Keith Jarrett: A Tribute

by Karl Nehring

Earlier this month, American pianist and composer Keith Jarrett celebrated his 80^th birthday. Although best known as a jazz pianist, his body of work extends far beyond jazz – and beyond the piano. We have reviewed a few of his recordings in the past; you can find those reviews here (Budapest Concert), here, (Bourdeaux Concert), and here (C.P.E. Bach Sonatas). Like many people, my first encounter with his playing was from listening to Forest Flower, on which Jarrett played piano as a member of the Charles Lloyd Quartet in a live set at the 1966 Monterey Jazz Festival that was released on Atlantic Records in 1967. In 1971, Jarrett, who was then touring with Miles Davis, had a fateful meeting with producer Manfred Eicher that resulted in Jarrett recording a solo piano album, Facing You, which was released in 1972 on Eicher’s ECM label. In 1973, had released Solo Concerts: Bremen/Lausanne, the first of what would become a series of concert recordings during which Jarrett played improvised music. Popular music critic Rick Beato has posted a YouTube video (which you can see here) describing a segment of this recording as “two of the most beautiful minutes in music.” 

While in the Army in 1974, I picked up both of his “American” quartet albums – Fort Yawuh and Treasure Island – on the Impulse! label, the latter of which featured Jarrett picking up the soprano saxophone on one of the cuts. As a side note, his “American” quartet included the late Dewey Redman, father of Joshua Redman (whose recent performance we mentioned here), on tenor saxophone, along with Charlie Haden on bass and Paul Motian on drums). 1974 also saw the release of the album Belonging on the ECM label, this by Jarrett’s “European” quartet, with Jan Garbarek on tenor saxophone, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums. It’s a beautiful recording, highlighting Jarrett’s skill as a composer as well as a pianist. Then in 1975, ECM released what would become the best-selling piano recording in history, Jarrett’s The Köln Concert. It’s a spellbinding album that still sounds fresh and new 50 years after its initial release.

In 1976, Jarrett received a commission from the Deutsche Grammophon to compose a piece for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It was to be conducted by Seiji Ozawa and feature Jarrett on piano. Jarrett completed his 200-page, 40-minute score for The Celestial Hawk in 1978. The BSO had been expecting a jazzy piece with Jarrett doing a lot of improvising, apparently thinking that would guarantee box-office success; when they saw it was a serious classical composition, they lost interest, and the project was dropped. Instead, Eicher decided to record the work for his ECM label, with Jarrett on piano accompanied by the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christopher Keene. It was released in 1980.

 

In 1984, Eicher decided to expand ECM into the classical realm and brought a new sound into the musical world with the release of Arvo Pärt’s Tabula rasa, the first album on the label’s New Series imprint. This recording also marked the intersection of some of the most longstanding, significant musical collaborators in the label’s history: Arvo Pärt, Gidon Kremer, and Keith Jarrett. I was quite familiar with Jarrett, somewhat familiar with Kremer, but my familiarity with Pärt extended only as far as having heard his name but not his music when, late at night in 1984 while sitting in my car having just finished a shift as a security guard while I was still in grad school, over the radio came music that immediately held me under its spell. The late-night host on WOSU-FM announced that he was playing some tracks from a new album of music by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, and that we had just heard his composition Fratres, performed by violinist Gidon Kremer and pianist Keith Jarrett. Keith Jarrett?! Although the music sold itself, Jarrett’s endorsement made me even more eager to run out and purchase the CD just as soon as I could find it; I have been an enthusiastic Arvo Pärt fan ever since.

Jarrett went on to release many, many recordings over the ensuing decades, both as a soloist and as part of an ensemble. Many of these were jazz, of course, but there were also many classical efforts, in music of Bach Handel, Mozart, Shostakovich, Bartók, Barber, Harrison, and Hovhaness. (If I may be permitted another personal aside, it was Jarrett who introduced me to the 24 Preludes and Fugues for Piano by Shostakovich – I had many recordings of DSCH’s symphonies and was somewhat familiar with his concertos and chamber music but had no idea this marvelous piano music even existed until ECM released Jarrett’s recording in 1992. I now own several versions and continue to delight in this music that Jarrett first revealed to me.) 

 

In 1994, Jarrett’s Bridge of Light album appeared on the ECM New Series label, containing four classical compositions by Jarrett: Elegy for Violin and String Orchestra, Adagio for Oboe and String Orchestra, Sonata for Violin and Piano, and Bridge of Light for Viola and Orchestra. Jarrett said of these works, “Actually, all of these pieces are born of a desire to praise and contemplate rather than a desire to "make" or "show" or "demonstrate" something unique. They are, in a certain way, prayers that beauty may remain perceptible despite fashions, intellect, analysis, progress, technology, distractions, "burning issues" of the day, the un-hipness of belief or faith, concert programming, and the unnatural "scene" of "art", the market, lifestyles, etc., etc., etc. I am not attempting to be "clever" in these pieces (or in these notes), I am not attempting to be a composer. I am trying to reveal a state I think is missing in today's world (except, perhaps, in private): a certain state of surrender: surrender to an ongoing harmony in the universe that exists with or without us. Let us let it in.” It is a charming album, pastoral and serene. If you were to listen to it today without being told who the composer is, your guess might well be a British composer such as, say. Butterworth. 

Tragically enough, in 2018 Jarrett suffered the first of several strokes that robbed him of the use of his left hand, thus leaving him unable to continue his career at the piano. However, ECM has since released several albums of past concert performances; in fact, there is a release of a recording he made in Vienna that we will be reviewing in a forthcoming post. For more insight into this fascinating musician, whose music blurred the boundaries between classical and jazz, between composed and improvised, there is a an in-depth interview that the notoriously press-shy Jarrett granted to Rick Beato; that fascinating video can be seen here.

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. 

Our Favorite Christmas Recordings (CD Reviews)

One of the most delightful dimensions of Christmas is the music that attends the season. From the most devotional church music to familiar carols to popular Christmas songs, music fills the air at this time of the year. At this most wonderful time of the year, we at Classical Candor thought it might be fun to share a few of our favorite Christmas recordings. 

 

Karl Nehring’s Christmas Favorites:

 

Essential Carols: The Very Best of King’s College Choir, Cambridge. (CD1) Hark! the Herald Angels Sing; The First Nowell; While Shepherds Watched; I Saw Three Ships; Ding Dong! Merrily on High; King Jesus Has a Garden; In Dulci Jubilo; Unto Us Is Born a Son; O Come, All Ye Faithful; Away in a Manger; O Little Town of Bethlehem; The Holly and the Ivy; God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; See Amid the Winter's Snow; Past Three O' Clock; Invitatory; Adam Lay Ybounden; Gabriel's Message; (CD2) Once in Royal David's City; Sussex Carol; Rocking; Rejoice and Be Merry; The Cherry Tree Carol; The Three Kings; As with Gladness Men of Old; A Great and Mighty Wonder; The Infant King;Balulalow; The Crown of Roses; Christ Was Born on Christmas Day; Blessed Be That Maid Mary; Lute-Book Lullaby; Myn Lyking; Personent Hodie; In the Bleak Mid-Winter; Coventry Carol; Shepherds in the Field Abiding; Torches; Fantasia on Christmas Carols. Simon Preston, Andrew Davis. organ; The Choir of King’s College; David Willcocks, conductor. Decca B0005302-02. This is the straight stuff, traditional carols sung by a young British choir in a beautiful chapel. As you listen, you can almost close your eyes and imagine yourself at a Christmas Eve candlelight service. 

 

A Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas. Joy to the World; Carol of the Bells; I Wonder As I Wander; Whence Is That Goodly Fragrance?; Masters in This Hall; The First Noel; How Far Is It to Bethlehem?; Pat-A-Pan; What Shall We Give to the Babe in the Manger?; One December Bright and Clear; Fantasy on 'What Child Is This?; Hark! the Herald Angels Sing; Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head; Angels from the Realms of Glory; Silent Night. Mormon Tabernacle Choir; Orchestra at Temple Square; Craig Jessop, conductor. Telarc DSD CD-80552. From this side of the pond, another world-class choir serves up a program of traditional Christmas music. Here we have the 350-voice strong Mormon Tabernacle Choir (now known as The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square) with orchestral accompaniment recorded in glorious sound quality by the engineering team at Telarc. Hard to find but worth the search.

 

Christmas Rhapsody. O Come All Ye Faithful / Angels We Have Heard on High / Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; I'll Be Home for Christmas / "Going Home" (New World Symphony); Santa Claus Is Coming to Town / Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy; The Christmas Song; Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer / Let It Snow; Ave Maria; O Come O Come Emanuel / O Little Town of Bethlehem / The First Noel; Winter Wonderland / Jingle Bells; Silent Night / O Holy Night; Sweet Little Jesus Boy / Away in a Manger / What Child Is This?; Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring / Amazing Grace; Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas; White Christmas. John Bayless, piano. Koch KOC-CD-9610. This is an album that brings a joyous, upbeat holiday spirit into your home. The medleys include carols along with more popular music associated with the holidays. I still remember receiving the CD for review years ago and thinking I was going to hate it – I thought it was going to be superficial, lightweight, New Age fluff. I played it only out of a sense of duty and was delighted – and have played it every year since. It’s a keeper.

 

Joyous Day! Songs of Christmas Arranged by Barlow Bradford. Angels We Have Heard on High; Infant Holy, Infant Lowly; Sussex Carol; Still, Still, Still; I Wonder As I Wander; Pat-a-Pan; Star Candles; Jesus, Jesus Rest Your Head; Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella; Suo Gan; Carol of the Bells; Silent Night. Utah Chamber Artists; Barlow Bradford, artistic director. Clarion CLR928CD. Familiar Christmas music from an unfamiliar ensemble, but my goodness, in many ways this deftly arranged and expertly recorded release is the most fully satisfying Christmas recording I have ever heard. Perhaps it is because of the smaller forces involved, but somehow the balance of sound seems just right, perfectly appropriate for the music. Whatever the reason, this CD is a hidden gem of a Christmas recording!

 

Ki ho’alu Christmas: Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar. Do You Hear What I Hear?; C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S (The Meaning of Christmas); Christmas Carol Waltz; Mele Kalikimaka; Away in a Manger; Winter Wonderland; Christmas Memories; It Came Upon a Midnight Clear; Little Drummer Boy; Fireside Ki ho’alu; Medley: Kanaka Waiwai / Jesu Mo Ke Kahuhipa; Po La’i E (Silent Night); Silent Night. Keola Beamer, guitars; Ledward Kaapana, guitar, autoharp; Moses Kahumoku, guitar; Cyril Pahinui, 12-string guitar. voice; James “Bla” Pahinui, guitar; Barney Isaacs, acoustic steel guitar; George Kuo, guitar; Rev. Dennis Kamakahi, 12-string guitar, voice; Ozzie Kotani, guitar; George Kahumoku, 12-string guitar; Cindy Combs, guitar; Joanie Komatsu, guitar, voice; Ruth Komatsu, recorder. Dancing Cat Records 090222-38037-2. For those unfamiliar with slack key guitar, here is a quick explanation courtesy of the good folks at Wikipedia: “slack-key guitar (from Hawaiian kī hōʻalu, which means "loosen the [tuning] key") is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in Hawaii. Nearly all slack key requires retuning the guitar strings from standard (EADGBE), and this usually (but not always) means lowering or "slacking" several strings. The result will most often be an open major chord, although it can also be a major-seventh chord, a sixth, or (rarely) a minor.” Hearing this Christmas music played in these unusual tunings is an ear- and mind-opening experience that will bring a smile to all but the most hidebound mainlander. (To be perfectly honest, though, my very favorite CD in this style is Slack Key Christmas on the Windham Hill label, but sadly enough, it is now out of print and difficult to track down.)

 

We Three Kings - The Roches. Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light; For Unto Us A Child Is Born; Angels We Have Heard On High; Deck The Halls; Christmas Passing Through; Sleigh Ride; Away in a Manger; Here We Come a Carolling; The Little Drummer Boy; The Holly & The Ivy; Frosty The Snowman; Do You Hear What I Hear?; We Three Kings; Star Of Wonder; Winter Wonderland; Joy To The World; O Little Town Of Bethlehem; Good King Wenceslas; Jingle Bells; The First Noel; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; It Came Upon A Midnight Clear; Adeste Fideles; Silver Bells. Maggie Roche, vocals, keyboards; Terre Roche, vocals, guitars, piano; Suzzy Roche, vocals, guitars, keyboards; Vince Cherico, drums and drum programming, percussion; Paul Ossola, bass guitar, upright bass; Victor Lesser, Saxophones. MCA Records / Paradox Records MCAD -10020. This is one of those albums that you will either love or hate. Or you might love it on Monday, hate it on Tuesday, put it away for a few days, but on the Saturday before Christmas, pull it out and love it again. The three sisters harmonize, weave in and out in counterpoint, have some fun, but also show reverence when reverence is called for. Quirky? Yes. But full of the spirit of Christmas. It will make you smile and enjoy the holiday season.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (Deluxe Edition). Tannenbaum; What Child Is This; My Little Drum; Linus & Lucy; Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental); Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal); Skating; Hark, The Herald Angels Sing; Christmas Is Coming; Für Elise; The Christmas Song; Tannenbaum (Take 2/recorded September 21, 1965);Tannenbaum (Take 3/recorded September 21, 1965); Greensleeves (Take 6/recorded October 28, 1965); Linus And Lucy (Take 1/recorded September 17, 1965); Christmas Time Is Here (Take 1/recorded September 17, 1965);Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal) (Rehearsal/recording Date Unknown); Christmas Time Is Here (Take 4/recording Date Unknown); Skating (Take 1/recorded September 22, 1965); Jingle Bells (Takes 1-4/recorded September 21, 1965); Christmas Is Coming (Take 3/recorded September 17, 1965); Christmas Is Coming (Take 3/recorded September 21, 1965); Für Elise (Takes 1-2/recording Date Unknown); The Christmas Song (Take 8/recorded October 28, 1965). Ince Guaraldi Trio. Craft Recordings. This is the latest incarnation of a true Christmas classic. According to the Craft website,” this deluxe CD release of A Charlie Brown Christmas features a brand-new Stereo Mix of the classic album remastered from the original three-track and two-track sources, as well as thirteen unreleased outtakes, highlights taken from five sessions of recording material. Amazing in their own right these unheard versions give insight into how this iconic score took shape. The package also features new liner notes from Peanuts historian, Derrick Bang.” For many homes, including mine, Christmas is just not Christmas without frequent playing of this soundtrack, a true Christmas classic.

Bill Heck's Christmas Favorites

What would the holiday season be without Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet? Surely even Ebenezer Scrooge had a soft spot for this lovely, imaginative music and, at least for many of us if not for poor Ebeneezer, the warm memories that it can evoke.

Antal Dorati/London Symphony Orchestra. Mercury Living Presence 475 6623. If we can say that any recording of the complete ballet is the “standard”, this might be it. It is well-played, with tempos that are mostly quick but rarely rushed. The recording, one of the Mercury Living Presence series, is superb for its time and still holds up well. Some may with for a little more atmosphere, both artistically and sonically, but you can hardly go wrong with this as your baseline for how the Nutcracker should be done. 

Seiji Ozawa/Boston Symphony Orchestra. DG 00289 477 5153. Another fine option for the complete ballet, and it’s packaged with Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty in the multi-CD set. This performance seems to have a little more of that aforementioned “atmosphere”, with slightly freer tempi and slightly more sonic clarity to bring out all the marvelous inner parts. I really must give special mention to the Waltz of the Flowers, which is simply stunning; how can one not want to dance along? 

 

Stewart Goodyear (piano arrangement) Steinway STNS 30040. Goodyear’s is not the only piano arrangement of the ballet out there, but is arguably the best, and the arranger plays it well indeed. If, when hearing this, you did not know that it was a transcription of an orchestral piece, you might easily assume that it was originally written for the keyboard. It’s a given that the Steinway engineers do a good job of capturing the sound of – yes – a Steinway.

 

LA Guitar Quartet: Nutcracker Suite Delos DE 3132. Not the complete ballet, of course, but it’s amazing how well Tchaikovsky’s music can be adapted beyond its original orchestral context. Four guitars allow real exploration of the harmonies that were in the orchestral version, but with completely different balances, each line winding its way through a unified whole. The playing is first rate, as is the Delos audiophile-grade sound.

Nutcracker Suite as arranged by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn; played by the Harmonie Ensemble of New York, conducted by Steve Richmond. Harmonia Mundi HMU 907493. Seventeen tracks of syncopated enjoyment. Ellington and Strayhorn work their magic in (re)arranging the originals into a jazzy suite, here played by an excellent big band. (Alas, it appears that the Harmonie Ensemble is now defunct.) Just the thing to cap the holidays and send us off in rousing style!

Bryan Geyer's Christmas Favorites

I'm unable to pick any particular recording, but these two modern era Christmas songs have always seemed more significant than the rest: 

"The Christmas Song" became a Nat King Cole classic and any of his various recordings would be appropriate.

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was subject to excessive revision, generally applied to "jolly up" the basic WWII thematic setting. I personally prefer the original, or versions close to it—maybe because I clearly remember those WWII days—but it's catchy stuff regardless of the score.

Musica Barocca (CD review)

Music of Albinoni, J.S. Bach, Handel, Marcello, Pachelbel, Purcell, Telemann, and Vivaldi. Giovanni Antonini, Il Giardino Armonico. Warner Classics 0190296455322.

By John J. Puccio

Il Giardino Armonico (“The Garden of Harmony”) is a period-instrument ensemble co-founded in 1985 by its leader Giovanni Antonini. Like most such bands, its primary purpose is to play music in a historically accurate style and on original instruments appropriate to the era (mainly the late seventeenth to early nineteenth centuries). In other words, to play music that the composers of such music would easily recognize if they were alive today. The 1980’s saw a number of such HIP (historically informed performance) orchestras pop up, many of which are gone now and many of which have stuck around. Il Giardino Armonico is one that stuck around.

Although Il Giardino Armonico is still performing and still recording, they recorded the present album in 2001 for Teldec Das Alte Werk, and Warner Classics is just re-releasing it 2022. So you might say it’s something of a relic itself. Still, it’s a good and welcome relic, filled with an abundance of good tunes by Baroque composers like Albinoni, J.S. Bach, Handel, Marcello, Pachelbel, Purcell, Telemann, and Vivaldi. It’s not quite a golden oldies collection of Baroque favorites, but it’s close. The main thing is that it’s well played and enjoyable to hear. The composers couldn’t have wanted more.

Here’s the program:

J.S. Bach: Suite No. 3 in D major
Albinoni: Oboe Concerto in D minor
Vivaldi: Flautino Concerto in C major
Albinoni: Adagio for solo violin and strings
Marcello: Oboe Concerto in D minor
Telemann: Concerto for two flutes in B minor
Pachelbel: Canon and Gigue in D major
Traditional: “Greensleeves”
Purcell: Chaconne in G minor
Handel: Solomon, “The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba”
Albinoni: Sinfonia a quattro in F major

So, some things familiar, some things not so familiar, but all things baroque. Il Giardino Armonico play with elegance and precision. This leads to technically well executed but not always the most exciting presentations. For me, they tend to suck a little of the life out of the music in the process of being so well-mannered. Take, for instance, the opening selection, the familiar Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068. While it comes to life in the Gavottes, it’s generally polite in the extreme. Now, compare it to Jordi Savall’s account with La Concert des Nations on Alia Vox. Antonini and his crew may provide the greater degree of contrasts in style and tempo, but it’s Savall who delivers the most fun. He and his players simply sound as though they’re having a better time playing the music. Of course, this is hardly a slam against Antonini, who does a splendid job getting the music across with a minimum of fuss. It’s just a matter of taste in the long run, and many listeners will prefer the refinement of Il Giardino Armonico over the comparatively scruffy qualities of Savall’s group.

Il Giardino Armonico appear more in their element with Albinoni’s Oboe Concerto, which they render beautifully, with grace, ease, and polish. That’s followed by a zippy treatment of Vivaldi’s Flautino Concerto, and so on. One thing you can’t say about Antonini, though, is that he’s predictable. He tends to go from one extreme to another not only in his choice of material but in his choice of manners to play them. With the exception of several Albinoni pieces, you never quite know what he’s going to do with the music. Some of it comes off with strength and vigor (the Handel “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” is especially lively); others sound rushed or overworked.

Producer Christoph Classen and engineer Michael Brammen recorded the music at Chiesa di San Giorgio, Morbio Inferiore, Switzerland in 2001. There is the feeling here of a very large space, with good orchestral depth and a fairly reverberant but not objectionable hall resonance. The image comes across coherently, with instruments well spaced. However, the dynamics seem all over the place, sometimes strong, sometimes a bit lifeless; lucidity sometimes transparent, sometimes soft and dusky; and the frequency balance sometimes tending to favor the upper register. All of this is perhaps a result of the various combinations of players and instruments involved, so like the performances, you never quite know what to expect.

JJP

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

Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 3 (SACD review)

Georg Kallweit, Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin. Pentatone PTC 5186 776.

By John J. Puccio

If you enjoy music of the Baroque and Classical ages played with elegance and refinement in historically informed performances, you might just like the Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, a German, period-instrument ensemble formed in 1982 that plays with a smooth precision and style. While they may not display the abandon of, say, Le Concert des Nations or Europa Galante nor with the sheer joy of the Philharmonia Baroque, the Akademie make up for it with the effortless polish of professionals who know and love their business and aren’t afraid of showing a little restraint in the process.

This is not to suggest, however, that the Akademie fur Alte Musik are in any way dull or commonplace. Far from it, as these performances of Handel’s Op. 3 concertos demonstrate. The concertos are clear, focused, and meticulously presented in interpretations both lively and graceful. It’s a refreshing combination.

Anyway, the German-born Baroque composer George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) wrote his six Concerti Grossi, Op. 3 sometime before 1734, when English music publisher John Walsh assembled them from earlier Handel works. Apparently, Handel himself had no intention when he wrote them of their becoming a “set,” nor did he have any idea beforehand what Walsh was up to with them. But have them we do. What’s more, they aren’t “concertos” in the modern sense at all, but rather they are mostly collections of overtures, fugues, dances, and the like arranged into suites of anywhere from two to five movements each. Handel did not design any of them to highlight individual instruments, either, or even to contrast different sections of the orchestra as do most traditional concerti grossi. But Walsh, wanting to capitalize on the popularity of concerti sets of the day compiled them from whatever bits and pieces of Handel’s music he could find. No matter. Much of it remains charming.

Of course, Handel admirers coming to this music for the first time and expecting to find another set of Water Music suites may be disappointed. There just isn’t the abundance of memorable tunes involved. Instead, we have mainly bits and pieces of Handel kind of thrown together to sell copies of the scores. And, of course, listeners not already familiar with Handel’s music may not care one way or the other because it probably all sounds alike to them anyway. But that is not to say there isn’t a lot to appreciate in the Akademie’s view of things, and I rather enjoyed some of “the bits and pieces.”

Maestro Kallweit and the Akademie play with a refined sensibility, somewhat understated on occasion but lively and brisk at other times. The first of the six concertos makes a good example of this. There are three movements to it: fast, slow, fast. And there is no doubting which is which because the fast movements sparkle with energy, while the slow movement, the Largo, is meaningfully leisurely.

Of the concertos I liked best, No. 2 is probably my favorite. It’s one of the longest at five movements, and each of the sections is clearly distinctive from the rest. Musical scholars have suggested that Handel may have written the whole thing as an overture; who knows. It certainly has all the earmarks of a curtain raiser and may easily be savored as a stand-alone item.

And so it goes. Nos. 3 and 5 both open with Largos, making them a bit different. However, the movements are generally so brief, it’s hard to notice. No. 4 seems the most grandiose, No. 5 the most grave. No. 6, the final concerto, seems almost an afterthought. It has only two movements, and it seems that the publisher simply wanted a concluding sixth work in the set because that was the fashion of the times. In any case, it is distinguished by an organ part in the last movement that foreshadows Handel’s later, more-developed organ concertos.

Producers Renaud Loranger and Karel Bruggeman and engineer Jean-Marie Geijsen recorded the concerti at the Nikodemuskirche, Berlin in May 2019. They made it in hybrid SACD, and I listened in SACD two-channel stereo. There’s more ambient bloom in the auditorium than we normally here, making the relatively small ensemble appear bigger than it is. It is not unpleasant. Otherwise, the sound is smooth and agreeable. You might even be hard pressed to tell it’s a period band and not a modern chamber orchestra because of the polished sheen of the sonics. It’s also a tad close, with only moderate depth. Nevertheless, it’s all quite listenable.

JJP

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

Classic HAUSER (CD review)

Music of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Bach, Mozart, Chopin, and others. HAUSER, cello; London Symphony Orchestra. Sony 19075988532.

By John J. Puccio

He’s young; he’s handsome; he’s talented. He is (or was) one half of the crossover phenomenon called the 2CELLOS. Now he’s also a singles act, a gifted cellist that Sony appears to be marketing as another Mario Lanza. He is so big, in fact, that Stjepan Hauser has now outgrown his name and is just HAUSER. Yet so big that his name can only be accommodated by capital letters (like 2CELLOS), making him, I suppose, even bigger than Liberace or Cher. You can see where I’m going with this.

HAUSER’s latest release, “Classic HAUSER,” is more like a pop concert than an actual classical album. Yes, it says “Classic” in the title, but Sony is clearly going after the youth market here, no doubt mainly young women who may swoon over both the Romanticism of the music and the good looks of the artist. The disc comprises sixteen selections, the longest being around eight minutes and the majority being closer to the pop standard of four minutes or less. A booklet note tells us the final item, Barber’s Adagio for Strings, is 0:00 minutes. You can’t get much shorter than that. (Actually, it’s 7:57.)

I’ve mentioned this before, but I can’t help thinking of the first “classical” album I ever bought: a boxed LP set of the 101 Strings playing parts of famous classical pieces. But they were complete parts, like entire movements of longer works. Here, HAUSER plays brief portions of popular classical music, most of them written for other instruments and transcribed for cello.

He plays the pieces beautifully, of course, and the London Symphony Orchestra backs him with their usual grace and accomplishment. But the music is still in bits and pieces, meant to satisfy fans of the soloist who are not necessarily fans of classical music. So, I guess what I’m saying is to be aware of what you’re getting. You may be satisfied for a moment or two, but you may also long for more.

HAUSER

Here’s a rundown on the album’s contents:

  1. Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake

  2. Rachmaninoff - Second Piano Concerto

  3. Dalla - Caruso

  4. Bach - Air On a G String

  5. Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Suite

  6. Mozart - Concerto for Clarinet

  7. Chopin - Nocturne in C Sharp

  8. Mascagni - Intermezzo from Cavalierra Rusticana

  9. Yiruma - River Flows in You

10. Handel - Lascia Ch'io Pianga

11. Last - The Lonely Shepherd

12. Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 21

13. Borodin - Nocturne

14. Puccini - Nessun Dorma

15. Mozart - Lacrimosa

16. Barber - Adagio for Strings

HAUSER’s sound is lush and sonorous, depending on the selection. his tone golden, and his flexibility in handling all kinds of musical moments nigh perfect. I just wish he had more to work with than the golden oldies he presents here. While it’s all quite lovely, it’s all out of context, too, and all rather brief. What can we expect next? The Beatles Songbook, perhaps? And he would doubtless do it justice.

Producer Nick Patrick and engineers Neil Hutchinson and Simon Rhodes recorded the music at Henry Wood Hall, London in June 2019. The sound is befitting the nature of a pop album: It’s fairly close up, vivid in its detail, and somewhat flat in its perspective, with the soloist always well front and center. It’s also very loud, perhaps in anticipation of its being played in an automobile.

JJP

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

Alison Balsom: Royal Fireworks (CD review)

Music of Handel, Purcell, Bach, and Telemann. Alison Balsom, natural trumpet; Balsom Ensemble. Warner Classics 0190295370060.

For those few people who may not know her by now, British trumpet soloist, producer, arranger, and music educator Alison Balsom has been playing trumpet professionally since 2001. She is now a multiple award winner with over a dozen recordings to her credit; she was the former principal trumpet of the London Chamber Orchestra; she is a Visiting Professor of Trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama; she was the artistic director of the 2019 Cheltenham Music Festival; and she is an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). What's more important, though, as I've said before, she is a darn fine trumpet player.

On the present album, "Royal Fireworks," she presents a collection of six virtuosic works from the Baroque age, featuring the music of Handel, Purcell, Bach, and Telemann. The pieces are all done up in new arrangements for solo trumpet (Ms. Balsom, as usual, playing a natural, valveless trumpet) and a small baroque ensemble (natural trumpets, sackbut, theorbo, strings, timpani, organ, harpsichord, and vocals). The results are unique and, as always from Ms. Balsom, delightful.

First up is George Frideric Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks. Listeners used to hearing the suite played by a modern orchestra or by a big ensemble of period instruments (Handel originally scored it for around sixty players, and some in attendance at the original event reported seeing about a hundred players in the band) may find Ms. Balsom's recording with but a handful of musicians a bit undernourished. However, with a vibrant recording and an enthusiastic performance, one may not notice such quibbles. Ms. Balsom carries the day, to be sure, but her accompaniment is splendid, too. No, I would not recommend her reading as a first choice with so many other fine recordings available, but it makes an interesting alternative interpretation with Ms. Balsom's trumpet in the forefront of the presentation.

Alison Balsom

Next is Henry Purcell's Sonata in D. Here we have another virtuosic vehicle for displaying Ms. Balsom's skills. Still, the accompanying players hold up their end with an accomplished élan, and the piece, brief as it may be, comes off with elegance and refinement.

Following that is Johann Sebastian Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" in an endearing arrangement that again highlights Ms. Balsom's excellent execution. It moves along at a healthy but never rushed gait and marks a pleasant few minutes.

Then, there is George Philip Telemann's Trumpet Concerto in D. It's in four very short movements and represents a good change of pace from Purcell's sonata. It begins, perhaps unusually, with a stately Adagio and then alternates more vigorous sections bookending a solemn one. So, it's slow, fast, slow, fast. Unusual, as I say, but fascinating in its contrasts.

After the Telemann is another of J.S. Bach's pieces, a suite from the Christmas Oratorio. This and the Handel that opens the show are the longest works on the program and the centerpieces of the album. Ms. Balsom's trumpet stands out strongly in these new arrangements, while the other trumpets add a richness to the proceedings.

The music ends with Purcell's Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary II. Here, we find even more percussion work, plus a vocal quartet, so it adds to the variety of the album. It's appropriately grave, yet evocatively charming and makes a fine conclusion to the program.

Producers Simon Kiln and Alison Balsom and engineer Arne Akselberg recorded the music at St. Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead, London in August 2019. Big sonics here: wide and resonant, with a good depth of image. It isn't the most transparent of recordings, but it is realistic in its sense of place--the natural warmth and bloom of the venue--and it captures the Purcell vocals realistically. So, while ultimate clarity may not be its long suit, its hall ambience and strong dynamics help to compensate.

JJP

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

Handel Goes Wild (CD review)

Valer Sabadus, countertenor; Nuria Rial, soprano; Christina Pluhar, L'Arpeggiata. Erato 0190295811693.

This is another novelty from conductor (and therobist) Christina Pluhar and her Baroque ensemble L'Arpeggiata: A recording that blends a period band with a contemporary jazz quintet to do improvisations inspired by the works of German composer George Frederic Handel (1685-1759). Ms. Pluhar and her group have done this kind of thing several times before, notably with albums of music by Purcell, Monteverdi, and Cavalli. The results may remind you, as they did me, of the discs from the Jacques Loussier Trio, a jazz group that has successfully navigated the classical world for decades. But Ms. Pluhar and her players go them one better in combining historical instruments with modern jazz ones and coming up with lusher, richer tones that still maintain much of the spirit of the original composer.

The program, mainly arias, highlights soloists in some selections, the jazz players on some tracks, and the period instruments ensemble in yet other numbers. What's more, some of the pieces are well known while others are less famous; some are slow, while others are fast; some are recognizable as Handel, while others are not quite so identifiable; and some are done relatively straight, while others are more jazz inflected. Thus, we get a good variety of music, from the energetic pomp of "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" (with interjections by the jazz ensemble) to the familiar larghetto "Ombra mai fu." Whether any of this will appeal to the committed classical lover or the enthusiastic jazz fan, however, is another story and entirely a matter of taste.

To give you an idea of the material involved, here's a list of the disc's contents:

  1. Sinfonia (from Alcina)
  2. "Venti, turbini" (from Rinaldo)
  3. "O sleep, why dost thou leave me" (from Semele)
  4. Vivaldi Allegro (from Concerto in G minor)
  5. "Cara sposa" (from Rinaldo)
  6. "Where'er you walk" (from Semele)
  7. "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" (from Solomon)
  8. "Pena tiranna" (from Amadigi di Gaula)
  9. "Piangerò la sorte mia" (from Giulio Cesare in Egitto)
10. Canario (improvisations based on Girolamo Kapsberger)
11. "Verdi prati" (from Alcina)
12. "Tu del Ciel ministro eletto" (from Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno)
13. "Mi lusinga il dolce affetto" (from Alcina)
14. "Lascia ch'io pianga" (from Rinaldo)
15 "Ombra mai fu" (from Serse)

Christina Pluhar

So, OK, admittedly, it's a little hard to judge either the music or the performances until you get past the oddity of the album's concept. Nevertheless, even though one may question the album's purpose and appeal, there should be no question about its sincerity. Ms. Pluhar and her fellow musicians appear wholly committed to the approach, whatever classification you might apply to it. She and her players are excellent, professional musicians who produce crisp, well-polished performances, whether you call it classical, jazz, or fusion.

The opening tune is a good example of the program's diversity as well as its controversy. Even the seasoned Handel admirer might have trouble recognizing the Sinfonia from Alcina, beginning as it does with light jazz riffs that take a while to open up into something resembling traditional Handel. The next piece, the aria "Venti, turbini" from Rinaldo, is more clearly Handel, especially when the countertenor Valer Sabadus enters, and no amount of jazz accents can hide the composer's rhythms.

And so it goes. The aria "O Sleep, why dost thou leave me" from Semele has the lovely quality of a music-box lullaby about it; the Vivaldi Allegro from Concerto in G minor finds a more jazz-oriented tone with double bass, piano, and clarinet dominating the piece until the rest of the players join in; and so on.

Earlier I asked whether the album would appeal more to jazz or classical lovers, and I'm hard pressed to provide an answer. There may not be enough of one or the other idiom to satisfy either camp. So maybe its appeal is to neither; that is, its major attraction may be to folks who don't have strong convictions one way or the other. Then again, those same listeners may think it's too much of one or the other, jazz or classical, so who knows.

The album is an odd duck, to be sure. My recommendation is to try and listen to as many selections from it as possible before laying out any cash. I found a lot of it delightful and fascinating, but at seventy-five minutes, it also seemed a bit too much of a good thing.

Sound, mixing, and mastering engineer Hugues Deschaux recorded the album in Switzerland in November 2016. The sonics have a smooth, well-rounded texture that is pleasing to the ear if not entirely transparent. The room acoustics open up the sound to a warm bloom, with a good sense of space and depth. Much of it, though, appears a bit too close up in relation to the softness of the music, which would seem to indicate a more distant perspective. Still, minor quibbles. The sound is appealing.

JJP

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

Concerti Virtuosi (CD review)

Music of Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Locatelli, Fasch, and Leo. Jeanne Lamon, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Analekta AN 2 9815.

The Canadian period-instrument ensemble Tafelmusik is one of today's leading early music orchestras, the group as refined yet as exciting playing historical instruments as, say, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is playing modern instruments. The only trouble is finding enough good Baroque music to make the ensemble worth hearing, which is perhaps why they have reached out as far as the early Romantic period in their performances.

In any case, I know it sounds a bit harsh of me to criticize Baroque music, and it probably says more about me and my attitudes toward music than anything else. The fact is, I'm in a minority. The music of the Baroque and Classical periods make up the biggest part of the air time on most classical radio stations; it's that popular. Apparently, radio listeners love it as a sort of background music to whatever else they're doing during the day or night: driving or working or reading the newspaper. Perhaps I'm being unfair suggesting that Baroque music takes less concentration to enjoy than other types of music, but there is a fairly static quality about most of it that makes it akin to radio's "easy listening."

In any case, the Baroque music on this 2005 release from Tafelmusik comprises various concerti, a term that the booklet note explains got its meaning in part from the Latin word concertare, meaning "to contend, dispute, debate," and from the Italian, meaning "to agree, arrange, get together." The definitions would seem to be contradictory, and in a way so is the music, with the trio sections contending against yet blending with the rest of the orchestra.

All of the works on the disc come from the early seventeenth century, the composers being the ever-popular Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, and George Friedrich Handel, of course; the lesser-known Pietro Locatelli and Johann Friedrich Fasch; and the least-known Leonardo Leo. What they all have in common is that their concerti sound pretty much alike to the uninformed ear. Count me among those; I doubt that I could identify any single snippet of music from any of these works two minutes after listening to them. While I know that makes me sound like Barbarian, I nevertheless enjoyed every minute of every note.

Jeanne Lamon

What's on the disc? Vivaldi's Concerto in A Minor for Two Oboes and Strings and his Concerto in E Minor for Four Violins; Leo's Concerto in D Minor for Violoncello; Bach's Concerto for Oboe D'amore in G Major; Locatelli's Concerto Grosso in D Major; Fasch's Concerto in C Minor for Bassoon, Two Oboes, and Strings; and Handel's Concerto Grosso in A Minor.

Jeanne Lamon and her Tafelmusik ensemble make the music come alive, all the while sounding as graceful and elegant as any orchestra you'll find. It's no wonder Tafelmusik has become one of the leading period-instrument bands in the world. Along with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, among others, they perform with a lively yet moderate style, never overemphasizing the period qualities of their playing and always allowing the tempos, phrasing, bowing, and various nuances to serve the music and not spotlight the players.

The sonics are typical of what the Tafelmusik players have been doing since switching to their own Analekta label some years ago. The recording sounds smooth, rich, wide ranging, vivid, and alive, without appearing in any way spectacular. The sonics are not bright, hard, or edgy as so many period-instrument recordings can sound; nor are the sonics as clear, open, and transparent as a few audiophile discs can be. The sound is simply natural and pleasant, never drawing attention to itself. The recording places the music above all else, which is as it should be.

With over seventy records to their credit, if any group can help a listener appreciate Baroque music, it's Tafelmusik.

JJP

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

Trumpet Concertos (CD review)

Music of Haydn, Handel, Hummel, Albinoni, Hertel, and Telemann. Maurice Andre, trumpet. Riccardo Muti, Philharmonia Orchestra; Sir Charles Mackerras, English Chamber Orchestra; Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. EMI Classics 7243-5-62947-2-1.

Maurice Andre has been playing and recording the trumpet for about as long as anybody, and his many recordings point up one thing in common: the man's unflagging refinement. The various concertos on this "Great Artists of the Century" CD from EMI confirm the notion.

The star of the show is the Haydn Trumpet Concerto, which Andre has recorded perhaps a half a dozen times. The performance in this collection dates from 1984, with Riccardo Muti and the Philharmonia Orchestra. I'm not sure why EMI chose the Muti when there was an even newer one available, but it suffices. Andre seems poised and relaxed, presenting the music in a most temperate manner, and the result appears the utmost in polish and repose. Not that it doesn't show its high spirits in the final movement, Vivace, but it basically maintains its grace under fire.

Maurice Andre

I would personally not buy Andre's performance of the Haydn as a first choice in this repertory, mind you, but in this collection it does nicely. For stronger recommendations in the Haydn alone, I would go with Hardenberger, Marriner, and the Academy (Philips); Schwarz and the Y CO (Delos); Marsalis, Leppard, and the National Philharmonic (Sony); or, maybe best of all, Berinbaum, Somary, and the English Chamber Orchestra (Vanguard).

The other works on Andre's album are similarly elegant: Trumpet concertos from Albinoni, Handel, and Hertal (with Mackerras and the ECO); and Telemann and Hummel (with Karajan and the BPO). I have to admit that I find some of the material here a little mundane, a little less than scintillating, but there is no questioning the vitality of the Haydn and Hummel, which open and close the collection. Nor is there any question about Andre's dignified way of handling all of it with equal aplomb.

EMI released the present collection in 2005, with most of the recordings remastered in 1999. The overall tonal balance is remarkably similar in the six different recordings, warm and clear, with a touch of reverberation to lend a semblance of reality to the occasion. I did, however, find the position of Andre's trumpet varying a bit, from well left of center to center. I enjoyed the sound of the Berlin Philharmonic best of all for its integration of soloist and orchestra, but one should find pleasure throughout the disc.

JJP

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