Phil‟s Classical Reviews

Atlanta Audio Club October, 2019

Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 Mahler: Symphony No. 1 – Osmo Mozart: Piano Concertos 17, 24 Manfred Honeck, Pittsburgh Vänskä, Minnesota Orchestra Orli Shaham, pianist Symphony Orchestra (Bis Records) David Robertson, St. Louis SO (Reference Recordings) (Canary Classics) Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Orchestra continue their voyage of I‟ve always wondered what it was under the incisive and decisive discovery of Gustav Mahler with about Mozart‟s mature concertos for leadership of music director Manfred Symphony No. 1 in D Major (1888). In piano that made them so uniquely Honeck, gives one of its very best many ways, it remains his most wonderful and beautiful. Was it their performances to date in a stunning- popular symphony for its abundant transparency, with absolutely no sounding and beautifully nuanced lyricism, but there are thorns as well clutter or excess? Or was it the way account of Anton Bruckner‟s Ninth as flowers, and Vänskä‟s carefully the beauty and emotion in his music Symphony. Captured in SACD 5.0 crafted account brings these out, too. (which have a way of ultimately being and CD Stereo, it is likely to occupy a one and the same) come across proud place on your CD shelf for It begins, unusually for a classical immediately to the listener? Mozart years to come. symphony, with a slow movement, himself was accustomed to talk about Langsam schleppend – immer sehr his new style of composition as “a As you may possibly know, the Ninth gemächlich (slow and somnolent, happy medium between what is too Symphony is often described as always very leisurely). It is an utterly easy and too difficult” for performers “unfinished,” and for sure Bruckner charming picture of a world slowly to play or audiences to comprehend. fully orchestrated only 172 measures coming to life in the early light of But surely the magic of these works of the fourth movement, not nearly dawn. Mahler even includes a direct must consist of more than just that? enough for a satisfying conclusion. quotation of the melody from his Nearing the end of his life in 1896, he Wayfarer song “Ging heut Morgen Well, it does. And we get a lot of authorized the insertion of his choral übers Feld" (I walked this morning clues from a three-way conversation Te Deum (1884) for a finale, an through the field), reinforcing the idea in the booklet annotation involving option that would not have been of pristine innocence. Even here, he pianist Orli Shaham, conductor David satisfactory from either a musical or a is preparing the way for further Robertson, and Mozart scholar Elaine theological point of view. For the organic development by the inclusion Sisman. First and foremost, there is Ninth Symphony is not just about of the interval of a fourth, which is the way in which Mozart thought glorifying God (Te Deum laudamus). found in many guises, rustic, dramatically and theatrically, as if It concerns man‟s redemption from enigmatic, sad, or triumphant, and in opera were his native language. It is sin and the peace that results from every movement. Here it is even revealed in part in the way a theme salvation. Of this, more later…. heard in the imitation cuckoo-calls, sounds different when played by a raised from the interval of a third that different instrument, or on a different When you look at the score of the we hear in nature but still exuding starting note, or with a note changed Ninth Symphony, you discover a their usual woodsy charm. up or down, or embellished with a trill. bewildering number of themes, with Not only do these changes help move accelerandos, diminuendos, sudden It is something of a rude shock when things along, but they affect the way outbursts from the instruments of the the Scherzo breaks in Kräftig bewegt we feel about the theme. orchestra, and long, impressively upon this idyllic scene, but it too is structured build-ups to the various distinctly rural in feeling. It is in the The two concertos heard on this climaxes. All these features in the tempo of an Austrian folk , the album are, in Orli‟s words, “the ones score, and more, give rise to highly Ländler, with the rhythm of a gently with variations,” that is they are the compelling moments, building to a swaying in the Trio section. only two that conclude with strict cumulative effect that even the most This robust but somehow nostalgic variations on a single theme, which is naïve first-time listener can‟t help but movement is followed after a general played at the beginning of the final experience. And needless to say, pause by a decidedly strange, even movement and then changed with there are an immense number of slightly grotesque, slow movement each repetition. And to show how cueings for the conductor to give the that was initially inspired by a popular much a composer can get out of an orchestra. To help us appreciate how illustration, well-known to all Austrian idea, he was also pushing the Bruckner puts it all together, Honeck children, of the funeral procession of envelope of what pianists could do includes a detailed analysis, by bar a huntsman, his coffin borne in a technically. Besides the trills and number and track time, of the torch-lit procession by the very forest other embellishments, which were significant moments in the score. animals he was accustomed to hunt. common practice in the 18th Century, It is truly a world turned upside-down! there are the matter of accidentals. Honeck also gives us occasional Orli describes these as “[indications] insights as to how he prefers to take The tempo moves slowly and in a score where the composer is certain passages. “I ask for clear lugubriously over repeated fourths in departing from what you might call phrasing from the violins and violas, the tympani. The melody, reminiscent standard harmonic operating while also immersing in a special of the nursery song “Frere Jacques,” procedure.” Because they mark vibrato sound,” he says of a quiet known in German speaking countries changes from an established pattern, section following the crescendo at as “Bruder Martin,” gradually morphs they require “a good deal more 16:16 in the first movement. Of the into an Hassidic dance with sounds of mental efffort and alacrity of the disposition of the instruments in the cymbals and exaggerated glissando fingers to pull off.” Scherzo, characterized by shadowy leaps adding to the fun. The “Frere , spooky and threatening Jacques” theme elides into a soothing What Orli Shaham says about the scurryings, a childlike lamentation in melody borrowed from another requirements Mozart makes of the the oboe, melancholy singing in the Wayfarer song, “Die zwei blauen pianist, she more than makes good in strings, and lively flute passages, he Augen” (the two blue eyes) in which her performances, which are ably remarks “I aim to balance the layers the persona in the song finds rest and seconded by the St. Louis Symphony of voices so as to allow these comfort from the sadness of life and under Robetson‟s direction. For its moments to come through.” loss in the shade of a linden tree. sheer poetic lyricism, the interplay between soloist and orchestra has The most significant movement is the Then, the finale breaks in without a long made Concerto No. 17 in G third, which Bruckner marks “Sehr pause, building up to a maelstrom of Major, K453 an audience favorite. Its langsam, feierlich” (very slow and feverish activity. Booklet annotator rhapsodic slow movement, a really solemn). There are more incidents Jeremy Barham rightly terms this wonderful Andante, is particularly here than we might expect of an energy-driven movement “a hot- notable for its subtle interplay, Adagio, which is usually simpler and blooded cocktail of Lisztian and veering into high drama, among more easily flowing. In his analysis, Grand Operatic gestures,” “as if the piano, strings and woodwinds. Honeck reminds us that Bruckner, by very gates of hell have been opened.” nature a simple, trusting man, was a Even as superb a technician of the Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K491, is devout Catholic all his life and was podium as Osmo Vänskä has his distinguished by the grandeur of its accustomed to include the Agnus Dei hands full anticipating and cueing the conception as well as by the fact that (Lamb of God) in his daily devotions. bewildering number of incidents in the it is one of only two Mozart piano Honeck perceptively focuses on the first half of this 21-minute explosion concertos in a minor key (the other is key words Agnus Dei (Lamb of God), marked Stürmisch bewegt (stormily No. 20 in D Minor, K466). That fact peccata (sins), miserere (have moved – and how!) About 11:35 into has much to do with the prevailing mercy), and pacem (peace) as this finale, we are given a surprise mood of the slow movement, a guides to understanding Bruckner‟s just when it appears the movement somber Larghetto. The echoes of thematic scheme for developing and and the symphony itself have ended operatic dialogue and aria that we resolving the various conflicts in this quietly. There is a pause for breath encounter in the beautifully sad aria- movement. It‟s all there for the ear to (luftpause) and then the music like section the soloist plays following hear, including themes that follow the resumes, building to an even more the first-movement cadenza are natural cadence of the words. impressive climax featuring distant particularly moving. K491 is the most trumpets and a rising brass chorale. completely scored of any of the That may also explain why Bruckner, Mahler (and Vänskä) build an even Mozart concertos, having a full with two years of life remaining after more impressive structure, bringing complement of pairs of woodwinds. completing the Adagio, was unable to back themes from as early as the That fact adds immensely to the finish a fourth movement. The Adagio “Ging heut Morgen übers Feld" theme lushness of sound and the noticeable is, in effect, the finale, having said the from the opening movement and byplay between an inspired soloist very last word about sin, mercy, reconciling unfinished business. All and orchestra that we find in this redemption and salvation. Thus the this just as we‟d thought it was safe to performance. Superior recorded significance of the descending forte applaud and make for the cloakroom sound allows us to hear all the phrase (beginning bar 155 or 17:42) and the exits! enchanting details. in response to a four-fold request from the flute, hinting that the door of heaven is opening. “I therefore do not let this forte (marked by Bruckner as „broad‟) simply sound loudly,” says Honeck, “but aim to develop and open the sound in expectation of the forthcoming peace (Dona nobis pacem).”

So, what would you do for an encore: have the redeemed sinner, newly arrived in heaven, put in a call for room service?

Mendelssohn + Chausson – Evgeny Rivkin, piano; Levon Brahms: Sonatas (2) for Viola & Piano. Op. 120; Two Ambartsumian, violin; ARCO Chamber Orchestra Lieder - Zagorinskaya, Belonogov, Majorski (Centaur) (Melodiya)

There is a distinctly Russo-American flavor at work here, From the Russian label Melodiya come illuminating 1993 in performances recorded in Moscow at the House of recordings of the two Sonatas, Op. 120, plus the Two Radio and Recordings (Mendelssohn) and the University Lieder, Op. 91, for Voice, Viola and Piano. People often of Georgia Performing Arts Center (Chausson). The describe these works as “autumnal” in mood, as if the featured artists have roots in Russia and Armenia in the facile tag explained everything. These recordings, former Soviet Union and have taught at the University of superbly engineered by the late Pyotr Kondrashin (1945- Georgia, among their other distinctions. 2010), son of revered conductor Kirill Kondrashin, make the case that there‟s more to it than that. More to the point, the recording environment, whether in Moscow or in Athens, GA, is strikingly similar. At first Brahms being what he was, the Sonatas in F minor and hearing, I was virtually shell-shocked by the prevailing E-flat major, Op. 120, originally written for and acoustic, which is very bold and bright, almost like the piano and heard here in the alternate versions for viola wall of sound we encounter in some varieties of pop and piano, have their moments, along with the lyricism music. Upon repeated listenings, however, the choice that one, perhaps unwisely, takes for granted in Brahms. details in the music and the sheer beauty of the playing Sonata No. 1, as the performances of violist Sviatoslav came to the fore. In the Mendelssohn Concerto in D minor Belonogov and pianist Georgi Majorski bear out, is for Violin, Piano, and Chamber Orchestra, those details intimate and personal, having been dedicated to Clara include the extraordinarily beautiful sounds that Levon Schumann and performed on the occasion of her birthday Ambartsumian coaxes from his violin, especially in the in 1894. The opening movement, Allegro appassionato, is Adagio movement, plus some lively interplay with pianist characterized by a wide emotional range from passionate Evgeny Rivkin and the ARCO Chamber Orchestra. declamation based on wide leaps in the viola part to quiet resignation at the end of the movement, The abundant On a purely musical level, Mendelssohn‟s writing is lyricism of the second movement, Andante un poco distinguished by his skillful use of baroque counterpoint, Adagio, is countered by ebullience resulting from tricky so subtle it doesn‟t call undue attention to itself and can syncopations between the two instruments. An function all the more successfully. We are reminded that unexpected dance-like quality in the scherzo, Allegretto Mendelssohn was ahead of his time in the as-yet still grazioso, gives this movement a deceptive artlessness. underrated 19th century baroque revival. Add in the The finale, Vivace, is lively and virtuosic. composer‟s characteristic verve in the outer movements, and we have a remarkable work for a 17-year old! Sonata No. 2, despite its major key , is on the whole more restrained and introverted, in spite of the The companion work, Concert in D Major for Violin, Piano, octaves in the piano part that occur in all its movements. It and String Quartet by French composer Ernest is also filled with a world of diverse images. Warmth, Chausson, 1855-1899 (his life was cut short by a fall from gentle affection and graciousness are the hallmarks of the a bicycle), is heard here in an orchestral arrangement by opening movement, Allegro amabile, which the booklet Ambartsumian. Even at 40 minutes‟ playing time, there is annotation likens in feeling to a conversation between a lot of musical substance packed into this work. friends after a long separation. The Allegro appassionato Chausson operates on a principle of cyclic integration in has a wider emotional range and a more rebellious spirit which the music works its way slowly toward the final than we might expect in a scherzo, a type of movement return to the home key in modal shifts and half-steps, usually played for fun. The finale, Andante con moto, rather than the usual process of key modulations. One begins with variations on a lovely, lilting theme in 6/8 and result of Chausson‟s cyclic approach to this work is that ends on a suspension, just before we are plunged into a its themes seem to be endlessly self-generating. The stormy finish for both players in which Brahms seems to most remorable movements here are the second, a “rage against the dying of the light.” Sicilienne notable for its swaying pastoral rhythm in 6/8 and its curiously melancholy mood, and the third, Grave, Soprano Natalia Zagorinskaya adds her distinctive vocal desolate in mood but gradually increasing in concentrated coloring to the Two Lieder, Op. 91, where she is power, leading into the finale. partnered by Belonogov and Majorski. First, the hushed beauty of Gestillte Sehnsucht (Stilled Longing) to a poem That lively movement, marked Très animé, brings back by Friedrich Rückert provides abundant opportunity for themes from the previous movements, particularly the her superbly nuanced interpretation of lyrics such as impetuous first. That gives conductor Vladislav Bulakhov “When no more on the eternally distant stars / Does my and the orchestra the opportunity to really make their longing linger; / Then the wind and the little birds / presence felt, and provides Ambartsumian the chance to Whisper away my life and my longing.” The other song, a revel in the virtuoso writing for his instrument that reminds setting of Emanuel Geibel‟s Geistliches Wiegenlied us that the violin part was played at the work‟s premiere (Sacred Lullaby) after a 16th century Spanish poem by by no less a master than Eugène Ysaÿe Lope de Vega, has a gently rocking lilt and delicate feeling appropriate to the Nativity subject, preserving the folksy quality of the original song, which is still heard throughout the German-speaking world at Christmas time.

. “Souvenirs of Spain & Italy” Bach: Partita No. 4, BWV 828 Taneyev: Suite de Concert for Violin Sharon Isbin, guitar Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze & Orchestra + Rimsky-Korsakov: Pacifica String Quartet Amy Yang, piano Fantasia - Annelle Gregory, violin; (Cedille) (MSR Classics) Dmitry Yablonsky, conductor

(Naxos) Pianist Amy Yang, currently on the “Souvenirs of Spain & Italy” features chamber music faculty of the Curtis American guitarist Sharon Isbin American violinist Annelle Gregory Institute of Music, gives revealing displaying her customary verve and attracted attention several years ago performances of three composers, her love of pulse-quickening rhythms with an album of original works and Bach, Schumann, and our American and searing melodies in music that transcriptions for violin and piano by contemporary Caroline Shaw, that at provides plenty of opportunity to do Sergei Rachmaninov (see Classical first glance might seem to have little just that. She joins forces here with Reviews 4/2017). Now the L.A. native in common. But true to the album title the Pacifica String Quartet, four like- expresses her ongoing love of Resonance, Yang makes her points minded spirits who are disposed to repertoire that is Russian, rare, and in no uncertain terms in works that take the music for all it‟s worth. The rediscovered with a couple of are “close to my heart.” result is a program of really glorious attractive works by Sergei Taneyev and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Both music-making. First up in the program is Partita No. provide plenty of opportunity for an 4 in D minor by J. S. Bach, a work First up, we have Quintet for Guitar ambitious young mistress of the violin that joyously veers from the buoyant and String Quartet, Op. 143 by Mario to savor a lot of delicious virtuosity. to the pensive. Yang describes Bach Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968), written expressly for the great as “an artful dodger a whimsical Taneyev (1856-1915) wrote Suite de Spanish artist Andres Segovia in dancer – able to slip, leap and Concert, Op. 28, as long ago as order to enrich the repertoire of ricochet in mischievous repeats, only 1909. Even though it was later chamber music with guitar. It begins to pause, as if in thought, while he championed by no less an artist than with the Schubertian lyricism of the ponders the universe in slow David Oistrakh, it has never gained Allegro, marked vivo e schietto (lively movements.” Booklet annotator Curt the popularity it might reasonably and sincere), which the composer Cacioppo talks of the “movement and have deserved. Its unusual length (45 described as “one of the most fusion of multiple lines,” something minutes) has probably worked concise and stringent movements I that also fits in well with Yang‟s against it, but there is more to it than have ever written.” The Andante, artistic temperament. that. It is in five movements, the marked mesto (sad), is characterized fourth of which, a Theme and by long melodic phrasings from which She makes it all plausible in her Variations, arguably distorts the melismas arise as the guitar spins a performance on a remarkably lithe symmetry of the work. We open with delicate tracery over muted strings, a and light-sounding Steinway Model D, a noble prelude, marked Grave and true “souvenir of Spain.” The third recapturing the wonderful clarity of filled with enough grandiose display movement, Scherzo alla Marcia, is a texture which Bach had originally passages to engage the imagination 1 spitirited march with infectious dance envisioned for the harpsichord. of an artist like Annelle Gregory. It is tempi. A fiery Finale in 6/8 has a followed by a wide-ranging Gavotte languid Fandango in the middle, one Caroline Shaw (b.1982) creates a with a contrasting Musette in the more “souvenir of Spain” before strikingly original work in Gustave le baroque style. The third movement, sighing “Adiós!” Gray, which is her own multi-layered Märchen (Fairy Tale) might suggest a comment on Chopin‟s exquisitely story from Robert Schumann or the The Concerto in D Major, RV 93, by poetic and moody in A Brothers Grimm, but its mood – baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi minor, Op. 17, No. 4 (which itself ominous and eerie – is very Russian was originally written for lute with transcends the notion of a dance and indeed. basso continuo. Here it is heard in an creates its own soundscape much up-to-date transcription for guitar and like a tone poem). Shaw describes The fourth movement is the afore- quartet by Emilio Pujol with the the Chopin original as “a potent mentioned Theme and Variations. second violin part transferred to the poetic balance between the viscosity There are seven variations in all, plus viola for a more evenly-balanced and density of the descending a coda. They include, among others, ensemble. However one hears it harmonic progression and the floating a lithe, slender-limbed Waltz with a performed, it is one of Vivaldi‟s onion skin of the loose, chromatic warm middle section, a beautifully melody above.” The album title refers conceived and executed double “greatest hits,” with its scintillating th rhythms and ritornellos in the opening to a 19 century French photographer fugue, and a spirited Mazurka in the allegro and its brisk finale in 12/8 time who pioneered the merging of images Russian style. The last movement is in the character of an Italian dance. to create a composite. Shaw does a rousing Tarantella ending with a Both movements frame a central something like that in a work that isn‟t cadence before Taneyev takes the Largo which has a melody to die for, exactly a paraphrase in the Lisztian dance up to a higher, more frenzied even by Vivaldi‟s standard. sense, but an original work hinging level. together Chopin‟s ingredients with Next, we are served up Oración del comments of her own that emphasize Despite occasional longeurs, the torero (Prayer of the Bullfighter) by their darker implications. music is highly effective taken Spanish composer Joaquin Turina movement by movement. I do feel, (1882-1949), unforgettable music Finally, we have Yang‟s insightful however, that Taneyev might have expressing the anxious feelings and account of Robert Schumann‟s done better to have extracted the final acceptance of fate of a young Davidsbündlertänze (Dances of the Theme and Variations (15:30 in the man praying in the deep solitude of a League of David), Op. 6. Despite its present account) as a separate work chapel before going forth to confront earlier opus number, it was written at in its own right and allowed the other the bull. Turina reworked the piece in a later date than the composer‟s four movements to exist on their own various settings for greater audience more frequently performed Carnaval, as a better-proportioned suite. That exposure and acceptance. It sounds Op. 9, with which it bears a close might have ensured it more playing absolutely right here in the string relationship. Yang‟s performance time in our concert halls. The music is quartet version that utilizes the range emphasizes the ways in which this certainly attractive, and Annelle of the Pacifica Quartet, consisting of work takes up where Carnaval left off. Gregory does much to bring out both Simin Ganatra and Austin Hartman, Sometimes we are even given its abundant charm and its fire. violins; Mark Holloway, viola; and quotations from the earlier work, such Brandon Vamos, cello. as the reference of V: Einfach in Part Rimsky-Korsakov‟s Fantasia on Two I to the Eusebius motto in Carnaval. Russian Themes is a concerto-like Finally, we have Guitar Quintet No. 4 work with cadences and double- in D Major by Luigi Boccherini (1743- What we do not have in the stopping aplenty to satisfy any

1 Perhaps we can also credit piano technician Jon Guenther with an assist? 1805), an Italian composer who spent Davidsbündlertänze are descriptive virtuoso of the bow. Its melodies some of his most productive years in names such as Schumann had used celebrate the Russian folk ethos, and Spain. It opens, curiously, with a in Carnaval as guides for the both the they even invoke (unless my ears Pastorale built on a gently rocking interpreter and the listener. Instead, deceive me) echoes of the music of rhythm, with the guitar part gracefully the individual pieces have only tempo the Caucasus that so intrigued harmonized with the strings. markings and keys, plus Schumann‟s composers of the nationalist school. idiomatic ascriptions to his alter-egos It is followed by an Allegro maestoso Florestan and Eusebius, as guides to in which the guitar usually (though whether the intended affect should be not always!) strums a full-bodied forceful and dramatic, or else accompaniment while the others, thoughtful and expressive. That, and notably the cello, step up to take the the thornier nature of the analytical lead. The final movement is a Grave issues that Schumann addresses, in which a melancholy opening gives probably accounts for the fact that it way to the main business of the is less popular than its predecessor. music which includes a thrilling Fandango as its center-piece. In this That isn‟t to say Davidsbündlertänze performance it is augmented by lacks its points of interest, which castenets, emphasizing the dance‟s include Schumann‟s markings such folk origin. as Lebhaft (lively), Innig (heartfelt), Ungeduldig (impatient), Einfach (easy or simply), Frisch (fresh), and Zart und singend (tender and singing) as useful guides.

Continued Below

Even more telling is the next-to-last piece in B major, “Wie aus der Ferne” (as from a distance) which harmonically transcends anything in Carnaval by the way in which overlapping chords, based on harmonies of six or seven chromatic notes, instead of creating dissonance as we might expect, magically evoke the sweetness of first love. Yang obviously relishes this wonderful musical moment that looks far into the future, as she also does the final piece, Nicht schnell (not fast), which ends slowly and unhurriedly with the striking of twelve low C‟s to signify the coming of midnight