Miloš Baroque (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Scarlatti: Sonata in D Minor, K. 32 (arr. for Guitar by Michael Lewin); Vivaldi: Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, RV 439 “La Notte”: VI. Allegro (arr. for Guitar & Baroque Ensemble by Michael Lewin)*; Rameau: The Arts and the Hours (arr. for Guitar by Michael Lewin); Handel: Suite in B‐Flat Major, HWV 434: IV. Menuet (arr. for Guitar by Michael Lewin); Vivaldi: Concerto in B Minor, RV 580: I. Allegro (arr. for Guitar & Baroque Ensemble by Michael Lewin)*; Silvius Leopold Weiss: Passacaglia; Scarlatti: Sonata in F Minor, K. 466 (arr. for Guitar by Michael Lewin); Vivaldi: Concerto in B Minor, RV 580: III. Allegro (arr. for Guitar by Michael Lewin)*; Bach: Partita No. 2 in D Major, BWV 1004: Chaconne (arr. for Guitar); Alessandro Marcello: Concerto in D Minor: II. Adagio (arr. for Guitar & Baroque Ensemble by Michael Lewin)*; Boccherini: Quintet No. 4 in D Major, G 448: IV. Fandango (arr. for Guitar & Baroque Ensemble by Michael Lewin)*; Weiss: Fantasie; Couperin: Les Barricades mystérieuses (arr. for Guitar); Vivaldi: Trio Sonata in C Major, RV 82: II. Larghetto (arr. for Guitar & Baroque Ensemble by Michael Lewin)*. Miloš Karadaglić, guitar; *Arcangelo, directed by Jonathan Cohen. Sony Classical 19658822942

Classical guitarist Miloš Karadaglić (b. 1983), known professionally by his first name, Miloš, (sorry, but I can’t help but think of the inept tennis pro from Seinfeld) was born in Montenegro but now lives in England. He has released a number of albums, several of which have been reviewed here at Classical Candor. Back in 2011, John Puccio reviewed his album Mediterraneo, which, as you might guess from the title, included music by Mediterranean composers such as Albeniz, Tarrega, and Granados, along with some lesser-known names (you can find that review here). A year later, John reviewed the young guitarist’s next album, Pasio, which featured music from Latin America by tango master Astor Piazzolla and others (that review can be seen here). In 2014, John gave a listen to Miloš’s recording of Rodrigo’s touchstone guitar concerto, a piece that has been recorded by nearly every classical guitarist of note (Concierto de Aranjuez review here). Then in 2021, I reviewed a release titled The Moon and the Forest, wherein Miloš performs guitar concertos by contemporary composers Jody Talbot and Howard Shore (see that review here), concertos that he believes young listeners who have heard and enjoyed the Rodrigo will also find enjoyable.

On his newest album on the Sony Classics label, Miloš turns his attention to the Baroque period, bringing us music from Bach, Boccherini, Vivaldi, and others, some on solo guitar, some accompanied by the Arcangelo chamber orchestra. Miloš opines in the liner notes that “the Baroque age is a wonderful, mysterious, and exceptionally exciting period. At the same time the Baroque is the starting point for the way in which musical history went on to develop… I find it extraordinarily exciting to carry over into my music making the contrasts between light and shade that left their mark on Baroque art. This aspect emerges, for example, from the often abrupt shifts and the sudden interplay between solo instrument and orchestra. For me as a guitarist, there is something special about immersing myself in this music because it represents a completely different world from the one with which my instrument is traditionally associated.”

 

Once again we find a recording that has been shaped in some measure by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Miloš had begun his preparations for this album before the advent of the virus, its emergence and resultant cancellation of touring and other normal activities allowed him to increase his efforts. “While the rest of the world was holding its breath and came to a standstill, I found that for me it was a time when I felt even more inspired than usual,” he recounts.  The album is generally arranged in a way that highlights the dynamic shadings that Miloš mentions. For example, the program opens with the restrained Scarlatti sonata, which Miloš plays on his solo guitar, but then the next selection, a movement from a Vivaldi concerto, ramps up the energy as Miloš’s guitar is joined by the strings of the chamber ensemble Arcangelo (which is, by the way, based in the UK), and then we are back to a more reflective solo guitar piece, an arrangement of Rameau’s The Arts and the Hours. It was hearing Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson’s arrangement (you can see him playing it here) on his Debussy-Rameau album (see my review here) that introduced me to this music, which I found enchanting; hearing it again in a different arrangement on a different instrument has been another charming experience. 

The whole album is wonderfully entertaining, full of nothing less than refined music making. Two more cuts that really captured my fancy were the Weiss Fantasie, from a composer previously unknown to me and the Couperin Les Barricades mystérieuses, a piece with which I was previously familiar from hearing it played on piano recordings by Simone Dinnerstein (see review here) and Khatia Buniatushvili (see review here). Once again, Miloš makes both these pieces come to life from the strings of his guitar. Truth be told, the whole album is full of life; it is truly one of those releases that should appeal to a broad spectrum of music lovers. 

Souvenirs of Spain and Italy (CD review)

Music of Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Vivaldi, Turina, and Boccherini. Sharon Isbin, guitar; Pacifica Quartet. Cedille CDR 90000 190.

By John J. Puccio

Sharon Isbin is an American classical guitarist, the founding director of the guitar department at the Juilliard School, a winner of multiple Grammy Awards, and a soloist with over 200 orchestras throughout the world. In other words, she knows what she’s doing. She began studying the guitar at the age of nine, she has recorded well over two dozen albums since her recording debut in 1978, and she has been going strong ever since.

Ms. Isbin is accompanied on the album Souvenirs of Spain and Italy by the Pacifica Quartet: Simin Ganatra, violin; Austin Hartman, violin; Mark Holloway, viola; and Brandon Vamos, cello. They perform four pieces by Spanish and Italian composers, giving us a little taste of both countries. To say that the performances are polished and sparkling would be an understatement.

First up on the agenda is the Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet, written in 1950 by the Italian composer, writer, and pianist Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968). The composer described himself as “anti-modernist,” so the listener needn’t worry that we’re getting anything noisy, atonal, or avant-garde. In fact, the four movements are lovely, lyrical, with a poignant melody in the Andante. Ms. Isbin’s guitar playing is light and delicate when needed and robust in the finale.

Next up is the Concerto in D Major, written in the 1730s by Italian composer, violinist, teacher, impresario, and priest Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). He originally wrote it for lute, strings, and continuo, but here we find it arranged and edited for guitar and strings by Emilio Pujol and Sharon Isbin. It sounds typically Vivaldi, although Ms. Isbin and her friends play it perhaps a shade more subtly, more gracefully than one usually hears from this composer.

After that is La oracion del torero for string quartet (“The Bullfighters Prayer”), written in 1925 and reworked in 1936 by Spanish composer Joaquin Turina (1882-1949). It’s a single, short piece, about eight minutes long, with a varying and colorful character. The quartet plays it alone with color and character, a sweetly engaging performance.

The program closes with the Quintet for Guitar and String quartet No. 4 in D Major “Fandango,” transcribed by the Italian composer and cellist Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) from his own earlier quintet. It’s an elegant, flowing piece that was, for me, the highlight of an excellent set, combining the best of Italy and Spain. It makes an attractive way to end an entirely winning disc.

Producer Judith Sherman and engineer Bill Maylone recorded the music at Auer Hall, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana in January 2019. The sound is a trifle close-up, but it doesn’t distract from the music. The spacing of the players is especially distinct, and the instruments display good detail and clarity without a trace of brightness or hardness. It’s sound that should appeal to everyone, from audiophiles to earbud wearers.

JJP

To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below:

Virtuoso Music for Cello (CD review)

Music of Boccherini, Franchomme, Rossini & Servais. Constantin Macherel, cello; Sebastian Comberti, London Mozart Players. Claves 50-1903.

Here are a few things I didn't know: The cello was "derived from the viole da braccio family rather than that of the viols." Moreover, the young Swiss cellist Constantin Macherel featured on this disc is a laureate of numerous competitions and has performed recitals all over the world. He plays an old English cello by Joseph Hill, ca. 1765. Here, he is accompanied by the London Mozart Players, which, again news to me, is the UK's longest established chamber orchestra. They play under the direction of cellist Sebastian Comberti, who has appeared many times as a soloist with the London Mozart Players, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the Hanover Band.

The disc's program consists of five selections from the Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic periods. The opening number is the Variations sur deux themes (russe and ecossais) (1835) by the French cellist and composer Auguste-Joseph Franchomme (1808-1884). It's a charming piece played with elegance and refinement by Macherel. One certainly notices the melodies of Russia and Scotland throughout, but there are also hints of America's Stephen Foster as well. Whatever, it's nostalgic and reflective and poetically presented.

Constantin Macherel

Next comes Souvenir de Spa, Fantaisie (1844) by Franchomme's good friend Adrien Francois Servais (1807-1866), who was one of the most influential cellists of the nineteenth century. As in the Franchomme piece, we get music of extended refinement, this time the composer's impressions of Spa, the Belgian resort town famous for its mineral springs. It can be a bit more energetic than the Franchomme and not quite as sentimental, but it is equally as enchanting, with Macherel showing off his virtuosity.

After that is the longest and earliest piece on the agenda, the three-movement Cello Concerto No. 6 in D Major (1770) by the Italian composer and cellist Ridolfo Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805). It's a typically delightful piece from Boccherini, and the string accompaniment from the London Mozart Players well complements Macherel's graceful playing.

In the penultimate spot we find Une Larme, Theme et variations (1858) by Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868). These variations on "A Tear" can range rather pointedly from lively to playful to pensive. They are fun, and Macherel makes the most of the change-ups.

The album concludes with Chant d'adieux, Fantaise (1836), by the same man who opened the program, Auguste-Joseph Franchomme. He based the music on a funereal melody, so don't expect a lighthearted close to the agenda. But do expect the same degree of stylishly dignified attention by everyone involved.

Producer Rachel Smith and engineer Ben Connellan recorded the music at St. John the Evangelist, Upper Norwood, London in June 2018. The sound, while a tad close-up in the cello work, is otherwise excellent. The clarity is admirable, the detail, the definition. When the stage opens to the full chamber orchestra, it is well spread out, with lifelike distances between the instruments and a reasonably wide stereo spread. It's among the nicest, cleanest, most realistic things I've heard this year.

JJP

To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below:

Haydn: Cello Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (CD review)

Also, Boccherini: Cello Concerto in B flat. Jacqueline du Pre, cello;  Daniel Barenboim, English Chamber Orchestra; Sir John Barbirolli, London Symphony Orchestra. Warner Classics 0825646404155.

Perhaps owing something to the popularity of the 1998 movie about the English cellist Jacqueline du Pre, Hilary and Jackie, her old record company, EMI, re-released more of her work in the late 90's, giving her music a deserved new lease on life. After Ms. Du Pre's tragic death in 1987, her legacy could have been lost to all but the most avid music lovers. Thanks to EMI, however, and now Warner Classics, her Haydn and Boccherini are remastered and sound better than ever.

Her style in these pieces is, as always, sweetly expressive, warmly lyrical, broadly passionate, and I daresay by today's standards a little old-fashioned. Certainly, that's the way the music comes off compared to the less-adorned period-instrument renditions so much in vogue these days. She is best in both of the Haydn slow movements, where her natural affection for the music and for her instrument shine through effectively. The finale of the first concerto is a delight, too, full of youthful intensity and exuberance.

Jacqueline du Pre

The Boccherini is another story, through no fault of Ms. du Pre. In its familiar late-Romantic Grutzmacher arrangement, any resemblance between this piece and Boccherini seems purely accidental. It is so lushly orchestrated it could hardly be called Boccherini, and Ms. du Pre plays it in appropriate nineteenth-century fashion--long winded and luxuriant. There is nothing wrong with this approach, of course; it's just, again, a tad old-fashioned, and I'm happy for it.

The remastered sound of the first Haydn concerto and the Boccherini, recorded with Ms. du Pre's husband Daniel Barenboim and the English Chamber Orchestra in 1967, is ultra smooth and adequately revealing. It is not so clear, however, as either of the newer releases I reviewed at about the same time from Ha-Nah Chang and Giuseppe Sinopoli (EMI) or Steven Isserlis and Roger Norrington (RCA), although it is closer to the Chang in performance and closer to the Isserlis in audio quality.

The sound in the second Haydn concerto, recorded a few months later with Sir John Barbirolli and the London Symphony Orchestra, is very slightly better defined. None of this matters much as the ear adapts quickly to the beauty of the playing rather than obsessing with any sonic imperfections. Besides, unless you were to put on the other discs as I did for direct comparison in two identical-sounding CD players, you would find little fault in the sound of the older Du Pre recordings. As usual, Du Pre gets my wholehearted endorsement.

JJP

To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below:

Serenata: A Bouquet of Favorites for Strings (CD review)

Antonio Janigro, I Solisti di Zagreb. Vanguard Classics SVC-142.

If you laid all the albums of string music in the world end to end, some hot new group would try to rerecord all of them. No need to rerecord this collection, though. It contains some splendid music, almost every short favorite for strings you can name. The amazing thing is that Vanguard Classics recorded them so long ago, 1957 and 1962. The recordings were good in their day and they're good now, even if some listeners may not appreciate all of the interpretations.

Every performance is as lively and energetic as you'd expect from this conductor and ensemble, Antonio Janigro and I Solisti di Zagreb, and from the repertoire represented. The program starts with a zesty rendition of Albinoni's Concerto a cinque in B-flat Major, with sonics of startling presence. The Super Bit Map remastering has not only clarified the sound, it has eliminated most of the background noise between the notes. However, it has not removed all of the noise accompanying the notes, so what we get can sound slightly rough or fuzzy at times.

Antonio Janigro

The recordings themselves are a bit forward and bright, anyway, and the result is a little disconcerting at first. But one soon adjusts. The first nine tracks come from 1957 and actually sound the best of the lot; the later 1962 tracks display a fraction more static and low-end rumble.

Following Albinoni, there are Boccherini's familiar Minuet and Haydn's equally famous Serenade, requisite numbers in these kind of collections and pieces I continually mistake for one another. Janigro and his group do up both of them lovingly. The centerpiece of the album is Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik, performed with as much verve as one could want. If it doesn't come across quite as smoothly Marriner's or as effortlessly as Boskovsky's, it's close.

Also on hand are Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 3; Paradis's Sicilienne; Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on "Greensleeves," especially moving; Pergolesi's Concertino in G; Sibelius's Valse Triste; and, finally, a rather quick-paced version of Barber's Adagio for Strings that I had heard before from Janigro on an all-Barber anthology. This last one may be a matter of taste; Stokowski and Toscanini took it at about seven minutes; Janigro does it in six, although it doesn't sound particularly hurried, just a little too straightforward for my taste. I think, perhaps, the conductor was better in early music.

Overall, though, this is a fine collection of music, very well played. The audio, if not turned up too loudly, can sound superb as well. The collector will have most of these pieces already in his or her music library, but still a warmly recommended disc.

JJP

To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below: