the Trio that›s absolute heaven, like a dreamy dialogue of questions and answers. No.3 in B-flat Major Op.142 is a set of lovely variations on a simple theme from Rosamunde where the level of invention is amazing. The final piece is No.4 Op.142 in F Minor, a wild rondo that sums up this set that gave me a lot of enjoyment in these bleak winter days.

Listen to 'Schubert: The Complete Impromptus' Now in the Listening Room

Robert Schumann – Piano Works
Llŷr Williams
Signum Classics SIGCD756 (signumrecords.com)

The name Llŷr Williams may not be an overly familiar one, but since his graduation from the Royal Academy of music, this 48-year-old pianist has quietly carved out a name for himself as a soloist, accompanist and chamber musician. Born in North Wales in 1976, he studied music at Queen’s College, Oxford before pursuing further studies at the RAM from 2003 to 2005. His recent recordings have included the complete sonatas of Beethoven and Schubert; he now turns his attention to the music of Schumann on this 2CD set.

The first disc opens with the renowned Fantasie in C Major Op.17, long regarded as one of Schumann’s greatest works. Willliams’ approach is suitably expansive and lyrical, at no time losing control of the shifting parameters within. Papillons, from 1831 is a charming set of 12 kaleidoscopic miniatures. Based on a novel by Jean Paul Richter and intended to represent a masked ball, the successive dance movements flow by in quick succession. Williams delivers an elegant and polished performance, adroitly capturing the ever-contrasting moods. Concluding the first disc is the six-movement Humoresque Op.20 from 1839, a score that has possibly never earned the reputation it deserves.

Williams continues to demonstrate a real affinity for this archly Romantic repertoire in the famed Davidsbündlertanze Op.6 which opens the second disc. The movements here are not true dances, but character pieces aptly showcasing the dualistic nature of Schumann’s personality. The four reflective Nachtstücke Op.23 were composed during a particularly stressful time in the composer’s life owing to the imminent death of his older brother. In contrast is the jovial Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op.26, a wonderful depiction of a Viennese carnival which Williams performs with much bravado, bringing the set to a most satisfying conclusion.