Recent Releases No. 55 (CD Reviews)

by Karl Nehring

Sebastian Fagerlund: Terral (Flute Concerto); Strings to the Bone; Chamber Symphony. Sharon Bezaly, flute; Tapiola Sinfonietta conducted by John Storgärds. BIS-2639 SACD

 

These compositions by the Finnish composer Sebastian Fagerlund (b. 1972) reside in that in-between area: somewhat on the more modern side, with less of an emphasis on melody than more conservative listeners might prefer, but at the same time featuring passages of intriguing sounds and textures that will appeal to all but the most reactionary of listeners. Certainly the virtuosity of flautist Sharon Bezaly should be apparent to all as she takes center stage in Terral, the three-movement flute concerto that opens the program. Throughout the work, there are waves of tension and energy that ebb and flow, with the various sections of the orchestra getting their opportunities to interact with the soloist. The following Strings to the Bone is a fascinating piece in one movement that seems to shape-shift as it moves along, one of those works that immediately invites repeat listening for both pleasure and understanding. The program concludes with the three-movement Chamber Symphony. The movements are played without a break, the overall progression being slow-fast-slow, but of course the end product is more nuanced than that. It is a fascinating work, and the transparency of sound captured by the BIS engineering team offers listeners a true luxury listening experience.

Thorvaldsdottir: Archora; Aiōn. Iceland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Eva Ollikainen. Sono Luminus DSL-92268

 

We have reviewed a variety of music by the Icelandic Anna Thorvaldsdottir (b. 1977) previously at Classical Candor, including music for piano (reviewed here), a string quartet (reviewed here), and a work for orchestra, (reviewed here). On two of those three releases, all of which are on the Sono Luminus label, her compositions are included along with those of other composers; only for Enigma, her string quartet, is she the sole composer represented. However, this new release showcases two of her large-scale compositions for orchestra: Archora (2022) was commissioned by the BBC Proms, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Klangspuren Schwaz [a music festival], and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, while Aiōn (2018), was commissioned by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Both are bold, powerful works, bursting with energy. Archora is in one movement, which lasts nearly 21 minutes as performed here. The music sounds as though it is trying to burst its bounds, as though the composition demands more energy that the orchestra can quite deliver. That is not a criticism of the orchestra, or of the piece – it is simply the best way I can think of to describe how the music seems to be straining to become something larger than it is. On the one hand, it is an impressive sound; on the other hand, there are times when it seems as though perhaps less might be more. There is always just so much going on. Aiōn, in three movements, is also thickly scored, is also bursting with energy, but offers more sonic variety. Especially satisfying is its third movement, titled Entropia, wherein brass, strings, and percussion sections all get a chance to shine and interact with each other, leading to a glorious final few minutes. Sono Luminus has done an excellent job of capturing the power of the orchestra, and for those few who might have the requisite audio equipment, have included along with the regular CD a Pure Audio Blu-ray disc that supports both stereo and surround-sound (Native 7.1.4) playback. 

Hough, Stephen. Enough: Scenes from Childhood. Faber & Faber Limited (2023)

 

A few years ago we reviewed a fascinating book by British pianist Stephen Hough (b. 1961) titled Rough Ideas (see review here), a volume in which he offered a blend of insights into music and a variety of other topics. Anyone who read the book could not help but be impressed by the depth and breadth of Hough’s knowledge not only of music, but of other arts as well. That same post with the book review also included a review of his superlative recording of the complete Chopin Nocturnes; other Hough releases reviewed in Classical Candor include music by Mompou, reviewed here; a Schubert disc, reviewed here; and a release containing music by several composers, reviewed here. In this new book, Hough offers a kind of memoir, giving us some insights into his musical education, his changing outlook on religious belief, his early education, and his early challenges with coming to terms with his sexuality. Throughout, he writes with insight, honesty, and wit. Hough was recently knighted by King Charles, so he is now Sir Stephen Hough, CBE. It is an honor he richly deserves, for his service to music has been exemplary. I am certainly not alone in looking eagerly forward not only to future recordings by Sir Steven, but to future installments of his memoirs.  

 

Recent Releases, No. 18 (CD Reviews)

By Karl W. Nehring

Sebastian Knauer: The Mozart/Nyman Concert. Includes Mozart: Sonata C Major K 545: I. Allegro. Michael Nyman: 6 Piano Pieces for Sebastian Knauer: K1; Mozart: Sonata C Major K 330: II. Andante cantabile; Nyman: 6 Piano Pieces for Sebastian Knauer: K2; Mozart: Sonata F Major K 332: III. Allegro assai; Nyman: 6 Piano Pieces for Sebastian Knauer: K3; Mozart: Sonata A Minor K 310: I. Allegro maestoso; Nyman: 6 Piano Pieces for Sebastian Knauer: K4; Mozart: Fantasy C Minor K 475; Nyman: 6 Piano Pieces for Sebastian Knauer: K5; Mozart: Sonata D Major K 311: III. Rondeau-Allegro; Nyman: 6 Piano Pieces for Sebastian Knauer: K6; Mozart: 12 Variations C Major on ?Ah, vous dirai-je Maman" K 265. Sebastian Knauer, piano. Modern Recordings 538682452.

The British composer Michael Nyman (b. 1944) is probably most widely known for his soundtrack to the award-winning film The Piano, although he has composed music in many other genres, most notably opera. He composes in a minimalist style, so when I came across this CD at my local public library, despite never having heard of the performer, I could not help but be intrigued. Mozart and Nyman? Hmmmm? As soon as I got in my car, I slid the disc into the CD player. By the time I got home, I was won over to the idea that mixing Mozart and Nyman was not a dubious idea, but an inspired one. Wondering whether the liner notes might offer any insights into how the program was chosen, I was delighted to discover a detailed explanation from the German pianist Sebastian Knauer (b. 1971). "For my project, 'The Mozart Nyman Concert,' I chose two tremendous and highly esteemed composers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Michael Nyman. It has long been my dream to connect the two composers in a special project. In 2021, for the occasion of my fiftieth birthday, I seek to fulfill this wish and have asked Michael Nyman, who is just as much an admirer of Mozart as I am, to compose six piano pieces directly related to Mozart's piano sonatas. The classical and traditional form of the piano recital, in which we are accustomed to hearing entire works of one or more composers, continues to develop, and so I have conceived of a new and modern piano recital for myself. I have put together two new, three-movement sonatas from the first, second and third movements of six different Mozart sonatas and the c Minor Fantasy, each connected by one of Michael Nyman's piano pieces. At the end, serving as an encore, are Mozart's Twelve Variations, KV 265. The soundscapes of the eighteenth and twenty-first centuries are closely interwoven, the transitions between Mozart and Nyman are fluid, and a listening experience is created which makes the connection between antiquity and modernity a thrilling and innovative concert program for me." With the opening familiar notes of Mozart's C Major Sonata, the program starts with a cheerful exuberance, and even as the mood shifts from time to time as the music varies, the overall positive feeling of musical energy and enthusiasm prevails, whether it be expressed in the lyricism of Mozart or the rhythmic pulse of Nyman, in whose music you really can come to understand his expressed esteem for the music of Mozart. The album moves along with a feeling of flow and purpose that transcends the differences in musical styles between the two composers. The liner notes include a conversation between Knauer and Nyman as well as brief biographies of both musicians. If you enjoy solo piano music, you will most likely really enjoy this album, which offers more than 79 minutes of centuries-spanning musical joy.

Richter: Exiles. Includes Flowers of Herself (from Woolf Works); On the Nature of Daylight (from The Blue Notebooks); The Haunted Ocean (from Waltz with Bashir); Infra 5 (from Infra); Sunlight (from Songs from Before); Exiles. Deutsche Grammophon 486 0445.

We have previously reviewed several recordings by Max Richter (b. 1966) in Classical Candor. This new release offers a blend of the old and the new in terms of compositions, but with a twist, as the older compositions all done in arrangements for full orchestra, whereas most of Richters previous releases featured much smaller ensembles. For example, Richter explains that the second track, On the Nature of Daylight, was originally five strings and now it's over 65 strings so it has a different texture, a different energy, a different kind of sonic fingerprint. The orchestral version is a different emotional register, it's a bigger canvas. In the quintet you really feel that someone is speaking quietly just to you, but with the orchestra it's a broader dialogue. According to the liner notes, Infra 5, also originally scored for five strings, is a mantra-like meditation on the July 2005 terrorist bombings in London, while Sunlight, originally a string quartet movement, is one of Richte's favorite works, from his 2006 album Songs from Before (one of David Bowie's favourite albums), and its yearning quality sings out in the new orchestral version. The composition that opens the album, Flowers of Herself, establishes a mood ripe with anticipation. It is an orchestration of music that Richter composed to evoke the atmosphere at the start of Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway, the hustle and bustle of city sidewalks. Even the briefest (2:19) composition on the album, The Haunted Ocean, a hypnotic work from the soundtrack score to Waltz with Bashir (2008), which deals with writer and director Ari Folman's traumatic recollections of his military service during the 1982 Lebanon War, makes a distinct impression despite its brevity. The new composition on this release is the title piece, Exiles, which Richter was inspired to write in response to the refugee crisis ensuing from the brutal government actions in Syria that led to many thousands of refugees fleeing for their lives under desperate circumstances. Throughout its 33 minutes, the music is a round upon a simple, compelling melody that is repeated in various guises. It's a very simple idea, explains Richter, but I wanted to put this notion of exile, of walking, of movement, into the heart of the music in a technical sense as well as metaphorical. The music grows in intensity as it progresses, then ends in an enigmatic fade. As Richter notes, Exiles ends on a question: What if? That question is far from settled. The Baltic Sea Philharmonic was founded in 2008 as the Baltic Sea Youth Philharmonic with Kristjan Jarvi (b. 1972, son of Neeme and younger brother of Paavo) as their conductor. They play this music with conviction, and their sound has been well captured by the engineers.

Sebastian Fagerlund: Nomade; Water Atlas. Nicolas Altstaedt, cello; Hannu Lintu, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. BIS-2455 SACD.

We previously reviewed an earlier release by the Finnish composer Sebastian Fagerlund (b.1972), which, as it turns out, contains two works that are linked to one of the works on this new release, as explained in the liner notes: "When Sebastian Fagerlund began composing a new orchestral work in 2014, he was inspired to commence an entire trilogy, comprising Stonework (2014-15), Drifts (2016-17), and Water Atlas (2017-18). Although the works are linked by the same basic musical materials, each of them is independent and self-contained in itself. Nonetheless, Fagerlund considers it possible that they could also be presented as a unified suite. The works use a large symphony orchestra of similar proportions, differing only in the choice of percussion instruments. As well as using the same basic material, the works of the trilogy are united by the various stimuli and associations suggested by their titles. All of them are about basic elements music of stone, wind (or currents) and water in Water Atlas the eternal cycle of water is combined with the human desire and need to analyze the environment." Well, I'm not sure about the veracity of that last sentence, but I can say that Water Atlas is a powerful composition that makes a strong impression both musically and sonically. Like water, it seems to flow effortlessly and with great power, all sections of the orchestra contributing, swirling and cascading, pulling the listener along on a journey of imagination. It is preceded on this disc by Nomade, Fagerlund's atypically structured (six movements rather than the usual four, plus two brief interludes thrown in for good measure) cello concerto. The composer dedicated the piece to cellist Altstaedt, who brings a sense of longing, of searching, and dogged determination to his performance. For those classical music lovers who might be afraid that music written so recently might be harsh, dissonant, or otherwise lacking in aesthetic appeal, allow me to reassure you: no, the  music Fagerlund does not sound like the music of Mozart, but if you can enjoy the concertos of, say, Shostakovich, or the tone poems of, say, Sibelius, then there is a good chance you will find this music to be right in your wheelhouse. As a bonus, if your system can handle it (to borrow an old phrase from the automotive world, there is no replacement for displacement), you will be able to revel in some fine BIS recorded sound of a large orchestra.

Enigma: Spektral Quartet Performs Anna Thorvaldsdottir. Spektral Quartet (Maeve Feinberg, violin; Clara Lyon; violin; Doyle Armbrust, viola; Russell Rolen, cello). Sono Luminus DSL-92250.

Enigma is the first string quartet from Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir (b. 1977). It was given its premier in 2019 by the Chicago-based Spektral Quartet, who have now recorded the work. This is an utterly fascinating piece, at once evoking feelings of immensity and intimacy, tension and calm, or, to paraphrase Kant, the starry heavens above and the moral law within. The music is strange, but compelling, and it invites repeated listening, yielding new delights each time. In the words of the composer, "the music of Enigma is inspired by the notion of the in-between, juxtaposing flow and fragmentation. Pulsating stasis - the whole, an expanding and contracting fundament - is contrasted with fragmented materials - shadows of things that live as part of the whole. Harmonies emerge and evaporate or break into pieces in various ways, leaving traces of materials that project through different kinds of textures and nuances and gradually take on their own shape. Some return to the core, some remain apart. Throughout the piece, the perspective continuously moves between the two, the fundament and the fragmented shadows, but the focus is always their relationship - the in-between. As with my music generally, the inspiration behind Enigma is not something I am trying to describe through the piece - to me, the qualities of the music are first and foremost musical. When I am inspired by a particular element or quality, it is because I perceive it as musically interesting, and the qualities I tend to be inspired by are often structural, like proportion and flow, as well as relationships of balance between details within a larger structure, and how to move in perspective between the two, the details and the unity of the whole." There is plucking, there are chords, there are brief melodic lines. There is tension and there is release. The piece comprises three movements and lasts 28:28, which I suppose will be a deal breaker for some, at least in CD format. Among those thanked in in the liner note acknowledgements are Haribo gummy treats, Science, and Dr. Anthony Fauci. I second that emotion.

KWN

Recent Releases, No. 15 (CD Reviews)

By Karl W. Nehring

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 9 & 10. Gianandrea Noseda, London Symphony Orchestra. LSO Live LSO0828.

Another installment in Noseda’s ongoing Shostakovich cycle, this pairing of these consecutively numbered symphonies offers more than 79 minutes of gripping music in an unusual but welcome pairing of these two works by the late Russian master. Symphony No. 9 is the lighter and shorter of the two, consisting of five relatively brief movements. As you might expect from Shostakovich, though, although there are moments of lightness and humor, there are also moments of great energy. Listeners who have not heard this music before may be especially delighted to follow the trombone part in the opening movement. I won’t give it away; enjoy hearing it for yourself. What Symphony No. 9 lacks in those long brooding passages that the composer is known for, Shostakovich more than makes up for this in Symphony No. 10, which many fans of the composer consider to be his symphonic masterpiece (as do I, sometimes, but then at other times I favor No. 8, but then again, on other days, No. 4). The opening movement is nearly as long as the whole of No. 9, with Noseda doing a commendable job of maintaining our interest while ratcheting up the tension without resorting to cheap theatrics. He and the LSO players deliver a convincing performance of this work, with both the performance and the sound comparing favorably to two of my favorite recordings, Levi/Atlanta (Telarc) and Dohnányi/Cleveland (Decca/London). As the performance progresses, Noseda and the LSO maintain the tension but yet also bring out the softer, more introspective passages Shostakovich also includes into the score as well as the brooding and the anguish that never seem to completely go away. With excellent engineering, excellent performances, and two symphonies on one SACD (I auditioned the CD layer), this 79-minute disc is certainly a recommendable release for Shostakovich fans and doubtless many others could easily be converted to DSCH by giving this disc a good listen.    

John McLaughlin: Liberation Time. John McLaughlin, guitar/guitar synthesizer/piano; Roger Rossignol. piano; Rangit Barot, drums/konokol; Jean-Michel “Kiki” Aublette, drums/bass; Vinnie Colaiuta, drums; Nicolas Viccaro, drums; Julian Siegel, tenor saxophone; Etienne M’Bappé, bass; Gary Husband, drums/piano; Sam Burgess, bass; Jerome Regard, bass; Oz Esseldin, piano. Abstract Logic ABL 65.

For many folks of a certain age, a pivotal musical experience was hearing the 1973 album The Inner Mounting Flame by guitarist John Mclaughlin’s  Mahavishnu Orchestra, which featured McLaughlin on guitar, Jerry Goodman on violin, Jan Hammer on keyboards, Rick Laird on bass, and Billy Cobham on drums. This was intense music, dazzling in its speed and virtuosity and manic in its sheer energy. McLaughlin’s guitar playing knocked me out then and it knocks me out now. At age 79, he still has it. Those fingers can still fly! And as you might guess, this is another of those pandemic albums -- produced during conditions that have precluded the musicians involved from getting together in the studio as they normally would. As McLaughlin writes in his brief liner note, “This recording is the direct result of the restrictions imposed on all of us due to the Covid 19 pandemic. By the end of September 2020, I, like so many millions of people, had become deeply frustrated by these necessary ‘antisocial rules’ imposed, even so, with good intent by all governments. The result of this frustration was an explosion of music in my mind, which led to this recording.” By and large the musicians did not get together in the studio; rather, McLaughlin would send them his ideas for the various compositions and they would lay down supporting tracks that he would then listen to and respond to until eventually the various parts were mixed into final versions that became the seven cuts on the album. This was a worldwide effort, involving 11 musicians besides McLaughlin with recording taking place not only in Monaco (where McLaughlin resides and has a studio) but also in Paris, London, Cairo, and Los Angeles. I like to think of jazz as a kind of chamber music, which I am sure for some readers is stretching things too far, and in this case, the “chamber” is a virtual, digital simulacrum. Oh well, just put this CD into your player and let the opening guitar riff by Maestro McLaughlin bring your wandering mind right back into the here and now. Yes, his fingers can still fly. This is what got termed “fusion music” back in the 1970s, an energetic blend of rock and jazz, played on mostly electric/electronic instruments. But McLaughlin has never been one to rest on simple rock or funk cliches, he is a serious, probing musician who has always stressed the spiritual dimension of music. He is seeking liberation not just from the restrictions of the pandemic, but liberation of the spirit, and his music dances and sings in its energetic interplay of musicians. Besides the thrill of hearing those 79-year-old fingers dancing along the frets, other thrills include the kokonol singing of drummer Ranjit Barot on the cut “Lockdown Blues” (kokonol being a rhythmic vocalization style from South Indian Carnatic music) and the gentler thrill of hearing McLaughlin play the piano rather than the guitar on two brief tracks, “Mila Repa” and “Shade of Blue.” The album concludes with the rousing title cut, “Liberation Time,” for which digital magic enables the trio of McLaughlin (guitar), Burgess (bass), and Husband (piano and drums) to liberate themselves into one heck of a quartet. Given the way the album was recorded, it makes no sense to talk of imaging and such, but I can report that there is no brightness or glare to the sound, so it will not fry your tweeters or cause you any sort of listener fatigue.  

Mark John McEncroe: Fanfare Suite. Stephen Williams, Sydney Scoring Orchestra. Navona NV6329.

Australian composer Mark John McEncroe (b. 1947) did not take up music seriously until later in life, starting serious piano studies at the age of 37 while continuing his professional life as a chef until age 50. He subsequently studied composition and orchestration privately, eventually transforming himself into a serious composer as evidenced by the three compositions on this new release from Navona. In the liner notes, McEncroe writes that all the music on this album was originally scored for full orchestra, and after recording it that way in 2015, “conductor Anthony Armoré suggested to me that this repertoire would be very suitable for concert band, particularly Fanfare Suite. I then recorded it with the Sydney Scoring Orchestra, a composite studio orchestra which for this session were mostly all members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.”  Of the work that opens this CD, McEncroe writes that “when I think of the Fanfare Suite, I think of Aaron Copland and wide open spaces, big horizons, the Grand Canyon, John Ford/John Wayne movies etc. However, I’m not American so I’d like to think of it as more universal in its ‘grandness’.” In four movement totaling more than 40 minutes, it is indeed a grand piece, and as played and recorded here has a big, full, open sound that you would expect from a professional concert band. The first of the four movements lives up to the fanfare designation, but there are moments that sound very jazzlike. The second movement ramps up the drama, often playing off the contrast between the sound of the brass and the sound of the winds. The third movement, although it features a prominent bass drum part, comes across as more reflective overall, even pastoral, with a layered presentation. The final movement, which is the hottest of the four, begins with brass and percussion leading the way, giving a real sense of occasion, and there are some engaging rhythms to be heard as the music continues. The two compositions that complete the album are both characterized as symphonic poems. Celebration of the Natural World is tuneful, colorful, and engaging, while The Passing is more somber in mood. It is reflective, but although it opens softly and is often reflective in mood, is not always peaceful and quiet in expression, making especially expressive use of woodwinds and percussion. All in all, this is an enjoyable recording, well played and well recorded. The music may not be memorable or profound, but it is pleasant and listenable, and there are times when that is sufficient. My only quibble is that it would have been nice to have more extensive liner notes, but I have no significant reservations about the music or the engineering. The former chef has served up some musical comfort food.

Dwb (driving while black): Roberta Gumbel, libretto; Susan Kander, music; performed by Roberta Gumbel, soprano, and New Morse Code (Hannah Collins, cello; Michael Compitello, percussion). Albany Records TROY1858.

What we have here is far from musical comfort food; it is music to make us feel uncomfortable – but for good reason. Soprano Roberta Gumbel not only does the singing, she wrote the libretto for this opera, while the music was composed by Susan Kander (b. 1957). In his brief note included in the liner booklet, director Chip Miller offers a succinct overview of the piece: “When I was studying for my driver’s license test, my parents sat me down for an important discussion about car safety: what to do when you are pulled over by a police officer. As they went through the list of instructions, I’m sure I rolled my eyes. To me, the car represented freedom, and that was all I could see. I could not yet see the numerous times I would be pulled over for being in the wrong neighborhood. I could not yet see the danger that exists when you are black and in motion in America. But my parents did. Susan Kander and Roberta Gumbel’s dwb (driving while black) provided a window through which to revisit that crucial conversation, this time through the vantage point of my parents. In its swift 45 minutes, we spend 16 years with a black mother, feeling her growing fear as her black son moves toward driving age. The anxieties of being black and behind the wheel are given voice: in the gorgeous words sung by the mother, in the atmosphere created by the percussionist and cellist, and in the retellings of real stories of discrimination.” Lest the reader think dwb is of political interest only, I hasten to add that it is musically fascinating. Not only does Gumbel draw the listener in with her dramatic singing and storytelling, but the instrumental duo New Morse Code are simply amazing in the way they are able to move the story along with such a colorful variety of rhythms, textures, accents, and colors from just two musicians. Credit of course must also be given to composer Kander and the engineering crew for capturing these sounds so vividly. To be honest, I was not sure what to expect from this recording, but I was quickly won over not only by the dramatic storyline but also by the sheer energy and imagination of the music itself. The libretto is included in the booklet; this is a first-class production in every way, even if not your typical opera.   

Bonus Recommendation
Sebastian Fagerlund: Drifts; Stonework; Transit. Ismo Eskelinen, guitar; Hannu Lintu, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. BIS-2295 SACD.

I have observed before that much contemporary orchestral music tends to favor the creation of interesting sounds over the spinning of memorable melodies, or as others have characterized it, an emphasis on the vertical rather than the horizontal. This recording of music by the Finnish composer Sebastian Fagerlund (b. 1972) falls into the former category. No, this is not dissonant music that will make you cringe, but on the other hand, if you are looking for something pretty, there is very little here that will satisfy your cravings. Drifts is a composition for orchestra of just under 12 minutes in length. It is a powerful work that proceeds in waves of energy, at times from the brass, at times from the strings, constantly churning and changing. The overall tone color is dark, with an emphasis on the lower end of the sonic spectrum. Stonework is brighter in overall tone, with more contributions from the higher brass, woodwinds, and strings. Throughout its more than 15 minutes it just keeps changing, never settling into one type of sound or rhythm.  Both these pieces I would characterize as bold, fascinating, certainly fun to hear on a big system, but not really musically memorable. Transit, which is a concerto for guitar and orchestra, is an unusual concerto in six movements that are played without pause. The guitar never really makes any virtuoso display; indeed, it often plays rather quietly. However, the overall effect of the quiet guitar and the variety of moods displayed by the orchestra tend to draw the listener in. At first listen, I found the piece underwhelming, but as I listened to it a few more times, I began to find myself intrigued by its soft-spoken quirkiness. Overall, this is not a recording for everyone, but fans of soft-spoken quirkiness (you know who you are) might want to give it a listen.  

KWN