A1 MOZART 14 Horn Concertos. 2 Horn Quintet • Pip Eastop (hn); 1Anthony Halstead, cond; 1The Hanover Band; 2Eroica Qrt • HYPERION 68097 (72:48) Does anyone know why British horn players have cornered the market in recordings of the Mozart concertos? I know of seven who have recorded the four concertos—Dennis Brain, Timothy Brown, Jeffrey Bryant, Alan Civil, Frank Lloyd, David Pyatt, and Barry Tuckwell, and that’s not counting those who have done the same using the so-called “natural” (valveless) horn—Anthony Halstead (twice), Roger Montgomery, and now Pip Eastop. There may well be a few more I have overlooked. The natural horn was a unique creature. Its pure, open tones were limited to those of the overtone series of the key in which it was pitched by the use of crooks (additional lengths of tubing), but unlike the trumpet (also valveless until the mid-19th century), the player could “stop” the open notes by partially or completely choking the air stream with his right hand, which rested in the bell of the instrument, thus making available a much greater number of notes. The price paid for this manipulation was a highly uneven tone quality, ranging from pure, beautiful open tones to buzzy, almost unmusical sounds, and a gray area in between. In the context of the time, one gasps in astonishment at the agility of the virtuoso for whom Mozart wrote these concertos (Joseph Leutgeb), but to modern ears, the effect is something of a freak show. The invention of valves in the early 19th century effectively ended the need to “stop” notes. century effectively ended the need to “stop” notes. That said, Pip Eastop’s performances are probably the best to date played on the natural horn. Anthony Halstead’s two accounts are the runners up. Here Halstead takes up the baton to lead his colleague in these performances. Eastop knocks off the concertos with all the flair, self-confidence, and sensitivity one expects from a soloist. But what sets Eastop in a class by himself is the sheer musicality of his playing. In this he surpasses most of the competition on the valve horn as well. There are moments of rhythmic insecurity, and there is no denying that some passages sound labored, but that is the nature of the natural horn, no matter how accomplished the player. Eastop is certain to seduce the listener with his gorgeous tone (at least on the open notes), and some of those cadenzas he dreamed up will knock your socks off. (One covers an amazing four octaves plus!) Eastop’s vivid playing is complemented by the tasteful, stylish contribution from The Hanover Band and from the Eroica Quartet, which joins Eastop for Mozart’s Horn Quintet. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only CD to include this essential work of the horn repertory with the four concertos. Robert Markow This article originally appeared in Issue 38:6 (July/Aug 2015) of Fanfare Magazine. FESCA Piano Trios: No. 2 in e, op. 12; No. 5 in b, op. 46 • Tr Paian • CPO 777 862-2 (65:54) It is tempting to peg short-lived Alexander Ernst Fesca (1820–1849) as yet another victim in the not insignificant number of early 19th-century composers who had the misfortune to live in the long shadow cast by Beethoven. But considering that Fesca’s life chronologically intersected the lives of Chopin, Mendelssohn, and Schumann, all three of whom managed to emerge from Beethoven’s shadow to chart their own independent destinies, the Beethoven defense doesn’t really explain Fesca’s consignment to virtual anonymity following his death from tuberculosis just shy of his 29th birthday. I would propose an alternate theory, one which is not often accorded much consideration, and that is the accident of geography. Fesca was born in Karlsruhe, graduated from Berlin’s Royal Academy of the Arts at the age of 14, and then returned home to Karlsruhe, hundreds of miles from Berlin, Vienna, Leipzig, Paris, and London. In other words, by dint of choice or necessity (who knows which?), Fesca settled in what was then a relatively small provincial German town that was hardly a hotbed of musical innovation, far from the major European capitals of music in the early decades of the 19th century. (He died, by the way, in Braunschweig, a town midway between Manheim and Stuttgart.) It’s hard to know how much of the new Romantic music Fesca was exposed to while studying, still a child, at the Academy in Berlin, or what opportunities he had to hear new works and rub elbows with the trend-setters of the day once he was back in Karlsruhe. But most major composers gravitated to the centers of musical commerce where they had those opportunities aplenty, as well as ready-made orchestras, chamber groups, opera companies, patrons, publishers, and audiences all eager for new works. I suppose it’s all the more astonishing, then, that a composer, presumably not having next- works. I suppose it’s all the more astonishing, then, that a composer, presumably not having next- door knowledge of what his contemporaries in distant cities were up to, should produce such contemporaneous-sounding masterful works as these two piano trios entirely on the strength of his own natural talent. In terms of content and style, Fesca’s trios are straight in line with Chopin’s G-Minor Piano Trio and with the piano trios of the 1830s and 1840s by Fesca’s German contemporaries such as Louis Spohr, Robert Volkmann, Robert and Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, and, of course, Felix Mendelssohn. If you know and love any or all of these trios, you will have a new love affair with these trios by Fesca. As you can see from the disc timing in the headnote, these are not slight or lightweight compositions. Each trio lasts for over 30 minutes, and each, in a minor key, is filled with lots of Romantic Sturm und Drang and memorable mellifluous melodies. It’s also interesting to note that Fesca’s trios display a touch of the operatic, more so than do the trios of the above-named composers. The violin and cello tend to engage in somewhat more virtuosic showmanship, like opera divas, than they do in Felix Mendelssohn’s trios, which can sometimes sound more like piano concertos with violin and cello accompaniments; and in Fesca’s trios, the cessation or slowing down of the running piano figuration for the lyrical string episodes almost imparts to those episodes the impression of set operatic arias. Truth be told, this is not my first encounter with Fesca. Some time ago I acquired two earlier CPO releases, one (999 889-2), containing the composer’s Symphony No. 1 and three overtures, and the other (999 617-2) containing two of the composer’s mixed woodwind, string, and piano septets. So I shouldn’t have been surprised at how substantive and arrestingly beautiful these two trios are; except that I was, probably because I hadn’t listened to those earlier recordings in quite a while, and I’d simply forgotten how impressive Fesca’s music is. According to imslp, Fesca wrote no fewer than six piano trios, but he also composed piano quartets, string quartets, at least three symphonies, lots of solo piano music and songs, and three operas, one of which, dating from 1847, is his five-act heroic-romantic opera Il Trovatore to a libretto by Frederick Schmetzer. So far, CPO has the lock on Fesca, having produced many more recordings of his works than show up at ArkivMusic. If you go to CPO’s web site, you will find recordings of all three of Fesca’s symphonies, a three-disc set of his string quartets with the Diogenes Quartet—a group I’ve had occasion to rave about in previous reviews—a disc of flute quartets with the Linos Ensemble, the above-mentioned septets, and now these two trios, of which there are four more. Having heard this latest release, I can say that I want them all, and there’s a very good chance this will be on my 2015 Want List. But then, do keep in mind that he who is writing this review is a total sucker for chamber works in this genre and of this time period, and not restricted to specimens from the German school. When it comes to the Paian Trio, or Trio Paian as it bills itself, only the name is new. The ensemble, originally formed in 2002, used to go by the name of the Arion Trio, but which Arion Trio I can’t tell you because the name appears to have been appropriated by more than one ensemble. As I’ve observed before, we really need an international registry such as we have for Internet domain names. The Trio Paian may have adopted its new name for the purpose of avoiding this very confusion. In any event, the three players that currently make up the ensemble—Ilian Garnetz, violin; Marin Smesnoi, cello; and Alexandra Neumann, piano—are really excellent. They play these two trios with gusto and all the Romantic passion the music calls for and deserves. For anyone open to welcoming unfamiliar acquaintances into their circle of friends and significant others, I would urge you to throw open your doors to these stunningly beautiful piano trios by Alexander Ernst Fesca. You won’t regret it. Jerry Dubins This article originally appeared in Issue 38:6 (July/Aug 2015) of Fanfare Magazine. Pip Eastop’s Comments from the Mozart Liner Notes Pip Eastop’s Comments from the Mozart Liner Notes It has been more than two centuries since Mozart composed the music performed on this recording and during that time the horn, an instrument he loved and knew well, has evolved substantially.