Chamber Works by Ernest Kanitz (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Kanitz: Sonata, Op. 10 for Violin and Piano*; String Quartet in D major; Sonata for Solo Cello; Concertino for Five Players**; Sonata Californiana for E flat Alto Saxophone and Piano. ARC Ensemble (Erika Raum, violin; Marie Bérard, violin**; Steven Dann, viola; Thomas Wiebe, cello; Joaquin Valdepeñas, clarinet; Kevin Ahfat, piano; with special guests Wallace Halladay, saxophone; Anna Stube, violin*; Joel Quarrington, double-bass). CHANDOS CHAN 20374

 

Over the past several years we have reviewed several releases by Canada’s ARC (Artists of the Royal Conservatory) Ensemble, an assemblage of musicians engaged in a series of recordings for the CHANDOS label under the heading “Music in Exile,” starting with our review (which you can read here) of the first commercial recording devoted to music by the Czech-born Jewish composer Walter Kaufmann (1907-1984). Other composers who were exiled by the Nazi regime but whose music has been brought out from the depths of obscurity by the ARC Ensemble’s noble efforts have included the Jewish-Ukrainian composer Dmitri Klebanov (1907-1987) (reviewed here); Alberto Hemsi (1898-1975), who was born in the Ottoman Empire in an area that is now part of Turkey (reviewed here); and the German-Jewish composer Robert Müller-Hartmann (1894-1979, who fled to England to work with the great British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (reviewed here).

This newest release, the ninth in the Music in Exile series, features music by the Jewish Austrian-born composer Ernest Kanitz (1894-1978). His story is an interesting one. He had enjoyed early success in his career and had in fact become a prominent musician in Vienna during the 1920s and ‘30s, with frequent concerts and radio broadcasts. However, after the Nazi takeover of Austria in 1938, Kanitz eventually made his way to the United States, where he was able to continue his musical career by teaching and composing, but with death, his modest musical reputation quickly faded away and his music disappeared from the concert stage. Now the ARC Ensemble and CHANDOS are offering the musical world a chance to hear the music of Ernest Kanitz, which based on this release, is well worth hearing. 

The ARC Ensemble

The opening Sonata for Violin and Piano is a melodic marvel, three movements that are a delight from start to finish. So often, listening to sonatas by unknown 20^th-century composers can be a nearly unbearable experience; however, this was just the opposite. His String Quartet, although more serious in tone than the sonata that preceded it, particularly the opening movement, is still quite listenable and enjoyable. The relatively brief Sonata for Solo Cello provides a wide range of stylistic effects over its 10-minute duration, ranging from throwback to modernistic. It is one of those pieces that would benefit from being able to see the performer actually play in live performance to gain full appreciation of their performance; however, it is still an involving performance when only heard and not seen. The Concertino for Five Players, which is scored for clarinet, violin, viola, double bass, and piano, is a jaunty, slightly spiky three-movement work that is the most formal, modern-sounding composition on the program. However, it is also emotionally engaging in its own way, with many tender passages that speak to the heart. The quirkily named Sonata Californiana closes the program with three movements of expressive music that appeal to both heart and mind. The second movement, “Lament,” is a slow movement of utter beauty, followed then by the closer, “Hollywood,” a bustling romp.

Having listened to this recording many times, I find myself hoping to hear more music by Ernest Kanitz in the future. He composed orchestral music – let’s have it! And surely there is more chamber music. For now, however, we have this fine release, and once again, we music lovers owe a debt of gratitude to the ARC Ensemble and CHANDOS for bringing to light music that would have otherwise languished in darkness. 

Domenico Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonatas (CD Review)

by Ryan Ross

Domenico Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonatas (selection); Kurtág: Selections from Játékok. András Schiff, pianist. Lucerne Festival Historic Performances. Audite 97.838

These recorded live performances date from 1998 and 1999, when András Schiff was still in his prime and before he was beguiled by that dubious distraction of modern pianists: the period instrument. (If I never again hear a new recording of Beethoven or Schubert on the fortepiano, it will be too soon!) What it amounts to are a group of Scarlatti performances we didn’t know we needed but should be thrilled to have. Partially excepting a single one that I find slightly misjudged, these are all winners informed by the interpretive richness and precision of Schiff at his distinguished best.

We’ll start with my fly in the ointment: Sonata in D, K. 96, which occupies the very first track. Schiff infuses this with the wonderful colors and accentuation of inner voices that are his custom, but he overshoots with expressive rubato. Perhaps I am too influenced by Vladimir Horowitz’s iconic performance (on Sony SK 53460), but this piece calls more for exhilarating brilliance than it does for expressive probing. Schiff’s dramatic pauses, and extra time taken in the repeated-notes and passage-work sections, dilute that sense of brilliance a bit. For me this music needs consistency and drive for it to come off best. Despite lacking the tonal richness of Schiff’s take, Horowitz outdoes him here.

 

But putting this minor disappointment aside, I will admit that virtually the remainder of the Scarlatti renditions here are going right onto my Spotify favorites playlists. Much of Schiff’s success in these pieces comes down to shrewd repertoire selection. Nearly to a sonata do they play to his strengths mentioned above. While most of Scarlatti’s sonatas bear the stamp of his delightfully quirky musical voice, the ones on this recording plumb special depths. Moreover, most of them are not ones you hear too often. The result almost feels like a release of new repertoire, and certainly one that ought to feature prominently in the Scarlatti discography.

 

Some examples are in order. Schiff’s K. 518 in F replicates his K. 96’s gently halting pace, but the former’s aesthetic complexion is more relaxed and better suits such an approach. Moreover, the sudden shifts to chordal “strumming” (and other passages) allow the performer to accentuate the guitar-like flavor with which Scarlatti is often associated. It all works beautifully. Schiff’s K. 519 in F Minor shows him adopting a steadier motion that I wish his K. 96 had; it cruises along with a restrained breeziness. At least as good are the sonatas where Schiff can showcase his signature thoughtfulness. K. 513 in C and K. 426 in G Minor come readily to mind. Both performances illustrate why I prefer Scarlatti on the piano: their subtleties and deep wells of feeling are only enhanced by the capabilities of the modern instrument. Schiff exploits them to the fullest in these two numbers.

But my two favorite performances here are probably K. 394 in E Minor and K. 395 in E, one pairing among several that Schiff highlights. I often tell my students that Scarlatti’s sonata output is like the ocean: big stretches of it are seldom traversed. These two examples aren’t often chosen for star performer compilations (think the wonderful but ubiquitous K. 380 in E), nor even for the many one-off Scarlatti albums out there. But if you skip them, you’re missing out on unexpected glories. What of that sudden explosion of arpeggios (featuring chromatic-mediant harmonic juxtaposition) to head the second section of K. 394? It’s one of those instances where a simple gesture has more expressive power than it has any right to. In K. 395, the beginning of the second section again proves to be the linchpin for the entire work, with its brief sotto voce passage that prompts the listener to experience the surrounding material in new hues.

 

By way of concluding, I’ll admit to recently making a playlist of all 555 Scarlatti sonatas. The exercise took a long time because I wanted the best performances possible for each selection, and I was forced (if that’s the word) into a ton of listening just to achieve an approximation. The reason I mention this is that the exercise taught me a great deal, including the reality that even after all this time we are still living in the Wild West of Scarlatti recordings. There is a great deal of interpretive territory yet to be staked in repertoire that is endlessly explorable. Anybody who is even casually keeping track should buy this disc right away.

Recent Releases No.78 (CD Reviews)

by Karl Nehring

Abstractions. Anna Clyne: Within Her Arms; Abstractions – I. Marble Moon II. Auguries III. Seascape IV. River V. Three; Restless Oceans; Color Field – I. Yellow II. Red III. Orange. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop, conductor. Naxos 8.574620

 

I first became aware of the London-born composer Anna Clyne (b. 1980) back in 2020 when I came across her name somewhere on social media. I mentioned it to my good friend and fellow Classical Candor contributor Bill Heck, who related with considerable enthusiasm how he had recently enjoyed a concert performance of one of her works by members of the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra in Columbus, Ohio. The work Bill and his wife had enjoyed that night was Within Her Arms, the piece that opens the program on this new Naxos CD. Not long after that 2020 conversation with Bill, we published our first review of a Clyne composition, which was a five-movement work for cello and orchestra titled Dance, with soloist Inbal Segev and the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop (you can find that review here). That CD also included the Elgar concerto, but since then, we have published two reviews of CDs featuring music entirely by Clyne, who now resides in the Hudson Valley region of New York. You can read the review of Mythologies here and Shorthand here. Clyne wrote the deeply moving elegy Within Her Arms, which is set for an ensemble of 15 strings, shortly after the death of her mother in 2008. The remaining compositions are scored for full orchestra, showcasing both the rich imagination of the composer and the deft playing of the Baltimore players. Although the music is not particularly tuneful, neither is it overly abstract; rather, it is engaging and entertaining, with many striking effects. It is music that makes you want to listen to it again, and then again, which is the mark of an excellent composer.

 

Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D Minor, Op. 104; Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105; Tapiola, Op. 12. English Symphony Orchestra; Kenneth Woods, conductor. ESO Records ESO2502

 

I believe my first encounter with a recording featuring the conductor Kenneth Woods, originally from Madison, Wisconsin, but currently residing in Wales, was a Nimbus release of symphonic music by a contemporary English composer previously unknown to me, Matthew Taylor (b.1964), a review you can find here. Since then, I have gone on to review other recordings conducted by Maestro Woods, who leads not only the English Symphony Orchestra featured on the present recording but also serves as Musical Director of the world-famous Colorado Mahlerfest; in addition, John Puccio has reviewed numerous recordings led by Maestro Woods in past installments of Classical Candor. On this present Sibelius release, the ESO under Woods acquit themselves admirably. It is hard to think of a more satisfying musical program than that presented here, the final two symphonies by the Finnish master plus his magical tone poem, Tapiola. There is something magical about the way in which the opening notes of the Sixth Symphony blissfully arise from silence; we suddenly find ourselves in a wondrous world of sound and shadow that Woods and the ESO bring to life with a deft touch. The overall sound seems just right for Sibelius – not too heavy, but not too light. The recorded sound is clean and open, and there are informative liner notes by composer and critic Guy Rickards. All in all, this is a highly recommendable release.