Since 1999, So Percussion has been creating music that explores all the extremes of emotion and musical possibility. It has not been an easy music to define. Called an “experimental powerhouse” by the Village Voice, “astonishing and entrancing” by Billboard Magazine, and “brilliant” by the New York Times, the Brooklyn based quartet’s innovative work with today’s most exciting composers and their own original music has quickly helped them forge a unique and diverse career.
Threads, written for So Percussion in 2005, is a half-hour long “cantata” for percussion quartet in ten short movements. There are three “threads” that are interwoven in the piece: Arias and Preludes that focus on the metallic pitched sounds of vibraphones, glockenspiel and pipes; Choruses in which drumming predominates; and Recitatives made largely from Cage-like noise instruments, bottles, flower pots, crotales, etc. The aim of the different threads is to highlight the wide range of qualities that percussion instruments are capable of, from lyrical and tender to forceful and aggressive, and weave them into one continuous “thread”.
The first book of The Enchanted Garden was composed in 1992; the five preludes in that cycle were musical responses to dreams that I had and had eventually written about. The second book, written nearly seventeen years later in 2009, includes seven preludes; experiences and memories both recent and historical are the sources here and the origins of the titles. The fine line between dream and memory, between reality and fantasy has always intrigued me. The ancient Greeks believed that the 'real' world was the unseen world. – Richard Danielpour
The diversity of Wayne McGregor’s astonishing talent is demonstrated through Chroma, Infra and Limen, each created for The Royal Ballet, for whom he is resident choreographer. Intimate yet universal, light yet dark, frenetic yet lyrical, McGregor pursues his passion for exploring the inner workings of the human body and mind, his many-layered and beautiful dances providing visual, sensual and kinaesthetic stimulus for the viewer.
"…Wayne McGregor's Infra: sumptuous beauty and shimmering possibility" The Telegraph
Chroma Federico Bonelli, Ricardo Cervera, Tamara Rojo Mara GaleazzI, Sarah Lamb, Steven Mcrae, Laura Morera Ludovic Ondiviela, Eric Underwood, Jonathan Watkins Edward Watson
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Conductor: Daniel Capps Music: Joby Talbot , Jack White III
Infra Leanne Benjamin, Ricardo Cervera, Yuhui Choe Lauren Cuthbertson, Mara Galeazzi, Melissa Hamilton Ryoichi Hirano, Paul Kay, Marianela Nuñez, Eric Underwood Jonathan Watkins, Edward Watson The Max Richter Quintet Director: Jonathan Haswell Music: Max Richter
Limen Leanne Benjamin, Yuhui Choe, Mara Galeazzi, Melissa Hamilton, Sarah Lamb, Marianela Nuñez Leticia Stock, Akane Takada, Tristan Dyer, Paul Kay Brian Maloney, Steven Mcrae, Ludovic Ondiviela, Eric Underwood, Edward Watson
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Director: Barry Wordsworth Music: Kaija Saariaho
Recorded live from the Royal Opera House Infra: 13th & 14th November 2008 Chroma: 10th & 11th June 2010 Limen: 13th & 17th November 2009
Duration: 01:38:00 Regions: All Regions Picture Format: 16:9 Anamorphic Sound Type: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS Subtitles: French/German/Spanish
Finnissy: History Of Photography In Sound / Ian Pace
Metier
CD
$52.99Nov 19, 2013
FINNISSY The History of Photography in Sound • Ian Pace (pn) • METIER 77501 (5 CDs: 326:48)
The music of English composer Michael Finnissy (b. 1946) is difficult to categorize. It is exceptionally multifaceted in both its surface and substance. It is music that is filled with its own original ideas (and textures that sound like nobody else), but at the same time it is constantly making explicit references to other music. His music’s difficulty ranges from nearly unplayable fiendish complexity to exceptional plainchant-like simplicity, frequently within the same piece. Finnissy’s notation is likewise extremely varied, and almost all his scores exist in his astounding calligraphy.
The History of Photography in Sound (1995–2001) is Finnissy’s largest piano work at nearly 5.5 hours in length. Any attempt to summarize the piece in a brief review will fall significantly short of pointing out even a fraction of its facets. The pianist Ian Pace has been associated with Finnissy’s music since he (Pace) was in school, and he recorded this work shortly after its complete premiere about decade ago. For whatever reason, it is only now appearing on CD, but its release is a major event for those interested in Finnissy’s work or significant piano literature. Many of the individual movements/sections were composed as separate projects/commissions and premiered by different pianists. This excellently-produced CD box set also includes an extensive set of booklet essays by Pace (who is also a musicologist), and an even more extended version filled with musical examples is available online. In addition to his concert career (as a new music specialist), Pace is a very outspoken and caustic critic of academic musicology, and in recent years has become a very public advocate for investigation into the many sexual abuse scandals in British music schools.
Finnissy is himself a pianist, and his large catalog is dominated by works for the instrument. For him it has clearly been a source of continual musical inspiration, and the role of the piano in even his non-solo works is also extremely significant, even including an opera where the “orchestra” is simply a single virtuoso pianist. Each of the 11 sections of The History bear a descriptive name, ranging from “North American Spirituals” to “My parents’ generation thought War meant something” to “Kapitalistisch Realisme (met Sizilianische Männerakte en Bachsche Nachdichtungen).” As is nearly always the case in Finnissy’s work, the piece abounds with references and quotations to other music: from Bach to 19th-century music hall songs, and from Berlioz to Inuit traditional music. Sometimes these references are very explicit, but often there is simply a fragment of a melody embedded within the “tenor line” of a larger texture; these would certainly go unnoticed were it not for the composer’s trademark arrows carefully identifying the sources in the score. One of the booklet essays specifically addresses the quotations, and it challenges—in a typically Pace-ian confrontational style—the general critical response to these myriad references as nothing more than a sort of “found object tourism.” Pace breaks down all the different types of quotations into various categories, examining how each category of material is “weighted” in different ways throughout the sections of the work. The external references made in The History are not purely musical, either; literature and philosophy also make appearances. The sixth section, “Seven Immortal Homosexual Poets,” is conceived as a musical version of a poetry anthology, and each poet is treated in turn, wordlessly.
The composer has given Pace’s performances and this recording his enthusiastic recommendation, so it is to be assumed that the performance is definitive. No other pianist (aside from the composer himself) has been more closely associated with Finnissy’s music, and thus Pace brings to the project a true mastery of the composer’s interpretative challenges. Like many of Finnissy’s pieces, there is enough content in The History to keep one engaged through a near lifetime of listens. Certainly there are precedents for large-scale piano works of this scope, or even significantly longer ones: including numerous work by Sorabji and Frederic Rzewski’s “novel for piano,” The Road. In most cases of such large scale works, the pieces end up being quite representative of their composer’s preoccupations and principal artistic concerns. The History is no exception, and thus stands as a major work of a major composer. For those who are completely unfamiliar with Finnissy, they may wish to start with shorter works, almost all of which have been recorded. However, for those who wish to take an unforgettable journey, this is a work, like much great art, that embraces everything and, in the process, tells us something about ourselves.
Alice – Lauren Cuthbertson Jack / Knave of Hearts – Sergei Polunin Lewis Carroll / White Rabbit – Edward Watson Mother / Queen of Hearts – Zenaida Yanowsky Father / King of Hearts – Christopher Saunders Magician / Mad Hatter – Steven McRae Duchess – Simon Russell Beale
Royal Ballet Royal Opera House Orchestra Barry Wordsworth, conductor Christopher Wheeldon, choreography
Bob Crowley, designs Nicholas Wright, scenario Natasha Katz, lighting design
Recorded live from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 9 March 2011.
Bonus: - Cast Gallery - Documentary – Being Alice
Picture format: 1080i High Definition Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS-HD Master Audio Region code: 0 (worldwide) Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish Running time: 120 mins (ballet) + 30 mins (bonus) No. of Discs: 1 (BD 50)
Birtwistle: The Minotaur / Tomlinson, Reuter, Pappano [Blu-ray]
Opus Arte
Blu-Ray
$42.99Feb 23, 2010
Note: This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players, and not compatible with standard DVD players.
Harrison Birtwistle THE MINOTAUR (Blu-ray Disc Version)
The Minotaur – John Tomlinson Theseus – Johan Reuter Ariadne – Christine Rice Snake Priestess – Andrew Watts Hiereus – Philip Langridge Ker – Amanda Echalaz
The Royal Opera Chorus The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Antonio Pappano, conductor
Stephen Langridge, stage director
Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 25, 30 April and 3 May 2008.
Bonus: - Documentary: Myth is Universal - Illustrated synopsis and cast gallery
Picture format: 1080i High Definition Sound format: PCM Stereo 2.0 and 5.0 Region code: 0 (All Regions) Menu languages: English Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian Running time: 175 mins No. of Discs: 1 (BD 50)
Hosokawa: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3 / Markl, Basque National Orchestra
Naxos
CD
$19.99Jun 08, 2018
The orchestral triptych of ‘Meditation, Nach dem Sturm’ and ‘Klage’ is award-winning composer Toshio Hosokawa’s response to the 2011 Tohuku earthquake and tsunami. Meditation mourns the victims with a quiet song of sorrow, Nach dem Sturm uses shamanic elements to suggest stormy darkness and the hope of light, while the healing Klage seeks to connect our world with the supernatural. ‘Autumn Wind’ unifies man and nature through the timeless sound of the shakuhachi. The collaboration between Naxos and composer Toshio Hosokawa has been very fruitful in recent years, and this new release follows on from two collections of orchestral works conducted by Jun Markl. Volme 1 of these “draws magically delicate colors and rich textural intricacies from what is a profoundly attractive score.” (Gramophone on Lotus under the moonlight), and volume 2 “reinforce Hosokawa’s commitment to poetic representations of human presences in the natural world.” (Gramophone). World-class vocal soloists in this recording include Danish soprano Susanne Elmark who has produced an aria recital for Naxos Denmark and mezzo-soprano Mihoko Fujimura whose recordings include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as part of Christian Thielemenn’s Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra recordings on C Major. Tadashi Tajima is one of today’s most respected shakuhachi players, having performed around the world.
Ondine – Miyako Yoshida Palemon – Edward Watson Berta – Genesia Rosato Tirrenio – Ricardo Cervera A Hermit – Gary Avis
Royal Ballet Royal Opera House Orchestra Barry Wordsworth, conductor
Frederick Ashton, choreographer
Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, June 2009.
Bonus: - Illustrated synopsis - Cast gallery - The Making of Ondine – an interview with Hans Werner Henze
Picture format: 16:9 Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1 Region code: 0 (worldwide) Menu language: English Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish (bonus only) Running time: 114 mins No. of Discs: 1
Miyako Yoshida dances the title role originally created for Margot Fonteyn in the hauntingly beautiful underwater world of Ondine, vividly brought to life by The Royal Ballet. Frederick Ashton’s shimmering choreography, Lila de Nobili’s impressionistic designs and Hans Werner Henze’s specially commissioned, vibrant and inventive score, memorably combine to evoke the many moods and colours of the sea. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true surround sound.
Using water as a musical instrument, this extraordinary piece uses innovative techniques to explore the musicality of the sounds of water. Soloist David Cossin displays remarkable genius as he deftly creates unique, sensuous, organic, and sometimes distinctive accompaniment of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the composer, reflecting his personal combination of Chinese and Western musical tradition.
ADAMS Doctor Atomic & • Lawrence Renes, cond; Gerald Finley (Oppenheimer); Jessica Rivera (Kitty); Eric Owens (General Groves); Richard Paul Fink (Teller); James Maddalena (Hubbard); Thomas Glenn (Wilson); Ellen Rabiner (Pasqualita); Netherlands PO & Op Ch • BBC/OPUS ARTE 998 (2 DVDs: 168:09)
& Illustrated synopsis; documentaries on opera, cast, composer, and director; interview with director
John Adams has already analyzed Nixon as he visited China and scrutinized terrorists and cruise ship passengers in extremis. Now, Doctor Atomic focuses on the final days of the Manhattan Project as J. Robert Oppenheimer and his colleagues struggle to produce the first atomic bomb. The moral dilemmas presented by that weapon drive the conflict, but though the effects of its future use are made starkly obvious and are central to the purpose of the creators, no conclusion is imposed. Rather, Doctor Atomic is an exploration of the extraordinarily gifted people who, for the cause of good, created a diabolical device that irrevocably changed them and the world that summer of 1945.
Long-time Adams collaborator Peter Sellars fashioned the libretto. Using historical sources throughout, he gives the work a strongly documentary flavor, allowing the viewer to piece together the events, personalities, and conflicts. However, it is Sellars’s use of poetry that is the most striking. Oppenheimer makes love to his wife Kitty with Baudelaire’s sensual verse, and quotes him again as the final countdown stretches time agonizingly. Kitty voices Muriel Rukeyser’s vision of peace in a world facing inescapable death. Pasqualita sings evocative Native American verse as a lullaby; and the atomic blast is anticipated with quotes from the Bhagavad Gita. In the finale to act I—a stunning piece of theater—Oppenheimer cries out his personal agony in the words of John Donne’s sonnet “Batter my heart,” as the enemy, the “Gadget,” hangs shrouded Ark-like behind him. That many of these poems and poets were significant to Oppenheimer—the Donne sonnet inspired the project’s code name “Trinity,” and he learned Sanskrit in order to read the Bhagavad Gita—adds yet another layer to this strikingly profound work.
The role of the intense and driven Oppenheimer was created by Gerald Finley, a singer who inhabits every part with his superb acting and his tightly focused, richly expressive baritone. Other excellent artists from the San Francisco Opera premiere include sonorous bass Richard Paul Fink, a Mephistophelian Edward Teller, cynical and provocative; lyric tenor Thomas Glenn, whose sensitively performed Robert Wilson is uneasy but likeable; baritone Eric Owens, a physically and vocally imposing General Leslie Groves, the no-nonsense military commander of the project; and baritone James Maddalena—Nixon in Adams’s earlier opera—a long-suffering meteorologist Jack Hubbard. New to this production are mezzo-soprano Jessica Rivera and contralto Ellen Rabiner. Rivera’s Cassandra-like Kitty Oppenheimer, the conscience of the work, is vocally vivid, though some of the acting seems posed. Pasqualita, the Oppenheimer’s Tewa Indian housekeeper, is the only fictional character. Rabiner sings her role with a rich, if not always steady, voice, balancing Kitty’s intensity with quiet compassion. The fine Netherlands Opera Chorus, playing scientists and project personnel, serves as Greek chorus, intoning the opening scientific credo, chanting the targets, crying out in fright at the vision of Vishnu and staring into the blast in stunned silence at the culminating moment.
Edgard Varèse and 1950s science-fiction movie scores are John Adams’s acknowledged inspirations, and the combination is winning. The ostinatos of traditional minimalism are used sparingly and are often disjointed and irregular, creating an undercurrent of disequilibrium. More often, Adams employs extended chords, late Romantic in their chromatic richness, punctuated with bells, shrieks of brass, snatches of melody, and electronic roars and rumbles. Above this, Adams’s lyrical vocal lines wheel, often fraught with tension. This compelling score is by far the richest and most complex Adams has created.
Not all is perfect. Well as it recreates the anxiety of the night of the test, with its portentous storm, the second act occasionally makes repetitious dramatic points and is in need of some tightening. More troubling, there are a number of visual distractions, especially the rather silly choreography, expressing heaven knows what, and the frenzied video editing with its constant cutting, panning, and zooming, and continual, often shaky, tight close-ups. The editing seems to highlight the mechanics of vocal production as much as the acting and often leaves one with no sense of what is happening on the stage as a whole. Peter Sellars was both stage and video director, so I have to assume these were important parts of his conception. There is much to admire in that vision, but sometimes less is more.
By this time, many interested readers will either have seen the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of this work in the movie theater or heard it on the radio. Despite the similarities in casting and the typically small audience for modern operas, I hope it appears on DVD. This powerful opera deserves the documentation of both directorial visions. This Netherlands Opera production, in any case, should not be overlooked. It presents Sellars’s original concept, more abstract than the Met’s, well sung, conducted, and played, and with several fine performances not reprised in the Met production. Give it a try.
FANFARE: Ronald E. Grames CAST: J. Robert Oppenheimer – Gerald Finley Kitty Oppenheimer – Jessica Rivera General Leslie Groves – Eric Owens Edward Teller – Richard Paul Fink Jack Hubbard – James Maddalena Robert Wilson – Thomas Glenn Captain James Nolan – Jay Hunter Morris Pasqualita – Ellen Rabiner
Bonus: - Interview with Peter Sellars - Illustrated synopsis and cast gallery
Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic Sound format: Dolby Digital 2.0 / DTS 5.1 Region code: 0 (All Regions) Menu language: English Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch Running time: 228 mins Number of DVDs: 2
This release is the world premiere recording of Brett Dean’s new opera based on Shakespeare’s best-known tragedy: To be, or not to be. This is Hamlet’s dilemma, and the essence of Shakespeare’s most famous and arguably greatest work, given new life in operatic form in this original Glyndebourne commission. Thoughts of murder and revenge drive Hamlet when he learns that it was his uncle Claudius who killed his father, the King of Denmark, then seized his father’s crown and wife. But Hamlet’s vengeance vies with the question: is suicide a morally valid deed in an unbearably painful world? Dean’s colorful, energetic, witty and richly lyrical music expertly captures the modernity of Shakespeare’s timeless tale, while also exploiting the traditional operatic elements of arias, ensembles and choruses. Matthew Jocelyn’s inspired libretto is pure Shakespeare, adhering to the Bard’s narrative thread but abridging, reconfiguring and interweaving it into motifs that highlight the main dramatic themes: death, madness, the impossibility of certainty and the complexities of action. ‘World Premiere of the Year’, 2018 International Opera Awards, London ‘…one of the unmissable operatic events of the year.’ (The Sunday Times 4 Stars) ‘…a richly imaginative composer at the top of his game.’ (The Times 4 Stars) ‘Dean’s music is many-layered, full of long, clear vocal lines … new opera doesn’t often get to sound this good … Hannigan’s spectacular high-soprano unhinging is the more shocking following her poise and inwardness’ (The Guardian 4 Stars) Clayton triumphs with ‘unimpeachable vocal and acting credentials’ (The Independent 4 Stars)
“As we relate to music in an on-going condition of becoming, and not (like painting) a state of being, we're able to experience these works much as Morton Feldman did, as they happen, with an equal sense of wonder and delight.” (Art Lange) A major figure in 20th-century music, Morton Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School of Composers. Feldman’s works are characterized by notational innovations that he developed to create his characteristic sound: rhythms that seem to be free and floating, pitch shadings that seem softly unfocused, a generally quiet and slowly evolving music, and recurring asymmetric patterns. He wrote the title track of this album, Atlantis, in 1959.
Dutilleux: Symphony No. 1, Metaboles, Les citations / Casadesus, Lille National Orchestra
Naxos
CD
$19.99Sep 14, 2018
A fiercely independent composer, Henri Dutilleux wrote music that is refined, colorful and scrupulously crafted. Symphony No 1, his first purely orchestral score, established his international reputation. Structurally unconventional- it opens, unusually, with a passacaglia- it illustrates his principle of ‘progressive growth’ through its sustained lyricism and towering, chorale-like statements. Metaboles was inspired by the virtuosity of the woodwind section of George Szell’s Cleveland Orchestra. Distinctive instrumentation for each movement allows for deep expression, jazzy rhythms and moments of irony. The enigmatic diptych Les Citations quotes from fellow composers Benjamin Britten and Jehan Alain. After over 40 years at the head of the Orchestre National de Lille (ONL), of which he was the founder, Jean-Claude Casadesus enjoys an international career that has brought seasons in Germany, Russia, Japan, Latvia, and in Lille. His 30 albums with the orchestra have won critical and public acclaim and as a guest conductor he has appeared in Moscow, Singapore, Montreal, Baltimore, Seoul, St. Petersburg and Berlin. He is an enthusiastic champion of contemporary music and set up residences for composers with the Lille orchestra.
With the belated success of his Third Symphony ‘Symphony of Sorrowful Songs’ Gorecki emerged in the 1990s as a composer of world stature. Between 1988 and 1995 he wrote three string quartets for the Kronos Quartet that are among his most important mature works. String Quartet No. 1 reveals chorale-like themes, so much a feature of his later writing, as well as hectic, dance-like motion, while the Second Quartet’s wider range of expression explicitly evokes Beethoven. Genesis I: Elementi offers a powerful contrast- a string trio from 1962 of uncompromising immediacy. The Tippett Quartet appear regularly at King’s Place, the Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Bridgewater Hall, and perform regularly on BBC Radio 3. They have performed at the BBC Proms and toured Europe, Canada and Mexico. Their broad and diverse repertoire highlights the Tippett Quartet’s unique versatility. Their impressive catalogue of recordings has been released across several labels to universal acclaim and with classical chart-topping success.
Maxwell Davies: The Beltane Fire, The Turn of the Tide & Sir
Naxos
CD
$13.99$19.99Save 30%Dec 09, 2014
The works on this recording embrace a varied miscellany of Peter Maxwell Davies’ orchestraloutput from the early 1990s. The ‘choreographic poem’ The Beltane Fire pits the sternness of theReformation clergy against the pagan traditions of the Orkney Islands. Concerned withenvironmental pollution, The Turn of the Tide ultimately reaches “a triumphant dance of allcreation”, while the Threnody and Pavan are poignant memorial tributes for significant figuresin the composer’s life.
Originally released in 2007, James MacMillan’s ‘Tenebrae’ is now available once again as part of Linn’s ECHO re-issue series. Tenebrae Responsories is scored for vocal octet and speaks to all of every faith and none, of the power of love and redemption through personal sacrifice. The famed Scottish group Cappella Nova has enjoyed a 25-year association with MacMillan. ‘Tenebrae’ was previously chosen a Gramophone ‘Editor’s Choice’ album. Mr. MacMillan’s international career was launched at the BBC proms in 1990 with The Confession of Isobel Gowdie.
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