ERIC LU WINNER OF THE 2018 LEEDS INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION

“sparkling and supremely +++++ confident THE TIMES performance” GUARDIAN +++++ +++++ “Chopin sonata “Beethoven took our breath fourth concerto away with its held the measured audience grandeur” spellbound” INDEPENDENT i

+++++ “Artistry of that kind is rare in pianists of any age; to find it in a 20-year old is simply astounding” THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

THE LIVE ALBUM OF HIS SENSATIONAL WIN OUT NOW – CD | DOWNLOAD | STREAM THE WORLD’S BEST CLASSICAL MUSIC REVIEWS Est 1923 . DECEMBER 2018

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Our critics’ favourite releases of 2018 This year’s Christmas albums reviewed

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George Szell - The Cleveland Orchestra André Previn The Complete Columbia Album Collection The Classic André Previn 88985392322 88985417142 Birgit Nilsson Leonard Bernstein The Great Live Recordings The Remastered Edition

/SonyClassical.UK @SonyClassicalUK A special eight-page section focusing on recent recordings from the US and Canada JS Bach Cantatas – No 76, Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre talks to ... Gottes; No 79, Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild; No 80 – Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott Hélène Brunet sop Michael Taylor counterten Rory Cowal Philippe Gagné ten Jesse Blumberg bar The pianist, equally at home Montreal Baroque / Eric Milnes ATMA Classique F ACD2 2407 (70’ • DDD • T/t) in classical music and jazz, talks Recorded live at the Église Saint-Augustin, about his latest album, ‘Clusters’ Mirabel, QC, June 2016 What inspired this programme? In 2013 Amy Beal invited me to perform some of Johanna Beyer’s solo piano works Recorded live during at the University of California, Santa Cruz the 2016 Montreal (UCSC). Beal, a music historian, was shedding Baroque Festival, new light on this once-obscure composer that includes a variety of composers bringing these colourful and I was very excited to participate. A few diferent experiences and perspectives. performances of three Reformation years later, Amy invited me to perform at cantatas capture the characteristic blend UCSC again, this time in a celebration of Do some works particularly stand out for of joy and sophistication that makes music Daniel Goode’s music. We realised that their originality? in Montreal so special. From the opening I had a number of really great pieces in I see originality as a common thread running trumpet and oboe calls, varied in tone and my repertoire that had never been right through the album. Each piece is its texture from refined to rough, everything is recorded, and we expanded this to own musical inquiry, written with a sense of focused on the authentic emotional content a CD-length programme. openness and discovery. As a performer and that lies beyond mere dazzling virtuosity. a listener, I am drawn to this sort of music. Equally impressive, and quite a virtuoso Can one discern an American style? feat in itself, is how versatile the four The album includes many diferent styles What’s next? soloists are, that they can sing their and flavours. Often, an attempt to specify Two of the composers on this album – Muhal recitatives and arias with such refinement an ‘American’ style involves drawing a line Richard Abrams and Kris Davis – are also of sound and intimacy of phrase and yet connecting certain composers and excluding master improvisers and draw from an also form a choral force of not only poetry others. Instead of a line, I think American avant-garde jazz tradition. I am assembling but weight, which works surprisingly well music is better represented as a wide field a programme of music by such composers. throughout, even in the massive opening chorus of Cantata No 79. Although the countertenor Michael Taylor dominates the proceedings to some of space that has long characterised the extent by the sheer seductive beauty of his work of ATMA, whether it is this eighth approach, each of the quartet contributes volume in their projected complete cycle strong, expressive singing and works hand- of Bach’s sacred cantatas or Yannick Nézet- ‘I’m not an in-glove with the instrumental forces. Séguin’s Bruckner cycle with his hometown academically trained Bach’s exquisite ensembles of different Orchestre Métropolitain. Laurence Vittes composer/musician’, configurations, especially those with writes Mark John solo oboe d’amore, viola d’amore and McEncroe McEncroe in this new Navona two-disc viola da gamba, are led by Eric Milnes ‘My Symphonic Poems – Orchestral Images’ set (the fourth devoted to his music), and so that balance and flow seem to regulate A Celebration of the Natural World. An Early ‘as such it’s never been my aim to further themselves. The concluding chorale of the Autumn Morning. Deep in the Wilderness. the theoretical, intellectual or technical first part of No 76, which is unforgettably Echoes from a Haunted Past. Mid Autumn’s Deep boundaries of music.’ That much is certain magical, is just one of many moments of Colours. Movements in the Night. A Pageant at from even the most casual acquaintance illumination, and, as always, supported by the Country Fair. The Passing. Summer’s Last with the 10 orchestral works – five per highly imaginative continuo work. Hurrah. That Old Indian Summer (all orch Saliba) disc – collected here, all played with The recordings in the Église Saint- Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra / commendable enthusiasm by the Janá∂ek Augustin in Mirabel near the city’s former Anthony Armore Philharmonic Orchestra under Anthony international airport have the natural sense Navona Fb NV6189 (107’ • DDD) Armore. Born in Australia, McEncroe

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 I PHOTO CREDIT: STEVE J. SHERMAN BERNSTEIN

Mambo from West Side Story Slava! A Political Overture CBS Music • Times Square Ballet from On The Town A Bernstein Birthday Bouquet

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Bach Collegium Japan Masaaki Suzuki Masato Suzuki

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Stellar soloist: Tamar Mikeladze is the pianist on an appealing disc of chamber music by George Oakley

has had a varied career, including label if describing an actual event, must have with its darting figures full of jazz manager (for EMI) and professional chef, been excruciatingly dull) or Echoes from character, and the closing Sonata-Fantasia but composition appears to be his main a Haunted Past. Not a collection I shall (2010), a generous score that brings occupation now. return to. Guy Rickards together all sorts of fierce and ruminative ‘My Symphonic Poems – Orchestral ideas. Inga Kashakashvili in the former Images’ is the album’s title and the latter Oakley and Tamar Mikeladze in the latter are part best describes what their composer ‘Wanderer: Chamber Works’ stellar soloists. himself calls ‘musical paintings’. There is Cello Sonataa. Four Songs on Shakespeare Another bountiful work is the Sonata little genuinely symphonic development Sonnetsb. Remembrancec. Sonata-Fantasiad. for cello and piano (2013), whose three in any of them; they are tone poems Toccatae movements give both players – here the (none the worse for that), symphonic bNaomi Louisa O’Connell mez cAnton Rist cl superb cellist Lizi Ramishvili with only in the American sense of being written aLizi Ramishvili vc abeInga Kashakashvili, Kashakashvili – many opportunities to for a symphony orchestra. (So far as I can cAngelina Gadeliya, dTamar Mikeladze pfs head in poetic and vivacious directions. determine, all the orchestrations are by Naxos American Classics M 8 559856 Oakley’s versatility in tapping into the Australian-born, Croatian-resident (72’ • DDD • T) expressive possibilities is also evident in Mark J Saliba.) The most effective is Remembrance, a one-movement piece in That Old Indian Summer, whose three sections (‘Daydream’ – ‘Dream’ – charming, brief musical discourse ‘Awakening’) of luminous conversations matches the quirky title. The Georgian- for clarinet and piano; the vibrant Sadly, this is the exception. Too American composer musicians are Anton Rist, clarinet, often, unsupported melodic lines with George Oakley and Angelina Gadeliya, piano. rudimentary harmonisation amble aimlessly writes in an appealing That Oakley is thoroughly versed in with little sense of musical progression. and colourful style that blends elements of styles of many eras, as well as pianistic Havergal Brian’s works are sometimes his Georgian folk heritage with European means, can be heard in Four Songs castigated as being rhythmically turgid – and American traditions. Wisps of on Shakespeare Sonnets (2011), which this isn’t true, but in comparison to Prokofiev can be discerned in several of simulates Renaissance music through McEncroe’s they are the height of the chamber works on this new disc, but the prism of contemporary sensibility. pulsating syncopation! This is especially so can ardent and propulsive music that The piano part at times is so alive that acute in the longer pieces – A Celebration sounds like the product of an original and Shakespeare’s words often fade into the of the Natural World and An Early Autumn fertile mind. background; but the songs, as performed MARIANNA PRJEVALSKAYA MARIANNA Morning, which wend their enervating way The writing for piano in all of these by mezzo-soprano Naomi Louisa for 17 and 21 minutes respectively – but is pieces sends signals about the composer’s O’Connell and Kashakashvili, are also apparent in the shorter pieces, such as own award-winning keyboard abilities, affecting bursts of emotion.

PHOTOGRAPHY: A Pageant at the Country Fair (which, especially in the opening Toccata (2008), Donald Rosenberg

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‘Clusters’ is moving without ever spilling over into tunes by General Juan Almeida Bosque, ‘American Piano Explorations’ mawkishness. The spaces in between the a one-time Cuban freedom fighter and Abrams Études, Op 1 No 1 Beyer Clusters K Davis arpeggiated phrases of ‘Be Still’ are as confidant of Castro. Idiomatic as the Eight Pieces for the Vernal Equinox Goode Piano telling as the phrases themselves. The arrangements are, their musical qualities Sonata No 1 D Mahler ‘a song that will linger’. jagged unison bass-register runs of ‘Ghost are far from revolutionary. Martin Bartlett at the Claremont Hotel Peterson Soliliquy’ emit and save energy at the same The arrangement of Gershwin’s Reflection Tenney Variations in A (on a Theme time, while the final movement’s tone ‘Summertime’ (Frolov also wrote a by my Father) clusters are wonderfully resonant yet Concert Fantasy on Themes from Porgy and Rory Cowal pf discreetly deployed and never muddy. Bess) is taken a touch too slowly here for New World F 80800-2 (56’ • DDD) Mahler’s ‘a song that will linger’ is a loose my taste. (Indeed, Koornhof and van transcription of Stephen Foster’s song Schalkwyk are expansive in many of their ‘Hard Times’, where the piano-writing tempo choices, even in the Piece in Blues grows more dissonant and asymmetrical as Style, although it works fine there.) The Rory Cowal opens the music progresses, yet always maintains transcriptions of songs by Jorge this recital with palpable tension and release. Cowal makes Anckermann and Rodrigo Prats are Johanna Beyer’s a compelling case for everything he plays, pleasing enough, based on Cuban songs; multi-movement although I suspect I’ll mainly return to the Serge Gais’s Swedish Farewell Waltz was Clusters, a riveting and attention-grabbing Beyer, Goode and Mahler selections. based on a whimsical improvisation by work that ought to be a repertoire staple. Jed Distler Frolov himself. Guy Rickards Beyer (1888-1944) may have been inspired by her friend and mentor Henry Cowell ‘Frolov & Friends’ ‘Grand Russian’ to compose with tone clusters, yet she Frolov Amiran Waltz. Caprice. Dansa latina. Rachmaninov Piano Sonata No 1, Op 28 uses them with a purposeful rigour, Impromptu Waltz. Piece in Blues Style. Tchaikovsky Grande Sonate, Op 37 textural refinement and terse expressive Romance. Scherzo Anckermann Cuban Piece Albert Tiu pf agenda that differs from Cowell’s Bosque Six Melodies Gais Swedish Farewell Centaur F CRC3661 (71’ • DDD) decorative exuberance. Waltz Gershwin Summertime Prats Maria’s Place Given the late Muhal Richard (all arr Frolov) Abrams’s freewheeling and complex Piet Koornhof vn Albie van Schalkwyk pf piano improvisations, The Op 1 No 1 Delos F DE3557 (63’ • DDD) The best performances Études sounds surprisingly academic and of Tchaikovsky’s rhythmically unadventurous, despite sometimes rambling Cowal’s vividly detailed performance. and pianistically Hundreds of American composers in the Igor Frolov (b1937, unwieldy G major Sonata project the mid-20th century wrote piano pieces not to be confused music in symphonic terms, with that amounted to little more than with the Moscow- straightforward tempos that make faux Schoenberg, such as Thomas based cyclist of the interpretative points through phrasing, Peterson’s Reflection. same name, b1990!) enjoyed an colour and nuance. Albert Tiu gets extra The component parts of Kris Davis’s international concert career (he was a mileage out of the first movement’s fluently structured Eight Pieces for the pupil of Oistrakh, among others) and, primarily chordal textures by making Vernal Equinox are easy for the ear to grasp having won prizes in several competitions, subtle variations in balance and emphasis and yield pleasant results, if no surprises. served on the juries of several others, when material is reiterated. That said, James Tenney’s early Variations might be including the Tchaikovsky. Although not his forthright and honest performance described as Roy Harris meets Stefan trained in composition, he took to writing doesn’t match the more fluid and Wolpe, and offers tangible proof that he small pieces and arranging others to play transparent mastery of the old Sviatoslav had real talent before he threw it all away in his recitals, often as encores. As Piet Richter and Grigory Ginzburg recordings: and became an experimental idol who Koornhof’s booklet note points out, the an unfair observation, perhaps, but the specialised in interminable slow-moving irony of Frolov’s compositions – comparisons speak for themselves. soundscapes. But Daniel Goode’s early particularly those written during his trips Although Tiu’s sensitive and Piano Sonata No 1 makes a fresh and to Cuba, or inspired by them – is their concientious rendition of the second original impression. It unfolds in unison dalliances with jazz and other popular movement lacks Vassily Primakov’s lines that never resolve where you expect musical forms that were, at the time, dynamic scope and harmonic tension, he them to and are subject to effective yet banned in his homeland. still imparts character and variety to the unpredictable embellishment. While the A fine example of his use of popular music’s varying moods, with an extra kick music is admittedly disjunctive, it forms is the Piece in Blues Style, quite the to the obsessive, Schumann-like dotted nevertheless holds interest, even the finest and most individual work on this rhythms. By contrast, Tiu’s lackadaisical extended ending that looks to Hindemith disc. Its quiet and relaxed character Scherzo barely suggests a true giocoso, and and Copland for mild assistance. catches the feel of the idiom beautifully. pales next to Joseph Moog’s faster and Finally, David Mahler’s six-movement Dansa latina is almost as appealing, a vivid suppler traversal. He imparts plenty of suite dedicated to the late composer and lively dance in marked contrast to the energy and momentum throughout the Martin Bartlett is a model of how to convey rather bland and schmaltzy sequence of finale, with little help from the sustain intensity and reserve in judicial doses. For romances, waltzes and caprices. The Six pedal, yet one misses Freddy Kempf’s example, the aching simplicity of ‘Beloved’ Melodies are a suite of arrangements of precipitous and balletic audacity.

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 V NEW RELEASE SOUNDS OF AMERICA

Stunning precision and emotional intensity: the Lorelei Ensemble present an imaginative programme spanning Dufay to Takemitsu

Tiu’s sonority and sense of line Rachmaninov – selected comparison: histories’ – from a 12th-century songbook considerably open up for the Rachmaninov Fiorentino (6/12) (PIAN) PCLM0033 used by pilgrims travelling along the Camino First Sonata’s mammoth of a first Tchaikovsky – selected comparisons: de Santiago in northern Spain, via Peter movement. You notice this about a minute Moog (A/14) (ONYX) ONYX4126 Gilbert’s eight short exquisite movements, and a half into the opening section’s first Kempf (3/16) (BIS) BIS2140 to Japanese poems celebrating the full climax, where the right hand’s big chords Primakov (BRID) BRIDGE9283 moon, and in audiophile sound no less. and swirling left-hand figurations press Guillaume Dufay dominates an ahead, yet still make room for the inner ‘Impermanence’ imaginative programme. Working from voices to soar. Moreover, the pianist Anonymous Par grant soif clere fontainne/Dame Alejandro Planchart’s new Opera omnia confidently grasps the composer’s de tout pris (Turin Codex). Portum in ultimo edition at the University of Oxford, artistic dauntingly full-bodied keyboard- (Codex Calixtinus). Pour ce que point fu de la director Beth Willer and Lorelei respond writing without the slightest vagary of amere espine/A toi vierge me represente (Turin to four motets with the radiance of accommodation. He may not pin you Codex). Qui patris atris honoris/Paraclite liberated joy, like unlocking the secrets to the wall with Alexis Weissenberg’s spiritus (Turin Codex). Sanctus in eternis to ancient charms: the strange ecstasy of pulverisingly demonic authority, but who regnans/Sanctus et ingenitus pater atque O proles Hispanie or their appropriately can? In the gorgeous Lento, though, Tiu carens (Turin Codex) Dufay Apostolo glorioso. glorious Apostolo glorioso. works too hard emphasising local details Flos florum. O proles Hispaniae/O sidus Then there is the hypnotic intricacy and accents, which often throws the music’s Hispaniae. Rite maiorem Jacobum canamus/ of excerpts from the 15th-century Turin carefully crafted melody/accompaniment Arcibus summis miseri recluse P Gilbert Tsukimi Codex, with a curiously sing-song Sanctus perspective askew, together with his never –excsTakemitsu Windhorse – Vocalises I & II in eternis regnans and a warmth of humanity really establishing a steady pulse at the Lorelei Ensemble / Beth Willer in Pour ce que point. There is an emotional outset. In this regard, I much prefer the Sono Luminus F (CD + Y) DSL92226 (48’ • DDD, intensity to everything Lorelei sing; shapelier simplicity and directness of DTS-HD MA5.1, 9.1 Auro-3D & 9.1 Dolby Atmos • T/t) even the two meandering Vocalises from Santiago Rodriguez’s recording (Élan). Takemitsu’s Windhorse – depicting Tibetan Despite his alluring moulding of lyrical nomads and otherwise incongruously passages, Tiu’s heavy and rhythmically inconsequential – tug at the heart with square handling of the finale’s relentlessly This first recording tender folk-song memories. churning triplet figurations grows tiresome by the Boston-based The sound has wonderful spatial over time, without the orchestral sweep and Lorelei Ensemble for dimensions and an airy quality. Beth tonal richness that send me time and again Sono Luminus displays Willer’s invaluable booklet notes are ALLANA TARANTO ALLANA to Sergio Fiorentino’s stunning recording. a stunning precision of harmony and academically focused yet absorbing all While Tiu unquestionably has the capacity intonation, and often spectacular virtuosity the same for the context they set and for big piano-playing, he faces steep in music that has accompanied and reflected the philosophical depths they suggest.

PHOTOGRAPHY: catalogue competition. Jed Distler ‘our changing cultures, beliefs, and Laurence Vittes

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RRP six months (6 issues) $47.00, one-year (13 issues) $94.00. Promotional code XMAS25 must be quoted to receive the quoted price offer. Price includes P&P for orders within the UK. International orders will be charged shipping costs at checkout. Founded in 1923 by Sir Compton Mackenzie and Christopher Stone as ‘an organ of candid opinion for the numerous possessors of gramophones’ Looking back over a fi ne year in music hat defi ned your 2018 in music? Most that this series fascinated most: last month’s years, the classical community coalesces recordings of Debussy’s Late Works drew our around one particular anniversary, and attention movingly to Debussy’s touchingly refl ective for 2018 that felt very much like fi nal pieces, mirroring his anguish as his life and the WLeonard Bernstein’s centenary. I’ve written before world around him fell apart. Another highlight – and how the art of anniversaries is to make people think another Editor’s Choice – was the beautiful collection differently about their subject. In Bernstein’s case, of songs by Sophie Karthäuser and Stéphane Dugout, I suspect it was less that perceptions of this remarkable ‘Harmonie du Soir’, which took us back to when man were changed, but that awareness of the Debussy’s art was awash more with poetry than multifaceted nature of his extraordinary life was greatly poignancy. Showing such trust and open-minded enhanced, or certainly reinforced. Among other support of artists is perhaps where record companies things, the year gave rise to a particularly impressive today really excel. As ease of access to music offers us set of his symphonies from Warner Classics under the more choice than ever before, such an approach may masterful command of Sir Antonio Pappano. yet yield the most distinctive albums of future years. Oddly perhaps, Rossini – who died 150 years Finally, in a neat coincidence, Gramophone’s year is ago – didn’t quite get the attention we might have bookended by two thrilling releases from one of today’s expected. Perhaps advocacy of those composers most hotly debated maestros, Teodor Currentzis. whose masterpieces lie in opera or large choral music His exceptionally vivid recording of Tchaikovsky’s is simply tougher to achieve logistically. In any case, Pathétique was Recording of the Month in January, we felt dedicating our fi nal issue of the year to Rossini and this month sees an equally up-close and compelling was a worthwhile thing to do, and the renowned recording of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony. Yes, he divides Rossinian Richard Osborne helps us get closer to opinion – but given that one of art’s aims is to make us his music and his legacy. think deeply and differently, I would say that’s no Another major anniversary was the centenary bad thing. Personally, I was completely gripped from of Debussy’s death, and perhaps one of the most the fi rst notes of both albums. Not surprisingly, inspired series of 2018 came from our Label of the Currentzis cropped up twice in our annual Critics’ Year, Harmonia Mundi, which invited its formidable Choice feature, in which our reviewers name their family of artists to present their personal visions of highlights of 2018. I hope you’ll sample some of their the composer. The series’s ninth and fi nal release sees recommendations over the coming festive weeks. François-Xavier Roth – an Award-winner this year for Whatever you listen to, may I wish you all a very his Ravel – offer an exquisitely performed recording of happy – and music-fi lled – Christmas. Jeux and Nocturnes. But it was often in the unexpected [email protected]

THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS Gramophone, which has RICHARD ‘It was fascinating ‘Blue Heron’s been serving the classical OSBORNE was to watch François- Gramophone music world since 1923, is delighted to Xavier Roth Award-winning first and foremost a monthly write about conduct “Music from review magazine, delivered Rossini for both Debussy’s the Peterhouse today in both print and digital our cover feature Nocturnes twice, Partbooks, Vol 5” formats. It boasts an eminent and and Collection: just days apart, in disc was the knowledgeable panel of experts, ‘I have worked on the composer London and Paris with such discovery of my reviewing year which reviews the full range of for over 40 years,’ he says. The different orchestras,’ recalls for 2017,’ says FABRICE FITCH, classical music recordings. 2007 edition of his Master MARK PULLINGER, who interviews author of our feature on the Its reviews are completely Musicians Rossini is widely the conductor this issue. ‘It was ensemble, ‘so getting the chance independent. In addition to acknowledged to be the standard revealing to delve into his approach to know them better has been a work on the composer. to music-making.’ real treat.’ reviews, its interviews and features help readers to explore THE REVIEWERS Andrew Achenbach • David Allen • Nalen Anthoni • Tim Ashley • Mike Ashman • Michelle Assay in greater depth the recordings Richard Bratby • Edward Breen • Liam Cagney • Alexandra Coghlan • Rob Cowan (consultant reviewer) that the magazine covers, as well Jeremy Dibble • Peter Dickinson • Jed Distler • Adrian Edwards • Richard Fairman • David Fallows as offer insight into the work of David Fanning • Andrew Farach-Colton • Iain Fenlon • Neil Fisher • Fabrice Fitch • Jonathan Freeman-Attwood composers and performers. THE TULLY POTTER COLLECTION POTTER TULLY THE Charlotte Gardner • David Gutman • Christian Hoskins • Lindsay Kemp • Philip Kennicott • Richard Lawrence It is the magazine for the classical Andrew Mellor • Ivan Moody • Bryce Morrison • Hannah Nepil • Jeremy Nicholas • Christopher Nickol record collector, as well as Geoffrey Norris • Richard Osborne • Stephen Plaistow • Mark Pullinger • Peter Quantrill • Guy Rickards for the enthusiast starting a Malcolm Riley • Marc Rochester • Patrick Rucker • Edward Seckerson • Hugo Shirley • Pwyll ap Siôn Harriet Smith • David Patrick Stearns • David Threasher • David Vickers • John Warrack • Richard Whitehouse voyage of discovery.

COVER PHOTOGRAPH: PHOTOGRAPH: COVER Arnold Whittall • Richard Wigmore • William Yeoman

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 3 CONTENTS Volume 96 Number 1169 EDITORIAL Phone 020 7738 5454 Fax 020 7733 2325 email [email protected] EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Martin Cullingford DEPUTY EDITOR Sarah Kirkup / 020 7501 6365 REVIEWS EDITOR Tim Parry / 020 7501 6367 ONLINE CONTENT EDITOR James McCarthy / EDITOR’S CHOICE 7 020 7501 6366 SUB-EDITOR David Threasher / 020 7501 6370 The 12 most highly recommended recordings SUB-EDITOR Marija Ąuric´ Speare ART DIRECTOR Dinah Lone / 020 7501 6689 reviewed in this issue PICTURE EDITOR Sunita Sharma-Gibson AUDIO EDITOR Andrew Everard EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATOR Libby McPhee THANKS TO Charlotte Gardner, Edward Christian- RECORDING OF THE MONTH 54 Hare, Sam Poppleton and Emma Baker Handel’s Italian cantatas have rarely sounded so EDITOR-IN-CHIEF James Jolly exquisite as they do in this delicious recording FOR THE RECORD 8 ADVERTISING Phone 020 7738 5454 Fax 02077332325 from Sabine Devieilhe and Lea Desandre, All the latest classical music news, and more email [email protected] COMMERCIAL MANAGER superbly accompanied by Emmanuelle Haïm and Esther Zuke / 020 7501 6368 ROSSINI 150 YEARS ON 14 SALES EXECUTIVE Le Concert d’Astrée – an absolute treat Simon Davies / 020 7501 6373 Richard Osborne explores how the momentum SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BACK ISSUES ORCHESTRAL 56 triggered by the centenary of the composer’s 0800 137201 (UK) +44 (0)1722 716997 (overseas) [email protected] Beethoven concertos on an 1892 Pleyel from death, 50 years ago, is continuing to pick up pace

PUBLISHING Nicholas Angelich; the next instalment of Phone 020 7738 5454 HEAD OF MARKETING AND DIGITAL John Wilson’s Copland; a Nutcracker from LA FRANÇOIS-XAVIER ROTH 20 STRATEGY Luca Da Re / 020 7501 6362 There’s no stopping the French conductor and MARKETING EXECUTIVE Andrew Gilyead / 020 7501 6223 CHAMBER 76 his Les Siècles ensemble, finds Mark Pullinger GROUP INSTITUTIONAL SALES MANAGER Jas Atwal The final two volumes of the Elias Quartet’s PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Richard Hamshere / 01722 716997 Beethoven; Baroque saxophone arrangements BLUE HERON TAKES FLIGHT 24 PRODUCTION MANAGER Jon Redmayne CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Sally Boettcher / The US vocal group is devoting itself to the 01722 716997 SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Chris Hoskins / INSTRUMENTAL 86 restoration of early music, writes Fabrice Fitch 01722 716997 Late Brahms from Charles Owen; Barry Douglas EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Martin Cullingford PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Paul Geoghegan plays Mussorgsky; Elicia Silverstein’s debut disc COMPETITIONS 26 CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Ben Allen CHAIRMAN Mark Allen Our guide to the best competitions worldwide – VOCAL 98 plus, Simon Broughton reports back from Julian Anderson from the late Oliver Knussen; the Leeds International Piano Competition Renée Fleming’s Broadway showcase CRITICS’ CHOICE 40 OPERA 116 Our critics choose their top discs of the year Handel’s Serse from Frankfurt; Verdi’s Giovanna www.markallengroup.com d’Arco; Javier Camarena’s Contrabandista CHRISTMAS ROUND-UP 50 GRAMOPHONE is published by MA Music Leisure & Travel Ltd, St Jude’s Church, Andrew Mellor brings a critical ear and a dash of Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB, United Kingdom. gramophone.co.uk JAZZ & WORLD MUSIC 127 humour to our round-up of the best seasonal discs email [email protected] or [email protected] Reviews from our sister titles Jazzwise and Songlines ISSN 0017-310X. MUSICIAN AND THE SCORE 74 The December 2018 issue of Gramophone is on sale from December 5; the January 2019 issue will be on sale from Philippe Jordan on Beethoven’s Symphony No 7 January 2 (both UK). Every effort has been made to ensure REISSUES 128 the accuracy of statements in this magazine but we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions, or for matters An epic tribute to Claudio Abbado’s arising from clerical or printers’ errors, or an advertiser not completing his contract. Regarding concert listings, all Berlin legacy; two Rossini bargain boxes ICONS 84 information is correct at the time of going to press. Letters to the editor requiring a personal reply should be accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope. We have made every effort Remembering Finnish conductor Robert Kajanus to secure permission to use copyright material. Where material has been used inadvertently or we have been unable BOX-SET ROUND-UP 132 to trace the copyright owner, acknowledgement will be made in a future issue. CONTEMPORARY COMPOSER 96 UK subscription rate £64. Printed in England by Southernprint. REPLAY 134 David Bednall on British composer John Pickard North American edition (ISSN 0017-310X): Gramophone, USPS 881080, is published monthly with Danish organist Finn Viderø; vintage violinists an additional issue in September by MA Music Leisure & Travel Ltd, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB, United Kingdom. The US annual subscription WHAT NEXT? 114 price is $89. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by agent named Air Business, c/o Worldnet Shipping Inc., CLASSICS RECONSIDERED 136 Sibelius’s Seventh leads to Adams, Riley and more 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431. US Postmaster: Send address changes to Gramophone, Two critics return to Karl Münchinger’s 1960s Worldnet Shipping Inc. (see above). Subscription records are maintained at MA Music Leisure & Travel Ltd, Unit Decca recording of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS 146 A Buildings 1-5, Dinton Business Park, Catherine Ford Road, Dinton, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP3 5HZ, UK. Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent. BOOKS 138 HIGH FIDELITY 149 © MA Music Leisure & Travel Ltd, 2018. All rights reserved. No part of the Gramophone may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means Elliott Carter gets the Master Musicians electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the Publishing Director. treatment; a survey of British music criticism NOTES, LETTERS & OBITS 156 Please read our privacy policy, by visiting privacypolicy.markallengroup.com. This will explain how we process, use & safeguard your data. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the GRAMOPHONE COLLECTION 140 NEW RELEASES 158 editor or Gramophone. Advertisements in the journal do not imply endorsement of the products or services advertised. Richard Osborne explores Rossini’s La Cenerentola MY MUSIC 162 REVIEWS INDEX 160 Choreographer Matthew Bourne on his Swan Lake

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Saturday 22 December 2018 7.30pm Avi Avital mandolin; Venice Baroque Orchestra Geminiani, Vivaldi and Paisiello

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AH qobuz © Gettyimages Our passion: all music. Our obsession: high sound quality - CD & Studio. Selections, digital booklets, exclusive articles.

We are the music lovers. qobuz.com Martin THEMONTH OF RECORDING Cullingford’s This Handel recording pick of the finest HANDEL recordings from ‘Italian Cantatas’ offers some incredibly this month’s Sabine Devieilhe sop reviews Lea Desandre mez stylish singing, with Le Concert d’Astrée / music-making that, under Emmanuelle Haïm Erato Emmanuelle Haïm’s RICHARD WIGMORE’S excellent direction, REVIEW IS ON has throughout a PAGE 54 compelling theatricality.

DEBUSSY MAHLER DVOŘÁK Orchestral Works Symphony No 6 Piano Trios Nos 3 & 4 Les Siècles / MusicAeterna / Christian Tetzlaff vn Tanja François-Xavier Roth Teodor Currentzis Tetzlaff vc Lars Vogt pf Harmonia Mundi Sony Classical Ondine A superb addition to Few conductors of An exquisite and Harmonia Mundi’s fascinating Debussy late have generated such debate as Teodor entrancing chamber music disc, and an survey, François-Xavier Roth and his Currentzis – his extraordinarily vivid impressive example of the intimacy and period instrument players capturing the approach to recording is just as thrilling interplay that the genre can embody at its music’s beauty and mystery. here as in his recent Pathétique. most heightened. REVIEW ON PAGE 61 REVIEW ON PAGE 64 REVIEW ON PAGE 79

MESSIAEN ‘BACH INSPIRATIONS’ ‘THE BERLIN RECITAL’ La Nativité du Seigneur Thibaut Garcia gtr Yuja Wang pf Richard Gowers org Erato DG King’s College, Cambridge Guitarist Thibaut Yuja Wang is one of From the work’s quiet Garcia’s instinctive- the most impressive beginnings through to sounding command of pianists of her the magnifi cent and magisterial fi nal part, colour and his graceful virtuosity offer an generation – extraordinary technique this is deeply impressive organ-playing, album at times moving and reflective, at allied with imaginative musicality, she with Kings College’s atmospheric sound others dramatic, all played with admirable makes her second appearance on this expertly captured. skill and delicacy. page in as many months. REVIEW ON PAGE 91 REVIEW ON PAGE 94 REVIEW ON PAGE 94

ELGAR ‘PATER PECCAVI’ SAINT-SAËNS Ascanio The Music Makers. The Marian Consort / Sols; Orchestra The Spirit of England Rory McCleery of the Geneva BBC Symphony Orchestra Delphian University of Music / / Sir Andrew Davis Profiled by us earlier Guilaume Tourniaire Chandos in the year, The B Records With artists, and a record label in Marian Consort under Rory McCleery There’s a real sense of delight in discovery Chandos, all so steeped in repertoire such bring the exquisite skill and elegance for as these musicians – players, chorus and as this, it’s no surprise that this album which they’ve already become known to soloists all excellent throughout – bring us should be so powerful and so moving. the music of late-Renaissance Portugal. this Saint-Saëns rarity. REVIEW ON PAGE 101 REVIEW ON PAGE 112 REVIEW ON PAGE 120

DVD/BLU-RAY REISSUE/ARCHIVE In association with PUCCINI Madama Butterfly WILHELM BACKHAUS Sols; Royal Opera / Sir Antonio Pappano HMW Recordings 1925-1937 Opus Arte Wilhelm Backhaus pf www.qobuz.com Mark Pullinger was deeply moved by this APR production, both in the opera house and now on A chance to revel in the Listen to many of screen, featuring the excellent Ermonela Jaho in the title role virtuosity of the young Wilhelm Backhaus, the Editor’s Choice and one of today’s leading Puccini conductors in the pit. including the first complete Chopin Études. recordings online at REVIEW ON PAGE 119 REVIEW ON PAGE 89 qobuz.com gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 7 FOR THE RECORD DG celebrates 120 years with a lavish box-set

eutsche Grammophon is Lorin Maazel and the BPO) and the first marking its 120th birthday mass-produced Compact Disc (1982 – Dwith a box-set comprising – Karajan’s Berlin Eine Alpensinfonie). appropriately – 120 CDs. Tracing From DG’s early days, many major the history of the company, it sheds names in 20th-century music appear a chronological light on a developing including recordings by Nikisch, Hertz, industry. Founded in June 1898 in Erich Kleiber, Klemperer, Richard Hanover, its directors were Emile Strauss, Pfitzner, de Sabata, Furtwängler Berliner – inventor of both the disc and Horenstein. The galaxy of later and the player – and his brother Joseph. star players is well conveyed in the set, Soon Berliner’s disc had replaced too – among the 17 discs of piano music Edison’s cylinder as the industry are recordings by Kempff, Michelangeli, standard. (By the time of Joseph Pollini, Barenboim, Argerich, Berliner’s death in 1928 and Emile’s the Pogorelich, Horowitz, Lang Lang, following year, DG’s annual production Trifonov, Perahia and Sokolov. has reached nearly 10 million records, Called ‘120 Years of Deutsche with the Hanover factory employing Grammophon’, the set weighs in at some 600 people.) 5.4kg and costs about £260, including a 200-page book divided DG’s history has many milestones, including the introduction into 16 chapters which look at different aspects of the DG story, in 1950 of the variable groove 78rpm disc (which allowed past, present and future (a bonus CD gives a taster of releases to up to nine minutes of music per side), the first LP (1951), come), as well as the various genres recorded. Also included is the introduction of the famous yellow cartouche (1957), a Blu-ray Audio disc of Karajan’s recording of Wagner’s The Ring. the first stereo recording (1962 – Karajan’s epoch-making The set is available to download by volume as well as to stream, Beethoven symphony cycle), the first digital recording (1979 – and there is also a related ‘DG 120’ playlist of 120 tracks to Gidon Kremer playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with stream on Spotify and Apple Music.

its choir of men and boy choristers (drawn year – takes several Glyndebourne operas to from a residential choir school), is felt to be cities throughout the UK, often showcasing very much in the Anglican choral tradition. young talent. Glassberg will conduct one per Filsell is currently Director of Music at the year for the next three years. Episcopal Church of St Alban in Washington ‘I’m incredibly excited to be continuing DC, an artist-in-residence at Washington my relationship with Glyndebourne,’ said National Cathedral, and professor of organ at Glassberg. ‘My first professional work as an the Peabody Conservatory. His discography assistant was at Glyndebourne, and it’s where includes the premiere recordings of Marcel many memorable and joyous moments in my Dupré’s complete organ works, described career so far have taken place.’ by Gramophone as ‘one of the greatest achievements in organ recording’. Sarah Mohr-Pietsch Said Filsell: ‘I am delighted and humbled to be asked to take up the musical reins at named Dartington’s Saint Thomas and to follow in the footsteps new Artistic Director of some remarkable recent musicians.’ New Music Director at Sara Mohr-Pietsch, the Radio 3 broadcaster Ben Glassberg takes who presented the Breakfast Show for several St Thomas New York years, has been named Artistic Director of Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, New York, Glyndebourne on tour Dartington Summer School and Festival. She has named its new Music Director as Jeremy Glyndebourne On Tour has appointed takes over from pianist Joanna MacGregor, who Filsell. In October he will succeed Daniel Hyde, Ben Glassberg as its Principal Conductor. curates her fifth and final festival next year. who in turn succeeded the equally illustrious The post’s previous occupants suggest it’s Recalling her own time as a student at John Scott following the latter’s death in 2015, an appointment that can lead to great things: Dartington, Mohr-Pietsch said: ‘The warmth and who returns to the UK to take over as Glassberg follows on from Edward Gardner, and creativity I encountered … had a powerful Music Director at King’s College Chapel. Jakub Hrůša and Robin Ticciati (Ticciati having efect on me, and I am excited about creating That the three most recent incumbents are been subsequently appointed Music Director transformative musical experiences for English organists is perhaps not coincidental of the main festival itself). Glyndebourne On everyone, as well as deepening connections – Saint Thomas, an Episcopalian church with Tour – which marks its 50th anniversary next with the local community.’

8 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk FOR THE RECORD Pappano to stay on at Covent Garden ondon’s Royal Opera House has confirmed Lthat Sir Antonio Pappano will remain as Music Director until at least the end of the The magazine is just the beginning. 2022/23 season. Visit gramophone.co.uk for … Pappano took up the post in 2002, and since then Podcasts his leadership of the house Gramophone’s podcast series continues with has been widely acclaimed, three engrossing new episodes. The first both live and through is dedicated to the great Swedish soprano subsequent releases – Birgit Nilsson. In Stockholm, James Jolly Gramophone Awards were meets with the President of the Birgit Nilsson given to DVDs of Mozart’s Foundation, Rutbert Reisch, and talks to him Le nozze di Figaro (2008), about the singer and her extraordinary career Verdi’s Don Carlo (2011) as documented on her live recordings. and Puccini’s Il trittico (2013). By the end of this Sir Antonio Pappano: staying on at Covent Garden until at least 2023 season, he will have passed the milestone of Covent Garden’s continuing my collaboration with the longest-serving Music Director. finest orchestra and chorus in the world.’ ‘This place feels like my home’, said He also announced plans for a sabbatical Pappano, ‘and I am so excited to continue year in the 2020/21 season, during which my artistic journey here, conducting the he will conduct at the Metropolitan Opera repertory that [Director of Opera] Oliver in New York, La Scala in Milan and the Mears and I have developed together while Staatsoper in Berlin. ONE TO WATCH Elsa Dreisig Soprano The enormous potential of Franco-Danish soprano Elsa Dreisig was confirmed when she won Plácido Domingo’s Operalia Competition in 2016. Dreisig was a member of the opera studio of Berlin Staatsoper from 2015, under the artistic direction of Daniel Barenboim, and following her Operalia success she became a company member, undertaking leading Talking Mozart, Weber and jazz: clarinettist Julian Bliss roles including Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and Violetta (La traviata) to widespread acclaim. In the second episode, Julian Bliss Dreisig has now signed exclusively to Erato. (pictured) talks to Martin Cullingford about Her debut album, reviewed in this issue (see his new recording on Signum Classics of the page 125), presents mirror images of the same Mozart and Weber Clarinet Quintets with the operatic heroines, as revealed by diferent Carducci String Quartet. He also discusses composers, and displays her versatility from his love of jazz, and about the enjoyment of light coloratura to Straussian heft. It also helping design a new clarinet. suggests an exploratory zeal that should find In a further episode, James Jolly talks to a natural home at Erato: the two Roméo et violinist Nikolaj Znaider about Mozart and Juliette settings are first recordings (one from (see review on page 94). Dreisig was keen to the Carl Nielsen International Competition. Steibelt’s opera, the other from the original highlight the advantages of working with Make sure you subscribe to our free version by Gounod). Our impressed critic such a supportive label, and for being given Gramophone podcasts via your favourite Mark Pullinger describes the overall album the ‘freedom to explore, experiment and take podcast platform. We now have an archive of as a debut ‘full of promise’. risks’. With Erato’s record of developing more than 160 episodes to explore and enjoy. DAVID BEBBER/ROH, MIROIR/PARLOPHONE RECORDS LTD, BEN WRIGHT BEN LTD, RECORDS MIROIR/PARLOPHONE BEBBER/ROH, DAVID In addition, Dreisig also appears on two young talent over the long term, Dreisig tracks of the Bach-inspired guitar album is surely in safe hands. We look forward to Facebook & Twitter of her fellow Erato artist Thibaut Garcia further results of this collaboration. Follow us to hear about the latest

PHOTOGRAPHY: classical music news and anniversaries.

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 9 FOR THE RECORD ARTISTS & their INSTRUMENTS Christian Tetzlaff on his Peter Greiner violin so natural selection over hundreds of years means that, compared to a modern instrument, there’s a much higher chance of an old instrument being good. But – and now comes the big but – in any blind test between old and modern instruments, where the test is done in a really good way – spraying the instruments so you cannot smell which is old and new, blindfolding players and audiences, etc – the results are totally arbitrary. Peter Greiner is a player, and he does what he says Stradivarius also did – he plays the fiddles when they are white, when you can still sandpaper everywhere and change things. Then, once he thinks the basic set-up of the fiddle gives best credit to what the wood can do, he varnishes – because one’s methods of influence diminish once everything is varnished. I’ve used several of Peter’s instruments. One I played for 12 years, and the one I play now I’ve played for six or seven years. I just grabbed it after someone else had tried it out and hadn’t liked it. I played a few notes on it, and then I think I played a concert on it the next day! I knew right away that this violin was something unusual, even among Peter’s instruments. I’m still discovering things about it and am continuing to work a bit on diferent I met the German violin-maker Peter Greiner I don’t know whether or not I could have tried strings – I’m still intrigued enough by it to about 27 years ago. At the time, I had just been more with the Stradivarius to make it an continue playing it. given a nice Stradivarius to play by a private instrument that suited me, but I think I was If someone gave me a Stradivarius that supporter, who said I could play it for as long just drawn to this idea that, nowadays, there’s sounded better than my Peter Greiner I would as I wanted. Peter made a copy of it and, being no reason why a genius maker cannot build of course immediately play it, because I need a bit young and cheeky, when I had both those a beautiful fiddle. Stradivarius was famous the best possible sound. What I’m trying to say instruments I started playing on Peter’s right away, he didn’t have to wait 200 years. is that I’m not playing a modern instrument instead of the Stradivarius. You might have I think that what you find as weaknesses in because I want to promote the cause of expected this person who had so generously modern violins, you find interesting in old modern instruments – I just want to choose let me play his Stradivarius to have been furious ones – the same sound you would criticise in the most rewarding instrument. and say ‘OK, give me back my instrument’, a modern fiddle would amaze you in an old Christian Tetzlaf’s recording of Dvořák’s but instead this generous man asked Peter to fiddle. There is also the Darwinian aspect, Piano Trios Nos 3 and 4 with Tanja Tetzlaf build him a whole string quartet! In retrospect, that the really bad old fiddles are not played, and Lars Vogt is reviewed on page 79

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10 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk FOR THE RECORD GRAMOPHONE GUIDE TO … Sinfonia concertante David Threasher traces another form that reached its pinnacle with Mozart

he terms ‘symphony’ and ‘concerto’ have histories Haydn’s sole example was the result of a 1792 querelle that almost as long as Western art music itself and mean the London press confected between him and his erstwhile pupil Tdifferent things depending on the time and place of their Ignaz Pleyel. Haydn responded effortlessly to the challenge of the application. ‘Sinfonia concertante’, on the other hand, refers to younger man’s concertanti in a work of the most delightful charm a particular type of piece, composed in a specific period – and, for violin, cello, oboe and bassoon. as so often, the usual suspects provided the works that represent The rise of the double and triple concerto led to the demise the form at its finest. of the concertante, although works such as Saint-Saëns’s Organ At its most basic, it’s a concerto for multiple instruments, Symphony or Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole nevertheless display which not only function as soloists but also to a greater or lesser many of its traits. More recently, a similar compositional style extent embed themselves, symphonically, into the wider musical pops up in works such as Szymanowski’s Fourth Symphony, texture. The concerto grosso came closest to this description with its prominent piano part, Litolff’s Concertos symphoniques during the Baroque; with the rise of the Romantics, the terms and Prokofiev’s cello Symphony-Concerto. But these are ‘double concerto’ and ‘triple concerto’ became more common. works of their own time, a far cry from the origins of the The sinfonia concertante, then, enjoyed its vogue in the second form in 18th-century Europe. half of the 18th century. It was popular in Paris where, as Listen to our Sinfonia concertante playlist on Qobuz symphonie concertante, examples by the likes of Davaux, Devienne, Gossec and Pleyel were enjoyed by the soloists of the Concerts Spirituels. JC Bach composed a string of such works in London, for the virtuosos of the orchestra he convened for the Bach-Abel concerts. Mozart would have heard JCB’s music as a child in the English capital, as well as further such works in Mannheim. Mozart becomes one of those usual suspects for perhaps the finest work in the genre, his Sinfonia concertante for violin, viola and orchestra. Having emerged imperceptibly from the orchestra, the two soloists subsequently share material, intertwining with suavity in the opening Allegro maestoso, more light-heartedly in the final Presto and with utmost seriousness in the central slow movement. Set in grave C minor, this is a masterpiece of dazzling maturity from the 23-year-old, stepping confidently outside the accepted emotional bounds of the concerto of the 1770s. Vilde Frang and Lawrence Power perform Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante IN THE STUDIO O Having amassed a substantial (and often Gramophone Award- O Jean-Eflam Bavouzet continues his Mozart piano concerto cycle winning) catalogue on Harmonia Mundi, the conductor René Jacobs with the Manchester Camerata and Gábor Takács-Nágy for Chandos. is embarking on a complete Schubert symphony cycle on the Volume 4 comprises Nos 20 and 21 (K466 and 467), coupled with the Pentatone label, with the Belgian period ensemble B’Rock. It’s the Overture to Don Giovanni. Expect a summer 2019 release. first time he’s ever recorded music by the composer. Symphonies Nos 1 and 6 have just been released (and will be reviewed next month) O In time for the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death next and the cycle is due to be completed in 2021. year, Sir Andrew Davis and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra – whose Interim Artistic Director he is until Gustavo Gimeno’s arrival at the start O Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques have completed their of the 2020 season – have recorded Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique trilogy of operas by Antonio Salieri with Tarare (previous releases and Lélio, his fantasy on Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The Chandos include Les Danaïdes and Les Horaces, recorded in 2016 and just sessions took place in September, the recording is due out mid-2019. released by Aparté). Recorded during performances at the Opéra Royal in Versailles, the cast included Cyrille Dubois, Karine Deshayes, O Christian Lindberg – in the triple role of composer, soloist and Jean-Sébastien Bou and Judith van Wanroij. The opera sets the only conductor – has made a recording for BIS of his own works. Made in BRIDGEMAN IMAGES BRIDGEMAN libretto by Beaumarchais (whose Marriage of Figaro was famously Antwerp with city’s Symphony Orchestra the programme includes adapted by Lorenzo da Ponte and Mozart). The release date has yet Liverpool Lullabies for trombone, percussion and orchestra, with guest to be decided. soloist Evelyn Glennie. PHOTOGRAPHY:

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 11 FOR THE RECORD ORCHESTRA Insight … The Hallé Our monthly series telling the story behind an orchestra

Founded 1858 Home The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester Music Director Sir Mark Elder Founding Music Director Charles Hallé

Note the absence of the word ‘orchestra’. The Hallé is more than that. It started life as a multifaceted concerts society and is currently a family comprising four choirs, two symphony orchestras and thousands of cheerleaders. If plans are approved, it might soon include a school. Improvement was at the heart of the institution Charles Hallé founded in hard-working Victorian Manchester. A century-and-a-half later, it’s hard to think of SirMarkElderhasbeenmusicdirectoroftheHallésince2000 anything other than football that expresses civic cohesion in this city quite like the Hallé does. Elder started by ‘cleaning up’ repertoire works, not least The Hallé’s ‘adult’ symphony orchestra has been associated by the orchestra’s beloved Elgar. By 2002 he was conducting with 20th-century boom-and-bust, but its significance in British chunks of Wagner operas and the next year launched the music life is hard to overstate. It introduced the world to Elgar’s orchestra’s in-house record label with the Enigma Variations. First Symphony, Mahler’s Das klagende Lied and Thomas Adès’s The label, a perfect complement to the orchestra’s legacy These Premises are Alarmed. It generated one of the greatest recordings with Barbirolli, has given us four complete orchestra-conductor partnerships in history, when John Barbirolli Wagner operas, world premieres and a wealth of underexposed inherited a band of 30 players from Hans Richter and created a British repertoire. It has embraced the choirs that were part delectable orchestra over 27 years. More recently, it kick-started of Charles Hallé’s blueprint. One such release, of the 2014 a pan-European trend that suggests Wagner’s Ring is the ultimate annual Christmas concert, somehow communicates the idea test for a symphony orchestra as much as for an opera company. of audiences, volunteer singers and professional instrumentalists The Hallé’s recent history pivots on the year 1996, when staking equal ownership to a priceless tradition. it moved from Manchester’s dowdy Free Trade Hall to its For all the affection, Manchester expects excellence. Elder industrial-chic Bridgewater Hall. It wasn’t the honeymoon and a string of associated conductors have honed it. The Hallé’s it should have been. The orchestra faced bankruptcy and its sound retains a certain serrated edge that might be indigenous relationship with music director Kent Nagano bordered on the to the north of England. Add to that mellow nobility, operatic dysfunctional. Rehearsing Elgar as a guest conductor, Mark Elder sensitivity and notable clarity encountered a bruised ensemble that gave him ‘competence but instilled by a conductor for Find your not much more.’ He sensed an opportunity, and was appointed whom elegance is all. Andrew Mellor music on music director from 2000. Listen to our special playlist on Qobuz www.qobuz.com

London choral conductor winner podcasts, and music mixes – those focusing on classical repertoire will include Classical Focus from BBC Bitesize (‘a carefully curated backdrop The German conductor Julia Selina Blank of classical music to concentrate to’) and Classical Sunrise from Radio 3 (pictured) received the first prize at the (‘a selection of classical music to ease you into the weekend’). inaugural London International Choral Conducting Competition which took place This month’s music on medici.tv at London’s Royal Academy of Music in October and featured two host choirs, Maintaining this month’s Rossini theme, we’ve a sparkling production of Chantage and Coro, as well as a guest choir, La pietra del paragone conducted by Rossini expert Alberto Zedda from cc Freia from Helsinki. Earlier this year Blank founded DAME to perform Madrid and a concert with Cecilia Bartoli from Barcelona’s gorgeous choral music for female voices on a professional level. She is also the Palau de la Música Catalana. Catch Daniel Barenboim and his West- conductor of Oslo’s Asker Chamber Choir and Norske Kammersangere. Eastern Divan Orchestra on a recent tour in the US. At Carnegie Hall, in a concert in memory of Isaac Stern, they play Richard Strauss’s BBC launches new Sounds app Don Quixote (with the young DG-signed cellist Kian Soltani) and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. With Lang Lang back giving concerts The BBC has launched a new app, which draws together its music, and focusing on the music of Mozart, try a documentary with him and FEUERBACHER ELMAR WARREN, PETER podcast and radio content, including Radio 3. The app will configure Nikolaus Harnoncourt, ‘Mission Mozart’. And for a masterclass, Michael itself to each user’s tastes, learning from their listening habits and Tilson Thomas explores Brahms’s Second Symphony with students. For

providing relevant content, including many new and returning these and more visit medici.tv and search ‘Gramophone selects’. PHOTOGRAPHY:

12 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk FOR THE RECORD FROM WHERE I SIT ONDINE Why is Porgy and Bess so rarely performed as the Gershwins NEW intended, asks Edward Seckerson AND he recent revival of the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess at English National RECENT TOpera has prompted me to look a little deeper into this landmark score and to reassess its significance in the chronology RELEASES of American music theatre. Along with West Side Story it remains the score that the great and the good of the genre wish they had NEW written. There is a stratospheric level of ambition about Porgy ODE 1316-2 and Bess, an urgent need to push the American musical, opera, ODE 1321-2 call it what you will, to new heights, to reconcile an indigenous folksiness to high sophistication. Stephen Sondheim cites the lyric of its opening number – the bluesily pentatonic ‘Summertime’ (a melody it has been suggested is redolent, too, of a Ukranian Yiddish lullaby) – as the key to BBC Radio 3 establishing the tone of the entire piece. The first line of that lyric ‘Record Review’ hangs on one word: ‘and’. ‘Summertime and the livin’ is easy’. The Disc of the Week, obvious (and more boringly literate) choice would be ‘Summertime 20th October 2018 when the livin’ is easy’. But the lyricist’s ‘and’ lends a poetic immediacy to the song. It adds an air of the colloquial and personal to Clara’s languid lullaby. In other words, this ‘community’ has its own special way of expressing the loftiest emotions. ‘Community’ is another key contributor to the evolution and success of the piece. It is that which makes it so organic. ODE 1308-5 (SACD hybrid) The great set-pieces – Robbins’ Wake, the Picnic, the Storm (how astonishing is that six-part improvisatory passage at its close) – are its emotional climacterics. When he was writing “Hannu Lintu shapes a the score Gershwin cited Wagner’s Die Meistersinger as one magnificently assured source of inspiration to him. Clearly it had not eluded him that performance with the Wagner’s success lay in identifying his ‘community’ individually excellent FRSO …” and collectively. And that’s exactly what Gershwin does in “[Frank Peter Porgy and Bess. Plus everything about the piece is symphonically Zimmermann’s] eloquent unified from a network of Wagner-like leitmotifs. They carry the tone soars through the orchestral richesse …” emotional memory of the piece forward, they bind the orchestral BBC Music Magazine and vocal elements. The last thing you hear as Porgy sets off December 2018 on his impossible quest to find Bess at the close of the opera is Porgy’s theme conjoined with ‘Bess, you is my woman now’. It’s Tristan und Isolde all over again – two souls reunited in death. So why is Porgy and Bess so rarely staged? It has very particular demands – of course, it does – but could it also be that its challenges are not entirely compatible with its hit ‘songs’ in the public’s imagination. Both Broadway and the West End attempted to reinvent it as a book-song musical, retaining … a glitteringly the ‘numbers’ but stripping away much of the through-sung inventive score …” superstructure and replacing it with dialogue. What a betrayal The Sunday Times of Gershwin’s achievement. November 2018 But alas, it’s a sign of our times. Never mind the context, give us the great songs. The conductor of the latest ENO revival was John Wilson – established champion of Broadway and Hollywood fare – but I think there is little doubt that the enthusiastic audiences for his ‘greatest hits’ concerts up and down the land would always favour the compilation format over complete shows. We can only hope that in the case of Porgy and Bess diversity will www.ondine.net finally win the day for this enduring masterpiece. and in North America by Naxos of America. gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 13 THE CONTINUING RISE OF

AsROSSINI we commemorate 150 years since the composer’s death, Richard Osborne explores how the centenary paved the way for an even greater appreciation of Rossini’s operas 50 years on

he modern marriage his return to Paris, in 1855 after a long of commerce and illness, he wrote the 150 exquisitely commemoration is not crafted small pieces he called his ‘Sins the only model where of Old Age’. Among these was one last Tanniversaries are concerned. Back masterpiece, the Petite Messe solennelle, in 1784, three loyal Handelians which he completed in 1864, at the age were so dismayed by the state into of 72, for private performance in Paris. which the great man’s reputation had already fallen that they determined A STYLE DEFERRED to stage a centenary tribute. Using The Petite Messe solennelle breathes the a monument in Westminster Abbey spirit of courtlier times. And therein as their Wikipedia, they misinterpreted lay the problem. Rossini had been the date. But no matter. Twenty-five born into a golden age of beautiful years on from Handel’s death, the epic singing. It was a phenomenon the London Handel Festival was precisely castrati had mainly made, both as the boost the music needed. Handel’s teachers and performers; and it was reputation never looked back. this to which Rossini was heir. Like Bach, too, needed a centenary – many great cultural blossomings, the specifically the launch in 1850 of the age of Italian bel canto, created by great Bach-Gesellschaft edition of his Rossini and perpetuated and enriched works – to have the seal put on his by Donizetti and Bellini, was relatively musical immortality. ‘What a colossus short-lived. By the late 1840s a new that man is!’ exclaimed Rossini, one breed of powerhouse performers had of the edition’s earliest subscribers. taken charge: tenors parading their Since then, it has been rarer to find stentorian high Cs ‘from the chest’, genius, once acknowledged, falling into Gioachino Rossini, pictured 12 years before his death in 1868 pianists after the death of Chopin neglect, though the 1960s were witness playing pre-fabricated, copyright-clad to two unusual happenings. First, the double anniversary of showpieces on ever more powerful instruments. Gustav Mahler’s birth and death in 1960-61 brought about Rossini’s problem was that for the next 100 years fewer and a flowering of interest in his music that has yet to abate. Then, fewer singers could cope with his music, or what was left of it, in 1968, the centenary of Rossini’s death had the happy effect as his 39-strong operatic legacy narrowed to a handful of works: of both coinciding with and inspiring a revival of interest in his Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina’s role transposed up to become operas, the scale of which is without precedent in modern times. a showcase for leggiero sopranos), Guillaume Tell (bawled, foreshortened, and mostly sung in Italian) and Semiramide A LEGEND DEPARTS (an occasional vehicle for star sopranos such as Patti or Melba). Four thousand people crammed into Sainte-Trinité, Paris’s newest and largest church, for Rossini’s funeral in November EARLY RECORDINGS 1868; and as many again lined the route to his temporary Extracts from those operas, and the Stabat mater, occasionally resting place in Père-Lachaise. He was mourned throughout made their way on to record in the early years of the Europe. In London, The Times declared: ‘With him has gramophone. Little of this sounds well today, though Fernando departed one of the most remarkable geniuses and one of de Lucia’s Count Almaviva recordings, bel canto singing in its the kindliest spirits of the 19th century.’ purest form, have yet to be equalled. And what would we give It’s easily forgotten that at the time of his death Rossini now for a bass of Pol Plançon’s pedigree and technique? remained Europe’s most renowned living composer. Nor was An early harbinger of the return of the mezzo-soprano, or he a spent force creatively. His opera-writing days may have contralto with a soprano extension, for which many of Rossini’s been long gone but during the Indian Summer which followed leading roles were written, came with the arrival of the Spanish-

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born phenomenon Conchita Supervía. During the 1934-35 Covent Garden season, staged by Sir Thomas Beecham in uneasy cohabitation with Francis Toye, author of the best-selling but wildly unreliable Rossini: A Study in Tragi-Comedy (London, 1934), Supervía’s Cenerentola mesmerised such patrons as were prepared to listen.

A NEW DAWN Scholarly interest in Rossini’s life and work began to gather pace in the interwar years. Between 1927 and 1929 the composer and musicologist Giuseppe Radiciotti published (largely at his own expense) a handsomely designed, limited-edition, three-volume ‘life, documents and works’. At much the same time, Vittorio Gui and Tullio Serafin, old-school polymaths who not only conducted and taught but composed, edited and researched, were making important advances of their own. Italy’s entry into the Second World War sabotaged many of the plans for the 1942 sesquicentenary of Rossini’s birth, though Gui’s much-needed new performing edition of Il barbiere duly appeared. As the dust settled after the war, a new phenomenon emerged in the form of the 24-year-old Maria Callas, whose playing of Bellini’s Norma in Florence in 1948 set the musical world by its ears. What personality was here, and what technique! It was as if the role’s creator, Giuditta Pasta, had been reborn. Rossini had to wait for his big Callas moment. This came when she sang the title-role in Armida at the 1952 Maggio Musicale in Florence. The festival – the 1942 retrospective delayed by a decade – revived three neglected comedies (La scala di seta, La pietra del paragone and Le Comte Ory) and three serious operas (Tancredi, Armida and Guillaume Tell). Vestiges of that Maggio Musicale Maria Callas’s Rosina at La Scala in 1956 was disliked, but a year later her EMI Barbiere became the best on record Armida exist in a technically execrable live recording currently available from Warner Classics, but L’inganno felice and La pietra del paragone (memorably recorded Callas’s Armida is better sampled in a 1954 RAI recital where in 1971 with John Reardon in the title-role, Vanguard 12/92, nla) she sings the great Act 2 aria ‘D’amore al dolce impero’. to Mosè in Egitto and beyond. Callas had already astonished her admirers with her Meanwhile, the true opera seria tenor was virtually extinct. portrayal of the vixenish Fiorilla in Il turco in Italia in Rome The problem dated back to Rossini’s time at the Teatro di in 1950. The text was flawed, lacking Fiorilla’s all-important San Carlo in Naples (1815-22) when he wrote competing and final aria, and remained so when she recorded the role for complementary roles for the quasi-baritonal Andrea Nozzari EMI in 1954. But the work itself had been resurrected. Her (creator of such parts as Otello and Pirro in Ermione) and the Rosina, seen on stage in Milan in 1956, was widely disliked. high coloratura Giovanni David (player of emotional neurotics ‘Excitable, nervous, overpowering,’ said Opera. Yet the 1957 such as Rodrigo and Oreste). It was a problem that kept many EMI recording, with much the same cast, though with Galliera of the Neapolitan opere serie off the stage until the arrival, replacing Giulini as conductor, would quickly establish itself as more than 150 years on, of singers such as Chris Merritt BRIDGEMAN IMAGES BRIDGEMAN the best (certainly the most characterful) Il barbiere on record. and Rockwell Blake, Bruce Ford and William Matteuzzi. Finding coloratura Rossini basses was a near impossibility They in turn were helped by the emergence of a number in the 1950s; a serious drawback given the many important of high-quality coloratura mezzos, prime among whom was

PHOTOGRAPHY: bass roles Rossini wrote, ranging from the comic leads in Marilyn Horne. For some years, Horne forged a memorable

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 15 ROSSINI: 150 partnership with soprano unforgettable Le Comte Ory. Katia Ricciarelli, not least in However, when the Wexford Tancredi, that vocally exquisite Festival decided to revive the dramatic idyll for which very revivable La gazza ladra Philip Gossett, greatest of in 1959, the only parts Ricordi Rossini scholars, had recently was able to provide came from unearthed Rossini’s alternative an eccentrically revised and tragic ending. reorchestrated version by the I vividly recall a 1986 composer (and director of concert staging of the then the Rossini Conservatoire in barely known Bianca e Falliero. Pesaro) Riccardo Zandonai. Inspired by the age-old theme Yet the opera triumphed, not of young love blighted by least because of the Pippo of parental hate, this is just a young ingénue by the name about the most ferocious of Janet Baker. piece, vocally and dramatically, Where an autograph Rossini wrote. Ricciarelli was manuscript was readily to past her best but Horne was in hand, an edition would be sensational form as the young made, as happened with general Falliero. the 1962 La Scala, Milan revival of Semiramide and SEARCHING OUT TEXT its sequel recorded for Not the least of the problems Decca in 1965, conducted facing the post-war Rossini by Richard Bonynge with revival was finding reliable Montserrat Caballé and Marilyn Horne in Semiramide at San Francisco Opera, 1981 Joan Sutherland and Marilyn performing editions; Horne. Comparable initiatives a situation that had been complicated by the destruction during followed during the 1970s and ’80s, with Claudio Scimone the war of much of the archive of printed music belonging to making a series of important recordings of hitherto forgotten Italy’s principal music publisher Ricordi. Glyndebourne was opere serie such as Maometto Secondo, Ermione and Zelmira. fortunate to have Vittorio Gui as its music director when it The last gasp of the bad old days came in 1975 with an staged and recorded La Cenerentola in 1952, followed by an EMI recording whose English-language title The Siege of

The revival of Il viaggio a Reims under Claudio Abbado at the 1984 Pesaro Festival remains ‘a red-letter event in the annals of Rossini scholarship and performance’

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Corinth disguised the fact that this was a badly edited Italian translation of a revision for the French stage of the Neapolitan epic Maometto Secondo. Not that the star of the show Beverly Sills was much concerned. ‘I sometimes think that musicologists are like men who talk about sex but never have any.’ Happily, DECCA CLASSICS there has been a long tradition of fruitful collaboration between editors and performers where Rossini is concerned. THE 1968 CENTENARY GIVE THE GIFT OF MUSIC The principal fruits of the 1968 centenary were Herbert Weinstock’s exhaustively documented Rossini: A Biography (Oxford, 1968) and a single LP of rare beauty and worth: Montserrat Caballé’s ‘Rossini Rarities’, a scrupulously researched anthology of arias (and the ornaments with which some leading singers of the time had graced them) from Tancredi, Otello, Armida, Le siège de Corinthe and the Stabat mater (RCA, 12/68, nla). RCA was horrified. The costs of transcribing the music and hiring the orchestral parts was likely to be exorbitant; the sales, they feared, negligible. But Caballé, 34 and the new singing sensation of the age, insisted. She would go on to make further distinctive contributions to the Rossini discography, notably the still unsurpassed 1972 HMV recording of Guillaume Tell and the 1975 Philips recording of Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra. Themovetowardsacriticaleditionwas propelledintolifebyaferociousspat between Casa Ricordi and Alberto Zedda

The centenary’s greatest legacy, however, would be the inauguration of the idea of a critical edition of Rossini’s entire musical output. Two things had helped make this possible. The first was Rossini’s decision to bequeath the bulk of his estate to the founding of a music academy in his birthplace Pesaro. Established in 1869, it was subdivided in 1940 into a school and a research foundation. The second was the survival of the autograph manuscripts of all but three of Rossini’s 39 operas. An additional – somewhat opera buffa – aspect of the initiative was its being propelled into life by a ferocious and well-publicised spat between Casa Ricordi (Rossini’s preferred publisher since 1814) and a young Italian conductor, Alberto Zedda. Zedda had studied philosophy at university before wheedling his way as a mature student into the Milan Conservatory where his organ teacher was the multi-tasking Alceo Galliera. When Galliera recorded Il barbiere with Callas and Tito Gobbi in London in 1957 he knew what parts to use and what to avoid. Not so the young Zedda. Charged with conducting a production of the opera at a famous teaching school in Milan, he found himself facing complaints from the orchestra that the Ricordi parts contained mistakes and misattributions (piccolo parts AVAILABLE TO ORDER NOW allocated to the oboes and the like) that made them unplayable. Much embarrassed, Zedda decided to consult the autograph manuscript in Bologna. This was a hazardous business. (As Philip Gossett has said, an autograph manuscript is the source of all truth and the root of all uncertainty.) Zedda knew enough, however, to write a mass of corrections into the hire parts. Ricordi’s response was to fine him for vandalising their property. Nothing daunted, Zedda successfully filed ROBERT CAHEN/SAN FRANCISCO OPERA ARCHIVES, STUDIO AMBROSINI DI ROBERTO ANGELOTTI ROBERTO DI AMBROSINI STUDIO ARCHIVES, OPERA FRANCISCO CAHEN/SAN ROBERT a counterclaim against Ricordi for supplying shoddy material. www.deccaclassics.com Clearly there were no hard feelings, since it was Ricordi who published Zedda’s new critical edition of Il barbiere – the first ever

PHOTOGRAPHY: critical edition of an Italian opera – in 1969. Two years later,

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 17 ROSSINI: 150

over an 1857 vocal score of Ermione in the British Library, it struck me that this Racine-derived azione tragica – Rossini’s only ‘failure’ in Naples but a piece of which he was inordinately proud – was, indeed, a small masterpiece. ‘Really?’ the cry went up, half doubtful, half excited, when the Master Musicians volume eventually appeared in 1986. By then a critical edition of Ermione was sufficiently advanced for the work to be staged – always the acid test – at the 1987 Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. The opera itself blazed forth, with Marilyn Horne, Chris Merritt, Rockwell Blake and others all making distinctive contributions. Unfortunately, Caballé, now in her fifties and a controversial choice for Ermione, seemed as uncertain of the work as her conductor Gustav Kuhn. The gallery in the lovely small Teatro Rossini was not amused. Still, Ermione was back, as Mark Elder proved with a blazing concert performance in London in 1992 with Anna Caterina Antonacci as Ermione. The directors of opera houses from five continents were in the Queen Elizabeth Hall that evening, as a result of which several new productions were commissioned, including one by Glyndebourne, also featuring Antonacci, which Warner Vision filmed in 1995 (7/96, nla).

RETURN JOURNEY The rediscovery which perhaps ranks highest in the list of those made since Rossini’s death in 1868 is that of Il viaggio Garsington’s 2002 La gazza ladra (top) was recorded by Chandos; the festival also premiered a new edition of La Gazzetta in 2001 a Reims (‘The Journey to Reims’), the lavish, the edition was recorded by Claudio Abbado, at much the same highly sophisticated entertainment which Rossini created in time as he recorded Zedda’s new edition of La Cenerentola. honour of Charles X’s coronation in France in 1825. It was However, Rome wasn’t built in a day. When New Grove while on sabbatical from the University of Chicago in Rome editor Stanley Sadie, late of this parish, made the bold decision in 1977 that Philip Gossett was presented with a pile of to commission a Rossini volume in the venerable Master manuscript pages by the librarian of the Rome Conservatory. Musicians series, one of my earliest tasks was to work out how Signed by Rossini, they were marked ‘Several Pieces from to deal adequately with the mass of operas that had neither the Cantata Il Viaggio a Reims’. In fact, it was the entire been staged nor reprinted since Rossini’s lifetime. Poring work, less the pages Rossini had later reused for his opera

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Le Comte Ory. The work’s revival (and recording) under the Soirées and Matinées. And is there a more life-enhancing record direction of Claudio Abbado at the 1984 Pesaro Festival than ‘Black Dyke Plays Rossini’, first issued by Chandos in 1983? remains a red-letter event in the annals of Rossini scholarship The bottom line is that, whatever the immensity of Rossini’s and performance. larger achievement as a composer – and we’re talking here of the principal architect of 19th-century Italian opera, and MISSION (MOSTLY) ACCOMPLISHED a good deal of French and German opera too – his true legacy By the turn of the century, all Rossini’s 39 operas had is that he has helped put a very large smile on the world’s face. been made available in some form or another. There had And, goodness, has it needed it! been a number of important players in this. Erik Smith Richard Osborne is widely respected for his extensive research and commissioned and produced for Philips several pioneering writings on Rossini; his translation of Ferdinand Hiller’s revelatory recordings, including an Otello with José Carreras and ‘Conversations with Rossini’ was published in October by Pallas Athene. Frederica von Stade and a Mosè in Egitto with Ruggero Richard Osborne reviews two major Rossini box-sets in Reissues on page 130 Raimondi. Patric Schmid and Don White, founders of the Opera Rara label, set in train an even more valuable sequence of recordings of mainly opera seria rarities. And then there was ESSENTIAL ROSSINI LISTENING GUIDE the patronage of the Naxos record company. After making Six benchmark recordings, from opera to late piano music an extraordinarily vivid recording of Il barbiere in Budapest in 1993, they went on to form a close association with the Il barbiere Guillaume Tell enterprising Rossini in Wildbad festival in southern Germany. di Siviglia Montserrat Maria Callas sop Caballé sop Genuinely successful recordings of the Luigi Alva ten Nicolai Gedda ten Tito Gobbi bar Gabriel Bacquier bar Stabat mater and Petite Messe solennelle Philharmonia / Alceo Galliera RPO / Lamberto Gardelli Warner Classics D (2/58) Warner Classics (11/73) can be counted on the fingers of one hand A classic recording of what has It took private money and become Rossini’s most popular a stellar cast to restore Rossini’s In England, the late Leonard Ingrams made the Garsington opera, featuring Maria Callas, much revived but much abused Opera Festival an important place of pilgrimage for Rossinians, the singer who revived for the last opera to its pristine state, not least in 2001 when the Fondazione Rossini allowed its modern age the sound and style uncut and in the original French. new edition of Rossini’s Neapolitan romp La Gazzetta to be of the true Rossini soprano. Chief among the set’s wonders staged in Garsington two months before its Italian prima. Il barbiere is Montserrat Caballé’s peerless Alas, the record companies showed little interest. Chandos di Siviglia account of the role of the peace- took the 2002 production of La gazza ladra into the studio but Teresa Berganza making Austrian princess Matilde. (anathema to Leonard) insisted on its being sung in English. sop Luigi Alva ten Stabat mater By now the studio recording of opera, the jewel in the crown Hermann Prey bar Soloists, Santa of the gramophone in the post-78 era, was going into freefall, La Scala Orch, Milan Cecilia Orch, Rome / as media organisations switched to marketing cost-effective / Claudio Abbado Antonio Pappano spin-offs of live stage productions on DVD. Some worked, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle director EMI (1/11) many proved unwatchable. DG ◊ (3/02) A believing Catholic, though at Rossini was first and foremost times a troubled one, Rossini SACRED AND INSTRUMENTAL a theatre composer, albeit one used none of the forms familiar It is not only Rossini’s operas that have tested performers. who, like his hero Mozart, used from his operas when creating Genuinely successful recordings of the Stabat mater and the classical forms to drive the this sacred masterwork of the Petite Messe solennelle can be counted on the fingers of just action and create the comedy. bel canto age, a point that appears one hand. By far the best account of the Messe, a perfectly No director has understood this to have been well comprehended judged 1972 Baumburg monastery performance directed from better, or realised it with greater in this most beautifully prepared the keyboard by Wolfgang Sawallisch, vanished years ago wit and ingenuity, than Ponnelle of all recordings of the work. (RCA, 10/73, nla). whose masterpiece this surely is. ‘Sins of Old Age, As for the delicious salon music, the Soirées Musicales, and the Il viaggio a Reims Vol.7’ 150 items of late piano music and songs, the Péchés de vieillesse Soloists; COE / Soloists; (‘Sins of Old Age’) , they have suffered the double indignity Claudio Abbado Alessandro of deletions – notable recordings of the late piano music by DG (1/86) Marangoni pf Dino Ciani, Aldo Ciccolini and Bruno Mezzina – and an The rediscovery Ars Cantica / Marco Berrini almost complete lack of critical notice afforded to such things and revival of this fantastical Naxos as Naxos’s ongoing project (2008-) of recording the complete entertainment devised by Rossini For a taste of Rossini’s wonderfully Péchés de vieillesse. The fine anthology ‘Rossini Songs’ (Opera for the coronation of France’s diverse array of late piano music Rara, 12/09) is also currently unavailable. Charles X in 1825 is one of the and songs, this compilation CD, crown jewels of modern Rossini Volume 7 from Naxos’s long- THE SHOW GOES ON scholarship. This celebrated 1984 running exploration of his ‘Sins of It was Falstaff who said that he was not only witty in himself Pesaro Festival recording features Old Age’, provides as good a cue KEITH SAUNDERS/ARENAPAL KEITH but the inspirer of wit in others. And so it has been with leading Rossini singers of the day as any for further exploration of Rossini, such is the tunefulness and vitality of the best of his under Abbado’s inspired direction. these much-neglected works. music. I imagine I am not alone in being exceptionally fond of

PHOTOGRAPHY: Respighi’s La boutique fantasque or Britten’s Rossini-inspired

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 19 Making waves in FRENCH MUSIC Following scintillating recordings of La mer and Daphnis et Chloé with his experimental Les Siècles, conductor François-Xavier Roth now releases an all-Debussy disc featuring seminal works which, as he tells Mark Pullinger, marked a new era in music

20 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk FRANÇOIS-XAVIER ROTH

icture the scene. It’s May 2017, and in Cologne’s Roth decided not to return after the merger because he’d Philharmonie the Gürzenich Orchestra has just been so against the decision. ‘I had to stop my work with closed a programme of music inspired by the sea. them much too early. It’s a sadness, but that’s life.’ Conductor François-Xavier Roth takes Roth’s new German orchestra, the Gürzenich, has Pa microphone and saunters across to a piano … a totally different heritage and culture. ‘Cologne is a very and proceeds to sing Charles Trenet’s La mer as an encore, musical city. It’s not so German – in the sense that you in a cheeky arrangement by Philipp Matthias Kaufmann are close to Holland, to France, to Belgium. It’s an old which throws in splashes of Debussy’s orchestral seascape. musical institution with a great history. Berlioz, Brahms Roth’s timing was – unsurprisingly for this dapper and Mahler all came here.’ Indeed, Mahler premiered his Frenchman – impeccable. Two days earlier, Emmanuel Fifth Symphony with the Gürzenich in 1904, and Roth Macron had fought off the far-right challenge from chose that work for their first disc together, an account Marine Le Pen in the French presidential elections, David Gutman praised in these pages (3/18) for the and, as the conductor admits, it was with a huge sense freshness of its Scherzo and the ‘hushed, virginal quality’ of of relief that he wanted to send out ‘a nice, positive signal’ the Adagietto, taken almost as slowly as Leonard Bernstein’s to celebrate. ‘In Cologne, they love French culture – famous DG account with the Vienna Philharmonic. food, songs – so it was my gift to them.’ Cologne was also an important destination for the Just two months later, Roth was created a chevalier of the avant-garde, such as Stockhausen and Zimmermann. Légion d’honneur in Macron’s first Bastille Day honours list. ‘It’s the orchestra of the city, so Gürzenich is a famous It was conferred upon him this January by Françoise Nyssen name, a family name, in Cologne. What I like very much is of the French Ministry of Culture at Paris’s space-age that I can experiment there because I have such a great trust concert hall, the Philharmonie. The presentation followed in the orchestra and in the audience. I can explore different a concert by his beloved orchestra, Les Siècles. I caught up repertoires, different combinations, and propose something with Roth during rehearsals for that concert to reflect upon really ambitious which I think suits the mood of the city. his career and his probing approach to music-making. We must be experimental there.’ Yet the orchestra with which Roth has dared to be most experimental is Les Siècles, the ensemble he formed ‘Howcanitbepossibletopropose back in 2003. Together they’ve made a huge impact on the anewperspective–forthelistener classical music world. What were his founding principles for the orchestra’s creation? ‘At the beginning,’ Roth toexperiencemusictheyknow already, explains, ‘it was more to do with the repertoire – it was about having an orchestra that could change its shape, but from different angles?’ its style, and confront repertoire from different periods. But I also had in mind that I wanted to achieve the Roth is now principal guest conductor of the London period-instrument aspect very quickly, so we started Symphony Orchestra, but his relationship with them buying gut strings to test them out and then, progressively, goes right back to 2000 when he won the Donatella Flick moved on to woodwind and brass.’ LSO Conducting Competition – a crucial breakthrough. And what colours Les Siècles paint! Their oriental- ‘This was very important for me because it was the themed programme was my highlight from the 2017 beginning, not just because it was the first time I met BBC Proms, a delicious travelogue from Saint-Saëns’s the LSO and had an opportunity to conduct them, but Egyptian Piano Concerto No 5 to ballet music from because it was the first time I had even travelled to London! Delibes’s Lakmé and Lalo’s Namouna, all performed with Can you imagine? I was a young musician arriving at Gallic panache. The programme was Roth’s chapeau to Barbican tube station … it took me hours to find the hall! Brits such as Sir Thomas Beecham who championed this ‘The competition was very important because suddenly sort of repertoire when it was being neglected in France. I had confirmation that maybe I could really become Lemon-drop piquancy to the oboe, nutty woodwind a conductor. The management was very supportive in quite flavours, cinnamon-infused exotic percussion: it was a feast an old-fashioned way in not giving me too much, too soon. for the musical gourmet, capped off with a pulsating, I didn’t have 10 or 20 concerts, but instead I had the orgiastic Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila. chance to keep learning, to be an assistant conductor, Roth’s programming with Les Siècles is highly inventive. to observe, to shadow Sir Colin Davis and all the Who can forget their 2013 Prom which took the audience guest conductors like Pierre Boulez and Mariss Jansons. through the history of French dance, from Lully – Roth It was a great opportunity.’ beating time with a staff (thankfully not sharing Lully’s Roth’s burgeoning career took him to the BBC National fate of striking himself on the foot, cause of the gangrene Orchestra of Wales (as associate guest conductor), the which killed the composer) – through to Stravinsky and an Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (music director) and unforgettable account of Le sacre du printemps? In Paris in the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg January, he imaginatively paired Debussy with Boulez’s as the orchestra’s final principal conductor before it was Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna, the programme controversially merged with the Stuttgart RSO to form the preceded by a full gamelan introduction. How important SWR Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart. ‘It was a fight,’ is it for him to have that mix of ‘ancient and modern’? Roth admits, ‘and I wouldn’t accept the decision. I was ‘When I started to conduct, I was a little frustrated – HARTMUT NAEGELE HARTMUT totally against it. Unfortunately, we didn’t win, but I had as a music lover, as a student and as a concert-goer – that some wonderful years with them – we made great music I would hear the avant-garde, or the early Baroque, but together.’ The partnership yielded a distinguished five-disc only on very rare occasions could you experience these very

PHOTOGRAPHY: set of Strauss tone poems on Hänssler/SWR Music, but different kinds of music in the same concert. Here at the gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 21 FRANÇOIS-XAVIER ROTH

Cité de la Musique, before the Philharmonie was built, I heard the Ensemble Intercontemporain with Boulez sharing a programme with Les Arts Florissants and Bill Christie. Still, it was not the same players playing everything – it was two very different specialist groups! The perspectives it gave me were fantastic, though. Why should it be forbidden to have in the same concert musics which may be far apart chronologically, but which perhaps say the same things or try to reach the same goals?’ It is this philosophy that guides Roth. ‘We spend appointed principal guest a lot of time as musicians conductor) which garnered performing music which is critical plaudits. I saw the already known by audiences; middle concert of the three, so how is it possible to propose containing Prélude à L’après- a new perspective – for the midi d’un faune, Jeux and listener to experience music Nocturnes, the first two of they know already from which were being set down for different angles? I’m passionate a 2023 release on LSO Live. about programming and And here we both were again, it’s what is at the heart of three days later in Paris, Les Siècles. When we do where Roth was preparing to a programme like the Boulez– Recording Roth’s forthcoming Berlioz disc, with Stéphane Degout and Les Siècles perform Nocturnes once more, Debussy, I imagine it says a lot this time with Les Siècles, about how I see Debussy and how I see Boulez. It would have destined for release on Harmonia Mundi, where it will be been totally different if we had performed Nocturnes and La mer programmed with … Jeux and Prélude à L’après-midi d’un faune! with a more conservative 20th-century composer. So a certain Roth’s face creases into a smile and he giggles at the coincidence. perspective is given to the audience.’ In concert, the biggest difference in Nocturnes came in Roth and Les Siècles have already produced a superb ‘Sirènes’, the third movement. At the Barbican, Roth had the recording of La mer, and they plan to continue their recorded 60 ladies of the London Symphony Chorus, whose massed Ravel survey from which the first release – a scintillating ululations, I’m afraid, lacked allure. At the Philharmonie he Daphnis et Chloé – won the employed only 16 voices from Orchestral category at this ‘Considering what came before and after, the excellent Les Cris de year’s Gramophone Awards. Paris, split up and scattered Roth also has plans to mark the Fauneisnotthatprovocativeapiece–but among the orchestra, creating 150th anniversary of the death a mesmerising effect. of Berlioz, not least regarding it takes people by the hand to a new era’ Faune has been an the location of the composer’s important work for Roth, resting place. ‘Berlioz is still buried in Montmartre and a former flautist, since his student days. ‘When I started to I would love it if for this anniversary he could be moved to study it properly, I was at the Abbaye de Royaumont, close to the Panthéon. I’m going to start a lobbying campaign!’ And Paris, where there is a big Debussy archive. There are so many in terms of repertoire, Roth and Les Siècles have just recorded different versions! As a performer, it’s a nightmare to know Les nuits d’été (with baritone Stéphane Degout) and Harold en what Debussy wanted. Faune was a big success at its premiere Italie (with viola player Tabea Zimmermann), due for release but he was never happy with the final corrections in the score in January next year. But still he is impatient to explore new – he started to change things, to set precise tempi – so it’s territories with this orchestra; his plans include extending the difficult to decide what to do, how to conduct. Do you take Beethoven in their repertoire and performing works such as the his first gestures or his final views as an older composer? original, five-movement version of Mahler’s First Symphony. ‘When you play Faune, you have the feeling that suddenly Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms also beckon, along with the space changes in the room – there are no limits any more the Second Viennese School: ‘With the culture of this in the architecture of the venue itself because of the harmonies orchestra, I think this will be something very very special.’ and the sounds Debussy chooses. It is the beginning of At the start of this year, Roth’s focus returned to Debussy modern music – the use of harmony where tonality is not fixed in the months leading up to the centenary of the composer’s any more. It’s a prelude, but it’s nothing at all virtuoso or loud death. At the Barbican, he conducted a three-concert series to open a concert. It’s subtle, an evocation, suggestive’ – without with the London Symphony Orchestra (in his role as newly Mallarmé’s words being prescriptive, I add. ‘Exactly. When you

22 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk FRANÇOIS-XAVIER ROTH

‘I’m passionate about programming’: Roth is impatient to explore new territories

consider what came before or immediately after Faune, it’s not that provocative a piece, but it takes people by the hand to a new era.’ Roth is willing to stretch the silences between phrases by some distance, but his Faune is not unduly languorous. He has conducted three Nijinsky ballets – Faune, Jeux and Le sacre du

printemps – with reconstructions of Nijinsky’s choreography, 745408 [DVD] and recognises the tempo traps. ‘Because Faune is such gorgeous music, it has come to be performed slower and slower. Debussy’s indications are that he didn’t want it to be so slow and so heavy – this is not heavy music.’ ˜ Jeux received its premiere just a couple of weeks before 745504 [Blu-ray] Le sacre. It’s a ballet that doesn’t get danced much today and a score that doesn’t get played too often in concert either. ‘Selling it’ isn’t easy, admits Roth, who suggests its length is problematic for programmers: ‘Jeux is too long for a prelude to a concert, but too short for a main work. And it’s not music that provokes a big roar at the end – actually, quite the opposite. But “A rare gift.” when you get into the score, it is one of the most complicated to “Her many fans will relish this honest, imaginatively perform. So put all that together and it doesn’t encourage you!’ photographed and well-crafted road movie.” Debussy sets a tough challenge for the conductor of , Jeux Gramophone Editor’s Choice, November 2018 owing to the work’s myriad tempo changes. ‘There are so many things to digest as performers, such as understanding how the tempo flows and how the rubato is precisely written into the score. Boulez used to say that there is a “fragility” in the tempo NEW RELEASES 747608 [DVD] of Jeux – which is a very good word, because it is something 801208 [DVD] that is never fixed. Even if it’s a scherzo, the tempo moves a lot.’ However challenging the piece may be, Roth’s performance with Les Siècles at the Royal Festival Hall, ˜ ˜ 747704 [Blu-ray] London, in November 2016 was miraculous. As I wrote 801304 [Blu-ray] in a review at the time, I was immediately struck by the ‘diaphanous strings and perfumed woodwinds’ which ‘wove in and out the bosky shadows of Debussy’s erotically charged score’. The final string sigh – played as a tennis ball was tossed limply to the stage causing the startled trio to disperse – was also deliciously done. Roth suggests that, in terms of how the form of music could change, Jeux – even more than Prélude à L’après-midi d’un faune – was the big stone to cause ripples in the 20th-century pond. ‘When you talk about Sacre, its Available First time on DVD form is very old. It’s tableaux,’ he says. ‘With Jeux, it’s 30 November 2018 and Blu-ray a process of transformation which is totally new. Debussy JEAN-MARC BERNS, PHILIPPE STIRNWEISS PHILIPPE BERNS, JEAN-MARC isn’t looking back, this is music that’s constantly evolving. Jeux was an amazing statement of how the possibilities Marketed and distributed in the UK by of music could develop.’ Select Music and Video Distribution Ltd T: +44 (0)1737 645 600 ˜ E: [email protected]

PHOTOGRAPHY: To read Gramophone’s review of the Les Siècles Debussy disc, turn to page 61

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 23 BLUE HERON

Out of the blue The devotion of Gramophone Award-winning US vocal ensemble Blue Heron to the restoration of the Peterhouse Partbooks and other ‘new’ early music is setting them apart, finds Fabrice Fitch

ntil a mere few months ago, relatively few in love with it, and the audience really felt its power – Aston listeners this side of the pond would have heard speaks with such a distinct, emotional voice. Well, I’d read of the American vocal ensemble Blue Heron. in the edition that the tenor part had been restored because The announcement of the shortlist for the the partbook containing it had been lost, and that there were 2018 Gramophone Awards changed all that, about seventy other pieces in the collection, including entire and in September it became the first ever masses, and I thought: “We should do more.” Not long Unon-European group to top the voting in the Early Music afterwards, I wrote to the editor, Nick Sandon, who confirmed category. That it did so with a recording whose centrepiece my impression that nobody else was performing this music, is a mass by an unknown composer is surely another first. let alone recording it, and I saw an opportunity.’ Its Award-winning disc is the fifth of a set devoted to the As anyone who has heard Blue Heron’s recordings will know, Peterhouse Partbooks, a repertory that until recently could the Peterhouse Partbooks are indeed a treasure trove. Their not even be performed – a seemingly inauspicious start to current location in one of the University of Cambridge’s smaller a triumphant collaboration between a performing ensemble and colleges gives the impression of a relatively peripheral source, but Nick Sandon, a prominent scholar of English Renaissance music. Sandon believes that they were compiled for use at Canterbury I asked the ensemble’s director, Scott Metcalfe (pictured above, Cathedral, no less, through the agency of a lay clerk who brought far right), how it all came about. ‘It goes back to the lead-up to the music with him from Magdalen College, Oxford. If Sandon’s our very first concert in 1999; we wanted to perform English hypothesis is correct (his reasoning is lucidly and engagingly set Renaissance polyphony, but before Byrd and Tallis. I was out in his annotations to the recordings), then the partbooks are leafing through music in my local music shop and found this anything but peripheral. In fact, the cross-section of music they score of Hugh Aston’s Ave Maria dive matris Anne. I’d vaguely contain is hugely significant, bearing witness to the late flowering heard of Aston, so I took the piece home and read through it, of Catholic liturgical music in the last years of Henry VIII, a keen and it made a very strong impression. We performed it, we fell musician and a religious conservative for all the revolution he had

24 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk BLUE HERON

unleashed. Like the Eton Choirbook a couple of generations Given his importance to the project, it’s fitting that Sandon before, they contain music by the elder statesmen of the time was on hand when Metcalfe received the Gramophone Award in (Fayrfax was dead, and the careers of Taverner and Ludford had London in September, for the result is a series equal in scope and run their courses) alongside works by obscure composers such as ambition to the five-disc set devoted to the Eton Choirbook by Hugh Sturmy; but unlike Eton, they also contain anonymous Christ Church Cathedral Choir. (Intriguingly, the emphasis on works, for example the unnamed Mass recorded on Blue Heron’s previously unrecorded pieces from Eton is another connection Award-winning disc. There is no problem performing the music between the projects, as is the overall timescale of the releases.) that the partbooks share with other sources; but because of that But the Eton Choirbook is a known quantity in early music missing tenor book in particular, the 50 or so pieces that exist circles, as is the choir that Stephen Darlington led for many only there couldn’t be performed – including Masses by Ludford, years; Blue Heron, by contrast, is a self-publishing ensemble, two of which feature in Blue Heron’s set. Hence the significance relying as much as anything on the support of donors and patrons. of the collaboration between Sandon and the ensemble, which I asked Metcalfe about Blue Heron’s championing of Renaissance makes available for the first time a repertory that is both polyphony stateside. ‘It’s a harder sell with concert promoters than historically important and on a very high level artistically. it is with audiences; when people actually come into contact with Following its first concert, Blue Heron established itself in Renaissance polyphony they’re won over. But there is a flowering the Boston area, eventually making its first recording (songs and of professional vocal ensembles in the US at the moment, all motets of Du Fay) in 2006. Meanwhile, the Peterhouse project contributing to create a culture in which vocal chamber music bubbled away in the background. Metcalfe kept in touch with is rightfully regarded as the equal of the standard instrumental Sandon, and Blue Heron carried on performing from his editions. repertoire. What sets Blue Heron apart, I think, is that we focus The first recording of the series was issued in 2010, with the later on chamber music more than on “choral” music (although the volumes appearing every couple of years. For Sandon, who had Peterhouse project may give the opposite impression) and that, been working on reconstructing the Peterhouse repertory on his more like a new-music ensemble than a traditional early music own for many years, the contact ensemble, we mostly present with Blue Heron, and with ‘Morelikeanew-musicensemble,Blue repertoire that hasn’t been Metcalfe, was transformative. performed much, if at all; ‘Previously, my evaluation of Heronpresentsrepertoirethathasn’tbeen and the Peterhouse set the music was based on what does accurately represent I could hear in my head, my performed much, if at all’ – Scott Metcalfe, director our commitment to own amateur performances “new” early music.’ and a few single performances of variable quality by professional Dovetailing with the Peterhouse project is an ambitious ensembles. For the first time, somebody showed sustained undertaking to perform all of Ockeghem’s music in a series interest, asked penetrating questions and made perceptive of 13 concerts, alongside music from his contemporaries suggestions, which I found enormously reassuring. Hearing the that inspired it or complement it significantly. At the time of superlative performances by Blue Heron has convinced me that our interview, Blue Heron was preparing to record all the this music is as good as – sometimes even better than – I always composer’s songs (of which this writer has in fact edited thought it was, and that the best of my restorations really are as a couple); discs of highlights from his sacred music will follow. idiomatic as I tried to make them. The prospect of performance But for all the group’s emphasis on historically informed and recording and the existence of deadlines are also great performance, Metcalfe’s approach is anything but dogmatic, incentives towards publication and revision. I’m glad that as the videos occasionally released on YouTube demonstrate. Blue Heron’s interest in particular pieces has given me an ‘For the sacred music, there’s little doubt that all-vocal excuse to revisit some of the restorations that I published performance works best, but when it comes to the songs, fairly early in the series, because with several decades’ further there are some that we’ve tried several ways: with instruments, experience I have been able to improve them significantly.’ or with just voices, the voices all singing text, or with the text I asked Sandon how he reimagines those missing voices. ‘Well, sung in only one voice and the others vocalised. It’s not always stylish restoration requires one to observe and react on several possible to say which is the most likely or appropriate; you go levels at once: how the composer is shaping and pacing the with what seems to fit the music best. Our ideal is to adapt our overall musical discourse; what the extant voices imply about the collective sound as much as possible to the music we’re singing, original scoring and the position of the missing voices within the and specifically to be guided by the language. The way words texture. One also has to imagine as accurately as possible in one’s are spoken affects how the music sits in the voice, and although head the sound of what remains of the original vocal complex, we can’t transform ourselves into native French, Spanish or and predict how various ways of completing the texture will Italian speakers, getting as close as we can really helps us change how it sounds. The best substitute for a well-trained with musical articulation, direction and pacing.’ When I press aural imagination is a competent group of singers: playing Metcalfe to define the group’s approach more precisely, he uses alternatives through at the keyboard will give a very misleading words that one no longer hears that often from the mouths idea of how they will sound on voices, and mechanical playback of performers. ‘At the end of the day we’re really hardcore through a lifeless synthesised vocal ensemble may obscure performance practice people. Not because it’s “authentic” gestures and details that would be very telling in a performance or because we’re trying to “recreate” anything, but because by intelligent singers. Scott and Blue Heron have often finding out as much as we can about past ways of making music astonished me by finding even more in my restorations than can open up for us new ways of hearing things, new ways of I knew to be present.’ So is it genuinely a two-way process, then? singing and new means of expression.’ LIZ LINDER Metcalfe agrees: ‘Nick’s constantly revising; tiny changes that ‘The Lost Music of Canterbury: Music from the Peterhouse Partbooks’, appear insignificant in the context of a bar somehow end up a five-disc set of all the music released on individual discs between affecting the entire piece. So he’s always changing things, every 2010 and 2017, including the Gramophone Award-winning CD,

PHOTOGRAPHY: time he reprints the music – trying to make things work better.’ is out now on the Blue Heron label, containing a new, unified booklet

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 25 MUSIC COMPETITIONS GUIDE It’s not only first-class musicians who can participate in international music competitions these days – with an increasing number being live-streamed, just about anyone can watch. Our international guide includes information on how to enter, and how to be in the audience

Dame Felicity Lott applauds the Second Prize-winner, baritone John Brancy, at the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition in September 2017 UK GUIDE BBC Cardif Singer of the World College of Music & Drama is January 1, 2020, this biennial young European Union-based Next competition: June 15-22, 2019 home to the Song Prize rounds, competition celebrated its 40th conductors who make it Application deadline: now closed while St David’s Hall is the venue year in 2018 when it was won through to the finals of this The 2019 edition of this major for the main prize rounds and by 16-year-old pianist Lauren biennial competition run by the biennial competition sees the both finals. Needless to say, Zhang. It has a habit of making LSO because the winner is return of its two resident however, if you can’t make it to stars of its winners, as proved by named as the LSO’s assistant orchestras, the BBC National Cardif the BBC airwaves will be its distinguished laureates and conductor; previous winners Orchestra of Wales and the awash with the competition and the success of its recent winners include LSO Principal Guest Welsh National Opera Orchestra, you can catch it on radio, TV such as Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Conductor François-Xavier Roth. and also its two accompanists, and online across the week. bbc.co.uk/programmes/ lso.co.uk/lso-discovery/donatella- Lly^r Williams and Simon Lepper. bbc.co.uk/cardiffsinger b00bb3wt flick-lso-conducting-competition It’s worth making the trip to Cardif too, because the city also BBC Young Musician of the Year Donatella Flick/LSO Early Music Young Ensemble plays host to a good list of Next competition: 2020 Conducting Competition Competition surrounding fringe events such Applications deadline: see website Next competition: Next competition: Autumn 2020 as films, recitals, masterclasses Open to string, percussion, November 2020 Applications deadline: see website and talks. As for the actual woodwind, brass and keyboard Applications deadline: see website Launched in November 2018, competition, the Royal Welsh players aged 18 or under on The stakes are high for the three this biennial competition is part

26 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk MUSIC COMPETITIONS UK GUIDE 2018

of the Early Music Shop’s 50th RPO plus other engagements St Albans International Organ wigmore-hall.org.uk/song- anniversary celebrations. It’s in the UK and USA. Competition competition open to ensembles of all hastingsconcertocompetition. Next competition: July 8-20, 2019 nationalities of two or more co.uk Applications deadline: March 22, Windsor Festival International players whose average age is 2019 String Competition under 30. Repertoire needs to Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Open to organists of all Next competition: be pre-1800, but musicians Scholarship Fund Competition nationalities born after July 20, March 23-29, 2019 need to show potential for Next competition: 1986, this competition is part of Applications deadline: playing a contemporary piece April 24 & 26, 2019 the St Albans International December 1, 2018 written for period instruments. Applications deadline: Organ Festival. Highlights for This biennial competition The 2018 competition took February 1, 2019 2019 include a new commission hosted by Windsor Castle, place in Blackheath; judges Held every year, this competition from UK composer Matthew launched in 2008 as a tribute to Emma Kirkby, James Johnstone is open to singers of any Martin, and beyond the main Yehudi Menuhin, counts among and Tom Beets awarded a first nationality who have completed rankings the Tournemire Prize its previous winners the prize of £1500 and a recital at at least one year of continuous for improvisation. There’s also violinists Nathan Meltzer, Jiyoon the London Exhibition of higher-level study in the UK or the opportunity for competitors Lee and Benjamin Baker. The Early Music 2019. Republic of Ireland at a to take some particularly nice first prize for the 2019 earlymusicshop.com/pages/ recognised conservatoire or organs for a spin because competition includes a concert early-music-young-ensemble- music school and are currently beyond the finals on the Harris date for the winner to return to competition resident in that territory. It’s a & Harris organ of St Alban’s Windsor to play a concerto with high-profile list of former Cathedral, the semifinal takes the competition’s associate Handel Singing Competition prize-winners too, including place in Christ Church orchestra, the Philharmonia. Next competition: Karen Cargill, Ben Johnson, Spitalfields on its restored 1735 Also on ofer is a solo recording first round February 6-8, semi- Robin Tritschler and pianist Richard Bridge organ. Another opportunity with Champs Hill final March 5, final April 6, 2019 James Baillieu. Following draw for ambitious organists will Records, and a fine Applications deadline: see website auditions in March, the semi- be the fact that the final rounds contemporary bow. The Established in 2002, this vocal finals and finals take place before consist not simply of solo semi-finals will be live-streamed, competition for singers aged a public audience at Wigmore interpretation and improvisation and the final will either be between 23 and 34 attracts Hall. First prize is £12,500, finals, but also a concerto final live-streamed or available to some 150 international second is £6000, plus there’s with St James’s Baroque watch soon afterwards. competitors. Past finalists the Ferrier Loveday Song Prize directed by James O’Donnell. windsorfestival.com/ include Iestyn Davies, Ruby of £5000 and an accompanist’s organfestival.com/St_ international-string-competition Hughes and Lucy Crowe. Its prize of £5000, awarded Albans_International_Organ_ final at St George’s Hanover through Help Musicians UK. Festival/2019-competitions.html York Early Music International Square, where finalists are ferrierawards.org.uk Young Artists Competition accompanied by the London Wigmore Hall/Independent Next competition: July 11-13, 2019 Handel Orchestra under RNCM James Mottram Opera International Song Applications deadline: Laurence Cummings, is open to International Piano Competition January 18, 2019 the public as part of the annual Competition Next competition: Based at York’s National Centre London Handel Festival. First Next competition: September 7-11, 2019 for Early Music, this biennial prize is £5000; second is £2000. November 2020 Applications deadline: period-performance london-handel-festival.com/page/ Applications deadline: see website March 15, 2019 competition takes place as part competition/24/ This major biennial event ofers This biennial competition is of York’s Early Music Festival an all-round learning experience open to singers and pianists and invites applications from Hastings International Piano for pianists under the age of 30 from around the world, aged 33 instrumental and vocal Competition from all over the world, mixing or under, who are keen to ensembles comprising two or Next competition: opportunities to perform on embark on significant recital more musicians whose average February 21 – March 2, 2019 the concert platform with a careers. Among the cash prizes age is 32 or under. First prize is a Applications deadline: see website series of masterclasses given for singers are first, second and CD recording with Linn Records, Entrants attend auditions in by a distinguished international third prizes of £10,000, £5000 £1000 cash and a paid concert China, Japan, Italy, UK and USA, jury. The competition final and £2500 respectively. There’s at the 2020 York Early Music or submit video applications, for in the RNCM Concert Hall is also a pianist’s prize of £5000. Festival. The judging panel is the chance to compete in two accompanied by a full orchestra, Furthermore, the competition one young artists will want to be concerto stages and a solo which for 2018 was the Royal has a seriously high-profile set heard by too, given that it’s recital before an international Liverpool Philharmonic of jury members, including John Elizabeth Kenny, Bart Demuyt of jury, helmed by artistic director Orchestra under Robert Spano, Mark Ainsley, Ian Burnside, the Alamire Foundation/AMUZ Frank Wibaut. Six pianists will with the event recorded for Bernarda Fink, John Gilhooly, (Antwerp), Barbara Willi be chosen to play with the broadcast on Classic FM. There’s Graham Johnson, Felicity Lott, (harpsichordist/teacher at the RPO across a two-night final also a first prize of £10,000, and Thomas Quasthof and Ailish Hague & in Brno), Göttingen BENJAMIN EALOVEGA EALOVEGA BENJAMIN in the White Rock Theatre the chance to gain a scholarship Tynan. If you can’t be there in Handel Festival director Tobias beginning on March 1. First prize to the Royal Northern College person, Wigmore Hall will be Wolf, and Philip Hobbs from is £15,000 and the opportunity of Music. streaming the semi-finals and Linn Records.

PHOTOGRAPHY: to give two concerts with the rncm.ac.uk/jmipc-info/ finals on its website. yorkcomp.ncem.co.uk

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 27 MUSIC COMPETITIONS GUIDE 2018 Winning is just the beginning The Leeds International Piano Competition has been revamped and now boasts live streaming plus label and management deals for the winner. Simon Broughton reports from the event

international pianists; the introduction of chamber music performance in the third round; a CD release of Leeds performances on Warner; and a management contract with Askonas Holt to help longer- term career development. Co-artistic director and pianist Paul Lewis was one of the first artists selected by Gatehouse (in 1999) for the BBC’s Young Generation Artists. ‘It might seem rather perverse of me, but I was never a fan of competitions,’ he says. ‘So when the suggestion was made for me to get involved, I thought, why not make it into something that goes beyond the Clear winner: 20-year-old Eric Lu, whose performance of Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto showed ‘clarity and maturity’ competition, so that it’s about partnerships, collaboration and hen I was a kid, I really believed in competitions. connecting with people? The idea is that it can be more than Perhaps this is something to do with the a competition and be of relevance and benefit to the community.’ ‘WAsian mentality – I want to be number one,’ The partnerships that Gatehouse and Lewis have put in place says Lang Lang ,with a twinkle in his eye. ‘But over the years, will bring follow-up concerts to BBC Radio 3 and Wigmore we grow up, and we know that competitions are not just about Hall, and performances with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic competing. It’s more about learning from each other, Orchestra and the Hallé, as well as concert dates in Europe exchanging musical ideas and having a platform for you to and South Korea organised by Steinway. shine!’ Lang Lang is talking in Leeds where he’s presenting ‘The combination of the local and international was the prizes at the Leeds International Piano Competition. a perfect balance for Warner,’ says Patrick Lemanski, Head Of course, competitions can be controversial. Is the pressure of Classics at Warner UK. ‘At Warner we love the piano, good for artists? How do you rank one pianist against another? we have fantastic artists on the roster and we like to find Do they produce the right winners? and nurture new talent. We’ve noticed that the most successful The Leeds competition, which takes place every three years, sub-genre in streaming classical music is piano – so of course was started in 1963 by piano teacher Fanny Waterman who is we’re interested in new artists [on that instrument].’ still very much a presence, aged 98. But although the occasion In the small print, Warner and Askonas Holt have a clause so launched many of today’s big names in the early years – that they don’t necessarily have to go with the first prizewinner Murray Perahia, Mitsuko Uchida and András Schiff among but can choose one of the others if they wish. ‘That’s totally many others – there was a feeling that its strike rate had understandable,’ says Lewis. ‘The chemistry has to be right. become less successful. So, for the 19th edition last September, What comes out of the jury vote will come out – there are nine there was a bit of a revamp, following the appointment of new different opinions and angles. If Askonas and Warner feel suited artistic co-directors Adam Gatehouse and Paul Lewis in 2016. better to one of the other prizewinners, that’s fine. It’s important ‘We took a long hard look at it and felt we needed to make it they choose who they want to work with and promote.’ fit for purpose in the 21st century,’ says Gatehouse, who The nine Leeds judges are mainly pianists, although violinist for 14 years led the New Generation Artists scheme at Henning Kraggerud is there ‘to listen to the musicality and not BBC Radio 3. ‘One of the first things we agreed was that be distracted by technique’ and Gillian Moore CBE is Head of we had to have it streamed globally, and our partnership with Classical Music at London’s Southbank Centre, where the medici.tv is absolutely central to that. Already, we’ve had winner will give a solo recital in 2020. over half a million people watching in 130 or 140 countries. Pianist and jury member Lars Vogt, a Leeds prizewinner in Already, this has made a significant impact.’ 1990, is also ambivalent about the traditional competition Other innovations include the first rounds being held in model because opinions are subjective and ‘making music is not Berlin, Singapore and New York to strengthen the selection of a sport’. Another pianist on the jury, meanwhile – Sa Chen,

28 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk MUSIC COMPETITIONS GUIDE 2018

who won prizes at the Leeds, Chopin and Van Cliburn – feels surprise he also won the Yaltah Menuhin Award for the that one of the benefits of Leeds is the sheer quantity of music chamber music performance. you are obliged to learn. ‘You can gain a lot of new repertoire First prizewinner was Eric Lu, 20 – the youngest of all the 68 and get tremendous experience on the concert platform,’ she competitors selected to take part in the competition. He played says. ‘A competition opens many doors for more people to hear Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto with an astonishing clarity and you and to understand you as an artist; it allows you to test maturity, conjuring a rapt stillness in the hall. The competition yourself to see if you’re ready for a career.’ won’t reveal how the jury voted, but suggestions are that Lu The range of music you have to learn is also something that’s was the clear winner. It just goes to show that it’s not age or mentioned by one of the competitors, Aljo≈a Jurini´cfrom experience that counts, but some special artistry alongside Croatia. ‘Even if you don’t win a prize, all this repertoire is a formidable technique. Askonas Holt and Warner confirmed worth having,’ he says. And all the finalists mention the relaxed that they were delighted to work with Lu, also a prizewinner and friendly nature of the competition. Over 10 days in Leeds, at the Chopin International Competition in 2015. they are all staying at the university and certainly appreciate the Just six days after the final, Warner put out a single from supportive atmosphere. Lu’s full Leeds album (which itself was released November 2), The grand interior of Leeds Town Hall, where the finals which includes that prizewinning performance of the took place, has a lively, sympathetic acoustic. The organ is an Beethoven Fourth plus Chopin’s Ballade No 4 and Piano extravagant backdrop with trumpeting angels and a white rose Sonata No 2 recorded from earlier rounds. It was the first in a of Yorkshire between the organ pipes. Draped either side were series of competition releases Warner has planned. the flags of 16 nations, from America to China, from the UK to Surprisingly, Eric Lu admitted to me afterwards that this Russia, representing the countries from which the pianists have was only the second time he’d played the concerto. He did it come. Some of the moralistic slogans on the wall – ‘Honesty is for the first time in a competition in China in March. the best Policy’, ‘Trial by Jury’ – seemed particularly Talking about his prizewinning performance in Leeds, he said: appropriate as the judges sat in the first row of the balcony to ‘I actually felt not too nervous when I started the Beethoven. hear the pianists go through their paces in concertos by I fell in love with the music. That’s what I was thinking to Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Prokofiev, each of them myself as I was playing it.’ playing a different work, all backed by the Hallé Orchestra Adam Gatehouse and Paul Lewis certainly seem happy with conducted by Edward Gardner. the choice. ‘It’s not all about him. There’s no ego,’ says Lewis. Second prize went to Mario Häring, 28, from Germany. ‘It’s all about the music and that’s why he won the Leeds His performance of Beethoven’s First Concerto was beautifully International Piano Competition.’ Whether he’ll become shaped, but most striking for the way he engaged with and another star in the piano firmament only time will tell, but listened to the orchestra when he wasn’t playing. It’s no the buzz seems good.

LSO FUTURES Scriabin’s ‘The Poem of Ecstasy’ and music by Philippe Manoury, Donghoon Shin & David Lang FRANÇOIS-XAVIER Sunday 24 March, Barbican

PANUFNIK COMPOSERS WORKSHOP Monday 25 March, LSO St Luke’s

RAVEL TRIPLE BILL Rhapsodie espagnole, Boléro, L’Heure espagnole Thursday 25 April, Barbican

lso.co.uk/201819season ALLAN MCKENZIE/SWPIX.COM PHOTOGRAPHY:

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 29

MUSIC COMPETITIONS EUROPE GUIDE 2018 EUROPE GUIDE International Chamber Music Competition ‘Franz Schubert and Modern Music’ Next competition: February 6-15, 2021 Applications deadline: see website Established by the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz in 1989, this triennial competition invites young ensembles from all over the world to compete within a multi-day festival of chamber music which has around €100,000 of prize money on ofer. schubert.kug.ac.at/competition

Carl Nielsen International Competition Next competition: March 21-31, 2019 Applications deadline: now closed Jiyoon Lee, winner of the 2016 Carl Nielsen Competition; along with fellow winner Liya Petrova, she has featured as a One to Watch The 2016 joint winners of this Odense-based competition – ARD International Music Bartók World Competition Romantic, 20th-century and violinists Jiyoon Lee and Liya Competition and Festival contemporary, plus oratorio Petrova – have both been Ones Next competition: Next competition: and opera. It’s open to aspiring to Watch in our pages in recent September 2-20, 2019 September 7-15, 2019 professional conductors under months with their recent Applications deadline: Applications deadline: see website 35, whatever their training or recordings, so this is certainly March 31, 2019 This new Hungarian experience so far; no previous a competition whose winners Based in Munich, this is competition, run by The Liszt diploma is required. In 2017 are worth keeping an eye on. Germany’s largest classical Academy, was launched in 2017 it was won by a Brit, Ben It’s all change this year too, music competition, with a starry to mark the 135th anniversary of Glassberg. After preliminaries because while traditionally this roster of high-profile previous Bartók’s death. It is structured in held in Beijing, Montreal, Berlin competition has rotated its winners that include Jessye a six-year cycle around the most and Besançon, 20 candidates disciplines annually, in 2019 Norman, Christoph Eschenbach characteristic strands of Bartók’s are selected for the orchestral it will for the first time run its and Mitsuko Uchida. It’s open to oeuvre – piano, violin, chamber rounds in Besançon in violin, clarinet and flute musicians aged between 17 and music and composition – with September, competing for competitions concurrently. 29 who are ready to launch an the instrumental competitions a grand prize of €12,000 The judges are a seriously international career. Disciplines taking place biennially, and advice and coaching high-profile group too: rotate from year to year, but punctuated by composer from Aimée Paret. Nikolaj Znaider is competition for 2019 the focus is on competitions that relate to the festival-besancon.com president, alongside artistic cello, bassoon, clarinet and forthcoming instrumental advisors Martin Fröst and percussion. The judges are category. For 2019, piano year, Bradshaw & Buono Emmanuel Pahud. First prize is a high-profile bunch too, the repertoire list includes the International Competition €12,000 cash and a recording including Milan Turkovic and winning piece from the 2018 Winners announced: May 7, 2019 deal with Orchid Classics Rachel Gough (bassoon), Li Biao composition competition, Applications deadline: worth €13,000, plus concert and Gert Mortensen (percussion), written in the spirit of Bartók. April 8, 2019 appearances with up to Shirley Brill and Eric Hoeprich bartokworldcompetition.hu In an unusual format, this 10 orchestras and festivals, (clarinet), and Ophélie Gaillard international competition, which including the Odense and Pieter Wispelwey (cello). Besançon International is open to pianists and singers, Symphony Orchestra, Each category’s list of cash Competition for Young has no live rounds. Instead it’s all Gothenburg Symphony awards is topped by a €10,000 Conductors done by video selection. Orchestra and the Oslo first prize, and you can watch it Next competition: However, the first prize is one Philharmonic. Those even if you’re not in Germany, September 2019 well worth having: the winning who can’t attend the as the semi-finals, finals and Applications deadline: see website pianist or singer will be ofered competition in person can CARL NIELSEN COMPETITION NIELSEN CARL prizewinners’ concerts are This French biennial conducting a solo recital debut at none other catchitonmedici.tv and streamed live on the competition puts its applicants than Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. also on the competition’s competition’s website. through their paces, with alexanderbuono.com/piano- own website.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ard-musikwettbewerb.de a repertoire spanning Classical, competition carlnielsencompetition.com

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 31 MUSIC COMPETITIONS EUROPE GUIDE 2018

Clara Haskil Piano Competition Open to pianists born between Geneva International Applications deadline: Next competition: 1989 and 2004, this biennial Music Competition January 31, 2019 August 24-30, 2019 French competition awards Next competition: Held annually since 1971, this Applications deadline: cash prizes, including, for first November 7-21, 2019 Belgrade competition hosted by April 10, 2019 place, €7000 along with Applications deadline: the Ilija Milosavljević Kolarac Open to pianists born after concert engagements at May 2, 2019 Foundation rotates disciplines December 31, 1991, this festivals such as Concerts Founded in 1939, this between flute, guitar, piano and competition is hosted in the Classiques d’Epinal and competition’s disciplines rotate cello. It’s the turn of pianists in Swiss town of Vevey, where Rencontres Internationales annually, and its list of 2019, inviting musicians aged pianist Clara Haskil lived from de Musique de Mirecourt. distinguished laureates includes less than 35 at the competition’s 1942 until her death. The jury is concours-international-piano- Martha Argerich, Emmanuel beginning to compete for some an impressive one, presided epinal.org Pahud and Georg Solti. The 2019 major cash prizes. over by Christian Zacharias, competition is for percussionists muzicka-omladina.org with Aleksandar Madžar Enescu Competition and composers. Members of also among their number. Next competition: 2020 the percussion jury, presided International Joseph Joachim The competition makes one Applications deadline: see website over by Philippe Spiesser, Chamber Music Competition main award, a cash prize of Open to violinists, pianists, include Daniel Druckman and Next competition: CHF 25,000 and various cellists and composers born Fritz Hauser, and finalists have a March 31 –April 7, 2019 concert engagements. on or after August 1, 1985, this chance to perform with the Applications deadline: The other finalists receive biennial competition is part of Orchestre de la Suisse Romande January 12, 2019 CHF 5,000 each. Other awards the George Enescu International under Julien Leroy. Composers Hosted by Weimar’s Liszt include an audience prize and Festival, the largest international meanwhile must write a work University, in 2019 this triennial one for best interpretation of cultural event organised in for oboe and ensemble, and competition is open to string the competition commission, Romania, and ofers cash prizes they will be judged by a jury trios and string quartets, and which for 2019 is by Thierry totalling €115,000. presided over by Kaija Saariaho piano trios and piano quartets, Eschaich, who consequently festivalenescu.ro/en/ and including Julian Anderson. whose members were born also sits on the jury. The finals, competition-2018 The winning composition after April 1, 1979. Even the with orchestra, are broadcast carries a CHF 15,000 cash prize competition’s most recent by Radio Télévision Suisse Ferrucio Busoni International and will be performed at the laureates have enjoyed steadily on Espace 2. Piano Competition 2020 oboe competition. Radio rising careers; 2016’s winners, clara-haskil.ch Next competition: Télévision Suisse will broadcast the Aris Quartet, the Amatis August 27 – September 6, 2021 both finals live on Espace 2. Piano Trio and Quartet Berlin- Concours International de Applications deadline: There are also plans to stream Tokyo, are a case in point. This Piano May 1, 2020, for the 2021 the finals and possibly other year the jury, which is presided Next competition: June 8-15, 2019 competition preselections percussion events. over by the university’s Applications deadline: Part of the South Tyrolean concoursgeneve.ch professor of violin Anne-Kathrin April 20, 2019 Bolzano Festival Bozen, this Lindig, will be awarding various The Salle Malesherbes, set competition, which is open to ‘Giorgos Thymis’ International prizes including a top award of amid the splendour of Maisons pianists aged under 30, includes Piano Competition €10,000. The second and final Lafitte, just outside Paris, is Martha Argerich and Alfred Next competition: rounds will be live streamed on the atmospheric venue for this Brendel among its previous January 10-18, 2019 the website. international piano competition laureates. It operates in two-year Applications deadline: hfm-weimar.de/joachim whose honorary president is cycles, the first featuring the December 15, 2018 Anne Quefélec. Unusually, the pre-selections for 100 pianists, Open to pianists of any nation International Vocal competition has a category and the second for which 27 born on or after January 10, Competition 's-Hertogenbosch for amateur pianists with pianists have been shortlisted. 1986, this Thessaloniki Next Competition: a minimum age of 25, as well as It’s a finalists’ year in 2019, which competition ofers a top prize November 18-24, 2019 for professional concert artists will culminate in a grand final for of €5000 along with a concerto Applications open January 2019 aged 32 or under. The jury the last three candidates. They engagement with the Founded in 1954, this is the includes Isabelle Lafitte, and will perform concertos with the Thessaloniki State Symphony Netherlands’ only classical vocal the prizes on ofer are generous, Haydn Orchestra in the Civic Orchestra and solo recitals in competition. It encompasses with €7600 in cash, 11 recitals Theatre (Teatro Comunale), the Thessaloniki Concert Hall oratorio and art song as well as including one with an orchestra competing for generous and one other Greek city, plus opera, with an additional focus in Hungary, one masterclass cash prizes including a first of another European country. on contemporary music. For the and one musical training award. €22,000. The finals will be live- Among the judging panel 2019 competition, Lieder also concoursdepiano.com streamed on the competition’s are Cyprien Katsaris and comes to the forefront. website, Facebook page and Georgios Konstantinidis. ivc.nu Epinal International dedicated YouTube channel. thymiscompetition.gr Piano Competition concorsobusoni.it; Khachaturian International Next competition: facebook.com/Busoni.Piano. International Jeunesses Competition March 22-31, 2019 Competition; Musicales Competition Belgrade Next competition: June 6-14, 2019 Applications deadline: youtube.com/user/ Next competition: Applications deadline: February 15, 2019 BusoniInternational/ March 21-30, 2019 April 25, 2019

32 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk

Piano Trio Voice Quintet Wind Oboe Trumpet Piano Percussion Viola Clarinet Flute Violoncello Bassoon Trombone Harp Horn French Piano Duo String Quartet Violin Double Bass Organ Guitar

68th ARD International Music Competition Munich September 2 to 20, 2019

Sophie Dartigalongue 2nd prize 2013

István Várdai 1st prize 201

Simone Rubino 1st prize 201 Application deadline: March 31, 2019

Violoncello Bassoon Clarinet Annelien vanPercussion Wauwe 2nd prize 2012 www.ard-musikwettbewerb.de MUSIC COMPETITIONS EUROPE GUIDE 2018

This is an annual Yerevan-based competition whose disciplines rotate annually between piano, violin, cello, voice and conducting. Pianists aged between 16 and 32 and of all nationalities are the focus for 2019 competition. The top cash award, in local currency, is the equivalent of US$15,000, plus concert opportunities. Second is the equivalent of US$10,000, and third US$5,000. khachaturian-competition.com

Liszt Competition Next competition: March 16-28, 2020 Applications deadline: 1 May 2019 The next edition of this Utrecht-based piano competition-festival at TivoliVrendenburg is for the first The winner of the 2016 Mahler Competition, Kahchun Wong; previous winners include Gustavo Dudamel and Lahav Shani time centred around a theme: ‘Beethoven seen through the streamed by DueErre takes place triennially, it has just The semi-final (held on eyes of Liszt’. The three finalists Produzioni Multimediali been put back a further year to October 24) and the final will be accompanied by the livornopianocompetition.com 2020. So keep checking the concert (on October 26) will Netherlands Radio Philharmonic website address for updates. both be live-streamed on the Orchestra and judged by an Lyons International Chamber bamberger-symphoniker.de/ competition website. international panel that includes Music Competition en.html neue-stimmen.de Idil Biret and Leslie Howard. Next competition: April 23-27, 2019 International selection rounds Applications deadline: Michele Pittaluga International International Paderewski take place in September 2019 in January 15, 2019 Guitar Competition Piano Competition New York, Moscow, Tbilisi, Established in 2004, this Next competition: September 2019 Next competition: Beijing, Hong Kong and Utrecht. chamber music competition Applications deadline: see website November 10-24, 2019 liszt.nl focuses on a diferent This important classical guitar Applications deadline: instrumental grouping each year. competition, which takes place April 20, 2019 Livorno Piano Competition It’s the turn of voice and piano annually in Alessandria, Open to pianists born between January 21-26, 2019 in 2019; artists aged 33 and Piedmont, marks its 52nd 1987 and 2003, this Polish Applications deadline: under can enter, to compete for edition in 2019. The first prize is competition was first launched December 10, 2019 €26,000 of cash prizes plus €10,000, a concert tour and a to commemorate the pianist, This, the third edition of the recital engagements and a recording contract with Naxos. composer and politician competition, is divided into two residency with concerts as part pittaluga.org Ignancy Jan Paderewski. strands. First, there’s the Young of the Belle Saison programme. It is under the joint organisation Livorno Piano Competition, There are big names on the jury, Neue Stimmen of the Paderewski Music which has six age categories. including baritone Andreas Next competition: Association, the Feliks The ‘Premio Enrico Galletta’ prize Schmidt, soprano Felicity Lott October 19-27, 2019 Nowowiejski Music Academy is for pianists born after January and pianist Charles Spencer. Applications deadline: and Bydgoszcz’s IJ Paderewski 1, 1997, for which there is a top The final is broadcast on France March 15, 2019 Philharmonic. Preliminary award of €500. The adult Musique, while the rounds are Held biennially with a jury auditions take place in May Livorno Piano Competition, live-streamed on NoMadMusic. chaired by Vienna State Opera 2019, in Vienna, New York, meanwhile, is open to pianists cimcl.fr director Dominique Meyer, Moscow, Warsaw, Brescia, born after January 1, 1986, this Gütersloh-based singing Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul. and the prizes on ofer include Mahler Competition competition is open to all The jury, chaired by the a first of €3000 plus concerts, Next competition: 2020 female singers aged 28 and competition’s artistic director a second and third prize of Applications deadline: see website younger, and all male singers Piotr Paleczny, includes Lilian €1500 and €1000 respectively, When previous winners of the aged 30 and under. Both Barretto and Michel Berof. plus special prizes. Chairing the Bamberg Symphony’s categories carry first prizes of Crowning what is a long list of jury is Daniel Rivera, and he’s conducting competition include €15,000, plus opportunities for cash awards is a first prize of MICHAEL TRIPPEL MICHAEL joined by Peter Grote, Wojchiek Gustavo Dudamel and Lahav concerts, coaching and career €30,000. The competition Świtala, Mariangela Vacatello Shani, it’s definitely one worth contacts. Second prizes are will also be streamed via and artistic director Carlo taking notice of. However while €10,000 and third €5000. its website.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Palese. The final will be this major competition usually There’s also an audience award. paderewskicompetition.pl

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 35 MUSIC COMPETITIONS EUROPE GUIDE 2018

do know is that it’s going to be bigger than ever. Unlike other competitions that rotate disciplines, the Tchaikovsky is more like a classical Olympic Games, encompassing all the major musical categories. Traditionally that’s been piano, voice, violin and cello, but for 2019 winds are being added to proceedings for the very first time. Plus – perhaps inspired by the football World Cup – the competition in 2019 will see new towns and venues added to the traditional Moscow and St Petersburg. Valery Gergiev will preside over the main jury, and you’ll be able to watch it all on medici.tv. tchaikovskycompetition.com

The South Korean tenor Seung Ju Bahg wins the Queen Sonja International Music Competition in Norway in August 2017 Tibor Varga International Violin Competition Sion Valais, Premio Paolo Borciani Queen Elisabeth Competition One of the world’s leading Switzerland Next competition: June 2020 Next competition: voice competitions, this takes Next competition: Applications deadline: see website April 29 – May 25, 2019 place biennially and is open to August 18-24, 2019 Taking place triennially at Applications deadline: singers born after January 1, Applications deadline: Teatro Municipale Valli in December 5, 2018 1987. Recent winners include April 15, 2019 Reggio Emilia, this international Disciplines of this annual soprano Lise Davidsen (2015), This biennial competition ofers string quartet competition competition rotate between who is newly signed to Decca finalists a chance to perform has a starry roster of previous pianists, violinists, singers and and who of course was with the Chamber Orchestra of winners including the Keller cellists. The 2019 competition Gramophone’s 2018 Young Lausanne. The jury, chaired by Quartet (1990), Artemis Quartet (the first under one of two new Artist of the Year. The grand final Georges Starobinski, includes (2007), and Pavel Haas Quartet jury chairmen, Gilles Ledure) is takes place at the Norwegian among its number Pavel (2005). The first prize is a real for violinists, and those who National Opera Orchestra, Vernikov and Qian Zhou. launching pad for a quartet’s make it to the final will be with the singers accompanied sion-concours.ch/ career, as it comprises a long performing in the Palais des by its orchestra. The judging tour encompassing Europe, Beaux-Arts with the Belgian panel chaired by Stockholm Top of the World Piano the United States and Japan. National Orchestra under Royal Opera CEO and artistic Competition Another interesting feature of Hugh Wolf. There is a long list director Birgitta Svendén Next competition: this competition is that each of awards: six oficial prized includes the future (2022) June 15-21, 2019 year its set repertoire includes rankings including the top opera director at Theater an Applications deadline: a new work, either especially Queen Mathilde International der Wien Stefan Herheim, and February 15, 2019 commissioned or recently Grand Prize of €25,000, and the list of prizes includes a cash Open to pianists of all written, from one of the world’s also cash prizes for the six first prize of €50,000. Those nationalities aged between 17 most esteemed and valued unranked laureates. There are not able to get to Norway can and 35, this competition takes living composers, for example, remote viewing options too: at watch the preliminary rounds, place in Norway’s midnight sun Thomas Adès in 2014 and the time of going to press there semi-final and masterclasses city, Tromsø. It’s biennial, but the Luciano Berio in 1997. are plans to live-stream the on the competition’s YouTube of-years are by no means quiet, www.iteatri.re.it semi-final and final on demand channel, and the final concert because the competition on the competition website, will be broadcast by the organises a youth masterclass Princess Astrid thanks to Proximus. Keep Norwegian Broadcasting with the previous year’s International Competition checking the website for Corporation (NRK). competition winner, to which Next competition: 2020 complete streaming and qsimc.no the Barent region’s great piano Applications deadline: see website broadcasting information. talents aged between 12-17 are Established in 1952, this biennial quimc.be Tchaikovsky Competition invited. The prizes ofered this competition hosted by Next competition: June 2019 year include a first of €30,000. Trondheim Symphony The Queen Sonja International Applications deadline: see website cash. Among the jury are Orchestra rotates between violin Music Competition, Norway As we go to press, the details Achille Gallo, Diane Anderson, KRISTOFFERSEN NYHEIM MARIUS and conducting, with the violin Next competition: of this major quadrennial Einer Steen-Nøkleberg being the focus for 2020. August 13-23, 2019 competition are yet to be and Janina Fialkowska.

tso.no Applications deadline: April 1, 2019 announced. However what we topoftheworld.no PHOTOGRAPHY:

36 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk THE QUEEN SONJA INTERNATIONAL MUSIC COMPETITION OSLO, 13 – 23 AUGUST 2019 Chetham’s International An opportunity of a lifetime! Summer School & Festival for Pianists 2019 VOICE Artistic Director: Murray McLachlan 2019

Also featuring the 6th Manchester International Concerto Competition for Young Pianists

Part One: 15–21August 2019 The Part Two: 21–27 August 2019 Friendliest Artists include: Piano Summer KatyaApekisheva, Paul Badura-Skoda, School in the Joseph Banowetz, Philippe Cassard, World! Peter Donohoe, Philip Fowke, Peter Frankl, Leslie Howard, Nikki Iles, Eugen Indjic, Eric Lu, Leon McCawley, Charles Owen, Dina Parakhina, Martin Roscoe, Craig Sheppard, Balázs Szokolay, Martino Tirimo “ A fantastic learning experience. “ The Competition was an With daily concerts, lectures, improvisation, jazz, composition, ” intensive one-to-one coaching, duets, organ and harpsichord Unforgettable! important and rewarding experience. Lise Davidsen, I highly recommend it!” First Prize winner 2015 Seungju Mario Bahg, For further information, call +44 (0)1625 266899 First Prize winner 2017 or email [email protected] www.pianosummerschool.com www.qsimc.no Johan Dalene, 2017 First Prize. THE THOMAS & EVON COOPER INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION Violin 2019 July 18-26

For ages 13-18 FIRST PRIZE $20,000 $40,000 in total cash prizes Travel assistance available Finals with The Cleveland Orchestra Broadcast live on WCLV 104.9 FM

Application deadline: May 7, 2019

ROGER MASTROIANNI More information at www.oberlin.edu/cooper

CONCOURS DE GENÈVE INTERNATIONAL MUSIC COMPETITION DESIGN: THEWORKSHOP.CH — PHOTO ©ANNELAURE LECHAT

73th EDITION 2018 PIANO & CLARINET 29 Oct. - 14 Nov.

74th EDITION 2019 PERCUSSION & COMPOSITION 7-21 Nov.

75th EDITION 2020 CELLO & OBOE 24 Oct. - 10 Nov.

PROGRAMME, RULES, REGISTRATION  WWW.CONCOURSGENEVE.CH MUSIC COMPETITIONS US & REST OF WORLD GUIDE 2018 US&RESTOFWORLDGUIDE (ICAC), open to guitarists aged Orleans Concours 18 or over by June 1, 2020. International The next edition will have all Next competition: 2020 its rounds live-streamed. The Applications deadline: see website top prize includes US$10,000, This piano competition a Naxos recording, and alternates annually between the a GFA-sponsored concert tour main edition in even-numbered including approximately years, and the ‘Brin d’herbe’ 50 concerts throughout competition for pianists aged six the US, Canada and Mexico to 18, next held in April 2019. guitarfoundation.org oci-piano.com

Menuhin Competition Osaka Chamber Music Next competition: Competition May 14-24, 2020 Next competition: 2020 Applications deadline: see website Applications deadline: see website Bokyung Byun won second prize in the 2018 Guitar Foundation of America ICAC Previous winners of this biennial An international chamber violin competition include Ray competition open to string Banf International String The Cliburn Chen (2008) and Stephen quartets and wind ensembles, Quartet Competition Next competition: 2021 Waarts (2014). It’s open to this triennial event was first held Next competition: Applications deadline: see website violinists of all nationalities in 1993 and carries cash prizes August 26 – September 1, 2019 Held every four years in Fort under the age of 22 (senior amounting to millions of yen. Applications deadline: Worth, Texas, the competition’s section) and 16 years old (junior Check the competition website March 1, 2019 recent laureates include Beatrice section) as of April 22, 2018, and in the spring for more details This triennial competition Rana, who took silver in 2013. is held in a diferent city each (including application deadline). is open to quartets of all cliburn.org time. For 2020, the destination jcmf.or.jp nationalities whose members is Richmond, Virginia. are under the age of 35 at the Cooper International menuhincompetition.org The Alice and Eleonore time of the competition; Competition 2019 Schoenfeld International previous winners include the Next competition: July 18-26, 2019 Concours Musical String Competition Dover Quartet. The 10 quartets Applications deadline: May 7, 2019 International de Montréal Next competition: see website that make it through are battling The 2019 edition welcomes Next competition: Applications deadline: see website it out for over C$150,000 in applicants aged between 13 May 26 – June 6, 2019 Held in Harbin, China, this cash and prizes for the top and 18 to compete for the Applications deadline: international competition has three; and the seven runners-up Violin Prize. Awards of up to November 15, 2018 three categories: violin, cello, also receive a career $20,000 are on ofer, as well as Piano: May 4-14, 2020 and chamber groups divided development grant. Check the a full four-year scholarship to Held annually since 2002, the into piano trio, piano quartet website for updates on the Oberlin Conservatory. Tickets 2019 edition is open to violinists. and string quartet. Violinists and live-streaming of each round. are available for the final with The jury, presided over by cellists compete for a top prize banffcentre.ca the Cleveland Orchestra at Zarin Mehta, includes Mihaela of US$30,000, while chamber Severance Hall; alternatively, Martin, Pierre Amoyal and groups stand to win US$20,000. Cleveland International WCLV 104.9 FM is broadcasting Kim Kashkashian. Prizes schoenfeldcompetition.com Piano Competition and streaming the competition. include a first of C$30,000, Next competition: spring 2020 oberlin.edu/cooper/ a C$50,000 career Unisa 14th International Applications deadline: see website development grant, a C$20,000 Piano Competition The biennial CIPC has a main Guitar Foundation of America instrument crafted by Quebec Next competition: category for artists aged 18-30, International Convention and makers, and a C$2500 artist January 20 – February 1, 2020 and a junior category for those Competitions residency at Canada’s Banf Applications deadline: aged 12-17. The main category Next competition: Centre for Arts and Creativity. August 2, 2019 prize includes a cash award of June 17-22, 2019 The Orchestre Symphonique de This Pretoria-based international US$75,000, a Carnegie Hall Applications deadline: May 1, 2019 Montréal will accompany the piano competition rotates recital debut, a recording on the The Guitar Foundation of final rounds, under the baton – between piano, voice, strings Steinway & Sons label, and the America’s annual international for the first time – of Alexander and wind, and is unusual for launch of a US concert career. convention features three Shelley, music director of the having categories for both Plus, there’s a festival built competitions each year: the GFA National Arts Center Orchestra. classical and jazz styles. It also around the competition, with International Youth Competition, All rounds of the competition covers the costs for all invited performances and symposia the GFA International Ensemble will be streamed live and then candidates, from travel and at the Cleveland Museum of Art Competition and the largest of made available on demand. accommodation through to and Severance Hall. the three, the International concoursmontreal.ca/en/the- means and practice facilities. clevelandpiano.org Concert Artist Competition competitions/violin/ unisa.ac.za

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 39 Critics’ Choice 201 Our critics each choose a favourite recording from the past 12 months. If you’re after the perfect gift guide for Christmas, look no further!

Mike Ashman ‘Destination Rachmaninov – Departure’ Daniil Trifonov pf The Philadelphia Orchestra / Yannick Nézet-Séguin DG F 483 5335GH (11/18) Rachmaninov in Philadelphia. It could have been Pristine’s ideal remastering of the ‘originals’ of the composer playing his Second Piano Concerto there but Daniil Trifonov and Yannick Nézet-Séguin in the Second and Fourth Concertos newly evoke memories of those iconic recordings under Stokowski.

Andrew Achenbach Tim Ashley Michelle Assay Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony ‘Siface’ ‘L’amor castrato’ ‘Norma Fisher at the BBC, Vol 1’ Soloists; BBC Symphony Chorus Filippo Mineccia counterten Norma Fisher pf and Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins Nereydas / Javier Ulises Illán Sonetto Classics F SONCLA003 (7/18) Hyperion F CDA68245 (10/18) Glossa F GCD923514 (7/18) Easily the highlight Martyn Brabbins No disc has given of my first year as a presides over me more pleasure Gramophone reviewer a glorious account this year than was Norma Fisher’s of A Sea Symphony, Filippo Mineccia’s BBC recordings of consistently exceptional recital Brahms and Scriabin, nourishing in of music associated not only for their its strength of with the 17th-century historic performance purpose and castrato Siface, but also for their dignity, integrity and clarity selfless musicality. Magnificent work from a carefully crafted programme that embraces which shine through the transfers (some the BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, both the sacred and the profane, sung with from private reel-to-reel recordings), auguring ACOSTA/DG DARIO fresh-sounding vocal soloists and superlative often breathtaking poise and sensuality. It’s very well for promised production-values boost the strong claims of an astonishingly beautiful recording and future instalments.

a release that is sure to give lasting pleasure. quite wonderfully done. PHOTOGRAPHY:

40 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 CRITICS’ CHOICE

Alexandra Coghlan ‘Venezia Millenaria’ Hespèrion XXI; Le Concert des Nations / Jordi Savall Alia Vox FbAVSA9925 (4/18) For sheer opulence, generosity and breadth of repertoire, Jordi Savall’s ‘Venezia Millenaria’ blows the competition away this year. This journey through 1000 years of Venetian history takes in everything from popular songs and ancient chants to dances and sacred polyphony – a world in magnificent musical microcosm.

Richard Bratby Edward Breen Rob Cowan Heuberger Der Opernball Josquin Missa Gaudeamus. Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances, etc Soloists; Chorus of Opera Graz; Missa L’ami Baudichon Sergey Rachmaninov pf Graz Philharmonic Orchestra / Marius Burkert The Tallis Scholars / Peter Phillips Marston mono Fc53022-2 (10/18) CPO Fb555 070-2 (6/18) Gimell F CDGIM050 (11/18) Old recordings rarely I had to double-check, I am a long-time make the headlines but yes, this really is admirer of The Tallis but, by allowing us the first complete Scholars, and their to eavesdrop on modern recording of clean, purposeful Rachmaninov Richard Heuberger’s sound is often demonstrating his delicious (and my touchstone Symphonic Dances influential) 1898 for Renaissance to Eugene Ormandy, operetta: the polyphony. With this Ward Marston has done just that. This three-CD ‘missing link’ between Johann Strauss and latest release in their grand survey of Josquin’s Rachmaninov set also includes magnificent Lehár. With an engaging ensemble cast and masses they sing with elegant poise while first-release orchestral performances under lightly-worn Viennese style from Marius Burkert, responding to the extraordinary intricacy Mitropoulos and Ormandy. No historical release it’s three acts of quite irresistible charm. and expressivity of Josquin’s textures. in the last 20 years can compare with it.

Jed Distler Adrian Edwards Richard Fairman George Szell – The Complete Columbia H Goodall Invictus: A Passion Brahms Four Symphonies Album Collection Kirsty Hopkins sop Mark Dobell ten Scottish Chamber Orchestra / Robin Ticciati Sony Classical S (106 discs) Christ Church Cathedral Choir; Linn Fb CKD601 (4/18) 88985 47185-2 (11/18) Lanyer Ensemble / Stephen Darlington Some recordings Beyond question, Coro Connections F COR16165 (10/18) intoxicate the senses, George Szell was Howard Goodall simply because they the greatest brings an interesting have so much to 20th-century contemporary slant ofer. The way in conductor, and in his choice of texts, which every detail nearly all of old and new, to of this music has his Cleveland illuminate the familiar been honed and recordings are reference versions that represent story of Christ’s perfected by Ticciati’s trusted players in a masterclass in orchestral transparency, Passion. Kirsty the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and utter clarity, stylish intelligence, chamber-like Hopkins and Mark Dobell are his star soloists. then absorbed into a lyrical, afectionate interaction between sections, unerring taste, whole, is endlessly fascinating. This has to be, and, yes, heart. Sony’s long-awaited complete as far as I’m concerned, the most beguiling Szell edition belongs in every serious collection. small-orchestra Brahms yet. gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 41

CRITICS’ CHOICE

David Fallows David Fanning Fabrice Fitch Dufay ‘The Dufay Spectacle’ Debussy Préludes, Book 2. La mer Dufay ‘The Dufay Spectacle’ Gothic Voices Alexander Melnikov pf Gothic Voices Linn F CKD568 (7/18) Harmonia Mundi F HMM90 2302 (8/18) Linn F CKD568 (7/18) My treat of the year The revelation of Dufay and the Gothic was definitely the my year has been Voices? Thirty years return of Gothic Debussy from ago this would have Voices with a new Alexander Melnikov: been a dream ticket, recording of songs Préludes, Book 2, so it’s a pleasure to and motets by Dufay. and La mer with hear them roll back Not just beautifully Olga Pashchenko – the years with this – presented and on an 1855 Érard. particularly since assembled with originality and intelligence, I’m not a fully paid-up early-instrument fan, new opportunities to hear 15th-century songs this recording features performances that but I found the range of attacks and colours are so thin on the ground these days. throw new light on this music. conjured here idiomatic and breathtaking. A welcome renaissance indeed.

Jonathan Freeman-Attwood Charlotte Gardner David Gutman Bach Cantatas Debussy ‘Les trois sonates – The Late Works’ Myaskovsky. Nechaev. Shebalin Sols; Ricercar Consort / Philippe Pierlot Various soloists Violin Sonatas Mirare F MIR332 (6/18) Harmonia Mundi F HMM90 2303 (11/18) Sasha Rozhdestvensky vn Viktoria The Ricercars deliver Of all the new Postnikova pf First Hand F FHR57 (A/18) a special trio of treasures Debussy The death of cantatas of Year brought to the Rozhdestvensky last remarkable thematic recordings world, June turned this beauty and cohesion, this programme from sympathetic each ofering a rich an international collection of Soviet autobiographical complement of violin sonatas into an strain – known and some of HM’s most unintended memorial unknown. These irresistible performances thoughtful stars was, to my ears, ‘the one’. Each to the great conductor remind us how a top-drawer and intensely of the three late sonatas feels like a benchmark and the era of cultural contradiction he communicative ensemble can delve as deeply reading, and the piano solos between pull it negotiated with such skill and insight. The as ever into Bach’s most exquisite conceits of all seamlessly together. Profound, intelligent, protagonists are his wife and son and the music death and consolation. moving – I wouldn’t be without it. quietly eloquent, without magniloquence.

Andrew Farach-Colton Christian Hoskins Prokofiev Violin Sonatas Nos 1 and 2 and pianist Michail Lifits’s boldly evocative and ‘Copland Conducts Copland’ Alexandra Conunova vn Michail Lifits pf intensely felt interpretations of the Prokofiev Benny Goodman cl Los Angeles Master Aparté F AP171 (8/18) violin sonatas made Chorale; Los Angeles Philharmonic It’s an especial pleasure when a superb me fall in love with Orchestra / Aaron Copland recording seems to come out of nowhere. I’d this marvellous Video director Kirk Browning never heard of Alexandra Conunova, but her music all over again. Naxos F◊2 110397 F Y NBD0068V (5/18) Watching the 75-year-old Copland conducting his own music with such obvious enjoyment is a pleasure in itself, but what makes this video special is the performance of the unjustly neglected Suite from The Tender Land, music of entrancing radiance, warmth and humanity.

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 43 CRITICS’ CHOICE

Lindsay Kemp Richard Lawrence Ivan Moody Buxtehude ‘Abendmusiken’ Halévy La reine de Chypre Górecki String Quartet No 3 Vox Luminis / Lionel Meunier Sols; Flemish Radio Choir; Dafô Quartet Alpha F ALPHA287 (9/18) Paris Chamber Orchestra / Hervé Niquet Dux F DUX1302 (7/18) This year I was once Ediciones Singulares FbES1032 (9/18) In a year full of again beguiled by It’s been a good year outstanding releases, Vox Luminis, now for unfamiliar the Dafô Quartet’s bringing their deep French opera: terrific reading of Górecki’s and focused recordings of Third String Quartet expressiveness to Godard’s Dante (1/18), shines brightly. They motets by Buxtehude, Lully’s Alceste (2/18), understand the way an apogee of all Rameau’s Naïs (8/18). this challenging work the beauty, dignity and ingenuity of German But I’m plumping for relates not only to the composer’s famous 17th-century church music. With eloquent this grand opéra from 1841, superbly performed ‘simplified’ style, but also to his much earlier string sonatas added by Ensemble Masques, by Niquet and his forces, with magnificent singing music. Their performance is both vibrant and it does Bach’s great predecessor proud. from Véronique Gens and Cyrille Dubois. subtle, and beautifully recorded.

Andrew Mellor Jeremy Nicholas Alfred Janson The Wind Blows – Choral Works Grete Pedersen’s Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances, etc Norwegian Soloist’s Choir / Grete Pedersen Norwegian Sergey Rachmaninov pf BIS F BIS2341 (10/18) Soloist’s Choir, the Marston mono Fc53022-2 (10/18) I was taken aback by the skill, imagination and superlative quality of In any other year, power of this music by an elder Norwegian whose singing here ‘The Complete composer who has never really had his is a fitting redress to Studio Recordings due. Alfred Janson has worked closely with his music’s neglect. of Eileen Joyce’ (Decca) would have been my first choice, but the discovery of previously unknown recordings of Rachmaninov demonstrating on the piano how he wished his newly composed Symphonic Dances to be played was, in the end, by far the most exciting and intriguing release of 2018.

Peter Quantrill Watkins Symphony, etc Hallé / R Wigglesworth NMC F NMCD224 (11/18) Here is that rare creature–anew symphony that’s Christopher Nickol Richard Osborne worthy of the name. ‘Romantic Organ Music’ Beethoven Piano Sonatas – No 14, ‘Moonlight’, Quickly establishing Simon Preston org Op 27 No 2 and No 29, ‘Hammerklavier’, Op 106 the ‘large-scale Decca Eloquence BbELQ482 4941 (3/18) Murray Perahia pf integration of At last! CD reissues of DG F 479 8353 (3/18) contrasts’ demanded these classic LP It is rare nowadays of the genre’s examples by Hans Keller, and recordings have to find a record of by means of an orchestra that Nielsen would finally appeared. Beethoven piano recognise, Huw Watkins fills a two-movement Former Gramophone sonatas to set structure with urgent channels of argument reviewer Stanley alongside classic and even more necessary pools of reflection. Webb described recordings by pianists The first movement reaches a crisis Simon Preston as such as Solomon, as seemingly inevitable as its climactic a ‘fastidious perfectionist’, and it was this Serkin, Kempf, and recapitulation, promising resolution, but approach that resulted in such virtuoso Arrau, but Murray Perahia’s spiritually luminous that would spoil the surprise. Piece, performances. A personal highlight is his and technically superb accounts of the performance, recording: all equally satisfying. account of Reubke’s Sonata on the 94th Psalm; Moonlight and Hammerklavier sonatas released in 1964, it still sounds magnificent! could be judged exceptional in any era.

44 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk

CRITICS’ CHOICE

Mark Pullinger Tchaikovsky Symphony No 6 MusicAeterna / Teodor Currentzis Sony F 88985 40435-2 (1/18) Two controversial Tchaikovsky recordings compete for my vote. Stefan Herheim’s enthralling Pique Dame (3/18) comes to London soon, the composer central to the action. But Teodor Currentzis’s devastating Pathétique with MusicAeterna wins – as bleak, as nihilistic and as embittered as I’ve ever heard. And I adore it.

Guy Rickards Malcolm Riley Marc Rochester Ruehr String Quartets Nos 1-6 R Williams ‘Sacred Choral Works’ Messiaen Stephen Salters bar Old Royal Naval College Trinity Laban La Nativité du Seigneur Borromeo Quartet; Cypress Quartet Chapel Choir / Ralph Allwood with Richard Gowers org Avie Mb AV2379 (5/18) Jonathan Eyre pf/cond King’s College, Cambridge F KGS0025 Rarely nowadays Signum F SIGCD517 (2/18) (12/18) does one encounter As a ‘singer who also By a most fortuitous a new, living master composes’, Roderick happenchance, my of the quartet Williams has always recording of the year medium, but been well placed to is Christmas music Elena Ruehr is bring those special, from King’s College just that. Her six, extra dimensions Chapel, Cambridge. fluently written to his own music, ie But there’s not a carol quartets are exquisitely performed on this, what works best from in sight. No feel-good Avie’s third release of Ruehr’s music, by the both a technical as well as an interpretative Rutter. No spine-tingling Willcocks descant. Cypress and (in No 2) Borromeo Quartets, and standpoint. This vivid choral anthology has Instead the muscular, perceptive, authoritative the sound is beautifully clear. The recording just given continued pleasure throughout the year, playing of Richard Gowers, who has devoted his edges ahead of Kenneth Hesketh’s marvellous filled as it is with an astonishing versatility of debut solo disc on the College’s own label to orchestral disc, ‘In ictu oculi’ (12/18). moods and styles. Messiaen’s visionary La Nativité du Seigneur.

Patrick Rucker Edward Seckerson Hugo Shirley Rachmaninov Complete Études-tableaux Bernstein Symphonies Nos 1-3; Mahler Kindertotenlieder Steven Osborne pf Prelude, Fugue and Rifs R Strauss Tod und Verklärung Hyperion F CDA68188 (9/18) Sols; Orchestra & Chorus of the Brigitte Fassbaender mez Some of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia / Munich Philharmonic / Sergiu Celibidache most beautiful Sir Antonio Pappano Münchner Philharmoniker F MPHIL0006 piano-playing I’ve Warner Classics Mb9029 56615-8 (9/18) (3/18) heard this year, live It had to be Bernstein No Christmas cheer or recorded, has been in his centenary year here, I’m afraid, Steven Osborne’s and it had to be rather a magnificent stunning traversal Pappano’s rendition live recording from of Rachmaninov’s of the three 1983, released in Études-tableaux. Osborne’s refreshingly original symphonies with the a new remastering, take on the music, emotional breadth and orchestra which once which captures sheer pianistic finesse keep me coming back boasted Lenny as the remarkable for more. Surely Rachmaninov would President. Casting young Italian pianist Beatrice Brigitte Fassbaender at her most intensely have been proud. Rana as the protagonist of the masterful moving in some of the most powerful songs ANTON ZAVJYALOV ANTON Second, The Age of Anxiety, was a deft touch, in the repertoire. Sergiu Celibidache and but the really inspired piece of casting was the Munich Philharmonic accompany her in that of Josephine Barstow as Speaker in the the Mahler superbly, and ofer a fascinating

PHOTOGRAPHY: Kaddish. For once, the spoken text really ignites. Strauss coupling too.

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 47 CRITICS’ CHOICE

PwyllapSiôn Harriet Smith David Patrick Stearns Various Cpsrs Standard Time Chopin Cello Sonata, etc Franchomme Wagner Tristan und Isolde Trio HLK Nocturne Schubert Arpeggione Sonata Sols; Bavarian Radio Symphony Chorus Ubuntu Music F UBU0006 (7/18) Steven Isserlis vc Dénes Várjon pf and Orchestra / Leonard Bernstein There’s nothing Hyperion F CDA68227 (10/18) Video director Karlheinz Hundorf standard about the The perfect C Major Entertainment F c ◊ 46208; shaping of musical partnership, in F Y 746304 (9/18) time on Trio HLK’s which the 1851 Érard Bernstein liked to stop time. excellent debut deserves equal billing Whether he succeeded in release. Also featuring with the players. key moments of his 1981 Evelyn Glennie on Isserlis and Várjon Tristan is debated anew in several tracks, illuminate Chopin’s this first US release of the Nancarrow-style polymetres collide and Introduction and video made during the live fuse with complex harmonies in radical Polonaise brillante and Franchomme’s C minor Philips recording. Staging reinterpretations of jazz standards. Their Nocturne with as much care as the musical elements are minimal, but live performances are also scintillating, as jewels on the disc: the sonatas by Schubert Peter Hofmann and Hildegard Behrens are witnessed at this year’s Machynlleth Festival. and Chopin. The result is pure gold. more entrancing when seen as well as heard.

David Threasher David Vickers Richard Whitehouse Tchaikovsky Symphony No 6 Buxtehude ‘Abendmusiken’ Ferneyhough La terre est un homme MusicAeterna / Teodor Currentzis Vox Luminis / Lionel Meunier BBC Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins Sony F 88985 40435-2 (1/18) Alpha F ALPHA287 (9/18) NMC F NMCD231 (5/18) A good year for Little is known Brian Ferneyhough’s Haydn, whether solo about what 75th birthday couldn’t (Paul Lewis), chamber Buxtehude have been more (Trio Wanderer, presented in his impressively marked Doric Quartet) or annual series of than with NMC’s symphonic (many). Sunday concerts release featuring But Teodor during Advent. two major orchestral Currentzis’s Vox Luminis and works, the intricate Tchaikovsky became the true ear-opener of the Ensemble Masques collaborate intelligently Plötzlichkeit and intense La terre est un homme, year – not merely a recording of a symphony on this free-flowing mixture of chamber both being accorded virtuoso renderings but a recording event in itself, mining this sonatas and sacred pieces in performances by the BBC Symphony with Martyn Brabbins. miraculous work’s details as rarely before. of sensitivity and harmonic finesse. A standout release in any year.

Richard Wigmore William Yeoman Handel ‘Finest Arias for Base Voice, Vol 2’ Nocturnal Lute music from Christopher Purves bar Arcangelo / Dowland to Britten Jonathan Cohen Jakob Lindberg lute Hyperion F CDA68152 (8/18) BIS F BIS2082 (A/18) Another winner of Let’s call it the lutenist’s revenge, this a programme remarkable recording of Britten’s showcasing the classical guitar masterpiece, dramatic variety Nocturnal, after John Dowland, of Handel’s music performed on the lute. After all, how for bass, from the often do we hear lute music on swaggering Saracen guitar? That pieces by Dowland, King Argante in Holborne, Bacheler et al swarm Rinaldo to the grieving father Gobrias in about the Britten like astonished Belshazzar. Ranging from baleful basso ghosts is a bonus. profundo to mellifluous high baritone, Christopher Purves – two voices for the price of one – brings each of these disparate characters thrillingly alive. Arcangelo match him all the way in drama and colour. GIOVANNA ORBELLI GIOVANNA PHOTOGRAPHY:

48 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk Internationally acclaimed cellist, James Kreger, has created a Christmas album with a difference. In his own words: “The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the thrill of engaging the most profound and challenging cello masterpieces does not inhibit my deep affection for these Christmas melodies or my desire to ‘sing’ them, as so many people around the world love to do. My aim is to present them from my own perspective, in fashions that maximize their beauty and bring out their unexpected qualities.” The result is an album of Christmas music skilfully arranged with the cello taking the vocal line.

Includes: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas ~ O Holy Night! ~ Away in a Manger ~ We Three Kings/What Child Is This? ~ Go Tell It on the Mountain ~ It Came Upon a Midnight Clear ~ I Don’t Know How to Love Him ~ First Noel ~ Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire ~ God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen ~ Angels We Have Heard on High ~ Little Drummer Boy ~ Silent Night

James Kreger, cello, with: Bill Mays and Alex Rybeck, piano; Andrew Sterman, woodwinds; Sean Harkness, guitars; Melanie Feld, oboe & English horn; William Galison, harmonica; Lynette Wardle, harp; Patrick Milando, French Horn; Bill Hayes, percussion; Ned Paul Ginsburg, synthesizers & arrangements. GMCD 7812 “This is a lovely collection of heartwarming, superb arrangements that is also a beautiful and unexpected way to channel the talent of James Kreger.” Fanfare Magazine www.jameskreger.com www.guildmusic.com over 50 years of excellence GUILD MUSIC LIMITED, 36 Central Avenue, West Molesey, Surrey KT8 2QZ CHRISTMAS RELEASES

Festive disc of the year: Apollo’s Fire bring a huge variation of mood, geography and style to Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain It’s the most musical time of the year Andrew Mellor settles down to long winter evenings with a mixed bag of this year’s Christmas albums, from the ultra-traditional to the exotically folksy

nother year, another lesson in how difficult it is to of innocent freshness and folkloric darkness will be playing on make a Christmas record that satisfies a particular your mind until March. There’s your precociously clever niece market and offers a warm seasonal embrace at the back from her studies at the Sorbonne, an endless source of same time. Still, as this is the season of goodwill, knowledge but with a lot to learn about how to kick back during AI sincerely hope you’ll consider allowing one or more of these the holidays. There’s the visitor from Japan, full of expertise Yuletide waifs and strays into your home this holiday season. and admiration for Western culture but with something lost in You have plenty of choice. There’s the elbow-patched translation. And among the many more are those old regulars academic who’ll lull you into a satisfied sleep after Christmas who might set your eyes rolling when you see them coming, but lunch with tales of discrepancies in the surviving manuscripts when all’s said and done, help make Christmas Christmas. of a well-known carol. There’s the local organist who genuinely One such guest is King’s College Choir, whose Festival of believes he metamorphoses into the most risqué of entertainers Nine Lessons and Carols was first presented a century ago in the moment he dons a paper hat. There’s the American 1918. The choir’s 100 Years of Nine Lessons & Carols hippie-fiddler who’ll infuriate you on Christmas Eve but be takes previously unpublished broadcast material dating back your new best friend by Boxing Day. There’s the Swede with to the David Willcocks regime and sets it alongside new flowers in her hair and an affecting voice whose combination studio recordings on a separate disc. Given the centenary,

50 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk CHRISTMAS RELEASES it would have been nice to hear some performances from and the ugly in Christmas with Sonoro. Some pieces here do earlier than 1958, perhaps some under Boris Ord (as it is, we what carols should: Rutter (of course) and his Wexford Carol, get just 70 years of carols and no lessons) but it’s interesting Spicer and his In a field as I lay, Beamish and her In the stillness to chart the choir’s loosening-up under Philip Ledger and and all the arrangements by the disc’s organist Michael Higgins, Stephen Cleobury. who tends to give us a well-known tune straight, subtly re- In the latter’s time, text has come to play second fiddle to contextualised but with transformative results (but a black mark musical phrase in notable contrast to the choir’s neighbours at for the myriad suspensions ladled on to Silent night). For all St John’s; sometimes the choir’s tone curdles on a forte (Rütti’s those gems, efficiently sung, I wound up frustrated by the cheap I wonder as I wander) and sometimes Cleobury’s tempos can be display, naff jazz-hands and faux harmonic depth infesting ponderous (Gardner’s Tomorrow shall be my dancing day). Still, works by Malcolm Archer, Gareth Treseder, Stuart Nicholson CD 1 contains some of Cleobury’s most inspired new and Becky McGlade while Warlock’s Bethlehem Down and commissions (he initiated the annual practice) and includes big Howells’s A Spotless Rose seem like apologetic fillers (while doing hymn-carols sung live with the communal heft and embrace of a those others no favours). full congregation. No extraneous emotive buttons are pushed on A Vaughan That is what big-hitters like O come all ye faithful need, but Williams Christmas, an earnest exploration of ‘Christmas as he as observed in years past, we tend to get sterile recordings [RVW] saw and heard it’ which aims also to draw attention to of overly perfect choirs singing the composer’s belief such hymn-carols alone in April. There’stheorganistwhogenuinelybelieves that amateur Which is precisely what comes performance was the our way from the adult choir he metamorphoses into the most risqué of bedrock of Christmas of Gonville & Caius College, music-making. So it’s Cambridge. It has assembled an entertainers the moment he dons a paper hat frustrating that we academically and stylistically fertile again hear a clipped, album in Cantique de Noël, which according to director clean professional choir alone in a empty church (even in Geoffrey Webber ‘aims to capture some reflection of … French O Little Town) which is, apparently, precisely not what the romantic fervour, highlighting an aspect of Christmas that is composer would have wanted to hear. sometimes lost amidst the Anglo-Saxon tradition of Christmas All in all, it’s very sober fare for Christmas – dry even – but trees and domestic bliss’. Mission accomplished, and I wish it is impossible to dismiss given its content (12 first recordings, more high-end university choirs took such an academic though you’ll hear why the works aren’t in the repertoire), its approach to their recording activities. neat performances from the Royal Hospital Chapel Choir and But be warned: musicology does not a joyous festive album its thorough academic contextualisation. The austerity of Nine make, and I felt frozen out in what might have been the rousing Carols for Male Voices can stop you in your tracks; it’s difficult to finale, Adeste fideles (no danger of Anglo-Saxon bliss encroaching hear the Mummers’ Carol without considering the British troops on Gounod’s austere and joyless arrangement). All in all, the for whom it was written, stationed in windswept Iceland during disc lacks meat. Some of the repertoire sounds like French G&S the Second World War. (not a compliment), some is frustratingly dry, but Saint-Saëns’s ‘A Vaughan Williams Christmas’ is a disc about Christmas, Domine, ego credidi is worth hearing with Robert Humphries’s not for Christmas. The same might be said of The Sixteen’s appropriately nasal tenor – a sign of how well the ensemble has A Renaissance Christmas, the weakest of the choir’s three absorbed the Gallic style (the reedy organ of Exeter College, most recent seasonal offerings when judged as a festive product. Oxford, helps). Notwithstanding Kirbye’s awesome Vox in Rama, it’s a long The elephantine void in the room – the lack of wait through the brown rice of plainsong and austere polyphony a congregation – is bypassed by the girl choristers of Ely Cathedral, who stick to anthem carols by living composers and offer bright, firm, well-supported but honest singing that is frequently joyous and only occasionally a little strained. But if the singing on An Ely Christmas isn’t affected, the repertoire is – with plenty of enforced jollity from choir (nobody should have to hear Anglican lay-clerks doo-wopping) and organ and countless examples of composers using both to out-decorate and obscure cherished tunes. Which brings us once more to the thorny issue of how to write contemporary Christmas music, with thanks to Sonoro for giving us a smorgasbord of the good, the bad Style and individuality: the Juice Vocal Ensemble ofer a unique Christmas album gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 51 NEW RELEASE

ICA CLASSICS presents CELEBRATING THE YEAR IN NONESUCH MUSIC

JOHN ADAMS JOHN ADAMS DOCTOR ATOMIC VIOLIN CONCERTO

LAURIE ANDERSON & THOMAS BARTLETT KRONOS QUARTET & NICO MUHLY LANDFALL PETER PEARS: BALINESE CEREMONIAL MUSIC

JONNY GREENWOOD TIGRAN HAMASYAN PHANTOM THREAD (ORIGINAL FOR GYUMRI MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) ICAD 5155 (DVD)

PAUL TORTELIER AT THE BBC In March 2014, the BBC drew from their archives a selection of fi lms to mark the centenary of Paul Tortelier, offering a portrait of one of the truly great cellists. Tortelier was an artist of the utmost probity, integrity and sincerity who lived through BRAD MEHLDAU BRAD MEHLDAU TRIO and witnessed almost an entire musical century. AFTER BACH SEYMOUR READS THE CONSTITUTION! Paul Tortelier at the BBC is here presented on DVD for the fi rst time. The accompanying booklet features a moving tribute from Yan Pascal Tortelier to his father along with photographs drawn from the family archives.

RELEASED NOVEMBER 2018 JOSHUA REDMAN STEVE REICH STILL DREAMING (FEAT. RON MILES, PULSE / QUARTET SCOTT COLLEY & BRIAN BLADE) www.prestoclassical.co.uk NONESUCH.COM www.icaclassics.com CHRISTMAS RELEASES to the festive ‘Noels’ that cap Philips’s THE CHRISTMAS LIST Darkest Midnight from single-voice O beatum et sacrosanctum diem (track 17 Your guide to the festive season’s recordings vocal ensemble Papagena returns to of 19). Would I have been so roots, too, but here the feeling is of a uninterested in the tender singing of 100 Years of Nine Lessons and Carols new age Christmas circa 1998 rather The Sixteen in Tallis, Byrd, Eccard Choir of King’s College, Cambridge / Various than 1838 (yes, Gaudete! is included). and Lassus if I hadn’t been waiting for King’s College, Cambridge Papagena pride themselves on lack the ringing of jingle bells? Perhaps King’s College, Cambridge Bb KGS0033 of amplification but the arid sound not, but there’s a slight sense of some Cantique de Noël production on their recording is works here rattled through, Guerrero’s Choir of Gonville & Caius College, anything but warm and embracing. Pastores loquebantur among them. Cambridge / Geoffrey Webber There are some beautiful moments, Perhaps they were: this is the only disc Delphian F DCD34197 Taverner’s A Nativity and the of the batch actually recorded at An Ely Christmas traditional Es ist ein Ros among them, Christmas. Girls and Lay Clerks of Ely Cathedral / but a lack of focus – Balulalow into Joni Another top-drawer ensemble Sarah MacDonald Mitchell’s The River into Jingle gifting us a Christmas let-down is the Regent M REGCD527 Bells – ultimately proves as frustrating Bach Collegium Japan. A Christmas Christmas with Sonoro as that sterile studio sound. Greeting starts out as a touching Sonoro / Neil Ferris Snow Queens, from another meeting of Lutheran decency with Resonus F RES10226 female vocal ensemble, provides Japanese order but quickly devolves copious lessons in how distillation into something more syrupy and odd. A Vaughan Williams Christmas and discipline can be effective even in Nobody told the performers, however, Choir of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea / communal seasonal music. There is a who approach the schmaltzy key Wiliam Vann real power to this Yuletide Winterreise changes sprinkled through a series of Albion F ALBCD035 through bespoke new commissions carol medleys as if they’re still singing A Renaissance Christmas and homespun arrangements, all from Bach. The highlight is Masaaki The Sixteen / Harry Christophers musicians interested in progressing Suzuki’s beautiful performance, at the Coro F COR16167 the language of Christmas music organ, of numbers from Louis-Claude by unravelling its DNA rather than Daquin’s Livre des Noëls pour l’orgue et A Christmas Greeting slathering it with dad-dancing rhythms le clavecin. Scattered throughout a Bach Collegium Japan / Masaaki Suzuki and added-note harmonies. The disorderly sequence, they quickly BIS FÍ BIS2291 rhetoric of A Coventry Carol is turned become islands of nourishment. on its head in Anna Snow’s questing, There are other ways to reveal Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain cyclic arrangement; there is nothing fresh musical truths in the context Apollo’s Fire contrived or predictable here and of Christmas, and the determination Avie F AV2396 the results make for an unsettling, of another early music group to do so beautiful, consistent and cleansing has produced my vote for festive disc Darkest Midnight album sung with style and individuality of the year. Christmas on Sugarloaf Papagena by Juice. Mountain from Apollo’s Fire charts Somm Céleste F SOMM0189 Individuality is one word you the passage of Scottish and Irish could append to the Swede Gunnar immigrants to the Appalachian Snow Queens Idenstam, whose organ improvisations Mountains in the 1830s. The Baroque Juice Vocal Ensemble occupy their own universe – part hard music group gives us sounds we don’t Resonus F RES10224 apocalyptic rock, part elfin folklore, often associate with Bethlehem but are part nave-shaking French symphony. probably far closer to what was heard Folkjul II Folkjul II is a follow-up to 2007’s there: zingy harps, reedy winds and Gunnar Idenstam ‘Folkjul’ (‘Folk Christmas’) but if you plenteous modality. BIS FÍ BIS2334 haven’t come across Idenstam’s exotic At first it sounds like a try-hard art before, I’d heartily recommend his jamboree. You quickly realise it is ‘Songs for Jukkasjärvi’ (BIS). far more, built of extreme focus yet ‘Folkjul II’ trades that album’s huge variation in mood, geography herding yoiks for chorales and carols, and style – from Medieval to Soul, Somerset to Kentucky. It is similarly embedded in the Idenstam sound of folk flutes and sung and played with an expertise that doesn’t trespass on fiddles, electronics and voices, all of which are egged on to enjoyment and it draws you deeper and deeper in across its six spine-tingling climaxes by Idenstam’s capering, roaring organ chapters. Jeannette Sorrell’s arrangements get to the point: (an acquired taste, I can hear some saying). Sandra Marteleur’s I wonder as I wander is urgent in its whimsy; her Yorkshire Carol fiddle ariosos have a strange wonder, Ulrika Bodén’s vocal solos has a tasteful brand of musical humour not often heard in are mesmeric, Idenstam’s touch on the organ is as funky as it is seasonal music. For all the breathless rollicking and earnest majestic, Gary Graden’s St Jacobs Chamber Choir sounds exploration, there are tears under the surface that highlight a full-bodied and bright. There are special moments and ground- vital part of the Christmas story, enforced emigration and all. moving modulations around every corner. But it doesn’t dilute The southern folk hymns Bright Morning Stars and the quiet the experience, nor the deep sense of mystery, that you often finale The Parting Glass remind us that, sometimes, two know from the start of many a piece – as in the pregnant organ beautiful voices entwined together and imbued with feeling are rumblings that open Frän himlens höjd – that an almighty climax powerful enough. is in the pipeline. It is the journey to Christmas encapsulated. gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 53 RECORDING OF THE MONTH

Richard Wigmore is bowled over by Sabine Devieilhe and Lea Desandre, alongside Emmanuelle Haïm and Le Concert d’Astrée, in an exquisite recording of Handel cantatas

Handel Fillide’s blissful fi nal ‘Non si può dar un ‘Italian Cantatas’ cor’ morphed into a pastoral aria in the Aminta e Fillide, HWV83a. Armida abbandonata, Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne. HWV105b. La Lucrezia, HWV145c. Trio Sonata, Handel composed Aminta e Fillide for Op 2 No 1 HWV386b two sopranos, one of whom was the young abSabine Devieilhe sop bcLea Desandre mez Margherita Durastanti, Ruspoli’s house Le Concert d’Astrée / Emmanuelle Haïm hpd/org singer whose association with Handel Erato F (two discs for the price of one) endured for over a quarter of a century – 9029 56336-2 (96’ • DDD • T/t) easily a record. Previous recordings of this delectable work have likewise used a pair The Arcadia evoked in Handel’s Italian of sopranos, notably Gillian Fisher and cantatas can be a pretty cruel and cynical Patrizia Kwella in the recording directed place, especially if you’re an amorous ‘Theyinteractvividly by Denys Darlow (Hyperion, 12/84), and swain. Time and again the assorted Tirsis, Nuria Rial and Grazia Schiavo with La Filenos and Dalisos pine in vain for their in recitative, and in Risonanza (Glossa, 12/08). Even allowing heartless Amarillis and Cloris. Aminta e for the inevitable lure of novelty, neither Fillide – an unstaged miniature opera their arias strike an of those versions quite matches the vocal for two voices – is a rare case where the ideal balance between lustre and theatrical fl air of this Erato man gets lucky. Having determinedly recording, cast with a soprano and mezzo. set herself against Cupid’s wiles, refinement and intensity’ Both singers have unblemished voices of the shepherdess Fillide is finally won over by the shepherd Aminta’s sheer constancy. Here, for once, Arcadia lives up to its billing. Heard here in the expanded version Handel prepared for performance in the Marquis Ruspoli’s sumptuous gardens in July 1708, Aminta e Fillide is one of the most enticing, melodically piquant works from his Italian years. As with so many of his Italian cantatas, Handel lovers coming to Aminta e Fillide for the fi rst time are likely to have a pleasurable sense of déjà entendu. Never one to waste a good idea, he was quick to recycle many of the cantata’s arias, fi rst in his Venice opera Agrippina, then in his early London works. Aminta’s lament ‘Se vago rio’, hovering hauntingly between major and minor, became the Sirens’ Song in Rinaldo, while Free-soaring: Sabine Devieilhe with Emmanuelle Haïm

54 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk RECORDING OF THE MONTH

Left to right: Sabine Devieilhe, Lea Desandre and Emmanuelle Haïm

beautiful quality: Sabine Devieilhe, as with which they second Aminta’s avowal vibrato she movingly conveys a sense of Aminta, pellucid and free-soaring, Lea of eternal fi delity in ‘A dispetto di sorte Lucretia’s ebbing life in the arioso ‘Già Desandre with a dark fl are in her high crudel’. Playing words as well as tones, nel seno’, before rousing herself for a mezzo. They contrast more sharply than the crucial cello continuo is always acutely fi nal savage denunciation of Tarquinius. their counterparts on the rival recordings, alive to singers and text. Reviewers are paid partly to look for yet blend exquisitely in the fi nal duet in Moving from pastoral to tragedy, each trouble. There simply isn’t any, in a disc praise of compassion and fi delity. singer gets her own, searing solo cantata, that even amid fi erce competition is a From Aminta’s increasingly desperate plea separated by a light-footed performance of Handelian winner. Richard Wigmore to the fl eeing Fillide, ‘Fermati, non fuggir’, Handel’s B minor Trio Sonata that stresses Devieilhe and Desandre trace a riveting the vocal nature of its inspiration. With emotional journey, capturing every nuance her limpid timbre and grace of line and KEY TO SYMBOLS in music and poetry without exaggeration or ornament, Sabine Devieilhe touchingly F £10 and over D Download only gratuitous ‘effects’. They interact vividly in embodies the abandoned Armida’s M £7.76 to £9.99 3 Reissue recitative, and in their arias strike an ideal vulnerability and pathos. Her sublime B £6.25 to £7.75 1 Historic balance between refi nement and dramatic fi nal siciliano emerges as a true catharsis, S £6.24 and below T Text(s) included intensity. A shift of sentiment in the with solo violin as an agent of consolation. (price per disc) t translation(s) ‘B’ section of an aria is always a cue for a Less predictably, perhaps, Devieilhe b Compact disc included new vocal colour, while in the da capos both summons the Furies with vehement attack (number of discs S Synopsis included singers use ornamentation to heighten the and a cutting edge to her tone, abetted by in set) s subtitles included expression rather than merely for display. seething, scything strings. Í SACD (Super nla no longer available Outstanding in a succession of vocal With a comparably brilliant coloratura Audio CD) aas all available highlights are Desandre’s capricious ‘Fu technique, Lea Desandre is just as thrilling ◊ DVD Video separately scherzo, fu gioco’ as she blithely denounces in Handel’s more fl amboyant invocation Y Blu-ray oas only available Cupid, and Devieilhe’s unearthly fl oated to the Furies in the continuo-accompanied 6 LP separately

MARIANNE ROSENSTIEHL MARIANNE line in ‘Se vago rio’. La Lucrezia, most violent and dissonant All the while the players of Le Concert of all his Italian cantatas. In symbiotic Editor’s Choice d’Astrée, under Emmanuelle Haïm’s partnership with Atsushi Sakaï’s cello, she Martin Cullingford’s pick of the animating direction, are far more than spins a pure and eloquent line in her two finest recordings reviewed in

PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTOGRAPHY: mere accompanists, not least in the gusto grieving arias; and with subtle control of this issue

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 55 Orchestral Edward Seckerson hears Gergiev’s DavidFanninggetstogripswith take on Stravinsky’s Petrushka: apairofnewWeinbergdiscs: ‘Gergievissomindfulofthemusic’sfolksy ‘The symphony is so abrasive, so unremittingly roots that the whole has an immediacy that darkandsouncompromisingthatausterebarely is highly distinctive’ REVIEW ON PAGE 67 begins to describe it’ REVIEW ON PAGE 69

Beethoven the music as a conversation with the Trio as a high-minded dirge. (‘An old Piano Concertos – No 4, Op 58; orchestra, rather than an endless flowing pilgrims’ hymn’, as the sleeve notes of No 5, ‘Emperor’, Op 73 melody. There’s some wonderfully yesteryear used to inform us.) Toscanini Nicholas Angelich pf characterful horn-playing too. And the put that right in the still unsurpassed Insula Orchestra / Laurence Equilbey piano again shows its flexibility: the slow- recording he made with the New York Erato F 9029 56341-7 (74’ • DDD) movement trills possess clarity without Philharmonic-Symphony only weeks after harshness, while the concerto’s more Weingartner’s own sessions in Vienna in overtly dramatic moments, such as the March 1936. opening of the first and last movements, Still, with a slightly smaller orchestra This new account of never sound underpowered. In the first, than Weingartner’s 1930s Vienna Beethoven’s last two I like the way Equilbey keeps things lean Philharmonic, and an even more exacting piano concertos finds and flowing, underpinned by characterful delineation of rhythm, accent and phrase- Nicholas Angelich in timpani. Only at times in the finale did shape, Jordan’s reading marries forward the company of Laurence Equilbey’s I want something more overtly joyous motion and unforced articulacy in similar period-instrument Insula Orchestra. After from Angelich, though again Equilbey measure. The principal strength of his my recent disappointing encounter with coaxes plenty of energy from the orchestra, reading is the skill with which the the Fourth Concerto in the hands of Leeds achieving a real one-in-a-bar feel. symphony’s metric jigsaws are clarified winner Eric Lu, it was a relief to be in the Harriet Smith and purveyed by an orchestra whose company of altogether more compelling Selected comparison – coupled as above: sound has been sharpened, much as an music-making. Levin, ORR, Gardiner old scythe might be sharpened after being From the off, the benefits of the piano – (12/96R) (ARCH) D 459 622-2AH4 newly put to the whetstone. All of which an 1892 Pleyel – are apparent: it has the makes for an essentially ‘classical’ reading softness to blend naturally with the Beethoven of the symphony, not least in the finale, ensemble but the projection to make an Symphonies – No 2, Op 36; No 7, Op 92 which neither seeks nor wins a Wagner- impact in Beethoven’s more extrovert Vienna Symphony Orchestra / Philippe Jordan style apotheosis. writing. Levin’s fortepianos for his Solo Musica Wiener Symphoniker F WS015 It could be argued that so classical a groundbreaking 1990s cycle with (72’ • DDD) reading neglects to register the gathering Gardiner are altogether different in effect, Recorded live at the Goldener Saal, Musikverein, scale of the work. Both Weingartner and the Paul McNulty copy of a Walter & Vienna, April 21 & 23, 2017 Toscanini eschew slowness in the Allegretto. Sohn instrument sounding almost overly Their pulse is swift, yet not so swift as to timid in the Fourth. hurry by the emotional peaks to which this In the Fourth’s opening Allegro moderato, imposing ghost of a funeral march Equilbey’s tuttis are every bit as beguiling I’m not entirely occasionally rises. as the passages with soloist and Angelich sure why the name Equally, some may find the orchestral imbues the more filigree writing with a of the great early sound rather too lean in moments such lovely elegance (from 3'50" or 9'37"). If he 20th-century as the tumultuous approach to the first doesn’t quite attain the sublime heights of, Beethoven conductor Felix Weingartner movement’s close, where the dissonant say, Gilels and Andsnes, it’s nevertheless an came to mind as I listened to Philippe bass line rather lacks weight; or in the account full of character, and finely paced. Jordan’s new recording of Beethoven’s swording of the first and second violins The drama of the slow movement is vividly Seventh Symphony. Perhaps it was the in the symphony’s closing pages. (Excellent drawn, the piano initially sounding admirably no-nonsense shaping of the as the Musikverein recording is, might not positively beseeching against a no-nonsense symphony, with its steadily presented the strings benefit from a touch more orchestra. In the finale, though, I could first movement and a gradual increase in ‘presence’ when the Pastoral and Eighth have done with a degree more glee from locomotive power thereafter. Or perhaps Symphonies are recorded next spring?) Angelich, though the interplay between it was that here – in the late Peter Stadlen’s The booklet essay quotes Jordan as piano and orchestra has an effective phrase about Weingartner – is Beethoven seeing the more melodious Second inevitability about it. that has about it the quality of ‘good Symphony as being complementary to The pared-down vibrato-light strings lean beef’. the Seventh. I would tend to see it more as of the Insula are a particular asset in the There are differences, of course, a forebear than a complement. Whatever opening bars of the Fifth’s slow movement, principally the modern conductor’s the case, Jordan gives a superb account of and Angelich responds in kind – phrasing disinclination to play the third-movement the piece: rhythmically vital yet showing

56 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk ORCHESTRAL REVIEWS

Innate sense of drama: Teodor Currentzis and Musica Aeterna bring hair-raising conviction to Mahler’s Sixth Symphony – see review on page 64

sufficient regard for the old cantabile style soprano and orchestra. The scenario of a Recommended for the Rihm, among to allow the music to sweep by with a woman entering the cage (the enclosure the most impressive of his recent works. flower in its buttonhole. Richard Osborne of the title) of a golden eagle at a Berlin Both sound and notes leave little to be Symphony No 7 – selected comparisons: zoo, there attempting intimacy with it desired, but might Capriccio put an VPO, Weingartner (5/36R) (NAXO) 8 110862 before humiliating and dismembering it, is English translation on its website? NYPO, Toscanini (12/36R) (NAXO) 8 110840 intended as a provocation in the aftermath Richard Whitehouse of German reunification. Rihm responded Beintus . Rihm with this 36-minute monodrama whose Berio . Boulez . Ravel Beintus Le petit prince – Concert Suitea exacting soprano part, against an intricate Berio Sinfoniaa Boulez Notations I-IVb Rihm Das Gehegeb and stylistically wide-ranging orchestral Ravel La valsec bRayanne Dupuis sop aEva-Christina contribution, has parallels with aRoomful of Teeth; Seattle Symphony Schönweiss vn aKirsten Ecke hp Deutsches Schoenberg’s Erwartung of almost a Orchestra / Ludovic Morlot Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Kent Nagano century before. If the later work lacks such Seattle Symphony Media F SSM1018 (58’ • DDD) Capriccio F C5337 (54’ • DDD • T) mesmeric intensity, its emotive power is Recorded live at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, Recorded 2011 scarcely in doubt, not least when Rayanne bNovember 7 & 9, 2013; cFebruary 5, 7 & 8, 2015; Dupuis projects the vocal line with aFebruary 4 & 6, 2016 unfailing commitment. A pity that a more fitting coupling was Kent Nagano’s not provided. Encouraged by Nagano while absence from the UK a double-bassist at the Lyon Opéra, Jean- In the documentary for two decades has Pascal Beintus has since enjoyed success Voyage to Cythera, been to others’ on both sides of the Atlantic mainly with Berio makes it clear benefit – not least the Bavarian State his film scores. Taken from a production that the many musical Opera, where he began his tenure with of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s Le petit references in the third movement of a commission from Wolfgang Rihm. prince, this concert suite depicts incidents Sinfonia are meant in ‘a very light, ironical ALEXANDRA MURAVIOVA ALEXANDRA Premiered as the first half of a double-bill from the story over 10 brief movements way’. And that’s how they come across in with Strauss’s Salome, Das Gehege (2005) whose technical finesse cannot disguise the composer’s own recording of the turns the final scene of Botho Strauss’s their stylistic derivativeness or paucity original four-movement version, made a

PHOTOGRAPHY: play Schlusschor into a ‘nocturnal scene’ for of invention. few days after the New York premiere in

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 57 SIMON RATTLE’S FAREWELL WITH MAHLER’S SIXTH

The end of an era and a musical highlight: Simon Rattle’s farewell as chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker with Gustav Mahler’s stunning Sixth Symphony was rewarded by the audience with a standing ovation. In this lavishly produced edition, you can relive this special moment in sound and images. It also includes a recording of Sir Simon’s 1987 debut with the Philharmoniker with the same work, a documentary about his 16-year tenure, and a comprehensive accompanying book.

“Endlessly impressive.” Financial Times

2 CD + Blu-ray

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTOS NOS. 15 Berliner Philharmoniker Sir Simon Rattle conductor Mitsuko Uchida piano 5 CD + Blu-Ray

THE ASIA TOUR Berliner Philharmoniker Sir Simon Rattle conductor Seong-Jin Cho piano Order now at Yuja Wang piano www.berliner-philharmoniker-recordings.com 5 CD/SACD + Blu-ray ORCHESTRAL REVIEWS

1968. No subsequent account has matched Bernstein (from Luciano Berio to William Schuman its darkly humorous, Beckett-like bite – 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue – Suite via Leon Kirchner, Jacob Druckman, Lukas including the performance Berio conducted (arr Harmon). CBS Music. On the Town – Times Foss, John Corigliano, John Williams and at the Concertgebouw in 1997 (included in Square Ballet. Slava! A Political Overture. West To¯ru Takemitsu) pay disparate tribute to Vol 6 of the RCO’s massive Anthology – Side Story – Mambo. A Bernstein Birthday their colleague on the occasion of his 70th RCO Live, 11/11). Bouquet (eight variations on ‘New York, New birthday. There’s more to the set than There’s not much lightness or York’ from On the Town by Berio, Corigliano, mere quotation-spotting. humour in Ludovic Morlot’s performance Druckman, Foss, Kirchner, Schuman, Takemitsu The second disc kicks off with a frisky of the third movement, either, but it is and Williams) account of the Candide Overture. Given wondrously psychedelic, the orchestral São Paulo Symphony Orchestra / Marin Alsop without ‘Big Stuff’, its introductory colours oversaturated and almost glaringly Naxos American Classics M 8 559813 (54’ • DDD) vocal number, Fancy Free is at times less bright. He’s aided in this by the closely rhythmically insistent than usual but comes miked recording, which puts the teeming Bernstein off wonderfully well on its own terms. score right in your face. Note the groovy Anniversaries. Candide – Overture. What might the composer have made of electric harpsichord popping out of Fancy Free. Wonderful Town – Overture Garth Edwin Sunderland’s orchestrations the texture, and, in general, how this São Paulo Symphony Orchestra / Marin Alsop of a selection of his intimate Anniversaries? enhanced level of detail reveals Sinfonia’s Naxos American Classics M 8 559814 (52’ • DDD) Sunderland avoids obvious overlaps – craftsmanship. You can really hear how Bernstein’s piano miniatures tended to ingeniously Berio weaves the Sacre pop up again within bigger, more public quotation into the fabric, for example scores – at least until his gentle Haydn- (starting at 3'05"). I also like the ardent, aping farewell. The tune is shared with youthful idealism tenor Eric Dudley the hummed finale of Bernstein’s Arias brings to his spoken part, as it’s so and Barcarolles of which there are already evocative of the late ’60s. Throughout multiple editions. The playing is good, Sinfonia, in fact, the vocal ensemble Those disinclined to acquire Marin Alsop’s notwithstanding some strain in the high- Roomful of Teeth are superb: pure-toned, Bernstein edition in boxed form, handsome lying writing of the previous number. rhythmically vital and right at home in the though it is, will welcome the release of We end with a fleshed-out revamp of the music’s inherent theatricality. these hitherto unavailable component discs. preamble to Wonderful Town. Alsop swings To be clear, the lucidity in this The orchestra is the São Paulo Symphony, gently, perhaps doubtful that a raucous performance is not simply due to where Alsop remains at the helm for workout would enhance the charm of her the miking; Morlot is, as always, a another year. Touching photographic iconoclastic idol’s most conformist piece punctilious conductor. Listen, say, to the reminders of her association with the of music theatre. David Gutman jittery precision with which the brass and ageing composer-conductor adorn each piano volley starting at 1'05" in the fifth collection. Neither CD is especially well Copland movement. And, in fact, in Morlot’s filled but both contain a high quota of ‘Orchestral Works, Vol 4’ hands, the entire finale becomes a study rarities. Where comparisons exist, Alsop Symphony No 3. Connotations. in texture, the cumulative effect subtly is neater than the man himself. She Down a Country Lane. Letter from Home shifting the work’s centre of gravity knows how to swing but never over- BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / John Wilson away from the third movement to eggs the pudding. Chandos FÍ CHSA5222 (66’ • DDD/DSD) provide a riveting and immensely On the first disc, West Side Story’s satisfying conclusion. ‘Mambo’ and a shard from On the Town Boulez’s Notations are similarly acquire unfamiliar concluding flourishes. articulate, and presented here in sound Bernstein’s problematic ‘political’ musical, Whether or not that’s far more naturally balanced. The 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is sampled in a Copland’s Third is third of the set is as atmospherically and lopsided suite by Charlie Harmon which ‘The Great American creepily nocturnal as it should be, for includes ‘Take Care of This [White] Symphony’, it’s instance, yet so finely grained it’s as if House’ (more resonant than ever these definitely a tough nut to crack. Even we’re hearing with the aural equivalent days) yet excludes ‘Seena’, the show’s other Leonard Slatkin, whose RCA account of night vision goggles. I wish the second lyrical highlight. Slava!, Bernstein’s own provided a persuasively lyrical alternative (played last here) had more of the stridency offcut, is here. Dedicated to Mstislav to the tough resilience of Bernstein’s Boulez asks for – Abbado with the Vienna Rostropovich, this ‘political’ overture of benchmark recordings, couldn’t maintain Philharmonic (DG, 4/90) gets it exactly 1977 reflects the cellist turned conductor’s a consistent grip in his lumbering remake (and thrillingly) right – but it’s extremely involvement with domestic rather than for Naxos. John Wilson isn’t anywhere well played nonetheless. Soviet politics as incoming director of near as leisurely as Slatkin but his I have no cavils at all with Morlot’s the National Symphony Orchestra of performance is similarly lacking in urgency dark vision of La valse, however. That Washington DC. Alsop retains the and grit. In fact, Wilson’s tempos tend to there’s very little Viennese schmaltz electric guitar which introduces the be faster than Bernstein’s, hewing closer to is refreshing, his rubato is generally second theme, doubling sax, and includes Copland’s own in his 1958 LSO recording reined-in yet flexible, and he holds the its taped element of cliché-ridden political for Everest. brass in check until 10'45", when he wrangling. If this is not really top-drawer Sonically, the Chandos recording finally lets loose to powerful effect – Bernstein, CBS Music is one for the has enormous impact. The bass drum an explosive end to an action-packed diehards, generic background stuff for packs a wallop and the atmospheric and rewarding programme. TV. Of more interest is A Bernstein clarity in delicate passages is dazzling – Andrew Farach-Colton Birthday Bouquet. Eight composers listen at 5'20" in the central part of the

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 59

ORCHESTRAL REVIEWS scherzo-like second movement. But the admitted he found the choreography The Grenada Jeux is more relaxed than interpretation itself is too soft-grained and ‘grotesque’, but refrained from public its Parisian counterpart, and the playing often oddly tentative. Why are the music’s comment as negotiations with Diaghilev is, if anything, even more subtly refined. seams so audibly exposed in the opening for Jeux were already under way. He Nocturnes, in contrast, has greater urgency, of that second movement, for example, and apparently considered the ambivalent particularly in ‘Sirènes’, which is altogether where’s the molto espressivo in the violins’ ménage à trois scenario for the latter ‘idiotic darker and more turbulent in mood on aching line at 6'38" in the first? The violins and unmusical’, and only agreed to begin DVD than on disc. It’s a wonderful issue don’t sound secure in the high-lying composition when Diaghilev doubled his and another outstanding addition to passage that opens the third movement, fee. Once again he objected to Nijinsky’s Harmonia Mundi’s excellent series. either, nor do they attack the vigoroso choreography, deeming it ‘hideous’, Tim Ashley passage at 6'02" with sufficient verve. though the score, composed at breakneck Wilson and the orchestra are far more speed in the summer of 1912, ranks among Debussy . Ligeti . R Strauss successful in Connotations, one of Copland’s his greatest. Debussy Jeux Ligeti Melodien gnarliest works, composed for the opening Both works are essentially about desire, R Strauss Schlagobers – Suite, Op 70a of Philharmonic (now David Geffen) Hall and their sensuality is heightened here not Suisse Romande Orchestra / Jonathan Nott at New York’s Lincoln Center in 1962. only by their juxtaposition but by the dark Pentatone FÍPTC5186 721 (73’ • DDD/DSD) Here, there’s urgency and rhythmic vitality warmth of Les Siècles’ period-instrument in abundance, yet the interpretation as sound and the restrained intensity of a whole is more refined and varied than Roth’s interpretations. Played by Marion Bernstein’s (available to download – Sony, Ralincourt on a 1900 Lot fl ute, the opening In 1941 Richard 8/73). I find deep sadness in the searching of Faune sounds very sultry, even husky, Strauss devised passage at 3'11", dewy idealism at 11'10" and the performance becomes really fi ve suggested and even a hint of real tragedy at 15'50". suggestive later on as the fl utes sigh and ‘Programmes of Some parts do still seem to meander, moan over the principal string melody, my works’. Among them was a ‘light but I believe that’s the composer’s fault, before dying languidly away. So much has programme’ that included the Schlagobers and Wilson’s performance is the most been written about the complex modernity Suite alongside such works as the compelling and imaginative we’ve had yet. of Jeux, meanwhile, that we tend to Schweigsame Frau Potpourri and Till The two miniatures arranged for forget how closely Debussy adhered to Eulenspiegel. One wonders what he’d chamber orchestra – Letter from Home Diaghilev’s request that the score should have made, then, of this programme (1944), originally composed for Paul be in essence a scherzo-cum-waltz. dreamt up by Jonathan Nott. The Whiteman’s band, and Down a Country Roth conducts it with an appealing lilt, booklet note cleverly identities certain Lane (1962), originally for piano – are immaculately judging its ebb and fl ow ‘elective affi nities’ between Strauss’s score attractive in a homespun way, and played while remaining all the while alert to its and the works by Debussy and Ligeti, but here with poise and affection. constant changes in tempo. The sudden it’s a shame we don’t get to hear the Andrew Farach-Colton jolts out of triple time, suggesting the girls’ conductor’s own reasoning. Symphony No 3 – selected comparisons: jealous rivalry for the boy, are barbed and Either way, one can only welcome a New York PO, Bernstein (11/86) (DG) D 419 170-2GH witty, and there’s a real surge of passion at new recording of the Suite from what must St Louis SO, Slatkin (2/91) (RCA) D RD60149 the climactic three-way embrace, marked be Strauss’s most maligned major work – Detroit SO, Slatkin (8/17) (NAXO) 8 559844 ‘violent’ in the score. a misguided 1924 ballet about frivolity and New York PO, Bernstein (SONY) D SMK63155 It’s a wonderfully persuasive excess that a Vienna brought to its knees by LSO, Copland (EVER) EVERCD002 performance, as is Roth’s account of hyperinfl ation found diffi cult to stomach. Nocturnes that follows it. ‘Nuages’, with its It’s certainly not top-drawer music but Debussy mournful cor anglais and drifting textures, shows Strauss in fl uent, reasonably effective Jeux. Marche écossaise sur un thème sounds very disconsolate here. ‘Fêtes’, all form. And this new, clear and light-footed populaire (DVD only). Nocturnesa. garish brilliance and light, is played with recording helps to hide its excesses, with Prélude à L’après-midi d’un faune terrifi c agility. ‘Sirènes’, meanwhile, is Nott (and Pentatone’s engineers) aLes Cris de Paris; Les Siècles / exceptionally beautiful, even serene, in its preventing the work’s arteries from François-Xavier Roth warmth and depth, and the women’s voices clogging up. There’s outstanding solo Harmonia Mundi F (CD + ◊) HMM90 5291 from Les Cris de Paris are exquisitely work, not least from the fl ute in the ‘Dance (51’ • DDD) integrated into the textures rather than of the Tea Leaves’, and Nott’s players seeming detached, as is sometimes the case. make light work of the not inconsiderable The recording, made in the Philharmonie challenges of the ‘Leaping Dance’ that de Paris in January, is fi nely engineered, follows the ‘Dance of the Small Pralines’ – Released as part of though the close miking of Ralincourt in such movement titles give an idea of the Harmonia Mundi’s Faune captures some in-breaths and slightness of Strauss’s own scenario. Debussy centenary occasional key clatter. In general it’s better played and recorded series, this superb disc The disc comes with a tremendous bonus than Neeme Järvi’s Detroit recording from François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles DVD, co-produced by France Télévisions (Chandos, 9/98), and more refi ned, if also to some extent continues Roth’s and Radio Nacional de España, of Roth perhaps less theatrical, than Karl Anton exploration of music associated with and Les Siècles in concert during this year’s Rickenbacher’s account with the Bamberg Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Nijinsky’s International Festival of Music and Dance Symphony (Koch Schwann, 12/01; Järvi notorious L’après-midi d’un faune (‘Prélude’ in Grenada. The programme is much the includes an ‘Introduction’, incidentally, is omitted from the ballet’s title) was fi rst same, though Faune has been replaced by that is missing from both other recordings). seen in May 1912. Debussy privately the Marche écossaise sur un thème populaire. This new account also has the advantage –

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 61 ORCHESTRAL REVIEWS to me, anyway – of placing the work within there’s an enjoyable tingle to the way composed for wind band, this full- an unexpected context, which forces one to Hemsing points the finale’s furiant orchestral expansion – made for this hear the music a little differently. And the rhythms. A polished and confident recording – is one of the composer’s most couplings are also beautifully performed. performance. But now consider that vivid creations. With terrific sound and The Debussy – a work set to a scenario Christian Tetzlaff has recently recorded performances (expertly directed by every bit as frivolous as Strauss’s – is this same basic coupling and … well, you Christoph-Mathias Mueller), this is very beautifully unrushed and clear. The see the problem. Richard Bratby strongly recommended. Guy Rickards Ligeti is expert, authoritative and properly Dvo∑ák – selected comparison: disquieting – as one would expect from a Tetzlaff, Helsinki PO, Storgårds Ireland conductor with a track record like Nott’s. (3/16) (ONDI) ODE1279-5 A Downland Suite. Julius Caesar. A fascinating, surprising and revealing The Overlanders programme. Hugo Shirley Hesketh Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Martin Yates In ictu oculi. Knotted Tongues. Dutton Epoch FÍ CDLX7353 (80’ • DDD/DSD) Dvořák . Suk Of Time and Disillusionment Dvořák Violin Concerto, Op 53 B96 Suk Fantasy, BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Op 24. Liebeslied, Op 7 No 1 (arr Koncz) Christoph-Mathias Mueller Eldbjørg Hemsing vn Antwerp Symphony Paladino F PMR0092 (55’ • DDD) Written as a test Orchestra / Alan Buribayev piece for the 1932 BIS FÍ BIS2246 (63’ • DDD/DSD) National Brass Band Championships of Kenneth Hesketh Great Britain, John Ireland’s A Downland (b1968) is one of Suite remains one of his most delightfully Try this disc in reverse Britain’s finest melodious and big-hearted creations, order. Stephan Koncz composers and (at the boasting a particularly glorious slow has arranged Josef Royal College of Music) teachers. His 50th movement (Elegy) whose memorable main Suk’s Liebeslied for birthday was not exactly celebrated to the theme returns in stirring fashion towards violin and orchestra, and it’s a seductive rafters but this beautifully played and the work’s close. Nine years later, Ireland introduction to the disc’s strengths: produced collection of three of his most adapted the Elegy and third-movement spotlighting the gleaming, high-calorie recent orchestral works from the Minuet for string orchestra; and, in 1978, tone and expressive phrasing of the young BBC National Orchestra of Wales goes the composer’s pupil, Geoffrey Bush, Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing some way in making amends. Together, completed his arrangement of all four against swathes of deep orchestral velvet they give a very cogent view of Hesketh’s movements. Now Martin Yates is the first from the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra stature as a composer, his current to transcribe the work for full symphony under Alan Buribayev. This is Hemsing’s expressive concerns and the sheer vivacity orchestra. A decent job he’s made of it, second CD; and while David Gutman, of his orchestral writing. too, though the dollops of side drum and reviewing the first (5/18), didn’t feel that The works are presented in cymbal in the Prelude and Rondo finale her sound was quite right for Shostakovich, chronological sequence, opening with (following the example of Ireland’s original he conceded that it was ‘ideally suited to Knotted Tongues (2012, rev 2014), originally instrumentation) may strike some (myself big-hearted Romantic fare’. written for Gramophone’s Orchestra of the included) as a bit too much of a good thing. Well, here it is, and if that Liebeslied Year, the Seattle Symphony. A tight-knit, In September 1942 Ireland was given just doesn’t go straight on to Classic FM’s fast-moving fantasia, its title derives from 10 days to come up with some incidental late-night rotation, I don’t know what Benson Bobrick’s book on the history of music for a BBC radio production of will. Next, try Suk’s splendid G minor stammering, and sufferers’ fear of ‘the Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, a task he found Fantasy, a single-movement concerto by anticipation of the glottal catastrophe’. far from congenial. Graham Parlett has any other name. Buribayev launches it The music’s vigorous, hard-hitting gone back to the fragments housed in the in swashbuckling style amid a spray of momentum also relates to the composer’s British Library but – despite the skill with cymbals and triangle. Hemsing matches longstanding fascination with the notion which Ireland deploys his limited forces as him with a big, exuberant, heart-on-sleeve of the ‘unreliable machine’ and the well as some occasional flashes of sparky performance in which the fact that the implications of malfunction – a invention in, say, the Overture, ‘Lupercalia recording places her unavoidably front mechanical stammer, perhaps. Music’ and concluding ‘Funeral Music’ – and centre – and the slight muzziness Not that Hesketh’s music stammers or not even his formidable editorial skills of the orchestral sound that comes as breaks down, however. The innate fluency can make it seem anything other than a a consequence of that – is offset by that all his scores feature is showcased frustratingly bitty sequence. the ebullience and tautness of the particularly strongly in the five-movement Happily, The Overlanders is an entirely overall reading. chamber-orchestral suite Of Time and different proposition. Parlett’s magnificent So that’s basically what you’re getting Disillusionment (2016). For those unfamiliar restoration of Ireland’s 1946 film score in here: big, upfront readings with undeniably with Hesketh’s music, this unusually its entirety excitingly complements Charles attractive solo playing supported by compelling musical fabric may be the place Mackerras’s five-movement concert suite extrovert conducting and an orchestra to start, at its heart an enchanting evocation and Geoffrey Bush’s effective reworking of which, while responsive, is very much a of a petite sonnerie. The concern with time material published as Two Symphonic Studies secondary part of the sonic picture. Now and its passing recurs in In ictu oculi (‘In the (both were recorded by Boult and the LPO apply that over the 32 minutes of Dvo∑ák’s blink of an eye’; 2017), a set of three for Lyrita, 5/07 and 6/07). Aficionados will Concerto. It sounds fine; the spirit of meditations (separated by two brief enjoy spotting various thematic and stylistic everyone present is certainly willing, and interludes, entitled ‘Stele’). Originally fingerprints: the plaintive cor anglais tune

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Catalog PRIMA001 And in all good record shops Distributed in the UK by ORCHESTRAL REVIEWS in ‘Departure of Ship’ – the sole cue in usually associated with importing the between them in matters of pacing – the composer’s own hand – harks back to French style into German-speaking lands, always fleeter and tauter in Munich than the haunting 1930 Legend for piano and the 1682 publication from which Kusser’s Amsterdam – if ultimately insignificant orchestra; and the gorgeous ‘Love Theme’ suites ‘suivant la méthode françoise’ come ones, Jansons not being the sort of emerges as a close cousin to the lyrical precedes Muffat’s Florilegium collection conductor susceptible to 90-degree second subject in the Prelude of by 13 years. swerves in approach. A Downland Suite. Elsewhere there’s Here, then, are six suites, each with Conditioned perhaps as much by the plenty of satisfyingly gritty and muscular an overture and around eight to ten notoriously unfavourable Gasteig acoustic inspiration, not to mention a pleasing sense movements, and sounding as French as as by the collective character of the of spectacle, in ‘Mountain Crossing’ and French can be. The dances range from the ensemble, this is a vividly miked Mahler ‘Water Stampede’ (superbly roistering courantes, sarabandes, gavottes, bourrées, Second, immaculately stage-managed and horns). It’s fascinating, too, to read in chaconnes, menuets and gigues you might meticulously filled with local colour, also Parlett’s copious annotation that both expect to some older styles such as the one that doesn’t come close to painting the ‘Catching the Brumbies’ and ‘Breaking the branle and galliard, and are delightful. symphony’s bigger picture. The numb but Brumbies’ were in fact orchestrated by Alan The performances, by a partnership of not impassive conclusion to the first Rawsthorne, and that Roy Douglas assisted Musica Aeterna Bratislava from Slovakia movement’s funeral rites, the Andante Ernest Irving (conductor of the original and Les Menus Plaisirs from France, are infused with a warm and Haydnesque spirit soundtrack with the Philharmonia) in elegant and stylish, and they know how of affection, even the wild outbursts that the scoring of ‘Night Stampede’. to dance. If they do not pound with the precede the flautist’s ‘Bird of Death’ solo Enthusiastic performances from energy that Baroque orchestras like to in the finale: these are moments where the RSNO under Martin Yates’s baton, today, they are none the worse for it. you can almost hear Jansons throw some vividly captured in turn by the Dutton Thanks, Christophorus, for rescuing caution to the winds. microphones. Fans of the composer and them. Lindsay Kemp Cracked into action by sharply tuned film-music buffs alike needn’t hold back. timpani, the opening of the Scherzo Andrew Achenbach Mahler promises a reading of satirical bite and Symphony No 2, ‘Resurrection’ louring phantasmagoria that never fully Kusser 3 Anja Harteros sop Bernarda Fink contr materialises despite a nicely pointed turn Six French Overtures Bavarian Radio Chorus and Symphony from the first oboe, some Semitically Musica Aeterna Bratislava; Les Menus Plaisirs / Orchestra / Mariss Jansons swung trumpet solos and a clarinet solo Peter Zajicek BR-Klassik F 900167 (81’ • DDD) poised halfway between village inn and Christophorus F CHR77429 (78’ • DDD) Recorded live at the Philharmonie im Gasteig, concert hall. Grotesque isn’t a word in Recorded 1993, from K617 K617032 Munich, May 13-15, 2011 Jansons’s expressive vocabulary. Among modern Mahlerians there’s much more at stake in live recordings masterminded by Vladimir Jurowski (LPO Live, 8/11) and Lovers of obscure Invited to Copenhagen David Zinman (in the Zurich Tonhalle’s but worthwhile to receive the annual anniversary box – Sony, 8/18). Anja Baroque music roll Léonie Sonning Music Harteros is both glorious and gloriously up! That is, unless Prize in March 2018, secure at the long-awaited or at least you bought this disc when it first came Mariss Jansons gave a celebration concert intended point of spiritual uplift. Whether out on the K617 label 25 years ago. of the Resurrection Symphony with the sung or played, the words are all there. Gramophone didn’t review it that time Royal Danish Orchestra (the last conductor But the accent, if there is one at all, is round, so it’s good to get this chance to so honoured was Simon Rattle in 2013, and not Mahler’s. Peter Quantrill welcome it back. Born in Pressburg he chose the Inextinguishable of Nielsen). (today’s Bratislava) in 1660, Johann It’s a work evidently dear to his heart, as it Mahler Sigismund Kusser moved with his family to might be to anyone who has come as close Symphony No 6 Stuttgart in his teens, and may have spent to death as Jansons did in 1996, though the MusicAeterna / Teodor Currentzis some time in Paris (there’s no actual proof) first of his three recordings was made in Sony Classical F 19075 82295-2 (84’ • DDD) before working in Brunswick, Hamburg, 1989 (Chandos, 8/90), right in the middle Nuremberg, Augsburg, Stuttgart again of his Oslo tenure, and even back then and finally Dublin, where he died in 1721. Edward Seckerson found cause to complain The Paris connection is important, as is of a calculated restraint that has continued Anyone who the number of places he worked, for by far to mark his performances of Mahler and thrilled (as I did) to the majority of references to Kusser in the much else ever since. Teodor Currentzis’s history books have him as one of the first Barely 18 months after giving the Tchaikovsky Pathétique German composers to write suites in the symphony with the Concertgebouw in will fi nd distinct parallels here. The French style (or, as they are also called, concert performances that duly ended up impulse, the imperative, of this Mahler ‘ouverture-suites’). Even if he had only on the orchestra’s own label (4/11), Jansons Sixth is extraordinary – a headlong ride to claimed to have worked with Lully in did it again with his ‘other’ orchestra in the abyss with every rhythm and counter- Paris, one can well imagine that he was Munich. In 2013 Arthaus released the film rhythm fi ercely articulated, every accent, considered a useful expert in the growing of which the present release is, effectively, every slicing sforzando grimly incisive. Inner number of German courts that were the soundtrack. Bernarda Fink bestows a parts pull focus as they have rarely done desperate to acquire the fashionable French grave dignity upon both accounts. There so before surprising even those of us for manner. And although it is Muffat who is are otherwise noticeable differences whom the piece is frighteningly familiar.

64 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk ORCHESTRAL REVIEWS

I expect you can sense that there is a ‘but’ thus making the point more emphatically and all my instincts are screaming it – coming – and for a seasoned Mahlerian like than I’ve ever heard it made before that the is that unmistakable but indefinable myself that ‘but’ was signalled right from Scherzo is effectively the distorted mirror- Mahlerian ballast, the epic depth and the very opening. The soon to be image of the first movement. The plunge breadth of it all. The oppressiveness of this inexorable march rhythm is for me too back to the minor key is truly a volte-face. final movement doesn’t really assert itself light on its feet. There is trenchancy for This Scherzo’s grotesque Ländler, with here until the final threnody of trombones, sure – I would not contest that – but there its yelping horns and growling tuba and still the most tragic sound in early is too much that is upbeat about its tone basses, is something of a Halloween hop, 20th-century music. given what is soon to come. Then again the exaggerations writ large, the tone But, like every Currentzis recording to the quiet transition into the second spooky and then some. Then the Andante’s date, this one will divide opinions. I thrilled subject – ‘Alma’s theme’ – is really telling remote beauty makes sense as something to it but I wasn’t driven to despair by it. and the theme itself possessed of a vaulting more than just a soft-option contrast to Edward Seckerson but clearly misplaced optimism. I love, the first movement. There’s a real ache too, Currentzis’s instinctive way with the to Currentzis’s reading of it – deeply Mozart rubato, the way he lovingly opens out the melancholic in the Tchaikovskian sense – ‘Piano Concertos, Vol 3’ reprise with its descanting horns. The with all the plangent wind solos making Piano Concertos – No 15, K450; No 16, K451. departure to higher regions at the heart of their mark. Quintet for Piano and Winds, K452 the movement is magical, too, cowbells and The playing of Currentzis’s heavily Jean-Efflam Bavouzet pf celesta and the conductor’s expansive nose augmented MusicAeterna is pretty hair- Manchester Camerata / Gábor Takács-Nagy for atmosphere making the whole episode raising throughout and that fantastical Chandos F CHAN20035 (71’ • DDD) as eerie as it is beautiful. opening to the cosmic finale is weirdly We know now, of course, of Currentzis’s transparent – a kind of no man’s land innate sense of drama in all things – and between Mahler and the jaws of hell. In the way he hurtles with such inevitability this, his most personal crisis, Currentzis’s The third volume towards that mighty appoggiatura in the headlong approach is unforgiving and of Jean-Efflam coda is absolutely thrilling. But better yet is feverishly exciting (just listen to those Bavouzet’s survey his decision to adhere to Mahler’s original galloping horns in the final assault); but, of the piano concertos order of movements, placing the Scherzo returning to my big caveat at the start of completes his recordings of the six second (pace the revisionists, say I) and this review, there is a very real danger of concertos composed for Mozart’s concerts furthermore underlining his conviction the rhythmic excitement, the thrills and during 1784. And, as if such protean by barely pausing for breath following the spills of this reading, spilling over into creativity weren’t suitably demonstrated major-key assertion of the first-movement something that is more exhilarating than by this magnificent sequence, we also hear coda. The Scherzo follows virtually attacca, it is threatening. What is missing here – the work Mozart himself claimed as his

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 65 1862-1919 Debussy

Photos D.R.

Jeux / Nocturnes Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune 1 CD + 1 DVD bonus HMM 905291 Etudes MESSIAEN Fauvettes de l’Hérault HMM 905304 Preludes (1) Estampes HMM 902301

harmoniamundi.com ORCHESTRAL REVIEWS favourite, the wonderful Quintet for piano (based on Horowitz) to pruning the Corelli in the interim (including a fine Arabella – and wind instruments from the same year. Variations (as the composer routinely did) 2/16), he shows himself to have mellowed. The chamber piece is rightly popular but and cutting a short transitional passage in He and his orchestra offer an instinctively the two concertos don’t visit the concert the finale of the Third Concerto (a good effective Heldenleben and, joined by the hall as often as they might, perhaps because deal less than the composer did), Korstick coolly virtuoso Denis Kozhukhin, a they are overshadowed not only by the takes a legitimately creative approach to sprightly and persuasive performance others from the same year but also by the musical architecture. There is a super- of the early Burleske. heftier works of 1785-86. It’s always a treat abundance of technical bravura too, and It’s a fascinating coupling, too: the to be reminded of these works, though. volcanic temperament. But if it’s finesse, early work offering a parody of Brahmsian K450 in B flat is all playfulness in its outer playfulness and magic you are after, then keyboard heroics (though not, pace movements, while the central Andante listen to Horowitz in the sonata (several Pentatone’s poor booklet, his ‘Second forms its still centre, played here perhaps versions, equally wonderful) and hear, for Piano Concerto in D minor’), the later a touch slower than in other recordings instance, how his second movement grows one a wry commentary, in some ways, on but with a sustained, hymnlike intensity. like a flower: constantly producing leaves Beethovenian heroism. In the wrong hands K451 in D plays off its galant fanfare-like and buds, while keeping its firm stem. the Burleske can seem overly skittish and opening against tumbling contrapuntal Korstick’s high-voltage, even fanatical intractable, Heldenleben overblown and string lines and concludes with a finale energy might make for a great concert indulgent. But here Kozhukhin, making that gives its nursery-simple theme the experience but as a recording for repeated light of the awkwardness and difficulty of full motivic workout. listening it is ultimately more exhausting Strauss’s writing, proves a brilliantly fleet Needless to say, as in the previous two than inspiring. and mercurial soloist: there’s no shortage volumes (11/16, 10/17), Bavouzet and the His Third Concerto also makes of heroics but his playing is meltingly Mancunians under Takács-Nagy find an headlines, but not necessarily for the right seductive in the work’s many gorgeous ideal balance between the light-hearted reasons. The piano’s dominance on the lyrical moments. It’s a fine performance, and the serious in these wide-ranging sound stage, combined with the somewhat and Albrecht and his orchestra back him pieces, which were clearly composed to pale orchestral sound, virtually turns this up well. give Mozart a chance to show off his into a concerto without orchestra, a kind Their Heldenleben is an impressive virtuosity as both performer and composer. of music-minus-one version in reverse. For achievement too. There’s plenty of vivid The chamber interplay between Bavouzet anyone wanting to hear every single note characterisation, though perhaps, in and the four winds in K452 carries over of the piano part, this could be a useful Pentatone’s smooth engineering, a slight into the concertos, their all-important reference. The trouble is that the dialogue lack of bite in the overall orchestral sound. inner lines brought out without a hint between the soloist and the orchestra is Vadim Tsibulevsky portrays a ‘Hero’s of self-consciousness. The conjunction almost entirely absent and the main lines Companion’ who is perhaps gentler of soloist, band and Chandos’s of the melodic structure are frequently than many, but there’s no harm in that – characteristically fine engineering continue obscured. As with the sonata and the although he’s can’t quite find the necessary as they set out two years ago and conspires variations, if your taste is for tempestuous steadiness of tone to crown his final phrase. in a fascinating portent of what these pounding, it will be fully gratified; but be The recording really scores points in its players might do in due course with prepared for all Korstick’s overwhelming coherence, though, with Albrecht the later, larger, deeper concertos. to become merely overbearing. For just as controlling the grand battle and triumph David Threasher much fieriness and comparably kamikaze expertly, not scrimping on drama while tempos, but all to far greater dramatic keeping all its disparate elements together. Rachmaninov effect, stick with Martha Argerich’s live There’s a real warmth to the ‘Hero’s Piano Concerto No 3, Op 30a. Piano Sonata account with Chailly. Michelle Assay Works of Peace’, too, and plenty to wallow No 2, Op 36. Variations on a Theme of Corelli Piano Concerto No 3 – selected comparison: in in the final section, not least some Michael Korstick pf aJanáček Philharmonic Argerich, Berlin RSO, Chailly exquisite horn-playing. Recommended. Orchestra, Ostrava / Dmitry Liss (8/95) (PHIL) 446 673-2DH Hugo Shirley Oehms F OC1896 (77’ • DDD) R Strauss Stravinsky Burleskea. Ein Heldenleben, Op 40 Jeu de cartes. Petrushka (1911 version) aDenis Kozhukhin pf Netherlands Mariinsky Orchestra / Valery Gergiev There is enough Philharmonic Orchestra / Marc Albrecht Mariinsky FÍ MAR0594 (58’ • DDD/DSD) explosive playing on Pentatone FÍ PTC5186 617 (65’ • DDD/DSD) this disc to trigger a red-level threat warning. Is it riveting? Intermittently, Bold local colours are yes. Does it border on excess? Surely. It’s been a decade pretty much a given With more than 50 discs to his name and since Marc Albrecht for Petrushka with a repertoire embracing Ginastera, Koechlin last released a disc this orchestra and and Kabalevsky, Michael Korstick is of Strauss orchestral this conductor in this location. But the certainly a more adventurous artist than music on Pentatone. That was an often vividness and ‘authenticity’ (not a word the Beethoven-focused image the German thrilling but uneven affair recorded with I generally use) of the characterisation took media in particular have thrust upon him. his then orchestra, the Strasbourg even me a little by surprise. Frankly it’s Nor is there any doubt as to his respect and Philharmonic Orchestra. Now, with the been a while since a Gergiev performance passion for Rachmaninov. From creating Netherlands Philharmonic, and with a captured my imagination. Barring the very his own version of the Second Sonata couple of opera recordings under his belt opening pages, where a careless and slightly

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 67 ORCHESTRAL REVIEWS inexplicable rhythmic sluggishness intrudes Tchaikovsky (exacerbated by the thicker, more elaborate The Nutcracker, Op 71 scoring of this original 1911 version), there Los Angeles Children’s Chorus; Los Angeles isn’t a detail that doesn’t pop spontaneously Kirill Gerstein was Philharmonic Orchestra / Gustavo Dudamel (or so it seems) from the page. Gergiev as the first to record DG F (two discs for the price of one) 483 6274 puppeteer is so mindful of the music’s the Tchaikovsky (90’ • DDD) folksy roots that the whole has a coarse-cut B flat minor using a Recorded live at Walt Disney Concert Hall, immediacy that is highly distinctive. You new critical edition of the score (Myrios, Los Angeles, December 2013 just have to get past the opening pages. 2/15). This was based on the recently The ‘backstage’ tableaux are especially discovered copy used by the composer affecting in their intimacy, something himself, a revised (second) version of the Gergiev signals quite magically from original score and with numerous minor ’Tis the season to the moment the showman’s wistful differences from the later (third) version roast your Nutcrackers flute first introduces us to his puppets. An made without permission, probably by the fire. A year on atmosphere of enchantment descends from by Siloti, with which the whole world from my mammoth that point onwards. The Blackamoor’s is familiar. survey of available recordings (12/17), clumsy attempts to woo the Ballerina – Yet strangely, though marketed as new recordings of Tchaikovsky’s seasonal not least his lopsided attempts to partner the ‘original version’, Xiayin Wang’s confection are ready to tumble in, the first her in a waltz – would be charming if they performance does not register some of which comes from Gustavo Dudamel weren’t so sinister. The forlorn Petrushka’s of the most noticeable discrepancies – and the Los Angeles Philharmonic anguish (those frantic trumpet fanfares) the arpeggiated chords for the piano’s Orchestra. Actually, it’s taken an ice age feels very real. famous first entry, for instance, and to arrive: this recording was made way back And then we’re back among the the unsanctioned molto rit before the in 2013 in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, thronging crowds (and it really feels that return of the last movement’s big tune. so why is it only being released now? The way) of St Petersburg’s Shrovetide Fair, the Oundjian, however, in the slow cynic in me suspects it’s to tie in with the 1911 orchestration humming in a way that movement opts for the original (and, release of Disney’s new film The Nutcracker the sharper 1947 revision can’t quite in my opinion, plainly wrong) F natural and the Four Realms, for which Dudamel – match. The dances here have a red-blooded quaver in the first bar of the famous with the Philharmonia this time – has rusticity about them, not least Gergiev’s flute solo. recorded the (original) soundtrack. terrifically exuberant way with the Which is all a bit of a nit-pick – and Dudamel’s track record with Coachmen’s Dance – and the lumbering quite at odds with the actual performance Tchaikovsky on disc is mixed. Edward bass-heavy episode with the dancing bear of this much-recorded work. ‘Original Seckerson loved his ‘sinewy, uninhibited’ is vivid as can be, heavily redolent of version’ or not, this is one of the freshest Fifth Symphony with the Simón Bolívar Mussorgsky’s Ox Cart in Pictures. As I say, and most enjoyable accounts I have heard (4/09 – the finale is devastating), but broad strokes, but touchingly human, too, for a long time. In Xiayin Wang’s hands Andrew Achenbach found his later disc in the moment when the Showman vainly and supported superbly by the impressive of Shakespeare-inspired tone poems tries to convince his crowd – and us – that Scottish players and their conductor, the ‘worryingly superficial’ (6/11). So how Petrushka is ‘only a puppet’. concerto takes on the narrative of a tone does his Nutcracker fare? Well, the playing Switching to the neoclassical world of poem in an account of commendable brio of the LAPO – and how welcome to see Jeu de cartes (recorded a few years earlier and clarity. the players listed in the booklet – is in 2009) should, I think, convey more of The same is true of the one-movement fabulous, the strings as fine as spun sugar a ‘shock of the new’ after Petrushka and Third Concerto (up there with the best – and the brass crisp in the Spanish Dance. I have to say that I was conscious Hough, Graffman, Werner Haas, The character dances are well drilled, the throughout of the angular nature of this Pletnev inter alios) but it is Scriabin’s Arabian Dance seductively paced (much music requiring cleaner, sharper lines in Piano Concerto, providing a welcome slower than my top picks last Yuletide, performance. But Gergiev attends to it and unusual coupling, that elevates the Valery Gergiev and Neeme Järvi). The much as he does Petrushka, slightly over- disc into the outstanding category. This percussion are prominent, especially the egging the characterisation and, to my is among the most deeply felt and warm- celesta – Orrin Howard’s lovely booklet mind, applying too much in the way of hearted accounts you will hear, virtues it note quotes Tchaikovsky’s letter to his nuance and rubato than is appropriate in shares with Yevgeny Sudbin’s (superbly publisher instructing him to keep quiet this piece. Stravinsky’s dispassionate recorded in 2015), whose beautiful about his new discovery lest Rimsky- stylisation and straight-faced use of self- handling of the slow movement’s Korsakov or Glazunov should pinch it quotation (to say nothing of Rossini’s opening section eclipses even the before the premiere! Barber) should have a bracing air of newcomer. Heinrich Neuhaus (in 1946 The complete ballet comes in at detachment about it. with the All Union Radio Orchestra), 90 minutes, which is par for the course. Thoroughly engaging Petrushka, though. despite some suspect tuning and But apart from a helter-skelter battle Edward Seckerson ensemble, plays the work (and especially scene from Dudamel, there’s a feeling the glorious second subject of the finale) that everyone is on their best behaviour: Tchaikovsky . Scriabin with unequalled ardency, but Xiayin the Waltz of the Flowers has a lovely Scriabin Piano Concerto, Op 20 Tchaikovsky Wang is the more accomplished pianist, sense of lilt without ever threatening to Piano Concertos – No 1, Op 23; No 3, Op 75 Oundjian provides more coherent and spiral out of control; the Christmas tree Xiayin Wang pf Royal Scottish National detailed accompaniment and both grows at an urgent pace, yet is devoid of Orchestra / Peter Oundjian benefit, of course, from Chandos’s sparkle; the Los Angeles Children’s Chandos FÍ CHSA5216 (75’ • DDD/DSD) opulent sound. Jeremy Nicholas Chorus sing with purity in the Snowflakes

68 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk ORCHESTRAL REVIEWS

Sweeping lyricism: Renaud Capuçon and the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra bring luxury style and warmth to a range of film music – see review on page 70

but sound recessed and pale. This is a The Thirteenth’s long wait from the the composer’s sister, who perished in dutiful Nutcracker, but where is the time of its composition (1976) until now the camps – the wandering balefuleness, magic? Mark Pullinger is not exactly hard to explain. So abrasive lightened only by writhing agony, splintery Selected comparisons: is its musical language, so unremittingly protest, starts to fall into place. Kirov Orch, Gergiev (1/99) (PHIL) 462 114-2PH dark its moods and so uncompromising its As if to sweeten the pill, Lande offers Bergen PO, N Järvi (12/14) (CHAN) CHSA5144 technical demands throughout its single the easy-going Serenade of 1952 as a 35-minute movement that austere barely coupling. This was actually one of the first Weinberg begins to describe it. For comparison I can of Weinberg’s works to be released in the Symphony No 13, Op 115. Serenade, Op 47 No 4 only suggest the 13th (coincidentally) of West (on a 1956 Westminster LP). Anyone Siberian State Symphony Orchestra, Myaskovsky or the later symphonies of who encountered that frankly rather feeble Krasnoyarsk / Vladimir Lande Schnittke (Nos 6-8). Kudos to Vladimir performance and its dreadful recording Naxos M 8 573879 (53’ • DDD) Lande and his Krasnoyarsk musicians, who would have been pardoned for relegating square up to every challenge except for one Weinberg to the ranks of third-division Weinberg chronically exposed passage for first violins, Soviet tunesmiths, forgivable only because Concertino, Op 43a. Solo Cello Preludes, Op 100 which they understandably depute to the the Serenade was labouring under the late- Marina Tarasova vc aMusica Viva leader solo. The future may bring more Stalin-era yoke of more or less compulsory Chamber Orchestra / Alexander Rudel polished and richly coloured accounts but accessibility. However, Lande and his Northern Flowers F NFPMA99131 (64’ • DDD) it will be a brave orchestra that ventures players manage to find considerable charm to compete. and energy in the piece. Admittedly its If all this sounds terribly off-putting, genial opening comes as a shock after the there is a way into the piece, at least catatonic ending of the symphony, but for those familiar with The Passenger. no one could begrudge the orchestra Weinberg self-quotes from three this relaxation. passages in his Auschwitz-based opera Composed in the summer of 1948, the that accompany appalling events such as Cello Concertino is another product of the The premiere recording of the the hauling off of female inmates to their fall-out from the anti-formalism campaign; Thirteenth Symphony is a major event deaths or the title-character’s reflections: its four movements are as modest in scale PARLOPHONE RECORDS LTD LTD RECORDS PARLOPHONE for Weinbergians. After this there ‘Will people ever remember us? Will they as those of the Serenade and as full of the are only three symphonies – Nos 9, remember our lives? Our torture, our spirit of song and dance. There the 11 and 15 – that still await their suffering?’ Knowing this – and bearing similarity ends, however, because the

PHOTOGRAPHY: recorded debuts. in mind the symphony’s dedication to Concertino is as individual, dark and

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 69 ORCHESTRAL REVIEWS specifically Jewish in its intonations as that had he not died before the age and some operatic scene-setting in the the Serenade is anonymous, instantly of 40, ‘we would now undoubtedly inner Largo. Soloist Joseph Crouch is both gratifying and generically folkloric. acknowledge him as one of the great agile and expressive, though one might For reasons that are easy to guess but Classical composers’. wish for sweeter tone. impossible to document, Weinberg put Perhaps, perhaps. There is certainly Alessandro Marcello’s Oboe Concerto the score aside until 1956, when he an air of experimentation in these three is the best-known work here (it is the one recomposed and expanded it to twice works, as identified by Ehrhardt. The Bach transcribed for keyboard) and is given its length, rebranding it as a concerto E minor instantly invites comparisons a mellifluous and atmospheric performance (premiered and championed by with Haydn; and there is a distinct tinge with Katharina Spreckelsen as the warm Rostropovich). The original score of Sturm und Drang terseness, along with soloist. The way the achingly lyrical slow remained in the collection of a friend a canonic minuet of the sort enjoyed by the movement creeps in from near inaudibility and was only premiered in 2017. older composer. The B flat gives a starring is particularly effective and I rather liked Marina Tarasova is alive to the klezmer role to its woodwind section, and the the oboe’s cheeky ‘spread chord’ at the intonations that surface most obviously C minor, known in some sources as very end. Next comes a typically tricky in the Scherzo third movement, and in Lamentatione, makes great play of a gobbet but composed and poetic violin concerto general this first recording makes a far of plainchant – again, shades of Haydn – by Tartini; Nadja Zwiener’s violin is quite stronger case for the work than its played on, of all instruments, a trombone, foregrounded here but does not suffer Moscow concert premiere with different 30 or so years before Beethoven thereby, as the singing quality and artists. Perhaps it is the freshness of early incorporated the instrument into nonchalant virtuosity of her playing (very encounters, but for the moment I’m his symphonies. assured in the frequent double-stopping) actually inclined to favour this first, more L’Arte del Mondo give the music mean that it remains easy on the ear. To concise version of the piece, and I would suitable advocacy, playing with admirable end, there is Telemann’s Viola Concerto, not be at all surprised to see cellists and confidence and accuracy. It’s a jolly good perhaps a little halting in the first string orchestras latch on to it with thing that musicians such as Ehrhardt and movement where it could have moved grateful enthusiasm. labels such as DHM continue to explore more smoothly, but nevertheless played In the 24 Preludes – one of Weinberg’s and enhance our understanding of the with bold assurance by Alfonso Leal del more stylistically adventurous opuses, from more marginal figures of the early Classical Ojo; the finale certainly rounds things off 1969 – Tarasova has strong competition in period. David Threasher with a flourish. Harry Bicket directs the the shape of Yosef Feigelson. But her range orchestra with precision, clarity and plenty of colour and attack are equal to his, as is The English Concert of useful ideas. A nice way to spend her ease in the most hair-raising passages, Dall’Abaco Concerto a più instrumenti, Op 5 70 minutes of your time. Lindsay Kemp of which there are quite a few. Another No 6a A Marcello Oboe Concerto, SD935b unmissable disc, then, for Weinberg Porpora Cello Concertoc Tartini Violin Concerto, ‘Cinema’ followers. David Fanning D125d Telemann Viola Concerto, TWV51:G9e J Barry Out of Africa – I had a farm in Africa Preludes – comparative version: bKatharina Spreckelsen ob adNadja Zwiener, Cosma The Seventh Target – Le Concerto de Feigelson (NAXO) 8 572280 aTuomo Suni vns eAlfonso Leal del Ojo va acJoseph Berlin. The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe Crouch vc The English Concert / Harry Bicket hpd Delerue Contempt – Camille Desplat The A Zimmermann Signum F SIGCD549 (69’ • DDD) Twilight Saga – New Moon Horner Legends of Symphonies–Bflatmajor; C minor; E minor the Fall M Jarre Dead Poets Society – Carpe L’Arte del Mondo / Werner Ehrhardt diem Korngold The Adventures of Robin Hood – Deutsche Harmonia Mundi F 19075 85163-2 Romance Legrand Summer of ’42. Yentl – Papa, (60’ • DDD) This disc is designed can you hear me? Mancini Breakfast at Tiffany’s as a concerto showcase – Moon River Morricone Cinema paradiso. The for four of The Mission – Gabriel’s Oboe Piovani Life is Beautiful English Concert’s Rombi Merry Christmas – Aria Rota The Silesian-born regular members, and does a very good Godfather – Love Theme Telson Bagdad Café – Anton Zimmermann job of it while also introducing us to Calling youa Tiersen Amélie – Suite J Williams (1741-81) spent some unfamiliar but deserving music. Schindler’s List much of his short The name of Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco Renaud Capuçon vn aNolwenn Leroy sngr Brussels life as director of the court orchestra in doesn’t crop up too often but his Concerto Philharmonic Orchestra / Stéphane Denève Pressburg (now Bratislava). Maintained a più instrumenti is full of life, mixing Erato F 9029 56339-3 (76’ • DDD) by the prince-primate of Hungary, this Corellian concerto grosso style with band was reputed to be among the finest a French-sounding aria and chaconne, in Europe and Zimmermann’s 40 or so and a rumpty-tumpty finale. Perhaps symphonies for it were performed it rambles a bit, but the playing here is Theodor Adorno once across the continent. so delightful, especially in the cleanly said that ‘every visit to Like so many of the works of the period delineated duetting of the two solo the cinema leaves me, that don’t bear the names of Mozart or violins, the sharp dynamic contrasts and against all my Haydn, Zimmermann’s are now all but the tellingly pointed inner-part details, vigilance, stupider and worse’. Despite forgotten. Werner Ehrhardt points out that you won’t mind. Porpora’s Cello Adorno’s misgivings, films and their that he was most active during the 1770s, Concerto is alas not so interesting, soundtracks have remained ever popular when music in the Habsburg Empire especially in quick movements that display with audiences. This present collection – was undergoing the major upheaval that a fair amount of empty passagework, but arranged for solo violin and orchestra, and resulted in the High Classical Style, and there is a suaveness to the opening Amoroso superbly played by Renaud Capuçon and

70 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk SU 4197-2 SU 4237-2 SU 4225-2 Distributed andmarketedinthe UKby Distributed and marketedintheUSby RECORDINGS ON SUPRAPHON %2+86/$90$57,1ĭ NAXOS OFAMERICAInc. RSK ENTERTAINMENT ipsnd’Or Diapason * Year the of Albums Times Sunday Week * the of Review CD 3 Radio BBC * +RQHFN 0DQIUHG E\ FRQGXFWHG 3KLOKDUPRQLF &]HFK UHFRUGLQJ SUHPLHUH HQJURVVLQJ DQ RQ YHUVLRQ (QJOLVK RULJLQDO WKH LQ VXQJ *LOJDPHVK RI (SLF 7KH ipsnd’Or Diapason * Week the of Album Times Sunday * Award Chamber Magazine Music BBC * 7ULR 6PHWDQD UHQRZQHG E\ UHFRUGHG \HDUV  WKDQ PRUH LQ WULRV SLDQR 0DUWLQı FRPSOHWH WKH RI DOEXP 6XSUDSKRQ QHZ ƉUVW 7KH d’Or Diapason * Magazine Music BBC * Choice Editor‘s Gramophone * 9RLFHV 0DUWLQı E\ TXDOLW\ XQFRPSURPLVLQJ LQ UHFRUGHG ZRUNV FKRUDO FKDPEHU FRPSOHWH 0DUWLQıŞV %RKXVODY

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sometimes sounds tired and the Collector orchestral accompaniments are a mite heavy-handed. I’d leave K271a until last. MORE GEMS FROM ICA Though fitfully lovely, from a soloistic Rob Cowan listens to a bumper crop of 1950s radio recordings issued point of view it’s pretty rough overall. for the first time by ICA Classics, featuring some renowned artists Turn then to Zino Francescatti in Brahms’s Violin and Double Concertos (the latter with cellist Pierre Fournier) with the Royal Philharmonic under Pierre Monteux and you witness playing in a completely different league, elegant, vibrant and positively Kreislerian in its luminosity and warmth. The teamwork with Fournier is already well known from a fine commercial Columbia Symphony Orchestra stereo recording where the conductor is Bruno Walter (Sony Classical, 2/61) but with Monteux at the helm the bracing effect rather resembles Toscanini or Boult, both of them distinguished Brahmsians. The Double Concerto’s slow movement is glorious (sample its closing moments), while in the first movement of the Violin Concerto Francescatti plays Fritz Kreisler’s richly textured cadenza. These fine performances come as part of a four-CD set devoted mostly to Monteux performances, the sole exception being a very Beethovenian Haydn Symphony No 102 with the Boston Symphony under Charles Munch. Monteux is also in Boston for Brahms’s Third, a work he never recorded commercially and which opens powerfully, though the first- Memorable: Robert Casadesus is compelling in Beethoven piano concertos movement repeat isn’t played. Other highlights include d’Indy’s Symphonie or those not yet in the know, peacefully, prayerfully and with poetic cévenole with the excellent Valerie Lyrita’s founding radio whizz eloquence. Elsewhere his playing is Tryon, Casadesus again in Franck’s Richard Itter supplemented his precise and finely tooled, even at Symphonic Variations (Boston), an Fcache of English music speed. He plays his own cadenzas. extremely dramatic account of broadcasts with radio recordings of Sargent also takes the reins for a Chausson’s Symphony, Debussy’s the great and the good performing performance of Mozart’s First Violin Images – just as characterful as the international repertoire. Happily the Concerto with Yehudi Menuhin, the LSO recordings, if less refined – and great proliferate here, and ICA’s latest orchestra again the BBC Symphony, Part 3 of Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette batch dating from the 1950s contains Menuhin’s playing typically warm- with the bass André Vessières, which, some gems. Top dollar for me is a hearted though occasionally straining although in mono, is actually rather Robert Casadesus coupling of under pressure. This particular package better balanced than the stereo Beethoven’s Fourth and Fifth Piano offers us the first four concertos and the Westminster recording with the Concertos, the former with Thomas Concerto K271a, a work of doubtful LSO from some years later. Vessières Beecham conducting the Royal authenticity. The other conductors is superb. Philharmonic, the latter with the involved are Leo Blech (with the All this confirms what we already BBC Symphony Orchestra under London Mozart Players) and Alfred know about Monteux, his directness Malcolm Sargent. Aside from cleanly Wallenstein (BBC SO), while Menuhin and musical integrity; but, in the case of articulated, pellucid playing and offers us his own rather frenetic a Bruno Walter double-pack impeccable taste, Casadesus’s Fourth cadenzas in Concertos Nos 1, 2 and 4. (all featuring the BBC SO), one features one of the most memorable Sincerity is everywhere in evidence performance in particular reveals an accounts of the central Andante con moto here (especially in No 4) but for me element in Walter’s conducting that that I’ve heaver heard, Beecham cueing Menuhin’s occasional evasion of the doesn’t often emerge on disc, namely weighty, godlike declamations from note’s centre can be distracting, his his demonic side. The work in question the orchestra, Casadesus responding tone – though aimed with a passion – is Wagner’s A Faust Overture, Walter’s

72 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk ORCHESTRAL REVIEWS

the Brussels Philharmonic – will surely roses just starting to blossom.’ performance in marked contrast with persuade even diehard anti-Romanticists Tchaikovsky’s words to his benefactor, the pin-sharp readings of, say, that there is much to admire about this Nadezhda von Meck, accompanying Toscanini and Szell, stormier, important musical genre. his Three Pieces, Op 42, could stand elemental even, a perfect portrayal Capuçon works to his strengths here, as a motto for the whole of Daniel of Faust’s character. You can sense favouring lyrical melodies that combine Müller-Schott’s disc, which in repertoire that the man at the helm knows sweeping lyricism with expressive power terms is something of a treasure chest his Goethe as well as he knows his and emotional depth. Andrea and Ennio for cellophiles. Wagner. The remainder of the set Morricone’s title music from Cinema The title Souvenir d’un lieu cher only includes one of many Mahler Firsts paradiso, Nino Rota’s love theme from The appeared in editions after Tchaikovsky’s that we now have from Walter, Godfather and ‘Moon River’ are just a few death; he himself merely dedicated the this one fairly typical in shape examples that display Capuçon’s masterly pieces to Brailov (a town in Ukraine). and expression (though the finale control over shape, line, weight, balance Originally composed for violin and is more dynamic than most), a and gesture. piano, and conceived during the gorgeous account of Mahler’s ‘Wo die The violinist holds back from pulling composer’s work on his Violin schönen Trompeten blasen’ with too much at the emotional heartstrings, Concerto, these pieces became better Irmgard Seefried, a spirited Haydn however, allowing the melodies to speak known in Glazunov’s arrangement for Miracle and another Walter speciality, for themselves. Saccharine moments are violin and orchestra. Müller-Schott Brahms’s Song of Destiny, beautifully applied by Capuçon in soupçons rather plays the violin part here – for the first performed by the BBC Chorus. than ladlefuls. The orchestra – deftly time, he claims – on the cello. The As to Brahms’s greatest choral work, directed by Stéphane Denève – remains melancholic outer movements are A German Requiem, ICA has issued a largely restrained throughout, providing perfectly served by the instrument and compelling version by the same forces a cloak around which Capuçon’s violin by Müller-Schott’s warm tone. The under Otto Klemperer, with soloists circles and soars. And soar it does in brisk Scherzo, however, is not entirely Elfride Trötschel and Hans Wilbrink. John Williams’s theme from Schindler’s convincing in its new, heavier garb. As Richard Osborne suggests in his List and at the end of ‘Gabriel’s Oboe’ Tchaikovsky and Glazunov alternate note, Klemperer was no slouch in this from The Mission. in the rest of the disc, their dialogue work and the overriding impressions Yet it is those subtle moments that broken only by Rimsky-Korsakov’s are of urgency and contrasting remain in the mind – the hesitant charming and unpretentious Sérénade. moments of repose. It’s an intense rocking figure in Schindler’s List, which Müller-Schott is sympathetic and performance, intensely honest too, and immediately captures the film’s mood perfectly satisfying in his own way, until leaves you in no doubt regarding and dark message, or the ethereal, you hear, say, Glazunov’s elegiac Chant Brahms’s humanist message. The otherworldly ending to Michael du ménestrel from Rostropovich, who remaining two works are both minor- Legrand’s ‘Papa, can you hear me?’. goes beyond Romantic plaintiveness key symphonies: Mozart’s No 25, its Capuçon’s violin charms and beguiles in into an epic statement of sorrow and opening Allegro con brio as swift as such a way that singer Nolwenn Leroy’s pain. Having studied Tchaikovsky’s Bruno Walter’s (in Vienna or New distinctive voice sounds almost intrusive Rococo Variations not only with York), their tempos being identical; in ‘Calling you’ from Bagdad Café. More Rostropovich but also before that while Beethoven’s Fifth opens like dramatic moments appear in the brace of with Walter Nothas and Steven Isserlis, Klemperer and closes like Toscanini, themes by Vladimir Cosma (‘Le Concerto Müller-Schott says he had to find his an astonishing transformation. The de Berlin’ and ‘The Tall Blond Man with own ‘personal approach’. That approach excellent transfers were effected by One Black Shoe’), but this is definitely a proves perfectly tasteful and solid Paul Baily. recording wherein the listener is invited but it is still not remotely a match to luxuriate in the warmth of the film’s for Rostropovich and Karajan’s magic THE RECORDINGS soundtrack – stupider, and worse, or not. (like them he goes for the Fitzenhagen Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos 4 & 5 Pwyll ap Siôn ordering, though in concert he Robert Casadesus apparently favours the original). If ICA Classics F ICAC5154 ‘Trip to Russia’ there is anything like hygge in music, Glazunov Chant du ménestrel, Op 71. Two the Berlin Philharmonic’s rendition of Mozart Violin Concertos Pieces, Op 20 Rimsky-Korsakov Sérénade, the opening bars of the Rococo Variations Yehudi Menuhin Op 37 Tchaikovsky Andante cantabile, Op 11. would surely be it. Aziz Shokhakimov ICA Classics MbICAC5153 Nocturne, Op 19. Pezzo capriccioso, Op 62. fails to elicit anything like a comparable Various Cpsrs Orch Wks Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op 42. Variations on a range of velvety colours, and the Pierre Monteux Rococo Theme, Op 33 unduly cello-focused balance ICA Classics BdICAC5150 Daniel Müller-Schott vc Deutsches Symphonie- throughout the disc relegates the Orchester Berlin / Aziz Shokhakimov orchestra even further to a subordinate Various Cpsrs Orch Wks Orfeo F C933 181A (75’ • DDD) role. Michelle Assay BBC SO / Bruno Walter Rococo Variations – selected comparison: ICA Classics MbICAC5151 Rostropovich, BPO, Karajan (10/69R) (DG) 447 413-2GOR BRIDGEMAN IMAGES BRIDGEMAN Brahms German Requiem, etc BBC SO / Otto Klemperer ‘I saw the lilacs Find your ICA Classics MbICAC5152 still in full bloom, music on

PHOTOGRAPHY: the grass still www.qobuz.com long, and the

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 73 THE MUSICIAN AND THE SCORE Beethoven’s Symphony No 7 Conductor Philippe Jordan tells Richard Bratby about revealing the human Beethoven

hilippe Jordan has never been to the Barbican before. My surprise Pmust be obvious, because he explains that before last night’s programme of Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky he’d not worked with the London Symphony Orchestra either. Double surprise – though, of course, it shouldn’t be. As Music Director since 2009 of the Opéra National de Paris, Chief Conductor of the Vienna Symphony since 2014 and Music Director Designate of the Vienna State Opera, how would he find time? He has been described as ‘general music director of Europe’, Karajan’s old (half-joking) soubriquet. We’re here to talk about Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, though, and he dives straight in at the first Vivace – that Olympian sonata structure built on a single dotted rhythm. Or – as he corrects me – not. ‘There are three rhythms,’ he explains, pointing out the flute’s basic version, at bar 63; then the moment at bar 69 where Beethoven articulates the final two notes with marcato wedges, and ‘Monumental Beethoven is not interesting then bar 86, when the violins finally for our time – it’s more interesting to find the seize control and a semiquaver gap human Beethoven,’ says Jordan. In practice, opens up in the middle of the group. that means a compact string section and an ‘You have these three distinct awareness of historically informed performance. rhythms playing with each other, ‘We all grew up with Harnoncourt. Interestingly and playing against each other, and enough, in the Vienna Symphony we have a lot the most fantastic part is in the of musicians who’ve played in the Concentus development’ – he turns hurriedly to Musicus Wien.’ It means observing all repeats bar 236 – ‘where the woodwind are and taking Beethoven’s once-contentious playing one thing, the strings are metronome marks seriously. And it means playing another; it’s actually a fight thinking anew about Beethoven’s place in the between the two rhythms. There are Philippe Jordan with the Vienna Symphony 21st-century repertoire. only two moments where the rhythms ‘We prepared ourselves for Beethoven with unify across the whole orchestra: the most dramatic part’ – a Schubert cycle, to find a Viennese perspective: the phrasing, he points to letter H (bar 254) – ‘and then once more at the melody, the melancholy. And then we played a lot of the end, where they’re united. They find each other’ Bartók. I think there are lots of similarities between (bar 423 onwards). Beethoven and Bartók, especially in their orchestration, In Jordan’s Vienna recording, that attention to rhythmic their radicality; in their use of folk music.’ But we’ve already clarity is unmissable. It’s not what you might automatically vaulted far ahead – and not even glanced at the Poco sostenuto think of as Viennese style. And yet, he insists, it is. ‘The introduction: ‘The biggest introduction of all his symphonies!’ Vienna players have a very typical Viennese sound: the vibrato, exclaims Jordan. the sweetness, the portamenti (which you shouldn’t do Grabbing the score, he shows how Beethoven uses that too much of). But they’re the opposite of the Vienna huge A major musical space to establish the potential of Philharmonic, which is a more muscular orchestra. The C major (letter A, bar 23) and F major (bar 42): tonalities Vienna Symphony don’t feel they have to defend a certain directly related to the A minor second movement and the historic sound. They don’t have that burden, somehow. F major third. ‘He’s trying to set out continents of tonality:

74 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk THE MUSICIAN AND THE SCORE the symphony will be moving around, but it’s all laid out in the introduction. And then we go into dancelike movements for the rest of the symphony. I know it’s a cliché – Wagner’s comment about the Seventh Symphony being the apotheosis of the dance; but unfortunately he’s right. It’s really about dance on the highest symphonic level.’ Jordan should know. He’s worked at Bayreuth; in fact, he’s one of few modern conductors to have followed the traditional career path of Mahler, Walter and Karajan – learning his craft as an operatic repetiteur (most notably with Daniel Barenboim in Berlin) before graduating to the concert platform. He’s not ashamed to call himself a Kapellmeister, and he’s adamant that his opera house work is the bedrock of his symphonic vision. ‘You have to think in bigger forms, and not get lost in too many details. That’s important in every movement of a Beethoven symphony. The more I do Wagner and Beethoven, I’m just stunned to see the similarities.’ ‘Isometimeswonderjusthowdeaf Beethovenwas.Thatmelodyistotally Rossini – third act of Barber of Seville’

In the Seventh Symphony, Jordan advocates the shortest of breaks – almost an attacca – between the first and second movements: ‘It’s about surprise, that A minor chord. It’s such a Schubertian A minor, and that rhythm is such a Schubertian rhythm.’ He hums the opening of Schubert’s Impromptu in B flat. ‘Of course, we know it’s a rhythmic symphony so it’s always based on repetitive rhythms. But we have to take advantage of every possibility of articulation.’ The A major interlude beginning at letter D (bar 102) is, he says, ‘very Schubertian again. It goes to paradise.’ In the third movement, Jordan takes the central Assai meno presto at a positively startling lick. ‘It was very hard to get the orchestra in this tempo. But you have to, really: with all the repeats, it just doesn’t make sense otherwise. I see it as a sort of folk melody. And the metronome, it’s very fast, I think 84 or something like that.’ He turns to the relevant page. ‘Yes, 84. Meno presto is still presto.’ You can probably imagine by now how Jordan takes the finale – though he notes how the long, seismic bass ostinato (starting after bar 367) that prepares the symphony’s final blaze is prefigured by the low, repeated second-horn figure after bar 441 of the third movement, as well as the relentless bass swell that starts at letter N (bar 401) of the first movement. Long-range thinking underpins everything Jordan does. And yet, still, he can’t resist the music’s sheer humanity – and, above all, its humour. ‘I sometimes wonder just how deaf Beethoven was. That melody’ – he singles out the springy theme that begins at letter B (bar 74) – ‘is totally Rossini. Third act of Barber of Seville.’ And then there’s that astonishing coda, as Beethoven at bar 427 hits an unprecedented fff dynamic: ‘I think it’s the first one in all Beethoven, possibly in all symphonic music. It’s very hard to get this out of an orchestra because they think they’re already there, and then I ask for more.’ Well, Beethoven does say sempre più forte (bar 393). ‘And more, and more, and more’, says Jordan. ‘It’s like delirium, JOHANNES IFKOVITS like it’s making you really drunk. You almost get dizzy. But there’s something about this symphony that you just can’t deny. It’s incredible. It’s the most joyous symphony that I conduct.’

PHOTOGRAPHY: For our review of Jordan’s Beethoven No 7 with the Vienna Symphony see page 56

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 75 Chamber Andrew Farach-Colton admires TimAshleyhearsTheSoldier’s theVanKuijkQuartet’sSchubert: Tale as told by Roger Waters: ‘Theirtonalblendandintonationarecloseto ‘Waters’s lived-in, gravelly voice makes flawless,andtheyplaywithafearlessness that him a worldly-wise, wryly ironic is quite audacious’ REVIEW ON PAGE 81 Narrator’ REVIEW ON PAGE 82

JS Bach . Beethoven . readily as they attract. But they’re of Op 59 No 3, where leader Sara Bitlloch Shostakovich thought-provoking, and often startlingly makes no attempt to soften or prettify ‘Prism I’ beautiful. And anyway, perhaps one the high-lying figure at 2'12" and simply JS Bach Fugue, BWV876 shouldn’t draw too close to this music. strides through with gritty assurance Beethoven String Quartet No 12, Op 127 Didn’t Beethoven say ‘I’m speaking to (and spot-on intonation). At every turn, Shostakovich String Quartet No 15, Op 144 my God’? Richard Bratby it seems, the Elias put projecting the Danish Quartet music’s character above all else. In the ECM New Series F 781 7267 (78’ • DDD) Beethoven slow movement of that same quartet, ‘The Complete String Quartets, Vol 5’ for example, they home in on its obsessive String Quartets – No 5, Op 18 No 5; tone, not by being rigid or metronomic No 9, Op 59 No 3; No 14, Op 131 but instead through ruminative Air from another Elias Quartet suppleness. The finale of Op 131 moves planet: when the Wigmore Hall Live F (two discs for the at a relatively measured pace, yet how Danish String Quartet price of one) WHLIVE0092 (108’ • DDD) desperately they claw its jagged lines. first encountered late Recorded live, January 10, 2015 It’s a terrifying reading, a more dogged Beethoven it felt to them (as they explain journey than the usual wild ride – in the booklet) ‘as if it had fallen down Beethoven although this grim determination throws from outer space onto our music stands’. ‘The Complete String Quartets, Vol 6’ the consolatory lyrical passages into This new release is an attempt to recapture String Quartets – No 6, Op 18 No 6; especially sharp relief. that sense of strangeness, the idea being to No 8, Op 59 No 2; No 16, Op 135 The Elias are riveting, too, in the use Beethoven as a ‘prism’ through which Elias Quartet tumultuous Allegro of Op 59 No 2, to revisit earlier and later music. Here, the Wigmore Hall Live F (two discs for the seizing upon the score’s many silences Quartet Op 127 refracts a Bach fugue and price of one) WHLIVE0093 (102’ • DDD) as avidly as the notes themselves, so that Shostakovich’s Quartet No 15, with the Recorded live, March 7, 2015 all the surprises are, in fact, surprising. tonality of E flat as the common element. Listen at 1'42", where Beethoven The effect, on listening straight suddenly makes the pulse unclear; it’s through, is unexpected. The Bach serves clearly meant to be momentarily as a brief prelude, and the Shostakovich disorienting, and that’s exactly how the follows with very little break. The DSQ’s Elias play it. They’re rather less pure, transparent playing immediately convincing in the first movement of lifts the sense of static, oppressive fatality Op 135, however. On the page, at least, that can (some might say, should) hang I’ve been trying to put my finger on this music also moves in fits and starts, over this work. It’s certainly not that the what it is about the Elias Quartet’s but in this case the various pieces need group’s playing lacks commitment: the interpretative style that’s so powerfully to be fitted together rather than chopped strange, almost savage snarls that end affecting, and I think I’ve distilled the apart. It’s the only disappointment in their crescendos at the start of the second- answer to a single quality: fearlessness. these two volumes, and the Elias redeem movement Serenade are deeply unsettling. Virtuoso daring is perhaps the most themselves with a reading of the slow But there’s definitely a sense of movement, obvious manifestation. The finales of movement that rivals the sublimity of indeed song, in even the slowest music. Op 18 No 5 and Op 59 No 3 are the Busch Quartet’s reference recording The ending isn’t so much a fade into absolutely brilliant – the former bubbling (Warner Classics, 2/16). Sara Bitlloch extinction as a question left hanging – with joy and the latter suggesting the applies portamento strategically (and to be answered by the opening chords giddiness of an opera buffa overture – memorably) throughout these of the Beethoven: jagged, assertive with the adrenalised energy sustained from performances, but the way she slides and destabilising. first notes to last. Or turn to the Scherzo through the opening phrases here is It feels like a controlled discharge of of Op 18 No 6, where they negotiate the especially exquisite. accumulated emotional energy, and while accents and syncopations so deftly, and Indeed, all of the slow movements the playing is exquisitely refined (listen to at such a clip, that the effect is akin to are extraordinary. Note, for example, the sudden, luminous change in texture at arrhythmia in a racing heart. the fluttering accompaniment in the 5'00" in the finale), this performance never I also admire the unflinching way the third variation of Op 18 No 5’s Andante loses its sense of rhythmic danger. These players tackle even the most difficult, cantabile, so gorgeously delicate it almost aren’t warm interpretations; they repel as exposed passages, as in the first movement upstages the melody (listen at 4'37").

76 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk CHAMBER REVIEWS

Magnificent sweep: Christian Tetzlaf, Tanja Tetzlaf and Lars Vogt play Dvořák with tenderness and great generosity of spirit – see review on page 79

The Adagios of Op 18 No 6 and Op 59 Michael Berkeley’s style and expression Barron represents the lone voice in the No 2 are both broadly paced yet flow so remain attuned to the more intimate song-cycle Winter Fragments, while the naturally; there’s not even a hint of beat nuances of chamber music. Perhaps this is idea is distilled further in Berkeley’s or bar line. And the expansive fourth because the chamber context provides such restrained setting of Rilke’s ‘Sonnet movement of Op 131 is wondrously an effective vehicle for one of his music’s for Orpheus’, where the muse this elastic – the Adagio passage (beginning most distinctive features – the often time inhabits the creative individual at 8'53") throbs with such gentle dichotomous interplay between the in a strange, almost catatonic state. tenderness, I had the sense I was feeling individual and the group. Not every outcome is bleak or the beating of Beethoven’s own heart. Spanning over 30 years, all the works unsettling, however. Catch Me If You Can There’s no question this is a contained here explore this theme in pits the individual against the group in a Beethoven quartet cycle of remarkable various ways. The isolated individual is more playful, mischievous manner, with daring and individuality. As with the present from the very beginning of the the outer movements foregrounding rapid previous volumes, the sound is vivid Clarinet Quintet, with its yearning, flourishes which occasionally coalesce into and immediate, and includes applause. searching solo melody. The music strident unison melodies or climax in Andrew Farach-Colton eventually gathers pace and is caterwauling shrieks. In the central slow transformed in the middle section into movement an elegiac line is passed around M Berkeley a strident dancelike theme, taken up by the ensemble, suggesting a melody without Winter Fragments. Catch Me If You Can. the string quartet in dotted rhythms. a home. But maybe the point is that – Clarinet Quintet. Seven. Three Rilke Sonnets – Echoes of the klezmer tradition hint at despite one’s isolation – music is that Sonnet for Orpheus an autobiographical subtext before the home. The Berkeley Ensemble, directed Fleur Barron mez music finally returns to the solipsistic by Dominic Grier, are excellent Berkeley Ensemble / Dominic Grier tone of the opening. throughout – entirely at one with the Resonus F RES10223 (59’ • DDD • T/t) More subtle intensification of the music of their namesake composer. ‘subject versus the group’ is heard in Pwyll ap Siôn Seven, where a slowly repeating four- note figure appearing mainly in the Dodgson ROBERT TORRES/CELEBRITY SERIES OF BOSTON SERIES OF TORRES/CELEBRITY ROBERT Even when working harp shifts this way and that, between String Trios – No 1; No 2. Sonatina for Solo Violin. with large-scale forces comforting consonance and uneasy Caprice after Puck. Partita for Solo Cello such as opera and dissonance, before finally resting on Karolos

PHOTOGRAPHY: music theatre, an E major triad. Mezzo-soprano Fleur Naxos M 8 573856 (79’ • DDD)

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 77 BAROQUE ORCHESTRA jeannette sorrell

NEW RELEASE! AV2369 “Riveting… spectacularly performed and deeply moving.” – SEEN & HEARD INTERNATIONAL (Review of the 2017 premiere concerts)

The latest release from Apollo’s Fire and Jeannette Sorrell celebrates ancient Celtic folk carols brought to America by Irish immigrants and transformed into soulful Appalachian carols. This glowing and joyful album features Medieval harp, vielle, ZRRGHQÁXWHVDQGOXWHVDORQJZLWKFKLOGUHQ·VYRLFHV and the acclaimed Apollo’s Singers. The people of the mountains welcome Christmas with LOVE, SINGING, DANCING, and PRAYER.

Distributed in the UK by Proper Music Distribution Ltd. 1 – 5 Applegarth Drive Questor, Dartford, Kent DA1 1JD 020 8876 5100

YYYCXKGTGEQTFUEQO ^ YYYCRQNNQUſTGQTI CHAMBER REVIEWS

Dodgson Both discs are an absolute joy, the Gade Capriccio and Finale. Echoes of Autumn. performances little short of ideal, perfect in ‘Chamber Works, Vol 4’ Pastoral Sonata. Septet Variations. Solway Suite. intonation and ensemble, lively and delicate String Quartet in F minor. String Quintet Sonata for Three as required. The booklet cover illustrations in F minor. Novelettes, Op 29 Karolos are by Dodgson’s father (note that the Ensemble MidtVest Naxos M 8 573857 (82’ • DDD) caption for the booklet’s ensemble photo CPO F CPO555 198-2 (54’ • DDD) misidentifi es violinists Harriet Mackenzie and Philippa Mo). Recommended. Guy Rickards Each issue of Dvořák Ensemble MidtVest’s Piano Trios – No 3, Op 65 B130; Gade series adds to No 4, ‘Dumky’, Op 90 B166 the stylistic and Karolos are a dynamic, virtuoso chamber Christian Tetzlaff vn Tanja Tetzlaff vc Lars Vogt pf taxonomical riddles surrounding the collective of fi rst-rate players. These two Ondine F ODE1316-2 (73’ • DDD) composer. While previous instalments discs – issued separately but together have given us a mixture of complete comprising over two and a half hours and incomplete works, Gade’s Quintet of Stephen Dodgson’s strongly crafted in F minor of 1837 is neither. We don’t music, beautifully played – spotlight their With some discs, the know if the single movement was meant strengths superbly. The fi rst features the very fi rst notes tell you to be the fi rst of a number or to stand on string trios, punctuated by solo pieces for to expect something its own. The easiest course of action is to each instrumentalist; the second uses eight special. Christian and nod along with annotator Finn Engeland players in varying combinations, the largest Tanja Tetzlaff sing softly together in the Hansen’s conclusion that it’s surely a being Septet Variations (1975) – for the quietness at the start of Dvo∑ák’s noble self-contained piece: a glimpse of Gade same ensemble as Ravel’s Introduction and F minor Piano Trio (No 3) – cello and the radical. Allegro – with only guitarist Craig Ogden violin in equipoise, and proving with the Formally, it might derive from the ‘on the bench’. very fi rst dotted rhythm that they think Mendelssohnian dramatic overture The BBC’s broadcast of the First String and feel together too. Enter Lars Vogt (Gade’s own overture Echoes from Ossian Trio (1951) – with one Neville Marriner as on piano, and in that fi rst surge he was his breakthrough work) and presents violinist – was regarded by Dodgson as his supports and carries his colleagues a picture of rhapsody as it devolves from ‘fi rst real success’. It is easy to hear why, the upwards: establishing, in barely eight bars forward argument into moments of idyll. music beautifully laid out for the players, of music, both the intimacy and assurance It is beautifully played by Ensemble the melodic invention fresh and appealing. of these players’ partnership, and the MidtVest’s strings. Once more, however, The Second Trio (1964) comprises three magnifi cent sweep and expressive scope Gade’s most distinctive feature is his movements of increasing weight, the Allegro of what is to come. tendency to lathe themes that are more fi nale a compound form of three distinct I’m no fan of ‘all star’ chamber music functional than inspired; they allow sections. The Sonatina (1963) was written projects but the virtuosity here is entirely him to get the argument boiling but, with Bach’s First Violin Partita in mind at the service of the music, capturing the paradoxically, can’t sustain the heights but Dodgson’s own Partita, for cello full symphonic grandeur of Dvo∑ák’s of passion that result. (1985), is freer and more modern in design, vision without ever sounding like anyone F minor was obviously a favourite key brilliantly interweaving eight sections, each is playing for effect. It’s always chamber as Gade’s only fi nished quartet (1851) developing material from the Prologue. music, and it’s helped by Ondine’s lifelike uses it too. He all but disowned the score Caprice after Puck for viola (1978) is a terrifi c acoustic, against which the focus and and therein might lie another narrative variation-fantasy full of shade and light. refi nement of the Tetzlaffs’ palette is this cycle has thrown up: that Gade didn’t The six works on the second disc fl esh never at any risk from Vogt’s expressive recognise when he was at his best from out the picture of this genial, often generosity (in the booklet note, he fear of falling foul of the Leipzig incalculable composer, combining compares the Trio of the second rulebook. This free-form work doesn’t intelligent composition, harmonic acuity movement to Rachmaninov – and satisfy the analytical eye as much as the (always within a tonal framework) and he certainly delivers). musical ear but that counts in its favour. beguilingly euphonious scoring. Dodgson Grandiose when they need to be, the trio Expression wins (marginally) over Gade’s liked to set himself (and his listeners) fi nd moment after treasurable moment of occasional thematic pedantry. The lack of challenges, whether structural, subtly shaded tone colour (even Christian’s a real slow movement shows how much harmonic or – as in Septet Variations – pizzicatos sound tender) – and you can he prioritised keeping his music moving, instrumentational, combining fl ute, clarinet imagine how that translates into the Mendelssohn-style. and harp with the quartet. Echoes of Autumn kaleidoscopic folk-fantasy of the Dumky. The disc opens with the Novelettes for (1998) merely partners guitar with viola but Staccato piano chimes its way over fading piano trio (1853 but revised later) and the Pastoral Sonata (1953-54, later revised) cello drones; melting violin lines fl oat they are among Gade’s most charming and Sonata for Three (1982) satisfyingly over translucent keyboard textures; the works. The free-fl owing Larghetto is a place the guitar in a true chamber context. transitions are delicious; and of course, beauty but, this being Gade, all is not The latter is possibly the fi rst work for the when the dances really start to fl y, these as it seems: he wrote and then discarded not-quite-Debussian combination of fl ute, players commit absolutely, without any loss a sixth movement. Ensemble MidtVest viola and guitar; the lovely Solway Suite of fi nesse. This disc sounds, and feels, like include it here, if only to prove that Gade (1974, dedicated to Panufnik) restores a recording born of love, and I urge you to was right. The fi fth closes the piece off the harp. listen. Richard Bratby thematically and with an unassuming

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 79 CHAMBER REVIEWS ending that leaves an altogether sweeter misgivings about the pungent vibrato- initial two movements, animated then taste in the mouth. Andrew Mellor free portamentos and you might wish affecting in a Schumannesque manner, are that the group had let the exquisite slow followed by an organ interlude of measured Haydn movements of Nos 4, 5 and 6 unfurl solemnity; itself joined by full orchestra for Six String Quartets, Op 64 a little more songfully. a finale whose ceremonial grandeur is The London Haydn Quartet But this is domestic music, after summarily denied during those viscous Hyperion F (two discs for the price of one) all, and perhaps a certain amount of closing bars. CDA68221 (145’ • DDD) understatement actually enhances Not that this fazes Per Salo or the the boldness of Haydn’s invention. Danish National SO, with Gunvor Sihm Hyperion’s recorded sound captures and Berit Johansen Tange as attuned to that small-room acoustic persuasively this music as to that on the earlier volume. ‘He has taste, and while still letting Jonathan Manson’s Sound and annotations leave nothing to the most profound cello glow, and you do get the sense be desired, making this disc a welcome knowledge of (more vital to Op 64 than the quartets continuation of another Langgaard project. composition.’ It’s that succeeded it) of this music being Richard Whitehouse supremely fitting that Haydn paid his something understood between friends. great tribute to Mozart at a quartet party, There are bolder, funnier, more wildly Schmelzer . Kerll and there can’t be many chamber music imaginative accounts of this music out ‘The Emperor’s Fiddler’ lovers who haven’t tried to imagine what there but you never doubt the LHQ’s Kerll Passacaglia in D minor sort of playing Haydn actually heard that sincerity, or the validity of their approach. Schmelzer Sonatae unarum fidium night in Vienna – and what that ‘taste’ Once again, it’s a matter of taste. David Irving vn Laura Vaughan va da gamba/lirone represented. The question comes up Richard Bratby Hannah Lane triple hp Tommie Andersson theorbo again with the latest release in the John O’Donnell hpd/org London Haydn Quartet’s Haydn cycle Langgaard Obsidian F CD718 (55’ • DDD) for Hyperion. Reviewing the LHQ’s ‘Complete Works for Violin and Piano, Vol 2’ Op 50 set in 2016 I found their Violin Sonata No 1, ‘Viole’. Andante religioso. performances ‘civilised, carefully Sondagssonate (Sunday Sonata)a prepared and spacious to a T’, and Gunvor Sihm vn Berit Johansen Tange pf If Heinrich Ignaz nothing here makes me revise that. aPer Salo org aDanish National Symphony Franz von Biber’s These are period-instrument Orchestra / Thomas Søndergård name comes first performances, played from an early Dacapo F 8 226131 (59’ • DDD) to mind when London edition. Development section contemplating brilliant 17th-century repeats are observed, and tempos are Austrian violinists, consider also that on the broad side. of Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, who The impact of these choices is most Dacapo’s traversal predated Biber by a generation. The marked in the B minor Quartet (No 2). of Rued Langgaard’s Australian violinist and musicologist The LHQ’s first movement is reflective vast and unruly output David Irving made a careful study of and questioning, though I don’t think continues with this Schmelzer’s 1664 Sonatae unarum fidium anyone could describe it (as Haydn does) second volume of his music for violin and before committing them to CD but he as spiritoso. The Adagio goes to some piano – featuring, as did its predecessor, isn’t the first; Andrew Manze recorded genuinely deep places and the Minuet, a viable overview of this composer in his the six sonatas with Romanesca (Nigel taken at low speed, becomes a lilting, recklessness and increasing urge towards North and John Toll) as long ago as 1995. bittersweet pastorale. Well, Haydn self-destruction. Each of these recordings includes a contains multitudes, and while the group’s Youthful ambition fairly permeates further item: here the organist John habit of stretching the top of a phrase the 40-minute First Violin Sonata (1915), O’Donnell offers us an impressive gives the opening movement of No 4 a evident from the intense rhetoric of its Passacaglia by Johann Caspar Kerll, slightly seasick quality, it gives the brisker opening movement or the Brahmsian Schmelzer’s colleague at the imperial finales a genuinely improvisatory feeling. energy and wistfulness of its Scherzo. The court of Leopold I. The finale of No 5 (the Lark)isoften slow movement’s emotional flights of fancy To best reflect the regal setting for dispatched as a flashy moto perpetuo; here anticipate a finale whose overt fervency the earliest performances of these works, it breathes, and in doing so becomes a does not prevent its coda from decisively Irving has gathered together a rich sort of gypsy dance. clinching the overall design. Incidentally continuo ensemble of four musicians Elsewhere, finales are crisply the (mistranslated) subtitle, added in 1945, and the resulting array of ever-changing articulated with plenty of dancelike indicates this work could also be played on accompaniments is evidence of their close bounce – the final Prestos of Nos 1 and 6 viola – a technical unfeasibility itself collaboration. The exotic resonance of being wonderfully buoyant cases in pointing to Langgaard’s later impatience the triple harp and lirone (an instrument point. So there’s plenty of character here over practical matters. Leopold evidently played) add particular (the performance of the undervalued Of the other pieces, Andante religioso lustre to some of the musical textures. No 3 in B flat is particularly coherent (1950) is a miniature as deft formally as Indeed, as the sonatas are composed and engaging) as well as many qualities it is poised expressively, while the slightly of sections rather than movements, which, again, will come down to taste. earlier Sunday Sonata typifies Langgaard the musicians have only the slightest You might prefer a sweeter violin tone at his most wilful. By this time he saw no of pauses between them to regroup. than Catherine Manson’s in the opening problem in combining movements from The clarity and warmth of the recorded melody of the Lark; you might share my disparate projects, with the result that its sound is a pleasure to experience.

80 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk CHAMBER REVIEWS

Irving plays with a certain seriousness semiquavers. It’s a breakneck pace D810, to the point that it becomes and polished technical perfection that compared with, say, the Mosaïques’ a distracting affectation. many discerning listeners will find Gemütlichkeit, but then the Van Kuijk There’s no doubt in my mind that admirable. If, however, you seek a freer, relax into the second theme at 0'52" the Quatuor Van Kuijk are a brilliant more improvisatory, rhetorical and leader Nicolas Van Kuijk gives the young ensemble of enormous promise interpretation of this music, Manze’s melody such a charming hauteur that but I can’t recommend their account intimately conceived performances still I was completely won over. of D87 over the Mosaïques – not have the power to enthral. Julie Anne Sadie The slow movement of Death and the to mention the Calvet, whose 1937 Schmelzer – selected comparison: Maiden is more impressive still. There’s recording (Telefunken Legacy) Manze, Romanesca (10/96) (HARM) HMU90 7143 the evocatively wheezy organ-like tone remains unsurpassed – and if one wants at the start, François Robin’s affectionate a comparably incisive interpretation of Schubert shaping of the cello line in the second D810, the Ehnes Quartet are less fussy String Quartets – No 10, D87; variation (graced by Van Kuijk’s delicate and far more attentive to the composer’s No 14, ‘Death and the Maiden’, D810 tracery), the suppleness with which they markings. Andrew Farach-Colton Van Kuijk Quartet all mould the obsessive figuration in the D87 – selected comparison: Alpha F ALPHA417 (59’ • DDD) third, and the expressive impact of the Mosaïques Qt (10/96R) (NAIV) E8935 tiny ornaments in the fourth when played D810 – selected comparison: in such a wistful, sing-song manner Ehnes Qt (1/17) (ONYX) ONYX4163 (Van Kuijk, again). The surface I am troubled by some details, Sterndale Bennett finish of these however. The most glaring is the Chamber Trio, Op 26a. String performances by quartet’s occasional disregard for dynamic Quartet, WoO17b. Sextet, Op 8c the Van Kuijk markings and gradations. This is evident bcVilliers Quartet (aJames Dickenson, Tamaki Quartet is astonishing, and particularly right from the beginning of D87, which Higashi vns Carmen Flores va aNick Stringfellow vc) so given the quartet formed as recently Schubert marks pianissimo but which is with cLeon Bosch db acJeremy Young pf as 2012. Their unanimity, tonal blend and played closer to mezzo-forte. More Naxos M 8 571379 (78’ • DDD) intonation are close to flawless, and they damaging is their mitigating the crucial play with a fearlessness that can sometimes contrast between fortissimo and pianissimo come across as audacity. Try the finale in the opening of Death and the Maiden. of D87, from Schubert’s 16th year, They also have a tendency to pounce on William Sterndale which the Van Kuijk take at a tear, the a sudden forte, holding back before they Bennett completed second violin and viola buzzing giddily leap, as at 1'05" in the first movement his String Quartet in through reams of accompanimental of D87 and repeatedly throughout 1831; he was 15 and

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gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 81 CHAMBER REVIEWS halfway through his 10 years of study at Stravinsky Made in Bridgehampton’s Presbyterian the Royal Academy of Music. It’s rather The Soldier’s Tale Church, the recording is immaculately like Schubert’s youthful quartets in the Roger Waters narr Bridgehampton balanced, though sound effects have been way it shows deference to Classical Chamber Music Festival Musicians added: we hear the tramp of the Soldier’s models while tentatively exploring a Sony Classical F 19075 87273-2 (79’ • DDD • T) feet on gravel; church bells and cawing broader palette of harmonic colour. rooks greet his return to his village; and Listen, for example, to the first an ominous electronic rumble presages movement’s startlingly brief development the final catastrophe. It’s not as good as section (at 4'05"), where he pushes gently Rock legend Roger Malcolm Sinclair and Roman Simovic’s at boundaries. I sense increasing Waters, co-founder wonderfully taut LSO Live version (A/18), confidence as the work progresses of Pink Floyd and but Waters’s presence will doubtless draw (going on the assumption that he wrote creator of The Wall, many new listeners to the work itself, the movements in order), with the finale joins forces with players from Long which can only be good news. Tim Ashley being the most accomplished. There, Island’s Bridgehampton Chamber Bennett effectively emulates Haydn’s Music Festival for this new version of ‘In the Theatre of Air’ delight in musical surprises, while adding Stravinsky’s cautionary tale, the third Beach Two Pieces, Op 90 Bowler Salutem his own charming details, like the recording of the work released in as Musgrave Canta, Canta! G Rodgers York quartet’s collective hoist at 0'30". many months to mark the centenary Minster Tann In the Theater of Air Weir In 1833 Bennett met Mendelssohn of the premiere. The text, Waters’s own, Several Concertos in London, beginning a long friendship, is an extended adaptation of the English Marsyas Trio and his Sextet for string quartet, piano translation by Michael Flanders and Kitty NMC F NMCD248 (61’ • DDD) and bass in F sharp minor (1835) reflects Black. Largely faithful to its spirit, Waters the German composer’s influence. keeps its rhythms, rhymes and half- Despite an odd balance between the rhymes but expands and frequently flashy piano part and the relatively sober paraphrases both narration and dialogue. The remit of the string-writing, it’s enormously more The narrative is admirably clear and Marsyas Trio is ‘to polished and engaging than the quartet. his additions contain some fine verbal inspire a generation Again, it’s the finale I’m most taken flourishes. His Devil doesn’t just provide of new works’ for with; its songlike character suggests a the Soldier with Havana cigars to smoke the combination of flute, cello and turbulently lyrical Romantic ballad. And, in his hideaway but proffers ‘Sobrani piano, while ‘uncovering lesser-known finally, another leap to the Chamber Black Russian, or perhaps, more exotic repertoire’. Their programme ticks both Trio in A (1839), with its echoes of by far, / I believe we may still have an boxes in its focus on six works by women Schumann, whom Bennett had met in Egyptian hookah’. There are striking composers, the oldest of which are Amy Leipzig in 1837. Here, it’s the delicacy descriptions of the Devil’s appearance Beach’s delightful ‘Pastorale’ and Caprice of the writing that’s most striking, disguised as an old woman, ‘like a tinker ‘Water Sprites’ (1921). The other five particularly in the central Serenade, in drag’, and of the royal palace astir at composers are all British and the most which blends song and chorale prelude, the arrival of the man who will cure the recent item is Georgia Rodgers’s the strings playing pizzicato over the Princess of her mystery illness. The intriguing if formulaic soundscape York piano’s unadorned part. downside, however, is that Waters’s Minster (2018), one of several inspired by I wish I could be more enthusiastic interpolations add a good 20 minutes the ‘harmonic frequencies of resonant about the performances. The Villiers to the standard running time and spaces’. Cleverly constructed, it sadly does play with admirable warmth but are make the work seem unduly protracted not give any expressive feeling of that too tied to beat and bar line, and their and discursive. great building itself. By contrast, Hilary intonation can be iffy. There’s His laid-back delivery of the text Tann’s 2017 titular suite (though note the insufficient sparkle and playfulness in itself, meanwhile, doesn’t always help, slight difference in spelling) is an object the String Quartet, here in its premiere I’m afraid. His lived-in, gravelly voice lesson in musical depiction – in this case, recording. The Sextet is marginally makes him a worldly-wise, wryly ironic seven different bird species. more successful but outclassed by Narrator, though his northern-accented Also welcome is Judith Weir’s early, Ilona Prunyi and her eloquent Soldier, nicely contrasted with the thorny little masterpiece Several Concertos Hungarian colleagues (Marco Polo, Cockney Ex-Soldier who persuades him (1980), one of her many wry musical 11/94), part of Prunyi’s survey of to woo the Princess, could do with a bit commentaries on the manners of music- Bennett’s piano music. more anger and frustration as awareness making – in this case as a series of tiny The Trio fares best here by far. of the Devil’s machinations sinks in. concertos, one for each player (flautist Cellist Nick Stringfellow applies some Some might find his adoption of a Helen Vidovich takes the piccolo in the lovely legato con portamento in the first German accent for the Devil himself scintillating finale). The trio are movement and Jeremy Young questionable, though it’s clear he has thoroughly put through their paces here maintains a light touch in the finale’s great fun doing it. and in Laura Bowler’s Salutem (2014), intricate figuration. But if you can Playing without a conductor, the a specially commissioned partner work ferret out what I believe is a Swiss Bridgehampton musicians are excellent. to George Crumb’s Vox Balaenae, which Radio broadcast of the work with Ensemble is carefully focused, solos is part of the Trio’s core repertoire. Anton Kernjak, Hanna Weinmeister beautifully done. Slowish speeds make the The musicians are required to play and Ana Leuzinger, you’ll find an Pastorale sound wistfully poignant. The each other’s instruments and assorted even finer performance still. Royal March is very flamboyant and the percussion, to scream and take a selfie Andrew Farach-Colton Princess’s dances have a sinewy grace. along the way!

82 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk CHAMBER REVIEWS

From The Wall to The Soldier’s Tale: Roger Waters narrates his own adaptation of the text to Stravinsky’s inventive and evocative work

Thea Musgrave’s brief opening through tone-colour: the numinous aura Canta, Canta! is calmer but has a complex around the Prelude, BWV857, or the history, originating as a movement in her twilight colours of Handel’s D minor 1954 Cantata for a Summer’s Day before The Ferio Sarabande: José Banuls (on tenor) and being arranged in 1997 for clarinet, cello Saxophone Quartet Shevaughan Beere (baritone) shape their and piano; Vidovich worked with the made their debut attack so sensitively that you could swear composer in this recent transcription for on Chandos last you’re hearing a string bass and cello. alto flute. The performances throughout year with ‘Flux’, an imaginatively There’s a similar illusion of trumpet are excellent and involving, NMC’s programmed disc of Romantic and and organ in the central movement of recording is a little close but naturally contemporary music written specifically the Brandenburg. clear and the whole is complemented by for saxophone quartet (9/17). They’re Huw Wiggin (on soprano) and Ellie a fine booklet note from the clarinettist back now with a collection of Baroque McMurray (alto), meanwhile, are natural Heather Roche. Guy Rickards lollipops, arranged by Iain Farrington, singers, phrasing supplely and and it’s hard to avoid a slight feeling of expressively, though Farrington’s ‘Revive’ a let-down. written-in ornamentation can sound a ‘Baroque Arrangements for Saxophone Quartet’ Not because of the playing, which little synthetic. Livelier numbers go with JS Bach Brandenburg Concerto No 3, BWV1048. remains superb; or the repertoire – only a kick and a swing; in all, it’s an enjoyable Cantata No 208 – Schafe können sicher weiden. the glummest of historically informed programme. Why the reservations, then? Fugue, BWV578. Italian Concerto, BWV971. pedants could object to hearing Purcell, Simply because, with a whole barely Preludes and Fugues – BWV857; BWV885. Byrd or Handel played by a group as known repertoire waiting for advocacy, Suite No 2, BWV1067 – Badinerie. Suite No 3, good as this. And, at the risk of heresy, a programme like this does feel slightly BWV1068 – Air Byrd Pavan and Gigue, ‘The there are instances where the music gains like a retreat into sax quartet cliché – Earl of Salisbury’ Corelli Concerto grosso, from being played by saxes: the outer when the Ferio Saxophone Quartet ‘Christmas’, Op 6 No8–Adagio Handel Suite, movements of Bach’s Third Brandenburg prove with every note that they’re HWV437 – Sarabande. Water Music: Suite No 2, Concerto, for example, definitely gain in capable of so much more. Richard Bratby HWV349 – Alla Hornpipe; Bourrée; Suite No 3, contrapuntal clarity and colour, as do the SEAN EVANS SEAN HWV350 – Minuet II Purcell Abdelazar, Z570 – different voices of the three Bach fugues Find your Rondeau included here. music on Ferio Saxophone Quartet These players also have a remarkable www.qobuz.com

PHOTOGRAPHY: Chandos F CHAN10999 (67’ • DDD) way of generating an atmosphere

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 83 ICONS

Robert Kajanus Andrew Mellor outlines the importance of the Finnish conductor and composer – friend, mentor, champion and rival of Sibelius – who founded the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

n Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s 1894 painting Symposion biographer Yrjö Suomalainen, Kajanus ‘was convinced of (‘The Symposium’), it is Robert Kajanus who occupies Sibelius’s greatness and … [assumed] the role of his faithful Ithe central position and draws the eye. Jean Sibelius, armour-bearer’. waning to Kajanus’s left, would go on to change the course In fact, Kajanus’s achievements were more ambitious and of musical history. But Kajanus was the biggest figure in the far-reaching. He was the first composer to write music explicitly room and the most important Finnish musician of the decade: based on episodes from Finland’s national poem the Kalevala. ‘the master’, in Gallen- He lured countless musicians Kallela’s words and in the His Sibelius recordings have priceless from the Nordic region and composition of his painting. beyond to Helsinki. His By the time of his death thingstosayaboutanorchestrallanguage establishment of a respectable, 85 years ago in 1933, professional orchestra Kajanus would have spent that was new and often unfathomable in Finland changed the 36 years dealing with the more country’s cultural reputation. bitter fruits of Sibelius’s insecurities. He was the first Finnish conductor with an international Kajanus must have seemed untouchable in the year profile and became a pioneering recording artist as a result. of Symposion. His 12-year-old Helsinki Orchestra Sibelius stood to benefit from every one of those Association – the earliest incarnation of today’s Helsinki achievements. But he tended to think the worst of his friend Philharmonic Orchestra – had come of age in style. It had after a messy episode in 1897 when both men were been renamed the Helsinki Philharmonic Society and considered for Helsinki University’s music professorship. presented 11 performances of Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust, Kajanus’s ambitious streak showed its unpleasant side, each including 240 musicians. Finland had seen nothing like as he harangued the university into reversing its decision to this event, presided over by an altitudinous wizard who appoint the cash-strapped Sibelius, landing himself the job cast a spell over his public. Kajanus was a maestro in every instead. Ultimately, we should be grateful. Sibelius was sense: ‘proud, stern, and statuesque in appearance’, a lousy teacher and needed to focus on writing. according to the musicologist Glenda Dawn Goss, who It was in Kajanus’s concert series that so much of Sibelius’s cites his piercing eyes and ivory baton as tools with which music was road-tested, both in front of an audience (one by he grew ‘accustomed to being seen – and obeyed’. which the composer set great store) and in the context of Kajanus was born into established masterpieces a well-connected family in defining moments and new ones. Kajanus Helsinki in 1856; the music •1870s – Burgeoning composer aided Sibelius on matters critic Karl Flodin was his Composes his first works mid-decade, including a cantata and of orchestration until the cousin. He set out to be a violin sonata latter’s proto-spectralism a composer, studying in •1882 – Orchestra founder entered a realm all of its Leipzig with Carl Reinecke own. Sibelius hated Founds the Helsinki Orchestra Association, forerunner of today’s and Salomon Jadassohn. admitting he took advice Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra At Martin Wegelius’s music from his senior, but when institute in Helsinki he •1889 – Friend of Sibelius the Helsinki orchestra was first encountered the musician Meets Jean Sibelius for the first time, establishing a powerhouse threatened with closure he whose name the institute relationship not without its troubles was among the first to sing would eventually take: on •1889 – Conducting student Kajanus’s praises in protest. May 29, 1889, Kajanus met Travels to Berlin to study conducting with Hans von Bülow The two men needed each Sibelius and heard his A minor •1890 – Conductor of a Kalevala first other, and they knew it. String Quartet, subsequently Conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in his own Kalevala-derived Although his legacy is more declaring that he would work, Aino nuanced and fundamental, no longer compose in the Kajanus is remembered as face of such talent. Wegelius •1900 – Touring conductor a conductor. Right at the warned Kajanus, correctly, Conducts the musicians of the Helsinki Orchestra Association end of his life, already ill with that the urge wouldn’t be on a major European tour, making his name the circulation problems that banished so easily. Either •1930 – Recording pioneer would kill him (as Symposion way, according to his Begins pioneering recording of Sibelius’s works in London suggests, one trusty bond

84 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk ICONS

between him and Sibelius was found in liquid form), he was a real Finnish folk tune. Another biographer, Matti Vainio, in London (in 1930 and 1932) making the first recorded cycle suggests that Kajanus really found his voice as a composer of Sibelius’s symphonies and some of his tone poems with the with his Sinfonietta (1915) – a score of lithe agility but not LSO, recordings whose directional impulse and fortitude inconsiderable drama which shows that Kajanus had started have priceless things to say about an to distil his music much like Sibelius orchestral language that was new and the essential recording had before him. Thus he was always often unfathomable. Three decades aware of new voices and directions later, recordings were still being Sibelius Tapiola in music, also championing works made that come nowhere near these LSO / Kajanus by Hindemith, Ravel, Prokofiev, in understanding. Naxos (1/33; 4/74) Stravinsky and Honegger. He was True to Wegelius’s advice, Kajanus’s understanding of just the internationally perceptive, CARL KLEIN/ATELIER UNIVERSAL Kajanus did keep composing. His Sibelius’s novel structures domestically energetic musician that guiding light was Wagner. His most is fully in evidence in Finland needed. Would the country famous work, Kullervo’s Funeral that most mysterious of have become the musical force it is

PHOTOGRAPHY: March, combines that devotion with scores, Tapiola. today without him?

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 85 Instrumental Jeremy Nicholas enjoys Tchaikovsky Charlotte Gardner hears a debut andMussorgskyfromBarryDouglas: albumfromEliciaSilverstein: ‘Idon’tknowhowlonghehashadthese ‘Her flowing, gossamer-weighted and works in his repertoire but they sound like old vulnerable-tonedreadingofBach’sChaconne friends, well played-in’ REVIEW ON PAGE 93 is entirely convincing’ REVIEW ON PAGE 95

Balakirev . Glazunov . weighed down by their Brahmsian French violinist Jacques Thibaud) is Kosenko intellectuality but his galumphing finale also a work to reckon with, its opening ‘Russian Piano Sonatas, Vol 1’ needs all Maltempo’s sonoric wizardry ‘Obsession’ toying with Bach’s E major Balakirev Piano Sonata No 2, Op 102 to make its academic routines palatable. Prelude (Solo Partita No 3) while ghosting Glazunov Piano Sonata No 2, Op 75 The Italian has already won his spurs the ‘Dies irae’ chant, which dominates the Kosenko Piano Sonata No 2, Op 14 in his Alkan and Lyapunov recordings, and rest of the piece. Again the cut and thrust Vincenzo Maltempo pf whatever the intrinsic rewards of his chosen of Pietsch’s playing makes a big impression, Piano Classics F PCL10159 (70’ • DDD) ‘Russian’ repertoire, it could hardly hope while the Bachian axis is nearly as evident for a more eloquent champion. Michelle Assay in the single-movement Third Sonata, Balakirev – selected comparison: dedicated to that pre-eminent Bachian Driver (4/11) (HYPE) CDA67806 Georges Enescu. Here passion takes the I can already hear Glazunov – selected comparison: upper hand and Pietsch never stints in the sighs from Kiev Coombs (11/96R) (HYPE) CDH55224 that respect, nor in her masterful handling at seeing Victor Kosenko – selected comparison: of chords. Kosenko, born and Shkoda (CENT) CRC3109 Perhaps the lightest work on the educated in St Petersburg but thereafter programme is Prokofiev’s Solo Sonata adopted as a true son of Ukrainian music, Bartók . Prokofiev . Ysaÿe which, as Norbert Hornig tells us in his appearing under the banner of Russia. And Bartók Solo Violin Sonata, Sz117 useful booklet note, was composed in 1947 more sighs still will come my way if I say Prokofiev Solo Violin Sonata, Op 115 as an exercise in unison-playing for violin that, despite his reputation in Ukraine and Ysaÿe Solo Violin Sonatas, Op 27 – No 2; No 3 students. Of especial note is the folky third his undoubted service to the advancement Franziska Pietsch vn movement, where Pietsch focuses the spirit of its music, there is little that distinguishes Audite F AUDITE97 758 (64’ • DDD) to perfection. Audite’s sound quality is his Second Sonata from any averagely extremely realistic so if the programme gifted turn-of-the-century pianist- appeals, I wouldn’t hesitate. If it’s just the composer, other than the fact that the Bartók Sonata in digital sound you’re after sonata was composed not in 1901 (as a Franziska Pietsch truly then Pietsch is up there with Kelemen French review suggests, forgetting that takes ownership of (Hungaroton, 5/13) and Ehnes (Chandos, the composer would have been barely Bartók’s Solo Sonata. 1/13), maybe even marginally more three at the time) but in 1924. Frustratingly Her interpretation is outspoken than either. Rob Cowan repetitive and predictable, this is at best prompted by the idea of his ‘explosive a pastiche of early Scriabin (his Third seriousness’, a notion that fans the flames Beethoven Sonata), Rachmaninov and Chopin. of her performance, especially in the ‘Tempest – Piano Sonatas, Vol 7’ Despite Maltempo’s valiant efforts, as with opening Chaconne and the Fugue that Three Piano Sonatas, Op 31. Natalya Shkoda on Centaur, the value of follows, where the voicing has an orchestral Piano Sonata, WoO47 No 3 his recording is perhaps less aesthetic than dynamism about it. The Chaconne leavens Martin Roscoe pf as an item of library reference. anger with moments of profound repose, Deux-Elles F DXL1167 (84’ • DDD) Maltempo’s eloquent phrasing and always spinning the illusion that this isn’t expansive array of colours are of a very high Bartók’s music but Pietsch’s own, that we order indeed, and they come to the rescue just happened to walk in while she was in of the other two sonatas on the disc, both the throes of spontaneous creation. That’s Martin Roscoe began of which leap off the page with unexpected the effect but the truth is rather more his traversal of the vividness – unexpected, because they are so subtle, a carefully wrought structure that’s Beethoven Piano indebted to Chopin, Schumann and Liszt never jemmied out of shape. The Melodia Sonatas in 2010, billed that any individual voice is hard to discern. is beautifully phrased; the closing Presto as the first complete recording of the Barry Danny Driver and Stephen Coombs are a frenzied will-o’-the-wisp where the Cooper Edition. This volume, the seventh more than estimable advocates for quarter-tones are an integrated part of the of a projected nine, contains the three Balakirev and Glazunov, respectively, but narrative. So often they sound accidental sonatas of 1802 that, despite their disparate Maltempo brings a special charm, flexibility rather than colouristic. character, are roughly contemporaneous and clarity to bear, and his Glazunov is It’s fair to say that Bartók’s Sonata is with the Heiligenstadt Testament, prefaced notably better recorded. Glazunov’s first the principal draw here but the second of by the third of the three sonatas composed two movements are perhaps not unduly Ysaÿe’s Solo Sonatas (dedicated to the great by Beethoven at the age of 12.

86 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk INSTRUMENTAL REVIEWS

An expansive array of colours: Vincenzo Maltempo lavishes his refined pianism on a volume of Russian piano sonatas

And a charming overture the D major The great E flat Sonata, Op 31 No 3, the late music to disc is obvious from Sonata, WoO47 No 3, turns out to be in is appropriately kept on the early side of his conversation with Christopher Cook preparation for weightier matters. Using a that great point-of-no-return, heralded in the booklet. And that care comes noticeably lighter touch appropriate to the by the Waldstein and Eroica, ushering through in his music-making too. In less robust pianos available in Bonn during in Beethoven’s ‘heroic’ second period. Op 117, for instance, he finds an apt the early 1780s, Roscoe takes great pains to Textures are translucent throughout and simplicity to its opening number, while exhibit the fecund imagination of the young a good bit of charm, in lieu of insistence, the second has a nice gentleness. The composer. Though not yet harnessed to the sells the message. Despite the fact that third is filled with a tangible sadness, and harmonic thinking of the mature master, the Scherzo is nothing short of hilarious, is nicely inward – altogether more urgent the variety and resourcefulness of the it can’t upstage the madcap romp of than Jonathan Plowright, who produces figurations are fascinating. the Rondo. one of the most touchingly withdrawn In the outer movements of the G major These are original readings of great readings on record. In Op 116 Owen Sonata, Op 31 No 1, Roscoe doesn’t let a style, wit and imagination, each individual is particularly telling in the A minor single joke slip past, even as he delivers sonata emerging with rare emotional and Intermezzo, which has a pleasing them with subtlety rather than with thigh- intellectual cohesion. I think you’ll enjoy intimacy, contrasting with the turbulence slapping guffaws. He floats a flawless them. Patrick Rucker of the following number and the cantabile above the sly accompaniment of sonorously beautiful E major Adagio immense finesse in the Adagio grazioso in Brahms that forms the set’s centrepiece. one of the disc’s many highlights. ‘Late Piano Music’ The highlights of Op 118 are to be Roscoe charts a steady course through Piano Pieces – Op 76; Op 116; Op 117; found in the second piece, which he the serious and occasionally threatening Op 118; Op 119. Two Rhapsodies, Op 79 turns into a true Lied, with a beautifully terrain of the Tempest Sonata, Op 31 No 2. Charles Owen pf haloed middle section, and the Ballade, Some of Beethoven’s more enigmatic Avie Mb AV2397 (116’ • DDD) which sets off with a bright-eyed vigour instructions are scrupulously observed, that avoids any hint of trenchancy thanks including the pedal indication sustained to his light way with the left-hand throughout the extended recitative of the chords. In the sixth piece – which, as first movement, and the muffled drum That Charles Owen Owen mentions in the notes, has been tattoos undergirding the Adagio. The moto has thought deeply identified by Jonathan Keates as starting perpetuo of the finale – lean, fraught and about Brahms with the Dies irae chant – the pianist sparsely pedalled – is alarmingly effective. before committing combines myriad colours with a

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 87

INSTRUMENTAL REVIEWS profound unease. But in the fourth piece, Beethoven 1 His third Liebestraum is perhaps most I prefer Angelich’s more fl uid tempo, ‘The Complete Pre-War Beethoven Recordings’ remarkable in that nothing is allowed while in No 5 it is Plowright, with his JS Bach Christmas Oratorio, BWV248 – to obtrude between the listener and steadier speed, who conveys the piece’s Pastorale (arr Clarence Lucas). Preludes and Freiligrath’s ardent text, which occupies the processional quality. And of course any Fugues – BWV846; BWV687 Beethoven Piano foreground as though it were declaimed by new recording of late Brahms is going to Concertos – No 4, Op 58a; No 5, ‘Emperor’, a great actor, without excess or affectation. come up against Arcadi Volodos, whose Op 73b. Piano Sonatas – No 8, ‘Pathétique’, Op 13; The same could be said of Rückert’s ‘Du combination of velvet tone and an No 14, ‘Moonlight’, Op 27 No 2; No 26, ‘Les meine Seele’ in this unforced yet eloquent inimitable ear for voicing and singing adieux’, Op 81a; No 32, Op 111 performance of Liszt’s setting of a melodic line casts a long shadow. Wilhelm Backhaus pf Schumann’s ‘Widmung’. I was less convinced by Op 119, in aLondon Symphony Orchestra; bRoyal As impressive as some of the smaller which Owen sounds a touch tentative. Albert Hall Orchestra / Landon Ronald Schumann pieces are, it is the 1937 The opening piece is slightly too APR B b APR6027 (142’ • ADD) C major Fantasie that commands attention. measured, while the second lacks the Recorded 1927-37 Shot through with poetry and passion, and vivid characterisation of Lupu and supported by one of the great techniques Freire. The third could have been of the century, this Fantasie is grippingly more playful and the light-to-dark beautiful, all the more astonishing when fi nal Rhapsody doesn’t fi nd the drama you consider that the second movement that Lupu and Freire so abundantly represents a single unedited take. demonstrate. On the other hand, The other two-disc set, devoted to much of Op 76 works well, not least the pre-war Beethoven recordings, seems the turbulent fi rst piece and the gently Wilhelm Backhaus’s Chopin Études, more consistent with the image we have playful second, though in the third Opp 10 and 25 from 1928, were the fi rst of Backhaus’s later years. The G major Plowright dares to dream more, to to be recorded as a complete set and Concerto (No 4) was recorded in rapturous effect. remain justly famous, retaining even today September 1929 and the following March. The two Op 79 Rhapsodies are an unassailable position among the fi nest. The Emperor, on the other hand, was another highlight of this set, though, They are part of a new APR two-disc set, captured in a single day in January 1927. Owen conveying the requisite sense of alongside a miscellany of Chopin, Liszt, Landon Ronald was the able collaborator power, surmounting their diffi culties Schumann (including the C major Fantasie) in both. Backhaus has a particularly with ease and making the much-played and others, comprising Backhaus’s fascinating way with the development of G minor very much his own. recordings for HMV between 1925 and the G major’s opening Allegro but it must Harriet Smith 1937. Listeners familiar only with the be said that his decision to use his own Piano Pieces – selected comparisons: formidable granite surfaces of Backhaus’s elaborate cadenza in the Rondo, in lieu Volodos (6/17) (SONY) 88875 13019-2 post-war Beethoven or Brahms will fi nd of Beethoven’s, threatens to swamp Freire (A/07) (DECC) 483 2154DH in this collection a treasure trove of the movement. Jed Distler’s perceptive Plowright (12/14, 2/16, 4/17) (BIS) BIS2117, 2127, 2137 delightful surprises. booklet notes point out that Backhaus felt Opp 116-119 – selected comparison: Backhaus’s own transcriptions of the that the Emperor was the recording with Angelich (4/07) (VIRG/ERAT) 379302-2 Serenade from Don Giovanni and the E fl at which he would most like to represent Opp 79 & 117-119 – selected comparison: Marche militaire of Schubert warrant pride himself to posterity. The sonatas are a bit Lupu (8/87, 3/06) (DECC) 417 599-2GH, 475 7070DC3 of place. Virtuoso transcriptions they of a mixed bag, some superior to his later undoubtedly are, but with the peculiar recordings, others not. The Bach pieces Chopin . Liszt . quirk that one must listen closely to were fi llers for the extra sides of the Schumann 1 discern their diffi culty. Technical display, original 78 releases. ‘HMV Recordings 1925-1937’ as it were, is almost hidden, so that the Both of these welcome sets fill out a Albéniz Iberia, Book 2 – No 3, Triana. Tango, original piece is front and centre, subtly portrait of one of Germany’s important Op 165 No 2 (arr Godowsky) Chopin embellished with its by no means obvious pianists. Patrick Rucker Berceuse, Op 57. Études – Op 10; Op 25. virtuoso trappings. Given the fame of Fantaisie-Impromptu, Op 66. Prelude, Op 28 Backhaus’s Chopin Études, it’s less Liszt No 1. Waltzes – No 1, Op 18; No 6, Op 64 No 1 surprising that two Waltzes, Op 18 and ‘Complete Piano Music, Vol 51’ Delibes Naïla – Waltz (arr Dohnányi) Op 64 No 1, should be brilliant or the Albumblatt, ‘Première Consolation’, S171b Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody, S244 No 2. Berceuse charming. Yet Albéniz’s ‘Triana’ (fragment). Après une lecture de Dante, S158b Liebestraum, S541 No 3. Waldesrauchen, and Godowsky’s transcription of the Tango, (second version). Ballade No 2, S170a (first S145 No 2. Widmung (Schumann), S566 Op 165 No 1, are likely to leave your version). Consolations, S171a (first version). Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream – windows steamed. No, really. Sposalizio, S157a (first version). Der Tanz in der Scherzo (arr Hutcheson) Moszkowski Backhaus was also an extraordinarily Dorfschenke, S514 (revised version) Caprice espagnole, Op 37 Mozart Don persuasive Liszt player. The sixth Soirée Goran Filipec pf Giovanni – Serenade (arr Backhaus) de Vienne is savoured as one would the Naxos M 8 573794 (70’ • DDD) Schubert Marche militaire, D733 No 3 unpretentious pleasure of a light (arr Backhaus) Schumann Fantasie, Op 17. white Viennese wine. ‘Waldesrauschen’ Fantasiestücke, Op 12 – No 2, Aufschwung; is imbued with the seriousness of purpose No 7, Traumes Wirren. Nachtstück, Op 23 of a symphonic poem. What the Second The latest instalment No 4 Smetana Polka No 3 Hungarian Rhapsody lacks in gypsy swagger in Naxos’s series of Wilhelm Backhaus pf and abandon is more than compensated by Liszt’s piano music APR B b APR6026 (160’ • ADD) the ease and polish of its sterling pianism. contains early or

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ALONDRA DE LA PARRA • ARCADI VOLODOS Caroline Doutre DANIEL LOZAKOVICH • CAMERATA SALZBURG... All albums available in Studio Master from www.linnrecords.com Distributed in the UK by RSK Entertainment www.rskentertainment.co.uk Distributed in North America by Naxos of America www.naxos.com www.outhere-music.com festivalpaques.com Renaud CapuçonRenaud © INSTRUMENTAL REVIEWS

King’s organ scholar Richard Gowers gives a thrilling account of Messiaen’s La Nativité du Seigneur

otherwise unfamiliar versions of a several Liszt series, are nothing short of superb. thoughts that this famous organ might be quite well-known pieces. What exactly are A seasoned and perceptive Liszt player, just too English to get its tongue around the differences? Without space to deal Filipec commands vast technical resources the Gallic accents of Messiaen are with them in detail, a few suggestions and a shimmering, beautifully expressive conclusively brushed aside with the must suffice. The second version of the sound. His idiomatic grasp is such that, tremendously focused and intensely Dante Sonata, called Prolégomènes, a work if we didn’t have the final versions of cerebral playing of Richard Gowers. In that Liszt is known to have played and these works, Filipec’s take on the earlier his own essay on why he chose to record continued to refine during his touring drafts would go a long way towards this work, he suggests that ‘it has been years, contains most of the material of the compensation. With its blend of unusual connected with the Chapel and organ final version as it appears in the second yet recognisable repertory and first-class at King’s for a long time’, and goes on to book of Années de pèlerinage, with little of pianism, this is a release you won’t want remind us that its fi nal part, the thrilling substance that was finally omitted. By and to miss. Patrick Rucker toccata ‘Dieu parmi nous’, has often been large, the Prolégomènes feels less spacious, used as the postlude to the annual service with what seem to be truncated and Messiaen of Nine Lessons and Carols. occasionally abrupt transitions, as well La Nativité du Seigneur But this sentimental connection aside – as a few elaborations which were well Richard Gowers org and his is a singularly thrilling performance deleted. The B minor Ballade is King’s College, Cambridge F KGS0025 (68’ • DDD) of that movement – Gowers conveys the essentially the familiar text, yet with a Played on the organ of King’s College, Cambridge fundamental musicality of the work. There heroic apotheosis. For all its splendour, is a sense here that he feels the music, that one has to agree with the composer that he shares much of the Messiaen’s vision the quiet ending of the final version and that he knows exactly what he wants to creates the more compelling artwork. And Messiaen’s nine- music to say to the listener, whether or not in place of the famous third Consolation, movement reflection the organ makes the sort of sound Messiaen we find an embryonic First Hungarian on the birth of Christ might originally have had in mind. Rhapsody. All told, these versions offer a has long earned its The recording quality is also very fi ne, fascinating glimpse into Liszt’s creative place as one of the great classics for organ, as are the copious booklet notes – the workshop and the evolution of his so it is no surprise to see King’s College absence of any material about the organ BENJAMIN SHEEN BENJAMIN musical thought. Chapel, Cambridge, adding its voice to the is appropriate since Gowers’s performance The performances of the Croatian catalogue of fine recordings of the work. is never intended as a showcase of organ pianist Goran Filipec, who has already This new release on King’s own label is colours – and all told I recommend this disc

PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTOGRAPHY: contributed two volumes to the Naxos most certainly very fine indeed. Lingering wholeheartedly, even in the light of some

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*Review of Disk A in 2001 INSTRUMENTAL REVIEWS pretty stiff competition from the likes such as ‘Bydπo’ beginning ff (not with a makes everything speak so much more of Olivier Latry (DG, 5/02) and one of distant pp), no repeats in ‘Goldenberg and naturally and Carcano doesn’t come close Gowers’s illustrious predecessors as a Schmuÿle’ and the original ending of two to Anderszewski in terms of personality. King’s organ scholar, Simon Preston octave B flats. Is he quite feroce enough in In Davidsbündlertänze, there are (Decca/Eloquence, 3/66, 3/18). ‘Baba-Yaga’? Does he release too much occasional hints of what might have been Marc Rochester tension in ‘The Great Gate of Kiev’? had Carcano simply allowed the music to Not enough to spoil a distinguished speak for itself. A number such as ‘Zart Mussorgsky . Tchaikovsky and beautifully recorded account of und singend’ (track 19) has poise and ‘Tchaikovsky Plus One, Vol 1’ this great score. poetry, while tracks 17 and 21 show that he Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition Set beside Barry Douglas, I’m afraid has technique aplenty. But ‘Nicht schnell’ Tchaikovsky The Seasons, Op 37b Yuan Sheng’s account of The Seasons is (track 12) drenches Schumann’s creation in Barry Douglas pf like comparing a pleasant spring walk cheap perfume, while ‘Balladenmässig, sehr Chandos F CHAN10991 (76’ • DDD) in the Yorkshire Dales with a freezing rasch’ (track 15) is spoilt by an unsubtle left midwinter trudge through the streets hand. He’s a world away from artists such Tchaikovsky of Sheng’s native Beijing. Despite the as Uchida, who makes this piece completely Tchaikovsky The Seasons, Op 37b. fulsome biography in the booklet, I fail her own with a masterful imagination and Aveu passioné. Dumka, Op 59. to hear much beyond a decent technique the most subtle pianism, or Imogen Two Pieces, Op 10. Romance, Op 5 and a limited imagination. Five unrelated Cooper, who brings to it a finely Yuan Sheng pf Tchaikovsky solos beckoned, among them detailed characterisation. Piano Classics F PCL10157 (74’ • DDD) the popular Humoresque but here without Carcano ends with the late its requisite impish twinkle. The final Geistervariationen, the theme unfolding piece is the Dumka, made famous by quite steadily. Here, too, there’s a tendency Vladimir Horowitz in his 1942 recording. to get lost in the detail: the Canon is If Sheng has heard it, he must have unsubtly rendered, while the fourth persuaded himself that his way of playing variation is overly concerned with inner the piece is more interesting than detail and the last also lacks a sense of line. Horowitz’s. But it isn’t. Though Yuan How much more Cooper makes of this. ‘Tchaikovsky Plus One’ is the first of a new Sheng’s Bach has been widely acclaimed, Harriet Smith series in which Barry Douglas pairs some Tchaikovsky, I feel, is not quite his thing. Humoreske – selected comparisons: of Tchaikovsky’s principal works for solo Jeremy Nicholas Lupu (4/95) (DECC) 440 496-2DH piano with those of his compatriots. It was, Anderszewski (1/11R) (VIRG/ERAT) 642022-0 of course, in Russia where Douglas made Schumann Youn (11/18) (SONY) 19075 86090-2 his name by winning the 1986 Tchaikovsky Davidsbündlertänze, Op 6. Geistervariationen, Davidsbündlertänze – selected comparison: Competition. But even before that, as he WoO24. Humoreske, Op 20 Uchida (12/10) (DECC) 478 2280DH2 or 478 2936DH explains, he ‘felt a deep affinity with Gabriele Carcano pf Davidsbündlertänze, Geistervariationen – selected comparison: Russian culture’. And it shows. Rubicon F RCD1022 (78’ • DDD) Cooper (10/15) (CHAN) CHAN10874 I don’t know how long he has had these works in his repertoire but they sound ‘American Landscapes’ like old friends, well played-in. From the ‘Anthology of American Piano Music, Vol 3’ opening bars of the Schumannesque ‘By Anyone on the Cadman From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water the hearth’ (January from The Seasons), receiving end of Copland Down a Country Lane Farwell From Douglas draws you in with his self-effacing, a Borletti-Buitoni Mesa and Plain, Op 20 (excs). Sourwood intimate approach and beguiling tone. fellowship gets my Mountain, Op 78 No 3 Grainger Spoon River Anyone who has heard his ‘Celtic respect, as it’s generally an indicator of Harris Streets of Laredo Heinrich The Minstrel’s Reflections’ and ‘Celtic Airs’ albums prodigious musical promise. Yet Gabriele March, or The Road to Kentucky MacDowell (also Chandos) will know how eloquent Carcano’s new disc of Schumann does not Woodland Sketches, Op 51 Mason Silver Spring, he can be when presented with a simple, live up to expectations. Problems become Op 6 Ornstein A Morning in the Woods Still uncluttered melody line. Listen to apparent right from the start: the opening A Deserted Plantation ‘Barcarolle’ (June) and ‘Autumn Song’ movement of Schumann’s Humoreske is so Cecile Licad pf (October) and you’ll see what I mean. pulled-about, the hands desychronised as Danacord F DACOCD800 (77’ • DDD) The more extrovert numbers (‘Carnaval’/ a matter of course, that you practically February, ‘Troïka’/November) are no lose sight of where the bar lines fall. This less successful. is compounded by a focus on creating a There have been more viscerally thrilling clarity of texture which leaves the music Like its predecessors, Pictures than this from Horowitz and feeling disembodied. William Youn, in the third volume of Richter down, but few with such musical his recent Sony disc, was a far more Cecile Licad’s and textual integrity. I listened to it with compelling interpreter. The second ‘Anthology of great pleasure. Nothing to scare the horses, section begins more convincingly but this American Piano Music’ is a model of nothing exaggerated, no tinkering with the doesn’t last; and, while there are passages imaginative programme-building. Aaron text, each section deftly characterised and that succeed better, such as the energetic Copland’s wistful Down a Country Lane using the full tonal and dynamic range of writing in the midst of the third part, it’s raises a gentle curtain upon early the piano. Douglas uses the original score, very hit-and-miss and ultimately 19th-century composer Anthony Philip so you hear minor differences from the Carcano’s disinclination to stick to any Heinrich’s energetically naive The more familiar Rimsky-Korsakov edition particular tempo is frustrating. Lupu Minstrel’s March. This music provides

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 93 INSTRUMENTAL REVIEWS a brilliant lead-in to the more strikingly says on the back cover. Such hype normally idiosyncratic keyboard layout of Percy puts my back up. But on this occasion I’ll Grainger’s Spoon River, where Licad happily endorse it. manages to make the passages in extreme The 24-year-old To start, as Yuja Wang does, with registers sound full-bodied. Franco-Spanish one of the most well-fl ogged warhorses Licad’s long-proven instinct for classical guitarist in the repertoire, in the shape of the Romantic breadth and ear-catching Thibaut Garcia’s third Rachmaninov G minor Prelude, would nuance fully manifests itself throughout recording – his second for Erato – revisits seem to be asking for trouble, and her William Mason’s scintillating Silver the music of Bach and Latin America. But opening bars do fl irt with sensationalism by Spring and Edward MacDowell’s where the first, ‘Demain dès l’aube’, giving so much so soon. But that would be Woodland Sketches. She brings just the included Bach’s Sixth Partita, BWV830, to underestimate her exceptional resources right kind of scurrying, nervous energy and the second, ‘Leyendas’, Piazzolla’s of dynamics, tone and accent. Similarly, her to the upward unison runs of ‘In Autumn’ Estaciones Porteñas, ‘Bach Inspirations’, rubato in the middle section is strikingly while breathing fresh, easy-going life into as its title suggests, focuses on Bach’s pliant; yet it never breaks the broad line, that old chestnut ‘To a Wild Rose’. The influence on subsequent composers, not and the layering of the texture is superbly rhythmic kick that Licad brings to Arthur just from Latin America but also from orchestral, while the reprise shows her Farwell’s Sourwood Mountain’s hoedown Poland and the Balkans. ability to give sharp profi le to her phrasing fiddle evocations couldn’t be more In his flowing, pellucid interpretations at either dynamic extreme. idiomatic, and the same can be said for Garcia himself seems to be inspired by In the fi rst of her two C minor Études- her straightforward interpretations of Bach’s name, and throughout much of the tableaux she is as tempestuous and the five pieces encompassing Farwell’s programme there’s a compelling tension temperamental as the music demands: From Mesa and Plain, a suite based on between the rippling enunciation of lighter some might even say more than it demands. Native American songs and dances. paragraphs and the precipitous propulsion But she never loses her head, and her And given Licad’s splendid way with of more dramatic passages. This is most colours are original without being wilful. Gottschalk, it’s not surprising that she’s obvious in Garcia’s thrilling, magisterial As the slower Étude-tableau demonstrates, totally comfortable negotiating the performance of Bach’s D minor Chaconne, her ‘boundless imagination’ is equally syncopated sound world in the outer where he also relishes the ringing campanella evident in her pedalling, and in both the movements of William Grant Still’s effects while injecting a mesmeric fluidity B minor Prelude and Scriabin’s Sonata A Deserted Plantation. into the rapid scale and arpeggio passages No 10 she moves smoothly between Leo Ornstein’s almost Scriabinesque that throw into sharper relief the cleanly feathery, evocative touches and maximum A Morning in the Woods reveals an etched architecture of the sunlit major eruptive volatility. introspective side to a composer better section. But it is also there from the The three Ligeti Études are supreme known for his wilder futuristic style, and beginning, with Barrios’s melancholy La tests of pianistic colouring as well as again suits Licad’s stylistic proclivities. catedral, and later, in the less often-heard intellectual agility, and here too Wang But she slightly disappoints in the final Inventions of Alexandre Tansman and offers a tour de force of quasi-orchestral two selections. The wonderful harmonic Du≈an Bogdanovic´’s superb Suite brève. detail. I have not carried out a forensic- ideas in Roy Harris’s Streets of Laredo are An expressive, sweet-toned Elsa Dreisig level comparison with Aimard but the undermined by Licad’s overly fast and joins Garcia for the Bach/Gounod Ave general impression he gives is certainly casually phrased performance; I find Maria and the aria from Villa-Lobos’s more strenuous and less streamlined. that the music’s plain and granitic Bachianas Brasileiras No 5, while the latter’s Prokofi ev’s Sonata No 8 demands a demeanour are better served by the Bachian Prelude No 3 looks past the longer-range grasp of drama, and here too austere deliberation of Geoffrey Bogdanovic´to the most sheerly beautiful Wang rises to the challenge. Again her Burleson’s Naxos recording. Plus her takes on Bach’s ‘Wachet auf, ruft uns die weighting of the component parts of every twitchy rubato in Cadman’s From the Stimme’ and ‘Jesus bleibet meine Freude’ texture is a marvel to behold, and this in Land of the Sky-Blue Water often makes I’ve heard from any guitarist to date: clear, turn enables the outer movements to fl y it difficult to ascertain the basic pulse. relaxed and full of feeling. William Yeoman rather than merely to bludgeon, as they However, on the whole, Licad’s caring sometimes do. Occasionally a slight left- and intelligent performances and the ‘The Berlin Recital’ before-right desynchronisation helps her savvy programme selection by David Ligeti Études – No 1, Désordre; No 3, Touches along, which I can imagine some fi nding Dubal and executive producer Thomas bloquées; No 9, Vertige Prokofiev Piano Sonata a little mannered, especially in the Andante Nickelsen augur well for future volumes. No 8, Op 84 Rachmaninov Études tableaux – sognando slow movement, where her rubato Jed Distler Op 33 No 3; Op 39 No 1. Preludes – Op 23 No 5; also arguably detracts more than it adds. Op 32 No 10 Scriabin Piano Sonata No 10, Op 70 To rival Richter’s classic, though ‘Bach Inspirations’ Yuja Wang pf admittedly more drily recorded and plain- JS Bach Solo Violin Partita No 2, BWV1004 – DG F 483 6280GH (65’ • DDD) speaking, 1962 account would require some Chaconne. Cantata No 140 – Wachet auf, ruft Recorded live at the Kammersaal of the reining-in of her instinct to seduce and uns die Stimme. Cantata No 147 – Jesus bleibet Philharmonie, Berlin, June 1, 2018 dazzle by sonoristic means, and a transfer meine Freude Barrios La catedral Bogdanović of that energy into more probing for Suite brève Gounod Ave Mariaa Tansman philosophical depth. On the other hand, Inventions (Hommage à Bach). Pièce en forme Prokofi ev’s innate exhibitionism is de Passacaille Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasileiras ‘Exceptional artistry, undeniably done full justice, while the No 5 – Ariaa. Prelude No 3 (Homenagem a Bach) technical perfection fi nale’s crucial ‘irresolute’ reminiscence of Thibaut Garcia gtr aElsa Dreisig sop and boundless the fi rst movement also rings emotionally Erato F 9029 56052-6 (69’ • DDD) imagination’ it true. The uber-exuberant last pages

94 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk INSTRUMENTAL REVIEWS

Inspired by Bach: Thibaut Garcia conveys the influence of Bach on composers from Latin America, Poland and the Balkans

provoke a torrent of applause that is as fully the first line of a Metastasio sonnet which magically Impressionistic, wistfully ethereal earned as the hype accompanying the disc. describes the internal messiness of the approach she’s brought to both. Anyone hitherto more put off than artistic process; and while this is because Scholarship has freed her to be different drawn in by Yuja Wang’s glamorous image for Silverstein this sentiment rings true, too because, while for Biber’s Mystery may have to do some rethinking in the light what’s ended up on record here is anything Sonata ‘The Crucifixion’ she is joined of this recital. Fabulous piano sound, too: but messy. Indeed, this is a deeply thought- by theorboist Michelle Pasotti and cellist to capture large-hall, high-impact playing through, bewitchingly rendered succession Mauro Valli, for Pandolfi Mealli’s Sonata such as this without compromise or of interpretations that feels emblematic No 2, La Cesta, she’s been able to cite a distortion is an achievement in itself. of the sorts of creative, genre-bending 17th-century basis for her more unusual David Fanning Baroque projects which are increasingly decision to opt for cello accompaniment Prokofiev – selected comparison: being presented by today’s younger alone, with the greater freedom and Richter (DG ) 449 744-2GOR generation of artists. intimacy that allows for. The programme itself is a full-blown Then, while Bach’s D minor Chaconne ‘The Dreams & scholarly effort exploring the philosophical, may be an eminently logical successor to Fables I Fashion’ structural and technical connections Berio’s Sequenza VIII, it’s still a brave JS Bach Solo Violin Partita No 2, BWV1004 – between the progressive violinistic choice for a young artist’s debut recording Chaconne Berio Sequenza VIII Biber Mystery composers of the 17th century and the late (although Emmanuel Tjeknavorian was (Rosary) Sonatas – No 10, ‘The Crucifixion’a; 20th-century Italian avant-garde composers equally brave this year when he opened his No 16, Passacaglia Pandolfi Mealli Sonata, they in turn influenced: a proposition that own debut album with it – Sony Classical); ‘LaCesta’,Op3No2b Sciarrino Capriccio No 2 on paper has all the air of a thesis title but Silverstein’s flowing, gossamer-weighted Elicia Silverstein vn which in Silverstein’s musical outworking – and vulnerable-toned reading, though, is abMauro Valli vc aMichele Pasotti theorbo performed on pure gut strings – comes off both her own and entirely convincing. Rubicon F RCD1031 (56’ • DDD) as a highly emotionally intelligent piece of Whatever Silverstein does next, I’m pure art. This is also one of those rare already looking forward to it. albums truly conceived as a whole listen Charlotte Gardner from start to finish; for instance, from the PARLOPHONE RECORDS LTD RECORDS PARLOPHONE This debut disc from piano ending of Biber’s Mystery Sonata Find your the American violinist Passacaglia comes the softly shimmering music on Elicia Silverstein opening of Sciarrino’s Capriccio No 2, www.qobuz.com

PHOTOGRAPHY: draws its title from with the two further connected by the

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 95 CONTEMPORARY COMPOSERS John Pickard Master of the string quartet and manipulator of time – this British composer makes anything seem possible, says David Bednall

powerful gesture, an intriguing sonority, an arresting motif: the opening of a work by John Pickard captures A and entrances the ear, mind and heart. This is music with a direct emotional and visceral impact, yet one is always aware of a keen sense of logic and control; however, it is not necessary to grasp the intricacies of the foundation to be drawn fully into the distinct landscape of each work. These qualities are characteristic of an artistic imagination in total command of both the large- and the small-scale – an architect and a decorator. Pickard, who studied with William Mathias and Louis Andriessen, has a voice that is distinctive but not tied to any particular school or ideology. The highly dissonant and violent rubs shoulders with the serene glow of major chords, the densest of polyphonies with single-line melody (often within single movements). Two elements are key to this. First, a mastery of instrumentation, orchestration and colour, allowing the realisation in practical sound of the exotically imagined. Pickard enjoys the challenge of writing for instruments both ‘in character’ and in ways which expand their capabilities, but always at the behest of the expressive demands. A factor which no doubt contributes to this is his practical experience as a conductor – a rehearsal under his baton is notable for its efficiency and insight as well as the experience of playing a familiar score in a new but entirely convincing way. Secondly, he is never content to repeat himself or to become formulaic. As he tells me, ‘I like to surprise myself! I don’t want my development as a composer to be predictable, or to seek a style in a conscious way as this return. The piece also highlights Pickard’s use of exotic rules certain things out of your language and potentially limits percussion, and his rich and imaginative orchestration is, its range.’ This range runs from symphonies to works for as ever, intoxicating. The other side to this is his meditation children’s choirs, from the deeply serious to the entertaining. on darkness – Tenebrae (2008). Taking its title from the Maundy Thursday Service at the darkest point of the Itdisplaysonceagainafertileability Christian calendar (although it is not a religious work), Tenebrae explores the deep, the shadowy, the violent, the to create an exhilaratingly varied half-seen, and borrows a fragment from Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories for Holy Saturday. Something of the notoriously world for an unusual combination dramatic life of this murderous Renaissance composer is also conveyed. Pickard has always had a fascination with the lower At the core of this output are the large orchestral works, end of the orchestra, and two contrabassoons and two tubas and his symphonic technique and imagination place him at the (one being a contrabass) are a couple of the requirements here. forefront of contemporary exponents. Perhaps the best entry Pickard’s interest in finding inspiration in old forms is seen point to his music is The Flight of Icarus (1990) – a vibrant and in the symphonies, particularly in his most recent, the Fifth thrilling tribute to mankind’s spirit of endeavour, even when (2014). This masterful work (running in a single half-hour such is doomed to failure. The ending is filled with compassion span) is founded on the alternation of fast and slow music. for the failure of heroism, but also honours humanity’s To begin with, gradually shortening sections of fast music strength to try again. Pickard’s approach to the tone poem alternate with gradually lengthening ones of slow music; this is rarely ‘pictorial’ – his works in this genre instead tend to alters over time until at the midpoint the balance is reversed. represent a mood, a mindset. Sixteen Sunrises (2013) is a good Pickard plays compelling aural tricks throughout, however, example, the title being the number of sunrises seen from the as the tempos change between sections, and he deliberately International Space Station in a 24-hour period. He does not writes music which is slow in pulse but fast in effect. The illustrate 16 dawns, but rather captures the idea of light and work is also remarkable for its use of three sets of timpani – its rapid emergence from the darkness to which it can then the unique nature of this demand and the particular writing

96 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk CONTEMPORARY COMPOSERS

picard facts songs by baritone Roderick Williams and soprano Eve Daniell 1963 Born September 11 shows an ear acutely attuned to word-setting. The large-scale in Burnley, Lancashire Piano Sonata (1987) combines immense instrumental 1981-84 Studies at Bangor virtuosity with strict control and a violence which still shakes University with William Mathias the listener, while Snowbound (2010) for bass clarinet, cello 1984-85 Studies at the Royal and piano displays once again a fertile ability to create an Conservatoire, The Hague, exhilaratingly varied world for an unusual combination (the with Louis Andriessen bass clarinet and cello often display their upper registers). 1989 Symphony No 2 Pickard is rightly regarded as one of the most important premiered by BBC Philharmonic contemporary masters of the string quartet (he has written 1990 Composes The Flight five in total). He has spoken of this medium as having of Icarus a particular cachet, and his proud acknowledgement of 1993 Appointed to University belonging to the tradition led to two self-imposed restrictions: of Bristol Department for no extended techniques, and virtually no pizzicato. This makes Continuing Education (later, in the ‘Concerti’ movement of the Fourth String Quartet 2009, awarded Personal Chair: (1997-98) all the more remarkable: these ‘rules’ are Professor of Composition and abandoned for an affectionate portrait of the members of Applied Musicology) the Sorrel Quartet, for whom it was written. Elsewhere, 1994 String Quartet No 3 an intensity of thought and passionate, lyrical expression is 1997-98 String Quartet No 4 present – the slow movement of the Third (1994) being of 2001-04 Cory Band particular note in this respect. The magisterial String Quartet composer-in-residence No 5 (2011-12) marked a return to the genre, and is a powerful 2005-16 General editor of the study in conflict and resolution, honouring and revitalising Elgar Complete Edition this revered form. 2005 Gaia Symphony Mention must also be made of his work as professor of premiered at the composition and applied musicology at the University of Cheltenham Music Festival Bristol. I must declare an interest here – I decided to study 2008 Tenebrae – a ‘meditation with him for my PhD after hearing his quartets. The highest on darkness’ tribute one can pay to a composition teacher is that their 2014 Sixteen Sunrises students sound neither like the teacher or each other, premiered by Nagoya and this is very much the case with Pickard. Rather, each Philharmonic Orchestra individual voice is strengthened, supported and stretched 2016 Symphony No 5 into new realms and given a thought process for life. premiered by BBC NOW Pickard is an inspirational teacher, thankfully devoid of 2018 Rain, Steam and Speed any dogma. The same can be said of his powerful and premiered in January memorable musical output. by Cory Band Pickard on Pickard ‘I believe A PICK OF THE PICKARD CROP that symphonic thought Works that span his career from 1990 to 2014 he employs requiring matches the reality and a rethink about how to lay out complexity of our world, Symphony No 5. Concertante Variations. the score. Melodic lines are in which nothing is fixed and Sixteen Sunrises. Toccata (after Monteverdi) passed between these sets, and everything is in a constant Wind quintet; BBC NOW / Martyn Brabbins fierce antiphonal exchanges state of change’ BIS (A/17) add strong visual drama in The Fifth Symphony is given a virtuoso performance, live performance. not least by the three timpanists. Joining it are the luminescent Concepts of time and its manipulation feature in other Sixteen Sunrises, the sparkling Concertante Variations and an works as well, such as the recent Rain, Steam and Speed (2017) imaginative orchestration of Monteverdi’s Toccata from Orfeo. for brass band. Here the tempo increases constantly from Eden. Symphony No 4, ‘Gaia Symphony’ crotchet=40 to the highest speed on the metronome, but at Eikanger-Bjørsvik Musikklag / Andreas Hanson a seamless rate, requiring great skill from the conductor. BIS (11/14) Incidentally, the rapturous applause that greeted this work These are major works for brass band which both use at the premiere in Manchester earlier this year is testament the forces to the full. Gaia Symphony also includes to how immediate this style can be. three short movements (‘Windows’) for percussion. It would be Pickard’s compositions for brass bands represent a further difficult to imagine greater advocates for this music than those here. important strand of his output. His writing for this medium The Flight of Icarus. The Spindle of Necessity. is every bit as rewarding and imaginative as that for symphony Channel Firing orchestra – try Gaia Symphony (1991-2003) and Eden (2005). Christian Lindberg tbn Norrköping SO / Martyn Brabbins This is not brass band music in the traditional sense, but rather BIS (6/08) fully symphonic music written for this most remarkably skilful Here are three works from the 1990s: the evocative and flexible medium; both works are rightly recognised as two paean to heroism The Flight of Icarus, his trombone concerto and of the most important contributions to the repertory. the gripping Channel Firing (dedicated to William Mathias.) His chamber music, songs and instrumental works display similar variety and imagination. The recent survey of his gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 97 Vo c a l PeterQuantrillhearsalarge- HugoShirleyonBarbaraHannigan’s scale oratorio by Jörg Widmann: tribute to fin-de-siècle Vienna: ‘Well-drilledchoralforcescutthrough ‘Ifoundmyselfimaginingawaif-like orchestral textures as queasily luscious as protagonist wandering through shadowy, a mango on the turn’ REVIEW ON PAGE 107 dreamlike landscapes’ REVIEW ON PAGE 113

J Anderson movement, a setting of the Agnus Dei is sometimes heard on the violin but sounds The Comedy of Changea. whose final plea for peace on earth perhaps made for the oboe when Löffler runs like Heaven is Shy of Earthb suggests that, whereas nature is what we liquid over the rippling triplets of the first bSusan Bickley mez bBBC Symphony Chorus and know, heaven remains unknowable. As a solo, decks the finale’s downward figure Orchestra; aLondon Sinfonietta / abOliver Knussen title, The Comedy of Change also has its with tumbling ornaments or reels out Ondine F ODE1313-2 (62’ • DDD • T/t) enigmatic aspects. But this seven- that gorgeous Largo in a jewel of relaxed, Recorded live at the aQueen Elizabeth Hall, movement suite for 12 players, originally airborne lyricism. BWV1061 is and London, March 31, 2010; bBarbican Hall, London, linked to a ballet celebrating Darwin’s always was the C major Concerto for two November 26, 2010 Origin of Species, revels in the mysteries harpsichords, so the arrangement presented and miracles of the natural world, with here for oboe, violin, viola da gamba and the exuberant yet eloquent thrust of music bassoon really is for fun. Does it work? designed to affirm rather than to bemoan. Absolutely it does, bursting with colour This excellent CD fills In both The Comedy of Change and Heaven and counterpoint like a lost Brandenburg. significant gaps in the is Shy of Earth Julian Anderson’s feeling For BWV1055 Löffler switches to oboe Anderson discography. for the bridges that can be built between d’amore but keeps the texture deliciously At the same time it music’s timeless acoustic essentials and light and nimble throughout. reminds us of the huge gap left by the present-day transformational resources The cantatas both feature oboe death of Oliver Knussen. This pair of is unfailingly distinctive and acute. alongside solo soprano in one way or live performances radiates the clarity Arnold Whittall another. No 84, exhorting us to be happy and conviction he brought to the most with what we have from God, allows a challenging contemporary scores, and JS Bach solo oboe to set the tone of contented the subtle balances and rich colours of ‘Oboe Concertos & Cantatas’ submission and No 52 – a more dramatic the music are beautifully caught in these Cantatasa – No 52, Falsche Welt, dir trau ich work telling us that the world is a bad recordings, eight years old but sounding nicht!; No 84, Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem place but that God will help us – features as fresh as the day they were made. Glücke. Oboe Concertosb –BWV1055R; three, not least in the first movement of Heaven is Shy of Earth evolved between BWV1056R; BWV1061 (arr Willis) Brandenburg No 1, reset here as an 2006 and 2010 as a compressed oratorio aAnna Prohaska sop bXenia Löffler ob/ob d’amore opening Sinfonia, its normally rowdy or expanded cantata combining collective Collegium 1704 / Václav Luks horns toned down for the occasion. rituals – the Latin Mass without the Credo, Accent F ACC24347 (68’ • DDD • T/t) Soprano Anna Prohaska is bright and a Psalm – and statements of belief as feisty but somewhat colder than Löffler, found in the idiosyncratic verse of Emily and less intimate too, as the top end of Dickinson. An orchestral introduction sets her voice sometimes flies away in the the stage for what might have been called Xenia Löffler’s church acoustic. ‘Epithalamium’ or wedding song, built performances The orchestral playing under Václav round an expansive, ecstatic melody written on a 2014 disc of Luks is delicately supportive, at all times for the marriage of the couple to whom the assorted Venetian attentive and neatly moulded to the whole work is dedicated. That joyous spirit concertos (10/14) from the Akademie für soloists’ moves. Löffler’s wondrous permeates the remarkable equilibrium of Alte Musik Berlin (of which she is a playing deserves nothing less, though. Anderson’s response to God-centred choral member) were glowing demonstrations I wouldn’t be surprised to see her name liturgy – as vivid here as in his Bell Mass of technical mastery and musical on the Awards shortlist again. Lindsay Kemp (also 2010) – as well as to Dickinson’s personality, and rightly turned up on fervent hymnings (given mainly to the the next Gramophone Awards shortlist. Brian vibrant mezzo of Susan Bickley), in a Now here she is again with a set of The Vision of Cleopatraa. Two Choral Piecesb. sequence of more earthbound but arresting Bach concertos and cantatas in which Fantastic Variations on an Old Rhymec. aphorisms: ‘Nature is Heaven’, ‘Nature is her handsome musicianship is even Overture, ‘For Valour’c Melody’, ‘Nature is Harmony’, ‘Heaven is more at the centre of things, and even aClaudia Boyle sop aAngharad Lyddon mez Shy of Earth’. more admirable. aClaudia Huckle contr aPeter Auty ten cNicholas The implications of what the poet might No actual oboe concerto by Bach Ansdell-Evans org abChorus and Orchestra of actually have meant by that last phrase are survives, of course, and the ones here English National Opera / Martyn Brabbins not easily resolved. Anderson therefore are speculative reconstructions from Dutton Epoch FÍCDLX7348 ends the work with a Dickinson-free the harpsichord concertos. BWV1056 (74’ • DDD/DSD • T)

98 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk VOCAL REVIEWS

The late Oliver Knussen’s excellent recording of Julian Anderson’s music reafirms that he’ll be enormously missed

Although Cleopatra’s rich harmonic Dowland language is closer stylistically to Bax or First Booke of Songes or Ayres Bantock in Oriental mode, the whole is Grace Davidson sop David Miller lute Havergal Brian’s recognisably Brian. The musical argument Signum F SIGCD553 (73’ • DDD) cantata The Vision is carried principally by the chorus and of Cleopatra (1907) is orchestra, which is not to denigrate the the most ambitious contribution of the four soloists, especially work of his earliest period, ie before the Claudia Huckle as Cleopatra, whose final ‘Semper Dowland, composition of his first opera The Tigers soliloquy is exquisite. Chorus and orchestra semper dolens’, John (1916-29; 4/15) and epic Gothic combine again in the two 1912 settings of Dowland famously Symphony (1919-27; 2/12). The cantata Robert Herrick, the wistfully intense punned, but the is not constructed on their scale, taking ‘Requiem for the Rose’ and the more composer’s First Booke of Songes or Ayres just 39 minutes in this beautifully nightmarish ‘The Hag’. As Pickard couldn’t be further from the fifty-shades- prepared performance by the Chorus comments in his excellent booklet note, of-black of the Lachrimae. Darkness is and Orchestra of English National Opera they make a somewhat ‘lopsided’ diptych tempered with more than a chink of light, under their new music director, Martyn (a third setting may have been written but tragedy with rueful amusement, resignation Brabbins. (Brabbins is currently Brian’s has not survived). The purely orchestral and even perhaps a certain pleasure in the highest-profile champion; can we hope Fantastic Variations (1908) and overture courtly game of unrequited love. Soprano to see one of the operas soon under his For Valour (1904-06) both featured in Grace Davidson has one of the loveliest baton?) It is given here in John Pickard’s Marco Polo’s pioneering Brian cycle. voices in early music but whether she has expert 2014 orchestration, which has Brabbins’s meticulously prepared versions the expressive range for this artful allowed this fascinating, long-neglected are appreciably swifter and more opulently collections of miniatures is less certain. score, setting a prize-winning poem by recorded, and – avoiding the occasional Fresh, sweet and true, with barely a Gerald Cumberland, to be resurrected. tentativeness in the Marco Polo accounts – flicker of vibrato, Davidson’s instrument Brian’s full score and parts were must now be considered definitive. inevitably begs comparison with Emma destroyed in the Blitz in 1941; even Guy Rickards Kirkby. Slightly fuller of tone, her voice by that time, however, The Vision of Fantastic Variations – comparative version: more evenly weighted through the range, MARK ALLAN MARK Cleopatra, highly regarded at the time Ukraine Nat SO, Penny (6/96) (MARC) 8 223731; Davidson comes off well; but with but very challenging to perform, had (10/11) (NAXO) 8 572641 Dowland lovelier isn’t always better. languished unperformed for over For Valour – comparative version: The mock-sincere and ‘gather ye

PHOTOGRAPHY: 30 years. Ireland Nat SO, Rowe (6/00) (MARC) 8 223588 rosebuds’ songs – ‘Come again, sweet love’,

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 99 Christmas with REGENT RECORDS

New Christmas CDs...... and some Saint Louis classics AN ELY CHRISTMAS The Girl Choristers and Lay Clerks CHRISTMAS from of Ely Cathedral SAINT LOUIS directed by Sarah MacDonald aint Louis Chamber Chorus REGCD527 irected by Philip Barnes

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‘Away with these self-loving lads’, BBC forces at their raptly intuitive best, accepted as one of Fauré’s most beautiful ‘Think’st thou then by thy feigning’ – listen from 1'32" on track 8 (‘O men! scores. Bolton, however, makes a case for are charming, text crisply percussive It must ever be / That we dwell, in our considering Shylock and Caligula very much against the smooth lines of melody, with dreaming and signing, / A little apart as its equals. David Miller’s lute offering gently arch from ye’) with its devastatingly poignant Caligula was written for an 1888 accompaniment. ‘Come away, come sweet intertwining of themes from Enigma, the production of Alexandre Dumas’s play, love’ is all light-footed energy (though its Violin Concerto and The Apostles. Make and refashioned as a concert work for seductions are perhaps a little on the chaste no mistake, anyone who has ever fallen female chorus and orchestra a year later. side) while Davidson’s non-interventionist under the spell of the fears, hopes and Much of the music derives from a set of instincts allow the simple beauty of dreams that stalk this deeply vulnerable, divertissements in the fi nal scene, during ‘Now, oh now I needs must part’ to touchingly autobiographical creation will which Caligula is lulled to sleep before his fl ourish to its fullest. derive copious rewards here. assassination, though Fauré also includes But what feels lacking by the end of the Until now The Spirit of England (settings ceremonial marches and fanfares from the recital is any glimpse of the private face from 1915-17 of three poems by Laurence Prologue. Intended, one imagines, to offset of Dowland. The songs where he strips Binyon) has only ever been recorded in its the play’s violence, the score exudes cool, off the public affectations of grief and the entirety with a soprano soloist. However, Classical refi nement. The choral writing sardonic mask and really shows himself to Elgar also sanctioned the use of a tenor, is reminiscent of the Requiem, while the us – ‘Burst forth my tears’, ‘Come heavy and Andrew Staples makes an ardent sensuous orchestration strikingly pre-empts sleep’, ‘Dear, if you change’ – lack that showing in another terrific display under Debussy, his Pelléas in particular. edge of ugliness, of desperation that seeps Davis’s sympathetic lead. Even more than Shylock, written for an 1889 adaptation out between the evenly scanned lines. Mark Elder (Hallé, 3/17), Davis drives an of The Merchant of Venice, is less of a rarity, The latter’s great invocation of nature arrestingly purposeful course through both though it remains infrequently heard. and beyond – ‘Earth, heaven, fi re, air’ – outer movements (‘The Fourth of August’ Fauré avoids direct representation of should plead and protest, but here just and ‘For the Fallen’), while at the same Shylock himself, focusing instead on states. These are beautiful, musical time extracting every ounce of quiet the play’s lovers. A deeply touching performances but not moving as Dowland resolve and dignity from the cantata’s ‘Épithalame’ for Portia and Bassanio, can and should be. Alexandra Coghlan centrepiece (‘To Women’). It’s an and the exquisite Nocturne for Lorenzo uncommonly eloquent performance and Jessica are its high points. The actor Elgar in every respect, though I do retain originally playing the Prince of Aragon The Music Makers, Op 69a. a particularly soft spot for Alexander was clearly a tenor of some some The Spirit of Englandb Gibson’s distinguished 1976 version distinction: Fauré provides him with a aDame Sarah Connolly mez bAndrew Staples ten with Teresa Cahill a memorably assured wistfully amorous Madrigal to be sung BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra / soloist (originally made for RCA, 5/77, under Portia’s window. Sir Andrew Davis and since reissued on Chandos). Both performances are strong. With Chandos F Í CHSA5215 (62’ • DDD/DSD • T) Released to coincide with the centenary the Basel Symphony on fi ne form, Bolton of Armistice Day, this meaty choral pairing teases out Fauré’s textural and emotional has already given me a lot of pleasure subtleties with great care, scrupulously and earns the warmest plaudits. judging both the delicate wit of Shylock Both soloist and Andrew Achenbach and the altogether loftier mood of Caligula. conductor have The Balthasar Neumann Choir sound already given us Fauré good in the latter: the tenor in Shylock notable versions of ‘The Secret Fauré – Orchestral Songs & Suites’ is Benjamin Bruns, warm-toned and The Music Makers – for Naxos (12/06) and Après un rêve, Op 7 No 1. Caligula, Op 52. Clair very ardent. Teldec/Warner (2/95) respectively – but de lune, Op 46 No 2. Pelléas et Mélisande, Op 80. Pelléas, however, is fractionally too there’s a wholly idiomatic sensibility, Pénélope – Prelude. Les roses d’Ispahan, Op 39 relaxed, lacking the deeper tensions collaborative zeal and unity of vision that No 4. Shylock, Op 57. Soir, Op 83 No 2 of Robin Ticciati’s recent DSO Berlin mark out this sumptuously engineered Olga Peretyatko sop Benjamin Bruns ten recording (Linn, A/17), though Bolton Chandos newcomer as something rather Balthasar Neumann Choir; Basel inserts Mélisande’s Song, in Koechlin’s special. Certainly, Sarah Connolly’s Symphony Orchestra / Ivor Bolton orchestration, between the sicilienne delivery of the closing lines (‘Yea, in spite Sony Classical F 19075 81858-2 (74’ • DDD • T/t) and Death Scene, where its effect is of a dreamer who slumbers / And a singer undeniably chilling. It’s sung, somewhat who sings no more’) distils an aching cautiously, in English by Olga intimacy not matched since Janet Baker’s Peretyatko, who also tackles the sublime contribution on Boult’s recording ‘Rare Fauré’ might be mélodies. Fauré apparently professed (EMI/Warner, 5/67) – and what reserves a better, if not entirely himself indifferent to orchestral songs of tender compassion she brings to ‘But accurate title for this but nevertheless arranged ‘Les roses on one man’s soul it has broken / A light attractive disc, in d’Ispahan’ and ‘Clair de lune’ himself: that doth not depart’ (track 6, from 1'12"), which Ivor Bolton conducts suites from ‘Après un rêve’ comes in Henri Büsser’s where the strains of ‘Nimrod’ pay moving three sets of Fauré’s incidental music, version, while ‘Soir’ was orchestrated by reminiscence to Elgar’s beloved friend along with the Pénélope Prelude and Fauré’s pupil Louis Aubert. Peretyatko and tireless champion, August Jaeger. orchestral versions of four of his songs. sings them with quiet sincerity but is Likewise, Andrew Davis’s gloriously pliant Pelléas et Mélisande, written for the 1898 placed very close to the microphones, conducting evinces total conviction. To London production of Maeterlinck’s play, which capture an occasional pulse in her hear him and his painstakingly prepared is, of course, both familiar and widely voice. Tim Ashley

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 101 VOCAL REVIEWS

Févin Getty ensemble more nimble than the 70-strong Missa Ave Maria. Missa Salve sancta parens. Ballet russe. Beauty Come Dancing. La Belle Netherlands Radio Choir, whose blend, Ascendens Christus in altum. Salve sancta Dame sans merci. Cynara. The Destruction of brightness and focus aren’t all they could parens. Sancta Trinitas a 4. Sancta Trinitas a 6 Sennacherib. For a Dead Lady. The Old Man in have been. Andrew Mellor The Brabant Ensemble / Stephen Rice the Morning. The Old Man in the Night. Hyperion F CDA68265 (79’ • DDD • T/t) Shenandoah. There was a naughty boy. Graupner Those who love the most ‘Duo Cantatas for Soprano & Alto’ The Netherlands Radio Choir and Philharmonic Demüthiget euch nun, GWV1144/12. Waffne dich, Orchestra / James Gaffigan mein Geist, zu kämpfen, GWV1148/20. Weg, Antoine de Févin Pentatone FÍ PTC5186 621 (58’ • DDD/DSD • T) verdammtes Sündenleben, GWV1147/20. Wenn (c1470-1511/12) is not wir in höchsten Nöthen seyn, GWV1143/12. currently well known, Canon, GWV218. Ouverture, ‘Le desire’, GWV45. despite his works Sonata, GWV724. Trio Sonata, GWV204 – having travelled widely in his own day Opera and song are at Affettuoso and now being preserved for us in several the heart of Gordon Miriam Feuersinger sop Franz Vitzthum important sources alongside the work of Getty’s work and counterten Capricornus Consort Basel / more famous contemporaries. As this spring as much from Peter Barczi recording shows, Févin wrote some really his love for poetry – some of the works Christophorus F CHR77427 (65’ • DDD • T/t) great music and Stephen Rice introduces here feature his own – as from his him as a key pioneer ‘in the technique of distinctive melodic-minimalist music. “parody” or “imitation” Mass settings That music is appealingly direct, shuns based on polyphonic models’. Indeed, needless harmony and melisma, and makes Poor Christoph the first work on this disc, Missa Ave Maria, distinctive use of the plain intervals, Graupner. The is just such a Mass: one based on Josquin’s common chords, whole-tone scales and general consensus famous motet Ave Maria … virgo serena foundation stones of hymnody and musical about the composer (available in digital download). Févin’s theatre that have underpinned so much (a pupil of Kuhnau’s and a contemporary of setting resounds with familiar material American music for more than a century. Telemann and Handel) is that his greatest from the much-loved model, working As instantly appealing as his aesthetic contribution to musical history was his and reworking it into a four-voice Mass is, it is also restricted. I found the absence: it was his refusal of the role of with several lovely extended duets. The experience of reading Getty’s poem Cantor at Leipzig that cleared the way for Brabant Ensemble sing with an unfussy ‘Beauty Come Dancing’ more moving one JS Bach to take the position. elegance, keeping textures clear and than that of hearing his setting of it. But the composer really is more than unhurried; I particularly like the simplicity Across the 11 songs here – all for the a novelty footnote in musical history, as with which they approach the most unusual combination of large chorus a steadily growing (and now really quite emotional moments such as the Credo’s (often singing in unison) with orchestra – substantial) discography has proved. ‘Crucifixus etiam pro nobis’ and ‘Et I was struck by a consistent feeling that This latest addition is another attractive resurrexit tertia die’. Getty’s music springs from a single reminder of a composer whose distinctive Missa Salve sancta parens is based impulse born of each poem rather than voice combines the languorous harmonic on plainchant embellished through a the shifting beauty, complexity or inner beauty of Kuhnau with a restraint and sense ‘paraphrase’ technique. The textures are music of their texts. Many of his settings of melodic line that’s much closer to Bach. more solid and sonorous and the singers gambol through the words in reciting Soprano Miriam Feuersinger and rise to this setting with a fuller sound; rhythms (for all the clarity, it’s mostly countertenor Franz Vitzthum here join again, there is some delightful singing impossible to decipher the words being Peter Barczi and the Capricornus Consort in the extended two-part passages. It’s a sung on this recording) rather Basel for a selection of the composer’s duet beautiful Mass with gracious proportions than illuminating their own beauty cantatas. Sacred texts keep Graupner’s but between the Kyrie and Gloria there is and differentiation. The net result, to naturally operatic instincts in check but a distracting shift in recorded acoustic. my ears, is a loss to both and a certain he still sneaks in plenty of human drama, Resonance is thankfully restored by feeling that something is missing from delighting in the metaphorical friction of ‘Osanna I’ (track 37), just in time for the middle. male-female duets. the Agnus Dei, which has some of the The best work is the longest, ‘The Old If the cantata Waffne dich, mein Geist, most exquisite music. Man in the Night’ (another text by Getty zu kämpfen is gracefully pretty – rarely The real jewel on this disc is the motet himself), in which the journey is often rippling the musical surface – then the Ascendens Christus in altum. Fuller and richer patient, nuanced and interesting. Getty has opening Demüthiget euch nun finds an than one might expect from Févin, a recent plenty of time-honed tools and good ideas altogether richer vein of musical emotion. discovery has firmed up his attribution. at his disposal, especially when he uses and The aria ‘Bücke dich’ for soprano and This motet in particular suits The Brabant gently subverts a dance form, as in ‘Ballet Eva Borhi’s balletic solo violin is a rapt Ensemble extremely well, showcasing their russe’ (setting his beloved John Masefield) meditation, while the duet ‘Ich bin wonderfully bright sopranos in a ravishing and in ‘Beauty Come Dancing’. When gedruckt’ from Wenn wir in höchsten trio, ‘Elevatis manibus ferebatur in caelum’ nostalgia gets the better of him, as in Nöthen seyn paints despair in the most (‘Lifting his hands, he was carried up to ‘Those who love the most’ (to a poem by sensual of colours. heaven’). These larger motets with Sara Teasdale), there isn’t enough in the The stern, Lutheran beauty of cascading upper voices are what this score to stop it sinking into something Feuersinger’s soprano is nicely offset by ensemble does best, and this particular sappy. And I wonder if the music would the breathier humanity of Vitzthum but one is especially gorgeous. Edward Breen have been better served by a vocal they are, if anything, outdone by the

102 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk 2CDLX 7356 7348 CDLX

ARTHUR SULLIVAN TheLightoftheWorldCommissioned for and HAVERGAL BRIAN TheVisionofCleopatra'XWWRQ (SRFK¶V ¿UVW ¿UVW SURGXFHG DW WKH %LUPLQJKDP 0XVLFDO )HVWLYDO RI  The Light of the World is Arthur Sullivan’s recordingwiththeorchestraandchorusofEnglishNationalOperasurveysthemusicofHavergal great oratorio on the life of Christ. Although regularly performed during the composer’s lifetime, Brian.ThedramaticandoperaticsettingofTheVisionofCleopatra(1907), the scores and parts changingfashionsgraduallycondemnedtheworktoobscurity.Occasionalrevivalshavefailedto ofwhichwerelostinwartimebombing,hasbeenorchestratedfromthevocalscorebycomposer makethecaseforit,primarilybecauseitwasnotunderstoodthatThe Light of the World is essentially JohnPickard.Thisepiccantataisvividlybroughttolifebyaline-upofbrilliantyoungsoloists– adramaticwork,ratherthanapurelyreligiousone.WhenDuttonEpochandtheSirArthurSullivan Claudia Boyle (soprano), Angharad Lyddon (mezzo-soprano), Claudia Huckle (contralto) and Peter Societycametorecordthework,thisnewunderstandingenabledacompletelydifferentapproachto Auty(tenor)–whiletheENOOrchestraandChorusareintopformundertheauthoritativedirection betaken–theresultisavibrantperformancebytheBBCSymphonyChorusandtheBBCConcert of conductor Martyn Brabbins. Brian’s TwoChoralPieces(1912), the tuneful concert overture For 2UFKHVWUD FRQGXFWHG E\ -RKQ $QGUHZV 7KH\ DUH VXSSRUWHG E\ WKH .LQGHU &KLOGUHQ¶V&KRLUDQGD¿QH Valour (1904rev.1906)andthedelightfulFantastic Variations on an Old Rhyme (1907) complete a team of soloists: Natalya Romaniw and Eleanor Dennis (sopranos), Kitty Whately (contralto), Robert compelling release. Murray(tenor),BenMcAteer(baritone)andNealDavies(bass). ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS OF ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA | MARTYN BRABBINS BBC CONCERT ORCHESTRA | BBC SYMPHONY CHORUS | JOHN ANDREWS INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING

HAYDN WOOD 7357 CDLX RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS 7351 CDLX JOHN IRELAND 7353 CDLX Snapshots of London: Suite etc. The Blue Bird etc. The Overlanders, Julius Caesar etc. BBC CONCERT ORCHESTRA | GAVIN SUTHERLAND ROYAL SCOTTISH NATIONAL ORCHESTRA | MARTIN YATES ROYAL SCOTTISH NATIONAL ORCHESTRA | MARTIN YATES INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS Forfullreleasedetailsvisitwww.duttonvocalion.co.uk | ManytitlesintheDuttonEpochseriesareavailableoniTunes Dutton Epoch | PO Box 609 | Watford WD18 7YA | T: 01923 803 001 | [email protected] The BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus and BBC Radio 3 logos are trademarks of the BBC and are used under licence. VOCAL REVIEWS ravishing beauty of the instrumental clangour’ or the jealous frenzy of ‘Sharp perfection of his musical testament, the contributions. The opening overture violins’, egged on by splenetically spitting Pater noster/Ave Maria. I’ve sometimes Le desire is proto-Romantic chamber strings. The 28-strong Anglo-Polish chorus found Josquin easier to admire than to love; music, while the Grave, GWV218, pairs do not always make as much of Dryden’s but perhaps because contrapuntal wizardry Borhi with Barczi himself in a delicious delightful text as the choirs in Pinnock’s is toned down in these works, this disc mesh of solo violin lines over continuo. and King’s recordings but they sing with reminds me how deeply moving his Shivers-down-the-spine lovely. full, fresh tone and incisive attack. Under music can be. Alexandra Coghlan Butt’s lively and sympathetic direction Cappella Amsterdam are a mixed choir (which includes properly shaped bass lines), singing roughly two to a part. Their sound Handel both framing choruses generate an apt is situated midway between their Flemish Ode for St Cecilia’s Day, HWV76. Handelian majesty, though I wish he and English counterparts, and their Concerto grosso, Op 6 No 4 HWV322 had encouraged a hushed, awed choral performance style is on the cool side, Carolyn Sampson sop Ian Bostridge ten Polish tone at Dryden’s vision of the ‘last and though never forbidding or overly Radio Choir; Dunedin Consort / John Butt hpd dreadful hour’. objectified. They are at their best when Linn F CKD578 (61’ • DDD • T) Choice between Butt’s recording and textures are clear and the musical discourse its two immediate rivals will boil down is most legible, as in Planxit autem David. to individual taste. My own narrow In busier textures I might wish for more preference is still for Pinnock, not least positive shaping of individual phrases, You certainly got for the mingled warmth and grandeur although in Nimphes nappés (perhaps the your money’s worth, Felicity Lott brings to the soprano solos. densest piece of all) the decision to go both in quantity and But no Handel lover is likely to be one-to-a-part and without sopranos pays quality, when Handel disappointed with a disc whose attractions dividends, and Gombert’s motet is a fitting was around. On St Cecilia’s Day, are enhanced by a vivid performance of epilogue. Whether Josquin wrote Absalon, November 22, 1739, Lincoln’s Inn Fields the A minor Concerto grosso (its opening fili mi is still disputed but the programme audiences were treated to a revival of movement truly affettuoso) and Butt’s own plainly justifies its inclusion. Despite its Alexander’s Feast, assorted concertos, plus superb, wide-ranging booklet essay. focus on only one textual area (the lament), a newly composed setting of Dryden’s Richard Wigmore this seems to me an admirable introduction Song for St Cecilia’s Day – a good three Selected comparisons: to the motet repertory as a whole. hours’ entertainment. For charm and Pinnock (1/87R) (ARCH) 474 549-2ABL Fabrice Fitch colour few Handel works match the new King (A/04) (HYPE) CDA67463 Ode, as it became known. In a succession Parry . Mendelssohn of picturesquely scored arias and choruses Josquin Mendelssohn Six Motets, Op 79 Parry Hear my it hymns the powers of music from the ‘Miserere mei Deus – Funeral words, ye people. Songs of Farewell. There is an creation of cosmic order to a thrilling Motets & Deplorations’ old belief. Toccata and Fugue, ‘The Wanderer’ evocation of the Last Judgement and Gombert Musae Jovis Josquin Absalon, fili mi. Choir of New College, Oxford / Robert Quinney the life eternal. Absolve quaesumus, Domine. Déploration sur with Timothy Wakerell org Outstanding among a clutch of enjoyable la mort d’Ockeghem. De profundis/Requiem Novum F NCR1394 (79’ • DDD • T/t) recordings are those from Trevor Pinnock aeternam. In principio erat Verbum. Miserere and Robert King. This new Anglo-Polish mei, Deus. Nimphes, nappés/Circumdederunt collaboration directed by John Butt is on me. Pater noster/Ave Maria. Planxit autem David their level, vocally and instrumentally. In Cappella Amsterdam / Daniel Reuss Another stellar the 15 years since she recorded the Ode Harmonia Mundi F HMM90 2620 (66’ • DDD • T/t) release to mark with King, Carolyn Sampson’s vernal 100 years since the soprano has acquired richer shadings. If death of Hubert her consonants can be over-softened, her Parry – and cannily programmed, too, poised, invariably graceful contributions Like most of his with the towering Songs of Farewell are among the disc’s prime pleasures: contemporaries, (1913-15) preceded by Mendelssohn’s from her radiant sense of wonder in the Josquin’s motet Sechs Sprüche (1849) to demonstrate sarabande aria ‘What passion cannot music production has been Robert Quinney’s assertion (to Jeremy raise and quell!’, in dialogue with Jonathan overshadowed by his Masses; in fact the Dibble on page 26 of the June 2018 Manson’s musingly eloquent cello; through last all-motet anthology I can recall is issue) that ‘Parry is a great figure in the the wistful ‘The soft complaining flute’, La Chapelle Royale’s about 35 years ago. European tradition, a composer who where Sampson veils her naturally bright Perhaps the most impressive thing about synthesised the neo-Bachian tone (a word, too, for Katy Bircher’s poetic this new offering is the programming. counterpoint of Mendelssohn and flute-playing); to the scintillating coloratura Alongside a string of single-movement Brahms with a unique flair for the of her final hornpipe aria, faster and laments (including the one by Gombert for English language’. Both of these snappier than in 2003. Josquin himself) sit the monumental Planxit ravishing a cappella offerings are Poise and grace are hardly the issue in autem David and the Miserere, a complete performed with laudable precision and the extrovert tenor numbers, fashioned for setting of Psalm 51. This brings the range unfailing perception by the Choir of that Handelian stalwart John Beard. Ian of Josquin’s invention into focus: the New College, Oxford. The performance Bostridge, in fine, robust voice, never lets directness of Planxit autem David, the of the former hits radiant heights in ‘At you forget that something urgent is at sheer ambition and formal control of the the round earth’s imagined corners’ and stake, whether in the mounting bellicose Miserere, the intricacy of Absolve quaesumus, ‘Lord, let me know mine end’ to crown excitement of ‘The trumpet’s loud Domine and Nimphes nappés, and the utter a piercingly expressive, deeply humane

104 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk VOCAL REVIEWS

Exquisite musicality: Tim Mead and Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien make play with Purcell’s songs and dances with delightful results

display that safely merits a place Purcell singers are prepared to love the line and alongside a healthy number of ‘Songs & Dances’ words, and players are willing to make a distinguished rivals, among them Amphitryon, Z572 – Minuet; Hornpipe; Boree; dance dance. Happily, both conditions are Richard Marlow and the Choir of Scotch Tune. Come ye sons of art, Z323 – Strike met by the performers on this disc, and, Trinity College, Cambridge (Conifer, the viol, touch the lutea. The Fairy Queen, Z629 – having got that settled, they allow 9/87), Ralph Allwood and the Rodolfus Chaconne; One charming nighta. Fantazia upon themselves to make play with the music in Choir (Herald, 10/98), Jeremy a Ground, Z731. If ever I more riches did desire, a free-selecting programme driven purely Backhouse and the Vasari Singers Z544 – Here let my life with as much silence by musical concerns. This is Purcell (Guild), and Nigel Short and Tenebrae slidea. The Indian Queen, Z630 – We the spirits without much in the way of ‘historical’ (Signum, 12/11). of the air. King Arthur, Z628a – Fairest isle; What context, so that the only thing the listener Quinney and his exemplary singers also power art thou. Love’s goddess sure was blind, needs to worry about is to sit back and let let us hear the original version of ‘There is Z331 – May her blest example chase. The this composer’s life-enhancing genius wash an old belief’ (first given in January 1907), Married Beau, Z603 – March. Ode for St Cecilia’s over them. And with music ranging from and proceedings are launched with the Day, Z339a – Here the deities approve; ’Tis the high art of ‘O Solitude, my sweetest substantial 1894 anthem Hear my words, nature’s voice. The Old Bachelor, Z607 – choice’ and ‘’Tis nature’s voice’ to the ye people. The latter owes a debt to both Hornpipe. O Solitude, my sweetest choice, heart-stopping simple beauty of ‘Fairest Samuel Wesley and Bach’s church cantatas, Z406a. Pavan, Z752. Timon of Athens, Z632 – Isle’ and foot-tapping dance tunes plucked and its concluding chorale on ‘O praise ye Curtain Tune. ’Twas within a furlong of Edinboro’ from the Restoration stage, genius there is the Lord’ (which subsequently became one town, Z605/2a. The Virtuous Wife, Z611 – Aire in plenty. of the most familiar of hymn tunes) makes aTim Mead counterten Les Musiciens The vocal numbers are sung by Tim for a stirring culmination. Rounding off de Saint-Julien / François Lazarevitch Mead, a top-class English countertenor of this uncommonly stimulating anthology, Alpha F ALPHA419 (66’ • DDD • T) the kind that could have been made for organist Timothy Wakerell displays this music, notwithstanding that not impressive physical stamina and intellectual everything here was written for his voice- acumen in the nourishing, at times almost type. His singing radiates rich colour, Regerian Toccata and Fugue that Parry Many of Purcell’s smooth lyricism and exquisite musicality, wrote in November 1912. songs and dance and alone would be enough to make this JB MILLOT JB Beautifully engineered by Adrian Hunter tunes are such disc treasurable. Yet the most striking and admirably presented, this Novum issue ‘standards’ that aspect of these performances undoubtedly will surely delight all Parry fans. there really is no need to worry about a lies in the instrumental music as served up

PHOTOGRAPHY: Andrew Achenbach ‘right’ way to perform them, provided that by Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien, which is

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 105 Hazard Chase

International artist & project management

CONDUCTORS

Carlos Ágreda Andrew Litton MUSIC DIRECTOR AND CONDUCTOR: MUSIC DIRECTOR: NEW YORK CITY EMPIRE STATE YOUTH ORCHESTRA BALLET / PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR: SINGAPORE SYMPHONY Sergio Alapont ORCHESTRA / CONDUCTOR LAUREATE: Sylvain Cambreling BOURNEMOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / CONDUCTOR LAUREATE: CHIEF CONDUCTOR: HAMBURG BERGEN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR: YOMIURI NIPPON Grant Llewellyn SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA /PRINCIPAL MUSIC DIRECTOR: NORTH CAROLINA GUEST CONDUCTOR: SYMPHONY / MUSIC DIRECTOR: KLANGFORUM WIEN ORCHESTRE SYMPHONIQUE DE Alpesh Chauhan BRETAGNE PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR: Lionel Meunier FILARMONICA ARTURO TOSCANINI ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: VOX LUMINIS CDGIM 050 On CD, Download, iTunes and most Streaming Services Wolfram Christ Christopher Moulds Karel Deseure Tito Muñoz Paul Goodwin MUSIC DIRECTOR: THE PHOENIX SYMPHONY 1 ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND PRINCIPAL “Radiance & Precision” CONDUCTOR: CARMEL BACH Olli Mustonen FESTIVAL / PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR: CAPPELLA AQUILEIA Pedro Neves 2 PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR: ORQUESTRA “Robust & Visceral” Matthew Halls CLÁSSICA DE ESPINHO Carlos Izcaray Owain Park 3 MUSIC DIRECTOR: ALABAMA ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / MUSIC THE GESUALDO SIX “Lithe & Vigorous” DIRECTOR: AMERICAN YOUTH SYMPHONY Clark Rundell 3 6RÀ-HDQQLQ Tatsuya Shimono “Exceeds Expectation” CHIEF CONDUCTOR: BBC SINGERS / MUSIC DIRECTOR: HIROSHIMA MUSIC DIRECTOR: LA MAîTRISE DE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA RADIO FRANCE 4 Karl-Heinz Steffens “Stunningly Beautiful” Christian Kluxen MUSIC DIRECTOR: VICTORIA Masaaki Suzuki SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / CHIEF FOUNDER AND MUSIC DIRECTOR: BACH 5 CONDUCTOR DESIGNATE: ARCTIC COLLEGIUM JAPAN “Impeccably Recorded” PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Masato Suzuki Stephen Layton PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR: BACH 5 6 ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: HOLST COLLEGIUM JAPAN / ARTISTIC SINGERS / DIRECTOR: POLYPHONY / DIRECTOR AND EXECUTIVE “Delicious” “Flawless” DIRECTOR OF MUSIC: TRINITY PRODUCER: CHOFU INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE MUSIC FESTIVAL 2 7 Alexander Liebreich Martin Yates “Lush” “Remarkable” CHIEF CONDUCTOR AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: PRAGUE RADIO SYMPHONY 8 ORCHESTRA / ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND CHIEF CONDUCTOR: POLISH NATIONAL “Outstanding Performance” RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: RICHARD STRAUSS FESTIVAL

1: Andrew McGregor, Record Review, BBC Radio 3; 2: Kate Bolton-Porciatti, BBC Music Magazine; 3: Fiona Maddocks, The Observer; 4: Stephen Pettitt, The Sunday Times; 5: Graham Rickson, theartsdesk.com; 6: John Quinn, Musicweb; 7: Edward Breen, Gramophone Magazine; 8: Adrian Horsewood, Early Music Today Visit our website for full contact details and to see current artist and project lists. www.hazardchase.co.uk

www.gimell.com @hazardchaseltd Hazard Chase Limited VOCAL REVIEWS full of life and colour. Given that director Classical Athens from ‘source’ to ‘rule’. In a booklet note, Zender describes François Lazarevitch is a recorder player, Creation and Flood myths done and Winterreise as a ‘secular Passion’ that it is perhaps fair to expect that instrument dusted, the postdiluvian half of Arche ‘articulates loneliness for the first time in to feature more than it might elsewhere contends in complementary fashion that modernity’, and his interpretation surveys (for instance in the Fantazia upon a all you need is (you’ve guessed it) love. Schubert’s song-cycle in terms of the Ground), and neither is it surprising that And peace. Cue more hall-of-mirrors 19th- and 20th-century Expressionism, of the ornamentation often lends the music a Schumann and Schubert. Murder and which it is the perceived starting point. French accent; but the sheer rhythmic flair apocalypse meanwhile have their say, like Schubert is consequently refracted through and Celtic-flavoured folksiness with which Alcibiades at the Symposium. Mahler and the Second Viennese School, they deliver so many of the dances is also German critics were divided at the whose Klangfarbenmelodien colour Zender’s enhanced in places by the rasp of a premiere. ‘More pomp than soul’; ‘new constantly shifting textures, while the musette or jangle of a cittern. The music that is so old an audience presence of accordion, guitar and recording is clear and full-bodied, though immediately appreciates it’. A film would saxophone suggest the influence of Weimar with an irritatingly abrupt fade-up at the at least let us in on all the theatrics that Republic cabaret. very start. But never mind, this disc is a gave the audience the giggles. The audio- As the cycle progresses, the songs are hugely enjoyable Purcellian celebration. only record lacks nothing for flair, energy increasingly pulled in and out of focus by Lindsay Kemp and commitment to Widmann’s world of means of augmentation and diminution, convinced irony. Well-drilled choral or by harmonic and rhythmic Widmann forces cut through orchestral textures as reconfigurations, as the vocal line slips Arche queasily luscious as a mango on the turn, in and out of Sprechgesang. Some of it is Marlis Petersen sop Gabriel Böer treb testament not least to the new hall’s disarmingly literal, and we really seem Thomas E Bauer bar Iveta Apkalna org Jonna exacting acoustic and ECM’s spacious to hear the wind, the cracking ice and Plathe, Baris Özden children narrs Chorus of engineering. Playing Noah and an the percussive creak of roofs under the Hamburg State Opera; Audi Youth Chorus incensed Lied-baritone, Thomas E Bauer weight of snow. Some of Zender’s Academy; Hamburg Alsterspatzen; Hamburg never forsakes the centre of an eloquent interventions, however, can seem Philharmonic State Orchestra / Kent Nagano baritone that lends distinction to a new too knowing. Mahlerian brass and ECM New Series Fb481 7007 (101’ • DDD) Christmas Oratorio on Naxos. Marlis woodwind, echoing through space, Recorded live at the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, Petersen would do a marvellous Gepopo turn existential loneliness into cosmic January 13, 2017 on the strength of her abandoned isolation. The accompaniment to ‘Das melisma, cooing and coloratura. Is Arche Wirtshaus’ becomes a formal funeral a new Mask of Time?OraPetite Macabre? hymn played by a wind band. Whether Time will tell. Peter Quantrill any of it adds anything to our With Arche, Jörg understanding of Schubert remains Widmann has (at the Zender very much a matter for debate. age of 45) delivered Schuberts Winterreise You can’t fault the performance, the kind of history-of- Julian Prégardien ten though. Conductor Robert Reimer everything evening-length oratorio that, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie / Robert Reimer pitches the work somewhere between in retrospect, seems an inevitable point Alpha F ALPHA425 (84’ • DDD • T/t) Cambreling’s reflectiveness and the more of arrival for his music, requiring for its Recorded live at the Grosser Sendesaal, Funkhaus abrasive approach of Zender’s own 1995 fulfilment only the particular no-strings- Halberg, Saarbrücken, Germany, January 22, 2016 recording with Hans-Peter Blochwitz and attached (‘but make it big’) commission the Ensemble Modern. Speeds are swift attendant upon the consecration of a and urgent, fitting the work on to a single new concert hall: in this case, the disc where it previously needed two, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Mahler Released to though nothing feels rushed. The playing and Tippett would blush for shame. mark the 25th is exemplary, and the beautifully balanced In the beginning, pitchless rustles and anniversary of recording allows every textural and whispers yield at length to clusters, biblical the premiere, colouristic shift to register. Apart from a pronoucements and then more abruptly to this new recording of Hans Zender’s couple of moments of constriction at the a bloated send-up of Heine’s exemplary ‘composed interpretation’ of Winterreise top, Prégardien sings with wonderful anti-Romantic credo Das Fräulein stand am marks Julian Prégardien’s debut on the elegance and unforced sincerity of Meere – if, that is, irony is any statement of Alpha label, for which he signed earlier expression, which makes his swerves belief. Fittingly for a student of Wolfgang this year. It derives from a live into Sprechgesang all the more shocking. Rihm, Widmann gives God the rough side performance by the Deutsche Radio He’s a lighter-voiced, more impulsive of his tongue. Honed over the years, his Philharmonie, of which Zender himself protagonist than his father, and altogether application of parody technique is so was chief conductor from 1972 to 1984. more lyrical than Blochwitz, who is comprehensively inventive, down to the Prégardien is also following in the inclined to be declamatory. You might final ‘Dona nobis pacem’ done up as a footsteps of his father Christoph, have qualms about the work itself but it’s Lutheran Christmas hymn, that the entire whose own recording of the work, hard to imagine it more compellingly history of German music from Bach to, with Klangforum Wien under Sylvain done. Tim Ashley well, Widmann is experienced as if in a Cambreling, was issued in 2000. The Comparative versions: seaside chamber of distorting mirrors. score itself, meanwhile, has long divided Blochwitz, Ens Modern, Zender Rather as fish became frogs, or gods opinion, and like others who have written (9/95) (RCA) 09026 68067-2 became men, the meaning of arche suffered about it in these pages I confess both to C Prégardien, Klangforum Wien, Cambreling a fascinating etymological shift in early- admiring it and questioning its necessity. (6/00) (KAIR) 0012002KAI

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 107 VOCAL REVIEWS

‘Advent Live’ Nethsingha’s inspired direction, the If Orlin´ski’s marble-cool countertenor Archer The Linden Tree Carol Bednall Noe, noe choir has retained its renowned clarity, brings the spiritual, then Maxim Bingham The Clouded Heaven Britten A Hymn flamboyance and readiness to take risks. Emelyanychev and Il Pomo d’Oro offer of St Columba Bullard Glory to the Christ Child The various organ scholars also give some deliciously secular friction. Nicola J Burton Tomorrow shall be my dancing day splendid support throughout and the Fago’s solo cantata Confitebor tibi, Domine Comeau Lux mundi Gibbons This is the record whole production is first-class, enhanced (arguably the best of the eight premiere of John F Jackson I know a flower Joubert by Martin Ennis’s excellent notes. Despite recordings here) sways and grooves with There is no rose J Long Vigilate Palestrina Fuit the presence of a live audience I caught rhythmic interest – the ‘Fidelia omnia’ homo missus a Deo I Shaw Adam lay ybounden. only one muffled sneeze, in the final an all-out sacred hoedown – and the I sing of a maiden Traditional The angel Gabriel ecstatic Noe, noe of David Bednall. roiling, bubbling drama of Hasse’s from heaven came (arr E Pettman). The Cherry Malcolm Riley ‘Mea tormenta, properate!’ reeks of Tree Carol (arr S Cleobury). Tomorrow shall be greasepaint and gunpowder. my dancing day (arr D Willcocks) ‘Anima sacra’ In the studio at least, Orlin´ski rides this Vaughan Williams The truth sent from above Durante Messa a 5 voci – Domine fili unigenite densely textured accompaniment with ease. (arr C Robinson) Watts The Birth of Speech Fago Confitebor tibi, Domine. Il Faraone It’s an attractive voice that has something The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge / sommerso – Alla gente a Dio diletta. Tam non of Jaroussky about it (the unworked purity, Andrew Nethsingha splendet sol creatus Feo Dies irae – Juste judex the easy legato) but with the greater focus Signum F SIGCD535 (60’ • DDD • T/t) ultionis Hasse Sanctus Petrus et Sancta Maria and muscularity of a young Scholl, Zazzo Recorded live 2014-17 Magdalena – Mea tormenta, properate! or Davies. There’s a tendency though to Heinichen Alma redemptoris mater Sarro overcook it, pushing until tone becomes Messaa5voci–Laudamus te Schiassi Maria forced and fluttery – not the free spin of vergine al Calvario – L’agnelletta timidetta natural vibrato but something a bit more In the rush to Terradellas Dixit Dominus – Donec ponam gripped and manic. A little more lean back grasp the glittering, Zelenka Gesù al Calvario, ZWV62 – Smanie di and a little less endeavour, however, and commercial excesses dolci affetti … S’una sol lagrima this is a voice with a big future. of Christmas the Jakub Józef Orliński counterten Alexandra Coghlan meditative, preparatory season of Advent Il Pomo d’Oro / Maxim Emelyanychev is frequently overlooked. Therefore, it is Erato F 9029 56337-4 (76’ • DDD) ‘Broadway’ with relief and joy that we can welcome Bock She Loves Me – Dear Friend Guettel The this hour-long anthology. Drawn from Light in the Piazza – Fable Kander The Visit – live BBC Radio broadcasts from 2014-17, Love and love alone/Winter Kern Very Warm for these 19 tracks concentrate on music by Some really May – All the things you are Lloyd Webber Song living composers, many with a strong link excellent concert and Dance – Tell me on a Sunday Pasek/Paul to the College, as well as to Cambridge, performances in Dear Evan Hansen – So Big/So Small Porter Red, sung mostly to English texts. London – both in Hot and Blue – Down in the depths (on the Britten’s A Hymn to St Columba (1962) recital and opera – have whetted the ninetieth floor) Rodgers The King and I – makes a strong opener, setting the scene appetite for the Polish countertenor Something wonderful. The Sound of Music – for James Burton’s powerful and attractive Jakub Józef Orlin´ski’s debut solo The sound of music. South Pacific – Loneliness Tomorrow shall be my dancing day, the first release. ‘Anima sacra’ doesn’t disappoint. of Evening; Wonderful guy; You’ve got to be of two settings of this text (the other being In fact it over-achieves so hard and so careful tonighta Sondheim Into the Woods – the better-known one by David Willcocks). determinedly that sometimes you wish Children will listena. A Little Night Music – The Equally impressive are the brace of carols both Orlin´ski himself and his record label Glamorous Life Sting The Last Ship – August by Ian Shaw – the second of which, I sing of would just trust their product and relax Winds Tesori Violet – Lay down your head a maiden, features the superb harp-playing into it a little. M Wilson The Music Man – Till there was you of Anne Denholm – and Judith Bingham’s It’s hard to get past the album Yeston Nine – Unusual way The clouded heaven. Of an older generation artwork; numerous images of a bare- Renée Fleming sop aLeslie Odom Jr voc of composers, John Joubert’s There is no chested Orlin´ski swathed artistically BBC Concert Orchestra / Rob Fisher rose retains its classic poise and it was a joy in tulle position him firmly as whatever Decca F 483 4215DH (64’ • DDD) to encounter Francis Jackson’s I know a the countertenor equivalent of a flower for the first time, with its fresh and barihunk is (countertenor cutie?). It’s flagrant harmony. distracting and ultimately unnecessary – For a stronger flavour, James Long’s debasing a performer who, on the basis After her previous Vigilate (2012) fits the bill; likewise Tim of this recherché collection of works, is forays into jazz and Watts’s The Birth of Speech, which already a serious artist. Yannis François indie-pop, to say benefits greatly from the stylish violin- (whose booklet notes have the energy nothing of her recent playing of Stephanie Childress and Julia of a man actually in the archives making stint on Broadway as Nettie Fowler in Hwang. Of the two tracks from the discoveries) has worked with Orlin´ski Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel,it Renaissance period, Gibbons’s This is the to put together a thoughtful collection was almost inevitable that a Broadway record of John is the most satisfying, with of little-known sacred works from the album would be forthcoming from the an excellent contribution from the second half of the 17th century – world’s most glamorous soprano. Her countertenor Hugh Cutting. including not just liturgical music but choices are shrewd and wide-ranging, This new disc is an important snapshot also oratorios and azioni sacre – that embracing the contemporary and the of the continuing St John’s story, revealing collide the drama of the opera house classic in pretty much equal measure that in recent years, under Andrew with the contemplation of the church. while demonstrating that style in this

108 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk VOCAL REVIEWS

Dramatic impact: the London-based chamber choir Pegasus mark the centenary of the First World War Armistice – see review on page 111

repertoire probably has more to do with It’s interesting that the numbers in very gifted Jeanine Tesori’s Violet – attitude than technical adjustment. More, which she opts for a jazzy take feel most a gorgeous number. Likewise ‘Unusual but not all. comfortable. Cole Porter’s ‘Down in the way’ from Maury Yeston’s Nine. And she Curbing that opulent operatic soprano, depths (on the ninetieth floor)’ sits well for really gets inside the mother’s song, ‘So pulling back on the head-voice and her and she’s super-happy exploring the Big/So Small’ from my favourite of the dropping the centre of gravity to a more cabaret sultriness of ‘Love and love alone/ current musicals, Pasek and Paul’s Dear conversational tone in the middle range Winter’ from Kander and Ebb’s darkly Evan Hansen. The song’s gentle ‘country’ is key, of course. In classic repertoire – in striking The Visit. And while I personally inflection comes naturally to her and she songs like ‘Dear Friend’ (from Bock and wouldn’t want to jazzify one of the and we quickly warm to the intimacy of it. Harnick’s She Loves Me), ‘Till there was greatest songs ever written – Kern and There’s a similar folksy twang to you’ (from Meredith Wilson’s The Music Hammerstein’s ‘All the things you are’ – ‘August Winds’ from Sting’s The Last Man) and, of course, ‘The sound of music’ – she slips nicely into its embrace. Ship – another cracking score – and her ‘legit’ soprano may need scaling back There’s only one song that really I personally am so glad she included but it’s also where those songs live, and doesn’t work and perhaps should have Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black’s she’s home free, swooning portamento been left off the album, and that’s ‘Tell me on a Sunday’, one of Lloyd and all. It’s no accident, of course, that the ‘Wonderful guy’ from South Pacific. This Webber’s most beautiful and elaborate leading Broadway ladies of today – Audra is where a feisty chest belt is absolutely melodies married to one of Black’s most McDonald, Kelli O’Hara and Laura de rigueur. The euphoric repetitions of touching lyrics. I did wonder, though, why Benanti – are all legit sopranos at heart. ‘I’m in love, I’m in love’ feel like they’re Fleming didn’t make more of that glorious Another ‘operatically inclined’ number vocally in ‘no man’s land’ for Fleming. phrase in the release of the song, ‘Don’t is ‘Fable’ from Adam Guettel’s glorious The Not so ‘The Glamorous Life’ from leave in silence’. It’s exactly the kind of Light in the Piazza. If I’m going to be picky Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. Desiree moment where I would have expected her I’d say that while this is the eleven-o’clock is such a good fit – an ‘artiste’ whose operatic instincts and generosity of phrase moment in the show – a mother letting her very nature is perpetually ‘on stage’, to kick in. daughter go (something that every mother larger than life in every respect. The song Familiar territory for the BBC Concert can relate to) – there is a temptation, with works better in context, of course (like Orchestra, of course, and some lovely Fleming’s pedigree and vocal equipment, everything Sondheim wrote), but it’s arrangements made especially for the GRAHAM KIRK GRAHAM to over-egg it. Its drama is writ a little a good ‘turn’ for Fleming. album. Not everything convinces me but too large. The final moments, the quiet My favourite tracks? Well, there are two there’s enough here that does – and her moments, pull it back inwardly and that’s or three she absolutely nails. So glad she love for the repertoire is palpable.

PHOTOGRAPHY: where it’s most effective. included ‘Lay down your head’ from the Edward Seckerson

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‘For the Fallen’ It is not through choice of music that Jerusalemb. Songs of Farewell – No 4, There is an Dyson To Music D Guest For the Fallen Gurney Pegasus provide dramatic impact but old belief Stanford Justorum animae, Op 38 No 1 Psalm 23. Since I believe in God the Father through Altham’s fervent direction. I Venables Requiem aetername Almighty Holst Nunc dimittis Mahler Rückert Making no concessions to the small-scale aKaty Hill, dLeah Jackson sops adGareth Brynmor Lieder – Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen nature of the programme, he throws every John bar acJames Orford, abdeHugh Rowlands org (arr Gottwald) Rachmaninov Vespers (All-Night emotional weapon in his armoury at the bChelsea Pensioners’ Choir; Chapel Choir of the Vigil), Op 37 – Blagoslovi dushe moya gospoda; music, giving us oozing pathos in Douglas Royal Hospital, Chelsea / William Vann Nyne otpushcheashi Ravel Trois Chansons – Guest’s heartfelt if sentimental setting of Somm Céleste F SOMMCD0187 (81’ • DDD • T/t) No 2, Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis Reger Laurence Binyon’s iconic text, profound Nachtlied, Op 138 No 3 Stanford For lo! I raise introspection in Reger’s Nachtlied and up,Op145a Traditional The Dying Soldier nerve-shattering explosiveness at the (arr Wilberg/Short) Walford Davies A Short close of Holst’s Nunc dimittis. In the centenary of the Requiem C Wood Expectans expectavia His singers respond with alacrity, even end of the First World Pegasus / Matthew Altham with aMartin Toyer org to the extent of over-stretching themselves War, this recording Signum F SIGCD825 (67’ • DDD • T/t) vocally. George Dyson’s To Music reveals features a variety of their beautifully blended tone; but, in vocal works written before, during and after ‘Lest We Forget’ addition to an unnerving hootiness of tone the war, all of which, in some way, bear the Aston So they gave their bodies Bainton And in Ravel’s ‘Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis’, badge of courage, sacrifice and loss, and IsawanewheavenElgar We will remember the top notes of the Mahler have an ugly equally that sense of trauma and catharsis them Holst Turn back, O man, Op 36a No 2. edge to them, made all the more ugly by which Britain had to bear in the years I vow to thee, my country Ireland Greater love being juxtaposed above such gorgeous immediately after the conflict. As a chorister hath no man. Te Deum Howells Rhapsody No 3, choral tone. in the 1960s I can still remember the lines Op 17a Parry Crossing the Bar. Songs of Farewell If Pegasus are unafraid to go over the of the British Legion who would parade up – No 4, There is an old belief Scholefield The day top in the cause of the music’s drama, to the village church and the war memorial thou gavest, Lord, is ended Stanford For lo! Chichester Cathedral Choir are more to hear the names of the dead read out. My I raise up, Op 145. Organ Sonata No 2, ‘Eroica’ – restrained, keeping emotional heads down memories of those chilly, solemn Verduna and reserving dramatic assaults for the November Sunday mornings are still vivid. The Choir of Chichester Cathedral / occasional big moments – as in Ireland’s They were occasions charged with deep Charles Harrison aorg with Timothy Ravalde org Greater love – where these singers lack for emotion and remembrance which the Signum F SIGCD562 (65’ • DDD • T) nothing in bravery. As with the Pegasus music of this CD animates only too readily. disc, not everything on the Chichester disc The sounds of Parry’s Jerusalem (written belongs to the First World War; but Peter after all for the Fight for Right movement Aston’s setting of famous lines from in 1916 to counter German propaganda Pericles’ funeral oration at the time of and to bolster national morale), Charles the Peloponnesian War fits in well not Harris’s O valiant hearts and Gustav Holst’s only because of its references to the setting of Cecil Spring Rice’s ‘I vow to thee Last Post but because of its mood of my country’ are almost unbearably moving. Marking the centenary of the November prayerful introspection. Directed by William Vann, the Choir of 1918 Armistice, these two discs from Chichester Cathedral Choir are relative the Royal Hospital Chelsea, with its clear, Signum present two very different strangers to commercial CD, so this disc ringing tone, provides beautifully nuanced interpretations of choral music from the provides a welcome opportunity for the performances, especially of the a cappella First World War. The only piece common outside world to hear them in action. items, Stanford’s numinous introit Justorum to both is Stanford’s For lo! I raise up, And with such understated yet beautifully animae, Parry’s six-part ‘There is an old delivered with measured control by moulded singing as they give us in Bainton’s belief’ (written during the early part of the Charles Harrison and his Chichester And I saw a new heaven and Parry’s Crossing war) and Elgar’s elegiac They are at rest. Cathedral Choir, and with great the Bar one can only hope for more. And no recording of this repertoire would dramatic flair by Matthew Altham’s The disc includes a couple of organ be complete without reference to Laurence Pegasus singers. solos played by Harrison himself. Most Binyon’s immutable words ‘For the Fallen’, High drama is very much to the fore in impressive of these is his flamboyant sung here in a setting by Douglas Guest, the Pegasus disc, the programme ranging performance of the last movement onetime organist of Westminster Abbey beyond the deep trenches of the English (appropriately subtitled ‘Verdun’) of and who fought in the Royal Artillery cathedral repertory into contemporaneous Stanford’s Second Organ Sonata. The during the Second World War. John works from Reger, Ravel, Rachmaninov explosive combination of virtuoso flares Ireland’s Greater love hath no man is sung and Mahler. And before anyone points out and shards of the Marseillaise effectively with stirring commitment. Written in that Mahler had died four years before the counterbalance the disc’s overriding 1912, the anthem soon found itself First World War, or that this arrangement atmosphere of prayerful restraint. expressing so many public sentiments of one of his Rückert Lieder was made by Marc Rochester of the war after the horrifying list of Clytus Gottwald, born 11 years after the casualties was published from day to day; war ended, let me point them in the ‘In Remembrance’ it received many performances. Holst’s fine direction of Pegasus chairman, Samir Elgar They are at rest Fauré Requiem, Op 48 Ode to Death, composed in 1919 and here Savant, who writes that Mahler’s music (arr Farrington)a D Guest For the Fallen performed in an arrangement for choir mirrors ‘the decadence and self- C Harris O valiant heartsb Holst I vow to thee, and organ by Iain Farrington, is a powerful absorption of the last years of the my countryb. Ode to Death (arr Farrington)c elegy written in memory of his friend Cecil Austro-Hungarian empire’. Ireland Greater love hath no mand Parry Coles, who was killed during the German

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 111 VOCAL REVIEWS

Army’s last major offensive in 1918. and the singers swell to fill the greater similarly impassioned Cardoso performances It shares serene moments of painful expressive and dramatic space of the work. and as such are a likely influence. The poignancy with Fauré’s Requiem (again The comparison here is with Les Voix Marian Consort, however, add an intensely in Farrington’s attractive arrangement), Humaines’ recording – an intimate, almost charged intimacy to the mix. a work which focuses not on judgement domestic account with single voices that The premiere recording of Lobo’s but on eternal rest and notions of paradise. works beautifully on its own terms but can’t Missa Veni Domine forms the backbone The juxtaposition with Ian Venables’s compete with the aural opulence of this to the programme. It is a parody/imitation contemporary (rather Howellsian) setting spacious, resonant new recording. work drawing on a motet by Palestrina; of Requiem aeternam (2017) is therefore a Alexandra Coghlan Rory McCleery explains potential fitting one. Jeremy Dibble Stabat mater – selected comparisons: Sebastianist connections with this text in Concert Spirituel, Niquet (2/11) (GLOS) GCD921621 his booklet notes (the hoped for return of ‘Les maîtres du motet’ Nuova Musica, Bates (10/16) (HARM) HMU80 7659 King Sebastian lost in a military campaign Bouteiller Missa pro defunctis Brossard Ave Missa pro defunctis – selected comparison: of 1578). I love this performance, full of verum corpus. Miserere mei Deus. Stabat mater Voix Humaines (ATMA) ACD2 2259 energy and highly responsive to the text. Les Arts Florissants / Paul Agnew The Sanctus-Benedictus in particular Harmonia Mundi F HAF890 5300 (67’ • DDD • T/t) ‘Pater peccavi’ shows the flexibility of this ensemble ‘Music of Lamentation from in responding to different textures. The Renaissance Portugal’ album highlight for me, however, is Brito Heu Domine Cardoso Lamentations Circumdederunt me, a setting of a funeral A collection of for Maundy Thursday A Fernandez text by Aires Fernandez. Here the phrases French Baroque music Circumdederunt me Lobo Audivi vocem. reach upwards and overlap in great arches, without so much as a Missa Veni Domine. Pater peccavi Magalhães which the singers perform with a yearning fan flutter of courtly Commissa mea Morago Commissa mea. De intensity which is just exquisite. Edward Breen secularity or a mouthful of cake, this new profundis. Emendemus in melius. Oculi mei release from Paul Agnew and Les Arts semper ad Dominum. Versa est in luctum ‘Sing Levy Dew’ Florissants flings wide the gates of The Marian Consort / Rory McCleery Beamish Seven Songs Britten Friday Versailles and heads out into the regions – Delphian F DCD34205 (52’ • DDD • T/t) Afternoons, Op 7 Richard Rodney Bennett to the cathedrals and churches where music The Aviary. The Insect World Dove It sounded of quite another kind flourished during the as if the Streets were running Skempton Five reign of Louis XIV. Poems of Mary Webb Composer Sébastian de Brossard (1655- This exquisite The St Catharine’s Girls’ Choir, Cambridge / 1730) may not be a household name but late-Renaissance Edward Wickham with Frederick Brown pf it’s thanks to him that many works from Portuguese polyphonic Resonus F RES10221 (66’ • DDD • T) the early decades of the 18th century repertoire is as richly survive, collected and preserved in expressive as it is politically poised. Written manuscripts he presented to the royal under the rule of the Spanish Habsburgs library in 1724. This recording pairs from 1580 to 1640, works by Duarte Lobo In the decade since its Brossard’s own Miserere mei Deus and (c1565-1646) and Manuel Cardoso (1566- foundation, in 2008, large-scale Stabat mater with one of the 1650) are frequently drawn towards texts the Girls’ Choir of gems of his collection, the Missa pro of mourning and lamentation as they long St Catharine’s College, defunctis of Pierre Bouteiller (c1655-c1717). for an end to foreign rule and yearn for Cambridge, have garnered well-deserved The harmonised psalm chant of the the restoration of a Portuguese monarchy. plaudits for the conviction, warmth and Miserere, passed here between a soloist and All this becomes more stylistically vivid immaculate control in their singing under semi-chorus, inevitably draws comparison when we note both composers outlived their founder, Edward Wickham. All these with Allegri. Less highly coloured in either Monteverdi, albeit only slightly. qualities are present in abundance on this harmony or ornamentation, Brossard’s This beautiful new album from The new disc of secular British works for upper setting is nevertheless an attractive work. Marian Consort is surely one of the best voices. Its 36 tracks constitute a veritable Neither this nor the Stabat mater, however, one-to-a-part ensemble recordings of this box of delights, full of polished gems. truly mines their emotive, penitential texts repertoire. Throughout the programme Opening with Jonathan Dove’s three as we hear Charpentier do in his Leçons de they nurture a warm blend while drawing a cappella Emily Dickinson settings of Ténèbres, for example. To all intents and out long polyphonic threads to expressive 2006, the 22 singers make light work of purposes this is pure music, throwing all ends. The disc opens with Cardoso’s six- any contrapuntal challenges, emphasising focus on vocal tone and inflection. voice Lamentations for Maunday Thursday the dramatic and ecstatic elements of Les Arts Florissants are in good company from his final published collection; the poetry. Diction and intonation are here, with recent recordings by Hervé unhurried, expressive and with a pleasing exemplary. Frederick Brown joins the choir Niquet and an all-male incarnation of core to their sound, the sopranos in for Richard Rodney Bennett’s two unison Le Concert Spirituel and David Bates’s La particular create a confident, glistening song collections from 40 years earlier, The Nuova Musica. The Niquet is an austere tone with generous phrasing. Several Insect World and The Aviary, clearly relishing affair but La Nuova Musica’s account larger ensembles, notably The Sixteen the delicious piano accompaniments. Of (complete with superb soloists) is all warmth (‘Renaissance Portugal: The Sacred the former, ‘Clock-a-clay’ stands out, as and drama, eclipsing Les Arts Florissants’ Music of Cardoso and Lôbo’ – Coro, does ‘The Bird’s Lament’ from the latter. oddly wan and unfocused sopranos by some 8/94) and Westminster Cathedral Howard Skempton’s timeless and tireless way. It’s a different story in the Bouteiller, Choir (‘Masterpieces of Portuguese Five Poems of Mary Webb are a masterclass where the group’s blend finds its groove Polyphony’ – Hyperion) have recorded in triadic writing and should be heard by

112 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk VOCAL REVIEWS

Richly expressive: the Marian Consort draw out the long polyphonic threads of their Portuguese Renassance programme with exquisite beauty every serious student of harmony. The Barbara Hannigan sop Reinbert de Leeuw pf voice is lithe and flexible rather than rich balance between the three parts is excellent. Alpha F ALPHA393 (78’ • DDD • T/t) and firm; she strokes the vocal line lovingly The disc’s premiere recording is of rather than grasping it; her German is Sally Beamish’s unaccompanied Seven Songs languid and unpercussive – often difficult (1990), and in some ways is the toughest to decipher. You might, like me, find music both to sing and to assimilate. The After a well-received yourself thinking more of the cabaret final one of the set, ‘Sunset’, is the most album of Satie for than the concert hall. striking. Composed for his brother’s school the French At times it’s supremely seductive. in Prestatyn, Benjamin Britten’s Friday composer’s There’s no denying the erotic charge Afternoons dates from 1933-35 and polishes anniversary, Barbara Hannigan and she communicates, for example, in up as fresh as ever. It is good to hear the Reinbert de Leeuw (having transitioned Schoenberg’s Dehmel settings (listen to oft-sung ‘A New Year Carol’ in its original from Winter & Winter to Alpha) present the final phrase of ‘Schenk mir deinen context and to marvel, once again, at how a generous programme of fin de siècle goldenen Kamm’, for example). You’ll Britten squeezes out every last drop of Viennese songs. In a booklet conversation struggle not to be carried away, too, with compositional technique in ‘Old Abram they describe this as music ‘at the edge her way with the early Zemlinsky songs – Brown’. As its haunting refrain concludes of tonality, and also at the end of it’. such marvellous pieces in themselves. And the disc, one hopes that this talented group Though they also admit it’s music rooted her high notes in Berg’s ‘Schilflied’ are will explore further the riches of the pre- in a near century-long tradition started by difficult to resist. war English repertory. Malcolm Riley Schubert, there’s very much the sense of But several of Hannigan’s touches these songs being approached from the strike me, if not as inauthentic (to raise ‘Vienna: fin de siècle’ other side, glancing back knowingly from the question of authenticity is to open a Berg Sieben Frühe Lieder A Mahler Fünf Lieder – a post-war perspective. can of worms), then at least as overly No 1, Die stille Stadt; No 3, Laue Sommernacht; Hannigan’s approach, then, is not what affected. High notes regularly float airily No 5, Ich wandle unter Blumen. Vier Lieder – we’re used to. In many of the songs there’s before being filled out, and there are No 1, Licht in der Nacht Schoenberg Vier Lieder, the sense that she’s embodying one of her swoops and slides aplenty (listen to Op 2 Webern Fünf Lieder nach Gedichten von most famous roles, Berg’s Lulu; I found Webern’s ‘Am Ufer’ or ‘Helle Nacht’). Richard Dehmel Wolf Mignon Lieder Zemlinsky myself imagining a waif-like protagonist Occasionally I longed for something more Lieder, Op 2, Book2–No1,Frühlingstag; No 6, wandering through shadowy, dreamlike straightforward, objective even, especially Empfängnis. Gesänge, Op5–No1,Schlaf nur landscapes. The delivery is intimate, in the more ‘traditional’ Wolf numbers ein; No 6, Tiefe Sehnsucht. Fünf Gesänge, Op 7 – confiding and almost coquettish. that conclude the disc. But, as usual with No 1, Da waren zwei Kinder; No 2, Entbietung; De Leeuw offers gentle, patient and Hannigan, there’s some compelling, No 4, Irmelin Rose discreet accompaniment. Hannigan’s fascinating singing here. Hugo Shirley

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 113 WHAT NEXT? Do you have a favourite piece of music and want to explore further? Our monthly feature suggests some musical journeys that venture beyond the most familiar works, with some recommended versions. This month, Andrew Mellor’s point of departure is … Sibelius’s SymphonyNo7(1924)

1 arl Stoeckel compared Sibelius’s conducting at Carnegie The beginning of the end Hall, New York, in 1914 to someone ‘reading a mighty Sibelius Tapiola (1926) After the Seventh Symphony, Sibelius took Cpoem and unfettered by the necessity of giving anything so the process of distillation further with the tone poem Tapiola, which obvious as a beat’. Perhaps the music (The Oceanides) didn’t need clings resolutely to one key and uses just one motif (it can hardly a beat. Increasingly, Sibelius was becoming aware that inherent be called a theme). Tapiola is both a culmination and a new dawn in kinetic energy could take his pieces wherever they needed to Sibelius’s thinking about instrumental colour: how a particular shade go. His last surviving symphony, of 1924, offers up a superlative of orchestral brown might control pages of musical progress on its example of the idea. It lives a whole life in its short, single- own. The only place Sibelius could go next was into total silence. movement span. It was born of abrasion, squalor and addiction, O Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra / Leif Segerstam (Ondine, 7/96) yet is profound, majestic and humbling. It paved the way for new musical designs from Stockholm to San Francisco. Paavo 2 Berglund, a great Sibelius champion, has the symphony’s measure Keep the river fl owing in a notable live recording made with the LPO in 2003. Adams Harmonielehre (1985) John Adams’s admiration for Sibelius’s OLondon Philharmonic Orchestra / Paavo Berglund (LPO, 12/05) Symphony No 7 is a matter of record. The American’s early work was

1 4 Sibelius Salonen Tapiola Sibelius Helix Symphony No 7

Thorvaldsdottir Aeriality 3 2 Bruckner Adams Symphony No 2 Harmonielehre

Madetoja 5 Norgård Kullervo Symphony No 6 Riley In C

Klami Pohjola Lemminkäinen’s Adventures Symphony No 2 on the Island of Sari

114 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk WHAT NEXT?

concerned with the working of cells of material and on developing through instantaneous repetition – elements present in Sibelius’s Seventh but heard even more clearly in works such as The Wood Nymph.InHarmonielehre, a symphony in all but name, we hear how deeply the American absorbed the Seventh’s suggestion that two speeds can operate at once. O City of Birmingham SO / Simon Rattle (EMI/Warner Classics, 6/94)

Nørgård Symphony No 6 (1999) The Danish composer Per Nørgård remains the most tangible living link with Sibelius and is fascinated by the way that the Finnish composer’s symphonies flow with gravitational inevitability. Nørgård’s symphonies (eight so far) are strikingly different from one another, but the Sixth is among the purest manifestations of the symphonic principle of no argument, no victory, just a natural, beautiful process tipped into action and then brought to rest. O Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra / John Storgårds (Dacapo, 7/16)

Pohjola Symphony No 2 (2006) In Seppo Pohjola’s symphonies we hear a progression of the idea that a tiny motif can be combined with gentle rhythmic manipulation to induce a kinetic musical journey. Pohjola’s Symphony No 2 lays that theory out in basic terms, as this sharp performance under Sakari Oramo shows. Visit YouTube for a performance, from the same musicians, of Pohjola’s Third (2011), in which the weave has become more complex but less complicated. O Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Sakari Oramo (Alba, 11/12)

3 Contemporaneous currents Bruckner Symphony No 2 (1872) Sibelius was only six when Bruckner completed his Second Symphony, but it’s obvious that Bruckner’s vocabulary – long pedal notes, figurations that weave to form tapestries, and cell-like motifs that drive music in constant transition – had a strong bearing on Sibelius’s whole idea of a symphony from his first to his last. This score, with its telling use of silence, may well have formed the perfect tutor. The Finnish landscape was a profound source of inspiration for Sibelius O Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra / Herbert Blomstedt (Querstand, 11/13) with a mobility that is consistent almost until the last moment, while the Madetoja Kullervo (1913) Sibelius’s language was radical enough for textures change like a twisting Rubik’s Cube. ‘It was with the minimalist it to be ignored by plenty of talented contemporaries. Leevi Madetoja composers that we got the idea of pulse back,’ Salonen once said. might not have ignored Sibelius per se, but he admired d’Indy and O Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra / Esa-Pekka Salonen (DG, 3/09) Wagner at least as much and there’s something of Zemlinsky’s longing and romantic sweep behind his otherwise tempestuous take Thorvaldsdottir Aeriality (2011) The Icelandic composer Anna on the Kullervo story from Finland’s national epic The Kalevala. Thorvaldsdottir observed recently that ‘nature tells you brown is It was written in 1913, two decades after Sibelius’s choral approach never just brown.’ In Thorvaldsdottir’s music, and particularly in the to the same legend. orchestral monolith Aeriality, a very Nordic distillation of ideas is O Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra / John Storgårds (Ondine, 4/13) combined with the spectral proposition Sibelius pioneered: that instrumental timbre and colour are legitimate means with which Klami Lemminkäinen’s Adventures on the Island of Sari (1933) a composer might let a piece of formally rigorous music unfold. Uuno Klami took as much inspiration from The Kalevala as Sibelius The piece sounds uncannily Icelandic in this performance. did, and his musical language was almost as uncompromising. It is O Iceland Symphony Orchestra / Ilan Volkov (DG) also more bright and primitive, reflecting his admiration for Ravel and Stravinsky. Klami appears to pay his dues to Sibelius’s Tapiola in the swaying tree-scape that opens his flamboyant symphonic poem based 5 Back to basics on the same episode from The Kalevala that Sibelius set with such Riley In C (1968) American minimalism was born of many things but architectural grandeur. Sibelius’s slow process of distilling his voice to the point of silence was O Turku Philharmonic Orchestra / Jorma Panula (Naxos) arguably one of them. If Sibelius could have written a symphony that didn’t shift from a single key, he would have (some might argue that, in Tapiola, he did precisely that). Terry Riley’s In C – in the same key 4 Nordic nature music as Sibelius’s symphony – cleared the decks for an exploration of what

JAMO FINE ART IMAGES/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO STOCK IMAGES/ALAMY ART FINE JAMO Salonen Helix (2005) Where Sibelius’s and Thorvaldsdottir’s (below) might be done without modulation. nature world is fluid, the river shifting in velocity and depth, Esa-Pekka O Ars Nova Copenhagen / Paul Hillier (Marco Polo) Salonen’s is more studied and scientific. Like a generated image of the structure of DNA, his work Helix spirals towards its natural end point Available to stream at Qobuz, Apple Music and Spotify PHOTOGRAPHY:

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 115 Opera Mark Pullinger contrasts a pair of Alexandra Coghlan enjoys DVDsofVerdi’sGiovannad’Arco: someelaboratelystagedVivaldi: ‘AtLaScala,Netrebkoisinmagnificent ‘This production is a gorgeous sprawl of voice–sheisbecomingoneofthegreatVerdi period sensation and spectacle, high on camp sopranos of our day’ REVIEW ON PAGE 121 and low on concept’ REVIEW ON PAGE 123

Britten ◊ Y undercurrent to the surface. At one Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra / Death in Venice point Aschenbach imagines himself Constantinos Carydis John Daszak ten ...... Gustav von Aschenbach kissing Tadzio and later dancing with Stage director Tilmann Köhler Leigh Melrose bar...... Traveller/Elderly Fop/ him naked. This does not leave much to Video director Tiziano Mancini ...... Old Gondolier/Hotel Manager/Hotel Barber/ the imagination and Britten would surely C Major Entertainment Fb◊747908; ...... Leader of the Players/Voice of Dionysus have been horrified by it. FY748004 (3h’ • NTSC • 16:9 • 1080i • DTS5.1 & Anthony Roth Costanzo counterten ...Voice of Apollo John Daszak comes to the role of PCM stereo • 0 • s) Tomasz Borczyk dncr...... Tadzio Aschenbach with more voice than most Recorded live, January 2017 Duncan Rock bar...... English Clerk/Venice Guide of his predecessors. He is dignified and Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real, Madrid / unexaggerated in his portrayal, perhaps Alejo Pérez even a touch over-formal, and he cannot Stage director Willy Decker equal Peter Pears’s liquid legato in the From Figaro and Così Video director François Roussillon lyrical passages. Leigh Melrose, given the downwards, comic opera Naxos F◊2 110577; FYNBD0076V look of a satyr, offers vivid characterisations stagings today rarely (152’ • NTSC • 16:9 • 1080i • DTS-HD5.0, DTS5.0 & in the nemesis roles, though he has been escape without a PCMstereo•0•s) encouraged to overplay the fop and, disturbing final twist. This Recorded live, December 17 & 19, 2014 en travesti, the leader of the players. Serse from Frankfurt runs true to type. ‘It Includes synopsis Anthony Roth Costanzo sings a suitably comes to a happy ending’, proclaims the ethereal Apollo and Tomasz Borczyk, sketchy booklet note. ‘Arsamene and sporting a scallywag’s scarecrow haircut, Romilda, as well as Xerxes and Amastre, is a native Polish Tadzio. find each other again.’ Well, that’s not It is good to see Death Unfortunately, the musical what we see here. At the hasty denouement, in Venice making its way performance under conductor Alejo Pérez Amastre, formerly abandoned by Serse, around Europe after a sometimes holds fire and the Orchestra holds a pistol first to his head, then to her lengthy period of neglect of the Teatro Real, at least as recorded own, before Serse briefly ‘repents’. As the following Britten’s death. here, sound rather wan and grey. There curtain falls Amastre looks traumatised, This production by the German director is also some trimming of the Evangelist- while Serse, having threatened all and Willy Decker comes live from the Teatro like recitatives. sundry, seems about to shoot himself. All Real in Madrid, though it had already been There is some strong competition. this goes right against the grain of Handel’s seen a few years earlier in Barcelona. Either of the DVDs from La Fenice serene, pensive final coro hymning true love. As his previous productions of Peter or English National Opera is preferable. You might say that this sour ending is Grimes and Billy Budd had shown, Decker Both offer high levels of visual beauty, with the logical outcome of director Tilmann sees Britten’s operas in stylised terms. Italian style in the first case and exceptional Köhler’s vision, where the tyrannical, self- This suits Death in Venice better than lighting in the latter. Throw in Edward regarding Serse is capricious to the point some of the others, not least thanks to Gardner’s compelling musical grip at ENO of instability, liable to turn vicious at any the symbolism written into the libretto by and the Opus Arte disc is a clear winner. moment. In his Act 1 aria ‘Di tacere’ he Myfanwy Piper, from the multiple nemesis Richard Fairman seems on the verge of raping Romilda, the characters played by the baritone to Selected comparisons: object of his infatuation. In the libretto Venice itself, alluring in its beauty, Bartoletti (2/11) (DYNA) ◊ 33608; Y 55608 and Handel’s music she is presented as deadly with the threat of cholera. Gardner (7/14) (OPAR) ◊ OA1130D; the more serious of the two sisters, The staging is intelligent, spare, rather Y OABD7141D unswervingly devoted to Serse’s brother dark. A few scenes capture Venice’s fatally Arsamene. Here she is as flighty as her sweet mystery, notably the lagoon ride in Handel ◊ Y sister Atalanta, sexually attracted to Serse, a gondola like a giant coffin, but for the Serse as the booklet photo makes clear. Things most part Decker’s imagery is focused Gaëlle Arquez mez...... Serse are further complicated by an unscripted on probing symbolic figures of death and Elizabeth Sutphen sop...... Romilda attraction between Atalanta and Arsamene. sexuality. He suggests that Aschenbach Lawrence Zazzo counterten...... Arsamene There are cat fights between the sisters; and his sevenfold nemesis are different Tanja Ariane Baumgartner mez...... Amastre and at one point we get a freeze frame sides of one person, which is not a new Louise Alder sop...... Atalanta of the ‘wrong’ pairings that evokes the idea, but does break new ground in how Thomas Faulkner bass...... Elviro partner-swapping of Così fan tutte. It’s far he is ready to bring the story’s sexual Brandon Cedel bass-bar ...... Ariodate my guess that Così’s ambivalences and

116 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk OPERA REVIEWS

John Daszak and Tomasz Borczyk star in an intelligent and spare production of Britten’s Death in Venice from Madrid

problematic ending influenced Köhler’s Cedel sings with sturdy resonance as the singing, the Frankfurt performance whole conception of Serse. worthy-but-dim general Ariodate, while wins hands down. Richard Wigmore Yet while the director plays up the Thomas Faulkner’s amusing but unhammed elements of chaos (epitomised by the set’s Elviro irresistibly suggests a proto-Leporello Massenet progressively trashed dinner table) and in his backchat with his master Arsamene. La Navarraise incipient cruelty, his modern-dress staging, As the trigger of the opera’s comic-cruel Aleksandra Kurzak mez ...... Anita complete with video installations, is mayhem, Gaëlle Arquez rightly dominates, Roberto Alagna ten...... Araquil theatrically compelling and psychologically vocally and dramatically, in the huge role George Andguladze bass...... Garrido convincing. In a uniformly fine, camera- of Serse, written for the castrato-from- Brian Kontes bar...... Remigio friendly cast, all the singers throw hell Caffarelli. Her warm, flexible mezzo Michael Anthony McGee bar ...... Bustamente themselves with gusto into their roles and soars easily above the stave, she phrases Issachah Savage ten ...... Ramon interact vividly. Amid the production’s generously, and brings a mingled fire and New York Choral Ensemble; Opera Orchestra physicality, Köhler is unafraid of stillness at intense pathos to Serse’s central aria di of New York / Alberto Veronesi moments of reflection, whether in the arias bravura ‘Se bramate’. Warner Classics F 8029 56057-0 (44’ • DDD) for the put-upon Arsamene – movingly Constantinos Carydis sets languorous Includes synopsis and French libretto performed by the deep-toned countertenor tempos in one or two numbers and can Lawrence Zazzo – Amastre’s tender arbitrarily introduce solo strings where ‘Cagion son io’, or the chastened Atalanta’s Handel prescribes tutti. For reasons I can’t minuet song ‘Voi mi dite’, sung with poise fathom, Act 2 ends not with Romilda’s ‘As for the work itself’, and grace by Louise Alder. avowal of enduring love ‘Chi cede al furore’, wrote George Bernard Earlier in the opera Alder plays the here displaced to Act 3, but with Serse’s Shaw for The World minx to the life as she sharpens her claws meditative ‘Il core spera’, which is then cut on the occasion of the in pursuit of Arsamene. Her feeling for off in mid-sentence. But on the whole opera’s Covent Garden premiere in June the Handelian line and sparkling coloratura Carydis’s direction, always responsive to the 1894, ‘there is hardly anything to be said in are matched by the American soprano singers, meshes well with the production – face of the frankness with which Massenet Elizabeth Sutphen, whose wilful, though the alert orchestra can suffer in the has modelled it on Cavalleria. He has not strongly sung Romilda is emphatically not balance. If Köhler’s Serse leaves a slightly composed an opera: he has made up a a woman to be messed with. Tanja Ariane nasty taste in the mouth, I enjoyed it at least prescription …’ JAVEIR DEL REAL/TEATRO REAL REAL/TEATRO DEL JAVEIR Baumgartner’s powerful mezzo catches as much as Nicholas Hytner’s famous ENO The Girl from Navarre is truly a cloning of both Amastre’s outrage (not least in production that balances elegant artifice both the style and the content of Mascagni’s a sulphurous ‘Anima infida’) and her with clever comic gags (Philips, 5/93). pioneering verismo opera. It is also most

PHOTOGRAPHY: vulnerability. Of the two basses, Brandon And for freshness and consistency of economical. In barely three-quarters of an

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 117 40 years with René Jacobs

WOLFGA ADEUS MOZART

eras O THE DA PONTE TRILOGY Le Nozze di Figaro Don Giovanni Così fan tutte

9 CDs with complete libretti translations in English + 200 pages printed booklet

3 MAJOR REISSUES

HANDEL SCARLATTI CALDARA Giulio Cesare Il Primo Omicidio Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo 3 CDs - HMM 931385.87 2 CDs - HMM 931649.50 2 CDs - HMM 935221.22

harmoniamundi.com OPERA REVIEWS hour (alongside Mascagni’s 70-plus) Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / the ROH Orchestra, superbly detailed in Massenet manages all of two acts, an Sir Antonio Pappano its commentaries. orchestral entr’acte intermezzo, choruses Stage directors Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier Leiser and Caurier’s gimmick-free of soldiers both at war and play, a love duet Video director Matthew Woodward production is well known, both directors and a confrontation scene, a father/son/ Opus Arte F ◊ OA1268D; F Y OABD7244D returning for this revival. Some critics fi nd lover dispute and a mad scene (the finale). (126’ + 12’ • NTSC • 16:9 • 1080i • DTS-HD MA5.1, it a bit kitsch, but it works for me. Local The opera’s fate, following initial success DD5.1 & LPCM stereo • 0 • s) colour is glimpsed through the winding (sometimes as an early double bill with Cav Extra features: Introduction to Madama Butterfly; paper windows of their spartan set – before Pagliacci invariably took that place), Ermonela Jaho and Antonio Pappano in rehearsal; candyfl oss pink blossoms, Nagasaki was to fade from the repertoire with one- Cast gallery Harbour – the backdrop falling away off performances – and, later, recordings – Recorded live, March 30, 2017 dramatically for the furious entrance occurring roughly every 30 years at the Includes synopsis of the Bonze, denouncing Cio-Cio-San whim of individual divas or conductors. for abandoning her religion to adopt Why? A lot of the music is beautifully Christianity. The production’s simplicity and memorably realised both melodically allows one to focus on the central and through the orchestra – the French This 2017 revival was performances and, with a Butterfl y as composer was at this stage of his career the fi rst time Antonio heartbreaking as Ermonela Jaho’s, it serves a more mature man of the theatre than Pappano had conducted its purpose handsomely. Mark Pullinger Mascagni. Yet this music inhabits and Moshe Leiser and Patrice illustrates the libretto rather than tranforms Caurier’s Royal Opera Puccini ◊ Y it. For all its directness (detractors call this production of Madama Butterfl y since it was Turandot ‘crudity’) Cavalleria rusticana’s characters unveiled in 2003. The reason? Ermonela Rebeka Lokar sop ...... Turandot become true archetypes whereas Jaho. The Albanian soprano is one of the Jorge De León ten ...... Calaf La Navarraise’s remain pasteboard great singing actresses of our time. Her Erika Grimaldi sop ...... Liù functionaries for whom we feel little. We Suor Angelica (in Puccini’s Il trittico) ripped Marco Filippo Romano bar ...... Ping never know who Araquil is, or why, after London audiences – and Jaho herself – to Luca Casalin bar ...... Pang such passionate declarations in Act 1, he shreds. Her portrayal of the tragic Cio- Mikeldi Atxalandabaso ten ...... Pong throws away his love for Anita (the girl) Cio-San is no less moving. In-Sung Sim bass ...... Timur with sudden fits of jealousy and moral Watching the performance on Blu-ray, Antonello Ceron bar...... Emperor Altoum outrage. His death seems over-convenient one appreciates her incredibly subtle Roberto Abbondanza bar ...... Mandarin in terms of timing and Grand Guignol in acting: the coy, wide-eyed teenager during Joshua Sanders ten ...... Prince of Persia terms of effect. Anita has something of her wedding to Marcelo Puente’s feckless Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Regio, Turin / the obsessiveness in love of bygone Italian Pinkerton; the defi ant look of absolute Gianandrea Noseda opera heroines. But it’s hard to relate to her belief that he will return for her and their Stage director Stefano Poda mercenary mission to obtain a dowry by son; her very real tears during the Video director Tiziano Mancini murdering the Carlist general for money, Humming Chorus vigil. Here, one C Major Entertainment F ◊ 748108; even if we feel sympathy for her not being appreciates that in Act 2 – just three years F Y 748204 (115’ • NTSC • 16:9 • 1080i • allowed to marry Araquil for lack of funds. later – Butterfl y is still a teenager; her DTS-HD MA5.1, DTS5.1 & PCM stereo • 0 • s) The present issue is a belated celebration description of how the US judiciary throws Recorded live, January 14, 18 & 20, 2018 of the Opera Orchestra of New York’s out divorce cases is touchingly naive. Her Includes synopsis intended return to full-time activity in suicide is devastating, fl apping her ‘wings’ 2010, reuniting many of the principals in her death throes set before a giant of that concert but now with Aleksandra branch of weeping cherry blossoms, and Kurzak as the heroine. Veronesi, the then had me in pieces, both in the house and Turandot’s riddles successor-elect of founding maestro Eve here on screen. Jaho’s vocal performance is are getting no easier Queler, conducts with much élan and the touching. Hers is not a sumptuous soprano, to decipher in the 21st cast are in good shape. Alagna is passionate glossing Puccini’s rich lyric lines, but the century. Now it’s not but never hysterical in tracking the colours she brings to her portrayal are enough to see Puccini’s extremes of Araquil’s emotions. Kurzak astonishing, scaling ‘Un bel dì’ down to last, unfi nished opera as an exotic parable; lacks only the colour of character that Lucia the merest thread. not with its problematic depiction of a Popp, no less, brought to the role of Anita Jaho is well supported by Elizabeth barbaric Orient and a frigid but in an early 1970s recording under Antonio DeShong’s feisty, sympathetic Suzuki. bloodthirsty heroine. Franco Alfano’s de Almeida now on Sony. If you wanted one Their Flower Duet is quite beautifully tacked-on completion only makes things Navarraise that should still be your choice, sung. The rest of the cast is mostly very worse, with its happy-ever-after ending creditable as this new release is. Mike Ashman fi ne: a reliable, if vocally dry, Sharpless packaging everything up like a shop Comparative version: from Scott Hendricks; Carlo Bosi’s oily assistant at Hamleys. de Almeida (6/75R) (SONY) 19075 81126-2 Goro; Yuriy Yurchuk’s towering Yamadori. Here comes another attempt to fi nd I wish I liked Puente’s Pinkerton more. a new way in. Stefano Poda worked hard Puccini ◊Y His dashing looks suit the part but his for his production for the Teatro Regio Madama Butterfly tenor has a distracting wobble under Torino, which had its premiere in January Ermonela Jaho sop ...... Madama Butterfly pressure which can sound uncomfortably 2018: he did the direction, the sets, the Marcelo Puente ten ...... Pinkerton strangled in higher passages. Pappano – costumes, choreography and lighting. Scott Hendricks bar ...... Sharpless arguably today’s greatest Puccinian Possibly he did the backstage catering, Elizabeth DeShong mez...... Suzuki conductor – draws ardent playing from too, although the conducting was left to

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 119 OPERA REVIEWS the former music director Gianandrea Lokar gets so little input into Turandot, Paris sojourn as goldsmith to François I, Noseda. The result is eye-catching as she attacks those murderous high notes deals with his attempts to rescue Ascanio, if frustrating. in juicy and vibrant voice. De León blows his favourite pupil, from the clutches of Ancient Peking is now a glass’n’perspex hot and cold: moments of gutsy Puccini- François’s mistress, the Duchesse box, peopled by nubile men and women singing alternate with some coarsening d’Étampes, a lethal femme fatale who takes wearing thongs and nothing else. The of tone and uncertainty of pitch. Marco lovers behind the king’s back then murders nudity is less about titillation than about Filippo Romano’s Ping is in stronger them to forestall accusations of infi delity. Poda’s obsession with the body and death. voice than the other two henchmen, while Ascanio and Cellini, however, are also These are preoccupations in the text, too, In-Sung Sim’s Timur grizzles effectively. rivals for the affections of the virginal if where even the moon is a ‘severed head’ Neil Fisher far from naive Colombe d’Estourville, and Turandot’s subjects are reduced to infuriating not only the Duchesse but also meat for the executioner’s blade. Indeed, Saint-Saëns Cellini’s possessive model Scozzone, who the dancers, whose muscular choreography Ascanio eventually becomes the tragic casualty of is rather mesmeric, are marked with red Jean-François Lapointe bar...... Benvenuto Cellini the Duchesse’s scheming. incisions across their torsos, presumably for Joé Bertili bass-bar...... Pagolo The score is magnifi cent, if uneven. The ease of carving them up later. Act 2 begins Bernard Richter ten...... Ascanio dramaturgy wobbles in places, notably in with Ping, Pong and Pang bandaging up Ève-Maud Hubeaux mez...... Scozzone Act 2, where Saint-Saëns’s need to give corpses as if they had just fi nished the Jean Teitgen bass ...... François I four of his protagonists their principal arias autopsies. When Jorge de León’s Calaf Karina Gauvin sop...... Duchesse d’Étampes in succession holds up the action. The big correctly answers ‘blood’ to Turandot’s Clémence Tilquin sop...... Colombe d’Estourville public scenes are comparable in their second riddle, a fl ayed, writhing man Mohammed Haidar bar...... Beggar grandeur to the fi nale of the Organ emerges from behind a screen. Bastien Combe bar ...... D’Estourville Symphony and every bit as thrilling. And Turandot? ‘She doesn’t exist – Maxence Billiemaz ten ...... D’Orbec Colombe and Ascanio’s duets are notably only the void exists’, says Ping, and this Raphaël Hardmeyer bass-bar...... Charles Quint beautiful, and there’s a marvellous scene is another way into Poda’s thinking. His Olivia Doutney sop...... An Ursuline in Act 3 when François and the Emperor Turandot is accompanied by women Chorus of the Grand Théâtre, Geneva; Chorus and Charles V, visiting Paris en route to wearing identical white outfi ts and blonde Orchestra of the Geneva University of Music / Flanders, vie with each other to be Cellini’s wigs, who lip-sync to Lokar’s words. She’s Guillaume Tourniaire principal patron. Deeming it Wagnerian, allowed no personality of her own; but B Records McLBM013 (3h 10’ • DDD) Saint-Saëns’s contemporaries compared given that Poda and Noseda have opted to Recorded live at the Grand Théâtre, Geneva, it with Meistersinger, not entirely without fi nish the opera where Puccini did – the November 24 & 26, 2017 reason. Debussy, meanwhile, must have death of Liù – that adds up: Turandot fades Includes synopsis, libretto and translation been familiar with it: the similarities away, and it’s Calaf and a still-living Liù between Colombe’s unaccompanied ‘Mon who face an uncertain future. coeur est sous la pierre’ and Mélisande’s The show forges its own hallucinatory ‘Mes longs cheveux descendent’ are too logic and looks stylish, but as with so many Like so many works close to be coincidental. productions where body-beautiful dancers written for the Paris The recording, meanwhile, is tremendous dominate in revealing costumes under Opéra, where it was in the way it captures the excitement felt elaborate lighting, it sometimes feels as if fi rst performed in by singers, players and audience in the the singers themselves are inconvenient 1890, Ascanio never reached the stage in the rediscovery of a signifi cant work by a bit-parts. That’s especially the case during form its composer intended. Shortly after composer whose output is still in a process a clunky riddle scene, during which Calaf completing the score in 1888, Saint-Saëns of re-evaluation. Tourniaire conducts with perches on a chaise longue in a booth on suffered a severe breakdown following terrifi c élan and commitment, while his the side of the stage while Turandot and the death of his mother, and eventually orchestra, a formidable student ensemble her clones twitch around on the other side entrusted preparations for the premiere to from Geneva’s Haute École de Musique, of a wall. He is the least comfortable his librettist Louis Gallet and the composer play as if their lives depend on it. The person on stage, sometimes literally Ernest Guiraud. Exactly who decided on choral singing is spine-tinglingly good, the walking around in circles as the set changes is unclear; but by the time Saint- soloists consistently superb. Jean-François revolves. In an opera that can seem like a Saëns heard the work late in its opening Lapointe makes a tireless Cellini, passionless pageant, there is not that much run, the score had been cut to bits, with charismatic, witty and astute, yet tellingly more humanity here. two crucial scenes drastically telescoped hampered by failures of emotional Noseda will be missed at Turin, as this into one. This effective abridgement understanding when confronted with punchy and incisive performance reveals. formed the basis of its subsequent revivals Ève-Maud Hubeaux’s volatile yet adoring Overall, speeds are brisk but there is plenty and the opera was only heard complete last Scozzone. Bernard Richter’s Ascanio and of atmospheric detail: the sinister tap of November, when Guillaume Tourniaire Clémence Tilquin’s Colombe sound tender col legno strings, the jittery woodwind and used Saint-Saëns’s autograph score for and sexy together. Karina Gauvin’s skittering percussion. Erika Grimaldi’s Liù the series of concert performances in Duchesse dispenses scorn and seduction is really the true heroine here, given the Geneva that form the basis of this in equal measure, showering Lapointe and production’s skewed emphasis: her soprano outstanding recording. Richter with invective and twisting Jean can take on a hard edge but she caps Gallet’s source was Paul Meurice’s 1852 Teitgen’s sensualist François round her ‘Signore, ascolta!’ with a melting pianissimo play Benvenuto Cellini. Saint-Saëns adopted little fi nger with caressingly beautiful and her arioso ‘Tanto amore, segreto e the title Ascanio in deference to Berlioz, phrases. I admit to being swept away by the inconfessato’ is ardently done. Still, it’s though Cellini is very much the central whole thing. It’s a major achievement and a pity that the Slovenian soprano Rebeka character, and the opera, set during his 1540 highly recommended. Tim Ashley

120 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk OPERA REVIEWS

Verdi ◊ Y Macbeth, largely due to Temistocle Solera’s and upper-register agility. Verdian Giovanna d’Arco weak libretto, diluting Schiller’s drama Die spinto greats such as Renata Tebaldi and Francesco Meli ten...... Carlo VII Jungfrau von Orleans down to Giovanna’s Montserrat Caballé tackled it on disc, as Carlos Álvarez bar...... Giacomo love for the Dauphin Carlo and her has Anna Netrebko, who first sang it at the Anna Netrebko sop...... Giovanna denunciation as a witch by her father, Salzburg Festival (DG, 9/14). Here at La Michele Mauro ten...... Delil Giacomo. As in Schiller, Giovanna isn’t Scala, Netrebko is in magnificent voice, Dmitry Beloselskiy bass...... Talbot burnt at the stake but perishes on the especially her strikingly rich lower register, Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / battlefield, having saved the king’s life. even if her Act 1 cabaletta is a little squally. Riccardo Chailly The opera isn’t performed much – I recall She soars in the Act 2 finale, while her Stage directors Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier Philip Prowse’s vivid, stylised production preghiera is beautifully shaped. Netrebko is Video director Patrizia Carmine for the Royal Opera in 1996 – but, almost becoming one of the great Verdi sopranos Decca F◊074 3967DH; FY074 3968DH simultaneously, here come two stagings of our day. (136’ • NTSC • 16:9 • 1080i • DTS-HD MA5.1, DTS5.1 & from Italy: La Scala, where the opera was As Carlo, Francesco Meli sings a good LPCM stereo•0•s) premiered, and Parma, home to the Verdi deal more sensitively than other recent Recorded live, December 23, 2015 Festival – two houses whose unforgiving outings (he can be a bit of a can-belter) Includes synopsis loggionisti guard Verdi’s heritage jealously. and Carlos Álvarez is in terrific voice as Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s Giovanna’s father, Giacomo. Riccardo Verdi ◊ Y production was the 2015-16 season-opener Chailly is alert to the drama in the score, Giovanna d’Arco at La Scala. They depict the opera as a leading a vivid orchestral performance. Luciano Ganci ten...... Carlo VII 19th-century girl’s delirious hallucinations, Up against the Scala forces, Parma Vittorio Vitelli bar...... Giacomo watched over by her concerned father. The struggles but offers a stronger cast than Vittoria Yeo sop ...... Giovanna chorus appear without, peering into her the opera’s previous DVD incarnation (also Gabriele Mangione ten...... Delil room, while busy videography is displayed from Parma) in C Major’s ‘Tutto Verdi’ Luciano Leoni bass...... Talbot in the panels above including, at one point, bicentenary release in 2013, which suffered Chorus of the Teatro Regio, Parma; what looks like a weeping Verdi. Carlo VII a shrill soprano, a poor tenor and a gruff I Virtuosi Italiani / Ramón Tebar enters her dream clad in gold from head to Renato Bruson, sadly well past his sell-by Stage directors Saskia Boddeke toe, including a gleaming spray-tan giving date as Giacomo. Parma’s new production and Peter Greenaway him a comic, rather than regal, appearance, from 2016 comes from the husband-and- Video director Saskia Boddeke like Star Wars’ C-3PO making his operatic wife team of Peter Greenaway and Saskia C Major Entertainment F◊745608; debut. Giovanna dons the king’s armour and Boddeke, staged in the 17th-century FY745704 (127’ • NTSC • 16:9 • 1080i • brandishes his sword as she leads the French Baroque Teatro Farnese. It’s an unusual DTS-HD MA5.1, DTS5.0 & PCM stereo • 0 • s) on to the battlefield – plenty of slo-mo action space – U-shaped – with no pit. This leads Recorded live at the Teatro Farnese, Parma, here – and the cross she hugs is inverted to to a tiny stage for the principals, while the October 2-20, 2016 become the stake to which she is strapped. chorus is relegated to serried ranks Includes synopsis The decisive battle takes place in Giovanna’s wrapped around stage and orchestra. head, Giacomo narrating events. Reims There are some striking background Cathedral rises magnificently through her images beamed on to the theatre’s bedroom, as does Carlo (on a golden horse). archways, including iconography of Video imagery suggests that Giovanna is Renaissance Madonnas and, later, modern- erotically drawn to Carlo, and when they day refugee mothers carrying their grapple on her bed, they are engulfed by a children. An animated bloodied crown swarm of red devils. Winged angels appear hovers over the stage at times. A cartoon Giovanna d’Arco stems from Verdi’s ‘galley at her death. It’s as camp as a row of tents, of a coyly blinking girl is less effective, years’. Composed for La Scala in 1845, it’s but visually striking all the same. looking like a Japanese anime, and the full of great melodies even if it doesn’t hit The title-role was written for Erminia meaning behind a battlefield of scissors the same dramatic heights as Nabucco or Frezzolini, renowned for her beauty of tone escaped me.

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Another drawback is that Vittoria Yeo’s ‘Too little variety’ was my own final Dynamic Fb◊37803; FY57803 Giovanna is accompanied by a pair of impression of Didone, though there are (161’ • NTSC • 16:9 • 1080i • DTS-HD MA5.1, DD5.1 & distracting dancer doubles, often relegating musical beauties en route. Vinci was the PCM stereo • 0 • s) the Korean soprano to the role of observer. pioneer of the new Neapolitan style that Recorded live at the Palazzo Ducale, Martina I’ve been impressed by Yeo recently in staked all on simplicity, clarity and surface Franca, Italy, 2017 Venice and Florence; she’s a plucky elegance. Counterpoint is virtually non- Giovanna, if without Netrebko’s vocal existent. Much of Vinci’s – and not only glamour, a touch sour on occasion. Luciano Vinci’s – invention, however agreeable, Ganci forces quite a lot as Carlo but it’s seems too mellifluously bland for the If you like your Baroque often an attractive voice, and solid baritone dramatic situation, as one ambling or opera understated or Vittorio Vitelli does well as Giacomo, jaunty major-key aria follows another. postmodern (or uncut) confined to the rear steps for his big aria The minor is an endangered mode. Yet then Fabio Ceresa’s while Greenaway and Boddeke have at moments music and drama do mesh Orlando furioso is not Giovanna’s doubles faffing about amid a effectively: in Dido’s aptly regal ‘Son for you. Taking Vivaldi’s opera absolutely swirl of video butterflies. No competition regina’ (which brought the house down at face value, the director delivers a for La Scala. Mark Pullinger in the original Rome production) and her production that’s a gorgeous sprawl of Selected comparison: plangent ‘Se vuoi ch’io mora’, the one period sensation and spectacle, high on Bartoletti (1/14) (CMAJ) ◊ 721208, 725808 or 721808; number extensively reworked by Handel; camp and low on concept. Y 721304 or 725904 or in Aeneas’s swaggering ‘A trionfar’, Filmed in summer 2017 at the Festival imported from a Hasse opera. Finest of della Valle d’Itria in Martina Franca, this Vinci/Handel all is the opera’s closing scene, a series of performance (trimmed down to a tidy two Didone abbandonata fragmentary accompanied recitatives for hours 45 minutes) plays out against the Robin Johannsen sop...... Didone Dido broken by a splenetic outburst from handsome facade of the town’s Palazzo Olivia Vermeulen mez ...... Enea the villainous Iarbas. Ducale – a space that offers plenty of room Antonio Giovannini counterten ...... Iarba Based on a staged production in for the rampant imaginations of designers Julia Böhme contr ...... Selene Schwetzingen, this new studio recording Massimo Checchetto and Giuseppe Palella Namwon Huh ten...... Araspe should satisfy anyone who fancies to expand into. A subsequent run at La Polina Artsis mez...... Osmida investigating an offbeat slice of Fenice’s tiny Malibran Theatre reportedly Lautten Compagney / Wolfgang Katschner 18th-century operatic history. The young confined and corralled the visuals, losing Deutsche Harmonia Mundi Fb 88985 41508-2 cast all have the requisite fluent coloratura the excess that is absolutely the heart of (157’ • DDD) technique and dramatise as vividly as their this production. Includes synopsis, libretto and translation music allows. The silvery-toned Robin The striking stage pictures come thick Johannsen, as a Dido by turns touching and fast, from the opening tableau of and commanding, contrasts just sufficiently Alcina, framed like Botticelli’s Venus in a with Olivia Vermeulen’s warmer mezzo as giant gilded scallop shell and surrounded by ‘GF Händel’ Aeneas. Vermeulen’s confident negotiation exotic attendants – all feathered headdresses proclaims the CD of Hasse’s vertiginous leaps and plunges and strategically placed chiffon – to cover, appending makes ‘A trionfar’ a highlight of the whole Medoro’s arrival on the enchanted island, a ‘Leonardo Vinci’ in performance. The other singers are all well flurry of silk seas and an evocatively storm- smaller type below. Shrewd marketing, cast, though Antonio Giovanni’s Iarbas can tossed boat. This, though, is later revealed perhaps, but a touch disingenuous. In fact sound merely petulant when he should be as just a warm-up for Ruggiero’s entrance there’s barely a note of Handel on offer. a force to reckon with – a familiar problem astride a giant white eagle. Oversize What we get is the Italian composer’s with countertenors in extremis. All the shadow puppets create the shades of hell setting of Metastasio’s Didone abbandonata while Wolfgang Katschner directs his and the Pythonesque giant from which as performed by Handel in his hectic 1737 Berlin-based Lautten Compagney with Orlando must seize Merlin’s ashes. Covent Garden season. In Rome in 1726 spirit and affection, ever sensitive to his If the cast don’t quite equal the visuals Vinci had fielded an all-male cast. Handel, singers. Documentation, too, is first-rate, for sensation, there’s still plenty to enjoy. who evidently admired the Italian (and was with libretto in Italian, English and Mezzo Lucia Cirillo is a suitably happy to filch the odd idea from him), German, and several informative, properly bewitching Alcina, all hot eyes and cool naturally adapted the opera to his London translated essays. Just don’t expect any coloratura, suddenly ferocious in her final ensemble. Prima donna Anna Strada del Pò Handel here. Richard Wigmore ‘Anderò, chiamerò dal profondo’. Luigi took the part of Dido, while the role of the Schifano’s Ruggiero is the pick of the Moorish King Iarbas had to be beefed up Vivaldi ◊ Y countertenors – tone focused but never for the star castrato Domenico Annibali. Orlando furioso (1727 version, RV728) pushed, his ‘Sol da te mio dolce amore’ Using a score lent to him by his friend Sonia Prina contr...... Orlando a dreamy vocal dance with obbligato flute – and future librettist Charles Jennens, Michela Antenucci sop...... Angelica while Konstantin Derri is a tidy, prettily Handel set to work cutting, tweaking and Lucia Cirillo mez...... Alcina sung Medoro. In this sea of alto voices transposing, and interpolating nine arias Loriana Castellano mez...... Bradamante Loriana Castellano’s Bradamante also by Hasse, Vivaldi, the obscure Geminiano Konstantin Derri counterten...... Medoro stands out, her delivery crisp, her tone Giacomelli and Vinci himself. After just Luigi Schifano counterten...... Ruggiero pleasantly grainy and full of character. four performances the resultant pasticcio Riccardo Novaro bar...... Astolfo What to say of Sonia Prina’s Orlando? disappeared from view. ‘Very heavy’ I Barocchisti / Diego Fasolis Although still a strong stage presence, was the verdict of Handel’s supporter Stage director Fabio Ceresa Prina’s voice is now a caricature of what Lord Shaftesbury. Video director Matteo Ricchetti it once was. Her coloratura suffers from

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 123 OPERA REVIEWS extreme vowel modification, a lack of he adds Charles Trenet’s ‘Vous, qui passez should help propel the Mexican tenor to legato and aspirated consonants (‘Nel sans me voir,’ which was his grandfather’s even greater heights. profondo cieco mondo’ is a particularly favourite song. The album certainly shares the traits of extreme example), all of which makes for He has an attractive voice, with a touch Cecilia Bartoli’s discography. Served up in a wild and over-exaggerated performance. of metal in the sound under pressure, an a beautifully presented hardback book, it She fares better in the mad scene, where easy ring at the top and a beguiling warmth focuses on the life and music of the Spanish her particular vocal tics serve dramatic of tone when singing softly. Many of the tenor Manuel García, who lived an eventful effect, but this is still an awkward and arias are reflective and deal with memory, life. Markus Wyler’s entertaining notes of unsatisfying performance. nostalgia and regret, which runs the risk of the rags-to-riches cobbler’s son are packed Diego Fasolis and I Barocchisti provide emotional sameness. Behr’s characterisations with incident, including his escapades in efficient accompaniment, greatly enhanced are sharply differentiated, however, and Mexico. García created roles such as by the rhetorical flair and wit of Fasolis’s Messager’s Fortunio, dreaming of the house Almaviva in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia. own continuo-playing. Alexandra Coghlan where he grew up, is carefully contrasted He was a noted composer of light operas with both Delibes’s Jean de Nivelle, the and was also the father of Maria Malibran – ‘Confidence’ military man reflecting on his childhood subject of Bartoli scholarship on a previous Bizet La jolie fille de Perth – Partout des cris de joie in a once unspoilt France now ravaged by disc – and Pauline Viardot. … À la voix d’un amant fidèlea Chabrier Habanera conflict, and Joncières’s Chevalier Jean, Camarena’s disc is a delicious juxtaposition Delibes Jean de Nivelle – J’ai vu la bannière de another soldier, longing to be reunited of García’s Rossini roles, Capulet’s aria France!a. Lakmé – Prendre le dessin d’un bijou … with the woman he loved in peacetime. from Niccolò Zingarelli’s Romeo e Giulietta Fantaisie aux divins mensongesa Duparc Aux He’s good in Lehár, too. ‘Je t’ai donné and a selection of García’s own works, some étoilesa Godard Jocelyn – Cachés dans cet asilea mon coeur’ (‘Dein ist mein ganzes Herz’) in French, some in Spanish, such as ‘Yo que Gounod Cinq-Mars–Àvous,mamère…Ôchère et is very ardent, if fractionally slow, and he soy contrabandista’ from El poeta calculista vivante imagea Holmès Ludus pro patria – La nuit sounds really seductive singing ‘Viens dans which gives the disc its title – an aria that et l’amour Joncières Le Chevalier Jean – Parlons ce joli pavillon’ (‘Komm in den kleinen became extremely popular when both of de moi, le voulez-vous? … Oui j’aime, hélas!a Lehár Pavillon’) from La veuve joyeuse. ‘Vous, qui García’s daughters used to interpolate it Le pays du sourire – Je t’ai donné mon coeura.Le passez’, meanwhile, has bags of charm, the into the singing lesson scene of Barbiere! veuve joyeuse – Viens dans ce joli pavillona mix of wit and regret deftly caught. The Possessor of a fiery temperament, García Messager Fortunio – J’aimais la vieille maison arrangement, by Arthur Lavandier, is on seems to have had a wide vocal range, grisea Thomas Mignon – Elle ne croyait pas, dans the brash side but allows the Lyon Opéra occasionally singing the title-role in Don sa candeur naïvea Trenet Vous, qui passez sans Orchestra under Pierre Bleuse to show off Giovanni, the Count in Figaro and, in Così me voir (arr Lavandier)a their credentials as an authentic-sounding fan tutte, alternating between Ferrando and aJulien Behr ten big-band. Elsewhere, their playing is Guglielmo as required. The booklet note Orchestra of Opéra de Lyon / Pierre Bleuse elegant and refined, with some finely writer, however, seems to think we get to Alpha F ALPHA401 (66’ • DDD • T/t) shaped woodwind solos and a beautiful hear Don Giovanni’s serenade on the disc. sheen on the strings. Tim Ashley We don’t. García was criticised for over- ‘Contrabandista’ ornamentation – something that could For his first solo García Florestan, ou Le conseil des dix – Ô ciel! de never be levelled at Camarena, who is a album, Julien Behr ma juste furie comment réprimer le transport?. model of good taste, apart from the explores repertory El gitano por amor – Cara gitana del alma mia. La occasional aspirate. The amiable Mexican associated with a mort du Tasse – Vous dont l’image toujours chère. throws himself into this repertoire with voice type known in 19th-century France as El poeta calculista – Formaré mi plan con cuidado; abandon, greedily lapping up the florid the ténor de demi-caractère. This was not, it Yo que soy contrabandista Rossini Armida – coloratura excesses with ease. He has a must be said, a singer who performed what Amore … (possente nome!)a. Il barbiere di Siviglia – wonderfully flexible voice without any hint we would now call ‘character roles’ but a Cessa di più resistere. La Cenerentola – Sì, of nasality or the slightly metallic top of lyric tenor, capable of refinement as well as ritrovarla io giuro. Ricciardo e Zoraide – S’ella mi è someone like Juan Diego Flórez, the only power, usually heard in opéras comiques,in ognor fedele … Qual sarà mai la gioia Zingarelli other tenor who could currently tackle this contrast to the bigger, more heroic voice Là dai regni dell’ombre, e di morte sort of stuff with such easy elegance. required for post-Meyerbeerian grand opéra. Javier Camarena ten aCecilia Bartoli mez Les From Barbiere, Camarena sings a terrific Gounod’s Roméo and Des Grieux in Musiciens du Prince, Monaco / Gianluca Capuano ‘Cessa di più resistere’ – familiar from Massenet’s Manon are among the best- Decca Mentored by Bartoli F 483 3958DH its guise as the showstopping finale to known roles written for such a voice, (71’ • DDD • T/t) La Cenerentola – which is jaw-dropping in though Behr casts his net wider to its virtuosity. Don Ramiro’s ‘Sì, ritrovarla encompass both the relatively familiar io giuro’ dazzles. García was also a noted (Gérald in Delibes’s Lakmé, Wilhelm in Otello, often performing opposite his Thomas’s Mignon) and the little known Things bode well daughter, Maria, as Desdemona, so it’s a (the arias by Messager and Joncières). when you shout shame there is no memento here (Bartoli After the turn of the 20th century, the ‘Bravo!’ at the hi-fi has essayed Desdemona wonderfully). ténor de demi-caractère would also have been speakers at the end of Instead, the Italian mezzo joins Camarena expected to tackle leading roles in popular the first track. Javier Camarena has already in a lengthy duet from Armida, voices Viennese operettas, and Behr accordingly sung at many of the world’s great opera entwined seamlessly. includes arias by Lehár, which he sings in houses, so his vocal qualities are pretty The numbers from García’s own works – French. The disc is dedicated, meanwhile, widely known, but this new disc – under three of them recorded for the first time – to his late grandparents, in whose memory Decca’s new ‘Mentored by Bartoli’ stamp – are carried off with a good deal of swagger,

124 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk OPERA REVIEWS

Sumptuous staging: Vivaldi’s Orlando furioso gets the full period treatment – see review on page 123

Camarena enthusiastically supported by For her first disc, she has boldly torment. The original version of Gounod’s Les Musiciens du Prince under Gianluca programmed pairs of arias showing opera preceded ‘Amour, ranime mon Capuano. An often thrilling disc, worthy operatic characters in ‘mirror image’ courage’ with a brief cantabile, ‘Viens! of the Bartoli imprimatur. Mark Pullinger portrayals by different composers. Thus we Ô liqueur mystérieuse’, as Juliette steels get Rossini’s spunky Rosina and Mozart’s herself to take Frère Laurent’s draught. ‘Miroir(s)’ older, disillusioned Countess; alternative Dreisig turns this into a little tour de force, Gounod Faust – Les grands seigneurs … Ah! je ris versions of the coquettish Manon Lescaut; wonderfully supported by Schønwandt and de me voir si belle. Roméo et Juliette – Dieu! Quel Salome as portrayed by Massenet and his Montpellier orchestra. frisson court dans mes veines? Massenet Strauss; and Shakespeare’s Juliet in a pair Inevitably, her voice doesn’t yet seem a Hérodiade – Celui dont la parole efface toutes of premiere recordings – the original perfect fit for some roles: Thaïs needs a bit peines … Il est doux, il est bon. Manon – Allons, il le version of Gounod’s classic and an earlier more vocal weight and lyric cream, and her faut! … Adieu, notre petite table. Thaïs – Ah! je suis opera by Daniel Steibelt. Dreisig opens final note is an uncomfortable squeeze. In seule … Dis-moi que je suis belle Mozart Le nozze with a duo of French arias featuring the Rossini, soprano Rosinas can often di Figaro – Porgi, amor Puccini Manon Lescaut In mirrors: Marguerite’s Jewel Song and sound a bit shrewish, and here Dreisig’s quelle trine morbide Rossini Il barbiere di Siviglia Thaïs’s Mirror Aria, ‘Je suis seule’. coloratura is a touch brittle at the top. Her – Una voce poco fa Steibelt Roméo et Juliette – Je That’s a pretty wide spectrum of Countess sounds young, but her Puccini vais donc usurper les droits de la nature R Strauss characters on which to reflect, from Manon is good and she’s a suitably dreamy Salomé – Ah! Tu n’as pas voulu the lighter coloratura repertoire to lyric Salomé in Massenet’s ‘Il est doux, il est Elsa Dreisig sop Montpellier Occitanie National Mozart, heavier Puccini and the heft to bon’ from Hérodiade. Orchestra / Michael Schønwandt carve through Strauss’s Salome. Can any But Dreisig saves the real surprise for Erato F 9029 56341-3 (70’ • DDD) one voice encompass all these vocal the end: the blood-drenched final scene Includes texts and translations demands? The first thing one notices is from Strauss’s Salome. Or rather Salomé,for that her French diction is excellent, really this is the alternative version Strauss made, crisp, with nice guttural Rs for ‘Roméo’, revising the vocal lines to fit Oscar Wilde’s and her soprano is dewy and light. Her original French text, which was used by Now here’s a striking characterisations are convincing. As Mary Garden. The vocal range is extremely debut. The young Marguerite, she sounds wide-eyed and wide and it requires a true singing actress Franco-Danish totally smitten with the casket of jewels but Dreisig makes a most convincing case, soprano Elsa Dreisig she’s been given. There is a touching with plenty of silvery steel as the debased consolidated her 2016 Operalia win by fragility to her Massenet Manon. teenager. Schønwandt, who conducted a PAOLO CONSERVA PAOLO becoming a company member at the Berlin Both her Juliets are excellent. Steibelt’s striking Salome for Chandos (3/99), is in his Staatsoper, where she has earned good Roméo et Juliette is from 1793 – the vocal element. In time, it would be fascinating to reviews, particularly for her Violetta earlier style is similar to Cherubini – with plenty hear Dreisig tackle the full role, for this

PHOTOGRAPHY: this year and Micaëla last year in Aix. of Sturm und Drang fire in the heroine’s portrait is full of promise. Mark Pullinger

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 125 “While I was theoretically looking for pythons, in the evenings I would record dif erent types of music…” David Attenborough rel ects on his time i lming Zoo Quest between 1954-1963

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THE WORLD MUSIC COLLECTOR JAZZ & WORLD MUSIC REVIEWS The Editors of Gramophone’s sister music magazines, Jazzwise and Songlines, recommend some of their favourite recordings from the past month

Jazz Brought to you by Charlie Haden and Brad Mehldau jaggedly jaunty and develops as an almost as grandiose, slow-moving flotillas Long Ago and Far Away astonishing long series of cross-rhythmic where harmonies ripple tantalisingly out of Impulse! F 6789500 Mehldau variations, ‘My Love And I’ is a silence, and a single timbre, above all heartfelt ballad that heads into chord- Stephen Haynes’ maudlin hark on the In November 2007, jangling outlands, ‘Everything Happens To trumpet, becomes an episode in itself. Charlie Haden and Brad Me’ confirms the deep affection of both Sorey’s aim is tantamount to capturing Mehldau played a church these freethinkers for a straightforwardly motifs in mid-air, with an attendant concert at Heidelberg’s tender tune. It’s music of an unsurprisingly ambience that is extremely understated. In Enjoy Jazz festival, and private intimacy, but it speaks volumes. a world where successions of notes and this set of six classics is the understatedly John Fordham attention-seeking noise are prevalent in action-packed result. Mehldau seems to be many genres of music this is a bold strategy respectfully adjusting to Haden’s seniority at Tyshawn Sorey fraught with risk. It takes several sittings to first, in taking the opening ‘Au Privave’ at a Pillars immerse oneself in such an environment very stately lope – but soon the pair are slyly Firehouse 12 F FH12-01-02-028 devoid of clear, or at least conventional, tugging at the tune, with Haden adjusting signposts. The allusive can be a touch too his wide-spaced, throbbing tones to Sorey’s avowed interest in elusive, yet the beauty by austerity, if not Mehldau’s whimsical repeating figures Zen Buddhism has severity, is hard to dismiss when the bounced across the registers, bursts of surfaced on previous piercing of brass or guitar cushioned by a swing, and crowded, onrushing passages. recordings such as Koan distant voice or melodica has a deeply ‘My Old Flame’ is tenderly bluesy and and here he takes the satisfying emotional tenor that is anything ruminatively expanded in lyrical solos from principle of meditation one step further, but overly familiar. Demanding, beguiling, both players, the 15-minute title-track is with each of three discs coming across rewarding. Kevin Le Gendre

World Music Brought to you by Baul Meets Saz organically, ebbing and flowing with a There is a remarkably powerful sound from Namaz semi-improvisational quality. The absence the trio, which includes Hayley Keenan on Seyir Muzik Records F GN006 of a clear bass instrument on Namaz creates fiddle and Graham Armstrong on guitar. a wonderful space at the heart of the ‘Montreal’ is a foot-stamping, blistering Some musical fusions recording, which only enhances the overall opener whilst ‘Cabot Trail’ is a beautifully languish in the superficial, sense of depth. Additional tonal contrast is sweeping and pounding evocation of the achieving little more than provided by the sparing presence of several North American landscape. ‘Rations’ is a novel combination of guest musicians, who join the trio on duduk a sweaty duet between fiddle and disparate sounds, while (Armenian oboe), doholla drum, saxophone concertina, with some tasty pounding others operate on a much deeper level. and sarod and oud (lutes). Charlie Cawood guitar; while title-track ‘Beyond’ hints at This debut by Baul Meets Saz – an rich promises still to come, via energetic ensemble formed around the core trio Talisk and unexpected rhythms. Talisk also bring of vocalist Malabika Brahma, saz (lute) Beyond a remarkable guestlist on ‘Farewell’: player Emre Gültekin, and percussionist/ Talisk Records F Breabach, Skerryvore, Tide Lines and We guitarist Sanjay Khyapa – sits firmly in the Banjo 3 are among many others joining the latter category. Fresh from a well- band on vocals. There is a wide-eyed The mood gradually shifts between deserved win of the 2018 enthusiasm here for all things traditional solemn contemplation (as on the opening BBC Radio 2 Folk and a burgeoning excitement at where the ‘Hridaya’) and ecstatic joy, exemplified by Awards’ Musician of the band is heading which is incredibly ‘Jaat Gyalo’, with Brahma’s voice Year award for concertina infectious and endearing. Fresh, remaining a powerful and moving focus player Mohsen Amini, Talisk release their invigorating, accomplished and playfully throughout. Each piece is allowed to evolve second album. And what a cracker it is too. frisky: this is a wonderful release. Billy Rough

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gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 127 REISSUES &ARCHIVE Ourmonthlyguidetothemostexcitingcataloguereleases,historicissuesandbox-sets CLAUDIO ABBADO •128 ROSSINI •130 BOX-SET ROUND-UP • 132 ROB COWAN’S REPLAY • 134 CLASSICS RECONSIDERED • 136

ClaudioAbbadoinBerlin Andrew Farach-Colton considers the great Italian maestro’s Berlin Philharmonic legacy

laudio Abbado made his Berlin point of languor, the serenade is alert, Tennstedt (BBC Legends, 12/07) in my Philharmonic debut in December finely coloured and full of character. top three. Alas, the ponderous Eighth is a C1966 and his first recording with Abbado went on to re-record the Second real disappointment, particularly since it’s the orchestra just six months later – a Symphony in 1988, this time with a Abbado’s only recording of the work. The dazzling coupling of Prokofiev’s Third suppler sense of pulse and a keener eye for Fourth, from 2005, was his last recording and Ravel’s G major Piano Concertos with expressive detail, and laid the cornerstone with this orchestra for DG. I marginally Martha Argerich that rightly takes its place for an immensely satisfying survey of prefer it to his Vienna account (DG, in a curated Gramophone survey of the ‘250 the composer’s orchestral music that’s a 6/78), as he now adds an extra dollop of Greatest Recordings of All Time’ (6/10). highlight of this collection. The Third bittersweet nostalgia, but Renée Fleming’s It was the 34-year-old conductor’s first Symphony followed in 1989 and the First inappropriately voluptuous singing is recording for Deutsche Grammophon and the year after. In between, the orchestra anything but angelic. inaugurated a lifelong relationship with the voted unanimously for Abbado to succeed There are other disappointments, major prestigious Yellow Label. Herbert von Karajan as Chief Conductor. and minor: overly reverential readings of The 60 CDs in this box encompass Listening to the symphonies in the order the Mozart and Brahms Requiems, for nearly everything Abbado recorded with they were recorded, I think I discern a example, a lacklustre Hindemith album, the Berliners for DG and Philips, and the crescendo of confidence and exultancy. and several discs’ worth of Wagner where majority are from live concerts. There These are monumental readings, worlds Abbado sometimes sounds as if he’s trying are neither bonus material nor previously away from the Meiningen-style svelteness to demystify the music. Interestingly, I’m unreleased performances, most of what’s currently in vogue, and the series is fittingly not sure Abbado was ever really at home here has never been deleted from the capped by an intensely lyrical Fourth. in Richard Strauss’s music, either. The catalogue and a significant fraction is Four Last Songs, recorded in 1998 with the repertory he’d previously recorded with The consistent naturalness fabulous Karita Mattila, are superficially other orchestras. In other words, don’t quite beautiful but little more than that. expect any big surprises. one hears is born from And while there’s no question that Abbado The discs are arranged alphabetically by conviction, not the lack of it was a brilliant Verdi conductor – a sizzling composer but I listened chronologically album of overtures and preludes from in the hopes it might somehow prove Abbado chose Mahler’s First Symphony 1996 was one of my happiest discoveries instructive. Lo and behold, I found that for the opening programme of his here – I continue to be unenthused by the vast majority of Abbado’s early Berlin tenure as music director in December his punctilious Falstaff, the only complete recordings were devoted to Brahms. I’d 1989, and although it conveys a real opera in this box. Despite a terrific cast and also never noticed that his affectionate, sense of occasion, I marginally prefer crackerjack playing from the Berliners, it generously phrased performance of the the bite and restless energy of his earlier comes across more like a dress rehearsal A major Serenade was taped mere months Chicago version (DG, 3/82). Setting aside than a performance. after the sessions with Argerich. His chronology for the moment, it should go One thing that struck me as I listened 1970 account of the Second Symphony without saying that Mahler looms large through this set is Abbado’s attentive was entirely new to me. It’s so leisurely in this set – and there are some powerful sensitivity to soloists – call it chemistry, and Apollonian that, if auditioning blind, performances. The Third, Fifth, Sixth if you like. It’s evident when comparing I doubt I’d have any clue Abbado was (Gramophone’s 2006 Recording of the his accompaniment for Alfred Brendel’s conducting. (I might have guessed Carlo Year) and an exceptionally vivid Des passionate and aptly gritty 1986 studio Maria Giulini, honestly.) Knaben Wunderhorn (with Anne Sofie von performance of Brahms’s D minor Piano There’s an 11-year gap separating that Otter and Thomas Quastoff) are wholly Concerto with the lighter-textured and reading of Brahms’s D major Symphony recommendable, despite oddly variable emotionally restrained live recording made from the D major Serenade, Abbado’s sound quality. The Seventh and Ninth 11 years later with Maurizio Pollini. There fourth disc from Berlin, and the temporal are very good but not outstanding – his are three versions of Brahms’s Violin distance seems audible. Where the Chicago Seventh, on the other hand, sits Concerto. The first, a studio account from symphony was relaxed almost to the alongside Bernstein (DG, 12/86) and 1987 with Shlomo Mintz, is one of the few

128 GRAMOPHONE NOVEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk REISSUES

discs here that’s been nearly forgotten, and what a pity – it’s warm-hearted, sweet- toned and affectingly vulnerable. Turn to a 1992 concert from Tokyo with Viktoria Mullova, and you’re in another world: serious, sharply focused and intensely concentrated. Last but not least, Gil Shaham live at the Berlin Philharmonie in 2000, considerably more urgent than the others and with a heightened sense of the music’s range of character. Abbado’s widely acclaimed cycle of the fi ve Beethoven piano concertos with Pollini is admirable for its chiselled defi nition and muscularity, and I might use similar descriptors for a marvellous 1993 coupling of Prokofi ev’s First and Third Piano Concertos with Evgeny Kissin. More impressive still is a 1994 performance of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto with Argerich, so mercurial and incendiary it leaves me breathless every time. Somehow I missed a riveting, icy-hot reading of Rachmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody with Mikhail Pletnev from the 1997 New Year’s Eve gala – Claudio Abbado’s ‘complete’ DG and Philips recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra run to 60 CDs another happy discovery. Sadly, Abbado’s keen interest in Evgeny Kissin is extremely fi ne indeed. It’s true that a large handful of these contemporary music and out-of-the- And then there’s Abbado’s traversal of the recordings show Abbado’s grip to be way repertory is barely glimpsed here. nine symphonies – or, rather, the second of insuffi ciently tight. On the other hand, I remember hearing his LSO album (RCA, two he made with the Berliners. The fi rst his interpretations rarely sound forced or 2/81) of some little-known Mussorgsky was recorded in Berlin in 1999-2000 and fussed over, and that’s a quality that should upon its initial release and being bowled released the following year (DG, 1/01). never be taken for granted. To that point, over by the original version of Night Abbado wasn’t entirely satisfi ed, however, I was struck by Rob Cowan’s comment in on the Bare Mountain. Abbado revisited so DG put out a second edition using his review of the Brahms piano concertos those same nuggets in Berlin in 1993, performances of all but the Ninth from (8/00) that ‘it’s easy to understand how and the tone poem comes across even concerts given at the Santa Cecilia hall in Pollini’s naturalness can be misunderstood more savagely. I’m also particularly keen Rome in 2001; the original Berlin Ninth as matter-of-factness’. Surely the same on a Janá∂ek album bringing together stayed. The second cycle holds up extremely could be said of Abbado. Cavils aside, I’m the Sinfonietta and an unidiomatic but well, balancing elements absorbed from certain the consistent naturalness one hears nevertheless effective orchestration of period practice with Abbado’s penchant for in this set – and, indeed, throughout the The Diary of One Who Disappeared; Philip poise and architectural integrity. Visiting conductor’s career in toto – is born from Langridge sings magnifi cently and Abbado it again in this broader context, I’d say it’s conviction, not the lack of it. wrings every last drop of drama from one of the most impressive achievements this astonishing song-cycle. Speaking of of Abbado’s Berlin tenure. Czech music, I was unexpectedly charmed Clearly, DG isn’t being entirely accurate by a sumptuous yet rhythmically vital in labelling this box ‘complete’. Why 1997 performance of Dvo∑ák’s Ninth not include both Beethoven cycles? Symphony – and, yes, I know the New Comparing the two side by side might World is anything but out of the way. In yield a better understanding of what terms of contemporary music, there’s only Abbado was getting at. He is, after a 44-minute disc of Stockhausen’s Gruppen all, a somewhat elusive fi gure, and a pair of absorbing Kurtág works – artistically. I fi rst heard him unless you’re willing to stretch the term conduct on the radio in 1979 ‘contemporary’ to take in a dour account of in a live broadcast of Mahler’s Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto with Pollini. Second with the Boston Brahms and Mahler loom large in Symphony that shook me to this set, yet Beethoven is an equally my adolescent core. After that, I pervasive presence. In addition to the followed his career fairly closely, piano concertos are two discs devoted although my interest gradually waned largely to the incidental music for Egmont, in the ’90s – the Berlin years – as I felt THE RECORDING BRIDGEMAN IMAGES BRIDGEMAN The Consecration of the House and Leonore his music-making lose some of its vigour Claudio Abbado & Berliner Philharmoniker: Prohaska, all in fi ne if unremarkable and exploratory verve. Wending my way The Complete Recordings on Deutsche performances, although a swaggeringly through this box hasn’t changed my mind, Grammophon

PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTOGRAPHY: assured account of the Choral Fantasy with exactly, but it has given me pause. DG S (60 discs) 483 5183

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 129 REISSUES Revisiting the master 150 years on … Richard Osborne has been listening to Rossini from Cecilia Bartoli and from Warner Classics

his music reflects my entire studio recording of Il barbiere which career and my growing up as an Decca made in Bologna later that year. ‘Tartist’, writes Cecilia Bartoli in the Limply conducted by Giuseppe Patanè, preface to this 150th-anniversary edition of and with Leo Nucci as a far from ideal her complete Rossini recordings. Taken Figaro, it was left to the 22-year-old chronologically, the set does indeed offer a Bartoli to carry the occasion. This she fascinating overview of the moveable feast does, albeit with a certain amount of that is Bartoli’s art, from the debut old-fashioned soprano ornamentation. recordings of 1988 to the memorable Rosina’s ‘Una voce poco fa’ crops Zurich stagings of Otello and Le Comte up several times during the set in Ory in 2011-12. accounts that are variously reckless and It was with music by Rossini that she sublime. The voice was widely admired, auditioned, aged 20, for Decca’s Cecilia Bartoli’s voice a lustrous soprano, contralto-tinged as Christopher Raeburn in Milan in 1986; was God-given and her John Steane put it in 1989, though JBS and it was with Rossini that she made her was not alone in preferring a more closely earliest international stage appearances in training–byhermother, bound, more legato way with some Pesaro and Schwetzingen in the summer an ex-singer – remarkable triplets, scales and runs. of 1988. Her Lucilla in that Pesaro The voice was God-given and her La scala di seta secured a parenthetical A live recording of that Pesaro La scala di training – by her mother, an ex-singer – mention in Opera by the veteran seta appears in the new 50-CD Rossini remarkable; but the earliest Decca Italian vocal critic Giorgio Gualerzi. Edition from Warner Classics, and in recordings suggest that she was asked to (‘A promising mezzo-soprano of lyrical Decca’s Bartoli box. The performance is an record too much too soon. The first solo brilliance but throaty technique.’) But it engaging one, though singers and orchestra albums – ‘Rossini Arias’ and ‘Rossini was her Rosina in the Schwetzingen are far too distantly recorded. Songs’ – introduced the voice but left no Festival restaging of a famous Michael The DVD of the Schwetzingen discernible interpretative footprint, such as Hampe production of Il barbiere that Il barbiere still sounds and looks well, Montserrat Caballé left with her ‘Rossini fixed her young reputation. which is more than can be said of the Rarities’ (RCA, 12/68 – nla) or Marilyn

Cecilia Bartoli as Desdemona with Javier Camarena as Rodrigo in Rossini’s Otello in Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s 2012 Zurich production

130 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk REISSUES

Horne with her superlative 1981 CBS disc It is not until we reach the superb church under the young James Levine. of Rossini songs (included in the new stagings by Moshe Leiser and Patrice The set overall is a poor choice, much Warner Edition), with its matchless Caurier in Zurich in 2011-12 of Otello inferior to earlier EMI recordings under account of the 1832 cantata for voice and and Le Comte Ory – Rossini’s wittiest and Galliera and Gui. piano Giovanna d’Arco. (The Bartoli box most stylish comedy, realised here in a Here is not the place to go into the saga includes a blander account of the original, vastly amusing pitch-perfect production of the often badly made live Pesaro Festival as well as a previously unpublished updated to France in the 1950s – that recordings to which the Ricordi-owned recording of the orchestral version which we find Bartoli at her best as a stage Fonit-Cetra gave limited circulation in the composer Salvatore Sciarrino created for performer. It helps enormously, of course, 1990s. There is value in the CDs devoted to Teresa Berganza in 1989.) Bartoli’s way that film-maker Olivier Simonnet knows the historically important 1986 revival of the with Rossini songs is transformed later in exactly when and when not to film a coloratura psychodrama Bianca e Falliero the set when James Levine and Jean-Yves singer in close-up. (starring Katia Ricciarelli and Horne); rather Thibaudet are her partners, wonderful less appeal in a 1992 Semiramide featuring pianists who help lift the musical When it comes the high mezzo Iano Tamar in the title-role. characterisations to new levels. to the strangely Non-operatic highlights, other than the Bartoli’s first landmark recital, the mixed superb ex-CBS Marilyn Horne recital Colbran-inspired ‘Rossini Heroines’ inheritance already mentioned, include Antonio recorded in Venice’s Teatro La Fenice Warner Classics Pappano’s fine 2010 recording of the Stabat in 1991, features in the superb Bartoli (founded 1991) mater, Joyce DiDonato’s ‘Colbran, The documentary, included in the new set, has been able to Muse’, and the starrily cast 1992 New York which director David Thomas made for draw on for its Rossini bicentenary gala. LWT’s South Bank Show on location in Rossini Edition, At a rough count, 27 of the 50 discs Venice, Rome and London. The film is a it’s perhaps best to cut to the chase and could be judged ‘collectable’. But there is delight, not only for the colourful location identify the finest items, not all of which also a lot of dross here, indiscriminately shots, including a seat-belt free Cecilia are currently available or, if available, not bundled up by Warner’s Parlophone team powering her way through Rome’s traffic as advantageously priced as in this 50-CD into a job-lot marked ‘Rossini’. When a in her coral red Fiat Cinquecento, but box retailing at (roughly) £80. recording is not even authentic Rossini, for the sequences devoted to her working Three of the best of the 14 complete or when the performance wrecks good (and lunching) with Christopher Raeburn, opera recordings come from EMI: early music, as happens here with the engaging her Beechamesque record producer, 1950s Glyndebourne recordings of Neapolitan Messa di Gloria, it is in no one’s and with her mother and coach, Silvana La Cenerentola and Le Comte Ory under interest to disinter it. Bazzoni Bartoli. Vittorio Gui, and the still unsurpassed And there’s a bigger problem. For The film also commissioned and drew 1972 recording of Guillaume Tell conducted though the accompanying booklet prints on a recital Bartoli gave with the pianist by Lamberto Gardelli. Two other track-by-track synopses of the 14 operas, György Fischer before an invited audience successes – L’italiana in Algeri with Marilyn there are no texts or translations for in London’s Savoy Hotel. This is Bartoli at Horne and rather a good Zelmira, both anything else. There is also a complete her early best, the singer’s art wonderfully conducted by Claudio Scimone – are taken absence of background information about concentrated away from the harum-scarum from the Erato catalogue, which Warner the music, such as could have been of stage action. Classics acquired in 1992. provided by a new bespoke introduction to On the evidence of the five filmed Marc Minkowski’s live 1996 Paris the edition. What, for example, is anyone operas collected here, the success or performance of the wonderful semi-serious to make of the CD given over to Rossini’s otherwise of these has been more than one-acter L’inganno felice makes a welcome incidental music to Sophocles’s Oedipus at usually dependent on the quality of the return, while Gabriele Ferro’s fine 1978 Colonus if denied both background and direction and the television filming. Her West German Radio recording of Tancredi, text? There’s a lengthy analysis of the piece 1997 CD recording of Il turco in Italia, featuring Fiorenza Cossotto and Lella in my review of the original disc in May conducted by Riccardo Chailly, is one of Cuberli, makes what is in effect its long- 1982 but who’s going to track that down? the collection’s happiest items, yet the awaited debut. (CBS had the rights but the Such cheese-paring is self-defeating, later Zurich staging by Cesare Lievi set was not released in the UK.) Period particularly in the case of Rossini. The and designer Tullio Pericoli is an instruments are used and the opera is highways and byways of his art are rich abomination: a characterless design-led played with the revised tragic ending that in interest, some of it arcane, and on any reinvention in which crude costuming, had come to light two years earlier. journey of exploration it helps have a map tactlessly filmed, makes Bartoli’s Fiorilla The other complete opera recordings are and a well-chosen gazetteer to hand. look like Tracey Ullman’s Angela Merkel. less recommendable. Callas’s 1954 Il turco Decca’s Bartoli edition, by contrast, The unfilmed Leiser/Caurier Covent in Italia uses an edition which omits the reprints original background essays, Garden production was far kinder. heroine’s principal aria; Scimone’s pre- with complete texts and translations By contrast, the 1995 DVD of emptive strike on Ermione, ahead of its available online. La Cenerentola, conducted by Bruno 1987 stage revival, is an underwhelming See also Richard Osborne’s cover feature on Rossini, Campanella, is a more musically affair; and the less said the better about the 150 years after the composer’s death, on page 14 sympathetic affair than the 1992 CD strange 1975 EMI lash-up that purports to recording under Chailly. The film is very be an Italian version of Le Siège de Corinthe. THE RECORDINGS HANS JÖRG MICHEL/DECCA JÖRG HANS watchable, though there’s a diva-like Beverley Sills features but is heard to better Cecila Bartoli – Rossini Edition dimension to Bartoli’s playing of effect, if you don’t mind a coloratura Decca So+ f◊483 3936 Cenerentola that neither the television Rosina, in a 1975 EMI recording of Rossini Edition Various artists

PHOTOGRAPHY: direction nor the production entirely hides. Il barbiere made in, of all places, a London Warner Classics S (50 discs) 9029 56111-5

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 131 BOX-SETRound-up Rob Cowan offers a personal round-up of some worthwhile CD bargains

Beethoven Fourth (always a Monteux speciality) and an equally engaging performance of the Daphnis et Chloé Second Suite. Brahms’s First Piano Concerto is played with an impressive sense of scale by Mindru Katz (under Josef Krips in 1964), Stravinsky conducts his Firebird Suite (1963); there’s a vigorous Tchaikovsky aving spent the year celebrating with live performances, mostly never Concerto with Isaac Stern, and Schumann’s Leonard Bernstein’s centenary, it previously available on CD, and some Second and Third Symphonies are Hseems appropriate to commence rehearsal sequences. Bernstein rehearsing vigorously conducted by Paul Paray (1976, this last of my monthly box-set surveys for Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso has a good deal 1971). Various works by Israeli composers 2018 by marking the release of two further more bite and gusto than the resultant extend our knowledge of the nation’s commemorative collections. The first, and performance, while in both La valse and concert repertoire and the roll call of more impressive of the two, purports to be Boléro Bernstein ratchets the tension up to conductors also includes Zubin Mehta (who ‘His Greatest [Sony] Recordings’, which is fever pitch, cueing a volley of appreciative is very generously represented), Sergiu true, though being limited to 16 CDs we’re screams from the audience. Marilyn Celibidache (Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto not talking about all his great recordings, Horne is seductive in Shéhérazade, while with soloist Yona Ettlinger), Kurt Masur, not by a mile. The 1961 New York Bernstein’s performance of the G major Paul Kletzki (Mahler’s Second), Kirill Mahler Third, yes, absolutely, one of the Piano Concerto isn’t exactly the last word Kondrashin (Shostakovich’s Sixth), Antal finest Mahler sound documents of the in tidiness. The French readings of On Dorati and Rafael Kubelík. Also included last century, a truly fabulous performance the Waterfront and the West Side Story is a bonus CD where Daniel Barenboim charged with atmosphere. The 1958 Rite dances have a brave stab at authenticity plays and directs concertos by Beethoven of Spring is also special, surely the best without quite achieving it and there are and Mozart. Helicon additionally provides we have from Bernstein (at least in stereo the commercial recordings: a hollow- a booklet packed with rare and historically sound), as is a superb Eroica and a cracking sounding Symphonie fantastique, a superior significant photographs, including a disc of Beethoven overtures, with Harold in Italy, a vivid Milhaud programme, facsimile of the note that an appreciative a Consecration of the House that vies with Rachmaninov’s Third Concerto with Alexis Johannes Brahms wrote to the boy violinist Szell’s or Toscanini’s for impact. Whether Weissenberg, where the closely balanced, Bronisław Huberman (who was eventually I would have placed Grofé’s Grand Canyon clattery piano contrasts alarmingly with to become the orchestra’s co-founder). Suite on quite the same exalted level, good Bernstein’s overly romantic conducting, Would that any of the above had though it is, is open to question; but key and accounts of the Schumann Cello recorded the symphonies of Alexander Copland, Gershwin and music by Bernstein Concerto and Bloch’s Schelomo with Glazunov, or even a couple of them. himself – the first commercial recordings Rostropovich, painted in dark, thick Still, we do have cycles under Fedoseyev, of the Serenade (with Isaac Stern) and the brush strokes. Svetlanov and Rozhdestvensky, as well as Second Symphony (with Lukas Foss) – Another anniversary collection marks a treasurable handful of performances (in are worthy of note though, speaking the 80th birthday, in 2016, of the Israel scrawny sound) by Nikolai Golovanov and, personally, in neither case would I profess Philharmonic, originally the Palestine most recently, the augmented cycle by José a preference for those recordings over Orchestra. Helicon have also released Serebrier with the Royal Scottish National their stereo Sony successors. Beethoven a compelling Mahler Ninth under and Russian National Orchestras. Serebrier concertos with Rudolf Serkin and Mozart Bernstein from 1985 but a sonically masters the range of Glazunov’s lyrical concertos where Bernstein himself is the rather more variable 12-CD anniversary style, from the blithe opening of the Third soloist leave their mark and there are set also features a handful of Bernstein Symphony (with audible hints of Elgar) remarkable performances of Nielsen’s items (another fine Consecration of the and its yearning Andante to the deeply Third and Fifth Symphonies. House among them). However, the set’s romantic Fifth and the more questioning The other Bernstein box (An American undoubted highlight is a remarkable pages of the far darker Eighth. True, as in Paris) chronicles his work from the 1964 programme under Pierre Monteux symphonic structures go, there are flaws, 1970s with the Orchestre de Paris, which includes a bracing account of even the odd crack, but if viewed as ballet supplementing commercial recordings Elgar’s Enigma Variations, a finely judged music shoehorned into symphonic form,

132 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk they work wonderfully well. Also included recordings of the period, the playing of the Satie can be sampled or relished at will. in this Warner set are various tone poems Paris Conservatoire Orchestra reedy and Performance standards are consistently and orchestral works (the Lisztian, virtually dynamic, with a keen sense of atmosphere. high – Ciccolini as ever manages to convey cinematic La mer, Introduction and An excellent Erato collection that mixes musical meaning without sidestepping Dance from Salome, a suite of movements French piano and orchestral repertoire, Satie’s wryly humorous style – and so is the from Raymonda and Glazunov’s ballet this time adding chamber and choral works quality of the recordings. masterpiece, The Seasons) as well as the into the bargain, is devoted to the music Alexei Lubimov is similarly illuminating various concertos, featuring the likes of of Gabriel Fauré. Jean-Philippe Collard in Mozart’s solo piano works for which violinist Rachel Barton Pine. No one is the ‘pianist in residence’, a superb he calls on three separate fortepianos, with an ear for Romantic orchestral musician whose playing combines clarity, and the range of sounds that he conjures tone-painting could fail to enjoy these brightness of tone and an acute sense of is at times virtually orchestral. In the consistently sympathetic and vividly played poetry. The Parrenin Quartet join Collard great A minor Sonata (K310), via a Marc performances, which are also exceedingly for the piano quartets and quintets as well Ducornet instrument from 1984 (based well recorded and offered at a usefully as offering us the String Quartet, and on various 18th century Andreas Stein modest price point. there are performances featuring violinist originals), the combination of a ghostly Herbert Kegel’s early-1980s Dresden Augustin Dumay and cellist Frédéric twang and percussive strumming helps Philharmonic Beethoven symphony cycle Lodéon. Michel Plasson is in charge of the focus the music’s inherent drama. I’ve for Capriccio was one of the first to appear orchestral and choral works. The range often heard it said that when it comes to in digital sound (alongside Otmar Suitner’s of repertoire on offer is nothing short of expressive shading the fortepiano cannot set on Denon), and wears its years lightly. dazzling and anyone seeking proof of just match the pianoforte but in the hands of Best are Symphonies Nos 4 through to 8, how versatile a composer Fauré was need an artist like Lubimov – or Andreas Staier all with their first-movement repeats intact, look no further. for that matter – both of whom have the Kegel’s manner is lively but unhurried, knack of contrasting dynamics and varying wholesome and direct, the playing mostly OneofthefinestMahler tone colours, that is palpably untrue. first-rate and with illuminating dialogue The proof lies especially in various of the between winds and strings. The first three sound documents of the slow movements, the Adagio from the symphonies are shorn of exposition repeats lastcentury,atruly B flat Sonata (K570) for example, where and not quite on the same interpretative Christopher Clarke’s instrument after level as the others, the Ninth best in the fabulous performance Anton Walter (c1795) produces the sort of middle movements. Don’t expect the sort veiled, mellow tone that a modern grand of sleek delivery and scholarly nous that Jean-François Heisser brings an would hardly be capable of. Throughout Simon Rattle offers on his 2015 Berlin appropriate elegance and rhythmic lift the set Lubimov and his fortepianos deliver Philharmonic set (especially in the Choral) to a selection of piano works in the similar surprises that stand to stimulate as but with the Triple Concerto, Choral collection ‘España’ with music by Albéniz, well as to edify and educate. Fantasy, Brahms’s German Requiem (the Granados, Falla, Mompou and Turina, latter from Leipzig) and a disc of sundry Falla’s 13-minute Fantasia Bética being THE RECORDINGS ‘showpieces’ offered as part of the deal, an especial highlight. I enjoyed Heisser’s ‘This is Leonard Bernstein – those raised on traditional interpretative cool but affectionate manner in Mompou’s His Greatest Recordings’ values should have a ball. I certainly did. Satie-esque Cançons i danses. As to music Sony Classical Sp19075 86186-2 Ravel thrives on home soil in the hands for piano and orchestra, we’re given Falla’s ‘Leonard Bernstein – An American in Paris’ of Samson François and André Cluytens Nights in the Gardens of Spain, Albéniz’s Warner Classics Bg9029 56895-4 who between them cover the complete run Concierto fantástico and Rapsodia española ‘The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: of piano and orchestral works, more or and Turina’s Rapsodia sinfónica, all with the 80th Anniversary’ less, François tapping out salient detail as Lausanne Chamber Orchestra under Jesus Helicon BmHEL029679 fastidiously as Glenn Gould does in Bach. López-Cobos. Glazunov Complete Symphonies & Concertos Pianist and conductor come together in Mention of Satie just now brings Sols; RSNO; Russian National Orchestra / the piano concertos, the ‘Left Hand’ in me to an admirable Warner collection José Serebrier particular hugely imposing, perhaps more based principally around Aldo Ciccolini’s Warner Classics Sh9029 56514-3 so than any other version since, though recordings of the piano works dating Beethoven Symphonies Brahms A German Février under Munch during the war from the mid-1980s. This six-CD set Requiem Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra match François and Cluytens for anger has been very cleverly arranged, the first / Herbert Kegel Capriccio ShC7275 and defiance (see next month’s Replay). CD devoted to ‘First and Last Works’ Ravel Complete Piano & Orchestral Works Interesting that Erato includes François’s (including the Gymnopédies and Trois Samson François pf Paris Conservatoire mono and stereo versions of Le tombeau de Morceaux en forme de poire, with Gabriel Orchestra / André Cluytens Couperin (where there’s an issue of some Tacchino), the second to ‘Mystical Works’ Erato Sf9029 56514-7 dropped repeats in the earlier recording) (Orgives, Vexations, Le fils des étoiles, etc), the Fauré Various Works and Gaspard de la nuit, the younger third to Studies (The Dreamy Fish, Douze Jean-Philippe Collard, Michel Plasson, etc François rather more nimble and breathless Petits chorals, etc), the fourth to ‘Whimsical Erato Sl9029 56335-7 than his older self. It’s a pity that Erato Works’ (Descriptions automatiques, etc), ‘España’ Jean-François Heisser pf didn’t add Cluytens’s earlier mono Ravel the fifth to Dance Music (Six Gnossiennes, Erato Sf9029 56514-9 recordings with the French Radio National Le Piccadilly, La belle excentrique, etc) and Satie Piano Works. Songs Aldo Ciccolini pf Orchestra, though they are available in the last CD to songs with Mady Mesplé, Erato Sf9029 56510-1 the big Cluytens box (7/17). Still, these Nicolai Gedda and Gabriel Basquier. It is Mozart Keyboard Sonatas Alexei Lubimov fp stereo remakes are among the most vivid a useful amalgam of programmes where Erato Sf 9029 56345-8

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 133 REPLAY Rob Cowan’s monthly survey of historic reissues and archive recordings A formidable Danish organist

istening to (mostly vintage) BWV544, and the series’ sole representative This is playing with a purpose, and that organ recordings has long been of Viderø’s shellac legacy, a fine 1950 purpose is entirely musical. La ‘private passion’ of mine, even HMV performance of the Toccata and Volume 4 is in many respects the though my tastes have tended towards such Fugue in D minor, BWV565, played most enterprising, certainly in terms of majestic past masters as Helmut Walcha, on the Frederiksberg Church organ. repertoire, with works by Cabezón, Karl Richter, Karl Straube and Albert Viderø’s approach throughout is as Sweelinck, Scheidt, Siefert, Cabanilles, Schweitzer. Anachronistic, perhaps, but honest as the day is long, forthright and Pachelbel, Dandrieu, Walther, Böhm, when it comes to Bach and Buxtehude imaginatively coloured but always with some anonymous composers and, most in particular I relish the sheer scale of the a keen sense of which pipes sound right notably, Ropartz – playing that is especially music, its presence in my mind’s ear, and in for which piece. atmospheric. This volume includes the general favour those organists who conjure Volume 2 takes up with Bach again, last Viderø recordings, played on a an inspirational listening event. Such was scoring highest with the magnificent Gunnar Fabricius Husted organ based the Danish organist Finn Viderø, who C major Prelude and Fugue, BWV547, on a Gregersen instrument. Again, the died in 1987, aged 80. On a splendid and the epic variations on the chorale sense of selfless dedication is palpable, new Danacord series devoted to Viderø’s O Gott, du frommer Gott, BWV767. and the sound is generally excellent. recordings, Jesper Buhl informs us that this Other Bach pieces include BWV536, 540, Listening to these CDs has been an formidable player was also a composer, 544, 546, 562, 572 and 590, as well as six edifying experience, one that I look a musicologist, a pedagogue and the only chorale fughettas, Buxtehude’s wonderful forward to repeating many times. Danish organist with a secure international Te Deum laudamus and a Pachelbel reputation. He studied with the celebrated selection. The organs here are a Frobenius THE RECORDINGS conductor of the Palestrina Choir Mogens instrument at St John’s Church in Vejle, ‘The Legendary Danish Wöldike, took a keen interest in authentic and another Marcussen instrument from Organist: Finn Viderø’, Vol 1: performance practice and pursued an 1952, housed in St James’s Church, Varde. Bach enlightened approach to the music he Were I to choose just one volume from Danacord Bb DACOCD791/2 played, especially the works of Bach the series, it would be the third because and Buxtehude. of the sovereign command that Viderø has ‘The Legendary Danish over the music of Buxtehude, again using Organist: Finn Viderø’, Vol 2: This is playing with the Sorø Marcussen and Frobenius organs. Bach, Buxtehude, Pachelbel There are numerous masterpieces featured Danacord Fb DACOCD793/4 apurpose–thesenseof here, among them the Prelude, Fugue selfless dedication is palpable and Chaconne in C, BuxWV137, a close ‘The Legendary Danish relation of Bach’s Toccata, Adagio and Organist: Finn Viderø’, Vol 3: Danacord’s four double packs include Fugue, BWV564, switching from Buxtehude two that are principally devoted to the a flamboyant opening to a gaily dancing Danacord BbDACOCD795/6 music of Bach. The first includes the gigue – a real spirit-lifter, with Viderø Orgel-Büchlein, which has many highlights: sounding as if he’s relishing every moment. ‘The Legendary Danish In dir ist Freude in particular, with its Of the 26 works included, I would also Organist: Finn Viderø’, Vol 4: hypnotically repeating ground bass; or the cite the large-scale Prelude and Fugue Cabezón, Scheidt, Siefert, breathy sound of Ich ruf’ zu dir, Herr Jesu in E minor, BuxWV142, and the brilliant Sweelinck, Walther et al Christ. These and the other items collected Prelude and Fugue in F sharp minor, Danacord BbDACOCD797/8 in this first instalment are played on the BWV146. All of these works resemble in Marcussen organ at Sorø Church, built in their original design, rhythmic impetus 1942 (though roughly a third of the pipes and harmonic boldness the best of Putting temperament are from an 1864 Gregersen instrument) Bach’s keyboard toccatas. Equally striking and consisting of 37 stops. The LPs used is the Prelude and Fugue in D, BuxWV139, on the line are on the Haydn Society, Fonodan and while Bachian grandeur again visits the Easy availability of recordings featuring the Metronome labels, and the transfers by concise D minor Passacaglia, BuxWV161, great Czech violinist Vá≈a P∑íhoda is to say Claus Byrith do full justice to the source another instance whereby the sheer the least sporadic, which is a shame because material, even though you can occasionally resilience of Viderø’s playing, its unflagging aspects of his playing (such as his lightning pick up the (very) faint remnants of vinyl sense of rhythm (not unlike Walcha’s), bow work, trilled multiple stops and surface noise. Also included are five chorale holds you captive. Listen for example to devilishly fast left-hand pizzicatos) defy preludes, the B minor Prelude and Fugue, how it blossoms around the 2'30" mark. description, as can be heard in this box-set

134 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk REPLAY

by a fiery temperament, whose commitment Wilhelm Kempff, Leonid Kogan, is audible in every bar of each recording. Riccardo Odnoposoff, Zara Nelsova, Other works programmed are by Bazzini, Ruggiero Ricci, Max Rostal, Wolfgang Chopin, Dvo∑ák, Elgar, Hubay, Lalo, Schneiderhan, Joseph Szigeti and Rosalyn Marx, Mozart, Sarasate, Schubert, Tureck. Transfers for this particular set Smetana, Strauss, Viotti, Vitali and are very good indeed. P∑íhoda himself. Transfers vary from adequate to good. THE RECORDING ‘Milestones of a Violin Legend: THE RECORDING Henryk Szeryng’ ‘Milestones of a Legend: Documents Sj 600451 Váša Příhoda’ Documents Sj 600455 Bach from the heart Another significant contrast in terms Aristocrat of the violin of violin playing is between the patrician It would be difficult to imagine a sharper Szeryng and the blistering Frenchman contrast with P∑íhoda than the Polish-born, (of Moldovan parentage) Devy Erlih, whose Mexican-naturalised violinist Henryk 1969 accounts of Bach’s works for solo violin Szeryng, who although similarly adept in combine expressive forcefulness with the virtuoso repertoire produced a smoother, utmost delicacy. Erlih employs vibrato with Henryk Szeryng: ‘incendiary’ in Ravel more rounded tone, his overall approach discretion, varying it according to where relatively refined. That said, his recording the musical line is heading, but come, say, context in a Paganini Sonatina arranged for of Vieuxtemps’s Fourth Concerto under the opening of the C major Sonata’s Fugue, violin and piano by P∑íhoda himself. His Hans Rosbaud (Baden-Baden, 1955) is his approach is disarmingly gentle, which variegated tone and overall approach both technically breathtaking and musically marks a change of mood after the intensity suggest rhapsodising improvisation. He was seductive, the rapport with Rosbaud of the preceding Adagio. I also commend once married to Alma Rosé, whose tragic watertight, the scherzo deft in the extreme. his freedom when it comes to gauging fate at Auschwitz (she led the girls’ I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more tempo (he subtly increases the pulse as the orchestra and died there, probably of food compelling recording of this elegant heat rises, as happens at the arpeggiated poisoning) was in marked contradistinction showpiece – aristocratic is, I think, the crest of the Chaconne) and the fact that to his own success in Nazi-occupied most apt word to describe it. The same chords rarely sound aggressive or ugly. territories, which blotted his post-war artists make the very most of Schumann’s To sample the sheer beauty of Erlih’s copybook. But he was a great player, Concerto (in 1957), where Szerying playing, you could hardly do better than destined to die at 59 and therefore still in digs even deeper than on his commercial to listen to either the opening Adagio of his prime when he made his last recordings. recording of the work. Likewise, an the G minor Sonata or the Grave at the This 10-disc set, which like other titles in imposing live account of the Beethoven start of the A minor Sonata; and for deft the series is made up of material drawn Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra articulation at speed, try the presto Double from various sources, is usefully under Otto Klemperer (1959) securely that follows the Courante in the B minor representative, though I would have liked a hits the target. There’s also an incendiary Partita. For loving attention to each phrase, few more genre pieces from the 1930s. A performance of Ravel’s Tzigane under sample the flowing Double that follows Wieniawski sequence includes a rather Rosbaud; and Szeryng’s mid-1950s set the Sarabande, whereas the Tempo di pinched-sounding transfer of a brilliant of Bach’s solo violin works, strong readings bourrée and succeeding Double are taken 1924 recording of the Fantaisie Brillante though never overstated, roughly on a par at a real lick. I often hear it said – and I’ve after Gounod’s Faust; and on the same disc with Milstein and Grumiaux and I’d say even on occasion said it myself – that so is Vieuxtemps’s lovely Violin Concerto marginally superior to his remakes for DG. much of today’s violin playing lacks true No 4 (recorded 1954), where P∑íhoda As to the rest, familiar RCA recordings individuality, or subscribes to some sort appears to chicken out of playing the are revisited, the prizewinning Brahms of preset template. Erlih hails from admittedly tricky central scherzo. Concerto under Pierre Monteux, the an era prior to such predictability (save, Tchaikovsky’s Concerto (under Richard Tchaikovsky Concerto under Charles perhaps, for Hilary Hahn); he makes Austin, 1949) is the most Huberman-like Munch, and much-prized duo sonata Bach breathe and sing and I’d commend account I’ve heard since Huberman’s own, performances with Artur Rubinstein, this set to all Bach devotees who want to with similar portamentos, crescendos and, including the three Brahms sonatas, three listen, love and learn. The stereo sound most significantly, maverick spirit, though Beethovens (both the Spring and Kreutzer is excellent except for a modest amount in general P∑íhoda is the more polished are there); there’s Lalo’s Symphonie of background vinyl rumble. player. Tartini’s Devil’s Trill Sonata is espagnole under Walter Hendl and an beautifully performed in a Vieuxtemps especially beautiful account of Brahms’s THE RECORDING arrangement accompanied by a string trio, Horn Trio with Joseph Eger and pianist Bach Sonatas and Partitas, Vol 1 BRIDGEMAN IMAGES P∑íhoda’s phrasing (like Huberman’s in Victor Babin. Add Ponce’s Violin Concerto Devy Erlih vn other works) combining emotional candour and you have an unmissable bargain. Doremi Fb DHR8061/2 with occasional gypsy-style inflections. He Other musicians featured in the same series

PHOTOGRAPHY: was above all a passionate musician fuelled include Guido Cantelli, Friedrich Gulda,

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 135 Classics RECONSIDERED

Jonathan Freeman-Attwood and Lindsay Kemp revisit Decca’s 1960s recording of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio from Karl Münchinger

Bach are equal, as also they are between the two Christa Ludwig and Helen Watts are Christmas Oratorio orchestras. The obbligato players in both both admirable in their arias. Elly Ameling sop Helen Watts contr Peter Pears ten recordings are a constant delight. Weighing up the evidence, the extra Tom Krause bass Lübecker Kantorei; As regards the soloists, Fritz Wunderlich brightness and clarity of the Decca version, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra / Karl Münchinger sang with lovely tone and sensitivity as together with Münchinger’s more dramatic Decca the Evangelist for Richter but, though approach, will for many tip the scales. Both As I wrote in reviewing the DG recording his voice is less beguiling, without versions communicate a sense of dedication under Karl Richter [12/65], I enjoyed every Peter Pears’s command of a variety of and purpose. Both treat the chorales in moment. We now have Decca’s equally fine nuances. Franz Crass was apt to sing too a straightforward manner as if inviting performance and an even better recording. loudly at times and though good in his congregational participation. In view of the The Lübecker Kantorei sopranos, unless arias, I prefer Tom Krause. Elly Ameling extra special quality of the recording, then, I am mistaken, are boys, not women. cannot quite equal Gundula Janowitz’s I should give my vote to the Decca, for all In any case they are very good, as is the beauty of tone but enunciates her words other matters are really about equal. whole chorus, and so in this matter honours more clearly and is a very attractive singer. Alec Robertson (12/67)

Jonathan Freeman-Attwood I know we’re in their day this and the Richter would have Elly Ameling and Tom Krause and you not permitted to ‘compare and contrast’ been state-of-the-art, go-to authoritative realise that this is artistry of extraordinary but it’s impossible not at least to register Bach just as much as Harnoncourt, character and vitality, where the timing that the two big Bach ‘Karls’ of the Gardiner and Butt have been since. and coloration – in this case with those 1960s – Münchinger and Richter – had I loved that Pastoral Sinfonia too. It’s such sumptuous accompanying oboes – extends recorded the oratorio within 18 months of a beautiful piece, Bach in Romantic mood far beyond fashion. It’s simply great Bach each other. What strikes me immediately almost, and Münchinger treats it with so performance. A lot of musicians could is that Münchinger moves through the much love and warmth; the last diminuendo learn so much from the vocabulary of the six parts more organically than Richter – chord lingers as if he can’t bear to let it go. older generations. It’s not a problem with even though the latter boasts some There were plenty of other places where the Wagner legacy from the 1960s, so why phenomenal set pieces and the more I was won over by the emotional honesty poor Bach? obviously glamorous ingredients. That of the performance, but what caught my Ironically, though, the reason why said, there’s glamour in both soloist rosters: attention especially was when they arose out I often appreciate Münchinger is that he Ameling, Watts, Pears and Krause or of little features that are not in fashion for applies a relatively light touch, leaning Janowitz, Ludwig, Wunderlich and Crass? Bach any more, such as the held continuo towards the best in recent ‘period’ versions. A tough call! chords in the recitatives that allow Tom I suppose I’m struck, above all, by Krause to build ‘Immanuel, so süsses Wort’ LK Yes, it is light, and I imagine must Münchinger’s spacious elegance where in Part 4 into a mini-Wagnerian climax. have seemed even more so to listeners its unforced narrative unfolds with some at the time. The only place where I do stunning characterisation. I remember JF-A That’s indeed a golden moment. find heaviness is in some of the choruses, listening to my sister’s ‘highlights’ LP as Those expressive choices are often seen where a rather over-zealous approach to a teenager and yearning for Christmas when as irreconcilable with our historically enunciation often results in equal emphasis she played the luminescent Sinfonia that informed and post-modern view of Bach on every beat in the bar. In triple-time starts Part 2. Richter weaved his own spells values. Almost patronisingly, a reading like movements that open Parts 1, 3 and 6 this but he couldn’t float magically like this. this becomes a historical curiosity: ‘Poor doesn’t sound right to me; some melismatic old Münchinger and Co. If only they’d passages sound more like callous laughter Lindsay Kemp Yes, I’m new to this know what we know now!’ Then you listen than dancing for joy. The first chorus of recording, though there’s no doubt that to that delectable duet from Part 3 with Part 5 works better though; with the boys’

136 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk CLASSICS RECONSIDERED

It’s fabulous articulation of its kind, if not quite as nonchalantly brilliant as for Richter where the last note is beyond compare!

LK It’s an amazing sound isn’t it? Listening to it now almost feels a guilty pleasure! We’ve become so used to natural trumpets that I can’t see it making a comeback. The singing, on the other hand, is pretty timeless. Ameling, Watts and Krause all sound like singers who could slot fairly easily into one of today’s performances – the idea of a ‘historically informed’ voice is still a rather vague one. I’m not sure that Pears’s attempts at fast passagework in ‘Ich will nur di zu Ehren leben’ would find favour today, but his acutely sensitive Evangelist is still full of wise and wonderful things, even if in places it is a little laboured.

JF-A Linking your observations, there’s a curious contradiction of the valved piccolo trumpet gradually receding with natural-trumpet playing back in the ascendency, and yet ‘mainstream’ voices are increasingly booked these days to tackle Bach at the expense of ‘specialists’. But – let’s face it – this recording is vocally a bit of a curate’s egg. Alec Robertson identifies the quality of Tom Krause (a kind of genial majesty is what I hear in his ‘Grosser Herr’) but on reflection I wonder whether this is really vintage Elly Ameling, certainly Karl Münchinger: ‘applies a light touch’ compared to her cantatas with Helmut Winschermann? But I just adore Helen whooping high notes there’s a real sense modern period performances; I find the Watts’s open tenderness in ‘Schlafe, here of clamour and excitement. more flexible articulation that Baroque mein liebster’. Two truly distinguished bows have brought much more human. Bach singers. JF-A On the other hand, I suppose there’s But Münchinger is not a serious offender, also the tendency – when embracing the and in any case is happy to mix things up; LK Well, it’s very rare that a complete artistic instincts of certain ‘historic’ figures – ‘Bereite dich, Sion’, for instance, opens casting will work for everyone in a piece to be over-forgiving! I do see exactly what with glorious rich, long lines, but almost like this – responses to voices are so you mean about the choruses. There is immediately contrasts them with elegant, personal, aren’t they? Ameling doesn’t often a default choppiness which comes light-touch articulation. But while we’re always seem comfortable, it’s true, but with those post-war, almost neoclassical on the sounds of the ’60s, we’ve got to talk when she is in the slot she still makes sounding chamber orchestras. It happens about those trumpets haven’t we? a lovely sound. And it certainly doesn’t less with Ansermet, Prohaska and Werner detract from a performance which, though than with Münchinger and Richter who, by JF-A Interesting what you say about fashion may have left it rather marooned virtue of their quest for corporate discipline, phrasing in ‘Bereite dich, Sion’. Doesn’t this in the past, is full of honesty, love and can lean towards singularly over-projected happy hybrid approach allow you to want to perceptive musicianship. While I wouldn’t and aerated text. As you point out, we are keep listening – because Münchinger fuels choose it over more recent ones (I love the dealing here with a boys’ choir and so big- the music simultaneously with both warmth John Butt recording for instance), I’m sure breathed and sonorous Bachian phrases are and flexibility? His intimate approach to I’d have been delighted with it in 1966! inevitably less prevalent than with mixed instrumental obbligati, especially the oboes choirs. Part 5 is successful, I think, because who inhabit so many dimensions in their JF-A Bach instils a strong Christmas the tempo is manageable and Münchinger’s ‘commentaries’, plays an important part imagery running through all six parts and tendency to push forward turns into in this. Baroque bows may bring a special no recording captures Yuletide, for me, a rather fine conceit of expectancy. kind of humanity but when the oboists quite so naturally as this version with its are this eloquent and responsive, one marvellous combination of fervour and -IMAGES/INTERFOTO LK That choppy non legato you mention – becomes ‘tool blind’ on matters of period truthfulness in every sinew. AKG which you also get in Baroque orchestral and modern. The echo aria in Part 4 is a playing of that time, and I assume was an case in point. Trumpets? Exasperatingly, LK Well said – an authentically attempt to let more air into the texture – I can’t track down the players list anywhere Christmassy performance, we can say.

PHOTOGRAPHY: is something I definitely don’t miss in but that has to be Maurice André in Part 6. Have a happy one!

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 137 Books Richard Whitehouse welcomes MervynCookeenjoysasurvey anewbiographyofElliottCarter: of music criticism in Britain: ‘Thereisnoonebetterplacedtowritethis ‘EdwardJDenttypifiedthepeculiarlyBritish bookthanDavidSchi,whowasapupiland desire to disguise intellectual thought under a confidant of the composer over four decades’ surface sheen of self-deprecating amateurism’

Carter The bulk of what follows is centred reappropriated on his own terms. That By David Schiff on the music, but here too Schiff rings the several of them await commercial recording Oxford University Press, HB, 296pp, £22.99 changes. Save for a one-page appendix of (the main gaps in an extensive and still- ISBN 978-0-190-25915-0 Carter’s intervallic signatures, there are growing discography) only increases no musical examples – for which one needs expectation that these may yet prove his to go back to the era of MM volumes as greatest overall achievement – not least in descriptive biography to find comparisons. their unifying of the disjunctive and often Not that Schiff’s approach is at all antagonistic tendencies to have beset Although the Master simplistic; rather his modus operandi is one modernism, but which Carter was able Musicians series has been of discussing the piece in question from the to unify by remaining creative into his a staple of classical music perspective of those works, composers and 11th decade and evolving his musical books throughout the aesthetics that informed its genesis. This language accordingly. modern era, the extent of its coverage essentially literary analysis is initially The book has been expertly edited had barely advanced beyond the mid-20th facilitated by Carter’s relatively slender and proofed to the best traditions of the century – hence making this study of early output in the 1930s and ’40s and Master Musicians series, with chronologies Elliott Carter (1908-2012) all the more then during the painstaking creation of just of life and works (listed by date rather unexpected and provocative. seven groundbreaking works in the next than genre, although the latter might Unexpected as there are numerous two decades – during which time Carter have been preferable), and then a list of ‘canonic’ composers awaiting new or moved methodically and surreptitiously American composers and music replacing updated volumes, and provocative as none to the forefront of contemporary music. the calendar and work-list; but with the of those constituting the European avant- With those pieces from the 1970s and customary personalia and bibliography. garde has been given the Master Musicians ’80s, Schiff is on familiar ground and his Nine photographs (mostly courtesy of imprimatur. Yet contention as to American overviews are informed with a knowledge the Amphion Foundation) are reproduced bias (Oxford University Press now having borne of experience which enables him as figures rather than plates, but this is a New York base) is outweighed by the to depart decisively yet persuasively from no hardship and given their unfamiliarity importance of Carter in the context of established practice (though a few major these are an undeniable if incremental Western music over more than six pieces from the early 1990s have fallen enhancement. decades, not least as a bridge between those through the net), culminating with his Those who have Schiff’s previous books distinctive movements of pre- and post-war pertinent insights into the composer’s will want this too, while those seeking an modernism whose qualities he amalgamated two largest works, Symphonia and his only introductory yet probing study could not and revitalised in intriguing ways. opera, What Next?. That Carter became have been better served. Whether or not Certainly there is no one better placed to so prolific in old age (around half of his this proves to be the author’s last word on undertake this book than David Schiff, who 150 published works emerging after he Carter, his insights and belief in this music has not only essayed two earlier studies of turned 90) makes any detailed survey all have left many listeners in his debt. Carter’s music (Eulenberg, 1983, and Faber, but impossible within the MM format. Richard Whitehouse 1998) but was a pupil and latterly confidant Schiff’s simple and effective solution is of the composer over four decades. Which to list groups of pieces related by genre or British Musical Criticism in itself makes this volume a departure in medium, then touch on their divergences Master Musicians terms, given Schiff knew so as to reinforce the self-renewing and Intellectual Thought, Carter as a member of his social circle; an principle which gives these ‘late-late’ 1850-1950 association detailed in the second chapter, works their sheer potency Edited by Jeremy Dibble and Julian Horton which also affords pertinent insights into and consistency. The Boydell Press, HB, 390pp, £65 who Carter was that are not to be gainsaid Most absorbing are two chapters on the ISBN 978-1-783-27287-7 given his frequent reticence as to matters of song-cycles – both those to texts by Carter’s biography. The following chapter succinctly relative contemporaries from the later outlines this life within the context of 1970s, marking his re-engagement with unsupportive parents, lengthy study in literary sources after a quarter of a century, America and France, then the qualified and but especially those from his last decade ‘For us in England, who are sometimes patronising response of his peers which, as Schiff points out, merge into a obliged to earn our living by as he struggled towards a personal and 90-minute ‘meta-cycle’ encompassing the scribbling about music, it is inclusive idiom well into his fifth decade. American modernist tradition which Carter a very good thing that no

138 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk BOOK REVIEWS

uncritically: he considered Thomas Whythorne’s 1571 part-songs as ‘miserably feeble rubbish’, and found some of Purcell’s music marred by a ‘pottering scrappiness’. Dent reappears in Sarah Collins’s essay on anti-intellectualism, which illuminates the longstanding schism between musicians working in academia and those based in the conservatoires. Dent (in 1924) again offered a revealing comment on this situation: ‘We [academics] may be able to do our jobs a great deal better than the professional gang [conservatory professors], but we always behave as if we were amateurs.’ As Paul Watt demonstrates, the London critic Ernest Newman was important for his ‘Europeanization of musical thought’ and adherence to a rationalist ideology which viewed criticism as akin to a science; most importantly, composers and their music came to be seen as products of their specific times and cultures. Seemingly at the other end of the spectrum were Donald Francis Tovey’s value judgements masquerading as analysis, considered afresh here (with corrective analytical examples of his own) by Julian Horton. Among the other commentators covered by the book are Bernard van Dieren, Peter Warlock and Cecil Gray (in a chapter by Séamas de Barra), and Constant Lambert, whose brilliant if wayward 1934 book Oxford University Press’s Master Musicians series welcomes Elliott Carter as the subject of its latest volume Music Ho! is surveyed by Christopher Mark. In a timely reminder that the British one attaches much weight to our opinions.’ contribution summarises the work of music scene was inhabited by intelligent So wrote Edward J Dent in 1921, just five early Victorian critics, when the national women, too, Philip Ross Bullock discusses years before he became Professor of Music characteristics of ‘relying on satire, the work of Rosa Newmarch, whose deep at Cambridge, and his remark typifies damning with faint praise or, almost as involvement with Russian music proved the peculiarly British desire to disguise a matter of principle, criticising anything especially influential. Hans Keller, to intellectual thought under a surface sheen new’ first became established. The last whom the final chapter (by Patrick Zuk) of self-deprecating amateurism. As this gasp of the worst excesses of these is devoted, dismissed music criticism as impressive collection of new essays tendencies came with the writings of a ‘racket’ and a ‘phoney profession’, but demonstrates, however, the critical George Bernard Shaw, whose ‘jeering the overwhelming impression the book’s landscape in British music between 1850 savagery’, ‘animated contempt’ and brutal coverage leaves is of a healthy, rich critical and 1950 was truly astonishing in its range dismissal of the ‘sham classics’ composed tradition which until now has never been and depth of thinking, its often partisan by Parry and Stanford is given a thoughtful so thoroughly assessed. passions, and the considerable wit, insight reappraisal by Harry White. As is to be expected with such and sophistication with which those While Karen Arrandale’s essay on an experienced team of editors and passions were conveyed. Dent keeps Cambridge on the critical map, contributors, the book’s text is The book’s 14 essays are organised in two chapters (by Bennett Zon and Jeremy impeccably presented throughout, and roughly chronological order, and can be Dibble) explore the contrasting views of a delight to read. Unfortunately, however, read consecutively as a compelling the Oxford writers Herbert Spencer and the volume’s index is a disappointingly narrative. In their refreshingly concise Ernest Walker, the former strongly uncomprehensive, unbalanced and introduction, the editors survey influenced by an evolutionary model unsystematic affair that really shouldn’t the dauntingly large set of ‘isms’ to which of stylistic development and the latter have made it past editorial scrutiny. British writings on music have successively prioritising musical texts as almost abstract This is a pity, as the book is likely to prove succumbed. (Amusingly, Jonathan Clinch’s phenomena. In common with other writers itself to be an indispensable resource for chapter on Herbert Howells quotes the represented in the book, most notably anyone interested in British music, and latter’s 1937 lecture for the BBC in Vaughan Williams (the aesthetic stance any readers of the print edition who choose BRIDGEMAN IMAGES BRIDGEMAN which he declared that criticism had of whose literary output is assessed by not to read it from cover to cover will find been ‘maimed’ by the ‘rude hands of those Aidan J Thomson), Walker is proud of navigating the riches of its contents a who have operated upon it in search of one his early music heritage, though he does potentially frustrating experience.

PHOTOGRAPHY: deadly -ism after another’.) Peter Horton’s not approach this revered repertoire Mervyn Cooke

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 139 THE GR AMOPHONE COLLECTION

Rossini’s La Cenerentola Richard Osborne explores the recordings of an opera that skilfully combines comedy and humanity

e may be about to enter something of an existential crisis. Yet worse prince’s ‘servant’, he decides to reveal to a pantomime season but the is to follow. When the Prince’s emissary shell-shocked Don Magnifico that he’s the Wfirst thing to recognise about arrives at the Magnifico household with monkey, not the organ-grinder. Rossini’s La Cenerentola is that it’s no a list of eligible maidens, Magnifico, who pantomime. Yes, it is very funny in has embezzled Cenerentola’s inheritance, EARLY RECORDINGS places but it’s also one of Rossini’s most denies that she exists, despite the fact that Nowhere is that scene better played on humane operas and, at times, one of his she’s standing right beside him. record than by Sesto Bruscantini and Ian most disturbing. As Magnifico repeats his morbid lie, the Wallace in a famous 1953 Glyndebourne Rossini’s adaptation of the fairy tale has orchestra produces several shocked judders recording led by Vittorio Gui. Gui has nothing to do with wicked stepmothers, of sound, before making a plaintive descent had few equals for the lift and ease of his pumpkin coaches or glass slippers. His towards one of Italian opera’s most charged Rossini conducting; and he had a fine cast, immediate cue came from a libretto silences. At which point, having reduced on the male side at least, with Juan Oncina, provided by the French playwright his audience to numbed disbelief, Rossini as an agreeably elegant Prince, joining Charles-Guillaume Étienne for Nicolò launches into one of those ensembles in Bruscantini and Wallace. Unfortunately, Isouard in Paris in 1810. In Étienne’s which the assembled company attempts to the set is quite heavily cut and the Spanish version, the vindictive parent is a venal work out who precisely is duping whom. mezzo-soprano Marina de Gabarain, aristocrat who has fallen on hard times. It’s a tricky scene to play. Ham it up, and though rich in empathy, is occasionally Seeing Isouard’s Cendrillon (enchantingly you destroy the moment; play it straight, taxed by the role technically. Her final revived this summer by Bampton Classical and you risk losing the comic dimension showpiece aria of forgiveness was recorded, Opera), it’s clear that Rossini and his that continues to lurk beneath the surface. not with Gui, but with his assistant Bryan librettist went much further than Étienne The opera is equally tricky to cast. The Balkwill during a later remake session. in transforming the fairy tale into what principal problem is the basses: three of The great Italian mezzo Giulietta emerges as an edgy comedy of manners, them, all nicely differentiated. Where Simionato considered this the most shot through with a powerful strain of Magnifico is a traditional buffo, Alidoro, ‘demanding in agility’ of any mezzo aria romantic pathos. That same year, 1817, the Prince’s tutor and undercover enabler, she knew, though she sails through it Jane Austen was giving the Cinderella is more a basso cantante. He’s richly easily enough in the 1949 recording she archetype a not dissimilar makeover in her provided for in the Act 1 aria which Rossini made for Italian Radio in Turin under the novel Persuasion. eventually wrote to replace his assistant’s characteristically sure-footed direction The very name Cinderella suggests stop-gap effort for the 1817 premiere. of Mario Rossi (Cetra, 2/62 – nla). Her ashes and expiation. And how better to The most complex of the bass roles Prince is Tito Schipa’s pupil Cesare express that solitary, expiatory mood than vocally (and the lowest) is that of the Valletti but the Dandini is a disaster and in the sad minor-key folk song with which Prince’s servant, Dandini. He has some the text is even more heavily cut than in the Rossini’s Cenerentola announces herself? well-bred coloratura to get through in his Glyndebourne recording. (There are echoes here of Desdemona’s role as princely impersonator, yet his is It’s astonishing how well the old mono ‘Willow Song’, movingly set by Rossini as also a buffo role. It’s in this guise that he recordings cope with the typical Rossini part of his Otello the previous autumn.) joins the Prince in that most brilliantly imbroglio. Still, no one was quite prepared The human dimension of Rossini’s conspiratorial of all Rossini duets, ‘Zitto, for the impact of Decca’s 1963 SonicStage treatment is evident in the care he lavishes zitto; piano, piano’. And it’s Dandini who stereophonic spectacular, recorded under on Cenerentola’s first encounter with is gifted one of the most joyous moments Erik Smith’s direction in Florence’s Prince Ramiro. It’s a scene in which in all opera when, realising that the game Teatro della Pergola (Decca, 5/92 – nla). both characters appear to be undergoing is up and Cenerentola has eyes only for the Conducted with unstoppable, over-the-

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Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother, by Lucien Pissarro (1863-1944): in Rossini’s opera, the supernatural visitor is replaced by the philosopher Alidoro

top relish by the 61-year-old Oliviero Ugo Benelli, Paolo Montarsolo and the orchestrations and emphasis on old-school De Fabritiis, the performance itself is also indefatigable Bruscantini. buffo larkiness, the opera found itself BRIDGEMAN IMAGES BRIDGEMAN somewhat larger than life. In the end, it’s stripped back to source. As I describe in all a bit too much, but there are delights to ENTER THE URTEXT this issue’s cover feature, the young Italian be had from a cast that includes Giulietta After the roller coaster of the conductor Alberto Zedda had put the cat

PHOTOGRAPHY: Simionato (now 53 but still sounding 23), De Fabritiis recording, with its beefed-up among the pigeons, first by discovering

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 141 THE GRAMOPHONE COLLECTION

than Carlo Rizzi. He is at his most erratic in a 2005 Munich concert performance whose sole interest is Vesselina Kasarova’s Cenerentola. His conducting is more cogent in a live performance taken from the 2000 Pesaro Rossini Festival featuring Sonia Ganassi and Juan Diego Flórez. But it’s a rackety affair, none too well recorded. The best of the Rizzi performances is the first, a studio recording made in London in 1994. If some Cenerentolas underplay for the microphones, Jennifer Larmore tends to overplay, as if she doesn’t entirely trust Rossini’s ability to convey Cenerentola’s sense of panic with cleverly contrived parlando writing over subtly shifting harmonies. Alessandro Corbelli is superb as Magnifico and Raul Giménez is a vocally reliable Ramiro. But, once again, it’s the Dandini who lets the side down. Rizzi mostly prefers pace over point, as Frederica von Stade takes the title-role in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s 1981 Milanese production does Riccardo Chailly in an over-drilled 1992 Bologna studio recording. Cecilia how down the years the scores of Il barbiere in 2007 and engaged the Orchestra of Bartoli’s Cenerentola is the obvious lure, di Siviglia and La Cenerentola had been the Age of Enlightenment for a revival though all she can deliver in such straitened altered and misprinted, and then by coming of the admired Peter Hall production. circumstances is an exactingly sung up with a pair of critical editions no one Unfortunately Glyndebourne’s in-house Cenerentola that comes up short where ease could afford to ignore. recording of the live stage performance and naturalness of utterance are required. The first recording of Zedda’s new lacks immediacy and focus. The 1980 In the end, we would have to wait until edition was made under Claudio Abbado’s Cologne radio recording suffers no such 2004 for a performance in which we have a direction after performances at the 1971 disadvantage, though the production itself Cenerentola, the young Joyce DiDonato, Edinburgh Festival. The cast is headed has a slightly ‘manufactured’ feel. The set’s who can blend singing of high culture by Teresa Berganza, a much sought- principal interest lies in the Cenerentola of and finish with characterisation that is after Cenerentola but a rather bland Lucia Valentini Terrani. skilled and sympathetic. Brilliantly cast by one theatrically. The cast also includes Having moved to Philips, producer conductor-cum-editor Alberto Zedda, the Luigi Alva, Renato Capecchi and Paolo Erik Smith assembled a surprisingly set boasts a superb trio of basses – Paolo Montarsolo. It’s a strong line-up. But heavyweight cast for a 1987 recording Bordogna as Dandini, Luca Pisaroni as the time had not yet arrived when conducted by Neville Marriner. It’s a Alidoro and a matchless Magnifico from singers’ techniques were entirely aligned performance that is never entirely at Bruno Praticò – along with a first-rate with the demands made by the opera’s ease vocally. Ruggiero Raimondi was a Prince, José Manuel Zapata. coloratura and opera seria elements. practised Rossinian but his Magnifico is Following his own critical edition, Zedda There are also aggravating small cuts more effective in the wine cellar than in the includes the cavaliers’ chorus at the start of in unexpected places. parlour, where his pantomime approach Act 2. The music is by Rossini’s assistant A high-quality West German Radio threatens to wreck the scene in which (self-evidently so) but it was played at the recording, made in Cologne in 1980, took Magnifico denies Cenerentola’s existence. first performance and it makes a livelier the idea of authenticity a stage further by Agnes Baltsa’s Cenerentola grows more start to the act than the usual dry recitative. deploying the period-instrument Cappella formidable the more the drama unfolds. As for this unstoppably vital 74-year-old’s Coloniensis under the direction of the I doubt whether anyone has conducted conducting, it’s a masterclass in how a young Gabriele Ferro. Period instruments more performances of La Cenerentola,ina Rossini score should be directed. would not be used again until Vladimir greater variety of productions or – more Unlike many such collaborations Jurowski switched horses at Glyndebourne worryingly – in a greater variety of ways between the Rossini in Wildbad festival

THE FESTIVE CHOICE MATCHLESS ON CD OLD-WORLD CHARM La Scala, Milan / Claudio Abbado Rossini in Wildbad / Alberto Zedda Glyndebourne Op / Vittorio Gui DG Mb◊073 4096GH Naxos Bb8 660191/2 Warner Classics BbD028846-2 Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s stage film has Superbly led by Zedda, whose knowledge There are occasional cuts and the everything this sublime dramma giocoso and love of this opera was second to none, Cenerentola is not always at ease in her role, requires: comedy, pathos and this is as near-perfect a but nowhere on record high drama, all gently overlaid performance as we have are the comic scenes with a subversive sense of yet had on record. The better played than in this pantomime. With superb young Joyce DiDonato pioneering 1953 staging, UNITEL/DG performances from the entire stars as a fraught and commissioned and led company, this is Rossini at his fragile yet ultimately by the incomparable

cornucopian best. radiant Cenerentola. Vittorio Gui. PHOTOGRAPHY:

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and South-West German Radio, the Theatre’ moved in with bizarre stagings performance was recorded, not live on framing superstar turns. What chance do stage during the festival, but in a bespoke Joyce DiDonato and her admittedly largely concert performance later in the year. The charmless Prince, Juan Diego Flórez, technical quality is first-rate. have against the sherbet-coloured sets of a production by Joan Font where the THE OPERA ON STAGE stagehands form a corps de ballet and Richly satisfying as that CD recording the extras are dressed as rodents? And is, there are times when I sense that what of Daniele Abbado’s production La Cenerentola needs to be seen as for Bari’s rebuilt Teatro Petruzzelli well as heard. It’s only then that the in 2010? It’s one thing to update the human dimension of this greatest of opera, quite another to set the action Rossini comedies fully registers. in a featureless 1970s kitchen in a Take the moment in John Cox’s deliberate attempt to eradicate all taint 1983 Glyndebourne production of the Cinderella story. when Magnifico (the unforgettable Superior by a country mile is the Claudio Desderi) shoots a glance of pure made-for-television production which malevolence at the hapless Cenerentola Paul Curran directed in Genoa in 2006. whose status he is attempting to demean. Set in Naples in 1912, at a time when the It’s a glance that generates a nervous class divisions Rossini himself would have titter in the Glyndebourne audience, known were still very much in evidence, confirming that, like much great comedy, the all-Italian cast has in its midst the La Cenerentola is funny only up to a point. Magnifico of Alfonso Antoniozzi. A That Glyndebourne production, with The first Cenerentola: Gertrude Righetti Giorgi Bruscantini pupil, Antoniozzi has about its periwigs and cardboard cut-out sets, him something of the great French comes as close as any to replicating Whatever the merits of Elı¯na Garan∂a’s comedian Jacques Tati, not least in his the spirit of Perrault’s 1698 fairy-tale Cenerentola and Lawrence Brownlee’s ability to play Magnifico’s induction as Cinderella. It’s a staging that seems Prince in a revival filmed in 2009, they Superintendent of the Prince’s cellars (a dated now, as it probably did then to are cancelled out by Cesare Lievi’s scene heavily raided by Verdi for Falstaff) Peter Hall, the incoming director of dehumanised and dehumanising staging as a legless drunk. Not everything works productions, who would end his own with its Magritte-inspired designs. as well. But with the rest of the cast doing long and distinguished association with With the work’s acceptance into the reliable work, this is the best of the updated Glyndebourne with a very different take wider operatic canon, so ‘Director’s versions of the opera on DVD. on the opera. There are other productions from that SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY period which look equally dated. Michael Hampe’s 1988 Salzburg Festival production RECORDING DATE / ARTISTS RECORD COMPANY (REVIEW DATE) (Arthaus, 3/93 – nla) is burdened by its 1953 GabarainC, OncinaR, BruscantiniD, WallaceM; Glyndebourne Op / Gui Warner BbD028846-2 (7/54R) own grandeur. The performance preserves 1971 BerganzaC, AlvaR, CapecchiD, MontarsoloM; Scala, Milan / C Abbado DG Sb477 5659GOH2 (11/72R) Ann Murray’s Cenerentola and Walter 1980 Valentini TerraniC, AraizaR, TrimarchiD, DaraM; Cappella Coloniensis / Ferro Sony Sb 19075 81128-2 (1/85R) Berry’s unexpectedly rubicund and 1981 Von StadeC, AraizaR, DesderiD, MontarsoloM; Scala, Milan / C Abbado (dir Ponnelle) entertaining Don Magnifico; and this is DG Mb◊073 4096GH (11/88R) the more urbane of Chailly’s two recorded 1983 KuhlmannC, DaleR, RinaldiD, DesderiM; LPO / Renzetti (dir Cox) Warner F◊5046 70940-2 accounts of the score. But the interest is 1987 BaltsaC, AraizaR, AlaimoD, RaimondiM; ASMF / Marriner Decca S b D 470 580-2 (11/88R) largely documentary. 1992 BartoliC, MatteuzziR, CorbelliD, DaraM; Comunale Th, Bologna / Chailly Roberto De Simone’s Bologna staging, Decca Mb436 902-2DHO2 (11/93); Mb478 3456DM2 filmed on stage in Houston in 1995, is 1994 LarmoreC, GiménezR, QuilicoD, CorbelliM; Royal Op / Rizzi Warner Classics S b D 4509 94553-2 (4/95) an all-Italian affair set in the Italian 18th 1995 BartoliC, GiménezR, CorbelliD, DaraM; Houston Op / Campanella (dir R De Simone) century with more brooding neo-Baroque Decca Bb◊071 444-9DH (8/96R, 11/01) sets, and an extravagantly painted and 2000 GanassiC, FlórezR, di CandiaD, PraticòM; Prague CO / Rizzi Rossini Opera Festival FbROF10033 (4/03) bewigged Dandini – the great Alessandro 2004 DiDonatoC, ZapataR, BordognaD, PraticòM; SWR Rad Orch / Zedda Naxos Bb 8 660191/2 Corbelli – looking for all the world like 2005 DonoseC, MironovR, AlberghiniD, Di PasqualeM; LPO / Jurowski (dir Hall) a character from one of those wonderful Opus Arte Fb◊OA0944D; FYOABD7008D (5/06) Regency episodes of Blackadder. With 2007 DonoseC, MironovR, SpagnoliD, CorbelliM; OAE / Jurowski Glyndebourne MbGFOCD018-07 (10/13) Bruno Campanella in the pit, Cecilia 2005 KasarovaC, SiragusaR, ChernovD, B De SimoneM; Munich Rad Orch / Rizzi RCA Fb 82876 86500-2 Bartoli’s delivery of the coloratura is a good 2006 GanassiC, SiragusaR, VincoD, AntoniozziM; Carlo Felice Th, Genoa / Palumbo (dir Curran) deal less manic than on the Chailly CDs. Arthaus Fb◊107 311; TDK F b ◊ DVWW-OPLACEN But her acting is too ‘knowing’: fine for 2009 GarančaC, BrownleeR, AlberghiniD, CorbelliM; Met Op, New York / Benini (dir Lievi) Rosina, less so for the emotionally stricken DG Mb◊073 4577GH2 (5/10); FY 073 5014GH Cinderella. 2009 DiDonatoC, FlórezR, MenéndezD, B De SimoneM; Liceu Th, Barcelona / Summers (dir Font) BRIDGEMAN IMAGES BRIDGEMAN After a 180-year wait, the New York Decca F◊074 3305DH; FY0743333DH Met finally condescended to stage this, in 2010 Lo MonacoC, MironovR, De CandiaD, BordognaM; Fondazione Petruzzelli, Bari / Pidò (dir D Abbado) every sense of the word, Cinderella of an Dynamic F b ◊ 33662 Key: CCenerentola RDon Ramiro DDandini MDon Magnifico PHOTOGRAPHY: opera, principally as a vehicle for Bartoli.

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Ruxandra Donose (Cenerentola) and Maxim Mironov (Ramiro) in Peter Hall’s Glyndebourne production – Richard Osborne’s top choice

HOME TRUTHS AND COMIC REVELS Television director Robin Lough also put-down of the Magnifico snobocracy Happily, there are two other accounts of uses discreetly deployed filmic devices to after his announcement that Cenerentola is the opera on DVD, both unmissable, the translate this superb production from stage to be his wife. ‘I swear she will be mine!’ he one complementary to the other. to screen. cries. And, my goodness, he means it. When the curtain goes up on Peter Hall’s Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s Rossini was With Abbado conducting with more 2005 Glyndebourne staging, we find famous for its inventiveness – the first pace and aural zing, and the orchestra ourselves in one of those high-ceilinged idea as dazzling as the 101st – and the of La Scala playing with more point and stone kitchens that are a feature of so many choreographic brilliance of his staging. relish than the gentlemen of the LSO ancient manor houses and castles. It’s a set One thinks of the wonderful conceit of the on the earlier CD set, you feel – quite that would suit equally well a play such as Prince and Dandini lost in a maze in ‘Zitto, literally – that everyone’s speaking the Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer. zitto’, or the slick timing and unabashed same language. Which is how Hall mainly plays the opera, slapstick of the great ‘revelation’ scene There’s a line in Renée de Saussine’s naturalistically, as a late 18th-century between Magnifico and Dandini. Like biography of Paganini where she talks English comedy. the great Ingmar Bergman, Ponnelle had about Rossini’s operas humming like a Seated in an ancient wing-chair that’s a genius both for editing and for getting beehive on a summer’s day. For all the as torn and grease-stained as its occupant actors to play to camera. darkness that lurks about this greatest of is Don Magnifico, Luciano Di Pasquale. Apart from Paolo Montarsolo, whose Rossini comedies, Ponnelle’s film does One of the great Magnificos, Di Pasquale Magnifico Alastair Sim might have just that. is a huge, shabby, pot-bellied ruffian of wondered at, the cast for this 1981 filmed In the final analysis, the Ponnelle a man; a kind of rural Falstaff, though recreation of a La Scala, Milan staging is an entertainment for high days and rather more sinister. Simone Alberghini is very different from that on Claudio holidays, Christmas included, the Peter might be a semitone light at the very Abbado’s earlier CD recording. As Hall a staging for all seasons. Spoiled bottom of his register but he is a fine Cenerentola, Frederica von Stade has for choice, simply check the calendar Dandini. As for the charismatic young just about everything the role requires, and take your pick. Russian Maxim Mironov, he ‘owns’ the including a well-honed vocal technique and role of the Prince as no other tenore di a stage persona that catches to perfection TOP CHOICE grazia has done in recent times. Similarly, that special mix of unaffected beauty and Glyndebourne Op / Vladimir Jurowski the technically superb Roxandra Donose inner resolve which gives Cenerentola Opus Arte Fb◊OA0944D catches Cenerentola’s innate goodness her appeal. With its period setting and naturalistic style, and strength, her beauty and serious- Claudio Desderi’s Dandini and Francisco Peter Hall’s classic 2005 staging catches the mindedness, as well as any latter-day Araiza’s Prince are both strongly played. darkness of the opera, yet performer. Jurowski’s conducting is speedy, Desderi knows exactly what to do with such is the production’s crisp and smart as a whip. Rossini’s cod-coloratura as he makes his truthfulness to character and MIKE HOBAN/GLYNDEBOURNE FESTIVAL OPERA FESTIVAL HOBAN/GLYNDEBOURNE MIKE Hall’s production has its filmic elements, ludicrously self-regarding entry along a red detail, the lights shine out all lowering the lights to ‘freeze’ those carpet lined by pink-coated, rose-bearing the more brightly when the moments when Rossini pitches his players retainers. Araiza, meanwhile, electrifies in web is finally untangled and

PHOTOGRAPHY: into a vortex of panic and private doubt. the big moments. I think of his terrifying goodness prevails.

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 145 PERFORMANCES & EVENTS Presenting live concert and opera performances from around the world and reviews of archived music-making available online to stream where you want, when you want

Vienna Konzerthaus & online at Takt 1 see that he’s playing Khatchaturian’s Violin The concert then concludes with Bernstein’s Fazil Say and Camerata Saltzburg, December 6 Concerto for one of the Concertgebouw’s Prelude, Fugue and Rif s. So, all pretty There’s nothing inherently Christmassy free live-streamed Sunday lunchtime energising stuf . Viewers of the live stream about any of the repertoire on ofer from concerts, supported by the Borusan Istanbul can tune in at 7pm for a live introduction Salzburg Camerata, but there certainly is a Philharmonic Orchestra under Sascha Goetzel from backstage. thoroughly festive feel about it. The concerto (the orchestral collaborators you can hear with lso.co.uk, youtube.com/user/lso, medici.tv sees Fazıl Say perform Beethoven’s Emperor him on his 2017 Tchaikovsky Concerto for DG). Piano Concerto, followed by Mozart’s jubilant Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite is the other work on Metropolitan Opera, New York & cinemas Posthorn Serenade in D, K320. the programme. worldwide konzerthaus.at, takt1.com concertgebouw.nl/en/live-streams La traviata, December 15 As non-Christmassy operas go, Verdi’s Orchestra Hall, Detroit & online on the Barbican & YouTube & medici.tv La traviata feels like a natural fit for the orchestra’s website Rattle conducts Folk Roots, Urban Roots, Christmas season with its sumptuous crowd Tetzlaf plays Brahms, December 7 December 13 scenes and famous tunes. Clearly that’s what Christian Tetzlaf, winner of this year’s Concerto The LSO are billing this one as Simon Rattle’s New York’s Met thought too, and Michael category in the Gramophone Awards for his most ambitious programme yet, and certainly Mayer’s richly textured new production two Bartók violin concertos, brings the Brahms it’s not looking like your average piece of certainly looks the part. Yannick Nézet-Séguin concerto to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra programming. A combination of jubilant conducts an all-star cast led by Diana Damrau for this concert under the guest baton of Eastern European folk music, swinging as the tragic heroine, Violetta, with Juan Diego Carlos Miguel Prieto. Also on the programme Latin-American rhythms and toe-tapping Flórez returning to the Met for the first time in is Beethoven’s Symphony No 5. jazz. Music ticking the first of those themes five seasons to sing the role of Alfredo. Quinn dso.org.uk opens the concert, with Bartók’s Hungarian Kelsey is Germont. Peasant Songs sung by the tenor Edgaras metopera.org/season/in-cinemas/ Concertgebouw, Amsterdam & online Montivas followed by Szymanowski’s Harnasie. Radoluvić plays Khatchaturian, December 9 Next up is Stravinsky’s jazzy Ebony Concerto Orchestra Hall, Detroit & online on the The Serbian violinist Nemanja Radoluvić is with clarinet soloist Chris Richards. Next, the orchestra’s website not an artist we tend to associate with gentle Labèque sisters enter for the tango rhythms Nikolaj Znaider and Jean-Guihen Queyras visit Sunday morning cofee concerts, he’s so very of Nazareno by Osvaldo Golijov, arranged by Detroit, December 15 larger than life. So we’re especially excited to Gonzalo Grau, for two pianos and orchestra. Nikolaj Znaider, as conductor rather than

ONLINE OPERA REVIEW A brand-new comic opera from Finland by the jazz pianist Iro Rantala to a libretto by the novelist Minna Lindgren

Rantala approached with that There is effi ciency in in mind. Ilro Rantala and Minna An ensemble cast is led Lindgren’s new opera by Johanna Rusanen and Sanatorio Express, set in a Waltteri Torikka as the profi t-driven sanatorium, struggling husband and and modelled on Italian wife (Prommers might opera buffa from score remember them as the to plot. We get a doomed brother and sister contemporary story laced in Sakari Oramo’s 2015 with satire (aimed at the Kullervo). Both are in fi ne well-being industry) that voice and Rusanen is the straightforwardly introduces consummate entertainer its stock characters; an against her ‘straight ensemble ends each act, woman’, Päivi Nisula’s everyone comes to their browbeaten Receptionist. senses at the last (the quack who runs the Italianate gabble of sung Finnish but Some of the characters’ revelations are a institution is exposed) and the residual some jokes are lost in translation. little clunky but there is plenty of charm moral message is as clear as day. The production is basic – particularly and perky precision in Kalle Kuusava’s Ilro Rantala’s revue-style score has an thrifty in the choreography department – conducting. Andrew Mellor easy swing and mixes the banal with the and has the air of an end-of-the-pier Available to view, free of charge, until momentarily inspired. It delights in the entertainment. The opera is best April 1, 2019 at operavision.eu

146 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk violinist, returns to the Detroit Symphony for a ONLINE CONCERT REVIEW Strauss and Schumann programme that has the particular draw of Jean-Guihen Queyras Gustavo Dudamel conducts two 20th-century symphonies in Berlin as soloist in Schumann’s Cello Concerto. Opening the concert is the thrilling Overture to Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus. After the cello concerto comes Schumann’s Manfred Overture, before the concert closes with Richard Strauss’s Suite from Der Rosenkavalier. dso.org

Concertgebouw, Amsterdam & online St John’s College Choir, December 16 British readers might find it funny to be directed towards hearing the Choir of St John’s College Cambridge in Amsterdam. However, unless you’re actually based in Cambridge, you can generally only enjoy this top choir in audio form, via its audio webcasts, so this free Concertgebouw stream is a perfect opportunity to actually see them too. The carols on this festival programme include William Mathias’s Ave Rex, Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on Christmas Carols, Poulenc’s Quatre pgg motets pour le temps de Noël and Gruber’s The British Board of Film Classification pace for the fi nale. Silent Night. once notoriously labelled Finding Nemo Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances concertgebouw.nl/en/live-streams as ‘containing scenes of mild peril’, from West Side Story was the dimpled a phrase which drew much derision. Dudamel’s calling card for years. He has Grieghallen, Bergen & online ‘Mild peril’, however, is as perilous as this a natural affi nity with Bernstein’s rhythms Bach Christmas Oratorio, December 17 Berlin Philharmonic Shostakovich Fifth which are most obvious here in the This live-streamed concert from Bergen Symphony gets under Gustavo Dudamel, peppy second movement of the Jeremiah presents the first three cantatas in Bach’s available to view via the Digital Concert Symphony, complete with maracas Christmas Oratorio cycle which recounts the Hall. It’s extremely secure playing – rock beaten on timpani heads. Elsewhere, he narrative from the expectation of Christ’s solid horns, powerhouse woodwinds – sustains the sombre mood of the piece birth to his infancy, and for it they’ve chosen a but little sense of danger. It’s like slickly via a big-hearted string sound. I’ve heard line-up of musicians from near and far. Home- polished marble when something more plusher mezzo voices in the Lamentation grown are the Bergen Philharmonic Chorus granitic is required. fi nal movement, but Tamara Mumford, and Orchestra and the Edvard Grieg Kor, as Dudamel handles the emotional climax despite quite a heavy vibrato, gives a well as the confirmed soprano Vigdis Unsgård, of the slow movement well, unhurried suitably emotional reading. the mezzo soprano Marianne Beate Kielland, and expansive. Other highlights include Mark Pullinger and the tenor Halvor Melien. Leading them, rasping basses to launch the Scherzo Available via various subscription packages to though, is the Baroque music specialist and with a sense of urgency and thunderous the Digital Concert Hall, from seven days (€9.90) Artistic Director of the Innsbruck Early Music timpani playing from Wieland Welzel to 12 months (€149), at digitalconcerthall.com Festival, Alessandro de Marchi. bergenphillive.no Vienna Konzerthaus & Takt1 time for these pages but the GSOplay team Philharmonie Berlin & online Orozco-Estrada conducts Beethoven’s has now put a lot of ef ort into its Video-On- Iván Fischer conducts Schubert, December 22 Symphony No 9, January 2 Demand version, and given that it’s not your This guest appearance by Iván Fischer What music could make for a more uplifting usual sort of concert it’s worth a mention: with the Berlin Philharmonic makes some start to 2019 than Beethoven’s Choral Hans Ek conducting a collaboration between clever connections. The evening’s big Symphony? It’s a fine line-up of musicians the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra orchestral work is Schubert’s Great C major too: the Vienna Symphony playing under the and neo-psychedelic Gothenburg band Symphony. Alongside that are two smaller baton of its Music Director Designate (taking Fontän, also featuring the Gothenburg orchestral pieces by Schubert’s admirer, up the reins in 2021), Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Symphony Vocal Ensemble, which celebrates Dvořák: Nos 6 and 10 from his Op 59 Legends; with soloists Regula Mühlemann, Dorottya Electronica in symphonic shape, as first and this work, originally written for four-hand Láng, Steve Davislim and Florian Boesch. pioneered by the German band, Kraftwerk, piano and later also arranged for orchestra, takt1.com/video/stream/silvester-wiener- in the 1970s, and in the electronic music was dedicated to the Viennese critic Eduard symphoniker-orozco-estrada of the 1950s. Kraftwerk pieces are indeed Hanslick, who in turn was one of the harshest on the programme, along with music critics of the composer whose orchestral The Gothenburg Concert Hall & online at by Tangerine Dream, Neu, Einstürzende songs sung by the baritone Christian Gerhaher GSOplay Neubauten, Rammstein, Can, Ash Ra Temple, inhabit the middle of the programme, Hans Ek conducts Komische Musik Karlheinz Stockhausen, Cluster, plus newly Hugo Wolf. This particular late-October Gothenburg written music. digitalconcerthall.com Symphony live stream wasn’t confirmed in gso.se/en/gsoplay/video/kosmische-musik/

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148 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 www.gramophone.co.uk HIGH FIDELITY THE TECHNOLOGY THAT MAKES THE MOST OF YOUR MUSIC

A best seller reinvented by DECEMBER TEST DISCS one of the best-known names An exciting set of solo With a sound to match the in audio, a tiny network audio piano works played by superlative performances, solution, and has online Anna Fedorova, captured the latest Barenboim set classical music streaming with superb concert-hall of Brahms symphonies is finally come of age? atmosphere by Dutch both demonstration-quality Andrew Everard, Audio Editor label Channel Classics and musically satisfying How low can you go? In an already competitive speaker market, the new Wharfedale range raises the stakes by lowering the price 2 4 nce, some years 1 3 analogue outputs allow it ago, the British to be used as a conventional loudspeaker market component, or directly into Owas dominated a power amp or active speakers. by the battle for supremacy The DCD-800NE CD player at around the £100-a-pair The front baffle is 28mm thick to also has a USB Type A input mark, with the likes of KEF, damp down resonances and add rigidity, able to play content at up to 192kHz/24 bit Mission, Mordaunt-Short and and is profiled to reduce edge reflections, and DSD 2.8/5.6MHz from memory Wharfedale – plus others fallen by the while downward-venting ports give devices, while the 85Wpc PMA-800NE wayside or dormant – constantly striving smooth, omnidirectional airflow. The amplifi er has four digital inputs with to squeeze even more performance out of D310 and larger D320 (£199/pr) have feet 192kHz/24-bit capability, a high-quality spectacularly inexpensive designs. More to provide this port with room to breathe, MM/MC phono stage for a turntable and recently, prices have risen, to the extent while the floorstanding D330 (pictured), four conventional analogue line inputs. that the entry-level Bowers & Wilkins at £499/pr, uses a plinth. There’s also Two sets of speaker outputs are provided. model, the 607 reviewed this month, a matching D300C centre speaker, at £179. A slightly larger integrated amplifier comes in at £399 a pair, and nearer £200 The new range comes in a choice of black, is the Parasound Halo Integrated 6 is about where most of the rivals start. white, walnut and rosewood finishes. (HINT 6) 3 , which sells for £3299 and Wharfedale, however, has struck Denon is also strengthening its delivers 160Wpc. It has an asynchronous a nostalgic blow with the arrival of its affordable offering with the launch of three USB input able to handle fi les at up to D300 Series, the smallest of which, the new models – a CD player, network player 384kHz/32 bit and DSD256, coaxial D310 standmount model 1 , starts at and integrated amplifier – which form its and optical digital inputs, moving coil/ just £159 per pair. Designed to run 800NE series 2 . Selling for £349 for the moving magnet phono, and fi ve line-ins alongside the company’s Diamond 11 DCD-800NE CD player, and £449 apiece plus one pair of balanced XLR inputs. Series, providing an even more affordable for the DNP-800NE network player and It provides analogue bass management, option to that long-running series, the PMA-800NE amp, the three are designed a dedicated subwoofer output and home D300 models lack the curved cabinet sides to be used together, with the remote cinema bypass, has a dedicated headphone of the Diamonds, but still have a design handset for each controlling all three. amp built in, and even has a front panel with rounded corners slightly reminiscent The company’s HEOS multiroom app input with extra gain for portable devices. of the Q Acoustics range, and combine will allow the CD player and amp to be Finally this month, i-box has launched soft dome tweeters with Kevlar-cone controlled via the network player. It allows its Century portable 4 , which features mid/bass units. the DNP-800NE to be integrated with retro radio styling to house a unit designed The tweeter is an in-house wide frequency elements of the wireless multiroom system to stream music from online services response design, as already used in the to create whole-house audio systems. including Amazon Music, Spotify, TuneIn, Diamond 11s, and combines a powerful You can even operate the system using iHeart Radio and locally stored music, ceramic magnet with a copper-capped Amazon Alexa voice control. In addition, all voice controlled by the built-in Amazon pole piece designed to control fl ux and the network player will handle locally stored Alexa capability, which also allows the user reduce distortion, the mid/bass driver using music in formats up to 192kHz/24 bit and to access services such as news and weather a similar motor system. The tweeter is DSD 2.8/5.6MHz, along with streaming information, and to control smart devices. mounted in its own isolating chamber services including Amazon Music, Deezer, The Century, which sells for £130, has within the cabinet, while the larger driver Spotify, Tidal and TuneIn radio, and it also built-in Bluetooth, and it’s also possible uses a basket with a network of ribs and an has both Bluetooth and AirPlay 2 wireless to link eight of the units to give open design to prevent early refl ections. connectivity. Dedicated fi xed and variable multiroom audio.

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 149 REVIEW PRODUCT OF THE MONTH Bowers & Wilkins 607 The smallest model in the revitalised 600 Series is a fine mixture of compatibility, value for money and performance

ocial media is a strange thing: Immediately on the day I started work on noticeable is that this review of one of the newest Bowers & Wilkins SBowers & Wilkins models, my has moved away from Facebook feed showed me a memory from the somewhat dated the same date in 2015, when I was touring idea of ‘fake wood’ – the company’s Worthing factory at the in other words a launch of the 800 Series Diamond speakers. woodgrain-effect vinyl or foil wrap on the BOWERS & WILKINS 607 So in three years it has relaunched all speaker cabinets. What there is instead is three of its main speaker ranges – first still a vinyl wrap, but now available in either Type Two-way standmount/bookshelf speaker the 800s, then the return of the 700s, and matt black or satin white and continued Price £399/pr now the entry-level 600 line-up, which over the entire speaker, combining with Drive units 25mm Decoupled Double Dome has re-emerged re-engineered and with the invisible magnet grille fixings to give a aluminium tweeter, 13cm Continuum cone a slimmed-down offering to give buyers much more contemporary look. The three mid/bass with Flowport reflex port a less confusing choice. subwoofers previously offered as part of the Sensitivity 84dB/w/m Just three models, plus a centre speaker, last 600 Series have been carried over, but Impedance 8 ohms nominal, make up the new 600 Series, which is 4 ohms minimum actually the sixth generation of this popular Closeyoureyesand Frequency response 52Hz – 28kHz +/−3dB range, first launched in 1995. In fact, only you might think you Recommended amp power 30-100W into the 800 Series has been on the Bowers & 8 ohms Wilkins books for longer, although that too were listening to much Finishes Matt black (with black grilles) or has been much revised over the years. But larger speakers satin white (with grey grilles) the 600 range has long been the company’s Dimensions (WxHxD) 16.5x30.0x20.7cm best seller, not to mention scooping up are available in the new finishes at £399 for bowers-wilkins.co.uk more than its share of plaudits and awards the ASW608, £499 for the ASW610 and over the years. £799 for the ASW610XP. It’s not hard to see why, given the value As with the 700 Series launched last year, mainstream models of what was one of for money the speakers offer – and with which inherited much of the technology their signature – and extensively copied – the improvements and sensible engineering developed for the 800 Series Diamond features, the yellow Kevlar weave drivers. decisions involved in the new models, it’s range, so the new 600 models have While Kevlar still has its appeal, due to not hard to imagine that ‘new 600’ could benefited from this same ‘trickle down’ its lightness and rigidity – and I’ve even be an even greater bargain. The speaker effect. Apart from the cleaner lines, perhaps seen really cheap speakers with paper we have here is the baby of the range, the most noticeable aspect of the design cones printed with a yellow mesh effect selling for £399 per pair, while next up is of the 600s is the use of the Continuum to suggest those qualities! – the new a larger standmount/bookshelf model, the Cone driver for mid/bass duties in the Continuum Cone, which is an in-house £549/pr 606, the range topping out with standmount models, and as a dedicated Bowers & Wilkins development, offers the 603 floorstanding model, at £1249/pr. midrange driver in the 603. That signals even smoother, more precise motion in The HTM6 centre speaker is £399. the disappearance from the company’s response to an incoming signal. And for

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150 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk HIGH FIDELITY

SUGGESTED PIONEER A-40AE PIONEER N-50AE PARTNERS The Pioneer Pioneer’s N-50AE A-40AE amp is a highly The little 607s are capable has more accomplished of superb bass and detail than a snif network music for their size: make the of its illustrious A-400 forbear, and delivers player with wide-ranging capability both in terms of file most of them with … a fast, involving sound formats and the services it supports now the company is still keeping the details through to a heavyweight NAD Masters Or you could try… of the driver close to its chest, to the extent M32, and while the latter is probably that the cones are made in the Worthing overkill, it did show just what the little As has long been the case, the bookshelf/ factory, and then shipped to the Bowers & 607s could do. However, even with more standmount speaker market is hardly Wilkins plant in China where the 600 modest amplifi cation, and despite modest underpopulated – hardly a surprise, as Series models are made. ‘on paper’ sensitivity of 84dB/W/m, the these designs are popular with everyone In the 607 here the woofer is a 13cm speakers show they’re rather special, with from students building first systems to unit, while the larger 606 gets a 16.5cm good bass extension and resolution for their those looking for high-quality sound for driver. The 603 gets a 15cm version for size allied to excellent focus and imaging: in small spaces. the midrange, this one also using the fact, the way these little boxes conjure up a company’s ‘surroundless’ FST design, the sense of an orchestra before the listener Q Acoustics Q 3010i speakers supported by a pair of 16.5cm bass drivers. is really quite excellent. You could start your search as low All three models use the company’s ‘golf They may not defy the size of the as £199 a pair for the curvaceous ball dimpled’ Flowports for bass tuning, listening room by seeming to push out the Q Acoustics Q 3010i speakers, but and in the two standmount models this walls as could some bigger speakers, but the the pick of the range is probably has been relocated to the rear of the way they image the musical performances the slightly larger Q 3020i model, enclosure, both enhancing the clean before you, as well as creating a soundstage at £249/pr: it will deliver more bass looks and allowing the 607 to be a little image seemingly stretching back beyond and an overall bigger sound, but still with more compact than the model it replaces. the plane of the speakers, is extremely the same refinement and clarity. For more The port assembly also incorporates the impressive. With a little toe-in towards information, see qacoustics.co.uk terminals for the speaker cables, which are the listening position the image can be inset into the cabinet for greater integrity ‘focused’ and, with that done, the sound Monitor Audio Bronze 2 (and easier wall-mounting of the 607). is strikingly three-dimensional. At £279/pr, the Monitor Audio All three 600 models share a version of Whether with the ‘spotlit’ effect of Bronze 2 is the latest version the company’s 25mm Decoupled Double solo/accompanied instrumental or vocal of a long-running success Dome tweeter, again derived from the recordings, or the complexities of everything story, using the company’s 800 Series via the 700 Series: this uses an from chamber to orchestral sets, the 607s famous anodised metal/ceramic ultra-light dome strengthened with a ring defy expectations simply by sounding drivers for plenty of excitement around its edge for greater rigidity. In the entirely enjoyable. For listeners in small to without sacrificing clarity. Find out more at fl agship model this is made from a diamond medium-sized rooms, who don’t feel the monitoraudio.com material; in the 700s it’s carbon; and here need to wind up the volume to ‘physical it’s aluminium, with an improved heat- impact’ levels – the kind at which you feel KEF LS50 dissipation system for improved power- your sofa, or your chest, resonating with the The striking looks of the KEF handling and consistency. bass – they will be way beyond adequate. LS50 speakers make a virtue With Katia & Marielle Labèque’s of the company’s famous PERFORMANCE ‘Amoria’ set, the 607s do a lovely job UniQ technology; what looks The 607 has been designed as a true of capturing the percussive sound of the like a single driver is actually bookshelf design – in which that fortepianos, what little they lack in absolute a tweeter in the centre diminished stature is handy – as well as weight more than covered by the overall of a mid/bass unit, giving these unusual a standmounter. It’s just 30cm tall, and warmth of their sound, but still with fi ne £799/pr models impressive imaging and can be used with the company’s dedicated openness and space in the midband and resolution – plus some striking colourways! STAV24 stands, which sell for £99/pr: treble to convey the recorded acoustic. Details at kef.com I tried it on both shelves and my elderly They’re also persuasive with all the scale (and very heavy) Atacama SE24 stands to of the Barenboim Staatskapelle Berlin Bowers & Wilkins 705 S2 good effect, and was consistently surprised Brahms symphonies, again doing that great Finally, if you fancy serious by the weight and dynamics available from job of covering their tracks while making luxury but want to keep your a speaker so small. As usual with Bowers & the fourth movement of the First sound speakers small, look no further Wilkins speakers, two-part bungs are majestic and powerful. than the £1799/pr Bowers & supplied to tame the bass if it booms with Close your eyes and you might think Wilkins 705 S2, which the speakers close to a wall, but even with you were listening to much larger speakers, combines the Continuum cone them 20cm or so out there was no need: and ones of very high quality, too: that mid/bass driver with a solid body ‘tweeter- the bass remains tight and tuneful even the smallest 600s can do that not only on-top’ design derived from the 800 Series with large-scale orchestral music. bodes well for the rest of the series, Diamond range, for an ultra-precise sound. I tried a variety of amplifi ers, from the but also makes them something of a Details again at bowers-wilkins.co.uk relatively inexpensive Pioneer A-40AE conspicuous bargain. gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 151 HIGH FIDELITY REVIEW PRO-JECT STREAM BOX S2 ULTRA Small but mighty Tiny, simple-looking yet fiendishly capable, and at an af ordable price, the Austrian-based company’s streaming ‘transport’ is an intriguing buy

ne of the things we have learned There are three USB inputs on the from the growing influence of Stream Box S2 Ultra: two USB-As for ‘computer music’ is everything memory devices, and a MicroUSB for Owe thought we knew is probably connection to a computer, as used by other wrong. These days music can be accessed manufacturers’ compact DACs. Except the using a touchscreen, an entire library can Pro-Ject isn’t a DAC, having no digital- be at our fingertips, and we don’t even have to-analogue conversion built-in: instead PRO-JECT STREAM BOX S2 ULTRA to build up a collection if we don’t want it’s a network bridge/digital transport, to Type Network Bridge to – instead we can stream all our listening which you’ll need to connect a DAC via Price £599 from an online service for a monthly fee. the USB output provided. Subject to the Inputs USB-A x 2, asynchronous MicroUSB, The other discovery is that, when DAC in use, the Stream Box S2 Ultra will Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay your music is coming from a computer also handle a wide range of fi le formats, all Streaming services Spotify, Tidal source, you don’t need to conform to the way up to 384kHz/24bit and DSD256, Outputs USB-A to DAC, HDMI for the standard size of hi-fi components: and can be set to upsample fi les to external display the circuitry involved is very small, 768kHz/32bit before output. Formats handled PCM to 384kHz/24bit, especially with the large-scale integration The Stream Box S2 Ultra offers a DSD to DSD256/11.2MHz of functions onto chips, and so products USB output that’s electrically cleaned Control via Pro-Ject Play/Volumio apps on can shrink down beyond the 43cm wide to remove noise and tidy up clocking, or iOS/Android, or web browser norm. We’ve seen that in the use of ‘detoxed’ as the company describes it, and Dimensions (WxHxD) 10.5x3.7x10.5cm devices such as the Raspberry Pi and Asus as a side effect can also be used between project-audio.com Tinkerbox DIY computers as digital music a computer and a DAC to clean up a UK distributor henleyaudio.co.uk sources, and now Pro-Ject has taken that USB connection. In addition to that and thinking to create a more user-friendly its network streaming ability, it will also solution, requiring none of the set-up and support internet radio, Spotify and Tidal, the most common audio-influencing tweaking involved in building your own can be combined with other units to create components – a DAC and analogue audio computer. a multiroom system, and is able to work as outputs. What can be said is that, in its The Pro-Ject Stream Box S2 Ultra has a Roon endpoint. ‘sidebar’ mode as a USB ‘detoxer’, it does a model designation that’s almost larger There’s no display on the Pro-Ject, so give a sound that’s just a little crisper and than the unit itself, but then this streaming it’s operated using a web interface on a clearer when compared with a worst case device is just 10.5cm wide and deep, and computer or portable device connected computer – a laptop running on its power stands a little under 4cm tall. If it was any to the same network, or via the Pro-Ject supply – connected straight into a DAC. smaller, the manufacturer might have Play app, apparently available for iOS and Whether it’s the removal of electrical noise struggled to fit in all the connectivity on Android – I say ‘apparently’ as, at the time on the digital line or the reclocking going offer, for the tiny box can play network- of writing, I was unable to fi nd the app in on, the sound has just a shade more bite to stored and online-streamed music via the iOS app store, so used the Android it, and yet is also easier to enjoy. Wi-Fi and Ethernet, has built-in Bluetooth version. However, the Pro-Ject can also be With the little box set-up and Spotify and for wireless music streaming from portable ‘driven’ using the Volumio iOS app, which Tidal accounts logged in via the control devices, plus Shairport-enabled AirPlay, is unsurprisingly identical save for the lack interface, the Pro-Ject is exceptionally and also has a range of USB ports to allow of Pro-Ject branding. simple to use. I tried it with DACs including it to accept audio from computers and Power for the Stream Box S2 Ultra is the DragonFly Black and Meridian memory devices. from an offboard plug-top supply, and Explorer2, as well as into digital inputs on The Stream Box S2 Ultra costs £599 the physical controls here are as simple a variety of amplifiers, and in each case it and is the result of a joint development as you can get: a front panel pushbutton proved an efficient way of accessing both between the company and celebrated for power/standby, with a blue/red LED network and online audio sources, and digital audio designer John Westlake. indicator, and another to switch between sounded extremely good indeed. Yes, it’s based around a Raspberry Pi normal use and ‘bypass’ operation as a USB With the unit being Raspberry Pi motherboard, but this is the latest ‘3’ cleaner for an external computer. This last based, you could actually load it with your iteration in its latest ‘industrialised’ form, function is duplicated on the control app operating system of choice if you were which you can also find lurking in several and web interface, which also allows the confident enough, although this isn’t other audio products these days. It also uses set-up of the little box, control of network something I’d suggest unless you know the open-source Volumio audiophile music connections, fi rmware updates and the like. what you’re doing. After all, the Pro-ject is player at its heart, but beyond that has flexible enough as it is, with the potential for been optimised with particular attention PERFORMANCE the company to add more functionality and paid to sound-critical areas such as power As with all ‘network’ bridge’ devices, it’s improvements via future firmware updates; supplies and isolation of the connections, hard to comment on the sound of the add that to the price and the tiny size, and blocking noise. Pro-Ject, simply because it doesn’t have this is a highly appealing little unit.

152 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk HIGH FIDELITY ESSAY A year of change – or was it? Some will have you believe that the whole world of music listening has tilted on its axis with the rise of streaming, but the hi-fi industry continues to support choice 123 5 4

s is usual at this time of Kern ACRO L1000 desktop speakers’ system can year, I’ve been looking amplifier I reviewed in the act as a server for other back over another year of audio May issue 1 – just one of a growing Naim units around the house. Areviewing in these pages, and number of DAC/amplifiers designed for Two more standouts in this arena in recalling some of the highlights and personal listening: another is the superb, 2018 came in the form of the heavyweight trends of the past 12 months. And the and very high-flying iFi Audio Pro iDSD Pioneer PD-70AE reviewed in September, same questions still keep being asked, not featured in the October issue, which is which is a superb CD/SACD/network least whether the rise of streaming services truly state of the art and offers more than machine harking back to the company’s means the end of hi-fi as we know it, or almost any music enthusiast could ever ‘battleship’ CD players of old, and the how the audio industry can lure buyers want or need. Marantz ND8006 4 , offering broadly back to owning high-quality systems on But I have to say I was even more similar capability. The latter company which to enjoy their music – yes, that amused by the little Shanling m0 player describes its player, which featured in question’s still going around, and still 2 I encountered during the summer, June, as ‘The Complete Digital Music doesn’t seem to have found a solution. and which was reviewed in the Awards Source Player’, and while admittedly As if I could put these questions aside, issue. This truly tiny player, not much it lacks the SACD capability of its I’m reminded of them every time I visit larger than one of Apple’s watches, Pioneer rival, it’s not much more than a friend who has two teenage children, plays music all the way up to multi- half the price, and lives up to its billing and see – or rather hear, from somewhere DSD formats, has a simple touchscreen with a very broad range of capabilities, upstairs! – how they are listening to their interface, has done a decent job of driving thanks to technology trickled down music. Their phones are the heart of all the headphones with which I’ve tried from the breathtaking Marantz SA-10 their listening experience, connected to a it – and will leave you change from £100. fl agship player. speaker using Bluetooth, with occasional It even fits into the little case containing Talking of trickling down, much of forays into the free music on offer via Alexa my Snugs in-ear headphones, meaning it’s the design of the range-topping Bowers and streaming services. Pay for music? always in my carry-on bag when I travel & Wilkins 800 Series Diamond speakers Don’t think so. these days. has now found its way through to the Against that backdrop, where music latest generation of the entry-level has no price and thus no value, you’d The big hi-fi names continue 600 Series, and the little 607 speakers, think the answer to the ‘how to win them to find ways to help those reviewed on page 150, bode well over’ question would be a simple one: for the rest of this range, even if the provide better, or at least louder, hi-fi wanting to embrace slimmed down line-up does show some systems through which music could be streaming services rationalisation is going on in catalogues Bluetoothed – and yes, it is a verb, I’m once bristling with a huge number of told. But it’s not quite that simple, given Of course, the big hi-fi names variations on any particular theme. that two of my acquaintances seem quite continue to find ways to help those And of course I greatly enjoyed the Iota happy to listen on the speakers in their wanting to embrace the new world Xplorer speakers from British company phones, or using pocketable Bluetooth of online streaming services without Neat 5 , which has taken its tiny Iota speaker solutions. abandoning their existing disc collections: desktop speakers and gradually upscaled That’s not to say that hi-fi companies it can be done by adding a dedicated them to some very impressive fl oorstanding aren’t trying hard, as we’ve seen in the network player to your system, but a designs. Yes, they look very unusual with rise of products and systems designed range of players, including the Arcam their mid and treble drivers mounted in to take this generation beyond that CDS50 I reviewed in the October issue, a sloping baffl e atop a column containing simple way of listening. Right back at the combine disc playback with streaming the main bass drivers, but they deserve to beginning of 2018 I tried out the excellent capability in one unit, thus keeping the be heard. Onkyo DP-S1, a dedicated pocket music box-count down. Similarly the Naim And fi nally, one sad note this year player no larger than a mobile phone, UnitiStar 3 , reviewed in May, brings was the passing of the Technics Tracks and yet capable of a very high standard of together streaming and discs thanks to a music download store, launched by the playback, all the way up into ultra-high- built-in CD drive, which can either play company when it returned to the hi-fi fray resolution fi le formats. That was very discs or rip them to attached storage, a few years back. The reason? It’s that impressive, as was the excellent Astell & at which point this all-in-one ‘just add streaming thing again … gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 153 Classified

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about 50 years, and I saw him conduct prestoclassical.co.uk is a website that speaks your language, ‘underpinned by an evident love of music and the world at the Royal Festival Hall in the late of recordings’ (Gramophone). No other site selling classical CDs and DVDs is arranged in such a logical and accessible format, where you can easily find lists of composers’ works, compare different options, view recommendations and 1960s. While I appreciate the many read reviews. We believe you will find it one of the most user-friendly classical music sites on the internet. The Letter of qualities of Szell as a conductor, I have the Month receives £50 of Presto Classical gift vouchers. Gramophone reserves the right to edit letters for publication always had my reservations. For me, at least, his recordings lack a certain was perceptive: ‘Of course, it takes a very On this album, and in particular in the degree of warmth and humanity. Otto good conductor to make an orchestra play Third Brandenburg Concerto, the rhythmic Klemperer, who, famously, was capable that well, but it takes an even better one impulses of Bach’s dance were laid out of biting sarcasm in relation to his fellow to make them want to play that well.’ for a plethora of electronically contrived conductors, referred to Szell as a ‘very Keith Pearce voices, great fun and with the sonic palette good machine’. Richard Osborne notes Penzance, Cornwall running the full gamut of styles from that some musicians were in fear of Szell fi ligree to bombast and back again. To a (as they were of Fritz Reiner) and it may Bach on the Moog teenager engaging with the synthesized be that element in his disposition and In his excellent review of Bach prog rock of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, character that comes through to me as performance practice (October, page 14), this was a step up from that group’s a defi ciency of warmth. Pierre Boulez Nicholas Kenyon touches momentarily cod-classics and an entry into the higher was a great admirer of the scale of Szell’s on Bach entering ‘the mainstream’ by echelons of art. technical achievements at Cleveland, and way of the Moog synthesiser. He must Barry Borman, via email once remarked to Pierre Monteux that on here be referring to the painstakingly that basis alone Szell should be regarded crafted note-for-note realisations of Editorial note as a very fi ne conductor. Monteux’s reply Walter Carlos in ‘Switched-On Bach’. The photograph of the organ on which

156 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk NOTES & LETTERS Helmut Walcha recorded his Bach organ Jacobskirche in Lübeck, but the Schnitger NEXT MONTH works for DG Archiv (October, page 17) instrument (restored by Jürgen Ahrend) in is not, as captioned, the instrument in the Hamburg’s Sankt Jacobi. JANUARY 2019 OBITUARIES A long-serving Gramophone reviewer and a multi-talented musician

IVAN MARCH It was in 1973 that Ivan started writing Gramophone reviewer for Gramophone’s sister magazine Cassettes Born April 5, 1928 and Cartridges, before, when that ceased Died November 1, 2018 publication in 1977, writing a column Ivan March, in Gramophone itself called ‘Cassette who reviewed for Commentary’. This in turn evolved into Gramophone for four ‘Collectors’ Corner’, with a particular decades, has died focus on reissues of older recordings. aged 90. Readers – Over the following decades Ivan both of Gramophone contributed an extraordinary number of and of the long- reviews for Gramophone’s pages, spanning running Penguin a considerable breadth of repertoire. Guides – will remember IM (as he Throughout them all, however, a constant appeared in our pages) as a generous- thread remained his astute reflection spirited and expertly informed critic on a release’s sound quality. In this, as whose advocacy of releases was born of a in so much else in his life, Ivan was a life-long passion for music and recording. much-liked figure dedicated to exploring, In a profile in our pages in 1995, Ivan celebrating and sharing with as many credited being taken to see Walt Disney’s people as possible the glorious art The leading Fantasia, aged 13, as a life-changing of recording. moment. Beethoven and Tchaikovsky young pianists soon became a passion: Ivan recalled that MURRAY KHOURI Today’s generation of young such was the low esteem that the latter Clarinettist and founder of Continuum pianists boasts some composer was held in by 1940s’ tastes that Born April 8, 1941 he was frequently assured he would ‘grow Died October 27, 2018 extraordinarily gifted musicians – out of it’ – he thankfully never did. He The New Zealand- we discuss what unites them in soon became a record collector. born Murray Khouri terms of style and approach, and Around this time Ivan wrote to Sir had a dual career in Adrian Boult asking his advice about how classical music: as a where their influences lie to become a conductor – Boult’s reply clarinettist, with an was to ‘take up an orchestral instrument, interest in new music, alongside the piano and get into a college and as the founder of Beethoven’s of music’. Ivan chose the French horn. Continuum, a label ‘Waldstein’ Sonata National Service was spent playing in that won a Gramophone Historic Award the RAF Central Band. He received in 1991 for the restortaion of a recording Next month’s Collection explores a scholarship to London’s Guildhall from May 1935 of Alban Berg’s Violin one of the pillars of middle- School of Music, which was transferred Concerto played by Louis Krasner with period Beethoven, and to the Royal Manchester College of Anton Webern conducting the BBC SO. Music when his band was transferred to After study at the RCM with Bernard recommends the best recordings north-west England. He later toured with Walton, Khouri played in many of the of this great piano sonata the D’Oyly Carte and Carl Rosa Opera UK’s leading ensembles, including the orchestras and spent a year with the D’Oyly Carte company, Royal Ballet BBC Scottish Orchestra. Orchestra and (after a brief return to New Kirill Karabits In 1954 Ivan founded the Long Playing Zealand) the BBC SO, Philharmonia and The conductor is marking 10 Record Library, and in the 1960s became RPO. In 1975 he emigrated to Australia years at the Bournemouth a consultant when public libraries started where he was involved in the formation to set up their own loan collections of the Australian Contemporary Music Symphony Orchestra: we talk of LPs. This knowledge and advice Ensemble and the Australia Ensemble. about his projects and plans soon found its way into print, when he He founded Continuum in the late launched The Stereo Record Guide, written 1980s and issued many notable recordings with Edward Greenfield and Denis Stevens including a set of Bax’s music for clarinet COURTESY OF THE RUTH GIPPS COLLECTION, BRIDGEMAN IMAGES, PATRICK ALLEN/OPERAOMNIA.CO.UK (who was succeeded by Robert Layton). with John McCabe at the piano. He This was followed in the 1970s by The also produced many recordings of light Penguin Stereo Record Guide, which became music, planned with his friend Ernest ON SALE JANUARY 2

PHOTOGRAPHY: The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs. Tomlinson, for Marco Polo (later Naxos). DON’T MISS IT!

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 157 NEW RELEASES INDEX The latest releases on CD, SACD, DVD, Blu-ray and download

Key: F Full price £10 and over M Medium price £7.76 – £9·99 B Budget price £6.25 – £7·75 S Super-budget price up to £6·24 3 Reissue 1 Historic Í SACD ◊ DVD Y Blu-ray 6 LP

BIS bis.se CYBELE cybele.de CD&SACD Bach, JS. Pärt Fratres. Van Rijen/Camerata RCO. FÍBIS2316 Blarr Jesus-Passion (pp2018). Sols/Chors/Wiesbaden Bach Dusapin Concertante Wks. Hodges/Widmann, C/Petrinsky/Pays Orch/Endebrock. McÍCYBELE3SACDKIG010 ACCENTUS de la Loire Nat Orch/Rophé. FÍBIS2262 CYPRES cypres-records.com Mozart Stg Qnts. Klenke Qt/Schoneweg. McACC80467 Schubert Arrs for Vn & Gtr. Migdal/Kellermann. FÍBIS2375 Dessy Requiems. Estonian Philh Chbr Ch/Joost. F CYP4652 ALIA VOX alia-vox.com Various Cpsrs Mantra – Wks for Sinfonietta. Aalberg/Trondheim Marechal Âme du voyager. OST. F CYP0611 Various Cpsrs Terpsichore. Concert des Nations/Savall. Sinfonietta/Myrann. FÍBIS2340 Various Cpsrs Ear of Theodoor Van Loon, il primo Caravaggisto FÍAVSA9929 Various Cpsrs Spring Will Come. Helsinki Chbr Ch/ fiammingo. Huelgas Ens/Van Nevel. F CYP1679 Schweckendiek. F BIS2442 ALPHA outhere-music.com/alpha DACAPO dacapo-records.dk Beethoven Pf Conc No 4. Sym No 4. Wallisch/Vienna Academy BRILLIANT CLASSICS brilliantclassics.com Olsen Planets. Various artists. F 8 226128 Bach family Cpte Org Wks. Molardi/Scandali/Turri. Orch/Haselböck. F ALPHA478 DB PRODUCTIONS db-productions.se S (24 discs) 95803 Dussek Concs for Two Pfs. Lubimov/Pashchenko/Finnish Mendelssohn SymNo5.Västerås Sinfonietta/Crawford-Phillips. M Baroque Orch. F ALPHA416 Baermann,H&CCl Sons. Zingales/Podgoreanu. 95785 F DBCD187 Bazzini Cpte Op Transcrs. Caraman/Trebeschi. Se Grare Des pas sous la neige – Perc Wks. Grare. F ALPHA436 95674 Various Cpsrs Melancholy Dreams. Falk, M & I/Gross/Karlberg. Purcell King Arthur. Vox Luminis/Meunier. FbALPHA430 Boismortier Wks for Fl, Va da gamba & Basso continuo. Umbra F DBCD186 Various Cpsrs Cpte Alpha Recs. Café Zimmermann. Lucis Ens/Bagliano. M 95754 DELOS delosmusic.com Sp3ALPHA434 Cimarosa Impresario in angustie. Sols/Orch Bruno Maderna, Brahms Hungarian Dances. Höpcker/Bidini. F DE3558 Forlì/Salvagno. M 95746 ALTO altocd.com Various Cpsrs A te, o cara – Bel canto Arias. Costello/Kaunas Colombano Psalms for Six Voices. Cappella Musicale of Vercelli Elgar Sym No 1. In the South (r1991). ASMF/Marriner. F M City SO/Orbelian. DE3541 S3ALC1385 Cath/Silano. 95839 Sb DELPHIAN delphianrecords.co.uk Mahler SymsNos4&9(r1961). Columbia SO/Chicago SO/ Debussy Mélodies. Windsor/Ballista. 95741 M Holloway Lovers’ Well. Sols/Rushton/Vann. F DCD34216 Walter/Reiner. Sb3ALC1604 Dussek Cpte Pf Sons, Vol 4. Hakkila. 95604 M DEUX-ELLES deux-elles.co.uk Rodrigo Gtr Concs. Yepes/Spanish Nat Orch/Argenta/Frühbeck Hindemith Four Solo Va Sons. Ranieri. 95413 F de Burgos. S3ALC1379 Loevendie Wks with Rec. Bosgraaf/Holland Baroque. M 95906 Beethoven Pf Sons, Vol 7. Roscoe. DXL1167 F Sibelius Pf Wks (r1992-94). Servadei. S3ALC1378 Khachaturian,A&KWks for Vn & Pf. Kosemyan/Mnatsakanyan. Brahms Vc Sons. Pf Pieces, Op 76. Wadsworth/Yang. DXL1181 F Various Cpsrs Baroque Christmas (r1996). Ex Cathedra/ 95357 DIVOX divox.com Skidmore. S3ALC1377 Menotti Medium. Telephone. Sols/Orch Italiana Philh/Scogna. Haydn Stg Qts, Op 50. Amati Qt. BbCDX21801 Sb95361 Various Cpsrs Czech Pf Anthology (r1992-94). Kvapil. DOREMI doremi.com Sd3ALC4005 CENTAUR centaurrecords.com Paganini Solo Vn Caprices (r c1973). Erlih. MbDHR8071/2 Boismortier Sonatas, Cantatas & Suites. Arcanum Ens/Boutte. Various Cpsrs Encores. Oistrakh. S3ALC1357 DRAMA MUSICA drama-musica.com F Various Cpsrs Gtr Fantasia. Segovia. S3ALC1395 CRC3548 Giuliani. Sor Ombre amene – Wks for Sop & Gtr. Di Laccio/ F Various Cpsrs Movie Magic (r1987). LSO/Stanley Black Orch/ Krein. Weinberg Pf Wks. Seifetdinova. CRC3595 Akers. F DRAMA002 F Black. S3ALN1969 Mozart SonsforFl&Pf.Talmi, E & Y/Lev. CRC3579 Handel. Vivaldi Bravura – Arias. Di Laccio/Musica Antiqua Clio/ AMBRONAY ambronay.org CHALLENGE CLASSICS challenge.nl Cordella. F DRAMA001 Various Cpsrs Seasons. Prisma. F AMY311 Dohnányi Pf Wks. Toth. F CC72775 Various Cpsrs Afluências: Brazilian Wks for Vn & Vc. Bujes/Huff. APR aprrecordings.co.uk Schubert Syms Nos 2 & 4. The Hague Residentie Orch/ F DRAMA003 FÍ Debussy. Fauré. Ravel Pf Wks (r1938-30). Gaillard, M-F/Guilbert. de Vriend. CC72739 Various Cpsrs Donne e la chitarra: Gtr Wks by 19th-Century Bb1APR6025 CHANNEL CLASSICS channelclassics.com Women Cpsrs. Akers. F DRAMA004 F Various Cpsrs Homage: Women Cpsrs from Italy & Brazil. ARCANA outhere-music.com/en/labels/arcana Elgar. Finzi Vn Concs. Feng/RLPO/Prieto. CCS40218 Georgiadis/Sensale. F DRAMA005 Stradella Doriclea. Pomo d’Oro/De Carlo. FcA454 Vivaldi Four Seasons. Podger/Brecon Baroque. F63CCSLP6918 DYNAMIC dynamic.it ARCO DIVA arcodiva.cz/en/ Moretti Solo Gtr Wks. Fantoni. F CDS7828 Various Cpsrs Hpd Wks. Hroch. F UP0207 CLAUDIO claudiorecords.com Berezovsky, M Ukrainian Sacred Wks, Vol 1. Vidrodzhennya Verdi Lombardi (pp2018). Sols/Regio Th, Turin/Mariotti. ARTE VERUM arteverum.com Chbr Ch/Yurchenko. F CB4730-2 FbCDS7826 Various Cpsrs Road to Freedom. Hendricks/Blues Band. Various Cpsrs Artemisia Gentileschi & the Music of her Time. F CLUB INÉGALES www ARV015 Frigato/Accademia d’Arcadia/Rossi Lürig. F CDS7829 Various Cpsrs Van Diemen’s Land. Lee/Notes Inégales/Wiegold. ARTHAUS MUSIK F CI003 ETCETERA etcetera-records.com Strasnoy Luther – An Oratorio. Sols/Halle Staatskapelle/ Mozart Basset Cl Conc. Concert Arias. Dutilleul/Terra Nova F CONTINUO CLASSICS continuoclassics.vpweb.fr Wendeberg. 109 349 Collective/Weverbergh. F KTC1627 Brahms CpteWksforPfTrio.Mourja/Groben/Laul. ATMA CLASSIQUE atmaclassique.com MbCC777 728/9 FUGA LIBERA outhere-music.com/fugalibera Lorenzani Nicandro e Fileno. Nouvel Opéra/Boréades/Colpron. Various Cpsrs Concert d’amour – Baroque Concs & Sons. Constant Impressions de Pelléas Debussy Wks for Two Pfs. F ACD2 2770 Foulon/Nouhaud, J-P & M/Waters. F CC777 811 Binon/Saelens. FbFUG610 Offenbach. Poulenc. Ravel Gaîté Parisienne – Orch Wks. Piazzolla. Sabatier Piaf – Piazzolla. Sabatier/Terpsycordes Qt. CPO jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/home Quebec SO/Gabel. F ACD2 2757 F FUG609 Bach, JS Kunst der Fuge. Berlin Sax Qt. AUDITE audite.de Fb63CPO555 162-1 GRAMOLA gramola.at Bartók. Prokofiev. Ysaÿe Solo Vn Wks. Pietsch. Bargiel Cpte Stg Qts. Stg Octet. Orpheus Qt/Sato/Horie/Adler/ Eröd Stg Qts. Accord Qt. F 99157 F AUDITE97 758 Freitag. FbCPO555 095-2 Schubert Syms Nos 1 & 8. KlangKollectiv Wien/Ballot. Schumann Cpte Sym Wks. Sols/WDR SO, Cologne/Holliger. Graupner Solo & Dialogue Cantatas. Werneburg/Wörner/ FÍ99180 Bd3AUSITE21 450 Kirchheim Bach Consort/Lutz. FbCPO555 215-2 HARMONIA MUNDI harmoniamundi.com AURORA aurorarecordingcompany.com Herzogenberg Columbus. Sols/Graz PO/Kaftan. Debussy Études. Muraro. F HMM90 5304 Habbestad. Kruse. Samkopf Akrostikon. Vox Clamantis/ FbCPO555 178-2 Debussy Préludes, Book 1. Perianes. F HMM90 2301 F Norwegian Rad Orch/Birkela. ACD5091 Papandopulo Concs. Songs. Kofler/Halubek/Turk/ Various Cpsrs Bal des animaux. Karthäuser. F HMM90 2260 AVIE avie-records.com SW German CO, Pforzheim/Handschuh. F CPO777 941-2 HORTUS editionshortus.com Various Cpsrs Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain. Apollo’s Fire/ Ries Stg Qts, Vol 3. Schuppanzigh Qt. F CPO777 305-2 Various Cpsrs Musicians & the Great War, Vol 18. Duo Contraste. F Sorrell. AV2396 Telemann Moral Cantatas. Schachtner/Hamburg Ratsmusik/ F HORTUS718 BERLIN CLASSICS edel.com Eckert. F CPO555 141-2 Various Cpsrs Musicians & the Great War, Vol 17. Ens Calliopée/ Brahms Pf Pieces, Opp 10, 76 & 117. Müller. F 0301155BC Various Cpsrs Mandolin & Fortepiano. Torge/Hambitzer. Lethiec. F HORTUS717 Helbig Tres Momentos. Helbig. F60301134NM F CPO555 112-2 Various Cpsrs Musicians & the Great War, Vol 16. Masset/ Marhulets Lilith’s Lullabies. Marhulets. F 0301145NM CRYSTAL RECORDS crystalrecords.com Le Bozec. F HORTUS716 Rachmaninov Preludes. Huangci. F 0301075BC Various Cpsrs Brass Roots – Wks for Brass Qnt. Los Angeles Various Cpsrs Musicians & the Great War, Vol 20. Ribouillault. Various Cpsrs Family Songbook. Scholl/Halperin. F 0301167BC Brass Qnt/Los Angeles Perc Ens. F CD109 F HORTUS720 Various Cpsrs Kind of Gold – Wks for Tpts. Höfs/Enss. Various Cpsrs Wks for Brass Qnt (r1967). Los Angeles Brass Qnt. Various Cpsrs Musicians & the Great War, Vol 19. Wanhauwaert. F 0301129BC F3 CD102 F HORTUS719

158 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk NEW RELEASES INDEX

HUDDERSFIELD CONTEMPORARY hud.ac.uk/hcr/ PIANO CLASSICS piano-classics.com TOCCATA CLASSICS toccataclassics.com Adkins. Bellamy. Harrison, B Bozzini+ – Chbr Wks. Bozzini Qt/ Chaminade Pf Wks. Viner. F PCL10164 Paganini Caprices, Op 1 (orch Skoryk). Lviv International SO/ Thomas, P/Summers, S-J. FbHCR19CD Liszt Études d’exécution transcendante. Gugnin. F PCL10158 Zemtsov. F TOCC0463 HYPERION hyperion-records.co.uk PRIMA CLASSIC www Reicha CptePfWks,Vol3.Löwenmark. F TOCC0243 Brahms LatePfWks.Ohlsson. F CDA68226 Various Cpsrs Spirito – Op Arias. Rebeka/Orch of Massimo Th, Stöhr Vn Sons Nos 1 & 2. Mathé/Faigen. F TOCC0461 Cardoso Requiem. Cupertinos/Toscano. F CDA68252 Palermo/Bignamini. F PRIMA001 Winterberg Chbr Wks, Vol 1. Arizona Wind Qnt. F TOCC0491 F Bridge Vc Son Clarke, R Va Son. Clein/Hadland. CDA68253 PRIMA FACIE primafacie.ascrecords.com TUDOR tudor.ch Saint-Saëns SymNo3.Utah SO/Fischer, T. F CDA68201 Godfrey Fall of Gondolin. Various artists. MbPFCD092/3 Brahms Syms No 4 Dvořák SymNo9.Bamberg SO/Hrůša. Messiaen Nativité du Seigneur. Tanner. F PFCD081 KAIROS kairos-music.com F TUDOR1744 Andreyev Music with no Edges. HANATSUmiroir. PROFIL haensslerprofil.de Various Cpsrs Délices du piano. Aronsky. McTUDOR1690 F 0015025KAI Brahms. Bruckner Syms. BPO/Munich PO/VPO/ VARÈSESARABANDE varesesarabande.com Billone Om On. Deutsch/Pauwels. F 0015057KAI Knappertsbusch. Sj1PH18048 Denver Leaving on a Jet Plane. Mitchell Trio/Denver/Boise/ Crumb Makrokosmos, Vols 1-3. Shimizu/Struber. F 0015029KAI Various Cpsrs Edn (r1937-63). Kondrashin. Sm1PH18046 Strauss, R Daphne (pp1950). Sols incl Frick, Rott & Legner/ Johnson. F VSD00013 LINN linnrecords.com Dresden St Op/Kempe. Fb1PH07038 Hart, D Old Man & the Gun. OST. F VSD00021 Various Cpsrs Vn Concs. Swensen/SCO. M d 3 CKR614 Strauss, R Orch Wks. Langbein/Dresden Staatskapelle/ Various Cpsrs 40 Years of Great Film Music. Various arists. MELODIYA melody.su Thielemann. FbPH15016 FbVSD00008 Tchaikovsky Queen of Spades (pp1989). Sols incl Hvorostovsky/ Tchaikovsky Seasons. Dumka. Hoteev. F PH18088 Various Cpsrs Big Night. OST. F CR00145 Moscow RSO/Fedoseyev. McMELCD100 2549 RADIO FRANCE www WERGO wergo.de Various Cpsrs Contemporary Chor Wks, Vol 1 (bp2012-17). Chbr Charrier/Bel Rising. Charrier/Bel. F SIG11112 F Ch of the Moscow Conservatory/Soloviev. F MELCD100 2557 Korsun Ulenflucht. Various artists. WER6426-2 De Grigny Livre d’orgue (r1992). Isoir. FbTEM316061/2 Posadas Erinnerungsspuren: Zyklus für Klavier. Hoelscher. MULTI.MODAL nmcrec.co.uk/multimodal RAMÉE outhere-music.com/ramee F WER7377-2 Carlyle/Wright Decoys. Molitor/Blunt/Rennie. F6MM01 F Various Cpsrs Splendor de ciel. La Morra. RAM1803 Theodorakis Sings. Theodorakis. M INT3059-2 MUSICUBE www RAUMKLANG raumklang.de Various Cpsrs Gathering Thunders – Perc Wks. Klein, L. Letort Semelles de vent: African Rimbaud’s Trips. Wassie/ Bach, JS Solo – Arrs for Lyre, Hurdy-Gurdy & Vielle à roue. F WER7375-2 Tazartès/Cube Qt. F CUB1414 Miller, T. F RK3405 WILLOWHAYNE willowhaynerecords.com MUSIQUE EN WALLONIE musiwall.ulg.ac.be Hildegard of Bingen Ordo virtutum. Ars Choralis Coeln/Jonas. Org Wks. Kynaston. F Torri Vanità del mondo (pp1988). Sols incl Schlick & Ragin/ F RK3701 Bach, JS LCSCD006 Smith, RA Le Weekend (pour les amants). Czech Nat RSO/ Musica Antique Köln/Goebel. BbMEW1890 REGENT regent-records.co.uk Smith. F WHR057 MUSO muso.mu Various Cpsrs Christmas at St George’s. Ch of Southwark Cath/ Various Cpsrs Org Wks. Geffert. FÍLCSSACD003 Brassens Ballades. Lunaisiens/Marzorati. F MU026 Stocken/Harper. F REGCD533 Vivaldi Four Seasons. Orlando/Solisti Aquilani. F MU028 RESONUS resonusclassics.com YARLUNG yarlungrecords.com Various Cpsrs Abendmusiken. Ens Stravaganza. F MU025 Armstrong, T Dance Maze – Chbr Wks. Desbruslais/Fichert/ Various Cpsrs Private Org Recital in Walt Disney Concert Hall. F MYRIOS myriosmusic.com Meecham/Riley/Woodrow/Fidelio Trio. F RES10230 Lee, Y-A. YAR77215 Shostakovich. Tsintsadze Vc Concs No 2. Hornung/ Handel Messiah (arr Aareskjold). Sols/BBC Sgrs/Norwegian Mb Deutsches SO Berlin/Poga. F MYR023 Wind Ens/Hill. RES10219 Tallis Chor Wks. Chapel Royal/Jackson, C. F RES10229 NAXOS naxos.com Azarashvili Wks for Vc & Pf. Suleiman/Issakadze. M 8 579030 RICERCAR outhere-music.com/ricercar Ganassi Fontegara. Concert Brisé/Dongois. F RIC395 Haydn Kybd Wks. Jandó. M 8573934 Scarlatti, A Chbr Cantatas. Cachet/Achten/Scherzi Musicali. Koželuch Syms, Vol 2. Czech Chbr PO/Štilec. M 8573872 F RIC396 Marx Orch Wks, Vol 1. Bochum SO/Sloane. M 8 573831 DVD&BLU-RAY Telemann Per la tromba & il corno da caccia. Eolus/Madeuf. Mayr Motets, Vol 2. Virtuosi Italiani/Hauk. M 8 573909 F RIC397 ACCENTUS Moyzes Syms Nos 7 & 8. Slovak RSO/Slovák. M 8 573653 RONDEAU PRODUCTION rondeau.de Mozart Nozze di Figaro (pp2015). Sols incl D’Arcangelo, Onslow Stg Qnts, Vol 3. Elan Qnt. M 8 573887 Bigaglia. Lotti Chor Wks. Hanover Boys’ Ch/Festa Musicale/ Röschmann & Prohaska/Berlin Staatskapelle/Dudamel. Quayle Stg Qts Nos 1-3. Avalon Qt. M 8 559851 Breiding. F ROP7023 Fb◊ACC20366; FYACC10366 Scarlatti, D Cpte Kybd Sons, Vol 21. Lee, SK. M 8 573795 Korngold Lied der Liebe. Orch of Musikalische Komödie, Pärt Adam’s Passion. Lost Paradise. Various artists. Twardowski Wks for Vn & Orch. Augustyn/Toruń SO/Smolij. Leipzig/Klingele. F ROP6167 Fb◊3ACC70446 M 8 579031 Prauliņš Odi et amo 2.0. Uetersen Boys’ Ch/Lustig. F ROP6164 Various Cpsrs Chor Wks. St Thomas Ch, Leipzig. Various Cpsrs Gtr Gala Night. Amadeus Gtr Duo. M 8573592 Schreck Christus, der Auferstandene. Saxon Chbr Ch/ Fd◊3ACC70447; FcY3ACC60447 Various Cpsrs ImagesofBrazil–WksforVn&Pf.Anderegg/ Cottbus St Th PO/Enders. MbROP6165/6 Various Cpsrs Last Years – Orch Wks (pp2010-13). Lucerne Fest Ribeiro. M 8573923 Various Cpsrs Sing a cappella!. Boys of St Ursus Cath, Orch/Orch Mozart/Abbado. Various Cpsrs Pf Laureate Recital. Wang, C. M 8 573945 F Solothurn/Reize. ROP6171 Ff◊3ACC70461; FfY3ACC60461 Various Cpsrs Toccata–HpWks.Netzer. M 8 573835 SKANI skani.lv Various Cpsrs War – Revolution – Power – Music. Various artists. NORTHERN FLOWERS nflowers.ru F Kalniņš Moments musicaux. Ostrovskis. LMIC069 F b ◊ ACC20473 Tishchenko Cpte Pf Wks, Vol 5. Polyakov/Mazitova. SOMM somm-recordings.com F NFPMA99127 ARTHAUS MUSIK Gershwin Centennial Edition – Orch Wks (r1998). Godowsky III/ Bartók Duke Bluebeard’s Castle Poulenc Voix humaine ODRADEK odradek-records.com RSNO/Serebrier. F3ARIADNE5003 Mb (pp2015). Hannigan/Relyea/Paris Op Orch/Salonen. Scriabin Cpte Late Pf Wks. Kreiling. ODRCD366 SONO LUMINUS sonoluminus.com F◊109 364; FY109 365 ORFEO orfeo-international.de Thorvaldsdóttir Aequa. Intl Contemporay Ens. Blake Snowman. Blake. F◊109 381; FY109 382 Haydn Ritorno di Tobia (pp2013). Sols/Arnold Schoenberg Ch/ F (CD + Y) DSL92227 Boulez Life for Music. Boulez/Moritz. Fb◊109 350 Orch La Scintilla/Harnoncourt. MbC952 182I Various Cpsrs He(a)r. Nordic Affect. F (CD + Y) DSL92224 Dvořák Syms. Chor Wks. Sols/Chors/Prague SO/Altrichter/ Reiter. Schubert. Schumann Lieder. Kulman/Kutrowatz. STEINWAY& SONS steinway.co.uk Bělohlávek/Pešek. Mf◊109 355 F C956 181A Various Cpsrs Images et Mirages: Hommage à Debussy. Russo. Various Cpsrs Orch Wks (r1980-91). Bavarian St Orch/ F STNS30105 Grieg What Price Immortality. Olofsson. S c 3 F◊109 374; FY109 375 Bavarian RSO/Sawallisch. C957 188L STERLING sterlingcd.com Various Cpsrs Treasures. Pekinel,G&S. PALADINO paladino.at Bach, JS Wohltemperirte Clavier, Book 2. Lucas Ogdon. F g d◊ Y Bruch. Weber Wks for Cl, Va & Orch. Ashkenazy, D/Kholodenko/ MbCDA1830 ( + + ) 109 366 Royal Baltic Fest Orch/Liljefors. F PMR0089 STONE RECORDS stonerecords.co.uk C MAJOR ENTERTAINMENT Debussy Préludes (pp1971/r2018). Ashkenazy, V. F PMR0100 Cage Gtr Wks. Larget-Caplan. F 5060192 780833 Bernstein At 100: The Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood PENTATONE pentatonemusic.com Various Cpsrs My Lord Has Come. Ardingly Coll Schola (pp2018). Various artists. F◊ 747608; FY747704 Debussy Orch Wks. Luxembourg PO/Gimeno. Cantorum/Stafford. F 5060192 780857 DYNAMIC dynamic.it FÍPTC5186 627 SUPRAPHON supraphon.com Verdi Lombardi (pp2018). Sols/Regio Th, Turin/Mariotti. Dutilleux Tout un monde lointain Lutosławski Vc Conc. Moser/ Dvořák PfQtsNos1&2.Dvořák Pf Qt. F SU4257-2 F◊ 37826; FY57826 Berlin RSO/Søndergård. FÍPTC5186 689 TACTUS tactus.it NAXOS naxos.com Rossini Ovs. Orch of the Comunale Th, Bologna/Mariotti. F Bossi Chbr Wks. Various artists. TC862707 Gaveaux Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal. Sols/Lafayette Op/ FÍPTC5186 719 F Briccialdi Wks for Fl & Pf. Fabbriciani/Damerini. TC810203 Brown, R. F◊2 110591; FYNBD0085V Strauss II, J Fledermaus. Sols/NDR Rad Philh/Foster. Ghezzi Sacred Voc Wks. Cappella Musicale de San Giacomo Various Cpsrs Indomitable Bow. Rostropovich/Monsaingeon. FbÍPTC5186 635 Maggiore, Bologna/Cascio. FbTC650790 F◊ 2 110583; FYNBD0082V Various Cpsrs Angel Heart: A Music Storybook. Irons/Funke/ Krug. Liszt Abati nella musica – Sacred Pf Wks. Vaglica. Woolf. FÍPTC5186 731 F TC810002 PARNASSUS parnassusrecords.com Various Cpsrs Gospel Christmas. Northwest Community Gospel Various Cpsrs Divertimento italiano – 19th-Century Wks for Mozart Pf Concs (r1966-94). Richter. F◊PDVD1207 Chor/Oregon SO. FÍ PTC5186 720 Harmonium & Pf. Toschi/Mazzoli. F TC850004 Various Cpsrs Havana Recital. Sinkevych. F◊ PDVD1208 gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 159 REVIEWS INDEX A Beintus C F H Le petit prince – Concert Suite 57 Albéniz Fago Handel Richard Rodney Bennett Cadman Iberia, Book2–No3,Triana 89 Confitebor tibi, Domine 108 The Aviary 112 From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water Aminta e Fillide, HWV83 54 Tango (arr Godowsky) 89 Il Faraone sommerso – Alla gente a The Insect World 112 93 Armida abbandonata, HWV105 54 J Anderson Dio diletta 108 Berg 108 Concerto grosso, Op 6 No 4 The Comedy of Change 98 Cardoso Tam non splendet sol creatus Sieben Frühe Lieder 113 Farwell HWV322 104 Heaven is Shy of Earth 98 112 Berio Lamentations Archer From Mesa and Plain, Op 20 (excs) 93 La Lucrezia, HWV145 54 Sequenza VIII 95 Chabrier Sourwood Mountain, Op 78 No 3 93 The Linden Tree Carol 108 Ode for St Cecilia’s Day, HWV76 104 Sinfonia 57 124 Fauré Aston Habanera Serse ◊Y116 M Berkeley Après un rêve, Op 7 No 1 101 So they gave their bodies 111 Chopin Suite, HWV437 – Sarabande 83 Chamber Works 77 Caligula, Op 5 101 Piano Works 89 Trio Sonata, Op 2 No 1 HWV386b 54 B Bernstein Clair de lune, Op 46 No 2 101 JS Bach 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue – Suite 59 Comeau Pelléas et Mélisande, Op 80 101 Water Music: Suite No 2, HWV349 – 59 101 Alla Hornpipe; Bourrée; Suite Brandenburg Concerto No 3, Anniversaries Lux mundi 108 Pénélope – Prelude BWV1048 83 Candide – Overture 59 Requiem, Op 48 (arr Farrington) 111 No 3, HWV350 – Minuet II 83 Copland Cantatas – No 52, Falsche Welt, dir CBS Music 59 Les roses d’Ispahan, Op 39 No 4 101 C Harris trau ich nicht!; No 84, Ich bin Fancy Free 59 Connotations Í 59 Shylock, Op 57 101 O valiant hearts 111 vergnügt mit meinem Glücke 98 On the Town – Times Square Ballet Down a Country Lane Í 59, 93 Soir, Op 83 No 2 101 R Harris Cantata No 140 – Wachet auf, 59 Feo Letter from Home Í 59 ruft uns die Stimme 94 Slava! A Political Overture 59 Dies irae – Juste judex ultionis 108 Streets of Laredo 93 Í 59 Cantata No 147 – Jesus bleibet West Side Story – Mambo 59 Symphony No 3 A Fernandez Hasse meine Freude 94 Wonderful Town – Overture 59 Corelli Circumdederunt me 112 Sanctus Petrus et Sancta Maria Cantata No 208 – Schafe können Biber Concerto grosso, ‘Christmas’, Févin Magdalena – Mea tormenta, sicher weiden 83 Mystery (Rosary) Sonatas – Choral Works 102 Op 6 No 8 – Adagio 83 properate! 108 Christmas Oratorio, BWV248 – No 10, ‘The Crucifixion’; 89 G Haydn Pastorale (arr Lucas) No 16, Passacaglia 95 D Fugue, BWV578 83 Bingham Gade Six String Quartets, Op 64 80 76 Dall’Abaco 79 Fugue, BWV876 The Clouded Heaven 108 String Quartet in F minor Heinichen Italian Concerto, BWV971 83 String Quintet in F minor 79 Bizet Concerto a più instrumenti, Op 5 No 6 108 79 Alma redemptoris mater Oboe Concertos – BWV1055R; La jolie fille de Perth – Partout des 70 Novelettes, Op 29 98 Heinrich BWV1056R; BWV1061 cris de joie … À la voix d’un García Debussy Preludes and Fugues – BWV846; amant fidèle 124 Opera arias 124 The Minstrel’s March, or 89 BWV687 Bock Jeux 61 Getty The Road to Kentucky 93 Preludes and Fugues – BWV857; She Loves Me – Dear Friend 108 Marche écossaise sur un Choral Works Í 102 Hesketh BWV885 83 Bogdanović 61 Gibbons 62 Solo Violin Partita No 2, BWV1004 – thème populaire In ictu oculi Suite brève 94 This is the record of John 108 Chaconne 94, 95 Nocturnes 61 Knotted Tongues 62 Boulez Glazunov Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas, Of Time and Disillusionment 62 Prélude à L’après-midi d’un faune 61 Chant du ménestrel, Op 71 73 BWV1001-1006 135 Notations I-IV 57 Delibes Piano Sonata No 2, Op 75 86 Holmès Suite No 2, BWV1067 – Badinerie 83 Bouteiller Two Pieces, Op 2 73 Ludus pro patria – La nuit et l’amour Suite No 3, BWV1068 – Air 83 Missa pro defunctis 112 Opera arias 124 Symphonies and Concertos – cpte 132 124 Bainton Bowler 89 Naïla – Waltz (arr Dohnányi) Godard And I saw a new heaven 111 Salutem 82 Holst Dodgson Jocelyn – Cachés dans cet asile 124 Balakirev Brahms I vow to thee, my country 111 Chamber Works 77 Gombert Piano Sonata No 2, Op 102 86 Ein deutsches Requiem 72, 132 Nunc dimittis 111 Musae Jovis 104 Piano Pieces – Op 76; Op 116; Barrios Dove Ode to Death (arr Farrington) 111 Op 117; Op 118; Op 119 87 Gounod La catedral 94 It sounded as if the Streets were Turn back, O man, Op 36a No 2 111 Two Rhapsodies, Op 79 87 Ave Maria 94 Bartók running 112 Brian Opera arias 125 Howells Solo Violin Sonata, Sz117 86 Two Choral Pieces Í 98 Dowland Grainger Rhapsody No 3, Op 17 111 Beach Fantastic Variations on an Old Rhyme Spoon River 93 82 First Booke of Songes or Ayres 99 Two Pieces, Op 90 Í 98 Graupner I Beamish Duparc Overture, ‘For Valour’ Í 98 Canon, GWV218 102 Ireland Seven Songs 112 The Vision of Cleopatra Í 98 Aux étoiles 124 Demüthiget euch nun, GWV1144/12 Greater love hath no man 111 Bednall 102 Brito Durante A Downland Suite Í 62 Noe, noe 108 Ouverture, ‘Le desire’, GWV45 102 Heu Domine 112 Í Messa a 5 voci – Domine fili unigenite Sonata, GWV724 102 Julius Caesar 62 Beethoven Britten 108 Trio Sonata, GWV204 – Affettuoso The Overlanders Í 62 Piano Concertos – No 4; Death in Venice ◊Y116 56, 72, 89 102 Te Deum 111 No 5, ‘Emperor’ Friday Afternoons, Op 7 112 Dvořák Piano Sonata, WoO47 No 3 86 Waffne dich, mein Geist, zu kämpfen, A Hymn of St Columba 108 Piano Trios – No 3; No 4, ‘Dumky’ 79 102 Piano Sonatas – No 8, ‘Pathétique’, GWV1148/20 J Brossard Í Op 13; No 14, ‘Moonlight’, Op 27 Violin Concerto, Op 53 B96 62 Weg, verdammtes Sündenleben, F Jackson Ave verum corpus 112 GWV1147/20 102 No 2; No 26, ‘Les adieux’, Dyson 108 Miserere mei Deus 112 I know a flower Op 81a; No 32, Op 111 89 Wenn wir in höchsten Nöthen seyn, Stabat mater 112 To Music 111 GWV1143/12 102 Joncières Three Piano Sonatas, Op 31 86 Bullard D Guest String Quartets – No 5, Op 18 No 5; E Le Chevalier Jean – Parlons de moi, le No 6, Op 18 No 6; No 8, Op 59 Glory to the Christ Child 108 For the Fallen 111 voulez-vous? … Oui j’aime, hélas! No 2; No 9, Op 59 No 3; No 14, J Burton Elgar Guettel 124 108 Op 131; No 16, Op 135 76 Tomorrow shall be my dancing day The Music Makers, Op 69 Í 101 The Light in the Piazza – Fable Josquin String Quartet No 12, Op 127 76 108 Gurney The Spirit of England Í 101 Choral Works 104 Symphonies – cpte 132 Byrd Psalm 23 111 111 Symphonies – No 2, Op 36; Pavan and Gigue, ‘The Earl of They are at rest Since I believe in God the Father Joubert No 7, Op 92 56 Salisbury’ 83 We will remember them 111 Almighty 111 There is no rose 108

160 GRAMOPHONE DECEMBER 2018 gramophone.co.uk REVIEWS INDEX K Moszkowski S T Y Caprice espagnole, Op 37 89 Kander Saint-Saëns Tann Yeston Mozart The Visit – Love and love alone/ 120 In the Theater of Air 82 Nine – Unusual way 108 Don Giovanni – Serenade Ascanio Winter 108 Tansman (arr Backhaus) 89 Sarro Ysaÿe Kerll 94 Keyboard Sonatas – cpte 132 Messa a 5 voci – Laudamus te 108 Inventions (Hommage à Bach) Solo Violin Sonatas – No 2; No 3 86 Passacaglia in D minor 80 94 Le nozze di Figaro – Porgi, amor 125 Pièce en forme de Passacaille Kern Satie Z Piano Concertos – No 15, K450; Tartini Very Warm for May – All the things Piano Works 132 No 16, K451 65 Violin Concerto, D125 70 Zelenka you are 108 Songs 132 Quintet for Piano and Winds, K452 65 Tchaikovsky Gesù al Calvario, ZWV62 – Kosenko Violin Concertos 72 Schiassi Andante cantabile, Op 11 73 Smanie di dolci affetti … Piano Sonata No 2, Op 14 86 Musgrave Maria vergine al Calvario – Aveu passioné 93 S’una sol lagrima 108 Kusser 108 Canta, Canta! 82 L’agnelletta timidetta Dumka, Op 59 93 Zemlinsky Six French Overtures 64 Mussorgsky Schmelzer Nocturne, Op 19 73 Songs 113 L Pictures at an Exhibition 93 Sonatae unarum fidium 80 The Nutcracker, Op 71 68 Zender Pezzo capriccioso, Op 62 73 Langgaard Schoenberg Schuberts Winterreise 107 O Piano Concertos – No 1, Op 23; Andante religioso 80 Vier Lieder, Op 2 113 A Zimmermann Ornstein Í 68 Sondagssonate (Sunday Sonata) 80 No 3, Op 75 Scholefield 93 Three Symphonies 70 Violin Sonata No 1, ‘Viole’ 80 A Morning in the Woods 93 Two Pieces, Op 10 The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended 111 93 Zingarelli Lehár Romance, Op 5 P Schubert The Seasons, Op 37b 93 Là dai regni dell’ombre, e di morte Operetta arias 124 Palestrina Marche militaire, D733 No 3 89 Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op 42 73 124 Ligeti 108 Fuit homo missus a Deo Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op 33 Études – No 1; No 3; No 9 94 String Quartets – No 10, D87; No 14, Pandolfi Mealli 73 Melodien 61 ‘Death and the Maiden’, D810 81 Sonata, ‘La Cesta’, Op 3 No 2 95 Liszt Schumann Telemann Parry 70 Albumblatt, ‘Première Consolation’, Davidsbündlertänze, Op 6 93 Viola Concerto, TWV51:G9 Crossing the Bar 111 S171b 89 Fantasie, Op 17 89 Terradellas Hear my words, ye people 104 Collections Après une lecture de Dante, S158b 89 Dixit Dominus – Donec ponam 108 111 Fantasiestücke, Op 12 – ‘80th Anniversary’ – Israel Ballade No 2, S170a 89 Jerusalem Tesori Songs of Farewell 104 No 2, Aufschwung; No 7, Philharmonic Orchestra 132 Consolations, S171a 89 89 Violet – Lay down your head 108 Songs of Farewell – No 4, There is Traumes Wirren ‘Advent Live’ – Choir of St John’s Hungarian Rhapsody, S244 No 2 89 Thomas an old belief 111 Geistervariationen, WoO24 93 College, Cambridge 108 Liebestraum, S541 No 3 89 Mignon – Elle ne croyait pas, dans sa There is an old belief 104 Humoreske, Op 20 93 ‘An American in Paris’ – Sposalizio, S157a 89 candeur naïve 124 Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke, S514 89 Toccata and Fugue, ‘The Wanderer’ Nachtstück, Op 23 No 4 89 Leonard Bernstein 132 104 Traditional Waldesrauchen, S145 No 2 89 Sciarrino ‘American Landscapes’ – Cecile Licad Pasek/Paul The angel Gabriel from heaven came 93 Widmung (Schumann), S566 89 Capriccio No 2 95 108 Dear Evan Hansen – So Big/So Small ‘Anima sacra’ – Jakub Józef Orlin´ski Lloyd Webber Scriabin The Cherry Tree Carol 108 108 108 Song and Dance – Tell me on Piano Concerto, Op 20 Í 68 The Dying Soldier 111 a Sunday 108 Porpora ‘Bach Inspirations’ – Thibaut Garcia Piano Sonata No 10, Op 70 94 Tomorrow shall be my dancing day Lobo Cello Concerto 70 108 94 I Shaw Audivi vocem 112 Porter Trenet ‘The Berlin Recital’ – Yuja Wang 94 Missa Veni Domine 112 Red, Hot and Blue – Down in the Adam lay ybounden 108 Vous, qui passez sans me voir 124 ‘Broadway’ – Renée Fleming 108 Pater peccavi 112 depths (on the ninetieth floor) 108 I sing of a maiden 108 ‘Cinema’ – Renaud Capuçon 70 J Long Prokofiev Shostakovich V ‘The Complete Recordings on Vigilate 108 Piano Sonata No 8, Op 84 94 String Quartet No 15, Op 144 76 Various Composers Deutsche Grammophon’ – M Solo Violin Sonata, Op 115 86 Skempton A Bernstein Birthday Bouquet 59 Claudio Abbado 128 Puccini Vaughan Williams 124 MacDowell Five Poems of Mary Webb 112 ‘Confidence’ – Julien Behr Madama Butterfly ◊Y119 The truth sent from above 108 ‘Contrabandista’ – Javier Camarena Woodland Sketches, Op 51 93 Smetana Manon Lescaut In quelle trine I Venables 124 Magalhães Polka No 3 89 morbide 125 Requiem aeternam 111 ‘The Dreams & Fables I Fashion’ – Commissa mea 112 ◊Y119 Sondheim Turandot Verdi Elicia Silverstein 95 A Mahler Into the Woods – Children will listen Purcell Giovanna d’Arco ◊Y121 ‘España’ – Jean-François Heisser 132 Songs 113 83 108 Abdelazar, Z570 – Rondeau Villa-Lobos ‘For the Fallen’ – Pegasus 111 G Mahler ‘Songs & Dances’ 105 A Little Night Music – Bachianas Brasileiras No 5 – Aria 94 ‘His Greatest Recordings’ – Rückert Lieder – Ich bin der Welt The Glamorous Life 108 abhanden gekommen 111 R Prelude No 3 (Homenagem a Bach) 94 Leonard Bernstein 132 Stanford Symphony No 2, ‘Resurrection’ 64 Rachmaninov Vinci/Handel ‘In Remembrance’ – Chapel Choir of Justorum animae, Op 38 No 1 111 111 Symphony No 6 64 Études tableaux – Op 33 No 3; Didone abbandonata 123 the Royal Hospital, Chelsea A Marcello Op 39 No 1 94 Organ Sonata No 2, ‘Eroica’ – Verdun Vivaldi ‘In the Theatre of Air’ – Marsyas Trio Oboe Concerto, SD935 70 Piano Concerto No 3, Op 30 67 111 Orlando furioso ◊YX 82 Mason Piano Sonata No 2, Op 36 67 Steibelt W ‘The Legendary Danish Organist, Silver Spring, Op 6 93 Preludes – Op 23 No 5; Op 32 No 10 Roméo et Juliette – Je vais donc Vols 1-4’ – Finn Viderø 134 Walford Davies Massenet 94 usurper les droits de la nature 125 ‘Lest We Forget’ – The Choir of A Short Requiem 111 Hérodiade – Celui dont la parole Variations on a Theme of Corelli 67 Sterndale Bennett Chichester Cathedral 111 efface toutes peines … Il est Vespers (All-Night Vigil), Op 37 – Watts ‘Les maîtres du motet’ – Chamber Trio, Op 26 81 doux, il est bon 125 Blagoslovi dushe moya gospoda; The Birth of Speech 108 Les Arts Florissants 112 Sextet, Op 8 81 Manon – Allons, il le faut! … Nyne otpushcheashi 111 Webern ‘Milestones of a Legend’ – Vá≈a String Quartet, WoO17 81 Adieu, notre petite table 125 Ravel Fünf Lieder nach Gedichten von P∑íhoda’ 135 La Navarraise 117 Trois Chansons – No 2, Trois beaux Still Richard Dehmel 113 ‘Milestones of a Violin Legend’ – Thaïs – Ah! je suis seule … oiseaux du Paradis 111 A Deserted Plantation 93 Weinberg Henryk Szeryng 135 Dis-moi que je suis belle 125 Piano and Orchestral Works – cpte 132 Sting Concertino, Op 43 69 ‘Miroir(s)’ – Elsa Dreisig 125 Mendelssohn La valse 57 The Last Ship – August Winds 108 Serenade, Op 47 No 4 69 ‘Orchestral Works’ – Pierre Monteux A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Reger Solo Cello Preludes, Op 100 69 72 Scherzo (arr Hutcheson) 89 R Strauss Nachtlied, Op 138 No 3 111 Symphony No 13, Op 115 69 72 Six Motets, Op 79 104 Burleske Í 67 ‘Orchestral Works’ – Bruno Walter Stanford For lo! I raise up, Op 145 111 Weir Messager Ein Heldenleben, Op 40 Í 67 ‘Pater peccavi’ – The Marian Consort Rihm Several Concertos 82 112 Fortunio – J’aimais la vieille Salomé – Ah! Tu n’as pas voulu 125 Das Gehege 57 Widmann ‘Revive’ – Ferio Saxophone Quartet 83 maison grise 124 Schlagobers – Suite, Op 70a 61 Rimsky-Korsakov Arche 107 ‘Rossini Edition’ – Cecilia Bartoli 130 Messiaen Stravinsky Sérénade, Op 37 73 La Nativité du Seigneur 91 M Wilson ‘Rossini Edition’ – Various artists 130 Jeu de cartes Í 67 Morago G Rodgers The Music Man – Till there was you ‘Sing Levy Dew’ – The St Catharine’s 82 Petrushka (1911 version) Í 67 108 Commissa mea 112 York Minster Girls’ Choir, Cambridge 112 The Soldier’s Tale 82 De profundis 112 R Rodgers Wolf ‘Trip to Russia’ – Daniel Müller- Emendemus in melius 112 Songs 108 Suk Mignon Lieder 113 Schott 73 Oculi mei semper ad Dominum 112 Rossini Fantasy, Op 24 Í 62 C Wood ‘Vienna: fin de siècle’ – Versa est in luctum 112 Opera arias 124 Liebeslied, Op 7 No 1 Í 62 Expectans expectavi 111 Barbara Hannigan 113

GRAMOPHONE 161 gramophone.co.uk DECEMBER 2018 MY MUSIC Matthew Bourne

The choreographer and founder of New Adventures dance-theatre company on his love of music and his desire to immerse himself in every score he uses

If you’re going to take a much-loved score like Swan Lake and do something different with it, as I have, you’ve got to love it. And I think it’s glorious music. What’s so wonderful about it for me, as a creator, is that it’s written to tell a story (albeit a different one to mine!). It’s dramatically driven, which is a gift to someone like me who loves telling stories. My 2018 version of Swan Lake has had a few revisions – it’s more grown-up, more gorgeous – but audiences will still recognise it from the 1995 production. Yes, there are cuts to the score – any company will do that – but it’s in a recognisable order.

I was about 18 when I saw my first ballet – and that just happened to be Swan Lake. I grew up in East London with parents who loved popular music and music from the movies; my dad would be downstairs singing Frank Sinatra, and I’d be upstairs singing Julie Andrews or Barbra Streisand. I had a big collection of LPs, but the only classical one was Holst’s The Planets. So when I left school (which I’d hated) I decided to educate myself, culturally, in areas I didn’t know anything about. I’d never seen an opera, so I decided I should go to one to see if I liked it. The same happened with ballet – and THE RECORD I COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT that’s how I ended up seeing Swan Lake. Having grown up with MGM musicals, I now discovered that you could see Rodgers & Hammerstein Climb Ev’ry Mountain a piece with dancing all the way through it. That was how (from The Sound of Music OST) Sony I fell in love with ballet and contemporary dance. Something about this hits me every time – the introduction, the chords … I adore it, and I’ve already It was interesting when, more than 20 years ago now, we told my partner that I want it played at my funeral. approached Tchaikovsky’s score afresh. I’d often felt that, in the classical version of the ballet, Act 4 struggled to express Swan Lake, for the London run at Sadler’s Wells, we’re the emotional turmoil of the music so it was nice to be able to bringing in top musicians to perform a reduced score. We address that. We were also able to think about what the tempi also have, in London, the Royal Ballet’s Matthew Ball dancing should be. The classical version had become progressively with us. It’s a dream role for him – it was after he saw the show slower as dancers challenged themselves with higher jumps, at the age of eight that he decided he wanted to be a dancer. more turns, greater extensions … So we decided to look at the movement of actual swans and use that to inspire the With any new project, I do a lot of research. For The Red Shoes tempi. It was lovely to be more faithful to the original score. (2016), I’d wanted to do my own version for a long time, but there wasn’t enough music in the film. I also found the One score that really rewards you through repeated listening original score by Brian Easdale very much ‘of its time’. is Prokofiev’s Cinderella, which I choreographed back in So I listened to the music by Bernard Herrmann, focusing 1997. The Prokofiev estate loved what we did with it, and on the non-Hitchcock film scores he wrote around the time they’ve now trusted us to create a reduced score of Romeo of The Red Shoes such as The Ghost and Mrs Muir and and Juliet for our new production that opens next year. Fahrenheit 451, and then Terry brought it all together. The music will be arranged for 15 musicians by our regular New Adventures collaborator Terry Davies; the aim is to When I’m working on a piece, I’ll listen to the music on my produce something that’s true to Prokofiev but that’s iPod or play it through my Sonus system. I have Spotify, exciting and refreshing – a different sound for what will be which is useful when you’re in the studio and need to listen to a contemporary reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic love story. something instantly. I still like to ‘own’ music though – it’s

only when I buy music on CD that I feel like it’s mine. BANNISTER PHILIP Live music is a dilemma for us. We’re not a ballet company Swan Lake tours until May 25, 2019 (visit new-adventures.net), that gets funded to the level where we can tour with a full and includes an eight-week Christmas residency at Sadler’s Wells

orchestra. But live music is something we strive for, and in from December 4 to January 27 (visit sadlerswells.com) ILLUSTRATION:

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