American Dreams

by Bill Heck

Duke Ellington: Night Creature (arr. David Berger); George Gershwin: An American in Paris (ed. M. Clauge); Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Suite from “On the Waterfront”. Cincinnati Sympyhony Orchestra, cond. Louis Louis Langrée.  Fanfare Cincinnati. Available on most streaming platforms or for download from multiple sources.

Let me begin with a personal story: my wife and I lived in southwestern Ohio for about 10 years and during that period attended many Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra performances. This was during Paavo Jarvi’s tenure as Music Director, and we left the area a few years before Louis Langrée took over. However, we returned a few times each year, our visits often including trips with friends to attend CSO concerts. On one of these occasions, we were invited backstage after the concert and were privileged to meet with Maestro Langrée for a few moments of truly enjoyable and educational conversation. Give these experiences, not to mention the quality of  the many performances that we heard there over the years, I've always had warm, fuzzy feelings for the Cincinnati Symphony. So you have been warned: in reviewing the album, I'm a homer.

Duke Ellington

All three of the works here can be classified as "crossover" pieces, in the sense that they attempt to fuse popular musical approaches with the classical tradition. However, at least to my mind, that sort of language is, at best, hopelessly vague. The classical music tradition, or perhaps I should say the art music tradition, encompasses a huge range of styles and influences. Bringing jazz idioms, as in the case of the first two works, or traditions of musical theater, as in the case of the third, to classical music is just another milestone on a very long road. As Duke Ellington observed “There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind.”

And speaking of Mr Ellington, the first piece in the collection here is his Night Creature. The work is deliberately symphonic, having been composed for the united forces of Ellington's big band plus a symphony orchestra. Although this is not generally regarded as one of Ellington's masterpieces, it sounds pretty appealing to me. (Hardly surprising, as it’s hard to believe that Ellington ever wrote really bad music.) We might also note that the “night creatures” are not the stock of horror films or cinema noir; instead they are fantasies, perhaps based on the people who inhabit the nighttime world in which musicians such as Ellington work and whom Ellington found fascinating.

George Gershwin

The booklet that accompanies the album is not explicit on where the "big band" musicians came from; some seem to be orchestra members, although the five saxophonists listed are referred to as "substitute musicians." Whatever the case. I'm old enough to have heard a couple of honest-to-goodness big bands: the playing here recalls the best of those, with solid timing and just a hint of the required swing without falling into the galumphing that too often was heard in the waning days of big band era (and is sometimes heard when classical musicians are trying just a little too hard to be jazzy). Langrée has everything moving along nicely and the balances allow us to hear into the heart of the arrangements.

Gershwin's An American in Paris is one of those pieces that you may have a hard time recalling until, upon hearing the first notes, you say "oh yeah, I know that!" The arrangement here for symphony orchestra has been around for a long time, but Langrée and the Cincinnatians make it sound like the piece was written just for them. The first word that occurred to me as I heard the opening bars was "lively" and I mean that in the best possible way: there's energy and crispness galore. Of course, tempos change as the music progresses and the moods vary, but the performance really is spot on throughout. The performance also is relaxed – and no, I'm not contradicting myself after saying that it's lively. I mean that it's relaxed in the sense that any professional makes their activity seem smooth and easy, regardless of how difficult it really might be at any moment.

Leonard Bernstein

The final work here, Bernstein's suite from On the Waterfront, is just what it sounds like: a collection of pieces from Bernstein’s score for the film of that name. (In the end, Bernstein was not happy with how his score was manipulated in the film; that’s presumably why he never wrote another movie score.) I've never been much of a fan of suites derived from film scores, as I generally miss the visual cues that help to make sense of the music; for me, this work is no exception. Still, although the piece in its entirety is not quite my cup of tea, I certainly can hear moments of appealing and interesting music, and the playing is more than up to par. If you're a Bernstein fan or more sympathetic than I to compositions of this sort, I think you'll be happy indeed. By now, it should go without saying that Langrée and the CSO make an excellent case for the work.

I can't close without remarking on the quality of the recording. The recording team of Dirk Sorbotka and Mark Donahue have done a masterful job indeed: balances are impeccable, the perspective is realistic, and there's just the right amount of hall sound to lend body without muddying up the presentation. Amazingly, these works were all recorded live; the audience must have been very healthy and quite enraptured, as there are no coughs, sneezes, or sounds of impatience. Indeed, the only indication that the audience was there at all is enthusiastic applause at the end of each work; frankly, I could have done without that bit – but my reaction is a minor quibble. A slightly more important quibble, although not a showstopper, is that the album notes available through streaming services and downloads give some interesting information about the history of the Cincinnati Symphony but lack any discussion of the music being played. However, detailed program notes are available through the CSO website, although it takes some digging to find them. (So that you don't need to do the digging, I've included a link right here.) Surely most listeners would be interested in these notes; it's a pity that a better arrangement for accessing them is not readily available.

You know, sometimes trying to review an album can be tiring (or even depressing if things are not so good). But sometimes, putting on a new album, and even listening a few times to really get into it, can be a delight. This album is one of the latter: it’s just flat out fun. If you were at all interested in the music, and you should be, have a listen!

Colorado MahlerFest XXXVI (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring 

Thea Musgrave: Phoenix Rising; Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection.” April Fredrick, soprano; Stacey Rishoi, mezzo-soprano; Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra; Boulder Concert Chorale; Kenneth Woods, Artistic Director & Conductor. Purchase information can be found here.

 

We have previously encountered American conductor Kenneth Woods in his role as conductor of the English Symphony Orchestra, where he has often championed the works of contemporary composers. But Woods wears another hat as Artistic Director of the Colorado MahlerFest and conductor of their orchestra. Colorado MahlerFest is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1988 that presents an annual, weeklong festival celebrating Mahler’s life and music as well as the works of composers who influenced Mahler and by composers whom Mahler in turn influenced. The orchestra is anchored by the “festival artists” who comprise the section principals and leaders. These musicians, who are all either major orchestra principals, professors, or experienced chamber musicians, do much of the recruiting for the orchestra in addition to anchoring the chamber music concerts that are also part of MahlerFest. In 2005, the International Gustav Mahler Society of Vienna awarded Colorado MahlerFest its rarely bestowed Mahler Gold Medal. MahlerFest was honored alongside the New York Philharmonic, joining such past recipients as the Vienna Philharmonic and Leonard Bernstein. Last year, we reviewed MahlerFest XXXV, which featured a truly ambitious program: the grand Symphony No. 3 by Mahler along with the world premiere concert performance of Symphony No. 10 by the late English composer Christopher Gunning (1944-2023). 

This time around we are reviewing their latest CD release, which was recorded at the featured concert of MahlerFest XXXVI. As their online publicity material described it, “MahlerFest XXXVI celebrates humanity’s capacity for resilience and renewal in a festival week that culminates with Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 2 and Thea Musgrave’s Phoenix Rising. The theme for that concert, which was held on Sunday, May 31, 2023, was “Rise Again,” which captures the spirit of the music that is featured on this release. 

The Scottish composer Thea Musgrave (b. 1928), who has lived in the United States since 1972, writes of her composition Phoenix Rising, “my original sketches for this work imagined an extended single movement progressing from darkness (low and fast) to light (high, slow, and peaceful). This idea became focused dramatically in my mind only some months later, when, by chance, I saw a sign ‘Phoenix Rising’ hanging outside a Virginia coffee shop. As I like to interpret the ancient fable of the phoenix rising from the ashes as the promise of hope and rebirth, this sign struck me immediately as a visualization of what my piece was really about. Phoenix Rising is a single-movement orchestral work of about 23 minutes. The centerpiece is the magical moment when the phoenix rises. After an initial section wherein the orchestra depicts a world of stormy violence leading to a terrain of emptiness and despair, a short section marked mysterious starts with low set chords. As they gradually rise to a luminous chord played by pitched percussion (marimba, vibraphone, xylophone, and glockenspiel), imagine the fabled bird unfolding his giant wings, poised for flight. The second half of the work, in contrast, builds to a romantic climax and a coda of serenity of peace.” Although the work leans toward the abstract side, it does not lack for drama or color. The clarity of the recording helps – and by clarity, I do not mean exaggerated, close-up sound. Rather, there is a natural sense of the orchestra spread out before you, with sounds coming from many locations within a large space, much as Musgrave describes. It is a colorful, at times dramatic score; however, those who favor hummable melodies will be disappointed.

 

Then comes the main attraction, the Mahler. Conductor Woods comments that “Following a performance of the first three movements organized by his friend and colleague Richard Strauss in Berlin in March 1895, the complete symphony finally received its premiere in December. That performance was also organized by Strauss. As this year’s speaker Renate Starke-Voit writes in the introductory notes to the New Critical Edition, ‘Few masterpieces have ever premiered under such inauspicious circumstances.’ How could it have been otherwise for a work whose last line can perhaps be best translated for today’s readers as ‘everything that you fought for, that is what will carry you to God’.” Regardless of your level of belief in God, nature, nothing, anything, or whatever, it is hard not to be moved by a stirring performance of this majestic symphony, which is just what Maestro Woods and his assembled musicians deliver. Everything sounds balanced, tempos sound well-judged. It is a very good, very well-recorded performance. Yes, I’d like to hear a big organ sound in the finale, and no, it won’t displace the Klemperer/EMI as my absolute favorite – but it’s still well worth an audition. The MahlerFest website is also well worth checking out (you can find it here.)

Sibelius 2 & 5 from Montreal (CD Review)

by Ryan Ross 

Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 43; Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat, Op. 82. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal. ATMA Classique ACD 22453. 

If I am counting correctly, this is the third release in Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s and the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal’s Sibelius symphony cycle on the ATMA Classique label. Presumably it is also the penultimate one, with just the Sixth and the Seventh left of the Finnish master’s numbered symphonies to fill the final entry. (This is assuming, of course, that the Kullervo Symphony won’t be included.) To be honest, I was disappointed with the previous outings, which included the First Symphony (ACD 22452), and the Third and Fourth coupled together (ACD 22454). I thought the Fourth better than the other two, but every one of these performances is dogged by issues of balance, tempo, and interpretive direction. While I am happy to report that this latest disc is an overall improvement, these issues remain to varying degrees, with the Fifth less affected by them overall than the Second. 

We’ll save the best for last and start with the Second Symphony. The good news is that Nézet-Séguin has a better sense of architecture and climactic arrival here than in the previous symphonies, though some musical summits are still a touch sluggish and pallid. The changes of tempo, too, are less pronounced than before, though pauses between phrases, sections, and changes of tempo can be noticeably labored. For instance, take the material directly after the opening figure’s statement, or the slowdown at Rehearsal H in the same movement. Nézet-Séguin is overly fond of rubato. This works in some of the more effusive Romantic repertoire, such as that by Tchaikovsky or Mahler, but it can easily be overdone even in early Sibelius. Luckily, the more sectional/non-sonata structures of the remaining movements conceal such momentum issues better, though the lunga at about three measures before Rehearsal E in the second movement is noticeably over-milked. 

 

A problem equally present throughout is that of balance. Usually this comes in the form of the strings overpowering the woodwinds when both are present, as in the “development” section of the first movement. But the opposite happens in the second movement, again at Rehearsal E where the string melody needs to be better projected. Most seriously, while the string playing is generally of high quality, I discern occasional instances where the woodwinds do not quite play sharply or together. Such spots include their sounding slightly out of sync three measures before Rehearsal D in the second movement, and at Rehearsal B in the finale. Leading up to the latter point, the timpani is much too abrasive at the poco forte. (I don’t hear much “poco!”) All in all, however, this performance is a definite advance beyond the same musicians’ Sibelius First. 

 

At the risk of eating my words after the next release, Nézet-Séguin seems to have a better feeling for later Sibelius. This Fifth is the best-performed symphony of the cycle so far, and the first one I can fully get behind. Here the tempo issues that bothered me so much elsewhere seem to have resolved. It was a nice surprise to have everything on this front be well judged. Minor issues of balance (for instance, overpowering strings preceding Rehearsal G in the first movement) and articulation (the winds again in just a few places, mostly during the first and second movements) do not significantly mar a solid performance. The finale is especially good, with a great opening tempo, subtly layered dynamics, and a generally firm grip on the musical action. Balance problems in this interpretation recede into insignificance, with an excellent string-woodwind dynamic at Rehearsal N particularly worthy of mention. The long, drawn-out ending is delivered convincingly. I hope this performance’s success is a harbinger of what’s yet to come. 

 

So what we have here is an okay Second Symphony and a good Fifth. Does this add up to a firm recommendation? I would have to say no. While it’s the best yet of Nézet-Séguins’s and the OMM’s Sibelius symphony cycle, this recording still comes up short of what I would consider to be the top-tier choices for Nos. 2 and 5. Likewise, the upcoming release of the Seventh will have to be fabulous indeed to enter this category. The good news is that there are relatively few great performances of the Sixth Symphony, which so many conductors seem to not “get” very well. A stellar showing in that work could do much to distinguish a cycle that for me is otherwise shaping up to be unremarkable.