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American Record Guide independent critics reviewing classical recordings

US $7.99 May/June 2021 Index to Overviews

OVERVIEW ...... FORMAT OVERVIEW ...... FORMAT American (J/A 1995) ...... Book ONLY Mahler (J/A 2012) ...... Book / PDF American Symphonies (J/A 2007) ...... Book / PDF Mendelssohn (N/D 2008) ...... Book / PDF American (N/D 2007) ...... Book / PDF Mozart (M/J 2008) ...... Book / PDF Bach (N/D 1997) ...... Book / PDF Mozart (J/F 2002) ...... Book ONLY Bach Keyboard (J/A 2005) ...... PDF ONLY Mozart Symphonies (N/D 2001) ...... Book ONLY Ballet (N/D 2012) ...... PDF ONLY Music since 1975 (S/O 2001) ...... Book ONLY Bartok (M/A 2001) ...... Book ONLY Nielsen (M/J 2004) ...... Book ONLY Beethoven (M/J 2002) . . . .Book ONLY Operetta, Part 1 (S/O 2017) ...... Book / PDF Beethoven Quartets (N/D 2006) ...... Book / PDF Operetta, Part 2 (N/D 2017) ...... Book / PDF Beethoven (J/A 2003) ...... Book ONLY , Part 1 (J/F 2011) ...... Book / PDF Berlioz (M/J 2007) ...... Book / PDF Overtures, Part 2 (M/A 2011) ...... Book / PDF Brahms (S/O 2006) ...... Book / PDF Overtures, Part 3 (M/J 2011) ...... Book / PDF Brass (S/O 2005) ...... Book / PDF Piano Trios (M/J 2009) ...... Book / PDF British Orchestral (J/F 2010) ...... Book / PDF Program Music (S/O 1999) ...... Book ONLY Britten (M/A 2012) ...... Book / PDF Prokofieff (J/A 2004) ...... Book ONLY Bruckner (M/J 2006) ...... Book / PDF Rachmaninoff (M/J 2019) ...... Book / PDF (M/A 2009) ...... Book / PDF Respighi (J/A 2010) ...... Book / PDF Cello Concertos (N/D 1998) ...... Book ONLY Russian Favorites (J/A 1996) ...... PDF ONLY Chopin (J/A 2011) ...... Book / PDF Russian Music beyond Tchaikovsky, Choral Masterpieces (N/D 2000) ...... Book ONLY Part 1 (J/F 2004) ...... Book ONLY Debussy & Ravel (J/F 2000) ...... Book / PDF Russian Music beyond Tchaikovsky, Part 2 (M/A 2004) ...... Book ONLY Dvorak (S/O 1998 ) ...... Book ONLY Russian Operas (M/J 2003) ...... Book ONLY English Symphonies (S/O 2010) ...... Book / PDF Saint-Saens (M/A 2000) ...... Book ONLY Favorite Concertos (S/O 1996) . . . .Book ONLY Schubert (N/D 2003) ...... Book ONLY Favorite String Quartets (S/O 1997) . . . . .Book ONLY Schumann (S/O 2004) ...... Book ONLY Film Music (M/A 1998) ...... Book ONLY Shostakovich Symphonies (N/D 2009) . . .Book / PDF French & German Operas (M/A 2008) . . .Book / PDF Shostakovich other (M/A 2006) ...... Book / PDF French Favorites (N/D 1999) ...... Book ONLY Sibelius (J/A 2014) ...... Book / PDF Great American Symphonies (M/J 2015) .Book / PDF Spanish Music (S/O 2002) ...... Book ONLY Guitar Music (S/O 2003) ...... Book ONLY R Strauss (M/J 2005) ...... Book / PDF Handel Orchestral & Messiah (N/D 2002) .Book ONLY Stravinsky (M/J 2001) ...... Book ONLY Handel Operas (J/F 2003) ...... Book ONLY Tchaikovsky (J/F 2001) ...... Book ONLY Haydn (M/A 2019) ...... Book / PDF Verdi (M/J 2000) ...... Book ONLY Historic Conductors (M/J 1998) ...... Book ONLY Wagner (J/A 2002) ...... Book / PDF Italian (S/O 2000) ...... Book ONLY Woodwinds (N/D 2005) ...... PDF ONLY Liszt (J/A 2016) ...... Book / PDF American Record Guide Vol 84, No 3 May/June 2021 Our 86th Year of Publication PAST EDITORS www.AmericanRecordGuide.com e-mail: [email protected] Peter Hugh Reed 1935-57 Reader Service: (513) 941-1116 James Lyons 1957-72 Milton Caine 1976-81 Editor: Donald R Vroon John Cronin 1981-83 Layout: Ray Hassard Doris Chalfin 1983-85 Grace Wolf 1985-87 RECORD REVIEWERS Paul L Althouse Allen Gimbel Joseph Magil Allan Altman Todd Gorman James McCutcheon Alan Becker Philip Greenfield Catherine Moore Stephanie Boyd Patrick Hanudel David W Moore Charles Brewer James Harrington Robert A Moore Robert Delcamp Roger Hecht Don O’Connor John Dutterer Sang Woo Kang David Reynolds Stephen Estep Ned Kellenberger Bruno Repp Nathan Faro Barry Kilpatrick Jack Sullivan Elliot Fisch Bradley Lehman Michelle Thomson Gil French Ralph Locke Donald R Vroon William J Gatens Peter Loewen Contents Here & There: News from the Classical World 2 Compact Disc Covers Rediscovered 6 Critical Convictions 9 CD reviews by 12 Collections 117 The Newest Music 162 Videos 166 Word Police Festival: Trendy Words 174 Back Issues 176

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Copyright 2021 by Record Guide Productions. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. American Record Guide 1 Here & There

Austrian conductor David Danzmayr, 41, will succeed Carlos Kalmar as music director of the Oregon Symphony as of this coming season. He is chief conduc- tor of the Zagreb Philharmonic and music director of the ProMusica Cham- ber , composed of musicians from across the US.

Appointments, Awards, & News

Robert Spano, who turns 60 contract expires on July 1. on May 7, signed a three-year Also, Melissa Ngan, 40, suc- contract to become music ceeded Edward Yim as pres- director of the Fort Worth ident in February. She came Symphony effective August 1, from Chicago where she was 2022. Until then, he will be founder of the Chicago- music director-designate. He based new music group succeeds Miguel Harth- Fifth House Ensemble that Bedoya who leaves in July after 20 years. Spano established the Fresh Inc himself leaves the Atlanta Symphony after 20 Festival, which has commis- years at the end of this season. He has been sioned over 200 new works over 10 years and FWSO’s principal guest conductor since 2019 provided professional development to emerg- and will relocate to Fort Worth. ing artists.

Andreas Delfs, 61, signed American conductor James a five-year contract to Gaffigan, who turns 42 this become music director year, became principal of the Rochester (NY) guest conductor of Nor- Philharmonic on Sep- way’s Trondheim Sympho- tember 1, succeeding ny Orchestra and Opera in Ware Stare who leaves at February with immediate the end of this season. effect through the end of Delfs held the same posi- next season. He is currently chief conductor of tion with the Milwaukee Symphony from 1997 the Lucerne Symphony and principal guest to 2009, during which time the MSO was the conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philhar- first American orchestra to visit . He also monic. held the same position with the St Paul Cham- ber Orchestra from 2001 to 2004 and stayed on Lithuanian Mirga Grazynite- two more years when the orchestra replaced Tyla, 34, music director of the conductors with artistic partners. For years his City of Birmingham Symphony home has been “just down the road” in Tru- since 2016, will relinquish her mansburg NY. position in 2022, becoming instead the orchestra’s principal Two changes at New York’s American Com- guest conductor. She said she posers Orchestra: George Manahan, 69, will wanted to “step away from the organizational leave after 11 years as music director when his and administrative responsibilities” and con- 2 May/June 2021 centrate instead on “purely musical activities”. the first woman in 140 years to Also, as the mother of two children under the hold the position and also age of 3, she wants to “balance her working becomes the BSO’s first CEO. life” better. She has been with the Philharmonic for , 68, music director of the almost 30 years, most recently Lucerne Festival Orchestra since succeeding as president and COO. in 2016, extended his contract until 2026. He also has been music director of David Lomeli, 36, becomes La Scala since 2015. Santa Fe Opera’s chief artistic officer on May 1. It’s a newly British conductor Jonathan titled position following the Nott, 58, not only renewed departure of Artistic Director his contract as music and Alexander Neef to become artistic director of the Gene- director of the Opera. va-based Orchestre de la Lomeli had been director of Suisse Romande as of Sep- artistic administration for the tember 1, 2021, but the new Dallas Opera. contract is permanent, building on his success with Russell Thomas, the orchestra since 2017. 44, is the new artist-in residence at the Los Alevtina Ioffe, 41, Angeles Opera through became music director 2024, succeeding in February of ’s Matthew Aucoin. He Mikhailovsky Theatre. will play a substantial She is the first woman to role in artistic plan- become music director ning and casting, and of a major Russian per- in the administrative side of the company’s forming arts institution. day-to-day operations. She has an extensive background in opera James Darrah, and children’s theater. who turns 37 this The Mikhailovsky pres- year, became artis- ents traditional and experimental productions. tic director and chief creative offi- Gail Samuel becomes president of the Boston cer of Long Beach Symphony on June 21, succeeding Mark Volpe Opera in February after his legendary 23-year tenure. Samuel is with a three-year The Endellion —violinists Andrew Watkinson and Ralph de Souza, violist Garfield Jackson, and cellist David Waterman—has disbanded. Only De Souza was not a founding mem- ber in 1979, having joined the English group in 1986. The quartet planned a final concert at the end of the 2019-2020 season, which was cancelled by the pandemic. Rather than plan another farewell at an indeterminate date, they disbanded in February.

American Record Guide 3 contract. He succeeds the legendary Andreas Mitisek who left in 2020 after 17 years. Darrah Obituaries is also artistic director of Omaha’s annual ONE Festival, another organization known for bold Australian opera moves and experimentation. Also, he directed and theater direc- the world premieres of Ellen Reid’s Prism, and tor Elijah Moshin- Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves and Prov- sky, 75, died on ing Up. January 14 at a hospital in Lon- Edward J Lewis III becomes president of don. He was ad- Caramoor in Katonah NY on May 1, succeed- mitted for a fall ing Jeffrey Haydon who became president of but died of CO- Ravinia in Highland Park IL last September. VID-19. His pro- Lewis was a vice chancellor at the University of ductions took North Carolina School of the Arts until April place around the 30, where he implemented a highly successful world, but in the fund drive, exceeding its $65 million goal four US he was most noted for his work at the Met- months early. He had an earlier career as a ropolitan Opera from 1980 to 2001, when he professional violist. staged nine productions. His 1993 concept of ’s Ariade auf Naxos is sched- Rory Jeffes, CEO of Opera uled for resurrection there this coming season. Australia since 2017, an- nounced his resignation in Paul Ganson, February with no date set for 79, the Detroit his departure. He said he’s Symphony’s unable to commit in the long assistant prin- term, and, with the artistic cipal director’s contract ending in from 1969 to 2023, it is important for the 2004, died on company to have continuity January 2 in through the changes. Jeffes Appleton WI earlier had been managing director of the Syd- of complica- ney Symphony for 10 years. tions from recent heart The has announced that, surgery. When owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be he discovered splitting the 2021 Beverly Sills Artist Award in 1970 that among five artists whom it deems “extraordi- the water was being turned off to the orches- narily gifted singers with rising Met careers”. tra’s former home, Old Orchestra Hall, and They are Erin Morley, Brenda Rae, Anthony that demolition was to begin in two weeks, he Roth Costanzo, Ben Bliss, and Ryan Speedo quickly organized Save Orchestra Hall, a Green. Each artist will be awarded $10,000. movement that resulted in its preservation, This is the first time in the company’s history restoration, and reopening (with renewed that the award is given to more than one artist acoustical splendor) in 1989. Add Neemi Jarvi in a given year. as music director in 1990, and the phrase “born again” had new meaning. With the departure of from the Symphony to ’s Bavarian Chick Corea, 79, Radio Symphony, plans for a much-needed died of cancer on new concert hall in London have been can- February 9 at his celled and replaced by plans to renovate the home in Tampa FL. notorious Barbican Hall. (And you think reno- One of jazz’s fore- vation of Philharmonic, then Avery Fisher, most pianists for then Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center is a waste of over 50 years, he also money!) made a few classical recordings, among

4 May/June 2021 them “The Mozart Sessions” with Bobby McFerrin and the St Paul Chamber Orchestra on Sony, and with playing Mozart’s Double Piano with conduc- tor on Teldec.

Eva Coutaz, 77, the guiding force behind the Har- monia Mundi label, died from renal failure on January 26 in Arles, . After she joined the label in 1972, she married its founder, Bernard Coutaz, and set the tone for the label, building a stable of figures like , William Christie, René Jacobs, , and soloists like Isabelle Faust, , and Alexandre Tha- raud. She also gambled on costly productions of unknown works, which became big sellers. As Christie commented, she was a “strong- minded, intensely committed individual who had an extraordinary sense of the rightness of what they were doing and how to create mar- American conductor , 77, died kets.” Cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras added, “She on March 9 of Parkinson’s Disease at his home really made all this out of pure, intense love of in Palm Springs CA. If ever one institution music.” When her husband died in 2010, she defined at artist, it was the Metropolitan Opera became chief executive until she sold the com- for Levine, and he defined it in return. From pany in 2015. 1973 to 2018 he reigned as principal conduc- tor, music director, and artistic director, as he Y evgeny shaped not only the operas themselves but Nesterenko, one turned the Met Orchestra into one of the finest of the great - in the world. He brought distinction to the es of the last cen- Boston Symphony from 2004 to 2011 as its tury, died of music director, before numerous health prob- Covid-19 in Mos- lems, starting with tremors in the 1990s, forced cow in late March him to resign from the BSO and severely limit- at the age of 83. ed performances at the Met. His 2013 return to He sang over 80 the opera, now in a motorized wheelchair, was leading bass parts triumphant. In 2016 he became music director and performed 21 emeritus just before decades-old allegations of operas in their or- sexual abuse of young men resulted in his iginal languages. being fired in 2018, four months after his final He sang the lead- Met performance on December 2, 2017. He ing roles in op- and the Met sued each other for over $5 mil- eras by Glinka, lion. The end result: the Met paid him $3.5 M o uss orgsk y, million, but his career was over. An inglorious Tchaikovsky, and end for a conductor about whom Luciano Borodin, and was Pavarotti once said, “I learned something from the first to per- him that I couldn’t get from anyone else: the form many works by Shostakovich, Sviridov, energy of the phrase. I’ve always been roman- and Taktakishvili. He made about 70 records tic, even melancholy. With him, I’m more and discs, including 20 full operas. He also vital.” wrote two books. American Record Guide 5 Compact Disc Covers (Re)Discovered

[Numbers in brackets refer to illustrations on the inside back cover.]

ot long ago I pulled from my shelf a CD gories, I pulled 100 CDs at random from my I had not listened to in a while. It is a collection (40 of pianists, 25 of string instru- Nrecording by the Brodsky Quartet of ment players, 15 orchestral recordings, and 20 music by Respighi, with mezzo- Anne of , mostly of older vintage). 36 Sofie von Otter joining them in one piece of them had artwork on their covers, 64 (Challenge 72008). Its cover [1] brought a big showed people (together with artwork in two smile to my face. It shows the members of the cases), and 2 had text only. Thus I would esti- quartet, 3 men and a woman. The men are mate that about one third of all releases have staring intently at a tall picture of a furry ani- artistic covers, though some labels have a mal, while the woman is looking at us. Why is much higher percentage, most notably Naxos, the singer not shown, and what is the signifi- which rarely shows the players, and also Hype- cance of the animal? Why, it is an otter! More- rion. over, the woman’s stance and expression sug- To obtain good original art for covers is not gest she is piqued by the men’s fascination easy. The great German publishing house dtv with the “singer”. On the cover of another CD (Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag) employed by the same forces (Challenge 72007) the head for many years a brilliant Swiss graphic artist, of an otter carrying the logo appears in a cor- Celestino Piatti (1922-2007), to design its book ner. covers—over 6,000 of them. They were instant- Few covers are so clever and amusing. In ly recognizable by their white background that fact, most of them are unremarkable. Still, my made the artwork stand out and also accom- delight when rediscovering the otter covers led modated text without interference. To the best me to think more about covers generally. of my knowledge, no record label has ever Of course, the cover is far less important employed a single artist to provide paintings or than the music, and only rarely will anyone drawings for all its covers, but there are cer- buy a recording for its cover alone. Neverthe- tainly instances of very good original art. An less, cover art plays a role, or else blank covers example is the semi-abstract watercolor of red would be the rule. If a cover is well designed it birds [2] for a recording of Britten songs by can attract attention and give aesthetic pleas- tenor (Hyperion 66823), which ure every time a recording is handled. It can contains the song `The Red Cockatoo’. But also contribute in subtle ways to our apprecia- such artistic and aesthetically satisfying covers tion of the composer, the music, and the are quite rare, and usually the cover art is not artists. If it follows a consistent pattern it can original but a reproduction of a painting from come to represent a label. some collection or a photograph of some I am told there were many good LP covers scene. in the old days, but I cannot comment on Ideally, the cover art should bear some those because I have never owned any LPs. (I relation to the contents, as in the example just relied entirely on the radio for my music until given, but that is difficult to achieve with the 1990s.) Strictly speaking, CDs in traditional “pure” music that has neither a text nor a pro- jewel cases do not have a cover; we are talking gram. In most cases, therefore, the relation is about the booklet. But an increasing number tenuous or entirely absent. The image may of releases appear in cardboard sleeves that merely be from the same period as the music may or may not have the same cover image as or the recording. The cover of a recording the booklet—if there is one. called “Piano Concertos of the 1920s” (Arte Apart from rare cases of text only, there are Nova 510510) shows a photograph of a large basically two kinds of cover image: (1) original assembly of men wearing hats, as they all did or reproduced works of art and (2) pictures of in that period. Another one, of Beethoven people (artists or composers). To get a rough sonatas played by (The 50s idea of the frequency of these two main cate- 14), has a photograph of German newspapers

6 May/June 2021 on a rack, with a nearby sign marking the music. (Think of Prokofieff or Stravinsky.) boundary of the British Sector of . The Most other composers, living or dead, would papers’ headlines report Stalin’s death (March not be recognized on a cover and could easily 5, 1953, overshadowing Prokofieff’s death the be mistaken for the performer. And, after all, same day). As the label’s name suggests, the who really cares what a composer looks like recordings were made in the 1950s. The pho- these days? It is the music that counts. tograph is of historic interest and perhaps an It is different with performers, and not only attention-getter, but it would have been more because a steadily increasing number are relevant if (perish the thought!) Kempff had young and good-looking. Good looks are played Prokofieff. undoubtedly a selling point, but we also want Often there is no relation at all between the to know more about the people whose exer- cover art and the music. Dutton had a number tions we are hearing. Their actions convey of attractive and entertaining covers in the feelings that, while stimulated by the composi- early 2000s (such as 7120, 7126, 7152), some of tion, ultimately originate in themselves and them reproducing posters from the British move us more or less strongly. Their interpre- Transport Museum [3], but not having any tations may also contain individual touches obvious relevance. Another Arte Nova cover, that delight or infuriate us. The typical booklet for cello music by Hindemith (433070), shows biography tells us nothing about an artist’s the illuminated inside of an expressway tun- personality. But his or her face and its expres- nel. Naxos most often has a copy of some sion may offer some clues, and if the whole painting on the cover, sometimes vaguely person is shown, posture and attire are not related to the music, but sometimes not. Four irrelevant either. The inferences we draw from CDs of piano music by the Catalan composer these clues may not be totally accurate, but Manuel Blancafort (557332-5) are adorned by they add something to our conception of and untitled abstract paintings of a Catalan painter, emotional response to the artist and the per- so there is a link via nationality. But a disc of formance. Haydn piano concertos (570485) has a photo- A performer’s cover image is nearly always graph of Linderhof Palace in , which I a photograph. One of my favorite covers, a once visited but Haydn never did, as far as I brilliant cartoon of the great Trio di Trieste know. The consistent format of Naxos covers (DG 477030), is a rare exception [4]. I wish makes them easy to recognize; like dtv covers, there were more such ingenious artist images! they have a white background and text that is Portrait photographs, while of professional well separated from the artwork. But the latter, quality, rarely have artistic merit. For visual apart from not being specially created for the composition and color to have an effect, all or cover, is not as effective as the original graph- most of a person needs to be shown in some ics of dtv because it is squeezed into a small environment. My first prize in that small sub- rectangular frame. A prime example of totally category goes to an image [5] showing violist irrelevant cover art is Sony’s early 1990s “Royal Tabea Zimmermann and pianist Hartmut Höll Edition” of recordings— next to a leafy tree (Capriccio 67123). This was each had a landscape watercolor painted by the only disc I ever bought largely because of Prince Charles. its lovely cover. Another beautiful photograph Let me now turn to the second, more fre- shows violinist Tianwa Yang with her instru- quently encountered category of covers, those ment, sitting on an old stone wall (Naxos showing people. They could be either com- 573067). More such covers from Naxos, please! posers or performers, but the latter are much Some covers show artists at work, and that more frequent. Of the 64 relevant images in my is certainly appropriate. A photograph of small random sample, only 5 show a composer pianist Claude Frank “conducting” his daugh- (one shows 2, together with a pianist). I am ter Pamela’s violin playing in rehearsal (Music tempted to conclude that performers are more Masters 67197) conveys their loving relation- important than composers these days, and ship and joy of performing [6]. Other covers that is surely part of the explanation. The faces just show musicians standing around but are of the great composers of the past are familiar not always as successful as the otter covers. to most music lovers, and few images are avail- The members of the Ebene Quartet look bored able from the 19th Century and earlier. and disconnected in a black-and-white photo- Famous 20th Century composers have been graph showing them in front of a shabby wall photographed frequently, but they may not be (Virgin 519045), after which their stellar play- as good-looking as the performers of their ing comes as a surprise. American Record Guide 7 Recordings of pianists come my way most process of playing is of course different and often because they are what I review for ARG. I entirely appropriate, but this applies to only a am now looking at another sample of 100 CDs, few cases. The facial expression is joyful in all from recent years (but including a few reis- only three cases. In several additional photo- sues) and of pianists in solo repertoire. Among graphs the pianists’ mien could, with some those, 33 have artwork on their cover—again good will, be understood as friendly and wel- about one third. (Included are two showing a coming, but usually it is serious or neutral. pianist’s hands on a keyboard, and one a head Such faces do not communicate anything— viewed from the back. Because these body neither a feeling of joy in the music nor a sign parts are unidentifiable I counted them as art- of approachability. All they say is “look at me”, work.) Most of these covers are dull. The best rather than “come to me”. In a few cases the one has an original abstract painting created pianist seems unhappy. by a Belgian artist for the Japanese pianist Only one of the three happy faces in my Yoshiko Okada (Gramola 99144), though its sample is looking at us, and it is an old photo- colors are not entirely pleasing. One cover has graph of young Philippe Entremont on a reis- just text, and one shows a piano of historic sue (IDIS 6739). A second pianist is laughing at interest. someone else. The third, Markus Becker, is 67 covers show an identifiable person. In 6 performing a Haydn and facing down instances, that is the composer, and in 2 addi- while raising one hand to strike a chord (Avi tional ones the composer is shown together 8553369). His face expresses both concentra- with a small portrait of the pianist. Most of the tion and joy of playing, and I would like to see 59 solo pianist photographs, 36 of men and 23 more excellent snapshots like this [7]. It is a of women, show the upper body, but in 14 shame that there are so few cheerful artist cases only the face is visible (perhaps with a photographs. Performing is a bit of shoulder), and in 8 instances we can see serious business, to be sure, and requires most or all of the person. Typically there is no much effort and concentration, but where is or minimal (perhaps blurred) background. In the joy or the desire to establish visual contact only 6 instances is there a background that with listeners? forms part of the visual composition, and none Women have one advantage over men, of these images is as fetching as the two exam- and that is that colorful clothes can enliven a ples I cited earlier. Leon McCawley leaning cover. The German pianist Sheila Arnold, born against a tree in a park (Somm 624) may be the in South India, wears a pretty dupatta over her best. Worst is one showing Severin von shoulders (Avi 8553336). And young Karin Kei Eckardstein standing in the center of a Ger- Nagano’s whole-body photograph on the cover man street with lots of parked cars (Avi of her recent recording (Analekta 28778) 8553366). His feet are cut off, and he is leaning shows her not only in a colorful shirt but also to the side and cupping his hands as if begging sitting on the floor in a quasi-oriental posture, for money. Moreover, his figure clearly has which makes a very handsome cover [8]. Cov- been pasted into the street scene. ers showing men are usually plain. In 17 instances pianists are seen at or near Apart from good looks, which are difficult their instrument, either actually playing or just to ignore when present, artists’ faces influence posing (in one instance, crouching). One whether we like them as a person. Facial fea- unusual cover shows Khatia Buniatishvili tures and expressions can be misleading, but reclining with a bouquet, as if awaiting death we still respond emotionally to them. There (Sony 412023; Schubert, J/A 2019). Yu are some pianists I dislike strongly just on the Kosuge—I presume it is she—holds a flaming basis of their face, and there are also some that torch on the cover of her recording of music I like very much. To most of them I feel indif- relating to fire (Orchid 100108). All the others ferent, but I wonder whether I would like a few are just straightforward portraits. more if they looked happier and friendlier on Where are the pianists looking, and what is the cover. the expression on their faces? In 31 instances Do such likes and dislikes influence enjoy- they gaze at us; in the other 28, their eyes are ment and judgment of their performances? averted or directed at a keyboard. I like it bet- Prejudices can be subtle and unconscious. ter when the artist faces us—the listeners. It Now that I think about it, I realize I don’t like suggests a desire to communicate, whereas very much the playing of those whose face I looking to the side suggests withdrawal or self- dislike. But I don’t think I dislike their playing possession. Looking at the keyboard in the because I don’t like them as persons, nor do I 8 May/June 2021 dislike them because their playing does not should be a photograph in the booklet. Not to please me. Rather, I believe there is a connec- show an artist’s face at all is negligent, as is tion between faces and playing styles because omission of a biography. the same personality is behind both of them. It A few years ago I ate at a New York restau- is probably not accidental that one pianist rant whose walls were decorated with rock whose playing strikes me as cold is also typi- music covers, probably of old LPs. They were cally stony-faced, that another who looks dis- colorful and inventive, and fascinating to look solute often plays in a willful and bizarre man- at. By comparison, classical music covers ner, and that a third who sounds pretentious (probably even the old LP covers) are drab and also looks full of himself. On the other hand, unimaginative, with some exceptions. Record none of the pianists whom I find especially companies might make greater efforts in that likeable in photographs is among my favorite department. Even though CD sales are drop- artists. ping and people turn increasingly to stream- The impressions we form on the basis of a ing, covers are still shown on web sites and cover may be amplified or contradicted by remain in view when music is streamed. They additional images we find in the booklet, but can provide aesthetic pleasure even on a com- that topic is beyond the scope of this essay. puter screen and/or give us an appealing Suffice it to say that if an artist is on the cover, glimpse of the individual who is regaling us it is unnecessary to have another photograph with an interpretation of great music. in the booklet, let alone two, three, or four. But REPP if there is artwork on the cover, then there Critical Convictions Diversity Again A recent press release announced OWDARI. the latest rage at all the big and That is the Opera Writers Diversity and opera companies. Mass conformity and busi- Representation Initiative. It “seeks to introduce ness as usual—but dumb. storytellers from diverse racial and artistic Brooklyn Academy of Music has appointed backgrounds to the development of new a “Guest Curator at Large”. Trendy, too, but opera” and “to expand partcipation and con- what does such a person actually DO? tributions from the BIPOC community” (black, Wake up, music world! You are already indigenous, and people of color, in case you bloated with bureaucracy. You have far too don’t know what that means). It also seeks “to many people in the office, and most of them make the creation of opera a more viable have a job they could do in 10 hours a week or choice for future generations of BIPOC com- less. There apparently has to be somebody in posers and librettists”. We are told that “opera charge of every little thing—and then some- has and can serve as a form of political body in charge of them, etc. Jobs naturally get activism and social justice”. subdivided. Bureaucracy by its very nature But this will not serve the cause of opera gets fatter and fatter. There are more people in (which really cannot be created “by choice” or the office than on stage. It’s a big charity, giv- to serve anything) or of “social justice”. (Does ing people useless jobs. I am quite sure the attending an opera by a black composer average orchestra could manage quite well increase social justice? How?). In fact, it will with a tenth as many in the office. It’s wasted make no difference at all (thank goodness— and redundant work. After all the loss of good opera is not subject to such conditions), income owing to Covid, you would think they and it amounts to nothing but more virtue sig- would REDUCE the office work force—not add naling. But reading stuff like this increases my to it to signal their politically correct virtues. sense that politically correct thinking will destroy the arts if it is taken seriously and As for marketing, one would think it common manages to carry the day. sense to target people who are likely to attend concerts and opera. Why go after the least like- The Metropolitan Opera has appointed a black ly people? But that is what the orchestras and woman as Director of Diversity (thus increas- opera companies are all doing! It makes no ing management while not paying the orches- sense, and it is a terrible waste of money and tra). What can she do all day? This position is effort. American Record Guide 9 Our orchestras and opera companies let’s hope so, if we want our orchestras to sur- should not expect people to give them money vive. to waste like this. “Diversity” publicity is not going to build a “more diverse” audience. Intelligent market- Later: ing would appeal to people whom we know Suddenly orchestras are falling all over them- like and care about this music. (And what has selves to find music by black composers, skin color to do with that?) You don’t build women composers, and living composers. your audience by directing all your efforts at Why? And trying to hire blacks and women as people who are simply not interested. What a conductors and players. It no longer matters waste! whether the new music and conductors are For quite some time there has been too any good. Of course, they have for a long time much compromise. The tail is wagging the dog played new music just because it is new, so in almost all our mid-sized cities: Pops con- this is not a major change. But to true music certs increase and classical ones decrease, sea- lovers, whether it is new or by blacks or by son by season. The orchestra—highly trained women is utterly insignificant. musicians who can play the most complex music with ease—is being wasted on cheesy Will this increase attendance by blacks or accompaniments to sleazy singers and even women? No. There are already plenty of rock and rap “artists”. (Of course they are not women at our concerts and almost no blacks. artists!) Those people don’t need the orches- That is not going to change. Will it attract a tra, but orchestra management thinks it needs younger audience? No. Most of those people them—to jerk up attendance. are not music lovers at all, but conformists, who happen to “like” whatever the commer- White people—especially liberals, which I cial powers that be convince them is what always thought I was—have been beaten down endlessly over our “racism” and have even their peers like. been accused of “systemic racism”. That is, And there is a strong possibility that if the supposedly all our institutions are designed orchestras refuse to be museums for great for whites at the expense of blacks. The music they will lose audience. Most of the “proof” of that is sheer numbers, ideologically dependable audience at symphony concerts interpreted. If there are few black composers expects and wants most of the programming to on the orchestra’s classical series, that suppos- be traditional favorites and music that has edly proves racism. If all the favorite com- proved its worth. No one minds a sprinkling of posers that our audience wants to hear again less familiar music if it is similar to the tradi- and again—the Beethovens and such—are tional classical favorites. No one minds less white, it supposedly proves racism. If few of familiar works by the great composers or from the musicians in the orchestra are black, that composers with similar styles—classical styles, does too. not “popular”. But none of that makes any sense at all. If our orchestras change that basic formula There is no reason on earth why blacks or to theoretically appeal to the whimsical tastes women should be equally represented with of a different kind of audience (youth, women, whites in our orchestras or on their programs blacks, whatever) they will find the results or in the audience. There is no reason why it unsustainable, because that theoretical audi- should matter whether our favorite composers ence will not materialize as dependably and (or the greatest composers) be one race or with enough support to keep the orchestra another, one sex or another. There are no going. blacks and no women among the greatest In other words, the whole movement to composers of all time—none. Why should that greater “diversity” in orchestral programming bother anyone? Why have people swallowed will probably kill the orchestras. propaganda to the contrary? Why do white I suppose one should add, “if it’s serious”. It Americans (and Brits) seem to wallow is very possible that no one at the orchestras masochistically in all the guilt that is dumped really wants “diversity”, but they all realize they on them? Why should they be made to feel have to sound and look like they do. (It’s called morally inferior because their skin is white? “virtue signaling”.) Hence the hiring of new What an odd distortion all this “Critical black bureaucrats (“diversity officers”), whose Race Theory” is. And it is being taught in influence will actually be minimal—at least almost every university in this country across 10 May/June 2021 many disciplines, including music. It is pure I thought we outgrew that back in the 60s (and propaganda, not critical thinking. he was a product of the 60s and had a 60s understanding of sex). Half a century ago “elitism” was the charge of As a record reviewer I can say that I have the “politically correct” against makers and seldom been thrilled by James Levine’s record- lovers of classical music. I never minded that ings—though a few were very good. I don’t very much, because obviously our composers think he was a great interpreter. But as a con- and their public have always been an elite, and cert and opera goer I have to admit that when I every society needs an elite. Even subcultures have seen him conduct it was always superb— need them. I know many elite black people, in from Verdi to Berlioz to Mahler. I have close many parts of the world—and I respect them. friends who have played under him. One of But the new attack is “racism”, which we are them says that he was a great enabler of musi- being scolded for after more than half a centu- cians. Somehow he got them to give of their ry of tremendous progress in race relations. best. That’s what I have heard in concerts and The truth: It is racism to hire a musician operas I saw him conduct. And as a long-term because he is black. Metropolitan Opera attender I can say that he It is sexism to load the board and the exec- made that orchestra into one of the greatest utive team with women, because you want to ever. He knew how to get the best out of appear righteous in this new religion. It is bad singers and musicians. His occasional appear- judgement to play a lot of the contemporary ances in Cincinnati were eagerly anticipated. music our orchestras play just to avoid looking He was not without honor in his home city. like a museum. Remember, folks—like it or People I know in this orchestra considered not—the people who support our orchestras him a class act. want them to be museums, to display the So, as usual, ARG has to come down on the finest music ever written in the course of side of music. It is sinful to dismiss this man’s human history. great contributions to the music we venerate— no matter how “sinful” someone may consider PS: One would think it an insult to blacks his behavior in other, unrelated areas. If we to suggest that they will only attend our con- can love Wagner’s music but deplore his anti- certs when the music is written and performed Semitism, we have to praise James Levine for by blacks—yet the only substantially black what he has given us and gave his life to. Anti- audiences at Cincinnati Symphony concerts Semitism led to horrific results for millions; have been for black singing gospel one person’s sexual foibles cannot. music at the Pops. VROON Later yet (early March): Unrelated PS: A New York music school has banned two I recently listened to piles of music by com- Debussy piano pieces, `Golliwog’s Cakewalk’ posers of the Brahms school. It’s all accept- and `Le Petit Negre’, claiming that “they are no able, of course; but the one composer who longer acceptable in our current cultural and stands out is Friedrich Kiel (1821-85). Much of artistic landscape.” The insanity is spreading! his chamber music is as good as Brahms’s. I What’s next? I can think of a few Mozart and especially like his cello pieces and piano quin- Wagner operas that would probably offend tets. The latter are not only written for 5 play- those people. ers but also have 5 movements! Of course, anyone can claim to be “offend- ed” at almost anything—and nowadays they 2nd Unrelated PS do! But why indulge crybabies? On March 24 the New York Times admitted in writing on their Morning Report that Ameri- James Levine has died, and everyone seems to can media had grossly exaggerated Covid-19 need to sum up his career and character. A and everything related. Almost every article-- great many people, in keeping with politically even in the NY Times--and TV newscast was correct norms, have been very nasty. But who way out of step from what actual scientists appointed them judge over James Levine (or thought. Almost every report accentuated the Placido Domingo)? The whole Me-too busi- negative, the dangers, etc. Americans have ness has always struck me as a new Puri- come to expect this from "the news", whether tanism—moralism, judgementalism, self- they realize it or not. They love to be terrified, righteousness. Suddenly sex is evil and wrong. and it must be good for ratings. American Record Guide 11 Guide to Records

tension pervades whatever might be the domi- CHER-MODIANO: Flute Pieces; A nant mood on top of it. BACH: Suite 1 in G; Based in New York, Yael Acher-Modiano is DEBUSSY: Syrinx Amy Porter, fl—Centaur 3830—66 minutes a performer, composer, and music teacher who grew up in Israel and has since lived and Humanity is an Ocean derives from a letter studied in Denmark and the . Her Gujarati Indian Mohandas Gandhi wrote fields are classical, jazz, and improvisation, August 29, 1947, an excerpt of which has encompassing acoustic and electro-acoustic become famous: “You must not lose faith in media, soundtracks for film, and accompani- humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few ment to choreography. Her nickname, “Kat”, drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does comes from the androgynous character in not become dirty.” Distances and Sounds and comic strip Krazy Kat by mixed-race Cuban- Bird were inspired by poetry of contemporary American cartoonist George Herriman, which Russian-American Ilya Bernstein, included in ran from 1913 to 44. She plays a flute with a the booklet. Masquerade for the Dancing Spir- gold headjoint by Danish flute maker and its is a 7-minute exploration less of movement inventor Johan Brogger. These tracks were than mystery, with ominous tritones and eerie recorded at a church in Denmark, and the electronic background. The emphasis here sound is good. appears to be on evoking the spiritual realm GORMAN more than the motions made there. The pro- gram’s subtitle, “Flute Soundscapes”, offers the ADAMS: My Father Knew ; Har- key to describing these pieces. Added percus- monielehre sion, electronic manipulation, and sound Nashville Symphony/ Giancarlo Guerrero Naxos 559854—69 minutes effects too abstract to describe contribute to the music. Extended playing techniques such My Father Knew Charles Ives (2003) is a three- as simultaneous singing and playing, air movement fantasy on Ives’s influence on attacks with no tone, bending pitches, and Adams’s musical journey. Language is dreamy, glissandos are fundamental to the sound with echoes of the music he grew up with— palette. The tone quality in these pieces is much like Ives. Composed with polytonal har- great, well centered, and deployed with much mony as quiet background, the music floats variety. Overall this seems just the thing along in an unconscious state, with distant for some people. To help you decide, start with memories of Adams’s childhood. He did not the fluttery Bird. know Ives personally, but this is a memorable Since flutists rarely record Bach transcrip- homage. tions, Amy Porter practically has the field to Adams’s important post-minimalist Har- herself and owns it on artistic grounds too. monielehre (1985) is a three-movement sym- This is the first cello suite. phony opening with a rhythmic figure that will Her approach to Bach is not bad by any become motivic as the work unfolds. The slow means; I prefer the dance-like pieces. Ap- lines are endless in the Wagnerian sense. His proaching the slow numbers with a sense of new expanded tonality anchors the proceed- continuous line seems inappropriate when the ings. Adams came to reject the tenets of mini- writing is not so much about connection but malism and substitute a freer, less severe gestures that need articulating, and that artic- approach for a style he maintained for most of ulation is not merely about how the notes his career, and this was his first major essay in begin but about taking a rhetorical approach his new language. to the writing and making it more like speech Both of these knotty works are given metic- than song. Pacing can be based on note- ulous performances. stretching and lacks flow—often less is suffi- GIMBEL cient. She plays with a somewhat shallow vibrato and an overall quality that can sound ANTHEIL: Serenade; see COPLAND more intense than it needs to—more intense than pleasant. The result is that a low-level 12 May/June 2021 ARCAS: Guitar Pieces Gabriele Zanetti Brilliant 95639 [4CD] 294 minutes In a monumental four-disc recording, Italian guitarist Gabriele Zanetti presents the com- plete guitar music of Julian Arcas (1832-82), a romantic period Spanish composer born in Almeria seven years before the death of the legendary Fernando Sor. This music is played on a guitar made in 1860, and one hears interesting articulations, especially glissandos, that add to the passion Zanetti obviously feels for this music. Every single note in the entire collection shows his total engagement. Occasional technical flaws, such as a few slightly unarticulated notes here and there and some unmusical sounds as in the blistering ornaments in the Sor Variations’, are excusable and usually do not get in the way of musical expression. Other moments, however, inter- rupt the musicality, as do several moments of inadequately bringing out the melody above repeated chords and arpeggiated accompani- ments in the opening piece on disc 1. These 4 discs hold almost 5 hours of music. There is an engaging `Fantasia sobre El Pano’— the same tune arranged by Manuel de Falla in AUBER: Overtures & Entr’actes his 7 Spanish Folk Songs, here played on solo Moravian Philharmonic/ Dario Salvi guitar with creative, virtuosic flourishes. Other Naxos 564007—74 minutes notable performances include `Polacca Fantas- tica’ with a combination of sweet harmonics This is the third volume of Naxos’s survey of and a rousing finale. A tango on disc 4 shows the orchestral music of Daniel Auber (1782- Arcas’s ability to compose interesting, unique 1871). His reputation was once so strong that works in a variety of rhythms as well as Zanet- he was one of the composers whose statue was ti’s ability to play with varied articulations and carved into Queen Victoria’s Prince Albert dynamics. Another favorite of mine is a fantasia Memorial. His music is lightweight, but has its titled `La Favorita’. I would rate it as highly as virtues. It’s melodious, with clear and always any romantic period work in terms of composi- tasteful orchestration. The tunes tend towards tion and performance. Gilbert and Sullivan bounciness, but there are There are flamenco elements in pieces exceptions like the suave melody of the count’s such as `Rondena’ and `Soleares’ (for 2 gui- from Les Chaperons Blancs. Sometimes tars). Arcas was the first composer to compose he experiments with colors; the opening of the for flamenco guitar, traditionally an impro- Le Serment (The Oath) has a bar- vised art form learned by ear rather than by carolle with unusually and interestingly voiced notes. Ole! woodwinds. In that same work, he character- Zanetti is joined by another excellent gui- izes counterfeiters with con legno strings. tarist, Giulio Tampalini, on one track on each His Masaniello overture was once disc—the guitars are well-matched in tone and deservedly popular in pops concerts (back volume, and the playing is unified. when they played actual music). Yet even from Liner notes by Zanetti are wonderfully this distance, one hears the fashion fade. The written and informative, completing this musi- slow introductory theme in his overture for the cal account of one of the guitar’s most impor- London Exposition must have seemed corny tant composers. even in 1862. MCCUTCHEON Formally, the overtures are potpourri American Record Guide 13 strings of tunes. At the same time you can hear and spirituals—doesn’t generate lasting inter- why, to the Paris opera-going public, com- est. A set of Ayres’s snappiest hymns and pared to Auber’s elegant work, the music of psalms would have made more of an impres- Berlioz or Wagner may have seemed vulgar, sion than this lengthy volume. 77 minutes is a even crude. Think of the Paris Tannhauser long time. fiasco: Auber would have been just the proper GREENF:IELD diet for the Jockey Club airheads and their bimbeaux. BACH: Cello Suites Some performances in this series have Miklos Perenyi been less than rapturously regarded (July/Aug Hungaroton 32834 [2CD] 145 minutes 2020), but using a larger orchestra such as the Here come the great Bach suites once more, Moravian Phil helps. In addition to a richer played to a turn by Perenyi. Born in Budapest tone quality, they play with good ensemble. in 1948, he started the cello at the age of 5, The latter is important here, as Auber’s tutti studied with Miklos Zsamboki and Ede Banda passages normally all move en bloc, without and attended masterclasses by the great Enri- subsidiary or contrasting rhythms. I’m used to co Mainardi. When he was 14 he was awarded hearing Masaniello played at a more break- a performing diploma in the Accademia neck speed, but Salvi’s pace adds to its gentili- Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in and ty and polish. attended masterclasses taught by . The program includes the overtures and Perenyi has been with us a while, and I am entr’actes to L’Amour et le Musique, Les surprised that this is his first recording of these Chaperons Blancs, London Exposition, works. I have him playing everything else in Lestocq, Masaniello, Reve d’Amour and Le sight, but only two Bach suites have reached Serment. Auber biographer Robert Ignatius me until now. We are informed that he record- Letellier contributes excellent notes. ed these in 2019. The recorded sound is rich O’CONNOR and full, doing justice to his lovely tone and highly accurate fingers. He does no improvis- AYRES: Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs ing, though he makes all repeats. That is not a When I Consider the Heavens; The Lord My criticism, though many do alter their thinking Shepherd Is; Crimond; The Lord My Pasture the second time around. There are a few unfa- Shall Prepare; This is the Day; Be Thou My miliar notes in the of Suites 2 and Vision; Grant O God Thy Protection; This Joyful 4, but every version of these works differs in Eastertide; Let All Mortal Flesh; A New Com- some way from what I grew up with. In all mandment; Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel; Go respects these are some of the most effective Down Moses; Motherless Child; Deep River; and convincing performances I have heard of Joshua Fought the Battle; On This Mountain; God this oft-recorded music. Be in My Head; Quanto sei Bella; Angel Gabriel; D MOORE Go Tell It on the Mountain; When the Song of the Angels is Stilled BACH: French Suites; Suite in E minor; Shanna Hart, Davids Heinze, org; Selwyn College Prelude, , & Allegro Chapel / Sarah MacDonald Wolfgang Rubsam, Regent 536—77 minutes Brilliant 96227 [2CD] 150 minutes This music was written by Paul Ayres, an Rubsam has had a long career as an organist, Oxford turned composer, pianist, and teacher. He developed a produc- arranger, conductor, accompanist, and man of tion company named “RMC classical Music” music around London. The good news is that to record his own performances, eventually it can be very engaging, like the lovely `New producing recordings for colleagues as well. Commandment’, and `Crimond’, a 23rd Psalm From 2005 to 2008 he produced seven out- that perches a 19th Century melody atop a standing Naxos for harpsichordist Eliz- flowing organ part in the manner of Bach’s abeth Farr, several of which had her playing on `Wachet auf’ and `Jesu, Joy’. The lilting wed- a lautenwerck (gut-strung , or ding anthem, `Quanto sei bella’, is attractive, as -harpsichord). is `The Lord My Pasture Shall Prepare’, a psalm Rubsam retired from teaching in 2010, but setting in the spirit of John Rutter. he has continued to perform and record. In The less happy news is that the other 2015 he acquired a lautenwerck of his own, stuff—like the dutiful of carols and he immediately started recording most of 14 May/June 2021

Bach’s harpsichord works on it, along with sense of dance. Rubsam played the piano like pieces by Sylvius Weiss, , and it was a deluxe . Georg Bohm. He included his own transcrip- His style with piano had humor and grace. tions of Bach’s solo violin and cello pieces in That’s why his new recording on lautenwerck that series. Most of these lautenwerck albums is such a letdown. His tempos have become are available only at his own web site, but he much slower, the phrasing makes less sense, has licensed a few of them as conventional and the pieces don’t dance anymore. On piano CDs. We reviewed his Goldberg Variations in he played the notes mostly together, the oppo- its Naxos issue (J/F 2019), and here are the site of his approach here. The results are now French Suites on Brilliant. He fills up the space affected and amorphous next to those early by including the Suite in E minor (S 996) and piano recordings. the Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro (S 998), the LEHMAN two most conventionally lautenwerck pieces in the Bach repertoire. BACH: da Gamba Sonatas Let’s handle those pieces first, and then Marie Stockmarr Becker; Ilaria Macedonio, hpsi we’ll get back to the French Suites. His stagger- Channel 43721—45 minutes ing of attacks among the voices too often Jbohann Se astian Bach’s three lovely sonatas seems like a caricature of harpsichordists’ for viola da gamba and harpsichord, S 1027-9 practices, where we do it to help the instru- are played here on a viola. In other words, ment’s dynamic expression (some real, some played under the chin rather than between the created through arts of illusion in the timing). knees. It works well this way. Rubsam’s extreme dislocation of the beat is These two lovely young musicians met interesting, but it impedes the melodic and while studying early music at the Royal Acade- rhythmic progress of the phrases. my of Music in Copenhagen in 2013. They Farr’s 2007 recording is a better choice for worked together on these great sonatas at that S 996 and 998. time. Since then, Marie stayed in Scandinavia Kim Heindel recorded 996 (M/J 1990), and working with early-music ensembles. She is then did it again along with 998 (S/O 1995). now co-principal violist in the Basel Sinfoniet- Robert Hill recorded them for Hanssler in 1999 ta. Ilaria went off to the Royal College of Music (not reviewed). All of these performances con- in London, later moving back to . Now vey more emotional clarity and flow than Rub- here they are back in Copenhagen, recording sam’s. He is too distracting with his way of dis- in Garrison Church in February, 2020. locating the bass notes far ahead of the beat. Their interpretation contains little to cavil He makes me listen to the technique of his about. Yes, sometimes the viola has to play a deliberate distortion when I’d rather concen- passage an octave higher than the written trate on the music. He emphasizes so many lit- score, but that does not happen often and does tle things by speeding up or slowing down, not detract from the meaning of the music. moment to moment, that I lose coherent men- What comes across is the love these players tal images of the pieces. As I said in the review have for the music and for working together. of his Goldberg Variations on this same instru- They listen to each other with clarity and walk ment, “There is too much deliberate disorder. through the Bach woods hand in hand, paying The performance lacks simplicity and subtlety. fine attention to their steps and the scenery To be transparent it would need a vigorous that surrounds them. I enjoyed the trip. The and clear rhythmic profile in at least one voice, liner notes are written by them in English, and preferably the bass line.” the recorded sound is well balanced. Now, in the French Suites, Rubsam is com- D MOORE peting with himself. He recorded them all on a Bosendorfer piano in April 1986, and I heard BACH: Goldberg Variations him play them in concerts that summer. I arranged for small orchestra by Jozef Koffler bought his Bayer recording as soon as it Soloists/ became available, along with all of his other Linn 609—80 minutes Bach recordings on piano. He licensed that Bayer recording as a Naxos reissue, remade the Few composers have been subjected to more English Suites, and continued his series on arrangements and orchestrations than Bach. Naxos. I still enjoy those performances more Many of these have worked out extremely well, than 30 years later. They are sensitively but a few have not—owing mostly to choice of phrased, quietly intense, and vital, with a instruments. In this case we have a small string 16 May/June 2021 ensemble with four woodwind players—stu- it ends on the dominant, she sensibly pairs dents from the School of the with the G major Prelude, S 902. Royal Conservatory, Toronto—for a grand total Her rhythmic vitality makes me move my of 19 players. Koffler (1896-1944) obviously body while listening. She sets up snappy artic- knew what he was doing when he produced ulations as the default touch for a passage, and this in 1938. It is kaleidoscopic in then chooses several notes to smear together color and scored with a genius that does not or to give a momentary ritardando, as accents. violate the music—indeed I doubt if the mas- It’s inspiring and never boring. This resembles ter himself could have done a better job. the superb interpretations of her teacher, Pinnock, known for his devotion to early Edward Parmentier, in the toccatas (J/A 1998) music, has turned up a splendid alternative to and sonata (M/A 1998, p 252). the composer’s original keyboard work that LEHMAN works just about perfectly. While some tempos allow us to luxuriate a little more in the com- BACH: Inventions 1-15; poser’s richly expressed ideas, it is difficult to CHOPIN: Preludes think of anyone disliking what is heard here. Dina Ugorskaja, p—Avi 8553024—67 minutes I’d even extend my welcome and say I Ug orskaja offers a methodical interpretation of absolutely love this new dimension of Gold- these works, and from a pedagogical stand- berg listening. point is solid. But there is not much flair, and it The recording was made at the Britten Stu- may seem slow to listeners used to more lively dio, Snape Maltings and is superb in delineat- readings. Her intentions for her interpretations ing every strand of the scoring. The fine notes are very clear. Students will be able to untangle even inform us of Koffler’s reversing the order the lines in Bach’s Inventions, because she is for variations 6 and 7 and give a portrait of very careful with voicing and phrasing; but another Jewish genius who was victimized at from an entertainment standpoint, they need a the hands of the Nazis. Also most lovable is the lot more verve to sustain interest. They come choice of the cover illustration “Shtetl” by across very dry. Chara Kowalska, a Polish artist and contempo- Chopin’s Preludes are well suited to her rary of Koffler, who also met her fate with the restrained playing. 1, 6, and 7 are very lovely, Nazis. and I enjoy the pacing of 8. Her dry pedaling If you are still in doubt, let me point out style helps the clarity in No. 24. that this arrangement is far less interventionist KANG then the transcriptions made by Stokowski and others of the organ works. Do not under BACH: Keyboard Pieces 4 any circumstance miss this. Benjamin Alard, hpsi, org BECKER 902460 [3CD] 197 minutes

BACH: Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue; ’Alard s Volume 4 in his survey of Bach’s key- 2 Toccatas; Capriccio; Sonata board music is consistent with the virtues and Jillon Stoppels Dupree, hpsi caveats we have heard from volumes 1-3 (J/A Centaur 3810—73 minutes 2018, S/O 2019, S/O 2020). He plays organ, harpsichord, and several other instruments, This excellent program has been sitting sometimes making uncommon choices to unpublished since 2013. We must hope for offer a fresh perspective on the compositions. more from Jillon Stoppels Dupree, who record- In the earlier volumes, he brought in represen- ed this in California. This is harpsichord musi- tative pieces by several other composers, but cianship at its best. Dupree brings out a dozen he sticks to Bach this time. ideas on every page to let the music be expres- Like before, we get mostly an efficient sive. She integrates her subtle nuances into Apollonian breeze through the notes. Once interpretations that sound both coherent and we’ve heard about 15 seconds of each piece, passionate. we know how the rest of it is going to go: flu- She includes the Toccatas in D minor and ently, but no surprises. G, the B-flat Capriccio, and the Chromatic The theme of Volume 4 is Bach’s self-guid- Fantasy and Fugue. The D-minor Sonata is ed acquisition of Venetian style by making Bach’s arrangement of the A minor Solo Violin transcriptions. We get 11 of his about 20 Sonata. Dupree also plays the G-major Adagio arrangements of concertos by his contempo- opening of the Violin Sonata in C, and because raries, setting them for harpsichord or organ American Record Guide 17 and sometimes including pedal parts. Includ- both of these short bars, but they really do ed are the concertos S 592-594, 596, 972-976, need to be played twice to balance the phrase and 978-980. Presumably we will get the correctly. remaining concertos—595, 977, 981, 982, 983, For Disc 3 he plays a 1710 Silbermann 984, 985, 986, and 987—when Alard turns to organ in an abbey in Marmoutier. The tuning other non-Venetian styles later in the series. is equal temperament at A=395, about a whole (984 and 595 are both arrangements of part of tone below modern pitch. Getting nothing of the same concerto, and it will be interesting to expressive direction from the temperament, he hear how Bach made different acoustic choic- compensates somewhat by choosing registra- es for harpsichord and organ.) tions that use the reeds and mutations often. There are some other original concerto- The performances are OK here, but this disc’s like compositions here: the Fantasia and program is seriously let down by bad tone Fugue S 944, the Preludes and S 535 quality in the recording. Treble frequencies are and 894 (which Bach later rearranged as an missing, giving a dull tone. This is easily ensemble concerto, S 1044), and the big Toc- noticeable when listening to discs 1 and 2 with cata, Adagio, and Fugue, S 564. Completing the settings that make the sound program are two trios, some miscellaneous realistic, and then switching to this organ disc preludes, and the G-minor Fugue, S 3—the treble is muffled. 542:2 without its paired Fantasia. This last The only concerto he plays on organ is S piece is played on a pedal harpsichord. Maybe 594, arranged from Vivaldi’s we will get it again when Alard gets around to Concerto. It includes long cadenzas with fig- the later-composed Fantasia, replaying it on ures that sound like bird calls. The program organ. notes point out that Bach probably worked Disc 2, pedal harpsichord, is the best here, from a manuscript draft of Vivaldi’s piece, on with a modern instrument by Humeau. Alard the evidence of these unusual cadenzas, which dispatches the concertos without much varia- didn’t make it into Vivaldi’s later publication. tion of tempo or touch, but these pieces with The booklet includes photos of the two old pedal have a range of dramatic effects com- instruments, but not the pedal harpsichord. In posed into them. It is good to hear them with this series advertised as comprehensive, this is the rhythmic incisiveness of harpsichord tone, one more place where we see and hear some instead of the usual organ. attractive things but also have questions about Disc 1 has a Roman harpsichord from things that are missing. I brought up those 1702. It sounds almost like a in one problems in the earlier reviews, and I keep of its registers, as heard in two of the concer- wondering if we’ll eventually get some hodge- tos. The pitch is slightly higher than the podge boxes to catch up with the many omit- Humeau instrument’s, and Alard chose to tune ted pieces. in meantone for some of the pieces. There are LEHMAN badly tuned unisons in some of the move- ments of S 979. Alard is somewhat more flexi- BACH: Partitas ble with his tempos on this instrument than in Asako Ogawa, hpsi—FHR 92 [2CD] 151 minutes the pieces with pedal elsewhere, and at his best in the florid slow movements. Elizabeth It’s a valiant lockdown project: a worthy effort Farr (Naxos, 2009) is more interesting than overall, reasonably good but not great. As of Alard in these harpsichord concertos without this writing, her own web site and another by pedal. She has all 16 of them conveniently “The Sydenham Society” offer Ogawa’s set at a together, plus the Prelude and Fugue, S 894. very low price, two discs for less than the She brought more rhetorical flourishes to that expected normal price of one. piece, compared with Alard’s stricter manner. The biography in the booket lauds Ogawa An added attraction is her bigger harpsichord as a “leading” harpsichordist, and it lists her with more tonal variety, including a 16-foot festival performances and esteemed teachers. stop. She doesn’t sound like a harpsichordist to me, There are some production glitches in Disc but like a fluent pianist playing the notes on 1. The finale of S 973 has two ungainly edits. In harpsichord as a secondary instrument. It’s the Adagio of S 974, at 2:32, several of the right the kind of playing that might impress people hand’s notes play twice during a garbled who are satisfied with fast-finger skills. She can melodic run. The finale of S 972 is missing bar certainly move her fingers confidently and 5 (or 6) altogether—the notes are the same in smoothly through all the notes. She only rarely 18 May/June 2021 dislocates the attacks among the contrapuntal recation that he had filled up his rendition of voices. Partita 5 with too many “party tricks” to hold Indeed, Ogawa has a separate career people’s attention in big concert halls. Well, (under a different professional name, Asako those party tricks are important. Anna Ginova) as a collaborative pianist. Partita 6 is fast and mechanical, again the Apparently she plays mostly in Japan and near type of clattery playing that might impress her professional base, London (where this was people who are awed by brilliant-sounding made). Unable to do the expected amount of fingerwork. collaborative piano work during 2020 lock- Videos of her home rehearsals show her downs, she worked on harpsichord to prepare using big pianistic arm motions as part of the for this recording in August and September. visual expression of the phrasing. That extra- Her generic, uneventful performances call neous motion doesn’t translate into audible attention to the occasional oddities and don’t evidence in this recording. In other words, she feel engaged with the music. In Partita 1’s sara- doesn’t put the expression of the phrases into bande she stops her trills a bar too early, per- her sound, but she hurtles through them with haps because Bach didn’t bother to mark the little inflection at the level of finger motion. trill over the second tied note. Her videos confirm the sniffs in the same Partita 2 is relentless and metrically stiff. places, too. Despite fast tempos, the performance seems Her booklet notes give a superficially- long when nothing interesting happens in the researched survey of the compositional history repeats beyond a change of manuals. The and the dance forms. I wish this obligatory instrument is poorly regulated, and the background task had translated into more unisons are not always in tune. imaginative character and expression in her The uneven regulation is noticeable again performance. The allemandes, , in the opening Fantasia of Partita 3. The piece sarabandes, and could have more could be either an opportunity for intense graceful phrasing and not sounding so much pathos or a brilliant dash, but Ogawa just plays like relentless trudges or mindless cardio exer- it as a boring shapeless trudge. It sounds like cise. rote practicing of a two-part invention as a fin- Among recent recordings, Jory Vinikour’s ger exercise. In the Burlesca, which had been (M/A 2017) is one that offers more engage- going well, the last bar is too obviously edited ment in the music. It’s the difference between in from a different take. There is another an expert harpsichordist anda good pianist bumpy edit near the beginning of Partita 3’s playing harpsichord: knowing how to make and a dropped note near the end of the the instrument sound expressive. Both of these first half. players choose brisk tempos, but Vinikour fills She makes Partita 4 dull. It is an especially up the phrases with articulative and rhythmic challenging piece to shape well across its interest. extreme length. The Allemande is aimless, LEHMAN even though Ogawa’s tempo isn’t unusually slow. The isn’t springy enough, hav- BACH: Partita 1; English Suite 2; Toccata ing all the beats in the meter sound the same in D; Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue as one another. In the Aria she rushes the end- Jill Crossland, p—Diversions 24169—75 minutes ing on both repeats. In the Praeambulum of Partita 5 Ogawa Rob Haskins reviewed this recording on the makes many annoyingly loud sniffing sounds Calico label (S/O 2004). I wrote down my own on strong beats with rests, and the gigue has thoughts from several weeks of listening more of that bad habit. (She sniffed to start before reading his review—but I noticed the some of the movements in Partitas 3 and 4, same things: pianism that sounds both old- too, and in the opening Toccata of Partita 6. It fashioned and fresh. Crossland, an English would have been easy to edit out all of these pianist, is particularly good at the parts she has distracting noises.) chosen to make quiet and delicate. There Her flexible tempos and better interpretive could be more drive in place of the phrases involvement in Partita 5 would have been wel- she has rounded off, but she makes pleasant come in the rest of the program, because the effects. other five suites are too plain. Pianist Glenn Balances are fascinating: she brings out the Gould did the same thing in his own set more left hand loudly sometimes, or picks some than 50 years ago, complaining with self-dep- individual notes to accent in the right hand’s American Record Guide 19 figurations. Her interpretive quirks include capable of. Many, many big four-note chords extreme ritardandos. at the lowest pitch levels of the piano precede This is worth investigating if you are look- the main chords all the way through this piece. ing for spontaneous pianistic journeys through Every Bach chord is filled out to the max, and these pieces. frankly this organ transcription method gets LEHMAN weary over 20 minutes. I think he could have picked some better material like the Liszt tran- BACH: Piano Arrangements scriptions. Bach, Gounod, Saint-Saens, Godowsky, Brahms, The program ends with the famous `Air’ Siloti, Stradal, Martucci from Orchestra Suite 3. This piece is a regular Luigi Palombi—Dynamic 7891—59 minutes in my own repertoire (arranged for keyboard and 2 flutes), but I have never heard it so slow. Ig re ularly enjoy Bach transcriptions and I looked up Martucci’s score of the whole suite arrangements for piano. Bach’s arrangement for solo piano (23 pages long), and found that here is of a Marcello Concerto. Stradal Palombi follows the arranger’s marking of arranges Bach’s organ transcription of Vivaldi’s eighth note = 40. Concerto Op.3:8 from L’Estro Armonico. I’d be remiss if I didn’t comment about the Everyone else transcribes or arranges music of title of this release. Fake Bach turns me off Bach, five of them originally movements from immediately. It’s an Italian production, but the master’s solo violin works. even the Italian booklet notes use the English The program begins with a work universal- title. They make a case (sort of) for using the ly known as `’. Most know that Goun- term, but I think a better choice could have od’s melody (originally called `Meditation’) is been made. superimposed on Bach’s Prelude in C from HARRINGTON Book 1 of the Well-Tempered Clavier. There are dozens of versions of this work for many BACH: Recorder Pieces vocal and instrumental combinations. This Stefano Bagliano; Andrea Coen, hpsi, org version for solo piano is one of the earliest and Brilliant 95777—61 minutes is done by the composer. It sets the stage for a balanced and varied look at Bach through the JS Bach often made transcriptions of his own eyes of some great composers. and other composers’ music, recasting pieces Godowsky and Brahms supply quite differ- for performing forces other than the original. ent, demanding versions of the Presto move- Such arrangements might require greater or ment from Violin Sonata 1. In a bit of ingen- lesser degrees of adaptation, and practical ious programming, these frame Bach’s solo considerations often dictated transpositions to keyboard arrangement of Marcello’s Oboe keys other than the original. This recording Concerto with its particularly beautiful Adagio contains a variety of pieces by Bach in middle movement (also recorded by Ashke- arrangements for solo recorder and keyboard nazy, Decca 478 6773). Saint-Saens and (harpsichord or organ). The organ is a small Godowsky are represented by two movements chamber instrument that does not overwhelm from Violin Partita 1 and Saint-Saens also adds the delicate tone of the recorder. On the con- a movement from Violin Sonata 3. Siloti, trary, the transcriptions with organ exploit the teacher and cousin of Rachmaninoff, made a two instruments’ similarity of tone, while the great number of Bach transcriptions. Possibly ones with harpsichord exhibit their contrast. his most famous is the B-minor Prelude (S The principal works here are three cham- 855a, originally in E minor). Even though ber sonatas. S 1032 was originally in A major Palombi has major league competition here for and obbligato harpsichord. from the likes of Gilels, his sensitive perform- Here it is transposed to C. S 1039 in G was for ance makes this a high point of the program. two flutes and continuo, but that was itself a The biggest and loudest work here is transcription of S 1027 for viola da gamba and unquestionably Stradal’s piano transcription harpsichord. S 1020 in G minor for violin and of Bach’s organ transcription of Vivaldi’s Con- harpsichord may have been written by CPE certo. Bach’s transcription is showy and virtu- Bach. Here it is transposed to A minor. osic. Stradal has none of the sophistication of The program includes two chorale prel- Liszt’s piano transcriptions of Bach’s organ udes originally for organ: `O Mensch Bewein’ music. He seems to try to get as many notes from Orgelbuchlein and `Herr Jesu Christ’ and octave doublings as two hands might be from the . I find them lacking 20 May/June 2021 in substance and gravity when performed by 29 of 1731) is not included here. Readers who the recorder with chamber organ. The organ enjoy getting down into the weeds to trace the Trio in D minor (S 583) is more convincing. derivations of the sinfonias and, in some cases, Two of the three-part Sinfonias, the `Fuga later versions of the movements, will find Canonica in Epidiapente’ from the Musical Wollny’s notes highly informative. Offering, and two movements from the Art of The performances here are simply splen- Fugue complete the program. did. All but two are in quick tempos, with read- Stefano Bagliano plays recorders of various ings of great energy and ebullience. The joyful- sizes here. His playing is highly accomplished, ly infectious spirit of the music shines through but not without some rough edges such as in every bar. One could not ask for more noisy breaths and some unevenness of tone. impressive control and precision. The record- Anyone who has played the recorder knows ed sound is clear and warm. Listeners who how sensitive the pitch is to breath pressure. think they hate the sound of period instru- Far too often Bagliano allows the final pitches ments may be in for a surprise. of movements to flatten before release. Even Takashi Watanabe studied early keyboard with such flaws, these are enjoyable perform- instruments in Tokyo, Amsterdam, and . ances. Andrea Coen’s keyboard work is exem- From 2003 to 2008 he directed the Handel Fes- plary. The recorded sound is pleasant: inti- tival Japan in Tokyo. He currently teaches in mate but not suffocatingly close. , . Cellist and director Stefano It is worth noting that S 1020 and S 1032 Veggetti founded Ensemble Cordia in 2000. It are interchanged in the booklet track list from is based in Bruneck, South Tyrol. the order of their appearance on the recording GATENS itself. GATENS BARRIOS: Danza Paraguaya Maximilian Mangold, g BACH: Sinfonias from Musicaphon 56983—61 minutes Takashi Watanabe, org; Ensemble Cordia/ Ste- Augustin Barrios (1885-1944) was a unique fig- fano Veggetti—Brilliant 96218—53 minutes ure in the history of the classical guitar. Born in In his notes to this recording, eminent Bach Paraguay, he lived all over South America, set- scholar Peter Wollny points out that in the tling in El Salvador for his final years. One 17th Century, Lutheran church cantatas often aspect of his legacy is that he was the first clas- began with a brief introductory movement for sical guitarist to have made recordings. instruments usually designated “sonata” or Barrios also composed many substantial “”. Bach followed this custom in his and beautiful works for the guitar. These were early cantatas, but in his first two Leipzig written in a romantic style, in contrast to other cycles (1723-24 and 1724-25) he most often 20th Century trendsm and have been coming began with a large-scale chorus. In the to light and earning their rightful place in the autumn of 1726 he produced a series of can- repertoire over the past several decades. This tatas that opened with ambitious instrumental disc from prizewinning German guitarist Max- concerto movements—far more elaborate imilian Mangold is devoted to many of these than the introductory pieces of his works, some often recorded previously, and years. He also produced comparable introduc- some that will be new to many listeners. tory sinfonias for cantatas in the “Picander A favorite track is `Choro de Saudade’, a Cycle” of 1728-29. Most of these sinfonias were romantic composition played with elegant adapted from concertos written before the rubato and stylistic grace by a performer who composer’s arrival in Leipzig. In many cases is quite in touch with transmitting feeling the original concertos are lost; but of the ones through his instrument. Similarly well-played included here, listeners will readily recognize is `Oracion por Todos’, with thoughtful, unhur- adaptations of movements from the first and ried phrasing. Two waltzes from Opus 8 are third Brandenburg Concertos. also played in a very engaging way, and No. 4 The recording includes 10 sinfonias: 9 has a brilliantly executed conclusion. from the 2 cycles mentioned above and one (S New to this reviewer’s ears is the centrally- 12 of 1714) from the Weimar period. Of the 10, placed Leyenda Guarani, a four-movement 6 include virtuosic parts for organ. The collec- work that may well have been part of his mar- tion is by no means exhaustive. Probably the keting strategy toward the end of his perform- most famous sinfonia with organ obbligato (S ing career, intended to capitalize on his line- American Record Guide 21 age from the Paraguayan Guarani Indians. unknown composers who are forgot- Most of Barrios’s music is stand-alone pieces, ten for good reason. and here Mangold makes this music work, FRENCH bringing out the contrasts between move- ments. BEETHOVEN: Bagatelles Liner notes by Mangold himself give the with Piano Sonatas 4+32 reader a succinct picture of the life of this cre- Antoinette Perry—Navona 6331—77 minutes ative genius whose career never reached the Vladimir Feltsman, p—Nimbus 6399—67 min heights of his contemporary, Andres Segovia, but whose music is nonetheless worthy of the Christopher Scheffelt, p—Prospero 8—58 min concert stage. All three releases offer solid recordings of MCCUTCHEON Beethoven’s 11 Bagatelles, with subtle differ- BARTOK: 29 Duos; see PROKOFIEFF ences. Perry is more by-the-book and straight- Solo Violin Sonata; see MARTINU forward, Feltsman different and refreshing. Scheffelt is the happy medium, generally well BASET: Symphonies balanced and even. I enjoyed all three of these Forma Antiqua/ Aaron Zapico for different reasons. Feltsman’s Op. 119:1 Winter & Winter 910266—72 minutes articulates the slurs more and emphasizes the inner voices more than the other two. Scheffelt These are the first recordings of the recently seems more unencumbered than Perry’s more discovered Symphonies 2 to 12 by Vicente careful interpretation—freer. Perry’s Op. 119:2 Baset (1719-64). They were written in moves a lot, with a more spirited tempo, but in 1753. (Symphony 1 is lost.) Aaron Zapico, Feltsman is slower and true to the andante. director of the 21-member Forma Antiqua (4- Scheffelt is more lyrical, but 119:3 can be 4-2-2-1) and the leading force behind this steadier, as he is more free with the overall recording, says in the liner notes that the pulse. I am still more drawn to Scheffelt’s scores are “in a sense naked”, i.e., mostly with- interpretation: he is quirkier and attends more out markings or directions. His solution: he to the rhythmic semiquavers. In Op. 119:5 it is studied them at the harpsichord and let his imperative to be absolutely “risoluto” with the experienced imagination take the lead. quarter and eighth note bass in the left hand. Zapico ordered the symphonies (all Scheffelt’s left hand is good but soft. Feltsman between five and seven minutes in three fast- is firm, and Perry is inconsistent. In Op. 119:11 slow-fast movements) not numerically but by I much prefer Perry. Though she is slower than a mix of different styles (jigs, pastorales, etc. the other two pianists, she maintains a beauti- mixed with occasional use of castanet or tam- ful cantabile and that “innocentement” quali- bourine) and succession of soloists (violin, ty. I prefer Feltsman’s Op. 33 Bagatelles to cello, , oboe, ). The Scheffelt’s, because the musical lines are clear- changing character of the movements keeps er and more sprightly and varied. Feltsman’s the music fresh and inventive. Op. 33:3 has more gravitas and a richer sound. Baset’s style melodically and structurally The other works on these discs are also makes me think mostly of Vivaldi. The players strong. Perry’s playing of Piano Sonata 4 is are finely tuned—no sour period sounds here. clean and true to the text, but the first move- Their tempos are upbeat, their rhythms are ment feels too slow. Her Sonata 32 is very crisp and infectious, and, just when a series of lucid, though a bit dry and careful. The most string movements might begin to become famous Bagatelle of all, `Fur Elise’, is very slow wearing, the mix of soloists adds just the right and haunting under Feltsman’s fingers. In that colors to keep things fresh. piece Scheffelt is delicate and well balanced, The results are most pleasing and never but a bit mechanical. tiring—a far cry from yet another album of KANG

Error BEETHOVEN: Cello Sonatas 1+2; In March/April a review of Vivaldi’s Bei Männern Variations; refers to an earlier recording, by Biondi, with PLEYEL, BAUDIOT: Nocturne “no ”. Mr Locke wanted to tell us that Raphael Pidoux; Tanguy de Williencourt, p there is no libretto online—not that there was Harmonia Mundi 902410—65 minutes not one with the CD. This was an editing error. Beethoven’s two early sonatas are played here 22 May/June 2021 on a Guarnieri cello made in 1734 and a piano phrasing, nuance, and the like. The only ques- made by Carl Julius Gebauhr in 1855. Both tion I would have about Jacobs is his sudden sonatas are in two substantial movements pre- diminuendo at the very end of the . Is he ceded by a slow introduction. The Variations just trying to inflect the word, which ends after are on an excerpt from Mozart’s Magic Flute. the downbeat? I would rethink that one. The program ends with a Nocturne from Sou- Soloists are very good, except that Johannes venirs de La Flute Enchantee by Camille Pleyel Weisser is too much a , too little a (1788-1855) and Charles-Nicolas Baudiot bass, in the Agnus Dei. (1773-1849). This is a setting of three Mozart This is as fine a performance in the mod- that blend well into one piece and were ern vein as you will find. Do note, though, that arranged either for cello and piano as they are the choir numbers only 47 (15, 11, 10, 11), and done here, or for violin and piano. Raphael Pidoux began his cello studies the orchestra has only 28 strings (8, 7, 5, 4, 4), with his father, Roland, whom I think of as a so the big, overwhelming passages will sound pianist. Raphael went on to study with Janos more youthful and athletic than rich and pow- Starker and more and has had a fine career erful. For older school Klemperer is still my and made numerous recordings. Tanguy de choice. Williencourt also studied in Paris and has had ALTHOUSE an even more impressive list of honors. These gentlemen work well together and are record- BEETHOVEN: 3; ed in a clear, natural sound. This is a fine release. Antje Weithaas, v; Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, vc; D MOORE Martin Helmchen, p; German Symphony Berlin/ Andrew Manze—Alpha 642—70 minutes BEETHOVEN: Missa Solemnis Polina Pastirchak, Sophie Harmsen, Steve Davis- The Third Concerto has judicious tempos and lim, Johannes Weisser; RIAS Chorus; Freiburg personality but not idiosyncrasies. There is / Rene Jacobs nobility, romance, and humor when appropri- Harmonia Mundi 902427—72 minutes ate. It falls short of the majestic sweep of Ashkenazy and Solti, and the sound is a little Faithful, observant readers will by now cer- constricted, but it is a fine recording in all tainly know my preference for older-style, other respects. large-scale performances of this mammoth Though the Triple Concerto is not work; if this is one of the biggest and greatest Beethoven’s best, it’s far from his worst, and of our choral monuments, doesn’t it deserve the varsity, not the JV? the soloists play with vibrancy and joy. This is Now that I have that off my chest, I’ll report hardly an objective, critical opinion, but I have that this is a very fine reading in the modern appreciated the serenity and comfort this style. Tempos are, of course, on the quick side, album has brought over the last several weeks. and parts of If you already have your favorite recordings, the Gloria and the fast section of the Et vitam fugue are wonderfully controlled and exciting. The RIAS chorus and Freiburg orchestra are both first rate under Ja- cobs, who has excellent control over

American Record Guide 23 you won’t need this, but it’s a solid base hit, line (https://juilliardmanuscriptcollection. and I’m happy to have it. org/composers/beethoven-ludwig-van/). ESTEP Pianists Stephanie Ho and Saar Ahuvia collaborate here. While pursuing graduate BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonatas 5-8 studies at Peabody they were inspired by Leon Adam Golka—First Hand 101—76 minutes Fleisher to explore the Beethoven string quar- tets in duo piano settings. Their first foray into This is the first in his plan to record all of this literature resulted in a wonderful 2014 Beethoven’s piano sonatas. Golka’s interpreta- recording of Quartets 1, 4, and 6 (New Focus tions are playful and lively, though I have a few 147, not reviewed). Tackling Beethoven’s Great quibbles. Sonata 6 shows that he’s able to stay Fugue is right up this duo’s alley considering more or less true to Beethoven’s tempos. The their recording of Bach’s Art of Fugue (New work is full of character, but the only little flaw Focus 181, Sept/Oct 2017). is in III. When the piece breaks off into the This is their pandemic recording, a “joyful broken octaves, he loses some concentration. tribute to the triumphs of living as well as a For Sonata 7, even with all the technical tragic memorial to the loss of loved ones”. and interpretive tools at his disposal, his Their realization of Beethoven’s late master- approach sounds a bit too flippant. He could piece is as enjoyable and probing as any of the be more careful. Some notes seem too discor- great quartet recordings in my library. The dant, or rushed, or out of place. Beautiful married couple’s ensemble is flawless and moments are not lingered over or enjoyed; he reflects the number of years they have played moves along too fast. There is unnecessary together. I have great admiration for both their rushing, and II lacks gravitas. Sonata 8 is better Beethoven and Schubert Fantasy, written only and I enjoy it the most. a couple of years after the death of Bee- KANG thoven—maybe Schubert’s greatest work for piano duet. BEETHOVEN: Quartet 13 with Grosse Fuge; The disc’s title is `Cavatine’ after the beau- SCHUBERT: Fantasy in F minor tiful 5th movement of the Beethoven. Brief but Stephanie Ho & Saar Ahuvia, p interesting booklet notes complement excep- New Focus 274—70 minutes tionally good sound. This is an outstanding The arrangement of Quartet 13 for piano duet recording. is by Hugo Ulrich and Robert Wittman and HARRINGTON was published in 1890. It used Beethoven’s final version of the 1826 work that replaced the BEETHOVEN: Symphony 3; original last movement, the Grosse Fuge, with MAHLER: Symphony 10 Adagio Buffalo Philharmonic/ JoAnn Falletta a newly composed Finale (only a few months Beau Fleuve 998548—71 minutes before the composer’s death). The Grosse Fuge was composed in 1825. Friends and pub- This Eroica, though not among the leaders of a lisher persuaded Beethoven to replace it and multitudinous pack, is of some interest, with issue it as a separate work. The story does not its signature descriptors of flowing, singing, end there. Publisher Artaria engaged Anton energetic, lively, high spirits, and quick and Halm to prepare a piano duet version. steady tempos with little rubato. The work is Beethoven was unhappy with the arrange- generally considered an introduction to ment, primarily because Halm divided parts romanticism, but this reading plays it as a look between the players in order to avoid hand back to the last breaths of Classicism. crossings. The composer took matters into his The first movement gets the opening own hands and prepared the duet version that thrusts over quickly, and goes about its busi- was finally published. The manuscript was last ness with 14 minutes of steady, uninterrupted identified in an 1890 catalog, when it was sold energy. Save for a touching ending and power- at an auction in Berlin to an American. 115 ful climax, the lyrical, almost sweet `Funeral years later, in July of 2005, it was found in the March’ does not sound very funereal. The library at the Palmer Theological Seminary in Scherzo lives up to its name, and the headlong Philadelphia. Again sold at an auction (Dec. 1, finale is exciting, if sometimes a little hurried. 2005 for almost 2 million dollars) it was donat- “Fleet” comes to mind here; “power” does not. ed to the Juilliard School of Music. Detailed Even the dramatic introduction to the coda is digital images of every page are available on- on the light side. 24 May/June 2021 None of this performance is in any way original instrumentation. She replied, Germanic, partly because the Buffalo Philhar- “Because you need a conductor who knows monic sounds like the good American orches- how to balance an orchestra”. That thought tra that it is. The violin section seems small comes to mind as Manfred Honeck shows that and overmatched by the low strings, but that you don’t need period instruments to make could be the fault of the recording or hall. The the inner workings of Beethoven’s Ninth not horns play with a warm sound and excellent only audible but illuminating. ensemble, but they miss the heroic nature of In the liner notes Honeck gives a detailed their big passages in III and especially IV. The description of his interpretation of each move- stars here are the nicely honed woodwinds. ment, even with measure numbers and timing The Mahler Adagio is extroverted and locations. Where he deliberately varies from moves right along, a bit on the fast side at just the score he states his justifications for doing under 23 minutes. Some people might think it so. But then I always take liner notes with a needs more breathing space, but it has its grain of salt; to me the proof is in the hearing. appeal and does not take much time to get I’ll give you, first, my initial reactions to this used to. Once you do, the extroverted, some- performance, during which I often pressed times jaunty performance is eloquent and “pause” to make some notes. At the end, I’ll enjoyable. It builds textures well, and the big give you an overview from the following day climax unfolds nicely. Most important, it sings. when I listened uninterrupted. The work makes great demands on string tone The symphony opens with a dramatic con- and ensemble, especially in those long trast as the opening pp broadens into a power- unisons. The Buffalo players handle them well, ful, almost extreme fortissimo. As I develops, but the strings of the great world orchestras the strings’ detailed articulations are so effec- have a better tonal grip on those passages. tive that the dialog between first paired These performances were recorded in con- with , and second violins paired with cel- certs in Buffalo’s Kleinhans Hall by the orches- los and string basses, really clarify the textures. tra’s own label, Beau Fleuve. The Beethoven is (Dividing the violins with the seconds on the from 2019. The Mahler is from nine months right helps.) So does the dialog between the later in 2020 and is not hampered by the bal- strings and the woodwinds, as Honeck brings ance problem heard in the Beethoven. Per- them together into a seamless flowing melody haps the engineers solved it by then? (By the line. Indeed, the strings never drown the way, “Beau Fleuve” [beautiful river], despite woodwinds—something that can easily hap- sounding a little like “Buffalo”, is apparently pen in this work. Even the bassoon’s warm res- not the source of the city’s name.) onance feels like a revelation, compared to Neither of these distinctive performances other recordings. But Honeck has a “tick”: he is a “best”, but for some listeners they might be does an almost habitual sudden descrescendo a relief after a steady diet of Germanic rendi- at the end of short phrases, e.g., when the first tions. That said, JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo of two linked eighth-notes is marked ff, he orchestra have given us many fine recordings does a sudden descrescendo to the second of unusual and interesting works by com- note. He justifies it in the liner notes, but, posers like Converse, Gliere, Griffes, Novak, sorry, it sounds like an affect to me. Reger, Schmitt, Schreker, Suk, Tyburg, and II is grippingly alert, on toe tips, rollicking! lesser known works by Bartok and Strauss. The dialog between orchestral choirs is seam- Whatever else Falletta and the orchestra do, I less and shows off the Pittsburgh Symphony’s hope they continue their exploration into superb ensemble under Honeck. Instrumental unusual repertoire. details, let alone rhythms, are infectious. The HECHT sounds fine except in its solo thwacks, where it sounds slightly flat. BBEETHOVEN: Symphony 9 Beethoven uses tempo changes to divide Christine Landshamer, Jennifer Johnson Cano, III into five sections. Honeck says that the Werner Guura, Shenyang; Mendelssohn Choir; opening adagio molto e cantabile “has tradi- Pittsburgh Symphony/ Manfred Honeck tionally been played much too slowly, influ- Reference 741 [SACD] 63 minutes enced by romantic sensibilities [rather] than...the time of Viennese classicism”. My Once in 1966 I asked a teacher in college why problem isn’t the speed of his tempos; it’s that Leonard Bernstein was the only one to record they don’t evolve organically. The third tempo Robert Schumann’s symphonies using the change says “Tempo I” (the adagio), but he American Record Guide 25 retains the same spirit and style as the second says he wanted soloists “with lighter, more tempo. Each section becomes faster and faster. agile voices” because their quartet “requires He makes the lengthy final 12/8 section long- utmost transparency as well as empathy. I lined and lyrical, but in the end the movement amplify this effect by asking the soloists to sing feels intellectually paced rather than inspired the harmonic changes without vibrato”. The or heartfelt. results are exactly as he desires. Honeck makes the orchestral introduction In the final prestissimo leading to the coda, to IV an electrifying declamation, a genuine the conductor makes sure that every subito in one unbroken line with all details fortissimo, especially on “der ganzen welt” audible among the exquisitely balanced (the whole world), is “a boundless fortissimo”. strings and woodwinds. The rich deep-toned It certainly is with him taking it at “the fastest string basses punch out detached exclamation tempo possible of Viennese classicism”, though points. The main theme is so lyrically bal- pushing it even further, almost beyond the anced that even the are audible limits, in the final orchestral bars struck me when they double the first violins. All remains initially as another Honeck intellectual idea compelling until the entrance of Chinese bass- that seems forced when heard. baritone Shenyang (Shen is his family name— The next day I listened again, this time he combines the two syllables). How Honeck uninterrupted. allowed his out-of-control vibrato on the I: I never knew Beethoven was so angry. recitative opening `O Fruende, nicht diese Here I is one arc with more levels of accents, tone’ is puzzling. Some of the pitches defy , colors, and details than I’ve ever identification. Another problem: until the very heard before. It’s Eroica amplified. final quartet, he is sometimes inaudible when II: It’s Symphony 7’s pounding rhythms singing more than an octave below middle C. turned into Beethoven’s anger, now spoken in He is a baritone, but a bass he is not. Maybe he fugues and canons. Yes, there’s occasional can hit the notes, but without resonance. The relief, but Beethoven’s fists-in-the-mind per- other soloists are excellent whether singing sist. Make II a continuum from I. solo or together. The Mendelssohn Choir is III: Has anyone ever made Beethoven incomparable and is recorded very well. sound so mellow and comforting, given such a Honeck points out that the Turkish march warm embrace to his music as Manfred is based on “the theme of joy” and the tempo Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony? Faster marking is “approximating a French Revolu- than traditionally done? Yes. But their soft-as- tionary march, which, according to tradition, down lightness and lyrical seamless flow wrap was always faster than a Prussian march. Per- its 13 minutes into one arc of sweetness. When haps more important is the desired expres- the anger attempts to surface twice near the sion: the expectation of a happy victory.” And end, Honeck’s ability to shift moods or tempos so the contrabassoon, bass drum, timpani, is so integral that here it is peace that persists. cymbals, and triangle add flamboyance. The (Boy! Was I out to lunch at my first hearing.) tempo is really swift as the chorus sings a ring- IV: The orchestral introduction is exactly ing “freude schoner Gotterfunken” (joy, the as Honeck’s liner notes describe it: not merely brilliant god-spark) and punches out each syl- a recitative but a dialog Beethoven is having in lable when “drunk with fire”. his mind—options, decisions, indecision, A Honeck mannerism from I returns as the expressed by the richest, most superbly tuned men ring out, “Seid umschlungen, millionen!”: strings basses I have heard since Joseph full double-forte on “seid unschlun” with a Guastafeste led the Chicago Symphony’s string quick deep decrescendo on “-gen”; then the bass section (1961-2011) and better recorded same again on a double-forte “milli” with as well! When the entire orchestra joins in, another deep muting on “onen”. In his liner their phrasing reflects the words mentally notes Honeck justifies it as a natural inflection engrained in anyone familiar with the text. in the (not marked in the Continue with the first major vocal section, score). He’s welcome to his ideas; to me it and Honeck truly does put the orchestra’s col- sounds forced and even hokey. ors, phrasing, and accents at the service of the The movement’s final section is truly pow- text—not subordinate to it, but concentrating erful. Tempos are maintained, the chorus’s our attention on it. Glorious engineering brutally high notes are sung powerfully with- helps. out strain, and the soloists’ quartet is beauti- Enter the rich contrabassoon, bass drum, fully balanced—including Shenyang. Honeck cymbals, triangle, timpani, and orchestra with 26 May/June 2021 that Turkish march at an exhilarating clip. The British composers. But was he a Beethoven punchy rhythms persist through soloists and conductor? This is a cloudy question, as we chorus into an exuberant orchestral fugue. shall shortly see. Honeck, shifting on a dime, flows into “Seid First, though, what is on these 12 discs? umschlungen millionen!”—another fugue, this Davis, it seems, began a Beethoven symphony time with full chorus—and a coda that, given series with the BBC in the 1970s, but never fin- the integral arc he has woven from the start, is ished it. So we have all the symphonies except so charged with “god-fire” and “sparks” and an 7 and 9 with the BBC, recorded from 1970-75. embrace of millions and a kiss for the whole To complete the nine in this box, they are sup- world that, after the final note, I felt an electric plemented with the Seventh (LSO 1976), and wave in my brain just behind my eyes that did the Ninth (Bavarian Radio, 1985, with Donath, cause tears and that choking feeling—not Schmidt, Konig, and Estes). As a kind of bonus weeping or merely being “filled up” but a we also have a second Sixth, recorded in 1962 power transmitted to me by Beethoven and with the LSO—here released for the first time the forces on this recording (including the on CD. engineers). The piano concertos with Kovacevich were FRENCH recorded over several years (1969-75), all with the BBC, except the Emperor, which is with BEETHOVEN: Symphonies; Concertos; the LSO. The with Grumiaux Overtures; Masses dates from 1974 (with the Concertgebouw , v; Stephen Kovacevich, p; BBC Orchestra), and the two Masses are from 1977. Orchestra; London Symphony; Bavarian Radio; So this is mostly recordings from the early to Concertgebouw Orchestra/ mid 1970s, when Davis was in his mid-40s, Decca Eloquence 484 1728 [12CD] 13:57 supplemented by a few pieces from earlier and These performances come fairly early in the later. career of Colin Davis (1927-2013). Some of his The first two symphonies are nicely done, early positions were in opera. His first major a bit slower and heavier than we generally appointment was as chief conductor at hear now, but very well prepared and per- Sadler’s Wells Opera in 1961, and in 1970 he formed. We can hear the care that Davis has went to the Royal Opera at Covent Garden, taken with rhythms, which never sound where he remained for 15 years. His operatic dashed off or spontaneous. Fine performanc- work spread beyond Britain, notably with es, then, but a bit calculated and with no hint debuts at the Metropolitan (1967 with Peter of Haydn. The Fourth and Eighth, the two most Grimes), as well as at (1977, the first similar to 1 and 2 in emotional temperature, English conductor to appear there), the Vien- are also good. The Fourth begins with a na Opera (1986) and the Bavarian Opera in painfully slow introduction, inspiring bore- 1994. Amidst all this he kept ties to the sym- dom rather than mystery; but the rest is fine, phonic literature. In 1967 he became chief very well played under firm control. Davis had conductor for the BBC Orchestra, and shortly the ability to keep tempos constant with exact after, he was offered the podium at the Boston rhythms, which is generally a good thing; but Symphony, but he declined in favor of going to in his case I often feel the rhythm controls the the Royal Opera. While at Covent Garden, musical substance rather than the other way though, he became principal guest conductor around. at both the BBC (1971-75) and the Boston Davis’s control becomes a liability in the Symphony (1972-84). Later in his career he more dramatic symphonies (3, 5, 7), where became chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio there should be more give and take, more Symphony (1983-1993) before returning to the surge followed by arrival. Of these three the London Symphony (1995-2006). Seventh is the most appealing. It’s a hard piece Davis is certainly regarded as one of the to kill if you have a good orchestra and good finest British conductors of the last century. tempos, and Davis has both (the LSO). The Many of us will remember the shock of his finale is quite fast, and the slow movement is 1966 Messiah, which (with modern instru- just right—not too fast! The Eroica, though, ments) rescued the piece from Victorian sounds too careful. It’s what you might do in a clutches. Later he was to make significant con- final rehearsal: take things a little slowly, tributions to our knowledge and appreciation checking for details, but saving the big, emo- of Berlioz and Sibelius, as well as several tional push for the actual concert. The Fifth American Record Guide 27 isn’t bad, but needs a better sense of surging but only one of them was suitable for his finality in the last movement. weighty style. The Sixth comes in two performances: Most of the overtures are here: Leonore 1, 1962 with the LSO and 1974 with the BBC. The 2, & 3 (but no Fidelio), Egmont, Prometheus earlier performance is quicker in every move- and Coriolanus. Given Davis’s long experience ment, and the whole comes in about four min- in the opera house, we might expect his over- utes faster—a considerable amount. That said, tures to be dramatic and exciting. They are the two don’t feel markedly different to me. generally quite good, except for the Leonore 3, The opening movement in 1962 may be too perhaps the most thrilling of the bunch. It much a “Romp Through the Meadow”, but I begins nicely, but midway through, when the was satisfied with both performances. white heat should be building, the music just The Ninth (1985) is by good measure the sounds heavy and static. And then, come the latest of the recordings, and it is fine all coda, which all conductors must see as a chal- around. The opening is brusque and a bit lenge and a nightmare, we hear as note-perfect heavy; the slow movement is expressive (and I and clean a performance as we’ll ever hear. like the urgency at the return on the B-flat But it’s dull as dishwater, music made by a theme midway through); the finale is big and machine. full with an excellent Bavarian chorus and The box includes a booklet with all the orchestra. Soloists, particularly Simon Estes, data about the recordings. Notes consist of two are very good as well. essays, one by Costa Pilavach, the other by The concertos are all very good even Peter Quantrill. Both are rich in biographical though Grumiaux’s sound in the violin concer- tidbits, but neither addresses the music. The to is thin and lacking in warmth (see also J/F sound varies from disc to disc, and in general 2007). Kovacevich, though, is splendid in the is very good. The performances vary, begin- piano concertos. He has all the technique and ning with the great piano concertos and rang- sensitivity you would want, but better still, the ing down to a few real disappointments. Fans performances have a real feeling of spontane- of Davis will want this, but if you’re on the ity. This isn’t music made by a perfect fence, do note that all 12 discs cost less than machine, but by someone who brings real $70. sparkle and life to Beethoven. Perhaps the best ALTHOUSE way to put it is to say Kovacevich’s playing holds your attention uncommonly well; it is BEETHOVEN: 6 Trios always musical and interesting. I should also Trio Sora—Naive 7085 [3CD] 189 minutes point out that this is full-bodied playing, too Let’s be honest—every reviewer or critical lis- early to be influenced by the period move- tener will at some point fall victim to judging ment. Fortes are strong and bold, and the an album by its cover. Three young French- orchestra is large and powerful to match. Of all women, with Mediterranean tans and coy the categories included in this collection, I smiles, pose with a small bust of Beethoven drew the most satisfaction from the concertos. that has been splattered with Day-Glo colors. The Masses have been around before; in Much of the packaging is an awful shade of fact this is my third time reviewing Davis’s peach that calls to mind low-grade cosmet- Missa Solemnis (Dec. 1978 on LP, then M/J ics—and indeed, one of the artists has daubed 2010). It is a very good performance with fine lines on her cheeks with what might be mas- soloists and chorus (trained, incidentally, by cara. I have seen this 3-CD set advertised for Richard Hickox). It certainly would please $41, and in those long-gone days of browsing readers who prefer an old-school style, large at record stores, there’s no way that I would chorus and orchestra with broad (solemn!) have taken a chance on this set. tempos. I can’t extend the same enthusiasm, The content is superb. Although Trio 1 is though, to the C-major Mass, which was com- not what persuaded me of this, right away I missioned by Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy in have to give credit to pianist Pauline Chenais, 1807, thereby placing it in a Haydnesque tradi- who can be as flamboyant and resonant as tion. Davis’s performance feels quite slow and needed (see below), but also has the talent heavy, not at all in the spirit of Haydn (which is (akin to Glenn Gould) of making her piano surprising because Davis was a fairly good sound more like a fortepiano. Why is that conductor of Haydn). It would seem that Davis good? Not everyone will agree, but I prefer brought the same approach to the two Masses, Beethoven portrayed as the successor to 28 May/June 2021 Haydn and Mozart, rather than the harbinger notable, and for it to consist of these corner- of Schumann and Brahms. These Opus 1 trios stones of the repertoire could smack of hubris. are the apotheosis of the classical-era trio. The But the vision that frames these recordings is first three movements of Trio 1 are unremark- harmonious, and the individuality is apparent. able; but in IV the joie de vivre first comes DUTTERER through, and that becomes the defining char- acteristic of the whole set. BERNSTEIN: West Side Story Despite Chenais’s neoclassical restraint, Gwendolin Masin, v; Melisma Saxophone Quar- her energy and fluid playing do sometimes tet—Orchid 100145—42 minutes leave her peers in the background. In Trio 2 in G, violinist Clemence de Forceville and cellist Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story has had Angele Legasa get to make their presence many, many recordings from Broadway, con- known in I, but in II the strings are a bit thin. cert productions, movie soundtracks, jazz By III the energy and momentum are there combos, dual and single piano versions, and again, and with the Finale, these ladies really vocal soloists. Bernstein’s music has a jazz and bring out the congenial personality of this Latin influenced sound that lends itself to vari- piece. ous orchestral arrangements. This new record- Again in Trio 3 in C minor, piano is upper- ing is the first time I’ve heard the music scored most, and occasionally the strings are a bit for a chamber-size orchestra, in this case a sax- weaker than necessary, especially in II. It ophone quartet and violin. The arrangements seems less like an engineering matter and by Henk Huizinga are true to Bernstein’s more of a difference between the musicians’ intentions but also creative and highly listen- styles. Nonetheless, the precision and ele- able. gance of the performances prevent it from Mr Huizinga’s ingenious scoring has indi- going off the rails. Like gymnasts, though, vidual instruments represent the main charac- these ladies know how to stick the landing; the ter roles while also providing additional Finale is dramatic yet firmly controlled. orchestral color. He uses the score’s songs and Just as Beethoven’s artistry evolved dance sequences and reorders them so that through the composition of these six trios, the they are grouped by light and somber themes. level of performance rises to meet it. As heard The arrangements are so creative and satisfy- here, the opening movement of the Ghost Trio ing that you look forward to the next track is a reminder of what music is or could be: even when out of narrative sequence. The per- organized joy. The famed slow movement is formers rarely ramble off into solo moments. not as striking as might be hoped, and an All the players are excellent and the stereo sep- opportunity is missed. The Presto is grand and aration puts them in sharply defined areas so just a bit raucous. that you hear each instrument clearly. In Trio 5 in E-flat (Op. 70:2), these musi- This recording is a welcome surprise both cians quickly find the balance between the in the playing and scoring. The arrangements instruments. The Allegretto has a compelling bring freshness to familiar music. dance-like swaying, and IV is as high-spirited FISCH as could be. I have heard more muscular ren- derings of this movement, but this rendition is BERWALD: Chamber Pieces fleet and has that lively “anything might hap- Franz Ensemble; Patrick Vogel, t pen” aspect that can keep the familiar classics MDG 903 2189—61 minutes vital. The first two movements of the Archduke The competitive meat grinder of the music again contrast powerhouse piano with more profession usually ensures that the best play- restrained strings. Maybe it’s because Chenais ers, conductors, and composers reach the top is playing a Bosendorfer VC 280, but her peers and wield the most influence; but it also can are using period instruments from the 18th leave significant talent by the side of the road. Century. But the interplay between them is The son of a celebrated German violinist work- terrific. III is a bit too refined, but then in IV ing in Stockholm, Franz Berwald (1796-1868) the entire set comes to a rousing finish. took up his father’s instrument; and at age 16, No Kakadu Variations here, nor Opus 11 or he landed a position in the violin section of the the WoO pieces from earlier, but this is the Swedish Royal Opera orchestra. He studied essential trios, and definitive when judged on violin and composition with music director quality. Recording three discs for a debut is Jean-Baptiste Edouard Dupuy (1770-1822); American Record Guide 29 and he quickly found a love for writing cham- formances, full of vigor, commitment, and ber music. The Royal Opera orchestra had an enough polish to offset some thin and cloudy outstanding wind section that included clar- violin and clarinet passages. This is wonderful inetist-composer Bernhard Crusell (1775- and well-written music that deserves a place 1838), and Berwald took full advantage of it. in the standard repertory. Berwald delighted in taking expressive and HANUDEL architectural risks in his compositions; but at BORODIN: Trio; see RIMSKY the time Stockholm was a musical backwater with conservative tastes. Even when his ideas BRAGA SANTOS: Chamber Pieces 3 followed in the footsteps of Hummel and Nuno Ivo Cruz, fl; Antonio Saiote, cl; Carolino Beethoven, critics were cruel and dismissive; Carreira, bn; Luis Pacheco Cunha, v; Leonor and publishers gave him the cold shoulder. In Braga Santos, va; Irene Lima, Catherine Strynckx, 1829 he moved to Germany, where he went vc; Olga Prats, p—Toccata 588—51 minutes into the medical business and developed an gJoly Bra a Santos (1924-88) is probably the orthopedic device that granted him financial most renowned Portuguese composer of the security. Still, he missed music; and in 1842, 20th Century. His music is melodic and he moved back to Stockholm to see if the city expressive, sometimes spiked with pleasant was ready to accept him. The answer was neg- dissonance and often influenced by folk ative; so he became the manager of a glass fac- music. tory and then a sawmill. In 1864 (age 68) he The Aria and Three Variations, for clarinet, joined the Royal Academy of Music, and in viola, and piano, is a dark, probing piece with 1867 he became a professor of composition long, sinuous lines; it holds its moderate pace over the opposition of several Academy mem- over nine minutes yet never loses its tension. bers. He died one year later. The Improvisation for clarinet and piano is The Franz Ensemble of Germany is a team more mysterious and chromatic but has a few of established soloists, music professors, chamber musicians, and competition quicker outbursts. An Aria for bassoon and prizewinners dedicated to composers who, piano is stately, and Piece for flute and piano is like Berwald, deserve an audience bigger than elegant. what they had in their lifetimes. Here, in the There’s a handful of pieces for cello and group’s second release, they performs three piano. Two Arias are and then crabby; chamber compositions from Berwald’s early the brief Melody is straightforward and Jewish years: the Septet (1817) for clarinet, bassoon, sounding. A longer Theme and Variations is horn, violin, viola, cello, and ; the predictable, competent but uninspired; the Quartet (1819) for piano, clarinet, bassoon, performers’ ensemble and accuracy are rough, and horn; and the Serenade (1825) for solo too. The Nocturne for violin and piano is Braga tenor, clarinet, horn, viola, cello, and double Santos’s Opus 1. It takes the violin into the bass. The text of the Serenade is a first-person stratosphere almost immediately, and while it narrative where a soldier muses how he fights soars the piano trembles. courageously in war only to become hopeless- Although the music is nearly all slow, the ly nervous before the woman he loves. pieces work together to sustain a contempla- Berwald writes in the same early German tive mood, and my remote finger didn’t get romantic ethos as Weber and Spohr, acknowl- itchy. These are all fine works presented in edging his classical forefathers and then step- fairly good performances; the sound is ping boldly into the future. Schubert and recessed but bearable. Beethoven are obvious influences; yet ESTEP Berwald’s voice is unmistakable all through: RAHMS: Piano Sonata 3; Handel Varia- arresting openings, singing lines, attractive B tions; Paganini Variations; Fantasies, op 116; melodies, pressing rhythmic passages, creative Pieces, op 118; Hungarian Dances; Organ instrumentation, and structural innovations. If Chorales; Other Pieces throwing the scherzo into the middle of the Nada—MEII 0 [3CD] 216:25 slow movement in the Septet was jarring to Stockholm audiences, what did they make of This substantial collection of Brahms works the Serenade, where the instrumental ritornel- follows on a single Brahms disc from this lady lo is given a greater share of the spotlight than who now calls herself “Pianist Nada”. What I the vocalist? said in my earlier review (S/O 2017) applies The Franz Ensemble gives excellent per- here also. In short, the performances are sub- 30 May/June 2021 par and do not deserve the attention of serious classes with Franz Helmerson, Bernard Green- music lovers. house, , and Yo-Yo Ma. He was REPP awarded the Alice Rosner Foundation Special Prize at the 2010 ARD Competition in Munich. BRAHMS: Variations—Handel, Schumann, He is now first cellist of the Bavarian Opera Original, Hungarian Song; Sonatas 1, 2, 3; 16 Orchestra. He wrote his own liner notes in Waltzes; 8 Pieces German, translated here. These are recordings Craig Sheppard, p—Romeo 7334 [3CD] 208 min of important music played with a thoughtful ’Sheppard s playing has real breath in Brahms’s enthusiasm and fingers of accuracy that put it variations on themes by other composers. This on a high level. For other possibilities, check program shows Brahms as a young composer, the Cello Overview (March/April 2009). practicing his art by adapting Handel, Schu- D MOORE mann, and a Hungarian song. Variation 2 of ROUWER: the Schumann set is expressivo, expansive, B Ritual & Festive Dances 2; Guitar Sonatas 3-5 and luxurious but not overpowering. He Pedro Mateo Gonzalez—Naxos 574016—73 min applies the pedal liberally in Variation 4. It is a lovely interpretation. The Handel Variations is When an artist undertakes a major work of full of conviction and rhythmic vitality. Some Cuban composer Leo Brouwer, it is not a light- variations could be more polished, such as 14 hearted exercise. Brouwer is a master of the and 15, which sounds a bit harsh. I have also guitar, both technically and musically, and he heard cleaner and faster recordings of Sonata knows how to fully test anyone who approach- 1, but the spirit is there. Overall, this is a fan- es his music—and only the strong survive. tastic recording and an incredible achieve- Pedro Mateo Gonzalez (b. 1983), a Spanish ment that gives the listener a good sense of guitarist, ably rises to the occasion in this pro- Brahms’s inventiveness. gram devoted to four of Brouwer’s deepest and KANG most substantial compositions, each one a multimovement masterpiece lasting more BRAHMS: Cello Sonata 1; Songs; than 16 minutes. see SCHUMANN Opening with the title track, Brouwer’s writing for the guitar shows a deep under- BRITTEN: Solo Cello Suites; Tema Sacher Jakob Spahn—Hanssler 20063—70 minutes standing of the instrument’s potential, evi- denced by the riffs in I, which contrast with the ’s cello suites were composed spacious and moving, yet sometimes abruptly late in his life for , effervescent moments in II. III juxtaposes according to a scribble on a paper napkin, strummed chords with lighter filigree, and the here reported by our present performer in his guitarist handles these challenges with an liner notes. Britten promised 6 suites to him in assured sense of purpose. 1964 on the napkin, but only completed the Guitar Sonata No. 3, The Black Decameron present 3 before he died. Attempting 6 was in Sonata, (not to be confused with Brouwer’s homage to JS Bach, naturally, though the multimovement Decameron Negro), is a later music he writes is decidedly different in intent, work of Brouwer’s, published in 2012. With to no one’s surprise. For instance, although the programmatic titles such as `Gnomes and first suite is in at least 9 movements, each Elves’, `Lamentation for Oya’, `The Dance of the moves into the next with a written attacca. Wind’, and `The Smile of the Storyteller’, the lis- Suite 2 is in only 5, though it is only a minute tener’s imagination is strongly engaged. A sur- shorter than Suite 1. Suite 3 is back to 9, the prising, tunefully rearranged quotation of first 8 little pieces, ending in a 9-minute Pas- Francisco Tarrega’s `Adelita’ in III is not lost on sacaglia to finish us off. Then there is a tiny the guitar aficionado, after which the music one-minute tribute to Paul Sacher on his 70th spins out into a riffingly exquisite ending, birthday, written by Britten from his own which is unmistakably Brouwer! deathbed in 1976. This is music well worth Particularly notable is the concluding hearing. movement to Guitar Sonata 4, The Thinker’s Jakob Spahn is a cellist of much technical Sonata, which is an accessible mixture of strength and musical understanding. Born in pleasant harmonies and Brouwer’s fanciful Berlin, he studied there with David Geringas contemporary aerobatics! and Claudio Bohorquez, taking further master The guitar is well recorded, with a realistic American Record Guide 31 sound and just the right amount of reverbera- Simply Largo, a Mahlerian song without tion. words, is a heartfelt elegy for Brusa’s beloved These are exceptional musical excursions mentor, Carlo Major. The notes accurately played with meticulous precision and un- state that this is an ideal introduction to bounded abandon. Brusa’s music, projecting from beginning to MCCUTCHEON end her gift for communicating strong emo- tion with layered melodic statements. Anyone BRUCKNER: Symphony 7; who fears the romantic flame has died out MAHLER: Symphony 4 needs to listen to this eloquent work, played Christiane Oelze, s; Thomas Christian Ensemble here with plenty of soul. MDG 6032127 [2CD] 115 minutes SULLIVAN These are reissues; Gerald Fox reviewed them CANDOTTI: Organ Pieces separately (Bruckner Sept/Oct 2005; Mahler Gerwin Hoekstra—Tactus 800301—74 minutes Sept/Oct 2006). He noted that after World War I, inflation and the economic situation pushed Giovanni Battista Condotti (1809-76) was a members of the Society for Private Musical prolific composer whose more than 500 works Performances (Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, include 81 masses with organ, 99 psalms, band Eisler, Stein, Riehn) to create these chamber music, music for orchestra, and organ pieces. versions. Although Candotti “was considered one of the The Bruckner is exquisitely tedious. The strictest and most erudite assertors of the Ital- Mahler is played with glowing affection, which ian polyphonic tradition”, which sought to helps some; Mr Fox said, “If you insist on this remove operatic forms from sacred music, and chamber arrangement, this recording, with an although the composer used polyphony in his excellent soprano with the requisite youthful own compositions especially in his later years, voice, and with superb sonics, is the best.” in his organ music “it is still possible to trace Even as the world starts to stumble out of some influences of the opera, so popular in this pandemic, I still wouldn’t be desperate churches at that time”. enough to go hear Mahler and Bruckner in To that statement in the booklet essay I chamber-music guise. In the Mahler, the would add that there’s much more than “some instrumentation evokes for me the goofy ghost influences” of opera here. The program is very of Jacques Ibert, and it spoils the listening with theatrical, and the Dutch organist Gerwin the fear that a distraught wedding march will Hoekstra plays with flair and panache. Winner burst through the door any minute. of the 2018 Friuli Organ Festival named after ESTEP Candotti, Hoekstra makes me want to learn more about (and hear more of) this music. I BRUSA: Symphony 2; Simply Largo am happy to learn that the organizers of the Ulster Orchestra/ Daniele Rustioni organ festival plan for this release to be the Naxos 574263—53 minutes “first of a long series of albums” to celebrate the composer. Italian composer Elisabetta Brusa writes in a Sinfonia 5 in C (Opus 40) from 1829 is a romantic idiom that will please listeners look- fine curtain-raiser that shows off both the ing for melodic generosity in contemporary instrument and the organist. This is theatrical music. The pieces on this recording, which is operatic organ music: think theatre organ volume 4 of a series, are basically solemn and meets 19th-Century opera, joyous and full. sad. Rapid passagework in Rondo in C (1835, Op. Premiered by the Ulster Symphony in 2019 131) invites a light bright registration and also but begun in 2000, Symphony 2 is full of the use of the small “campanelli” bells. A Pas- anguish but also offers vivid fanfares and nos- torale (Op. 77) and Andante (Op. 98) give the talgic tunes, including a lyrical violin melody opportunity to use gently rocking flutes and in the opening movement. Aggressive unifying reeds. And so on through all the colors of the chords from the rhapsodic first movement instrument and several styles of composition. become melodic lines in the Andante Italian organs of this period often, as here, Solemne. This is a traditional four-movement came equipped with percussion stops and symphony, with a lively Scherzo enclosing a small bells, in addition to flute stops and reeds. swirling trio, and a steely finale full of repeat- Although the organ has only one keyboard ing brass motifs. (and pedals) the top and bottom halves of sev- 32 May/June 2021 eral stops can be engaged independently. another quotes from La Marseillaise. There’s a Thus, the right hand and left hand registra- Chorus of the Insurgents with a rousing, if tions on the one keyboard can be completely four-square tune. different, and this gives the organist a lot of Symphony 2 (1905; revised 1957) opens ways to create contrasting sounds and deftly with a pensive introductory theme of Bruck- switch between them. nerian breadth. The main theme of the ensu- This organ was built in Candotti’s lifetime ing allegro derives from the introductory (1850) by Valentino Zanin, whose famous music, its development making relentless use organ-building family still runs the business of an urgent rhythmic figure. The scoring is today, some seven generations on (his descen- sometimes opaque, but as often imaginative, dant Francesco did the most recent restoration especially the inner voices. Carrillo is a com- of the organ). It is in the Church of San Loren- poser to whom sound is as valuable as devel- zo Martire, Talmassons, in the Udine region of opment. The slow movement has a grave and northeastern Italy, the region where Candotti graceful triple-time melody with ingenious was born and spent his whole life. accompaniment and counter-themes. The The program ends with three pieces for the closing pages have a pentatonic part over liturgy: Tre Pezzi Pastorale, Opus 282 of 1848. a sustained A-flat major triad, giving an exotic, The full and stately `All’Offertorio’ is followed pre-Respighian effect. The scherzo also has by gentle flutes in `All’Elevazione’ (an Andante innovative harmonies and piquant coloring. movement), and then we can imagine the joy- Annotator Rodolfo Arenas thinks the free brass filled church bursting with gratitude in the handling derives from the composer’s youthful theatrical sound of `Al Postcommunio’ (Alle- exposure to Mexico’s popular bandas. The gro Maestoso). This is a very strong match of movement also incorporates the brief rhyth- repertoire, organist, and instrument, and very mic motif from I. Its conclusion has an well recorded. upward-sweeping harp glissando, with deli- Notes include photos of the organ and a cate woodwind figures leading directly to the stoplist. finale. This begins with a slow, lengthy C MOORE melody, then reintroduces the brief motif from I for an effect of cyclic unity. The second CARRILLO: Symphony 2; Isabel; Matilda O theme is a solid one, solidly worked through. Mexico en 1810 excerpts; Marcha Nupcial 2 The rapid rhythmic figure then helps propel San Luis Potosi/ Jose Miramontes Zapata the symphony to its close. Toccata 583—70 minutes It’s a sturdy, likeable symphony, as good— excepting the work of the then-unknown Mexico’s Julian Carillo (1875-1965) went Ives—as anything we were doing at that time. through as radical stylistic evolution as any The San Luis Potosi Orchestra is vigorous— composer ever. His earlier music was in the brash even—with Zapata’s conducting to suit. romantic mode. When Leon Botstein (of The notes are excellent, as usual with Toccata. course!) did his Symphony 1 at Bard (Nov/Dec O’CONNOR 2015) it impressed me as having the beauty of latter-day Raff. That surprised me, as I’d CENTORIO: Vocal & Instrumental known only his later, avant-garde work, such Cappella Musicale of Vercelli Cathedral/ Denis as the Colon Prelude, where he uses microton- Silano— Brilliant 96242—61 minutes al intervals. He also devised instruments to play them. Thanks to the patronage of Mexi- Marco Antonio Centorio (c 1600-38) was born co’s President Porfirio Diaz—sometimes auto- in Vercelli in the Piedmont region of northern crats get it right—he had a firm grounding in Italy. By 1618 he was organist at that city’s technique, studying the violin with Ysaye, con- cathedral, where he became maestro di cap- ducting under Nikisch, and composition with pella in 1628, a post he held until he died. Jadassohn. Denis Silano, in the same role, conducts this Isabel and Marcha Nupcial 2 are light oc- good program with assurance and a mastery of casional pieces. The latter shows Mendels- the style. Tempos are unerring, always flowing, sohn’s influence. Carrillo had been a violinist and never rushed. Solo singers, instrumental- with the Gewandhaus Orchestra—sort of a ists (winds as well as strings), a mixed adult Mendelssohn alma mater. The opera excerpts choir and small children’s choir join forces in a (1910) are in the Verismo tradition. One of the range of compositions: , larger vocal preludes has a chorale, vigorously scored; “concertos”, and instrumental works. American Record Guide 33 Ringing cascades of melody join together Grove’s, describes the work as “a masterpiece like happy bells in `Laudate Pueri’ (SSATB, two of mistaken identities, secondary love recorders, theorbo, cello, and organ), based on intrigues, comic interludes, rapid-fire dialogs a well known by and unexpected resolutions . . . [and distin- (1595-1665). Shapely phrasing animates the guished by] the even distribution of arias and four canzone francesi in the program, such as duets through the three acts, an effective `La Coccha’ for two cornettos, trombone, and comic element, and the high quality of the organ. music itself”. John Barker expressed mixed feelings in As is typical of mid-17th Century operas, his review of the same ensemble’s program of each scene progresses in a flexible way, Psalms by the 16th-Century composer Orazio through a free alternation of recitative-like Colombano (also associated with the city of passages and short arioso statements that, in Vercelli). Although he liked the music and the happier or more sarcastic moments in the plot, singing, he felt that the tempos did not vary can move suddenly into measured passages in enough and noted that the psalms weren’t quick triple meter that seem almost dancelike. meant to be heard one after the other as a I admired Cavalli’s mastery of this kind of group (Brilliant 95839, M/J 2019). This Cento- musical dramaturgy in the superbly performed rio program is more varied, and the perform- L’Ipermestra (Mar/Apr 2020) and here was ances work well. captivated by Cesti’s similar command. Partic- Notes, no texts. ularly satisfying are moments where two or C MOORE more voices join in song: for example, a num- ber for two female characters (CD 1, track 11) CESTI: La Dori or one for three characters: two men and a Francesca Ascioti (Dori/Ali), Emoke Barath pretend-man (Artaxerxes, Oronte, and Ali; (Tolomeo), Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli (Arsi- Disc 1, track 21). noe), Rupert Enticknap (Oronte), Konstantin The plot involves Dori, princess of Persia, Derri (Bagoa), Federico Sacchi (Artaxerse); and Oronte, prince of Nicaea, who are devoted Accademia Bizantina/ to each other but have been separated. They CPO 555309 [2CD] 161 minutes eventually find each other again, though not until after Oronte has heard a false report that (1623-69) was one of the forma- Dori has died. (This is opera: Dori was given a tive composers of in the 17th love potion instead, which in this case wasn’t Century, a generation after Monteverdi and needed, since she already loved him.) overlapping with Cavalli. He got some plum Dori spends almost the entire opera in dis- commissions, such as to supply the opera (Il guise as an Egyptian slave (male) named Ali. Pomo d’Oro) to celebrate the marriage in 1666 Dori’s sister Arsinoe is loved by Tolomeo, who between Emperor Leopold I and the Infanta of spends most of the opera in disguise as a , Margaret Theresa. I reproduce and dis- woman. There are also comic roles for a nurse cuss a fascinating engraving of a scene from named Dirce and a boorish servant named that opera, including a dark-skinned character Golo. In fact, the opera requires 10 singers, representing Africa, in my book Music and the and they take 12 roles, if one counts the sec- Exotic from the to Mozart, pp. ond identities assumed by two of them. You’ll 214-17. have to follow the libretto carefully—unless of Our index shows only one review of a Cesti course you prefer to just listen, which I did a opera: his Orontea, conducted by Ivor Bolton lot of the time, quite happily. and much praised by John Barker (July/Aug The performance is captivating. In 2017). This is apparently the world-premiere March/April 2021 I was delighted to report on recording of La Dori, one of the most often- a new recording of Vivaldi’s Tamerlano that performed (and often-altered) operas in the involved this same early-instrument orchestra, 17th Century: there survive at least five com- Accademia Bizantina (founded in 1986 in peting manuscripts and some 27 printed Ravenna, Italy). Ottavio Dantone, its music ! (A new libretto was necessary for director since 1996, conducted that recording each new production of almost any opera, splendidly and does again here. There are a lot because of cuts and additions.) of colors in his orchestra (transverse flute, two Cesti composed La Dori, or the Faithful recorders, plucked instruments including Slave for the court at Innsbruck, where it was harp). We could have used some words of first performed in 1657. Carl Schmidt, in explanation about how much of this is indicat- 34 May/June 2021 ed in the score and how much has been added OPLAND: conjecturally. Some of this may go beyond C Appalachian Spring; FOOTE: Suite for Strings; what scholars can be sure was done at the ANTHEIL: Serenade; time, but most listeners will be happy for the IVES: Hymn Largo Cantabile variety in sounds. Ciconia Consort/ Dick van Gasteren Best of all, Dantone avoids engaging in the Brilliant 96086—64 minutes occasional lickety-split tempos that often pushed his fine singers to their limit in florid ’Here s a program of valuable Americana done passagework in the Vivaldi recording. Of by a talented string ensemble. Foote’s Suite course, Cesti requires florid and propulsive (1907) is solid American late romanticism with singing less often than does Vivaldi (half a cen- firm themes and idiomatic string writing. In II tury later). But I don’t mean to exaggerate: his contrast between the outer, pizzicato sec- there is (happily for us voice-lovers) some col- tions and the longer, elegant bowed melody of oratura. the center segment is not only effective in The singers are again ones that I had never color, but done with skilled transitions. Hear- encountered before. The most familiar name ing this piece, or his beautiful Francesca da here is Barath, who I see has been part of Rimini prelude always makes me wish Foote important performances of Cavalli operas and had written more symphonic works. recordings of operas by Handel, Vivaldi, Gluck, George Antheil wrote his Serenade (1948) and Leclair, plus an album of scenes from after his Bad Boy days, when his music three Orfeo operas (Sept/Oct 2017). became more traditional. It’s a jewel of a piece Some of the singers are weak at the low but still has modern traits, now integrated into end of their range (Bradley Smith or, worse, its form. The first movement has a raffish Pietro di Bianco) or unsteady in vocal produc- Ivesian theme. Though Ives’s music was little tion (Rocco Cavaluzzi and, again, Di Bianco). played then, his work was already being writ- But others offer consistent pleasure (Federico ten about; so I’m inclined to think Antheil Sacchi: a true bass who, wonder of wonders, is consciously added some flavor from a fellow also fluent in coloratura) and even true delight modernist pioneer. II is a condensed slow (countertenors Rubert Enticknap and Kon- movement. There’s a moving passage where a stantin Derri, the latter in a comic role: the tender melody with a stuttering accompani- eunuch Bagoa). Best of all (that is, aside from ment has a heartfelt beauty. The main theme the predictably wonderful Barath) are soprano of the finale has the perky waywardness of Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli (as Arisnoe) and Prokofieff at his best. Its development is like Francesca Ascioti, in the title role of Dori. the waltz tune from the old Rhinegold beer Most of the singers are Italian, and they show a commercials. The whole work is a treat and keen understanding of the words they are shows that even after his avant-garde days had singing—perhaps especially the tenor Alberto passed, Antheil never lost his sense of humor. Allegrezza as the nurse Dirce (another comic Ives’s Hymn (1904) has his characteristic role). harmonies and voice-leading. The parts go The recording blends three staged per- where he believes their individual logic must formances at the Innsbruck Festwochen in take them, and if that means some phrases August 2019. Captivating photos from the pro- branch out to whole tones, so be it. The music duction suggest how gratifying the event was— is ever genial. and, for once, how appropriately costumed The Copland is for string orchestra, piano, (not updated to Nazi Germany or to Beatles- and three woodwinds. Though I usually favor era “swinging London”). A DVD of this pro- the big battalions of a full symphony orchestra, duction is also available from Naxos (regular Appalachian Spring has always been just as and BluRay). Bagoa has much more “pres- pleasing with smaller ensembles. Maybe it’s ence” in the action than if you’re just hearing because of the spacing of its harmonies and him. contrapuntal lines, or its general refraining Excellent booklet-essay, full libretto, and from excessive rhetoric, but this edition still translations. makes a beautiful effect. LOCKE Ciconia is a group of 22 string players, ensuring a lean, yet rich sound. Their perform- CHOPIN: Etudes, Preludes, Sonata 2; ances are excellent, with good pitch and sensi- see Collections tive phrasing. Their overall tone is bright and Preludes; see BACH polished, with disciplined ensemble and a American Record Guide 35 grasp of American idioms. Van Gasteren ably Northern Sinfonia—Ottensamer’s last record- directs the music. It’s a fine release, worth get- ing project. ting for the Antheil alone. That work has been The album begins with a June 1991 reading done well before, but this performance has an of the Strauss Duet- for clarinet, extra degree of urbanity. Were you to get all bassoon, and strings with Ottensamer and his three, you’d have no duplication in its cou- longtime colleague Philharmonic Prin- plers. cipal Bassoon Stepan Turnovsky as soloists O’CONNOR and with the Academy of London orchestra. Stamp rounds out the program with a Septem- COPLAND: Appalachian Spring; ber 1990 recording of the string sextet that ; opens Capriccio, played by that same orches- STRAUSS: Prelude to Capriccio; tra. Duet-Concertino The performances are very professional. Ernst Ottensamer, cl; Stepan Turnovsky, bn; Peter Ottensamer and Turnovsky play with smooth Manning, Pauline Lowbury, v; Peter Lale, Debo- timbres and refined technique, and both rah Lander, va; Martin Loveday, Robert Bailey, vc; orchestras handle the difficult scores with Academy of London; Northern Sinfonia/ Richard ease. Furthermore, Stamp nurtures the pace Stamp—Signum 654—75 minutes well in each selection, maintaining momen- In 1983, Ernst Ottensamer became the Princi- tum in the fast movements and allowing the pal Clarinet of the ; and slow movements to be keenly felt. Sometimes he performed in this chair until July 2017, the interpretations or balances are a bit con- when a sudden heart attack cut short his life at servative—bassoonists will wish for more of age 61. Turnovsky in the Duet-Concertino—but if you His legacy lives on with his son Daniel (b. miss Ottensamer, this concert is a warm and 1986), the current Principal Clarinet of the satisfying memorial. Vienna Philharmonic, and with his son HANUDEL Andreas (b. 1989), the current Principal Clar- inet of the Berlin Philharmonic. This tribute COUPERIN, L: Harpsichord Pieces in pairs two composers working in the 1940s, one D minor; Tombeau; COUPERIN, F: Harpsichord Pieces in his twilight looking to the past and one in Luigi Chiarizia—Urania 14064—66 minutes his prime looking to the future. His place in music history secure, the eld- No. Nope, nope, nope. No. Don’t bother. It’s erly Richard Strauss wrote for himself, spend- dreadful. ing his retirement in a sweetly tonal neo-clas- There are 26 minutes of Louis Couperin: sical aesthetic. His final compositions include an assembled suite in D minor and the two multi-movement “workshops” for cham- tombeau in F for his friend, Blancrocher. In ber wind ensemble, three wind concertos, the this tombeau, Chiarizia loses track of the Four Last Songs, and the comic opera Capric- meter, making some of the chords as much as cio (1942), set in 18th Century Paris. In con- twice too long. It gets worse in the middle sec- trast, Aaron Copland, finished with his foray tion (of three). The suite performance is OK, into thorny modernism, strived to cultivate an nothing special. American idiom that was sophisticated yet In the 40 minutes by Francois Couperin, immediate. His Lincoln Portrait, Symphony 3, we get the eight little preludes from L’art de Clarinet Concerto, and rustic ballets Billy the Toucher le Clavecin, the lugubrious Ordre 15, Kid, Rodeo, and Appalachian Spring con- and the Baricades Mysterieuses from Ordre 6 tributed immensely to an unmistakably Amer- as an encore. The intonation is ghastly in these ican sound that belonged both to the time and pieces, with a poorly chosen temperament to the people. exacerbated by badly out-of-tune unisons. The Ottensamer enjoyed a long musical friend- mediocre performance doesn’t compensate ship with Illinois-born conductor Richard for any of that sourness. You can do better for Stamp, the founder and director of the Acade- Francois Couperin’s harpsichord music almost my of London orchestra; and he often traveled anywhere else. to England to perform and record. This pro- This is yet another Urania release where gram concludes with a September 2014 read- the instruments have been in unlistenably bad ing of Copland’s Clarinet Concerto and shape. Chiarizia’s own recording of pieces by Appalachian Spring with Stamp and the Royal Schale (S/O 2019) had the same problems. 36 May/June 2021 Another painful one was Fernando de Luca’s tory. Luca Fanfoni’s violin was made by Anto- recording of Siret (N/D 2017). Urania gave us nio Stradivari in in 1716, and an out-of-tune rendition of Couperin’s ensem- Daniele Fanfoni’s violin was made by Gioffre- ble music, too (J/A 2018). do Cappa in Saluzzo in 1690. LEHMAN MAGIL

CRUMB: Makrokosmos I; DARGOMIZHSKY: songs DEBUSSY: Preludes I Anastasia Prokofieffa, s; Sergey Rybin, p Martin Klett, p—Avi 8553484—77 minutes Stone 80987—62 minutes These two sets of vastly different (yet resonant Alexander Dargomizhsky (1813-69) wrote and evocative) masterpieces really show the songs in a naive, French-influenced style; they range of what is possible at the piano. Klett’s are melodic, sentimental, and enjoyable but peddling is impeccable in Debussy’s Preludes. not inventive. Anastasia Prokofieffa has a light, Prelude 5 is beautifully rendered and articulat- clear voice. Her phrasing is musical, but her ed. He is able to shift the different harmonic interpretations are generic; all her recipes are and rhythmic landscapes in the piece. His pac- mayonnaise-based. `Spanish Romance’ is ing is flawless. Prelude 9 is particularly well almost flirtatious, but even it falls short. Texts done. in French, Italian, transliterated Russian—with Crumb’s Makrokosmos I has a lot of clarity English translations. and precision. The transformation of timbre is ESTEP clear in works like `The Phantom Gondolier’; `Crucifixus’ (involving a human yell) is proper- DA SILVA: Images; Embalos; Romanticas; ly chilling. Crumb also uses allusion often in Dolorosas these works. Luis Pipa, p—Toccata 576—57 minutes I do not generally comment about the liner notes, but Bernd Kunzig’s here show a knowl- Portuguese composer Oscar Da Silva offers edge of Debussy’s works. Several of Debussy’s rather romantic music, composed in the early pieces have detailed descriptions, but the 20th Century. He produced a lot of piano description of Makrokosmos does not really music. These works are very beautiful and sen- supply much detail for any piece. I would have sitive, but Pipa’s sound is not as beautiful. The liked more information about Crumb’s sound in Dolorosa could be nicer. The sus- works—more unfamiliar ones for the listener. tained notes could carry more weight. The KANG piano itself has a strange metallic tinge, and the sound is harsh rather than cantabile. D’ALAY: 12 Violin Concertos Romanticas seems too bombastic. I imagine Luca Fanfoni, Daniele Fanfoni; Reale Concerto that the work has some sadness, but I do not Dynamic 7892 [2CD] 105 minutes get that in this recording. The softer moments could have a sensitive tone. Mauro D’Alay was born in around 1687 Overall, I wish that Pipa had done more and died there in 1757, though he travelled with the material. This is a great composer and widely. These concertos date from 1725, which the music is promising, but I would look for is remarkable because D’Alay was already 37 better recordings. or 38 years old and these constitute his first KANG published work. He dared to make his debut with a collection of concertos rather sonatas. DAVIS, DT: Family Secrets: Kith and Kin These are very pleasing if not trailblazing Andrea Edith Moore, s; Jane Holding, narr; Eliza- works, and the musicians are more than capa- beth Phelps, v; Nicholas Photinos, vc; Bo New- ble. The addition of an organ and a French some, ob, Eng hn; Lisa Kaplan, p; Hank Smith, drum add a touch of individuality. Another banjo/ Timothy Myers—Albany 1894—44 min interesting touch is the viola solo in the Largo of Concerto 5. Not many violin soloists would Daniel Thomas Davis’s 2015 composition is be willing to share the limelight with a violist! grounded in North Carolina. Soprano Andrea The character of the music is reminiscent of Edith Moore conceived this project and with Vivaldi and other Italian composers of the era. Davis gathered prose and poetry by Allan Gur- It was good of the Fanfonis to rescue this ganus, Daniel Wallace, Frances Mayes, Jeffery music from obscurity—only a single copy of Beam, Lee Smith, Michael Malone, and Ran- the score has survived in the Conserva- dall Kenan. All seven authors and Moore have American Record Guide 37 known each other and are from the same part evil in the Garden of Eden and is also believed of NC. Davis also was born and raised in NC in some cultures to symbolize hope and and calls Moore “the guiding spirit of this strength. Here we have a remarkable setting of piece”. words by Randall Kenan, who died just this It’s a very distinct and imaginative compo- past August. sition. When I first listened to it I found it odd Ms Moore is a prizewinner in the Metro- and peculiar. With each hearing its secrets and politan Opera National Council Auditions and wonders opened more. The influence of one of was given the Yale School of Music Alumni Davis’s teachers, William Bolcom, is evident Award. She is committed to the performance (cf. his Cabaret Songs). Davis writes simple of contemporary music and is an advocate for and effective melodies, sometime as simple as voices from her native North Carolina. Her two alternating tones a step or half-step apart singing is a delight. Her enunciation is lucid then surging to explosive heights. and her delivery of the text is nicely shaped. In developing his conception of this com- Her bright crystalline voice sometimes sounds position, Davis received what he called “a large edgy and shrill at the top. That caveat aside, bundle of texts” from these seven authors and her commitment to this work is clear in her with their permission was able to distill what reading, and she sings it with wonderful affect he wanted from them. The work presents dra- and technical skill. `Porch’ shows her at her matic observations set in rooms of houses in a lyrical best. small village where, as Gurganus puts it, “Our Especially interesting is the unusual scor- village notices our village. Everything the ing: the dark pairing of English horn and cello world does wrong, everything the world does or the varied use of the piano sometimes with best is found right here.” jazzy riffs, often percussively, sometimes with In his program notes the composer calls volcanic explosiveness. Sometimes you can this hybrid work “an opera on top of chamber hardly recognize the string instruments the music or a song cycle inside a monodrama . . . way they are asked to play. It may be an engi- but I’m still not entirely sure what it is”. Using neering shortcoming, but sometimes the wind the sequence of a prologue, seven scenes, an instruments sound unnatural. interlude for banjo solo, and an epilogue the Timothy Myers, the conductor, has coordi- work explores issues of guilt and innocence, nated the various elements of this production death and grief, fallibility and forgiveness. well in a performance that is gripping and Secrets and sins are presented as stories, gos- moving. sip, and confession. The most probing words The well-received performances of this come from Gurganus in the epilogue: “Can’t work by North Carolina Opera in February we each be saved from our worst selves?” 2018 included projection of images (of build- A jerky rhythmic figure in the brief pro- ings) by photographer Elizabeth Matheson. I logue seems to suggest turning this way and suspect that this work would fare exceedingly that to observe what’s happening in the village well on stage. Seeing a short video about it as the singer gently intones the opening words: “Our village notices our village.” Narra- gave me a glimpse of that, but hearing the tor and soprano share in relating the stories, music without seeing the performers and the sometimes alternating or overlapping in images makes you use your imagination. songs. Jane Holding is an actor who brings an This is a slice of southern culture that effective southern tone and feeling to her read- could easily pass under your radar, and that ings. In `Porch’ Moore sings a duet with her would be unfortunate. own voice—prerecorded and accompanied by Notes and texts. banjo. The banjo adds a southern folk quality R MOORE to the work. DAYER: Lignes d’Est; see MARTIN The longest song here, `The Chinaberry DEBUSSY: Preludes; see CRUMB Tree’, is a highly evocative tale of murder. The DELIUS: Violin Sonata; see Collections age old chinaberry tree overlooking the scene is contrasted with the transience of human life. DODGSON: Margaret Catchpole The tree is a highly invasive species and its Soloists; Perpetuo/ Julian Perkins leaves, bark, and berries are very toxic (except Naxos 660459 [3CD] 176 minutes to birds). The tree is an object of multifarious symbolism; it is believed by some to be sym- Stephen Dodgson lived from 1924 to 2013. He bolic of the tree of the knowledge of good and was very fond of the music of Benjamin Brit- 38 May/June 2021 ten, and you can hear it in his music—and in the English should leave opera to the this opera. I’m not crazy about Britten, but he (French, Germans). was occasionally inspired, and I have seen VROON Peter Grimes and Billy Budd at the Met—and enjoyed them. DOMENICONI: Mandolin & Guitar I doubt that Dodgson was ever inspired. Mare Duo—Naxos 574061—65 minutes He was very much a second-rate composer, who made his living writing music for the BBC. Italian composer Carlo Domeniconi began This 1979 opera is as dull as anything written studying the instrument at age 13 and, after then or now. (And Americans—and not only many trips to Turkey because of a fascination Americans—are still writing operas that sound with its culture, went on to found the guitar just like this.) It is essentially a play set to department at Istanbul University Conservato- music—endless recitative and utterly boring ry. His music often juxtaposes and fuses the arias and duets. Even the love duets sound like East and West and, having been recorded everything else. The composer did claim to numerous times by many of the world’s lead- believe that “everything should arise from the ing guitarists, has contributed substantially to words”. the guitar’s repertoire. Opera is not just a play set to music; the The Mare Duo, consisting of German hus- music of an opera elevates the play and band and wife Annika and Fabian Hinsche, expresses emotions much more adequately presents an entire CD devoted to world pre- than words alone can do. In a real opera the miere recordings of Domeniconi’s music for emotions soar in great arias that may have very mandolin and guitar. Their strong connection little to do with the plot—that hardly matters, to the composer is evidenced by his having because great emotions, universal ones, are dedicated all these works to them. finding expression. Dialog is simply not The central work on this recording, Duran- important in opera. This “opera” strikes me as darte, is programmatic and tells the story of merely words set to music—all dialog. So does the fabled Spanish medieval knight by that almost every opera since the middle of the name, a figure also found in the songs of Luis 20th Century. I have heard two or three that Milan and Joaquin Rodrigo. The nine move- had very good music; the rest were often good ments are brought to life through the flawless, plays or stories but with music that is instantly coordinated artistry of the players, in a soni- forgotten—like the music here. The “music” is cally well-balanced recording environment supposedly written to serve the words and the that presents the two instruments realistically. action, but it has no significance in itself. I say This music is fresh to the ears. It is easy to “supposedly” because it all sounds alike—and digest but not the least bit tiresome or banal. mundane. Good actors may be able to put it The program concludes with a piece writ- across as decent theatre, but no one could ten in a recognizable style, `The Tarantula make a real opera out of this. That Grew Up Too Soon’, performed as a spirit- The overall impression is rather droopy. ed tarantella, a folk dance from southern Italy. The singers mostly sound terrible—largely, I This is contemporary music, and stands on think, because of what they have to work with. its own, but the well-researched and pithy The emphases in the music often make them liner notes by Graham Wade definitely en- hold notes or yelp notes, and in almost every hance the listener’s understanding. case that makes them sound ugly. Because the This is recommended for anyone who likes music is so boring, it is impossible to get inter- comprehensible contemporary music for two ested in the plot—this in spite of the fact that instruments. the composer certainly thought of opera as MCCUTCHEON “drama”. It’s not; it’s music—and this so-called “opera” makes the point once again. “Opera as DONIZETTI: Quartets 4, 5, 8, 13-15 drama” is not memorable. Mitja Quartet—Urania 14065 [2CD] 123 minutes The postlude to Act II strikes me as the best music here—but it’s only 2 minutes long. I reviewed the Pleyel Quartet’s recordings of The notes tell us that “he uses no key signa- Donizetti’s first three quartets (M/A 2018), tures at all to anchor the music but lets it flow which they followed with 4-6 (N/D 2020). It is organically”, whatever that means. pleasant music and not often recorded, so it If you can stand Michael Tippett you might almost seemed destined for a modest revival. want to look into this. But I can only say that This brings us to the Mitja Quartet’s two-disc American Record Guide 39 contribution. By their own admission, they bauer (1918-89) played the cello, piano, and have carefully considered the stylistic reasons organ. His compositional skills were devel- for grouping numbers 4, 5, 8, and 13-15. No oped studying with Karl Marx and Walter Kol- doubt the others will follow, sooner or later. neder in Graz. During World War II he enlisted These are all youthful works (from the in the Wehrmacht and ended up in a prisoner- composer’s early 20s), and they are according- of-war camp in Yugoslavia. On recovering ly vibrant. Even Mozart’s quartets from a gen- from that episode, he wrote music for the eration earlier are more unusual and experi- church, primarily, until 1957, when he became mental than these, but honestly, that wasn’t a teacher of composition and theory at the the point. For a young man who would make Bruckner Conservatory in Linz, then from his mark as a composer of sumptuous operas, 1960 at the Salzburg Mozarteum. these are very mature and restrained works, This program is arranged for variety. For with hardly a sign of the influence of, say, piano solo we have a Prelude & Fugue (511, Paganini. 1955), a 6-movement Kleine Suite II (513, Although each quartet here is in a different 1956) and an Invention (518). For cello solo we key, they are generally as similar as a litter of have a 5-movement Sonata (559: 1, 1978. For puppies. But there are standout moments, cello & piano we have a 3-movement Sonata both good and bad. No. 1 (1952) and 5 Little Pieces (1984). In Quartet 15, II consists of disorganized Anna Adamik is professor for piano at the fiddling, and III retains a feeling of a band play- Vorarlberg Regional Conservatory in Feld- ing very late at night before an uncritical aud- kirch, West . She studied with Paul Bad- ience. It ends quietly, which is always an un- ura-Skoda, among others. Martin Merker is expectedly nice touch in pieces from this era. solo cellist of the Argovia Philharmonic, a The melancholy II of Quartet 4 finally gets member of Camerata Bern, and cellist of the the group back on track, and the Allegro is Offenburg String Trio. He teaches in Liechten- lovely. And the final two movements of Quar- stein. Both are competent musicians, though tet 8 are warm and show a cohesiveness of Merker seems a little clumsy in some double- approach that much of this first disc lacks. stops. Quartet 13 starts with a Haydnesque open- Doppelbauer’s music expresses itself ing movement, and then a lofty Larghetto. strongly, trying to tell us something. The two Quartet 5 is a charmer, a squarely classical- instruments speak to each other at length and era piece with a mixture of lyricism and virtu- follow each other across a primarily tonal osity. For whatever reason, the Mitja Quartet landscape. They cavort together on occasion, sounds like it enjoys the selections on Disc 2 and my only negative feeling is that the coun- much more than the ones on the first disc. tryside they hike in tends to be lonely and soli- Quartet 14 has an 11-minute Allegro that is tary. The music and the performers are worth longer than the remaining three movements your investment and I would be glad to hear combined. A strikingly beautiful (and again, more of this composer’s music. Did he ever restrained) Cantabile is surpassed only by IV, write for an orchestra? which has an overpowering melancholy and D MOORE evokes Bach’s Art of Fugue. The liner notes are lengthy but poorly DUSSEK: Mass translated (“In Bergamo converged all influ- Stefanie True, Helen Charlston, Gwilym Bowen, ences from Milan and Venice” and “This quar- Morgan Pearse; Academy of Ancient Music/ tet states the accomplishment of Donizetti as Richard Egarr—AAM 11—60 minutes composer of string quartets”). There’s more The Academy of Ancient Music seems to have than enough musical talent here, so I would be bought into the “Go big or go home” mentality, curious as to where the Mitja Quartet turns its because this premiere recording of Jan Ladislav attention next. Dussek’s Messe Solemnelle is the largest, most DUTTERER sumptuously packaged release of a single work DOPPELBAUER: Cello Pieces I’ve ever seen. It gives us not only the CD and Martin Merker; Anna Adamik, p booklet, but a 99-page hardback volume that Naxos 551430—67 minutes shows how much fun musicology can be when there’s grand music and a first-class Here is a composer new to our ears. Born in meshuggeneh to report on. In it you’ll find Weiss, Upper Austria, Josef Friedrich Doppel- photos of the autograph score, Dussek’s dedi- 40 May/June 2021 cation of his 1811 Mass to the Esterhazy family, argue with him. An undiscovered master- an interesting essay on pitch and sonority (the piece? You’d best judge that for yourself. Academy, by the way, tunes to A=438), a travel- GREENFIELD og of Dussek’s musical life, a gastronomic por- trait of the composer titled “Nettle Soup, Sugar EAST: & Voices Baskets, and Chocolate Torte” and accompa- Fantasias, anthems, nied by some mouth-watering recipes from the Fieri Consort; Chelys Consort of Viols 18th Century, an analysis of the Dussek piano BIS 2503 [SACD] 71 minutes sonatas, and colored photos and bios of the conductor, performers, and producers. The Michael East (1580-1648) was probably the interest level intensifies as you read that Dus- nephew of the music publisher Thomas East sek (1760-1812) was one of music history’s first (c1540-1608). Michael’s name first appears as touring pianists, a favorite of Catherine the a contributor to ’s Triumphs of Great who wound up having to leave Oriana (1601) with the `Hence Stars one step ahead of the Empress’s secret police, Too Dim of Light’, which is included here. East an unscrupulous businessman who left several joined the choir of Ely Cathedral as a partners (including Lorenzo da Ponte) holding in 1609. By 1618 he was Master of Choristers at the bag, a social butterfly who had once hob- Lichfield Cathedral, where he spent the nobbed with the likes of Marie Antoinette and remainder of his career. He published seven Bonaparte, and a libidinous rake books of his compositions, all of them includ- who deserted his daughter and wife (who was- ing works for voices and viols. He was thus one n’t exactly a nun herself) in a foreign capital of the more widely published English com- with nary a backward glance. He was some- posers of his day. His third set (1610) includes thing. a series of 8 fantasias of 5 parts. They have Conductor Richard Egarr informs us that Latin headings that trace a spiritual progress the Mass—one of Dussek’s last composi- from desperation and sin to life, triumph, and tions—hasn’t been sung publicly in over 200 love. All are included in this program. Inter- years, if indeed it has ever been performed or spersed with these instrumental pieces are rehearsed at all. The manuscript was sitting vocal works whose texts relate more or less to unknown and untouched in a music library in the Latin headings. Most of the vocal pieces until the conductor came across it, come from East’s fourth set of 1618. They had it spiffed up for performance, and led the include verse anthems, full anthems, and world premiere at the Barbican in October madrigals. 2019. Later that month, the concert cast gath- East’s published compositions, whether ered at the Church of St Augustine’s Kilburn in vocal or instrumental, sacred or secular, were North London to make this recording. intended primarily for skilled amateurs in a Their efforts were not in vain. The per- domestic setting as described in Morley’s formance is wonderful, with all the elements Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall coming up aces. The soloists are delightful, as Musicke (1597). It is worth noting that sacred are the enthusiastic choir and period band. anthems figured prominently in domestic Dussek had a Haydn-like flair for crafting music making and were not transmitted exclu- orchestral accompaniments, so there are col- sively in ecclesiastical sources like the libraries orful licks for the flute, majestic fanfares for of cathedrals and collegiate foundations. In the brass, and engaging undercurrents in the this program, for instance, the verse anthem strings, all of which emerge stylishly and con `O Lord of Whom I Do Depend’ has more the brio under Maestro Egarr’s baton. He is also flavor of private devotion than public worship. good at setting out vivid dynamic contrasts The combination of voices and viols was com- that keep the music interesting and exciting. mon in this sort of music, with great freedom But the real star of the show is Jan Ladislav in the distribution of parts depending on the Dussek himself. His fugual counterpoint singers and players available. In full anthems (`Cum sancto spiritu’, `Et vitam venturi’, `Ho- or madrigals, where all of the parts are fully sanna in excelsis’, the `’ reprise) is spot- texted, voice parts might be doubled or substi- on. He could write handsomely for soloists tuted by viols. In verse anthems, not all of the (the `Benedictus’ is splendid), and was fully parts are fully texted, so that the voices would attuned to the emotional ups and downs of the sing only the sections with words while the liturgy. Richard Egarr is convinced that this is a viols supplied an accompaniment. These per- great and important work and I’m not going to formers exhibit several of these performance American Record Guide 41 options. The full anthem `When David Heard’ redolent of Brahms’s Liebeslieder, I got the is doubled by viols. The madrigals `Hence feeling that the Anglo-German alliance that Stars Too Dim of Light’ and `When I Lament’ had surprised me at first was going to work out are sung unaccompanied, but `Farewell Sweet just fine. After all, `The Dance’ I was listening Woods’ is doubled. It was a common selling to was the first of Elgar’s six songs From the point in musical publications to be described Bavarian Highlands, and who would be more on their title pages as “apt for voices and viols”. qualified to sing those than a world-class The catalog is not bursting with recordings Bavarian Choir? Turns out they’re just as good of East’s music. The ARG cumulative index with music not keyed to their own neighbor- lists no other recordings devoted entirely to hood. The women sound warm and sunny him. As for his position among his better- accompanied by a pair of violins in the `Span- known contemporaries, in New ish Serenade’. The fellows step smartly to Grove is less than flattering when he says: Elgar’s 1907 `Reveille’, a march that seems to “East was an industrious but unoriginal com- be hinting at the calamitous conflict that poser, who cultivated an up-to-date style with- would soon break out across Europe. Everyone out ever developing an individual musical per- comes together reverently for `They Are at sonality.” I would be less severe. Listeners who Rest’ a prayerful anthem composed to com- admire the English music of that period will memorate the 7th anniversary of Queen Victo- find this recording thoroughly enjoyable, even ria’s death. if it will not make them forget Orlando Gib- Most Elgar collections I’ve come across bons or . have been performed by English ensembles The program concludes with a new piece sporting the bright, clear sound their choral for voices and viols commissioned from Eng- tradition is known for. Not so here, where the lish composer Jill Jarman (b 1959). `Now Are tone is plusher, more romantic, and a little My Thoughts at Peace’ is a setting of a poem by darker than it tends to be on the Sceptred Isle. Sir Henry Wotton (1568-1639). The composer Sometimes the German vowels are more cov- notes that she wanted to produce a piece com- ered than ideal for English pronunciation, parable in spirit to the works of East, but cer- which makes tongue-twisting phrases like tainly not a pastiche of early music. The result “Not even the swift-winged lightnings of Zeus” contrasts solo voices with the full vocal ensem- hard to understand. (It’s no picnic to sing ble as in a verse anthem plus independent them, either.) But that’s a small price to pay for string writing that includes some lush and singing this luxurious. I know it’s early to say expressive harmonies. this, but smart money has it that this will be a The Fieri Consort is an early music vocal Critic’s Choice come January. ensemble founded in 2012, specializing in GREENFIELD music of the 16th and 17th Centuries. In this recording the voices, especially the women, ENNA: Cleopatra sound more intense than one usually hears Elsebeth Dreisig (Kleopatra), Ruslana Koval from early music ensembles. Sometimes that (Charmion), Magnus Vigilius (Harmaki), Lars interferes with the clear delineation of contra- Moller (Sepa), Jens Bove (Schafra); Danish puntal parts. The Chelys Consort of Viols made Opera, Odense Symphony/ Joachim Gustafsson their debut recording in 2015. Their playing Dacapo 8226708 [2CD] 111 minutes here is marked by sensitively shaped phrases with exemplary precision and tonal blend. Faithful readers of ARG, but few others, will GATENS recognize the name of August Enna. Since 1987 we have reviewed two of his operas ELGAR: Choral Pieces (Young Love and The Little Match Girl) and a From the Bavarian Highlands; Snow; Fly, Singing CD of orchestral works). But this long-lived Bird; 5 Partsongs from the Greek Anthology; Go, and once-renowned Danish composer (1859- Song of Mine; As Torrents in Summer; Reveille; 1939) composed 12 other operas. And here, They Are at Rest; Weary Wind of the West; Prince finally, is the most famous of them all: Kleopa- of Sleep tra, based on the wildly popular adventure Radoslaw Szulc, Julita Smolen, v; Max Hanft, p; Bavarian Radio Choir/ Howard Arman novel by English author H Rider Haggard, BR 900522—66 minutes “Cleopatra: Being an Account of the Fall and Vengeance of Harmachis” (1889). When this excellent choir of 50-or-so voices Enna is an odd name for a Dane; it’s opened their program with a joyous waltz because his family is originally from Italy. 42 May/June 2021 August was largely self-trained and was devot- than most Wagner operas or French grand ed in particular to the works of Wagner and the operas. There is an 8-minute lovely ballet and ballet composer Leo sequence that would work well on a pops- Delibes. orchestra concert. Kleopatra (the name is here accented on Harmaki—to summarize the plot briefly— the second syllable) was a semi-failure at its enters Cleopatra’s court in disguise as an first performances in 1894, but it triumphed a astrologer, for she has called for someone who year later when Kleopatra and her handmaid- might interpret a dream she has had. She en Charmion were sung by the for instantly falls in love with her would-be mur- whom Enna had originally intended the roles. derer. He gradually weakens. Her maidservant It reportedly also met with huge success in Charmion, who also loves Harmaki, tries to Berlin, , Cologne, and other cities, persuade him to be loyal to his people. He including 50 performances in a single year rejects her. Charmion then reveals his plot to (1897) in Amsterdam. Cleopatra, who arrests Charmion’s father (the But modernism came to Danish musical high priest Sepa) and the other conspirators. life with Carl Nielsen, and straightforward Harmaki stabs himself with the dagger with romanticism began to seem dusty and, per- which he had once intended to murder haps, provincial. Kleopatra and all of his works Cleopatra, as Charmion collapses on top of gradually vanished. The 2019 production at him, “heartbroken”, in a melodious love-death the Danish National Opera marked the work’s (less than four minutes). Among other effec- first performance in 122 years on Danish soil. tive theatrical details are a veil that Charmion We are lucky that Dacapo and the Danish accidentally drops (and that the queen, of Broadcasting Corporation made this record- course, finds) and a wreath of hyacinths that ing, because it goes far toward vindicating the queen places on Harmaki’s head in Act 1 Enna and his vision of a native musical life that and that, in Act 2, he flings to the floor, then could stand shoulder to shoulder with what gathers to his breast (a bit like Bizet’s Don Jose was being done in European lands then recog- with ’s flower). nized as more important. His style here All of this comes across extraordinarily reminds me of Wagner’s operas from some 50 well in the recording, made at three perform- years earlier (mainly Dutchman and ances in the Odense Concert House. The bal- Tannhäuser), enriched with numerous deco- ance between voices and orchestra is mar- rative orchestral touches that sound French velous. The voices of the five main singers and Italian. Charmion’s Act 1 lament contains cajoled my ears while conveying vividly the a little piping oboe figure with grace note that meaning of the words. It surely helps that four comes right out of Aida. Several duets, such as of them are Danes (the Charmion is Ukrain- for Charmion and Harmaki (end of Act 2) end ian). Be careful: Elsebeth Dreisig, a fine lyric- with energetic cabaletta-like sections. In gen- dramatic, should not be confused with the eral, the vocal lines are comfortable and dis- lighter soprano from Belgium with a similar play Enna’s “easy melodic gift” (Grove). name, Elsa Dreisig, whom I have praised in I was often captivated by short orchestral Massenet (Nov/Dec 2020). commentaries preceding or following some If we are ready now to discover the virtues statement by a character: surging arpeggiated of other mainstream opera composers from figures from the strings, emphatic declaiming the mid and late 19th Century that I have from the brass, querulous doubts from the reviewed here in recent years (Lachner, Bruch, winds. Enna knows just when to have the David, Gounod, Saint-Saens, Godard, Lalo), orchestra double the voice (much as Puccini why not August Enna or another Scandina- was doing around the same time). One notable vian, Olander (Nov/Dec 2019)? case of that occurs when the high priest Sepa The booklet has a fine essay and libretto, demands (in Act 1, scene 1) that Harmaki (the all translated well except for too-literal trans- heir to the pharaonic throne) be firm in his position of verb tenses (overuse of the histori- plan of murdering Cleopatra and thereby free- cal present, and too much “has been” for ing Egypt from Roman control. “was”). The opera is tightly constructed. The plot LOCKE is straightforward and clear. Each moment makes its point and then moves on. The three FAURE: Dolly; see Collections acts (a prologue—mistranslated as “over- FENAROLI: Organ Sonatas; see MASCITTI ture”—and two acts) together are far shorter American Record Guide 43 FINNISSY: Pious Anthems & Voluntaries FRANCK: Cello Sonata; Glen Dempsey, James Anderson-Besant, org; GODARD: Sonata Sarah O’Flynn, fl; Cecily Ward, v; St John’s Col- Corinne Morris; Petr Limonov, p lege Choir/ Andrew Nethsingha Somm 626—64 minutes Signum 624 [2CD] 84 minutes “Bo elle Ep que 1886” is the title of this program Pious Anthems & Voluntaries is music of today of two substantial 32-minute works by major inspired by music of the past. Michael Finnissy French composers. Cesar Franck (1822-90) (b 1946) has taken works from Tudor England was born in Belgium but spent most of his life and the Baroque Era, worked contemporary in Paris, where he studied at the Conserva- harmonies and rhythms into them, and come toire. The four-movement Cello Sonata began up with this composition for violin, flute, a pair as a violin sonata, written as a wedding pres- of organs, and the choir of St John’s. Two of the ent for Eugene Ysaye, who was so impressed sections, the composer tells us, take “the struc- that he learned it immediately and performed ture and some content and analogies” from it himself that same day for his wedding guests Taverner’s , `Dum tranissent Sabbatum’, and again and again for the next 40 years! Cel- and Bach’s , `Herr Christ, der einge list Jules Delsart (1844-1900) heard it at a con- Gottessohn’. Another motet decked out in cert where he was playing, and asked the com- Tudor colors is `Videte miraculum’, which pays poser if he could arrange it for cello. Franck more oblique homage to Tallis and Byrd using agreed to it. (Ysaye believed it was originally the poetry of John Donne. The last of the four intended as such.) choral interludes, `Plebs angelica’, depicts the The beautiful three-movement sonata by angels and archangels transporting the souls Benjamin Godard (1849-95) is rarely played. I of the blessed into paradise. (I find it interest- have only encountered it once before in a ing that the most engaging choral writing powerful performance by Mats Lidstrom and comes where the composer isn’t patterning Bengt Forsberg (Nov/Dec 1996). The new one himself after anybody else.) Finnissy alternates is also a beauty in every way. these choral sections with five instrumental Morris and Limonov are young masters of Commentaries, Voluntaries, or Doubles. Two their trade, both winers in major competitions. are for solo organ, one for an organ duo, and These two work very well together and express one for a trio of organ, violin, and flute. deep love and understanding of these impor- There are luminous moments in the Tudor tant late romantic sonatas. Consider it strong- motets, though you spend a lot of time in dis- ly! sonant darkness waiting for them to dawn. It’s D MOORE the sour harmonies in the organ solos, though, that are hardest to bear. More appealing is the FRANCK: Le Chasseur Maudit; Baroque set, which brings the violin and flute Symphonic Variations; on to cheer up the King of Instruments in a STRAUSS: Burlesque; Death and spritely Commentary on the chorale, `Wie Transfiguration Schon Leuchtet der Morgenstern’. (It sounds a Ekaterina Litvintseva, p; Northwest German Phil- bit like Stravinsky in neo-classical mode.) harmonic/ Jonathan Bloxham Finnissy’s deconstruction of the full Bach can- Hänssler 20060—74minutes tata displays some handsome writing in the My initial response on seeing this release was choruses, solos, and chorales, but one can to wonder why anyone would put Franck and grow tired of the interval spinning while wait- Strauss together. They were of different gener- ing for the good stuff to arrive. I did like the ations, born more than 40 years apart; and Commentary on the cantata, a lyrical tribute to they represent two very different musical cul- the Baroque era interrupted by jarring bits of tures. The liner notes address the same con- contemporary chaos. (Actually, those nasty cern and offer an explanation. The two piano- outbursts summed up my late-January mood orchestral works, Franck’s Symphonic Varia- pretty well.) In sum, I didn’t love this but tions and Strauss’s Burlesque, were written in found things to admire as long as the organs the same year, 1885. The two tone poems were were kept away from center stage. GREENFIELD also from the 1880s, Franck’s Chasseur in 1882, Strauss’s D&T in 1889. Another little tie: FOOTE: Suite for Strings; see COPLAND Strauss’s two pieces were premiered in the same concert in 1890. So, we have a tidy pack- 44 May/June 2021 age: two tone poems, two piano works, all thought-out, but the musical language is from the 1880s. chaotic, meaningless, and unbearably ugly. More important than all of this are the per- The choir is excellent, and their obvious formances, which are splendid. Ekaterina Litv- commitment in dealing with the huge techni- intseva, who comes from Anadyr, the eastern- cal and musical demands is superb in every most town in Russia, close to Alaska, is still way; but after listening twice, I still was not young (mid-30s), but she already has well- able to make any sense of it. Extensive notes regarded recordings of Chopin and Rachmani- on the music by the composer, with texts. noff to her credit. Her playing is deeply expres- DELCAMP sive, with beautiful tone (particularly in the Franck) and dazzling in the Strauss. Hers is a GADE: Quartet in D; Quintet in E minor; name to watch. Clarinet Fantasy Pieces As for the orchestral pieces, they are won- Ensemble MidtVest derfully done as well. Franck’s Chasseur (The CPO 555 199—66 minutes Accursed Huntsman) may not be often heard, Niels Gade (1817-90) was the leading Danish but it is a very fine piece, and the Strauss is composer of his day, but he also spent the excellent as well. 1840s in Leipzig as part of the Mendelssohn An attractive release in every respect, and circle. He was Mendelssohn’s assistant with an interesting look at different styles from the the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and he 1880s. The real find, though, is the pianist. We was chosen to conduct the premiere of should be hearing a lot more from her. Mendelssohn’s violin concerto in 1845; he was ALTHOUSE also on good terms with Schumann and Robert Franz. After Mendelssohn’s death in REEMAN: ; A Wilderness of Sea F 1847 Gade was appointed chief conductor of Helsinki Chamber Choir/ Nils Schweckendiek the orchestra, but he was forced to return to BIS 2592—82 minutes Copenhagen in 1848 when war broke out American-Finnish composer Alex Freeman between Germany and Denmark. Of the works has established himself as one of the foremost here the quintet (1845) is the only one from composers of choral music in Finland. His the Leipzig period. The Fantasy Pieces come style aims to be melodic with a hint of tonality from 1864, and the quartet is late, 1887. and a touch of minimalism, all informed by All of these pieces are lovely and well con- the poetry. Under the Arching Heavens: a structed. They may lack the individuality of the Requiem was commissioned by the Helsinki greatest music of the 1800s, but they do make Chamber Choir in celebration of the 100th fine examples of the conservative chamber anniversary of the end of the Finnish civil war style in mid-century. I do not hear any particu- in 1918. He sets only the Introit, Sequence lar “growth” in style. If you removed the dates, (Dies irae), Sanctus, and Agnus Dei, and, I’m not sure if I could rank them chronologi- much in the manner of Britten’s War Requiem, cally. Whom does Gade resemble? He worked interpolates poems—here by Alexis Kivi, with Mendelssohn, but in a blind test I would Sassoon, Edith Sodergran, Viljo Kaja- guess Schumann more quickly, and perhaps va, and Walt Whitman, “making a universal Dvorak in the quartet. The four Fantasy Pieces statement about the ubiquity of war in all for clarinet and piano are short—11-1/2 min- lands and all eras”. It is an intense, gritty, utes—and quite lovely. Clarinetists seeking hyper-chromatic, dissonant, and rhythmically recital material should look them up. turbulent meditation on death and loss, end- The Ensemble MidtVest is a group of ten— ing with a prayer for peace, hope, and eternal a string quartet, wind quintet, and piano—so rest. “I see my own composition as progressing they are equipped to tackle a variety of reper- through three phases: mourning, admonish- tory. This is their fifth volume of Gade. I ment, and consolation”. reviewed an early one that included Gade’s A Wilderness of Sea uses three texts from very nice Octet (N/D 2017), and the most Shakespeare to contemplate “the ephemeral recent, Volume 4, was covered by John Dutter- quality of our little life—the smallness of er (M/A 2019). The group is very fine, particu- mankind in the face of nature and two of the larly clarinetist Tommaso Lonquich in the most universal aspects of human existence: Fantasy Pieces. The string playing is warm and water and impermanence”. As in the requiem, romantic, a pleasure in every way. The booklet the composer’s message is sincere and well has extensive notes on the composer and the American Record Guide 45 music, including an analysis of every move- He has recorded often with the Boston Early ment. This would be a wonderful way to get to Music Festival, and I have heard him sing know music from a composer just a notch superbly on stage there. He is quite at home below the famous ones! with lieder and had recorded often with much ALTHOUSE acclaim. I have reviewed his recordings several times. GAL: Songs He is listed as a bass-baritone and has Christian Immler, bar; Helmut Deutsch, p sung the commendatore in . His BIS 2543 [SACD] 72 minutes range is deep enough for that, but his voice is lighter than the role requires. The same is true Hans Gal (1890-1987) is best remembered as a of his singing of the Four Serious Songs of musicologist who wrote books on Schubert, Brahms (M/A 2019). One of his best recordings Brahms, Wagner, Verdi, and Schumann. As a was of various Heine settings for BIS (M/A victim of Nazi repression, he fled to Britain 2016) where his expressive diction and metic- with the help of Donald Tovey, who brought ulous attention to textual nuances was excel- him to Edinburgh, where he became a lecturer lent. Here he shows those same virtues. at the University, and remained until he died. Deutsch is the dependable collaborator we Our index lists two dozen recordings of his have come to expect. works, including two discs of his choral pieces These songs are worthy of being heard in but none dedicated exclusively to his songs. I recitals. Immler and Deutsch have done a few years ago I reviewed the album “Songs of commendable job in resurrecting them. The the Orient” sung by Simon Wallfisch with SACD sound is excellent. Edward Rushton. That included Gal’s Five Notes, texts, translations. Songs, Op.33 (1817-21), the only ones he pub- R MOORE lished. He had written about 100 songs before leaving secondary school but destroyed them GLUCK: Demofoonte and all other works composed before 1910. Ann Hallenberg (Princess Creusa), Sylvia From 1910 to 1921 he wrote many more songs, Schwartz (Dircea), Romina Basso (Cherinto), but spoke of them as “weggelegt” (put aside), Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (Timante), Colin Balzer which was taken to mean “discarded”. (Demofoonte), Vittorio Prato (Matusio); Comp- When Immler and Deutsch performed lesso Barocco/ Alan Curtis those five songs in London at a Brilliant 95283 [3CD] 212 minutes recital, the composer’s daughter, Eva Fox-Gal, was the guest of honor. After the recital they I mostly forget that Gluck wrote lots of Italian spoke with her and expressed their regret that operas in the manner of the typical opera seria there weren’t any more of his songs to sing. of his day, consisting mainly of a long series of She said, “Oh, but there are.” da capo arias. Music historians have empha- She invited them to her home in York sized instead his “reform” operas of the 1760s where they spent two days reading through and on, which often condensed the plot and manuscripts of Gal’s songs and selected 26 of broke down the boundaries between aria and them, which had lain unsung for 100 years. recitative. Those are familiar to opera lovers They are recorded here for the first time along today, especially Orfeo ed . Gluck’s with the five Op. 33 songs. Texts are by Heine, move from Vienna to Paris (with its highly Hesse, Dehmer, Morike, Tagore, and others. developed and varied theatrical traditions) Eva’s husband Anthony transcribed them and impelled him to even further experiments and Simon Fox-Gal, the composer’s grandson, pro- departures, as in the two Iphigenia operas. duced the CD. Many of them could easily be So it was with surprise that I started listen- mistaken for songs of , particularly ing, somewhat blind, to Demofoonte, only to the three `Night in the Cabin’ settings of Heine discover that the work is cut from more or less texts. the same cloth as the high Baroque opere serie Immler is Professor of Voice at the Kalai- of Handel, Vivaldi, Telemann, Hasse, and Vinci dos Fachhochschule in Zurich and is much in that I have reviewed here in the past few years. demand for worldwide master classes. He has Which means that we encounter one largely taught the lied and class at the Inter- treasurable aria after another, full of sweetness national Summer Academy Mozarteum (as in the lapping waves of Timante’s delicate Salzburg on several occasions. His gentle voice first aria, `Sperai vicino al lido’) or vigor (as in is well suited to early music, particularly Bach. the title character’s `Odo il suono de’ queruli 46 May/June 2021 accenti’, with its wonderful intrusions by pairs York Times as a “complete artist” with “a of horns and ). remarkable gift for intimate communication”. This is no surprise, for, as I learned when I A more fully mature ANC can be heard as interrupted my listening to read the booklet- David in Nicholas McGegan’s 2019 recording essay by the noted musicologist Paologiovanni of Handel’s Saul and in a CD of arias by Han- Maione and then did some further reading, del, Vivaldi, and Gluck. (Neither of these has Demofoonte was one of the first of some 16 been reviewed here.) Still, I would love to hear operas that Gluck wrote from 1741 to 1752 for this role—the work’s primo uomo—sung by a theaters in Italy, Vienna, , and Lon- female singer whose range matched the part don—and the earliest that has been largely comfortably. preserved. (The surviving sources lack the I complained a bit about Vittorio Prato’s overture and the ; these were all weak low register and huffy coloratura in my composed for the 2015 production that we review of Bellini’s Bianca e Gernando hear on this recording by its conductor, Alan (Mar/Apr 2018). Here he seems more comfort- Curtis.) able. Colin Balzer is a lovely lyric tenor, best Metastasio penned Demofoonte in Vienna, known for recordings of German art songs. He where it was set by Caldara for the nameday of does a fine job with the often-placid title role Emperor Charles VI in 1733. It was set more of the king of Thrace. Rulers in Baroque operas often than all but three of Metastasio’s dozens tend to be noble and generous, thus less vivid of librettos. Niccolo Jommelli set it more than than some of their scheming, hyperactive, or once! Cherubini would, decades later, set a suffering subjects. Fortunately, Demofoonte French adaptation that larded the well-filled does several times get a chance to rage, as in tale with yet one more sub-plot. his `Perfidi! Gia che in vita’. Balzer’s healthy Gluck’s setting for Milan (January 1743) vocal production makes the sparks fly. was greeted with “widespread satisfaction and Best of all are the women: Ann Hallenberg applause from the good numbers of spectators (from ), Sylvia Schwartz (from Spain), who attended each evening” (according to the and Romina Basso (from Italy). I don’t recall local newspaper). There was particular praise ever hearing more expert early-music singing: for the great castrato Giovanni Carestini, in the each maintains a solid core of tone while giv- role of Timante, a man designated to marry ing appropriate weight to the message of the Creusa (princess of Phrygia) but secretly mar- words. In aria after aria, I felt as if I were ried to Dircea. Indeed, the musical inspiration attending a master class in intelligent, multi- and craftsmanship are so high that I was faceted operatic interpretation. I was particu- delighted to keep listening (and putting other larly taken with the embellishments eloquent- less pleasant tasks off!). I was particularly ly delivered by Romina Basso in Cherinto’s enchanted by the duet for Timante and Dircea `Nel tuo dono io veggo assai’. that ends Act 2. (The track list here gives first So we can finally hear Gluck’s Demofoonte the name of character who actually enters sec- and revel in its energy and grace, in a generally ond. Such an error is all the more annoying, superlative performance, one of the last efforts because all but two of the cast members sing of Alan Curtis before he died in 2015. The in the soprano or alto range and so can be eas- recording was made in a studio after a concert ily confused.) performance in Vienna. Everything can be The singers are all notably fine (as indeed clearly heard, in beautiful balance. It is unfor- is the sharply profiled, two-dozen-strong Com- tunate that Curtis did not live to supervise the plesso Barocco). My one complaint is that the recording’s release. He would have made sure countertenor, a singer with a seductively gen- that the libretto, which is available online, was tle tone, is often weak on his lowest notes, his issued in parallel columns, instead of as trill is soggy, and Curtis’s swift tempos stress dozens of pages of English followed by dozens him in some passages of coloratura (as in the of pages of Italian. Who makes these decisions middle section of his first aria). Surely Caresti- at the record company misnamed Brilliant? ni had more fire. But I don’t mean to complain LOCKE too much: Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen was a mere 20 years old (and a Princeton undergrad- GODARD: Cello Sonata; see FRANCK uate) when this recording was made, and GOULD: Stringmusic; see HANSON already quite artful and intelligent. Three years later, he would win the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions and be hailed in the New American Record Guide 47 GRIEG: Violin Sonatas GRILLER: Under an Autumn Sky; Violin David Wyn Lloyd; Bernardo Santos, p Concerto; ; Concerto Da Vinci 341—69 minutes Kamila Bydlowska, v; Matilda Lloyd, tpt; Liepaja Symphony/ Paul Mann These sonatas are not played often. This is Toccata 590—77 minutes despite the occasional advocacy of celebrated violinists (Kreisler, Heifetz, in later years Volume 3 in the Toccata set of complete works Augustin Dumay) and the persistent work of with orchestra by Canadian-American Arnold less-celebrated violinists who nonetheless Griller (1937-). His father was the first violin of understand the music’s worth and continue the Griller Quartet and became acquainted playing and recording it. I don’t really under- with the contemporary music of the time. That stand this. The ranks of really fine late-19th quartet was in residence at UC Berkeley, and Century violin sonatas aren’t all that thick; you he studied with Milhaud at Mills College in have the Brahmses and the Franck and the Oakland. first Faure and Strauss and Saint-Saens, and His major influence is Stravinsky, using the then what else, before Debussy and Ravel and octatonic scale for structural materials, though Respighi? There’s no point in neglecting great his work is filled with references to other com- music that’s right there. posers. Griller’s music is neoclassical in his The works get more “Norwegian” as they selection of forms and language but friendly go on. No. 1 does have a second movement and accessible. that, if you squint aurally hard enough, can Under an Autumn Sky (2017) is a theme sound like an impression of Hardanger fiddle and variations in 6 parts on a curvaceous and playing, but the more characteristic bits are in memorable theme. the outer movements, which are full of an The Violin Concerto (2017) is dedicated to open-air delight in everything that seems to his partner Yoda Tekle, who died shortly me as much about simply being young as before the composition of the piece. Berg is about being Norwegian. The Second is more the dominant player here, particularly his Vio- replete with folk references, though to my ears lin Concerto, which also has death as a topic. they are are no more “ethnic” than German Its tone is passionate and sometimes angular, folk references are in German music. (Isn’t it but it ends with a striking coda that is appro- odd how everything not-German in European priately heaven bound. music is “nationalist”? I gather that’s what we The Concerto Grosso (1955) takes Vaugh- get from deciding that music history will be an Williams as model. Pensive and lovely in its known as “Musikwissenschaft”.) modal austerity, it will make a tasteful diver- The Third, much later than the other two, sion. is the one that sounds, not “Norwegian”, but Finally, the (2018) simply like Grieg. This is the piece that has poses a challenge to the brave trumpet player. found the most listeners, and it’s not difficult Vaguely neoclassical, it is not as secure as his to discern why: there’s something in the very other efforts. cut of the melodies, the very crafting of the This composer could be of interest to read- harmonies, that’s utterly distinctive. The heart ers partial to derivative, but well-crafted recent of the piece is its E-major slow movement, music. with its very simple melody and its striking GIMBEL harmonies; but the outer movements, in C minor but not particularly violent, breathe the GRONDAHL: ; Violin same air. Concerto; ; Horn Concerto; Pan & Syrinx; Symphony David Wyn Lloyd and Bernardo Santos are Thorkild Graae Jorgensen, trb; Milton Seibaek, v; very good in all of this, but this is not a first Carl Bloch, bn; Ingbert Michelsen, hn; Danish recommendation. Augustin Dumay and Maria Radio Symphony/ Launy Grondahl Joao-Pires have been the standard for some DACO 882 [2CD] 124 minutes time, apart from the much earlier Kreisler and Heifetz recordings. (I haven’t heard the Hyper- Danish composer Launy Grondahl (1886- ion recording by Hagai Shaham and Arnon 1960) was a trumpeter and professional violin- Erez—Nov/Dec 2006.) ist before becoming a conductor and compos- THOMSON er in his 20s. Here are four concertos, a sym- phonic poem, and a symphony, all recorded in 48 May/June 2021 the mid-1950s with the composer conducting hand has the melody, the balance is exquisite. the Danish Radio Symphony. All the nuance is there. The B section in the Of the works presented here, only the 15- first Canto Populare is divine, and the sensitiv- minute Trombone Concerto (1924) has ity Madrigal brings to the tone is exquisite. become standard literature. It is a lyrical and KANG rather heroic work that presents the soloist with a number of awkward challenges. People GUERRERO: , 4th tone; Ave familiar with the work will be struck by the Virgo Sanctissima; Hei Mihi, Domine; Lamen- slow tempos in all three movements. They tations; Beatus Achacius Oravit; Sancta et seem staid, but they are the composer’s own Immaculata; Regina Caeli a 8; Laudate tempos, and they make the awkward moments Dominum de Caelis; Canciones y Villanescas less so. It is also notable that several passages, Espirituales (5) often taken up an octave by today’s players, are El Leon de Oro/ Peter Phillips & Marco Antonio played here as Grondahl wrote them. The Garcia de Paz—Hyperion 68347—61 minutes recording is interesting but not especially Francisco Guerrero (1528-99) is now generally enjoyable, with its distant, monaural 1950s acknowledged to be one of the three greatest sound, trombonist Thorkild Graae Jorgensen’s Spanish Renaissance composers along with small-bore tone quality, and his occasional his younger contemporary Victoria and his sharpness. teacher Morales. Over the years, his reputation The other readings have sonic shortcom- has been largely eclipsed by Victoria. This is ings, too, of course. Milton Seibaek delivers an reflected in the recording catalog, but Guer- impassioned but small-voiced account of the rero is now getting more of the attention he is 24-minute Violin Concerto (1923). Recorded due. sound is more robust for Carl Bloch’s reading Peter Phillips has been a strong champion of the 19-minute Bassoon Concerto (1942), of Guerrero’s music. His past recordings though his tone is occasionally rough-hewn. include the Mass Surge Propera plus motets The sonics are most lifelike in the 19-minute with his own Tallis Scholars (Gimell 40; J/A Horn Concerto (1954), where soloist Ingbert 2006), and Dormendo Un Giorno Mass plus Michelsen’s tone is full and round, his techni- motets with Musica Reservata of cal skill impressive. It is surprising to hear an (RTVE 65186; J/A 2006). There are three organ’s gentle, sustained presence in I. motets that appear on both of those recordings The 11-minute tone poem Pan and Syrinx and the new one: `Ave Virgo Sanctissima’, the (1915) is evocative but undermined by the penitential `Hei Mihi, Domine’, and the eight- sound problems—and by the occasional part `Regina Caeli’. These pieces are prime wretched solo. The collection ends with the examples of Guerrero’s skill in canonic writing 33-minute Symphony (1919). Here again, one and his formidable ability to manage large has to ignore the old sonics to appreciate numbers of contrapuntal voices; but he wrote Grondahl’s bold ideas and the orchestra’s pas- over 100 motets, so there must certainly be sionate—if sometimes clumsy—playing. many more worth hearing. KILPATRICK This program is remarkable for the variety of genres and choral textures. It begins with a UASTAVINO: G 10 Cantilenas Argentinas; Magnificat with plainsong verses alternating 10 Cantos Populares Marcos Madrigal, p with polyphony. There is a setting of liturgical Piano Classics 10203—72 minutes Lamentations from the first lesson of the first nocturn for Tenebrae on Maundy Thursday. Guastavino (1912-2000) is a highly underrated Guerrero wrote more secular music than Argentine composer, with plenty of romantic either Morales or Victoria, and there are five infusion and Argentine folk songs. These pieces from his Canciones y Villanescas Espiri- works are soothing and sentimental, and tuales, published in Venice in 1589. The pieces hauntingly beautiful. The titles refer to folk sung here have devotional Spanish texts. 18 works, framed in a more conservative and songs in the collection are contrafacta, and tonal compositional style. If you enjoy apparently Guerrero saw no incongruity in fit- Ginastera and Villa-Lobos you will enjoy these ting religious words to songs originally written lyrical works. The third of the Cantilenas for secular lyrics. Most of the pieces are scored Argentinas is very complex harmonically, and for the full range of voices from 4 to 8 parts. 8 has an improvisational quality. When the left There are some exceptions. The motet `Beatus American Record Guide 49 Achacius Oravit’ is for low voices (ATTBarB), islanders include a stereotyped Asian lecher, delivered here with impressive gravity. At the local women who comment on the action, and opposite end of the spectrum are the motet Kerven, a French navy officer. Mahenu falls in `Sancta et Immaculata’ (SSSA) and from the love with Kerven and they sing impassioned Canciones the three-part `Sanctissima Maria’ love songs. In Act 2 Kerven has been renamed (SSA). Loti and has adopted many of the island ways, The vocal ensemble El Leon de Oro was but he must return to France. Mahenu and founded in 1997 in Asturias. For this recording Loti attend a farewell ball and Mahenu realizes 38 singers are listed, which is large for early that living unmarried with Loti, she faces the music. They produce a rich and dark sound same fate as her mother: a fallen woman. In that sounds good in the reverberant acoustic Act 3 Loti leaves the island and Mahenu is of the monastery church of San Salvador de resigned about her fate. There is a heavenly Cornellana in Asturias. Peter Phillips conducts chorus that adds beautiful background chants. the pieces with Latin texts. The Spanish Can- With three acts in a 42-minute opera there ciones are conducted by the choir’s founder is not a lot of character development, and and director, Marco Antonio Garcia de Paz. motivation is sketchy. The attention is on the GATENS lovers, and the music reflects their passions. Much of the exotic island music is supplied by HAHN: L’ile du Reve the chorus, sounding something like the mys- Helene Guilmette (Mahenu), Cyrille DuBois tical choir in `Bali Hai’ from Rodgers and (Kerven and Loti), Anaik Morel (Orena), Artavazd Hammerstein’s South Pacific. It’s all very effec- Sargsyan (Tsen-Lee), Ludivine Gombert (Teria), tive. The lead singers, Helene Guilmette as Thomas Dolie (Tiarapa) Mahenu and Cyrille DuBois as Kerven, have Munich Radio/ Choeur du Concert Spirituel/ beautiful and expressive voices. The other Herve Niquet—Bru Zane 1042—42 minutes singers are sufficient for their small roles. The dreadful Asian stereotype is grotesquely simi- L’ile du Reve (The Isle of Dreams) is Reynaldo lar to the characters in Sydney Jones’s 1896 Hahn’s first opera, and it is stunning. He com- comic opera The Geisha. posed the score over several years from 1891 The Bru Zane presentation is opulent and (when he was only 17 years old) to 1898, when includes a bound-in 128 page book in French it was premiered. The libretto is by Andre and English. There are several commentaries Alexandre and Georges Hartmann, and was about the opera and the period when it was adapted from two popular Pierre Loti novels: written and a complete French and English the semi-autobiographical Mariage de Loti libretto. This is the only available recording. and Madame Chrysantheme. FISCH championed Hahn’s opera, influencing Albert Carre, the Director of the Opera-Comique to HAMMERSCHMIDT: Sacred Concertos stage it. Although dismissed by French critics Vox Luminis; Clematis at its premiere, heard today it is easy to under- 418—71 minutes stand why Massenet was charmed by its exoti- cism. The score is highly inventive, with Scalacr wed vo orks on this release survey the impressionist and atmospheric music that is full of range of Andreas Hammerschmidt’s entrancing. The opera sounds like Hahn’s published output, from the Musicalischer songs, heavily influenced by Debussy, Andachten of 1639 to his Fest- und Zeit Massenet, Delius, and Chabrier. The lead roles Andachten of 1671. They show the variety of have three beautiful duets, romantic solos, and styles then current in Lutheran Germany: heart-breaking songs. The chorus plays an sacred madrigals, symphonies, motets, and important part in atmospheric waves of sound. concertos. While madrigal suggests a turn The basic plot is similar to Puccini’s toward dramatic expression, concerto, sym- , which is also based on phony, and motet point to the style, Madame Chrysantheme. As adapted by which integrates instruments and voices, Alexandre and Hartmann the scenario and sometimes arranged in discrete choirs. character motivations are vague, and there is The program shows genius from beginning no dramatic tension (or deaths) to disturb the to end, both of the composer and the modern overall tranquility. Mahenu is the daughter of performers. The first motet, `Ach Jesus Stirbt’, an island shaman. She is spiritually connected from Fest- und Zeit Andachten, reflects an to her island home of Bora Bora. The other expressive style akin to Hammerschmidt’s 50 May/June 2021 other madrigal-like works. Incorporating dis- accompanied only by soloists. For example, sonance, usually through suspensions, shows `Ah! Tu non sai’ from Ottone sounds a bit thin the composer’s command of the stile with only a pair of violins, solo cello, and no moderno. The style is perhaps even more realization of the continuo except in the mid- explicit in `O Barmherziger Vater’, from the dle section. Even the first edition of the music Sacred Concertos of 1641, where solo voices published by Handel included continuo figu- sing rising chromatic figures against an organ ration in all of this aria. This same type of per- continuo. Works from Kirchen- und Tafel formance is found in `Ombra cara’ from Music of 1662 have been noted for their inven- which occasionally even transpos- tive combinations of instruments and voices. es phrases in the continuo up an octave, fur- `Christ Lag in Todesbanden’ is one of these. ther lightening the texture, and without using The interaction of slower phrases and rapid even the double bass in the continuo—which declamation in women’s voices suggests the instrument is also omitted in the midddle sec- influence of the “agitated style” known as the tion of `Agitato da fiere tempeste’ from Riccar- stile concitato. Blending men’s and women’s do Primo. Since this was recorded in June voices with trombones adds rich and bold 2020, there may have been restrictions in how concord, often in dance-like fashion. many musicians could be in the church. The polychoral motet `Siehe, Wie Fein und The saving grace and real value of this Lieblich Ist’, from Geistliche Motetten und release is how effective Eva Zaicik is in this Conzerten of 1646, would have been perfectly repertoire. Her voice has the agility for the suited for the Johanneskirche in , where most extravagant coloratura, her diction is Hammerschmidt spent most of his career. clear, and she has the vocal support for even Jerome LeJeune notes that the church had the longest Handelian lyrical lines. I was also three choir galleries, each with its own organ. particularly impressed by the quality of her Hammerschmidt here infuses drama by incor- ornamentation; it is very inventive and effec- porating echo effects, underscored with tiered tive, especially in `Agitato da fiere tempeste’. dynamics to give the impression of short Perhaps she was helped by not having to sing phrases disappearing into the ether. over an orchestra, but she should soon be cast The most arresting works on the program in full productions of these operas. are perhaps the ones that offer the greatest Another pleasant surprise on this release is variety of vocal and instrumental color. `Tri- two arias from Caio Marzio Coriolano by umph, Triumph, Victoria’ is a vocal concerto Attilio Ariosti (1666-1729), premiered by the from Fest- Buss- und Dancklieder of 1658-9. It Royal Academy of Music in 1723: `E’ pur il calls for male soloists and choir, which alter- gran piacer’ and `Sagri numi’, though in this nate with an ensemble of , trom- aria the instrumentalists do not even follow bones, bassoon, and continuo. The effect is the dynamic contrasts indicated in the 18th breathtaking. What a delightful recording! Century edition. As a model of Handelian Texts and notes are in English. singing, this recording can be recommended, LOEWEN and there are full texts and translations. But Handel, Ariosti, and Bononcini deserve an HANDEL: Arias orchestra. Eva Zaicik, mz; Le Consort BREWER Alpha 662—65 minutes ANSON: Symphony 4; yThe Ro al Academy of Music functioned with H PISTON: Symphony 7; Georg Frideric Handel as music director along GOULD: Stringmusic with his associates, and Oregon Symphony/ Carlos Kalmar Attilio Ariosto, for less than a decade (1719-28) Pentatone 5186763—71 minutes but set a model for Italian opera in England. Many of the arias on this collection were first Interesting concept: a program of Pulitzer sung by Margherita Durastanti, whom Handel prize winners. That suggests American works, had known since his time in Rome. Most of and there are three good ones here in well- these selections are not the prima donna arias, played, excellent performances in fine sound. but it is clear that even secondary characters Pulitzer Prize 1944 is Symphony No. 4, were given strong musical attention. Requiem, by Howard Hanson (1896-1981). The one problem with this recording is The native Nebraskan Hanson attended New that it is chamber opera; that is, the arias are York’s Institute of Musical Art (the precursor of American Record Guide 51 the Juilliard School) where he studied with builds, turning triumphant for a moment Percy Goetschius, and then Northwestern Uni- before surrendering to dark anxiety. At the versity, where he worked with Peter Lutkin end, ominous chords in the low strings alter- and Arne Oldberg. He began his teaching nate and finally give in to serene ones in the career in 1916 at the College of the Pacific, ris- high violins. ing to Dean of the Conservatory of Fine Arts in Pulitzer Prize 1961 is Symphony 7 by Wal- 1919. In 1921 he visited Rome as the first ter Piston (1894-1976). The young Piston start- American Prix de Rome winner. Unlike earlier ed out as a draughtsman, but he also played Prix winners Debussy and Berlioz, Hanson piano and violin, and later saxophone. (Exam- enjoyed his time there studying with Respighi. ples of his artwork can be seen in his scores He was also influenced by Rimsky-Korsakoff, and his orchestration book.) The saxophone Sibelius, Bach, and Palestrina (noting that he allowed him to enter the Navy during World “learned an awful lot from Palestrina about let- War I as a band musician. After the war he ting the lines flow through the harmonies”). continued with music, studying composition He wrote some excellent pieces in Rome: Lux with Edward Burlingame Hill at Harvard and Aeterna, Lament for Beowulf, and Symphony Nadia Boulanger and Paul Dukas in France. In No. 1, Nordic. Upon his return to the US in 1926 he joined the Harvard faculty, where he 1924, he conducted the symphony in remained until 1960. He taught many famous Rochester and later became well known as a American composers and wrote several books, conductor. In that same year George Eastman including Harmony, which is still widely used. hired Hanson to head the Eastman School of Hill’s introduction of the young composer to Music. in Hanson’s 40 years there he devel- Boston Symphony conductor Serge Kousse- oped it into one of the world’s leading conser- vitzky led to BSO premieres of 11 of his works. vatories. He also helped to establish American His output includes 8 symphonies and several classical music with concert series, broadcasts, orchestral and chamber works, including 5 television films, projects, and commissions. In string quartets. Piston is a Neoclassicist whose 1939, he founded the Eastman-Rochester music is more modern sounding, rhythmic, Orchestra with players from the Rochester and aggressive than Hanson’s. It is often col- Philharmonic and Eastman faculty and stu- ored with a touch of darkness, as well as dents. They recorded a treasure trove of Amer- organum and modes. Late in his career he ican works for Mercury Records. Most were by experimented with 12-tone, though none of composers associated with Eastman. Many of his work in that vein that I have heard is as them are available on CD. Hanson wrote a thorny as the term suggests. The Seventh Sym- good deal for orchestra and chorus, as well as phony was commissioned by the Philadelphia one underrated opera, Merry Mount, a won- Orchestra and written with that orchestra in derful work that did well at the Metropolitan mind. It is highly energetic and rhythmic in Opera in the 1930s before inexplicably fading the outer movements, with a moody Adagio away. Its Naxos recording led by Gerard that has some fine wind solos. The Seventh Schwarz is well worth obtaining. earned Piston’s second Pulitzer. His first was in Hanson was an unabashed neoromantic 1948 for the Third Symphony, a deeper, supe- and excellent melodist, whose modal lines and rior work and possibly his best symphony. The distinctive harmonies were developed into Third could use a new recording. (For now sound, tight structures. Much of his music there is Hanson’s monaural and one by the draws on his Scandinavian background, lead- Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra under James Yan- ing some critics to compare him with Sibelius. natos—Albany, Nov/Dec 2000.) Hanson was a religious man, and a Grego- Pulitzer Prize 1995 went to Morton Gould rian influence marks some of his work. Indeed, (1913-96) for Stringmusic. Gould began as a the Fourth Symphony was inspired by the pianist for theaters, vaudeville, and Radio City Catholic mass. Dedicated to his deceased Music Hall. Like Hanson, he studied at the father, it was the composer’s favorite of his Institute of Musical Art. A prolific and versatile seven symphonies. The `Kyrie’ movement is composer, he was given several major com- contemplative but with turbulent interrup- missions and wrote for television, government tions until ending inconclusively. `Requiescat’ films, Broadway, movies, four symphonies, continues that ambience, ending with dark music for band, works for the major New York brass at the end. `Dies irae’ is described as ballet companies, and much more. He also angry but comes across as a bacchanal to me. created orchestral programs for national radio. Peace returns in `Lux Aeterna’ until a climax An accomplished conductor, he led several 52 May/June 2021 respected recordings. He wrote in a lighter composer lived from 1898 to 1954 and thus vein than Hanson and Piston with sleeker tex- was a younger contemporary of the two Ger- tures, often leaning to the popular idiom, mans, but his style is radically different. After Latin, and jazz. Stringmusic was commis- studying with Kodaly in Budapest he lived in sioned by the National Symphony to mark the Paris, except perhaps during the German departure of Music Director Mstislav Ros- occupation. His music has not been much tropovich, Gould’s friend and colleague. It is a recorded, perhaps for good reasons (but see sophisticated, serious work with much open S/O 1994 & 2016), and this was my first quartal harmony. The composer described it encounter with it. as a “large-scale suite, or serenade, for string Alan Becker reviewed Volume 1 of the orchestra [with] antiphonal writing—some- piano works (GP 806, M/J 2020), noted its vari- times...suggesting two separate string orches- ety and “spice”, and likened it to the “saucier” tras [sometimes with] one section piano music of Milhaud. Reviewing Volume 2 playing...pizzicato...while the other plays (GP 807, S/O 2020), Rob Haskins commented arco...[It] is a lyrical work...reflecting...the on “chromatically inflected tonality” and “a many moods and...facets of a man and musi- French sense of melodic turn and harmony”. cian for the intensity and emotion of his com- Both colleagues heard influences of jazz and mitment to music and life.” dance rhythms and found the performances These performances are beautifully played excellent. by the rich, dark sounding, well-recorded Ore- How the compositions for each volume gon Symphony. Carlos Kalmar’s romantic, were selected is not clear from the present well-paced interpretations match the playing liner notes. They suggest, probably incorrectly, well. The Hanson was recorded by Dean Dixon that only the works on Volume 3 were com- on 78s, Hanson on a monaural Mercury LP, posed in Paris. The ones on Volumes 1 and 2 and Gerard Schwarz in Seattle, but this beauti- are from the same period. The pieces here are fully flowing newcomer goes to the top of the from 1923-1930, except for one from 1937 and list. The Gerard Schwarz recording is well a set of three from 1952. It appears that done but way too slow. Hanson got the tempos Harsanyi composed only a single piece 1935- right, but the Kalmar is much better played 1944, unless more pieces from that decade are and recorded. still to come on future volumes. The Piston Seventh with Jorge Mester and The program comprises a sonata with four the Louisville Orchestra on a Louisville disc movements and 20 miniatures: three suites of comports more with the animated, Neoclassi- four pieces each, two Burlesques, three cal spirit of the work, but the Kalmar is better Impromptus, a Novellette, a Rhapsodie, and played and recorded. Kalmar’s reading of the the piece from 1937, which was inspired by a Gould is serious, big, rich, and romantic. mechanical contraption at a technical exposi- David Allan Miller and the Albany Symphony tion in Paris that year. The two middle pieces are leaner, more modern sounding and more of the Small Suite for Children are the only revealing of the work’s jazz touches. The Miller straightforwardly tonal ones; the other two are is more in the spirit of the music, and the dissonant and far from easy to play. This also Kalmar more in the spirit of the occasion for applies to the rest of the program. which it was written. Harsanyi’s harmonic language is unattrac- HECHT tive and incoherent, and there is little melodic interest. The music’s strength, or what there is HARSANYI: Piano Pieces 3 of it, is rhythmic variety and inventiveness. It is Giorgio Koukl—Grand Piano 831—80 minutes lively, quirky, and never boring, but empty. It does not express anything worthwhile; there is As I was reviewing several recordings for this just a lot of motion, but no feeling or beauty. issue I began to muse: If I had to choose, Giorgio Koukl, an experienced and much would I rather listen to music that is pleasant recorded Czech pianist who lives in Switzer- but boring or to music that is unpleasant but land, certainly plays this well. He specializes in exciting? I could not come up with a satisfacto- relatively neglected composers, and his inter- ry answer, but I was pretty sure I would not pretations of Martinu’s piano music in particu- want to hear either kind again. lar have been praised in these pages. But I dis- Tibor Harsanyi’s music is in the second like Martinu’s music and am not fond of Mil- category. See JENNER and G. SCHUMANN, haud’s either—and Harsanyi’s is uglier than this issue, for the first. This Hungarian Jewish both. One probably has to be a dyed-in-the- American Record Guide 53 wool Francophile to appreciate these second- some tension, by the infatuation of King Nisus and third-rank French and faux-French com- of Chaonia—Niso, a former wartime buddy of posers. Aeneas—with Ilia, “a humble Trojan huntress REPP who dwells in the woods of Chaonia” and who finally rejects Niso in order to remain free. HASSE: Enea in Caonia From the opening sinfonia and Enea’s first Carmela Remigio (Ilia), Francesca Ascioti (Enea), aria to the brief closing chorus (sung by all the Rafaella Lupinacci (Andromaca), Paola Valentina solo singers together), the score brings delight Molinari (Eleno), Celso Albelo (Niso); Enea after delight. Though the work is basically a Baroque Orchestra/ Stefano Montanari series of da capo arias, Hasse often lends CPO 555334 [2CD] 104 minutes specificity to a number through fascinating string figurations or some other instrumental This world-premiere recording of a short color. A pair of horns in the first aria sung by opera from 1727 by Johann Adolf Hasse (1699- Niso suggests to the alert listener that Niso is a 1783), a near-contemporary of Bach (but bet- hunter, which Enea confirms in recitative soon ter known and paid), seems at first to have thereafter. A second sinfonia (borrowed from a been put together for the purpose of letting us different Hasse opera and nearly seven min- hear this one long-forgotten work. The alto utes long) opens Act 2 and brings lots of inci- Francesca Ascioti, who sings the title role of sive entries for the oboes and energetic (but Enea (Aeneas), is listed as “project manager”, well-controlled) scurrying and slashing in the and the orchestra bears the name of that role strings. and of the opera. Enea in Caonia is an example of a serena- But the booklet implies that the orchestra ta: an opera intended, often, for performance (which is in Rome but involves musicians from at a private palace—such as to honor a wed- many countries) will continue to explore other ding or christening—and therefore on the Baroque-era works that in some way cross the short side and requiring few singers and mini- mountains that separate Italy from lands to the mal staging. Hasse composed it relatively early north. Hasse was originally from Bavaria, he in his career, possibly on the occasion of a made his early career in Italy—where he com- joint visit to (which was then under posed the work heard here—and then brought Austrian rule) by Violante Beatrice, who was Italian-style opera and church music north to the daughter of the elector of Bavaria, and her . nephew Clemens August, the elector of I was inclined to like the recording the Cologne. moment that I noticed that it involved Ascioti, In this case, we have five characters, two a marvelously intelligent alto, whose singing I female (Ilia and Andromaca) and three male. found beautiful and dramatic in a Cesti opera But prominent male roles in Italian operas in (this issue), and because I was so taken with those days were often assigned to coun- the two Hasse operas that I happen to know: tertenors (or occasionally to female singers). Attilio Regolo (Mar/Apr 2018) and the one In the present recording, only Niso, a tenor opera of his that is particularly well known rather than castrato role, is sung by a male. If today: Cleofide (May/June 2009, Nov/Dec you love but can’t abide coun- 2011). tertenors, this recording is for you. I was not disappointed. The plot is simple I should mention two wonderfully creamy but fascinating for anybody who knows a bit of sopranos: Carmelo Remigio, whom I had dis- Roman history. Here we re-encounter Aeneas covered with great pleasure in Donizetti’s and Andromache, but in an episode from Castello di Kenilworth (Sept/Oct 2019), and before Aeneas’s arrival in Carthage, so there’s Paola Valentina Molinari, as the young king of no Dido. Instead, we are among the Chaonians Epirus, Helenus. Molinari gets to sing the in Epirus (a region in northeastern Greece that work’s one accompanied recitative, where today laps over into southern Albania). Helenus—who, as in Virgil’s Aeneid is a kind of Andromache has married the young king seer—foretells Aeneas’s future struggles and Helenus (Eleno), and the two of them end up his victorious founding of Rome. (This is disc encouraging Aeneas to continue on his gods- 2, track 20. All the tracks numbers in the libret- ordained path (which, we know, will result in to are too low by one for Disc 2, because some- the founding of Rome on the Tiber). Some body forgot to number the sinfonia that starts depth is added by Andromache’s continuing the act off.) sorrow over her late husband Hector; and I don’t recall encountering a recent 54 May/June 2021 Baroque recording that is sung with such a fine III. The published score gave the text in Ger- balance of smoothness and character. (The man and English, thus allowing for perform- only disappointment comes from the one male ance in England as well as the German-speak- singer, Celso Albelo, whose breath is not ing world. always fully supported.) Just listen to the way This masterpiece of the composer’s old age that alto Ascioti, in Enea’s first aria, breaks up is no mere imitation of Handelian oratorio, some of Hasse’s florid lines into joyously even if that was an important part of its inspi- unconnected notes, suggesting laughter. Or ration. Haydn’s piety and personality are how Andromaca (“mezzo-soprano” Lupinacci, everywhere in evidence. Mozart could no who sounds like an alto to me) pours out her more have written The Creation than Haydn sorrow over the death of her beloved Hector in could have written . her first aria. The booklet credits Vivica The score is infused with an almost child-like Genaux (one of my favorite singers) with hav- (not childish) delight at the wonder of creation ing coached the cast members. with an optimism informed by Enlightenment The recording was made in the Villa Tor- philosophy. The recitative that introduces the lonia in Rome in September 2019. I hope that, final chorus hints at the Fall, but that catastro- as the pandemic recedes, this group will phe lies outside the narrative. Haydn depicts resume its project and bring forth more works creation in its unfallen perfection with a of the period that crossed the borders between charm and geniality uniquely his own. Italy and its northern neighbors. This recording is with a period-instrument Fine booklet, with an essay by Hasse orchestra and a chorus of 44 voices. Soprano authority Raffaele Mellace and the full libretto, Anna Lucia Richter has a clear and warm all well translated. But a track list should cer- sound. She is capable of a seemingly effortless tainly name the character singing, not the delivery of florid vocal lines and 18th-Century singer. It puts a stumbling block in the path of ornamentation. Tenor Maximilian Schmitt the reader trying to flip quickly between track gives us a light and lyrical tone well suited to list and libretto. the character of this work. Baritone Florian LOCKE Boesch sings the part of Raphael in Parts I and II and Adam in Part III. Sometimes these roles HAYDN: The Creation (in German) are given to two singers, since the part of Anna Lucia Richter, Maximilian Schmitt, Florian Adam is higher than Raphael. Boesch is credi- Boesch ble in both, though some of the lowest notes Bavarian Radio Chorus; Il Giardino Armonico/ do not sound comfortable. It is not surprising Giovanni Antonini that all three soloists are noted as lieder Alpha 567 [2CD] 100 minutes singers. This recording has much to recommend it. The choral works of Handel that Haydn heard There are no glaring faults of a technical at the lavish Handel commemorations in Lon- nature, but I do not find the performance don left an unforgettable impression on him. especially moving or charming. Sometimes the When he left London in the summer of 1795, period strings sound a trifle thin or pale. the impresario Johann Peter Salomon, who Details of orchestral writing are not always had commissioned the London symphonies, clear. Conductor Giovanni Antonini keeps gave Haydn an English libretto with an things moving right along but at the risk of account of the creation from the King James sounding slightly perfunctory in places. More Version plus commentary derived from the relaxed tempos might have allowed greater Psalms and Milton’s Paradise Lost. Back in tenderness and eloquence. The full depth of Vienna, Baron Gottfried van Swieten urged Haydn’s score can be elusive. It must be Haydn to turn the libretto into a German ora- charming, but never cute. Sometimes Antonini torio. The Baron made the translation of the has the soloists singing more quietly than text. The first two performances were private, would be practical in a concert hall, but that is given at the palace of Prince Schwarzenberg very effective. on two consecutive days, and were immensely In his overview of choral masterpieces well received. The first public performance (N/D 2000), Philip Greenfield unequivocally took place in March of 1799. Haydn published declares ’s recording (DG, the score by subscription. There were over 400 in German) from the 1960s to be the best. The subscribers, among them many of the com- cast is stellar, including , poser’s English friends and even King George , Walter Berry (Raphael in American Record Guide 55 Parts I & II), and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau are relatively “notey” works, with much bustle (Adam in Part III). Wunderlich died in 1966 in them; there is also a slight but perceptible before that project was finished. The move- expansion of the time-frame. Both these quali- ments he did not record were admirably sung ties have to do with the strikingly public per- by tenor Werner Krenn. It is, of course, a mod- formance atmosphere of the premieres, which ern-instrument performance (Berlin Philhar- took place at Johann Peter Salomon’s concert monic). I am captivated by Karajan’s ability to series in London. For the same reason, all six get beneath the surface to the majesty and elo- of them start with a “noise-killer”, a brief (from quence of the music. More deliberate tempos a single chord to a few bars) opening gesture help. Among more recent recordings, Mr meant partly to shut the large, packed audi- Greenfield had good things to say about Harry ence up. Christophers and the Handel & Haydn Society The Maxwells approach Op. 74 in a man- of Boston (CORO 16135; M/A 2016; period ner calculated both to play to such an audi- instruments, in English) and about Philippe ence and also to repay minute attention; theirs Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Ghent (Phi is a public yet still rarefied art. The dominant 18; M/J 2016; period instruments, in German). impression of their sound is a combination of GATENS lightness and pungency. The lines are long, lithe, and airy, and at the same time each indi- HAYDN: Piano Sonatas 21-26 vidual bowstroke has some kick in it; every- Andrea Carcano thing is deftly punctuated, subtly and sharply Da Vinci 335—67 minutes graven with little bow chiffs. Combine this with a meticulous attention to the weighting Haydn composed these six sonatas in 1773 and balance of lines, and you have Haydn that and dedicated them to his employer, Prince never bogs down and also never feels rushed, Esterhazy, who permitted him to publish them Haydn whose mode of being is a kind of inno- as his Op. 13. They are rarely played and cently mirthful naturalness. It scampers nim- recorded, and that is the main interest of this bly, it reposes gravely, but there is nothing at release. The performances by the Italian all that doesn’t feel perfectly right. (Even the (male) pianist, Andrea Carcano, a teacher at ornaments: It’s almost always dangerous to the Conservatory in Milan, are embellish Haydn, especially as he sometimes earnest and unmannered, with careful atten- does so himself, but here the handful of ven- tion to articulation and dynamics, but a little tures in that direction seem apt, light, and stiff. Delicacy, wit, and elegance are in short fleeting. Of the usual clumsy style I’ve taken to supply. Some movements are too fast (24:I, calling Stupid Ornament Disease, there’s nary 26:III), but everything is solid and quite enjoy- a trace.) able. In the C-major Quartet 1, the spaciousness REPP of the long first movement is striking, as are what the Maxwells (correctly, I think) discern AYDN: Quartets, op 74; H as tributes to the recently-deceased Mozart in Scottish folk pieces Maxwell Quartet—Linn 641—82 minutes the style of both the slow movement and the ’s idyllic, almost Schubertian trio, unex- The Maxwells are four young, burly, bearded pectedly in A major. Quartet 2, in F, includes Scotsmen, with tastes both for Haydn and for an unusually intricate variation-set as slow the Scottish fiddle tradition. To judge by what I movement and another third-related Trio in hear here, they are among the best Haydn the Minuet, this one in D-flat. The finale quartets now playing anywhere. I listened to bounds joyously through a bevy of obstacles this disc, and immediately went online and great and small, including (near the end) a ordered its predecessor (Op. 71, with three sudden halt where low, quiet chords alternate more Scottish sets—July/Aug 2019), which with high, loud ones. proved to be just as good. The Rider, which is the only one of the six Opp. 71 and 74 are two sets of three quar- in a minor key (one per set was typical for tets, issued simultaneously, so in effect the Haydn), is named for the galloping motion of standard opus-worth’s of six. They are, despite its finale, but perhaps best known for its slow their late date and their avowedly “public” movement, a hymn in far-off E major that pre- mien, rather underplayed Haydn, apart of figures several more such movements in Opp. course from the justly celebrated Rider, Op. 76 and 77. After a brief section in the minor, 74:3. By the standard of preceding sets, these the hymn returns, now with quasi-Romany 56 May/June 2021 embellishments from the first violin; a remote, every one of Op. 76: the Kuijken Quartet, the unexpected, pianissimo chord in the original Salomon, the Mosaiques, the Festetics, the recurs this time in tremolo. At least, here it’s in Chiaroscuro (the first half, anyway), and now tremolo; in every other performance I know, this one. They fall into two very distinct time it’s in measured 32nd notes, but the trembling groupings: the first four all clustered around quality and the almost-inaudible dynamic sug- 2000 or so, the others right now, in 2020-21. gest awe here, even momentary terror. (The Except for the Salomons, I still have all of quartet’s violist tells me via email that, yes, them; there’s something valuable in all of there was discussion about how to play this, them, though on re-listening to the Kuijkens I and they settled on the tremolo for that uncan- do begin to wonder. ny effect.) The Rider finale goes like the wind, The time grouping obviously has to do with the first violin effortlessly nailing the high-fly- how historical performance has evolved over ing lines. Here there are plausible contending the last few decades. There was a furious push performances, including the early at first to record everything through Haydn and Quartet on Teldec (hard to find now, except in Mozart, a skittish shirking of later Beethoven large boxes) and the Hagen Quartet on DG, (there’s only the Mosaiques and a couple of but this is as good as either, and I can’t think of singletons for the late quartets, and, even now, anyone to top the Maxwells in the other two zilch for Op. 59), then on to Mendelssohn’s first quartets, not even my beloved Endellions (Vir- two and Schubert’s 13th and 14th (no 15th as gin). yet) and Schumann’s, plus a number of Klein- The Scottish sets, one following each quar- meistern who turn out not to be all that klein. tet, are terrific, combining slow songs like And then . . . nothing. Oh, L’Archibudelli did `Coilsfield House’ with fast strathspeys and record the Brahms sextets maybe 20 years ago, reels like `Miss Gordon of Gight’. The alterna- but never the quintets, still less the quartets. tion can feel a bit odd, especially after the tri- Dvorak, no quartets. No quartets of anyone umphant Rider finale, where I for one almost past Schumann, until you get—again, only just forgot there was anything else on the disc, but now—to Schoenberg and Berg and Webern. the arrangements and the playing are both Franck? Grieg? Ravel? Don’t make me laugh. spectacular. (They aren’t published, as yet, but (Debussy, yes, by the revamped Kuijken Quar- plans are in the works.) They will be tricky for tet, complete with a long disclaimer to the other ensembles to learn—a lot of tiny, deft effect that just because we know exactly how ornaments, much unison playing between the music was played in Debussy’s time, thanks to violins, very little vibrato—but also valuable: early recordings, doesn’t mean we have to play you can see here how the Maxwells have it that way—heavens no!) Historical perform- honed both their intonation and their orna- ance had hit the boundary of incontrovertible mentation. evidence, and obviously something had to give. Linn’s sound is, as ever, spectacularly clear. And what gave was the nerve of “period” string More, please! Would I like to hear these players, faced with a well-attested performing guys in Op. 64, or Op. 76, or Op. 77? Why, yes. style that went against all their instincts (which Yes, I would. were honed playing earlier music). Better to THOMSON leave the later 19th Century to pianists and clarinetists and others for whom the instru- HAYDN: Quartets, op 76 mental timbre itself could be the primary London Haydn Quartet marker of “difference”, instead of the playing Hyperion 68335 [2CD] 153 minutes style. Anyway, what we have now is what might Way back in 2007, the London Haydn Quartet be called the second wave of Haydn quartet began a Haydn cycle now close to concluding, “period” performance. Haydn is now roughly with Op. 9. I bought that set, listened to it, where Bach was a few decades ago, where the decided it wasn’t as spicy and high-spirited as pioneers have come and either gone or stuck the Festetics box I already had, and set it aside. around in an elder-statesman sort of way, and I haven’t followed the series since, preferring now there’s a practical lingua franca where to stick with parts of Hyperion’s last Haydn ensembles can stop making ideological points quartet cycle, by the Salomon Quartet. Until against each other and start “just making now. music”. Or so I thought. I’ve heard a lot of period-instrument Now again I wonder. The London Haydn Haydn quartet recordings, including, I think, Quartet’s Haydn is so far from the other American Record Guide 57 benchmarks, including all the “period” ones, performance of its famous Largo that I’ve ever that I scarcely know where to put it. Whatever heard, and 2, 3, 4, and 6 aren’t far off that level. this foursome is doing, it’s not following any A couple of finales get the full virtuoso treat- sort of tradition—old, new, or reimagined. ment, articulation be damned; I especially The main difference is articulation, fol- admire 5, with its “second violinist’s revenge” lowed fairly closely by tempo. In many move- solo very prominently deployed. ments, the tempos are logy, and the attack 6 is the most difficult of all: every move- more so. ment is annoyingly unique and peerlessly Right away in Op. 76:1 something is off: beautiful. The LHQ is predictably (by now) everything is smooth, almost spongy. The logy in I, just as predictably stellar in the tempo is too slow to be comfortable. In the extraordinary II (a movement eventually in B hymnlike II things are better; but even there, major that doesn’t even have a key signature there were short notes that contrived (if I may for half its length), unexpectedly lively in the put it so) to seem as long as possible. No note Minuet and its wacky Trio, and quite prepared has what you could call a solid beginning; the to go off the deep end in the finale, as Haydn players are easing into and out of each pitch. demands of it. It’s not the best performance of The Minuet is unbelievably soggy for a Presto, that astonishing “accompanied recitative” bit the finale not at all the fleet, breathless drama in the development that I’ve ever heard, but it ending in sweet, airy liberation that I knew, does try. I miss only the sforzando to mark the but callous, even clumsy in its shaping. I gave recap. Perhaps it isn’t in Longman, Clementi, it up as a fluke and went on. or Artaria (the sources the LHQ names here)? I It got worse, of course. The Fifths (Quartet doubt it. 2) is one long wallow in unarticulated notes In short: This is pretty remarkable, but and pointless rubato, all of the slowing-down specifically in the senses enumerated here. kind. Mind you, I like rubato; used properly, it Buy it for the slow movements and a few other gives elasticity to music that tends otherwise places, but if you’re looking for a good all- to seem as though it runs on rails. But the round “period” Op. 76, I strongly suggest the thing about elasticity is that if you stretch Mosaiques or the Chiaroscuro. something, it rebounds and snaps back. The THOMSON LHQ’s rubatos go only in one direction—slow- er—and when you let go, the music doesn’t HAYDN: Symphony 100; Nelson Mass snap back, it just sits there. The `Witches’ Min- Mary Bevan, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Jeremy uet’ is as I have never heard it in my life—lega- Budd, Sumner Thompson; Handel and Haydn to and flaccid. Move on to the Emperor (3) and Society/ Harry Christophers it’s the same. Who in the entire history of quar- Coro 16181—65 minutes tet recording has played the opening bars lega- to? Why would they? There’s a passage in the This is an interesting coupling of two works development that turns suddenly into a with connections to war. The Military Sympho- thumping, drone-based peasant dance; this ny was presented in London in 1794, following quartet is the only one I have ever heard that the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of doesn’t get even the danciness of it, but per- 1787-1792 and the Austro-Turkish War of sists in adding rubato to the violin parts even 1788-91. The Nelson Mass (or more properly where the lower strings militate against it. The Missa in Angustiis—Mass in Troubled Times) recapitulation in that movement is a tricky came in 1798, shortly after Admiral Nelson’s moment—do you speed up into it? Suddenly defeat of Napoleon in the Battle of the Nile. annouce it? Sidle into it? They don’t quite Both works have musical references to the know what they want there. conflicts: the symphony includes a battery of I mustn’t give the impression that there’s Turkish percussion instruments, and the Mass nothing good here, because there certainly is. has martial overtones in the Kyrie and Bene- A couple of the finales have sparkle, even siz- dictus. zle—the one exception to their “no-attack” Both works are very nicely done by rule is in very fast music—and many of the Christophers and his Boston-based Handel slow movements are remarkably beautiful. No. and Haydn Society. The orchestra plays period 1 is actually the only dud among the six, and instruments, but the playing is buoyant and it’s only because the LHQ can’t even for a graceful, never harsh. The symphony is played moment relax their rule about not articulating with brisk tempos (though see below), but short notes. Quartet 5 gets perhaps the finest nothing sounds rushed or pushed. My only 58 May/June 2021 quibble is that the winds sometimes overbal- Seven years later, the young and rebellious ance the strings. Hindemith appears to shatter tradition with a The Mass is also satisfying. Christophers, five-movement work whose irascible Ländler who has a long history of choral work with The calls for the piercing clarinet. Yet the Sixteen, has a fine chorus and soloists here. flanking slow movements are affecting; and The proportion of drama and Haydnesque the outer and central fast movements have the grace is well struck, and balances between spirit of raw folk music. Moreover, the work singers and instrumentalists are very good. has more structure than the average sonata The recording, made in Symphony Hall, is first form or five-part rondo: the fleeting opener rate. An interesting point from the liner notes: and finale are retrogrades of each other, note Christophers suggests that the Mass was prob- for note. ably Haydn’s greatest work! Hmmm. I thought Soltan and the Utrecht Quartet have mar- it over for a while, and, you know, I think he velous clarity, exquisite phrasing, nimble and may be right! effortless technique, and superb balance, Just as a quick measure of how far we’ve blend, and teamwork. They transcend Reger’s come (or not!), I pulled out the Beecham complex writing, creating moments of stun- recording of the Military, done in 1958. It is ning beauty and intimacy; and in their hands, wonderfully alive and even a little quicker than the dying composer is astonishingly close and Christophers and his period group. So, while I personal. The Hindemith is also very clean endorse this new recording—it’s really very and polished—sometimes too much so—and good—I’ll also argue that you should have the rendition is spirited, earnest, and finally Beecham. rewarding. ALTHOUSE HANUDEL

HINDEMITH: Clarinet Quintet; HOLMBOE: Quartets 1 REGER: Clarinet Quintet Nightingale Qt—Dacapo 8226212—67 minutes Vladimir Soltan; Utrecht Quartet MDG 903 2198—57 minutes Volume 1 of the complete quartets of Vagn Holmboe (there are 22). As with Bartok, folk In 1789, the Mozart Clarinet Quintet defined music (Danish here) is a vital source, and the genre, outlining its expressive possibilities modality is always present with freedom in its in a high classical, proto-romantic style. In the treatment. 19th Century, several central European com- Holmboe could easily be considered the posers added their efforts—Weber, Meyerbeer, Danish Bartok, and Quartet 1 (1949) is dedi- Reicha, Busoni, and Brahms—and at the turn cated to him. It opens with a long viola solo, of the century some British composers also like Bartok’s Quartet 6: this piece might be a contributed: Coleridge-Taylor, Howells, and response. The faster music is dancelike in its Somervell. rhythms and is generally joyous. The arch Belarus clarinet soloist Vladimir Soltan forms are also characteristic of both com- meets the Netherlands-based Utrecht Quartet posers. at the Marienmunster Abbey Concerthouse in 3 (1949) is filled with classical procedures. Germany to record the two first landmark clar- III is a chaconne, there is a set of variations, inet quintets of the 20th Century. In doing so, and plenty of classical counterpoint (Haydn is they walk the bridge from the outer limits of cited as a major influence all through his romanticism to the jolting sounds of neo-clas- career). sical modernism. 15 (1978) starts off as a French overture, In April 1916 Reger finally completed his and III is funeral music for an undisclosed Clarinet Quintet, finishing the corrections only character. It ends in a solemn mood. weeks before his premature death. Although All told, this is a fine debut to a formidable cast in his famously intricate high romantic project. Much more to come. ethos, it is more tuneful and immediate than GIMBEL his three clarinet sonatas. In addition, he It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between deliberately invokes the ghosts hanging over genuine exchange and mere discussion the work, employing the same key as Mozart, grounded on misunderstanding, resentment, dividing the music into four movements, and vanity, intellectual fashions, and bluff. assuring his publisher that the length was no —ROMANO GUARDINI, more than the eminent Brahms. THE END OF THE MODERN WORLD (1950) American Record Guide 59 Valley (MI) Symphony teams with the Grand OVHANESS: The Sea Angel; Piano Suite 1; H Valley State University Percussion Ensemble in Vahan; Full Moon Haiku; Cello-Piano Suite; what sounds almost like a monaural recording. Black-Haired Mountain Storm Dance; Myste- rious Horse Before the Gate; Bare November; Hovhaness’s music presents—again and Dark River and Distant Bell; 7 Love Songs of again, for a long time—interesting harmonies Saris; Cello-Piano Fantasy and chord progressions. It is beautiful, but lis- Odradek—80 minutes tening to it requires dogged determination. KILPATRICK This is the label’s fourth offering of music by Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000). The cover states IRELAND: Violin Sonata; see Collections that it is “a raw recording, no artwork, no liner JANACEK: Quartet 2; see KORNGOLD notes, just the music”. They figure we will dig up what we want to know, and so I did. What JENNER: Piano Pieces we can’t find is the release number. Solvejg Henkhaus—CPO 555306—60 minutes Works by Hovhaness use modal and hybrid tonalities, a variety of international Gustav Jenner (1865-1920), born on the North influences, lyricism, and repetition to convey German island of Sylt, was the only composer feelings of quiet religiosity. The program offers ever to take lessons from Brahms in Vienna, 11 works in chronological order, all in their starting in 1888. A translation of his reminis- first recording (or some sort of first). My cences, published in 1905, appeared as favorite is the 7-movement, 10-minute Diverti- “Johannes Brahms as Man, Teacher, and Art- mento for four clarinets (Vahan, 1947). The ist” in a volume edited by W. Frisch (Princeton reading by Suzanna Dennis Bratton, Michael University Press, 1990). Thanks to Brahms’s Kornacki, John Varineau, and bass clarinetist recommendation he became music director at Joel Schekman is beautifully balanced, confi- the University of Marburg in 1895, where he dent, often gritty, and nuanced. spent the rest of his life. Pianist Paul Hersey is heard in most of the Jenner was no epigone. His music, while pieces, including the opener, The Sea Angel firmly in the German romantic tradition, bears (1933). One of Hovhaness’s earliest surviving scant resemblance to Brahms’s and, naturally, works (he destroyed many after composers does not match it in sophistication and rich- like Copland and Bernstein made cutting ness of invention. He was a serious and intro- remarks), it consists of a languorous, 9-minute verted man, given to revising his works instead piano solo I, brief spoken text in II (read by of publishing them. His music is rarely joyful Susanna Borsch), and a piano `Love Song’. The but not depressing either, rather often quiet 6-minute Piano Suite 1 (1938) has a funereal I, and lyrical. It sounds fairly easy to play and is spritely II, grim III, and bold two-part inven- of a kind that amateur pianists would have tion IV. Hersey collaborates with violinist enjoyed. Christina Fong in the 8-minute Seven Love This collection begins with Three Ballads Songs of Saris (1972), and with cellist Nancy whose rich textures were perhaps inspired by Steltmann in a little Suite (1961) and an 11- Brahms. Their melodies often move in equal minute Fantasy (1974). note values, so that the rhythmic element is Nicholas Palmer is harpsichord soloist in weak. Neither melodies nor harmonies seem the long and meandering, 6-movement, 16- minute Bare November (1968); and in the little very original, though the music is pleasant. A 3-movement, 5-minute Dark River and Distant Theme and Variations piece follows where the Bell (1968). later variations are very long and slow, so that Several odd little works are included. The there is not much contrast. The high register is 3-minute `Dance of Black-Haired Mountain emphasized. Storm’ (1962) has flutist Tianli Yuan in a low, The best pieces here are Acht Stimmungen lyrical melody against disquieting timpani and (Eight Moods) without titles. The moods are percussion sounds. I have seen `Mysterious suggested only by tempo instructions and/or Horse Before the Gate’ (1963) on trombone indications of character. They show greater repertory lists for years, but this is the first time originality of invention, are rhythmically liveli- I’ve heard it. It is a little piece, not quite three er, and sufficiently contrasted to keep the set minutes, with a low-pitched, chantlike melody interesting. The final piece on the program, line and portentous metal percussion sounds. with the curious title of Unmilitärisches fur Bass trombonist Robert Ward, of the Grand Klavier (Something Unmilitary for the Piano), 60 May/June 2021 again has a melody in equal note values, is not their approach to every song. In their though there is a contrasting middle section. performance of “popular” songs like `Allegez The young German pianist Solvejg Moy Dulce Plaisant Brunette’ and `Petite Henkhaus, a native of the city where Jenner Camusette a la Mort Mavez Mis’ they adopt a used to live, plays everything with enthusiasm. singing style that is louder, less refined, and The informative liner notes are by Uwe with wobbly intonation, which might provoke Henkhaus, most likely her father, a musicolo- laughter. It is an altogether delightful perform- gist and choral ance. Texts and notes are in English. \conductor affiliated with the University of LOEWEN Marburg. REPP JOSQUIN: Intabulations Jacob Heringman, lute, JERAL: Viennese Serenade; see LAZZARI Inventa 1004—65 minutes JOSQUIN: Chansons To mark the 500th anniversary of Josquin’s Ensemble Clement Janequin/ Dominique Visse death, Jacob Heringman mingles several of his Ricercar 423—61 minutes own intabulations among others by Alonso Mudara (c. 1510-80), Enriquez de Valderra- This program of Josquin’s chansons derives bano (fl. 1547), (1508/9-63), mostly from Tylman Susato’s Seventh Book of and Simon Gintzler (c. 1500-after 1547). The 24 Chansons in 5 and 6 Parts, published in source material is entirely sacred—Mass Antwerp in 1545. There are two types of songs movements and motets by Josquin recast here, according to Isabelle His: laments and idiomatically as solo works for the lute or popular songs. The final work on the program vihuela. The most substantial series of intabu- is the famous `Nymphes des Bois’, a setting of lations are by Gerle, on the motet `Inviolata, Molinet’s lament on the death of Johannes Integra et Casta Es’, and Gintzler’s and his own Ockeghem in the form of a chanson-motet. intabulations of `Salve Regina’. The remainder Composing for ensembles as large as this of the program includes intabulations of gave Josquin the opportunity to explore vari- Josquin’s Beata Virgine Mass. ous compositional procedures—the declama- To justify including his own works on the tory style of chordal writing, the sinuous style recording, Heringman takes on the question of of canons, and sometimes the two together. “historically informed” and “authentic” prac- The results are highly varied and engaging, tice. He writes, “For me personally, being especially in the hands of a seasoned ensem- authentic means interrogating, interpreting, ble. Isabelle His notes Susato’s Seventh Book arranging, and even recomposing the original of Chansons appeared in a series of antholo- vocal music, because these are all ways of gies that advertise the possibility of playing the being true to my craft.” In other words, he is songs on instruments as well as singing them. trying his hand at what lutenists did for a living So the ensemble plays some of Josquin’s chan- in the . And his intabulations sons. For example, `Mille Regretz’ appears seem stylistically indistinguishable from his twice on the program in settings by Luis de ancestors’—a tribute to his deep understand- Narvaez, played by Yoann Moulin on spinet, ing of their methods. His playing is expressive, and by Hans Newsidler, played on the lute by sensitive to each turn of phrase. This music Eric Bellocq. sounds intimate, ideal for small enclosed I sense Ensemble Clement Janequin push- spaces where one may appreciate nuances. ing back against the tradition of singing all LOEWEN with the same “beautiful” timbre. Jesse Rodin and Cut Circle demon- strated on their recent recording of the com- The idea that thinner sounds and faster tem- plete chansons of pos are always better has led to performanc- (Musique en Wallonie 1995; Jan/Feb 2021) that es where there are no slow tempos at all. As a wider range of emotions could be coaxed Jan Swafford says in Language of the Spirit, from the repertory by adopting a varied tim- that isn’t “authentic”; it’s inexpressive and bre, so that laments would make you weep unmusical. The “period performance” style while funny songs would make you laugh. This is simply the new modern playing style for group does rely on light textures, carefully early music. crafted phrasing, and precise intonation, but it American Record Guide 61 back and enjoy the music, and there is a great OSQUIN: J Motets & Mass Movements deal to enjoy. The Brabant Ensemble, founded Mittit ad Virginem; Alma Redemptoris Mater/Ave by Rice in 1998, specializes in lesser-known Regina Caelorum; Huc Me Sydereo; Stabat sacred music of the mid-16th Century and ear- Mater; O Bone et Dulcissime Jesu; Domine, Ne in lier by composers like , Tho- Furore Tuo; Usquequo, Domine, Oblivisceris Me?; Homo Quidam Fecit Coenam Magnam; mas Crecquillon, and . Gloria de Beata Virgine; Sanctus de Passione They produce a warm and eloquent vocal Brabant Ensemble/ Stephen Rice sound with impressive shaping of phrases. Hyperion 68321—79 minutes These are highly musical performances, not the dispassionate musicological exercises we (c1450-1521) is indisputably sometimes get from other early-music choirs. one of the giants in the history of western The booklet lists 13 singers for this recording, music, but there are many uncertainties about though not all are singing in every track. If the events of his life and the authenticity of their technical standard is not equal to the much of the music attributed to him. The first Tallis Scholars or The Sixteen, they are not far collected edition, produced by Albert Smijers behind. and his pupils, came out in Utrecht between GATENS 1929 and 1969. It included many pieces that are now considered doubtful or spurious. The New Josquin Edition, begun in 1989 and now KERLL: Keyboard Pieces, all complete in 30 volumes, distinguishes pieces Matteo Messori, hpsi, org thought to be authentic from the dubious and Brilliant 94452 [3CD] 173 minutes spurious. It is hardly surprising that there is a great deal of disagreement about that. Stephen (1627-93) was a German Rice has a scholar’s knowledge of these issues, who worked in , Munich, and Vienna. and declares in his notes to this recording that His music resembles Froberger’s, but sounds a all the pieces on this program are marked as bit more modern. There are toccatas, can- authentic in the new edition. zonas, a battle piece, and a capriccio evoking a But it’s not that simple. Three of the motets cuckoo. His makes me think of JKF are performed here in versions for six voices: Fischer’s. `Huc Me Sydereo’, `’, and `O Bone The set of eight Magnificat settings (com- et Dulcissime Jesu’. Each started out with four posed during a plague outbreak in 1679) goes voices, and the additional two were added through all the tones. Countertenor Lukasz later, most likely by composers other than Dulewicz sings plainchant phrases between Josquin. The characteristic style of Josquin’s the sections. The sections are all very short in four-part writing involves an almost sparse this liturgical music. transparency, with much of the music consist- Matteo Messori’s performances are reli- ing of alternating duets by pairs of parts or able. The pitch varies from piece to piece as he fauxbourdon passages for three voices placed switches among three modern reproduction among passages for the full complement. As harpsichords and a 1732 organ. Each harpsi- expected, the six-part versions are more sump- chord is well in tune with itself, but slightly tuous in texture, giving an impression more higher or lower than the others. like the polyphony of the next generation. The production is fine, though I heard one The two Mass movements that conclude odd spot in a Magnificat where the registration this program are free-standing compositions, changed during a held chord (perhaps in haste not excerpts from complete Masses. `Gloria de to pull the stops for the next section). That spot Beata Virgine’ includes textual tropes of the would have been easy to fix with a retake. sort that were expunged by the Council of John O’Donnell (from 1999, not reviewed) Trent. It is probably an early work, as it retains plays faster in general, and he makes different many characteristics of 15th-Century polypho- choices of harpsichord vs organ. He plays ny. The much more compact `Sanctus de Pas- harpsichord for only the suites, and the mean- sione’ has an interpolation, `Honor et Bene- tone tuning of his harpsichord sounds odd dictio’, that also appears in Josquin’s motet melodically compared with the rest of his pro- `Qui Velatus Facie Fuisti’. gram. In the eight , instead of a Readers of Rice’s program notes should be solo countertenor he has an ensemble of 1 to 8 prepared for some heavy-duty musicology and singers performing the unison plainchant in a analysis. On the other hand, one can just sit baritone or tenor register. He got everything 62 May/June 2021 onto 2 discs instead of 3, but Messori’s set is artistry and commitment to this project and to less expensive. Aficionados will want to hear his instrument is undeniable. both. MCCUTCHEON LEHMAN KORNGOLD: Piano Quintet; KIENZL:Trio; see LAZZARI JANACEK: Quartet 2 Janacek Quartet; Ivo Kahanek, p ONTOGIORGOS: Sea Vespers; K Centaur 3809—60 minutes Cansonata; Elegy: Kaleidoscope; Emotions Pavlos Kanellakis, g—Naxos 579084—68 minutes Korngold’s Piano Quintet in E (Op. 15) was George Kontogiorgos (b 1945) is a Greek com- written in the early 1920s, when he was still a poser and conductor who has written a num- wunderkind and not yet an Academy Award ber of works for guitar, some of them commis- winning composer for Hollywood films. I was- sioned by guitarist Pavlos Kanellakis, who col- n’t familiar with it before, so I scouted around. laborated with the composer extensively on The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center has a concert recording that is considerably this project. crisper, and in fact every recording I could find The five-movement Sea Vespers uses frag- was vastly better than this one. In the last ments of Kontogiorgos’s popular songs written issue, Elliot Fisch dealt with a good recording in the 1960s and 1970s. These are tuneful, of it by Spectrum Concerts Berlin. tonal, and employ Kanellakis’s very expressive There are a staggering number of tempo tremolo in every movement. changes to navigate, and the veteran ensemble Cansonata for cello and guitar makes doesn’t quite tie it all together. Pianist Ivo effective use of both instruments playing Kahanek fails to bring any sense of nuance or together juxtaposed with compelling solo sec- lightness to his parts, and the result is heavy- tions. In the Adagio, my favorite track, cellist handed and monotonous. To hear it here, this Vangel Nina interacts with the guitar with sen- is such a frivolous, even primitive composi- sitive, perfectly intonated phrases. A unique tion, especially when paired with Janacek’s compositional technique employs the guitar masterpiece. It is a surprising misfire. using tremolo as an accompanying texture, The pressure is on when you’re playing the and this is later echoed by the cello using it to music of your namesake, but fortunately these accompany the guitar. The final movement has gentlemen are up to the task. There’s some- the most contemporary language. thing a bit eccentric about their approach, but The listener is thus prepared for `Elegy’, an that is appropriate. Janacek’s best composi- atonal work fixated on a “rock bottom” point in tions (most of them inspired by his hopeless the composer’s career. One will not finish lis- love for married suburban mother Kamila tening to this piece singing any of the phrases, Stosslova) seem to exist outside the musical but it certainly does paint an intense, poignant continuum; the late operas and chamber mood. works do not comfortably fit into the same Kaleidoscope is a four-movement work chronology as Bach, Beethoven, and Stravin- written in contemporary style but more acces- sky. In this recording of Quartet 2 (Intimate sible than `Elegy’. When anticipating II, titled Letters), the dynamics are a bit exaggerated, `Iridescences’, this reviewer thought it might and the melodies are so creatively phrased be a study in subtlety, but instead it is played that it really becomes more like a song. using highly contrasting dynamics. The final movement is performed better From the beginning to the end of this than I have heard it anywhere else. Ordinarily, recording, more time could have been inserted I’d say it’s in the shadow of the searing, between movements to allow listener process- intensely emotional III, but not this time. ing and preparation. This music is substantial Again, there’s something off kilter about the and deserves additional time to be fully under- group’s interpretation that’s hard to character- stood and appreciated. Liner notes in Greek ize. As a result, the music sounds fresh. and English are written by the composer and Of course, the original members of the are sufficient to open a window to understand- Janacek Quartet are long gone, but this was ing this music that is new to our ears. recorded by Czech musicians with a Czech For the most part, this repertoire stands producer in the , with the effectively on its own in relation to the rest of financial support of the Leos Janacek Founda- guitar literature. It is unique, and Kanellakis’s tion. That’s more than authentic enough. American Record Guide 63 The cover, liner notes, and packaging are fused with his younger brother, Johann depressingly subpar. We hope for better when Krieger. it is an ensemble that has a seven-decade his- Incredibly, Krieger was as productive as tory, but it really isn’t their fault. Telemann, but only 76 of his 2,000 cantatas are DUTTERER extant. He also composed these trio sonatas for violin, viola da gamba, and basso contin- KREIN, G: Piano Sonata 2; pieces uo—works that are deftly written but inconse- Jonathan Powell—Toccata 581—84 minutes quential. The liner notes describe them as possessed of “spontaneous thoughts, whimsi- Grg i ory Krein (1879-1955) was the brother of cal episodes, vacillating moods, all in rapid Alexander Krein, whose Scriabinesque sonata and above all bewitching succession”. That was recorded by Mr Powell a few decades ago description might apply to Satie or (Largo 5136, Sept/Oct 1999). Their father was a Shostakovich, but not this. Further on, Krieger klezmer violinist, and fascinating bits of Jewish is likened to Matthew Locke, and that is a fair sunlight peek now and then through these comparison. thick curtains. There are handfuls of poems The is supplied by organ, and preludes, two mazurkas, a Cortege Mys- harpsichord, harp, theorbo, and salterio; but tique, and Sonata No. 2, which Ryan Vigil that doesn’t flavor the music as much as you described as “noteworthy and ambitious” might suppose. The performances are (Profil 13059, July/Aug 2014). All are heavy lis- informed, and it seems unlikely that any other tening but not forbidding, thanks to a plaintive ensemble could play them better. It is only fair quality. Grigory studied with Reger and Gliere; to single out a few for praise, so I would note Debussy, Scriabin, and Szymanowski were that numbers 2 and 9 have a wistfulness that strong influences. Lush, chromatic beauty bespeaks genuine emotion. The final two have joins dense polyrhythms and virtuosic filigree. a sleepy joy that ends the set in pleasing fash- Mystical ecstasy courses through the ion. poems, but their unique, obstinate way of pro- If you are content for your baroque music gressing has to be met on its own terms. I’ll to be pleasant and unobtrusive, then this is a admit that I prefer the more straightforward fine way to spend an hour and a half. But if preludes. The second of the mazurkas is a wild artists like Bach and Vivaldi have made their ride—impetuous, taunting, ostentatious, and mark on you, these trios will probably not hold tantalizing. It is easy to keep track of the main your attention. themes as they work their way through the DUTTERER brawny, mercurial sonata. The release will mostly appeal to special- LASSUS: Morescas ists and listeners interested in hearing how far Ensemble Origo/ Eric Rice Krein took his teachers’ ideas. The tragic flaw Naxos 579063—61 minutes is the sound: there is recurring, distorted fuzz that mars the proceedings; it was especially Massimo Troiano’s record of festivities sur- atrocious on my car’s audio system. And it’s rounding the wedding of Wilhelm of Bavaria to not in the loudest passages, but rather in the Renate of Lorraine in 1568 allows one to place mezzo- and mezzo-fortes. Powell hums the music Lassus composed for the event in its and moans when he plays, and I have heard proper historic context. Eric Rice assembles that distort his piano’s tone in concert, but it his program of moresche and other popular seems to be an engineering problem here. songs largely from Lassus’s 1581 Libro de Vil- What a shame! lanelle, Moresche, et Altri Canzoni, along with ESTEP a `Te Deum’ and motet. The six-voice `Te Deum’ was performed at the end of the wed- KRIEGER: 12 Trio Sonatas ding ceremony. The motet `Gratia Solis Dei’ Echo du Danube/ Christian Zincke was performed one week later, during supper. CPO 555 333 [2CD] 91 minutes Troiano points out the acrostic “GVILHELMUS RENEA”, from the first letter of each line in In the quest for rare material, Echo du Danube Nicolo Stoppio’s poem, which blesses the pro- has always searched the outer reaches of the cession of the bride to her chamber. baroque (think of Ristori, Finger, and Wagen- The central vignette on the recording seil), and this album is no exception. Johann entails a fascinating sequence of six morescas, Philipp Krieger (1649-1725) is not to be con- originally performed in the bridal chamber on 64 May/June 2021 the evening of Saturday 6 March. The moresca Christian’s violin is way out in front resembles other popular song forms that cir- acoustically, at the expense of piano. He has a culated in Italy in the 16th Century, only this wonderful lush tone, but this is a piano trio. particular genre was notorious for its racist There is a recording by Trio de France that parodies of behaviors and speech of Black strikes a better balance, but isn’t necessarily African slaves brought to Europe from the better overall. It is a difficult matter to over- Kanem-Bornu Empire (near Lake Chad). Texts look, but this is a satisfying, affecting piece, offer a low comic dialog between characters and could have been engineered better. named Giorgio and Lucia in a combination of Wilhelm Kienzl turns out to better known Neapolitan and Bornu dialect, set to music than I realized, and his music is amply if mod- that affects the characteristics of dance, light estly represented on CD. His long life reflects a lyricism, chordal declamation, and the like. pivotal period in German and Austrian histo- Nonsense syllables and occasional strange ry. He was a pupil of Liszt, he attended the first chord progressions seem to ridicule the char- performance of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, and later acters and situations. became an outspoken supporter of the Nazi According to Troiano’s Dialoghi, Monday 8 party. His Trio in F minor was written in his March, 15 days after the wedding, guests were early 20s, after he tried and failed to solicit entertained by a Commedia dell’Arte perform- advice from Brahms. It’s a good fit with Laz- ance, complete with several sexually explicit zari’s piece—19th Century chamber works that songs. The todesca `Matona Mia Cara’, also are more about melody than innovation or from the 1581 collection, mocks the inelegant bluster. Christian’s violin is again overpower- words of love a German soldier uses on an Ital- ing. There’s nothing particularly special about ian lady. the piano parts, but pianist Evgeny Sinaisky This is an altogether fascinating program does try to break through. Although this isn’t and beautifully performed with complete an interesting piece, it isn’t bad music at all. understanding of the music’s content. The The name of Wilhelm Jeral (1861-1935) subject matter is difficult, and I am grateful to hovers on the edge of oblivion, and the three- Eric Rice and Ensemble Origo for bringing this minute `Serenade Viennoise’ included here is repertory to public attention. One should unlikely to change that. It would make a lovely acknowledge that Lassus’s portrayal of race is encore, but in this setting it is an afterthought. deeply offensive and that his account of sexual Fine music, but the knobs needed to be behavior comes across as harassing and turned a bit differently. predatory. Texts and notes are in English. DUTTERER LOEWEN LEGRENZI: Compline, op 7 LAZZARI: Trio; Ivana Valotti, org; Nova Ars Cantandi/ Giovanni KIENZL: Trio; Acciai—Naxos 579086—59 minutes JERAL: Serenade Viennoise Thomas Christian Ensemble (1626-90) was an important CPO 777 761—67 minutes and influential composer who had a signifi- cant part in forming the late baroque style in When you’re dealing with unfamiliar com- Italy. He was greatly admired by Bach, Handel, posers whose lives are evenly split between the and Hasse, who all based works of their own 19th and 20th centuries, there’s no way to on themes by Legrenzi. Between 1639 and know whether you’re getting late romanticism 1643 he attended the school attached to the or perhaps cautious forays into modernism. In basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo, this case, it turns out to be the former. As I where he completed his musical education noted in the review of Weigl’s quartets (N/D and was prepared for the priesthood. In 1645 2020), violinist Thomas Christian eschews he was appointed organist there, remaining anything that smacks of mainstream classical; until 1656, when he assumed the post of maes- he is a bit of a treasure hunter. tro di cappella at the Accademia della Spirito Sylvio Lazzari’s 1886 Piano Trio in G minor Santo in , where he remained until was a worthy find. As the notes mention, the 1665. It was there that he wrote this music, influence of Schumann is here, and this Ital- published in 1662 in Venice and dedicated to ian-born French composer is akin to Cesar his Ferrara patron, Marchese Ippolito Ben- Franck. Imagine a less depressed or monastic tivoglio. This is claimed as a first recording. Brahms, and you’re on the right track. He moved to Venice later and taught music American Record Guide 65 at the Ospedale dei Derelitti in 1672. In 1681 IENAS: he became vice maestro and 1685 maestro di L Vespers cappella at St Mark’s. In addition to church Newberry Consort/ Ellen Hargis music, Legrenzi wrote opera, oratorio, secular Navona 6333—68 minutes vocal pieces, and instrumental music. Most of the music on this recording comes The office of Compline is sung at the end of from a set of choir books from the Convento the day in monastic communities and some de Nuestra Senora de la Encarnacion in Mexi- churches. It is not an office that is often set to co City. The books are now in the Newberry original music, so Legrenzi’s Opus 7 is unusual. Library in Chicago. The convent was estab- It is for five voices and continuo, played here lished in the late 16th Century and dissolved by organist Ivana Valotti. As conductor Giovan- in the 19th. As this was a cloistered community ni Acciai points out in his notes, Legrenzi takes of women, the music would have been sung his lead from the Monteverdian seconda prat- without men’s voices. The lower parts are tica that sought above all to project the expres- often untexted in the source, suggesting that sive and rhetorical character of the words they were played on instruments or possibly through their musical setting. Legrenzi’s set- transposed upward for women’s voices. It is tings are notable for their continuous flow, but not unlike the situation faced by Vivaldi at the in that flow he alternates sections of solo voic- Ospedale della Pieta in Venice. These per- es or groups of solo voices with the full vocal formances are by women’s voices with the complement. Sometimes he relaxes the secon- accompaniment of viola da gamba, bajon da prattica ideal for more expansive text set- (early bassoon), organ, and baroque guitar. ting, as in the Nunc Dimittis that concludes the The composer best represented in the office, or in the contrapuntal elaboration of choir books is Juan de Lienas (fl c1617-1654). concluding “Amens”. It is an unpretentious and In some manuscripts he is referred to as Don understated setting in keeping with the tran- Juan de Lienas, suggesting that he was a Span- quil character of the office. ish nobleman or more likely an indigenous Compline opens with a series of versicles dignitary. Nearly nothing is known about him, and responses, a brief passage from the First though he must have rubbed some people the Epistle of St Peter, and a general confession, all wrong way, as there are some references to set to original music by Legrenzi. The heart of the office is the singing of a series of psalms. him in the form of highly insulting epithets. They are followed by the office hymn (`Te The program here is mainly music for Ves- Lucis ante Terminum’), a responsory, and can- pers. Proper chants, including antiphons for ticle (Nunc Dimittis). After this Legrenzi gives the psalms and the office hymn, are for the a Litany of the BVM and the four seasonal feast of St Clement. Appropriately enough, the Marian antiphons that are often appended to recording was made in the reverberant the office. acoustic of St Clement’s Church in Chicago. Giovanni Acciai, emeritus professor of The opening versicles and 3 of the 5 psalms musical paleography at the Giuseppe Verdi are by Lienas. One of the other psalm settings Conservatory in Milan, founded Nova Ars is by Lienas’s contemporary, Fray Jasinto. The Cantandi in 1998. They specialize in rare and remaining psalm is anonymous but in the style unpublished Italian sacred vocal music. For of Lienas. The most ambitious piece here is the this recording they consist of five male singers. ten-part Magnificat by Lienas. Two parts are I would not say they are exactly top of the line missing from the source, so Ellen Hargis com- among early music vocal ensembles, but they posed them in the composer’s style, relying on produce a highly respectable tone and blend, other compositions as models. Organ versillos with a few bumps along the way. Perhaps the are inserted between the verses of the Magnifi- less said about the soprano falsettist the better. cat. They come from a published collection of The catalog is not exactly overflowing with the time that would have been familiar to recordings of Legrenzi’s music. There have organists in Spain and the colonies. been recordings of several of his and The program concludes with Lienas’s set- instrumental music. Catherine Moore had ting of the Compline office hymn `Te Lucis good things to say about two recordings of ante Terminum’ and the Marian antiphon Masses, Vespers, and motets from Riccardo `Salve Regina’. The antiphon is probably the Favero and Oficina Musicum (Dynamic 653; composer’s best known piece, as it survives in J/A 2010 and Dynamic 710; S/O 2012). a second source, the Carmen Codex, probably GATENS written between 1617 and 1639 for the Con- 66 May/June 2021 vento del Carmen in Mexico City. A modern INDBERG: edition was published in the 1950s. I think it L The Waves of Wollongong; Liverpool Lullabies; 2017 the most attractive piece on the recording. Evelyn Glennie, perc; Christian Lindberg, trb; Most of the music here is in a 17th-Century New Trombone Collective; Antwerp Symphony/ declamatory style, sometimes involving dou- Christian Lindberg—BIS 2418 [SACD] 72 minutes ble choir alternation. In the `Salve Regina’, Lienas displays his knowledge of the stile anti- During my first couple of decades of writing co in a setting with more intricate and subtle for this magazine, I reviewed more albums by counterpoint than the other pieces on the pro- trombonist Christian Lindberg than any other gram. That is the most polished performance artist. He burst onto the scene right about here. when I started, and his efforts were jaw-drop- The performances are quite respectable, pingly good. He could do it all, playing classic but I cannot say they are of the very highest works with consummate skill and taste and standard. Sometimes the upper voices sound new works with manic energy. Eventually, his slightly shrill and strained. Given the fact that trombone efforts tapered off, and he became a the music is sung entirely by women’s voices, it conductor. And then he began composing. I is hardly surprising that the sound is top was dubious, having heard more than a few heavy. The balance might be better if the tepid works by brass-players-turned-com- instrumental underpinning were a little posers. His music was all stream-of-conscious- stronger. The ear does adjust, and I suspect ness stuff; there was no form. But it was star- that many listeners will be grateful for this tlingly good (Sept/Oct 2001). glimpse into the music of the Spanish New The same is true of these pieces—again World. there’s no real form, but it’s amazing music. The listener is directed to the label website Lindberg knows how to pull great sounds out for texts and translations. of an orchestra, so there are many fantastic GATENS moments here. He knows how to challenge individual musicians, and these works present LIGETI: Etudes serious challenges. I have to think every mem- Danny Driver, p ber of the Antwerp Symphony had a great time Hyperion 68286—58 minutes playing them. The 21-minute Waves of Wollongong Ligeti’s transcendental etudes are given a (2009) puts the 9-member New Trombone workmanlike traversal by Mr Driver, who is Collective (3 each , , and basses) up clearly up to the formidable task. There is front as virtuoso soloists. In the 17-minute Liv- nothing quite like them in the repertoire, erpool Lullabies (2015), trombonist Lind- though Nancarrow’s player piano studies berg—who seems as strong and adventure- come to mind, even though they are mechani- some as ever—shares the spotlight with per- cal and not intended for human execution cussion superstar Evelyn Glennie. And then (though some have tried). Jazz players like there is the 33-minute 2017, which Lindberg Thelonious Monk may be cited, as well as non- says he composed after “the world was sud- Western influences. Add the composer’s inter- denly turned upside down by the US election”. est in mathematics, and there is fertile ground He started writing it on January 1, 2017, and for inspiration and technique. There are other finished on December 31. Seven movements takes on these pieces (this is all 3 volumes). Mr pass by without pause between. `The World Driver’s is, if anything, unnervingly casual. His Upside Down’ begins with horror-movie technical fluency is beyond reproach, lyrical sounds; `Lonely Creatures’ leads quietly to a and tender where appropriate, and pianistical- garish `Fake News’. `Inner Soul’ has a cham- ly breathtaking all through. There is no bom- ber-music feeling with melodies and bird calls bast. Check indexes for competition, but this exchanged first by solo strings, then by wood- one should be of interest to all pianists inter- winds, all leading to a virtuosic, bravado-filled ested in this repertoire. `Bragger’. `Reflection’ is quiet, the finale GIMBEL (`Train From Hell’) cacophonous. I wonder if Lindberg will tackle 2020. KILPATRICK LINDBERG: Clarinet Concerto; see NIELSEN

American Record Guide 67 LINDSTROM: Clarinet Concerto; presto agitato is not particularly presto or agi- see MOZART tated. It does have a grand eloquence, but sounds sluggish, especially in the broken LISZT: Hungarian Fantasy; Rhapsodie octaves. Espagnole; De Profundis; Totentanz KANG Goran Filipec, p; Kodaly Philharmonic/ Imre Kol- lar— Naxos 573866—75 minutes LORENZ: Open Borders Various—Blue Griffin 565—78 minutes For the Lisztomaniac who has everything. The Fantasy on Hungarian Folk Themes is Filipec’s Venezuelan composer and cellist Ricardo arrangement of the Hungarian Rhapsody No. Lorenz (b.1961) writes in a style suffused with 14 with “cadenzas freely extended and varied”. Latin American flavor and tango-like rhythms. Busoni arranged Rhapsodie Espagnole, `Folies This is a collection of works written from 1989 d’Espagne ed Jota Aragonesa’, for piano and to 2019. orchestra. Jay Rosenblatt completed 1834’s De Roberto Sierra comes to mind in its basic Profundis, a 30-minute work in two move- language. These 8 pieces, for various combina- ments, Andante and Allegro Moderato. It tions, touch on a variety of moods and tex- appears that Liszt himself composed the `De tures. I’m impressed by Mr Lorenz’s technical Profundis’ chant that he based the work on, prowess and expressive freedom. He has and he also included the chant in the first ver- assembled excellent performers to represent sion of Totentanz (1849); Busoni edited and his work. Topics include winemaking, soccer, published this first version in 1919. 9/11, loss, and isolation (exacerbated by the I will confess that Liszt holds little appeal coronavirus epidemic). for me outside a handful of pieces, but the De He is a professor of composition at Michi- Profundis goes out of its way to be dull; De gan State University. I enjoyed this release and Vadis would be a more accurate title. Speaking recommended it to readers looking for acces- of shallows, the shallow acoustic does nothing sible and unassuming recent chamber works. to help the performance. Liszt’s garish treat- Notes by the composer. Text and transla- ment of the `Dies Irae’ theme is utterly silly, so tion. the Totentanz is out for me. I could only make GIMBEL it all the way through the Hungarian and Span- ish pieces. Filipec is more than competent, but MAHLER: Symphony 2 he lacks that little bit of fluidity that could real- Margaret Price, s; Brigette Fassbaender, mz; Lon- ly sell the pieces. The miking picks up some don Symphony/ pedal noise, too. Dutton 7382—80 minutes ESTEP This is newly available in fresh, fuller sound. It LISZT: Apres une Lecture de Dante; La was originally released in 1975 on LP in quad- Notte; Schlaflos!; La Lugubre Gondola 2; Nu- rophonic sound, which comes thru in this ages Gris; Ballade 2; RW Venezia; Funerailles; HDCD. It is an improvement over the previous Unstern!; En Reve CD release and is on one disc. Vincent Larderet, p But an even better sounding recording is Piano Classics 10201 [2CD] 86 minutes on BBC Legends (4136) with the same orches- tra but with Rae Woodland and . It’s Larderet offers a passable recording of some of from a 1963 concert. The opening is truly Liszt’s more obscure piano pieces. The biggest thunderous. fault of the recording is that it is not particular- BOB STUMPF ly exciting, which is something I never thought I would say about a Liszt recording. It is a good MAHLER: Symphony 4 compilation, but with hits and misses. Some of Anna Lucia Richter, mz; Bamberg Symphony/ the shorter works, such as En Reve, are beauti- Jakub Hrusa—Accentus 30532—55 minutes ful and haunting. Misses include Schlaflos!, which sounds like a developing motive exer- This recording is a sign of the times in that it cise similar to La Lugubre Gondola. Larderet was made in the middle of the Covid pandem- really should make the most out of exciting ic (July 2020). Several steps were taken to facil- moments. La Na Notte is very well played. It is itate recording under pandemic-related condi- based on a variation with a central episode tions. There was no audience, and the seats inspired by Virgil’s Aeneid. The Dante Sonata’s from the hall’s first few rows were removed so 68 May/June 2021 that the stage could be expanded forward two back. This one endorses annotator Alexander meters. The string section was reduced, but Moore’s claim that the Fourth is not simply a the resulting orchestra does not sound smaller tribute to Mozart and Haydn, though there are so much as leaner and cleaner. Partly because moments here and there that fit that notion. of those qualities, tempos may seem fast, but All that said, Hrusa’s lean, often spiky interpre- the performance comes in at around 55 min- tation goes to the top of my list. The orchestra utes, which is about average (and seconds sounds terrific and the sound is excellent, save slower than Klemperer’s EMI!). for the miking of the mezzo. At the risk of stereotyping, Hrusa is a HECHT Czech conductor, which suggests he is com- fortable with lean, yet warm textures. His MAHLER: Symphony 4; see BRUCKNER approach to Mahler 4 combines bite, weight, Symphony 10 Adagio; see BEETHOVEN and clearly defined lines and rhythms. It is MALIPIERO: ; see RESPIGHI dramatic, expressive and lively, sometimes urgent and even aggressive, yet with appropri- MARCHETTINI: Months Have Ends; ate slower rubato in places. None of this is Clarinet Concertino Alda Caiello, s; Paolo Marchettini, cl; Toscana overdone, and the conductor does a good job Orchestra/ Francesco Lanzilotta, MSM Sympho- characterizing phrases in an extroverted style. ny/ David Gilbert, Kyle Rittenauer, Rome Sinfoni- The reading is piquant in its way, yet also etta/ Gabriela Bonolis romantic, with a bigger sound than “reduced New Focus 280—72 minutes strings” suggests—for instance, in the power of the big moments before the trumpets’ preview Paolo Marchettini teaches composition and of the opening of the Fifth Symphony. music theory at the Manhattan School of Rhythms and textures are well defined, yet it is Music. No less than Richard Danielpour called interesting how subtly Straussian the ending to him “the greatest Italian composer of his gen- I sounds here. II continues apace, with spiky eration”. I don’t know about that, but this is a violin solos, tight accents, nicely turned wind collection of five of his pieces involving solos, and eloquent horn playing. In both orchestra, including a song cycle. His music is movements the orchestra—particularly the diatonic for the most part and devoid of excess concertmaster, horn, and winds—plays like chromaticism or drama. These pieces drift actors in a play with defined and varied roles along with no repetition of consequence; the led by a director with clear ideas. The Adagio progression is dreamlike. There are hints of has a touch of stark affect, probably because Puccinian harmony here and there. Mr Mar- the strings hold back on the vibrato just a bit. chettini is a fine clarinetist and wrote a Con- The tempo is slow in contrast to what went certino for himself, included here. The song before—relaxed, yet with tension. One might cycle’s text is by Alfredo Perez. think all that is from reduced strings, but artic- Performances are by Romans and New ulated and leaner textures are closer to the Yorkers. Notes include an interview with the truth. The climax is big and bold. Most or all of composer. those ideas work, and the result is gripping to GIMBEL someone who does not list the Fourth among his favorite Mahler symphonies. MARSCHNER: Songs The finale begins immediately, stepping Jeffrey Williams, bar; Sangeetha Ekambaram, s; off almost like a march. Mezzo Anna Lucia Jennifer McGuire, p Richter follows suit with a voice larger and Centaur 3846—79 minutes darker than usual in this movement. Her oper- atic style fits the performance, and she sounds German composer Heinrich August Marschn- exquisite in those chorale-like chord progres- er (1795-1861) is best known for his operas sions. The problem is that she is way too close- and is considered the leading opera composer ly miked. Still, it is a beautiful voice, and she is of the period between Weber and Wagner. The terrific on her last entry. Move that micro- ARG index lists reviews of 10 recordings of his phone back a few feet, and we might have works, mostly of his operas, one of his cham- something. ber music, and one of his songs. Most of the respected recordings of He composed at least 420 songs—more Mahler’s Fourth Symphony tend to accentuate than Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Robert beauty, childlike wonder, and innocence; I and Clara Schumann combined—but now generally find them too sweet-toned and laid they are seldom performed. I know of only two American Record Guide 69 recordings dedicated to his songs. Jeffrey standing in sound. Stephen Kates recorded it Williams in the liner notes points out that with Jorge Mester and the Louisville Orchestra many of the songs were written specifically for in 1973 in better sound; that was also re- the baritone voice. This recording presents 17 released on CD. In July/Aug 2008 Christian songs and 3 duets, all recorded for the first Poltera recorded it with the Malmo Symphony time. conducted by Thomas Olila-Hannikainen on His songs have decent melodies and are BIS 1637, reviewed favorably by Mark Lehman modestly adventurous harmonically. It’s easy (July/Aug 2008). Since then it seems not to to hear similarities to Weber and have come our way, and I am most happy to Mendelssohn. Some hear similarities to Carl hear it now, played by a fine young cellist. The Loewe. Much of Marschner’s compositional Ballade also exists with piano accompaniment style is melodramatic. Williams comments on (here it’s a small orchestra) It is a considerable the vocal leaps of an octave or more, the fre- work—16 minutes—and rich with variety of quent use of triplets, and points out that “No material. matter where you are in a given work, you are Xavier Dayer (b. 1972) is a new composer never far from a diminished chord.” to our ears. We learn little about him from his Williams is Associate Professor of Voice at contribution to the liner notes, but he seems to Austin Peay State University in Clarkesville, live in , Switzerland. His Vanishing Tennessee. Jennifer McGuire is Music Direc- Lines to the East is a 16-minute piece dedicat- tor/Conductor of the Vanderbilt Opera The- ed to Est(elle) as well as the French East. It was ater and Senior Lecturer in Collaborative written only last year. The orchestra seems to Piano at Vanderbilt. Sangeetha Ekambaram, be responding to the lyrical cello sound with who joins Williams in three duets, teaches all kinds of comments and outbursts from love voice in her own private studio. to mayhem, eventually vanishing into the dis- Here is a chance to hear neglected songs tance. that deserve to be heard but are not likely to Estelle Revaz has been artist-in-residence find their way into many recitals. of the Geneva Chamber Orchestra since 2017- I wish I could be more enthusiastic about 18. Her web site gives a great deal of informa- these performances. Williams has a brawny tion about her work—more than we get in the voice. He sings almost non-stop at mf. Too liner notes, but they are in English, French, often he sounds on the verge of shouting. The and German. This is a fine recording of strong limited modulation of his tonal coloring from music by composers with personality, played strophe to strophe makes listening to the pro- with beauty and power by all. gram tiresome. Ekambaram is worse still, with D MOORE unpleasant tone, tremulous vibrato, and sometimes inaccurate pitch. McGuire does an MARTINU: Violin Concertos; admirable job. Most of the dynamic texturing BARTOK: Solo Violin Sonata of their performance comes from the piano Frank Peter Zimmermann; Bamberg Symphony/ writing; it is generally more interesting than Jakub Hrusa—BIS 2457 [SACD] 75 minutes the vocal line. The recording quality and engineering here The decision to record Marchner’s songs is are good, though the orchestral sound could commendable, but they await a better per- have been a little warmer. Zimmerman’s formance. Notes, texts, translations. sound is full-bodied and romantic, if some- R MOORE times too intense in gentler moments. He can be too harsh at the ends of notes, and a couple ARTIN: ; Ballade; M times he pushes the sound too much—tempt- DAYER: Lignes d’Est Estelle Revaz; Geneva Chamber Orchestra/ Arie ing with large-scale dissonant music. van Beck—Solo Musica 345—58 minutes As for the pieces, the second concerto is a mature and palatable work with neo-romantic Frank Martin (1890-1974) was an important elements. The first time I listened to it I felt it Swiss composer whose music I am happy to was middling, but the second time it had hear. I first encountered his Cello Concerto in gained some ground; if you stick with it, you a concert recording by Jean Decroos, conduct- may be rewarded. The first concerto is not as ed by back in 1970 (May/June good as the second. I thought of two images: 1990). That same performance reappeared in first, visiting Times Square many years ago as a May/June 2005, but neither issue was out- tourist, and people thrusting pamphlets in my 70 May/June 2021 face, “Comedy show! Comedy Show!”; second, laborations did not bear fruit, because Marx a very young child exclaiming as he runs in did not like what Mendelssohn gave him, find- circles, “Look what I can do! Look what I can ing it too derivative of Handel and Bach. do!” The piece has a lot of tricks to hold your Mendelssohn returned the favor by rejecting attention, but it is readily forgotten. You may Marx’s efforts and insisting on the inclusion of have been entertained, but it was not worth chorales, which Marx would not agree to. your money and time. Eventually Marx came up with his own Martinu’s biggest drawback is that he has libretto taken mostly from the Hebrew Bible. no melodies; there is intelligence to his He also worked in bits of musical midrash, music—even in the first concerto, built largely humanizing the Egyptians in ways the Book of on a three-note motive that appears in many Exodus does not. (The Queen of Egypt, forms; but without melody, there is no soul. Pharaoh’s mother, a warrior, and other ran- His first concerto draws on the music of dom Egyptians are assigned things to sing Webern, highly gestural with quick scene about.) Mose was premiered in Breslau in 1841 changes; his second draws partly on Rach- and wound up causing quite a stir. Liszt liked maninoff and Scriabin. the work and did what he could to promote it. The Bartok is well played. Like many other Joachim Raff, no slouch of a composer himself, recordings of the piece, I find it too crass was even more rapturous in his praise. At the sometimes, but the reflective moments are other extreme was Schumann, who hated played with tremendous sensitivity. This is every note and wasn’t bashful about saying so. better than most recordings. Marx’s handiwork, it turns out, had hit a musi- All this music is from the 1930s and 40s; cological nerve by challenging prevailing much of it is highly dissonant and not very notions of what an oratorio was supposed to accessible, but the violinist is good. For an be. Mose turned out to be a lot less sacred and introduction to some of Martinu’s violin a lot more dramatic than everybody expected. music, you could do worse. CPO’s notes, while not well translated, do a KELLENBERGER good job of explaining the controversy Marx’s handiwork left in its wake. MARX: Moses Marx divided the story of the Exodus into Johanna Knauth, Julia Sophie Wagner, s; Henri- three parts; `The Calling’, which describes the ette Godde, a; Tobias Hunger, Florian Sievers, t; roiling injustices of slavery and God’s call to Tobias Ay, bar; Daniel Ochoa, Felix Schwandtke, Moses; `The Judgement’, which recalls the b; Gewandhaus Choir; Camerata Lipiensis/ Gre- plagues and destruction of Pharaoh’s army; gor Meyer—CPO 555145 [2CD] 122 minutes and `The Covenant’, which follows the Israelites into the desert and hints at what lies Adolph Bernhard Marx (1795-1866) was an beyond. interesting guy with an interesting story. Born The broad textures and sonorities Marx Samuel Moses Marx to a well-to-do Jewish drew from his full orchestra and choir are rem- family in Halle, he trained in the law and iniscent of Elijah and St Paul, though nothing worked in the court system before quitting his is as good as the great arias and choruses that job and following his heart toward a career in dot those Mendelssohn oratorios. Still, Marx music. He soon changed his name, converted had a flair for musical drama. He could spin off to Christianity, and founded a music journal in an attractive lyrical melody like Miriam’s `Was Berlin. He proceeded to write at length on betrubst du dich’, which begins Part II. He also musical subjects and became known for his had an ear for orchestral color and crafted harmonic analysis of the operas of Gluck. He some snappy choral exchanges like the poly- would wind up holding professorships and choral outburst where the Israelites and Egyp- administrative posts that made him an impor- tians taunt each other over the plagues. (I wish tant fellow in musical circles. Marx and his choral interludes were longer and more Mendelssohn knew each other well, even developed. Clearly, he wanted to keep things going so far as to pick each other’s brains on moving, but I don’t think the dramatic line occasion. As Marx began pulling his ideas would have suffered had the choir been given together for an oratorio about Moses, for more to do.) example, he asked Mendelssohn to help him In the end, I wouldn’t say that Marx’s come up with a libretto. In exchange, Marx Moses parts the Red Sea, but I am pleased to agreed to furnish a text for Mendelssohn, who have heard it and learned some of its history. was in the planning stages for St Paul. The col- The recording mirrors the music itself; good American Record Guide 71 but not eye-poppingly so. Daniel Ochoa is a agrees to the young couple’s marrying if his commanding Moses, and Julia Sophie Wagner hated brother Gianni will leave town forever. sings nicely as Miriam. The other women are But Luisa refuses to sign the agreement, and good, but the men are an uneven lot. The choir Giacomo finally relents. The schoolmaster rips sings enthusiastically, but there’s some lung- up the agreement, and the curtain falls. ing going on when voices head upward. It’s the There are spirited choruses along the way Leipzig orchestra that comes off best. Marx’s and a fair amount of local color, such as little libretto and an English translation are sup- shepherd’s-pipe figures in the higher wind plied. instruments, because we are in the Vosges GREENFIELD mountains. I particularly enjoyed the music for winds and harp that opens Act 3 and leads MASCAGNI: I Rantzau into a lovely chorus of women drawing water Rita Lantieri (Luisa), Ottavio Garaventa (Giorgio), from the cool river stream as they sing of some Domenico Colaianni (Fiorenzo), Barry Anderson “loving shepherd” who sends his kisses via the (Gianni), Giacomo Boldrini (Giacomo); Livorno/ water “from far away”. Bruno Rigacci “I Rantzau” means “The Rantzau Family”. Bongiovanni 2583 [2CD] 106 minutes There is a town in Switzerland bearing this name, and there are some famous Germans M ascagni’s operas fall into three basic cate- with this name. The title, in short, screams gories. Cavalleria Rusticana is performed “north of Italy!” Scholars say that Mascagni everywhere and has been recorded dozens of was trying hard to create a work that would not times. Most of the others are performed and resemble too closely his big hit, Cavalleria, recorded occasionally, including L’Amico which of course takes place among hotheaded Fritz. But only a few numbers from I Rantzau people in Sicily. But the touches of “northern- are ever heard. One of these is the overture. ness” cannot hide Mascagni’s gift for lovely Another is the stirring Act 4 duet, in a collec- and sometimes bouncing melody (whether in tion sung by Scotto and Domingo, who get to voices or orchestra) or his basic directness of join the full strings in the kind of memorable communication and his ability to write for solo tune Mascagni knew how to write. voice or chorus glowingly or—in a sprightly Here’s the entire opera, in a re-release of its chattering scene for the village women plus only recording, made at a performance in the the schoolteacher—with conversational natu- Italian port city of Livorno in 1992. I’ve ralness. enjoyed it. The plot is no worse than in many The opera is very stop-and-go, and the other operas of the period. It involves two audience complies by applauding enthusiasti- brothers (Gianni, baritone, and Giacomo, cally after many numbers. They offer special bass) who hate each other because of some appreciation after the splendid prelude to the dispute about an inheritance. Gianni’s daugh- final act. (It is called, as usual in verismo ter Luisa and Giacomo’s son Giorgio of course operas, “intermezzo”.) But the work is also very love each other despite their fathers’ enmity. (I compact: a prayer by the men’s chorus for wish the three main male characters’ names God’s protection “in the dark of night” lasts didn’t all begin with G.) There’s also a school- less than a minute. And all four acts are over in master (Fiorenzo), who gives Luisa a chance to an hour and three quarters. voice her sorrow that her father has been Fortunately, the performance oozes com- pressing her to marry Lebel—a minor member mitment. The singers sing reliably on pitch of the cast—who has the double advantage, for and do not wobble more than we hear today Gianni, of being the region’s “new command- on Met broadcasts. (The chorus is a little off- er” and of not being Giacomo’s son. pitch in the short church hymn; I suspect that Act 2 ends with Gianni grabbing his the small organ or harmonium—placed in the daughter “with great violence” and nearly wings?—was hard for them to hear.) beating her but then stopping himself and The singers seem to care intensely about running out. Violence is frequent in operas of all this, and it helps that they are all native Ital- the “verismo” period; in Act 3, Lebel chal- ian-speakers, except the baritone brother, lenges Giorgio to a duel over Luisa. Barry Anderson. The recorded sound is clear Fiorenzo again performs the dramatic but shallow and not resonant. The applause at functions of interlocutor and good conscience the ends of acts has been faded out. in scenes with Giorgio (Luisa’s beloved) and I felt sometimes that I was listening to the Gianni (her resistant father). Giacomo finally Italian equivalent of a Broadway musical, 72 May/June 2021 though a serious rather than jolly one. Every- los. Melodic figuration for all three instru- body is in the spirit of the thing—there’s no ments contributes to the expressive texture of sense here of a “serious work of art” imported these vocal pieces, which come from the com- from some distant and different land. This is a poser’s only known publication, Amorosi nearly pure Italian cultural product, though Respiri Musicali (1617) and are well per- shaped by various pan-European musical and formed here. With poetic texts by leading fig- theatrical traditions (such as the Sardou type ures such as Giovanni Battista Guarini, of French theatrical gritty “realism”). Torquato Tasso, and Giambattista Marino I welcome it back into the catalog, and into (poets all familiar to us today in settings by the the big second category of Mascagni operas best known madrigalists), the collection that are not unknown but deserve to be heard explores various aspects of Love. A parentheti- and seen more often. Several of the arias and cal subtitle for each aria—such as `Eccomi soliloquies could work well on a vocal recital. Pronta Ai Baci (Amorosi Ardori)’—labels the The booklet contains an essay and libretto. type of Love that is depicted in both words and Translations are inept yet more or less com- music. One especially fine example is `Amor prehensible, once you figure out certain typos Confuso’ where chromatic lines, stop-start (such as “world” for “word”). hesitant pauses, and angular melodies give LOCKE voice to the confusion and disorientation of Love. MASCITTI: 2-Violin Sonatas; The program interleaves these musical FORNACI: Arias; periods and styles quite well. Notes in English FENAROLI: Organ Sonatas about the music and in Italian about the Elisabetta Pallucchi, mz; Labirinto Armonico organ. No texts. Tactus 660004—56 minutes C MOORE What connects these three composers—whose MATTEIS: Fantasia; see VILSMAYR lives collectively stretch from 1598 to 1818—is their birthplace: Abruzzi on the Adriatic coast MATTHEWS, D: Toward Sunrise; in central Italy. Michele Mascitti (1664-1760), Symphony 8; Sinfonia; Vision of the Sea who settled in Paris in 1704 and remained BBC Philharmonic/ Jac Van Steen there for the rest of this life, is the best known, Signum 647—68 minutes and 3 of his Opus 4 Sonatas for 2 Violins of 1711 are here. Mascitti contributed to the These symphonic works by David Matthews spread in France of the Italian violin style, and center around the sounds and life of the sea, he also came to incorporate some French ele- gulls included. The music is tonal and indebt- ments into his writing. ed to Vaughan Williams, Delius, and even a lit- With graceful sensitivity in slow move- tle Bruckner. If Debussy were British, he might ments (such as the opening Largo and Sara- also be mentioned. Orchestration is spectacu- banda in Opus 4:12) and lively animation in lar, played to the hilt by this great orchestra. quicker ones (such as the syncopated final Toward Sunrise (2012) and A Vision of the Allegro in Opus 4:11), Labirinto Armonico Sea (2013) seem to be variations of each other. plays these sonatas very well. Sometimes I had Symphony 8 (2014) begins with a festive I, to lower (or raise) the volume to avoid a harsh continues with a solemn Brucknerian adagio, edge on the violin sound, especially in the and concludes with a happy British dance. It’s faster movements. hard to know what to make of all this as a We learn from the booklet that the impor- whole. tance of Fedele Fenaroli (1730-1818) as a Sinfonia (1995) is a relatively brief single teacher “decidedly exceeds that as a compos- movement in an expanded tonality but fizzling er” and that the “simplicity of his composi- out at the end. tions is easily explained by considering [their] All told, these are meticulously crafted, as didactic purpose”. The six short organ sonatas works by David Matthews generally are. Notes here show off the colors of the 1790 Sebastiano by the composer. Vici organ (for instance, reeds in Sonata 22 are GIMBEL like a jolly character actor) and they are well played by Maurizio Maffezzoli. Education must free the student from the Organ is also used in the six arias by Giaco- tyranny of the present. mo Fornaci (b 1598), along with violin and cel- —CICERO American Record Guide 73 ter of St Mary’s church, appears to have given CDOWALL: M Celebration; First Flight; O Meder the opportunity to experiment with Antiphon Sequence; George Herbert Trilogy; larger musical forces. `Wunschet Jerusalem Where the Lord God does not Dwell with Us; 3 Gluck’ (1687) and `Lauda Jerusalem Antiphons; Lucy Humphris, s; William Fox, org Dominum’ (1692) are concertato pieces for Naxos 579007—65 minutes triple choir, made festive through the addition of and trombones to an ensemble of Cecilia McDowall, a popular UK composer, is strings. best known for her choral music, with recent Meder fled from his creditors in 1698 and commissions from the BBC Singers, Westmin- returned to , where he continued his ster Abbey, King’s and St John’s Colleges, career primarily as a composer. Representing Cambridge. this period are a strophic song, Psalm motets, She says the organ is “a terrific instrument and chorale cantatas. `Vox Mitte Clamorem’ is to write for”, and she relishes “its potential for a light aria involving several soloists. Its so much color, power, delicacy, and texture”. strophic form and guitar accompaniment con- Much of her inspiration is found in the tribute to its song-like simplicity. Dance-like extra-musical influences of literature, art, reli- rhythms, accented by , suggest a gion, science, architecture, and nature. Her popular style. style is a mixture of fluent melodies, dissonant The `Ach Herr, Mich harmonies, and rhythmic exuberance. It is Armen Sunder’, marked “Lamento”, is well written and conceived for the organ, but absolutely gorgeous. It begins with a short sin- as much as I tried I could not get interested in fonia for string ensemble, which sets up the any of it. I found it mechanical and emotional- lamenting mood for soloists and chorus that ly bereft. follow. It includes five verses of the Lutheran Fox, a fine player, manages the technical chorale `Herzlich tut mich Verlangen’ for demands with a fluid musicality, making as soprano, tenor, alto and bass duet, and chorus. good a case as possible for these pieces. He Identifying the work as a “Lamento” links it to plays on a 1963/2006 3-manual, 42-stop JW an entire category of vocal music that was very Walker in St John the Evangelist, Islington, popular in the 17th Century. I reviewed a love- England. Excellent notes by the performer and ly recording of Italian laments by Monteverdi, specifications. , and Barbara Strozzi sung by DELCAMP mezzo-soprano Romina Basso (Naive 5390; Jan/Feb 2015). And last year Damien Guillon MEDER: Sacred Music released a recording titled Lamento (Alpha Ingrida Gapova, Anna Zawisza, Klaudia Trzasko, 626; Jan/Feb 2021). The appeal of Meder’s Joanna Sperska, s; David Erler, Helena Poczykow- lament is that we get to enjoy gifted singers in ska, a; Jakob Pilgram, Sebastian Mach, t; Christ- each vocal range singing a variation of the ian Immler, Dawid Biwo, b; Goldberg Baroque over a rich string accompa- Ensemble/ Andrzej Szadejko niment. MDG 9022192—70 minutes The program closes with the psalm motet Tvhis se enth volume of Musica Baltica surveys `Gott, Du Bist Derselbe Mein Konig’. Accompa- the sacred music Johan Valentin Meder (1649- nying the choir with an ensemble that includes 1719) composed in the course of his career as timpani, trumpets, and oboes gives the work a a bass singer and organist in the cities of festive character. The texts are all here but in Tallinn, Riga, Gdansk, and others. By the looks German only. of it, Meder had his finger on the pulse of con- LOEWEN temporary taste. The dialog between Jesus EDTNER: Second Improvisation, op 47; (Christian Immler) and the Sinful (David M RAVEL: Miroirs Erler) in `Wie Murren Denn Die Leut’ Im Michael Brown, p—First Hand 78—62 minutes Leben Also?’, from his time in Riga in 1684, indulges in the expressive recitative-arioso For all intents and purposes, this program, style of late 17th Century Italian oratorio com- titled “Noctuelles”, is evenly divided between posers like . Anu Schaper’s two of the great composers of piano music in notes suggest the text commemorates the the early 1900s. In 1904-05, Maurice Ravel siege of 1656. (1875-1937) composed the five pieces of Settling in Gdansk in 1687, as Kapellmeis- Miroirs. (1880-1951) com- 74 May/June 2021 posed his Theme, 17 Variations and Conclu- made up by Todd. He also adds a longer end- sion in 1925, giving them the title Second ing to the Albumblatt and reconstructs Varia- Improvisation (in variation form). The half- tion 4 of the Op. 17 collection. Moser and Beat- hour works were composed in Paris and pres- son are more concerned with virtuosity, get- ent a pianist with innumerable difficulties. ting through everything faster than anyone They are both rooted in the fantasy world. else, not to its detriment, but definitely show- Ravel conjures up night-moths, sad birds, a ing off on both instruments. Both these are on boat on the ocean, a jester, and bells. Medt- my shelves for a reason. So what have we now? ner’s theme is called `The Song of the Water Marosi and Walker are also virtuosic in Nymph’, probably a reference to from temperament, a mite less so than Moser and Slavic folklore. The variations all have titles Beatson, who take five minutes less time. Their and depict mermaids, elves, gnomes, birds, mood is a bit less competitive as well; they streams, forests, and storms. Michael Brown work together with greater thoughtfulness also includes premiere recordings of two and, all in all, the result feels a bit superior to newly discovered variations. their direct competitors. Of course, there are Miroirs is well represented on records, but numerous recordings by everyone in sight that Medtner’s Improvisation has only come my do not include the two fine seven-minute way once before (Hamish Milne, May/June works written by Fanny. Her Albumblatt shows 2009). This program works very well and is an interesting use of high and low-register likely a by-product of Brown’s compositional writing and a fondness for contrast in instru- skills. He may be classified as one of the new mental sound that is quite different from her generation of pianist-composers (along with more straightforward brother. This is worth Hamelin, Hough, and Trifonov), a moniker your consideration for both the music and the that was not used much in the second half of lovely playing and recording. the 20th Century. It would all be for naught if D MOORE not for Brown’s pianistic abilities. At 34, he has accumulated many awards, performed all over MENDELSSOHN: Early Symphonies 1-3; the world, collaborated with many distin- Early Piano Concerto guished artists, and has a number of record- Herbert Schuch, Dogma Chamber Orchestra ings to his credit. I have had the opportunity to MDG 9122193 [SACD] 65 minutes see him in concert and expect him to have a This is the first orchestral recording I have long career. This is a very enjoyable recording seen from the Covid Era. It is from June of with superb piano sound and a fascinating 2020, and it was recorded in Germany, with booklet essay. the German pattern for the pandemic era: HARRINGTON about 6 feet from a musician to the one in front of him, but about half that to the one next to ENDELSSOHN: M Cello Sonatas; Varia- him. There are no winds in this music, and the tions; Song without Words, op 109; Album- orchestra doesn’t seem to number more than blatt; 20. It is led from the concertmaster’s chair by MENDELSSOHN, F: Sonata/Fantasia in G Mikhail Gurewitsch. minor; Capriccio in A-flat Joel Marosi; Esther Walker, p They make a big sound for such a small First Hand 81—81 minutes group, but that is partly the place they were recorded and partly because of the lack of This release contains all of the known cello vibrato, which makes them project more. I dis- music by Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. This like that sound—in slow movements especial- has been achieved twice before, first by Nancy ly. It is somewhat irritating. This group has Green and R. Larry Todd (JRI 138, 2012) and recorded later music, so the lack of vibrato then by Johannes Moser with Alasdair Beatson must be deliberate (but misguided). (Pentatone 5186 781, 2018). The present one is When Mendelssohn wrote these he was 12 recorded at a polite distance; Green and Todd years old—that’s quite amazing. Also, he are more insistent and more full of vibrato. played the piano at all the performances, Their recording included a Bonus CD and adding that to the bass line and as a substitute included some extras, including a reconstruc- for wind parts. (He did not have friends who tion of a mysterious set of Variations by played wind instruments.) I would like some Mendelssohn with Josef Merk of which the day to hear a musician’s reconstruction of that original cello part has disappeared but was piano part. I always feel that these symphonies American Record Guide 75 need more than just strings—though, of chorus, used in different configurations course, he exploits the strings to the full. depending on the dramatic demands (one MDG engineers do, too. There is no voice to a part, parts doubled, etc.), is also out- recording of these pieces with more presence standing. It’s hard to imagine a more buoyant and vitality—though I tire of the screeches of and precise rendition of the giddy chorus of the violins. Other recordings often take less nymphs and shepherds, `Lasciate i monti’. time, because they don’t take the first-move- One of I Gemelli’s principles is that, in ment repeats. For example, in I of 2 this early opera, the continuo and the orchestra are recording takes 4 minutes. The Analekta extensions of the vocal lines. So instead of recording takes about half that—around 2 musical direction emanating from the pit, “the minutes (March/April 1994). ensemble follows the inflections of a conduc- All of this music (including the piano con- tor-singer in an approach that is at once certo) sounds a lot like early Mozart. Like that, melodic and declamatory, closely espousing it is likeable but not great or memorable. the rhetoric of the text”. This places Toro at the VROON center of the piece, both as musical leader and in the role of Orfeo. His attractive, even seduc- MONTEVERDI: Orfeo tive tenor timbre is perfectly suited to the sym- Emiliano Gonzalez Toro (Orfeo), Emoke Barath pathetic title character, and there is an artless (Euridice, Musica), Natalie Perez (Messenger); I honesty about his interpretation that makes Gemelli/ Emiliano Gonzalez Toro Orfeo’s suffering particularly poignant. Eti- Naive 7176 [2CD] 96 minutes enne, too, lends her lovely soprano to the pro- ceedings as Proserpina. All the soloists are Asv I’ e noted before, we live in a golden age of first-rate, but I will call special attention to early music ensembles, and many marvelous Natalie Perez’s radiant Messenger and Emoke performances have arrived on my desk. I Barath, who sings Euridice and “la Musica” in Gemelli’s new recording of Monteverdi’s Orfeo the Prologue. Some years ago Barath ventured is one of the best. The booklet includes essays from the early music world to issue a recital of (by the group’s co-founders, Mathilde Etienne Debussy songs. I wrote, “It is never less than a and Emiliano Gonzalez Toro) that are veritable delight to be in her vocal presence” (S/O treatises on the nature of the work and the 2017); the same can be said here—and for all complex considerations required to bring it to her colleagues. life in the 21st Century. Among the many top- ALTMAN ics is the misconception that Orfeo is the “first Baroque opera”: it is wholly rooted in Renais- MOUSSORGSKY: Pictures; see Collections sance aesthetics. Nor is it technically an opera, but a “Fable in Music”, a term carefully chosen MOZART: Clarinet Concerto; by Monteverdi and librettist Striggio, who are compared to the most important teams of Laura Magistrelli, cl; Francesco Quaranta, ob; Leonardo Dosso, bn; Enrico Bellati, hn; Orchestra musicians and poets in history, like Mozart Cantelli/ Ezio Rojatti and Da Ponte and Strauss and Hofmannsthal. Da Vinci 338—59 minutes In a world where complicated matters are reg- ularly diluted to accommodate the lowest Ivn No ember 1956, just a week after his common denominator, part of the attraction of appointment as music director of La Scala, the the early music movement is the intellectual rising 36-year-old Toscanini protege Guido thrill one derives from this kind of in-depth Cantelli died in a plane crash at Orly Airport in research. Paris. He had been on his way to New York for Joel Dugot supplies background on the a series of conducting engagements; and the ensemble’s use of facsimiles of instruments in New York Philharmonic considered him as a the collection of the Musee de la Musique in possible successor to the orchestra’s music Paris. That includes a ceterone, or , director, the 60-year-old Dmitri Mitropoulos. which is a facsimile of the only one that has Two years later, the Philharmonic hired survived in a condition close to the original. Leonard Bernstein after he agreed to give up The sonic world they create is enthralling. Lis- writing for Broadway; and though mourned, ten to the horns in the Sinfonia that opens the Cantelli was eventually forgotten. third act. Or the haunting sound of the In 1992, Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory stu- plucked strings that represent Orfeo’s enchant- dent Alberto Veronesi, now one of Europe’s ed lyre in his pivotal aria `Possente spirito’. The busiest conductors, founded Orchestra Cantel- 76 May/June 2021 li to pay tribute to a distinguished alumnus rary British culture, particularly the science and to expand the concert life of Milan and the fiction television program Doctor Who. school. In 1994, Milan native and Verdi Con- Helsingborg sits on the edge of southwest servatory graduate Laura Magistrelli won the Sweden, a brief ferry ride across the water position of Principal Clarinet; and in 2009, she from Denmark and a much shorter drive to the became president of the orchestra. Danish capital than to the Swedish capital. Here we have two Mozart works recorded Founded in 1912, the Helsingborg Symphony in concert at the Conservatory: the Clarinet continues to be a cultural touchstone; and in Concerto, performed in May 2003 with Russ- this August 2019 recording, Jonason and Music ian conductor Sergei Galaktionov; and the Sin- Director Stefan Solyom pair the Lindstrom fonia Concertante for four winds and orches- Clarinet Concerto with the Mozart Concerto. tra, recorded in November 2007 with conduc- Lindstrom’s miniature love letter `Song About tor Ezio Rojatti. Em’ concludes the program. Although Mozart wrote the Sinfonia Con- The presentation is fully professional. certante for a flute-oboe-bassoon-horn quar- Jonason sports a strikingly clear and resonant tet of soloists from the Mannheim Orchestra tone, ardent and sincere phrasing, and out- for the 1778 Concerts Spirituels in Paris, a standing fingers and articulation. Meanwhile, manuscript recovered in the mid-1880s substi- the Helsingborg Symphony infuses each score tutes the clarinet for the flute—a change that with the skill, confidence, and artistic intent of the young composer could have made. The a prominent world orchestra. Lindstrom’s con- soloists here include Cantelli Orchestra Princi- certo is a vibrantly scored episodic and cine- matic showpiece that plays to Jonason’s many pal Oboe Francesco Quaranta, Verdi Conser- strengths, including his astounding control in vatory bassoon professor Leonardo Dosso, the altimissimo register and his effortless com- internationally renowned horn soloist Enrico mand of extended techniques. In contrast, Bellati, and Magistrelli on clarinet. `Song About Em’ is a simple and beautiful The presentation is mixed. Magistrelli melody that allows Jonason and the orchestra offers a pleasant tone, good fingers, and nice to indulge in warm and spinning lyricism. phrasing; yet her legato, intonation, and artic- Jonason performs the Mozart on basset ulation are often uneven, creating one too clarinet, an instrument invented by the com- many potholes. Her colleagues in the Sinfonia poser’s Masonic lodge companion and Vien- Concertante are excellent; and though she nese clarinet virtuoso Anton Stadler to expand plays well with them, her problems in the con- his lower range. Here Jonason has a more mel- certo follow her. The Orchestra Cantelli ren- low timbre; and while the opening movement ders each piece with a gossamer texture and is a bit conservative, he fills the Adagio with a infectious energy, and the ensemble over- rich cantabile and whisks the listener through comes a few wobbly moments. the Rondo with a breathtakingly athletic HANUDEL tempo and perfectly executed technique. His liberal and freewheeling cadenzas travel out- MOZART: Clarinet Concerto; side the composer’s milieu and belong to the LINDSTROM: Concerto late 19th Century more than the late 18th, but Emil Jonason, cl; Helsingborg Symphony/ Stefan they also fit his larger aim to unite the old and Solyom—Swedish Society 1177—65 minutes the new. Emil Jonason is a clarinet soloist and teacher HANUDEL at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm; OZART: and Emmy Lindstrom is a violinist, composer, M Quartets 2,8,12,14,21,23 Quartet—Avi 8553032 [2CD] 117 minutes and psychiatric nurse. This Swedish couple lives just outside Stockholm with their young Half of the quartets we hear here have been son. In the 2017-18 orchestra season, Jonason recorded a great deal. 2,8, and 12 are recorded performed Lindstrom’s recently completed less often. All are played here in the newest Clarinet Concerto with four regional orches- HIP style. They are not expressionless; instead tras; and in the summer of 2019 he brought the of a steady tone, they vary the dynamics from piece to Los Angeles, where it won a prize in phrase to phrase—loud to soft above all, but the Kaleidoscope Competition. Carrying the also in sheer projection. That is, sometimes alliterative subtitle “At the Hills of Hampstead they try to draw you in, but sometimes they Heath” the concerto is a tribute to contempo- blast out at you. American Record Guide 77 Yet there is something predictable in the UCHA: way they approach a phrase—something that M Quartets 1+2; Piano Pieces; Our Journey; Wind Quintet; Epitaph in Memory of makes it all sound alike, so the listener loses Jiri Mucha interest. Patricia Goodson, Alena Grillova, p; Vilem Vever- Nothing here is tender or sweet; there is ka, ob; Jan Machat, fl; Stamitz Quartet; Prague never any charm. They are rough and rustic— Wind Quintet—Brilliant 95463—79 minutes never smooth or dignified. And thru it all there is no vibrato; and the English-Czech composer Geraldine Mucha violin sound is shrill, tinny, and unmusical. had a long and difficult life encompassing two How can anyone stand the sound of a scraping world wars and the oppression of Commu- bow on violin strings? Playing a violin with no nism, but she managed to produce beautifully vibrato is as unnatural—and as ugly—as crafted music in a variety of idioms. Her father singing with no vibrato. I’ll never listen to this was Scottish, and she considered herself a again. Scotswoman, but she lived a great portion of VROON her life in Prague. She married an exiled war correspondent, and settled in his native city, MOZART: Violin Sonatas K 378+454; but fled the Communist regime for Rondos K 250, 373 after the invasion of Prague in 1968, returning Ruben Kosemyan; Natalya Mnatsakanyan, Mar- after the fall of Communism in 1989. Her garita Grigoryan, p—Da Vinci 343—44 minutes music is infused with everything from Scottish folk tunes to Bartokian modes, but the Scottish When I started listening to this I thought that voice is strongest. the booklet and jewel box were mislabeled. I These are world premiere recordings. heard the unmistakable sound and style of The earliest work here is the 1944 String . I had to listen a while to hear a Quartet, which has East European folk ele- few tiny clues that this wasn’t the old master. ments, including drones and modes, even Ruben Kosemyan has come closer to sounding though Mucha had not yet moved to central like Heifetz than any other violinist I’ve ever Europe. It combines charm with tight con- heard. He must idolize the man. Of course, if struction. The later Quartet, from 1970, is a you’re going to idolize a violinist, Heifetz is an contrast, tragic and forlorn. Both are played excellent choice. Moscow-trained Kosemyan with great expressiveness by the Stomic Quar- has absorbed every aspect of his great prede- tet. cessor’s style, down to the tiniest nuance, and I The seven piano pieces, colorful and tune- hear nothing original in his manner. Heifetz ful, are in an idiom that the authoritative notes did record both sonatas and the Rondo K 250 call Scottish Impressionism. Patricia Goodson twice each, so Kosemyan may have listened to plays them with gentle authority. Our Journey these recordings and imitated them. The effect from 2008, is a wistful duo for flute and piano, is very pleasing if you like to hear “Heifetz” in played with endearing lightness by flutist Jan modern sound. Machat and pianist Allena Grillova. More var- These are musical readings full of spunk ied in mood is the 1998 Wind Quintet, full of and enthusiasm and free of period-perform- nostalgic Scottish references, elegantly per- ance-practice asceticism. They are red-blood- formed by the Prague Wind Quintet. The ed and unself-conscious and a perfect anti- album concludes with a touching variation dote to the timid, bookish readings that are too piece, `Epitaph’, for oboe and string quintet— common these days. Best of all, it sounds like an elegy for Jiri Mucha, the composer’s hus- the performers are enjoying themselves. All of band, who died in 1991. the musicians are excellent, and the recording Mucha’s music was performed in her life- is full, clear, and perfectly balanced. I just wish time, but then largely vanished. There is a that they could have filled the disc out with great push to resurrect the music of past one more sonata (though 44 minutes would women composers, so this release comes at a have been a fair playing time for an LP in good time. The album will also please people Heifetz’s day). looking for lost modern music in a romantic Kosemyan plays 18th-Century violins style, which Mucha exemplifies even in the made by Leopold Widhalm of Nuremberg and spikier references to Janacek and Bartok. Nicolo Gagliano of Naples. SULLIVAN MAGIL

78 May/June 2021 Verdehr clarinet, Edgar Kirk bassoon, and ULLER: M Woodwind Quintets Douglas Campbell horn. Richards Quintet—Crystal 252—47 minutes The Muller quintets are charming pieces, Distinguished keyboardist and Michigan each of which takes up no more than a quarter native Lewis Richards (1881-1940) played a of a standard recital program; and interested vital role in the harpsichord revival of the early readers will find this 1976 album a decent 20th Century. In East Lansing, though, he is place to start. best known as the founder of the Michigan The Richards Quintet sports good energy, State University School of Music. In 1948 the technique, and phrasing; and the group always MSU woodwind professors organized one of ensures that the most important line or instru- the first resident woodwind quintets in the ment is heard. At the same time, woodwind playing has evolved significantly in the past United States, and they named it in honor of half-century; and the new generation of wood- Richards. In 1968 the Richards Quintet per- wind quintets, particularly in Europe, offer formed in New York for the first time, ushering superior tone, blend, and intonation. A fresh in a two-decade period of recordings and recording of the Muller Quintets would be a tours. In the late 1980s a series of retirements worthwhile project. brought the group to a close. HANUDEL After a broad education at the University of Heidelberg that included theology and music, MUNKTELL: Violin Sonata; 10 Melodies; Johann Peter Muller (1791-1877) entered the Trio; Scherzo clergy, teaching music in the seminary and Tobias Ringborg, v; Sofie Asplund, s; Kristina writing it in his spare time or for specific Winiarski, vc; Peter Friis Johansson, p church occasions. His small but estimable cat- BIS 2204 [SACD] 74 minutes alog includes choral pieces, organ preludes, string quintets, two operas, and three wood- Swedish composer Helena Munktell (1852- wind quintets, likely written as late romanti- 1919) studied voice and piano in Stockholm cism marched toward the end of the century, and Vienna and finished her studies in com- pushing expressive boundaries but looking to position in Paris with Benjamin Godard and Vincent d’Indy. She was accepted as a member the past. They exude the classical warmth of of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Muller’s favorite composers, Haydn and 1915, and in 1918 she co-founded the Swedish Mozart; and fans of the genre will note that Society of Composers. they have closer ties to the Reicha quintets half We do not know exactly when the Violin a century earlier than the Taffanel Quintet Sonata was written because she had a habit of (1876). setting scores aside and coming back to them In 1874, three years before Muller died, later. George Enesco and Auguste Pierret per- Ruhle of Leipzig published them; and in 1901 formed it for the first time in Paris in 1905. Her their continued popularity caused them to be 10 Melodies, songs with French texts, were issued again. After this, the printings disap- published in 1900. They mostly have a wistful peared, their nostalgia brushed aside by post- character very similar to many French songs of romanticism, modernism, and other creative the era. She has a greater affinity for this genre experiments that seemed a better fit for a con- than for the sonata, whose long movements tinent in constant turmoil. And as newer com- and complex structure seems to have taxed posers brought back the woodwind quintet for her inspiration a little. The Melodies, with its five unusual colors and thorny blend, most French texts, are quite lovely sometimes; of the sonorous 19th Century efforts in the Munktell’s sentiment sounds authentic and medium were quickly forgotten. the texts are vividly brought to life. The booklet In the 1960s London Symphony principal prints texts and translations. bassoon William Waterhouse (1931-2007) dis- The brief Piano Trio, which Munktell titled covered an old copy of the Muller quintets in a in German Kleines Trio, is believed to be an Paris music shop and took them to the British early work, possibly written while she was still firm Musica Rara for a modern printing. In studying in Stockholm. This and the Sonata 1976 the Richards Quintet recorded them for have a more Germanic-Swedish character Crystal Records; and here Crystal presents than the French Melodies. I find it remarkable them again, this time on CD. Israel Borouchoff that a composer would have a binational char- plays flute, Daniel Stolper oboe, Elsa Ludewig- acter. The sonata is cyclic like the Violin American Record Guide 79 Sonata of Cesar Franck, the great admirer of Manz is a natural candidate for this proj- Wagner. Swedish folk melodies figure strongly, ect. He has outstanding technique, an expres- and I also hear some influence of the Violin sive personality, and a magnificent command Sonata of Richard Strauss. My favorite move- of multiphonics and glissandos. At the same ment is the scherzo, which is all charming, time, he plays the middle and low registers Swedish-sounding tunes; my least favorite is with a persistently tubby tone; and every now the finale, where Munktell seems to lose her and then he adds to his high register some way. The Trio is charming and brief, with an dubious vibrato or a harsh phrase ending. His especially lovely slow movement. Nielsen Concerto has genuine pathos in the All of the musicians are top notch, and I slow passages, droll quirkiness in the caden- cannot imagine better performances, though I zas, and a haunting finale; but the manic wish that Sofie Asplund had tightened up her episodes have too much finesse and restraint. vibrato a little more. I wish that so many con- The Lindberg is tougher to evaluate. Manz temporary musicians wouldn’t use a slow, plays the recurring motive with a lovely wide vibrato most of the time. 50 years ago that cantabile; and everywhere else he cranks up was not done. Ringborg plays an instrument hair-raising special effects and competes with by the 18th Century violin maker Nicolo a boisterous orchestra for space. The musical Gagliano of Naples. Winiarski’s cello was built canvas is impressive, though deeper meaning by an anonymous 18th Century Italian maker. is hard to find. MAGIL The orchestra gives professional perform- ances, though some parts of the Nielsen are a NIELSEN: Clarinet Concerto; Serenata bit reserved. The collaborators in the `Serena- in Vano; ta in Vano’ are excellent. LINDBERG: Clarinet Concerto HANUDEL Sebastian Manz, cl; Dominik Manz, vc; Marc Trenel, bn; David Fernandez Alonso, hn; Lars NIELSEN: Maskarade; The Eagle and the Olaf Schaper, db; Saarbrucken Radio/ Dominik Beetle Beykirch, Magnus Lindberg Holger Byrding (Jeronimus), Ingeborg Steffensen Berlin 301351—61 minutes (Magdelone), Thyge Thygesen (Leander); Danish Radio/ Launy Grondahl German clarinetist Sebastian Manz is a mem- Danacord 884 [2CD] 123 minutes ber of the Southwest German Radio Sympho- ny in Stuttgart. This is a pair of Nordic works This is the fourth volume in Danacord’s series for clarinet and orchestra. devoted to the artistry of Danish conductor Written over seven decades, all of these and composer Launy Grondahl. Grondahl was Scandinavian soundscapes have roots in the for many years the chief conductor of the Dan- lush romanticism of the late 19th Century; but ish Radio Symphony, and a number of his own otherwise they proceed in different directions. compositions and concerts were preserved for The Nielsen Concerto (1928) pushes a neo- posterity. classical ensemble into a demanding expres- Maskarade is a sort of sequel to Nielsen’s sionist aesthetic in an unflinching exploration epic debut opera Saul and David, and has of manic depression. In contrast, the Lindberg been recorded with great distinction by Ulf Concerto (2002), now a contemporary classic, Schirmer (Decca) and Michael Schonwandt drops the soloist into a large and colorful (Dacapo). There is also a DVD on Dacapo orchestra in a postmodernist and neo-impres- directed Kasper Bech Holten. Here we have sionist evocation of the sea. radio concert performance from January 28, German National Theater Weimar conduc- 1954 with an excellent cast and led with huge tor Dominik Beykirch leads the Nielsen, and authority by Grondahl. According to the notes, the renowned composer Magnus Lindberg a narrator was used to explain some of the steps to the podium for his own piece. more intricate plot details, but he has been To round out the rather heavy program, largely excised. Normally I don’t approve of Manz enlists some of his closest colleagues for that—I like historical documents preserved a reading of the Nielsen `Serenata in Vano’ the way they were performed unless there are (1914), a cheeky miniature for clarinet, bas- significant gaps in the tape or other sources soon, horn, cello, and double bass that the have been used to supplement and complete composer wrote for a group of friends taking the original tape. Here I agree with the produc- the Beethoven Septet on a tour of Denmark. ers: most of us find a narrator intrusive, espe- 80 May/June 2021 cially on rehearings (I feel the same way about PABST: Trio see TCHAIKOVSKY a narrator replacing the spoken dialog in Magic Flute or Der Freischutz). Excising the PAGANINI: 24 Caprices; Caprice d’Adieu narrator also makes room for a second work Ning Feng, v—Channel 43221—80 minutes on the program, Nielsen’s charming choral setting of The Eagle and the Beetle, adapted Ng icolo Pa anini’s 24 Caprices have been the from Aesop’s fables and rarely heard. A ultimate test of a violinist’s technique since detailed summary of the text is supplied in the they were published in 1820. For over a centu- slim booklet, but only a cursory summary of ry most violinists struggled to play them with- the action in Maskarade. The sound is excel- out the strain showing. More and more violin- lent broadcast monaural for both works. ists in the past two centuries have mastered REYNOLDS these challenges, and string playing has become increasing brilliant since the turn of NORGARD: Solo Cello Sonatas; the last century. In recent decades, violinists RUDERS: Bravourstudien have begun to bring out the character of these Wilhelmina Smith—Ondine 1381—62 minutes pieces more; it has become obvious that just getting every note right is not enough. Itzhak Per Norgard (b.1932) is a prominent Danish Perlman was the first to play these as the char- composer. He studied with Vagn Holmboe in acter pieces that they really are, emphasizing 1949, and these sonatas include some of his their Italian personality (Sept/Oct 2000). earliest compositions. The 16-minute Sonata 1 Thomas Zehetmair in his first recording is a primarily thoughtful work containing (March/April 1994) and James Ehnes in his numerous double-stops and pizzicato. The first recording (Sept/Oct 1996) took this explo- finale is violent sometimes. Sonata 2 is 20 min- ration of the Caprices even further, Zehetmair utes long, moving from early to later style, taking a wildly improvisational approach, even mainly by abrupt alterations in articulation to the point of rewriting passages, and Ehnes between harmonics, slithering, dramatic carefully playing each as a character piece. shrieks of sound, etc. It sounds as if it is going When I got this disc by Ning Feng, I didn’t to be atonal, but it is not quite so. It goes out of have very high expectations. I’d first heard its mind in violence and technical prowess, Feng in an all-Paganini program (May/June but that doesn’t discourage cellist Smith, who 2008), and I found his playing bland though plays it to fine effect. his technique was excellent. I expected similar The 7-1/2-minute Sonata 3 has been with playing here, but was I wrong! Except for his us once before in a recording by cellist Morten superb technique, he plays like a completely Zeuthen (DaCapo 8226007; March/April 2006, different violinist! This is obvious from the first p. 205). That was a fine program and also caprice to the last. Caprice 1 startled me with included Poul Ruders’s Bravourstudien and the boldest, most assertive playing I had ever many other pieces by Danish composers of the heard in this piece. He impressed me by going late 20th Century. Both of these interpreta- for the more difficult, original ricochet bowing tions are worth hearing. Ruders (b. 1949) is an in Caprice 5. To be honest, I find most of the active Danish composer who should write earlier Caprices rather tedious—they are pri- more music for cello. These are his only cello marily technical exercises. But Feng is better works (I think), and they are 19 minutes of than anyone else at bringing out their charac- enjoyable variety and virtuosity. Maybe you ter. This is a remarkable feat in a trill exercise should look up the lovely Wilhelmina Smith like Caprice 6, which usually sounds excruciat- playing her cello on the rocks by the waterside! ingly monotonous. In nearly every caprice, At any rate, I hope you hear this disc. She Feng finds the shape and meaning of phrases whistles along with your tune, as does Zeu- that other violinists seem unaware of. This disc then. joins the three listed above as the best I’ve Wilhelmina was awarded a 2015-16 McK- heard. night Artist Fellowship for Performing Musi- There is one more Caprice here besides cians and was also a prizewinner at the the famous 24. In 1832 German violinist Leonard Rose Cello Competition in 1997. Eduard Eliason published his own collection Since Leonard Rose was my teacher I am of Six Caprices for solo violin. Paganini gave clearly prejudiced in her favor, but my ears tell him his own `Caprice d’Adieu’ to add to the me it’s more than that. volume. But it is a disappointing, pedestrian D MOORE work that lacks the inspiration of the earlier 24. American Record Guide 81 The disc has Channel’s usual, excellent meandering by someone without much musi- sound. This program is also available for cal sense. Mr Patron seems to have a major download in various formats on their website. career in Italy, and has specialized in aleatoric Feng’s violin was made by Samuel Zyg- music a la Cage, complete with prepared muntowicz of New York in 2017. pianos. These 10 pieces have unbelievably MAGIL pretentious subtitles apparently lifted from his philosophical musings. It’s hard to imagine PARADIES: Harpsichord Sonatas, all anyone listening to this stuff. Proceed with Simonetto caution. Brilliant 95867 [2CD] 107 minutes GIMBEL

Pietro Domenico Paradies published these 12 PETTERSSON: Symphony 12 sonatas in London in 1754. They sound like Swedish Radio Choirs, Norrkoping Symphony/ Scarlatti’s sonatas but with more twiddly bits. Christian Lindberg—BIS 2450 [SACD] 56 minutes There was an excellent recording of the first 10 of these by Anna Paradiso recently (S/O 2020). Ps etters on’s Symphony 12 (The Dead In the She used three instruments: harpsichord, Square, 1974) is a cycle of nine poems by clavichord, and fortepiano. Alessandro Simon- Neruda set with without pause for chorus and etto plays a copy of a Johannes Ruckers harpsi- orchestra (the poems are from Neruda’s vast chord for all 12 in this budget-priced set. Canto General, translated into Swedish). The He plays with strong rhythmic drive. In a texts commemorate the massacre of peaceful few places he lets it get frantic, adding to the demonstrators in Santiago in 1946 following excitement in these zany pieces. His tempos the death of Allende. Pettersson was brought have less fluctuation than with Paradiso and up in the lower class slums of Stockholm, so he Enrico Baiano (S/O 1998). He brings out plen- was obviously sympathetic to the plight of the ty of contrasts with his touch and the occa- oppressed and their need for revenge. Memo- sional changes of manuals. Unlike Baiano, he rializing some of the victims by name is remi- includes all of the repeats. niscent of artistic response to the deaths of 9- Most of these pieces are in simple keys 11. with few sharps or flats. Sonata 3 in E and The piece is in Pettersson’s dense style, Sonata 6 in A push into the brightest areas of though it is clearly tonal, with layered counter- Simonetto’s selected “Kirnberger III” tempera- point and hypnotic folk-like chant. It ends with ment, with remarkably high G-sharps and D- a blazing C-major cadence to symbolize the sharps. victory of the People. As I said in September, there are three There are competing recordings. The older recordings by Dantone, Funaro, and Rav- excellent Larsson (Caprice) was reviewed pos- izza that I can’t report on, having not heard itively by Roger Hecht (S/O 2006), but there is them. no text or translation in that release, which The biography says Simonetto is also a should eliminate it for consideration. composer and (and he did his This is part of Lindberg’s traversal of the own production here). It also says he has complete symphonies, with SACD sound, recorded all of Scott Joplin’s piano music. I which is particularly valuable for this piece. look forward to hearing more of his work. CPO’s set of complete symphonies was LEHMAN reviewed by me (M/J 2007), and that review included a survey of the complete discography PATRON: Aporetic Tropes up to that point. Chihar Urli, v; Valentino Dentesan, vc; Lucius R. The fight for fascism through a coup is par- Weathersby, p—Albany 1845—51 minutes ticularly relevant these days in this country. This is by no means easy listening—and why Italian Alberto Patron (b. 1969) is a philoso- should it be? pher as well as a composer. Text and translation (crucial for this piece). “Aporetic” philosophy invokes aporia, a Exemplary performances. Useful notes. Con- concept of unsolvable problems (some of sider this the final word on this piece (at least Plato’s dialogs end with the concept. These are for now). short pieces; they are numbingly tonal and GIMBEL might be used as teaching pieces. There is no counterpoint, only formless 82 May/June 2021 but he also learned the piano, which eventual- HILLIPS: P The Grey Land ly became his preferred instrument, as it had Numinous—New Amsterdam 47696—62 minutes for Mozart. It is hard to find much information By the time New Amsterdam released The about Pinto because, like the Spanish-Basque Grey Land as part of their 2020 offerings, the composer Juan Arriaga, he died so young. The fifth track of this mono-opera by Joseph C. gentle tunefulness of Mozart and the explosive Phillips Jr. and his ensemble Numinous was boldness of middle-period Beethoven can be unnervingly apropos. Its title? `We Wear the heard in these sonatas, so I suspect that these Mask’. With by far the most beautifully- were written after Beethoven’s Op. 30 sonatas designed album cover I’ve seen in the last sev- were published in May 1803. They reveal a eral months, this music and its 13 movements strong imagination even though their influ- present a powerful statement about the vio- ences are evident. He obviously had a great lence against black people that runs rampant deal of talent and might have matured into a in our country, now brought in front of more more individual artist, but we can never know. eyes than ever thanks to the powerful web of These are good performances, but I just communication that is social media. wish that Roberto Bachara worked harder at In The Grey Land, Phillips uses words and refining his tone. Marek Toporowski plays a voices of the people closest to the public edge copy of a fortepiano by the Viennese maker of these atrocities, including the mothers of Anton Walter built by Paul McNulty. Bachara’s Jordan Davis, Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, violin was built by an anonymous 18th Centu- and Michael Brown. Audio samples of these ry Italian maker. mothers giving speeches while still in the aura MAGIL of the most traumatic moment of their lives PISTON: Symphony 7; see HANSON hang above eery, silver strings shaking with wide vibrato. High soprano voices intentional- PLATTI: Harpsichord Concertos; ly shirking pitch centers balance with a chorus Violin Concerto of bells (performed by the voice choir) and the Roberto Loreggian, hpsi; Federico Guglielmo, v; thick, heavy twangs of guitar pitches. In track L’Arte dell’Arco—CPO 555219—64 minutes 3, `Tender Sorrow’, Phillips has written cellist Mariel Roberts a solo that she plays with fer- Giovanni Benedetto Platti (1697-1763) moved vent, uncomfortable energy, adding to the north from the Venice area to work in Bavaria growing sense of foreboding in the listener. for most of his career. These are pleasant The Grey Land has two characters: Mother Vivaldi-ish concertos for harpsichord or violin, and Son. And yet pitch is a third character expertly performed on period instruments, here—a haze of quarter tones representing and not otherwise recorded much. We liked some invisible angel of death that hangs over his keyboard sonatas, too (N/D 2015). humanity and its actions. Adding pallor and We get 4 of the 9 extant harpsichord con- unease, the out-of-tune-ness is what helps you certos. These are numbered 48, 52, 54, and 57 feel this music not just in your heart, but in in this composer’s catalog, and the violin con- your bones. As we’ve seen in the last year, certo is 18. there is something tremendously out of tune The soloists and ensemble play alertly. with the state of our humanity, and Phillips There is some rushing in the finale of 48 when- has made a bold effort at immersion therapy in ever the orchestra drops out for long inter- this work: this hour of space pushes us with spersed harpsichord solos by Loreggian. Those the brute, blunt force of a political statement tempo rifts might come from editing. Every- and simultaneously delivers the shivers and thing else sounds clean and proper. sacred space of a requiem. I haven’t been able to find much competi- BOYD tion. Luca Guglielmi recorded concertos 49, 55, and 57 on a fortepiano (N/D 2014). I PINTO: Violin Sonatas 1-3 haven’t heard that recording beyond some Robert Bachara; Marek Toporowski, p short samples. Philippe Grisvard recorded a Brilliant 96156—59 minutes different Concerto in F. Felicja Blumental recorded two concertos on a modern piano in The English composer George Frederick Pinto 1968. (1785-1806) died when he was 20 years old but LEHMAN showed considerable promise. He began his performing career as a prodigy on the violin, American Record Guide 83 are all guitar harmonics, and the balance there ONCE: P Sonatina Mexicana; Sonata Merid- between it and the low-voiced harpsichord is ional; Sonata III; Sonata with harpsichord Maximilian Mangold; Kristian Nyquist, hpsi lovely. Musicaphon 56957—58 minutes Liner notes by Mangold himself, informa- tive and well written. This is an enlightening This recording is devoted to one of Mexico’s excursion into the music of a fine guitar com- most important composers for the classical poser. guitar, Manuel Ponce (1882-1948). Ponce was MCCUTCHEON good friends with Andres Segovia, and his writing was well suited to the maestro’s taste— PROKOFIEFF: 2-Violin Sonata; tuneful, harmonically well-constructed, and BARTOK: 29 Duos easily accessible on first hearing. Of the many Claudio Mondini & Anna Pecora major works for guitar by Ponce, some were Stradivarius 37145—52 minutes written in the style of other composers such as It took this record by two Italian violinists to Fernando Sor, , and Sylvius make me realize that the Bartok 44 Duos and Leopold Weiss; but Mangold has chosen ones the Prokofieff Two-violin Sonata were only a that are more Ponce’s own voice, and it makes year apart—1931 and 1932. The Bartok set was for an illuminating survey of this gifted com- composed at the behest of Erich Doflein, a poser’s music for guitar. German musicologist who also wrote a violin Ponce’s music has been recorded many, method (still highly regarded) and a graded many times and it is refreshing to hear Man- series of pieces for violin ensembles. I have gold’s interpretations—while often not excit- never been quite sure what became of Bartok’s ing, they are fresh and thoughtful, as in III of part in the project—the Duos were finally pub- Sonata Mexicana. Mangold’s performance is lished by Boosey & Hawkes, Doflein’s work by completely consistent with the musical intent, Schott—but the idea of a graded set of pieces and with strong, snappy articulations he for violin duo clearly appealed to the compos- reveals a solid connection with his instrument er, fresh off his similar project for piano, in a satisfying finale to this sonata. Mikrokosmos. One finds lovely playing in Ponce’s Sonata Mondini and Pecora tell us that Bartok 3. Mangold does not hesitate to put his own suggested that suites of these duos might be interpretations into the `Chanson’, opening performed outside pedagogical contexts, and with an extremely quiet, thoughtful section that is what we have here. Mixing the levels followed by an almost shockingly bright state- and the contrasting characters of the duos ment of the second theme—so contrasting that makes sense, and the constant variety of the 29 one feels that the limits of necessary contrast duos makes for intense listening. have been exceeded. The ending that follows Prokofieff’s Sonata was written on his is brilliant, stretching time and taking enough hearing someone else’s new duo and thinking, of it to engage the listener with an ethereal “That’s all wrong.” It doesn’t sound quite like presence of beauty at the conclusion. The con- other Prokofieff, but as a different sort of cluding `Allegro non troppo’ includes various thought-experiment from Bartok’s, it remains moods, achieving a fitting, but somewhat fascinating, compelling. reserved energy level, and concluding with a Mondini and Pecora play both composers sweetness that truly reflects Ponce’s gentle very well, but not so well as the ones already soul. Excellent spacing between tracks enables on my shelves: Milstein and Van Bellen in the the listener to fully absorb and process what Prokofieff (J/A 2020) and Andre Gertler and has just been heard. Thank you for that! Josef Suk in the Bartok. The latter do all the New to this reviewer’s ears is Ponce’s duos, in pedagogical order. Sonata para guitarra y clavecin performed THOMSON with a very able and experienced harpsi- chordist, Kristian Nyquist. This is lovely music, PROKOFIEFF: arrangements played with enlivening articulations by both Yuri Kalnits, v; Yulia Chaplina, p musicians, but the recording is unrealistically Toccata 135—64 minutes balanced too heavily toward the guitar—the harpsichord simply does not have the appro- Many claim attention spans are shortening, priate presence in some passages, and when leading to more difficulty holding people’s the guitar strums it obliterates the harpsichord attention. Social media, entertainment almost completely. The closing phrases of II options, and dating applications supply a 84 May/June 2021 steady diet of rapid stimulus changes; the the- Orchestra reign supreme in the Rachmaninoff. ory suggests our brains adapt to grow more Wild, Horenstein, and the Royal Philharmonic comfortable in situations where light and are superb too. For the Tchaikovsky, let sound schizophrenically shift. Prolonged calm Mravinsky and the Leningrad Philharmonic then results in feelings of discomfort and pin you to the wall with their stereo DG uneasiness, and people desperately pull out recording. For a no-nonsense performance, their phones for that familiar buzz of activity. Monteux and the Boston Symphony are quite This program appears to be aimed at lis- gripping as well. teners accustomed to rapid, stimulating FRENCH changes. Brace yourself for the frenzy and frustration of 37 tracks in 64 minutes; there is RACHMANINOFF: Symphony 2 no way to both listen and keep track of where London Symphony/ Simon Rattle you are; you have to pause the disc after every LSO 851 [SACD] 59 minutes track or listen to everything twice. Compound- The back cover of the booklet has these pro- ing the problem is that titles of all the move- motional words for the orchestra’s own label: ments are not on the back of the case, so you “Sensational sound quality and definitive must pull out the booklet to follow along. interpretations combined with the energy and The forward by Anthony Phillips is too emotion that you can only experience live in flowery. There is not much here that is particu- the concert hall.” larly memorable. Listen to this and you start to But this is a recording—not live by defini- wonder if Prokofieff is too highly regarded. tion. So they have just told us we cannot feel There are fine moments, but the music grows that energy and emotion. And I wouldn’t stale after an hour. The sound from the violin “experience” anything if I were dead in a con- is a little metallic, as if a slight artificial sheen cert hall. Well, the level of all public writing is hangs over it, more a result of recording meth- terrible these days and getting worse in almost ods and mixing than the violin itself. The vio- everything you can read. lin’s approach trends toward caustic and biting Let’s begin with the sound, since this sym- in big moments; he can be a little too angular phony is usually spectacular if the sound is and vulgar. When he avoids those traps, his good. It’s SACD, and it’s clean. In fact, it’s anti- sound is solid. The piano offers excellent septic. It is “nowhere” sound. You don’t feel accompaniment. that you are in a real place at all. Details are This falls somewhere slightly below the clear, but “sound” is much more than details. middle for me. Some of the arrangements are There is no warmth, no expansiveness (in this good, and others do not work that well for the very expansive music), no richness. violin. If you like Prokofieff, it may be of inter- Simon Rattle has almost never won me est. over. If LSO recordings are supposed to have KELLENBERGER energy and emotion (but as they admitted, really can’t have either), under Simon Rattle ACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto 2; R it’s all energy and no emotion. He is English TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony 4 Alexander Korsantia, p; Stuttgart Philharmonic/ sterility personified. True, his timings are Dan Ettinger—Hanssler 20046—77 minutes almost the same as Previn’s, and Previn actual- ly got this orchestra (not the same people) In the Rachmaninoff the integral flow and gor- sounding rich, warm, even Russian. But tim- geous clarinet solo in II are not enough to save ings and tempos are not enough. There is no a performance where Alexander Korsantia personality here—no passion, no ecstasy, no adds more and more small retards as if to say, melancholy, no baring of the soul. I don’t hear “See how much I’m feeling!” The tempo Rachmaninoff, I don’t hear the conductor, and changes pull III apart. In the Tchaikovsky the orchestra is pretty neutral but certainly phrases begin before the preceding ones end. accurate. Dan Ettinger rushes every movement. In con- Page 16 of the booklet is headed, “Orches- trast the “little oak tree” folk tune in IV stands tra featured on this recording”. The word “fea- out because Ettinger gives it the slowest tempo tured” is superfluous, of course, but we already I’ve ever heard. Neither pianist nor conductor know that the person behind this can’t write. makes climaxes effective. And the engineering The orchestra listing is essential, because the does nothing for inner details in either work. London Symphony shares personnel with the Gavrilov, Muti, and the Philadelphia other London orchestras—they are mostly American Record Guide 85 free-lancers, though I assume some first-chair pensive) that it aspires to a bizarre sort of players are exclusive to this orchestra. The modernism before the fact. It is not altogether clarinet soloist is Chris Richards; the Concert- lovely, but it is nonetheless the most striking master is Carmine Lauri. Both are excellent aspect of the entire album. but cannot change the mood (or lack of it) or The performances, sound quality, and supply much of the missing ardor and tem- liner notes are all on the level. Raff, however, perament. was perhaps not at home with chamber music. As we pointed out in our Overview According to the cover, this is Volume 1, so I (May/June 2019), this is probably the most guess we will find out in the years to come. romantic symphony ever written. It can be DUTTERER lush and rhapsodic yet is tinged with melan- choly. No recording of this before 1960 is RAVEL: Gaspard de la Nuit romantic—that wasn’t the way things were in 1965, 1975, 1984; with Serenade Grotesque the early LP era, and this symphony was sel- Idit Biret, p—IBA 571413—76 minutes dom played or recorded then. It went thru a with Valses Nobles et Sentimentales; Sonatine; huge blossoming in the 70s but has since 3 Miroirs receded. The Previn we prefer is a 1973 EMI Michel Dalberto, p—Aparte 225—69 minutes recording. (He recorded it three times.) Rattle recorded it before this one, too—and it was Gaspard de la Nuit, three poems for piano even worse: cold, choppy, emotionless, and after Aloysius Bertrand, was composed in 1908 bland. So he’s doing better with the piece. But and has become a landmark of 20th Century there is no recording in the last 10 or 12 years piano literature. Gaspard is a masculine name that deserves a recommendation. in French, close to Casper or Jasper and mean- There are two great Russian recordings: ing treasurer or keeper. The poetry collection Svetlanov and Pavel Kogan. Temirkanov is bet- from which the name comes is based on ter with the Royal Philharmonic than in Rus- medieval fantasies of a rather dark nature. sia. The Ashkenazy is expansive and outgoing, Ravel said “Gaspard has been a devil in com- beautifully played and recorded. Jesus Lopez- ing, but that is only logical since it was he who Cobos on Telarc was gorgeous. is the author of the poems. My ambition is to VROON say with notes what a poet expresses with words.”. `Ondine’ is the mermaid singing to RAFF: Quartets 1+2 seduce the mariner to join her at the bottom of Leipzig Quartet—MDG 307 2187—70 minutes the sea. `Le Gibet’, with its incessant bell tolling depicts a hung corpse swaying in the After more than three decades together, the evening sun. `Scarbo’ is about the nighttime Leipzig Quartet has covered more stylistic antics of a goblin, and Ravel creates a night- ground than most ensembles, and so perhaps marish scene that twice builds to incredible inevitably they are getting around to Joachim climaxes only to disappear into nothingness at Raff. It’s easy to forget that Raff was a well the end. Here both Biret and Dalberto give us a known composer, a respected collaborator view of Ravel only one generation removed. with Liszt, and an influential teacher. Today Their teachers at the Paris Conservatory, his name is found in histories, but not so much Fevrier and Perlemuter, both studied with in concert halls. Ravel. The opening of Quartet 1 in D minor (Op. The composer stated that he wanted this 77) has the thrilling nervousness that I associ- work to be more difficult than Balakirev’s ate most with Schubert’s quartets. The rest of Islamey, widely considered at that time one of the 11-minute movement is more characteris- the most demanding piano works. Just about tic of Schumann, with frantic swells of emo- every technical and musical challenge can be tion; II is swift and calls to mind the scherzo of found in Gaspard. Over the course of 40 pages, Schumann’s Symphony 2. By the time the I would bet that all 88 notes on the piano are maudlin III arrives and dispenses with the used (I only checked the outer reaches of the momentum, it’s hard not to feel weary of this keyboard). There are a great number of repeat- B-grade German romanticism. ed note figurations that require a piano with its Quartet 2 also begins promisingly, but action in perfect adjustment—not to mention unravels over the course of 13 minutes. II and the pianistic demands. The key signatures and III are not memorable, but IV has so many accidentals, along with much notation on changes of mood (alternately cheerful and three staves make simply deciphering the work 86 May/June 2021 at the keyboard a significant challenge. The recording is quite effective in this manner, time signature changes 10 times just in the first though I was not pleased with the sound, two pages. You’ll find glissandos on both white especially in `Ondine’. Everything is fine for and black keys and many passages where the about three minutes, but as the music builds right and left hands are right on top of each to its first real climax, distortion enters the pic- other. Wide stretches of a tenth or more are ture directly in relation to the dynamic level. required, often with chords of five or more By the time we get to a little more than four notes in each hand. Dynamic markings range minutes in, the sound is really unacceptable. from ppp to fff and include everything in And then, magically, the sound level is signifi- between. Islamey may be quite effectively per- cantly reduced at about 4:14. This is jarring, formed by someone with the requisite tech- but solves the distortion problems. Fortunate- nique who can simply play the straightforward ly, the great performance is worth dealing with score as written. Gaspard needs far more this problem. I might have expected that the musical intellect and a lot more subtle, quiet digital remastering would clean it up. and legato playing, along with almost super- Later Biret felt her first approach was total- human reserves of power. ly misconceived and a far cry from Ravel’s I clearly remember the intense concentra- refined treatment of the poetry. The 1975 New tion on John Browning’s face the first time I York recording is significantly slower and saw this work played in concert. That was offers a good example of her (still) unfinished about the time that Idil Biret made her second quest to discover Gaspard de le Nuit. The 1984 recording of the piece. It is unique to have Stuttgart recording is the fastest of the three three recordings of Gaspard released together and reverts back to 1965 tempos, but retains on the same disc. It also makes for some rather the subtleties introduced in 1975. This record- difficult listening. Even with our favorite ing (along with Argerich’s) should be a manda- pieces, we rarely choose to listen three times tory study for any pianist learning this work. in a row. Biret’s performances do have differ- Dalberto’s booklet essay on Ravel and Per- ences, but it is a diligent exercise to identify lemuter describes the relationship between his them. I think her conception of the work does teacher and his teacher’s teacher (Ravel). Per- change over nearly 20 years. While I have a lemuter was the first to perform Ravel’s com- number of recordings of the same piano solo plete piano music in two 1929 recitals. The work done twice over some period of time by composer said that there were two pianists the same pianist, I have only Argerich’s Gas- pard recordings (studio, concert & broadcast) whom he particularly appreciated performing and Ashkenazy’s three recordings of the Rach- his works: Robert Casadesus and Vlado Per- maninoff Corelli Variations that are compara- lemuter. Dalberto studied with Perlemuter for ble to Biret. These and no doubt many nine years beginning when he was only 12; Beethoven sonatas and various Chopin pieces and now at age 65, his Ravel is mature and full have been recorded three (or more) different of great ideas developed over more than 50 times by a number of pianists, but not all years. released on the same disc. I must admit that I was taken aback less The Idit Biret Archive Edition reaches its than a minute into this program when Dalber- 20th release with this one. Disc 19 was other to repeated the first page of Valses Nobles et Ravel piano music (571404, May/June 2020) Sentimentales. There is no applicable mark- and a part of my favorable review is quoted on ing, precedent, or booklet mention of this. I the back of 20. Also in my library is Disc 1 have performed this waltz and in practice have (May/June 2010). It has the same 1975 record- repeated the first page many times, so this did- ings of Gaspard and the Serenade Grotesque n’t sound quite so out of place to my ears. It is as on this release. I ended my 2010 review with a robust beginning to the 17+ minute work, “Bring me more!” It took a while, but they did. and the repeat only adds 22 seconds to the Biret first played `Scarbo’ at the age of 13 length. I cannot guess whether this choice is while a student of Jean Doyen. After gradua- entirely Dalberto’s or might have been sug- tion from the Conservatory, she added the gested by Perlemuter. Little did I realize that other two movements and it was one of the this was a harbinger of things to come. With first large works in her concert repertory. She different scores in hand, I spent more time on writes that she was inclined to exaggerate the this piece than I would typically on a whole contrasts by trying to achieve all sorts of fright- program. I discovered that Perlemuter’s ening effects on the keyboard. Her 1965 Paris recording at 14 minutes is one of the fastest, so American Record Guide 87 Dalberto at nearly 18 minutes meant some sig- EICH: nificant changes from his teacher’s approach. R Music for 18 Instruments Ravel wrote Valses for solo piano in 1911 Ensemble Links/ Remi Durupt and then orchestrated it the next year. When I Kairos 15043—54 minutes started to find some differences between Dal- The pulsing, humming, vibrating sounds of berto’s recording and my printed original ’s Music for 18 Instruments has Durand edition of the piano score, I suspected always been a favorite of people like me who changes might have been made to the orches- don’t fully buy into the minimalist aesthetic. tral version. Waltz 4 has the first section Based on 11 opening and closing chords, the repeated and an entirely new voice added 15- piece consists of obsessive repetitions, 19 bars into the second section (which is processes, and canons. Why it works so well repeated as Ravel noted). Waltz 6 has the final when others in the genre don’t is a bit of a 45 bars repeated. The repeated sections in mystery to me, but part of the charm is Reich’s three of the eight waltzes appear to be Dalber- use of the rhythm of the human breath in the to’s preference. The new voice in Waltz 4 was voices and winds. He explains in the notes, hand written by Ravel into Perlemuter’s score “this combination of one breath after another and played by the horn in the orchestrated gradually washing up like waves against the version. constant rhythm of the pianos and mallet The Sonatine and Gaspard de la Nuit were instruments is something I have not heard both easier to review. They are wonderful ren- before and would like to investigate further.” ditions by someone who has spent a lifetime I once thought minimalism was a passing playing them. Dalberto writes that the fad, but it’s still very much alive. Reich, Adams, Sonatine was the first Ravel piece he learned and especially Glass continue to draw in young with Perlemuter in 1968. He also states that he audiences the way no others can, and that is agrees with his teacher that `Scarbo’ is not the good for our culture. I’m also amazed how most difficult of Ravel’s piano works. `Ondine’ much new music has a minimalist pulse; is more difficult, “especially if the mechanism almost every batch of reviews I write for ARG of the instrument does not allow for an has at least one new piece that refers to the authentic and beautiful pianissimo”. When genre in one way or another. (See, for example, compared to Biret, his timings are similar in `Ondine’ and `Scarbo’ but the bell tolls more my review of Alexis Alrich’s concerto quickly in `Le Gibet’, which is one to three in this issue.) minutes faster than the others. Music for 18 Musicians is entirely acoustic, Miroirs is a set of five pieces that practical- and Reich exploits numerous scintillating ly define Impressionism. Dalberto plays only overtones and effects, vividly captured in this three of them: `Oiseaux Tristes’, `Alborada del superb recording. The layering of sounds is Gracioso’ and `La Vallee des Cloches’. There is hypnotic. You can get lost in these endless pat- certainly enough space here to give us all five, terns. Perhaps most distinctive is a stretching and I wonder why `Noctuelles’ and `Une Bar- out process that Reich in the notes compares que sur l’ocean’ were omitted. They are even to the cantus firmus in a 12th Century listed in the brief notes in the booklet. His Organum by Perotin. I had not thought of that playing is always very musical and never parallel, but it makes perfect sense. The music forced. The quieter music fares best here. keeps subtly changing even as it seems to stay Although he does not miss any of the big cli- the same. Reich’s other source, Balinese drum- maxes, there is not any of the terrifying virtu- ming music, is more immediately audible. osity you get from a young Biret or Argerich. Debussy, Colin McPhee, and others were Dalberto has been recording a number of entranced by Balinese drumming colors and French recitals for Aparte (Debussy, Faure, rhythms, so Reich is not the first. McPhee’s Franck) and his touch, musicality, and won- music (we should remember that he lived in derful booklet essay here make me want to Bali in the 1930s) has a bracing sparseness, search out the others. intricacy, and authenticity that did away with HARRINGTON Orientalism cliches and set the stage for what we now call minimalism, especially in a work RAVEL: Miroirs; see MEDTNER like Music For 18 Instruments. Still, Reich REGER: Clarinet Quintet; see HINDEMITH makes it all sound new. The constant pulse is very different from impressionist and mid- century antecedents. 88 May/June 2021 This performance by the interdisciplinary as world premiere recordings. I immediately Ensemble Links has a litheness and lightness felt at home with them, probably because of ideal for the music. By the 1970s modern my long acquaintance with Liszt’s transcrip- music, afflicted with the dourness and joyless- tions based on Italian operas and songs. Gian ness of serialism, needed a happy sound, and Francesco Malipiero (1882-1973) wrote Arme- Reich supplied it. (His more somber recent nia around 1918 in at least three original ver- music commemorating his Jewish heritage is sions including this one for piano duet. It is a another matter.) series of “symphonically transcribed” Armen- This music is now endlessly imitated, so ian songs. A year later he composed Pause del it’s good to have a fresh performance to restore Silenzio, a 7-movement work. Malipiero wrote our historical perspective. Music for 18 Musi- that they “reflect my agitated state” in World cians needs to sound new—that’s its point— War I, when it was “most difficult to find even though some of its procedures are very silence”. Giuseppe Martucci (1856-1909) was old; and the precise, straight-ahead perform- both a great pianist and a teacher of Respighi. ers of Ensemble Links get that. One can still The early (1873) Thoughts on Un Ballo in acquire the composer’s own Reich Ensemble Maschera for piano 4 hands takes us right into reading on ECM, a game-changer for sure, but Liszt’s world. It offers a fitting brilliant conclu- this performance holds up nicely. Having sion to a most memorable program. Reich’s own notes—lucid, mathematical, and It is a hard choice to make between this understated—is an added touch. If you are a and the Tactus recording. I am fortunate to Reichian, this is not to be missed. If you are a have both. If it is primarily Respighi that you minimalist skeptic, give it a try. want, get the Tactus. If you are adventurous SULLIVAN and want some very obscure Italian piano duets along with some great Respighi, get the RESPIGHI: of Rome; DaVinci. 6 Pezzi per Bambini; HARRINGTON MALIPIERO: Armenia; Pause del Silenzio; MARTUCCI: Pensieri on Ballo in Maschera RIDOUT: Ascension; Etudes; Concerto Gilda Butta & Victoria Terekiev, p Grosso; George III His Lament DaVinci 346—52 minutes Janet Smith, s; Stuart Douglas Sturdevant, tpt; George Braugh, p; Victor Martin, v; 13 strings/ This is titled “Postcards from Italy” and is the Brian Law; CBC Vancouver Chamber Orchestra, most enjoyable excursion I have had to that Toronto Chamber Players, Winnipeg Symphony/ wonderful country since the last time I was Simon Streatfield there many years ago. A favorite picture of me Centrediscs 28220—52 minutes holding my two young daughters in front of the Trevi has meant that Respighi’s Canadian Godfrey Ridout (1918-84) wrote in a great Fountains of Rome has always been a gentle style reminiscent of Delius and Elgar. special work for me. I have the score of He was a professor at the University of Toronto Respighi’s piano duet arrangement, but have from 1948 on. This contains what is billed as never found another pianist I could persuade “The Concert Recordings”. to learn it. Respighi is know to have played this It opens with The Ascension (1962), the version with Alfredo Casella. The difficulties 2nd of a series of Cantiones Mysticae on a text are considerable—especially trying to recreate by 6th Century bishop Vallantius Fortunatus, all of the great orchestrations we are used to in set for soprano and chamber orchestra. It is this work. Butta and Terekiev are up to the undramatically lyrical but barely scratches the task, and their engaging conception at one surface of its topic (the serious illness of his piano allows you to hear things anew. son). The 6 Pieces for Children has come my 2 Etudes (1946) for string orchestra: the way once before, with both Fountains and composer wrote that “there is nothing much to Pines of Rome in the composer’s duet arrange- say” about them. I agree. ments (Tactus 871804, Nov/Dec 2020). Here The Concerto Grosso (1974), also for string they are treated more as significant pieces orchestra, uses violin and piano as concertino. than little trifles. I must say it works quite well, This is unlike the Baroque models since there and I came away from this with much more is no particular virtuosity on display. Every- admiration for these little works. thing is pleasant and unobtrusive. The other pieces on this program are listed Finally, the topic is the signing of America’s American Record Guide 89 Declaration of independence, George III being list is especially Russian-sounding. The an “Avowed Monarchist”. This is a set of varia- Brahms Trio definitely sounds less typically tions on a tune “associated with the other side” Russian than the Moscow Trio, but these which makes its appearance at the end. The pieces are not very Russian-sounding to begin overall effect is more boring than arresting. with, so that’s not a major consideration. This won’t open anybody’s eyes to this not VROON very interesting composer. GIMBEL RINCK: Piano Trios; Flute Trio; Violin Sonata RIMSKY-KORSAKOFF: Trio; Trio Parnassus; Helen Dabringhaus, fl BORODIN: Trio MDG 903 2188 [SACD] 73 minutes Brahms Trio—Naxos 574114—69 minutes According to one source, Christian Heinrich The 69 minutes include 6 for Cesar Cui’s `A Rinck left posterity a mere 125 works, mostly Argenteau’, but the Rimsky trio takes 5 or 6 for organ. As this second volume by Trio Par- minutes longer in the other recording I have nassus proves, however, he was comfortable (Moscow Trio, July/Aug 1990—another 69- with chamber music. minute disc). That may owe mainly to a first- He was born the same year as Beethoven, movement repeat. but he lived two decades longer. It would be Stratton Rawson reviewed a St Petersburg hard to say that Rinck is a peer, though; even Trio recording of the Rimsky and Borodin the mature works here look backward to (May/June 1997). He reminds us that the Haydn, staying firmly in the prevailing trend. Borodin was from 1860 and the Rimsky from The two-movement Piano Trio 1 in C from the end of the century. Rimsky-Korsakoff said 1815 is a skillful theme and variations on `Heil about his trio that it “proved to me that cham- dir im Siegerkranz’, also known as `God Save ber music was not my field”. There are some the King’. Pianist Johann Blanchard particular- nice melodies, related to the opera Sadko, ly gets to shine, and the overall effect is charm- written at the same time. But as Stratton Raw- ing rather than trite. son said, the balances are off and his solutions Trio 2 in D is rather Mozartean, which isn’t to the balance problems are simple-minded. a bad thing, but neither is it quite memorable Mr Rawson also calls the Borodin “as tuneful in this case. Trio 3 in G sounds too familiar. as any trio by Dvorak” and “almost abnormally Even more than the baroque period, the classi- pleasant”. cal era produced masses of pleasant but I agree with all that, and with Stephen redundant music. Sure, the slow movement is Wright’s comment that when 19th Century pretty and III is sunny, but the agreeable rise Russian composers write chamber music they and fall without ever approaching a crescendo don’t sound Russian but revert to a Germanic becomes dull if not tiresome. style (Nov/Dec 2017, see Taneyev). The Rim- For variety, there is a Trio for flute, cello, sky is amiable enough but leaves me and piano—by far the stand-out on this unmoved. The Borodin sounds Brahmsian— album. Flutist Helen Dabringhaus has a gold- yes, the way Dvorak does. I like it better than en tone, and she clearly is a match for these the Rimsky. artists. The Adagio cantabile is gentle and con- The Brahms Trio is, despite its name, Russ- genial, and it is one that Mozart would have ian—all teachers at the been proud to claim as his own. and all wonderful players. They have been a There is a five-minute Sonata in B-flat, trio since 1990, and this is Volume 3 of their really a trio by any other name, which is enjoy- new “History of the Russian Piano Trio” series able but fleeting. The Sonata Tres Facile is for for Naxos. (Volume 1 was reviewed in violin and piano, and although it is played for March/April, p 138—not very enthusiastically. all it is worth, only the stunningly simple and Volume 2 is below, under Tchaikovsky.) melodic Andante cantabile stands out. I think this is an excellent recording of The Piano Trio in D from 1804 begins both the trios, and the sound is beautiful—so slowly, mysteriously, then brightens abruptly, beautiful that I liked the Rimsky-Korsakoff in a manner that calls to mind Mozart’s Disso- piece better than I ever have before. But I must nance Quartet. By this point, it is inevitable also point out that what I call “brooding Rus- that the slow movement will be delicate and sianness” is more characteristic of the 1986 appealing, and that it will be followed by a Moscow Trio recording for Melodiya. The cel- flashy III. It isn’t interesting. 90 May/June 2021 It’s Trio Parnassus, so you already know The F-sharp-minor Sonata, Op. 20, is oddly that the performances are on the level. It is a simpler than most of the above, though as in SACD produced by MDG, so you know that the the Sonata in F, the violin line spirals up sound is top-notch. But although the liner repeatedly to exhilarating heights. The tiny II is notes are detailed and enthusiastic, they seem based on a children’s song, and so manages to to have been translated by a computer. How be pert and innocent at the same time. The else can we explain a phrase like, “In the third finale is blustery and a bit theatrical. movement Rinck has a good deal of sh*t on his Terrific performances, sailing easily neck”? through the many difficulties in both parts. This is a fine album that has held up well THOMSON to repeated hearings, but that is the extent of it. DUTTERER ROMBERG, A: Violin Concertos 4, 9, 12 Chouchane Siranossian; Capriccio Baroque RONTGEN: Sonatas in F & F-sharp minor; Orchestra—Alpha 452—77 minutes Swedish Melodies & Dances; Norwegian Folk Song Variations Andreas Romberg (1767-1821) is new to me. I Christoph Schickedanz, v; Ernst Breidenbach, p had heard of his famous cousin, the cellist CPO 777 769—74 minutes Bernhard Romberg, who was born the same year and was a prolific composer. Andreas did- The German composer Julius Rontgen was the n’t have such an important career and wasn’t husband of the Swedish Amanda Maier, a fine as prolific, but he did have a talent for compos- composer and violinist in her own right, but ing. The best music here is the first two move- this is about him, and the quality of the music ments of Concerto 4, where there is enough is exceptional. The Sonata in F is dedicated to inventiveness to hold the listener’s attention. the memory of Edvard Grieg, and there’s quite Concerto 12 has a very unusual accompanied a lot of Grieg in the music, especially the mar- cadenza in I that was added some years later. velous opening, soaring up and up among Aside from these aspects of these works, I can thick-coming melodic curlicues. There’s some- see why Romberg fell into obscurity. thing of Brahms in there, too, but Roentgen is I am at least glad to hear Couchane Sira- much more demonstrative than Brahms and nossian for the first time. She is a very musical, demands much wider and freer playing from polished violinist, and I am sure that she the violinist. That’s true all through this pro- gram: virtuosity is taken for granted in a way would do well in more interesting repertoire. that Brahms never did. Very good sound. The Sonata in F spends its first three move- Siranossian plays 18th-Century violins ments in expansive joy, the last in the minor made by the brothers Giuseppe and Antonio mode and alternately despondent, passionate, Gagliano of Naples and Domenico Montag- and furious. That, I fancy, is where the tomb- nana of Venice. stone is set. Roentgen never makes his violin MAGIL part actually so difficult as to be unplayable, RUDERS: Bravourstudien; see NORGARD but the strain is real—and built into the music. We move on to lighter fare: 6 “Swedish SATIE: Piano Pieces Melodies and Dances”. I am suspicious of the Relache; Cinema; Mercure-Poses Plastiques; provenance of some of these; 2 and (especial- Angora Ox; The Dreamy Fish; Prelude de La Mort ly) 6 are obvious polonaises. But these light de Monsieur Mouche pieces—all of them save 5 well under four Steffen Schleiermacher minutes—are delightful and sufficiently full of MDG 613 2182—76 minutes virtuosity to satisfy any violinist wanting to fill out a recital with some or all of them. The This is Schleiermacher’s 7th volume of Satie same goes, in a slightly more rarefied vein, for piano music and a logical continuation of the the Variations on a Norwegian Folk Song, Op. composer’s music for theater, stage, and 21, though that is a longer single movement at screen from Vol. 6 (Nov/Dec 2019). ARG has 7-plus minutes. The quotation of Haydn’s Op. also reviewed the first three volumes in this 76:2 (same key, same four notes) bops you wonderful series: May/June 2002; Nov/Dec over the head if you weren’t expecting it, 2002; Nov/Dec 2003). Schleiermacher’s though I have no idea whether it was even (b.1960) extensive discography aims mostly at intentional. contemporary composers: Glass, Ives, Feld- American Record Guide 91 man, Gould, and all of Cage’s and Satie’s piano So some sextet ensembles “back-engineer” music as well as several discs of his own works. their balances, lightening the violas and There is a lot of competition for your to correspond with the listener’s expectation investment of time and money in Satie’s piano of what the thing ought to sound like. Not this oeuvre. Earlier sets like Ciccolini and one, though: these six aren’t lightening Thibaudet are on 5 CDs (Nov/Dec 2003). their sound for anyone. This is full-throated Thibaudet’s is now available as a 6CD set with chamber music playing, gritty and unasham- the additional 4-hands works played by no less edly impassioned. (It’s also, so we’re told, than Pascal Roge and Jean-Philippe Collard recorded in concert; the audience is apparent- (Decca 4830236), Ariango takes 6 discs (Bril- ly struck into silence, and so would I be.) liant 93559, Sept/Oct 2008), Ogawa on BIS, In Transfigured Night, the bass end of the Horvath on Grand Piano and Schleiermacher spectrum growls deep and fierce at first, and in here on MDG are working through complete the second half of the piece there isn’t quite sets. There are also dozens of other recitals of the wafting-on-the-gossamer-breeze feeling of Satie. unreality that some other performances con- This exceptionally well played program is vey. The bit about a quarter of the way not for readers looking for the short, well through, which generally sounds like a known pieces like the Gymnopedies, Gnossi- seething, hissing snake-pit, here really sounds ennes, or Sports et Divertissements. It has over like a seething, hissing snake-pit, only now 40 minutes devoted to music for Satie’s final with newer and nastier boa constrictors. At composition (1924), a 20-minute film score—a halfway through, with the transition to D `Ballet Instantaneiste’—called Relache. The major in what my husband calls the “I’ll save piano solo version derived from the original you!” moment, first cellist Nouzovsky is small orchestra score) is by Francis Picabia. superb, as is first violinist Mracek in their mar- The 13 minute Entr’acte to Relache is com- velous duet not long afterwards. I shouldn’t monly known as `Cinema’ and it remains give the impression that everyone is always unclear whether the solo piano version is by playing full out; they’re not—just not hushing Satie or perhaps Milhaud. It is considered the themselves. There is plenty of delicacy here, original version the orchestration was based right up to the finely attenuated final bars. on. Schleiermacher has judiciously prepared Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence is his version based on both sources. From the wrought with more care, dare I say it, than same year we also get the 17-minute ballet Schoenberg’s sextet of a mere nine years later; called Mercure—Poses Plastiques. It has a March Overture and three tableaux. apart from the stormy parts, like the very The other collections of Satie piano music opening, there’s much effort taken with bal- do not contain all of these works, so for your ance, and the difference between the sextet library to be complete, this is required. Exten- and string orchestra versions isn’t as large. In sive booklet and excellent sound. the inner movements, indeed, there’s precious HARRINGTON little difference, what with the first violin and first cello tenderly duetting at least half the SATIE: La Belle Excentrique; see Collections time in the `Adagio cantabile’, and the first SCHOENBERG: Quartet 2; see Collections viola (Fialova, sounding divine) taking much of the lead in the `Allegro moderato’. It’s the SCHOENBERG: Transfigured Night; outer movements where there is the potential TCHAIKOVSKY: Souvenir de Florence for problems, and they are in there, though Jan Mracek & Marketa Vokacova, v; Kristina Fia- some of the furor I hear going on might just be lova & Karel Untermueller, va; Petr Nouzovsky & congestion in the recording. There really isn’t Ivan Vokac, vc—ArcoDiva 223—64 minutes any way not to make those movements fierce, Two favorite string sextets. Both of these fiery, and very loud; and these fine players do pieces are often performed by string orchestra. what they can, where they can. Even in a string orchestra that’s made up If you want a more ethereal Transfigured essentially of string quartets (six each of first Night, the one by Isabelle Faust and friends and second violins, violas, and cellos) there (Harmonia Mundi, M/J 2020) is excellent; if are two violins for each violist and each cellist, you’d prefer the composer-authorized, super- and most string orchestras are even more deluxe edition, that’d be the Hollywood Quar- heavily tilted towards the upper end of the tet and friends (Testament). For Souvenir de range. Florence, I remain attached to the Borodin 92 May/June 2021 Quartet and colleagues, but really this record- Eckhardt van den Hoogen’s liner notes, a ing is as fine as any of the sextet version. bit balled-up in syntax, are sympathetic and THOMSON genuinely informative. Let’s hope future Schreker volumes appear and are this com- SCHREKER: Symphony 1; Intermezzo; Fes- mendable. tival Waltz & Waltz Intermezzo; Valse Lente; O’CONNOR Birthday of the Infanta Suite Bochum Symphony/ Steven Sloane SCHUBERT: Piano Sonata in B-flat; CPO 777 702—69 minutes MESSIAEN: Premiere Communion de la Vierge Subtitled Volume 1, this release apparently be- Karin Kei Nagano—Analekta 28778—49 minutes gins a series. If the performances are as per- ceptive as these, they’ll be glad tidings for us This is the third recording by this young scion fans of postromanticism at its ripest. The sym- (b 1998) of well-known musicians (pianist phony, written when the composer was 21, is Mari Kodama and conductor Kent Nagano). something of a student work, but in no way Rob Haskins (N/D 2017) reviewed the second, callow. Three movements have survived. I of Bach Inventions and Sinfonias, and was not opens in fluent Brucknerese with an earnest totally happy with it. But I cannot find any fault motif in the minor mode over a string tremolo with the playing here. Nagano’s rendition of ostinato. The development gains interest by the Schubert sonata may not be quite as suave varying the space of its phrases, some with ra- as ’s (July/Aug 1995), but it is lucid pid, busy motion, others broader and more and expressive, and the tempos are well cho- heroic. The latter prevail at the conclusion. II sen. This much-recorded sonata does not give also pits rapid segments against a near-indo- much scope for individuality, nor does it lent middle section. III, the slow movement, require any. A fine middle-of-the-road per- has an attractive horn melody with well detail- formance such as this one is eminently satisfy- ed development. While the master of modern ing, but it enters a crowded field and will not color Schreker became was still in the future, replace any of the 16 excellent recordings I the skill with which he handles the shifts of have in my collection. pace and mood bode well for the great opera In the sublime Messiaen piece, No. 11 of composer we’re beginning to realize he is. the Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jesus, Pierre- The Intermezzo and Valse Lente are suave Laurent Aimard (Teldec 26868) is perhaps a lighter works, here sweetly played and led. The shade more delicate, but Nagano’s somewhat Festival Waltz (1898) may have been written slower rendition is engrossing. for Emperor Franz Joseph’s 50th anniversary It must be said, however, that this album on the throne. The extroverted music quotes gives rather short measure. There was space the Austrian national anthem among its festi- for another substantial work or a few addition- val strains. al pieces from the Messiaen cycle. Then there The performance and interpretation of the is the puzzling title on the cover, “Reincarna- Birthday of the Infanta Suite are the crowning tion”. Nagano explains in the booklet that the achievement of the program. Rather than two works, “both part of larger circular treating it as a chain of (superb) orchestral anthologies, convey the cyclical notion of end effects only, Sloane’s reading imparts the nar- and of beginning: reincarnation”. This seems rative sense of Wilde’s heartbreaking story to me rather fanciful. The Schubert sonata is itself. Thus the `Tournament’ conveys the not part of an anthology, and the Vingt regards mood of a contest, the `Dwarf’s Dance’ mir- are not “circular”. Nor is there anything inher- rors the poor fellow’s attempts at gracefulness, ently cyclical about end and beginning, and I and the closing bars have a truly moving don’t see how the idea of reincarnation applies pathos. I’d have preferred the introduction a here. Nagano goes on to say that the two works bit slower; the performers are producing such together “create a singular narrative of cycle beautiful sounds that I want them to linger. and reconstruction, a process deeply evocative The whole presentation has more the cohe- of the human condition through history, sion of a symphonic poem or one of those including my own personal path”. The “singu- marvelous fantasias Richard Strauss gleaned lar narrative” eludes me, but the last comment from his operas. The music has been done well apparently refers to her having recently chosen on several recordings, but this realization is a career in architecture or design over one in just a notch better. music. If this release is her last recording we American Record Guide 93 will be the poorer for it, but her philosophy expressive there. (The trio section is Andante will not be missed. Sostenuto, but many recordings seem to Actually, a more convincing and undoubt- ignore the second word.) Both also play the edly intended example of reincarnation (the one-movement Quartet in C minor, which can reappearance of something old in new garb) is add 8 to 13 minutes to the disc, depending on supplied by two splendid photographs of the tempos and repeat. svelte young artist, one on the cover and the I think this quartet is rather prosaic and other inside, which show her in similar relaxed straightforward, and so is the Tacet sound. I poses but strikingly different attire. This clever find it slightly cold. But Schubert is never real- package design increases the desirability of the ly cold, and the music still comes thru and recording and goes some way towards com- wins me over. pensating for the brevity of the program. We are dealing with utterly wonderful The artist biography contains the poten- music that has been recorded by dozens of tially misleading statement that Nagano won great musicians. Very few of them fail the “First Prize at the Rubinstein International music, and this one doesn’t either; but I Piano Competition (2009-2010)”. This is not wouldn’t place it among the very best. If you the International Master like Tacet’s approach to sound, that may be Competition held triennially in Tel Aviv (but enough to win you over. Clarity reigns; warmth not in 2009 or 2010), nor is it the less famous and mellowness are not something to expect Anton G Rubinstein Competition, which did from the quartet or the engineers. take place in Dresden in 2009 but was won by VROON Alexej Gorlatch. Anyway, Nagano would not have been admitted, because she was just 11 SCHUBERT: Die Schone Mullerin years old then. The statement must refer to a Ian Bostridge, t; Saskia Giorgini, p competition for children. Two other early Pentatone 5186 775—61 minutes competitions are mentioned that I have also Ian Bostridge has a 40-year history with Die been unable to confirm by searching the Inter- Schone Mullerin, first discovering it as an net. I am not suggesting that these biographi- “impressionable teenager”, through its cele- cal data are fabricated, only that these compe- brated 1966 recording by Dietrich Fischer- titions are poorly documented. Dieskau (“my hero”). REPP It tells of another impressionable teenager SCHUBERT: String Quintet who falls in love with a girl, obsesses over her, Auryn Quartet; Christian Poltera, vc and becomes jealous then disconsolate when Tacet 110 [SACD] 53 minutes she falls instead for a hunter, so he wanders off and drowns himself. Part of me wants to say, This is one of those pieces that I find myself “Come on, kid, get over it!” But then I remem- humming very often. (Another such piece is ber that teenage suicide is much too common. Tchaikovsky’s Third Symphony.) I have In the 20 of Muller’s 26 poems Schubert reviewed it at least 12 times in ARG. But we selected for the cycle he essentially removed have reviewed 3 times that many since 1987. any participation of the fair maiden and One we never reviewed is the Alberni instead put the emphasis on the psychological Quartet on CRD. It remains my favorite. It was disintegration of the young miller. In an article recorded in 1975, and it still sounds wonderful he wrote for the New York Times (Nov. 3, 2020) to me. It is smooth, mellow, and full of subtle Bostridge asked why we should be interested nuances that simply enhance the music every in this story. He answered, “Because, just as time without complicating it. with the outsider wanderer of he, Nothing since has sounded as good as that, his narcissism, and his obsession are part of all though there have been well over 100 record- of us.” ings. All the recordings I like take 53 minutes The poet’s note below the title, “to be read or more. I like the repeat in I, because it is gor- in the winter”, is an indication of emotion cor- geous music. I can’t stand musicians who skip responding to the barren and dreary atmos- that repeat or rush thru the music. I like the phere of winter. It is worth remembering that Tokyo Quartet on Harmonia Mundi (Jan/Feb Schubert composed this cycle shortly after he 2012) because that group always cultivated a was diagnosed with syphilis and was agoniz- mellow sound. Both the Alberni and the Tokyo ingly, as Bostridge puts it, “stuffed full of nox- take longer in the scherzo and are more ious mercury medication”. Bostridge goes so 94 May/June 2021 far as to make a connection between the and “The journey to do justice to the miller’s miller’s sexual desire and death, “the overar- journey is an endless one.” ching metaphor of the cycle, and that associa- After spending hours with this recording, I tion must have been more than clear to the turned to his first recording with Graham composer as he wrote”. Johnson and was struck by the freshness of his This is Bostridge’s third recording of Die voice and the straightforward but still carefully Schone Mullerin. The first was part of Graham nuanced reading. It also has the benefit of Johnson’s Hyperion survey of all Schubert’s Johnson’s extensive notes, always worth as songs (S/O 1996). There his voice was fresh much as the performance itself, and the read- and his approach was, in his own estimation, ing of the omitted texts. Of Bostridge’s three more naive. It also includes Fischer-Dieskau’s readings, that is the one I will stick with. If I reading of the poems Schubert did not want a tenor reading of Die Schone Mullerin include. Kurt Moses found his second reading primarily for the sheer beauty of the singing with worse than the first (J/A (but still with a credible reading) I will turn to 2005), though many critics would agree that it Wunderlich’s splendid recording. benefitted from her graceful and expressive Notes by both performers; texts and trans- playing. lations. This performance was recorded at an April R MOORE 2019 recital in London’s Wigmore Hall, one of the world’s finest recital halls, with Salzburg SCHUBERT: Violin Sonatas; Rondo Mozart Competition winner Saskia Giorgini. In Ariadne Daskalakis; Paolo Giacometti, p his New York Times article Bostridge wrote BIS 2373 [SACD] 71 minutes that since his first recording of the work, I’m not too impressed with this performance “Much of the rest of my career as a lieder of the Rondeau Brillant, which has a hard, singer has been an attempt to escape from that driven quality. Ariadne Daskalakis and Paolo naivete and to reflect the deeper waters of Giacometti need to learn to relax and enjoy pieces like the Mullerin. I hope to reach some this music and not try to prove themselves. sort of accommodation between the naive and The rest of the program is better. The playing is the sentimental, the mellifluously straightfor- still energetic, but there is a greater range of ward and the anxiety-ridden hall of mirrors. moods. As good as it is, I feel that I must rele- The journey to do justice to the miller’s jour- gate this release to the also-rans. ney is an endless one.” My favorite performances of Schubert’s So has he done that here? To some extent music for violin are all by . He his second recording had too much of the recorded D 384, 385, and 408 with Oleg Mai- “anxiety-ridden hall of mirrors”. This reading senberg (March/April 1994, Nov/Dec 2011) falls between the two previous readings. It is a and the Rondeau Brillant D 895, the Sonata D clear and poignant performance. His lucid dic- 574, and the Fantasy D 934 with Valery tion has always been one of his virtues. His Afanasiev (Sept/Oct 1992). and voice now is beginning to show wear. Some- ’s performance of the Sonata times his vocal coloring verges on howling, but D 574 recorded in concert in Paris on Decem- the vitality of his performance is powerful. ber 4, 1968, is one of the greatest. Peter Shep- Nevertheless, I find myself liking his voice herd Skaerved and Julian Perkins’s perform- less and less as the years roll on. He is clearly a ances of D 384 and D 385 with period instru- thoughtful singer who knows the music thor- ments have a charming intimacy and infor- oughly and shows keen sensitivity to the mality (Nov/Dec 2020), though the duo lacks words. He puts his own interpretive mark on the technical polish of the Russian musicians. this cycle, but I think Kurt Moses is correct that Daskalakis plays a violin made by Giovan- much of his singing is “mannered and over the ni Battista Guadagnini in Milan in 1754. Gia- top” and that “his small, lean voice has a rela- cometti plays a fortepiano made by Salvatore tively small dynamic range”. (I miss Kurt’s inci- Lagrassa around 1815. sive reviews.) MAGIL He has found a fine interpretive partner in Giorgini. Their playing together has a real SCHUBERT: Winterreise chamber music feel of playing well off each Martijn Cornet, bar; Ragazze Quartet other. Will this be his final recording of Die Channel 43521—76 minutes Schone Mullerin? Who knows? His intimate relationship with Schubert songs is intense, The notes report that, after finding no pub- American Record Guide 95 lished version for string quartet accompani- reise with string quartet that I’ve heard in the ment, the performers contacted others who past few months. The other one is performed had made string arrangements and found that by baritone Alain Buet and Les Heures du Jour they “were inclined to keep their arrange- using an arrangement by Gilone Gaubert, first ments to themselves”. violin of the quartet (J/A 2020). Buet has a This arrangement was made by Wim ten more languid approach and the quartet falls Have, formerly principal violist of the Concert- short of the Ragazze Quartet, which is more gebouw Orchestra. The pianist Hans Eijsack- imaginative in playing with varied bowing ers, who has accompanied the work often also technique. collaborated with the singer and quartet in Cornet’s light baritone voice is pleasing preparing the arrangement. and engaging and I expect I would like his The quartet plays exceedingly well and reading just as much with piano accompani- offers expressive subtleties of dynamics and ment. I found this a convincing reading. I phrasing that a piano cannot. Their use of would put it in the upper tier of performances bowing technique in playing right around the I’ve heard. You don’t have to be a high-profile bridge (sul ponticello) adds an icy quality like singer to be able to give a stirring performance what Vivaldi used in `Winter’ of his Four Sea- of this work. sons. The quartet may possibly sometimes also be playing over the fingerboard, sul tasto With his clear enunciation of the text, keen or flautando, which imparts a ghostly or dis- attentiveness to its unfolding emotional arc, embodied sound to the music. Any or all of and firm control of dynamics and phrasing those techniques serve to emphasize the Cornet shows that he is already an accom- bleakness of this winter journey. It is especially plished lieder singer. He sings with nimble fitting in `Die Wetterfahne’ with its words articulation and graceful phrasing, holding about “the wind playing in the weathervane back just where he needs to in the way Gerha- and playing with hearts” and in `Der Linden- her does so well as near the end of `Wirsthaus’. baum’ with its mention of a cold wind blowing Only once did I hear him not hit a note square- in the wanderer’s face. In the latter the effect ly, when he didn’t quite land on the top note in imparts a bittersweet quality to a song that can `Mut’. Otherwise he showed excellent vocal easily sound much too pretty. control. The more familiar you are with the piano Here is a reading untroubled by fussiness, version the more you notice where the strings a reading that says tenderly and with fervor do what the piano cannot, as in `Der Greise when needed, “Listen to this sad story.” An Kopf’ where strings can supply long sustained arrangement for string quartet will not sup- tone or in `Rast’ where a swelling and dimin- plant the piano version Schubert left us. I will ishing line enhances the sense of “the storm turn to that first, of course. But I cannot help that helped blow him onward”. but think that Schubert, whose songs were You also notice places where the strings accompanied by other instruments like guitar, cannot supply the piano’s percussiveness, as in would approve. the galloping of hooves in `Die Post’ (even Notes, texts, translations. though they play with good attack), or supply R MOORE the snap a piano gives to the sense of a “tatter- ing storm” in `Der Sturmliche Morgan’. Each SCHUBERT: Fantasy; see BEETHOVEN time I listened I heard new details that accen- tuated the text well and other spots where it SCHULTZE: Sinfonias fell short. Ensemble Klingekunst The quartet’s frequent withholding of CPO 555225—71 minutes vibrato underscores the barrenness of this winter journey. That is effective in `Der greise It appears we know nothing about the com- Kopf’ and most of all in the final `Leiermann’. poser named Martin Christian Schultze The sustained string sound captures well the beyond his publication of chamber music in drone of the hurdy-gurdy. I wish `Der Leier- the mid-18th Century. This collection, titled mann’ had ended with a pregnant pause to Trattamento dell’Harmonia for a four-part suggest the uncertainty of what comes next ensemble, is recorded here for the first time. It before the final chord rather than softly fading consists of six sinfonias for flute, violin, viola away as the quartet does here. da gamba, cello, and harpsichord. Sieglinde This is the second arrangement of Winter- Grossinger and Christoph Urbanetz note simi- 96 May/June 2021 larities to the style of Telemann’s quartets of tendency to emphasize notes in a slightly dif- the 1730s. ferent manner from the usual, but it wasn’t Schultze’s music is technically demanding, until I read his interesting liner notes after requiring every instrument to play complex hearing it all that I really noticed that. He stud- rhythms and rapid scale-like patterns. Sinfonia ied with Erling Blondal Bengtsson at the Dan- 3 in D is vaguely programmatic. Violin ish Royal Academy in Copenhagen and has (Sieglinde Grossinger) and flute (Dimitris also worked with Mstislav Rostropovich. He Karakantas) imitate the sounds of birds in the has been a member of the Danish Radio Sym- Allegro and Aria Paysana. The Vivace is partic- phony and the Danish Quartet. He plays a ularly demanding of the cello (Katarzyna Gagliano cello built in 1811. Birkelund began Cichon), requiring rapid scales in the high reg- playing piano at the age of 4. These musicians ister. work together well and are recorded with clari- Sinfonia 4 in F shows considerable variety ty. of affect. The opening Adagio is elegant and D MOORE lyrical. The Allegro Moderato suggests a rustic theme with its rollicking triple meter. Multi- SCHUMANN: Frauenliebe und Leben; stopping in the low strings (Cichon, and BRAHMS: Songs Urbanetz on viola da gamba) on down beats Elina Garanca, mz; , p makes the music sound robust. Yet, by the end DG 483 9210—58 minutes of the movement, Schultze has every instru- Latvian mezzo Elina Garanca is an opera ment performing technically demanding superstar. Her rich, dark voice has both grace scales. Odd harmonic progressions follow in and depth. Her stage presence is powerful. She the brooding Largo movement. excelled as Octavian in the Met’s Rosenkava- Sinfonia 5 in G shows a little more variety lier. As Carmen or Dalila she is irresistible. I that the other sinfonias. I and III, marked was eager to hear this debut lieder album of Largo, are lyrical; a rhythmically charged Alle- Schumann’s Frauenliebe und -leben and 13 gro comes between them. The last two move- songs of Brahms, especially after reading her ments juxtapose the courtly style of a Minuet comments in BBC Music about her own past with a rhythmically agitated Polonaise. recordings where she called this one “her This a fine young ensemble, with talent to finest moment”. burn. Maja Mijatovic holds it all together with She gives a technically polished perform- her expert harpsichord playing. ance of Schumann’s cycle of a woman falling LOEWEN in love, getting married, having a child, and SCHUMANN: Cello Pieces then mourning her husband’s death, but it Adagio & Allegro; Fantasy Pieces; 5 Folk Pieces; sounds like she is holding back. The sheer BRAHMS: Sonata 1 sound of her voice is splendid, but her reading Nils Sylvest; Mimi Birkelund, p doesn’t have the depth and emotional invest- Danacord 860—69 minutes ment of other performances (e.g. Janet Baker). I found her Brahms more convincing. The two hRobert Sc umann’s 5 Pieces in Folk Style is the most familiar songs, `Sapphische Ode’ and only work he wrote for cello and piano. The 3 `Die Mainacht’ were beautifully sung and `O Fantasy Pieces were intended for French horn Lieblische Wangen’ had real energy. and the Adagio & Allegro for clarinet. But his Her voice is truly lovely here, but the whole music is so attractive that we cellists stole it, program sounds strangely muted—too polite even in his lifetime. Thank you for allowing us and formal. The fire and vitality she brings to in, Mr Schumann! We love your lyrical style, as opera seems subdued. Her slightly accented you can tell by the way Mr Sylvest and Ms German is more noticeable here than it would Birkelund play it. The great Sonata of Johannes be in the international world of opera where Brahms is also well loved by us all and played the strongly visual elements and the sheer with fine depth of feeling by these two. sound of the voice tend to be foremost. But why is the picture of Nils on the back of While she is no stranger to lieder, this is the liner notes so strange? Because he holds her first lieder album and I loved hearing her the bow in his left hand and fingers the strings voice, but I think she is still finding her way in with his right! Have I been doing it wrong all the genre. my life? He plays with warmth of tone and fin- Notes, texts, translations. gers of fine accuracy. He does have a certain R MOORE American Record Guide 97 SCHUMANN, G: Piano Pieces SCOTT: Songs; Urlar; April Skies; Intuitions; Michael van Krucker Souviens Toi; The 2 Neighbors; Minuet & Trio; CPO 555304—70 minutes La Joie Christopher Guild, p—Toccata 547—77 minutes Geh org Sc umann (1866-1952), unrelated to Robert Schumann, was a Saxon composer, Francis George Scott (1880-1958), both an pianist, and choral director known especially English and music teacher, was part of the for directing performances of Bach and Han- Scots’ renaissance in the 1920s. The music del. One of his brothers was Camillo Schu- here is a good cross-section of his keyboard mann (1872-1946), whose cello sonatas we output, covering a near half-century span. The recommended (Naxos 572314, J/A 2011). musical language is generally late romantic or Georg composed a good deal for solo piano, early 20th Century, with occasional mod- including some major variation works later on, ernisms like Cyril Scott (no relation). as well as chamber music with piano. This The Eight Songs originally were setting of recording presents four collections of short poems by Scotsmen like Burns or Hugh Mac- pieces, two written in 1886 when he was still a Diarmid. Here they’ve been arranged for solo student, and the others in 1901 and 1904. They piano by Ronald Stevenson. The melodies do not differ much in style and are thoroughly tend to be diatonic or modal and sparing in in the 19th Century romantic tradition. frills, like Scots’ speech itself. The arrange- Three Pieces, Op. 1, include a rather stodgy ments emphasize the beauty of the songs Burlesque, a nice Barcarolle, and a sedate Fan- while furnishing well-voiced work for the tasy-Impromptu. Stimmungsbilder (Mood piano. The songs themselves have variety, Pictures), Op. 2, comprise 7 pieces without from the angular momentum of `Wha’ Is That titles. They are simple and unpretentious. No. at My Bower Door?’ through the intelligent 4 stands out because of its beautiful melody, whimsy of `Wee Willie Gray’ to the sinister which evokes Chopin and Robert Schumann scherzo of `Crowdieknowe’. The last is the in equal measure. Three Pieces, Op. 23, are name of a cemetery. titled `In the Morning’, `In the Evening’, and Urlar makes play with both the Dorian and `Barcarolle’. They are all fairly slow and quiet, Mixolydian modes; the middle section draws and I began to wonder whether the pianist from the pentatonic (black keys) scale. Urlar could not have livened them up a bit. There is originally was a theme for the , used a possible influence of Grieg in the melody of as a basis for variations. April Skies is a vigor- No. 3. The Six Fantasies, Op. 36, also have ous waltz whose slow introduction recalls titles. Curiously, the first piece is named Edward MacDowell—keeping things in the `Ruckblick’ (Looking Back). They are pleasant Scots’ family. Intuitions is a set of over 50 brief but a little boring. The textures are light, and miniatures, some as short as 12 or 15 seconds. there are no technical difficulties to speak of. They cover a good gamut of emotions from the They are the kinds of pieces amateurs would vehemence of the `Devil’s Dance’ through the have bought for playing at home. thoughtful sonorities of `Am Bard—Ossian’. Michael van Krucker (b 1961) is an experi- One of them—`National Song’—would make a enced German artist who has recorded music stirring state anthem. Many of these works by Nietzsche (J/F 2010) and other rarely heard simply present self-contained strophic tunes composers. He has a fine touch and plays very with no elaboration or development. I’d rec- beautifully but seems to lack temperament. ommend playing them in small lots, so they The artist biography in the booklet is far too don’t sound like the pianist is simply playing long and fawning. The liner notes by two auth- through a thematic catalog. ors partly cover the same ground. The name of Guild’s performances are first class. Not all Carl Reinecke (an early mentor of Georg Schu- the music needs virtuosity, but when it does, mann) is misspelled three times in the English as in the stormy segments of `O Were My Love version, though not in the German one. Yon Lilac Fair’ Guild has that and to spare. His REPP innate sympathy with Scott’s music—he also The value system you inherit is probably going contributes to the informative liner notes— to prove a more sensitive and flexible moral reinforces its virtues. Toccata’s sound has its instrument than anything you can replace it usual high quality. The 70 cues on a 77-minute with—and besides, you can’t really just toss it disc may rate a line in Guinness. out. O’CONNOR 98 May/June 2021 performance; they are completely secure in HEPPARD: S Sacred Choral pitch and ensemble. This is not true of all A Solis Ortus Cardine; Inclina Domine; Judica Me men-and-boys foundations. At the same time, Deus; Deus Misereatur; Confitebor Tibi; Sacris I find these performances less than engaging. Solemniis; Media Vita The recorded sound seems to me uncomfort- New College Choir/ Robert Quinney ably close and brash sometimes. The boys Linn 632—72 minutes sound shrill on their high notes. This might Ofj the ma or composers of sacred music in have been remedied with more space. A more Tudor England, John Sheppard (c1515-58) is serious fault is the lack of phrase nuance. probably the least known. Nothing certain is Everything seems to be sung at a uniform known about him before his appointment as level, and it tends to sound impersonal, when Informator Choristarum at Magdalen College, it should be ecstatic. I am not calling for the Oxford, in 1543. He served there for five years. imposition of anachronistically exaggerated By 1552 he was a Gentleman of the Chapel dynamic shadings, but phrases need to be Royal. In 1554 he supplicated for the degree of shaped if they are to move convincingly to Doctor of Music at Oxford University, claiming their destinations. Here they do not. that he had been composing for 20 years. From A few years ago, I was quite blown away by that claim it is conjectured that he was born a dazzlingly beautiful recording of Sheppard around 1515. He seems to have died around works by Andrew Nethsingha and the choir of the time Elizabeth I came to the throne. The St John’s College, Cambridge, another tradi- 1558 grave of “John Scheperde” in St Mar- tional men-and-boys foundation (Chandos garet’s Church, Westminster, is thought to be 401; M/J 2014). There are no repertory items in his. common between that recording and this one. The present recording consists of music Nethsingha includes some of Sheppard’s Eng- with Latin texts, most likely composed during lish settings (probably dating from the reign of the reign of Mary Tudor. `A Solis Ortus Car- Edward VI) and the Western Wynde Mass as dine’ and `Sacris Solemniis’ are office hymns well as Latin motets. The recorded sound is with polyphony alternating with plainsong. warm and ingratiating, and the performances `Media Vita’ is an extended setting of the Nunc have all the coherence and direction that I Dimittis antiphon and responsory for the miss from the New College recording. The Third Sunday in Lent. It may have been written technical standard is every bit as high. for the funeral of Sheppard’s colleague There have been some very fine Sheppard Nicholas Ludford. The remaining pieces are recordings by mixed early-music choirs. Some motets on Old Testament texts. As Robert of the finest have come from Harry Christo- Quinney points out in the notes, the pieces fall phers and The Sixteen (Hyperion). Several of into two distinct groups: ones based on cantus their separately issued recordings have been firmus technique and ones with imitative brought together in the 10CD compilation The counterpoint. In some instances, as in `Media Golden Age of English Polyphony (Hyperion Vita’, Sheppard combines the two techniques, 44401). 3 of the 10 discs are devoted entirely to with imitative voices spun out over a cantus music by Sheppard. Another recording that firmus in long notes. Here he seems to contin- demands mention is one that includes `Media ue the aesthetic world of pre-Reformation Vita’, some English settings, and other Latin works performed by the vocal ensemble Stile English polyphony as found in the Eton Choir- Antico (HM 807509; M/J 2010). I said at the book, with music of “spacious, even cosmic time: “This disc contains some of the most dimensions”, as Quinney puts it. In contrast, stunningly beautiful and moving choral the Old Testament motets are based on suc- singing I have ever heard.” cessive points of imitation. They are more in GATENS keeping with the kind of polyphony emanating from the European Continent at that time. SHOSTAKOVICH: Cello Concertos Four of the pieces on this program are claimed Marc Coppey; Polish Radio/ Lawrence Foster as first recordings. Audite 97777—60 minutes The choir of New College, Oxford, is one of the most celebrated of the traditional English Right off the bat No. 1 seems too fast. It starts choral foundations. The technical standard is our breathless and bouncy (the bow bouncing outstanding. There is no need to make along the strings). Then II sounds terribly allowance for any shortcomings in the boys’ slow—and it is, compared to other recordings I American Record Guide 99 have. (Of course, Rostropovich recorded this— the lower register is used effectively in portray- and it was written for him. His recording with ing ruins, the river, and castles. Even seeming- Ormandy must still be available.) The last ly light-hearted pieces like `Roses’, `The movement is always pretty fast, but it seems Mouse’, and `The Hummingbird’ are not exu- faster here, partly because the cello seems so berant, and the two pieces of the Italian suite lightly played; its sound has no depth. In fact, I are far from sunny. The liner notes on the back don’t like this player’s sound at all—and I’m a cover aptly state that these musical portraits true cello lover, who can fall for a performance have “the static and studied quality of Japan- just because the player has a gorgeous sound. ese prints and unfold with gentle, unhurried Not so here. Truls Mork and Daniel Muller- dignity”. Schott are two cellists who do much the same The booklet contains an excellent essay by thing with tempos, but their beautiful sound the pianist, Albert Brussee (b 1946), on the wins me over (Jan/Feb 2009; Sept/Oct 2014). composer and the music, with photographs. Both of those cellists take 4 or 5 minutes He also ends the program with a composition longer for the rather brooding Second Concer- of his own, at 7:03 the longest, where he to, and I like that. It’s not as immediately quotes themes from several of Van den Sigten- appealing as Concerto 1, but in the seven years horst Meyer’s pieces. Its style is similar, and it between them (1959-66) we got used to the was intended as a tribute. The performances brooding Shostakovich. One memorable ele- are all very fine, though the dynamics rarely ment is the horns in the middle movement. descend below mf. While it would be an exag- There’s also a lot of timpani and drums. The geration to say that Van den Sigtenhorst Meyer composer wrote this concerto for Ros- is a forgotten master, his music commands tropovich also, and he considered the two con- respect. In fact, I would have preferred to hear certos a natural pair. And they have often been the complete suites rather than just selections. recorded together (see our index). But Concer- But Brussee probably selected what he to 1 is more played and recorded, because of thought were the best pieces, and if the others its more immediate appeal. are inferior then the present program is justi- VROON fied. Incidentally, another recording containing SIGTENHORST MEYER: Piano Pieces some of the pieces from the Flowers and Birds Albert Brussee—Toccata 575—61 minutes suites was issued last year, with the oboist and pianist Pauline Oostenrijk (Cobra 72). We have Bernhard van den Sigtenhorst Meyer (1888- not reviewed it, but you might want to look for 1953) was a Dutch composer and music it if you like the present one. The complete 6- teacher who studied in Paris but then lived in piece Mount Fuji suite, together with the com- The Hague with his life partner, a poet, singer, poser’s Second Piano Sonata, is on an earlier and painter who had traveled to the Far East release from the NM label in 2007. and collected Asian art. This had some influ- REPP ence on his early compositions, which are in the French impressionist style and occasional- SORABJI: Transcendental Studies 84-100 ly reminiscent of Debussy, though without that Fredrik Ullen, p—BIS 2433 [2CD] 118 minutes composer’s delicacy and sophistication. The recording contains 19 piano minia- 15 years after the first volume, Ullen’s survey of tures culled from 8 suites composed from 1915 Kaikhosru Sorabji’s 100 Transcendental Stud- to 1922. Each suite has a title, and so do the ies comes to a close. We have reviewed vol- individual pieces. The Asian inspiration is evi- umes 1, 4, and 5 (Nov/Dec 2006, 2015, 2016) dent in the suites Old China and Six Views of and were impressed with the variety in the Fuji. The other suite titles are Of the Flowers, etudes and Ullen’s masterly performances. Of the Birds, Saint-Quentin (a French town This set has several untitled studies as well as a badly damaged in the war), The Meuse (a `Tango Habanera’, `Chopsticks. Vivace’, `Orna- major river), Old Castles, Eight Preludes (each ments. Con Fantasia’, a 16-minute expansion of which is about an animal), and Capri. Most on Bach’s Chromatic Fantasy, and the Coda- pieces have a steady flow of notes or a repeat- Finale, a 56-minute quintuple fugue. I’ve kept ed rhythm, undisrupted by silences or flour- up with many Sorabji releases over the last few ishes. A melody is often superimposed, but decades—and attended a few concerts—but sometimes there is only texture in motion. The this is the first time I’ve dipped a toe in the mood is generally serious, often somber; and water of the Transcendental Studies. 100 May/June 2021 Sorabji’s hallmarks are present: dense, Ayrapetyan’s technique isn’t polished, either; complex, and sensual writing, extreme length tremolos have hiccups, there are scattered (at least in the Coda-Finale), a highly individ- wrong notes, and his pedaling doesn’t do ual treatment of themes, and a willingness to enough to keep phrases smooth. Yulia trust dedicated listeners to follow him through Ayrapetyan takes over for a dozen transcrip- the most bewildering passagework. 14 of the tions, including three excerpts from the opera etudes clock in well under 4 minutes, though, Almast. She clearly struggles with some pas- and Sorabji’s sense of humor is more apparent sages that aren’t terribly difficult; `Garib Blblu’ here than in many of his longer works. Even and `Persian March’ are particularly trying. Coda-Finale’s first three fugue subjects laugh, Caveat emptor. skitter, and twinkle. The fifth subject is a long ESTEP meditative section; Sorabji may be known for his tropical, hot-house paintings, but he could STANFORD: Songs evoke the furthest reaches of the galaxy just as Roderick Williams, bar; James Way, t; Andrew easily. In the stretto, all five themes combine West, p—Somm 627—79 minutes into massive waves of sound, except one brief moment of whispered respite. And I have to Charles Villiers Stanford may be best known commend whoever decided to put several sec- for his choral music, but he also wrote at least onds of silence at the end of the track, giving a dozen sets of songs and many more stand- me time to press “stop” before the disc repeat- alone songs. This album, “Songs of Love, Faith, ed (in my car) or moved to the next disc (on and Nonsense”, continues Somm’s excellent my home stereo). survey of British songs with premiere record- Ullen’s playing is fabulous; I admire his ings of Three Songs of Robert Bridges andThe clarity, facility, and wit. Any pianist who can Triumph of Love. It also includes the first com- play Sorabji deserves credit, but judging from plete recording of Songs of Faith, the first digi- this capstone release, Ullen was the perfect tal recording of Four Songs from Shamus man for this job. A hearty congratulations to O’Brien, and (for fun) Nonsense Rhymes, set- him and all who contributed to the series. The tings of limericks mostly by Edward Lear. sound is superb; notes are in English, German, Most of these songs are not well known. and French. The serious songs are all expressions of Stan- ESTEP ford’s gift for sentiently capturing the essence of texts, and the performances here would be SPENDIAROV: Piano & Chamber Pieces hard to surpass. He composed The Triumph of Vladimir Sergeev, v; Demian Fokin, vc; Mikael Love to mark his 25th wedding anniversary Ayrapetyan, Yulia Ayrapetyan, p with settings of five sonnets that surpass the Grand Piano 852-53 [2CD] 132 minutes texts by his cousin, Edmond Gore Alexander Alexander Spendiarov (1871-1928, also known Holmes. Songs of Faith have three texts each as Spendiarian) was a composer of Armenian by Tennyson and Whitman. descent born in ; he was a student of I was not prepared for the sheer delight of Rimsky-Korsakoff’s. This release comprises his the Nonsense Rhymes and found myself complete piano works and all his chamber laughing with glee as each quotation from works with piano. They are all short character famous compositions of others popped up. pieces: waltzes, scherzos, romances, folk Stanford enjoyed home gatherings when he songs, dances, and the like—no sonatas or any would perform these songs, but no manu- form that implies thematic development. scripts seemed to survive until they turned up Spendiarov’s folk-based sketches are the most in 1960 as Stainer & Bell (who published them) interesting, partly because of the exoticism. found them “when searching among bomb- The rest are salon pieces, all pleasant enough; damaged archives”. The story Stanford scholar a fetching, finger-twisting scherzo stands out Jeremy Dibble tells in his program notes is the most. amusing in itself. Mikael Ayrapetyan plays the pieces origi- You can hear reference to Grieg’s Peer nally written for piano, and he accompanies Gynt in `The Hardy Norsewoman’, a reference the string pieces. His playing is lively but pro- to Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony in a song saic; I have an obscure LP with Seta Karakashi- about a cow, and an amalgam of the an playing two of the folk pieces, and she Beethoven and Mendelssohn violin concertos exhibits much more authority and creativity. by “Max von Beetelsohn’ in `The Compleat American Record Guide 101 Virtuoso’. With these hilarious songs Stanford from another play written ten years earlier and is like a precursor of PDQ Bach. was very popular in its time. ’s opera As I have said repeatedly in reviewing his is very faithful to the spirit of the libretto. recordings, there is no one I would rather hear There are all kinds of puns and salacious dou- singing English songs than Roderick Williams, ble entendres familiar from the Commedia whose performance here is again exquisite. He dell’arte. The arias capture the personalities of sings about two-thirds of the program and is the various characters most effectively. None joined by tenor James Way, who shows himself of them is particularly difficult to sing. Stradel- to be a worthy partner. Their voices are just la does not indulge in virtuosic vocal writing or right for these songs and they are distributed demand extreme high or low notes. There is so appropriately between them. much recitative that the work seems more like When it comes to the limericks, Williams a sung play than an opera. gives a mock-serious performance of an ABA The cast on this recording is superb. All of Handel-style aria parody complete with melis- the singers sing attractively and are clearly matic singing and ornamentation. Way forces enjoying the ridiculous situations and over- out a high C in mocking an operatic tenor and the-top characters. Riccardo Navarro plays the in singing about a screaming young lady of romantically confused, but lovable title char- Russia. Andrew West is a commendable part- acter with a lot of charm, his manly baritone ner in his careful attention to detail in the seri- voice helping to ground the silliness around ous songs and for his lighthearted fervency to him in some sort of reality. Gender roles are the limericks; he gets to have fun in `Lim- flouted as tenor Luca Cervoni plays the female merich ohne Worte’ with its direct quotation nanny Simona; and a young woman, Silvia from Mendelssohn’s Op.53:4 and in `Gongdic- Frigato, plays Ciro, a lovesick and very strange tum’ with its dissonant banging chords as young man. Roberta Mameli plays Artemisia, Beethoven’s “Eroica” theme competes with the neurotic young lady that everyone is snippets from Strauss tone poems. The Wagn- swooning over. Countertenor Rafal er parody of the final limerick begins with the Tomkiewicz plays Nino, Ciro’s brother, with opening phrases of and affable lunacy; and Paola Valentina Molinari ends in the Venusberg of Tannhäuser. plays the pampered Despina whose mother, Dibble’s liner notes are full of helpful back- Simona, wants her to marry Trespolo. It would ground information. Unless you happen to be probably all have to be tightened up to be familiar with Stanford’s opera Shamus O’Brien staged today, but it is very enjoyable. Andrea the four songs from it don’t make a lot of sense De Carlo keeps things moving, aided by a solid without his explanation. Full texts are included orchestra. and all the print is in readable size. Fortunately Arcana offers a full text and R MOORE translation. My libretto Italian is good, but I would have missed many of the jokes without STRADELLA: Il Trespolo Tutore the text. The sound is intimate, suiting the Riccardo Novaro (Trespolo), Roberta Mameli comical nature of the plot. (Artemisia), Rafal Tomkiewicz (Nino); Ensemble Incidentally, Stradella only survived three Mare Nostrum/ Andrea De Carlo more years until he was stabbed to death in Arcana 475 [3CD] 158 minutes February 25, 1682, his romantic misad- ventures finally catching up with him.. couldn’t keep himself out REYNOLDS of trouble. His numerous affairs (almost always with other men’s wives) got him in one STRAUSS: Burleske; Death & Trans; scrape after another and usually resulted in see FRANCK him leaving whatever city he was living in for Duet-Concertino; see COPLAND places unknown. After surviving the knives of hired assassins, he finally found himself in TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphonies 4-6; Romeo and Juliet Genoa in 1678. As a guest in the house of Fran- Vienna Philharmonic/ Raphael Kubelik co Imperiali Lercaro he was able to work hard Urania 121391 [2CD] 150 minutes for several years on various operas, serenades, snd other music commissioned by the As far as I can tell, the recorded source of the Genoese nobility. One of the operas he wrote symphonies is EMI from 1960; Romeo and was Il Trespole Tutore to a libretto by Giovanni Juliet was recorded by Decca in 1955. (Urania Cosimo Villifranchi. The plot was borrowed supplies no booklet or any other information 102 May/June 2021 save for movements and timings.) As I recall, but the emphasis is on ambience, creating the the relationship between Kubelik and the impression of sitting in a seat two-thirds of the Vienna Philharmonic was not that convivial at way back, centered, in an old woody hall. It is the time. It can be argued that the orchestra is not sound to appeal to “hi-fi” imaging fanatics, running the show, though that is open to but it has its own attractions. It is less good in debate. Whatever the case, these are solid, Romeo, which was recorded five years earlier. straightforward performances full of power, (A slight volume boost helps.) heart, and spirit. Kubelik keeps things moving, These performances are old-fashioned. If and his tempos are appropriate. Whatever you like one, you should like them all for the exaggeration exists is heard in some passages same reasons. Even if you do not like them at that are on the slow side of normal. The first, their honesty should grow on you. The orchestral texture is weighty—even brawny— question is do you want them on Urania or on dark in color, warm, and more Viennese than Testament, which I believe has issued the Russian. The string sound especially fits that same recordings of the symphonies but with- description. The brass are powerful, though out Romeo. sometimes too aggressive in the trumpets. The If Tchaikovsky symphonies played by the winds are typically Viennese, particularly the Vienna Philharmonic from this period appeal nasal oboe. to you, you should also like Decca’s complete The result in I of the Fourth is powerful, set of the symphonies plus Manfred under exciting, and visceral, but deft? Colorful? Not , recorded a few years after the so much. The Andantino does not dawdle, but Kubelik. Maazel seemed to have a good rela- it is not rushed, either. There is an odd com- tionship with the orchestra back then. (See manding insistence to it, and it is in no way also their Strauss and Sibelius.) Under Maazel, sentimental. The passages with lyrical strings the orchestra sounds under tighter control, and woodwind counterpoint are especially resulting in an interpretation that is more good. The Scherzo is not too light, and it cap- directed, inflected, and less broadly general- tures the Russian folk influence well. The ized than Kubelik’s. Some people may find beginning of the Finale is a little tipsy in spots, Maazel more interesting if less warm and and sometimes eerie; but the fast passages are heartfelt. Decca’s engineering is clearer and dramatic and driven, with a very fast coda. more detailed than the broader acoustic EMI The readings of the other two symphonies gave the Czech conductor. Another VPO per- and Romeo and Juliet are similar. To mention formance from this era (1966) is the fiery, a few points, the opening to 5 is quite slow, thrilling Pathetique under Jean Martinon. One and the tone of the solo horn is dark. The warning. Martinon’s tempo in III might make march-like second idea moves along well. The you think your CD player sped up! Worry not. performance is very strong in the slow pas- The excellent sound is the best of all these sages, and the slow movement is beautifully recordings. done. III is “balletic” in a nice Viennese way. HECHT There are no exaggerations in the finale, though the sound is somewhat of a problem. TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony 5; More on that later. Francesca da Rimini The Pathetique is the deepest of the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra/ Paavo Jarvi Tchaikovsky symphonies, and this perform- Alpha 659—74 minutes ance plays it that way without exaggerating. III is not a horse race, and the finale is emotional This is the first in a projected set of without putting its heart on its sleeve. The per- Tchaikovsky symphonies by the Zurich orches- formance of Romeo and Juliet is similar. What tra led by a new Music Director, Paavo Jarvi. this comes down to is that if you like one of Normally, I would greet that with a yawn, but these performances, you should like them all. this might be interesting if you want Teutonic The late Tchaikovsky symphonies present Tchaikovsky, the composer who bridged the a huge orchestra with a full string sound, loud 19th Century folk romanticism of Russia and brass, many woodwind solos, and a great deal Western Teutonicism. In this case, Jarvi takes of detail full of moving lines that are easily cov- him across that bridge. Instead of the Russian ered, especially in the last section of the Fifth. Mighty Handful (Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakoff, All that suggests that they are difficult to Borodin, Moussorgsky, and Cui), I hear the record. The sound of the symphonies is big, breadth of Bruckner and the impulsive imagi- warm, and somewhat distant. There is detail, nation of Mahler. The performance bordered American Record Guide 103 on laughable on first hearing, especially its its approach with conviction and sticks with it. predictable tempos and the heart-on-sleeve In the end, I came to like it. It is not for every- rubato. When I expected slow, I usually got one, but it you would like a Tchaikovsky Fifth slow; and when fast seemed indicated, fast it Symphony in German, you should enjoy this. was. In many cases, the more notes in a pas- Given that Francesca da Rimini is a tone sage, the faster the tempo and vice-versa. All poem, one might expect Jarvi to take a similar that sounds like amateur, too emotional con- approach to tempos and dramatic expression. ducting, but later hearings revealed a perform- Instead, he leads a straightforward, massive ance falling into place in an interesting, enter- reading that takes few of the liberties noted in taining, and sometimes thrilling way. the symphony, though the orchestra retains its The Tonhalle Orchestra, one of the most Germanic identity. Francesca da Rimini is a Germanic orchestras I have heard on record- perfect candidate for such a performance, and ings (try their box of Strauss tone poems with the result is as good a reading of it as I have David Zinman for a demonstration), is true to heard. The sound is powerful but cleaner than form here, particularly in its warm, full string in the symphony. sound. The engineers (and/or the hall) do HECHT their part with a recording close to the strings and the brass set far back. Woodwinds come TCHAIKOVSKY: Trio; through well enough, particularly their solos. PABST: Trio On the downside, the recording is more big, Brahms Trio—Naxos 574113—73 minutes warm, and powerful than it is detailed, and This is volume 2 of Naxos’s “History of the that is a problem in a symphony that is not Russian Piano Trio”. I have not yet heard the easy to record with its combination of mass first volume with two Alyabiev Trios, but Vol- and moving detail, especially in the finale. ume 3 is reviewed in this issue. Of the two A few examples should give you the idea. works here, the Tchaikovsky is well known and The opening is slow, tired, weighty, and seems comes in direct competition with many others. to take forever until the tempo picks up about Pavel Pabst (1854-97) wrote his Trio just two where you would expect. Even then, the man- years before the end of his life and for many ner of the interpretation remains smooth and will be the major interest of the record. It was broad until Jarvi turns the quicker second composed in memory of . theme into a quasi-march. Later, a bassoon Pabst, who some will remember for his big solo becomes faster as it grows more complex; boned piano concerto, proves that his compo- when the winds pick up the line, they do the sitional skills were more varied than we same thing. In some of this we hear a slow- thought. The Trio is quite a discovery. Roman- surge-slow pattern, and of course, the down- tic in the best Russian tradition, it’s in four ward figure, repeated four times like sounding movements lasting over 23 minutes, serious in an alarm, is faster. The opening to II is very approach, written with bold strokes, and thor- slow, but when the strings take over, the tempo oughly engrossing, if without quite the melod- picks up and we go from there. Occasionally, ic genius to keep the tear ducts flowing. The one of Jarvi’s ideas is jarring, perhaps none best movement is the `Reverie’, which in its more so than before and when the brass shout brief duration could melt a proverbial stone, out their big theme. Jarvi accelerates to that though the rest of this trio will make listeners outburst only to awkwardly slam on the brakes wonder why the neglect of such a fine work. when it arrives. So it goes amid this roller- Naxos already has another very decent coaster of emotion. III is an exercise in con- recording in their catalog of the Tchaikovsky trast. The lilting sections are slow, but the fast Trio coupled with the lovely trio by Anton string passages are too breakneck fast. The Arensky. Both compare favorably with the finale is predictably way too slow at the start. It competition, though I would choose this new- gets going soon enough—also predictable— comer if push came to shove. The Russian but in a movement that exudes electricity as Brahms Trio plays in tune and with much well as mass, the tempo changing does not expression. The recording is beautifully man- always sound natural, particularly the huge aged. slowdown before the coda, which is very fast. BECKER The biggest problem is the last third or so, when the recording’s lack of detail covers the TCHAIKOVSKY: Souvenir de Florence; moving inner lines that fly across the stage. All see SCHOENBERG this amounts to a performance that stakes out Symphony 4; see RACHMANINOFF 104 May/June 2021 1:385), Auf Ehernen Mauern in G minor (R CHEREPNIN: Le Pavillon d’Armide T 1:96), and Seele, Lerne dich Erkennen in G (R Moscow Symphony/ Henry Shek 1:1258). Each of them follows an Aria-Recita- Naxos 573 657—68 minutes tive-Aria pattern with recorder obbligato. Alas, Nikolai Tcherepnin’s Pavillon d’Armide (1906) we are not given the texts. was a Diaghilev commission, opening his first The trio sonatas in A minor (R 42:A1), G Paris ballet season. minor (R 42:A4), and F (R 42:F8) are per- The plot centers on a nobleman who, on formed here by recorder (Giogio Matteoli) and the way to see his betrothed, must spend a violin (Carlo Lazzaroni), though Matteoli night in the eponymous locale. He sees there a notes that the G-Minor Sonata was originally tapestry of the princess Armida (from Tasso’s composed for the recorder and treble viol (i.e. poem), who resembles his own fiancee. The pardessus de viole). Their playing is lovely— tapestry figures come to life and various dance beautifully balanced. Notes are in English. figures follow, including a Scarf Dance, The LOEWEN nobleman awakens, wondering if it was all a dream, till he realizes he still has Armida’s TELEMANN: Polonoise scarf. Holland Baroque/ Judith & Tineke Steenbrink The music is conservative late 19th Centu- Pentatone 5186878—68 minutes ry Russian—elegant and pleasing, but of rou- tine inspiration. Think Glazounov without This release makes an exhaustive survey of quite his melodic gift. The beautiful and taste- Polish dances and style in Telemann’s music. ful orchestration of the various episodes pre- Searching through his works yielded many vents the music from getting bland. The per- pieces called Polonoise, Polonie, Polonesie, formance is fluent, with able solo work from Polon, Polone, Polonoyse, and Hanaquoise. several instruments. Shek’s conducting is sen- Telemann appears also to have written down sitive to the work’s nuances, with good orches- many Polish melodies he heard in the taverns tral balances. Naxos’s sound capably supports of Plesse and Cracow in 1704, while employed their efforts. by Count Erdmann von Promnitz. Once famil- O CONNOR iar with the style of Telemann’s Polish music, the Steenbrinks were able to uncover other TELEMANN: Cantatas & Trio Sonatas works by Telemann not otherwise described as Rosita Frisani, s; Ensemble Festa Rustica/ Giorgio a “Polonaise”—a term, they note, that Tele- Matteoli—Da Vinci 347—56 minutes mann never used. The program is arranged into short sets of Paerh ps the most remarkable discovery here is Polish or Polish-styled dances flanking Polish that Telemann acknowledged that in the 72 Concertos in B-flat (R 43:B3) and G (R 43:G7), cantatas from Harmonischer Gottesdienst and a Partie Polonoise (R 39), essentially a Pol- oder Geistlich Cantaten zum Allgemeinen ish dance suite originally composed for two Gebrauche, published in 1725-6, the soprano . The tell-tale two-measure phrases and voice could be replaced by an instrument. marked rhythms are found everywhere in Doing so would turn these three-movement these works, sometimes enhanced with drone- cantatas into trio sonatas. It shows how adapt- like figures that remind one of the bagpipes able Telemann’s music was, and how well he that usually accompanied Polish dance music. recognized the commercial value of his music. Aisslinn Nosky’s violin playing is crisp and Pairing three cantatas from Harmonischer bright. The ensemble as a whole sounds exhil- Gottesdienst with three trio sonatas for arating. Telemann’s music is soft and tender, recorder and violin demonstrates how closely says Judith Steenbrink, but it is also full of the vocal and instrumental repertories match excitement and local color, for example in the up. Hearing Rosita Frisani’s wonderful sopra- use of minor mode and augmented seconds in no voice replaced by, say, an oboe, flute, or the `Polonie’ of R 45. violin, one would miss Telemann’s sensitive LOEWEN word painting. Yet, hearing a violin play her parts would give one the opportunity to imag- TELEMANN: 3 Suites ine Matthäus Arnold Wilkens’s poetry Orfeo Baroque Orchestra/ Carin van Heerden expressed without the benefit of words. CPO 555 389—66 minutes The program includes cantatas Du Bist Verflucht, O Schreckensstimme in A minor (R It has been estimated that Georg Philipp Tele- American Record Guide 105 mann wrote perhaps 1000 overture-suites. The EODORESCU-CIOCANEA: Le Rouge et number still extant is much smaller, a few hun- T le Noir dred perhaps, and of those several dozen have Mihaela Stanciu, s; Romeo Cornelius, ct; Roman- been recorded at one time or another. (Bril- ian Opera/ Rasvan Cernat liant alone has a large fraction of these, in a Toccata 595—76 minutes series that went through several volumes but appears now to be deleted.) Here are three oLivia Te dorescu-Ciocanea is not well known more, labeled recorded premieres—a thing I in this country, but her music has been have no reason to doubt. acclaimed for years in her native Romania and L’Orfeo is a very small band: pairs of vio- elsewhere in Europe. Joel Crotty tells us in his lins and violas, one cello, one , two thorough notes that her sources of inspiration oboes, and one bassoon, lute, and harpsi- include folklore and religious music and tradi- chord. In one movement of the first suite here, tional classical and theatrical forms as well as (55:G1), oboist and director Carin van Heer- multi-layered spectralism. She has composed den switches to recorder. All three pieces fol- a number of symphonies and choral works as low the 18th Century overture-suite plan, with well as a three-act opera The Lady with the a large slow-fast-slow movement (the overture Dog adapted from Chekhov. She is also an proper) followed by a series of character accomplished concert pianist. pieces and dances. The orchestration is simple The composer tells us she got a commis- but also subtle: that movement with recorder, sion from the Romanian National Opera in for example, has the instrument shadowed by 1999 for a ballet based on Stendahl’s often violin an octave below. The oboes and bas- adapted Rouge et Noir. The premiere was May soon often double violins and bass line, but 28, 2000. The basic story deals with a young just as often strike out on their own, so that man named Julien and his obsession with a there are patches of sparser texture where we married woman, Matilde de Renal. He has an affair with her that she soon regrets. Julien is get to admire the (uniformly very fine) wind abandoned and humiliated. One can guess playing. things don’t turn out well for either of them. The Overture a 6 (55:B13) is a little differ- Julian eventually shoots Matilde at church ent from its two G-major siblings here in hav- during a mass. The lady is not fatally wounded, ing a fairly elaborate solo violin part. In the but Julian is condemned to death. He is Overture itself, it breaks off for long stretches beheaded and as Marguerite de Valois did of notey, Italianate writing; later, in a couple of with her lover’s head Matilde takes Julien’s movements (notably in the G-minor `Plainte’ head and buries it. Overcome with despair, she or lament) it engages in eloquent duets with dies of a broken heart. the first oboe. The oboes and bassoon also All of these sordid events are depicted in have some fine trio writing to themselves. dramatic, theatrical music that mirrors the The other G-major overture-suite, R 55:G5, emotional turmoil of the main characters. is the longest work here; among its move- Especially noteworthy is how Teodorescu-Cio- ments, another `Plainte’ is balanced aptly by canea uses the chorus and the solo voice—first `La Joye’. There are two pieces called `Ron- a countertenor, then a soaring soprano—as a deaux’ and ` en rondeau’, with wind sort of eerie obbligato, to the maelstrom of trios in episodic alternation with the strings, despair. I haven’t seen the ballet, so I don’t and a further set of three built on the know how effective the music is with dance, same pattern. but the richness of orchestral colors help to The intonation is excellent for such a tricky fashion a work that should be heard much setup (it’s far harder to make two violins or more often whether it is danced or not. Many violas sound in unison than three), and the ballet scores can stand on their own sound, for all the cramped proportions, sug- (Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and Delibes come gests a larger band. These aren’t, on the whole, immediately to mind) and this is another. among the most interesting works in this part Both soloists are first-rate as are the chorus of Telemann’s output—I prefer the bigger and and orchestra. The booklet gives us many pho- more elaborately scored ones—but more Tele- tos of the original production. It would be mann is practically always a good thing. wonderful if after the Covid pandemic is over THOMSON this ballet could be produced in the West. REYNOLDS

106 May/June 2021 D’Anna Fortunato, who, shall we say, does not HOMSON: T Portraits; Violin-Piano Sonata; have a comforting voice. She seems to draw Piano Sonata 2; Flute-Violin Serenade; Songs; out the prosaic side of Tommasini. In one song Praises & Prayers; 5 Phrases; Mostly About his arpeggio-like part over-balances Fortuna- Love, Shakespeare Songs; Oraison Funebre; to’s icy voice; it interrupts rather than blends Capital Capitals Nancy Armstrong, s; D’Anna Fortunato, mz; with the text. (Perhaps that’s the engineer’s Frank Kelley & Paul Kirby, t; Sanford Sylvan, bar; fault.) In the last song, `Jerusalem My Happy David Ripley, b; James Russell Smith, perc; Hope’, five minutes of parallel chords (fourths Sharon Leventhal, v; Jonathan Miller, vc; Fenwick in the right hand, fifths in the left) are blatant Smith, fl; Frederic Cohen, ob; Ronald Haroutun- enough to drive me mad. The one lovely per- ian, bn; Anthony Tommasini, p formance is of `Before Sleeping’, the old “now I Everbest 1002 [2CD] 155 minutes lay me down to sleep” poem set with comfort- ing simplicity. This album, called “Portraits, Self-Portraits, There are several short songs, including and Songs”, is a re-release of two albums that two with incomprehensibly bizarre texts by were a project of Anthony Tommasini, cur- Gertrude Stein, and a `Commentary on St rently the New York Times’s chief classical Jerome’, a sadistic ditty with text by the Mar- music critic. When the albums were released quis de Sade that confirms what any cannibal on Northeastern in 1990 and 1994, he was a will tell you, that men taste better than women classical music critic for the Boston Globe, (sung tastefully in French). The less said the active as a pianist, author of the book “Virgil better about the Oraison Funebre (1930), a 13- Thomson’s Musical Portraits”, and was prepar- minute gas bag ramble (in French) on Henri- ing a biography of Thomson, who died in 1989 ette-Marie, the deceased consort of England’s at 92. This double-album contains the com- King Charles I. Tommasini uncovered the plete music and detailed, thorough, well-writ- unpublished manuscript in Thomson’s ten notes from both releases, originally titled Chelsea Hotel flat after the composer died and “Portraits and Self-Portraits” and “Mostly gives it high regard. He has a hell of a lot more About Love: Songs and Vocal Works”. patience than I do. Let me start with the better of the two The vocal album ends with a genuine tour releases, the vocal one. While there are 28 de force, Gertrude Stein’s Capital Capitals. Call “songs” in 77 minutes, most are parts of song it a pure entertainment. The 17-minute text is cycles. In Five Phrases from the Song of gibberish on the verge of being sensible. It’s Solomon Nancy Armstrong and James Russell written for two tenors, a baritone, and a bass, Smith (with light tom-tom, woodblock, small each of whom are assigned to slots 1 through 4 drum, and cymbal) draw out a fragrant Asian and who never sing at the same time. Ah, but air in these alluring miniatures. What’s they sing continuously in one uninterrupted remarkable about Mostly About Love is Ken- flow, in dialog. And they do it so well that neth Koch’s rambling, playful, associative every one of the 3,000 words is sung so poems; Thomson said, “Koch writes just like absolutely clearly that the printed text is not Gertrude Stein, except he makes sense.” They needed (thought it sure helps to get the gist of have a sort of Coplandesque prairie feeling the thing). Their voices are gorgeously warm. that only an American could write, the kind Tommasini is at his facetious best here. (He that works best with Thomson’s own simplistic seems to need inspired partners to play piano style. In them Armstrong and Tommasi- inspired.) I’ll never listen to this piece again as ni catch the varying styles, whether ambling, a recording, but I’ll bet it brings the house ruminative, or hymn-like. They’re also effec- down in the concert hall! tive in four Shakespeare Songs (in 8 minutes) All texts are included. that remind me of Aaron Copland’s Old Amer- The “Portraits” album has 44 cuts in 79 ican Songs. Once again, Armstrong and Tom- minutes. I found it mostly a torture. Nothing masini capture love’s aspects from swooning profound here. Thomson observed how his and kissing to fancy dying and hey-nonny- friends who were writers and painters created nonny kiss-the-lout-goodbye. Reflecting on quick sketches (portraits) of people; he Thomson’s piano, stuck relentlessly in the thought he’d do the same musically. Underline midrange, I suddenly wrote, “My God! A bass “quick”: he’d get his subjects to sit for one ses- note in the piano!” sion during which they could sit, read, sleep, But not all is well. Praise and Prayers creat- daydream—anything but talk. He’d “let it ed invectives in my mind as sung by mezzo refrigerate overnight”, make edits, give it a title, American Record Guide 107 and that was that, unless he threw it out. He instrument that does bloom is Fenwick Smith’s should have thrown out most of these. Let me solo flute in the `Rapsodico’ movement from a just say it upfront: I find most of these portraits concerto. unbearably simplistic. I suspect most of the Wheeler’s arrangements for all the instru- piano writing even a child could play. And I ments were recorded in a larger room with don’t relate to Thomson’s sense of melody or some air in it. Finally, I could breathe. The rhythmic flow. (I feel the same way toward vocal album, recorded four years later, has David Diamond’s music, but at least he has a much more breathing room and a fuller- capacity for counterpoint, fugues, and sounding piano, and the breaks between cuts canons.) For example, Seven Portraits for solo are of normal length. piano are tonal with “off” notes and irregular FRENCH rhythmic gaits that sound like a kid noodling at the piano. Even the one on Dora Maar and TISDALE: Virginal Pieces, all her lover Pablo Picasso relies on cliches. Charles Metz—Navona 6330—79 minutes 9 of the portraits are for violin and piano, 13 for piano solo. One for oboe and bassoon is Tahis be utifully played program includes all of bluntly played. In the 13-minute 4-movement the available virginal or harpsichord pieces insipid Violin Sonata, Thomson actually does composed or copied by William Tisdale (d. engage in some real piano writing, but the vio- 1603 or 1605). Metz got them from two manu- lin line remains aimless. It’s the composer’s script sources that are now in the Fitzwilliam earliest works that are the emptiest, like Piano Museum, Cambridge: the John Bull Manu- Sonata 2 (1929). He eventually came to regard script and the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. He the sonatas as self-portraits. includes similar pieces by other composers, There are a few flowers in the dung heap. such as , , and Three Portraits, originally for piano solo, was William Randall. arranged for violin and piano by Samuel Metz rescued this instrument from an Dushkin, who commissioned and premiered antique shop in Illinois where it was for sale as Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto. He has inspired “painted furniture”. With research and restora- Leventhal and even Tommasini to project the tion by expert builders, it is identified as the Stravinsky-like humor in the `Barcarolle’, the work of Francesco Poggi from c1590. The notes eloquence of the `Tango Lullaby’, and especial- here describe the restoration process over sev- ly the solo violin’s facetiousness in `In a Bird eral years. Cage’. Also, “Portraits” ends with Scott Wheel- The instrument sounds terrific, with er’s arrangement for all the instruments of smoothly-transitioned tonal contrasts across portraits of five New Englanders in the North- its bass, midrange, and treble. Metz’s sensi- eastern Suite where the orchestration nicely tively intimate performances bring out the disguises the simplistic writing in two move- somber and sprightly characters of these ments and makes the other three sound merry pieces. His tempos seem to be based on the and melodic (in my notes I wrote, “Behold! An decay speed of this virginal’s singing tone. honest-to-God melody!”) That’s another way of saying he apparently lis- I’ve often felt that critic and composer Vir- tens to himself well while playing. gil Thomson is better read than heard. In an odd choice, Metz interprets almost The instrumental album has long breaks all the double-stroke ornaments as slow mor- between every cut, which kill any continuity, dents (with the lower note). Harpsichordists especially in multi-movement works. Also, a and lutenists typically use upper-note orna- note proclaims that these “natural sound ments more often in this repertoire, but Metz’s recordings allow the listener to hear a per- way sounds OK. formance as though one were sitting in the Byrd’s pavan (track 17) is not identified best seat in the hall. The music is recorded in a well enough—Byrd wrote about 25 of them. It natural acoustic”, if that best seat is in some- is the Pavana Ph Tr—piece 93 in Fitzwilliam, one’s utterly dry claustrophobic living room or simply Pavana by Mr Birde in Tisdale’s that devours overtones. This does absolutely manuscript. The paired Galiarda isn’t in this nothing for the piano, especially in the hands recording because Tisdale didn’t copy it. of Tommasini, who most of the time plays The recorded sound is good, but the pro- metronomically with minimal expression. Nor duction isn’t perfect. At five minutes into `The does it flatter Sharan Leventhal’s violin, which Hunt’s Up’ by Byrd (track 18), there are about is a shame because she’s quite good. The one ten seconds where the music is digitally gar- 108 May/June 2021 bled and it rushes ahead, corrupting bars 138 ALENTE: to 140 of the piece. I made sure it’s not my CD V Harpsichord Pieces players acting up: the timing numbers proceed Paola Erdas—Hitasura 5—68 minutes cleanly, and the problem must be in the edit- This is Antonio Valente’s Intavolatura de Cim- ing or mastering. Metz plays from Tisdale’s balo, from Naples in 1576. Paola Erdas plays version of the piece that is labeled `In Pescodd some of the pieces on an original 16th Century Time’ later in the Fitzwilliam book (276). virginal, the rest on an original 16th Century There is no explanation of the discrepancies harpsichord. here, but the piece is very different from the Many of these pieces are in traditional har- first version of `The Hunt’s Up’ at number 59 in monic progressions for dance compositions Fitzwilliam: extra sections and many recom- and improvisations. They have rhythmic left- posed passages. This piece aside, the program hand chords to keep the beat while the right goes well. hand spins melodic flourishes. Rebecca Maur- The five Tisdale or “Tisdall” pieces in er (M/J 2010) played these with a steady left Fitzwilliam are in Pieter-Jan Belder’s Volume 6 hand, jamming the right hand’s fistfuls of of his complete recording (J/F 2019, p176). He notes into those immutable beats—a satisfying moves through them with a simpler flow. The procedure for dance music. Erdas is more art- draw for Metz is his extraordinary rescued ful with the tempo in the right hand, which instrument. sometimes makes the left hand play slightly LEHMAN late as it waits for the right hand to finish. Both of these methods work well. I prefer it Maur- VAINBERG: Violin Concerto; er’s way, but “your mileage may vary”. 2-Violin Sonata In the slower pieces not based on dances, Gidon Kremer, Madara Petersone; Leipzig Ge- Erdas’s flexibility brings out the sense of free wandhaus/ Daniele Gatti Accentus 30518—51 minutes improvisation beautifully. The whole program flows in a way that she explained well, saying I’ve opined before that Vainberg (Weinberg) why she chose to resequence the pieces: “I often wrote like Shostakovich but without his preferred an order which is more emotional friend’s nation-sized angst. The turbulent Vio- and spontaneous to listen to: a progression of lin Concerto, with its threatening themes, counterpoint and danza, of seriousness and comes closer to contradicting me than any light-heartedness, as would happen in a live piece of his I’ve encountered so far. There are show that included music by other contempo- also subtle comments from the orchestra that rary Spanish composers as well.” are little nods in Shostakovich’s direction. Like Erdas’s instruments have a more interest- Shostakovich’s First Concerto, it is also in four ing tone than Maurer’s modern harpsichord movements. I is dramatic; II is a quieter, built in 17th Century Italian style. Erdas and almost gnomic Allegretto with both a Jewish Maurer both juxtapose some contemporary and a Mahlerian influence (Mahler was a lode- pieces by other composers to show how stone for Shostakovich as well). III, Adagio, has Valente’s versions ornamented them. As an longer melodic lines, yet at the same time they encore, Erdas finishes her program with Carlo seem more fragile, especially in Kremer’s Gesualdo’s extravagantly wacky Canzon hands. The martial finale with its quiet ending Francese del Principe, one of only two extant wants to be a denouement, but it doesn’t work harpsichord pieces by him. up to enough of a climax. Vainberg composed Other pertinent competition. Francesco it for Leonid Kogan (Olympia 622, May/June Cera recorded 16 of the pieces in 2004 (Tactus, 1998 & Praga 250373, Jan/Feb 2018, p211), and not reviewed), choosing to use organ instead I prefer Kogan over Kremer even with its of harpsichord for some of them. Fabio Anto- somewhat inferior sound (though I hope one nio Falcone’s recording is worth hearing, too day to find a recording that will surpass both). (S/O 2018). Along with bringing in three of Kremer is coarse, abrasive, and often out of Valente’s vocal models (by other composers), tune, and I can only take so much; it was he went beyond solo keyboard: he chose to recorded in concert. arrange about a third of the pieces for a small The first movement of the sonata sounds ensemble to sing and play. His keyboards are a like two cats squalling. The pensive, muted II modern virginal and modern harpsichord, and the playful III are much better. both based on 16th Century Venetian models. ESTEP LEHMAN American Record Guide 109 Domine’), Sequence (`Dies Irae’), Preface, and ICTORIA: V Officium Defunctorum Postcommunion Collect in addition to the La Grande Chapelle/ Albert Recasens; Schola alternating items. The plainsong is taken from Antiqua/ Juan Carlos Asensio Spanish sources of the period. Listeners may Lauda 20 [2CD] 103 minutes be surprised to hear the `Dies Irae’ sung in Tomas Luis de Victoria’s last composition, the triple meter. Officium Defunctorum, was written in 1603 for Polyphony is sung here by La Grande the funeral of Maria of Austria. She was the sis- Chapelle, a mixed choir of 12 voices directed ter of King Philip II of Spain and wife of Em- by Albert Recasens with a bajon (early bas- peror Maximilian II, who died in 1576. In 1582, soon) that gives the pitches and reinforces the Maria returned to Spain and entered the Royal bass line. They produce a fine sound with Convent of the Discalced Nuns in Madrid. Five good blend, but with what I would call a Conti- years after her return to Spain, she named Vic- nental edge. I have long been an admirer of toria, who was a priest, to be her personal the recording by Harry Christophers and The chaplain. The composer made some revisions Sixteen (Coro 16033; J/F 2006). They produce a to the Officium Defunctorum and published it much smoother, more English sound that I in 1605 with a dedication to Maria’s daughter find attractive, but I would hesitate to set one Margaret. absolutely over the other. Racasens and La There have been many recordings of the Grande Chapelle deliver eloquent perform- Missa pro Defunctis (Mass for the Dead) from ances with exceptionally coherent phrase tra- this publication, but that is just a part of the jectory, leaving nothing to be desired in tech- whole. Victoria composed music for the Vigil nical polish. Much the same can be said for the for the Dead, consisting of the office of Matins plainsong, sung here by the all-male Schola in three nocturns through the night and the Antiqua under the direction of Juan Carlos office of Lauds at daybreak. This is claimed as Asensio. Complete texts and translations are the first comprehensive recording of the Vigil, given in the booklet along with a number of though other choirs have recorded portions of period illustrations and a considerable schol- it, particularly the lesson `Taedet Animam arly apparatus of sources and a bibliography of Meam’ from the first nocturn of Matins. Victo- modern writings on the subject. ria certainly did not set every text from the Listeners will have to decide for them- Vigil. In their liturgical context, the polyphonic selves whether they prefer the customary con- settings must have seemed like islands in a sea cert-piece presentation of this music or the more liturgical approach of this recording. In of plainsong. For the most part, they are not 2003 John Barker gave an overview of record- set pieces, but an integral part of the liturgical ings up to that time as part of his favorable structure. Here they are presented in their review of the first of two recordings by Raul plainsong context, though this is not a com- Mallavibarrena and the ensemble Musica Ficta plete liturgical reconstruction. The polyphonic (Enchiriadis 2006; S/O 2003). In more recent segments are part of the opening versicles years, I have been impressed by Mallavibar- (`Deus in Adjutorium’), the responsory to the rena’s second recording (Enchiriadis 2045; J/A first lesson of the first nocturn (` quod 2018) and the Saarbrucken Chamber Choir Redemptor’), the second lesson of the first under Georg Grun (Licanus 615; M/A 2007). nocturn (`Taedet Animam Meam’), the Most recorded performances are either unac- responsory to the first lesson of the third noc- companied or nearly so, as is the present one. turn (`Peccantem Me Quotidie’), verses from The notes of solemnity and austerity are para- Vulgate Psalm 50 (`Miserere Mei Deus’) alter- mount. A notable exception is found in the nating with plainsong in Lauds, and the canti- recording by Cappella de Ministrers and cle (`Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel’) in Valenciana Chorus under Carles Magraner Lauds, also alternating with plainsong. These (Licanus 615; M/A 2007), where the voices are items occupy the first disc. supported by a brilliant instrumental ensem- The second disc brings us to the more ble to project the solemn grandeur of the occa- familiar territory of the Missa pro Defunctis. sion rather than meditative introspection. Most recordings treat this as a , GATENS with only as much plainsong as is absolutely necessary for items where plainsong alternates To have no compelling reason to believe with polyphony. Here we get a more generous something is not the same as having a rea- helping of plainsong: the Tract (`Absolve, son to assume that it is false. 110 May/June 2021 VIERNE: Organ Symphonies, all VILLA-LOBOS: Choral Transcriptions Hayo Boerema—Brilliant 96226 [3CD] 186 min Sao Paulo Symphony Choir/ Valentina Peleggi Naxos 574286—59 minutes Louis Vierne (1870-1937), nearly blind from birth, had his initial education at the Institut Full disclosure: I am not a fan of choral tran- National des Jeunes Aveugles, a boarding scriptions, and my enjoyment of the Swingle school for the blind. It gave him a solid classi- Bach arrangements of yesteryear came more cal education, as well as music and organ from singing the da-ba-da-ba-da-bas than lis- instruction at a high level, evident from the tening to them. Everything I’m about to say number of famous blind organists (Marchal, follows from those two assertions. Litaize, Langlais) who attended that school. Villa-Lobos wrote choral transcriptions of After study with Franck, he became a pupil of instrumental works (most of them composed Widor, eventually becoming his assistant at for the keyboard) to complete an education both the Conservatory and the Church of St mission for his country. He was asked to come Sulpice. In 1900 he was appointed organist of up with musical exercises to enhance the Notre Dame, a post he held until he died. He training of Brazilian students and teachers. produced more than 60 opus numbers but, From 1932-36 he crafted accessible choral like Widor, it is only through his organ music, transcriptions of instrumental masterworks by and in particular his 6 organ symphonies, that the likes of Bach, Mendelssohn, Schumann, his reputation survives today. Widor encour- Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and him- aged him to write organ symphonies that were self. truly symphonic in scope, and continued to Sung attractively by this Brazilian choir, the exploit the possibilities of Caville-Coll’s revolu- program includes a half-dozen of his Bach Pre- tionary style of organ building, with its warm ludes & Fugues, a Mendelssohn `Song without sound, wide range of timbres, and orchestral Words’, Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C-charp style crescendos and decrescendos. minor, Schumann’s `Traumerei’, the slow Vierne developed a very personal style, movement from Beethoven’s Pathetique, a showing the influence of Franck’s refined Chopin waltz, and Villa-Lobos’s own Bachi- melodic and harmonic style combined with anas Brasileiras 9. All the entries are sung syl- cyclic form, and Widor’s handling of the possi- labically except Massenet’s `Elegie’ and Schu- bilities of the symphonic organ and use of bert’s `Standchen’, which become settings for strict classical forms. All the symphonies have Portuguese texts. As bona fide songs—not five movements (except No. 1, which has six) pedagogical exercises or explications—they and are distinguished by their playful, often are the most engaging selections here. And grotesque scherzos and thrilling finales. As even I must admit that it’s hard not to love the with Widor, several movements have become Mendelssohn (Book 2, No. 9 in E) because it’s popular: the scherzos from 1, 2, 5, 6; the just so beautiful. You already know how I feel `Choral’ from No. 2; the Adagio from No. 3, about the rest. So, if you are pleased at the and all the finales. prospect of instrumental masterpieces One of the pleasures of reviewing for ARG arranged expertly and sung as “da-da-da” or is the occasional appearance of a recording “loo-loo-loo”, I don’t doubt you will enjoy this. where all the elements—technique, musician- Naxos recorded everything beautifully, and the ship, fine organ, resonant room, recorded notes are informative and well written. sound—are present at a high level. Such is the GREENFIELD case with Boerema’s superb performances, which display an innate understanding of this VILSMAYR: Partitas 2, 3, 4; music. In a word, everything sounds “right”. MATTEIS: Fantasia; Alla Fantasia He is helped by a marvelous 4-manual, 85- Liliana Bernardi, v stop, 1973 Marcussen organ in the Laurenkerk Stradivarius 37168—54 minutes in Rotterdam, where Boerema is the organist. While not a French organ, it has enough Johann Vilsmayr (1663-1722) and Nicola Mat- “Frenchness” in the sound to make it truly teis (ca 1690-ca 1737) were Austrian com- effective for this music. Excellent notes by the posers of the late baroque. Vilsmayr worked at performer on the composer and music. A Salzburg’s Palace Chapel, where he may have stunning recording. studied with the great composer and violin vir- DELCAMP tuoso Heinrich Biber. Nicola Matteis was born American Record Guide 111 into a musical family and probably was trained up to 12 arias by other composers, few if any of by his father. the recitatives written by Vivaldi.” Vilsmayr shows the influence if Biber in his Vivaldi produced many pasticcio operas, use of scordatura, unusual tunings, for each sometimes attaching his name to them, some- partita. Special tunings give a work a special times not. With very few laws protecting copy- sound by altering the violin’s resonances, and right in those days, this was a common proce- Vilsmayr exploits this cleverly. Each partita is dure and considered fair play all over Europe. about 10 movements and is between one and Naive (in very small type) lists the sources for four minutes, so they bear little resemblance most of the arias in the track listing. Who to Bach’s famous partitas and use fewer chords wrote the recitatives is anyone’s guess. There is and double stops. They are stylish and pleas- some splendid music here and some that’s ant but not grand statements like Bach’s, more ordinary. which I doubt he would have had the opportu- I have no complaints about the cast, all of nity to hear. whom specialize in Baroque or classical Matteis contributes two brief works to this music. Luigi De Donato is the only male voice program, a Fantasia and an Alla Fantasia. The heard here, and his colorful bass-baritone first has a lonely, contemplative, almost song- brings some relief where aural fatigue might ful character that is very different from Vils- set in. Fabio Biondi has managed to find voices mayr’s much more outgoing partitas. The sec- that contrast well with each other. The vocal ond is remarkable because it is entirely arpeg- writing is virtuosic and has been ornamented gios played across the strings. The only other even further by the singers. Marian- work I know like this from this period was writ- na Pizzolato, perhaps better known for her ten by the Italian virtuoso . It is Rossini roles, is a distinctive Silvero; and a softly moody work like the other Fantasia. soprano Emoke Barath makes a sympathetic Vilsmayr strikes me as the more technically character of the title role. Marie Lys’s more accomplished composer, but I prefer Matteis plaintive soprano is a welcome contrast as because of his ability to evoke moods that I Osira, and Delphine Galou’s rich mezzo voice have never heard before coming from any contributes a well-sung Zanaida. The plot is other baroque composer for the violin. Liliana the usual mixture of romantic misunderstand- Bernardi does an excellent job with both com- ings with lots of angry oaths and calming reas- posers and is especially affecting in the Matteis surances. Biondi has been recording the Vival- fantasias. di repertoire for quite a while now, so if you The booklet notes could have used a good enjoyed his other recordings, you’ll want this editor. one too. I find two hours of da capo vocal writ- Bernardi plays a copy of a Domenico Mon- ing a little tiring, but others may jump in with tagnana violin of 1741 with a bow by Louis both feet. The sound and orchestral playing Bazin. are up to Naive’s high standards. Texts and MAGIL translations. REYNOLDS VIVALDI: Argippo Emoke Barath (Argippo), Marie Lys (Osira), Del- VIVALDI: 4 Seasons phine Galou (Zanaida), Marianna Pizzolato (Sil- Alexandra Conuvova, Little Tribeca vero), Luigi De Donato (Tisifaro); Europa Gal- Aparte 242—38 minutes ante/ Fabio Biondi Naive 7079 [2CD] 126 minutes The violinist got together with 12 other musi- cians in Aubonne, Switzerland (near Lau- This opera is a pasticcio, drawn from the pens sanne) last summer. There are pictures of the of a variety of composers and assembled by recording session, and the musicians do not Vivaldi. He had composed his own Argippo for seem very spaced out. They also seem young Vienna and Prague in 1730, but that has been and full of vitality—and that’s the way they lost over the years. According to annotator play. This is vigorous playing, bracing and very Reinhard Strohm “We have the librettos of emphatic. The soloist, playing a Guadagnini, is these two productions, a set of arias now in quite stunning. , and a full score now in Darmstadt It was also clear from listening (not just of a complete three-act opera, anonymous and from the pictures) that everyone is miked without title (discovered by Rashid-S. Pegah). rather closely. Thus all the strings sound raspy The Darmstadt score is a pasticcio opera with much of the time—never silky or velvety. One 112 May/June 2021 doesn’t hear much vibrato, but at these tem- an extended antiphon of sorts to introduce the pos it makes little difference. (I would argue setting of a liturgical text such as a psalm. The that vibrato is necessary in all music of every typical format, as heard in these two examples, period in sustained notes; but notes aren’t sus- consists of a pair of arias, one quick and virtu- tained much here.) osic, one slower and more lyrical, with a One can’t help but notice extreme dynam- recitative between them and an exuberant ics—much of it, I would say, a product of the concluding Alleluia. Texts and translations are engineering—turning microphones up and not given here, and program annotator Chiana down to match the phrasing, etc. I think the Bertoglio goes so far as to say that the texts are dynamics are unnatural and exaggerated—but so conventional and inconsequential as to be exciting sometimes, too. completely subordinate to the music. 38 minutes is 4 or 5 minutes faster than All of the performances here have great any other recording I know of the Seasons, and energy and incisiveness at a high technical it can seem breathless. Still, it is coherent and standard. The sound and execution are bold, makes a strong impression. but sometimes I felt that they crossed the line I don’t think you should give up the from bold to brash. I would have welcomed recordings you have by favorite violinists and more of the gentle refinement we get in Robert conductors; Perlman, Zukerman, Stokowski King’s recordings of Vivaldi’s sacred music for are among the ones I have. Stokowski, of Hyperion—not that his readings are lacking in course, also varies the dynamics a great deal, energy. This, of course, is a matter of prefer- but he likes a bigger, richer sound. Perlman ence, and I admit to a fondness for the refined and Zukerman are steadier and smoother and sensitive understatement we get from the dynamically—fewer extremes of loud and best English early music artists. Soprano Jen- soft—and both have bigger orchestras than nifer Schittino treats us to dazzling vocal virtu- this one (but not as big as Stokowski’s Philhar- osity in the motets, but her tone and delivery monia). are not always as rounded and poised as I VROON would like. Tenor and classical guitarist Fabio Furnari VIVALDI: Concertos & Sacred Motets founded Ensemble Gli Invaghiti in 2008. The Trio Sonata in D minor, Follia; Motet, In Furore size of the ensemble varies according to reper- Justissimae Irae; Lute Concerto in D; Concerto tory, from chamber music to major works for Madrigalesco; Nulla in Mundo Pax Sincera soloists, chorus, and baroque orchestra. A spe- Ensemble Gli Invaghiti/ Fabio Furnari cialty of theirs is the musical heritage of the Da Vinci 342—58 minutes Piedmont region where, as it happens, a major Vivaldi archive is housed at the University of This program brings together three varied . instrumental works by with GATENS two of his sacred solo motets. Of the instru- mental works, only the well-known Lute Con- VOLLRATH: Transit Voices certo (R 93) is in the customary Vivaldi concer- Rane Moore, Timothy Phillips, cl; Sharan Leven- to form. It has become a mainstay of the classi- thal, v; Jonathan Miller, Laura Usiskin, vc; Randall cal guitar repertory, but here it is played on the Hodgkinson, Jeremy Samolesky, p intended solo instrument with period-instru- Navona 6332 [2CD] 130 minutes ment accompaniment of one player to a part. The program opens with a trio sonata in the Born in New York to German parents, Carl form of variations on the perennial La Follia Vollrath (b. 1931) earned his B.A. from Stetson theme. The Concerto Madrigalesco (R 129) University (FL), served in the Army’s Military borrows material from the composer’s Kyrie (R Academy Band at West Point (1953-56), ob- 587) and Magnificat (R 610) to produce a most tained his M.A. from Columbia University, and unusual work with a central fugue flanked by concluded his schooling with a doctorate from adagio sections with rather extravagant har- Florida State University. There he studied with monies. renowned Hungarian pianist-composer Ernst The two motets are examples of a genre von Dohnanyi (1877-1960)—whose protection best known to modern listeners from Mozart’s of Jewish musicians during the Holocaust en- Exsultate Jubilate. They are essentially solo abled his postwar immigration to the United chamber cantatas to newly composed, non- States—and rising American composer Carl- liturgical Latin texts. They would often serve as isle Floyd (b. 1926), who became famous for American Record Guide 113 his operas on Southern themes. Dr Vollrath AGNER: joined the faculty of Troy University (AL) in W Tristan & Isolde 1965, where he taught composition for the Juyeon Song (Isolde), Roy Cornelius Smith (Tris- next 40 years. tan), Tamara Gallo (Brangäne), John Paul Huckle His catalog includes six symphonies for (King Marke); Janacek Philharmonic/ Robert Reimer—Navona 6321 [3CD] 211 minutes band, a substantial amount of chamber music, and an extensive collection of recordings, It’s hard not to raise an eyebrow when con- many of which reside in the Troy University fronted with unabashed hyperbole. Despite Library. This release is his fifth in six years for scant evidence of affiliations with world-class Navona, following Three Pastels (Sept/Oct opera companies, Juyeon Song’s biography 2016), Warrior Monks (2017), Souls in Transi- reports that she is “rapidly becoming the Isol- tions (2018), and The Unfolding Flute (2020). de of today” and that she has “studied and col- (There are two others on Navona in our index.) laborated with a virtual who’s who of interna- Vollrath writes: “The title Transit Voices and tionally renowned artists”. Just who these some of the ideas in these works were inspired “whos” are we are not told. I was circumspect by Andrew Robinson’s book Lost Languages: in my judgement of the soprano’s recording of The Enigma of the World’s Undeciphered Wagner and Strauss arias on Affetto (N/D Scripts.” 2020). I praised the point and clarity of the He later states: “The meanings of words sound, but noted a lack of “expansive breadth”. have changed through time. If we found Now Navona presents her in a complete con- ancient musical scores, what would they cert performance of Wagner’s Tristan und Isol- sound like, and what would they mean?” de that helps fill in the picture and also serves The program includes Clarinet Sonatas 4 to introduce us to other admirable performers. and 5, `Merging Memories’ and `Farewell to a Hearing Ms Song in a full opera confirms Virgin’ for clarinet and piano, two trios for vio- that she has enough fire and stamina to take lin, clarinet, and piano; and four trios for clar- on a monster role like Isolde. She’s a fine musi- inet, cello, and piano: `Testament I’, `Testa- cian, generally on pitch, and there’s a sweet ment II’, `Pollock’s Pictures’, and `The spot around G above the staff where the voice Unknown Harbinger’. really blossoms. Elsewhere, it’s not as rich, and Of the seven performers, three are local and four hail from Boston. The Alabama- the lower part of the range can take on a some- based musicians are Troy University clarinet what “bottled up” quality reminiscent of the professor Timothy Phillips, Birmingham cellist sound Callas used to employ for effect. Laura Usiskin, and Auburn University piano Nowhere is the voice harsh or offensive, but professor Jeremy Samolesky. The Boston- neither is it particularly sensuous or envelop- based musicians are clarinetist Rane Moore, ing. That said, singing Wagner is a little like violinist Sharan Leventhal, cellist Jonathan running a marathon: it’s quite an accomplish- Miller, and pianist Randall Hodgkinson. ment just to follow the rules and make it to the The scores are modernist yet accessible. finish line. Vollrath paints mysterious soundscapes in an The rest of the cast is all Americans who extended tonality; and his manipulation of left their native country for greener pastures in instrumental color is always interesting. Singu- Europe. Roy Cornelius Smith and Brian Davis lar moments stand out more than entire had careers singing small roles at the Metro- pieces; but each selection has something to politan Opera before making their moves. For offer. `Bela’s Bash’, a clever refraction of the both, it was unquestionably the right decision. Bartok Contrasts for the same forces, is a nice Like Ms Song, Smith’s tenor is not particularly departure in an otherwise serious program. sumptuous, but it’s a very expressive instru- The performances are adept, confident, and ment; and his sure sense of drama brings Tris- expressive; though some of the clarinet play- tan’s text and music to life with engaging spon- ing is a bit cloudy in tone or has persistent air taneity. He can summon tonal beauty when leaks in the embouchure. necessary (in the long legato lines of `O Konig, HANUDEL das kann ich dir nicht sagen’, for example), and his account of Tristan’s `Delirium’ scene in Act 3 is quite moving. Davis is even more impres- Do you know what an oxymoron is? Here are sive. His Kurwenal is voiced with a big, warm three: educational television, business ethics, baritone that is even and supple. His straight- and political correctness. forward delivery and vocal refinement project 114 May/June 2021 Kurwenal’s benevolent strength of character. From 1906 to 1924 he composed 70 songs Mezzo-soprano Tamara Gallo’s Brangane is for voice and piano, most of them published also well sung, with a full tone and the right by Oliver Ditson or G. Schirmer. No other com- maternal manner. Alexander Kaimbacher’s positions by him (if they even exist) have been wooly bass evokes King Marke’s air of weary published. After 1931 his composing dropped age. off sharply. He eventually slipped into obscuri- The German conductor Robert Reimer ty and died with no surviving relatives, leaving draws beautiful playing from the Janacek Phil- the state of New York to dispose of his posses- harmonic. Transitions are smooth, and instru- sions. Today his name is all but forgotten and mental interplay is gentle. Other conductors his songs have fallen into neglect. This seems have found sharper edges in the score, but this to be the only available recording dedicated kind of sonic homogeneity is a valid aesthetic completely to his songs. All 27 are recorded choice and Reimer makes it work. The various here for the first time. off-stage horns and voices are handled well, His earliest songs bring to mind Victorian giving the listener a palpable sense of space. parlor songs of Arthur Sullivan. Pierce suggests ALTMAN in his liner notes that by 1913 Watts’s tonal lan- guage enlarged its chromatic bounds, perhaps WALTON: Piano Quartet; 2 Pieces; Toccata; reflecting the influence of Goetschius. This can Violin Sonata be heard especially in his piano writing but Matthew Jones, v; Sarah-Jane Bradley, va; Tim also in a more daring and complex vocal line Lowe, vc; Annabel Thwaite, p in the only song cycle he wrote, Vignettes of Naxos 573892—75 minutes Italy, setting nine poems of Sara Teasdale. From the start I wish to compliment the Here Watts sounds almost like an entirely dif- sound of the musicians. No weak links here. I ferent composer. This cycle of songs is the best love the piano quartet; the rest of the music is part of the program. The biggest surprise of the hit or miss. The piano quartet contains fin-de- program was a setting of a text by HL Menck- siecle influences of Fauré, Debussy, and en, the American journalist, essayist, satirist, Ravel—the barrenness of late Debussy and the and cultural critic. The album concludes with richness of range of Fauré particularly. The three more Teasdale settings. violinist has an excellent sound and musical The performances are excellent. Pierce taste, carrying the listener through some of the uses his light lyric voice with grace and preci- drier writing after the piano quartet. I truly sion. His pellucid singing makes good use of marveled at his sound; you simply will not contrasting dynamics and shows sensitivity to hear much better. This disc is a hidden gem. the nuances of the texts—which are supplied, KELLENBERGER though they are hardly needed, as his diction is impeccably clear. WATTS: Songs Pierce and Bacon, faculty colleagues at John Carlo Pierce, t; Joel Bacon, p Colorado State University, have set out to give Centaur 3824—63 minutes his songs the recognition they deserve. They have done well. I’d welcome a follow-up Wt int er Watts (1884-1962) was an American release. composer of art songs. Born in Cincinnati, his Pierce wrote the informative liner notes. early studies were in painting, architecture, R MOORE voice, and organ before enrolling in the Cincinnati Conservatory in 1904 where he WOLF-FERRARI: Violin Sonatas 1-3 studied composition with Pier Alfredo Davide Alagna; Constantino Catena, p Tirindelli, a former classmate and friend of Brilliant 96093—73 minutes Puccini. Further study of composition fol- lowed in 1910 at the Institute of Music Arts in Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari is a terrific “drop-the- New York (now Juilliard) with Percy Goet- needle” composer; there is such an array of schius. By 1919 he had become well estab- influences, reminiscenses, and reflections in lished as a composer and had won significant his music that each of the three pieces here awards, including a fellowship at the MacDow- keeps me guessing. The child of a German ell Colony. His songs were performed by lead- painter and an Italian noblewoman, he ing singers, including and dithered between painting and music before John McCormack, to whom he dedicated sev- choosing the latter and entering the Munich eral songs. Academy as a student of the fine choral-and- American Record Guide 115 organ composer Joseph Rheinberger. From (Tactus 882370, M/A 2019) containing all of his then on he absorbed a great many differing organ music on four discs, begging the ques- styles, and faintly transformed all of them tion why that was not done here, as only one before integrating them into his own work. more CD would make this series complete. The first sonata here, from 1895, is by way Pietro Yon (1886-1943), a significant figure of a graduation piece, Wolf-Ferrari’s official in the early 20th Century organ world, is all but Op. 1. It’s probably the easiest to like of the forgotten today save for one piece, Gesu Bam- sonatas, and not coincidentally the one least bino, heard every Christmas in one of its many trammeled in its influences, which are mainly arrangements. He was an honorary organist at Schumann, Brahms, and the rest of the “main- St Peter’s Basilica, director of music at St stream” Germanic late-19th Century tradition. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, and enjoyed a If pressed, I might have guessed Herzogen- brilliant career as a composer, church musi- berg. It’s stormy, but not too much so, and cian, teacher, and concert organist acclaimed there’s a fine Italian vein lurking in the for his virtuosity, especially on the pedalboard. melodies. After listening to these pieces for a second No. 2 is quite different: full of fidgety chro- time, I continue to find many of them enjoy- maticisms that make me think he’s discovered able, engaging, and unjustly neglected. The Richard Strauss or Max Reger. (There is also, in style is melodic and tonal, and often demands the first movement, a theme strikingly like the a good deal of virtuosity from the performer. second theme of Brahms’s Second Sonata.) This is “audience-friendly” music worthy of This work is six years later than its predeces- exploration by organists. Yon intended many sor, and there’s a certain amount of tumult and of them for a large symphonic organ, here the uncertainty of direction in it. The form is inter- magnificent 5-manual, 115-rank Fisk in Lau- esting, in two movements, a long `Appassiona- sanne Cathedral, Switzerland, capable of pro- to’ followed by an extended recitative that viding many of the stops the composer indi- leads into a calmer `Sostenuto con amore, cated in his scores. semplicemente’. Even here the stress on the Mazzoletti is a fine player and uses the Fisk “semplicemente” isn’t all that strong; there are wonderfully. I find the Sonata Romantica, 12 turbulences struggling to get out. Divertimenti, Hymn of Glory, American Rhap- No. 3 is several decades away from the first sody, and the Concert Studies particularly two, written in 1943. Here it seems that Rhein- worthy of revival on organ recitals, along with berger’s tutelage bore belated fruit, for the the marvelous Concerto Gregoriano, heard outer movements are full of Bachian fugal pas- here in the version for piano and organ. While sages and a great deal else. The liner notes both performances are fine, I prefer the Tactus here call it “casual, sparkling”; quoting Gian- release, as it is recorded on four wonderful notto Bastianelli, they describe Wolf-Ferrari as early 20th Century organs. Notes by the per- “a late nephew of Mozart and Cimarosa”. That former on the composer and music, with pho- seems too simple for me, because there’s all tos and specification. sorts of things going on here, and not all of DELCAMP them smack of the 18th Century. “Casual”, YSAYE: Solo Violin; see Collections sure, but with a most uncasual sort of casual- ness—a nonchalance a shade too studied to be No Comment: word-for-word publicity entirely real. As you’d expect, assuming that We have some overdue and exciting news: The Wolf-Ferrari was living anywhere in Europe in MacDowell Board of Directors voted unani- 1943. mously on June 30, 2020, to adopt an official The performances are splendid from both name change, dropping the word “colony” so players, and the sound is fine. that we simply are known as MacDowell. This THOMSON move was prompted by a petition signed by all members of the staff. As many of you know, ON: 12 Divertimentos; Concerto Gregori- Y MacDowell has long been working toward a ano; Elegy; Toccata; Suite Umoresco; Concert more inclusive and accessible artist residency Studies; Organ Sonatas 1,2,3 Gaia Federica Caporiccio, p; Tommaso Mazzolet- program, and removing the word “colony” ti, org—Brilliant 95912 [3CD] 185 minutes from our name is just one step among other deeper commitments to come. Be well and stay This is meant to be Volume I of Yon’s complete tuned for more exciting news from us in the organ music. I reviewed an earlier release days to come! 116 May/June 2021 Collections Collections are in the usual order: orchestral, chamber ensembles, brass ensembles, bassoon, cello & double bass, clarinet & saxophone, flute, guitar, harp, harpsichord, miscellaneous, oboe, organ, piano, trumpet & brass solos, viola, violin, wind ensembles, early, choral, vocal.

Orchestral Transcriptions one of our readers buy something artificial LISZT: Galop; GODOWSKY: 2 Pieces; RACH- instead of the real thing? MANINOFF: Suite 2 VROON David Stanhope conducting Tall Poppies 265—73:24 Hungarian Serenade VERESS: Szatmari Tancok, Somogyi Tancok, vWe ha e reviewed other music conducted by Violin & Cello Sonatine; FRID: String Trio; David Stanhope (see Nov/Dec 2019). Most of it FARKAS: Notturno; WEINER: String Trio; was music he wrote. Here it is music arranged KOKAI: Serenade for his orchestra by him—all originally written Offenburg String Trio for piano or two pianos. Naxos 551406—76 minutes He tells us that a lot of decent music gets no hearing because it is very expensive to hire If you’d told me, before last month, to name an orchestra to play it. I’m sure that is true. His some Hungarian string trios, I think I’d’ve said solution is presented again here: it’s a digital “the Dohnanyi Serenade” and then stopped. orchestra. After a minute I might have thought of Zoltan Apart from the fact that I want to hear Kodaly’s Intermezzo, but then my wits really piano music on the piano, I have to remark, as would have been at an end. Now here’s an Nathan Faro did, that this does not sound real. hour and a quarter of Hungarian music for It sounds “virtual”—and we are all sick and (mostly) string trio, with nary a note of Doh- tired of the virtual age we have been living thru nanyi or Kodaly on it (though the latter figures this last year. All music suffers from lack of prominently in the notes as educator). That so human performers. No computer can do it. It much of the music screams to me “I am Hun- sounds artificial and mechanical from the first garian!” I attribute to the fact that, like Kodaly piece, though there are sections that come and Bartok, many of these composers were pretty close to “real”. Of course, real orchestras folk ethnomusicologists, garnering tunes and can themselves sound pretty mechanical these textures and harmonies and structural ideas days—often “perfect” in a way that seems from the countryside. unreal. Sandor Veress was one of these, and the It is also true that the sound is sterile— two small pieces called `Szatmari Tancok’ and doesn’t sound like it is being produced in a `Somogyi Tancok’ are short pieces of the real place. Therefore it doesn’t wear well and almost-direct-transcription kind, instantly rec- ends up rather cold and tiresome. Sound ognizable as barely-transmogrified folk music. needs space around it—and that is more true (The notes refer to his journey back to Hungary of orchestral sound than any other kind. in the 70s.) The Sonatine—the only work here The Godowsky Passacaglia is the best thing for only two instruments—is at another here; it sounds as if it were composed for an remove or two, as well as half a century earlier; orchestra. (Well, Godowsky based it on the the finale in particular picks up Hungarian folk opening of the Schubert 8th!) But there are rhythmic and melodic traits, but uses them in a moments even in that piece that sound like an way also derived from the Germanic chamber- electronic organ rather than real winds. That music tradition. The result is fascinating—nei- puzzles me. I thought he was sampling the real ther one nor the other, but greater than either. instruments of the Vienna Symphony, so it Geza Frid’s 1926 Trio was written for his shouldn’t seem so odd. teacher Kodaly, who on the spot proclaimed it The Rachmaninoff Suite 2 was orchestrat- “immediately publishable!” Like Veress’s trios, ed by composer Lee Hoiby, and we reviewed a the finale in particular was based on Frid’s recording of that (May/June 1995). This “treasure hunt for folk music in the country- orchestration is not by Hoiby but by Stanhope. side”. That is the movement marked explicitly At any rate, this ought to be a helpful tech- “all’ungherese”, but the folk influence runs all nology for poor composers; but why should through the piece, Frid’s Op. 1. Frid was Jewish American Record Guide 117 and fled to the Netherlands (no safe haven in Century unless accompanied by other instru- the 40s, as Anne Frank’s Diary attests), made it ments whose “period” timbre-value is more through somehow, and lived there for the rest obvious. There are some recordings of cham- of his life. ber music around the time of Brahms, for Ferenc Farkas, a relentlessly innovative example, but they are all of piano trios and and clever composer, wrote his Notturno in quartets, clarinet quintets, and the like. There’s 1927. He was yet another phonograph-in-the- the Castle Trio in Brahms and Dvorak, the fields man, and the exuberance in him, which Primrose Quartet in Brahms, Erich Hoeprich you can still hear in works from the 1990s (he and the Mosaiques in Brahms.) This is because died in 2000, at 95) made everything he the genuine “period” sound of stringed instru- touched dance a little. Here he is, understand- ments at the turn of the century, full of very ably, more ethnically Hungarian than he was generous portamento and great rhythmic flu- in other and later works—even a trifle raucous idity, strikes almost everyone involved in such occasionally. enterprises as fundamentally repulsive. Laszlo Weiner was less lucky than Frid; he Trained to a faux-18th Century performance died while detained in a Nazi labor camp in style that is itself undergoing constant revision, Lukow, from which about 150 prisoners sur- most players simply stay away—despite there vived, out of an initial population of 12,000. being actual physical evidence of what the His Serenade is softer and more comforting music they love sounded like when it was new. than much of the music here—astonishing, There are exceptions. The Mosaiques considering that his work was written in the Quartet has played the first Bartok Quartet and hellish year 1938. It was his first acknowledged Webern’s Opp. 5 and 9, and Ken Slowik of the work, and he had not much time to write Smithsonian Chamber Ensemble has taken a more. string orchestra through music as late as Rezso Kokai got his hell from the other Strauss’s Metamorphosen. That was pretty side, because he lived in Communist Hungary. pathetic—I remember the “travel back to a The notes here say that he was considered simpler time!” blurb and the butterfly-emerg- “politically suspicious”. Of course, anything ing-from-chrysalis packaging of the US issue. can be deemed “politically suspicious” by a The European one, rather more appropriately, government that wants to damn someone; but was illustrated with a photo of the ruins of fire- all I hear in this Serenade is an earnest desire bombed Dresden. (“Simpler time”, indeed!) to make good music with three stringed instru- But Slowik went on to do the orchestral Trans- ments. figured Night, and that was better. In particu- The performances are good but not stellar. lar, it was about the only disc I have heard that I mean that everything is in place, in tune, and offered strings—no piano, no winds—with played with great gusto, but there isn’t any- some attempt to inflect music as we know it thing striking—no heart-stopping timbre or was inflected in the early 20th Century. melting tone. One thing I do wonder about, Well, here comes a second. The Richter though: the release is titled “Hungarian Sere- Ensemble’s repertoire ranges over four cen- nade”; two of the pieces on it are titled “Sere- turies, but gut strings are common to all of nade”, as well as the Dohnanyi I mentioned at them, and this disc purports to be the begin- the beginning, and a string-trio Serenade by ning of an attempt to record all of the Second Kodaly (though that is for two violins and Viennese School’s chamber music in some- viola, not conventional string trio). What is up thing like “period” fashion. They’ve jumped in with Hungarians and serenades and small towards the early end of the pool, avoiding for ensembles? the present things like Berg’s Lyric Suite and THOMSON Schoenberg’s Third and Fourth Quartets; but it has to be said that none of this music is exactly Vienna 1905-1910 easy. The three pieces they pick here all hover WEBERN: Langsamer Satz; SCHOENBERG: on the edge of tonality, with Berg’s the farthest Quartet 2; BERG: Quartet over the edge and Webern’s closest to the old Richter Ensemble; Mireille Lebel, mz security. Schoenberg straddles the gap, with a Passacaille 1093—60 minutes quartet whose last movement (with mezzo- soprano solo) is popularly thought to be where “Period” stringed instruments in chamber the composer either liberated himself or went music, with very few exceptions, disappear off his head, depending on your point of view. from modern recordings around the mid-19th My first response to the opening of the 118 May/June 2021 Webern was dismay: there’s no portamento Bassoon & Strings there, not one slurpy whisper, and the piece CIESLA: Dance; DEVIENNE: Quartet; sounds as hermetically scrubbed-down as any STROZZI: Vendetta; JACOBI: Potpourri on “modern” rendition. But there is the silkiness Zampa; DU PUY: Quintet; C SCHUMANN: Die of gut strings and a certain flexibility of tempo Gute Nache, die Ich Dir Sage unusual in this music. This is about the earliest Shannon Lowe, bn; Kristin Pfeifer Yu, Ken Davis, Webern we’ve got, and sounds a lot more like v; Laurel Yu, va; Steven Taylor, vc; Maurice Belle, Brahms than it does like anything else, includ- db—MSR 1773—69 minutes ing the same composer’s other quartet from the same year. Only the deliberate fragmenta- I habitually think of a bassoon as a bass instru- tion of some of the textures and occasional ment, probably because that’s its role in a ventures into tritones and the like suggest any- woodwind quintet. But Shannon Lowe shines thing at all of the shy revolutionary to come. her warm instrument in quite a different light. It’s lush music, heavy on the viola, passionate In these works she phrases her long lyrical and tender. lines so that they not only sing but breathe By the end of the Webern I had the idea: with the gorgeous tone of a high baritone. This was to be playing emphasizing the Some works are better than others. The romantic, but not playing actually in the album opens with the Danca Lisboa by Alexis romantic manner. The notes make that clear, Ciesla (b 1967), 11 minutes of linked dances saying that the Rose Quartet (named after with lyrical tunes and infectious irregular Vienna concertmaster Arnold Rose, its first rhythms inspired by fado—sort of “Piazzolla violinist) gave the premiere of Schoenberg’s goes to Lisbon”. The 22-minute Quintet for Op. 7, the quartet before Op. 10 on this record- bassoon and string quartet by Edouard Du Puy ing, but that one couldn’t play like Rose today. (1770-1822) is the most serious work here. Its Why not? Still, they do come much farther three movements are structured like some- towards it than I have heard anyone else do. thing Beethoven would have written in form, The Schoenberg is, by modern standards, harmonic flow, and use of counterpoint. It’s far unusually flexible and soft; even the many more than the 19 minutes of melodic but oth- ponticellos are gentle. The two movements erwise shallow writing in Francois Devienne’s with mezzo-soprano are brilliantly sung by Quartet, Opus 73:3, for bassoon, violin, viola, Mireille Lebel, who has the requisite range and and cello. a sultry tone from top to bottom. When this Quite by chance, the morning before lady tells you she feels the air of other planets, reviewing this album I had listened to Leonard you’re inclined to believe her. She has a fantas- Bernstein’s whooping New York Philharmonic tic theatrical background, including a lot of recording of the overture to Herold’s Zampa. Monteverdi as well as Mozart. Should she ever What a delight to have several themes from the decide to do Book of the Hanging Gardens, I’ll overture show up in the Zampa Potpourri by be on to it like a shot. Carl Jacobi (1791-1852), all interspersed with The Berg is the most radical of the three the string quartet and string bass playing inter- pieces here, Schoenberg’s reputation notwith- ludes before each catchy theme played by the standing, and the Richters really do de- bassoon. It’s a well-written entertainment emphasize the “weirdness” and concentrate ending with the album’s only real flourish. on the lines and their daunting involution. I’ve The album cover calls the players “Shan- heard performances that, superficially, try to nan Lowe and Friends”. I wish she had had make the music hothouse-romantic, sliding better friends at the University of Florida. The and squealing everywhere—the Schoenberg weakness of the string players (especially the Quartet comes to mind—but this gently lead—it’s not clear which violinist is principal) inflected reading, paradoxically, seems closer is clearest in the two short songs, both to its time. Or maybe I’m mistaking the com- arranged by Lowe for bassoon and string quar- fortable for the “authentic”. It’s difficult to tell. tet. In `La Vendetta’ by Barbara Strozzi (1619- THOMSON 77) the strings have a very interesting part, but The generation who ran wild in the 60s has it doesn’t register here because they play with for a long while as professors directed the little expression and are too withdrawn to have fate of university education in the humani- any presence. In Clara Schumann’s `I Bid You ties and social sciences, sadly and badly Good Night’ they are more present but clearly politicizing both. —Joseph Epstein lack eloquence. Also, the level of engineering American Record Guide 119 for the string quartet varies from piece to Goldmund Quartet piece. SAY: Quartet; TABAKOVA: Smile of Flamboyant One reason the Ciesla and Jacobi are so Wings; RIHM: Quartet 4; SOKOLOVIC: Com- effective is the presence of Maurice Belle’s media dell’arte 3; DESSNER: Aheym warmly projected string bass. Perhaps the Berlin 1412—66 minutes other strings needed a solid presence to rise to the occasion, though in the Du Puy perhaps it You’d be forgiven for looking at the cover of was the excellent writing of the composer him- this album and assuming that it is the young self that drew them out. quartet’s first; they are all smiles, riding FRENCH through the countryside in a red, open-top convertible. In fact, we have heard from them Lock and Key II twice before, with glowing reviews from Barnett, Deutsch, Kocher, Kuhn, Wallin-Huff Stephen Chakwin on their early (but not late) Agnes Schwartz, v; Pola Benke, vc; Sarka Adam- Haydn (Naxos 573741, M/A 2017) and Stephen ikova, Elizabeth LaCoste, fl; Weronika Flisek, Jan Estep on their Shostakovich (Berlin 1068, J/F Soucek, ob; Amy Advocat, Ryan Glass, Jiri Javur- 2019). This third album—titled “Travel ek, Daniel Svoboda, cl; Ondrej Sindelar, Jan Smid, Diaries”—puts the group in the foreground bn; Katerina Javurkova, hn; Yoko Hagino, Masako with a strong program of contemporary works Klassen, p—Navona 6335—52 minutes that have entered the repertory since their inception. Navona releases another compilation of con- The centerpiece is Wolfgang Rihm’s 1981 temporary composers and their chamber Quartet 4, an intense, prickly, and opaque music. Minneapolis composer Carol Barnett work that resists explanation but leaves an contributes `Shaker Suite: Canterbury’ for indelible impression. While the Minguet Quar- woodwind quintet; retired Hofstra University tet gives an attentive and reliable account as (NY) professor Herbert Deutsch offers `Ice- part of their Rihm cycle (ColL 20211, M/A land Invention’ for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 2004), I preferred the emotional, robust first and horn; Zurich University of the Arts profes- concert recording by the Alban Berg Quartet, sor Philippe Kocher presents `Projektionen II’ the dedicatees of the work (EMI 54660, N/D for the same instruments. Alabama composer 1993). The Goldmund Quartet has spent years and electrical engineer Kenneth Kuhn submits honing an emotional interpretation of it, hav- `Two Nostalgic Melodies’ for clarinet and ing been coached on it as students by Gunter piano; and California Polytechnic University Pichler, the Alban Berg’s first violinist. They go lecturer Sarah Wallin-Huff closes the concert for broke in their performance, digging into with `The Oracle’ for violin, flute, clarinet, the muck and grime to wrestle the raw emo- cello, and piano. tion in the work. I don’t know if I can declare a Boston musicians Amy Advocat and Yoko definitive account of the piece, but this is cer- Hagino play the Kuhn; Czech musicians Sarka tainly the most devoted. Adamikova, Weronika Flisek, Daniel Svoboda, Bryce Dessner’s `Aheym’ is another piece Jan Smid, and Jindrich Molinger play the Bar- of searing intensity, though considerably more nett; members of the Prague-based Belfiato tonal. I’ve known the piece since the release of Quintet play the Deutsch and the Kocher; and its first recording by the Kronos Quartet in Southern California musicians Agnes 2013 (not reviewed). Kronos gives an exciting Schwartz, Pola Benke, Elizabeth LaCoste, Ryan and reliable performance—but again, the Glass, and Masako Klassen play the Wallin- Goldmund Quartet does not stop at reliable. Huff. They take well-reasoned risks and ratchet up The result is mixed. The Barnett and the the intensity while respecting the arc and Kuhn are sweetly tonal, the Deutsch and the emotional core of the piece, raising it to a new Wallin-Huff are modernist yet accessible, and level. The performance left me breathless. the Kocher is abstract, disjunct, and dissonant. They give an excellent reading of Ana Some of the pieces have real substance; others Sokolovic’s `Commedia dell’arte III’, part of her are weak or scattershot. In the same way, the cycle of portraits of the famous theatre charac- performers can be either highly proficient or ters. They engage with the playful and often merely competent. The Wallin-Huff is given sarcastic portrayals with flair; my favorite is the most spirited reading, and its driving coda the sneaking `Brighella’, with cat-like glissan- is a stirring finish to the album. dos and spiccato like floorboard creaks. HANUDEL As far as I can tell, the other works are 120 May/June 2021 recorded here for the first time. Fazil Say’s tuni, Gregor Piatigorsky, and Pablo Casals. The quartet is subtitled Divorce, depicting the composers include Schubert, Tchaikovsky, breakdown of a relationship, complete with Rachmaninoff, Haydn, Bach, and Faure. The expressions of flirtatiousness and jealousy. I selections show off the cellist’s excellent tech- found the program overbearing and detrimen- nique, and the pianist accompanies him beau- tal to the music; I tuned it out and ended up tifully. The program is thoroughly entertain- enjoying the work immensely. It has a Turkish ing. The ingenious fold-out package and disc character in the melody and especially in the labels are beautifully decorated with paintings rhythm. Asymmetric meters appropriate for by Armenian artist Arevik Mkrtchyan. folk dance abound, though often in menacing FISCH or confrontational situations. `The Smile of Flamboyant Wings’ by Tapeo Dobrinka Tabakova has a softer, pastoral folk Cameron Crozman, vc; Philip Chiu, p character. It opens and closes with a gentle ATMA 2820—52 minutes rocking gesture under a gorgeous violin Here we have a primarily Spanish cello pro- melody, with a still, peaceful section at its cen- gram from the late 19th and 20th centuries ter. This calm, along with the quieter played by two Canadian musicians who have Sokolovic, is a welcome change of pace from made good names for themselves. It contains the relative high intensity of the rest of the pro- Gaspar Cassado’s `Requiebros’, Manuel de gram. This group displays faultless technique Falla’s Suite Populaire Espagnole arranged by and masterly musicianship. Sound is excellent. Paul Kochanski and Maurice Marechal, Mau- This will undoubtedly be a contender for my rice Ravel’s `Piece en forme de Habanera’ next Best of Year list. arranged by Paul Bazelaire and `Alborada del FARO Gracioso’ arranged by Mario Castelnuovo- Be Baroque Tedesco; Joaquin Turina’s Polimnia-Notturno excerpted from Les Musas de Andalucia, Spark—Berlin 301423—45 minutes Granados’s Intermezzo from his opera Spark is the name of the quintet that plays Goyescas, arranged by Gaspar Cassado, Alb- these arrangements (or re-arrangements) of eniz’s Asturias from his Suite Espanola 1, music from the Baroque period. The quintet is arranged by Crosman, Alberto Ginastera’s apparently well known in Europe. Some of the `Triste’ arranged by Pierre Fournier, Ponce’s 12 selections are based on well-known `Estrellita’ arranged by Jascha Heifetz, and baroque pieces, for example Bach’s `Sheep Alberto Guerrero’s Chants Oublies. May Safely Graze’ and music by Couperin and Crozman has been named Radio Canada’s Handel. But the arrangements rarely let you 2019-20 classical Revelation artist. His debut hear or recognize the original melodies. They recording for ATMA was also with pianist Chiu are mostly obscured by the modern and sup- (2787; July/Aug 2019, p 173). Both are musi- posedly up-to-date arrangements that I found cians of fine fingers and good taste. The title of difficult to listen to. Despite the disc’s title the this program refers to a tapas bar in Barcelona results betray whatever intent the arrangers and is presented in the cellist’s liner notes as had. It is neither Baroque nor Modern. It’s just his rendition of a tapas party. The result is a ugly. satisfying meal that we are invited to share FISCH with these fine players, recorded in fine sound. D MOORE Songs of My Childhood Vox Humana Suren Bagratuni, vc; Hrant Bagrazyan, p Isang Enders, Mischa Meyer, vc; Sunwook Kim, p; Blue Griffin 561 [2CD] 114 minutes Sean Shibe, g; Joachim Enders, harmonium Berlin 301212—68 minutes This is an interesting collection of 32 well- known and a few lesser known miniatures Here is a program of primarily French music arranged for cello and piano. The performers played on the cello by Isang Enders alone and are both from Armenia and are currently on with friends. All of the arrangements are by the staff at Michigan State University. They as- him. Played by him alone we hear Igor Stravin- sembled the album as a tribute to their piano sky’s Elegy (1944), a viola piece played here in teachers. The wide-ranging program includes viola register. With cellist Meyer we have arrangements for cello and piano by Mr Bagra- (1656-1728) in `Les Voix American Record Guide 121 Humaines’, No. 63 from his Pieces de Viole 2 Ligeti’s Solo Cello Sonata consists of a and Grand Ballet, No. 13 from Book 3. With Dialogo and Capriccio. The Capriccio is virtu- Kim on piano we have Debussy’s Cello Sonata, osic and handled with aplomb. Back to the Beau Soir, Pantomime, Intermezzo, and `Clair Baroque, there’s another Marais gamba piece, de Lune’ and `Les Angelus’, with Shube on gui- and Telemann drops by with a demanding but tar. amusing Allegro vivace from a gamba sonata. But we aren’t finished with the piano yet, Thierry Escaich (b. 1965) wrote a lengthy and since we have 3 Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) virtuosic Cantus 1 in 2005—this technically pieces followed by a nocturne by Lili demanding piece is getting its first recording Boulanger (1893-1918) originally for violin and here. piano. Messiaen’s `Eau’ from Fete des Belles Now we return to romanticism with Eaux (1937) is a big 11-minute piece here Solveig’s Song from Grieg’s Peer Gynt. We arranged for cello with Isang’s brother return to present times with Giovanni Solli- Joachim on harmonium. ma’s (b. 1962) `Lamentatio’. Christian yells it The liner notes are a description of Isang out vocally! Enders’s life and colleagues written by himself, Enough? Nope, here comes Charles Chap- and a conversation between him and Hannah lin with a Love theme from “Modern Times” Schmidt that covers the music played. The that you’ll recognize. This is followed by `Yes- sound is excellent. terday’ by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. His sound is strong but friendly. He plays a Finally, from the cellist himself we have a Vuillaume cello made in 1840, and the variety timeless piece of relatively quiet beauty. of styles he employs and his clear enjoyment All of this is interesting to hear. La Marca’s of the music are sufficient to make me want liner notes come to us in French and English more of him. I have heard him playing Bach’s in an interview by Claire Boisteau, a Timeless Solo Suites (Berlin 552, May/June 2015). I liked Cello article by Stephane Friederich, and an him then, but I love him now. Is it significant unattributed biography that tells us that he that his description of each of his colleagues studied with most of the famous cellists of our ends with a reference to drinking with them? era and describes his considerable achieve- Well, I can’t smell it on anyone’s breath here. ments. The sound is somewhat distant, but the This is a more serious program to listen to results will catch you up. than to write about. D MOORE D MOORE River Town Duo Cello 360 Philip Alejo, db; Claire Happel Ashe, hp Christian-Pierre la Marca Furious Artisans 6824—53 minutes Naive 7260—77 minutes This was all written for these two by young Here is a solo cello program without a capital composer friends, only one of which has been letter anywhere in the contents listing. It opens recorded before. Alejo is Associate Professor of with monsieur de sainte-colombe, le fils (c. Music at the University of Arizona, and Ashe 1660-1720) in the prelude to his suite no. 4 in e was a 2007-08 Fullbright Scholar in Prague and minor. I’m returning to normal capitalization. holds degrees from Yale University and the We next have John Dowland (1563-1626) with University of Illinois. `Lachrimae Antiquae’. This requires more than Our first composer is Caroline Shaw (b. one cello, so Christian records himself more 1982), the youngest recipient of a Pulitzer than once and puts it together electronically. Prize in Music in 2013. Hers is a 4-minute Next comes Marin Marais (1656-1726) with piece from 2014, thoughtful and then jazzy `Les Folies d’Espagne’ from his second book of and grunting. Whitney Ashe (b. 1971), Instruc- viol pieces, played gently and in style. Jean- tor of Jazz Piano at Western Illinois University, Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) depicts `Les wrote `The Circuitous Six’, a 5-minute piece Sauvages’. From Pablo Casals (1875-1973) we from 2016. This is a woodsy number, not as have `Song of the Birds’. Henri Dutilleux (1916- jazzy as one might expect. Derick Evans (b. 2013) gives us Trois Strophes sur le nom de 1991) is a Buffalo boy who got a PhD at the Sacher. That takes us gradually all over the University of Buffalo and currently performs cello and up the back to ’s with his band The Best Strangers. His 6- Lament from Dido and Aeneas, again for two minute `On Lotusland’ dates from 2015 and cellos. snaps at us out of the depths with strong teeth 122 May/June 2021 sometimes, running in all directions. Hannah This one will stay on my creaking shelves, Lash (b.1981) got degrees from the Eastman though I cannot recommend such doom and School of Music and Harvard, the Cleveland gloom for all. Institute and Yale. Enough? Her 13-minute D MOORE Leaves, Space dates from 2015. It ends not in space, but in the depths. Iris Trio Evan Premo (b. 1985) who holds degrees in Kurtag, Mozart, Schumann, Weib double-bass performance and composition Christine Carter, cl; Molly Carr, va; Anna Petrova, from the University of Michigan, where he p—Coviello 92002—63 minutes studied with Michael Daugherty, Susan Botti, and Evan Chambers. His Two Meditations on Canadian clarinetist Christine Carter is a pro- Poems of Mary Oliver were composed in the fessor at Memorial University in St John’s, woods in 2017 and last 10 minutes. They are Newfoundland; American violist Molly Carr titled `Early Morning, New Hampshire’ and serves on the faculties of the Juilliard School `Linen of Words’. They are quiet, lyrical pieces and the Jonas School of Music in , that put the double bass up in the stratosphere Spain; and Bulgarian pianist Anna Petrova is where it lives with grace. Our last acquain- the Artistic Director of the Jonas School. A tance is Stephen Andrew Taylor. He is our old- decade ago, they were all graduate students at est fogey, born in 1965, who grew up in Illinois Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music; and studied at Northwestern and in my home- and in the spring of 2013, their performance to town at Cornell University. His 5-movement a sold-out audience at the German Consulate 15-minute suite is titled Oxygen. It comes out in New York earned them an invitation to the and hits us with bricks and cement, scraping Mozart Festival in Wurzburg, Germany. Since and sliding about all over. The movements are then, they have appeared as the Iris Trio in Phlogiston, Betaglobin, Pulse, Hemoglobin North America and Europe. alpha, and Caix? Whew, I hope those instru- This is a studio recording of their April ments survived that battering. 2018 Germany concert tour “Homage and All in all, this is a quite interesting and Inspiration”, a pairing of two recital favorites unusual program, played with total involve- and two contemporary pieces that presume to ment by these outstanding players. I hope to evoke the spirit of these favorites. The Schu- hear more from both players and composers. mann Fairy Tales precedes Homage to R. Sch The recorded sound is rather amazingly rich by Hungarian pianist-composer Gyorgy Kurtag and full-throated. (b. 1926), who during his tenure at the Franz D MOORE Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest was moved to write his single-movement work Gentleness and Melancholy after coaching a student ensemble playing the Kaori Uemura, gamba Schumann. The Mozart Kegelstatt Trio pre- Ramee 1915—67 minutes cedes a companion piece requested by the Wurzburg Mozart Festival. The young German This is a grogram of mostly gloomy Baroque composer Christof Weib (b. 1986) responded music played by a single viola da gamba with- with his Conversations Among Friends. out accompaniment. The composers are The Iris Trio plays with great beauty, clari- Tobias Hume, Jean de Sainte-Colombe, fol- ty, prowess, authenticity, and teamwork; and lowed by his son (Tombeau pour Monsieur de the group seems comfortable in any genre, Sainte-Colombe le pere)—14 minutes, from the rich tonality and direct expression of Antoine Forqueray, Marin Marais, Carl the Mozart and the Schumann to the abstract, Friedrich Abel, and Telemann. disjointed, and pointillistic utterances of the Kaori Uemura plays two viols, one with 6 Kurtag and the Weib. When the three perform- strings, one with 7. He plays with fine fingers ers are on the same page, outlining structure and a sensitive engagement with the sadness and sharing the emotion of the moment, the and solitude of the music. An entirely sad solo effect is splendid; but sometimes they drift spectrum doesn’t seem very satisfying to me. apart and the music loses steam. Fans of con- Liner notes are by Uemura himself, in English, temporary composers will appreciate their German, French, and Japanese. We are told commitment to esoteric scores, rendering not a word about him. He has been about us in them with the same respect they give to the Baroque chamber groups for a while. I have traditional canon. Readers who expect the two recordings including him from 1987 and 1993. new pieces to follow in the same footsteps as American Record Guide 123 the beloved Mozart and the lovely Schumann, Beethoven’s birth year is wrong on the back though, will be sorely disappointed. cover. Most people who might buy this are HANUDEL knowledgeable enough to catch it rather than believe it. Flute & Harp GORMAN Aeolus Duo—Antes 319315—67 minutes American Contemporary Flute Several classical bonbons by Faure, Ravel, Pärt, Dieter Flury, Dijana Bistrovic, fl; Bruno Philipp, and Satie mingle with sonatas by Bach (G cl; Branimir Pusticki, vc; Ieva Osa, p minor, S 1020) and Spohr (C minor). Our flutist Navona 6296—47 minutes contributes a 7-minute piece called Melan- choly. Mathias von Brenndorff and Maria Solo pieces, duets, and a trio make up the pro- Stange spell their duo Aiolos, but it refers to gram. Although nothing comes with the disc, the ancient Greek keeper of the winds who Navona’s web site has a wealth of information: was king of an island near Sicily. Our flutist’s biographies, videos, and interviews with the playing is entirely professional, but not the composers. ultimate in richness available on several simi- John Bilotta (b 1948) also studied psychol- lar recordings. The difference is a matter of ogy, obtaining bachelor’s and master’s both tone and vibrato. From the harp, Maria degrees. His Capricci (2016) for flute and Stange accompanies wonderfully and is piano opens with a minute of busy energy, picked up very well. Art by Dorothee Aschoff then quiets considerably, ambles along ami- (b 1965) adorns the covers of the booklet. ably, then resumes its busy activity for about a GORMAN minute and a half. The effect is capricious but also forgettable. Several of his other works Folk Song Variations have been recorded; perhaps they are better. Beethoven, Doppler, Kuhlau, Walckiers Japanese-American composer, arranger, Anna Besson; Olga Pashchenko, p and pianist Mari Kotskyy tells us Colors (2019) Alpha 639—71 minutes for flute, clarinet, and piano was inspired by seeing a yellow butterfly flit around a yellow Nationalism is the theme for this program, or flower in early April. Her piece evokes three folk music perhaps. The selections are six of colors: yellow for happiness and optimism, Beethoven’s National Airs with Variations, blue for trust, calmness, and peace, and Opp. 105 & 107; Doppler’s Wallachian Airs, orange for confidence and cheer. It opens with Opus 10 and Hungarian Pastoral Fantasy, a dynamic 3+3+2 pulse, and the flute and clar- Opus 26; Kuhlau’s Variations on an Old inet are blended more than contrasted. This Swedish Air from the Sonata in G, Opus 83:1; miniature is a delight. It imbues the good feel- and the `Rondo of the Auvergne’ from Flutist’s ings she intends her music to communicate. Relaxations, Opus 47 by Eugene Walckiers. German-American Carl Vollrath wrote The Anna Besson plays a modern copy of a Glass of Absinthe for flute and piano about the flute made by Wilhelm Liebel of Dresden 1875-6 painting by Degas. He offers touching around 1830 and a Tulou system flute by Jean- episodes of sympathy, contemplation, and Baptiste Mangeant of Lyon made around 1850; reverie. Navona 6295 (not reviewed) offers an Olga Pashchenko plays a Conrad Graf fortepi- entire program of his flute music, including a ano dating from around 1825. What I hear sonata. from them has great nuance and sensitivity. Born in 1953, educator, conductor, oboist, The imitation of a bagpipe from Eugene Wal- and composer Marvin Carlton died January 2, ckiers comes across very effectively in his short 2021. His Romance for flute and piano (2016) yet challenging piece. The two instruments are is in fact an elegant, stately minuet interrupted given ideal balance. All the technicalities are by moments of apparent bird song. To the clean and clear. This is the definition of sprez- extent that this is a romance, then, it appears zatura: doing something so well it appears to be for the love of life itself. Horn player, entirely natural and effortless. composer, and attorney Andrew LeWinter won Their biographies are written all in capital the Prague Spring Competition in 1992 and letters, which comes across like a press performed professionally for about 15 years release. There are pictures of the performers before he practiced law. His Waltz for flute and but none of the instruments. It would be nice cello opens with pizzicato playing. It goes on to know which flute is played when. to offer more mystery and meditation than 124 May/June 2021 merry movement. Pianist, composer, conduc- Peter Green, `Use Me’ (1972) by Bill Withers, tor, professor, and arts administrator Allen and `I Wish’ (1976) by Stevie Wonder. Brings wrote Three Lais for solo flute from Close recording captures traditional play- 1975 to 85; 1975 was the year of his first ASCAP ing as well as percussive effects and air Award. They search for meaning without find- sounds. Haunting might transport ing it. But perhaps for you they may suggest “a you to Israel, Palestine, or some place like it, poem in an ancient tongue read aloud in an and evokes a male blues singer. It is all given to environment of stone and desert sand by a us with care and character. To the extent that solitary poet”. some content might be foreign, it is catchy Percussionist, composer, and professor rather than challenging. Since both members Kenneth Eggert has developed a system of 10 of the duo bring flexibility, variety, and accom- symmetrical modes he considers “tied sym- plishment to their playing, this is a program bolically to wishing the world into a better you’re apt to enjoy if you’re open to its theme. sense of balance”. He wrote Ondine’s Flute in GORMAN 2012 to explore associations and concerns about water, including our need for it and our French Flute & Harp pollution of it. The description has more inter- Andrea Manco; Stefania Scapin est than the piece. Brilliant 96018—51 minutes Charles Savage (b 1958) wrote Mad Rush Would you like to hear about an hour of songs to the End for clarinet and tenor saxophone in by Fauré, Debussy, and Ravel played instead of 2001 to examine conflict and resolution. In the sung? Does it bother you that with the texts adaptation for two flutes he aims to create a removed you might lack some of the informa- unified “super-flute”. This is pretty good. tion that directed musical decisions? Does it Swiss flutist Dieter Flury also studied appeal to you that without lyrics you might be mathematics at the Federal Institute of Tech- able to appreciate the musical interpretation nology in Zurich. He joined the orchestra of of the texts better? the Vienna Opera in 1977 and served as a prin- Now consider these details: Andrea Manco cipal flutist of the Vienna Philharmonic from has been principal flutist of La Scala since 1981 to 2017 and artistic director from 2005 to 2015. Stefania Scapin has won several compe- 14. Since 1996 he has taught at the University titions. She completed her master’s degree in of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. He plays harp performance at the Jacopo Tomadini a 14k gold Yamaha flute with exquisite phras- Conservatory in Udine in 2019. These French ing, a plush, rich sound, and superb musicali- composers and songs were the subject of her ty. His collaborators are also stupendous. thesis. A few other transcriptions have been GORMAN added to the program, like Debussy’s familiar Reverie and Faure’s Sicilienne. Flute & Guitar The sound is impressively, exquisitely Gruca White Ensemble beautiful. The playing is too. Although nobody Big Round 8964—57 minutes might “need” this set of transcriptions, they do offer one way to get away from the cares of this The Gruca White Ensemble made its debut in world, and that’s needed a lot lately. 2013 on Cleveland radio station WCLV. It con- GORMAN sists of Americans Linda White playing con- cert, alto, and bass flute and guitarist Robert German mid-20th Century Gruca. A world music theme pervades the pro- Fortner, Genzmer, Henze, Hindemith, Holler gram, with a bossa nova in 5/4, an homage to Francesca Pagnini, fl; Annibale Rebaudengo, p Astor Piazzolla, a klezmer “prayer for peace in Vermeer 40025—67 minutes the Middle East”, a piece written originally for Japanese traditional instruments shinobue Wv e ha e four sonatas and a sonatina written and koto, and an imitation of the West African between 1936 and 55, all in 3 or 4 movements. kora, a plucked string instrument. Several One of them is Gallic: the Second Sonata by tracks come from suites by guitarist-com- Karl Holler (1907-87). Another has a slight posers like Stephen Goss and Patrick Roux, or French connection not mentioned in the brief pianist-composer Marshall Griffith. The oldest background notes. Since there are other inter- selections—classics, so to speak—come from esting details involved, and they are so little pop music: `Black Magic Woman’ (1968) by known, this history is worth explaining briefly. American Record Guide 125 Hindemith’s was to be per- Although these selections are written well formed in Berlin by Gustav Scheck and Walter for the instruments, at least two have the Gieseking, but the German government can- abstract and academic quality of mid-century celed the program because to them Hindemith modernism. They don’t seem to have much was a “cultural bolshevist” and several other reason for being, and neither do the flutist’s things, among them an “atonal noise maker”. interpretations appear to have much convic- As a result, the first performance would be tion behind them. She gives us the notes with- contested between two very accomplished out making them into anything more. Frances- American immigrants, who eventually ca Pagnini and Annibale Rebaudengo give arranged a sort of compromise. thoroughly professional renditions, but al- The first performance was given in Wash- though our flutist is clearly accomplished, her ington at the Eighth Biennial Festival of Cham- playing isn’t compelling. They are balanced ber Music held at the in well in somewhat boxy sound. The standards April 1937. This concert series was a major for flute and piano by Prokofieff, Martinu, Bur- event covered by Olin Downes in The New ton, Grier, Damase, Poulenc, Feld, and Gubai- York Times as well as many other newspapers dulina written around this time are not chal- and periodicals, in large part because it was lenged by these contenders. Hindemith’s first trip to the United States and Danilo Prefumo’s notes on the program are because he performed. A lunchtime conversa- in Italian with English translation. To discover tion with Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge became how much better some of this can sound, try a prelude to his immigration in 1940. Franco- Jeffrey Khaner on Avie, on American flutist and conductor Georges Bar- Solo Musica (Jan/Feb 2012), or Anne-Cather- rere and Puerto-Rican-born pianist Jesus Ma- ine Heinzmann on Thorofon (July/Aug 2012). I ria Sanroma gave the premiere of the sonata. haven’t heard Xavier Relats and Jordi Maso on Just a few days later, Egyptian-born Greek-Am- ASV (May/June 2002), but they play both erican flutist, polyglot, and cryptologist Lam- Holler flute sonatas and his piano sonatina. bros Callimahos performed it on his Town Hall GORMAN debut recital, and then Barrere performed it again with Lydia Hoffmann Behrendt for the Contemporary Flute & Guitar League of Composers at the Cosmopolitan Quatra Duo—Navona 6306—61 minutes Club in New York. Behrendt (1894-1971), largely forgotten today, is worth another aside. Flutist Michelle Stanley and guitarist Jeff She and her Alsatian-born husband, a profes- LaQuatra have been performing together since sor, rented a spare room in their house to Fred 1998, married in 2018, and officially formed Rogers after he dropped out of Dartmouth in their duo then. Based in Colorado, they have 1948; while taking lessons with her he memor- appeared at two European music festivals, ized a 100-page piano concerto, and then in given programs across the United States, and college majored in music and minored in made a six-concert tour of China in 2019. In French. 2010 the Arabesque Duo recorded Jeff LaQua- The concision of Fortner’s writing is tra’s arrangement of Brahms’s 3 Intermezzos, admirable until he concludes with a fugue Opus 117, on Centaur (Jan/Feb 2013: 188). that’s just plain tedious. At the end it peters Two of these pieces are commissions of out, leaving the impression of “well, OK then”. theirs: the Suite (2016-19) by guitarist-com- Henze’s style is far more engaging than his poser James McGuire of Mankato, Minnesota, teacher’s. His piece also ends softly. Did they and Painted Music (2017) by guitarist, com- coordinate this? Both were written the same poser, and beekeeper Bryan Johanson of Port- year—1947. land, Oregon. We also have Osvaldo Golijov’s The opening movement of Harald Genz- Fish Tale (1998) and From the Dreaming mer’s Second Sonata seems to be a musing on (1991-7) by Australian guitarist, composer, and the motifs of Hindemith’s opening movement. visual artist Phillip Houghton (1954-2017). Art II and III remind me of Francaix not in their by Paul Klee appears on the covers because it Frenchness but in their energy and neoclassi- is the basis for Johanson’s piece. cism. This is the most musical selection, with This is likeable and listenable writing Holler’s a close second. All of the program is played with fluidity. Additional variety comes postwar except the Hindemith. Why couldn’t from the guitar’s tone palette, deeper mem- they have introduced us to another unfamiliar bers of the flute family, and extended tech- composer such as Hermann Ambrosius? niques such as flutter-tonguing. A well-cen- 126 May/June 2021 tered flute sound and interpretations that competitions around the world. These compe- imbue each note with meaning grant a result titions are judged by some of the world’s best well worth paying attention to. This album is guitarists, so performers must be at the top of good enough to put next to the Arc Duo on their game. Azica (Jan/Feb 2013: 185) or other more famil- Aguiar’s blisteringly fast and clean tech- iar examples such as Boyd-Goluses or the nique shines in pieces like Carlos Escobar’s Cavatina Duo. `Baiao de Lacan’, but his youth (he’s barely 20) Johanson’s Cretan Rhapsody for orchestra shows in Anibal Sardinha’s `Enigma’—while appears on Albany (Sept/Oct 1994: 225), his conservatively expressive, it could have been guitar duet 13 Ways of Looking at 12 Strings delivered with more feeling; it needs a wider was released on Soundset 942 in 2019 (not re- range of dynamics and a more flowing rubato. viewed), and solo guitar pieces have been re- Repertoire on the program varies from Dil- corded on Bridge (Jan/Feb 1999: 223) and ermando Reis’s romantic `Si ela perguntar’ to Naxos (Jan/Feb 2002: 225). McGuire’s 1978 the very contemporary `El reloj de Teresa’ by Suite in Popular Style appears on Shakti Rec- Juan de Dios Garcia Aguilera. ords (not reviewed) and other flute-guitar Villa-Lobos’s Choros No. 1 starts out quite duets on Centaur (May/June 2008: 227). If this literal and staid, but blossoms later with has been your introduction to Phillip Hough- improvised notes, rubato, articulation, and ton, don’t let it stop here. Among several pos- chordal rhythms, ending with some sweet har- sible choices, try particularly In Amber for gui- monics—all in the spirit of the Brazilian choro. tar and string quartet on ABC 4764435 or Aguiar’s improvisation doesn’t stop there. He 4817895 (not reviewed) or guitar quartets on inserts a lovely harmonic section into Villa-Lo- Tall Poppies 221 (not reviewed), Naxos 579060 bos’s `Mazurka-Choro’ from Suite Populaire (not reviewed), Soundset (Jan/Feb 2015: 200), Bresilienne. I’m fairly certain the composer or Chandos (Mar/Apr 2017: 197). himself would have enjoyed these lively inter- GORMAN pretations. Marco Perieira’s `Bate-coxa’ is becoming Water Music an often-heard piece in these collections, as Alja Velkaverh, fl; Antonia Schreiber, hp has been Isaias Savio’s `Batucada’; Aguiar Hanssler 20041—75 minutes plays them both brilliantly. You can’t hear this playing and not be uplifted! Recorded in April 2020, this program offers the Liner notes by Graham Wade are informa- Suite in Duo (1927, not 24 as in the booklet) by tive and a nice complement to the excellent Jean Cras, 3 Themes (published 1970) by Marc music. Berthomieu, 3 Impressions (1953) by Eugene MCCUTCHEON Bozza, The Source: At the Fountain (published 1897) by Albert Zabel, Algae (published 1988) Bokyung Byun, guitar by Bernard Andres, Syrinx (1913) by Claude Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Walton, Ponce, Sierra Debussy, Toward the Sea 3 (1981-89) by Toru Byun 0—61 minutes Takemitsu, and Naiads (1971, not 73) by Wil- liam Alwyn. Rarely does one hear such a confluence of Alja Velkaverh’s radiant flute sound and artist and composer in a performance; this Antonia Schreiber’s radiant harp ought to sounds like the two have become one. Gui- delight you as much as the selections them- tarist Bokung Byun has achieved this in Escar- selves or the quality of the recording. They are raman by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. That principal flutist and harpist in the Gurzenich composer’s music for the guitar is consistently Orchestra of Cologne. superb, and Byun’s performance is nothing GORMAN less than captivating. The joy of this music emanates from the first notes—especially the Brazilian Guitar delicate, spacious pianissimos in IV. Byun’s Pereira, Gnattali, Villa-Lobos, Reis flowing phrases are intimately entwined with Pedro Aguiar Naxos 574069—64 minutes the composer’s keen sense of harmony, and, coupled with technique that enables Byun to Brazilian guitarist Pedro Aguiar sings through speak eloquently and vibrantly, this perform- his guitar on this recording of of Brazilian ance meets all the the formidable technical music. It was produced on the respected challenges with seeming ease. Naxos Laureate Series—winners of guitar William Walton’s often-heard Five Baga- American Record Guide 127 telles are a delight! Byun’s interpretation tions. But the slower tempos do not detract enlivens them with creative phrasings, articu- from the emotional intent of the music. lations, spacing, and dynamics, which take the Bela Bartok’s Sonata for Solo Violin con- listener beyond most performances I have cludes the recording. At over 28 minutes this is heard, especially in the first two movements. a truly monumental work to transcribe, let Imbued with the most contemporary alone perform, and reminds this reviewer of vocabulary on this recording, Roberto Sierra’s Segovia’s groundbreaking transcription of the virtuosic sonata is performed with all its dra- Bach `Chaconne’ back in 1935. At that time it matic theatricality by Byun, expanding the was truly shocking to people’s ears—the possibilities of the guitar’s already formidable reviews were passionate on both sides! Dejour dynamic and tonal ranges. must be applauded for his devotion to the Liner notes would have been a welcome ideal of adapting substantial music for the gui- addition to this recording, but the music tar; but, as much as we may wish that all music speaks for itself. could be effective on the guitar, it is not so. The MCCUTCHEON transcription still sounds like recognizable Bartok, and Dejour’s fingering often brings out Guitar Transcriptions some sustained contrapuntal voicings that are Bach, Bartok, Berg, Gesualdo not possible on the violin. But it pales in com- Christophe Dejour, g—Naxos 574259—64 min parison to performances on the violin by com- petent virtuosos like Tedi Papavrami, whose This is a unique recording by Danish guitarist reading comes in a full 4 minutes shorter than Christophe Dejour, who is no stranger to the this one. It is not that Dejour is anything less concert stage or to transcribing music for the than a fine guitarist; it simply lies in the medi- guitar from other instruments. He arranged um. The difference is felt most in the conclud- both Albeniz’s Iberia and Granados’s Goyescas ing Presto, where the violin is simply more in their entirety for his Trio Campanella adept at speed and in generating energy that decades ago. This recording presents music the guitar simply cannot. from several different style periods and is a Anyone who is a fan of any of the above testament to the creativity of both Dejour and composers will enjoy this effort by a fine gui- the greater guitar community. tarist to expand the guitar’s repertoire. (1566-1613) was an Italian MCCUTCHEON composer and lutenist whose works some- times flaunted unusual and experimental Hollywood Swing moments. While most of his `Canzon Francese Katona Duo—Solo Musica 333—53 minutes del Principe’ conforms to compositional norms of the day, there are a few “off-the-wall” This project started when twin brothers Zoltan harmonies and scales that are, shall we say, and Peter Katona were invited to play a con- unexpected. Scholars differ on their interpre- cert based on Hollywood themes in Austria. tations of these moments, but for the purposes They are known for their quasi-rock-star status of this review, one can only say that they are in Europe, so this wasn’t much of a stretch, but present, and the guitar captures the Gesualdo it did inspire them to arrange some tunes that idiom well. we hear on this recording. An effective transcription of Bach’s Chro- `Minor Swing’ by Django Reinhardt is per- matic Fantasia and Fugue follows, and is per- formed with appropriate articulations, bend- formed quite respectably but slower than usu- ing, and ornaments. The twins’ interpretation ally heard on a keyboard. of Reinhardt’s `Nuages’, originally played on Alban Berg’s Piano Sonata is transcribed steel strings, brings out the lovely theme well meticulously, and Dejour is not at all intimi- on their nylon strings, with attention to their dated by the density of the music, retaining the unique tone colors. most important notes in the guitar’s range— Effective guitar percussion on the theme half the piano’s. More noticeable is the guitar’s from `Game of Thrones’ with a lead guitar sec- smaller dynamic range, making this somewhat tion might appeal to younger pop music audi- less expressive than it can be on the piano; but ences. This is not great music to work with, but that is always the case when moving music keeping with past concerts performed by the from the piano to the guitar. Another differ- duo in leather pants to outdoor rock crowds in ence here is the tempo—it takes 14 minutes, Europe, the twins are tapping into a different compared to 12 or less in many piano rendi- market than your typical classical duo. 128 May/June 2021 The their arrangement of `Pink Panther’ gertip tone. And the London Symphony has preserves the theme but the insertion of extra the horsepower as well as the fine soloists— notes detracts from the melody. The use of especially the wonderful English horn in II—to interesting percussion with the fingernails make this a reading to remember. Also from adds a mysterious touch to the music. the standard repertory are Falla’s solo Truer to original scores are excerpts from `Homanaje’ (1920) and conductor Karlsen’s Leonard Bernstein’s `West Side Story’ where arrangement for guitar and very small ensem- the percussion adds considerably to the ble of Albeniz’s `Evocation’ (1905, originally excitement of energetic movements such as for piano). The sounds produced by this sextet `America’. (flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano) are `Schindler’s List’ is balanced a little too haunting, from the husky-toned solo much toward the accompaniment, but other- at the beginning to the magically blended wise beautifully played. The closing theme sonorities of the final chords. done in artificial harmonics and strummed Of most interest, however, are the new tremolo creates a new perspective on this works. Both combine the traditional sounds of music. the other pieces with contemporary harmonic Several preludes and fugues from Mario and creative freedom. Francisco Coll’s 5-move- Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Well-Tempered Gui- ment, 18-minute Turia (2017) has surreal pas- tars round out the program. That fine Italian sages, such as at 4:07 in I, where bowed string composer settled in Hollywood and wrote film harmonics combine with high woodwind scores for a living. The music is played well, pitches in an eerie portion of a long guitar though not as musical in terms of phrasing cadenza. II is a shock, like awakening from a and sensitivity as other recordings of these dream into a jolting and aggressive nightclub. brilliant pieces. III returns to the dream state, looking through Overall, this is a well-played recording, the haze of a modern lens back to a time when which, even though recorded without the full harmonies were tightly controlled. IV is a audio spectrum (it sounds like the higher fre- strange rumination, V its brief but hard driving quencies have been attenuated somewhat), opposite. It is a thoroughly captivating work. broadens the scope of classical guitars—the The album ends with Pete Harden’s 13- twins have plenty of technique and spirit to minute Solace and Shimmer (2016). From the bring this music to life. start we are transported to Rodrigo’s world, MCCUTCHEON but there’s something wrong in those lovely, quiet chords: one guitar string is a quarter-step Jacob Kellerman, g out of tune. From there, things are thought- Rodrigo, Coll, Falla, Albeniz, Harden provoking and unsettling, instruments com- London Philharmonic, Norrbotten NEO/ Christ- bining non-traditional sounds, all fading away ian Karlsen—BIS 2485 [SACD] 64 minutes in non-pitched breathiness at the end. KILPATRICK Here are Swedes looking at Spain and seeing warmth, romance, passion, and mystery. Gui- Through Space and Time tarist Jacob Kellerman, conductor Christian Jens-Uwe Popp, g; Jochen Ross, mand Karlsen, and the new-music sextet Norrbotten Naxos 551442—50 minutes NEO all hail “from a land as far from Spain as it’s possible to get while remaining in Europe: Guitar and mandolin have been played togeth- cold, Lutheran Sweden”. As conductor Christ- er for well over a century, flourishing especial- ian Karlsen says, “Scandinavians have long ly in Germany, Australia, New Zealand and the had an idea of Spain as somewhere that, for USA, between the 1890s and 1920s. The simi- most of the year, has everything we don’t larities and differences between the two have”. And although Joaquin Rodrigo’s ubiqui- instruments make them suitable partners for a tous Concierto de Aranjuez (1939) “was the wide variety of musical styles, and in this last to fall into the program”, it is where it recording two excellent German musicians, begins. guitarist Jens Uwe-Popp and mandolinist It’s a beautiful account. Kellerman has Jochen Ross, explore several of them. everything the work needs: excellent technical John Dowland’s `Frog Galliard’ is arranged skills, singing tone, impulsiveness. His nail skillfully for the duo, with the guitar playing tone is relatively soft, not hard-edged; his tim- the melody in its tenor voice—an unusual bral contrasts are heard more with vibrant fin- octave for guitarists, but it leaves the soprano American Record Guide 129 range open for the mandolin, whose range is Rydberg’s interpretations are full of expres- perfect for the spritely divisions heard here. sion, but sometimes have unstylistic elements. The recorded sound on this track is a bit heavy For example, at the end of the Bach `Cha- on the guitar side. conne’ a vibrato is repeatedly used that would There is a profusion of excellent tracks on be more suited to a rock song. this disc, including Popp’s own `Nessiah’ and A transcription of Chopin’s Nocturne, Op. Chris Thile’s `Raining at Sunset’. Standing out 9:2, is pleasant except for an odd note in a as a unique musical treat is `Jodaelye’, written scale passage. Again, the recorded guitar by Popp about “the bond and separation of sound diminishes the mood significantly. lovers”. Simon Mayer’s `Dance of the Water An original piece, `Barolo’, concludes the Boatman’ is written in the style of a Scottish recording. It is a sweet, lyrical piece using Ryd- reel about insects of that name, adding to the berg’s smooth tremolo, but the tremolo variety of musical styles heard here. melody is underplayed and the much less Less effective for this reviewer is Grana- interesting accompanying arpeggio is too loud. dos’s `Spanish Dance 5’ where, despite obvi- Making recordings is one of the most chal- ous attention to coordinating articulation and lenging processes for any artist. Rydberg has a dynamics, the overall interpretation is very lot to offer. He needs to choose repertoire conservative in the use of rubato and misses within his technical means and develop many opportunities for expressive contrast in refinement. More ears in the studio attuned to repeated sections. The melody, with many the recorded sound of the classical guitar sustained notes, would seem to have present- would also be a benefit to future projects. ed many opportunities for Ross’s excellent MCCUTCHEON tremolo. A four-movement Scarlatti sonata (not one Johan Smith, guitar of the famous 555) is refreshing to hear. The Bach, Ponce, Mertz, Britten, Schwizgebel guitar is sometimes too loud, and, though Naxos 574199—61 minutes played with a rich tone, could have either been thinned or mixed a little softer to enable the The Naxos Laureate Series brings us prizewin- mandolin’s melody to have more presence, ning guitarists, mostly younger players, and especially when the guitar has only chords that has done a great deal to further their careers were meant for accompaniment. while providing the listening public with very Liner notes are sparse, but enough. satisfying recordings that often bring new All said, this is a lovely recording of two works to light. musicians playing at the top of their game. Swiss guitarist Johan Smith, winner of the MCCUTCHEON 2019 Guitar Foundation of America Artist Competition, opens with an excellent tran- Guitarrista scription and performance of Bach’s four- Erik Rydberg, g—6 Strings 97067—45 minutes movement Toccata in E minor, S 914. The centerpiece of the recording is Manuel In what appears to be a debut recording, gui- Ponce’s 22-minute La Variations. Smith tarist Erik Rydberg presents works by Villa- plays every variation with care and artistry, Lobos, Albeniz, Bach, and Chopin as well as bringing out the contrasting moods with an original composition. alacrity, giving this creative and substantial Rydberg obviously plays with intensity. work by the Mexican composer the respect Unfortunately, it is not matched by his tech- and care it merits. An expressive tremolo vari- nique. In `Leyenda’, for example, uneven ation is consummately performed with seem- tremolo in the spirited A section approximates ingly effortless technique, allowing the listen- a rhythm not characteristically heard. er’s full attention to be given to the feeling of During the entire program, recording qual- the music. The following variations are so well ity is marginal. In `Leyenda’, settings produce written and performed that the 22 minutes odd tonal contrasts in arpeggiated chords. Dis- pass without a tiresome moment. turbing, unrealistic reverberation that favors The rarely-recorded and fanciful Guitar some frequencies, particularly higher ones, Concertino by romantic period composer detract from what this artist is trying to say. Johann Kaspar Mertz glistens in Smith’s hands, Level and equalization settings do not with soaring, pristine filigrees played so well enhance his expression, possibly exaggerated that it is difficult to imagine anyone playing owing to close-miking. the music better. 130 May/June 2021 Benjamin Britten’s groundbreaking Noc- Overall, this is a very good debut record- turnal after John Dowland is played with a ing—a variety of musical styles, competent musical maturity and understanding that musicianship, and well-written liner notes brings to mind ’s cutting-edge bring this music to life. recording some 50 years ago! The guitar MCCUTCHEON becomes the almost transparent vehicle com- municating several imagined experiences in Clavicolors the world of sleep. Jean Kleeb, clavichord The album concludes with a world-pre- Da Vinci 348—60 minutes miere recording of a movement from guitar pedagogue Josquin Schwizgebel (b. 1984) from The program is like a stream of consciousness, his Reflections from the Darkness. This brief going through whatever music Kleeb wants to work leaves one wondering what the rest of the make up on his clavichord. He includes snip- movements have to say. pets of themes to recall much older pieces, This is a recording from an excellent musi- and then takes them in new directions with cian, who, in a completely different side of his different rhythms and harmonies. There are musical life, tours and records with his heavy sambas, a bossa nova Kyrie, and some other metal band, Stortregn. It will be interesting to Brazilian dances (he’s Brazilian), plus some hear if and how he combines those musical free improvisations. Everything is tonal, and genres. the rhythms are catchy. MCCUTCHEON He freezes up metrically when he gets to allemandes by Handel and Bach; they are Latin American Soundscapes mildly disappointing. The other two pieces Tucson Guitar Quartet that aren’t his own are a reading of Dowland’s Tucson 0—47 minutes madrigal `Come again’ and part of a sinfonia by Marpurg. Those are bland, too. Beyond This is music from Puerto Rico, Brazil, Mexico, those 13 minutes, everything else is either Argentina, and Cuba— mostly new composi- composed or improvised by Kleeb, with the joy tions and arrangements. of making an audience smile. Beginning with three lighthearted Puerto LEHMAN Rican danzas, we hear a well-coordinated approach to ensemble playing, with a lovely American Percussion initial crescendo in the first piece. Cage, Varese, Harrison, Ginastera Particularly moving is Mexican composer Signe Asmussen, s; Niklas Wallentin, v; Percura- Julio Cesar Oliva’s tuneful, 3-movement Suite ma/ Jean Thorel Montebello, which is sensitively played, as are Naxos 574244—56 minutes the two pieces by Argentine composer Marcelo Coronel, the second of which, `Milonga This is a bracing collection of percussion Mafiosa’, exudes intense musical energy, but a pieces, some rarely heard, each with specific lovely section that includes harmonics misses rules or rituals, performed by the terrific per- the opportunity for a well-balanced breather cussion ensemble Percurama and two excel- before a strong ending. lent soloists. Sergio Assad’s `Sinceridade’, described in ’s First Construction (in Metal), the liner notes as a choro, roughly translated from 1939, is based on the figure 16. Like much as a Brazilian jam session, doesn’t really cap- early Cage, it has a spare expressiveness and a ture the improvisatory, flowing nature of the mysterious ambiance. It is easy to forget how genre, and, delivered rather mechanically, influential this composer is, especially in would have greatly benefitted from wider- China and Japan. Many Asians regard him as ranging rubato and dynamics, stylistically an American alter-ego. The idea of rhythm, closer to the Assad brothers’ own performance sound, and numerical principles rather than of Brazilian music. tones, which First Construction demonstrates, `An American in Bahia’ is a programmatic has been extremely seductive. Tan Dun, who piece dedicated to veteran guitarist Tom Pat- knew Cage as a teacher and “philosopher”, terson, longtime professor of guitar at the Uni- credits him with “influencing my whole way of versity of Arizona. This was premiered by the thinking about how to create my own music”. quartet with both the composer and the dedi- “I date my whole life”, writes Margaret Leng catee present. Tan, as “B-C, A-C: before Cage, after Cage.” It’s American Record Guide 131 hard to imagine how the percussive yet wispy Evelyn Glennie, percussion little piece on this disc (not to mention the ALRICH: ;JENKINS: La radio and “silent” pieces) could have this kind Folia; ROREM: Mallet Concerto of international resonance, but such is the Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra/ Jean Thorel case. Naxos 574218—71 minutes Ginastera’s Cantata para America Magica, is, like so much of this composer’s music, a I remember seeing Scottish percussionist Eve- work of haunting and imposing intensity, a lyn Glennie play 30 years ago. I was always dramatic contrast to Cage’s chaste quasi-East- astonished that a deaf person walking out ern tinklings. It is based on pre-Columbian barefoot onto the stage of Avery Fisher Hall texts depicting war, natural phenomena, and could make such precise, thunderous, exciting love. Soprano Signe Asmussen sings and sounds. She said that she could feel the sounds chants with in-your-face ferocity or attenuated through her whole body. Now, the “wow” ecstasy, as required, and Percurama demon- aspect is gone, and she is still a major force. As strates its fullest range of virtuosity. Dame Evelyn Glennie, she is a mature, sea- The Lou Harrison work presents a more soned musician, surely the most important patterned, familiar form—a concerto, mixed solo percussionist on the classical scene. (I last with Indian and African procedures. These, as reviewed her as soloist in Vincent Ho’s colorful Harrison puts it in the notes, “follow the pat- —a Critic’s Choice for tern of having a single melodic part accompa- 2018). nied (or enhanced) by rhythmic percussion”. This program of pieces written 2003-4 con- His Concerto for Violin and Percussion sists of affable, unassuming works, eminently Orchestra is played with brave, straight-ahead listenable but not aspiring to be percussion intensity by violinist Niklas Walentin. Percura- spectaculars. Alexis Alrich’s Marimba Concer- ma makes a noisy contribution, but Walentin to is a tuneful, friendly, tonal piece informed gets to show off in a number of high-flying by minimalist gestures. Glennie’s marimba cadenzas as well as a pensive one near the end blends nicely with the warm sonority of the of the slow movement. He gets the last word in City Chamber Symphony of Hong Kong, which the syncopated finale. The excellent recording has pristine winds and smooth strings. For me, offers him and his colleagues a large sense of this is a new orchestra, and I’m eager to hear space. more. Glennie gets an extended cadenza in the Varese’s Ionisation is a pioneering work; it finale that shows off the more muted colors of basically inaugurated the idea of modern per- the marimba before shimmering off into the cussion music. As my mentor Jacques Barzun distance as the orchestra concludes with a tirelessly argued, Varese was one of the great decisive, happy chord. originals in modern culture, though he was Carl Jenkins’s La Folia spins yet another set spurned by Stravinsky and the serialists: of variations on the venerable tune, with Glen- Cage’s noise-music principles finally derive nie’s marimba imparting an odd modern from Varese’s sirens, sound masses, all-percus- sonority to old material. sion ensembles, and pioneering use of elec- In Ned Rorem’s Mallet Concerto, the tronic tape (what we now call “samples”). The longest piece, the contrasting colors of four bracing, brutal intensity of Ionisation was a mallet instruments give Glennie the chance to new sound and, as the notes put it, supplied a show her chops on xylophone, marimba, “new grammar” for percussion music. glockenspiel, and vibraphone. There is no This is a skillfully calibrated performance, grandstanding, though. This is a subtle, under- beginning almost inaudibly, building slowly. A stated piece, with attenuated, finely sculptured fascinating comparison is the New York Phil- melody, a mature example of Rorem’s harmonic under (Sony), which is supremely civilized art. The opening and clos- more aggressive and terrifying. I saw that per- ing movements, simply called `A Beginning’ formance and still remember a streak of blue and `An Ending’, are based on a typically nos- hair flowing out the exits as subscribers fled in talgic Rorem tune whispered at the end by the horror. This is a nuanced performance of an strings. Who knows why the work sounds iconic work, subtle and lucid, rounding out an intractably American, like Copland or Barber, enterprising collection. but it does. Rorem is fundamentally a vocal SULLIVAN composer, and the wind, brass, and string soloists in the Hong Kong ensemble know how to sing. Rorem is now 97, one of the treasures 132 May/June 2021 of American music. It’s worth getting the I played this for a professor of organ, a album just for this tender, yet whimsical piece. great friend. He listened courteously and then Here is a shout-out to Glennie for program- praised the cellist. The cellist is terrific, it’s ming it when she could have chosen more true; but the whole point of the album is the overtly virtuosic material. She is now a servant Hammond and Anders Koppel, one of the of music, not just a star. instrument’s great geniuses. Once you think of SULLIVAN the Hammond as an instrument in its own right—not an imitation “organ”—you will be Still Life able to listen to this and even enjoy it. I have to Henrik Dam Thomsen, vc; Anders Koppel, org admit that I was sorely tempted to keep secret DaCapo 8226223—56:17 my delight in this album. Some readers will think of it as a kind of slumming. I understand. Tehis is a sp cialty item. The cellist is principal VROON of the Danish National Symphony. The organ- ist has been Europe’s leading player since 1970 Organ in the Age of Beethoven on the Hammond organ. He wrote or impro- LUCHESI: Sonata in C; LASCEUX: Symphonie vised much of this music, often in partnership Concertante; NEEFE: Sonata in D minor; BEE- with the cellist. It varies in style from classical THOVEN: Fugues in D, D minor; Adagio assai; to jazz (but isn’t either, really), and all of it Allegro non piu moto; KNECHT: Andantino and takes full advantage of the special sound of the variations; Cantabile; ALBRECHSBERGER: Hammond organ. Fugue in E minor; VANHAL: Prelude in C; MOR- I grew up on the Hammond organ. Every ANDI: Elevazione; SCHUBERT: Fugue in E church I went to with my parents had one, minor along with a piano. So I grew to love the Ham- Eugenio Maria Fagiana mond sound from Sunday after Sunday. It’s Da Vinci 337—78 minutes true that my Dutch relatives attended church- es with pipe organs, and I loved that too. One A program of musicians associated with uncle in New Jersey, where I grew up, had a Beethoven, either as teachers (Andrea Neefe, in his living room; but when he Georg Albrechtsberger), composers whose retired to Florida he bought a Hammond, music was heard at the Court of Bonn (Andrea because he was sure that the humidity down Lucesi, Guillaume Lasceux), or others likely to there would have ruined his pipe organ. have been heard by the young composer. The A proper Hammond (here Model B-3) had Schubert is included as an example of the rig- to have a Leslie speaker, where the tremolo orous training in counterpoint Beethoven had was purely mechanical—that is, the speakers from Albrechtsberger and Schubert from his are sent spinning around. That is the usual successor, Simon Sechter. sound here, and it’s unique to the Hammond Although he was considered a fine organ- and cannot be matched by a pipe organ. The ist, Beethoven wrote very little for the organ. Hammond “floats” like no other instrument; it The Fugue in D was possibly written as a sweeps you along like a song. demonstration of his skill when applying for Every radio station in New York had a stu- the position of second organist at the Court of dio with a Hammond organ, and it was played Bonn. The others come from a group of com- for most of the soap operas. When television positions written for the Mullerische Kunst- began there were a number of Hammond cabinett of Count Joseph Deym. This cabinet organ programs; the converted radio studios of curiosities included the notorious musical already had the instrument. Even the great clock organ, whose “shrill little pipes” Mozart creative comedian Ernie Kovacs used the detested. Hammond in most of his TV shows (late 1950s, Most of these are not particularly interest- early 1960s). I heard in real life a few really ing, save for the Schubert, which, like all of great Hammond artists in hymns and gospel these pieces, has no independent pedal part. songs and improvisations. One of my closest Fagiana plays on a 2-manual, 26-stop 2000 friends in high school played it really well. Chiminelli in the church of St Michael in Bres- It’s a sound of its own, and this Danish cia, Italy. Extensive notes by the performer musician knows what can be done with it. You with specification. have to come to this without expectations; let DELCAMP it surprise you. Nothing will take the place of the great composers, but this is really different. American Record Guide 133 Westminster Abbey Organ of American organ building: the 3-manual, 75- GUILMANT: Grand Choeur in D; PURCELL: stop 1996 Fisk-Rosales French romantic style Voluntary on the Old 100th; Trumpet Tune in D; organ in the Edythe Bates Old Recital Hall at BRIDGE: Adagio in E; PARRY: Bridal March; Rice University and the 5-manual, 64-stop PRESTON: Alleluias; HOWELLS: Master 2017 Nichols and Simpson in South Main Bap- Tallis’s Testament; ELGAR: Imperial March; tist Church in Houston. Notes by the per- VIERNE: Clair de lune; Westminster Carillon former with photos and specifications. A uni- Andrew Lumsden—Guild 7815—64 minutes que recording. DELCAMP A program of familiar warhorses, originally recorded in 1990, meant to show off the 5- Behzod Abduraimov, piano manual, 94-stop, 1937 (rebuilt 1982-87) Harri- DEBUSSY: Children’s Corner; CHOPIN: 24 Pre- son and Harrison organ. Most of these pieces ludes; MOUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibi- have a close association with the Abbey, tion—Alpha 653—86 minutes whether it be their use in daily choral services, in the pageantry of state and royal occasions, This is a big, standard repertoire recital that or by composers associated with the building. displays the Uzbek pianist’s wide-ranging abil- Lumsden, currently Organist and Director of ities. Abduraimov (b. 1990) has impressive Music at Winchester Cathedral, gives spirited performing credentials, and his debut recital performances perfectly suited to these pieces. disc was very favorably reviewed (Decca The remastering of the 1990 sound is clear and 4783301, Nov/Dec 2012). Here he puts himself resonant. Notes on the music with specifica- head to head with the great pianists of the last tion. Most enjoyable. century. All in all, he fares quite well, though I DELCAMP would not select any of these as my top pick among dozens (hundreds?) of recordings Symphonic Roar available. FLORENTZ: Poeme Symphonique; GUIL- In Pictures at an Exhibition Abduraimov MANT: Sonata 2; BONNET: Elfes; SAINT- does very little “messing around” with Mous- SAENS: Fantasy in D-flat; VIERNE: Claire de sorgsky’s score. From Horowitz’s extremes Lune; VARESE: Ameriques—Brady Spitz, perc; (RCA 49925, Nov/Dec 2009) to absolutely Yuri McCoy, org—Acis 97957—75 minutes faithful-to-the-score performances like Ashke- nazy’s (London 414386) I lean toward the Ash- An interesting program of unfamiliar pieces, kenazy approach, but accept some of the save for the Vierne, with Ameriques, tran- minor adjustments a lot of pianists make to scribed by McCoy for organ and percussion, the score. Abduraimov adds some tremolos to being the central “roar”. It was the first piece `Gnomus’ and unnecessarily keeps the three- Varese composed after moving to America in chords-to-a-bar rhythm going (in the left 1915, and was scored for an huge orchestra hand) in the final statement of the main theme and a percussion section requiring 15 players. of `The Great Gate of Kiev’. This bothered me, Premiered in 1926 by Stokowski and the because the changes between three and two Philadelphia Orchestra, it was intended as a per measure add to the majesty and effective- vivid representation of life in New York with its ness of the final two pages. Ravel and others chaos, police sirens (used here), and manic have made various decisions when orchestrat- energy. Lasting over 25 minutes, it employs ing it, but the piano writing seems very clear to massive crescendos, fierce dissonances, com- me. The `Hut of Baba Yaga’ here is one of the plex rhythmic counterpoint, and quotations best available—fast, clear, accurate, and excit- from Schoenberg, Mahler, and Stravinsky, with ing, with a great contrasting middle section. hints of the big band sound of the 1920s. Debussy’s Children’s Corner, or move- McCoy’s transcription is certainly effective, ments of it, may be played by younger pianists and his playing is musical, technically brilliant, on a regular basis; but it is, like Schumann’s and displays a fine ear for color. Spitz, with an Kinderszenen, very much an adult view of assistant, manages to produce an huge array of childhood. It poses no significant technical sounds including a lion’s roar, produced by a difficulties, which makes the musical aspect of drum head with a cord or horsehair passing the work all the more important. Abduraimov through it, which is rubbed with coarse fabric is not quite on the level of Michelangeli (DG or a glove. A new one for me. 415372). McCoy plays on two magnificent examples It has become fashionable to play all 24 of 134 May/June 2021 Chopin’s Preludes as a unit. I first heard them contact. Its history always makes mention of that way in an Ashkenazy recital back in the the fact that most middle and upper class 1970s. Of course, every pianist learns some of homes back in the 1800s had a piano and these, usually starting at a fairly early stage in many, many more people could play the piano their development. They do run the gamut in reasonably well. It follows that friendship and terms of difficulty—and much to my chagrin, even courtship could begin with the contact there are some that I’ll never play. I found that between two people playing at one keyboard. Abduraimov did keep the set moving well from Duo Anton and Maite are a young couple one to the next, and he has no problems with already playing together for 10 years. They the difficult ones. bring a freshness and excitement to both the Recorded sound from Alpha is way above repertoire standards here like Schubert’s great average and the booklet essay enjoyable. After Fantasy in F minor and a new duet arrange- hearing this I am disappointed that I missed ment of `The Serpent’s Kiss’ by Bolcom. him on the main stage of Carnegie Hall playing I found their entire program be one of the this exact program (plus some juicy encores) best in my huge library of piano duo recitals. just before the pandemic closed things down. While they do perform on two pianos as well, HARRINGTON this program is all at one piano. The late Mozart Sonata K521 is on a par with the com- Shortcuts poser’s Sonata for 2 Pianos K448 which gets 1-Minute Pieces by 50 Composers performed and recorded quite often. K521 is Antonio Ballista, p Mozart’s last sonata for piano duet, his earliest Brilliant 95615 [2CD] 108 minutes going back to the years he and his sister trav- eled around Europe playing for royalty. This This is one weird set. The concept at first may one is a fully mature work that Mozart himself appear strange, but the execution is creative. described as “quite difficult”. There is a dynam- Italian pianist Ballista has mostly selected ic dialog between the two pianists that Duo from the least known of each composer’s Anton and Maite capture perfectly. works and includes a wide variety of contem- If Mozart laid the foundation for piano duo porary avant-garde from such experimental compositions, Schubert built the first two figures as La Monte Young, , floors. No one can argue the quality of his Paolo Castaldi, Gyorgy Ligeti, John Cage, Luci- work, and the Fantasy may be the greatest of ano Berio, and George Crumb. Some take them all. There’s a wonderful video on-line mere seconds, others a maximum of just over with these two playing the opening couple of four minutes (Debussy’s `D’un cahier d’es- minutes of the Schubert. quisses’). Mendelssohn wrote very little for 2 pianos Choices for more mainstream composers and even less for piano duet, but the Andante are often obscure, but no less alluring for that. and Allegro brilliante is as good as Mendels- Ravel (for example) is represented by his sel- sohn gets. It is comparable to his best solo dom played little Prelude 1913, Gershwin by writing and reminiscent of parts of his piano his Promenade (`Walking the Dog’). With such concertos. Essenz seems to revel in the diffi- great variety Ballista proves himself a worthy culties as they dash through the finale with interpreter, and the sound varies from decent blistering speed and excitement. to good. The Bolcom piece is in a whole different To entice us even further, Ballista includes world. I have enjoyed this composer’s pieces an often humorous one-sentence descriptor and his wonderful piano skills for nearly 50 for each piece. Score a smile and a thumbs up years. There is something inherently American to Brilliant for daring to be different on this about his compositions, and his discography one. helped to define the great music and songs in BECKER American popular repertoire of the 1900s. The Essenz Serpent’s Kiss began its life as a movement of a MOZART: Piano Sonata 4 Hands; SCHUBERT: piano solo suite called `The Garden of Eden’, a Fantasy; MENDELSSOHN: Andante & Allegro ragtime telling of the biblical story. Later Bol- Brilliant; BOLCOM: The Serpent’s Kiss com arranged it for two pianos. He asks not Anton Dolgov & Maite Leon only for complex rhythmic accuracy, but extra- IBS 162020—59 minutes piano effects from the performers. Yes, you can hear foot stomping and knuckles rapping on Piano 4-hands is a idiom that requires physical the wood of the piano case, and even some American Record Guide 135 well-timed tongue clicking. It only stands to It Takes 1 to Tango reason that a work for solo piano, arranged by Jeanne Golan, p—Steinway 30164—71 minutes the composer for two pianos should take some effort to arrange as a piano duet. The duo per- This new disc is subtitled, “Works of Contem- forms their own arrangement, and it is quite porary and Recovered Voices Composers”. Ms effective and a great closing work for this Golan has performed in Recovered Voices recital. In Bolcom’s words, this piece “Conjures programs. Those concerts have music by com- the image of Adam and Eve calmly cakewalk- posers persecuted (and sometimes murdered) ing their way out of Paradise”. by the Nazis. My reviews of 20th Century Fox- HARRINGTON trots, Vol.1 & 2 (J/F 2021 & J/A 2020) included detailed information about the genesis of Portuguese Piano Duo these dance and cafe songs written during the LOPES-GRACA: Melodias; AZEVEDO: Sonati- German Weimar period by German, Czech, na; VIANA DA MOTA: Souvenirs; LAPA: Story- and Viennese composers. In this recording, Ms board; D’ALMEIDA: Balada Golan has selected tango and other cafe music Luis Duarte & Ligia Madeira written by three of these composers, Wanda Brilliant 96095—62 minutes Landowska, Wilhelm Grosz and Erwin Schul- hoff. (Two selections are in 20 Century Fox- Wc ith “Post ards from Italy” and two French trots, Vol.1). Duet discs, this issue of ARG needed another Landowska, mostly known as a harpsi- geographic location for piano 4-hands. Portu- chordist, also composed music early in her gal might be one of the last countries I would career. She narrowly escaped the Nazis and left think of. The Portuguese duo of Duarte and most of her compositions in , thinking Madeira play all of the works here with nation- that she would soon return. Almost all that alist fervor. This is an opportunity for them to music was lost. This is the first recording of use all their abilities to bring Portuguese music `Reverie D’Automne’, a melodic fantasia that into the spotlight. It is quite effective. hints at Tango rhythms. Grosz escaped from Of the composers here, I had only heard of Germany, but later died in the US. His Tanz- Jose Viana da Mota (1868-1948) before. A stu- suite 2 includes five rhythmically interesting dent of Liszt and Von Bulow, he was important dances: a seductive `Tango’, a lively `Foxtrot’, a as a pianist, teacher, composer, and ethnomu- romantic `Boston’, a lighthearted `Shimmy’, sicologist in Portugal, even though most of his and an interesting combination of several training was based in German romanticism. dance types in the disorderly `Quasi-Fivestep’. The six movements of his Erinnerungen (Sou- Schulhoff died in the Wurzburg concentration venirs) have titles in German with French camp. His Etudes de Jazz includes five dances translations in parentheses; i.e. `Geburstag (Le in more modernistic arrangements: `Charles- Jour de naissance)’ or simply `Pastorale’ or ton’, `Blues’, `Chanson’, `Tango’, and a `Toccata `Scherzo’. His student Fernando Lopes-Graca sur le Shimmy’ that is a playful version of `Kit- (1906-94) is represented here by Book III of his ten on the Keys’. Melodias Rusticas Portuguesas—11 short The contemporary composers approxi- pieces based on songs that open this recital. mate dance rhythms and are more idiosyn- Sergio Azevedo (b.1968) contributes his cratic. They range from Pablo Ortiz’s alternate- more modern Sonatina and Fernando Lapa ly elegiac and nervous Three Pieces, Eric (b.1950) is represented by his Storyboard, six Moe’s meandering `Laminar Flow in Upside- miniatures for piano 4 hands. The largest work down Creek’, Chester Biscardi’s moody `Incita- and my favorite on the program is the final tion to the Dance’ to Theodore Wipraud’s Balada (for a child to be born) by Antonio Vic- `Pacita’s Lunch’, whose jittery music is further torino D’Almeida (b.1940). It is a big piece, emphasized by tapping on the piano case. The clearly inspired by the romantic Ballades of final selection, Toby Twining’s American in Chopin and Liszt, with effective 20th Century uses hypnotic jazz and blues touches. In all, this is a most enjoyable record- themes with gentle Tango rhythms. Ms Golan ing; and Spanish musical elements more plays all the pieces with authority. familiar to me are not far away in this Por- FISCH tuguese music. The booklet essay was quite Hollywood Romance helpful. Piano duos would do themselves a Yooni Han, p—Decca 42217—66 minutes favor by exploring these pieces. HARRINGTON The collection is subtitled “Piano Classics 136 May/June 2021 from Cinema’s Golden Age”. The idea is to play funeral march is too fast, and the stillness and classical music pieces that were performed in magic of its middle part is not captured com- movies. The music doesn’t necessarily have to pletely. For a much more poignant rendition of be used as background music, themes, in con- this familiar sonata, listen to (Bril- cert, or have a point other than music accom- liant 92615). panying sections of a movie. The selection is The second half opens with Liszt’s good and well played by Yooni Han. She plays Funerailles. Here the right-hand chords all the music with professionalism and atten- accompanied by left-hand octaves are not tion to details. She doesn’t often stray from the strong and martial enough; Hough seems to composer’s intent and only occasionally adds pay more attention to the noise of the battle some color not written by the composer. It’s all (the octaves) than to the heroism of the fallen very pleasant. soldier that the chords embody. The final note The 13 selections include Rachmaninoff’s is misjudged; it is too long and gentle given the Variation 18 from the Paganini Rhapsody, `The tragic character of the piece. Swan’ by Saint-Saens, Offenbach’s `Barcarolle’, The remaining pieces are Liszt’s short a full-length solo piano version of Gershwin’s `Bagatelle without Tonality’, Busoni’s Carmen Rhapsody in Blue and several other familiar Fantasy, and Hough’s own Fourth Sonata, pieces used in films. The English and Korean titled Vida Breve (obviously with a smart nod booklet relates Ms Han’s purpose in selecting to Falla, though there is no Spanish element in the music and how it was used in the films. It’s either this sonata or the program). The Busoni an enjoyable selection, but similar to many fantasy is a weak piece where several Bizet me- other “cinema music” piano discs. lodies make an appearance amidst virtuosic FISCH tinkling. Hough’s single-movement sonata, too, requires much virtuosity and is quite var- Vida Breve ied, with rapid and sometimes fugato-like pas- BACH-BUSONI: Chaconne; CHOPIN: Piano sages alternating with somber, delicate, or Sonata 2; LISZT: Funerailles; Bagatelle Without bombastic parts. It does not add up to much Tonality; BUSONI: Carmen Fantasy; HOUGH: and does not seem to justify the title. The two Sonata 4; arr HOUGH: Arirang; BACH: Ave encores are sweet trifles. Hough writes in the Maria booklet that he meant them to serve as conso- —Hyperion 68260—78 minutes lations after all the death-related music. His admirers will surely enjoy this recording, Stephen Hough, now in his late 50s, is intelli- which has its merits but left me stone cold. gent and eloquent, and he also writes and REPP composes. His playing is brilliant but has never moved me. The cover image of this new Prelude to Dawn release epitomizes smartness: It shows his (or Bruce Levingston, p perhaps a mannequin’s) head sporting a chic Sono Luminus 92245—62 minutes straw hat, viewed from behind. But what is its relation to the theme of this release, which is Inspired by the surreal existence of this past the brevity of life? year, American pianist Levingston has pro- The program, although recorded without duced a mostly Bach recital to “recall the an audience, is a recital with two encores. The shadows and fragility of our world, but also the first half is conventional: Busoni’s grandiose possibility for its regeneration—and a new transcription of Bach’s great Chaconne in D dawn”. minor precedes Chopin’s Second Sonata, the Opening with the Bach Chaconne in D one with the funeral march. It goes without minor from S 1004 as arranged for left hand by saying that Hough’s playing is very accom- Johannes Brahms is certainly a bold move. plished, but it is not gripping. Shura With the original solo violin Partita in mind Cherkassky (Nimbus 5021), for example, the pianist sees this massive work in terms of brings more subtlety to the Chaconne. The its cumulative power. He lets his Steinway D opening of the Chopin sonata is too casual and speak with bold strokes and does not fear to does not establish the tragic mood effectively. push his instrument without restraint. This is Then Hough tends to run one phrase into the also true in the two preludes by Wolfgang next, and his chord sequences in I are stodgy. Rihm. They both fit in well with the total pro- He takes the repeat. Rubato is sometimes lack- gram and, for me at least, are the best I have ing and at other times slightly affected. The heard from this composer. American Record Guide 137 Bach’s Prelude, Fugue and Allegro, S 998 is finale is a high point of the program. Debussy’s performed with gentle directness and speaks Epigraphs Antiques and Stravinsky’s 3 Easy with an expressiveness that is never overdone. Pieces are only on the Lewis and Osborne pro- That also applies to Busoni’s arrangements of gram. Colombo and Chinen’s Poulenc Sonata Bach’s Chorale Prelude `Sleepers Awake’ and has some interpretive choices, especially the Brahms organ Chorale Prelude 10. While about pedaling, that I did not make when per- the name Busoni might raise some alarms, forming this great little piece. It also doesn’t these are gentle pieces generally void of out- have the speed, clarity, and panache I hear ward display. from Lewis and Osborne, whose interpretive The mighty Theme and Variations in D choices are all that I could ever want. minor, Op. 18b by Brahms concludes this Lewis and Osborne are world class soloists uncommon recital. It is based on the slow who have maintained a duo for some time movement from his Sextet (Op.18), following now; their Schubert (Hyperion 67665, May/ the suggestion of Clara Schumann. Once again June 2011) made my best of the year in ARG, Levingston captures our attention without and other publications lauded it as well. The artifice or willfulness. two switch parts and do not identify who is Excellent forward sound, and the pianist’s playing what. It doesn’t matter since they play own expressive notes add to the joy this as one and have clearly defined their approach recording brings to the soul. I can’t think of a to these essential French works. This recording better way to while away our confinement in was preceded by a concert tour allowing them this threatening period. to hone and refine their interpretations. BECKER Osborne writes that despite the difficulties of two people fitting at one keyboard (with only French Duets one sustaining pedal) this was one of the most FAURE: Dolly; POULENC: Sonata; DEBUSSY: enjoyable projects he has participated in. Petite Suite; RAVEL: Ma Mere l’Oye HARRINGTON with DEBUSSY: Epigraphes Antiques; STRAVINSKY: 3 Easy Pieces Personal Demons Paul Lewis & Steven Osborne BUSONI: Fantasia Contrappuntistica; KABEL- Hyperion 68329—68 minutes AC: 8 Preludes; LIEBERMANN: 4 Apparitions; with SATIE: La Belle Excentrique Gargoyles; LISZT: Totentanz; SCHUBERT: Hut- Luca Colombo & Sugiko Chinen tenbrenner Variations DaVinci 349—58 minutes Lowell Liebermann, p Steinway 30172 [2CD] 118 minutes Two very similar programs here. While Colom- bo and Chinen should get a very favorable This is Liebermann’s debut recording as a solo review if they were the only duo playing these pianist, and a hefty program it is. Gargoyles, French gems, in comparison with Lewis and given its name when the pieces were nearly Osborne in this issue they are in second place. complete, is Liebermann’s most often per- The pieces here were composed over a 30-year formed piece; it opens and closes with Prestos period by people who knew each other as in the vein of Prokofieff. There are two slow (or teacher and student, or friends, or simply slow-sounding) movements that obsess over acquaintances. The works repeated on each their themes and traffic in Liebermann’s too- disc are also familiar to most pianists who sweet cinematic harmonies. I like his Four Ap- grew up with a duet partner in the house. paritions a little better: they have more con- Colombo and Chinen make beautiful trast and individuality, seeming less eager to music with a wide dynamic range and solid please and more interested in stating their ensemble. The microphone placement is very own opinions. Still, Liebermann’s writing is close-up and makes it easy to discern the often rather superficial and derivative, and primo and secondo parts. Here, DaVinci com- these are no exception. petes well with Hyperion’s almost legendary The Eight Preludes (1956) of Miloslav Kab- recorded piano sound. For the most part, elac (1908-79) are not dissimilar to Lieber- Colombo and Chinen have timings a little mann’s pieces; they are compact, economical slower than Lewis and Osborne. Satie’s Belle in how they treat their themes, and fairly tonal. Excentirque, subtitled `Fantasie serieuse’ and They are attractive but not gripping and are composed of 4 short movements is only on hobbled by emotional distance. Colombo and Chinen’s disc. Its `CanCan’ Schubert’s friend Anselm Huttenbrenner 138 May/June 2021 was undoubtedly influenced by the Allegretto mostly monaural sound ranges from decent to from Beethoven’s Seventh; while Huttenbren- pretty good. ner’s theme (from his string quartet) isn’t par- The pianist was born in California to Polish ticularly fertile, Schubert managed some quite parents and made her debut at the age of 4. imaginative variations. She played extensively, even with President Mr Liebermann has a solid technique, but Harry Truman at his invitation and suffered almost every piece or movement had spots from a tyrannical father determined to pro- where I wanted more sensuality, vigor, or vir- mote and exploit his talented daughter as a tuosity. The Busoni is particularly cold-blood- wunderkind. The notes even discuss her can- ed. The sound is clinical and too reverberant. did autobiography “Forbidden Childhood”, In almost all of these pieces, the competition is which was published by Doubleday in 1957. just too stiff. Now, at age 96, she must be proud of this ESTEP release. The presentation is attractive and gathers together many praiseworthy gems An Armenian Palette from the past that deserve our attention. CHEBOTARIAN: 6 Preludes; SARIAN: Varia- Beginning with the Chopin Etudes, Ruth tions; Dance; Grandfather’s Watch; 3 Postludes; asserts herself as a powerhouse of a pianist. MIRZOIAN: Poem; Album for my Granddaugh- Speeds are fleet, pedaling fully under control, ter; CHITCHIAN: Epitaph; DELLALIAN: and use of rubato beautifully nuanced to just Sonata; MANSURIAN: 3 Pieces the right expressive means for this music. Op. Hayk Melikyan, p—Grand Piano 845—86 minutes 10:9 in F minor, a finger-stretching monster, is taken here at a slower than usual pace that Grand Piano has done an excellent job of allows for the music to blossom with rarely assembling high quality piano music that is heard beauty. Op.10:5 in G-flat is delicate yet not widely played. Melikyan’s playing is moves swiftly in its crystalline perfection. superb and solid, showing that he has wide The Op.25 set is just as fine. These pieces musical interests. As an Armenian pianist and hold no terrors for the pianist. (Rubinstein composer, his love for this music shows clear- shied away from recording all of them.) With ly. Much of this program was composed from these etudes Slenczynska amply demonstrates the 1940s to 2018. Much of the material has her technical mastery. In a few instances—Op. folk elements—pleasant and not terribly disso- 25:3 for example—I could wish for a dash nant. Even the more experimental 3 Pieces is more pedal to help blend the tones, but this is approachable and is tinged with folk songs. I really nitpicking in view of the overall accom- particularly enjoyed Cheboratian’s Prelude 4 plishment. The four Impromptus also make for its exciting perpetual pace and the haunt- for an impressive array of Chopin playing. Also ing folk melodies. The more substantial stunning are her many videos on You Tube. Theme and Variations by Sarian is a little bit The Scherzos and Ballades are special difficult to attend to, as the theme is not partic- favorites of mine and represent both a techni- ularly memorable and the variations tend to cal and a musical challenge for the performer. be simple. Dance is particularly sensitive and All should flow naturally with rhythms never musical, with an impeccable sense of rhythm. forced or twisted artificially. Not every player KANG manages this; not every player can be consid- ered a natural Chopin pianist. Slenczynska has Ruth Slenczynska no problems and makes each individual work American Decca Recordings an adventure unto itself. Her robust playing is Decca Eloquence 4841302 [10CD] 7-1/2 hours tempered with the aching beauty of the con- trasting central or lyrical episodes, but there IS With six of these discs devoted to Chopin it is a caveat. Her Steinway is sometimes recorded not difficult to see where this artist’s major very close-up, making the bass sound ponder- sympathies lie. Each slipcase shows the origi- ous and uncomfortable—especially in the nal cover and the timing remains the same as opening of Scherzo 3. It would be hard to the vinyl. The 35-page booklet gives complete believe she wanted it this way. The problem is information about the recordings, has copious easily solved by attenuating the bass. photographs and memorabilia, offers informa- The Preludes and Waltzes have always tion on Slenczynska, but does not tell a great been favorites. Here we have not only the deal about the music. Considering the low usual 14 waltzes but an additional two Posthu- price, there is little to quibble about. The mous ones less often played and recorded. American Record Guide 139 Although I find some of the tempos uncom- Piano Recital fortably fast, few would say they lack lightness SCARLATTI: Sonatas; MOZART: Fantasy; or sparkle. In the Preludes we have a generally CHOPIN: Mazurkas; Waltzes; BRAHMS: Inter- intense, no-trepidation performance with mezzos; SCHUBERT: Hungarian Melody; speeds that will astonish but still allow for Impromptu; Allegretto; Moment Musical 3; great sensitivity just when you seem to be BACH: Piano Concerto in D minor immersed in a whirlwind that seizes and holds Wendy Waterman, p; British Youth Orchestra/ you in your seat and threatens no release. It is —Prospero 5 [2CD] 76 minutes quite an experience, but not one that everyone might take kindly to. Waterman compiles a sampling of her favorite The Polonaise in A-flat Op.53 is the best pieces by well-known composers. At 76 years known of the group, with the pianist unleash- old, this recording offers a retrospective of her ing a torrent of left-hand octaves in the central career. She works as a coach and recitalist with section that will both astonish and delight. many singers in New York, and has mainly Liszt’s piano arrangement of six songs from built her career as a teacher and chamber Op.74 adds much and for many will be ample musician, with not much time devoted to solo reason for purchase of this set. repertoire. The liner notes, written by her, It may have seemed inevitable to continue sketch a portrait of a pianist with an incredibly with Liszt, and we have the Six Paganini Etu- rich and fulfilling career. des, Rhapsodie Espagnole, `Feux Follets’ plus More than 60 years separate the recordings a few Hungarian Rhapsodies and other pieces. on these discs. We get her debut recording at All of these require the pianist to play like a age 10 playing Bach’s D-minor Concerto with demon with notes flying in every direction. Sir Malcolm Sargent conducting. Her career Slenczynska has the goods, accepts all chal- has centered on baroque music, and one can lenges with ease, and compares favorably with hear her affinity for Bach even at such an early most of the competition. Of course someone age. Bach is the true gem of the recording. Her like Barere is incomparable so leaving him out playing is crisp and sensitive. Though there are of the equation gives Slenczynska the opportu- occasional skips and irregularities, one mostly nity to shine in this repertory. She does. forgets that one is listening to a 10-year-old, as The balance of the album is stereophonic her playing is firm and even. The recording and consists primarily of short encore pieces. quality is also quite good, with occasional Most are of a popular nature with primary crackles. appeal because of their familiarity, virtuosic The other pieces are lovely and well bal- requirements, or melodic attractiveness. Of anced. Her Scarlatti is rather academic and particular note is Bach’s Chromatic Fantasia does not have as much spark as I would have and Fugue, S 903. Ruth’s speedy despatch easi- liked. The Mozart has carefully placed rhythm ly matches any other recording known to me. I and notes. The Schubert is beautifully ren- was also impressed with the Bartok Romanian dered, though a bit subdued. She is a very sen- Folk Dances. While the stereo is somewhat sitive player, but I would have liked more pas- shallow for the initial grouping of selections it sion. does improve considerably on Disc 9 which KANG offers the Polonaise once again along with Husum Piano Rarities Moussorgsky’s `Hopak’ and other short Danacord 849—75 minutes delights. Two piano concertos conclude the set. Yet another in this acclaimed series of unusual Liszt’s Concerto 1 (Vienna Symphony/Carl and rarely heard piano music. This was re- Melles) and the Saint-Saens Concerto 2 (Sym- corded August 23-31, 2019 by 13 pianists. The phony of the Air/Henry Swoboda). The notes do a fine job of discussing all the pieces orchestra sounds slightly undernourished in and players. the Liszt, and woodwinds do stray from pitch Among this assemblage there is a rarely on occasion, but Slenczynska is superb. The played Bizet waltz along with a brief hommage orchestra in the Saint-Saens is better, and few to the composer by Theodore Adorno. Some could fail to be captivated by her wonderfully may consider these rather slight, but rare and agile fingers and interpretive nuance. Despite quite pleasant. Japanese pianist Kotaro Fuku- minor flaws no collector should miss this trib- ma is excellent. ute to a lady who has given so much to her art. Julian Fontana’s Mazurka Op.21:2 sounds BECKER like a student of the Polish master, anf there is 140 May/June 2021 an arrangement of his Polish song `Leaves are minute Trumpet Sonata (2015), and the 6- Falling’. Both are played in the Chopin manner minute, unaccompanied `Isolation: A Solilo- by Cyprien Katsaris. quy’—composed in 2020 after the pandemic Some rare and very lovely Arensky is shut things down so suddenly. played with feeling by Marco Rapetti. Vilnius The other works are attractive, too. Vivian composer Onute Grazinyte performs a roman- Rudow’s 4-minute `Dark Waters of the Chesa- tic piece by her fellow countryman, Balys peake’ (2015) has a slow, serious melody over Dvarionas that sounds a bit like Johann a very active piano part. Gwyneth Walker’s 16- Strauss. minute `Language of the Soul’ (2008) has four Other selections include Xiayin Wang play- cheerful movements that have the soul speak- ing two pieces by Richard Danielpour and vir- ing of peace, of wonder, and so forth. Unex- tuosic works by Thalberg and Godard. pected modulations enliven Gregory Pas- While most pieces will have greatest cuzzi’s 6-minute `Fantasia on a Theme by appeal to people who like romanticism, all Henry Gauntlett’ (2007), based on the hymn make for rewarding listening. This will be a `Once in Royal David’s City’. Frederick Tillis’s definite purchase if you have been following `Spiritual Fantasy 1’ (2007) is a disquieting this series and can also serve as an entry point reflection on `Sometimes I Feel Like a Mother- for people new to Husum’s delights. less Child’. BECKER Engelke is a capable player whose quiet tone is warm and relaxed, but whose tone Brandon Craswell, cornet above mezzo-forte is often tense. Stephanie LEVY: Whirlwind Polka; 6 Original & Operatic Bruning, heard previously in a trombone Melodies; Russian Fantasia; Russian Air; Yankee album (Jan/Feb 2018: 210), is a fine piano col- Doodle; Last Rose of Summer; God Save the laborator. Queen; Carnival of Venice; BEETHOVEN: Ade- KILPATRICK laide; SCHUBERT: Serenade with Janet Craswell, p—Mark 55675—58 minutes Christopher Leuba, horn Verrall, Stevens, Tufts “Levy on Levy’s Cornet” this is titled: Brandon with Kevin Aanerud, p—Crystal 372—43 minutes Craswell plays Jules Levy’s music on the 1875 cornet Levy himself played. Most of the pieces Christopher Leuba (1929-2019) was principal are unfamiliar to any but cornet aficionados— horn with the Minnesota Orchestra and Chica- his `Grand Russian Fantasia’ is the most go Symphony from 1954 to 1967. Then he famous—but the songs they are based on are became horn professor at the University of familiar: `Yankee Doodle’, `The Last Rose of Washington and taught there for many years. Summer’, `God Save the Queen’, and `Carnival This reissue of a 1977 album opens with the of Venice’. Levy’s `Carnival’, quite different 10-minute Horn Sonata (1942) by John Verrall. from JB Arban’s ubiquitous version, is espe- I am especially touched by its melancholy cially enjoyable. Nocturne. Leuba and pianist Kevin Aanerud Craswell, trumpet professor at the Univer- add warmth to the Horn Sonata (1953) by sity of Georgia, acquired Levy’s cornet via Halsey Stevens, whose music often seems cold internet auction. He plays with warm tone; it is to me. The Horn Sonata by Paul Tufts was writ- a pleasure to listen to him—and to his mother, ten for Leuba in 1975. II is based on a Bach Janet Craswell, on piano. Both play this super- chorale tune; III includes quotes from orches- sentimental, corny old music with great ten- tral literature. derness. Leuba often sounds poetic and commu- KILPATRICK nicative, but his tone production is sometimes a bit wobbly. Most enjoyable to me are the Sounds of the Chesapeake moody slow movements, where his dark tone Engelke, Rudow, Walker, Pascuzzi, Tillis and lyrical style sound best. The album is an Luis Engelke, tpt; Stephanie Bruning, p artifact of the analog era, when its original ver- Tijuca 203—55 minutes sion would have been a tape recording. When a recorded tape sits in a box for decades, it Lguis En elke is trumpet professor at Towson degrades, and although there are specialists (MD) University. He is a good composer, too, who restore old tapes, occasional anomalies as evidenced by the attractive works that open are inevitable. and close this program: the 3-movement, 15- KILPATRICK American Record Guide 141 American Violin & Horn Novel Voices Duke, Clarke, Hickey, Ramey, Serebrier, Amram, KHACHATURIAN: Gayaneh Lullaby; VAIN- Tressler, Bower, Bach, Ellington, Thompson, Nero BERG: Clarinet Sonata (arr. Adler); CLARKE: Elmira Darvarova & Howard Wall Sonata; ARROYO LASCURAIN: Novel Voices Affetto 2007—71 minutes Molly Carr, va; Anna Petrova, p Melos 812/33-100—69 minutes (CD Baby) Affetto has been issuing album after album by New York Philharmonic horn player Howard The catalog number above is on the back of Wall, several of which include violinist Elmira the box, but the duo’s website (www.car- Darvarova, and several of which include works rpetrovaduo.com) is the easiest way to find it. presented on other albums in the series. They And you might want this, especially if you are without question fine players, and they are a violist or have any interest in the instru- offer good music. Here are 16 works for violin ment. The program is interesting and the per- and horn without piano. formances remarkable. As we know from Brahms’s Horn Trio, vio- The `Lullaby’ from the Khachaturian ballet lin and horn present starkly contrasting tim- was arranged by the players, and it’s meltingly bres yet somehow fit together very well. It beautiful in this transcription. helps when the two musicians play with con- Mieczyslaw Vainberg fled the Nazis to the viction and skill, as do Darvarova and Wall. USSR not long before Gayaneh was written, They make everything sound terrific. which is probably why he survived. Most of his A number of these works are arrange- family died. This sonata, arranged for viola by ments. Some involve a rather natural instru- Julia Rebekkah Adler and recorded here in this ment substitution, such as Vernon Duke’s version for the second time (Adler’s was the Etude, originally for violin and bassoon. Jan first), is heartbreaking in its attempting to find Bach’s Two-Bit Contraptions were composed goodness and never quite succeeding. There is for flute and horn, Rebecca Clarke’s `Lullaby’ all sorts of music here, from naked screams of and `Grotesque’ for violin and cello. Others anguish to diffident attempts to make every- are a bit more far-fetched, such as Duke Elling- thing feel all right to occasional patches where ton’s `Black Beauty’, originally for piano. Most everything does feel all right. There is some of the pieces were composed for these artists. I “klezmer”-sounding music that might possibly am struck by the boldness and flights of fancy sound better on the clarinet, but I doubt it: the in Sean Hickey’s 5-minute `Mala Strata’, by sev- viola’s voice is more human. eral Philip Ramey works, by Jose Serebrier’s Rebecca Clarke’s 1919 Sonata ought to piece that included the artists reading an need no introduction, but apparently does, Emily Dickenson poem, and others. even to these magnificent players. They write KILPATRICK of the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge competition where this work tied for the prize: “Ultimately, Romantic Violin & Orchestra though, the award went single-handedly to Romances & Pieces by Enna, Gade, Glass, Lange- Bloch [whose Suite won], amidst prejudice- Muller, L Nielsen, Nielsen, Malling, Svendsen ridden rumors speculating that “Rebecca Christina Astrand; Turku Philharmonic/ Jukka Clarke” was simply a pseudonym for another Iisakkila—Dacapo 6220652—81 minutes male composer, because `it could not have been’ a woman who had written such a beauti- Every one of these is palatable, pleasant, and ful piece of music—for it was socially incon- they span from Mendelssohn to Puccini in ceivable, unacceptable.” Well, this is almost their deportment. The orchestra sounds good, 100% tosh. The composers’ names were in the strings particularly dark and luscious. The sealed envelopes all through the several violinist plays at an average level, with occa- rounds of judging. The committee deadlocked; sional glimpses of real beauty in her tone. they went back and re-examined and dead- Nothing profound here, but recommended if locked again. Mrs Sprague Coolidge then was you are looking for less commonly played late asked to cast the tie-breaking vote, and she romantic violin music. voted for the Bloch. KELLENBERGER There were pseudonyms involved, because In 2020 Covid killed only half as many peo- Clarke had previously played some of her own ple as heart disease, half as many as cancer, music under the name of “Anthony Trent”. But and about as many as were killed by acci- no one has ever suggested that her name was dents and strokes. used by any male composer. The idea of a man 142 May/June 2021 pretending to be a woman to get a prize tant composers that ever lived, from Haydn to belongs to our 21st-century affirmative-action- Brahms, worked there. These are not cutting- riddled world, not to 1919 America. And the edge stylistically; they were created as teaching idea that the cello-and-piano Rhapsody (1923) tools, so they have a simple, Biedermeier feel. was part of her success is further tosh: the Studies like these are written so that the stu- piece was a later commission from Mrs dent plays the lead and the teacher fills in the Sprague Coolidge, not a competition-winner, harmony, though sometimes both parts are of and its premiere didn’t go well. Clarke with- equal musical interest and technical difficulty, drew it, and indeed it wasn’t published until as is the case with the more advanced studies decades after she died. collected here. They can also be presented by That all said, this is about the best per- two students in recital. formance of the Clarke Sonata I’ve ever heard, I think the main interest this release would and I’ve heard most recorded ones. If I still have is for students trying to master these retain a slight preference for Paul Coletti and works and the genre of the violin duet. I don’t Leslie Howard on Hyperion, or even Garfield mean to denigrate this music, because it is Jackson and Martin Roscoe on ASV, that might expertly and imaginatively written. Adela be more familiarity than sound judgment. Frasineanu and Raimund Lissy switch What strikes me about this performance (as between first and second violin. They are well as everything else on the disc) is how excellent violinists. important the piano part is; you don’t ordinar- Frasineanu plays a violin made by Lorenzo ily take as much notice of it as you are com- Ventapane in Naples in 1830. pelled to here. It’s all the more remarkable MAGIL since Clarke wasn’t a pianist. Strong echoes of Ravel are always about, and the top-of-the- Entante Musicale register sounds are uncannily clear and DELIUS: Violin Sonata; SCOTT: Cherry Ripe; vibrant. Carr’s viola playing is beyond praise— Valse Caprice; DEBUSSY: Sonata; RAVEL: Piece strong and supple and fierce or tender as the in the Form of a Habanera; IRELAND: Sonata 1; moment demands. BAX: Mediterranean The last piece on the program by rights Clare Howick; Simon Callaghan, p deserves to be first. Carr and Petrova have Somm 625—81 minutes toured the refugee camps of the world, more or less, and if you think playing a bunch of Entente Musicale means “musical agreement”, refugee kids not brought up on classical music and that seems an appropriate title for this a viola recital would only bore them, you’d be program. I’ve long felt that there was a certain wrong. Along the way they met Fernando temperamental alignment between the French Arroyo Lascurain, a young Mexican composer and certain British composers of the late 19th who “magically weaves together the different and early 20th Centuries. Although the British music of the various children’s ancestral cul- represented here have their own national tures we encountered”. His “predilection for character, they share a certain petit-bour- film music” is there, alongside the Bulgarian, geoise concern for the small, intimate things in Afghani, Iraqi, Irani, Kuwaiti, Syrian, and life. Chechnyan strains they mention. Lascurain is Delius actually wrote his Posthumous a student of Richard Danielpour and Paul Chi- Sonata in 1892-3, long before Violin Sonata 1 hara, among others, and what he makes out of (1914) and when he was just reaching his artis- that wonderful melange is something to hear. tic maturity. It has soaring, confident phrases THOMSON that resemble the works of his mentor, Edvard Grieg. The two short works by Cyril Scott are Viennese Violin School pleasant trifles and no more. John Ireland’s Mayseder, Jansa, Bohm, Hellmesberger, Grutsch, Violin Sonata 1 (1909) was overshadowed by Dont—Adela Frasineanu, Raimund Lissy his Sonata 2 (1917), but it is still a fine work Gramola 99230—74 minutes with hints of familiarity with French impres- sionism, though it is the most Brahmsian work This is a collection of pedagogical duos written here. The composer must have had faith in it by the major Viennese violin teachers of the because he revised it in 1917 and again in 19th Century. It was natural that an important 1944. school of violin playing should arise in Vienna ’s `Mediterranean’ is a very at that time because some of the most impor- brief, frothy orchestral piece produced during American Record Guide 143 a vacation in Majorca 1910. The arrangement performance here is well-nigh perfect, the here is by Jascha Heifetz (1935). It is a refresh- many places where there are double stops in ing bonbon after the more serious Ireland. both parts infallibly in tune and in balance, The two great French Impressionists are such that you’d hardly suspect that two players here. Debussy’s Violin Sonata is the only solo could accomplish it. Toch’s Divertimento is work he wrote for the instrument. Ravel’s sterner stuff, despite the title; this is the closest `Piece in the Form of a Habanera’ is a brief and the program gets to outright “modernism”, and languorous—it seems to drift across the room even so it’s not all that far, though the players’ like a summer breeze. sharp, deft notes suggest that there’s more I am every bit as impressed by Howick’s where that came from. In between them, the playing here as I was when I heard her in the Mozart gets a very sleek, streamlined perform- violin sonatas of Cyril Scott (Nov/Dec 2010) ance—not in itself a bad thing, but here almost and her disc of British violin sonatas (July/Aug disappointing in its relative facelessness. It 2020). Her technique is flawless, her tone pli- reminds me a bit of the Leopold Trio’s upper able, and her musical instincts impeccable. two strings (in the Divertimento, K 563, on She is one of those artists who don’t make rou- Hyperion). tine headlines but are more interesting and And then the two works for the duo by Joey satisfying than many who do. I hope I can hear Roukens, who surely has their number; the her more regularly in the future. pieces are intimate and clearly intended for MAGIL their recipients. All in all, a wonderful and wide-ranging recital, in excellent sound. Violin & Viola THOMSON DESPREZ: 4 Canons; MARTINU: Duo 2; BACH: Canon alla Decima, Canon all’Ottava; Plaisirs Illumines MOZART: Duo 2; LASSUS: 2 Cantiones; TOCH: VERESS: Musica Concertante; GINASTERA: Divertimento; ROUKENS: Chorale for Sarah and Concerto per Corde; COLL: Les Plaisirs Illu- Roeland; Little Baby Lullaby mines, Lalulalied; with KURTAG, BARTOK, Sarah Kapustin & Roeland Jagers LIGETI Navis 20011—65 minutes Patricia Kopatschinskaja, v; Sol Gabetta, vc; Cam- erata Bern/ Francisco Coll It ha e discovering chamber ensembles when Alpha 580—74 minutes they’ve only just disassembled themselves. Just last issue (M/A 2021) I reviewed the Kopatschinskaja has something of a “bad girl” Brunsvik String Trio playing Beethoven; their reputation, but I wonder whether that isn’t just violinist was late of the Rubens Quartet. Now a “concept album” reputation. Certainly the here are two more Rubens Quartet ex-mem- latter is true of “Plaisirs Illumines”, which con- bers, Sarah Kapustin and Roeland Jagers, per- sists of three formidable chamber concertos forming as a violin-viola duo. I confess that I’d surrounded by a few much smaller works, with rather hear them in a quartet, but that’s only an improvisation to close. Everything is because there are so many fantastic composi- abrupt, strenuous, “difficult”; but take the diffi- tions for string quartet, while the number of culty as a given and it’s not honestly that violin-viola duos is comparatively small. But daunting. Or even that nasty. this disc shows what a lot can be mined from Sandor Veress’s Musica Concertante, writ- that vein. ten for Camerata Bern, is a super-virtuosic Kapustin and Jagers are clever. They inter- work from the get-go. The first movement has sperse old music (Josquin, Lassus, Bach) three long cadenzas, for violin, viola, and cello, between newer works (Bohuslav Martinu’s and it doesn’t get any easier afterwards, for Duo 2, Mozart’s Duo 2, Ernst Toch’s Diverti- anyone. Alberto Ginastera’s Concerto Per mento), adding, touchingly, two pieces written Corde is a natural partner; it even adds a for them at the end. So we learn that they can ridiculously difficult bass cadenza to the ones play almost non-vibrato while still inflecting supplied only to the upper three strings in the with wonderful subtlety, and also play full out Veress. (The piece started life as a string quar- (what an old violist friend of mine called tet, so the bass interlude came later on.) The “balls-to-the-wall”) when required. work is gnarly, all right, but its deftness and its Martinu’s Duo is a piece of ebullient, joy- fine-grained textures are extraordinary. Check ous song, like the better-known `Madrigals’, the end of II, `Scherzo fantastico’, for an idea of but even more suffused with exuberance. The what a very high-energy, highly-skilled small 144 May/June 2021 string orchestra and a determined composer Georgian composer Igor Loboda (1956) can accomplish together. It’s terrific. At the wrote his one-movement Requiem for the vic- end of the `Finale furioso’ it sounds like the tims of the 2014 conflict in the Ukraine. It is whole orchestra is roaring in unison. If they’re harsh and loud, expressing the violence of the roaring approval, add my voice. conflict, but it doesn’t convey the pathos Francisco Coll’s Plaisirs Illumines, a dou- appropriate to the occasion. The Bach and ble concerto for violin and cello with string Ysaye are probably the finest music each com- orchestra plus a handful of winds, is the poser wrote for solo violin. newest piece here and something of a monster Mesonero is competent but fails to move to perform; indeed, Camerata Bern brought in the listener in the Bach, though he is more at the composer to conduct it. Kopatschinskaja is home in the Ysaye. Aside from the negligible joined by Sol Gabetta, another “bad-girl-repu- Requiem, I can think of quite a few recordings tation” figure, and they take over the stage of each work that are better than what we have together in spectacular fashion, despite com- here. petition from a very obstreperous contabas- MAGIL soon and a bevy of percussion and piano. `Ale- grias’ (III) is a loopy, grotesque, lurching thing Icelandic Violin full of exaggerated vibrato and extreme regis- Bjorn Olafsson; various pianists ters from both soloists. The final `Lamento’ 4Tay 4063—64 minutes attains a sort of tortured seriousness. The per- formance is extremely impressive, but I am not Five Icelandic composers are here: Jon Nordal, sure I want to be left with its impressions, not Dorarin Jonsson, Jon Leifs, Helgi Palsson, and even the cute little fillip at the end, which Jorunn Vidar—all 20th Century figures. Ice- smacks almost of Hindemithian “humor”. land had no classical tradition before that. Lalulalied is a very brief and pretty annoy- Jorunn Vidar died in 2017, but the 3 pieces ing piece with Kopatschkinskaja as singer as from his Folk Song Suite were written and well as violinist, with another violinist and a recorded in 1974. They are attractive music. bassist. The pieces by Bartok, Kurtag, and The one irresistable piece on this record is the Ligeti are all small in scale. (Bartok’s `Pizzica- `Humoresque’ by Palsson; it’s a perfect 2- to’, from the 44 Duos, is just over a minute long, minute encore for a recital. Kurtag’s `Jelek VI’ from Signs, Games, and The violinist was offered a position in the Messages even shorter.) The best thing here— Vienna Philharmonic, but war intervened. His for all the astonishing virtuosity displayed ear- recordings here date from 1947 to 1974. He lier—might well be the last track, `CAMERA- died in 1984. These are from Icelandic Broad- TA’s birds’, an improvisation that really does casting. Even the 1947 ones sound pretty good. sound exactly like a tropical aviary. Forget what I said about Fazil Say’s bird (J/F 2021)— The fact that these are broadcast recordings or, rather, multiply it by 15. Amazing. means that we occasionally get an extraneous THOMSON squeak from the violin—they didn’t do retakes of broadcasts. Trascendo These are precursors to what is today a BIBER: Passacaglia; LOBODA: Requiem; thriving music scene in Iceland, and they are BACH: Partita 2; YSAYE: Solo Violin Sonata 2 pleasant in themselves. Jonathan Mesonero, v—IBS 152020 VROON The title is Spanish for “I transcend”. Jonathan The French Connection Mesonero’s idea is that music transcends the BACH: Partita 3; YSAYE: Solo Violin Sonata 2; power of words to communicate feelings. HONEGGER: Solo Violin Sonata; TELEMANN: Heinrich Biber’s famous Passacaglia was Fantasias 6+7; VIEUXTEMPS: Introduction & the most ambitious work in the form of varia- Fugue; MARTINON: Solo Violin Sonata 5; DE tions over a ground bass written for solo violin LISLE: Marseillaise before Bach’s Chaconne. It was originally part Herwig Zack, v—Thorofon 2668—80 minutes of his Mystery or Rosary Sonatas and was probably dedicated to the Feast of the In his booklet notes, Herwig Zack explains his Guardian Angel. Mesonero’s performance is title for this release, “The French Connection” straightforward, missing the mystery others . He wants to show the French aspects of non- have found in it. French composers or the French cultural con- American Record Guide 145 nections of ones born in France or its French- pianist in all but the Stravinsky, took into con- speaking neighbors. sideration the backgrounds and styles of the Bach’s famous Partita 3 is the lightest in composers (“a kind of musical `time capsule’ character of all his six works for solo violin and of Paris as it entered the `Roaring 20s’”) and has French names for all of its dance move- began with homages that quote Debussy’s ments. Telemann’s two Fantasias are each in works like Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, four brief movements, and 7 is particularly ele- `Evening in Granada’, `Sunken Cathedral’, or gant. Henri Vieuxtemps’s Introduction and chorale-like dirges used in his etudes or prel- Fugue has a slow introduction followed by a udes. He then uses the Stravinsky’s winds as a fugue in the manner of Bach seen through a breather between those “thematic” works and 19th-Century lens. It is only somewhat inter- the final ones, whose relationship to Debussy esting. Vieuxtemps’s greatest work, though, is more atmospheric—Bartok, Roussel, and was his student, Eugene Ysaye, who had an Ravel. Also, Lev chose to use Falla’s piano ver- outsized personality as a performer and who sion of his Homenaje to keep the first five wrote the six next best works for solo violin pieces as a unit. He tacked on the original gui- after Bach’s. The second, dedicated to his tar version at the end of the album, but Ruben younger colleague Jacques Thibaud, borrows Seroussi’s rhythms lack the flow and uplift Lev one of its themes from the opening Prelude of brings to it on the piano. Bach’s Partita 3. In the opening Dukas I thought Lev would Arthur Honegger’s Solo Violin Sonata was turn out to be a digitally (referring to the 10 written in Paris in 1940. Bach’s influence is fingers, not the technology) articulated player obvious, as is the composer’s bitterness over with excessive use of the pedal, but he quickly the German occupation. Jean Martinon wrote becomes a highly stylistic conveyer of impres- his Solo Violin Sonata 5 in 1942 while a prison- sionist atmosphere as he moved among all the er of war. His anguish comes through in all quotations from Debussy to the cultural diver- four movements, and the lyrical opening sities of Goossens, Bartok, Roussel, and Ravel. movement is especially haunting. Each tribute is short. The longest is Schmitt’s The program closes appropriately with (8 minutes), which evolves in a long arch with Stravinsky’s arrangement of `Le Marseillaise’, a touch of Algerian exoticism like Saint-Saens composed in 1919 but apparently not per- in his Piano Concerto 5. formed until 1979. It is brief and has the com- The Buchmann-Mehta Symphony is the poser’s—or rather the arranger’s—characteris- school’s training orchestra for the Israel Phil- tic piquant harmonies. harmonic. Zeev Dorman balances the winds Zack is his usual expert, very musical self ideally. Stravinsky used just a short 90-second here, and he gives each work its own appropri- choral-like hymn for his “homage”, but the ate style and mood. album also includes the complete Symphonies MAGIL he then developed from it. Other performanc- es I’ve heard give Symphonies the stoic Greek Tombeau de character of a ritualistic procession, but Dor- Tomer Lev, p; Janna Gandelman, v; Dmitry man’s pacing has a more musical flexibility to Yablonsky, vc; Sharon Rostorf-Zamir, s; Ruben link Stravinsky’s changing tempos. It’s the Seroussi, g; Buchmann-Mehta Symphony Winds/ most liltingly musical performance I know of. Zeev Dorman—Naxos 573935—64 minutes What’s more, the 10 homages end with Ravel’s, which he then decided to use as the This album is so neat! It’s cleverly and usefully first movement of his four-movement Violin- planned, the performances are excellent, and Cello Sonata, played here in its entirety by the engineering is resonant, warm, full, and Janna Gandelman and Dmitry Yablonsky. balanced for every instrument. Superbly balanced, they catch the acidic, sus- When Debussy died of cancer in 1918 at tained character of II; and in III Gandelman 55, La Revue Musicale organized a concert digs out emotion as she moves from straight where 10 composers would write short trib- tone to vibrato, maintaining forward flow at utes in his honor. They’re all here: Dukas, the slow tempo. In IV Yablonsky’s rhythms are Falla, Florent Schmitt, Satie, Gian Francesco acute and spiky. Not only did I enjoy the Malipiero, Stravinsky, Eugene Goossens, Bar- album, but I learned something too. tok, Roussel, and Ravel, but in what order? FRENCH Tomer Lev, founding head of Tel Aviv’s Buchmann-Mehta School of Music and the 146 May/June 2021 Al Andalus Virtus sapientie’, Perotin’s `Beata viscera’, `Quis Atrium Musicae Madrid/ Gregorio Paniagua dabit capiti meo aquam’ from Las Huelgas Harmonia Mundi 93389—42 minutes Codex, `Sum in aliena’ from the Piae Can- tiones, and `Polorum regina’ from the Llibre When this recording was first released in 1977 Vermell), only `O Virtus sapientie’ and `Quis on LP (released on CD in 1984, 2010, and now dabit capiti’ have their complete short texts. again), there were few recordings widely avail- The original melodies are broken up into short able outside of academic collections of music fragments separated by improvisations and an from the Maghrib, a region encompassing the electronic harmonic haze. Arabic lands of Northern Africa and parts of The extreme case is in the almost 10- the Iberian peninsula under Islamic rule. It minute long track for `Beata Viscera’ where contains only short instrumental selections only the first of seven stanzas and the refrain derived from the traditional song genre are sung. The musical style of the original termed nouba. Based on transcriptions from works is radically transformed so that Hilde- the oral tradition and using traditional instru- gard of Bingen’s antiphon becomes a smooth ments, such as the `ud, rabab, qanun, and nay, jazz lounge song, which is also the only selec- the musicians of Atrium Musicae Madrid tion with a text and translation in the booklet. I sought to supply sonic examples that reflected guess the words and music of the original the hypothesis that Arabic traditional practices songs were not really important to these per- were an influence on the performance of formers. To some this creative blend might be medieval music. I would note, however, that I interesting. have not found any clear evidence for the BREWER prominent use of a portative organ (in the minimal booklet on this release hidden under Song of Beasts the name “al-urgana”) in traditional Arabic Ciconia, Landini, Machaut, others practice. Much better complete examples of Ensemble Dragma—Ramee 1901—52 minutes this genre, with instruments and voices, were later released in the 11-disc collections of the This is a disc of mid-14th-to-early-15th Centu- Anthologie Al-ala: musique andaluci-maro- ry music, French and Italian, some performed caine, each containing a single nouba (unfor- with words, some instrumentally. It’s a sort of tunately now deleted). At best, this recording is sung bestiary, illustrated with medieval illumi- a relic of its time but it no longer retains the nations and tales of the various beasts from significance it had 44 years ago. late-medieval sources. They are divided up BREWER into little sections—one on the lion and the panther, one on hunting (falconry, hunting to Aer hounds), one on other birds, one specifically Trio Peltomaa Fraanje Perkola on the serpent Python (slain by Phoebus Apol- Fuga Libera 770—51:29 lo), one on the scorpion and viper and basilisk. At the end there’s a section on bats and mice; According to the brief booklet note, the mem- the last song of all is an anonymous, sweet, bers of this trio blend the human voice, rather pathetic little number about a poor medieval harp, viola da gamba, and piano with mouse who is denied his favored grease and electronic effects in order to perceive “how capons and sausage and tortelli, and can only these beautiful medieval melodies and texts eat moldy black bread and fava beans, “like a speak to us now”. The result is effectively ambi- little pig” (porcello). ent music, which Brian Eno defined in the Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennet sings most of booklet notes to his 1978 recording, “Music for the sung music here and plays harp; Jane Acht- Airports/Ambient 1” (PVC 7908): “Ambient man and Marc Lewon play vielle, with Lewon Music must be able to accommodate many also playing lute and (on one track) singing as levels of listening attention without enforcing well. The performances are excellent, the ones one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it I can compare (there are a few, because some is interesting.” of this music is quite well known) differing The overall effect on this new release in from previous performances only in being a both the interpretations of medieval songs as little gentler, a little less brusque. well as the original compositions is a wash of But the real point is the illuminations. sound without clear rhythmic patterns. Of the There are quite a few in the booklet (though, five medieval songs (Hildegard of Bingen’s `O oddly, the gryphon on the cover of the booklet American Record Guide 147 surfaces nowhere at all in the music), but the Lopez of the University of Jaen. They describe main bunch are online, in a video fully as long in short detail how the artisans and peasants as the disc. They are visually stunning, replete of Valencia rose up against the oppression of with detail and precise portraiture and not a aristocracy. Because the armies of the aristo- little humor. There are details of medieval life crats consisted mainly of Moriscos, the revolt in there that I never thought to see portrayed— also took on the spirit of crusade, leading to the falcons are kept on blocks, for example, further religious intolerance and a vogue for and wear jesses just as falconers’ and aus- popular Christian music. The uprising was tringers’ birds do today. Some of the animals finally suppressed by the imperial forces of depicted are purely fantastic, of course. Charles V in 1521. There’s one illustration, on the inside front Some music on this release is associated cover of the booklet as well as in the film, of with actual battles, but most of it merely two serpents twined, one of which is eating the evokes the marches, parades, dirges, and the other’s head and is decorated with four little spirit of battle. The program opens with Hein- windows in its midsection, out of which peep rich Isaac’s `Alla Battaglia’, which probably dogs’ heads. Others are almost fantastically ac- commemorates the battle in 1487 between curate, like the last, lovingly detailed illustra- Genoa and Florence over the fortress of Sar- tion of a peacock. Nearly all of them are in the zanello. `El Jubilate’ by Mateo Flecha the Elder nature of “spot-illustrations”, dropped here and (c. 1481-1553) is an ensalada (macaronic song) there into the text whose preservation was the associated with the War of the League of Cog- primary point. One or two are literally “mar- nac between Charles V and Francis I, which ginal”, with no aim but fun. began in 1525. Beginning with guitar and per- Nearly all the images are earlier than the cussion, the song evokes a dance-like charac- music, mainly 13th Century. The exception is ter. Alternation between solo soprano (Elia Ca- Gaston Phebus’s Livre de la Chasse (Book of sanova) and chorus gives it the air of a villanci- the Hunt), contemporaneous with the music. co, at least at first. The program also includes After a while, the film starts making you an elegant performance of `Jubilate Deo’ by think you’re seeing things; then you realize Cristobal Morales (c. 1500-53), commissioned that, yes, the illuminations really are animated. by Paul III in 1538 for the Truce of Nice. Some of the images move slightly, then more Much of the rest of the program evokes the than slightly. One viper repeatedly constricts themes and rituals of war. For example, the its body while its tongue flicks in and out. After `Intrada and Gagliarda’ by Hans Leo Hassler a time, the animators overreach themselves. (1564-1612) sounds like a dirge-like parade, The last of a series of bat images seems to be complete with an improvised part for field folding its wings, but then they continue drum (Pau Ballester). There are dances from falling until they drop right off, and you’re left Susato’s Danserye (Antwerp, 1551), including with a mouse with no forepaws. I didn’t really `Passe and Medio’; `Bergerette: Les Grand need to see that. Douleurs’; and `Pavane sur la Bataille’. The set The worry with a project like this is how explores various instrumental arrangements, long the online portion will remain up; per- with viol, cornetto, and recorder taking most of haps it might have been better done as a short the solo parts. The performance of `Pavanne DVD. But for now, it’s unusually beautiful, and and Gaillarde de la Guerre’ (1556) by Claude beautifully unusual. Gervais (1525-83) also emphasizes solo play- THOMSON ing, especially cornetto (Nuria Sanroma) and recorder (David Antich). I like the way singers Renaissance Military Music approach Gastoldi’s balleto `Amor Vittorioso’. Capella de Ministrers/ Carles Magraner A less-refined sounding vocal timbre makes CDM 2049—77 minutes the music sound humorous rather than strictly “beautiful”. Texts and notes are in English. To commemorate the fifth centenary of the LOEWEN Revolt of the Brotherhoods (1519-23), Capella de Ministrers presents this lavish edition of Renaissance war music. The disc is accompa- Heidi Maria Taubert, s; Instrumenta Musica/ nied by a book-sized set of notes, including Ercole Nisini—Genuin 20722—65 minutes historical essays by Vincent Josep Escarti and Amadeo Serra Desfilis of the University of “The Passacaglie d’amore follow imaginary Valencia, and Javier (and Victoria) Marin- journeys through life, telling of love’s ever- 148 May/June 2021 changing facets.” Katharina Rosenkranz’s mate introspection foretells the singers’ tone words seem to capture the spirit of this pro- of closeness as their breaths mix together like a gram represented by the title. It brings together swoon. There’s a good amount of ebb and flow a repertory of early-Baroque songs and dances, in the free sections, and that’s what makes it which, based on a ground, offer essentially work so well. In `O Primavera’ by Luzzasco unlimited possibilities for experimentation. Luzzaschi (1545-1607) for solo voice and theo- Most of the composers here are well known— rbo, the slow tempo accommodates decora- Italian masters like Falconieri, Monteverdi, tion to the melodic line, and effortless leaps Frescobaldi, Marini, and Barbara Strozzi, supply variety. alongside German composers like Krieger and In Luzzaschi’s `Deh Vieni Ormai’, by con- Heerman. What they offer is the bare bones— trast, the slow tempo makes it hard to keep the the songs and chord progressions that musi- musical momentum going. Think of spinning cians then embellish with scale-like passages wool or stretching bread dough. Expert judg- and other ornaments. I am delighted to the ment is needed to know when it’s gone too far. hear the harp (Johanna Seitz) in several works; Having some phrases even very slightly faster it is an underused continuo instrument. The makes the slowest passages all the more effec- hammered dulcimer and Kalimba add some tive and compelling. A similar extended and exotic color to the timbre of the ensemble. unvaried slowness is also the case in Mon- Taubert’s voice is lovely—supple and teverdi’s `Oblivion Soave’ (from L’Incoron- expressive. Her performance of Merulo’s `Can- azione di Poppea) and in other pieces. This is zoneta Spirituale Sopra alla Nanna’, over a not at all to say that there is not beauty in these chromatic ostinato, is particularly haunting. slow performances. For instance, in `Tu The program leads at last to works by Nisini Dormi’ by (1561-1633) the depic- (`Ciaccona Tempora Mutantur’) and Taubert tion of sleep’s caressing wings is memorable (`Gib Frieden’) composed using Baroque me- and evocative. thods. Notes are in English but not the texts. Nevertheless, I would welcome more spar- LOEWEN ing use of very slow tempos and more grada- tions of pulse in a tempo that remains slow. Stelle Lucenti Perhaps it’s like swimming slowly towards the Monteverdi, Kapsberger, Luzzaschi, Ortiz, others shore or stretching out an arm to gently touch Claron McFadden, Nora Fischer, s; La Sfera a bird: we move slowly and steadily forward, Armoniosa—Zefir 9673—77 minutes then as we know our destination is in reach we can move even more slowly to truly savor and This program of Italian vocal and instrumental heighten the arrival. pieces from the 16th and 17th Centuries is well Notes, texts, translations. selected and performed. From the ruminative C MOORE and engaging lirone in `Recercada Primera Sobre Canto Llano’ by Diego Ortiz (1510-70) to Alla Luna the rustic coquettish spirit in `Con Le Stelle In Marini, Monteverdi, Falconieri, others Ciel’ by Biagio Marini (1594-1663) and a tocca- La Selva—Da Vinci 350—63 minutes ta for solo harp by Ascanio Mayone (1570- 1627), there are many illustrations of the rich- La’ Selva s musicians play with a relaxed assur- ness of this repertoire. ance and expertise. The two “vocalists” here (1567-1643) is regarded—as noted in the are soprano Marilia Vargas and recorder play- booklet essay—as the most shining of the er Carolina Pace. There’s a fine vocal quality in “shining stars” in the release title. the recorder’s diminutions (decorated melo- Several pieces here are slow, and in many dies) in pieces such as `Suave Melodia E Sua ways slow music is harder to perform than fast Corrente’ by Andrea Falconieri (1585-1656), music because long held notes and a slow- reminding us about the contemporary Italian moving pulse require such a high level of con- ideal that instruments should sound as much trol over breath, pitch, and color. Of course as possible like the human voice. In some tempo is an aesthetic choice made by per- pieces the two lead “voices” play together, formers, and because the members of La Sfera both in happy strophic songs, such as `Alle- Armoniosa are highly skilled they are able to grezza Del Nuovo Maggio’ by Biagio Marini perform slow tempos well. (1594-1663), and also in works that explore a For example, Monteverdi’s `O Come Sei wider range of emotions, such as Monteverdi’s Gentile’ opens with the theorbo, whose inti- `Ed E Pur Dunque Vero’. American Record Guide 149 The program has a good mix of color and The performances are very fine. I very variety, from the solo lute Toccata 6 by Ales- much enjoyed the same ensemble’s program sandro Piccinini (1566-1638) to the attractive of another collection sponsored by Leonardo triple-meter elegance in Marini’s `Novello Cu- Sanudo, published in 1592 with the title Il Tri- pido’, the happy chirping in onfo Di Dori (Tactus 590003, S/O 2014: 214). Falconieri’s `Spiritillo’, and fine vocal expres- C MOORE sion in `Amor Dormiglione’ by Barbara Strozzi English Theater (1619-77). Notes, no texts. C MOORE Eugenie Lefebvre, s; Etienne Bazola, bar; Les Sur- prises/ Louis-Noel Bestion de Camboulas Madrigals on the Seasons Alpha 663—60:47 Croce, De Monte, Schutz, others This selection of English theatrical music takes Arsi & Tesi/ Tony Corradini its title from ’s play, “Tyrannic Tactus 590005—65 minutes Love, or the Royal Martyr”, relating the martyr- The first two-thirds of this program is the com- dom of St Catherine, for which Henry Purcell plete 1601 collection of 21 madrigals put wrote music used in the 1694 revival. It together by the Venetian aristocrat Leonardo includes instrumental “symphonies” and Sanudo (1544-1607) and called I Diporti Della dances by Purcell from King Arthur, The Virtu- Villa In Ogni Stagione. The poems were proba- ous Wife and The Indian Queen, ’s bly written by the volume’s dedicatee, `Saraband for the Graces’ from Venus and Francesco Bozza (born c 1553) and they depict Adonis, and ’s `Ground in D rural pastimes through the four seasons. Five minor’ from his Song on the Assumption composers set the poems to music: a short (which still has not been recorded complete). prologue (proemio) by Giovanni Maria Nanino The songs again also include some of the less- (1544-1607); then five madrigals each on La er known theater songs by Purcell, a song from Primavera (, 1557-1609), L’Es- Pausanias by (a relation to tate (Lelio Bertani, c 1554-c 1624), L’Autunno Henry, though exactly how is now a matter of (Ippolito Baccusi, 1540-1609), and Il Verno musicological dispute), and two by John (Filippo De Monte, 1521-1603). Eccles from Thomas D’Urfey’s Comical History The unaccompanied vocal ensemble Arsi of Don Quixote, the mad song written for Anne & Tesi is SSAATTB, and the “B” is conductor Bracegirdle, `I burn, my brain consumes to Tony Corradini. In the booklet essay he ashes’, and The Dirge, `Sleep, poor youth’. describes their interpretive style of “emphasiz- As to the performers, Eugenie Lefebvre’s ing in the phrasing a rhythmic pace that close- English diction is sometimes quite unclear, but ly followed the speed of the syllables in the Etienne Bazola is quite distinct. The instru- spoken language, giving rise to unequal notes mental ensemble contains only soloists, and and an agogic elasticity in some phrases”. the single string instruments do not produce a Thus, whenever it seems like the tempo is a bit very full sound, though the consorts of rushed it is rushed on purpose with all the recorders or oboes fair much better. Rather singers scurrying together (as in Bertoni’s `Chi than chamber theatrical music, the many In Piccioletta Barca’). This is courtly carefree complete recordings of Purcell’s theater music music, performed with style and elegance. would be more acceptable—King Arthur by The last third of the program is 8 madrigals (Erato 566682; Sept/Oct (one with two parti) from the same time peri- 1993) or Paul McCreesh (2019, Signum 589) or od written by 6 composers who use texts that Anthony Rooley’s reworking of Don Quixote make some reference to seasons of the year. (May/June 2014: 227). Here we find some different perspectives on BREWER what the seasons mean. For instance, Heinrich Le Coucher du Roi Schutz (1585-1672) sets a passage from Guari- Danae Monnie, s; Marc Mauillon, bar; Josephe ni’s Pastor Fido that is a melancholy lament by Cotet & Yoko Kawakubo, v; Myriam Rignol, Mirtillo, for whom the arrival of Spring only Mathilde Vialle, Julie Dessaint, viols; Thomas brings unhappy memories of loss. The final Leconte & Valerie Balssa, fl; Sebastien Dauce, part of that madrigal is `O Dolcezze Amaris- hpsi; Romain Falik, theorbo, g; Thibaut Roussel, sime’ where Schutz depicts the disconsolate theorbo—Versailles 29—74 minutes plus DVD protagonist with music that is chromatic, dis- sonant, slow, and sad. This recording seeks to recreate the type of pri- 150 May/June 2021 vate music that Louis XIV was able to enjoy in published in 1692 or Louis-Antoine Dornel’s the evening away from the more public court “simphonies” from 1709, though in the midst rituals. Louis could gather a few favored musi- of three movements excerpted from Dornel’s cians in the apartments of Madame de Main- third trio suite in D minor a `Plainte’ is insert- tenon for exclusive concerts that could include ed from the fifth suite (though it is also in D music from the King’s long reign, most of minor). Two selections for solo recorder come which was copied or arranged in manuscripts from separate publications by Jacques Hot- compiled by the librarian of the King’s Music, teterre; and a `Plainte’ by Michel Pigole de Andre Danican Philidor. The repertoire on this Monteclair is also included, though it is seems recording includes airs de cour written earlier unusual to transpose and arrange this to be in the 17th Century by Sebastien Le Camus performed by a . In fact, the over- and Michel Lambert, instrumental excerpts all sound of the recording is rather subdued; from the lyriques by Lully arranged out of the 24 tracks, only 3 are in a major key. by Philidor, Michel-Richard de Lalande’s The performances are engaging and `Grande Piece Royale’, trios by Marin Marais demonstrate a subtle understanding of the and Michel de La Barre, and works for theorbo intricacies of the French style. Erik Bosgraff is or guitar by Robert de Visee. an expressive recorder player, and Robert Thibaut Roussel has gathered a distin- Smith plays a dessus de viole in the trios guished ensemble of soloists, most of them (which balances well with the recorder) and a familiar from other recent recordings of bass viola da gamba for the recorder solos. The French baroque music. There is no question of other three players in the ensemble supply the quality and sensitivity of these perform- continuo accompaniments. Since Mr Smith is ances. Full texts and translations for the vocal not always available to double the bass part, selections are in the booklet. The added bene- this is effectively etched by Israel Golani on fit to this release is the DVD, which includes theorbo and on harpsichord by Alessandro much of the same repertoire. It was filmed in Pianu. Izhar Elias adds a more rhythmic guitar the vacant halls of the palace at Versailles on support to the many dance movements and is June 22, 2020 with most of the same perform- given Francois Campion’s `Tombeau’ in D ers during what must have been a period of minor as a solo. lockdown in France, giving this an added feel- There are more integral recordings of the ing of intimacy. The selections by Marais and Marais trios (Nov/Dec 1990, Mar/Apr 1998, De La Barre on the CD are replaced by Louis- Mar/Apr 1999), and the Dornel trios are much Antoine Dornel’s Sonata for three violins and more interesting here than the 2008 recording continuo and Jacques Hotteterre’s Sonata 4 of the complete collection by Musica Barocca “en trio” for two flutes. The only fault with the (Naxos 570826). DVD is that no one took the effort to add subti- BREWER tles for the vocal selections, though this affects only the substitutions: De Lalande’s `Amour Venice around 1726 flechi par la constance’ and Lambert’s `Pour 1750 Project/ Benoit Laurent etre aime’ and `Ah! Puisque la rigueur Ramee 1902—76:13 extreme’, though I would have liked to actually see Lambert’s more elaborate and dramatic The idea is “to present the musical impres- Dialogue de Marc-Antoine et de Cleopatre. In sions that a traveller might have had on visit- sum, a full evening’s entertainment for the ing Venice around 1726”, when music of the ears and the eyes. baroque was confronting the newer galant BREWER style. Half of the selections are, as expected, by Antonio Vivaldi, including the oboe version of French Baroque Chamber Music the Concerto in D minor from Il Cimento del- Cordevento—Brilliant 95694—67 minutes l’Armonia e dell’Inventione (R 454), the sixth of the so-called Manchester violin sonatas in A This is a pleasant collection of movements (R 758), and two cantatas for soprano, All’om- from French baroque chamber music. The bra disospetto (with obligato flute, which was only complete work is Pierre Danican Phili- just coming into vogue in Venice) and Che dor’s Suite in E minor for solo “flute”, here a giova il sospirar (R 679) (with violin solo and recorder (Op. 1:5); the remaining selections strings). are from other larger collections. Most the The remaining works, in the newer galant trios are either from Marin Marais’s collection fashion, include an aria and a cantata by Nico- American Record Guide 151 la Porpora (`Pietoso Ciel difendimi’ with solo His real name was Sebastiano Biancardi. oboe from Arianna e Teseo, premiered in Another of his pseudonyms was Ortanio. He 1727, and Questo e il platano frondoso); was highly praised by Carlo Goldoni and wrote Giuseppe Sammartini’s Sonata in C for oboe texts that were set to music by Alessandro and continuo (Op. 2:2), and the most specula- Scarlatti, Handel, Vivaldi, Albinoni, Caldara, tive selection, ’s Sonata in E and others. At the time he was in trouble with (K 162). Neapolitan authorities over serious financial The 1750 Project is a collection of soloists misconduct. on period instruments, directed by oboist This program includes three chamber can- Benoit Laurent, plus Perrine Devillers, sopra- tatas that are claimed as first recordings. One no. Laurent’s phrasing and ornamentation are (Sento Dentro del Petto) is by Giovanni elegant and imaginative and matched by Jan Bononcini (1670-1747). The other two (Che ti Van den Borre (flute) and Jacek Kurzydlo (vio- Giova Amor Crudele and Non e Sol la Lon- lin). The continuo players, Mathilde Wolfs tananza) are by D’Astorga himself with texts (cello) and Korneel Bernolet (harpsichord), presumed to be by Lalli. The last of these has supply consistently sensitive support. Dev- an obbligato part for the flute and is intro- illers’s voice is flexible enough for the elabo- duced here by a movement from a cello sonata rate coloratura passages (and also adds taste- by and a free improvisa- ful ornamentations) and able to support the tion at the harpsichord. more lyrical galant melodic style. She can also In the fashion of the time, the texts consist quickly modulate the timbral color of her voice of highly stylized and artificial pastoral verse to mirror the contrasting affects presented by on the subject of love, requited and unrequit- the lyrics in the vocal selections. An acceptable ed. The protagonist of the first two cantatas is a performance of the cantata All’ombra dis- man, since the beloved is referred to by name ospetto recently appeared on another collec- as Phyllis. The third is more ambiguous in this tion of Vivaldi’s music (Jan/Feb 2021), but my respect. All three are sung here by soprano recommendation now shifts to Devillers. Soetkin Elbers, and this incongruity is barely While the booklet essay, which imaginatively noticeable. Her tone is light and pure, in keep- recreates the itinerary of the imaginary visitor ing with the style of the music. The roulades in to Venice, is a little arch, full texts and transla- Bononcini are well sung but not as clear as I tions are included—and the interpretations have heard from some other early-music speak for themselves. sopranos. BREWER The rest of the program is instrumental pieces. The opening work, a Concerto a Quat- D’Astorga & Lalli tro in D minor, is attributed in one source to Handel, Bononcini, D’Astorga, Vivaldi, A Scarlatti Telemann and in another to Handel. It has an Les Abbagliatti elaborate cello part, and that lends weight to Ramee 1907—59 minutes the supposition that it was one of two such works Handel wrote for Count Schonborn in This recording presents the program of an Wiesentheid, who was a keen cellist. Handel imaginary musical salon hosted by composer sometimes borrowed themes from other com- and diplomat Emanuele d’Astorga (1680- posers, and that is the case in a trio sonata in D c1757) and his friend the poet minor. One of the slow movements uses a (1679-1741) in Mantua on an evening in June theme from an opera by Reinhard Keiser 1731. is one of the (1674-1739). Handel used the theme in at least guests. He was well established in England by two other works. The remaining sonata on this that time, but he did make trips to the Conti- program consists of two movements by Vivaldi nent on business, particularly to find singers and two by Handel. for operatic productions in London. The Brussels-based baroque ensemble, D’Astorga and Lalli were colorful charac- Les Abbagliati, consists of four instrumental- ters with a talent for getting in and out of ists and the soprano. They delight in perform- scrapes. Baron d’Astorga (Gioacchino Cesare ing unfamiliar as well as familiar repertory Rincon) was born in Sicily of Spanish descent. with a sense of historical occasion, as in this His father had a violent streak, and that may recording. Theis playing is elegant, animated, have prompted D’Astorga to leave Sicily in and stylish. 1707. He met Lalli in Rome, and the two GATENS became close friends. Lalli was born in Naples. 152 May/June 2021 And since most of us are fluent in a number of PART: 3 Hirtenkinder; Kleine Litanie; Virgencita; Nordic tongues (including the Sami language Habitare Fratres in Unum; Alleluia Tropus; And I of the Arctic Circle) there was no need to Heard a Voice; WOLFE: Guard My Tongue; include texts and translations for 73 minutes of SHAW: And the Swallow; Selections from the Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, and Finnish Laude di Cortona songs. I say this to explain why I headed for Ars Nova Copenhagen/ these northern climes in an uncharitable Naxos 574281—63 minutes mood that didn’t grow much warmer or fuzzi- er as the first eight selections—all of them Cryptically titled, this quirky but pleasant anth- slow, politely dissonant, and not very excit- ology presents half-a-dozen recent works by ing—came together to slow the passage of my Arvo Pärt, songs by Caroline Shaw and Julia time. Yes, there’s some nice music in that Wolfe, and excerpts from the Laude di Cortona, opening set (Jan Sandstrom’s `Sanctus’, for a late-13th Century codex of sacred songs sung example), but the mood is so unchanging I in Italian. Most of the Pärt selections are on the found it hard to stay alert. lighter, shorter side, such as `Hirtenkinder’, a By the time a bit of rhythm popped into buoyant take on the 8th Psalm, and `Habitare track 9 (Sandstrom’s `Biegga Luohte’ inspired Fratres’, a warm expression of Psalm 132’s call by the folk traditions of the Arctic) I had con- for unity. As usual with Pärt, repetitions can cluded that this collection and I were not des- grow hypnotic (`Litanie’) and climactic build- tined to remain in each other’s lives. The ups are prone to become cries of the spirit. choirs, mind you, are actually quite good. The swallow and sparrow fly gently in Car- When they cut loose emotionally in Jorgen Jer- oline Shaw’s evocation of Psalm 84, and I wish sild’s `Min Yndingsdal’ they sound downright more of us would heed Julia Wolfe’s insistent exceptional. The singers are also excellent in mantra that we be a damn sight more careful Einojuhani Rautavaara’s `Elegy’, which conveys of what we say to each other and how we say it. the spirit behind ’s words The most affecting singing is inspired by (whatever they are). While I admire Nils Lind- the Cortona prayers to Jesus, Mary, and St berg’s breezy setting of Shakespeare’s `Shall I Francis. The choir peels back eight centuries Compare Thee’, the (English) words of Sonnet without batting a stylistic eye, and no one 18 don’t come across as vividly as they might. engages in medieval time travel more convinc- Even `Canticum Calamatis’, Jaako Mantyjarvi’s ingly than Maestro Hillier. The laude pop in stormy evocation of an Estonian maritime dis- and out of the program at different junctures, aster, loses its punch when a listener is cut off which can seem a little disjointed but helps from the text. maintain interest. Texts and notes are sup- If you want to head for Scandinavia and plied. We’re used to seeing the Danes on the beyond, there are zillions of other Northern Dacapo and Harmonia Mundi labels. These Lights, Nordic Lights, Songs of the North, days, I guess, the recording industry has Lights of the North that are better equipped to become a musical Cyclades where everybody take you there. winds up on Naxos sooner or later. GREENFIELD GREENFIELD Choral Songs Nordic Choral DUPARC: L’invitation au Voyage; Soupir; Extase; ABERG: I Himmelen; GJEILO: Ubi Caritas; AH- Au Pays Ou se Fait La Guerre; BIZET: Adieu, de LEN: Stillae; PARKMAN: Till Osterland; JANS- l’Hotesse Arabe; FAURE: Reve d’Amour; Trist- SON: Maria IV; SANDSTROM: Sanctus; Biegga esse; Chansons du Pecheur; Notre Amour; Noc- Luohte; NYSTEDT: Immortal Bach; NOR- turne; Les Djinns; BRAHMS: Dem Dunkeln GARD: Gaudet Mater; Flos ut Rosa Floruit; JER- Schoss; C SCHUMANN: Liebeszauber; Ich hab’ SILD: Min Yndingsdal; LINDBERG: Shall I in deinem Auge; O Lust!; HENSEL: Bergeslust; Compare Thee; MANTYJARVI: Canticum Cal Im Herbste; Nach Suden; WOLF: Verschwiegene amitatis Maritimae; RAUTAVAARA: 1st Elegy Liebe; Die Feuerreiter; SAINT-SAENS: Soiree en Dortmund Youth Choir, Radio Choir/ Felix Heit- Mer; Chant de Ceux Qui s’en Vont Sur Mer mann, Stefan Parkman Julia Kammerlander, Katharina Schlenkler, p; Hanssler 20064—73 minutes Hanna Gries, s; Figure Humaine Chamber Choir/ Denis Rouger—Carus 83514—73 minutes aPerh ps Hanssler surveyed the demographics of the American market and concluded that Figure Humaine’s first CD was titled Kennst du American Record Guide 153 das Land—Do you know the land—which is singers), 16 choristers (boys), and an Informa- half of the question posed in the first line of tor Choristarum. That made it one of the Goethe’s poem, Mignon. This time around, the largest choral foundations in England at the title completes the interrogatory with wo die time. Only Westminster Abbey and Eton Col- Zitronen bluhn—where lemon trees blossom. lege had more singing men. In his notes, Mark Enigmatic titles aside, Maitre Rouger and Williams, appointed Informator in 2017, gives a his singers are on duty to explore the nexus brief history of music at the college with men- between the 19th Century German lied and tion of several composers not on this program. the French melodie. Rouger, it turns out, is a This recording brings together music by 16 superb arranger who turns songs for solo voice composers who had connections with the col- and piano into choral songs arranged so con- lege over a period of five centuries. The earliest vincingly you’d swear they were crafted that piece is a Latin Magnificat by Thomas Appleby way. Only Faure’s `Djinns’, Wolf’s spine-tin- (c1488-1563), who was appointed Informator gling `Feuerreiter’, and Brahms’s `Dunkeln Choristarum in 1539, but after only two years Schoss’ were actually composed for a mixed returned to Lincoln Cathedral. His Magnificat choir. Everything else comes “as told to” the is one of only two surviving pieces. The most conductor. (For the Duparc songs, Rouger recent piece here is `Set Me as a Seal’ (2017) by even adds French horns to the mix.) Romanti- James Whitbourn (b 1963), written for a wed- cism is in flower here, so love, nature, hushed ding at Trinity Church, Princeton, NJ. Whit- reveries, and intense emotions are on the bourn sang in the Magdalen choir as an Acad- docket. Saint-Saens’s `Soiree en Mer’ and emical Clerk from 1982 to 1985. Brahms’s `From the Dark Womb’ are so beau- The program contains representative tiful they break your heart. pieces from the 16th to the early 20th Cen- The program will keep you on your toes, turies, but it is more weighted towards music too, taking you straight from the bright, happy of the later 20th and 21st Centuries. There are songs of Clara Schumann and Fanny Hensel to many admirable qualities in the modern the jagged edges of Hugo Wolf. I’m not usually pieces, but the only one that really made me sit a great fan of song-to-choral novelties, but up and take notice was `Salve Regina’ by John Rouger’s handiwork had me from bonjour. The Harper (b 1947). He sets the atmosphere with booklet offers English translations of the notes mysterious cluster chords, then threads phras- and bios, but not of the texts, which are in Ger- es of plainsong among the double choir har- man and French only. Scheisse-Merde. monies. There is an intense climax at the GREENFIELD words “Eia ergo, advocata nostra”. Harper suc- 5 Centuries at Magdalen ceeded Bernard Rose as Informator in 1981. McKIE: We Wait for Thy Loving Kindness; The technical standard of the singing here ROSE: Feast Song for St Cecilia; MARTIN: is superb. Sometimes the boys tend to screech Hymn to St Etheldreda; GRIFFIN: Jesus Refulsit on their highest notes, but generally their per- Omnium; IVES: Faithful Shepherd; APPLEBY: formances are polished and confident. The Magnificat; STEWART: King of Glory, King of recording was made in the friendly acoustic of Peace; TOMKINS: Almighty and Everlasting Merton College chapel, a room much favored God; WHITBOURN: Set Me as a Seal; by Oxford choirs for recording. The sound is ROBERTS: Seek Ye the Lord; WILLIAMS: This brilliant, but I would not call it warm or ingra- Is the Work of Christ; HARPER: Salve Regina; tiating. Climaxes sound close and aggressive COCKER: Tuba Tune; HAYES, W: Lord, Thou rather than glorious. That can make the musi- Hast Been our Refuge; SHEPPARD: Kyrie Lux et cal details more difficult to hear on the analo- Origo; STAINER: I Saw the Lord gy that an excessively bright light can be blind- Alexander Pott & Rupert Jackson, org; Magdalen ing rather than illuminating. After finding an College Choir/ Mark Williams acceptable volume level, my ear could adjust, Opus Arte 9046—77 minutes but I have heard more attractive sound quality. William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, foun- GATENS ded Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1458; but the Queen of Baroque foundation stone of the college chapel was not Handel, Scarlatti, Albinoni, Graun, Caldara, Por- laid until May of 1474. The first mention of pora, Steffani, Vinci—, mz; orch musicians to serve the college was in 1476. The Decca 4851275—79 minutes college statutes provided for a musical founda- tion consisting of 4 chaplains, 8 clerks (adult Fans of Cecilia Bartoli will probably already 154 May/June 2021 have all the records this music is drawn from. along with English and French translations. Reluctant Baroquers or cautious lovers of Bar- Unfortunately, some of the English transla- toli might want to get this before diving into tions are less than idiomatic. While I do not the other discs. I admit to loving Bartoli. I love know Arabic, when I read a line translated as her colorful, snappy voice and her exhilarating “I am the last hoarse in singer’s hymn” I am coloratura, sometimes sung so fast the mind suspicious. The French translation in this case boggles at her dexterity. Some complain about makes much more sense, since it would be her machine-gun coloratura delivery; I see translated as “I am the last chanted groan of their point, but I don’t care. The mezzo brings the singer”. The imagery of these Sufi inspired this music to life and through her diligent texts is difficult enough to follow even in an scholarship has raised many of these com- idiomatic translation. posers and the singers who sang their music BREWER from the dead. Most of this music hadn’t been heard for years before she revived it. Decca Song arrangements allowed their best-selling diva to freely explore Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Mahler, her musical inclinations: Gluck, Handel, rare Beethoven, Purcell Rossini and Vivaldi, famous castratos, etc. Florian Boesch, bar; Musicbanda Franui Decca offers texts and translations even Col Legno 20450—57 minutes though this is technically a compilation disc and packages it attractively. aThe pack ging of this disc is so nondescript Love her or hate her, Bartoli has left her that I had no idea what I was about to hear. I mark not only on music, but music scholar- saw Florian Boesch’s name, one of the finest ship. lieder singers of our time, so I put it on expec- REYNOLDS tantly and settled down to listen. I started to laugh right away. Call to Prayer Here are 18 familiar songs by several of the Ghalia Benali, Arab vocals; Romina Lischka, finest lieder composers arranged by two mem- gamba & Dhrupad vocals; Vincent Noiret, db & g bers of the 10-member ensemble Musicbanda Fuga libera 763—71:42 Franui and performed by them. The program notes describe the group as “the most endear- This recording is a multi-layered blend of Ara- ing wrecking-ball ever used in classical con- bic song, Indian classical music, and the cert halls”. Hearing these exquisite songs French baroque, sometimes separate but often accompanied by tuba, saxophone, zither, dou- combined. Ghalia Benali is a Tunisian singer, ble bass, dulcimer, trumpets, and other instru- composer, and occasional lyricist, now living ments is disconcerting. Humor in music is fun in Belgium. Romina Lischka, in addition to her (e.g. Victor Borge or PDQ Bach), but I found skill as a gambist, also studied Hindustani this dreadful nonsense. vocal music and on selected tracks she accom- The program comes with the self-contra- panies Benali’s Arabic songs with the impro- dictory title “Alles wieder gut. Wir sehnen uns vised syllables used in a Dhrupad raga per- nach Hause und wissen nicht wohin”, an formance. Vincent Noiret offers occasional uncredited quote from Eichendorff, which continuo accompaniments to the gamba translated is something like “Everything is all selections and also contributes his own solo right again. We long for home and don’t know guitar `Prelude’. where to go.” I think Mahler would tell them Benali has the imagination to weave her where to go. vocalizations into the musical patterns of The performances are full of curiosities, either Indian ragas or the French baroque including Boesch whistling and singing a por- style. One of the most effective is where she tion of Schubert’s sublime `Du Bist die Ruh’ an combines lyrics by Ahmed Rashwan (La Talu- octave higher in a voice whispered directly mi, `Don’t Blame Me’) with the repetitive pat- into the microphone like a nightclub singer. terns of Marin Marais’s rondeau, `Le Badinage’. The oddest thing is the final track, where he Compared to other attempts to create multi- sings `Dido’s Lament’ (When I am laid in cultural blends of musical style, which often earth) by Henry Purcell with a double bass and sound forced, the examples on this release, later a tuba playing the ground bass. which center on Benali’s songs, have a harmo- Recordings like this seem to be coming out nious balance. more often. I recently reviewed releases of The lyrics are supplied in Arabic script Schubert songs and French songs arranged for American Record Guide 155 various instruments and sung in the style of a before, there are a number of previously unre- nightclub act. No thank you. I’ll take the music leased items here. No texts or translations are uncontaminated. supplied. Texts, translations, and notes attempting to REYNOLDS make a case for such shenanigans. R MOORE Alexandre Dumas Massenet, Berlioz, Liszt, Duparc, Godard, Mon- Suzanne Danco pou, Messager, Franck arias, songs, cantatas Karine Deshayes, mz; Marie-Laure Garnier, s; Various orchestras & conductors Kaelig Boche, t; Raphael Jouan, c; Alphonse Decca Eloquence 4840868 [8CD] 555 minutes Cemin, p—Alpha 657—67 minutes The word “exquisite” is overused, but it is per- Alexandre Dumas is probably best known in fect to describe the voice and artistry of this country as the author of The Three Mus- Suzanne Danco. The Belgian soprano has had keteers and The Count of Monte Cristo. He a high reputation among voice aficionados for was also the father of Alexandre Dumas fils years, no doubt stemming from her participa- who wrote a novel and then a play based on it tion in a number of Decca song recitals and called The Lady of the Camelias (source of opera recordings. According to Andrew Dal- Verdi’s Traviata). Dumas wrote many novels, ton, who wrote the notes for this set, her musi- poems, plays and even a few librettos and was cianship was such that Victor Olof (one of a connoisseur of the arts, especially music. It’s Decca’s leading record producers) could feel not surprising then that many of his poems confident in calling on her to replace an indis- were used as song lyrics for ambitious com- posed Leonie Rysanek as Donna Anna at the posers like Berlioz, Liszt, Duparc, and last moment for the famed studio Massenet among others. This disc presents of recording of Don Giovanni. She was already recital of song compositions drawn from the scheduled to sing Cherubino in ’s poems. He wrote the libretto for several operas Marriage of Figaro recording a few weeks later. and one of those is represented by a trio from These were two of the most lasting studio Hippolyte Monpou’s Piquillo. recordings of that era. From beginning to end this disc is a pleas- The discs are arranged mostly by theme. ure. The songs range from lyrical declarations Discs 1 and 8 give us arias by Mozart, Charp- of love to humorous descriptions of absurd sit- entier, Verdi, Massenet and others. Discs 2-5 uations to, in the case of Liszt’s setting of concentrate on German lieder and French `Jeanne d’Arc au Bucher’ (Joan of Arc at the melodie by composers including Schubert, Stake), an almost operatic cantata. Four of the Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Strauss, Debussy, songs are played with a combination of cello and Faure. 6 and 7 give us music by Berlioz and piano (the opening `Elegie’ by Massenet) (including Nuits d’ete) and cantatas by Bach and are incredibly beautiful. The three soloists and Schutz. are all native French speakers who deliver ele- What makes Danco stand out is not only gant, thoughtful performances of a wide vari- her obvious intelligence, but her shimmering ety of music. Karine Deshayes debuted at the lovely tone that is so even through its two- Met in 2006 as Siebel in Gounod’s Faust and octave-plus range. She brings a rare poise and has had a distinguished career both on the class to whatever she sings. Some may find her stage and in recital. Hers is a silvery, shimmer- rather cool and uninvolved. I think its rather ing mezzo that she uses with skill and imagi- that she didn’t feel the need to overemphasize nation. Marie-Laure Garnier’s rich soprano words and phrases when the composer had can float a pianissimo with the best and still already done the work. The singer’s job was to stir us with her ringing top notes. Kaelig represent the composer’s intentions. Her pas- Bouche has sturdy, musical singing and clear sionate Melisande in Ansermet’s first studio diction. In fact, all three singers have excellent recording of the opera (1952) gives the lie to diction. the notion that she was too cool (the entire Favorites? Boche opens the program with recording is available on Eloquence as well). Massenet’s haunting `Elegie’ and immediately The presentation of these recordings is causes us to want to listen more closely. The first-class; the discs are in cardboard sleeves Liszt setting of Joan of Arc’s anguish is very picturing the original jacket covers. Though moving, Garnier capturing the saint’s resolve most of these recordings have been available and fortitude from the first note. The trio from 156 May/June 2021 Monpou’s Piquillo is so charming I listened to by both poet (Paul Chaoul) and composer it three times in a row; I’d love to hear the rest (Abdallah El-Masri) of a man trying to bury of the opera. Raphael Jouan and Alphonse melancholy thoughts that keep bursting in on Cemin make a great team, listening to and him. In general, all these pieces are in a Semit- interacting with the singers as well as each ic musical style—i.e., minor key with that edge other. The sound is very good though the voic- of moodiness or sadness often found in Jewish es are too closely miked. Alpha gives vague works. What’s outstanding here, though, is the notes, but also full texts and translations. Lebanese poetry filled with Arabic-style REYNOLDS images, the kind Ravel uses in his songs, except that these poets remind me of what Vir- Masarat gil Thomson said about Kenneth Koch: “Koch 19 Songs by 17 Lebanese Composers writes just like Gertrude Stein, except he Fadia Tomb El-Hage, a; Fragments Ensemble; makes sense.” It’s a shame El-Hage sounds Oriental Ensemble amplified rather than full-voiced. Orlando 42 [2CD] 113 minutes The instrumentalists are first-class; I just wish the engineers had given the violins, viola, Masarat is Lebanese for “journeys”. The album cello, and string bass fuller ambience. The title reflects the fact that is a country album is packaged like a hardback book that’s between two worlds, looking both west and 3/8” higher and wider than standard album east in its languages, music, and traditions. size. It’s handsome and utterly thorough, with After listening to the first disc in this complete texts, notes, photos of all the poets album, I was preparing to contact our Editor and composers, and album stats. But I had to and say that this album isn’t the kind we tap it on the top side to get the discs to emerge review in a classical music publication. But I from their tight sleeves. had yet to hear the second disc. The first one FRENCH has 11 songs and reduces the poetic Lebanese texts to pop music ranging from simplistic stuff 20th Century British Songs fit for little children to cafe-style and even , a; Abba Polack, mz; Frederick lounge-lizard music. Believe me, it doesn’t Stone, Phyllis Spurr, Ernest Lush, p; English help that Fadia Tomb El-Hage, a genuine alto Opera Group Orchestra/ Reginald Goodall; Lon- who sings in every selection, performs with a don Symphony/ Hugo Rignold microphone an inch our two from her mouth, Somm 5010—79 minutes instead of using the full dynamic and emotion- al power of her smooth, warm voice trained in The death of beloved contralto Kathleen Ferri- opera and oratorio. By giving her an electronic er in 1953 from cancer at age 41 and at the resonance different from the instruments, the height of her fame prompted widespread engineers only heighten the night club atmos- mourning by her adoring public. Many who phere. heard her sing still mourn her loss. In celebra- The instruments: the Beirut Oriental tion of her life and art Somm has been releas- Ensemble uses two ouds, a qanun, violin, ing reprocessed recordings. This album, “20th cello, string bass, accordion, and percussion in Century British Treasures”, is their sixth release 5 of the 11 songs on the first disc. The Belgian- and presents recordings of 1946 to 1953 made based Fragment Ensemble uses violins, viola, for Decca and the BBC. cello, string bass, flute, saxophone, accordion, Included are songs of Parry, Quilter, and percussion in 6 songs on the first disc and Vaughan Williams, Stanford, Warlock, Britten, in all 8 on the second. The percussion in both and less-known composers. Ferrier is accom- ensembles is light and atmospheric. panied by three pianists. We also hear a previ- It’s the second disc that merits review in ously unissued recording of a stirring perform- ARG. The composers’ styles in general range ance of Lennox Berkeley’s Four Poems of St from French impressionist to mildly atonal. Teresa of Avila. Similarities range from Debussy (Gabriel The sound quality is remarkably good and Yared, Naji Hakim, Houtaf Khoury) and Ravel more than adequately allows you to hear what (Houtaf Khoury again) to expressionist made her singing so compelling—the lustrous (Bushra El-Turk and Zad Moultaka). One work richness of her gleaming tone and her immac- by Joelle Khoury, with dubbed spoken voices, ulate diction. Her beautifully controlled is more pop than classical. The final 14-minute singing of VW’s `Silent Noon’ is sublime. One Ode is the masterpiece—genuine story-telling of the last things she recorded is Three Songs American Record Guide 157 of William Brocklesby Wordsworth (a descen- Droom’ about the bittersweet remembrance of dant of the poet’s brother). The glowing and a lost love. He conveys a broad variety of vibrant quality of her voice makes these other- moods in these songs and sings with subtlety wise undistinguished songs worth hearing. and finesse. In his liner notes English baritone Sir Kuula was born about 20 years after , a distinguished interpreter of Sibelius but died about 40 years before him. British song and Trustee of the Kathleen Ferri- (His life was shortened when he was shot after er Awards, contributes information about the an argument over politics.) I can’t really judge songs and remembrances of Ferrier’s career how well Kataja does with Kuula’s songs, and its significance. because they are new to me and no English Texts are included but are hardly necessary translations are included, but Kataja in his given the clarity of the recordings and her liner notes says they “paint a romantic picture lucent delivery. of nature and heartache”. His approach to the R MOORE songs musically seems to convey what his notes say about them. Kuula was Sibelius’s first Songs student of composition, so the similarity of Sibelius, Brahms, Schumann, Kuula style is not surprising. Their songs make good Arttu Kataja, bar; Paulina Tukiainen, p bookends for the program. Alba 456—76 minutes Both artists are new to me and make a pos- itive first impression. Collaborative pianist, For his debut solo album Finnish baritone Paulina Tukiainen, is a professor for Art Song Arttu Kataja has chosen 9 songs by Sibelius, at the Mozarteum University Salzburg. She has the Four Serious Songs of Brahms, Schu- been accompanying Kataja in song recitals mann’s 6 Poems of Lenau and Requiem, and 6 since the two met in 1999 at a music course in songs by his countryman Toivo Kuula (1883- Kangasnimi, Finland. Her nimble and atten- 1918). tive playing is first rate, particularly as she Kataja’s dark and robust low baritone voice sparkles in the twinkling writing of several sounds like it would stand up well in Wagner Sibelius songs. roles. He sings here in Finnish, Swedish, and Notes, texts, no translations. German; and his diction is clear. His sense of R MOORE mood and tone is on target, and he modulates his voice well, with tonal consistency at all Catalan Art Songs dynamic levels. Isai Jess Munoz, t; Oksana Glouchka, p He doesn’t sound quite at home with Bridge 9548—46 minutes Schumann, but seems fully in his element with Sibelius and Kuula. His performance of the Since the repression of Catalonia in the Span- Brahms songs is one of the better recordings. ish Civil War and Franco’s dictatorial ban of He has the vocal bite needed for the somber the region’s language, Catalan, music of this mood of the Ecclesiastes texts about the futility region suffered from lack of exposure. Two of of life, and in `O Tod, Wie Bitter Bist Du’ he has the great sopranos of the 20th Century, Victo- the tenderness to glide comfortingly through ria de los Angeles and Montserrat Caballe, the final line about accepting death as he softly recorded songs of the region. This program of handles the high G-sharp. For the words from songs by Eduard Toldra, Ricard Lamote de 1 Corinthians 13 of the final song, he pro- Grignon, Narcis Bonet, Frederic Mompou, claims the essential power of love and brings Elisenda Fabregas, and Joan Comellas with the song to a reassuring close. texts by distinguished Catalan poets makes a The program begins with some of welcome affirmation of this heritage. Sibelius’s best songs, including a strong per- Only Mompou’s excellent Combat del formance of `Svarta Rosor’, a song made Somni was familiar to me. Imitacio del Foc, a famous by Jussi Bjorling; a dramatic reading of set of four songs by Fabregas, is heard here in `Säv, `Säv, Susa’, the sad story of a beautiful its world premiere recording. The only thing I young woman who drowned herself, probably didn’t like was a group of tedious liturgical after having given birth to a child out of wed- songs by Comellas with unimaginative lock; a tender reading of `Die Stille Stadt’, a melodies but more interesting piano writing. story of the stillness of night when fear is met Munoz has a light, lyric voice with a sweet by “a quiet song of praise from the mouth of a timbre that reminds me a little of Juan Diego child”; and an anguished reading of `Var et en Flores. His long lyrical lines have grace and 158 May/June 2021 deep feeling without lapsing into sentimentali- will skip ahead now and then, especially in ty. Glouchka’s lyrical playing is in full accord Grieg. with his singing. VROON Notes, tests, translations R MOORE Songs Schubert, Beethoven, Mahler, Britten arrange- Folk Inspired ments Brahms, Mahler, Grieg, Debussy James Newby, bar; Joseph Middleton, p Paula Murrihy, mz; Tanya Blaich, p BIS 2475 [SACD] 75 minutes Orchid 143—74 minutes Wandering and wondering is the theme of this Because we are in need of a vocal reviewer for program for James Newby’s debut recording. women’s voices, I spent an hour or so this All of the songs express feelings of being evening sampling shrieking sopranos—and unsettled or puzzled about life, about wanting hated every minute of it. Composers of our to be somewhere else, about separation from own time seem to write a lot for shrieking life and loved ones. sopranos; they fit the style of composition. The He begins appropriately with Britten’s composers are half the problem; the sopranos arrangement of the American folk hymn `I are the other half. Wonder as I Wander’. The program includes So it was a great pleasure to stumble on both of Schubert’s settings of `Der Wanderer’ this album by a smooth mezzo-soprano who (Schmidt and Schlegel) and three other Schu- never shrieks (well, almost never). I like the bert songs, three of Mahler’s Wunderhorn voice; she reminds me more of Christa Ludwig songs, and more Britten folk song settings to than of Janet Baker, but has bits of both—the conclude. Ludwig roundedness with the Baker emotions. At the center is a Beethoven group: `Ade- I also like the composers and the choice of laide’ and `Maigesang’ followed by the song music. cycle An Die Ferne Geliebte, a work Newby The 6 Brahms songs start things off, each has performed often. one more luscious than the last. The Brahms The program is nicely organized with Brit- items will be enough to bring me back to this ten sets as bookends and Beethoven in the recital. The 5 Mahler songs are from The middle flanked fore and aft by Schubert and Youth’s Magic Horn, and we often hear them Mahler. with orchestral accompaniment—which I pre- As soon as I heard this soft but urgent fer (and Janet Baker did them so well). One of sparsely unaccompanied voice in Britten’s set- them is `Urlicht’, which we know from the Sec- ting of `I Wonder as I Wander’ I knew some- ond Symphony. thing special was at hand. Newby has a lovely, The Debussy Chansons de Bilitis follow the lyrical, medium-weight baritone voice. His Mahler perfectly. I never thought of listening warm and burnished tone, precise articula- to Debussy right after Mahler! Both write for tion, skilled vocal coloring, and carefully the voice in a fairly subdued manner that I nuanced attentiveness to the text equip him like—and that I think Brahms would like! well as a lieder interpreter. Much of his singing Leaving Debussy for Grieg is a bit of a jolt, is appropriately soft and introspective, but he especially since the first Grieg song (`Gruss’) displays real heft as his rises to the emphatic rather throws itself at you—something ardor needed in `Adelaide’ or the Schubert Debussy would never do. But some of the songs. One admires his vocal control as he other 5 songs are more pleasant. All the Grieg reduces his voice from full strength to a slen- songs have German texts, including my der thread while retaining tonal quality. favorite one, about a nightingale (Medieval Newby is well prepared to be a major text). lieder singer for our time. He shows interpre- The singer is Irish and has sung a lot of tive excellence in the Mahler songs, which are opera, mostly in Germany, but also at Santa all in some way about facing separation from Fe. She concludes the program with 5 Irish life through one’s own death: facing death as a songs, some of them having folk origins, but all soldier in `Zu Strassburg auf der Schanz’ and set by Irish or British composers (including `Revelge’ and longing for heaven in the sub- Britten). They are a lot lighter than Brahms lime `Urlicht’—where his rapt singing is ineffa- lieder, but they conclude this program well. It’s bly lovely. (This is one of the sweetest head a delightful recital, though next time I listen I voices of a baritone since Fischer-Dieskau.) American Record Guide 159 His reading of Beethoven’s path-finding song offers a note from the tenor about why he cycle is as fine as the best. To conclude the chose what he did for this recital—and texts program, Newby conveys a good sense of for- and translations are especially helpful with the lornness turning to eager hope in `Sail On, Sail Russian, Czech, and Ukrainian selections. On’. A magnificent song recital debut. REYNOLDS Middleton is one of the best collaborative pianists of his generation. His command of Opera Gala dynamics, nuances of phrasing, and precise Decca Opera Recordings 1954-96 articulation are superb. Together this team has Regine Crespin, , Kirsten Flagstad, given us a splendid album. The engineering , , Mario Del Mona- and technical aspects of this production with co, Set Svanholm, , Fernando its first-class SACD sound are outstanding. Corena, / Richard Bonynge, Notes, texts, translations. Edward Downes, Hans Knappertsbusch, Josef R MOORE Krips, John Pritchard, Decca 4841398 [20CD] 20:12 Hymns of Love Decca, as part of their Eloquence series, has Arias by Puccini, Gounod, Bizet, Tchaikovsky, released a 20-disc operatic cornucopia drawn Dvorak from single-LP albums in their catalog. Each is Dmytro Popov, t; German Symphony Berlin/ Mikhail Simonyan packaged in a cardboard sleeve with a repro- Orchid 100148—56 minutes duction of the original covers. The blurb on the box boasts without exaggeration that the I first encountered Ukrainian tenor Dmytro singers are “the greatest of their age”, perform- Popov in a blu-ray of Bizet’s Carmen per- ing repertoire from Adam to Zandonai. The formed outdoors in the Sydney Harbor. He has recordings fall into three categories: highlights since performed at the Met (debut Rodolfo in recordings of unusual works that were not La Boheme, 2016) and at other opera houses. expected to sell in their complete form; short He has a very attractive tenor with a firm grasp operas offered in their entirety; and projects of the upper register, allowing him to caress centered around illustrious artists in celebrat- and make diminuendos on high notes. He ed portrayals, often rushed to market to avoid sings with finesse in all of these selections. the lag time of planning and producing a com- There are a number of tenor chestnuts plete set. here (the expected arias from La Boheme, In the first group, Joan Sutherland and Faust, Lescaut, , Romeo and Juli- conductor Richard Bonynge lead the way with et, and Carmen) but also lesser known arias Handel’s (a rarity in 1962), from Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, Borodin’s Prince Graun’s Montezuma, and Bononcini’s Grisel- Igor, and Dvorak’s Rusalka. He closes the pro- da. The Cesare is justly famous for, among gram with a passionate Ukrainian folk song. other attractions, Monica Sinclair’s rendition He certainly isn’t linguistically challenged, of Tolomeo’s `Si, spietata’ and its spectacular singing in six languages. cadenza that takes her through three octaves, One of the many things I really enjoy about up to high C and down to an octave below his singing is that he knows how to make a middle C. The Cornelia is Marilyn Horne, rav- high note part of the musical line and not the ishing of voice in her first major-label record- climax of it. He tapers off the high B-flat at the ing. Horne is at the height of her career in end of Romeo’s aria very fetchingly so it scenes from Rossini’s Donna del Lago and sounds like a teenager’s apostrophe of love Siege of Corinth, recorded only a few years rather than the end of the Tenor’s Big Moment. after her triumphant La Scala debut as Neocle. The top C in the Faust aria is treated likewise. Another landmark Horne recording is the His voice per se is not as juicily beautiful as a 1971 Carmen highlights, originally released as young Carreras or Pavarotti, but he shows part of Decca’s “Phase 4 Stereo Concert Series”. more musical imagination than either of them. The sound quality is still impressive—a vivid I hope he allows himself to grow naturally evocation of a theatrical performance; this is rather than forcing his way to the top. no generic Carmen. Tenor Michele Molese Mikhail Simonyan’s conducting is unob- gives real character to Don Jose and conductor trusive, the orchestra professional. Popov’s Henry Lewis (leading the excellent Royal Phil- voice is fortunately not miked too closely— harmonic) presents a cogent concept that there’s some space around it. The booklet exploits Horne’s gorgeous lyrical qualities. 160 May/June 2021 When the mezzo later sang the role with gle. But the voice rolls out with thunderous Leonard Bernstein on stage and on record, beauty, and Franco Tagliavini is an elegant that conductor’s willfully measured style was Faust. no doubt inspired by Lewis’s model. In a recital devoted mainly to Strauss, the Even today, there are few studio recordings divine Lisa Della Casa is heard in scenes from of Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini, scenes (with Hilde Gueden, recorded before from which Decca released in 1970, starring the complete set under Solti), Capriccio, and Magda Olivero and Mario Del Monaco, late in Ariadne auf Naxos. The album is filled out their careers but still electrifying. with a 1951 recital by coloratura soprano Ilse There are nods to operetta: highlights from Hollweg, who offers what is apparently the first Lehar’s Merry Widow (in Bonynge’s adapta- recording of part of the original 1912 edition of tion), with a delectable cast that includes Zerbinetta’s aria from Ariadne. She actually Sutherland in the title role, Werner Krenn as sings a hybrid of the 1912 and 1916; the first Danilo, Valerie Masterson as Valencienne, and recording of the unadulterated 1912 version Regina Resnik as Zo-Zo; and the Hungarian was Edita Gruberova’s 1985 performance for soprano Marika Nemeth in the title role of Orfeo. Kalman’s Countess Maritza. Four years before Regine Crespin recorded The complete works are the 1976 recording the role of the Marschallin under Solti in 1968, of Wolf-Ferrari’s Susanna’s Secret starring the there were scenes from Strauss’s Rosenkavalier silky-voiced soprano Maria Chiara and the vir- led by Varviso. Crespin brings unaffected sin- ile baritone Bernd Weikl; Le Toreador (Adam) cerity to the role, along with one of the most starring Sumi Jo at the beginning of her major beautiful voices on record. She is flanked by career, under Bonynge; and Cimerosa’s one- Elisabeth Soderstrom’s intense yet intimate man Maestro di Capella, a vehicle for the Swiss Octavian and Hilde Gueden as Sophie. By that basso buffo Fernando Corena that’s added on time, Gueden had moved on from Susanna to to the disc of his scenes as Verdi’s Falstaff. the Countess and, only months before, added Highlights of Birgit Nilsson’s effortlessly the more dramatic role of to her soaring Aida (under Pritchard) predate her repertoire. Yet her Sophie remains pristine and complete recording of the opera by four years. unsurpassable. Varviso’s conducting is won- In 1963 her colleagues were Grace Hoffman as derfully expansive, with some slower-than- Amneris, Louis Quilico as Amonasro, and usual tempos that allow us to luxuriate in the Luigi Ottolini as Radames. A collection of Nils- sumptuous sounds of the soloists and the son “Final Scenes” from Wagner’s Gotterdäm- Vienna Philharmonic. But the term “sounds” merung and Strauss’s draws on the doesn’t do justice to an orchestra that is so complete recordings. But the extended adept at projecting Strauss’s detailed tone excerpts from Walkure (1958, under Solti) and painting and singers whose diction is so clear Tristan und Isolde (1960, Knappertsbusch) and natural. The dialog between the Mar- show Decca eager to record Nilsson at the start schallin and Sophie in Act 3 is a heavenly para- of her meteoric rise. In what were essentially dox—exquisitely beautiful singing combined test runs for ’s dream of a com- with the vocal simplicity of a casual conversa- plete Ring, there is the legendary Kirsten tion. One wishes Decca had recorded the Flagstad in complete Acts 1 (Knappertsbusch, opera in its entirety. 1959) and 3 (Solti, 1958) of Walkure. How for- Another highlights recording that merited tunate that Flagstad—a singer whose record- a full treatment is the Falstaff from 1963. Core- ing career began in the acoustic era—was cap- na is less detailed in textual nuance than the tured performing Wagner in stereo, her majes- great Falstaffs on record (Stabile, Rimini, tic sound glorious even near the end of her Valdengo, Gobbi, to name a few). But, as career. always, he has a winning personal presence, It wasn’t until 1982 that Decca got around and he is supported by a fabulous cast and to making a complete recording of Nicolai conductor. Edward Downes, who led the Zef- Ghiaurov’s interpretation of the Boito firelli production of the opera at the Royal Mefistofele. The highlights album, recorded in Opera with several of the same singers, keeps 1966 and conducted by Silvio Varviso, pre- the score bubbling with excitement. Regina serves the Bulgarian bass in his explosive Resnik (Quickly) and Iva Ligabue (Alice), lead- prime. Ghiaurov couldn’t quite mask his ing exemplars of their roles, later recorded intrinsic geniality, so this is not the terrifying them complete under Bernstein. Renato and kaleidoscopic devil of Chaliapin or Trei- Capecchi, who eventually became a first-rate American Record Guide 161 Falstaff himself, is here a strong Ford, fearless express and uses an expansive toolbox to in the taxing tessitura of `E sogno?’. Fenton is make it happen. He takes this to its extreme sung by the graceful lyric tenor Luigi Alva, and with The Wind Blows Where It Pleases, where Nannetta is Lydia Marimpietri, an enchanting he works toward an ideal of spontaneous soprano with a shining top whose roles unpredictability, countered with patterns of extended from lyric to dramatic. She is just one repetition and a recapitulating structure. of many magnificent singers in the collection Seemingly random sounds from all areas of who have been under-appreciated or are rela- the orchestra, emulating everything from tively forgotten. heartbeats to the wind itself, rub shoulders The French-Canadian tenor Raoul Jobin with walking bass lines, a deconstructed and the Greek mezzo-soprano Irma Kolassi Chopin ballade, and a final section that is are heard in excerpts from Berlioz’s Damna- unabashedly tonal. It shouldn’t work—but he tion of Faust and Massenet’s Werther, record- makes the balancing act fully convincing. The ed in 1955. No tenor today can match Jobin’s cello concerto is a different beast entirely, with technical assurance and beauty of tone, and the ever-reliable cellist Johannes Moser at the Kolassi’s mellow mezzo sound has more helm. Having written the work at a time of vibrancy and glimmer than most sopranos deep grief and pain, Olesen gives the cello a today. The earliest of the recordings are 1954 persona as a naive, carefree spirit, opening the excerpts from Bizet’s Pearl Fishers and Goun- work with ascending and descending scales, as od’s Mireille starring the captivating French if dutifully practicing without a thought to soprano . She is joined in the what may come. Gradually, the orchestra Pearl Fishers scenes by the excellent Swiss- becomes more prominent as the cello tries, in born tenor Libero de Luca, who starred in vain, to maintain its energy and freedom. But complete recordings of Mignon and Manon the cello persona also matures; by the work’s with Micheau, and Lakme opposite Mado tender final section, in a soft sheen of strings Robin. When I reviewed Eloquence’s Art of and guitar, the cello finds closure in a quiet Janine Micheau (S/O 2018), I waxed rhapsodic duet with a violin. These are two truly special, about the debt we owe Decca for reminding us original works. I encourage any listener to be of the high vocal standards that once pre- adventurous and give these works a try. vailed. They keep reminding us, and for that, even more than for the brilliant programming BJARNASON: Violin Concerto; VAKA: Lendh; of artists and repertoire that went into making TOMASSON: In Seventh Heaven; JONSDOT- these recordings, we are grateful. TIR: Flutter; JOHANNSSON: Adagio ALTMAN Pekka Kuusisto, v; Mario Caroli, fl; Iceland Sym- phony/ Daniel Bjarnason The Newest Music I Sono Luminus 92243 [CD+BluRay]—71 minutes This is the third and final release in a series FARO showing off contemporary Icelandic com- posers played by the Iceland Symphony. Most OLESEN: The Wind Blows Where It Pleases; of this (often dissonant) music engages with Cello Concerto trends in new music, following the example of Johannes Moser, vc; Danish National Symphony/ composers such as Ligeti, Saariaho, and Berio Otto Tausk—Dacapo 8226586—49 minutes with experiments in sound mass, texture and timbre, and postmodern approaches to per- This is brilliant, enthralling music—and also formance. The most striking work here is the difficult music to write about, since Danish 23-minute, single-movement violin concerto composer Thomas Agerfeldt Olesen calls on so composed by Bjarnason for violinist Pekka many seemingly disparate influences. Textur- Kuusisto, who gives a stunning performance. It al, timbral, tonal, and atonal elements collide, opens with the soloist plucking violin strings as well as quotations, extramusical references, while whistling. Then, as he starts to bow the and moments of pure, pitchless sound. I’m strings, whistles in polyphony rise up from the tempted to compare it to the postmodern orchestra. This gentle motif recurs elsewhere polystylism of Schnittke, but there is no sense in the concerto, balanced against violent of ironic distance, nor any interrogation of orchestral passages and icy, frenetic gestures trends or tradition. Rather, Olesen has a seri- in the solo violin. Bjarnason also evokes tradi- ous, grounded vision of what his music should tional Scandinavian music. This is certainly

162 May/June 2021 one of the last decade’s most interesting con- the-spot pedal tuning. While this certainly certos, and I’m glad to have it. The other con- tests the skills of the player, there still isn’t certo here is Thuridur Jonsdottir’s Flutter for much melodically that the timpani is able to flute and orchestra—also around 20 minutes do. Only in the rowdy III (`Horse Ride’) does and in a single movement. She wrote it in the timpani have the material to assert its role memory of Messiaen; thinking of his love of as a soloist. The 2017 is better, birds, she included recorded nature sounds to especially with its substantial timpani part. It play as the solo flute flits around, often making was commissioned for the soloists on this pitchless sounds and using extended tech- recording and Rosauro seems to have had niques—played adeptly by Mario Caroli. More input from Cagnacci for his part. Still, the often than not, the orchestra is quiet or even orchestral parts are rather lacking, especially completely silent. It has a feeling of stillness, in the flat orchestration. Though these works even with constant movement in the quietest are enjoyable, they are often short on originali- textures. I had to listen to it several times to ty and substance. The novelty of concertos for wrap my mind around it, and I imagine many uncommon solo instruments is not enough for of my colleagues would understandably find it me to recommend this. unendingly annoying. Veronique Vaka’s `Lendh’ is described in the notes as a musical AMAYA: Constellations representation of the geography of one of Ice- Raquel Winnica Young (Pi), Dan Kempson (Jo), land’s geothermal regions. It has a Ligetian Sarah Shafer (Tessa); Arts Crossing Chamber atmosphere of slow-shifting masses of harmo- Orchestra/ Efrain Amaya ny and texture. I found it effective and com- Albany 1846—78 minutes pelling, with more drama than the description suggests. Haukur Tomasson’s `In Seventh This is a one-act chamber opera inspired by Heaven’ has a much faster pace. Its figures the life and work of surrealist artist Joan Miro, whiz by, constantly changing and shifting like with music by Venezuelan composer Efrain light blooming or withdrawing into shadow. Amaya and a libretto from his wife and collab- The last piece on the album is the melancholy orator Susana Amundarain. The opera draws 1980 `Adagio’ by Magnus Blondal Johannsson from a period when Miro, exiled in northern (1938-2005), Iceland’s first serial composer France from the Spanish Civil War, narrowly and pioneer of electronic music. It is fairly escapes the encroaching Nazi armies with his tonal, though his 12-tone roots never seem daughter and wife, Pilar. In Amundarain’s distant. Despite ominous rolls from the bass libretto, “Jo” struggles with his purpose as an drum, it ends gently, with an affirming major artist and his feelings of helplessness in such chord. This is an excellent album, a testament traumatic times. His wife “Pi” yearns to con- to the wealth of talent in Iceland. nect with him and calls for help from Tessa, an angel of Saint John. Though the action ROSAURO: ; Marimba revolves around Jo’s art and personal crisis, Pi Concerto 1; Marimba & Timpani Concerto is the beating heart of the work, thanks in part Ivan Mancinelli, mar; Domenico Cagnacci, tim; to the gorgeous, expressive singing by mezzo- Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano & Trento/ Roberto soprano Raquel Winnica Young. She is torn Molinelli, George Pehlivanian between supporting her closed-off husband Stradivarius 37144—65 minutes and moving her family to safety, feeling unable These concertos are direct and simple in style; to do either. It is her heartfelt plea for spiritual though they are sometimes enjoyable, I often guidance in Act 1—one of the most beautiful found them rather dull. The concerto for parts of the opera—and her subsequent bold marimba and strings is from 1986 and is billed acts of love that drive the narrative. The music in the notes as “the most popular marimba is mostly tonal, with beautiful vocal writing concerto of all time”. It id the strongest and (especially for Pi) and instrument writing that most inspired of the three concertos. The often imparts a sense of wonder or deep feel- marimba writing is excellent, and the orches- ing. The Arts Crossing Chamber Orchestra tra complements it well. Elements of Brazilian gives fine (though not flawless) performances music appear in each of the movements. The and the singers are all excellent. Sound is very 2003 timpani concerto is bland. Rosauro good. Notes and libretto are included. eschewed the rhythmic nature of the timpani for a melodic approach, often calling for on- American Record Guide 163 convincing dramatic arc, moments of colorful ALMER: P Breaking the Silence; Ithaca; orchestration, and plenty of excitement. It has Not Going Quietly; Time Out Shefali Pryor, ob; Francesco Celata, cl; Andrew an undercurrent of danger and menace that Haveron, Katie Chilmaid, Emma Long, v; Sandro often bubbles up to disturb the peace, before Costantino, Jacqui Cronin, va; Catherine Hewgill, exploding to the fore in the last movement. His Timothy Nankervis, Rowena Crouch, vc; David Fifth Symphony is duller and less cohesive. It Campbell, db; Jeanell Carrigan, p doesn’t help that the entire symphony is pre- Verbrugghen Ensemble/ John Lynch sented on a single, 33-minute track. Also here Navona 6326—59 minutes is `Meditation: In Flanders Fields’, an 11- minute elegy after the famous World War I Australian George Palmer has composed since poem by John McCrae. It’s often beautiful, he was a teenager, but only since 2011 has he though fairly static—it could easily be half as devoted all his time to composition, after a long, if not shorter. In all of the pieces, Armore career in law culminating in a judgeship. The could shape the music better—sometimes it music presented here is often beautiful, with gets quite flat. The orchestra is good, but not plenty of heart and substance. He writes intel- always note-perfect. ligently for the instruments. At his most turbu- lent, he writes with a prickly sound reminis- MCENROE: Fanfare Suite; Celebration of cent of Hindemith, as in the string quintet Not the Natural World; The Passing Going Quietly, written in memory of a young Sydney Scoring Orchestra/ Stephen Williams concert pianist. Most often, the music hews Navona 6329—64 minutes closely to the styles of Faur‚ and Ravel, as in Releases of McEnroe’s music have come my the gentle, inviting `Ithaca’ for clarinet and way many times and many have disappointed string quartet, or in Breaking the Silence, a me. This one, works, is cut from concerto for cello and chamber orchestra. the same cloth. It’s not that his music is diffi- Inspired by the Zen poetry of Basho, it is a cult on the ear; it is straightforward and often peaceful mediation on enlightenment, with pleasant, sometimes with moments of genuine moments of joyous spontaneity. Rounding out beauty or excitement. It’s that as a whole, his the program is `Time Out’, a short grouping of music is bland. It’s as if he puts ideas to paper laid-back, bluesy mood pieces for oboe and without any thought of refinement, craft, piano. Performances are good but not always imagination, or dramatic potential. Or note-perfect, and Not Going Quietly has occa- restraint—at 40 minutes, his Fanfare Suite out- sional intonation problems. Nevertheless, I lasts some symphonies, without a clear pur- enjoyed this. pose or development of ideas to justify its length. I understand the desire for simple and ROBERTSON: Symphonies 4+5; direct contemporary music for casual listen- Meditation: In Flanders Fields ers, but the listener deserves music composed Bratislava Symphony/ Anthony Armore with more care than this. I have more artful Navona 6325—73 minutes music to recommend along these lines—for I was introduced to the music of John Robert- instance, in Navona’s own recent catalog, Michael J Evans’s delightful symphonic fairy son with the release of his first symphony tale The Adventures of Florian (6301, M/A (Navona 6167, N/D 2018, new); I described it 2021, new). and the accompanying pieces as good-natured and straightforward, if unremarkable. Patrick Hanudel was harsher, finding his third sym- phony and wind concertos “weak, saccharine, The Newest Music II and poorly-constructed” (Navona 6223, J/A BOYD 2019). I find that his work has matured with these later symphonies. As with his earlier works, the music is often romantic in style— CRAVEN: Pieces for Pianists 1 Tchaikovsky is a prominent influence. But Mary Dullea—Metier 28601—70 minutes there is a richer musical language and a wider emotional palette at play. There are still cloy- Quirky and upbeat, these mesmerizing works ing moments and problems with structure, but by composer Eric Craven are tonal in language everything is more assured here. The Fourth but unconventional in the way that they are Symphony is the strongest work here, with a notated: the composer has written fixed note 164 May/June 2021 values and left dynamic and tempo choices up Mirrors to the pianist. Irish pianist Mary Dullea is Cohen, Moya, Higdon, Belimova, Cooper, given extra credit on this album and for good Ciupinski reason: not only did she play these pieces, she Lysander Piano Trio; Sarah Shafer, s “realized” them as well. The result of this artis- First Hand 111—71 minutes tic input from these two musicians is one of true artistic alchemy: Dullea plays to her A love list: the perfect accelerando in Jennifer strengths while showing the bright colors of Higdon’s Love Sweet, a delightfully poignant Craven’s work with aplomb and grace and violin solo in Reinaldo Moya’s Ghostwritten care. Curious pianists can find the sheet music Variations, the neo-gothic haunting of tender for themselves on tutti.co.uk. melodies high up in the piano of Jakub Ciupin- ski’s Black Mirror that melt into a fog of heavy Whispering Colors pedal and string harmonics, the beautiful voice of Sarah Shafer. The Lysander Piano Trio Blake, Bussi, Kats-Chernin, Kennedy, Pelecis, and soprano Sarah Shafer hit scores of right Secco, Voogt, Whitbourn notes here, and have programmed the album Habemus Quartet; Stamen Nikolov, vc; Eduardo very effectively, granting its audience access to Frias, p a whole new set of aural fairy tales, program- Non Profit Music 2011—68 minutes matic and not. Firebird has company, and Though I’m not quite sold on how the album’s Lysander wants you to know about it. And with cover art (a detail shot of brown cloth) match- these wonderful performances full of care and es its subject matter, Habemus Quartet’s per- emotion, you’ll soon be under their spell. formances are captivating: the upbeat, pas- sionate iteration of Blue Rose by Elena Kats- MASON: Between the Stars Chernin, and the solemn harmonies of Gor- don Kennedy’s Requiem for Discourse played Winter & Winter 910 267—39 minutes at first without vibrato so that we can feel the Composer Christian Mason’s work Zwischen bite of every momentary dissonance. Gipsy den Sternen requires patience and an open Spell, written by Liliane Secco, is an enjoyable ear: this work sees six notes of the piano re- journey, though I wished for a more confident tuned to partials 7, 11, 13, 14, 21, and 23 of a C- set of accents in the violins in the final climax spectrum, married with a string trio subject to of the work. Gabriel Bussi’s Bagatella 2 for heavy scordatura. Paired with Mason’s textural string quartet is a sheer delight, sumptuously choices, the result is eight movements of played. music that, while incredibly hard to listen to, certainly do transport the listener to the wilds DEUTSCH: Encounters of outer space, between the stars. I do think American Chamber Ensemble, Ergon, Ensemble, that with this timbral and soundworld setup, Belfiato Quintet—Ravello 8049—64 minutes Mason could have achieved something really 89-year-old Herb Deutsch, formerly a Profes- magical here had he given us just a few sor of Music at Hofstra University and a critic moments more of harmonies that would make for American Record Guide in the 1980s, man- us want to stick around not for the academics ages a kaleidoscope of sonic influences in his of it, but for the beauty of its sonic novelty. music. The Moog Synthesizer (Deutsch helped Birds of Love and Prey develop it alongside Bob Moog), classical Kitchen, Simpson, Thibaudeau music, jazz, and experiments all have space Deborah Sternberg, s; Andrew Earle Simpson, aplenty in the mind of this composer. A lovely Mark Vogel, p—Naxos 579046—61 minutes example of this aesthetic compass among the pieces on this disc is Romantic Conversations, Deborah Sternberg will become your new with a concert performance of the work given favorite songbird after spending time with this by Nancy Deutsch (the composer’s wife) and album. Andrew Earle Simpson’s imaginative, cellist Ben Wolfe. What begins as an amorous dextrous Birds of Love and Prey provides an duet briefly visits the smokey stage lights of a extraordinary role for Sternberg’s powerful, walking bass line and cozies up to disorienting elegant voice. Don’t miss the cadenzas here— chromaticism before its eight-minute life span they’re an intellectual and aural treat. Eric ends. Especially if you’re a Moog fan, this Kitchen’s Olney Avian Verse of William Cow- album stunning. Bravo to all of the musicians. per is a more traditional work, marrying bright American Record Guide 165 chordal harmonies of the early 20th Century act format (Act I in 1806). By 1814 he was long with transcribed bird song as the melodic past looking to other composers for guidance. impetus. Gabriel Thibaudeau’s Cycle Avicellus Yet if Beethoven was tenacious in his pur- is rich and lush, wrapping the listener in the suit of improvement, he could also be obsti- warmth of contemporary consonance. nate. In 1868, Rudolf Bunge published an interview with the tenor Joseph Roeckel, who recalled a private gathering of musicians and Videos patrons shortly after Leonore’s disappointing 1805 premiere. An ensemble of singers was assembled (Roeckel had to sing Florestan at BEETHOVEN: Leonore (1805) sight), and Beethoven sat at the piano to play Nathalie Paulin (Leonore/Fidelio), Jean-Michel through the entire opera. After it was over, the Richer (Florestan), Stephen Hegedus (Rocco), composer’s friends begged him to consider Pascale Beaudin (Marzelline), Matthew Scollin trimming it from three acts to two and elimi- (Pizarro), Keven Geddes (Jaquino); Opera Lafay- nating some of the exposition. His initial ette/ Ryan Brown response was not promising. According to Naxos 121 [Blu-ray] 148 minutes; also DVD Roeckel: “Do not ask me; not a single note BEETHOVEN: Fidelio (1806) should be lost!” Nicole Chevalier (Leonore/Fidelio), Eric Cutler Least often performed is the 1806 revision, (Florestan), Christof Fischesser (Rocco), Melissa which condensed the opera to two acts, but Petit (Marzelline), Gabor Bretz (Pizarro), Ben- still lacked the final touches that made the jamin Hulett (Jaquino); Vienna Symphony/ Man- 1814 Fidelio an immediate and lasting success. fred Honeck According to Manfred Honeck, conductor of C Major 803304 [Blu-ray] 130 minutes; also DVD the performance, some people consider it “a mediocre compromise”. These two video releases chart the early But he believes it is just as important as the progress of Beethoven’s Fidelio. The opera was other two; the re-worked sections are vital evi- first performed in 1805 under the title Leonore dence of “how quickly Beethoven developed at the Theater An Der Wien, where Beetho- an instinct for the stage”. The discreetly men- ven’s 1806 revision was recorded here. C Major acing march that accompanies Pizarro’s identifies the opera as Fidelio 1806, though it entrance was added in 1806. And some repeat- opens with the Leonore Overture No. 3. The ed measures that slowed the pace of the aria 1805 Leonore is presented by Naxos in a per- that follows (‘Ha! Welch ein Augenblick!’) were formance by the Canadian-founded New York- deleted as well. It’s also revealing to see what based Opera Lafayette. If there are passages in Beethoven got right from the beginning. these first editions that sound weak, it is only Among the numbers that remained nearly because we have the final 1814 Fidelio in our unchanged from 1805 to 1814 were the sub- ears. I suspect that if these were all that lime quartet `Mir ist so wunderbar’, the siz- Beethoven left to posterity, we’d still count zling Pizarro-Rocco duet `Jetzt, Alter’ (my them among his masterpieces. favorite scene in the opera), and the Prisoners’ In his informative notes for Naxos Nizam Chorus. Peter Kettaneh suggests that “the great num- The Opera Lafayette production was part ber of surviving sketches that Beethoven wrote of the laudable Leonore Project that gave us while composing Leonore are likely due to his the release of Pierre Gaveaux’s 1798 Leonore ambition to rival Cherubini: his untiring (M/J 2019). Several of the cast members repeat industry making up for his lack of experience roles they sang in the Gaveaux, and the book- in theatrical composition”. Certainly, there is let includes scrupulous notes about each an element of insecurity in both of the number, often citing similarities that suggest Leonores. As it progressed, Beethoven’s voice Beethoven based some of his musical ideas on came through more and more clearly; only in Gaveaux. the final Fidelio did he abandon certain hack- Although he likely has some historical jus- neyed conventions, like the extended coloratu- tification (perhaps to evoke the opera’s ra passage that bogs down the original coda to singspiel roots?), conductor Ryan Brown occa- Leonore’s resolute `Ich folg’ dem innern sionally adopts faster-than-usual tempos that Triebe’, and Pizarro’s bland call to arms that end up feeling rushed. `Mir ist so wunderbar’, was the ending to Act II in the original three- for example, loses its ethereal glow. Otherwise, the cast and orchestra are quite good, and, I 166 May/June 2021 should add, beautifully captured, visually and characters, motivated by Waltz’s powerful and sonically. That said, the Opera Lafayette pro- coherent concept. duction pales in direct (if unfair) comparison This is a performance to treasure, and one to the Theater An der Wien performance, that almost didn’t happen. With COVID, all which benefits from the advantages of a world- theaters in Vienna were to close just before class opera company and theater. Maestro opening night. It was decided that the opening Honeck, leading the forces of the superlative night performance would take place after all, Vienna Symphony and but with the video cameras and crew—no Choir, sustains a breathless momentum that audience. Opera Lafayette finished their last never loses poise and keeps things taut even in public performance just days before New slower tempos. He finds just the right tone for York’s shut-down. In both cases, like the sus- the complex mix of tension and calm in the penseful showdown between Leonore and Prisoners’ Chorus. And even in the most ani- Pizarro, the opera managed to make a narrow mated sections of the work, Honeck nimbly escape. suspends time when needed to respond to the ALTMAN key “moments”. Listen, for example, to the sud- den change in tempo and mood when Pizarro BELLINI: Capulets & Montagues reveals to Rocco his plan to murder the abused Joyce DiDonato (Romeo), Olga Kulchynska (Juli- prisoner Florestan. et), Benjamin Bernheim (Tebaldo), Roberto The musical propulsion Honeck sets in Lorenzi (Lorenzo); Zurich Opera/ motion is complemented by the razor-sharp Accentus 10353 [Blu-ray] 139 minutes; also DVD direction of award-winning actor Christoph For once, I will buck the trend to lead with Waltz, who cuts the dialog to leave only the commentary on the director’s concept and most essential text. The set (designed by instead begin with what matters most here: the Barkow Leibinger) is a marvel in itself: a sym- pleasurable music-making of this 2015 Zurich metrical series of sloping white steps that cre- Opera production. Fabio Luisi is an energetic ates an Escher-like trompe l’oeil. With simple and detail-oriented conductor. He is also changes in lighting, we are either at ground notably attentive to his singers, and the first- level or in the depths of the dungeon. rate cast performs with remarkable spontane- At the center of the action is Nicole Cheva- ity and a sense of complete comfort with the lier’s fierce Leonore. An American artist who style. has found fame in Europe, she is a prodigious- Ukrainian soprano Olga Kulchynska is an ly gifted dramatic coloratura, whose seemingly artist to watch. She sings with beautiful, bell- unlimited freedom of expression is never at like tones that are squarely on pitch. The the expense of vocal elegance. Another Ameri- sound is dynamically flexible, and attacks are can whose career has flourished in Europe is pure and effortless. Listen to the plaintive Eric Cutler. He fills out Florestan’s phrases melancholy she brings to a seemingly unim- with healthy tone, bright and forward, yet portant phrase in the recitative to her Act I never brash. Perhaps too healthy, considering aria, `O! Quante Volte’. Alone in her chambers, that some singers of the past (Patzak, Vickers) denied a refreshing breeze (“Un refrigerio ai did manage to imply the prisoner’s extreme venti io chiedo invano”), her voice seems to weakness. In any case, it should be noted that float on the stagnant air. Paired with the divine the 1806 Florestan is a bit shortchanged, the Joyce DiDonato as Romeo, they create magic `Gott! Welch’ dunkel hier!’ monologue flat in duets that foreshadow and Adal- compared to the 1814 rewrite. gisa’s harmonizing. Gabor Bretz, who was such a sympathetic Lyric tenor Benjamin Bernheim moved up Don Quixote in the 2019 Bregenz Festival pro- quickly in the ranks after his performance here duction of Massenet’s opera (J/F 2021), proves as Tybalt, Juliet’s spurned betrothed. He is a himself just as adept at playing villains. His potent musical and dramatic force in the face- Don Pizarro is chillingly malevolent. As Mar- off with Romeo (`Stolto! A un sol mio grido’), zelline and Jaquino, Melissa Petit and Ben- though I find his tonal palette a bit limited. jamin Hulett are musically fresh-voiced and As far as “concept”, director Christof Loy dramatically fiery. The charismatic Christof puts the emphasis on the Venetian teenagers’ Fischesser makes Rocco a haunting figure obsession with death, as embodied by the trapped in a moral dilemma. In fact, the entire mysterious and ubiquitous presence of actor cast and chorus seem fully committed to their Gieorgij Puchalski. A lovely and androgynous American Record Guide 167 figure, Puchalski—whether in male or female recitative passages for which Donizetti settings attire—is allotted a fair share of the camera’s do not exist are discreetly mimed as the text attention. There are also suggestions of inces- appears in the captions. The composer did tuous abuse from Juliet’s father, which Loy manage to salvage most of the best music, so derives from Juliet’s inability to break free of much of the score will be recognizable if ou her familial bonds. know Favorite. And though that opera’s most I much prefer the 2018 Accademia Teatro inspired arias (`Vien, Leonora’, `O mio Fernan- alla Scala staging of Vaccai’s Giulietta e Romeo do’, and `Spirto gentil’) are not in this embry- (S/O 2019), an earlier work based on the same onic form, Nisida stands on its own merits, as libretto by Felice Romani. For example, direc- evidenced in this video of the premiere staging tor Cecilia Ligorio used the opera’s short prel- by the Donizetti Opera Festival in the compos- ude to depict the key events that take place er’s native Bergamo in November 2019. before Romani’s telling begins: the funeral of The Teatro Donizetti was under construc- Juliet’s brother (killed by Romeo) and the bal- tion at the time. Director Francesco Micheli cony encounter that symbolizes her love for saw a happy coincidence in the birth of an the man she should hate. In contrast, the busy unknown work and the renovations that would tableau that opens this production doesn’t add give new life to the theater named for its com- to our understanding of the plot and is anti- poser. In a brilliant dramaturgical maneuver, thetical to the spirit of Bellini’s overture. he allocated the first three tiers of boxes and a ALTMAN dais on the stage to the audience. The orches- tra is placed at the back of the theater’s ground DONIZETTI: L’Ange de Nisida floor and, in scenes where they do not need to Florian Sempey (Don Fernand), Roberto Lorenzi be seen, the chorus is positioned in the fourth (Don Gaspar), Konu Kim (Leone), Lidia Fridman tier. Taking a cue from (and giving a nod to) (Sylvia); Donizetti Opera Festival/ Jean-Luc Tin- the arduous research that made the produc- gaud tion possible, the orchestra level, shorn of Dynamic 57848 [Blu-ray] 174 minutes; also 2DVD seats, is flooded with manuscript pages that Elated by the success of their triumphant 1839 resemble the sands of the island of Nisida. This production of the French adaptation of Lucia becomes the performing space. The lighting di Lammermoor, the Théatre de la Renais- design (by Alessandro Andreoli) plays an sance commissioned Donizetti to write his important role in the drama: images projected first new work for Paris. The composer drew onto the flooring indicate place and time. liberally on a draft for an unfinished Italian Micheli builds on the motif of the score opera titled Adelaide and by December 1839 pages with elaborate costumes all made of he had practically completed the score. The paper (designed by Margherita Baldoni). At production process began in early 1840, but the end of Act III, the shedding of the cos- the premiere was repeatedly postponed. In the tumes reflects the tearing away of artifice and end, the Renaissance went bankrupt and illusions. That makes a neat transition to the Donizetti was left with an opera that—for rea- Convent setting of the last act, where the dis- sons laid out in Candida Mantica’s scholarly carded costumes represent the renunciation of program notes—could never be performed as material possessions. Micheli encouraged his originally conceived. singers to exploit the advantages of theater in Reluctant to give up on a work of signifi- the round. “I urged them to constantly change cant value, Donizetti “followed a path similar their point of view and understand that to his recycling of Adelaide: he dismembered declaiming something in one direction or the score [of Nisida] and nested a fair number another elicits a different meaning”, he ex- of its pages in his new one, La Favorite”. In plains in an exuberant on-screen talk included 2008, as part of a doctoral project, Mantica as a bonus. began the seemingly impossible task of recon- The four principals mirror the main pro- structing the lost opera, piecing together the tagonists of Favorite. There is King Don Fer- jigsaw puzzle of extant manuscript pages—out nand, his mistress (or “favorite”) Sylvia, the of order, full of erasures and cross-outs—and tenor who loves her (Leone), and the Monk sections where Nisida text “is heavily stricken who represents the voice of the Pope. Retain- out” and replaced with Favorite text. So as not ing a taste of the opera semiseria genre of the to compromise the integrity of the enterprise libretto’s sources, Nisida has a fifth character: with newly composed music, the occasional the basso buffo role of Don Gaspar, the King’s 168 May/June 2021 advisor, who does his best to keep all parties this opera’s music sounds like some of his satisfied. later, greater works—and more than a little like Sylvia and Leone are portrayed by Lidia Rossini (not surprising since every opera com- Fridman and Konu Kim, two young singers poser of that period wanted to repeat Rossini’s with great promise. Fridman is a Russian immense success). The plot is sometimes soprano with an attractive timbre and a mel- unnecessarily complicated and deals with lost low gloss, reminiscent of young Netrebko. She siblings, thwarted lovers, greedy magistrates, is lacking a bit in sheer solidity of sound, but and a Czar’s magnanimity. Everything is that could develop if she continues to sing in resolved happily at the end (except for the the unforced manner she demonstrates here. magistrate, who is rather unfairly stripped of For a singer still in her early 20s, what impress- his position and forced to pay a fine). There es us most is her commanding stage presence. are several numbers redolent of other com- She is well matched by Kim’s honeyed tones posers’ work, namely a sextet in the second act and wide range of expression. Leone’s Act IV that sounds eerily similar to the sextet in the aria doesn’t have the infectious melodic con- Act II of Rossini’s Cenerentola. Well, plagia- tours of its equivalent moment in Favorite. But rism was rampant in Donizetti’s day. Donizetti the ABACA structure of `Helas! Envolez-vous, scholars will remember the use of `Home, beaux songes!’ gives the scene more breadth Sweet Home’ in the finale of Anna Bolena, and and room for introspection than `Ange si pur’, Verdi fans will remember how similar the Act I and the Korean tenor’s intense delivery makes finale of is to the Act II finale of Lucia it the emotional high point of the evening. The di Lammermoor. At any rate, Pietro is a final scene of the opera, too, though mostly the delightful romp, filled with melodic arias and same as in Favorite, is more expansive and ensembles. At nearly three hours it’s a little richer in interpretive possibilities—another long. Donizetti was still finding himself as a reason why Nisida is a worthy addition to the composer, but his music is already inventive Donizetti oeuvre. and memorable. Florian Sempey uses his smooth baritone The production by Ondadurto Teatro to communicate the nuances of the King’s per- (directors Marco Paciotti and Lorenzo sonal turmoil. Excellent too are the basses, Pasquali) underlines the comedy with extrava- Roberto Lorenzi as the affable Don Gaspar (a gant costume designs (think The Simpsons musical cousin to Dulcamara) and Federico meets Disney) that don’t tell us very much Benetti, whose youth gives the role of the about the characters and set pieces that are led Monk an added measure of vitality. Leading on and off as needed. The singers are given the orchestra, Jean-Luc Tingaud establishes a mostly stylized movements that support the solid foundation for the singers, who seem comedy but don’t make us care much about confident to follow their musical and dramatic the characters. Sometimes one gets the instincts. impression the directors don’t trust the com- ALTMAN poser. During the soprano’s Act I aria, for example, a trapeze artist is employed to dis- DONIZETTI: Pietro il Grande tract us. The lighting design is often too clever Roberto De Candia (Pietro), Loriana Castellano and too much; every ensemble brings new (Caterina), Paola Gardina (Madama Fritz), Marco projections intended to enhance the music, Filippo Romano (Ser Cuccupis); Donizetti Opera/ but sometimes adding confusion to an already Alessandrini head-scratching narrative (there are seven Dynamic 57847 [Blu-ray] 166 minutes (also DVD) characters to keep straight). It doesn’t hurt that most of the cast is Pietro il Grande was first performed December native Italians. Roberto De Candia and Marco 26, 1819 at the Teatro San Samuele and was Filippo Romano are a terrific team, really play- the first of his operas to be given more than ing off each other and dazzling us with their one production. It had about seven stagings command of coloratura and patter. Francisco until 1827, when its last known performance in Brito as the hot-headed love interest has a the 19th Century took place. It was eventually beautiful tenor, capable of vocal flexibility and revived in 2003. This production from Novem- soaring high notes. His soprano love, Nina Sol- ber 2019 celebrates the 200th anniversary of odovnikova (Annetta) has a sweet-sounding the opera and uses a new critical edition. lyric soprano. Paula Gardina’s mezzo is color- Donizetti wrote so many operas it’s hard ful and attractive; she also knows how to shape not to hear similarities among them. A lot of and phrase a Donizettian aria. Loriana Castel- American Record Guide 169 lano is another excellent mezzo whose talent character), the King believes it is Acrimante makes one wish Donizetti had given her more himself in pursuit of Ipomene. Imprisoned to do too. Everyone has excellent diction and is and sentenced to death, Acrimante falls into a enjoying their work. The male chorus not only deep sleep, induced by the draught given to sings well, but is fully immersed in the drama him by the ever-faithful and forgiving Atamira (not always the case with Italian choruses). (the equivalent to Donna Elvira) in place of the Rinaldo Alessandrini leads and follows his poison she was charged with administering. In singers expertly. Sound and picture are excel- a wonderful fantasy scene, he dreams he has lent; subtitles are available in six languages. died and gone to hell. Later, after the statue of Despite some of the excesses, I enjoyed Tidemo (who lost his life defending Ipomene’s this thoroughly. I’m very grateful to Dynamic honor) accepts the fateful dinner invitation, for bringing us these performances of rarer Acrimante plunges himself into Cocytus, the works. mythological “river of wailing”. He anticipates REYNOLDS the pains of eternal damnation in the brief but haunting `Pene, pianti e sospiri’. MELANI: L’Empio Punito The all-Italian cast is superb, each singer Mauro Borgioni (Acrimante), Giacomo Nanni projecting an individual personality that delin- (Bibi), Michela Guarrera (Ipomene), Sabrina eates his role. The handsome and robust bass- Cortese (Atamira), Alessandro Ravasio (Atrace), baritone Mauro Borgioni conveys Acrimante’s Carlotta Colomba (Cloridoro); Reate Festival/ insatiable desires with a tone that is powerful Alessandro Quarta and seductive, tinged with a melancholy re- Dynamic 57871 [Blu-ray] 136 minutes; also DVD flected in his brooding eyes. Giacomo Nanni’s leaner bass resonances match his trim physi- Despite its path of death and destruction, 2020 que, making him an endearing and sexy Bibi. has been kind to the early Baroque composer Director Cesare Scarpon underlines the pair’s Alessandro Melani (1636-1703). His Empio homoerotic chemistry to great effect without Punito (1669), the earliest operatic treatment forcing the point. The librettists Acciaiuoli and of Tirso de Molina’s telling of the Don Juan leg- Apolloni give Bibi a love interest in the form of end, made its video debut with this sterling the lusty nurse Delfa, portrayed with campy production from the Reate Festival. An audio commitment by tenor Alessio Tosi en travesti, recording of the same opera, based on per- a convention of the era. This gender-reversal is formances from the Teatro Verdi in Pisa, was nicely balanced by mezzo-soprano Carlotta issued on the Glossa label. And a collection of Colombo’s finely sung portrayal of Cloridoro, Motets was released by Brilliant (J/A 2020). Ipomene’s devoted fianc‚ and counterpart to Because the Reate staging of Empio took place Ottavio. As Ipomene, Michela Guarrera is a a week or so before the Pisa (both in October real find. Her supple soprano has a mellow 2019), it claims to be the first performance of beauty and an easy richness in the middle and the opera in modern times. lower registers. She has a regal bearing that Though the libretto moves the action from offsets the more ethereal beauty of Sabrina Naples and Spain to a fictional Macedonian Cortese (Atamira), whose soprano tones are court of the classical period, the key elements consistently attractive. of the story are present: the intimate and diffi- Excellent too is bass Alessandro Ravasio as cult relationship between the libertine and his Atrace, the King who finally wins over Atamira harassed servant (here Acrimante and Bibi), to form one of the three couples who celebrate the complications that ensue when the two the opera’s happy ending. As in Mozart’s Don exchange identities, the seduction that leads to Giovanni, Acrimante’s descent to hell is fol- murder, a visit from the victim’s ghost in the lowed by the moral, “Cosi punisce il ciel chi il form of a statue, and the anti-hero’s eventual cielo offende” (“Thus does Heaven punish comeuppance. Yet The Wicked One Punished those who Heaven offend”), quite close to the bears less resemblance to Mozart’s Don Gio- wording Da Ponte devised for the Mozart set- vanni than, say, The Stone Guest by Giacomo ting. Tritto (N/D 2017), which preceded Mozart’s The alluring set design is by Michele Della opera by only four years. For one, Acrimante Cioppa. Disjointed backdrops and platforms of has more opportunities for self-reflection. different planes, with access by short flights of When Bibi, dressed as his master, attempts to stairs, create the uneven physical environment enter the rooms of his beloved Delfa (nurse to that Scarton sees as a metaphor for a broken the King’s sister Ipomene, the Donna Anna world. The challenging terrain keeps the per- 170 May/June 2021 formers themselves alert, as the director of the characters. We are even given a scene intended. Video director Maxim Derevianko with Mephistopheles and Faust where the cleverly places the microphones at some dis- devil devours a young man working at the inn tance from the stage, a realistic perspective and then restores him to life. As if to defy con- that approximates what the audience would vention, Prokofieff gives the role of Mephisto hear. The Reate Festival Baroque Ensemble, to a tenor and Faust to a bass. But then this under the direction of Alessandro Quarta, are entire opera defies convention. The composer full participants in conveying the score’s var- was most attracted to Renata’s possession by ied moods, from playfulness to gravity. As demons, and most of the other characters always with works from this period, they are (except Ruprecht) are stock types used to pro- called on to fill in lines that are only suggested voke responses from the principals and the in the manuscript. It’s all done brilliantly. The audience. Like Berlioz and the French com- booklet includes detailed chapter listings and posers of his day, Prokofieff is redolent of the notes on Melani and the opera by the Baroque Russian composers of his time and yet utterly opera authority Danilo Prefumo. his own voice. ALTMAN With his shaved haircut and scruffy beard, Leigh Melrose sings and acts Ruprecht very PROKOFIEFF: The Fiery Angel believably, singing with a dark bass-baritone Leigh Melrose (Ruprecht), Ewa Vesin (Renata), that suits the machismo of the character. Ewa Goran Juric (Inquisitor); Rome Opera/ Alejo Perez Vesin is credible as Renata, her soprano firm Naxos 113 [Blu-ray] 133 minutes and glowing, especially at the top. A picky point: she has a habit of looking directly at the I did not know this bizarre opera well. Before conductor for every cue, no matter the content being sent this disc for review, I’d heard the of the scene. The other singers are all up to the Neeme Jarvi studio recording (with Nadine Se- task of what Dante asks them to do. I really cunde) and the Gergiev recording (with Gor- enjoyed Maxim Paster’s cackling, funny Meph- chakova). There was a video of the Gergiev, but istopheles and Andrii Ganchuk’s solemn I haven’t seen it. Much was made at the time of Faust, the Abbott to Paster’s Costello. Goran its having some nudity. Emma Dante’s mar- Juric is a frightening inquisitor with his velous production suggests that nudity with- implacable misogyny. Alejo Perez and the or- out ever really showing it. Her wild production chestra have the full measure of the score— follows the plot and tells its story succinctly, and it’s a difficult score, too. The sound and her troop of actors and dancers present in picture are very sharp and clear. almost every scene, taking the form of living If you haven’t seen this opera, this is a corpses that writhe, gyrate, and swirl around great place to start. The Gergiev is probably the principals. They also take the roles of excellent too, but not readily available. priests, nuns, townsfolk, demons—whatever REYNOLDS Dante needs to illustrate and underline the often confusing narrative. TCHAIKOVSKY: The Nutcracker The basic plot is of obsession. Renata is Drosselmeyer/Prince (Rudolf Nureyev), Clara obsessed with an angel from her childhood (Merle Park); Royal Ballet/ John Lanchbery named Madiel who she claims can take the Opus Arte 1248—96 minutes human form of Heinrich and who has spurned her. Ruprecht, a knight who comes across her aEven gre t ballet artists can have an off-night. at an inn, becomes obsessed with Renata, who This 1968 video of Rudolf Nureyev’s produc- in turns spurns Ruprecht despite his increas- tion of the Nutcracker for the Royal Ballet ingly desperate attempts to please her. She should have been the event we would all like insists on him fighting a duel with Heinrich; he to have seen. Nureyev’s scenario and choreog- is defeated and left for dead. Somehow they raphy are sometimes original and sometimes end up at a convent where Renata’s demons follow Marius Petipa’s and Lev Ivanov’s origi- infect the other nuns. The Inquisitor ultimately nals. The First Act is impressive. Nureyev’s condemns her to the stake, leaving the plot choreography includes a lot more of the chil- and characters up in the air. dren dancing in the opening scenes (some- I’ve always suspected there was another thing the critics at the premiere in 1892 object- scene Prokofieff didn’t get around to setting ed to). The set-up for Clara’s dream and the because the story ends so abruptly. Yet it’s not Prince’s transformation are more clearly pre- inappropriate to the weird comings and goings sented than usual. The Christmas tree and American Record Guide 171 Nutcracker conversions are effectively done, of Lohengrin, director Arpad Schilling does and the war with the mice is well staged. In not seek to invent a new story for this opera. In Nureyev’s version Clara is always played by the Schilling’s vision, this opera is about an insular same ballerina, Merle Park. Nureyev and Park community that has lost itself and doesn’t dance the Act I `Pas de Deux’ impressively. know where to look for the next Messiah to The `Dance of the Snowflakes’ is pretty stan- save it. The upper class figures (almost all the dard, and the dancing is somewhat rough. soloists) are dressed in modern suits or beauti- The second act is where the production ful dresses; the chorus is in blue jeans, brightly and performance are much less than expected. colored T-shirts, simple frocks, or in gray, non- Nureyev’s dances for the various “candies” are descript, uniform-like clothing. Lohengrin dull and poorly photographed. The `Coffee’ himself is dressed very casually at his dance has a lot of unnecessary stage business, entrance, but advances to formal wedding most of it slightly off-camera. The Russian attire for the second and third acts. The set is a Dance is not exciting, the Waltz of the Flowers bare black stage, adding a white bed in the last not very interesting, and the others poorly act. This strenthens the viewer’s attention on staged and undernourished. Park performs the what the characters are saying, how they are `Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ and, as responding to each other. The chorus is very expected, she and Nureyev dance the Act 2 much an active part of the production. Rarely `Pas de Deux’. have I seen a chorus in this opera so involved Nureyev’s choreography is showy, with in the proceedings. Their needs and desires some daring moves. At one point he throws are almost more important than Elsa’s. Clara into the air, where she spins twice hori- In an interview printed in the booklet, zontally before being caught in a fish dive nar- Schilling explains that he finds the miracle of rowly missing the floor. They do this stunt Gottfried’s reappearance in the last few min- twice, and although impressive, it’s ungainly. utes false and unsatisfying. Here Ortrud picks Park looks assured, but without any emotion. a random man out of the crowd to be Bra- Nureyev’s dancing is sometimes off-the-beat bant’s next leader: she knows it doesn’t matter (explained as the “Kirov” style), and he looks who the next leader is because this community is too insecure and volatile to stay faithful for exhausted and uncomfortable. When he fin- long to one leader. The notorious swan is ishes his barrel rolls the audience goes wild. depicted as a small stuffed animal that Lohen- When he and Park finish the `Pas de Deux’ the grin takes from his coat after he arrives. This audience goes wild. At the end of the ballet the evolves into bigger stuffed swans that are used audience goes wild. I think seeing “him” per- to decorate the bridal path and bed chamber. form and being in “his” presence impressed When they are no longer useful, they are the audience. Nureyev appears surprised at all kicked offstage. I must confess I didn’t quite the attention for such a middling performance. grasp the meaning of all the director’s symbol- The video shows its age with some fuzzy ism, but it doesn’t get in the way of the basic and out-of-focus camerawork. Most of the story. On the other hand if you insist on seeing photography is far back, and the few times Lohengrin arrive and depart in a boat led by a there are close-ups the improved picture is swan you’re going to be disappointed. startling. The Royal Ballet in 1968 was not what The singers in this production are not only it is today, and the dancing and chorus work is to be commended for their involved, skillful coarse. The monaural sound is barely accept- acting, but for singing beautifully without able, the orchestra ragged, and conductor wobble (something that afflicts many contem- Lanchbery sets a slow pace. I was hoping to porary Wagner productions). Michael Konig see a ground-breaking dancer in a great per- has a sturdy, pliant voice with a technique that formance. This was a disappointment. allows him to ring out on the high notes and FISCH still sing a well-supported piano. He is a bear WAGNER: Lohengrin of a man—not fat, but very sturdy. Simone Michael Konig (Lohengrin), Simone Schneider Schneider has a colorful, strong soprano that (Elsa), Okka von der Damerau (Ortrud), Martin she uses to creates a less fragile Elsa than Gantner (Telramund), Goran Juric (King Henry); usual. In this production Schilling suggests Stuttgart Opera/ Cornelius Meister that Elsa’s reluctance to indulge in sexual inti- Bel Art 475 [Blu-ray] 223 minutes macy with her new husband is what causes her to ask the fatal question. Okka von der Unlike a number of contemporary productions Damerau has an exciting mezzo-soprano that 172 May/June 2021 she wields with ease and authority. Her top singing role created by Oscar Homolka. notes are as solid as her lower ones. She Katschalow, whose charming insecurities are eschews the Disney villain quality that Ortruds here played to the hilt by Swiss actor Stefan usually indulge in (in all fairness, Wagner Kurt, is in love with the glamorous young writes her bigger than life). Martin Gantner widow Lydia Pawlowska, a role originated by also has a fine, handsome voice, and he por- the charismatic Jarmila Novotna. Lydia’s allur- trays Telramund’s vacillating nature very dis- ing and mysterious persona is matched in fig- tinctly. Goran Juric not only sings well, but ure and voice by the wonderfully versatile makes King Henry stand out in a way that isn’t singing actress Vera-Lotte Boecker. It is common. And Shigeo Ishino is a Herald who remarkable to contrast Boecker’s effervescent doesn’t just stand around and make proclama- performance as Lydia with her sharp charac- tions. terization of the beleaguered Natalie in the Cornelius Meister leads a well-paced per- Stuttgart production of Henze’s Prinz von formance that never seems slow or tiresome. Homburg (J/F 2021). What Katschalow doesn’t There are more visually interesting produc- know is that Lydia has a long-dormant roman- tions of this opera available, but few that tell tic link to a Japanese spy named Ito, who, pos- Wagner’s story so well. Stuttgart’s opera house ing as a Chinese servant, is in the Captain’s is very beautiful and atmospheric. The camera employ. work shows it off well while the audience set- Ito was written for the prince of operetta tles in. Elsewhere there are a few out-of-focus tenors, . Jordan de Souza, the shots that probably couldn’t be redone. The conductor of this performance and Music sound is excellent, with a good balance Director of the Komische Oper, explains how between the stage and pit. every operetta composed for him had its clas- This is not for first-time viewers (the Met’s sic Tauberlied, the hit song that would have a more traditional production with Peter Hoff- life beyond the theater. And though Weinberg- mann and Leonie Rysanek would be a good er lavished Ito with a lot of gorgeous tunes place to start). But Schilling’s direction is less (good luck getting `Frühling in der Mand- interventionist than Bayreuth’s Hans Neuen- schurei’ out of your head!), the Tauberlied fel’s weird, fascinating production (I’ll admit I here is the Act II `Du Wärst für mich die Frau liked it a lot). An interesting production in the Gewesen’, which recently best way, admirably performed. included in his operetta collection (M/A 2020). REYNOLDS Even without hearing Tauber’s delectable recording of the song, his voice and style are WEINBERGER: Spring Storm evident in every note of Ito’s music. The Stefan Kurt (General Katschalow), Alma Sad‚ endearing German tenor Tansel Akzeybek (Tatjana), Vera-Lotte Boecker (Lydia Pawlowska), captures the character’s brave and sympathet- Tansel Akzeybek (Ito), Dominik Köninger (Zirb- ic nature, but doesn’t quite bring us to tears in itz); Berlin Comic Opera/ Jordan de Souza the bittersweet finale as Tauber would have. Dynamic 57871 [Blu-ray] 136 minutes; also DVD To balance the romantic leads of Lydia and Ito, there is the comic couple, Tatjana and Frühlingsstürme, with music by the Jewish, Roderich. Tatjana, Captain Katschalow’s petu- Czech-born composer Jaromir Weinberger lant daughter, is played by the energetic Alma (1896-1967), was the last new operetta of the Sad‚, whose generally mellifluous perform- Weimar Republic. It opened in Berlin in Janu- ance is sprinkled with ear-piercing shrieks to ary 1933 with a starry cast, but the run was cut denote either joy or frustration. The genial short by the Nazi government in March. By an baritone Dominik Köninger is effortlessly odd coincidence, Barrie Kosky’s Berlin Comic funny as Tatjana’s accident-prone suitor Opera production opened in January 2020, Roderich, a German war correspondent who and in March the specter of COVID-19 shut assumes various identities (shades of Almavi- down all the theaters. Fortunately for music va in Barber of ) in order to infiltrate the lovers denied access to their opera houses, the Captain’s headquarters, both for professional production was filmed. It is certainly the and personal reasons. In an interview includ- work’s first appearance on video and a most ed in the booklet, director Kosky acknowl- welcome addition to the catalog. edges a connection between the burgeoning The story, set in Manchuria during the Nazi ideology and Roderich’s need to disguise Russo-Japanese War, centers on the officious his true self in order to survive. Set among but soft-hearted Captain Katschalow, a non- Russians, Roderich is the outsider German, American Record Guide 173 and the role was tailored to the talents of the Jewish actor Sig Arno. It is tempting also to Word Police Festival: imagine how 1933 audiences related to the Trendy Words, or The State of show’s depictions of war and espionage, let alone the foreboding title, which translates as Journalism “Spring Storms”. Yet Kosky notes that war has Everyone under a certain age uses “majority” always figured prominently in operettas, and that “paradoxically, on the stage, it offers all instead of “most”. A science website tells us sorts of opportunities for jokes and humor”. that “the majority of the canyon...” The weath- Kosky sees no reason to overlay the produc- er service says “high pressure will keep the tion with the shadows that loomed over the majority of the area sunny”. One more exam- 1933 audience. Much to his credit, he lets the ple: The New York Times says two British “roy- inferences speak for themselves. als” want to “spend the majority of their time In typical operetta style, Tatjana and in North America”. 51% or more? (The correct Roderich get the livelier numbers, with dance word is again “most”.) This is as pitiful as the breaks, sly rhymes, and debates on love and “multiple” disease (instead of several, a few, marriage (the cogent libretto is by Gustav many, etc). The latest instances of that were Beer). Their Act II `Schatz, ich möcht so gern “multiple times” instead of “often”, “multiple ein eignes Heim!’ would not be out of place in locations” instead of “many places”, and “mul- a Gershwin musical of the same era. Their Act tiple people” (egad!). I duet, `Wann soll man küssen’, raises an inter- Language is impoverished by this sort of esting musicological question. Admiring Tat- thing—and it’s obvious that the people who jana’s exotic beauty, Roderich addresses her as write it have an impoverished vocabulary. “Maiden of the Far East”. The music clearly Times again: “The bodies of two troops...” evokes a specifically Russian flavor, and the They mean two soldiers. A troop is a group. staging is enlivened by stylized folk dancing in Again: bodies “laying on the ground”. Eggs? Manchurian costumes. The melody, though, is Were they hens? strikingly similar to a setting (ubiquitous in Again: “Single use blood testing devices were religious circles) of the Jewish liturgical text used on multiple people.” What a miserable `Hoshia es amecha’ that Rabbi Abraham Twer- sentence! ski, an esteemed psychiatrist and scholar, The same website tells us that some people are takes credit for composing—spontaneously, “experiencing bloodclot issues”. Dreadful during private prayer—in 1960. Perhaps the trendy slang. Wisconsin-born Twerski was unconsciously A sentence (Times) tells about donating a recalling some Eastern European folk melody donation. Such redundancies are written by he had heard from his elders? If so, did Wein- dunderheads—yet very common. They figure berger draw on that same source? And this takes us to how Weinberger seam- if people can give a gift (nowadays, “gift a gift”) lessly synthesized disparate elements, uniting they can reasonably donate a donation. One the presumably mutually exclusive genres of can even read about the reception someone opera and operetta. There is an unmistakable received—in those words. whiff of 1920s jazz, but the orchestrations and A magazine had a book review and a wine harmonies show influences of Strauss, Schrek- review on the same page. We were told the er, Zemlinsky, and Weinberger’s Czech com- book was “a great read” and the wine “a great patriots Smetana and Dvorak. To Kosky, it’s as pour”. Music reviews routinely call a CD “a if Hollywood were to have attempted an great listen”. That one is turning up in recent “amalgam of Fritz Lang’s films noir and an dictionaries. “Listen” was not a noun in the Ernst Lubitsch comedy. What a combination!” past. We are apparently losing the distinction However you look at it, Komische Oper’s thor- between verbs and nouns. “Write” and oughly amusing revival proves that Früh- “reveal” and “invite” are used as nouns, too, lingsstürme is much more than an historical these days. The news media recently referred curiosity. to “the president’s asks”. Illiterate. ALTMAN Economist magazine routinely uses “rubbish” and “bin” as verbs. “Bin” is used that way all over Britain. Every trash barrel says “bin your trash” or “bin your rubbish”, but to rubbish an 174 May/June 2021 idea seems new, if perhaps a natural next stage “There will be no demand for replacement of degeneration. Another article talks about planes on the horizon.” This is not credible. On Moscow “experiencing a terrorist attack”. They some horizon, some day, there may be such a meant to say “Moscow under a terrorist demand. They mean that there isn’t now. The attack”. Weather Service often says “Tomorrow there will be the possibility of showers.” Same error, Back to the NY Times: “ironicity” meaning really—redundant future. “Showers are possi- “irony” and “tell” as a noun. The first is part of ble tomorrow” is correct. the current pattern of making adjectives into nouns by adding suffixes—like “gracefulness” One very good magazine talks constantly (out of “graceful”) instead of “grace”. The only about “providing insights”. They mean just legitimate use of “tell” as a noun is in the field plain “ideas” or “help us understand”. of archeology. But people no longer under- I like to read historical novels, partly because stand the distinction between verbs and every one of them eventually commits a pro- nouns. The simplest grammatical rules elude lepsis or a linguistic anachronism. The people them. That is partly because we are not teach- who write them seem unaware that many of ing grammar—and that is partly because it their expressions did not exist in the period might damage some tender students’ “self- they are writing about. The most recent exam- esteem” to be told that the way they talk and ple I saw is the use of “venue” to mean simply write is wrong. (So, obviously, political correct- “place” in a novel that supposedly takes place ness contributes to the degeneration of our in the mid-19th Century. In fact, people never language.) said that in the mid-20th Century either, and NY Times redundancy (website): “an annual in the 1970 dictionary “venue” is essentially a Covid-19 shot once a year”. legal term. Also NY Times (badly edited these days): In A magazine that I like very much (The Ameri- March President Biden was to “deliver an can Prospect) has a writer who doesn’t know address commemorating the anniversary of English. He thinks “disinterested” means “not the pandemic”. But to commemorate some- interested”. He talks about “one of the only thing is to honor it. things we should be thinking about” and get- ting the new vaccines “to every corner of the A magazine that I get referred recently on its globe”. Can a globe have corners? Another sen- web site to “a government statistical release tence from their website: “Nobody would no.” dropped today”. We used to say, “statistics the He referred to “a potentially impactful conta- government announced (or released) today”. A gion”. He commented that “the power of the release was dropped? Where does such a New Deal lied in industrial development”. This bizarre construction come from? Are they try- is a good magazine, but apparently no one ing to avoid saying that a release was released? edits the website writer, who doesn’t know the “I want to reach out to you personally”—those language. There are bloopers like this almost are the first words of an email sent to millions every day. of people by the CEO of an airline (about the The Wall Street Journal actually published this virus). Pure nonsense. miserable sentence: “The curators have suc- On another website, “I want to talk to whom- ceeded masterfully.” ever is in charge.” Of course that should be NBC News called a criminal “America’s most “whoever” (Sept/Oct 2013), but people go to prolific serial killer”. Odd usage: “prolific” is great lengths to show that they know gram- generally a positive word and pro-life. mar—and thus reveal that they don’t. “Whoev- er” is the subject of the clause. Would you say “him is in charge”? News (“information”) produces an incessant Computer World: “Tips for the curation of your renewal of stimuli provoking constant reac- posts” (curation??) tions, intensifying prejudices, hardening “the frequency in which you receive them” groups. This is not very conducive to political (Once we would have said “how often you get maturity.... The flow of news prevents us from them”—and that is correct.) reflecting seriously on political affairs. —Jacques Ellul, The Political Illusion

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