Dividing his time between the United States and the United Kingdom, the composer Geoffrey Gordon writes music that has been described as ‘darkly seductive’ (New York Times), ‘richly satisfying’ (BBC Music Magazine) and ‘iridescent and fierce’ (The Chicago Tribune). The present album brings together three of his recent works, all composed between 2013 and 2018 for the soloist recording them here, the Danish cellist Toke Møldrup. In several of his works, Gordon takes his inspiration from other art forms – sculptures by Giacometti, a self portrait by Warhol, a children’s picture book by Maurice Sendak. The works gathered here are inspired by or reactions to three literary masterworks. The ‘creative blueprint’ for the opening work, the Cello Concerto, is the novel Doktor Faustus by Thomas Mann. Organized into a Prologue and Seven Episodes, the work traces the progress of Mann’s protagonist Adrian Leverkühn from innocence to madness, with the cello both embodying and (occasionally) commenting on the proceedings. For this recording, Møldrup receives the support of the Copenhagen Phil and conductor Lan Shui. In the score of Fathoms, Gordon’s sonata for cello and piano, each of the five movements is headed with a quotation from Shakespeare’s The Tempest which sets the scene for the musical impression that follows. Here Møldrup is joined by the American pianist Steven Beck. The amply-filled album closes with Ode to a Nightingale, with the words of John Keat’s immortal poem heard from the Mogens Dahl Chamber Choir, and given emphasis by Toke Møldrup’s obbligato cello.

"She leads the score with grand sweep and understanding, and her Colorado forces bring out its colors vividly; moreover, she inspires her cast to sing as if they're having a great time with this no-longer-new but still odd opera."


Nonesuch's 1987 recording of this opera, produced when the work was new, was revelatory. Though clearly a piece of mimimalism, it did not rely only on endless repetition; indeed, Adams' musical language was varied enough to make Nixon in China a fascinating opera despite very little action and a somewhat unrevealing text by Alice Goodman. The Nixons and the events of the 1972 visit came across as oddly shallow. It's clear now that that was the point: Nixon's first-act rant, "News has a kind of mystery", is much the key to the opera.

It also seems wittier and more purposefully ironic now, with Kissinger's villainy almost overshadowed by his ladykilling; Pat Nixon's innocence almost charming (we've seen worse since); Madame Mao's berserk aria even more pointedly wacky and funny; and the contrast between Chou En-lai's philosophizing and Richard Nixon's simplemindedness clearer than ever. During the toasts in the third scene of the first act, Chou's toast, an eloquent paean to the future ("Our children race downhill unflustered into peace..."), is accompanied by even arpeggios; when Nixon's clichés take over ("a vote of thanks to one and all who made this possible"), we're jarred into paying attention to his mundanity by disconnected, disparate tones. It's masterly.

Each scene in the first act still strikes me as a few minutes too long, but Act 2, particularly with the spectacular and varied music for the surreal opera performance, is riveting. The frustrating last act is oblique in its dramatic thrust (it features personal reflections from all of the characters except, tellingly, Kissinger), but it is food for thought even if it is a dramatic anti-climax. It's a strange, quiet way to end an opera--but take it for what it is.

This new recording, taken from a live performance at Denver's Ellie Caulkins Opera House in June, 2008, is brilliant. It is sonically way ahead of the Nonesuch (which was recorded at a very low level), thus making it possible to understand almost every word, and Marin Alsop's tempos are slightly slower than Edo de Waart's, which also helps comprehension. She leads the score with grand sweep and understanding, and her Colorado forces bring out its colors vividly; moreover, she inspires her cast to sing as if they're having a great time with this no-longer-new but still odd opera.

Robert Orth's Nixon has just the right amount of self-parody that "playing" Nixon requires--the distance between 1987 and now is very long and we can sense ironies from our vantage point that we were blind to then. Maria Kanyova's Pat also seems more sympathetic while remaining as publicly simple as she always was, and Kanyova's voice and diction are splendid. Marc Heller handles Mao's high tessitura, sometimes bordering on madness, with great character and flavor. Chen-Ye Yuan's Chou is beautifully sung and he captures both the character's joylessness and intelligence. Thomas Hammons (also on the Nonesuch recording) uses his dark, growling bass to show us everything we need to know about the cynical Kissinger, and Tracy Dahl, as Madame Mao, is pretty frightening, even while delivering her Queen of the Night-like aria.

There's not much to decide between this set and the Nonesuch, which is still available. As mentioned, this new one is sonically superior (and cheaper), but otherwise it's pretty much a tie. Naxos, like Nonesuch, supplies a libretto; Nonesuch's booklet has superb essays and a better synopsis.

--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com (10/10!)

The Danish piano auteur Carsten Dahl and the dynamic American trumpeter Tim Hagans meet the acclaimed Swedish bassist Johnny Åman and the Finnish master drummer Jukkis Uotilaon on the new album A Beautiful Blue Moment, now available on Storyville Records. This rare quartet had never played together before they gathered at the scene of the historic jazz club Montmartre in Copenhagen and played the music recorded here over three sold-out evenings in August 2021. Quite the beautiful moment indeed!

The quartet mainly played free music with an original searching idea of being composing musicians and playing composers, who constantly found new horizontal and vertical directions in music. The original idea for the quartet arose, when Dahl and Hagans taught together at a jazz college in 2019, and realized that they shared musical understanding, humor, fervor and curiosity, when it comes to exploring the essence of music creation. They have been close friends ever since. Dahl, Uotila and Åman had their very first musical encounter at Montmartre, but it turned out to be a truly magical and flying journey. The combination of the four musicians is simply an explosive, poetic and ground-breaking meeting, where their common breathing in music is free, effortless and at the same time linked to their great habitus in tradition and in the many expressions of jazz music. After three great evenings, where musical sparks flew in abundance, the four musicians went directly in the studio for a 6 hours spontaneous recording session. The result is a once in a lifetime jazz voyage, so fasten your seatbelt and get ready for a ride!

Recognized as one of the most accomplished musicians of his generation, Carsten Dahl pays a mesmerizing tribute to the legendary Keith Jarrett on his new album The Solo Songs of Keith Jarrett, due for release on August 25 on Storyville Records. This remarkable recording showcases Dahl’s extraordinary talent, as he collaborates with a host of acclaimed musicians, including trumpet virtuoso Palle Mikkelborg, versatile saxophonist Fredrik Lundin, expressive bassist Nils Bo Davidsen, melodic drummer Stefan Pasborg and musicians from Ensemble Midtvest to craft a mesmerizing tribute to the iconic Keith Jarrett, one of the most influential jazz instrumentalists of his generation.

This recording is set to be an exceptional addition to any jazz enthusiast’s collection, offering a captivating blend of technical brilliance, emotional depth and artistic innovation. Dahl’s profound musicality and his ability to connect with the audience on a deeper level are showcased throughout this remarkable album. It is a Wahlvervandschaft, a connection between spiritual and musical brothers – documented with love and respect on The Solo Songs of Keith Jarrett!