Choral Concert: William Ferris Chorale – HOVHANESS, A. / COH

Feed The Wolf is the 2nd album by Miss Velvet and The Blue Wolf. Their debut recording, Bad Get Some, received international critical acclaim. Miss Velvet & The Blue Wolf is a dynamic 8-piece New York-based band that brings a vital and original dimension to the contemporary Indie Rock/Funk scene. Fronted by the genre defying powerhouse lead vocalist Miss Velvet and featuring a rhythm and brass section comprised of some of America's leading studio musicians, the band has been garnering rave reviews for their highly accomplished musicianship and on-stage flair. The band has performed over 100 concerts opening for George Clinton Parliament Funkadelic. The iconic worldwide tour has seen them play before audiences across the States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Miss Velvet and the Blue Wolf have headlined at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, Tallinn Music Week, Jogevatreff Festival, Augustibluus Festival and concerts in Riga, Helsinki and Tallinn. The Band is also a favorite and regular throughout the New York concert circuit.

Hungarian composer Paul Abrahám enjoyed huge success across Europe with his ‘jazz operettas’, not least in Weimar Berlin where his works scored for an orchestra augmented by a jazz band caused a sensation. Ballim Savoy (‘Ball at the Savoy’) has a plot reminiscent of Die Fledermaus and its variety of influences, some European and some reflective of contemporary American popular song, won the kind of acclaim only equaled by Franz Lehár. The premiere, which took place in December 1932, was for some the last major cultural event of Weimar Germany.

Written in 1944, Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony is one of his greatest and most complete symphonic statements. At its première he himself called it “a symphony of the grandeur of the human spirit”. The first movement couples considerable strength with unexpected yet highly characteristic twists of melody. After a violent scherzo followed by a slow movement of sustained lyricism, with a fiercely dramatic middle section, the finale blazes with barely suppressed passion. The Year 1941 is another wartime work, a symphonic suite written in response to the German invasion of the Soviet Union. This is the first volume a of complete cycle of the Prokofiev Symphonies with the OSESP and Marin Alsop, the orchestra’s newly appointed principal conductor.

REVIEW:

Alsop is evidently a sympathetic interpreter of Prokofiev, because the tempo and pacing always feel spot-on, and the character of the music rings true. Naxos offers exceptional reproduction of the vivid instrumental colors with appropriately resonant acoustics, so this series starts off brilliantly, with worthy performances that sound terrific.

– AllMusicGuide.com

MOZART Piano Sonatas: in c, K 457; in C, K 545; in B?, K 333. Rondos: in F, K 494; in D, K 485; in a, K 511 • Marcia Hadjimarkos (fp) • AVIE 2138 (76:29)


The best compass, it seems to me, for successful traversal of Mozart’s piano music is constant reference to and evocation of his operatic style. If some gesture cannot conceivably be accomplished by the voice, accompanied by a late 18th-century pit orchestra, chances are it is an anachronism and has no place within Mozart’s keyboard textures. Listening to Avie’s remarkable new release of three sonatas and three rondos by Mozart, played superbly by Marcia Hadjimarkos, the imagination repeatedly roams to the operatic stage where, of the generations after Monteverdi and prior to Verdi and Wagner, the Austrian master reigns supreme.


A native of Oregon, Hadjimarkos earned degrees at the University of Iowa before pursuing her studies at the Paris Conservatoire with Jos van Immerseel; she has specialized in performing on the fortepiano and clavichord since the 1980s. One of the more appealing aspects of Hadjimarkos’s interpretations is her exploitation of the richly varied registers of her instrument (in this case a replica of a 1793 Sebastian Lengerer fortepiano by Christopher Clarke). Mozart himself was keen to mine this expressive potential on the pianos of his day; this tendency constitutes a veritable hallmark of his style that unfortunately is all but lost on modern pianos. Hadjimarkos never neglects expressive nuance in melodic inflections and her varied strategies of attack and release result in a realm of beautifully realized legato and detached effects. The lavishly applied variants—to the repeat of the exposition of the C-Major Sonata and indeed to each thematic repetition in the D-Major Rondo, to cite but two examples—seem both appropriate and inevitable. Nor does Hadjimarkos shy from engaging the una corda mechanism of her fortepiano: witness its highly effective use for long stretches in the F-Major Rondo and in the Andante of the C-Major Sonata.


As a player, Hadjimarkos remains rooted “in the moment,” lending her performances a refreshing emotional immediacy. Inevitably, one comes across the curious interpretive choice. At the beginning of the development in the first movement of the C-Minor Sonata, for instance, Hadjimarkos lifts the dampers in the ascending triad, the central thematic material of the entire movement, which she plays (appropriately) secco elsewhere in the exposition and recapitulation.


The recording was made in Chenôves, France, in August 2004. The parish church there has a sweet, flattering acoustic for the Clarke fortepiano. The engineers have done a marvelous job and the sound is dimensional and clear. Brian Robins wrote the engaging booklet notes, to which Christopher Clarke contributed information on his fortepiano.


This is living, breathing Mozart interpretation of a very high order, simultaneously innocent of “received wisdom” or “tradition” (which, as Artur Schnabel was fond of saying, is nothing but a collection of bad habits) and constantly informed by obvious immersion in the music of earlier masters, including C. P. E. Bach and Haydn. Those who still prefer their Mozart on the modern concert grand will no doubt continue to enjoy the performances of Schnabel (Music & Arts Programs of America 1193) and what perhaps remains the all-around best complete recording of the sonatas, that of Lili Kraus (Sony 88808). But those with an ear for the manifold beauties of the instrument that Mozart knew and loved—the late 18th-century Viennese action piano—are not likely to find more imaginatively realized, full-blooded, or loving readings than these presented by Marcia Hadjimarkos. Very highly recommended.


FANFARE: Patrick Rucker

The international success of Faust after it's premiere in 1859 completely overshadowed all of Gounod's subsequent operas. He had known Goethe's masterpiece for two decades and brought to the text his gifts for memorable melody and rich orchestration. Added to this, the plot of Faust's ageing and the heroine Marguerite's redemption, offered the opportunity for the most spectacular stage effects. Heard here in it's 1864 London version with an additional air and without spoken dialogue or ballet, Faust represents 19th-century French opera at it's peak.

Described by critics as beyond category, to use Duke Ellingtons signature compliment (All About Jazz), Japanese marimba extraordinaire Mika Stoltzman brings her wealth of experience to her latest Mikarimba album, Big Round Records Taperebá. Vibrant and bursting with flavor (just like the Brazilian fruit which the album derives its title from), the jazzy Taperebá features performances by Stoltzman and a circle of legendary fellow artists. With over 25 Grammy Awards shared between the members on this record, a memorable listening experience is practically guaranteed. Taperebá brings notable names from around the globe and a spectrum of musical experiences into one collection. Featuring the likes of Stoltzman, her husband and Grammy Award-winning clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, and a lineup including the legendary bassist Eddie Gomez, iconic percussionist Steve Gadd and his son Duke, and Brazilian mandolin great Hamilton de Holanda, the album leads audiences through a lighthearted yet technically spellbinding listening experience with just the right amount of flare. Each piece on the album was either written or arranged for Stoltzman, such as the Paul Simon classic 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, arranged by Steve Gadd (who, not to mention, played drums on the original Simon version). From this, to Return to Bahia written specifically for Stoltzman by Bill Douglas, an arrangement of Chick Coreas Spain, and more, Taperebá altogether moves listeners through a kaleidoscope of 20th and 21st-century jazz, popular music, and more. Taperebá is many things: a collection of works by legends past and present, a celebration of rich and diverse styles, and a group of friends making beautiful music together. However one connects with the music most, Taperebá is an experience not to be missed.

Bach a poet? In our age of performer's intensive efforts at keeping faithful to the original and the "correct" performing style, this statement sounds surreal today, seeming to reek of nostalgia. From this perspective, Bachiana, featuring the Duo d'Accord, must appear anachronistic, since it's music takes us back to an epoch - the era of the Romantics - in which Bach was played in a free, even occasionally downright carefree, style. "The artistry of Duo d'Accord lies in that their performance appears to develop completely freely and flows with all due desirable precision." - (FonoForum)

One of the outstanding composers of his day, Johann Adolph Hasse was seen as possessing "the same qualities of true genius, taste and judgment" as his librettist Pietro Metastasio. Didone abbandonata represents the once hugely popular 18th century genre of opera seria, exploring the same tragic story as Purcell's earlier Dido and Aeneas while expanding the heroine's conflicts between regal duties, love, and helplessness in the face of desertion.

Named after a scribe at Madrid's Royal Chapel, the Guerra Manuscript is a vital source of the tono humano, a form of secular song characteristic of and exclusive to the Spanish Baroque, from a period when solo accompanied songs were at their most popular. Accompanied by double harp or harpsichord, these texts deal with subjects such as the pain of unrequited love and the balance between suffering and joy, also drawing on mythology and the natural world to symbolize the many facets of the human condition. This is the penultimate volume in a complete edition of these 17th-century gems.

Composed to mark the centenary of the genocide of 1915, the Armenian Requiem is a large-scale sacred work structured around the liturgical chants encountered in requiem services appended to the traditional Armenian Mass. It is written in a form that, uniquely for the music of the country, is not based wholly on the model of the Latin Mass. Instead, taking the precedent of Britten’s War Requiem, Ian Krouse embeds poems as interludes, and his work- a poignant meditation on loss couched in a marriage of Western and Armenian forms- offers both conciliation and hope. American composer Ian Krouse has been lauded in the music press and is widely known for his pioneering efforts in the development of the guitar quartet. Over the past few years Krouse’s vocal works have begun to receive more attention. In addition to hundreds of performances annually by guitarists and guitar quartets all around the world, Krouse’s works have been performed or recorded by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Ukraine Radio and Television Orchestra, the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, and the UCLA Philharmonic Orchestra.

WAGNER: Orchestra Opera Excerpts / Siegfried Idyll (1950 / 1

At the dawn of the Renaissance the southern Dutch city of ’s-Hertogenbosch, with its abundance of churches and monasteries, was also referred to as “Little Rome”. Central to this religious scene was the Brotherhood of Our Illustrious Lady (Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broederschap), founded in 1318. This devotional organization, which counted among its members the famous painter Hieronymus Bosch, invested considerably in recruiting and employing the best singers and organists for its chapel, which performed a wide variety of polyphonic music. No fewer than nine choir books with this repertoire are still preserved by the confraternity. After centuries of silence, this magnificent collection is finally sounding once again. With the five-year project The Den Bosch Choirbooks (2020-24), Cappella Pratensis, itself based in ’s-Hertogenbosch, is giving these manuscripts the attention they deserve. The project includes numerous concerts, workshops, publications, lectures and a series of five albums. This recording thus invites listeners to imagine themselves among the confraternity members gathered in their chapel in the church of St John the Evangelist in ’s-Hertogenbosch on a sunny spring day. It is May 6, the great feast of St John Before the Latin Gate that commemorates the attempted martyrdom of the Evangelist in 92 AD.

Like a lot of elite, Los Angeles-based studio musicians, reedman Bob Sheppard is one of those players whose sound is more familiar than his name. Even though he’s played on dozens of albums during the past 40 years, ranging from guest spots with the likes of Rod Stewart, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen to sideman gigs with Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard and Peter Erskine, The Fine Line is only his fourth album as a leader. Talk about a late bloomer. Sheppard offers the music here as someone with little to prove, and that casual confidence brings a low-key bravura to the playing. - DownBeat Editors' Pick

 

Click here to read the full review at DownBeat Magazine

 

Classical Music

Anita Rachvelishvili’s second album Élégie showcases her in the song repertoire to which she has a special connection despite being best known as a star of the world's greatest opera houses. Riccardo Muti has called the Georgian singer “without doubt the best Verdi mezzo-soprano today on the planet”, but here she reveals another side to her art. The repertoire is notable for its variety featuring five languages (Russian, Georgian, Italian, French and Spanish) and, correspondingly, five very different repertoire traditions. "I really love this repertoire. It gives one more colours and more possibilities for expressing emotions with the voice", says Anita Rachvelishvili. Echoing her debut album of operatic arias on Sony, she introduces listeners to a great if internationally neglected Georgian composer, in this case Otar Taktakisvili, heard in The Sun of October, a setting of the distinguished Georgian poet Galaktion Tabidze. As well as Rachmaninov's setting of the Pushkin poem Oh never sing to me again and Tchaikovsky's None but the lonely heart.

SCHUBERT Fantasies: in C, “ Grazer”; in C, “Wanderer.” 3 Klavierstücke, D 946. Variations on a Theme by Hüttenbrenner • Michael Endres (pn) • OEHMS 731 (73:31)


Michael Endres, one of today’s leading German pianists, received his early training in Munich and then at Juilliard with Jacob Lateiner. He has won prizes in numerous competitions, including the International Schubert Competition in Dortmund, and his recordings include impressive accounts of the complete piano works of Ravel as well as a fine three-CD survey of Schumann’s works. I have not yet heard his complete sonatas of Mozart and Schubert (the latter on a six-CD set for Capriccio), but this disc makes me eager to do so. Here, his unforced playing and engaging musicality make him a perfect Schubertian. The “Grazer” Fantasy, probably written in 1818, is a lovely work that was not discovered until 1962. It opens and closes with an original and lyrical idea, some components of which get used in the substantial central polonaise. The textures are varied and the writing includes some virtuosic passages. Endres is a most persuasive advocate of this work, responding to its mood swings and holding the episodes together in a seamless manner. The rarely heard Hüttenbrenner Variations , also from around 1818, is of less interest, for the writing tends to be formulaic and lacking in character. Endres plays it intimately and sympathetically.


The Klavierstücke are among Schubert’s last works, and they are technically challenging and often musically arresting. In the first, Endres plays with real urgency without forcing his sound, and the contrasting material is ethereal, as if composed without bar lines. Beautiful balances and noble sentiment characterize the second, which is musically and pianistically the most original of the set, with its highly dramatic episode. And I like the way he eases into No. 3 and lingers a bit during the lovely Trio section; the final page couldn’t be more exciting. Endres’ subtle interpretation is on a par with the excellent ones by Uchida and, more recently, Perianes.


There are many very fine recordings of the great “Wanderer” Fantasy—by Curzon, Richter, Pollini, Brendel, Perahia, and Kissin, among others—and Endres’ belongs to that elite group. He has the technique to vary his sound, even during the most intense and loud passages; and in the more lyrical moments he plays with a flexibility that seems just right, never exaggerated. His left-hand octaves are equal to anyone’s in the notorious passage near the end of the first section. The slow variations flow with unusual continuity and control of texture. The tight rhythms of the Scherzo are contrasted with perfect ease in the Trio. The finale benefits from a less clangorous approach than usual, making the brilliant closing pages all the more welcome. Here, as in the demanding conclusion of the Scherzo, he takes no prisoners, and the playing is immensely exciting. I look forward to hearing this fine pianist’s survey of Schubert’s sonatas and to his hoped-for recording of the eight impromptus.


FANFARE: Charles Timbrell


The sensitive, refined, and somewhat understated qualities of Michael Endres' 1990s Schubert sonata cycle released on Capriccio similarly inform these 2008 recordings. He plays down the dynamic surges, hurling accents, and dramatic contrasts others have brought to the D. 946 triumvirate, focusing instead on tonal beauty, sophisticated pedaling, and melodic strands that often remain buried within accompaniments.

Those who seek virtuosic power from the Wanderer Fantasy's daunting keyboard challenges might complain that Endres scales down the work's monumental dimensions, and indeed, he sounds relatively small-scaled next to Richter, or even Perahia. Yet Endres' technical aplomb allows him to keep an even keel throughout the finale's unwieldy textures and to play the first section's rapid octaves absolutely in tempo, as written.

In addition to his poetically phrased and thoughtfully unified Hüttenbrenner Variations, Endres shines best in the Grazer Fantasie. The central Alla Polacca's salon-like patterns charm and scintillate, as do the finale's shimmering scales. It contrasts to bigger-boned, more overtly urgent interpretations (Peter Rösel, for example, or Lili Kraus' superb world-premiere recording once available on a Columbia/Odyssey LP). If you fancy intimate Schubert playing, give this disc a try.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

At first glance Tchaikovsky does not seem easily to fit the "Chill" bill. He is known for pieces such as the 1812 Overture, music which is impassioned and animated in distinctly Russian style, often fiery, even ballistic, and infused with darker moments inspired by the composer's personal turmoil. However he also wrote some of the most beautiful, fragile and ethereal ballet music that has ever been choreographed, as well as lyrical slow symphonic movements and haunting songs. His unique talent lay in his inspired and inventive use of melody, seen at it's best in works such as the Nutcracker with it's myriad infectious tunes. Many of Tchaikovsky's melodies are based on folksongs he collected, predominantly Russian and Ukrainian but also Polish, Italian, Spanish and French (this last seen in the Piano Concerto No. 1, in this collection).

Robin Tritschler explores the origins of the Song Cycle. The creation of the Song Cycle as a new art form in the early 19th Century was paved with musical experiments and innovations. This album charts the progress made by the great Lied composers of the day toward the cyclical perfection finally achieved by Beethoven and Schubert, and since emulated by Schumann, Loewe, Wolf, Fauré, Britten, Shostakovich and so many others. Irish tenor Robin Tritschler graduated from the Royal Academy of Music and was a BBC New Generation Artist. He performed with the Welsh National Opera (Almaviva, Nemorino, Narraboth, Ferrando, Don Ottavio and Belmonte), Nantes Opera, Stadttheater Klagenfurt, La Monnaie Brussels and Teatro Colon Buenos Aires; in concert with the BBC Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and Scottish Chamber orchestras, London Philharmonic Orchestra (Jurowski, Nézet-Séguin and Stutzmann), Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (Karabits), Hong Kong Philharmonic (de Waart) and at the BBC Proms (Sir Mark Elder). He performs regularly in recital at the Wigmore Hall, also appearing in Cologne, Amsterdam, Washington and for the Aldeburgh and Aix-en-Provence festivals. His recording of World War One songs on Signum with Malcolm Martineau is critically acclaimed.

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REVIEW:

Tritschler sings his programme as eloquently as he writes about it. Pride of place inevitably goes to the Beethoven, where he combines something of Fritz Wunderlich’s warmth with Christian Gerhaher’s altogether darker introspection, and is beautifully alert to the cycle’s constant shifts of emotion and mood. He and Martineau, meanwhile, very much form an equal partnership, and you get a real sense of almost instinctive give and take between them.

–Gramophone

This is a great live recital performed by Antonio Pompa-Baldi. Pompa Baldi has more piano recordings for Centaur than any other pianist. This is an exceptional recital.