For Arvo (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Pärt: Für Alina (Version 1); Variations for the Healing of Arinushka; Fratres (Transc. Osokins for Piano); Ukuaru Waltz; Vier leichte Tanzstücke “Musik für Kindertheater” – No. 1, Der gestiefelte Kater; No. 2, Rotkäppchen; No. 3, Schmetterlinge; No. 4, Tanz der Entenküken; Pari intervallo (Transc. Osokins for Piano); Sonatinas for Piano, Op. 1 No. 1: Für Anna Maria; Sonatinas for Piano, Op. 1 No. 2: Partita, Op. 2; Hymn to a Great City; Lamentate: Fragile e conciliante (Transc. Osokins for Piano); Für Alina (Version 2). Georgjis Osokins, piano. Deutsche Grammophon 00028948676729

The Estonian composer Arvo Pärt celebrated his 90^th birthday on September 11^th of 2025. By now, most classical music lovers should be familiar with his music, as his compositions have been recorded by myriad performers on a variety of labels. For those of us of a certain age, though, Pärt was once a newcomer who suddenly appeared on the scene with music unlike anything we had ever heard before. I can still vividly recall the first time I heard his music. While I was in graduate school, I had a weekend job as a security guard for a manufacturer of computer support equipment. One of my late-night duties was to drive from my post at the main plant to check on the training center, which was a couple of miles or so away. On one of those late night drives, I found that the classical FM radio station was playing something completely engrossing, music such as I had never experienced before. I was spellbound! I parked in the training center parking lot and listened to the end of the piece, eager to find out what this music could possibly be. It turned out to be the landmark ECM release Tabula Rasa, featuring the music of Arvo Pärt as played by the then-young violinist Gidon Kremer and of all pianists, the jazz icon Keith Jarrett. Since then, I have been an avid Pärt fan (as well as a fan of Kremer and Jarrett) and have auditioned and owned many of his numerous compositions over the past several decades.

About a decade after my discovery of Pärt’s music, Georgijs Osokins was born into a family of pianists in the Latvian capital of Riga in 1995. Then in 2025, Osokins released released his debut album on DG, For Arvo. “This album is a declaration of my deep love for Arvo and his music,” writes Osokins in the liner notes. “It encompasses both completely unknown pieces, and some of the most-performed works of the last forty years. It Includes both original works and the art-form of piano transcriptions. I wanted to capture the very moment of the composer’s revelation – from complex contemporary avant-garde through to pure, luminous and enigmatic beauty and simplicity.” And that aptly describes what this release comprises; fortunately, the luminous and beautiful tracks outnumber the avant-garde. The opening tracks -- Für Alina Variations for the Healing of Arinushka, Fratres, Ukuaru Waltz; Vier leichte Tanzstücke (“Four Easy Dance Pieces”), and Pari intervallo – are all relatively straightforward, easy on the ears, and the kind of music that most fans of Pärt have grown to appreciate. 

Especially noteworthy is Osokins’s transcription for piano of Fratres, which offer a fresh insight into this much-loved composition. The two Sonatinas and the Partita are the works in the program that lean more toward the avant-garde; however, although they are certainly not as easy on the ear as the other selections, neither are they the kind of dissonant, pounding piano works that the term “avant-garde” might scare one into fearing – in fact, they’re quite listenable. Sandwiched between the two Sonatinas is Für Anna Maria, brief but touching, and then after Partita come the tender Lamentate, and the simple but expressive Hymn to a Great City. The CD closes with a second version of Für Alina, this one recorded more distantly, producing a haunting effect. Interestingly, time seems to be almost suspended, dreamlike, but the timing is the same as for the opening track. (By the way, the streaming version of this album includes three more tracks, two of which are pleasant, but one, from a composition titled Diagrams, which is on the prickly side – nice that it was left off the CD). This is a fascinating release, well worth seeking out. 

Recent Releases No. 62 (CD Reviews)

by Karl Nehring 

Something that these three releases all have in common is they all boast audiophile-quality sound. Two of them, in fact, are from labels with audiophile credentials: Reference Recordings and Sono Luminus. The third is from Hyperion, a small label from the UK that although not necessarily known as an audiophile label, has produced some superbly engineered recordings. To be honest, recording technology and practices have come a long way over the past 50 years. Many labels almost routinely release recordings that would have been considered “audiophile-quality” back in the 1970s when the underground audio magazines started touting such things. That said, we sometimes come across recordings that just seem to have something special about their sound quality. Note also that these three are not the stereotypical audiophile spectaculars featuring booming bass drums or huge brass choirs; no, these are recordings of chamber music. Enjoy! 

Spanish Impressions. Enrique Fernandez Arbos: Trois Pièces originales dans le genre Espagnol (Three Spanish Dances), Op. 1; Joaquin Turina: Piano Trio No. 2 in B Minor, Op. 76; Gaspar Cassado: Piano Trio in C Major; Mariano Perello: Tres Impresiones para violin, violincello y piano. Hermitage Piano Trio (Ilya Kazantsev, piano; Sergey Antonov, cello; Misha Keylin, violin). Reference Recordings RR-151 

 

As the three musicians of the Hermitage Piano Trio remind us with their new recording of Spanish trios, it does not always take an orchestra of 100+ musicians playing a symphony by Mahler to generate musical excitement. Chamber music can be powerful, too, especially the richly expressive music of Spain. On this new release from Reference Recordings, the program includes music by composers both familiar and unfamiliar. As the album’s producers explain it, “For the last several years we have been exchanging scores, ideas and developing programs. The trio had been performing two extraordinary Spanish trios by Turina and Cassado—romantic, exotic and lush works. Using these two works as anchor points, we built around them “bookends”—three Spanish dances by Arbos and three Spanish impressions by Perello. All four composers are interconnected to one another through their relationships to each other. Arbos was a celebrated conductor who also orchestrated Albeniz’s Iberia and Perello was a violinist who studied with Albeniz and performed with Granados—both of these gentlemen had close ties to Turina (Arbos conducted many of his works) and Cassado (a celebrated cellist, and next to Casals, among the greatest cellists of Spain).” 

The album draws the listener in immediately from the opening measures of Arbos’s Three Spanish Dances, which are ripe with rhythmic zest. And thus it continues throughout the program – a musical voyage through the Spanish imagination, presented in remarkably realistic sound by the engineering team at Reference Recordings, led by the veteran audio wizard  Keith O. Johnson, a prominent figure in audiophile circles about whom you can learn more here. You can gain some more insight into Spanish Impressions by watching this brief YouTube video in which the musicians discuss the album. This is a recording that will bring a smile to your face and a spring to your step.

 

Mozart: (CD1) Piano Sonata in D Major K311; Piano Sonata in A Minor K310; Piano Sonata in C Major K330; Fantasia in C Minor K396 (completed by Maximilian Stadler); Fantasia in D Minor K397; (CD2) Piano Sonata in A Major K331; Piano Sonata in F Major K332; Piano Sonata in B Flat Major K333. Angela Hewitt, piano. Hyperion CDA6841/2

 

The Canadian-born pianist Angela Hewitt (b. 1958), who now resides in London, was the one of pianists whose album I included in my very first “Piano Potpourri” post, which you can see here. Immediately following the recording sessions for that album, Hewitt received the shocking news that the piano movers who had come to transport her $200,000 Fazioli piano with its custom-installed fourth pedal had somehow managed to drop the instrument, which turned out to be irreparably damaged. Hewitt had made recordings and even played some concerts in Europe with her beloved piano for 17 years, so this was a real blow. However, things have a way of working out; the mover’s insurers covered the replacement expense and Hewitt was eventually offered her choice of five new Fazioli concert grands, from which she chose her new best musical friend. Thus settled, Hewitt has undertaken a project to record the complete Mozart piano sonatas, to be released on three two-CD sets. The first of these sets, containing the first seven sonatas (K279-284 and K309), was released by Hyperion in November, 2022. This new Hyperion release marks the second installment of Hewitt's chronological survey. These works date from Mozart's twenties and include his first masterpieces in the genre (K331, with its famous 'Alla turca' finale, for example). 

 

These middle sonatas of Mozart are simply marvels of melody. Not too simple, not too complex – just right. Bill Heck and I recently talked about the piano music of Mozart, about how it so seamlessly integrates structure and melody. Hewitt’s playing brings out every little nuance, drawing the listener into the music. She has a delicate touch, making the music seem to flow naturally and inevitably from note to note, phrase to phrase, measure to measure. Hewitt has a reputation as a Bach specialist; perhaps her precision in mastering that music formed the basis for her mastery of the music of Mozart. Moreover, the beauty of her playing is highlighted by the recorded sound, which captures the sound of her Fazioli in rich, natural, lifelike tones. With CD1 clocking in at 80 minutes and CD2 at 75 plus informative notes about the music by the pianist herself, there is plenty to like about this production. There are plenty of excellent Mozart sonata recordings out there, several of which I have reviewed in the past, but I’ve never heard better than this one, which of course earns my highest recommendation.

Sonic Alchemy. Vasks: Balta Ainava (White Scenery); Pärt: Fratres; Mozart: Fantasia in D minor, K. 397; Pärt: Mozart-Adagio (after Sonata K. 280); Mozart: Fantasia in C minor, K. 475; Vasks: Castillo Interior (Interior Castle); Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel. YuEun Kim, violin; Mina Gajić, piano; Coleman Itzkoff, cello. Sono Luminus DSL-92261

 

Pianist Mina Gajić says of this album that it was “inspired by the transformation and fluidity of life, represented by the seasons in nature, and in humankind in the way people connect through religion and spirituality.” In its own way, Sonic Alchemy is something of a spiritual album, but not in the way that a mass or other liturgically-oriented composition would be. The program is a fascinating one, spanning two centuries  to bring together the music of Mozart with that of two contemporary composers, Arvo Pärt and Pēteris Vasks. Icelandic composer Páll Ragnar Pálsson, who contributed the album’s liner notes, writes “Despite the roughly 200 years that separate Mozart from Vasks and Pärt, there are elements that connect them. Similarly to Pärt and Vasks who needed to find a way to deal with the oppressive rule of the Soviet Union, Mozart also made a well-known declaration of independence. He left the archbishop in Salzburg and the financial security that followed and embarked on a path of what we would call freelance composing today. Mozart, Pärt and Vasks all share a deep sense of clarity that crystalizes in music that comforts and elevates your spirit.” 

The program is centered around Mozart. The centerpiece is Pärt’s Mozart-Adagio (after Sonata K. 280), which is actually the only piece on the album in which all three players combine as a trio. It is framed on the program by the two Mozart Fantasias, played by pianist Mina Gajić, who is also featured on the opening track, the peaceful and reflective Balta Ainava (White Scenery). Gajić is joined by cellist  Coleman Itzkoff both for the second track, Pärt’s Fratres, and in a bit of symmetry, in the sixth (and next-to-last) track, Vasks’s Castillo Interior.  On the final track, Pärt’s simply constructed but nonetheless haunting Spiegel im Spiegel, Gajić is joined by violinist YuEun Kim.  Contributing to the deep beauty of the album is the purity of its sound, which was engineered by Daniel Shore and Erica Brenner at the Sono Luminus Studios in Boyce, Virginia, where it was mixed and mastered using Legacy Audio speakers (the same speakers Bill Heck and I use for reviews). Sonic Alchemy is a marvelous album of chamber music, an appealing blend of old and new, familiar and unfamiliar, impeccably performed and recorded.

Recent Releases, No. 10 (CD Mini-Reviews)

By Karl W. Nehring

Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 1; Symphonic Dances. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, The Philadelphia Orchestra. Deutsche Grammophon 483 9839.

One of the pleasures of following Classical Candor is reading reviews by fellow reviewers John Puccio and Bill Heck not only to enjoy their insights and recommendations about various recordings but also to delight in their deft and descriptive deployment of the English language. They always seem to find just the right words with which to craft their insightful and delightful prose. In sad contrast to those distinguished gentlemen, after listening to this new recording numerous times all I can say is that the music, the performances, and the and the engineering are all totally kickass. Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1 suffered a disastrous first public performance in 1897 by an ill-prepared orchestra conducted badly by an apparently drunken Alexander Glazunov. The resultant fiasco and humiliating press coverage so unnerved Rachmaninoff that he suffered a nervous breakdown that stifled his creative energy for three years. But in this recording we have the “Fabulous Philadelphians” at the height of their powers under the baton of a conductor in full possession of his faculties; together, they make a persuasive case indeed for this oft-overlooked symphony, a work full of passion and excitement. Its disc-mate is the more widely known Symphonic Dances, a rousing piece that has long been a favorite of audiophiles. Old-timers may remember the old Donald Johanos/Dallas Symphony recording, one that seemed exciting at the time, especially in light of its being on a budget label, but in retrospect was maybe not really all that great (the low price may have perhaps tainted our judgment). Other audiophiles might have fond memories of the David Zinman/Baltimore Symphonic Dances on Telarc, which still sounds darned good. Whatever your preference might be, this new DG recording is right up there with the best in terms of both sonics and performance, with plenty of energy in both those dimensions (and with, yes, Telarc-worthy bass). As I said above, kickass. Enough said…     

Pat Metheny: Road to the Sun. Metheny: Four Paths of Light; Road to the Sun; Arvo Part: Fur Alina. Jason Vieaux and Pat Metheny, guitar; Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (John Dearman, Matthew Greif, William Kanengiser, Scott Tennant). Modern Recordings 538639322.

The first concert I ever took my young sons to was the Pat Metheny Group sometime back in the early 80s – may even have been the late 70s. Over the ensuing decades, Metheny has made some memorable music, never resting on his laurels or content to play his familiar tunes over and over again, always striving to create something new, pushing himself as a composer and arranger as well as a guitarist. From his earlier albums with his Pat Metheny Group (Still Life Talking and We Live Here are noteworthy examples highlighting his melodic gift, along with that of his gifted keyboard companion, the late Lyle Mays) through his ultimate album with that group, The Way Up, which is virtually a through-composed symphonic piece by Metheny that strains against the limitations of a small jazz ensemble, Metheny followers could sense that he was more than just a guitarist, he was a composer whose chosen instrument was the guitar. Then in 2020 he returned to the studio with a new group to release From This Place, a flowingly lyrical album that included some symphonic accompaniment. At 76 minutes, it was an amazing achievement, emphasizing once again Metheny’s gift for composition as well as his prowess on the guitar.

Each month, the final page of BBC Music Magazine features an interview titled “Music That Changed Me,” in which some public figure, typically someone connected with the arts, is asked about the music that has had a significant influence in the course of their life. Imagine my surprise – and joy! – when I reached the final page of the most recent issue to reach my humble abode (May 2021) and saw a photo of a smiling, curly-headed American guitarist by the name of Pat Metheny. What a wonderful surprise! The interviewees are always asked to list a few key recordings, and Metheny’s list of five pieces began with three that were not particularly surprising: “And I Love Her” by the Beatles (as a teenager he loved George Harrison’s guitar work, and later in his career he recorded the piece himself on acoustic guitar), “Seven Step to Heaven” by Miles Davis (Metheny says that his brother brought home Davis’s Four and More album and that “hearing this cut was like being hit over the head by a two-by-four, and instant life-changing moment. At the time I didn’t know anything about form and chord changes, I just heard the sound…”), and Wes Montgomery’s “If You Could See Me Now” (which Metheny says contains “the greatest guitar solo of all time, including Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Segovia”). His next selection was something of a surprise, Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians (Metheny notes that “among the best phone calls I ever got was Steve Reich asking me to play his solo work for electric guitar, Electric Counterpoint. I’d been a fan for years: his Music for 18 Musicians changed everything – Steve had somehow captured the worldwide polar-magnetic shift from triple to duple time”). But it was his final choice that really surprised me, none other than Furtwangler’s recording of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde (“Filling in blanks, particularly in the world of written music, is an ongoing process for me. I’m lucky to live across the street from Lincoln Center in New York and I had the chance to see Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde conducted by Sir Simon Rattle at the Met. It was a life-changing experience to rival ‘Seven Steps to Heaven.’ I knew the piece because it is famous in my world as being this four-hour exploration of a minor seventh, flat five chord, of the ‘Tristan’ chord. I went three night in a row, and each night it just got better”). I really did not see that one coming…

Something else that I did not see coming was that the next recording that Metheny would release after From This Place would be his first release ever to feature his work not as a performer, but rather as a composer. The album leads off with classical guitarist Jason Vieaux performing a Metheny composition for solo guitar titled Four Paths of Light. Naturally enough, the composition comprises four parts, each possessing a depth of expression and emotion that long-time listeners of Metheny’s music will recognize; however, Vieaux’s style of playing and the sound of his guitar does come across as more traditionally classical most of the time – still, there are passages where you can really hear Metheny ringing through. The next composition is the title piece, Road to the Sun, a six-part work written for and performed by the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (with some “guest strumming” by Metheny on a couple of the parts). This is of course a more ambitious undertaking, more complex in structure, more formal sounding, but not without phrases that make you think that yes, this sounds like something that Pat Metheny could have composed. It truly is a delightful work, one that rewards repeated listening.

The album closes with a bonus track, and once again I can honestly say that just like I never see it coming that Pat Metheny would list Furtwangler conducting Tristan and Isolde as one of his favorite recordings, neither did I ever foresee him playing an Arvo Pärt tune on one of his recordings, but Road to the Sun concludes with Metheny offering a haunting version of Pärt’s Für Alina on his custom-made 42-string guitar. My friends, hearing Pat Metheny, one of my all-time favorite musicians, play the music of Arvo Pärt, one of my all-time favorite composers, on his amazing instrument with its incredible range of sounds made me feel that my life was now complete and had not been lived entirely in vain. To be sure, this recording may not have anywhere near the same profound sort of spiritual effect on you, but still, there is some genuinely fine music here that I can recommend without reservation.       

Bonus Recommendation:

Images of Metheny. Jason Vieaux, guitar. Azica Records ACD 71233.

On this recording from 2005, classical guitarist Jason Vieaux presents 13 songs by Pat Metheny in arrangements for classical guitar, including taking five songs and arranging them into the form of a baroque suite. Unfortunately, the CD is now hard to find; it can be streamed, however, for those so inclined. 

KWN