Stravinsky: Violin Concerto & Chamber Works (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète – Variation of Apollo (Apollo and the Muses); Violin Concerto in D major; Three Pieces for String Quartet; Concertino for String Quartet; Pastorale for Violin, Oboe, English Horn, Clarinet, and Bassoon; Double Canon for String Quartet. Isabelle Faust, violin; Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth, conductor. harmonia mundi HMM 902718

 

At first glance it might seem a bit strange to encounter a coupling of  a violin concerto and chamber works, but in this particular case, it all makes sense. The German violinist Isabelle Faust (b. 1972) puts it all very neatly when she says, “as this concerto is so clearly inspired by chamber music, we thought it was natural to complete the disc with some pearls from his chamber works that I perform with musicians from Les Siècles. By way of background, it should be noted that Ms. Faust has a long history of performing chamber music; in fact, she is said to have founded a string quartet at the ripe old age of 11. Many readers are perhaps already familiar with Les Siècles from some of their previous recordings (two of which were reviewed in Classical Candor, one by JJP and the other by me); but for those who are not, Les Siècles (“The Centuries”) is a French orchestra that was formed in. 2003 by the French conductor François-Xavier Roth (b. 1951) with the idea that they would play music on instruments appropriate to the time in which the music was originally composed, from the late Baroque era forward to the modern era. 

 

The CD booklet includes a helpfully informative interview with Roth and Faust in which Roth explains that he and his orchestra “have been working n Stravinsky’s works for many years now – since 2009, to be exact. We’ve been exploring his universe, trying to rediscover the rhythms, colours, and dynamics that were characteristic of his time, and trying to convey all the originality of these scores – that is, the meaning they had at their origins. So this project fitted very logically into our programme. And then there’s our friendship with Isabelle Faust, a miraculous meeting of minds if ever there was one, with an artist who is always keen to deepen her understanding of the musical text, to go back to the sources in order to get a better grasp of where each work comes from, how it sounded at the time of its creation. The unswerving companionship between us found new territory to be opened up in this programme.” Faust then explains that in her case, an experience she had of playing Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale with a group of friends who used period instruments “paved the way for me. We were excited to discover that this music takes the fullest advantage of the vast palette of these instruments, with their relief, their articulation, their transparency, the possibilities they offer of biting into and caressing the sound. The piece had clearly gained in terms of character, breadth, and theatrical vision from their use. That experience made me want to see what effect similar instruments would produce in the Violin Concerto. And could I have dreamt of better partners for this adventure than Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth? The first rehearsal on gut strings took us completely by surprise, and we were immediately convinced that we were on the right track.” The musicians would go on to perform concerto numerous times in concert halls worldwide before making this recording.

 

The album opens not with the concerto, but rather with a brief (3:09) movement from Stravinsky’s lesser-known ballet, Apollon Musagète (1928), which marked his first collaboration with famed choreographer George Balanchine. Scored for strings only, this is a sound far removed from the more widely known ballets for many people have come to completely define the Stravinsky sound, the bold, often brash, colorful, dynamic, big-orchestra sound of The Rite of Spring, The Firebird, and Petrushka. In contrast, this music from Apollon Musagète is from Stravinsky’s neo-classical style, and especially as played here on gut strings, is nothing like the music of those ballets. Here, however, it serves as a bracing introduction to the feature attraction of this release, Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto (1931. Those who have not hear then piece may be surprised to hear that as Roth points out, “from the very first chord, Stravinsky writes in a very un-violinistic way: it’s clear that the composer is not trying to flatter the violin or ‘accommodate the violist’s hand’ to impress the audience.” Instead, what you hear is a lot of interplay between the violin and the other instruments in the orchestra. The overall impression is more like a large piece of chamber music featuring a violin than a typical violin concerto. The gut strings on Faust’s violins give her sound a bit of an edge that seem to make it fit in “just right” with the rest of the players. It was fascinating to compare this recording with another great version, Perlman/Ozawa/Boston on DG – the latter sounding a shade more on the “concerto” side, the violin with a sweeter sound; however, the harmonia mundi recording captures a more intimate, playful, yet electric performance.

The remainder of the program comprises brief chamber pieces in which Faust plays but not in a lead role as in the concerto. The Three Pieces for String Quartet (1914) come across as brief sketches, three brief pieces lasting one, two, and four minutes, respectively. More likely to offer musical enjoyment to more listeners are the next two compositions, the Concertino for String Quartet (1920) and the Pastorale for Violin, Oboe, English Horn, Clarinet, and Bassoon (1923). As its name implies, the Concertino is something of miniature concerto, Faust’s violin playing a prominent role as this six-minute piece loosely follows the fast-slow-fast pattern of a concerto. The Pastorale, as is apparent from its title, features the winds, the violin playing a minor role. The work has a jaunty feeling to it, lively and colorful. Much the opposite is the final selection, the brief (1:26) Double Canon for String Quartet (1959), a dour-sounding 12-tone piece that was intended as a memorial for the painter Raoul Daly. On one hand, it ends the album on something of a negative note; on the other hand, it brings to light a rarely recorded Stravinsky composition.

 

How refreshing it is to have a new release of Stravinsky that is not yet another recording featuring any of the Big Three ballets! Add to that both the sound and the skill of the musicians involved and the excellence of then engineering, throw in the booklet that includes not only an interview with Faust and Roth but an essay about the music by the noted French musicologist Denis Herlin, and you have a recording for which it is easy to give an enthusiastic recommendation.

Stokowski Spectacular! (CD mini-reviews)

By Karl W. Nehring

One of the most fascinating conductors of modern times was the late Leopold Stokowski (1882-1987), whose life story is one of the most colorful imaginable. If you have never read about this now largely-forgotten conductor, do some web browsing and prepare to be entertained. For example, Stokowski was in the audience in Vienna in when Gustav Mahler conducted the premiere of his Symphony No. 8. With the political situation in Vienna deteriorating, Stokowski obtained a copy of the score and managed to smuggle it in his luggage and bring it back to Philadelphia with him, where he was at that time the newly appointed conductor of the then relatively unknown Philadelphia Orchestra. He insisted that the orchestra present the work and demanded on staging it with a choral force of 950(!) singers – an expense that the orchestra’s board thought way too financially risky. Through sheer force of will and his magnetic personality, Stokowski prevailed and he conducted the U.S. premiere of the work – leading a force of 1,069 musicians – in  March, 1916. The concert proved such a sensation that it was repeated several times in March and April to standing-room-only crowds and thrusting the orchestra into international prominence. Some may remember that it was Stokowski who famously shook hands with Mickey Mouse in Walt Disney’s movie Fantasia. As I started to get seriously interested in both classical music and audiophile sound and equipment in the 1970s, I found myself enjoying many recordings by the Maestro, who continued to make records into his 90s.

Stokowski was always fascinated by the sound of the orchestra and how to capture it in recording. He had always been one to embrace new sound technologies, and in 1931 he worked with Dr. Harvey Fletcher of Bell Labs on the original stereophonic orchestral recordings. If I may be allowed to insert a personal note, in his later life, Harvey Fletcher was married to my wife's grandmother, and in the mid-1970s, we spent many interesting times with “Uncle Harvey,” who even in his 90s was still fascinated by sound and still actively working on acoustics research. He loved to tell us tales of his work, and he showed us many pictures of him with Leopold Stokowski from those pioneering recording sessions.    

For a time, it seemed as though Stokowski recordings were getting harder and harder to find, and some of the recordings listed below have drifted in and out of availability at various times. Still, there have been numerous releases over the years of recordings conducted both by the Maestro himself and by some of his disciples that have kept his legacy alive. As you will see when you browse through the selections outlined below, the man was engaged in an amazing variety of musical styles. Summing up his outlook toward music in his autobiography, he wrote “I believe that music is spontaneous, impulsive expression – that its range is without limit – that music is forever growing.” In light of that statement, I should warn listeners now – if you are the type of person who is concerned about strict adherence to the printed score, and I am sure there are few of you out there, the Stokowski is not your man. As he said above, he believed in spontaneous expression, and his conducting reflected that attitude. For an entertaining look at the career and conducting style of the Maestro, there is a documentary video about his life and career that can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4tIqRpUwnA

Leopold Stokowski: Complete Decca Recordings.

CD1 Great Music for Chorus and Orchestra (Devotional/Spiritual/Hymns) Norman Luboff Choir/New Symphony Orchestra of London; CD2 Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade/London Symphony Orchestra (LSO); CD3 Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition/New Philharmonia Orchestra (NPO); CD4 Tchaikovsky:  Swan Lake & Sleeping Beauty Selections/NPO; CD5 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons/NPO; CD6 Wagner: Orchestral Music from “The Ring”/LSO; CD7 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5/NPO CD8 Handel: Messiah Excerpts/LSO & Chorus; CD9 Mussorgsky: Night on the Bare Mountain; Stravinsky: Firebird Suite/LSO; CD10: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9/LSO & Chorus; CD11 Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique/NPO; CD12 Tchaikovsky: Romeo & Juliet; Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov Symphonic Synthesis/L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; CD13 Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture; Borodin: Polovstian Dances; Stravinsky: Pastorale/RPO; CD14 Beethoven: Symphony No. 5; Schubert: Symphony No. 8/London Philharmonic Orchestra; CD15 Debussy: La Mer; Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe; Ives: Orchestral Set No. 2; Messiaen: L’Ascension/LSO; CD16 Franck: Symphony in D Minor; CDs 17-18 Sixtieth Anniversary Concert (Wagner, Brahms, Debussy Glazunov, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, Chopin, Byrd, Clarke, Duparc, Rachmaninov/LSO); CD19 Elgar: Enigma Variations/ Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO); CD 20 Bach: Orchestral Transcriptions/CPO; CD21 Scriabin: La Poeme de L’Extase; Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol/CPO/NPO; CD22 Beethoven: Symphony No. 7/RPO;  CD23 Bonus Disc: Leopold Stokowski – A Memoir (Interviews with musicians who knew Stokowski plus musical examples and rehearsal excerpts taken from recording sessions). Decca 483 2504.  

For those who really want to dive deeply into the Stokowski sound, the most comprehensive collection can be found in this 23-CD boxed set from Decca that gathers together the “Phase 4 Stereo” recordings he made for that label in the 1960s-70s. For those unfamiliar with Phase 4 recordings (they were sold as “London Phase 4” here in the USA), they were recorded using a multiplicity of microphones, then mixed down into stereo to produce a vivid, spotlighted sound. It was not real, but it was spectacular. Purists would of course blanch, but in its defense, it did bring out many exciting details of orchestration, and was not always as garish as the concept might lead one to believe. Highlights from this big collection include his La Mer, Daphnis et Chloe, the Ring highlights, Scheherazade (although to be honest, I prefer his RCA version with the Royal Philharmonic), the Bach orchestral transcriptions, the Messiaen L’Ascension, and although in general his Beethoven is not all that outstanding, his recording of the Symphony No. 9 is well worth a listen.

Original Masters: Leopold Stokowski, Decca Recordings 1965-1972. CD 1 Orchestral Transcriptions of works by Bach, Byrd, Clarke, Schubert, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Duparc, Rachmaninov, and Debussy/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO)/London Symphony Orchestra (LSO)/New Philharmonia Orchestra (NPO); CD 2 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5/NPO; Scriabin: Le Poeme de Extase/CPO; (CD 3) Franck: Symphony in D minor (Hilversum Radio Philharmonic Orchestra [HRPO]); Elgar: “Enigma” Variations/CPO; CD 4/ Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique/NPO; Ballet des Sylphes/LSO; Ravel: Fanfare L’Eventail de Jeanne/HRPO); Daphnis et Chloé - Suite No. 2/LSO & Chorus; CD 5 Stravinsky: Firebird Suite (1919 version); Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun; La Mer; Messiaen: L’Ascension/LSO. Decca 475 145-2.

As you can see, this smaller box is something of a subset of the larger Decca box discussed above; however, some of the selections are not quite the same. And again, the highlights include Stokowski’s interpretations of French music, especially Debussy and Ravel. John Puccio reviewed this release some time back, his take can be found here: https://classicalcandor.blogspot.com/2012/05/original-masters-leopold-stokowski-cd.html



Mahler: Symphony No. 2; Brahms: Symphony No. 4. Brigitte Fassbaender, mezzo-soprano; Margaret Price, soprano; London Symphony Chorus; Leopold Stokowski, London Symphony Orchestra. RCA Victor Gold Seal 09026-62606-2.

Although he frequently conducted Mahler in concert, Maestro Stokowski made few Mahler recordings, but this one is a definite keeper. It was made in 1974, when Stokowski was in his 90s. In terms of performance, Stokowski's Mahler is a bit on the slow side, but very expressive – this is a powerful, moving performance. With its excellent sound and majestic performance, this version of the "Resurrection" is one of the finer ones that I have ever heard. No, it would not be my first choice (but to be honest, my first choice varies from time to time – those on the list include Mehta, Slatkin, Fischer, Walter, and Klemperer). If you are a fan of this symphony but have never heard this recording, well, you might want to put it on your want list.  By the way, Stokowski's Brahms 4th is also powerful, but in the opposite way -- it is performed at breakneck speed! A quick comparison: Mackerras's performances with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (Telarc) are generally regarded as fast and lively. In the first movement, Mackerras clocks in at 12:02, Stokowski at 10:48. In the final movement, a set of dramatic theme and variations, Mackerras clocks in at 10:06, while Stokowski comes in at 9:51. Again, this may not be my favorite performance of this symphony, but it is certainly one of my favorites (others include Walter, Solti, Honeck, and Mackerras). This is one of those “sleeper” recordings that is well worth seeking out.

Wagner Weekend: The Ride of the Valkyries. Wagner: The Ride of the Valkyries; Dawn and Siegfreid’s Rhine Journey; Siegfried’s Death and Funeral Music; Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla; Forest Murmurs; Prelude to Der Meistersinger. Leopold Stokowski, London Symphony Orchestra. London Weekend Classics 421 020-2.

If you are lucky enough to find this one in a bin at a used record store, Goodwill, yard sale, or wherever, snatch it up, for it is big fun in a small package. Stokowski loved the music of Wagner, which perfectly suited his imaginative, expressive, technicolor music-making. The London Symphony is responsive to his direction, making this disc something you can put on and just lose yourself in for nearly an hour, if not quite a weekend. Hard to find, easy to love…

Wagner: Symphonic Syntheses by Stokowski. Das Rheingold: Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla (ed. Stokowski); Tristan und Isolde: Symphonic Synthesis (arr. Stokowski) -- Prelude to Act 1, Liebesnacht, Liebestod; Parsifal: Symphonic Synthesis from Act III (arr. Stokowski); Die Walkure: Magic Fire Music (arr, Stokowski): Die Walkure: Ride of the Valkyries (arr. Stokowski). Jose Serebrier, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.570293.

Uruguayan conductor Jose Serebrier was a devoted disciple of Stokowski who has done much to carry forward the late Maestro’s banner. On this well-recorded Naxos release, he presents a case for these “symphonic syntheses” of some of Wagner music, arrangements that Stokowski made to present in the concert hall of music that was originally meant to serve as operatic accompaniment. In his liner notes, Serebrier discusses Stokowski’s life-long fascination with Wagner’s music as well as the conductor’s motivations and methods for arranging the music into these symphonic forms. Furthermore, Maestro Serebrier offers a discussion of how Stokowski worked to obtain a specific kind of sound no matter which orchestra he might be conducting. In any event, if you are a fan of the music of Wagner, you really owe it to yourself to give this release an audition, for it is quite a luscious treat.

The Stokowski Sound. Bach: Toccata & Fugue in d minor; Boccherini: Menuet; Bach: Little Fugue in g minor; Debussy: Clair de lune; Beethoven: Adagio Sostenuto from Moonlight Sonata; Albeniz: Fete-Dieu a Seville; Debussy: La cathedrale engloutie; Rachmaninoff; Prelude in c# minor; Moussorgsky: A Night on Bald Mountain. Erich Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Telarc CD-80129.

Although the Telarc label has gone away, this disc is still out there, not all that hard to track down. Hooray! Of all the CDs discussed here, this is the most exciting, rewarding, entertaining release in terms of engineering, and hey, the performances are pretty darn good, too.  The late Erich Kunzel was an excellent conductor (and tremendous human being), the Cincinnati Pops (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in pops guise) was/is an excellent ensemble (and, by the way, the first orchestra that Stokowski led in the USA), and the Telarc engineering team had the drill nailed down: they knew how to capture the power and impact of the orchestra, especially on the bottom end. The sound is the opposite of the Phase 4 sound. Rather than close-up, multi-miked sound, the Telarc engineers used a minimal microphone approach (typically a 3-mic array), producing a warm spacious sound with plenty of dynamic range. As you can see from the header, the program is varied, from Bach to Beethoven and beyond, popular pieces in orchestral transcriptions by Stokowski, delivered in knockout Telarc sound that will impress you and possibly your neighbors as well.

Stokowski: Philadelphia Rarities. Two Ancient Liturgical Melodies - “Veni Creator Spiritus,” “Veni Emmanuel''; De Falla: Spanish Dance from La Vida Breve; Turina: Sacred Mountain from Five Gypsy Dances; Arcady Dubensky: Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” (Benjamin de Loache, narrator); Etenraku, Ceremonial Japanese Prelude (arr. Hidemaro Konoye); Harl McDonald: The Legend of the Arkansas Traveler (Alexander Hilsberg, violin); Dance of the Workers from Festival of the Workers Suite; Rhumba from Symphony No. 2; Henry Eichheim: Japanese Nocturne from Oriental Impressions; Bali, Symphonic Variations; McDonald: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (Alexander Hilsberg & Jeanne Behrend, pianos); John Philip Sousa: Manhattan Beach; El Capitan. Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra. Cala Signum SIGCD2033.

From the best sound and perhaps most familiar music of this brief survey we jump immediately to a release featuring the worst sound and without a doubt some of the least familiar music. As the liner notes point out, “with the advent of of the microphone during the 1920s, Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra made an enormous number of 78rpm records, which became landmarks in recording history. For much of the time, Stokowski concentrated on basic repertoire, such as the orchestral music of Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Debussy, Mussorgsky and many others, as well as excerpts from Wagner’s operas and, above all, his own orchestrations of Bach’s keyboard works. Side-by-side with familiar pieces, however, went a number of works which no-one else had recorded before or, indeed, has recorded since! And, although Stokowski was to record certain compositions several times over during his long career, there were a number which he recorded only once – on 78s made with the Philadelphia Orchestra. This unique collection (which previously appeared on a “Limited Edition” CD in 1993, issued exclusively for members of the Leopold Stokowski Society) brings together just those items which fall into this “rarities” category, and it demonstrates Stokowski’s incredibly wide-ranging musical sympathies. It covers many periods and styles, from melodies centuries old to colourful Iberian and Oriental works, together with music of 20th century America.” The recordings were done in the 1920s-30s; of course they have their sonic limitations. Still, it is fascinating to listen to musicians who were making music nearly a century ago, playing music that in most cases we have never heard before and most likely will never hear again. The piece that sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb is the Poe: my goodness, the dramatic recitation of “The Raven” is something you will have to hear to believe. Trust me, they just don’t recite poetry like this anymore. Certainly this is not a record for everyone; however, as a historical document, it has some value, especially to devoted Stokowski fans.

KWN

Transatlantic (CD review)

Stravinsky: Concerto in E-flat “Dumbarton Oaks”; Craig Urquahart: Lamentation for Flute and String Orchestra; Dorman: Nofim (Sights); Takemitsu: Toward the Sea II; Stravinsky: “No Word from Tom” from The Rake’s Progress; Copland: Appalachian Spring Suite (Original version for 13 instruments). Stathis Karapanos, flute; Chen Reiss, soprano; Noah Bendix-Blgley, violin; Marie-Pierre Langlamet, harp; Garrett Keast, Berlin Academy of American Music. ONYX 4223.

By Karl W. Nehring

This generously filled (82:07) release offers a fascinating and musical program presented by a fascinating musical ensemble. The Berlin Orchestra of American Music came into being as American conductor Garrett Keast, now living in Berlin, got together with bassist and friend Rosie Salucci, a fellow American Berliner, to see about organizing some chamber orchestra  performances of works by American composers. Even though this occurred during the summer and fall of 2020 during the ongoing pandemic, the musicians enjoyed the experience and the idea of forming the orchestra and making this recording came together. Although the musicians represent many countries spanning five continents, more than half the orchestra either came from the United States or had studied there. One thing led to another, and this recording was finally made during January and February of 2021.

The eclectic program is a mix of the familiar and unfamiliar. From Stravinsky, (who the liner notes remind us became an American citizen in 1945), we get a perky and delightful performance of the “Dumbarton Oaks Concerto,” a rhythmically complex, at times harmonically tart, but overall whimsically delightful Stravinksian take on Bach’s Brandenburgs. We also get a selection from his opera The Rake’s Progress (the libretto is included in the liner notes), music with which most listeners are most likely far less familiar, but which should appeal to those who enjoy the sound of a lively soprano voice. From American composer Craig Urquhart (b.1953) comes another unfamiliar piece, his soulfully expressive Lamentation for Flute and String Orchestra, a truly moving composition of great beauty. Much different in mood are the Nofim (Sights) of Israeli-American composer Avner Dorman (b.1975), which are more lively, with three of the four Nofim also featuring the soprano voice of Chen Reiss. From the only non-American composer on the program, Japan’s Tóru Takemitsu (1930-1996), we get Toward the Sea II, a peaceful work that features the alto flute and harp in music that is meant to capture the rhythm of the sea. As with so much of the late Japanese master’s output, this music has a natural grace about it that is uniquely appealing.

The program concludes with Copland’s Appalachian Spring Suite, which music lovers have grown accustomed to hearing as performed by full symphony orchestras. Here, however, we have the music in its original arrangement for 13 instruments, which is something that those who enjoy the piece really ought to hear. The intimacy of the smaller forces produces a feeling of poignancy in the quieter passages and joy in the exuberant passages that is simply more direct and personal than is communicated by a large orchestra. I am not saying that this is the only way to listen to the piece, or even necessarily the best way; however, I think it is a vitally important way to experience Appalachian Spring for those who enjoy the music, and this recording from Onyx is a fine way to do so – with the added bonus of hearing some other excellent music as well. The liner notes, although brief, are informative, and the engineering is first-class (the engineers no doubt enjoying the advantages of being able to record relatively small forces in a space familiar to them, the Teldex Studio in Berlin). With 82 minutes of interesting music so well recorded and well played, Transatlantic proves that you don’t need to have household names recording for a giant label to make a truly fine recording. Highly recommended.

KWN

To listen to an excerpt from this album, click below;

Jesus Rodolfo: Remembering Russia (CD review)

Music of Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, and Stravinsky. Jesus Rodolfo, viola; Min Young Kang, piano. Pentatone PTC-5186 287.

By John J. Puccio

Critics have praised Spanish violist Jesús Rodolfo for his “passionate performances, innate musicality, and technical prowess.” The New York Times Digest describes him as "a star whose light transcends the stage." Although he has recorded several previous albums, Remembering Russia is his first for the Pentatone label.

Remembering Russia is a theme album for the pandemic age. A liner note explains that it showcases “three iconic 20th-century Russian composers: Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and Stravinsky. The pieces performed revolve around love, decency, hope and optimism prevailing against mortality, mistrust, injustice and uncertainty. Within the context of a world slowly respiring from a severe pandemic, this has become a recording about the importance of the perseverance of hope, determination, and love in the face of death and uncertainty.”

The program begins with six selections from the ballet Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), arranged by Vadim Borisovsky. The romantic sections are handled in a sensitive manner by Mr. Rodolfo and his accompanist, pianist Min Young Kang. As important, the more-exciting parts of the score for Shakespeare’s play are presented with an appropriately youthful enthusiasm. And equally important as that, Rodolfo is able to coax from his violin the sounds of any number of other instruments, which in combination with the piano make for a much fuller musical experience than one might imagine. Thus, the scenes, characters, and feelings from the musical play come alive in quite magical ways.

Next we find the Sonata for cello and piano in G Minor, Op. 19 by Sergei Rachmaninov (1875-1943) in an arrangement for viola by Vadim Borisovsky. The music expresses all the expansive emotion we would expect from Rachmaninov, and Mr. Rodolfo possesses all the talent to voice these emotions. It’s a fervent yet heartfelt performance that resonates with love and compassion. Incidentally, Rachmaninov wrote the Sonata just after the success of his Second Piano Concerto, and it reflects some of the more seductively sensuous qualities as well as some of the grandeur of the larger-scale work.

The program concludes with the Suite Italienne from the one-act ballet Pulcinella (1925 version) by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) in a transcription for viola and piano by Jesus Rodolfo. Stravinsky based his score on bits and pieces of music by the eighteenth-century composer Giambattista Pergolesi, which Rodolfo sees as “a view to the Baroque Period through the looking glass of the 20th century.” It is by turns elegant, aristocratic, playful, and, in the hands Mr. Rodolfo and Ms. Kang, wholly delightful.

Producers Jesus Rodolfo and Renaud Laranger and engineer Sean Yoo recorded the music at NV Recording Studio, New Jersey, USA in August 2020. Pentatone usually records in three, five, or six channels, but this album is in PCM two-channel stereo only and is maybe the better for it. It’s certainly clean, clear, and well defined. It’s perhaps a tad close, with the piano rather widely spaced behind the viola soloist. Still, the sound is so transparent, it hardly matters. There are no discernible distortions present: no brightness, no softness, no haze, no blur, no elevated bass or treble, no edginess, abrasiveness, or steeliness. Just a fine recording.

JJP

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

Piano Potpourri, No. 3 (CD reviews)

Echoes of Life. IN THE BEGINNING WAS | Francesco Tristano: In the Beginning Was; Chopin: Preludes op. 28: Nos. 1-4: INFANT REBELLION | Ligeti: Musica ricercata I; Chopin: Preludes op. 28. Nos. 5-9; WHEN THE GRASS WAS GREENER | Nino Rota: Valzer; Chopin: Preludes op. 28: Nos. 10-15; NO ROADMAP TO ADULTHOOD | Chilly Gonzales: Prelude in C sharp major; Chopin: Preludes op. 28: Nos. 16-18; IDENTITY | Takemitsu; Litany I; Chopin: Preludes op. 28: Nos. 19-20; A PATH TO WHERE | Arvo Pärt: Für Alina; Chopin: Preludes op. 28: Nos. 21-24; LULLABY TO ETERNITY | Alice Sara Ott: Lullaby to Eternity. Alice Sara Ott. Piano. Deutsche Grammophon 486 0474.

By Karl W. Nehring

With so much of recorded music trending toward the “song” as the fundamental commodity, and with even classical music labels such as, yes, Deutsche Grammophon releasing individual digital tracks as singles, it is encouraging to see that the concept of the album is still alive and well; moreover, what we have here is not just an album, but by golly, a concept album. Not just a collection of pieces, but a collection assembled in an attempt to tell some sort of story, augmented by the liner notes and art. You have probably already noticed the all-caps interjections in the list of compositions above, which are taken directly from the back cover of the CD digipack. As the German pianist Alice Sara Ott (b. 1988) explains it, “Echoes of Life is a personal reflection on the thoughts and moments that influence and change our lives. It also portrays the journey and transformation I took to become the person and artist I see myself as today. In interpreting music from composers who, in their own time, challenged the system and redefined music, I see it as my role as a classical musician to carry this spirit forward by not insisting on reproducing bygone traditions and limitations… With his Preludes op. 28, Frédéric Chopin composed a collection of individual character pieces – very different from each other and yet all connected in some way. They remind me of life. I have chosen seven contemporary works to intersperse the Preludes and, while they echo some of my most personal and vulnerable experiences, they also conform how modern, provocative, and timeless Chopin’s music is.”  

The end result is a musical delight, as Ott mingles stimulating newer music together with the music of Chopin to create a program that flows smoothly and draws the listener in. You really don’t get the sense that you are jumping back and forth in time or making abrupt shifts in style. Yes, the Ligeti piece has a fierceness about it, but not overwhelmingly so, and yes, when you think about it, Chopin’s music has energy in abundance also. And so it goes with Takemitsu and Chopin, and Pärt and Chopin; in the hands of Alice Sara Ott, this music all makes sense together. The engineering is also first-rate, with a coherent piano sound. This truly is a splendid release.

When Do We Dance? George Gershwin: When Do We Dance?; Art Tatum: Tea for Two; William Bolcom; Graceful Ghost Rag; Fats Waller: Vipers Drag; Astor Piazzolla: Libertango; Alberto Ginastera: Argentine Dances No. 2; Manuel de Falla: Ritual Fire Dance; Maurice Ravel: Valses Nobles et Sentimentales; Camille Saint-Saëns: Étude en Forme de Valse; Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances; Igor Stravinsky: Tango; Alexander Scriabin: Waltz in A flat Major; Rachmaninoff: Polka Italienne. Lise de la Salle, piano. Naïve V 5468.

As you can readily infer from the selections on this release from French pianist Lise de la Salle (b. 1988), the emphasis here is on dance music. As the pianist explains, “With so many dances and so much music to play, I could take ten albums to tell this whole story. So, I decided to focus on one century (1850-1950) but travel the world. I believe this is the most fascinating period in the history of all the arts, alive with new rules and techniques, and an explosion of potential – not just in music but also in literature, painting and dance. It all explodes, and the twentieth century opens up to a new modern world. This gives rise to new emotions of incredible depth. When Do We Dance? is a journey through this century to explore the different ways in which dance takes possession of the body: with an amazing swing in North America, developing a  strong sensuality in South America and Spain, with reserve, elegance and sophistication in France, or through the expression of a late, sentimental romanticism in eastern Europe and Russia.”

What is particularly rewarding about the program she has chosen is to see the names of Art Tatum, Fats Waller, and Astor Piazzolla in there along with more recognizable names from the classical music world. De la Salle obviously loves music, loves dance (which she has studied), and knows how to play dance music in a way that does it justice – that lets it swing and sway; however, she never lets herself get carried away, she never takes it over the top. From Tatum to Ravel to Stravinsky, she lets the music dance. My only reservation about this release is the engineering. Although the sound of the piano is clean and clear, the stereo imaging is a bit odd, with the piano seeming too wide and not quite coherent. If your system has a mono setting, that might be the best. Really, the sound is not at all a deal-breaker, and many listeners will find it just fine, so don’t let my sonic quibbles dissuade you from listening to this energetic collection, which Ms. de la Salle characterizes as “a journey to explore the different ways in which dance takes possession of the body.”

Northscapes. Lasse Thoresen: Invocation of Pristine Light Op. 52, No. 1; Anna Thorvaldsdottir: Scape; Bent Sorensen: (from 12 Nocturnes) I: Mignon - Und die Sonne geht Unter; III: Nachtlicher Fluss; VII: Mitternacht mit Mignon; Kaija Saariaho: Prelude; Raminta Serksnyte: Fantasia; Peteris Vasks: Music for a Summer Evening; Lasse Thoresen: Invocation of Rising Air, Op. 52, No. 2. Ieva Jokubaviciute, piano. Sono Luminus DSL-92251.

Although I was not quite sure what to expect from this release, I certainly looked forward to auditioning it. As for as the composers, I was quite familiar with the orchestral music of Vasks, but had never heard any of his piano music; had heard some orchestral music by Saariaho but none of her piano music; some chamber music by Thorvaldsdottir but no piano music; and nothing at all by any of the other composers or the pianist. So why did I look forward to auditioning it? Because I knew that Sono Luminus had great sound and because the program looked intriguing indeed. I knew I had to give it a listen.

I’m glad I did so, for I was richly rewarded. Lithuanian pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute is able to draw astonishing sounds from the piano, both form the keyboard and from “under the hood” if so requested by the composer; and Sono Luminus has captured in all in gloriously realistic sound quality. Particularly impressive are the two contributions by Norwegian composer Lasse Thoresen, which open and close the program. Invocation of Pristine Light really does evoke a feeling of illumination, a sense of wonder, discovery, and joy. Although of course I have never heard anyone else interpret this piece before, it is hard to imagine anyone bringing any more sensitivity to it than Ms. Jokubaviciute. The closing Invocation of Rising Air has a contrasting energy to it, more subdued, but still imbued with wonder. Thorvaldsdottir’s Scape finds the pianist drawing some unusual sounds from her instrument. As the liner notes explain, Scape “calls for the piano to be prepared with screws placed between certain strings, for the use of a thimble, and for the application of an e-bow. Already, we have here the composer asking the performer to coax a host of sounds and gestures from inside the piano beyond hammers striking strings. The preparation of the piano and the use of extended techniques unleash sounds inherent to the instrument yet repressed by the mechanisms of the tradition.”  One of the liner note photos depicts Ms. Jokubaviciute manipulating the strings inside the piano. Although to read of these techniques might lead one to believe that the music must sound hostile and unlistenable, the end result is far from that. Strange, perhaps, but compelling – musically compelling at that. And so the rest of the album goes, fresh, bracing new sounds, expertly played and magnificently recorded. If you are a fan of piano music and have at least a modicum of musical adventurousness in your soul, Northscapes belongs on your audition list.

Bonus Recommendations:

Puerta. Jorge Rossy, vibraphone, marimba; Robert Landfermann, double bass; Jeff Ballard, drums, percussion. ECM 2661 382 2596.

There is an interesting backstory here. Jorge Rossy was for a time the drummer in the Brad Mehldau Trio, but left that group to return to his native Spain and concentrate on his piano playing. He was replaced in Mehldau’s piano trio by the American drummer Jeff Ballard. And now we have here Rossy on neither drums nor piano, but rather on vibes and marimba, recording an album of mostly his own compositions supported by Ballard on drums and German bassist Landfermann. Most of the tunes have a relatively easygoing feel to them, medium tempos, minimum flash, with the musicians more interested in communicating with the listener than showing off their chops. It is fascinating to hear the sonic interplay between the drums and the vibes. Both involve instruments that are struck with sticks/mallets; both are being played by musicians who are experienced drummers. The crystal clear ECM sound allows you to really focus on their interaction, which is fascinating, and of course you also have the underlying plucking support of the double bass, which at times steps out into the foreground, occasionally bowed rather than plucked, marimba sometimes ringing…  Amazing now instruments that are struck and plucked can sound so soothing, yet while sounding so soothing still hold our attention.  

Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music. Tindall, Blair. Grove Press (2005).

Although this book covers the classical music world of several decades ago, many of the issues that Blair Tindall brings up regarding the financial and management practices within the industry are still relevant today. In addition, many of the personalities she discusses involve names that would be recognizable to most fans of classical music. Yes, there are some salacious details involving sex and drugs that could well have been left out, some of those salacious details do serve to give readers a perspective on the world of classical music they might otherwise never have been afforded. As a quick example, I recall attending a performance by the famed violinist Ihtzak Perlman, who was accompanied on piano by Samuel Sanders, back in the early 1980s. According to Tindall, who came to know Sanders very well, Perlman was making around $33,000 for such appearances at that time, and paying Sanders all of $1,000. Interesting… Tindall also writes of how as orchestras came to get money from corporations and other donors, they tended to increase their spending; in fact, the more donations the received, the larger their debt became. There are also some interesting character sketches in this memoir; unfortunately, some of them turn out to have sad endings as some individuals fall prey to drugs, alcohol, disease, or despair. Tindall was one of the fortunate few, able to escape the classical music world she felt trapped in by discovering she had a talent for writing and actually earning a scholarship to Stanford and starting a second career in journalism, and eventually writing her book. It is not a volume I would recommend to everyone, but it is worth at least a skim through if you are interested in gaining another perspective on classical music – sex, drugs, money, and all the rest that goes with it.

KWN

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (CD review)

Also, Eotvos: Alhambra (Violin Concerto no. 31). Isabelle Faust, violin; Pablo Heras-Casado, Orchestre de Paris. Harmonia Mundi HMM 902655.

By John J. Puccio

When Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company premiered Russian composer Igor Stravinsky’s ballet Le Sacre de Printemps (“The Rite of Spring”) at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in 1913, it caused a huge sensation. It was later called a “near riot” as the audience jeered and laughed, some of them walking out. Today, music historians see “The Rite” as a kind of turning point in classical music, a revolutionary work that formally introduced the world to the modern classical era.

By now, people have pretty much begun to take the avant-garde nature of Stravinsky’s early music for granted, but it was groundbreaking in its day. Of course, a lot of the stir at the time came about because of choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky, but still.... The work’s subtitle, “Pictures of Pagan Russia in Two Parts,” pretty much says it all. The story involves various primitive rituals celebrating the approach of spring (“Adoration of the Earth”), after which a young girl is chosen as a sacrificial victim and dances herself to death (“The Sacrifice”). Grim and heady stuff, and certainly not the kind of music for the weak of heart, either on the part of the audience or the conductor. My own favorite recording of the piece remains Leonard Bernstein’s 1958 rendering with the New York Philharmonic, now on Sony. So Maestro Pablo Heras-Casado has a challenge to come up with as electrifying a presentation. Yet, with a French orchestra in the country of the premiere, he comes close.

Heras-Casado carries out the duties of the score with a minimum of fuss. His interpretation is a good, vigorous, highly colorful one, filled with all the energy you would expect from the music. He builds the excitement of the opening movements with a quietly careful attention. What’s more important, this attentiveness extends from the gentlest passages to the most boisterous ones. Then, when things heat up, he isn’t afraid to let loose and give us a truly exhilarating experience. Of course, the sonics, help as well, and they are quite good. By the time we reach the middle of Part II, “The Glorification of the Chosen One,” things are in full thrust. Yet Maestro Heras-Casados keeps a tight rein on the histrionics, never letting the music out of his control. For this reason alone, I prefer Bernstein because with his account you’re never quite sure how out of hand things are going to get (they never do get out of control, but it’s that sense of uncertainty that makes it so fascinating). Still, Heras-Casado’s vision is as thrilling as almost anyone’s and makes for a rewarding listen.

Accompanying The Rite is the world premiere recording of Alhambra (Violin Concerto no. 31) by Peter Eotvos (b. 1944), with Isabelle Faust, violin. Eotvos dedicated the piece to Ms. Faust and Maestro Heras-Casado. A booklet note tells us that Eotvos wrote the work as “a free form, with repeated sections. The violin, followed by a double in the guise of a mandolin with scordatura tuning (an alternate way of tuning a stringed instrument that varies from standard tuning), leads this dreamlike itinerary through the various parts of a palace (the Alhambra) full of mystery and ghosts.” Like much modern music, Eotvos’s Alhambra is kind of all over the place rhythmically and melodically, but when it ventures into purely atmospheric territory, it has an appropriately haunting quality that is hard to deny.

Artistic Director Martin Sauer and engineer Rene Moller recorded the music at the Grande salle Pierre Boulez, Philharmonie de Paris, France in September 2019. It’s nicely done, with the addition of a little hall ambience to heighten the realism. A moderate sense of depth helps, too, as does a wide frequency range and some pretty decent dynamics (with hefty bass wallops). It makes for a very smooth, detailed, and welcome recording.

JJP

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

Stravinsky: Music for Violin and Piano (CD review)

Bruno Monteiro, violin; Joao Paulo Santos, piano. Etcetera KTC 1682.

As time wears on, people tend more and more to forget the details of a celebrity’s life and remember only the highlights. So it may be with Igor Stravinsky, whom most folks might only know for his three early, revolutionary ballets, The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). But the man lived a very long time (1882-1971), lived in both Europe and America, and passed through several musical stages in his lifetime, from the avant-garde to the neoclassical to his final, serial years.

The items presented on the current album are from Stravinsky neoclassical period, around 1920-1950 or so. The specific musical numbers are the Suite italienne for Violin and Piano (1925), the Divertimento for Violin and Piano from The Fairy’s Kiss (1932), the Duo Concertant for Violin and Piano (1932), Three Pieces for Violin and Piano from The Firebird, and the Danse Ruse for Violin and Piano from Petrushka (1933). In fact, according to a booklet note, the program included here is the same one that the composer and pianist Samuel Duskin presented as a single concert many times across Europe in the 1930’s.

The violinist is Bruno Monteiro, whose work I have reviewed before. According to Monteiro’s biography, the Portuguese violinist is "heralded by the daily Publico as 'one of Portugal's premier violinists' and by the weekly Expresso as 'one of today's most renowned Portuguese musicians.' Bruno Monteiro is internationally recognized as a distinguished violinist of his generation. Fanfare describes him as having a 'burnished golden tone' and Strad states that his 'generous vibrato produces radiant colors.' Music Web International refers to interpretations as having a 'vitality and an imagination that are looking unequivocally to the future' and that reach an 'almost ideal balance between the expressive and the intellectual.' Gramophone praises his ‘unfailing assurance and eloquence,’ and Strings Magazine summarizes that he is 'a young chamber musician of extraordinary sensitivity.'"

Bruno Monteiro

Monteiro’s longtime collaborator is Spanish pianist Joao Paulo Santos, a graduate of the Lisbon National Conservatory and student in Paris of Aldo Ciccolini. For the past forty-odd years Santos has worked with the Teatro Nacional de S. Carlos, the Lisbon Opera House, first as Chief Chorus Conductor and more recently as Director of Musical and Stage Studies. He has also distinguished himself as an opera conductor, concert pianist, and researcher of less-known and forgotten Portuguese composers.

Together, Monteiro and Santos make a formidable team. Now, as to the music, if you’re not a serious Stravinsky aficionado, you may be surprised. These selections are among his neoclassical period, as I mentioned, starting with the Suite italienne. If it sounds familiar, it ought to. It comprises a part of the composer’s Pulcinello Suite of a few years earlier. As always, Monteiro uses his violin as a second voice, the instrument singing radiantly, and Santos’s unaffected accompaniment flawlessly highlights the violin’s lyrical message.

The rest of the program follows suit. The music and the playing are elegant and refined as befit the period. The Divertimento on The Fairy’s Kiss is generally lighter, airier, and sprightlier than most of the other pieces on the disc. Yet the music’s rhythms continue to thrust it forward, and Monteiro makes the most of its continuously fluctuating contrasts. (At various times I thought I was listening to Honegger’s steam train or Leroy Anderson’s waltzing cat.) The music is fun, and Monteiro and Santos appear to be having a good time with it. Even the Adagio has its lighthearted moments.

The Duo Concertant seems to me the most serious music on the agenda. Also, it is perhaps the most “modern” of these neoclassical pieces in its sometimes strange and haunting variables. The Firebird music hardly needs explanation, but as performed here, it takes on a more melancholy aspect than usual. Monteiro in a booklet note calls it an “ethereal” or “magical” quality. Whatever, it is fascinating. The Danse Ruse, drawn from Petrushka, that concludes the program is energetic without being boisterous and rounds out the proceedings with a fine flair.

Producer Bruno Monteiro and engineer Jose Fortes recorded the music at Igreja da Cartuxa, Caxias, Portugal in November 2019. The solo violin sound is clear and resonant, quite realistic. The piano accompaniment is equally good, if a tad close. Still, it’s some of the best violin and piano sound you’ll find on any recording, so all is well.

JJP

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

Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps (CD review)

Also, Debussy: La Mer. Jaap van Zweden, New York Philharmonic. Decca Gold B0029690-02.

In 2018 Dutch conductor and violinist Jaap van Zweden (b. 1960) became the twenty-sixth Music Director of the prestigious New York Philharmonic, founded in 1842, one of America's oldest orchestras. Maestro van Zweden also leads the Hong Kong Philharmonic and guest conducts the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, and a host of others. He's a busy man, and this 2018 Sony release marks his second for Decca with the New York Phil.

In van Zweden's first recording for Decca with the NYPO he conducted Beethoven's Fifth and Seventh Symphonies. Here he is doing Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps ("The Rite of Spring") and Debussy's La Mer ("The Sea"). He obviously wanted to start things off on the right foot by choosing to do some of the basic repertoire's most-popular, almost-can't-miss items. Still, with so much competition in this material, he's sure to run into some detractors.

Anyway, as you know, Russian composer, pianist, and conductor Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) caused quite a stir when he premiered his ballet The Rite of Spring in 1913. The ballet (and, to be fair, the choreography) so shocked Paris audiences that many of them booed and headed for the doors. By now, the world has pretty much begun to take the avant-garde nature of Stravinsky's music for granted, but it was groundbreaking in its day.

The work's subtitle, "Pictures of Pagan Russia in Two Parts," pretty much says it all. The story involves various primitive rituals celebrating the approach of spring, after which a young girl is chosen as a sacrificial victim and dances herself to death. Grim and heady stuff, and certainly not the kind of music for the weak of heart, either on the part of the audience or the conductor. My own favorite recording of the piece remains Leonard Bernstein's, leading this very same orchestra in 1958. So van Zweden has some heavy lifting to keep up with the old master.

Jaap van Zweden

However, it's not that van Zweden doesn't try. This is music that a conductor must take with a certain abandon, and van Zweden does that on occasion. Those occasions are few and far between, however, no matter how raucous the conductor makes them appear. For the most part van Zweden seems content merely to keep order. He takes a rather leisurely approach throughout most of the score, building a degree of appropriate atmosphere, to be, sure, and then letting loose in a few wildly loud sections. Although one can still feel the tensions and excitement in the music, as a whole it all seems a bit forced, even awkwardly so at times as transitions seem too abrupt and climaxes too hurried.

The second selection on the disc is La Mer by French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918). In what he called "Three symphonic sketches for orchestra," Debussy drew inspiration, he said, from art, "preferring the seascapes available in painting and literature" to an actual ocean. Whatever, he managed to convey some vivid impressions of the sea. The three movements are "From dawn to noon (or midday) on the sea," taken very slowly and animated little by little; "Play of the Waves," an animated allegro; and, perhaps most famously, "Dialogue of the wind and the sea" (or "Dialogue between wind and waves"), animated and tumultuous, easing up very slightly at the end.

Personally, I liked van Zweden's handling of the Debussy piece a little more than I liked his work in the Stravinsky. Again, van Zweden is slower in all three movements than any of the conductors on my comparison discs (Stokowski, Karajan, Previn, Simon, Haitink, and Giulini), yet van Zweden's steady pace makes for a different kind of vividness that can at times be appealing. It's a calmer sea in a lot of ways than the one imagined by other conductors, yet it's one that remains filled with unexpected, if not always beautiful, magic.

If anything, though, van Zweden's handling of Debussy is too static and commonplace to be of much competition for the aforementioned conductors and recordings. I'd say this van Zweden effort is more of a memento of the conductor's early days with the New York orchestra, a kind of postcard for the ensemble's many admirers.

Producers Lawrence Rock and Mark Travis and engineer Lawrence Rock recorded the music at David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York City, in September and October 2018. Nowhere on the packaging or in the booklet notes does Decca explicitly tell us this is a live recording, but they do say "The concerts on October 4-6, 2018, were made possible by generous support from The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation," implying that they may have recorded at least the Debussy live in concert. Maybe they assume that so many classical orchestral recordings are made live these days, they don't even have to mention it. Whatever, I'm going to assume they recorded both works live.

Nevertheless, the business of "Is it live or isn't it?" may be a moot point as the sound is not quite vintage Decca to begin with. It's fairly bright and sharp-edged, slightly too close for comfort, and a bit glaring at times. In fact, I found a few of the bigger, louder sections rather uneasy on the ears. It's not entirely bad sound, mind you, and the percussion is impressive; but it's not as persuasive as the sound provided for Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic well over sixty years earlier. Go figure.

JJP

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

Symphonic Dances (CD review)

Music of Copland, Ravel, and Stravinsky. David Bernard, Park Avenue Chamber Symphony. Recursive Classics RC2061415.

The first time I saw this album title, "Symphonic Dances," I thought immediately of Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, but it was not to be. These are ballet suites performed by a symphonic chamber orchestra: Copland's Appalachian Spring, Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe, and Stravinsky's Firebird. Good enough, especially when they're played by Maestro David Bernard and his Park Avenue Chamber Symphony.

As you may remember, the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, formed in 1999, includes mainly players who do other things for a living (like being hedge-fund managers, philanthropists, CEO's, movie magnates, UN officials, and so on). They're not exactly amateurs, but they're not full-time, paid musicians, either. Fortunately, their playing dispels any doubts about the quality of their work; everyone involved with the orchestra deserves praise. Nor is the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony a particularly small group; it's about the size of a full symphony orchestra. The main thing is they play very, very well.

First up on their program is the suite from Appalachian Spring by American composer, writer, teacher, and conductor Aaron Copland (1900-1990). He premiered his ballet in 1944, and the following year it won a Pulitzer Prize in Music. The Suite is in eight parts, telling the story of American pioneers of the 1800s celebrating after building a new Pennsylvania farmhouse. Among the central characters are a bride, a groom, a pioneer woman, a preacher, and his congregation.

As always, the Park Avenue players are well up the task, performing like the best purely professional orchestras. They always seem to demonstrate a stylish precision. Moreover, Maestro Bernard leads with a deft hand. He's sensitive when necessary, as in the beginning of the Copland piece and in interludes throughout, and he knows how to handle the biggest climaxes and most energetic themes. When "Simple Gifts" arrives, we expect it to be something special, and it is. Bernard and his team avoid sentimentality and play it with joy and love.

David Bernard

Second up is the Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloe, premiered in 1912 by French composer, pianist, and conductor Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). Ravel described it as a "symphonie chorégraphique" (a choreographic symphony). He based the music on Greek myth, although one really doesn't have to follow the story line to appreciate Ravel's profusely impressionist music.

Bernard ensures that Ravel's score exudes the proper fairy-tale magic and mysticism it deserves. The textures are always lush and luminous, the story unfolding at a steady but not insistent pace. When the excitement develops, it, too, is properly judged--not too indulgent, not too overdone, yet with conviction and sprightly animation.

The final item on the program is The Firebird Suite by the Russian-born composer, pianist, and conductor Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971). The Firebird was the first (1910) of three acclaimed ballets Stravinsky produced in an astonishingly short time, with Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913) following closely He based The Firebird on various Russian folk tales he'd read concerning a magical bird that could either help or harm those who captured him. The story itself is an adventure involving a young prince, a group of lovely young maidens, an inevitable love interest, an argument, and the conflict we would expect, with a final resolution courtesy of the bird. It's all very exotic, colorful, warmhearted, and exciting.

Maestro Bernard and the Park Avenue Chamber Orchestra do Stravinsky justice. This is music that, as the booklet observes, should "take the listener by storm." Under Bernard's direction, it does. Yet, again, it isn't a totally bombastic storm. It's a gentle storm when necessary, an alternation of calm and turbulence. It comes out one of the most satisfying Firebird Suites I've heard, and makes me wish Bernard had done (or will do) the complete score.

My only gripe is really a mere quibble: Although Recursive Classics provide plenty of tracks, one for each movement of each work, they don't provide actual track numbers anywhere, nor do they provide timings for each selection. It's a curious oversight.

Audio engineers Joseph Patrych, Antonio Oliart, and Joel Watts recorded the music at DiMenna Center for Classical Music, New York City in January 2017 and Good Shepard-Faith Presbyterian Church, NYC in February 2018. The sound is clear and clean, with a nice ambient bloom. It's also quite dynamic, with strong impact, which further adds to the realism (just listen to that "Danse Infernale"). The tonal balance seems ideal as well, with good bass and treble extension, and there's a fair sense of depth and space to the soundstage. Nothing to complain about here.

JJP

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

Tales from the East (CD review)

Music of Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky. EStrella Piano Duo. Sheridan Music Studio.

Svetlana Belsky and Elena Doubovitskaya are superb pianists on their own; together as the EStrella
Piano Duo, they are doubly superb.

On this, their debut album, they play music by Russian composers who were inspired by the styles of the Middle East. Here's a rundown on the program:

Stravinsky: Three Movements from Petrushka:
1. Dance Russe
2. Chez Petrouchka
3. La Semaine Grasse
4. Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade: "Festival in Bagdad"
Borodin: Prince Igor, "Polovetsian Dances":
5. Andantino
6. Allegro Vivo
7. Allegro
8. Presto
9. Prokofiev: Suite-Fantasy on Cinderella

As these are all familiar orchestral pieces, it would be easy to claim the major attraction of these newly recorded works is the EStrella Duo performing them in arrangements for two pianos. But such is not entirely the case. They are more than a novelty. The pianists are consummate artists who together bring new pleasures and new insights to much traveled roads. These are, for all intents and purposes, new pieces of music, not merely new arrangements.

The first set of selections is from Igor Stravinsky's ballet Petrushka, arranged for two pianos by V. Babin. The "Russian Dance" is a good curtain raiser, a good overture to begin the program that follows. It is zesty and robust, and the two pianists play it with an easy yet virtuosic élan.

At first, I thought I'd try to distinguish the styles of the two performers, but it was a hopeless cause. They both play with such acumen, their agility on the piano so keen, I'm sure they could have at any time reversed pianos and parts, and I would never have known.

EStrella Piano Duo

Next we get the "Festival in Bagdad" from Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov's exotic suite Scheherazade, arranged for two pianos by M. Zelenaia and EStrella. Now, this was most interesting. It's such a well-known piece, I was afraid I was going to want to head straightaway to the orchestral version. Instead, I wanted to hear more of the full suite from EStrella. Maybe they'll consider it for their next album. As much as I enjoyed the selection of tunes they offer here, a single, complete work would have perhaps been just as good or better.

After that we find the "Polovetsian Dances" from Alexander Borodin's Prince Igor, arranged for two pianos by V. Babin and E. Doubouvitskaya. From the fiery excitement of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Festival in Bagdad" to the lovely opening melody of the "Polovetsian Dances" makes a starling and satisfying transition in the proceedings, at least until Borodin himself transitions into the livelier sections. Again, the two pianists play with electric precision, all the while capturing the mystery and exoticism of the score. The magical gymnastics of their playing make the EStrella Duo a captivating set of performers.

The program concludes with Sergei Prokofiev's Fantasy-Suite from the ballet Cinderella, arranged for two pianos by A. Gottlieb and E. Doubovitskaya. It's the longest item on the menu, and it's the most modern. It doesn't daunt the two performers in the least, and the duo's sensitive performances should keep most listeners wanting to come back for more.

Producer Susan Merdinger and engineer Victor LeJeune recorded the music at PianoForte Chicago Studios in August 2018. The sound is very clean and very dynamic. The miking is not unreasonably close up, so it resonates with some natural studio bloom. The two instruments are clearly delineated, the separation not too obvious but certainly realistic.

JJP

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