Winterreise is one of the greatest, most compelling and intense of all vocal song cycles. For the first of his explorations into the world of art song, Matthew Gee has turned to Schubert’s work in this unique arrangement for trombone and piano. English titles are used for the poems to emphasize the fact that text is no longer the primary expressive vehicle here. Instead, it is entrusted to the trombone, an instrument whose vocal qualities and ability to employ glissando, vibrato, portamento and microtonal inflections- allied to the use of various mutes- offers an astonishing array of tonal possibilities.

-----

REVIEW:

The idea of playing the vocal part of Schubert’s Winterreise on the modern slide trombone may seem far-fetched on paper, yet the multi-talented Matthew Gee’s cultivated mastery compensates for the lack of a text. He adjusts his timbre to each song’s specific emotional quality while following Schubert’s phrasings and dynamics closely. Gee also shifts registers for variety’s sake, although sometimes his use of mutes can stick out like a sore thumb (in Die Wetterfahne, for example).

The more lyrical, introspective songs provide ideal showcases for Gee’s smooth sonority and prodigious breath control; check out his honey-filled legato control in Der Lindenbaum, or those seamless and suave interval leaps in Rast. Pianist Christopher Glynn matches his partner’s singing tone with seamlessly dovetailed support. The sonics are rather diffuse and muffled at times, but the high level of music making always comes through. What could have been a gimmick or curio turns out to be a plausible and intelligently considered artistic endeavor.

– ClassicsToday (Jed Distler)

Classical Music

R. Strauss - Elektra, Chor der Deutschen, Staatsoper Berlin and Saatskapelle Berlin directed by Daniel Barenboim.

Patric Standford wrote in a wide variety of forms, from large-scale orchestral and choral music to a cappella, chamber and instrumental pieces. While teaching at the Guildhall School of Music in London he won several major international composition prizes. The First Symphony, each movement of which is named after a season, grew from a string piece conceived as a memorial for the conductor Sir John Barbirolli. Dedicated to and premièred by the soloist on this recording, Raphael Wallfisch, the powerful Cello Concerto is built around a theme from the fifth movement, Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit (You now are sorrowful) of Brahms’ German Requiem.

“Devine’s harpsichord Goldbergs can stand among the best in a crowded field.” - Phillip Kennicot, Gramophone – September, 2011

=====

Harpsichord versions of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations don’t seem to roll off the presses in quite the same quantities as piano versions these days, but this is still a hotly competitive field for any new entry. Just to pick on two good examples, I’ve been having a listen to Masaaki Suzuki’s recording on the BIS label, as well as making comparisons with another fairly recent harpsichord recording by Aapo Häkkinen on the Alba label (see review). Suzuki has plenty of drive and energy, going for brisk tempi and crisp articulation which keeps everything going with plenty of zip – something you may or may not want in your Goldbergs, but is good to have around if you are in the mood. Häkkinen is frequently more reserved in tempo, and more inclined to introduce a rubato flexibility into his musical narrative.

It’s a terrible thing to make sweeping generalisations, but Steven Devine falls somewhere in between these two players. He has a fairly flexible approach, using a certain amount of rubato to bring out the shapes of phrases but not distorting melodic lines in the process, and certainly not applying as much freedom as Häkkinen. Nor does he drive the music as hard as Suzuki. Tempi are decently forward moving without being tumultuous, and Devine’s articulation is clear without being overly picky, with a nice legato effect. Ornamentation is certainly not extreme, with a few extra passing notes here and there – certainly not exceeding the bounds of acceptable convention. There was only one point which made me check my references: Variatio 6 is played with a slightly odd semi-triplet rhythm, a sort of tum-ti-tum-ti effect, but not quite explicitly, and not quite all the time. Devine writes useful booklet notes about the history and some of the forms in this piece, but doesn’t go into his own interpretative choices when recording the work – probably not necessary when going for what is essentially an uncontroversial reading.

This is a fine recording made using a superb instrument by Colin Booth, indeed, the one seen pictured on the cover for this release. The microphones are placed close, but the lack of mechanical noise and the fine sonority of the harpsichord mean you can be close up and intimate without feeling assaulted by upper harmonics. There are some lovely effects in this piece, and the points at which the parts cross in the two-manual variations such as Variatio 8 are particularly distinguished here. Even after extensive listening it is however tricky to know where to place this recording amongst the pantheon. I have a nostalgia-tinted affection for Trevor Pinnock on the Archiv label, though even his fine recording can sound a bit ‘chunky’ these days. While I still like Aapo Häkkinen I accept his more obvious pulling around of the phrasing can sound a little mannered in places, and certainly by comparison with Steven Devine. The Alba recording is a little more respectful in terms of distance though and is ultimately a less fatiguing listen. Häkkinen’s Joel Katzman instrument also has a thrumming/ringing quality which I can take for long periods. The Booth instrument is a little more nasal in tone, though by no means unattractive. Both recordings are almost identical in terms of overall timing by the way.

It’s only when you start casting the net wider and encounter desperately pedestrian sounding recordings like that of Shin-ichiro Nakano on the Meister Music label that you come to appreciate the quality of these performances. There are also plenty of intolerably jangly ones around, but we’re still spoilt for choice. For every also-ran there’s another fine version, such as Ketil Haugsand on the Simax label, and the ancient and stately Wanda Landowska makes her own views on the piece more than emphatically clear despite an antique recording. All I can say is that Steve Devine’s recording of the Goldberg Variations is certainly amongst the best, making all of the crucial musical points very effectively and with plenty of expressive breathing room. There’s nothing stodgy about his playing, but neither is it lightweight and ephemeral. I can’t say it’s revelatory, but I doubt there are any of these left to come, at least, not on harpsichord. If you already have a much loved harpsichord version of this great work on your shelves then this might not push it aside, although you might by chance have one of the dodgy ones and not know what you are missing. Bearing this in mind by all means give this recording a try – you certainly won’t be disappointed.

- Dominy Clements, MusicWeb International

It was in 1842, his ‘year of chamber music’ that Robert Schumann took on the combination of violin, cello and piano for the first time. He seems to have decided against releasing the resulting Fantasiestücke as a fully-fledged piano trio, however, but later returned to the work, revising it for publication in 1850. The model here is not the large-scale, quasi-symphonic trios of Beethoven or Schubert – instead Haydn’s characteristic trio textures spring to mind, especially in the first two movements where the cello largely follows the piano’s left-hand bass line. By the time the Fantasiestücke was published, Schumann had already written two ‘proper’ piano trios, No. 1 in D minor and No. 2 in F major. According to the composer the second of these ‘makes a friendlier and more immediate impression’ but it is in fact the D minor trio that has long been the more popular: passionate, mainly extrovert and bursting with fine thematic material it is the easiest to grasp on one hearing. Both works are filled to capacity with imitative writing, sometimes conspicuously so but often subtly as if on a subconscious level – an aspect that the members of the Kungsbacka Piano Trio, with more than 20 years of playing together, are able to make the most of.

With his tango nuevo, Astor Piazzolla has been welcomed into the world of classical music in a way that no other ‘non-classical’ composer has experienced. His music is played in concert halls around the world, and has been arranged for the most varied forces: symphony orchestra, string quartet, brass ensemble, mandolin orchestra, harpsichord… Taking their name from Piazzolla’s Escualo (‘Shark’), written in 1979 for his Quinteto Tango Nuevo, the five musicians that make up ESCUALO5 have a different approach, replicating the formation that Piazzolla performed with for much of his career: bandoneon, violin, piano, guitar and double bass.

The aim isn’t to recreate Piazzolla’s own performances, however – based in Munich but hailing from respectively Brazil, Germany, Greece and Belarus, the members are soloists in their own right, bringing their individual talents as improvisers and arrangers to the recordings. The program that ESCUALO5 have devised for their first album includes some much-loved as well as less familiar pieces for the quintet setup – Primavera Porteña, Soledad, Adiós Nonino, Fracanapa – as well as arrangements of Tango Suite and Histoire du Tango, originally for two guitars and flute and guitar, respectively.

REVIEWS:

Several of the pieces are arranged for new combinations, the Tango Suite for guitar and piano, and the Histoire du Tango, the masterful tracing of tango styles since 1900, for accordion, guitar, and double bass. The biggest thing is that without violating Piazzolla's musical texts, the group brings to his music a new and intense spirit. It is as if, having been established as part of the classical canon, Piazzolla's music is now subject to what has been called the chain of interpretation. It's a tremendously exciting release, consisting of Piazzolla standards like the Primavera Porteña from the Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas and lesser-known pieces like Fracanapa; Escualo5 adds something new to every single one, and the album will appeal to heavy Piazzolla collectors and newbies alike.

-- AllMusic.com

The release of a new recording of music by Piazzolla is, in my opinion, always a very welcome occurrence. Here we have passionate performances from the ensemble Esucalo5 which consists of violin, accorion, guitar, piano and double bass. Alongside the more familiar and extensive Tango Suite and Histoire du Tango is another longer piece Contrabajisimo (unknown to me) and a number of shorter pieces. A lovely production.

-- Lark Reviews

Tilting at windmills. The long-suffering Sancho Panza. Sighs of love for Dulcinea. The familiar and fanciful themes of the Don Quixote legend are brought to life by Apollo’s Fire in Telemann’s imaginative portrayal. The Don Quixote Suite sits alongside other suites and concertos by the composer that reveal his cosmopolitan air and whimsical nature.



REVIEW:

Avie deserves credit for spotting this 2002 Koch International label disc and putting it back into circulation once again, as it remains a sterling release. The Cleveland-based Baroque orchestra Apollo's Fire and conductor Jeannette Sorrell pick a program that shows exactly why Telemann was so popular in his own day. They apply just the right level of broad gesture to the two representational suites, which reflect their subjects but are in no way overdone. A wonderful release that holds up to repeated hearings.

– All Music Guide

Carl Reinecke, a German composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue was one of the most influentual, many-sided and respected individuals in the musical life of the 19th century. This release contains a set of Reinecke's compositions for clarinet, horn and piano. The works featured here come from different periods of Reinecke's career and enable us to follow the development in his compositional style.

Grammy Award-winning chamber choir The Crossing brings to life the striking works of six contemporary composers in this Navona Records release, with performances that are unique and awe-inspiring. The Crossing is a professional chamber choir conducted by Donald Nally and dedicated to new music. It is committed to working with creative teams to make and record new, substantial works for choir that explore and expand ways of writing for choir, singing in choir, and listening to music for choir. Many of its over seventy commissioned premieres address social, environmental, and political issues.

Transcriptions for string quartet by the composer or someone else was common practice in Mozart’s time. In that light this string-version of Mozart's Requiem is nothing special. What makes it special, is the circumstance of the original Requiem itself. It is known that Mozart left the majority of the work incomplete, and that on request of Mozart's widow, his pupil Süssmayer did the finishing job. Where one's work ends and the other starts, no-one knows. This 'skeleton-version' of the Requiem, however, fully preserves the eloquence of Mozart's music and therefore perhaps proves that the Requiem contains more of the masters own composing than we can objectively establish. But incomplete as the Requiem is, Mozart's universal genius radiates through the notes in any version. And if anyone can bring the radiation to the surface in this version, no one better than the Kuijken Kwartet.

An absolute highlight of Salzburg's Mozart Week with ''highest art of sound and riding'': the French equine artist and theatrical genius Bartabas presents Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requime. Horses and riders from the formidable Academie Equestre de Versailles join forces with the Musiciens du Louvre, conducted by Marc Minkowski, the Salzburger Bachchor and ''an excellent quartet of soloists'', namely Genia Kuhmeier, Elisabeth Kulman, Julien Behr and Charles Dekeyser, to place the Requiem into a new theatrical context. Restoring the Felsenreitschule's original purpose - a riding school - and at the same time including its impressive architecture of arcades into the musical dramaturgy, the production is a breathtaking synthesis of the arts. By meticulously refining the skillfully regulated interactions between humans, animals, and music. Bartabas and his horsemen have created a production which is much more than a great show riding choreography: it's a moving exploration of the interconnectedness of existence. A piece of art with an ''exceptional power of attraction'', ''a requime for all senses''.

4 SYMPHONIES • Thomas Dausgaard, cond; Danish Natl SO • C MAJOR 710508 (DVD: 168:00) Live: Copenhagen 2009

BRAHMS Symphony No. 1. DVO?ÁK Symphony No. 9. SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5. NIELSEN Symphony No. 3

If, as I did, you were to begin your examination of this release with disc 1, track 1 (the Brahms symphony), you might well conclude that there was little need to continue. There is something rather too cool and casual about Dausgaard’s interpretation of this powerful music. It lacks inner tension. There is not enough contrast between ideas. Accents are in the wrong places. Short notes are cheated of their value. And that’s not all. The second movement just plods on, the third is charmless, the fourth frantic and lurches from one tempo change to the next. Listening to the complete symphony several times could not induce me to alter my initial unfavorable observations. Adding visual insult to aural injury, sight and sound are not synchronized, and the difference between the two is disturbing, to put it mildly.

But then came the Nielsen symphony. What a difference! Right from the opening moments it had all the vigor and élan and determination lacking in the Brahms. Rhythms were tight and crisp. The music bristled with enthusiasm and commitment. The finale positively beamed with Elgarian nobility and breadth, rising to an absolutely thrilling climax. What a joy! Nielsen’s Third had hitherto never been one of my favorite symphonies, but Dausgaard nearly made it so in this performance.

Does Dausgaard work his magic on the two remaining works as well? The answer, I’m glad to say, is yes. Furthermore, the synchronization problem that affected the Brahms symphony is only minimal in the Nielsen and nonexistent in Dvo?ák and Sibelius. The “New World” Symphony receives one of the finest performances I have heard. Dausgaard’s approach is no romantic wallow but rather a clean, purposeful traversal filled with taut rhythms, precise attacks and releases, glowing sound, and architectural strength. Dausgaard likewise makes a strong case for the Sibelius Fifth, never allowing momentum to sag, carefully propelling the music forward with masterly control. I am particularly impressed with the ease in which he handles the tempo change for the second part of the first movement. By the time the grand climax of the finale arrives, one feels a great journey has been completed.

All four performances were recorded live in Copenhagen’s Koncerthuset in 2009. The personnel changes from symphony to symphony, but both principal horns, both principal trumpets, and both timpanists are star players. Generally the woodwinds are excellent, but violins seem a bit thin for an orchestra that is otherwise so assured and well balanced. However, the basses make up for this deficiency with their huge, rich sound, heard at its best at the quiet endings of three of the Brahms movements and in some of the more powerful moments of the Dvo?ák symphony. Aside from the basses, the orchestra plays with a bright sound, textures are clear and clean, balances are well controlled.

The camerawork is devoted about 20 percent of the time to Dausgaard and his facial contortions, 10 percent to views of the full orchestra from afar, and 70 percent to the business of jerking the viewer’s eyes from one instrumental close-up to another—two seconds of a horn player’s embouchure, a second of flute keys, two notes from the timpani, etc. Who determined that this is what we want to see? I find it annoying to the point where I simply can’t bear to watch.

On ArkivMusic the price for these four symphonies is $27 ($40 for the Blu-ray version)—just under $7 a symphony, a good buy even without the inferior Brahms symphony, especially for performances as fine as the other three.

FANFARE: Robert Markow

Italian composer Riccardo Malipiero (1914–2003) was the nephew of Gian Francesco Malipiero. He was a pioneer of twelve-tone technique in Italy. His 6 published piano works encapsulate half-a-century of development, from the post-Respighian 14 variazioni (1938), to the classicism of Diario second (1985). This is the first-ever recording of this music.

REVIEW:

The present six works, tracing this Milanese composer’s piano music from 1938 to 1989, are made up of short, separately-tracked musical episodes—the perfect answer to a challenged attention span. There are 49 tracks so Toccata’s attention to detail is nothing short of lavish. In addition the pianist’s essay on the composer and his solo piano music encompasses nine closely packed but perfectly eye-friendly pages. The booklet is in English only. The works recorded here make up Malipiero’s published corpus for piano solo. They here receive their recording premieres.

The 14 Variazioni di un tema musicale are already fully formed in dodecaphonic terms and angular style. Costellazioni finds this composer at close to the peak of the avant-garde’s popularity. We hear awkward figures rumble, ripple and skitter, deep bass chords resound. The hypnotic writing evokes thoughts of distant galaxies. The work ends in a stutter that gutters and then finally peters out. He is the master of Stravinskian scurrying figuration; cool, cold with flourishing rhythmic thunder and grunt.

This is tough music presented with factual and technical diligence as well as artistic qualities. Credit to the pianist for carrying through this distinctive project from concept to execution. There’s no want of valour in choosing this music to champion.

-- MusicWeb International

Sonya Yoncheva dedicates her new album to the music of Verdi and records some of the most important repertoire for the dramatic soprano. With Massimo Zanetti she has paired up with a conductor very versed in the music of Verdi. The album includes arias from beloved masterpieces such as Il trovatore, La forza del destino, Don Carlo and Otello but also earlier gems such as Stiffelio. Following a series of spectacular debuts at the world’s leading opera houses, soprano Sonya Yoncheva has been heralded as one of the most acclaimed and exciting performers of her generation. She has become a fixture on the most important stages of the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Bayerische Staatsoper, Berlin State Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, and the Opéra de Paris. Her unforgettable portrayals of iconic roles have received tremendous acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Of her performances in La traviata at the Staatsoper Berlin, Die Welt proclaimed: "She is the finest Violetta since Maria Callas. The Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva is possibly the best Traviata in the world at present.” Sonya Yoncheva’s extensive repertoire includes jewels of the Baroque canon, as well as works by Mozart, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, and Puccini. Celebrated for her distinctly beautiful voice and exceptional dramatic presence, Sonya is equally at home on the concert and recital stage, having performed to critical acclaim in several cities including Paris, Dresden, Baden-Baden, and Prague.

-----

REVIEW:

She certainly has a go at just about everything, ranging from the delicacy of Desdemona’s ‘Ave Maria’, to the wilder grief of the Forza Leonora’s ‘Pace! Pace, mio Dio!’ Perhaps best are the musings of Amelia Boccanegra, which sit perfectly within the size and range of her voice. Massimo Zanetti’s conducting is spacious and supportive, and he makes much of the introductions to the Boccanegra and Don Carlo arias.

– Opera Now

VERDI Luisa Miller • Donato Renzetti, cond; Fiorenza Cedolins (Luisa); Marcelo Alvarez (Rodolfo); Leo Nucci (Miller); Giorgio Surian (Count Walter); Rafal Siwek (Wurm); Francesca Franci (Federica); Katerina Nikolic (Laura); Teatro Regio Parma O & Ch • C MAJOR 722904 (Blu-ray: 147: 00 + 10:00 bonus) Live: Parma 2007

& Introduction to Luisa Miller

Some commentators say Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Luisa Miller represents a transition in his work from the use of traditional musical forms seen early in his career to the more innovative style of his great middle period works beginning with Rigoletto and continuing with Il Trovatore and La traviata. That very well may be true, but another trend I can attest to is that with this opera Verdi’s music is getting noticeably better. Perhaps it is not consistently better throughout the opera, but certainly notable in the ensemble pieces, the finales of acts I and II and the extended duet which ends the last act. The arias for both tenor and soprano are also well conceived, if not as catchy as “Caro nome” or “La donna è mobile.” Verdi’s Luisa overture is one of the best from his pen until La traviata comes along. All of this fine music unfortunately is a bit wasted on another of Frederich Schiller’s rather dreary romantic tragedies, but the opera has proved popular enough to remain in the repertoire of houses both big and small, particularly on the continent of Europe,

The story is of the love between peasant Luisa and Rodolfo, son of the local count (although Luisa doesn’t know that at first). Their match is opposed by both fathers, who know it means trouble, and by the Count’s principal retainer, Wurm, who wants the girl for himself. Miller père challenges the Count after he insults Luisa, and Miller is thrown in jail. Wurm tells Luisa that in order to free her father she must write a letter denying her love of Rodolfo and saying she is in love with Wurm himself. She does so under duress and the father is freed, but Rodolfo takes the letter seriously amiss. He shows up at the Miller house to confront Luisa, who is honor bound not to explain her actions. Rodolfo, in despair, gives them both poison, so they can expire slowly together while singing a love duet. Rodolfo still has enough strength left to get the Wurm before he dies himself. Oh, and there’s a stray Countess around somewhere that Rodolfo is supposed to marry who gets to sing in a set piece or two.

The Parma production seen here from 2007 is a pretty good one. It is one of the sets in the Tutto Verdi project, and one of the better I have seen in that series. Tutto Verdi aims to record all of Verdi’s operas and his Requiem on high definition Blu-ray disc for release this year to honor the composer’s 200th birthday. Stage Director Denis Krief has done a clever job of providing stylized yet evocative sets of time and place which can be changed quite quickly and easily, sometimes in full view of the audience. The Millers’ humble village domicile, with wooden walls contrasts with a backdrop of geometric shapes meant to represent the Count’s much grander quarters. Video projections of swaying trees mark one or two of the outdoor scenes. Krief also uses the costumes to emphasize the difference between peasants and aristocrats so crucial to the story line. All the denizens of the Count’s estates seem to be wearing plush finery while the peasants are dressed as . . . well, peasants. Stage action is blocked quite naturally and the video direction provides a good account of it. Although a bit stylized, the whole production has a traditional feel which I enjoy.

Unlike some other Verdi operas, this one requires six solid principal singers to be performed really successfully. Here we get five, which is above average for the Tutto Verdi series, at least in the early operas. Only the bass of Giorgio Surian as the Count really disappoints. His heavy vibrato has developed a beat which he doesn’t control, and it disfigures any attempts at lyrical singing, even noticeable in the ensembles. It is refreshing to hear a really first class tenor like Marcelo Alvarez singing here. I have always liked Argentinean Alverez’s voice, he adds a touch of vocal class to any role, and here his dramatic involvement nearly matches his fine singing. Almost the same can be said of Fiorenza Cedolins in the lead soprano role of Luisa. Her voice is just a bit heavy for the lyric agility Verdi asks for in Luisa, but Cedolins still outsings a bevy of other sopranos cast in these early Tutto Verdi productions and her high range is very enjoyable. She can also act, and if she and Alvarez are a bit more than callow youths, they still provide a properly satisfying couple in their duets together. Then we come to 65-year-old Leo Nucci, who has been a staple in several of these C Major sets. Nucci performs quite well here as Miller, and for once he is not asked to sing more than his aging stamina allows. Mezzo Francesca Franci sings the Countess and bass-baritone Rafal Siwek the role of Wurm to round out the principal singers. Both perform well, although Siwek’s vocal tone sounds too similar to the other lower voices in some of the duets and ensembles. Donato Renzetti leads the Parma orchestra members in one of their better outings, and we video viewers actually get to watch them playing during the Overture for a change.

There are several sets of Luisa Miller available on DVD; I have only seen the one from Venice, recorded in 2006. That set features another strong soprano performance by Darina Takova; she rivals Cedolins on this set but only the Count of Alexander Vinogradov tops the group of male leads seen and heard here. The Venice production is also quite traditional, but I like the Parma sets and costumes better. In an earlier review Fanfare colleague Bob Rose recommends the 1979 Met production with Scotto, Domingo, Milnes, and Morris, which I have not seen, but despite the strong cast, that video technology is nearly 35 years old, and this C Major set is in breathtaking Blu-ray video and high definition sound. It is better than satisfactory, it is quite good, and I recommend it.

FANFARE: Bill White    

In their liner notes for this string of estrellitas (‘small stars’), Elena Urioste and Tom Poster admit to a shared love for ‘an old-world, golden sound and for melodies that tug at the heartstrings’. This has resulted in a deeply personal collection of miniatures full of winks, sighs and tears aimed at transporting the listener to bygone eras of fireside salon concerts. With a few exceptions, including Elgar’s Chanson de Nuit and Salut d’amour, the pieces are arrangements by the great violinists of that bygone, golden age: Auer, Kreisler, Zimbalist, Heifetz … while the originals they are based upon range from Gluck’s Melodie from Orpheus and Euridice and Liszt’s Consolation No. 3 to Beau soir by Debussy and Estrellita by Manuel Ponce. In a closing section Elena Urioste and Tom Poster also pay their respects to the Great American Songbook, with new arrangements, signed Tom Poster, of ‘Moon River,’ ‘When I Fall in Love’ and ‘Over the Rainbow.’

This 2nd release continues Toccata Classics’ pioneering releases of music by Baltic, and Estonian, composers. Eller (1887–1970) was one of the founding fathers of Estonian music – the best-known of his students is Arvo Pärt. His huge output of piano music encompasses some 200 works, almost none of which have been recorded before.

The music in this album spans a forty-year period from 1948 to 1988 and reflects Dutilleux’s stylistic development as a composer. He considered the Sonata to be the first main work in his catalogue and it represents a turning away from tradition and embraces the transformative musical explorations of the day. The Three Préludes are pieces of concentrated atmospheres, ‘a kind of study of timbres’, in the composer’s words, and each are dedicated to a renowned pianist: No. 1 to Arthur Rubinstein, No. 2 to Claude Helffer, and No. 3 to Eugene Istomin. Dutilleux’s lively music for the ballet Le Loup (‘The Wolf’) is heard here in a première recording of the original piano solo version.

REVIEW:

The pianist here is the veteran Jean-Pierre Armengaud, who has recorded a great deal of French piano music and also works as a musicologist. He studied under Geneviève Joy and was also given advice by Dutilleux and, not surprisingly, his performance is much like hers. If it sounds rather more full-blooded that may well be because the excellent new recording is rather better than that provided for Joy in her own recording of 1988 on Erato. Dutilleux also approved of his performances of the Prèludes. His performance of the piano version of Le Loup is sparkling and convincing and sounds like idiomatic piano music. The sleeve notes, in English and French are really helpful and this is a valuable issue.

-- MusicWeb International