Recording of the Month Reviews

An interview with Reviews Franz Welser-Möst 110 CDs, Books & DVDs rated by expert critics CHOICE

RECORDING OF THE MONTH Welcome Much of the world’s A Cleveland Orchestra Why pair recent commissions music-making with classic repertoire? Cleveland actually plays more continues to be on contemporary music than a lot of ice and nowhere is celebration to behold other orchestras and we wanted that felt more keenly to give a glimpse of what we do than in the US where, The American ensemble honours its past throughout the season. These just recently, the are pieces we really believe in and which we’ve enjoyed playing. Nashville Symphony announced it was and looks to the future with this mighty You don’t have to play the same suspending operations for a year. It’s stuff over and over again; there’s bittersweet, then, to have them in the three-disc debut release, says Terry Blain so much great music, and if Orchestral section this month with a you play it on a level like this five-star performance of music by the orchestra does, it’s compelling and enjoyable. That’s the late Christopher Rouse. They are joined All six performances are message of the three discs. conducted by the orchestra’s by the Cleveland Orchestra, which It must have been tough to music director Franz Welser- scores a Recording of the Month (see choose what to put on them? right); the release is a great showcase for Möst, who has been in Yes it was, because every time Premiere pairing: the quality of musicianship to be found Cleveland since 2002 and we talked about it we would recently signed a contract Paul Jacobs (organ) and across the Atlantic. the Cleveland Orchestra think of things we’d have to extension until 2027. Overall, perform Okeanos miss out. We’re sitting on tons The American flavour continues they paint a picture of sovereign of recordings, actually, because elsewhere with a Concerto Choice by technical command, with an we record everything for our John Adams, a new opera by David upholstered warmth of tone not archives. Since we improved the Lang and appearances by Elliott Carter, automatically in the DNA of work, the Austrian composer Richard Deutsch’s roiling organ and transparent, reflecting quality of our recordings, there is Samuel Barber and Aaron Copland. American orchestras. Johannes Maria Staud’s 2017 concerto Okeanos, with Paul the exceptional acoustic of a lot of stuff we’ve thought would be great to put out. Michael Beek Reviews Editor Both traits are evident in piece Stromab (Downstream). Jacobs a dazzling soloist, and the orchestra’s Severance Hall A New Century Hence the new label… Beethoven: String Quartet the richly nuanced account Based on a short story by a gripping, stunningly played headquarters. Audience noise of Beethoven’s Op. 132 String English writer Algernon Prokofiev Third Symphony. is virtually non-existent, and We looked at what other No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132 orchestras do – like the London Quartet on disc one, performed Blackwood, it charts a canoe It’s a piece with a reputation for there is no applause at the end of This month’s critics (arr. Orchestra); R. Strauss: Symphony and others – and we by the full Cleveland string trip down the Danube into a rowdiness and dissonance, but performances, which have the John Allison, Nicholas Anderson, Michael Beek, Aus Italien, Op. 16; Varèse: felt it was the right way to go. We Terry Blain, Kate Bolton-Porciatti, Gary Booth, Amériques; Johannes Maria section. The unanimity of attack macabre heart of darkness, and polish of studio recordings. have control over what we are Geoff Brown, Anthony Burton, Michael Church, Staud: Stromab; Bernd and accent are unfaltering, but receives a rivetingly precise, The players have a The Cleveland Orchestra putting out there; otherwise, you Christopher Cook, Martin Cotton, Christopher Richard Deutsch: Okeanos*; it’s the expressive insight of the atmospheric performance. has always been a by-word for can run into compromises which Dingle, Misha Donat, Jessica Duchen, George Prokofiev: Symphony No. 3 in playing which is really striking. An effulgent traversal of warmth of tone not the forensic exactitude of its you don’t want to make, plus we Hall, Malcolm Hayes, Julian Haylock, Claire C minor, Op. 44 Both are evident in the opening Aus Italien blows the shadows automatically in the players, and you can still hear can do things on our terms. Jackson, Daniel Jaffé, Berta Joncus, Erik Levi, *Paul Jacobs (organ); Cleveland Adagio sostenuto movement, away, highlighting Welser- that in the many recordings What are your hopes for Natasha Loges, Andrew McGregor, David Nice, DNA of US orchestras Orchestra/Franz Welser-Möst where Welser-Möst’s addition Möst’s considerable Straussian they made with the famously Cleveland’s next century? Roger Nichols, Bayan Northcott, Steph Power, Cleveland Orchestra TCO0001 of double basses shadowing credentials. The diaphanous the Cleveland’s refined, nuanced disciplinarian Georg Szell, When we approached the Anthony Pryer, Paul Riley, Jan Smaczny, Michael 188:00 mins (3 discs) Tanner, Sarah Urwin Jones, Kate Wakeling, the cellos an octave lower adds textures of ‘Am Strande von playing makes it more than that. and later with Lorin Maazel centenary I said we should Alexandra Wilson Recorded live across a two- an extra notch of brooding Sorrent’ are ravishingly sifted, The Andante, while dark-hued, is and Christoph von Dohnányi. come up with a vision for our year period, this handsomely intensity to the music. and even the joshing with full of exquisitely etched detail, But the empathy and expressive community first. So it is that in 100 years, every child in packaged set (with historical The coupling is Varèse’s ‘Funiculì, Funiculà’ in the while the rushing strings in the latitude Welser-Möst has added Cleveland should be touched by KEY TO STAR RATINGS essays and notes on the music), teeming Amériques, where the finale, which can be irritating, is Scherzo are tinglingly febrile actually make you wonder music. That’s a huge goal, but 20 HHHHH Outstanding provides a snapshot of the raw excitement of the playing made light-heartedly enjoyable. without grating over-insistently if the orchestra has ever per cent of our audience is under HHHH Excellent Cleveland Orchestra around never degenerates to shapeless Disc three pairs the US on the senses. sounded better. HHH Good 25 and that makes us optimistic HH Disappointing its centenary in 2018, and is the cacophony. Disc two brings premiere of Cleveland Young The sound on all three discs PERFORMANCE HHHHH that we are at least going in the

H Poor first release on its new label. another percussion-heavy WESELY JULIA MASTROIANNI, ROGER Composer Fellow Bernd is outstandingly well balanced RECORDING HHHHH right direction.

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