by Karl Nehring
Kapustin: Variations for piano solo and big band, Op.3; Toccata for piano solo and big band, Op.8; Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra, Op.14; Nocturne for piano and orchestra, Op. 16; Concert Rhapsody for piano and orchestra, Op.25; Concerto No. 6 for piano and big band, Op.74. Frank Dupree, piano; Dominik Beykirch, conductor. SWR Big Band; SWR Symphonieorchester (Berlin); Jakob Krupp, bass; Meinhard “Obi” Jenne, drumset. Capriccio C5528
A couple of years ago we reviewed a previous Capriccio release that featured the young German pianist Frank Dupree (b. 1991) playing music by the Ukrainian-born, Russian-trained composer and pianist Nikolai Kapustin (1937-2020), a review that
you can find here. We noted in that review that Kapustin was an accomplished pianist who was classically trained in both performance and composition, but his real musical passion was jazz. As a result, he poured his energy into composing music that is classical in form but has much the same feel as improvised jazz – not an easy feat. That album, which featured his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 5, impressed us with its integration of jazz style within a classical framework; as a result, we had high hopes for this latest release. This one, though, leans much more toward the jazz end of the spectrum, as you might guess from the compositions that include “big band” rather “orchestra” in their titles. These pieces really do sound like big band music with some extra-virtuosic piano charts – the Toccata in particular really shows off Dupree's nimble fingers
!
Even the
Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra, Op. 14 sounds more like a concerto for big band and orchestra with its scoring for drums and bass in addition to the orchestra, which is arranged to sound much like a brassy big band with some occasional string sweetening. The Nocturne that follows slows things down, backs off on the brass, and comes across something like a theme from a film score. The Concert Rhapsody ups the energy level; it too sounds as though it could be the theme music for a film or television series. The album closes with another composition for piano and big band, Concerto No. 6. This piece is more musically complex than the others on the program (note its higher catalog number – Op. 74 was completed in 1993, long after Op. 25 in 1976). Yes, it still has that big band sound about it, but it is more rhythmically complex and more mature sounding overall than the other works for piano and big band on this release. Dupree has been an enthusiastic advocate of Kapustin’s music, having released a number of recordings of it. His facility – both technical and musical – is beyond reproach, and the engineering is top-notch. The arrangements, however, for both the big band and the orchestra, come across as rather pedestrian, making it hard to give this newest release more than a room temperature recommendation. For those who have not heard Kapustin before, the album we reviewed previously (see link above) would probably be a better starting point.
We at Classical Candor join the worldwide classical music community in mourning the recent (March 13) death of composer Sofia Gubaidulina. Gubaidulina was born in 1931 in what is now the Republic of Tatarstan (formerly under Russian control) to a Tatar father and a Russian mother. In 1992, she moved to Hamburg, Germany, where she resided for the remainder of her life. She described herself as a deeply spiritual person and has said of her compositional process, “whenever I’m composing, I pray, no, I actually speak to God.’ We have reviewed several of her compositions over the years and can attest to their spiritual nature. Of the three releases on which these compositions are contained, there are two that I have no hesitation in recommending to those unfamiliar with her catalog, but for different reasons. For those who prefer drama, intensity, and giving their stereo a serious workout, I would recommend a DG release featuring violinist Vadim Rapin, conductor Andris Nelsons, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra that contains three compositions: Dialog: Ich und Du, The Wrath of God; and The Light of the End (see review here). For those who might prefer music of a quitter, more reflective nature, there is an EMI release featuring legendary Russian cellist titled The Canticle of the Sun (see review here). The third release is unusual in that it includes two unlike compositions, the first a triple concerto for the unusual combination of violin, cello, and bayan; the second a sonata for cello and bayan (see review here). It’s an interesting album, but the other two are better introductions to Gubaidulina’s music.
Her music was intense, powerful, often challenging. Although it was seldom what most listeners would think of as easy listening, for the listener willing to give it a thoughtful hearing, it could become result in rewarding listening. She was a unique musical voice, and she will ne missed.
by Karl Nehring
Seong-Jin Cho, piano. Deutache Grammophon 486 6814
Before sitting down at my computer to write this review, I did a quick search for an old review I had done of a previous release of the complete solo piano music of Ravel so that I could provide a link to that review. To my surprise, however, I found that I never actually have posted a review of the complete Ravel piano solo works. Oh well, there’s a first time for everything, right? As seems to be the norm with DG these days, portraits of the artist – in this case, the young Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho (b. 1994) – appear throughout the trifold digipack, his picture appearing twice on the inside as well as adorning both the front and back covers. The liner note booklet cover is duplicate of the front cover, and the gray and pink background colors are carried over throughout the booklet. The track listings are a bit of a strain to read because of minimal color contrast for the text. When it comes to the notes themselves, the good news is that the text is now black; the bad news is that the font is tiny – as in teeny-tiny. Even eyes much younger than mine may find the text difficult to discern.
John J. Puccio, Founder and Contributor
Understand, I'm just an everyday guy reacting to something I love. And I've been doing it for a very long time, my appreciation for classical music starting with the musical excerpts on the Big Jon and Sparkie radio show in the early Fifties and the purchase of my first recording, The 101 Strings Play the Classics, around 1956. In the late Sixties I began teaching high school English and Film Studies as well as becoming interested in hi-fi, my audio ambitions graduating me from a pair of AR-3 speakers to the Fulton J's recommended by The Stereophile's J. Gordon Holt. In the early Seventies, I began writing for a number of audio magazines, including Audio Excellence, Audio Forum, The Boston Audio Society Speaker, The American Record Guide, and from 1976 until 2008, The $ensible Sound, for which I served as Classical Music Editor.
Today, I'm retired from teaching and use a pair of bi-amped VMPS RM40s loudspeakers for my listening. In addition to writing for the Classical Candor blog, I served as the Movie Review Editor for the Web site Movie Metropolis (formerly DVDTown) from 1997-2013. Music and movies. Life couldn't be better.
Karl Nehring, Editor and Contributor
For nearly 30 years I was the editor of The $ensible Sound magazine and a regular contributor to both its equipment and recordings review pages. I would not presume to present myself as some sort of expert on music, but I have a deep love for and appreciation of many types of music, "classical" especially, and have listened to thousands of recordings over the years, many of which still line the walls of my listening room (and occasionally spill onto the furniture and floor, much to the chagrin of my long-suffering wife). I have always taken the approach as a reviewer that what I am trying to do is simply to point out to readers that I have come across a recording that I have found of interest, a recording that I think they might appreciate my having pointed out to them. I suppose that sounds a bit simple-minded, but I know I appreciate reading reviews by others that do the same for me — point out recordings that they think I might enjoy.
For readers who might be wondering about what kind of system I am using to do my listening, I should probably point out that I do a LOT of music listening and employ a variety of means to do so in a variety of environments, as I would imagine many music lovers also do. Starting at the more grandiose end of the scale, the system in which I do my most serious listening comprises Marantz CD 6007 and Onkyo CD 7030 CD players, NAD C 658 streaming preamp/DAC, Legacy Audio PowerBloc2 amplifier, and a pair of Legacy Audio Focus SE loudspeakers. I occasionally do some listening through pair of Sennheiser 560S headphones. I miss the excellent ELS Studio sound system in our 2016 Acura RDX (now my wife's daily driver) on which I had ripped more than a hundred favorite CDs to the hard drive, so now when driving my 2024 Honda CRV Sport L Hybrid, I stream music from my phone through its adequate but hardly outstanding factory system. For more casual listening at home when I am not in my listening room, I often stream music through a Roku Streambar Pro system (soundbar plus four surround speakers and a 10" sealed subwoofer) that has surprisingly nice sound for such a diminutive physical presence and reasonable price. Finally, at the least grandiose end of the scale, I have an Ultimate Ears Wonderboom II Bluetooth speaker and a pair of Google Pro Earbuds for those occasions where I am somewhere by myself without a sound system but in desperate need of a musical fix. I just can’t imagine life without music and I am humbly grateful for the technologies that enable us to enjoy it in so many wonderful ways.
William (Bill) Heck, Webmaster and Contributor
Among my early childhood memories are those of listening to my mother playing records (some even 78 rpm ones!) of both classical music and jazz tunes. I suppose that her love of music was transmitted genetically, and my interest was sustained by years of playing in rock bands – until I realized that this was no way to make a living. The interest in classical music was rekindled in grad school when the university FM station serving as background music for studying happened to play the Brahms First Symphony. As the work came to an end, it struck me forcibly that this was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard, and from that point on, I never looked back. This revelation was to the detriment of my studies, as I subsequently spent way too much time simply listening, but music has remained a significant part of my life. These days, although I still can tell a trumpet from a bassoon and a quarter note from a treble clef, I have to admit that I remain a nonexpert. But I do love music in general and classical music in particular, and I enjoy sharing both information and opinions about it.
The audiophile bug bit about the same time that I returned to classical music. I’ve gone through plenty of equipment, brands from Audio Research to Yamaha, and the best of it has opened new audio insights. Along the way, I reviewed components, and occasionally recordings, for The $ensible Sound magazine. Most recently I’ve moved to my “ultimate system” consisting of a BlueSound Node streamer, an ancient Toshiba multi-format disk player serving as a CD transport, Legacy Wavelet II DAC/preamp/crossover, dual Legacy PowerBloc2 amps, and Legacy Signature SE speakers (biamped), all connected with decently made, no-frills cables. With the arrival of CD and higher resolution streaming, that is now the source for most of my listening.
Ryan Ross, Contributor
I started listening to and studying classical music in earnest nearly three decades ago. This interest grew naturally out of my training as a pianist. I am now a musicologist by profession, specializing in British and other symphonic music of the 19th and 20th centuries. My scholarly work has been published in major music journals, as well as in other outlets. Current research focuses include twentieth-century symphonic historiography, and the music of Jean Sibelius, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Malcolm Arnold.
I am honored to contribute writings to Classical Candor. In an age where the classical recording industry is being subjected to such profound pressures and changes, it is more important than ever for those of us steeped in this cultural tradition to continue to foster its love and exposure. I hope that my readers can find value, no matter how modest, in what I offer here.
Bryan Geyer, Technical Analyst
I initially embraced classical music in 1954 when I mistuned my car radio and heard the Heifetz recording of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. That inspired me to board the new "hi-fi" DIY bandwagon. In 1957 I joined one of the pioneer semiconductor makers and spent the next 32 years marketing transistors and microcircuits to military contractors. Home audio DIY projects remained a personal passion until 1989 when we created our own new photography equipment company. I later (2012) revived my interest in two channel audio when we "downsized" our life and determined that mini-monitors + paired subwoofers were a great way to mate fine music with the space constraints of condo living.
Visitors that view my technical papers on this site may wonder why they appear here, rather than on a site that features audio equipment reviews. My reason is that I tried the latter, and prefer to publish for people who actually want to listen to music; not to equipment. My focus is in describing what's technically beneficial to assure that the sound of the system will accurately replicate the source input signal (i. e. exhibit high accuracy) without inordinate cost and complexity. Conversely, most of the audiophiles of today strive to achieve sound that's euphonic, i.e. be personally satisfying. In essence, audiophiles seek sound that's consistent with their desire; the music is simply a test signal.
Mission Statement
It is the goal of Classical Candor to promote the enjoyment of classical music. Other forms of music come and go--minuets, waltzes, ragtime, blues, jazz, bebop, country-western, rock-'n'-roll, heavy metal, rap, and the rest--but classical music has been around for hundreds of years and will continue to be around for hundreds more. It's no accident that every major city in the world has one or more symphony orchestras.
When I was young, I heard it said that only intellectuals could appreciate classical music, that it required dedicated concentration to appreciate. Nonsense. I'm no intellectual, and I've always loved classical music. Anyone who's ever seen and enjoyed Disney's Fantasia or a Looney Tunes cartoon playing Rossini's William Tell Overture or Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 can attest to the power and joy of classical music, and that's just about everybody.
So, if Classical Candor can expand one's awareness of classical music and bring more joy to one's life, more power to it. It's done its job. --John J. Puccio
Contact Information
Readers with polite, courteous, helpful letters may send them to classicalcandor@gmail.com
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