Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances etc. (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Symphonic Dances, Op. 45; Capriccio on Gypsy Themes ‘Caprice Bohémien’, Op. 12; Scherzo in D minor; The Isle of the Dead, Op. 29. St. Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor. VOX-NX-3042CD

 

How gratifying it is to see Naxos continuing its release of conductor Leonard Slatkin’s traversal of Rachmaninoff’s (that’s the currently accepted English spelling) symphonic music, which he recorded for the budget Vox label back in the 1970s with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. We reviewed the first of these recordings to be released back in February, 2023, a release that contained Symphony No. 2 along with the haunting Vocalise that review can be seen hereMost classical music lovers of a certain age are no doubt familiar with Vox, a budget label that produced some real gems over the years. Even though Vox was a budget label, the sound quality on some of their releases could be excellent, especially those recorded by the production team at Elite Recordings, led by engineer Marc Aubort and producer Joanna Nickrenz. There is an article at the PS Audio website discussing the fine-sounding Ravel box set Vox released in the 1970s that provides some insight into Elite’s recording process, which you can find here. The main sonic drawback back in the LP days of yore was the often-substandard quality of Vox’s vinyl pressings. But in the past few years, there have been some significant advances in digital technology, allowing the good folks at Naxos, who now own the rights to the Vox treasure trove, the opportunity to give us truly elite versions of the Elite recordings.

Appearing on the back cover of these new “Vox Audiophile Edition” versions is a highlighted statement affirming that “The Elite recordings for Vox legendary producers Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz are considered by audiophiles to be among the finest sounding orchestral recordings.” For these reissues, Naxos engineers have taken those tapes from the vaults and carefully prepared these CDs for release, the end product of their labors being what they describe as “new192 kHz / 24-bit high definition transfers of the original Elite Recordings analogue master tapes.” Of course, all that work would not mean much if the performances captured by Aubort and Nickrenz were no great shakes to begin with; however, these Rachmaninoff recordings by Maestro Slatkin and the SLSO were excellent when they were released, and they are excellent now. These new remasterings onto CD allow today’s listeners to fully enjoy the confident, expressive playing of the SLSO under Slatkin’s leadership captured in transparent, dynamic sound that captures the sense of an orchestra playing in a hall. 

 

The major works on the disc are the opening Symphonic Dances and the closing The Isle of the Dead. Slatkin leads the SLSO in a tight, controlled, yet lyrical reading of the former, made even more enjoyable by the transparent quality of the recording, which offers a convincing illusion of hearing an orchestra in a hall. The sound might lack that last bit of power and excitement that Telarc afforded David Zinman and his Baltimore players, but it is still very, very good. I really don’t have much to say about The Isle of the Dead, however; to be honest, although many folks find it to be one of Rachmaninoff’s most moving works, it is a piece that makes no real impression on me and I seldom give it a listen Slatkin’s version sounds just fine, to be sure, but that’s about all I can say. 

However, I will close with great enthusiasm by pointing out that the other two pieces on the program, the Capriccio on Gypsy Themes and especially the brief (4:49) Scherzo in D minor are delightfully tuneful and refreshing romps that remind you how much a master melodist Rachmaninoff could be. The Scherzo is a piece that almost demands that the listener break into a dance step before those brief five minutes pass by. By including these two extra compositions, Naxos has given a CD containing more than 77 minutes of well-recorded, well-performed music both familiar and unfamiliar. Like the other Slatkin/SLSO “Audiophile Edition” VOX releases, this one is well worth seeking out.

Danny Elfman: Percussion Concerto (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Wunderkammer; Percussion Concerto – Triangle/D.S.C.H./Down/Syncopate*; Are You Lost?**. *Colin Currie, percussion; **Kantos Chamber Choir; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor. Sony Classical 19659889842

 

The composer Danny Elfman (b. 1953) is probably most widely known for his work as a film composer: some of his many notable credits include the soundtracks for The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Good Will Hunting, Batman, Spiderman, Mission Impossible, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In addition to all that, millions of fans owe him a debt of gratitude for composing the theme music that opens The Simpsons. He is also a singer, and in fact led the new wave band Oingo Boingo (1979-1995). As the twenty-first century made its appearance, Elfman began to compose serious classical music including a piano quartet, a percussion quartet, a violin concerto, and a cello concerto – and of course, the compositions on this lively new release from Sony Classics.

 

Elfman (left) relates in the liner notes that he was in London working on a film score just before the COVID-19 pandemic when his manager suggested that he meet with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (NYOGB), who had expressed an interest in a commission. At first Elfman was skeptical about the idea of a youth orchestra, but after attending a NYOGB concert performance, he recounts, “I was, “to say the least, blown away by how good they were. I decided on the spot that I would indeed find a way to write a piece for them. So I jumped into the composition that’s now called Wunderkammer. My original intention was to create something that was very challenging for them, as I knew they were up for that, and something that would also be fun and exciting for them to dig into, which might feature different instrument sections to give everyone a moment to shine.” Shining here are sections of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra as under the baton of JoAnn Falletta (pictured below) they take us on a tour of Elfman’s three “wonder rooms,” which are by turns relatively fast, slow, and fast. The outer movements have a bouncy, loping feel to them, while the middle movement has an element of spookiness lurking about. All three give the players plenty to do – there are even some vocal passages. 

Elfman’s Percussion Concerto has its roots in his travels in West Africa as a teenager, where he began collecting and learning to play balafons (similar to a marimba). Later, in his twenties, he played in Indonesian gamelan ensembles and then built his own wood and metal percussion ensembles for theater performances. He writes that “shortly after the 2017 premiere of my first violin to concerto, I had a chance meeting with percussionist Colin Currie in London. We decided it could be great fun to create a piece together. I was excited to plunge into the challenge of another concerto, while at the same time to really go back to my roots with wood and metal, mallets and sticks and hands. I also knew Colin was an extraordinary musician who would be great to collaborate with.  And I was aware that there that there were far fewer concertos for percussion than for the more obvious instruments like piano, violin, cello, etc., and that meant there were far fewer models to guide me, which made the idea of a percussion concerto far more enticing.” 

Currie (left) gets a chance to strut his stuff right from the get-go, playing a variety of percussion instruments to open the first of the four movements, Triangle. This is followed by D.S.C.H., a movement that manages to capture the feeling of a Shostakovich symphonic movement – that feeling that the Soviet composer is writing celebratory music while nervously fearing for his life. Elfman has penned a worthy tribute here! The third movement, Down, is more down in tempo, more brooding in mood, strings and more reflective percussion from Currie. The energy level picks back up in the finale, Syncopate, in which the temp increases and Currie cuts loose once again, supported energetically by the orchestra, including notably tympani and big bass drum. It’s a fun movement for turning up your stereo and letting your neighbors know you’re home – and syncopated!

After all the fun and energy of the two preceding percussion-oriented pieces, Are You Lost? seems a bit out of place. Elfman mentions that the folks at Sony Classical had suggested that for this recording of Wunderkammer and the Percussion Concerto, he should also include a piece that had never been recorded before. As a result, he decided to recast a movement from a trio he had written for violin, voice, and piano into a composition for choir and full orchestra. Interestingly, the opening notes of are you lost of Are You Lost? echo the opening notes of Syncopate, so perhaps it is not completely out of place after all. Still, it seems tacked on, something of an afterthought. It’s an okay piece; however, it really would have made more sense to place it between rather than after its discmates. 

 Although more extensive liner notes would be welcome, the sonics are impressive and overall, the release is a refreshingly original and bracingly refreshing blast of fresh air. I will admit that when I first auditioned it, I was unimpressed; it took a few sessions for the music to come. To life for me. Once it did, however, I found it to be music that well-crafted and completely satisfying. It’s music that will make you smile. Highly recommended.

Oded Tzur: My Prophet (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring 

Epilogue; Child You; Through a Land Unsown; Renata; My Prophet; Last Bike Ride in Paris. Oded Tzur, tenor saxophone; Nitai Hershkovits, piano; Petros Klampanis, double bass; Cyrano Almeida, drums. ECM 2821 651 4241

 

The Israeli-born New York-based tenor saxophonist Oded Tzur (b. 1984) has developed a distinctive tone and style of playing that gives his music an appeal capable of drawing in listeners who might not typically characterize themselves as jazz fans. Tzur studied Indian classical music; moreover, he was inspired to adapt techniques from masters of Indian instruments to the saxophone, enabling him to play microtones and slide between notes that the instrument would normally produce. This ability adds an extra sense of lyricism to his playing; in addition, much of the time the sound he draws from his instrument makes it seem as though he is somehow simply modulating some primal breath rather than blowing himself – as if he is the conduit, not the ultimate source of the breath, and thus the sound. It’s truly uncanny. 

 

We previously reviewed a recording by the pianist from this ensemble, Nitai Hershkovits, (you can read that review here). His energetic playing is a welcome complement to Tzur’s saxophone stylings, while Klampanis on bass and Almeida on drums provide solid and steady rhythmic support. From the sliding notes of Epilogue (can that really be a tenor sax?) through the bouncing rhythms of Child You, the plaintive call of Through a Land Unsown, the tender portrait of Renata, the heartfelt ode My Prophet, ending with the rowdy Last Bike Ride in Paris, Tzur and his fellow musicians deliver a spellbinding musical experience that should have appeal for a far wider audience than just hardcore jazz fans.