John Adams: Piano, Vocal, and Chamber Works (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Adams: Road Movies – I. Relaxed Groove; II. Meditative; III. 40% Swing; I Still Play – Pocket Variations for Solo Piano; Roll Over Beethoven (arr. of the composer’s Second String Quartet for two pianos by Preben Antonsen); Am I in Your Light? (from Dr. Atomic, arr. Chitose Okashiro for voice and piano, text: Peter Sellars); Consuelo’s Dream (from I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then. I Saw the Sky, arr. John McGinn for voice and piano, text: June Jordan); Leila’s Song: Alone (Again or At Last) (from I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky, arr. John McGinn for voice and piano, text: June Jordan); Short Ride in a Fast Machine (arr. P. Antonsen for piano four hands). Ralph van Raat, piano; Rosanne Philippens, violin; Laura Bohn, soprano; Maarten van Veen, piano. NAXOS 8.559910

Listening to this release of music from American composer John Adams (b. 1947) caused my mind to drift back to those days back in the 1980s when the musical trend known as Minimalism really began to gain a foothold in classical music circles. I was then avidly combing the bins at record stores, bringing home plenty of LPs and CDs to audition, some of which I would wind up reviewing for The $ensible Sound audio magazine. The three minimalist composers who really made a mark for themselves were Adams, Philip Glass (b. 1937), and Steve Reich (b. 1936). There were others, of course, such as Ingram Marshall (1942-2022), but Adams, Glass, and Reich are the composers who went on to emerge as the Big Three of the American minimalist movement. Of the three, Adams is arguably the most successful in orchestral music; here, though, we are presented with – as the album’s title proclaims – piano, vocal, and chamber works. However, the title is slightly misleading, for what we find here includes not only original Adams scores but also arrangements/transcriptions of some of his compositions, for better or worse. 

 

The album opens strongly with the three-movement Road Movies for violin and piano, which offers an engaging balance between rhythmic drive and melodic commentary, tossed back and forth between the piano and violin. It’s one of those pieces that draws the listener in from first note to last – a sheer delight. The piano piece I Still Play strikes these ears as trying just a bit too hard to sound whimsical; your mileage may vary. Roll Over Beethoven is an arrangement for two pianos of a string quartet; although there are some interesting passages, more melodic development would be welcome. The three songs that follow come as a breath of fresh air, with Laura Bohn’s beautiful voice projecting grace and light. Finally, we have an arrangement for piano four hands of one of Adams’s most well-known orchestral works, Short Ride in a Fast Machine, which surprisingly enough works remarkably well, capturing a good portion of the energy and exhilaration of the original score. For fans of John Adams, this new Naxos release is well worth an audition.

Bantock: Orchestral Works (CD Review)

by Ryan Ross 

Bantock: Hebridean Symphony; English Scenes; Prelude to ‘The Bacchae’ of Euripides. Rumon Gamba, conductor; BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Chandos CHSA 5380

I’ve always been a bit torn about Granville Bantock. On the one hand, I love his flair for scene painting, and his splendid knack for orchestral color. On the other hand, I get frustrated with his peculiar formal mushiness, and a tendency to over-extend what are usually modest materials. If I’m honest, it’s all made more annoying by an extravagant exoticism that can seem more like a rich kid’s pose than anything else. He’s a neglected composer I feel eager to promote, and end up reluctantly realizing why he’s second-tier.

 

But as I often say, even a second-tier composer might ring the bell occasionally. The Hebridean Symphony is one of Bantock’s few works in that category. Yes, it’s a bit bloated and at times borderline hokey. (That stretch of insistent trumpet fanfares toward the end comes immediately to mind.) But it also contains some real magic, especially earlier on. The first section, built on the Scottish folk song “The Seagull of the Land-under-Waves,” is gorgeous and well proportioned. And the stormy music of the Con moto section is one of the most thrilling passages in all of British classical music. Look, I’m not saying the world needs a full-blown Bantock revival, but a performance of the Hebridean Symphony now and then would definitely help to enrich the concert palette. Particularly in my very own United States.

 

The other works on this recording are pleasant but less ambitious. The Prelude to ‘The Bacchae’ of Euripides reflects the vogue for Greek play music in early-twentieth-century Britain. Coming in at just over six minutes, it’s effective enough music that doesn’t overstay its welcome, even if the listener neither knows nor cares about its eponymous imagery. The English Scenes of 1901 comprise a handful of shorter pieces that, while likewise less memorable than the symphony, also avoid its mild tax on the patience. Bantock was always most inspired when animating a non-musical subject, and each of these scenes carries a simple yet vivid title to that effect.

 

Indefatigable conductor Rumon Gamba is another musician who revels in scene-painting. Unsurprisingly, he and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra give bright performances of all this music. Their main competition involves the Hebridean Symphony. Perhaps Adrian Leaper’s interpretation with the Czecho-Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra (Naxos 8.555473, formerly on Marco Polo 8.223274) is harder-edged. Maybe Vernon Handley and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Hyperion CDA66450) are the most consistent. But Gamba and the BBCSSO distinguish themselves by sheer color and exuberance. In the end you really can’t go wrong with any of these options.

 

Which makes formulating a recommendation awkward. I don’t know how many listeners will want multiple recordings of the Hebridean Symphony in their collections, much less versions of this other repertoire. The best solution (as usual) is probably to sample before you buy. But stream and revisit? Absolutely. Gamba has already made a name for himself with northern European repertoire, and this release is another feather in his cap.

Ted Rosenthal Trio: Classics Reimagined: impromp2 (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring 

Chopin: Waltz in C-sharp minor; Dvorak: Slavonic Dance; Chopin: Mazurka in A minor¹; Mussorgsky: The Old Castle²; Rachmaninoff: Vocalise³; Brahms: Allegretto from Symphony No. 3; Beethoven: “Pathetique” Sonata, 2^nd Movement; “Pathetique” Sonata, 3^rd Movement; Elgar: Salut D’Amour⁴; Satie: Je Te Veux⁵; Chopin: Waltz in A-flat⁶. Ted Rosenthal, piano; Norika Ueda, bass; Quincy Davis, drums; with the following musicians appearing on individual tracks as indicated: ^1,2Tim Horner, drums; ^2,6Ken Peplowski, clarinet; ^3,4,5Sara Caswell, violin. TMR Music TMR #101725

Pianist Ted Rosenthal (b. 1959) has a solid grounding in classical music, with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in classical piano performance. Outside the classroom, he pursued his interest in jazz; after college, he continued private study in classical piano while playing jazz gigs around New York. His big break came in 1988, when he entered and won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, resulting in a recording contract and the launching of a successful career as a jazz musician. However, he has kept his hand in classical music, appearing as a soloist with symphony orchestras as well as composing a piano concerto and an opera. About this recording, he explains, “Impromp2 is a collection of my reimaginings of themes from the classical world into the world of jazz. I have performed this repertoire often: with my trio, in solo concerts, and with trio plus chamber orchestra. I often hear classical themes as being ripe for jazz treatments – perhaps with a bit of mischievous intent. Setting these melodies with embellished jazz harmonies comes naturally to me. The next challenge is finding a satisfying form for improvisation. Finally, finding a rhythmic “groove” that makes the whole treatment work without sounding forced or contrived is key. I have been playing many of the pieces on this CD for a few years already and firmly believe that as ‘jazz tunes,’ they work.”

 

What Rosenthal says about classical pieces working as a basis for jazz tunes certainly seems to make solid sense. Much of the jazz repertoire consists of improvisatory reworking of popular music; in particular, the Great American Songbook. So why not apply the jazz approach to some of the great melodies of the classical masters? Some readers of a certain age and musical disposition may recall the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Blue Rondo a la Turk, the group’s jazz take on a theme by Mozart; more recently, we’ve had the young New Orleans pianist Jon Batiste offering us jazz takes on music by Beethoven (our review of “Beethoven Blues” can be found here) and Mozart (see our review of “Black Mozart” here). Now we have this new release from Ted Rosenthal that features tastefully swinging arrangements of music by classical composers. The program kicks off with a lively Chopin waltz that leaves waltz rhythm behind to infuse Latin energy. After some more dances from Dvorak and Chopin again, we come to one of the special highlights of the album, a hauntingly atmospheric take on Mussorgsky featuring veteran clarinetist Ken Peplowski. This is followed by another lyrical guest appearance, violinist Sara Caswell on Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise. Then we get an unexpected delight, a swinging yet faithful to the original arrangement of the bittersweet Allegretto movement from Brahms’s Third Symphony. Rosenthal then offers a solo improvisation based on the second movement of Beethoven’s ‘Pathetique’, followed by a trio arrangement of the third movement. The Brahms and Beethoven are the highlights of the program; however, Impromp2 is a joy from start to finish, and I highly recommend it to jazz and classical fans alike.