Recent Releases No. 84 (Streaming Reviews)

by Karl Nehring

For Arvo (Extended Version). Pärt: Für Alina (Version 1); Variations for the Healing of Arinushka; Fratres (Transc. Osokins for Piano); Ukuara Waltz; Vier leichte Tanzstücke “Musik für Kindertheater” – No. 1, Der gestiefelte Kater; No. 2, Rotkäppchen; No. 3, Schmetterlinge; No. 4, Tanz der Entenküken; Mommy’s Kiss; Pari intervallo (Transc. Osokins for Piano); 2 Sonatinas for Piano, Op. 1 No. 1 - I. Allegro; II. Larghetto; Für Anna Maria; 2 Sonatinas for Piano, Op. 1 No. 2 - I. Allegro energico’ II. Largo; Partita, III. Allegro; Hymn to a Great City; Diagrams, Op. 11 – I. Unruhig; II. Ruhig; Partita, Op. 2 – I. Toccatina; II. Fughetta. III. Larghetto; IV. Ostinato; Lamentate: Fragile e conciliante (Transc. Osokins for Piano); Für Alina (Version 2); *Hymn to a Great City for 2 pianos (Live from the Martha Argerich Festival in Hamburg); Für Alina (Live from the Martha Argerich Festival in Hamburg). Georgjis Osokins, piano; *Martha Argerich, piano. Deutsche Grammophon 00028948676729

To celebrate the 90^th birthday of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, Deutsche Grammophon released the album For Arvo on September 11, 2025 (you can read our review of that album here).  Exactly one year later, September 11, 2026, DG has released what they are terming an “extended version” of For Arvo, adding two tracks recorded at the Martha Argerich Festival in June 2025. As I pointed out in my review of the original CD release, most classical music lovers should be familiar with Pärt’s music, given that his compositions have been recorded by myriad performers on a variety of labels. For those of us of a certain age, though, Pärt was once a newcomer who suddenly appeared on the scene with music unlike anything we had ever heard before. I can still vividly recall the first time I heard his music. While I was in graduate school, I had a weekend job as a security guard for a manufacturer of computer support equipment. One of my late-night duties was to drive from my post at the main plant to check on the training center, which was a couple of miles or so away. On one of those late-night drives, I found that our classical FM radio station was playing engrossing music unlike any music I had never heard before. I was spellbound! I parked in the training center parking lot and listened to the end of the piece, eager to find out what this music could possibly be. It turned out to be the landmark ECM release Tabula Rasa, featuring the music of Arvo Pärt as played by the then-young violinist Gidon Kremer and – of all pianists – the jazz icon Keith Jarrett. I have been an avid Pärt fan ever since and have auditioned and owned many of his numerous compositions over the past several decades. 

 

About a decade after my discovery of Pärt’s music, Georgijs Osokins was born into a family of pianists in the Latvian capital of Riga in 1995. Then in 2025, Osokins released his debut album on DG, For Arvo. “This album is a declaration of my deep love for Arvo and his music,” wrote Osokins in the liner notes of the CD. “It encompasses both completely unknown pieces, and some of the most-performed works of the last forty years. It Includes both original works and the art-form of piano transcriptions. I wanted to capture the very moment of the composer’s revelation – from complex contemporary avant-garde through to pure, luminous and enigmatic beauty and simplicity.” And that aptly describes what this release comprises; fortunately, the luminous and beautiful tracks outnumber the avant-garde. The opening tracks -- Für Alina, Variations for the Healing of Arinushka, Fratres, Ukuaru Waltz; Vier leichte Tanzstücke (“Four Easy Dance Pieces”), and Pari intervallo – are all relatively straightforward, easy on the ears, and the kind of music that most fans of Pärt have grown to appreciate. Especially noteworthy is Osokins’s transcription for piano of Fratres, which offer a fresh insight into this much-loved composition. The streaming version includes Mommy’ Kiss, a short but pleasant track that was not included on the CD. The two Sonatinas and the Partita are the works that lean more toward the avant-garde; however, although they are certainly not as easy on the ear as the other selections, neither are they the kind of dissonant, pounding piano works that the term “avant-garde” might scare one into fearing – in fact, they’re quite listenable. Sandwiched between the two Sonatinas is Für Anna Maria, brief but touching, and then after Partita comes the tender Lamentate, and the simple but expressive Hymn to a Great City. The first movement of Diagrams is frankly pounding and unpleasant, not at all typical of the style of the later Pärt, while the second movement, although still atypical, is at least easier on the ear. The second version of Für Alina is recorded more distantly, producing a haunting effect. Interestingly, time seems to be almost suspended, dreamlike, but the timing is the same as for the opening track. The beloved pianist Martha Argerich joins Osokins for a performance of Hymn to a Great City – her first public performance of Pårt’s music, and then the program closes as it began, with Osokins playing the deeply haunting Für Alina. Even for those who own the original CD, this new streaming release with its additional tracks is well worth seeking out.

 

Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 90 (arr. for two pianos by the composer). Piano duo Adrienne Soòs & Ivo Haag

I came across this release pretty much by accident late one evening on Amazon Music. I had been listening to this, that and the other when I noticed that the algorithm suggested this for me. I had no idea that Brahms had made a two-piano arrangement of my favorite of his symphonies. Hmmmm… I figured it would be worth a listen just to see what it would sound like. I didn’t expect to find it worth auditioning more than that one time; however, much to my surprise and delight, I found it to be a deeply satisfying recording, one that gave me an even greater appreciation for one of my favorite symphonies. We music lovers should be grateful that Brahms, who was himself a gifted pianist, decided to make his own transcriptions of his orchestral works rather than turn them over to staff arrangers at the publishing houses of his day. As you might expect, the arrangement captures the beauty and spirit of this remarkable symphony. The full palette provided by two keyboards allowed Brahms to paint a colorful pianistic portrait of his symphony, which the Hungarian/Swiss piano duo Adrienne Soós and Ivo Haag reproduce with artistry and affection. To those who hold the Brahms Third Symphony in high regard, I strongly suggest you give this two-piano version an audition.

Black Mozart (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 2) (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Mozart/Batiste: Facile-Batiste; Alla Blues; Alla Turc Movement; Shine: Twinkle; Processional; Country Zart; Molto; Molto in Cayo Hueso; Gospel Andante. Jon Batiste, piano. Decca 199957881494

Pianist and composer Jon Batiste (b. 1986) is likely an unfamiliar figure to many fans of classical music; however, many others may well remember his 2015-2022 stint as bandleader on the popular television program, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. (American) football fans might recall that it was Batiste who performed the national anthem at Super Bowl LIX. Back in early 2025, we reviewed Batiste’s Beethoven Blues (Verve/Interscope 602475263807), the first recording in which the New Orleans-rooted musician put his own spin on a classical composer (you can find that review here). In this new release, Batiste turns his attention to Mozart, and the results are even better. There seems to be something about the inherent tunefulness of Mozart’s music that gets Batiste’s improvisational juices flowing. He writes, “a key aspect of Mozart’s music of immense potency is how accessible and elementary it is – humble, singable melodies not overwritten – capturing the essence of childhood. There is an innocence to the sound that you can hear even without any understanding of the music… I found this music when I was a kid and some twenty years later I am still reimagining to extend the implications I see within it. I reimagined Mozart ‘black’ in the tradition of Mr., [Alvin] Batiste, imbuing it with influences from jazz, rags, stride, blues, stomps but still maintaining its core essence of modern classical music."

Listeners familiar with Mozart will hear Mozartean melodies – and no, they will not be twisted into unrecognizable strings of notes – played in joyfully blues- and jazz-influenced styles. The opening Facile Batiste offers a brief but happy take on a familiar theme from Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 16, while the next two tracks offer a couple of different takes on the familiar “Turkish March” theme. And yes, as you may have guessed, we get to hear some playful variations on the famous “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” music (which may be the most widely played Mozart piece ever that never gets him name-checked, alas). On Molto, we hear Batiste’s fairly straightforward take on familiar music from Symphony No. 40, setting us up for the next track, Molto in Cayo Hueso, where Batiste cuts loose and adds a Latin groove, taking Mozart to a beach on Key West. At more than seven minutes, it’s the highlight of the album. The closing track, Gospel Andante, finds Batiste putting a gospel spin on the piano part from Piano Concerto No. 21, known to many as the “Elvira Madigan” music, bringing the album to a peaceful close.

All in all, Black Mozart is a release that should appeal to a wide spectrum of listeners – fans of classical, jazz, soul, R&B should all find it appealing. Although I wish Batiste would have given us more extensive liner note thought about his approach to the music he chose to include, I have no quibble with the recording itself. Highly recommended.

Soler Piano Works (CD Review)

by Ryan Ross 

Soler! Gerardo Teissonniére, pianist. Steinway & Sons 30242\

In my December writeup of Johan Dalene’s Mendelssohn and Bruch album, I noted how often my views diverge from those of other critics. Well, here we go again. I’m already seeing what I consider to be excessive enthusiasm for this disc. Either I am living in The Twilight Zone, or some folks aren’t listening that carefully. Forgive my candor (see what I did there?), but it does get lonely being the one to say the most negative things in Google search results. Nonetheless, I have to call it like I see it. My responsibility as a critic is reporting what I hear in the recording, rather than what I hear about the recording. If that puts me alone in a corner, so be it. Thus positioned, my regretful verdict is that Gerardo Teissonnière’s playing doesn’t match his obvious sincerity. The main culprits are rhythmic inconsistency and a mediocre tone. Let’s jump in.

 

First off, an admission: I was unfamiliar with Teissonnière’s work before taking on this review task. I would have sampled his other performances in any case, but now I had a pressing question: does he always play like this? Yes and no. His Schubert Impromptus show the occasional wobbly stretch, but nothing to rival a crass, even poundy approach to loud dynamics. His debut recording for Steinway, featuring Beethoven’s final three sonatas, also begins to tell the tale for this latest release. Teissonnière likes big, thick chords and thundering octaves. He’s even capable of an attractively soft tone, as his Opp. 109 and 110 prove. But his biggest weakness is a lack of rhythmic control, particularly in intricate passages.

 

Soler doesn’t offer many of the Romantic-style textures Teissonnière clearly relishes. This music tests the performer in other respects. Unfortunately, they expose Teissonnière’s vulnerabilities to a greater degree. Runs of quicker notes sometimes sound uneven. Simpler figurations fare better in this respect. But if there is a group of four 16th or 32nd notes, especially many in succession and with lots of concurrent activity in other voices, there is a decent chance he fudges the timing of at least one. The hand-crossing passages in the R. 84 D Major sound herky-jerky. Ditto the accompaniment to the tail motive of the R. 39 D Minor, and certain right-hand thirds in the same sonata. These stretches and others throughout seem insufficiently practiced even if they weren’t. Similar issues plague parts of R. 15. Tone quality is also a problem, as when some of the rapidly repeated notes get underplayed in R. 88.

 

The impression I get of Teissonnière’s playing overall is that of a strong but not elite talent trying to make the most of his gifts. There are many fine moments, but strain and inconsistency rear their heads nearly as often. Soler is not Beethoven or Schubert in terms of recording saturation. But there are several other available options for his sonatas, including a quality Naxos series. Best of all is Alicia de Larrocha, whose own selections partially overlap with Teissonnière’s. If comparing her performances to his doesn’t demonstrate at least some of what I said here, maybe I really am living in an alternate universe.