Karl Nehring's Favorites of 2025

 Art Choral Vol. 6: Moderne. Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978): Unicornis Captivatur; Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Lux AEterna (excerpt from Nimrod from Enigma Variations, arrangement by John Cameron); Ambroz Čopi (b. 1973): II. Regina caeli (excerpt from Quatuor Antiphonae Marianae Selectae); Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943): O magnum mysterium; Čopi: IV. Ave, Regina caelorum (excerpt from Quatuor Antiphonae Marianae Selectae); Samuel Barber (1910-1981): Agnus Dei (Adagio for Strings, Op. 11, transcription for mixed choir); Jake Runestad (b.1986): Nyon Nyon; Uģis Prauliņš (b. 1957): Missa Regensis: I. Kyrie eleison; Andrew Balfour (b. 1967): Praeter rerum seriem; Aaron Copland (1900-1990): Help Us, O Lord (excerpt from Four Motets) Pablo Casals(1876-1973): O vos omnes (Antífona del Nocturno 3º de Sábado Santo). Ensemble ArtChoral (Janelle Lucyk, Marie Magistry, Magali Simard-Galdès, sopranos; Ghislaine Deschambault, Claudine Ledoux, Rachèle Tremblay, altos; Kerry Bursey, Bernard Cayouette, Arthur Tanguay-Labrosse, tenors; Alasdair Campbell, William Kraushaar, Guillaume St-Cyr, basses); Matthias Maute, director. ATMA Classique ACD2 2425 

This release focuses on music from a specific musical era: the Modern Era. The program is a mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar, with old standbys such as the choral arrangements of the Barber Adagio and the Elgar Nimrod mixed in with less familiar works by composers whose names might be familiar (such as Copland and Casals) or perhaps lass familiar (such as Čopi or Prauliņš). In presenting a mix of the familiar and unfamiliar, the soothing and stimulating, this collection provides an entertaining overview of modern choral music that is both stimulating and entertaining.

 

Anouar Brahem: After the Last Sky. Brahem: Hind; After the Last Sky; Endless Wandering; The Eternal Olive Tree; Awake; In the Shade of Your Eyes; Dancing Under the Meteorites; The Sweet Oranges of Jaffa; Never Forget; Edward Said’s Reverie; Vague. Anouar Brahem, oud; Anja Lechner, cello; Django Bates, piano; Dave Holland, double bass. ECM 2838

 

The interplay among the four musicians flows naturally and unforced, the music coming across as an amalgam of chamber and world music. The opening track, for example, Remembering Hind, is a brief duet for cello and piano that sounds as if it could be an excerpt from a cello sonata. The mood throughout the album is generally restrained, reflexive; at times – as in the track Endless Wandering – bordering on somber. The Eternal Olive Tree livens things up a bit, however, as Holland and Brahem engage in an energetic exchange. This is an album of extraordinary depths, the four musicians combining to produce an album of breathtaking beauty, chamber music of haunting emotional subtlety. The warm, natural, spacious ECM engineering adds to the luster of this sparkling gem. 

 

Anna Clyne: Abstractions. Clyne: Within Her Arms; Abstractions – I. Marble Moon II. Auguries III. Seascape IV. River V. Three; Restless Oceans; Color Field – I. Yellow II. Red III. Orange. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop, conductor. Naxos 8.574620

 

 Clyne wrote the deeply moving elegy Within Her Arms, which is set for an ensemble of 15 strings, shortly after the death of her mother in 2008. The remaining compositions are scored for full orchestra, showcasing both the rich imagination of the composer and the deft playing of the Baltimore players. Although the music is not particularly tuneful, neither is it overly abstract; rather, it is engaging and entertaining, with many striking effects. It is music that makes you want to listen to it over and over again to discover its many striking moments.

 

Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune L87 (arr. David Walter); Violin Sonata in G minor L148; Sonata for flute, viola and harp L145; Cello Sonata in D minor L144; String Quartet in G minor L91. The Nash Ensemble. Hyperion CDA68463

 

Those classical music fans who are familiar with previous recordings by the venerable British chamber collective known as the Nash Ensemble have no doubt come to expect quality work from the group. Here, they present French music and do so quite persuasively. This generously filled disc (77+ minutes) opens with a delightfully transparent arrangement – not too thin, not too thick – of Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune for the combination of string quintet, wind quintet, and crotales (small tuned cymbals). Although the remainder of the program might be of music that many fans of Debussy might already have in their collection, the quality of the performances, the quality of the engineering, the quality of the liner notes, and the particularly noteworthy version of Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune combine to make this a most persuasive release.

Fred Hersch: The Surrounding Green. Hersch: Plainsong; Ornette Coleman: Law Years; Hersch: The Surrounding Green; Egberto Gismonti: Palhaço; George and Ira Gershwin: Embraceable You; Charlie Haden: First Song; Hersch: Anticipation. Fred Hersch, piano; Drew Gress, double bass; Joey Baron, drums. ECM 2826

 

Prior to this recording, these three musicians had never recorded together as a trio. You’ never guess that from listening, though, as the music just seems to flow so naturally, so beautifully, so lyrically. That doesn’t mean “easy listening,” however; the inclusion of an Ornette Coleman tune, Law Years, should provide a clue that all is not simple tunefulness. But even here, there is nothing to assault the senses; rather, it’s more a feeling of contrast and coloration. After all, Ornette was nothing if not lyrical. Perhaps not traditionally so, but my goodness, his music bursts forth with tuneful joy, and these three musicians understand that. Hersch’s title track, The Surrounding Green, is another exemplar of lyrically flowing music that cannot but help induce aesthetic satisfaction. Recorded in ECM’s typical warm, spacious sound quality and featuring especially appealing cover art (although, sadly but not surprisingly, no liner notes), this is an album packed with tasteful, thoughtful, rewarding music.

 

Alexander Knaifel: Chapter Eight. Knaifel: Canticum Canticorum for cathedral, choirs, and cello – 1. Stanza I-VII 2. Stanza VIII-XXII 3. Stanza XXIII-XXXII. Patrick Demenga, cello; State Choir Latvija; Riga Cathedral Boys Choir; Youth Choir Kamer; Andres Mustonen, conductor. ECM New Series 2637 485 9853

 

There is abundant beauty to be found in Chapter Eight, but it is beauty of a subtle sort. Knaifel considered the acoustic environment in which the piece would be played – a cathedral – to be instrumental in producing the sound he envisioned. Although the listing in the header above of three choirs and a cello soloist might give the impression that this is going to be some sort of sonic spectacular, with soaring vocal soloists, complex contrapuntal choral lines, and virtuosic flights of fancy from the cello, the music is restrained, contemplative, yet powerful in its own way. Rostropovich said of Chapter Eight, “It is amazing with what a deep sense of beauty this composition for church, choruses, and cello is imbued.” The performance on this album was recorded in Lucerne’s Jesuitenkirche, built in the Baroque era, and long renowned for its exceptional acoustic properties. With that beautiful sound faithfully captured by the ECM engineering team, this is a release to be treasured.

 

Anna Lapwood: Firedove. (1) The Bells of Nidaros Cathedral; (2) Alan Manken: The Bells of Notre Dame (fromThe Hunchback of Notre Dame); (3) Hans Zimmer: Time (from Inception); (4) Flight – Introduction; (5) Rachel Portman: Flight; (6) Olivia Bell: Limina Luminis; (7) Julie Cooper: Firedove; (8) Ivo Antognini: Come to Me; (9) Bob Dylan: Make You Feel My Love; (10) Robbie Williams & Guy Chambers: Angels; (11) Ola Gjeilo: Northern Lights; (12) Poppy Ackroyd: Murmurations; (13) Louis Vierne: Naïades; (14) Hania Rani: Glass; (15) Maurice Duruflé: Prélude et Fugue sur le Nom D’Alain Op. 7. Anna Lapwood, organ and conductor; Jess Gillam, saxophone (4, 5); The Chapel Choir of Pembroke Choir, Cambridge (7, 8, 9); Elena Urioste, violin (7); Molly Hord, organ (9); Maryam Giraud, soloist (9). Sony Classical 19802809272

 

Anna Lapwood MBE (b. 1995) is skilled not only as an organist, but as a conductor and broadcaster as well. Now she is here with a new album, which she characterizes as “an explosion of emotion, bringing together all the different strands of my musical world, from organ to choral, and from classical to pop, all seen through the lens of this remarkable instrument.” The “remarkable instrument” to which she refers is the organ at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. The centerfold picture in the CD booklet shows Lapwood seated at the keyboard of this imposing instrument, which was built in 1930. With 129 stops and more than 9,600 pipes, it is one of the largest organs in northern Europe. From the sound of the cathedral bells that open the album, the choir, the plaintive saxophone, and of course the magnificent organ itself, the album unfolds a full spectrum of sound from the intimate to the grand. Remarkably, despite the varied nature of the program, Lapwood’s musical vision comes through as consistent and compelling.

 

Mahler: Symphony No. 9. Park Avenue Chamber Symphony; David Bernard, conductor. Recursive Classics RC3691873

 

Transparency of sound is an outstanding feature of this release, in terms of both performance and engineering. The opening movement, for example, moves right along, although it never seems rushed. It has texture – the sound is not dominated by strings; moreover, the tempo is steady, with no sensation of a drag to pull at our heartstrings. It just sounds natural and unaffected. And so with the second movement, which dances, as it should, and an especially lively and energetic Rondo-Burleske third movement – in both these inner movements, the liveliness of both the performance and the recorded sound bring a sense of delight that belie the reputation this work sometimes gets as a morbid, gloomy work. The closing Adagio, the longest of the four movements (25:05 in this performance), is of course more serious in tone, but even here, the interpretation never goes over the top into the maudlin. All in all, this new release offers a fresh new way of enjoying the Mahler Ninth that should be of great interest to serious Mahlerites. 

 

Ravel: Complete Works for Solo Piano. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, piano. CHANDOS CHAN 20287(2)

 

This new recording by Bavouzet is clearly a labor of love, the pianist returning to the music of Ravel two decades after his earlier recording, bringing with him a deeper appreciation for the music of the great French master. The generous CD booklet contains not only extensive notes on the music by eminent English musicologist Hugh Macdonald, but also an essay by Bavouzet in which he marvels at how Ravel, who was far from a virtuoso pianist himself, “was capable of inventing the most magical pianistic effects without being able to try them out himself?” But Bavouzet is able to produce Ravel’s magical pianistic effects, and the Chandos engineering team has done a fine job of recording them. This has become my new favorite Ravel piano set. 

Words Fall Short. Joshua Redman: A Message to Unsend; *So It Goes; Words Fall Short; Borrowed Eyes; **Icarus; Over the Jelly-Green Sea; She Knows; ***Era’s End. Joshua Redman, tenor and soprano saxophones; Paul Cornish, piano; Philip Norris, double bass; Nazir Ebo, drums; with *Melissa Aldana, tenor saxophone; **Skylar Tang, trumpet; ***Gabrielle Cavassa, vocals. Blue Note 00602475915096

 

This time around, Redman is offering us an instrumental album featuring his band cutting loose on his compositions. It is especially fun to hear Redman and guest tenor star Melissa Aldana (whose own albums as a leader are well worth seeking out) trading licks on So It Goes. (How wonderful it would be for these two tenor titans to someday record an entire album together – is there any possibility that could actually happen?) On the track Icarus, trumpeter Skylar Tang adds some extra punch to the proceedings as she sometimes doubles Redman’s sax, sometimes steps out to solo, and drummer Ebo also really drives things along with plenty of kinetic energy. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention pianist Paul Cornish, whose melodic touch is evident right from the opening track, and bassist Philip Norris, who kicks off the title track with a thumping bass solo. Although vocalist Cavassa is featured on only one tune, her contribution is a valuable one, bringing bittersweet pathos to Era’s End to close out the album. All in all, Words Fall Short is another solid effort from a modern jazz master.

La Mer – French Works for Piano Trio (CD Review)

 by Karl Nehring

Saint Saëns: Trio No. 2, Op. 92; Mel [Mélanie Hélène Domange, née] Bonis: Soir-Matin, Op. 76; Debussy (arranged by Sally Beamish): La Mer. Neave Trio (Anna Williams, violin; Mikhail Veselov, cello; Eri Nakamura, piano). CHANDOS CHAN 20337

It was about a year ago that we last reviewed a release by the Neave Trio, A Room of Her Own, which featured works by women composers who have been largely overlooked by classical music fans (you can read that review here). On this latest release, the ensemble, whose members originate from the USA, Russia, and Japan, present music both familiar and unfamiliar by French composers both familiar and unfamiliar. The album starts off with a relatively familiar work by a highly familiar French composer, the second of the two piano trios by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921). Although La Mer gets title billing for the CD, it is this five-movement work, lasting nearly 33 minutes, that is the longest of the three compositions featured on the program. Comprising three briefer inner movements contained between two longer outer movements, this is a work grand in scale, but with its five movements offering a range of musical textures and colors to keep listeners engaged. 

Next up is the delightful Soir-Matin (“Evening-Morning”) by a composer whom I suspect will be as unfamiliar to most readers as she was to me, Mel Bonis (1858-1937). She was encouraged as a teenager by Franck and was a fellow student with Debussy at the Paris Conservatoire. Following the dramatic finale of the Saint Saëns, the lighter, more transparent sound and atmosphere created by Bonis serves as a pleasant contrast, a sonic and emotional palette cleanser of sorts, bound to bring a smile. Hearing this brief piece by this previously unknown composer may well whet your appetite – as it did mine – to hear more.

 

Then on to the featured work, a familiar composition for orchestra presented in an unfamiliar way – by a piano trio. Interestingly enough, this is not the first time we have reviewed recordings of well-known orchestral compositions performed by piano trios. Back in 2022, we reviewed a recording of Symphonies Nos. 2 & 5 by Beethoven by the all-star trio of Kavakos, Ma, and Ax, a release for which we could not work up much enthusiasm (you can find that review here). However, we found their later release of a trio arrangement of Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony to be an utter delight (you can read that review here). Perhaps the reason the “Pastoral” reduction seemed to work so much better is that the symphony is so essentially tuneful that reducing the instrumental forces in some respects increases rather than reduces the tuneful appeal of the music. But what about La Mer, where the melodies are less defined and the overall musical colors more hazy? What we end up with in this trio arrangement comes across as an X-ray view of the body of the beast. It is fascinating to listen to, it offers insight into the structure of La Mer, and it can stand on its own as a piano trio. 

The CD booklet offers informative liner notes, and the engineering is first-class. The Neave Trio has once again delivered a release well worth seeking out in every respect, from the originality of the program to the excellence of the playing and production. Enthusiastically recommended!

Recent Releases No. 75 (CD Reviews)

by Karl Nehring

Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune L87 (arr. David Walter); Violin Sonata in G minor L148; Sonata for flute, viola and harp L145; Cello Sonata in D minor L144; String Quartet in G minor L91. The Nash Ensemble. Hyperion CDA68463

 

Those classical music fans who are familiar with previous recordings by the venerable British chamber collective known as the Nash Ensemble have no doubt come to expect quality work from the group. The Nash is the resident Chamber Ensemble at London’s famous Wigmore Hall, where every year since 1979 it has presented a series devoted to exploring the many different nooks and crannies of the chamber music catalog. Current members of the Ensemble include Philippa Davies, flute; Gareth Hulse, oboe; Richard Hosford, clarinet; John McDougall, bassoon; Richard Watkins, horn; Benjamin Nabarro, violin; Jonathan Stone, violin; Lawrence Power, viola; Adrian Brendel, cello; Graham Mitchell, double bass; Lucy Wakeford, harp; and Richard Benjafield, percussion. Here, the British group presents French music and does so quite persuasively. This generously filled disc (77+ minutes) opens with a delightfully transparent arrangement – not too thin, not too thick – of Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune for the combination of string quintet, wind quintet, and crotales (small tuned cymbals). Although the remainder of the program might be of music that many fans of Debussy might already have in their collection, the quality of the performances, the quality of the engineering, the quality of the liner notes, and the particularly noteworthy version of Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune combine to make this highly recommendable release.

 

Knaifel: Chapter Eight. Canticum Canticorum for cathedral, choirs, and cello – 1. Stanza I-VII 2. Stanza VIII-XXII 3. Stanza XXIII-XXXII. Patrick Demenga, cello; State Choir Latvija; Riga Cathedral Boys Choir; Youth Choir Kamer; Andres Mustonen, conductor. ECM New Series 2637 485 9853

Alexander Knaifel (1943-2024) was born in 1943 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, but grew up in St Petersburg. He studied with Rostropovich and his relationship with him remained close until the great cellist’s death. He was born into a Jewish family, but was also attracted by the Orthodox church and Buddhism; he has spoken of seeking to convey something of the heart of faith by "speaking in a low voice, hoping to hear a voice within oneself.” Although some critics have found echoes of Arvo Pärt, John Tavener, and Henryck Górecki in Knaifel’s quest for beauty, he has a style that is entirely his own, with its own expressive power. Of his personal quest for beauty, Knaifel once observed: "The sounds are, for me, signs of the existence of beauty. Beauty is the most important thing for me – it is energy, unrepeatable.” There is abundant beauty to be found in Chapter Eight, but it is beauty of a subtle sort. Knaifel considered the acoustic environment in which the piece would be played – a cathedral – to be instrumental in producing the sound he envisioned. Although the listing in the header above of three choirs and a cello soloist might give the impression that this is going to be some sort of sonic spectacular, with soaring vocal soloists, complex contrapuntal choral lines, and virtuosic flights of fancy from the cello, the music is restrained, contemplative, yet powerful in its own way. Rostropovich said of Chapter Eight, “It is amazing with what a deep sense of beauty this composition for church, choruses, and cello is imbued.” The performance on this album was recorded in Lucerne’s Jesuitenkirche, built in the Baroque era, and long renowned for its exceptional acoustic properties. With that beautiful sound faithfully captured by the ECM engineering team, this is a release to be treasured.

 

Live Concert Report: Stanley Clarke

 

I recently attended a show featuring the legendary bassist Stanley Clarke (b. 1951), a virtuoso on both the electric and acoustic bass. Music fans of a certain age may recall that Clarke first gained exposure in the 1970s as the bass player with the jazz fusion group Return to Forever, which along with Clarke featured the late Chick Corea on keyboards, Al DiMeola on guitar, and Lenny White on drums. He has since gone on to make many recordings as a leader and has toured the world with many bands that he has assembled over the years. On this night in Cincinnati, in a venue where my son and I had purchased front-row center seats, the band Clarke led onto the stage included Cameron Graves, piano, synths; Emilio Modeste, saxophone; Evan Garr, violin; and Jeremiah Collier, drums.  Clarke opened the show on acoustic bass (amplified), after announcing to the crowd that he and his band were going to begin by“warming up.” They immediately launched into a high-energy fusion number, with Collier whacking the daylights out of his drumkit and Clarke laying down lightning fast and powerful riffs on his bass. And so it went through the evening, Clarke and Collier laying down the bottom (Clarke occasionally picking up the electric bass), with some flashy solos being traded among the violin, saxophone and keyboard. Collier on drums deserves special notice, for he was simply amazing – energetic, emphatic, but never overbearing. He and Clarke had an amazing musical rapport, driving the music along from the bottom up.

 

As the show ended, I screwed up my courage and shouted, “Hey Stanley!” to the man on the stage who stood no more than ten feet from me. To my surprise, he walked over to me, and I quickly told him I had seen him 50 years ago with Return to Forever in Salt Lake City. And that he was one of my musical heroes. He gave me a quick smile, stuck out his hand and gave me a firm handshake, then quickly turned away to exit the stage with his bandmates. I was thrilled! What makes this little episode strange is that while I was shaking the hand of one of my all-time hero bass players, I was wearing my Jack Casady t-shirt, Jack Casady being one of my all-time hero bass players (Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna). Stranger yet, in 1970, while dating the young woman who is now my wife, we attended a Jefferson Airplane concert at the old Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. Before the show, a few of the band members wandered over to the boundary of the seated area, and I was able to shake hands with my hero, Jack Casady. Like a giddy teenager, all I could think to say was, “I really dig your music.” Well, little did I dream that 55 years later I would be wearing a t-shirt with his likeness on it as I shook the hand of another of my bass player heroes. Life can be can take some strange and delightful turns...

Piano Potpourri No. 12 (CD/Streaming Reviews)

by Karl Nehring

Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Works and Concertos. (CD1) Sérénade grotesque, M. 5; Menuet antique, M. 7; Pavane pour une infante défunte, M. 19; Jeux d'eau, M. 30; Sonatine, M. 40; Miroirs M. 43; (CD2) Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55; Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn, M. 58; Valses nobles et sentimentales, M. 61; Prélude, M. 65; À la manière de Borodine, M. 63/1; À la manière de Chabrier, M. 63/2; Le tombeau de Couperin, M. 68; (CD3) Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, M. 82; Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83. Seong-Jin Cho, piano; Boston Symphony Orchestra; Andris Nelsons, conductor. Deutsche Grammophon Limited Edition 3 CD 486 6824

 

Earlier this year, we reviewed a Deutsche Grammophon recording of Maurice Ravel’s complete music for solo piano by the young Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho (b. 1994), a review that you can read here. Following the release of that album, DG released his recording of the two Ravel piano concertos with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andris Nelsons. As many music lovers are no doubt aware, 2025 marks 150 years since Ravel’s birth; in May, DG released this deluxe album -- that combines those previous albums as part of this limited-edition 3-CD set. The album cover looks like it should hold LPs rather than CDs (when my copy arrived, my first thought was that I had been sent a vinyl version by mistake). That large, sturdy package comprises (in addition to the three CDs themselves) a hardcover book with full track listings and notes on the music; numerous photos of the artist; and the offer of three months’ free access to STAGE+, DG’s online video repository of concert performances and audio albums. Because we have already reviewed the solo piano music (link above), we’ll confine our comments to the concerto disc, which, given the talent shown by Cho in the solo piano music combined with the undeniable excellence of the BSO, is a worthy release indeed. Cho brings something of a light touch to Ravel’s music, which may well be why the album’s producers thought to devote a page devoted to this quote from Ravel: “The music of a concerto should, in my opinion, be lighthearted and brilliant, and not aim at profundity or at dramatic effects.”  Delightful music in an impressive package – it’s a limited edition (only 4000 to be produced), and of course the solo piano music and concerto releases are also available – these are all recommendable as appropriate.

 

Arc III. Louise Talma: Alleluia in Form of Toccata; Schubert: Fantasie in C major, Op. 15, D. 760“Wandererfantasie”; Debussy: L’Isle Joyeuse, L. 106; Dohnányi: Pastorale on a Hungarian Christmas Song; Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5; Ligeti: Études, Book 1: No. 5 Arc-en-ciel. Orion Weiss, piano. First Hand Records FHR129

 

Back in 2014, Ohio-born pianist Orion Weiss (b. 1981) embarked on a recording project that eventually yielded three releases, Arc I (our review of which you can read here) being the first. In the liner note essay of the first release of his projected trilogy, Weiss explained that “the arc of this recital trilogy is inverted, like a rainbow’s reflection in water. Arc I’s first steps head downhill, beginning from hope and proceeding to despair. The bottom of the journey, Arc II, [you can find our review of Arc II here] is Earth’s center, grief, loss, the lowest we can reach. The return trip, Arc III, is one of excitement and renewal, filled with the joy of rebirth and anticipation of a better future.” Weiss recorded Arc III in 2022 as the world was beginning to emerge from the COVID-19 shutdown and he found that to him, “everything seemed utterly transformed, almost unrecognizable. My perception of humanity had undergone a fundamental change… The music was another world, another set of ideas, able to lift me above my own, to teach me and guide me.” The generally uplifting spirit of the album is established at the outset with the exuberant Alleluia in Form of Toccata by the American composer Louise Talma (1906-1996), a piece that seems to be bursting at the seams with exuberance. Following this unfamiliar beginning, Weiss then brings us back into the realm of the familiar, with music from Schubert and Debussy, before once again bringing us something less familiar, Erno Dohnányi’s Pastorale on a Hungarian Christmas Song. This piece sounds more like a dreamlike dance fantasy than an ode to Yule logs or Christmas trees; but it has a wistful, hopeful charm that makes it quite appealing. Weiss then brings us the major work on his program, Brahms’s Piano Sonata No. 3, an imposing work in no fewer than five movements that total more than 35 minutes. Brahms composed this sonata at the age of 20, eager to display his talents as both composer and pianist, and Weiss channels the exuberance and youthful spirit of the young Brahms before closing his program in a more reflective vein with the colorful but enigmatic Ligeti Étude.

And thus we come to the end of Weiss’s Arc series of recordings. As the pianist himself summarizes it: “The music recorded on Arc I (FHR127) expresses foreboding from the brink of disaster. The music on Arc II (FHR128) was written by composers dealing with tragedy. At last, Arc III is a set of pieces born from the bright points of life. Peace, hope, love, ambition, optimism and the divine – the inspirations are myriad. These compositions spring from the million shades of happiness.” Arc III certainly is a delightful conclusion to the trilogy – well worth an audition, as are its two predecessors.

 

The Art of Memory. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II; Lasser: 12 Preludes for Solo Piano "The Art of Memory". Anton Mejias, piano. Deutsche Grammophon (digital-only release)

 

The Finnish-Cuba pianist Anton Mejias (b. 2001) was fascinated by the music of Bach from a very young age. He made his recital debut at the age of eight, and by ten, he had already learned the entire Well- Tempered Clavier, Book I. Since then he has added the complete French and English Suites, all six Partitas, and the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, to his repertoire. The title of this new release has a dual reference: the recording captures a concert performance that in which Mejias played these works by Bach and Lasser from memory – no mean feat, to be sure – and the subtitle of Lasser’s work, “The Art of Memory.” Rather than present the Bach and Lasser compositions separately, Mejias has chosen to weave them together: four tracks of Bach, a track of Lasser – repeated in this way through all 48 preludes and fugues of The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II and all 12 Preludes for Solo Piano "The Art of Memory."

Philip Lasser (b. 1961) is an American composer and pianist who is currently on the faculty at Julliard. Of his “The Art of Memory” he writes, “I began my Twelve Preludes many years ago with the idea of creating a set of works wherein as we went from one to the next, each prelude would collect remembrances of the past preludes until, at last, we reach the twelfth, which would be entirely made up of memories. . . I began to realize that this was a metaphor for human memory. With each new day, we become richer with new events, emotions, apperceptions; and yet, we receive the new only through the filter of our own personal experience which is then nothing more than a sum of our past remembrances. . . I am deeply honored that Anton Mejias has taken the bold move to perform and record my Preludes inside Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and I hope that my work nests quietly in Bach's great work and offers yet another rhythm to the mastery of his unfolding of time.” Lasser’s brief, subtly ambiguous-sounding Preludes offer a subtle contrast to Bach’s more resolute music; woven together, the net effect is entrancing. At more than two hours in length, this is hardly an album suitable for a quick listen; to be sure, many listeners will use it as background music – not that there’s anything wrong with that. It will also reward serious listening for those who have the time and the inclination. It’s a remarkable recording.

(Semi) Recent Releases No. 71 (CD Reviews)

by Karl Nehring

Debussy: Preludes, Books I & II. Hiroko Sasaki, piano (Pleyel 1879). Piano Classics PCL0064

Ethan Iverson: Technically Acceptable. Iverson: Conundrum; Victory Is Assured; Technically Acceptable; Who Are You, Really?; The Chicago Style; It’s Fine to Decline; The Way Things Are; Charles Fox / Norman Gimbel: Killing Me Softly With His Song; Thelonious Monk / Charles Cootie Williams: ‘round Midnight; Iverson: The Feeling Is Mutual; Piano Sonata – I. Allegro Moderato; II. Andante; III. Rondo. Ethan Iverson, piano (all selections); Thomas Morgan, double bass; Kush Abadey, drums; Vinnie Sperrazza, drums; Simón Willson, double bass; Rob Schwimmer, theremin.

 

I am reviewing these two albums together because although they are on the surface quite different, one being a solo piano album of music by the French composer Debussy, the other being a jazz album, there are some significant overlaps between the two releases. First of all, the Wisconsin-born Iverson and Japan-born Sasaki are friends, both currently residing in New York. In a recent posting on Iverson’s Transitional Technology (“TT”) he not only offers some background on their friendship but also some hint of his familiarity with the classical repertoire: “Hiroko Sasaki and I met in the early 1990s when we were both college students. I’ve always admired her playing, but only just recently have we started getting together and collaborating at the piano. The first fruits of our teamwork was the discovery of an unheralded Chopin variant, written up here at TT last month: “The Mystery of Chopin’s Thirds.” Now that Hiroko and I are practicing a bit of four-hand Schubert and Dvořák repertoire, I’ve started making sketches for my own four-hand arrangements and compositions.”

 

We shall get to some of Iverson’s compositions before long, but first, let’s read a bit of what Iverson has to say about his friend’s Debussy recording:  “Hiroko’s recording of both books of Debussy’s Preludes is a significant disc, both for the stellar playing and the unique instrument. Debussy composed the preludes between 1909 and 1913. We will never know what his pianos sounded like, but they undoubtedly were closer to the 1873 Pleyel on Hiroko’s record than a perfectly regulated modern Steinway that exhibits no blemishes whatsoever. Under Hiroko’s hands, the bass notes on the Pleyel grunt, the middle register is exceptionally mellow, and the high octaves have a bit of screech. To be clear, it’s still very tasteful! Often ‘historical piano’ recordings are simply too extreme and weird, but this record offers exceptional atmosphere as well as exceptional playing.”

Well, yes, they are friends, so yes, we expect him to say nice things about her album. On the other hand, as a top-flight pianist himself, he knows what he is talking about. His discussion of the music itself is quite fascinating. His full posting from January 20, 2024, can be found here. I’d like to quote one brief passage just to give a quick sense of the relation between Debussy and jazz: “Several Debussy pieces foreshadow late ‘50s jazz harmony. I’d bet my bottom dollar that Bill Evans played through the phrases of Feuilles mortes. One can almost hear ‘Kind of Blue’ at certain moments. Even the title relates to a famous jazz standard that Bill Evans played on countless gigs: ‘Autumn Leaves’ is based on Les Feuilles mortes by the French composer Joseph Kosma. (Apart from the title, the two pieces are not related musically, although Evans would play plenty of stuff on ‘Autumn Leaves’ that he seemed to have learned from Debussy.)” The rest of his posting about her album contains many more insights about Debussy’s music and Sasaki’s playing that are well worth reading. And beyond this particular essay (“TT 353: Hiroko Sasaki Plays Debussy”), there are many other insightful, delightful, penetrating entries. For music lovers, especially those who might have an interest in music history and theory, jazz, and the contemporary music scene, Transitional Technology could be a valuable resource well worth the relatively modest investment required for a monthly or annual subscription. 

 

Having offered Iverson’s thoughts on Sasaki’s album above, of course I need to offer a few observations of my own. When I received the album, I was curious about how the Pleyel piano would sound in this music; indeed, I was concerned that it might come across as a bit too tinny or “plinky” (not a real word, but I believe most readers will know what I am trying to express) sounding, but a few minutes of listening allayed those fears. At that point, I was able to simply sit back and enjoy a fine set of Debussy Preludes. Clean, articulate playing, natural sound quality, emotion without exaggeration. Highly recommendable.

 

On to Iverson’s release, then. Two years ago, we reviewed his previous release on the venerable Blue Note label, Every Note Is True, on which he was accompanied by jazz veterans Larry Grenadier on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. On Technically Acceptable, things are a bit more varied in terms of both personnel and compositions. On the first seven tunes, all composed by Iverson, he is accompanied by Thomas Morgan on bass and Kush Abadey on drums. All are standard jazz piano trio pieces, but the opening piece, Conundrum, is through-composed, with no improvisation – unusual for a jazz trio.

On the eighth (Killing Me Softly With His Song, made famous in the 1970s in a vocal arrangement by Roberta Flack) and tenth (Iverson’s The Feeling Is Mutual) tracks, Iverson is joined by Simón Willson on bass and Vinnie Sperrazza on drums, musicians with whom he had developed a rapport playing together in support of the Mark Morris Dance Company. Iverson says that they were going for a ‘60s sound for these tracks, which they recorded in the same room together, without wearing headphones.

 

Now we come to the two most fascinating tracks on the album. ‘round Midnight is a standard that by now even most people otherwise unfamiliar with jazz are probably familiar, for it has been played by so many different musicians in so many different arrangements. However, Iverson has come up with something unexpected. First, he says he was inspired by the late Ornette Coleman to write an intro to the piece that would be unrelated to the main melody. Then, rather than playing the familiar melody on his piano, as you would naturally expect, he assigns that part to – of all instruments – the theremin, which under Rob Schwimmer's expert hands (Schwimmer had also played previously with Iverson in a Mark Morris production) sounds much like an operatic soprano singing vocalise. In the long, distinguished history of the Blue Note label, this is the first time a theremin has ever made an appearance. You can hear it for yourself here.

The final composition on the album is Iverson’s first published piano sonata. Although of course informed by his experience as a jazz musician, it is a serious “classical” composition. As he says, “I’ve always played sonatas, now I’ve written one.” Blue Note has made available on YouTube a video where you can follow the score of the opening movement (you can see that video here). The sonata joins the theremin in being a first on Blue Note. Although the program might look to be a jazz album with a piano sonata unexpectedly tacked on at the end, the sonata has just enough of a jazz sensibility to it to keep it from feeling completely out of place. Taken as a whole, Technically Acceptable is much more than that; it is musically stimulating, sonically superb, and well worth an audition by jazz and classical fans alike.

Piano Potpourri No. 11 (CD Reviews)

by Karl Nehring

Debussy: Études, L 143, Book 1 - Pour les cinq doigts (d'après Monsieur Czerny); Pour les tierces; Pour les quartesè;Pour les sixtes; Pour les octaves; Pour les huit doigts; Book 2 - Pour les degrés chromatiques; Pour les agréments;Pour les notes répétées; Pour les sonorités opposées; Pour les arpèges composes; Pour les accords; Pour le piano, L 95 - I. Prélude; II. Sarabande; III. Toccata; La plus que lente, L128; Berceuse héroïque, L140; Étude retrouvée. Steven Osborne, piano. Hyperion CDA68409

It was about a year ago that we reviewed a previous Hyperion release of the fine Scottish pianist Steven Osborne devoted to the music of Debussy (you can read that review here). In that previous review, we pointed out that for that release, Osborne had chosen to put together a program different from the usual program we often find in recordings of Debussy’s works for piano. Rather than highlight a major set of his works, such as the Études or Preludes, Osborne instead pulled together a program of pieces from throughout the French master’s career. A year later, we now have Osborne’s take on the Études; as it has been said, good things come to those who wait. Most music fans with more than a passing knowledge of the piano repertoire probably know that an étude is a study piece. The Merriam-Webster website offers two brief definitions: 1) a piece of music for the practice of a point of technique; and 2) a composition built on a technical motive but played for its artistic value. Osborne clearly has technique to burn – he is playing Debussy’s Études for their artistic value, and we the listening public are the beneficiaries. Osborne delivers this music with a beguiling blend of rhythmic energy and tonal shadings. As usual with Hyperion, his piano has been beautifully captured by the microphones and the liner notes are thorough and erudite. This is another first-class release from Hyperion.

Nitai Hershkovits: Call on the Old Wise. Hershkovits: The Old Wise; Enough To Say I Will; Mode Antigona; Of Trust and Remorse; Intermezzo No.3; Majestic Steps Glow Far; Molly Drake: Dream Your Dreams; Hershkovits: Placid In Africansque; Mode Brilliante; Duke Ellington: Single Petal Of A Rose; Hershkovits: A Rooftop Minuet; Late Blossom; Intermezzo No.4; In Satin; This You Mean To Me; Of Mentorship; For Suzan; River Wash Me. Nitai Hershkovits, piano. ECM 2779 551 5448

 

The Israeli pianist Nitai Hershkovits (b. 1988) is the son of a Moroccan mother and a Polish father. He originally started his musical studies on the clarinet before switching to the piano at age 15. Jazz and improvised music were the focal point of his musical interest throughout his teens, with a particularly strong interest in the music and techniques of jazz great Sonny Rollins, the ”Saxophone Colossus.” During this period, Hershkovits won several jazz competitions in the Tel Aviv area, before his deepened interest in classical music blossomed, leading him to study not only jazz nut also classical piano. you can hear evidence of both musical influences in Call in the Old Wise, his first solo piano recording on the ECM label, having most recently appeared as pianist with Oded Tzúr’s quartet on the ECM recordings Here Be Dragons (2020) and Isabela (2022). Hershkovits says of the album, “It’s like I’m playing with several periods of music at once, but in a sort of augmented-reality-environment. To me the album is like a journey taking you through multiple varying experiences in the blink of an eye. Like jumping through frames holding different pictures or looking through windows to different worlds.”

The music on Call on the Old Wise has for the most part a low-key, almost conversational feel to it. There is no banging on the keys, no breakneck tempi, no dissonant tone clusters. That said, the improvisatory nature of much of the music is always evident, but comes across to the listener more as directed and creative, a balanced combination of preparation and inspiration The album is partially dedicated to Hershkovits’s former piano teacher Suzan Cohen, the mentor to whom the term “wise” in the albums title alludes. The pieces The Old Wise, Of Mentorship, and For Suzan refer directly to her. But Hershkovits also draws from other influences, ranging from his work in jazz contexts and to his background in classical music. From track to track, the music varies, but never loses its listenable, playful, charming, quality. “I don’t want to be confined to any specific key or time signature, but rather leave the freedom to continually re-evaluate things in real-time and see them from a new perspective over and over again,” he explains, “that’s also why I tried to go into the session with as few preconceived ideas as possible.” He goes on to mentions inspirations as seemingly disparate as the late jazz piano jazz legend Chick Corea and Russian composers Rachmaninoff and Scriabin as prominent influences. You can get a brief sample of his low-key but inviting piano style in this brief video, which features an excerpt from the track Mode Brilliante. With no liner notes but beautiful ECM sound, Call on the Old Wise is an unexpected jewel of a piano recording.

Anna Lapwood: Luna (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

James Newton Howard: Flying (from “Peter Pan”); Olivia Belli: Grain Moon; Chopin: Nocturne Op. 9, No. 2; Kristina Arakelyan: Dreamland; Dario Marianelli; Dawn (from “Pride and Prejudice”); Hans Zimmer: Stay (from “Interstellar”); Bach & Gounod: Ave Maria: Glass: Mad Rush; Ghislaine Reece-Trapp: In Paradisum; Ēriks Ešenvalds & Sara Teasdale: Stars; Kristina Arakelyan: Star Fantasy; Max Richter: On the Nature of Daylight; Florence Price: An Elf on a Moonbeam; Ludovico Einaudi: Experience; Debussy: Clair de Lune. Anna Lapwood, organ and conductor; Pembroke College Chapel Choir. Sony Classical 19658831402

I have followed the young British musician Anna Lapwood (b. 1995) on Twitter (now known as “X” since its takeover by a notorious right-wing ultrabillionaire) for quite some time. Her posts there show her to be a charming and unpretentious artist, devoted not only to her craft, but also to helping other musicians, especially young musicians, express themselves through music. She is skilled not only as an organist, but as a conductor and broadcaster. Inn 2021, for example, she appeared at the BBC Proms both as a presenter for BBC Television and as soloist in the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony. In 2016, when she was just 21, she was appointed Director of Music at Pembroke College, Cambridge University, where in 2018 she established the Pembroke College Girls’ Choir for girls aged 11 to 18. She has become quite the ambassador for classical music through her outreach on social media (she’s known worldwide as “the TikTok organist”), her midnight sessions at the Royal Albert Hall, and her numerous concerts and personal appearances. In 2021, she released an organ recording for the Signum Classics label titled Images; you can find our review here. Now it is 2023, and she has a new recording out for a new label, Sony Classical, titled Luna.

 

While Luna featured a program consisting of established classical compositions, highlighted by a couple of larger-scale works, Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin arranged for organ by Erwin Wiersinga and Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes in an arrangement by Lapwood herself, the program for Luna is more varied. There are some traditional “classical” pieces for piano arranged for organ, some tunes from movies soundtracks, and among other things, even a couple of compositions not for organ, but for choir. Of the inspiration for this album, Lapwood writes, “one of the highlights of my year is the time I spend teaching music in Zambia. I love it for the people, the music, and the laughter, but I also always look forward to the first time I see the Zambian night sky again… You look up and it’s just completely full of stars, more stars than you ever thought possibly existed – bright stars, dull stars; some sparkling, some static; some glowing orbs and others dots smaller than pinpricks. With this album, I’m imagining that as we stare at the sky our minds can almost take us there, travelling through the night sky and exploring individual stars with their unique personalities and characteristics.”

Although the music is indeed varied in origin, the album seems to have an overall flow and consistency of sound – there are no abrupt shifts of mood, no jarring sonorities. That said, neither are the selections similar enough that they all sound the same as Lapwood makes her way from one to another. Highlights include the Chopin Nocturne, which is the kind of music you would not think of as a candidate for being played on the organ. Lapwood recalls learning the piece as a young piano student and then later teaching her own piano students to play. Of transcribing it for organ, she observes that “as with all transcriptions, there is an interesting decision-making process, exploring whether to try to make it as close as possible to the original, or to re-conceive it as an organ piece. In this case, I decided to go with the latter, experimenting with the huge variety of solo sounds this organ has to offer to give each section of melody its own unique character.”  Whatever her method, the end result is simply beautiful. Another highlight, the longest track on the album (6:47), is much different in style and mood from the Chopin. Stay, from the Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack for the film Interstellar, is less about melody and more about raw feeling.

 

Lapwood supplies notes on each of the selections, and it is from these notes that we learn the interesting fact that the energetic Philip Glass piece Mad Rush, another highlight of the album, was not originally composed for the piano, as it has often been recorded (including by Glass himself), but for the organ. “Glass wrote the piece in 1978, on and for the organ of St. John the Divine, New York,” Lapwood explains. “It was written for the Dalai Llama’s first public address in North America in 1979. The organizers were expecting a large number of people so they asked Glass to write a piece of indeterminate length that could be played while the congregation was arriving.” If you are familiar with Mad Rushfrom one of its piano recordings, hearing the original organ version should give you an added appreciation for its simple elegance and energy.

 

The two tracks that include the voices of the Pembroke College Chapel Choir are also both quite captivating and worthy of special mention. Stars, by the Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977) sets a poem by the late American poet Sara Teasdale (1884-1993). (Speaking of Ešenvalds, there is an absolutely gorgeous album of his choral music that was engineered by none other than John Atkinson of Stereophile magazine fame. Both musically and sonically it is simply superb; you can read our review here). The ethereal sounds of tuned wine glasses mixed with the sound or the organ and the choir give a celestial glow to the sound of this track, which is rife with otherworldly overtones. The other piece featuring the chorus, On the Nature of Daylight by the German-born British composer Max Richter (b. 1966), has no text, but combines their voices with the sound of the organ in a gently meditative blend that is at once calming and hopeful. Lapwood writes of this piece that “it feels particularly special to be including this piece on the album as it brings together the two sides of who I am as a musician: playing the organ but also working with the amazing choirs at Pembroke.”

The album closes with another piece for piano that Lapwood has transcribed for the organ, Debussy’s popular Clair de Lune. “As with the Chopin,” she explains, “I had to make choice: be as loyal as possible to the original, or reimagine it as an organ piece? Once again, I decided on the latter, using it as an opportunity to explore the huge variety of soft, delicate colours the organ has to offer.” As she did with the Chopin, in transcribing the Debussy, she has created something most lovely, certainly a fitting way to end an album titled Luna. It’s an album that is fresh, fun, and full of light and life – well worth a listen.

Éventail (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Ravel: Pièce en forme de Habanera; Saint-Saëns: Sonate, op.166; André Jolivet: Controversia*; Messiaen: Vocalise-Étude; Morceau de lecture; Ravel: Deux Mélodies hébraïques; Kaddisch; Milhaud: Vocalise-Étude; Debussy: Syrinx; Koechlin:  Le repos de Tityre, op. 216/10; Jolivet: Chant pour les piroguiers de l'Orénoque; Debussy: Petite pièce; Saint-Saëns: Le Rossignol; Robert Casadesus: Sonate, op.23. Heinz Holliger, oboe, oboe d’amore; Anton Kernjak, piano; Alice Belugou, harp*. ECM New Series 2694

Swiss oboist, composer, and conductor Heinz Holliger (b. 1939) has enjoyed a long and illustrious musical career. Many composers have written works for him, including Frank Martin, Olivier Messiaen, Witold Lutoslawski, Luciano Berio, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Elliott Carter, Hans Werner Henze, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Isang Yun. A glance at the ECM website reveals that Éventail  (“Fan”) is the latest of more that two dozen recordings he has made for the label in those roles of composer, conductor, and performer. Introducing his latest recording, Holliger writes: “The fan that opens like cautious butterfly wings, barely opening or timidly closing again, is the reflection of the innermost stirrings of the soul. Through Stéphane Mallarmé’s poem Éventail and its wonderful settings by Ravel and Debussy, the fan opening fold by fold (‘pli selon pli’) became a symbol for the most hidden words, sounds, and colours of French music. The closeness of the oboe to the human voice inspired my idea of opening up the richly coloured fan of French music through the still far too little known collection of Vocalises-Études… It contains works by the most important French composers… ‘songs without words’ in the truest sense.”

 

This truly is a communicative collection of music with charm and aesthetic appeal. Certainly different listeners will find different favorites from among the selections to be found here; for me, there are two that especially stand out. The first is Controversia by André Jolivet (1905-1974), a composer whose work I have run across only seldomly over the years. To learn more about him, I checked Wikipedia, where I found the following fascinating characterization: “Known for his devotion to French culture and musical thought, Jolivet drew on his interest in acoustics and atonality, as well as both ancient and modern musical influences, particularly on instruments used in ancient times.” Controversiais a bracing and energetic piece, stimulating but rewarding. The other especially interesting piece is Ravel’s Kaddisch. Now, this is a piece with which I am more familiar. The most moving performance I ever heard was from a broadcast of a special memorial concert by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for the victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting. In that performance, the Ravel piece was played by a solo clarinet, and my goodness, it was moving. Holliger delivers a fine performance as well, playing with warmth and expressiveness. These two are of course not the only two noteworthy tracks: rest assured that the album is a delight from start to finish. With notes by Holliger on all the music in the program and the usual rich, spacious ECM sound quality, Éventail is a highly recommendable release.