This selection is also available as a Super Audio CD (SACD).

Writing in an idiom characterized by it's immediate accessibility, Boyd Prof. Of Composition at LSU Dinos a, recipient of many grants, commissions and awards, has had his music performed throughout the world, with his orchestral music in particular receiving rave reviews. This latest Centaur release of music by Mr. Constantinides once again puts the focus on orchestral work, with particular emphasis on productions featuring spotlighted soloists in concerted forms. All but one of the works also features the composer in the role of conductor, making these recordings de facto definitive.

Following his Alpha recording of sonatas by Prokofiev, Ravel and Strauss, the violinist Tobias Feldmann now turns to the concerto form, performing the two major works of the Finnish repertoire for the instrument: the violin concertos of Jean Sibelius and Einojuhani Rautavaara. Premiered in Helsinki in 1904, the Sibelius Concerto proved to be exceptionally difficult technically for the soloist. Sibelius revised his score, but subsequently composed for violin and orchestra only in shorter forms, the serenade and the humoresque. It was not until nearly seventy years later that a Finnish composer wrote another large-scale work for violin and orchestra, with the Concerto of Rautavaara, which in all respects equals the degree of virtuosity demanded by the earlier work.

This recording of orchestral works by Karol Szymanowski form part of the Polish Music series on Chandos, and is performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Edward Gardner. These performers have impressed in their Lutoslawski survey, which is part of the same series; in a review of volume 1, Gramophone described them as a veritable ‘dream team’.

Symphony No. 2 by Szymanowski is a work of great power and ingenuity, with many passionate and varied contrasts in its use of solo instruments. Composed in 1909 – 10, it is widely considered the greatest orchestral work of the composer’s early period, not to mention one of the most important Polish symphonic compositions to date. Szymanowski himself thought very highly of it, and in August 1911 wrote in a letter to his fellow Polish composer Zdzis?aw Jachimecki: ‘How happy I am that this Symphony impressed you as I had wanted. I will frankly admit that I feel somewhat proud about its value. In some miraculous way I have managed during my work on it to resist all those garish phantoms which seduce “young and inexperienced” artists and to produce pure and uncompromising beauty in the way I personally understand it.’

The internationally acclaimed pianist Louis Lortie joins the orchestra and conductor in Symphony No. 4 of 1932, which the composer subtitled ‘Symphonie concertante’ in recognition of the near-soloistic role played by the pianist. Whereas Szymanowski’s early and middle works clearly reflect Wagner, Strauss, and Scriabin, this work is strongly influenced by Prokofiev, particularly in the finale, an agitated and daring movement reminiscent of the Russian composer’s Piano Concerto No. 3, composed about a decade earlier.

Written in 1904 – 05 in a style recalling Wagner and Strauss, the Concert Overture is characterised by enormous expressiveness and gusto in the way it handles the expanding themes. Szymanowski inscribed the original score with part of the poem Wite? W?ast by his friend Tadeusz Mici?ski: ‘I will not play you sad songs, O Shades! but will give you a triumph proud and fierce…’. This vivid imagery is perfectly in keeping with the music’s exuberant and vivacious character.

- Chandos

Classical Music

Christian Euler dares to do what not many dare to do: he performs an entire hour of music for viola solo, without accompaniment. Euler’s full, warm, and highly nuanced tone echoes through this demanding, yet entertaining program presenting some classics as well as several rarities. Alfred Pochon’s Passacaglia was composed as a competition piece. Bach’s great Chaconne for violin solo is recognizably its model, even in detail, and yet Pochon, who celebrated considerable successes as a chamber musician during the first decades of the twentieth century, finds a genuinely authentic tone for the viola. Euler’s intense and rich treatment of tone transforms this work, which Pochon must have composed merely on the side, into a very special, opulent sound experience. Reger too – how could it be otherwise? – followed Bach’s example and wrote a special recommendation for the viola with a total of three Solo Suites for this instrument. Christian Euler of course masters the immense technical demands with bravura. Moreover, even though the texture repeatedly is bold harmonically, his musical realization of it is very discerning, very much to the advantage of these underestimated gems. And of course Hindemith – the viola was his instrument of instruments! Ambitious in tonality, he nevertheless followed classical models until the mid-twentieth century. This release reaches a special high point with Stravinsky’s Elegy, which is strictly maintained in a two-part texture and yet stylistically is situated at a very far remove from Bach or Reger. Here Stravinsky ventures into an entirely new sound cosmos displaying its unique magic particularly in the three-dimensional sound world of this Super Audio recording transmitting the finest acoustic impressions.

Premiered in 1946, a year after the end of World War II, Copland’s iconic Third Symphony was described by the composer as ‘a wartime piece- or, more accurately, an end-of-war piece- intended to reflect the euphoric spirit of the country at the time.’ The fourth movement, heard on this recording in its original uncut form, opens by quoting one of his most well-known pieces, Fanfare for the Common Man. Copland described the Three Latin American Sketches ‘as being just what the title says. The tunes, the rhythms and the temperament of the pieces are folksy, while the orchestration is bright and snappy and the music sizzles along.’ The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is known for trailblazing performances, visionary conductors, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and an ardent commitment to Detroit. As a community-supported orchestra, the continued success and growth of the institution is driven by generous giving by individuals and institutions at all levels. Esteemed conductor Leonard Slatkin became the DSO’s twelfth Music Director, endowed by the Kresge Foundation, in 2008. With growing attendance and unwavering philanthropic support from the Detroit community, the DSO’s performances include Classical, Pops, Jazz, Young People’s, and Neighborhood concerts, and collaborations with high-profile artists from Steven Spielberg to Kid Rock.

REVIEW:

Leonard Slatkin can always be counted on to offer a new take on familiar classics. He recorded an excellent Copland Third for RCA back in his St. Louis days, and this performance is almost identical in terms of tempo and expression—but not quite. Copland’s publishers, Boosey and Hawkes, in their infinite wisdom and desire to make a buck or two, have republished the composer’s Third Symphony with its original ending. If you have an older score, you might still find it there. Later printings removed the bits that Copland cut at Leonard Bernstein’s suggestion.

Now we can all hear definitively that those cuts were a good idea. The finale is already one of the most earsplitting essays in populist pomposity in the entire symphonic literature. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a blast as it stands and I wouldn’t change a note. The original, in comparison, sounds gratuitously, unconvincingly prolonged (sound clip), and before we start blathering about the revision not representing Copland’s intentions, let’s note that both of the composer’s own recordings of the symphony—made decades apart—observe the cuts (there are two, actually, one very tiny).

That said, this is in every respect a terrific performance, excitingly played and conducted, powerfully recorded, and with a nice bonus in the form of the Three Latin American Sketches. As a collector, I am happy to have the opportunity to hear Copland’s first thoughts, but one fine recording of them is enough.

-- ClassicsToday.com (David Hurwitz)

In the last two decades of his career Eugene Zador, whose music fused Classicism with Romanticism to universal acclaim, wrote a series of works that reflected his Hungarian roots. Subtly flavored by folklore without any direct quotations, Zador's facility for melody, harmony and color is exemplified in the 'Rhapsody for Orchestra,' while his gift for lyricism and pithy concision is to the fore in the 'Fantasia Hungarica' for double bass and orchestra. The 'Rhapsody for Cimbalom and Orchestra' reveals his ceaselessly inventive imagination in music that is orchestrated with the deftest touch. Five of these works are receiving, on this album, their world premiere recording. The Budapest Symphony Orchestra MAV was founded in 1945 by the Hungarian State Railways. Since then, it has developed a wide-ranging repertoire from music of the Baroque era to works by contemporary composers, and is currently ranked among the best professional ensembles in Hungary. The orchestra has performed throughout Europe as well as in Cyprus, Lebanon, China, Brazil, Peru, and many other countries throughout Europe, Asia, and South America.

Also available on Blu-ray

Exactly 80 years before the Opening Concert of the 2019 Lucerne Festival, Sergei Rachmaninoff himself appeared for the first time on August 11, 1939 at the "International Music Festival Weeks". The roaring success of the performance stands in direct contrast to the need for retreat, seclusion and concentration that the star pianist sought as a composer. Marking three stages in his career, the concerto, étude, vocalise and symphony presented in 2019 take the listener to these places of retreat. And yet, they call to mind phenomena of public perception that still influence the way they are received today. In their diversity, these works invite us to appreciate the versatility of this extraordinary artist, to question, break through and expand patterns of perception.

 

REVIEW:

 

The pianist is musically involved, and so is Chailly. However unexpectedly, they form a superb partnership, and the entire reading is suffused with unabashed Romanticism. Matsuev shows himself perfectly willing to play delicate passages with the appropriate lyricism. The opening theme is unusually gentle, in fact. The impression of effortless virtuosity is especially vivid in the finale, where the pianist is magisterial. I would call this a Gilels-like performance in its authority and breadth rather than an electrifying Horowitz-like one. But it’s thrilling nonetheless.

 

– Fanfare

Navona Records is proud to announce the re-release of David Tanner's 1988 album The Eloquent Saxophone. Tanner is no Stranger to Navona; his compositions and arrangements can be heard on two other Navona releases: Of Birds and Lemons (2012) and Dashing (2016). This was his first album, featuring him as a performer. It includes two unaccompanied pieces and two sax quartets recorded by multi-tracking, as well as a rich variety of works with accompaniment admirably rendered by pianist Marc Widner. The music ranges from Schumann to a stylized blues by Gene DiNovi. Tanner's musical language is enriched by classical training and a career encompassing rock'n'roll and jazz as well as symphony. Reviewer Denis Armstrong wrote in Music Magazine, "Not long into this recording, one begins to marvel at the sheer joy David Tanner's playing conveys... a dense and rich recording... at times elegant and elegiac, other times ribald and visceral. But the one constant is the joy and clarity of expression." The first track sets the tone: "Serenade comique" is a brief, frantic sax quartet composition that evokes Parisian traffic or perhaps a flock of birds. "La Blues," the other quartet selection, evokes the melancholy of New York in the depth of night. "It is a treat for the listener to hear this feat of multi-tracking done so well," said reviewer Joseph Viola in Saxophone Journal. Each track is in contrast to the one before it; each represents something different and interesting. To quote Music Magazine again, "The Eloquent Saxophone [is] a thoroughly eccentric, invigorating and generous treat."

Cameron Greider is a guitarist, producer and composer who has worked with Joan Baez, Chris Cornell, Natalie Merchant, Sean Lennon, Freedy Johnston, Rufus Wainwright, P.M. Dawn and many others. He started on classical guitar at age 12, but soon figured out that by putting a microphone inside the instrument and hooking it up to the family stereo, he could rattle the windows of their Washington D.C. house. In 1988 he moved to New York to study at the New School Jazz and Contemporary Music program, and soon found himself playing gigs with local singer-songwriters. In 1993 he auditioned for his first tour, with alternative hip-hop group P.M. Dawn, and the next week he was playing with them on the Tonight Show. He would go on to play and co-write on their next few records.

 

Writing for strings led to an interest in classical music, which soon became an obsession. He went back to school at the Mannes conservatory to study music theory, piano, composition, and conducting. He enjoys writing for groups from string quartets to full orchestra and has contributed arrangements to film scores as well as pop songs. He also arranges classical pieces for his electric guitar duo with Jack Petruzzelli, High Low Duo. Jack Petruzzelli is a seasoned touring and recording musician. As a multi-instrumental performer, producer and songwriter, he has had the privilege of working with artists like Patti Smith, Ian Hunter, Joan Osborne, Rufus Wainwright and Sara Bareilles, to name a few. In the studio, Jack has collaborated with everyone from platinum artists to unknown sensations. He co-produced Joan Osborne's album Bring It On Home, which was nominated for Best Blues album of the year at the 2012 Grammy Awards.

CARTER String Quartets: Nos. 2–4 • Pacifica Qrt • NAXOS 8.559363 (74:15)


In Fanfare 31:6, I wrote of the Pacifica Quartet’s release of Carter’s First and Fifth quartets: “A great release, which I can only hope is matched by the sequel.” Prayers are answered, though I have slight reservations this time, but based on the music rather than the performances.


Carter’s three middle quartets have distinct personalities, based on the fact that they are about “distinct personalities.” Specifically, the Second gives each instrument a prescribed character, and the piece becomes a chamber drama of individuals who interact in a variety of manners and situations. (Ives’s Second Quartet comes to mind as a predecessor, though Carter’s characterizations tend to be more subtle, concentrated, abstract, and involved.) The Third takes a similar idea, but now applies it to two duos (violin/cello and violin/viola), which have a separate set of movements that overlap with each other in a sort of macro-counterpoint. The Fourth is by far the most “classical”—indeed of the entire cycle, not just these three. While its first movement features a rhapsodic, almost wild violin cadenza against which the remaining instruments construct a continuous commentary, it becomes a far more coordinated texture of democratic equality between the voices as it progresses.


While I wrote with unrestrained enthusiasm about the music of Quartets No. 1 and 5, my reaction is more qualified here. No. 2 is many people’s favorite, and there’s no doubt it exudes great wit, virtuosity, and an idea of polyphony never really heard before. That said, I’ve always found the characterizations less perceptible than many, partly because Carter’s highly chromatic pitch language (despite the fact that the different instruments concentrate on different melodic intervals and rhythmic patterns) tends to homogenize the differences. Going back to Ives, I think more stylistic contrasts would make the point better. But I also know that’s anathema to Carter’s aesthetics.


No. 3 on the other hand, is the point where many folks gave up on the composer, but where I was (and still am) blown away. The Third is one of the greatest monuments of High Modernism. Yes, it’s unbelievably complex, but it has an intensity, breadth, and passion unlike almost anything else in the Carter output. One really hears the interaction, indeed the collision, between its worlds as they revolve around one another.


And then No. 4: I wrote earlier I hoped the Pacificas could convince me at last of its value, but while they push me to the edge, I still can’t make the leap. I do realize now that the first movement is one of those rare birds in Carter’s music, a piece based on the rigorous, almost obsessive development of a single motive. Likewise, the slow third movement and the increasingly fragmented alternation between outburst and silence of the concluding Presto have a memorable profile. But it still sounds forced, and I’m sorry to say, relatively empty to me in comparison to the other works in the cycle. I feel that Carter reached a point in the early 1970s where he understood his technique and was able to write large-scale works fluently, but he’d lost some of the reason and drive to do so. Several works that, again, people I know are passionate about, such as Night Fantasies for piano, Penthode for chamber orchestra, and this Quartet, seem to be going through the motions, but don’t reach the transcendent state one senses in other pieces. The good news, though, is that by the mid 1980s Carter began writing a series of brilliant miniatures (one can trace perhaps to the 1984 Riconoscenza for solo violin), which led him to his “late late” style, where a greater degree of clarity, concision, and wit has combined to produce more music of more delight than he ever produced before (we’re talking here about a composer working in the age range of 80–100!). The Fifth Quartet is one of the masterpieces of this period.


As for these performances, once again the Pacificas take the crown on several fronts. The Ardittis have the only other cycle (on Etcetera), but it does not include the Fifth. Also, the Pacificas have far more extensive indexing of movements, which allows one to follow Carter’s formal argument much more closely. Their interpretations are Olympian, yet also suitably driven, catching both the abstraction and expressionism of Carter’s music. To take just one example, their performance of the Fourth, which seems quite intense and fast, is seven minutes longer than the Arditti’s (27:00 vs. 20:00). Listening to the latter, their version of the first movement is the proverbial bat-out-of-hell, and while exhilarating, it sounds as though they’re in a hurry to get it over with. My only quibble with the Pacificas is that their performance of the Third, while staggering in its control and attention to detail, doesn’t deliver the sort of emotional wallop at its ending that I came to know from the Juilliard’s premiere LP recording on Columbia. (Boy, do I fear that dates me!)


But this is overall a triumph of adventurous and stunning music-making, both in the composer’s creation and the performers’ realization. My critique of Carter’s quartets doesn’t dim my overall admiration, or my sense that this is likely the greatest quartet cycle we’ve had since Bartók’s. Add in the budget price for both discs, and this is by far the best way to get a monument of its era, and the single best introduction to Carter’s world one could imagine.


FANFARE: Robert Carl

Charles Wuorinen writes virtuosic music for virtuoso performers. He has a profound desire to engage with the listener and with sympathetic performers, and essential to this engagement is a spirit of adventure and fun.

This 6th volume gives attention to the less frequently performed musical works of the "Ballet russes". Over 70 minutes. (SWR Music)

Here at last we have a recording of Barber's marvelous Piano Concerto to rival (if not surpass) the classic Szell/Browning recording for CBS (Sony), a performance which that company inexplicably has managed to reissue everywhere in the world except in the one place that it should: the U.S. While Szell and his Clevelanders remain unbeatable in terms of rhythmic precision and disciplined ensemble, Marin Alsop and her Scottish players offer ample excitement and drive, while pianist Stephen Prutsman certainly compares favorably to John Browning's pioneering effort (his later, more sedate remake for RCA doesn't factor into this particular equation at all).


Prutsman puts steel into the music where required (the opening cadenza and much of the finale), but he offers a slow movement of great delicacy and tenderness too. He knows when to back off and let the orchestra have the spotlight, and together with Alsop manages a genuine dialog in such passages as the finale's second calm episode (music that's pure Prokofiev in its ironic wit). It's interesting how closely this finale resembles that of Ginastera's First Piano Concerto, composed at the same time, and both seem to be taking the finale of Bartók's Second Piano Concerto as a model. In any case, aside from Szell/Browning, there is no finer performance of this work available, and it's very well recorded to boot.


As for the couplings, the catchy Commando March plays itself, and Die Natali, a marvelously inventive fantasia on Christmas carols, receives a lovely performance. Why this charming piece isn't hauled out every December and played to death, as it surely deserves to be, is a genuine mystery. Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance features an excellent "meditation", brooding but not too slow, that yields to a vividly detailed but somewhat underpowered "dance of vengeance", just fractionally under tempo and lacking the ultimate hysterical frenzy (as in Munch/Boston) at the climaxes. However, given the overall excellence of the other items on offer, this isn't a major liability, and for the Piano Concerto alone this disc will be an essential acquisition for anyone who cares about Barber's music.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Thomas Dausgaard and the Seattle Symphony return with inspiring and powerful performances of works rooted in the fascination with the Antichrist. For Langgaard it became his opera, Antichrist, which was also the original title for Strauss' An Alpine Symphony. Coupling Langgaard's Prelude to Antichrist with Strauss' An Alpine Symphony, this album explores the composers' disparate ideological interpretations of the Antichrist in expansive, thought-provoking live performances, superbly played by the Seattle Symphony. With naturalistic imaging, depth of field and dynamic range, all Seattle Symphony Media recordings have been engineered to audiophile standards and aim to capture as realistically as possible the sound of the orchestra performing on the Benaroya Hall stage.

This recording was made under the direction of Reinbert de Leeuw in December 2019, two months before his death. A few weeks before that, he had called Thomas Dieltjens, artistic director of Het Collectief, to tell him: ‘Since our concert in mid-July 2019, ‘Das Lied von der Erde’ has constantly been on my mind. I am totally fascinated by it and discover new things in it every day. It would be a dream if we could record this music with the exceptional cast of musicians and soloist singers of the Saintes festival, and preferably the sooner the better.” Words failed, as can be gathered from the many concert reviews they received. Mahler’s ‘Das Lied von der Erde’ is already so much more than just music, it encompasses life as a whole, from early birth till death. Reinbert de Leeuw made of this masterpiece an exceptionally refined arrangement for 15 instrumentalists and 2 soloists. How Reinbert manages to render the full force of Mahler’s original score in his arrangement is unparalleled. There is the addition of the harp, some percussion, a contrabassoon and a bass clarinet. With the harmonium as an essential link between cords, winds, percussion and piano. One lacks ears to feel the richness of Reinbert’s arrangement. This is pure musical delight.

•Gustav Mahler’s Sixth Symphony employs the largest orchestral apparatus he ever used. It is a work of extremes, from the Andante’s main, sweetly cantabile theme to the chordal agglomerations breaking out in triple forte “with raw force” at the centre of the Finale’s development section, to its final, inevitable catastrophic ending. This next-to-last release in the OehmsClassics Mahler SACDcycle presents a live recording from the Cologne Philharmonie made in November 2013.

Stravinsky’s Perséphone (1934) is a dynamic music-theatrical narration of the myth of Persephone’s abduction to the underworld and return to earth. The transparent, sober but evocative music epitomizes Stravinsky’s sensuous take on Neoclassicism, and the piece showcases Stravinsky’s eclectic, original and highly personal approach to music and musical drama through a playful mixture of several genres – melodrama, song, chorus, dance and pantomime. Ultimately, Perséphone offers Stravinsky’s second ode to spring, albeit without the brutal excesses of Le Sacre. This album was recorded live during the Helsinki Festival 2017 with a star cast featuring English tenor Andrew Staples and French actress Pauline Cheviller. They join forces with the Finnish National Opera’s chorus, children’s chorus and orchestra, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, in a breath-taking performance that lifts out the piece’s transformative power.

-----

REVIEW:

Radiant beauty is not a quality that is automatically associated with Stravinsky’s music. But in Perséphone he composed one of the most radiant and lyrically beautiful scores to be found anywhere in 20th-century music. It’s one of his greatest achievements. It's a beautifully modulated performance; nothing is forced, and all the elements, sung, played, and spoken, are well and carefully integrated.

– Guardian (UK)

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Death is never far away in Leoš Janácek’s work: in The Cunning Little Vixen, the main character falls under the fire of a hunter, Katia Kabanova kills herself, Emilia Marty in The Makropulos Case has to deal with the hard consequences of eternal youth. From the House of the Dead makes no exception, especially since the composer knew he was living out his final days when he decided to adapt into an opera Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s eponymous novel, a literary work inspired by the time the novelist spent in a Siberian prison. This painful feeling of ineluctability pervades through his disillusioned and savage score, that recounts the hopeless life of the convicts of a Soviet concentration camp. In this place where life has already drawn out, in this no man’s land forsaken by civilization, Janácek portrays the anonymous and daily sufferings, the abuses, the corporal punishments, but also evokes fragments from the prisoners’ past, bringing them back to life for the duration of a game or of a story. Against this background that contrasts the empathic solidarity of simple men with the horrific brutality of the prison guards, stage director Frank Castorf - who created a memorable Ring Cycle in Bayreuth for the Wagner Bicentennial in 2013 - embraces the aesthetics of grotesque and absurd suggested by Janácek’s score, and chooses to crudely display, with stark realism, the physical and psychological violence at the heart of the opera. In the pit, conducting the house orchestra, Simone Young underlines the power plays and the overwhelming lyricism unleashed by Janácek’s music. As the main protagonists, Peter Rose, Charles Workman and Bo Skhovus, all familiar with Janácek’s subtleties, bring back to life these agonizing anti-heroic characters forsaken by God and men.

Classical Music

This live, 2003 performance is middling, but on the whole, competent. The liner notes focus on the opera, but are decent of their kind. A synopsis is provided with CD points, but neither original text nor translation is included. This last is especially missed. But despite this and the album's short timings, Prinzessin Brambilla is truly worth knowing.

— Fanfare (Barry Brenesal)

One thing choirs who’ve sung Francis Poulenc’s choral works know is that he wasn’t concerned about making it easy for singers. Yet, unlike some other composers of the last (and current) century, neither was he creating difficult music just because he could. Instead, there is no similar choral repertoire by any other composer that more satisfyingly rewards the effort it takes–including a commitment of a certain level of vocal/technical skill and artistic savvy–to perform it accurately and stylishly–the rewards to the singer realized in the sheer sensual pleasure and excitement of being “inside” Poulenc’s incredible sound-world; and for the listener, you could say the same, just that the perspective is different.

There is no choir, nor will you find a recording, that does such full justice to these great a cappella works, each chanson, motet, or Mass movement a miniature yet significant and unique masterpiece. It’s difficult to choose specific performance highlights–there are so many moments perfectly demonstrative of some or other virtuosic technical feat or lovely, breathtaking, or otherwise moving expressive musical effect, that the list would amount to citations of nearly every part of every piece. However, for sheer virtuosity, you won’t be disappointed if you begin with the Mass–the Sanctus and Benedictus are perfect examples of how these singers manage ensemble balances even in the widest-spaced textures or thorniest harmonic passages.

Although these characteristics are consistent throughout all the performances, in Tenebrae factae sunt and Tristis est anima mea (from the Quatre motets pour le temps de pénitence) we experience the choir’s extraordinary command of ensemble balance, dynamic control, nuances of phrasing, rhythmic precision, spot-on intonation, ideal resonance in harmonies–everything combines to create the resplendent choral sound that defines these works.

Where there is word-painting–and there are numerous instances–we “get it”; where all-important soft singing is required, the choir delivers while always maintaining intonation and ensemble balance; where the texts are in French (the Sept Chansons), we hear beautifully enunciated, expertly sung French; the bell-like sounds at the end of Par une nuit nouvelle are exquisitely executed, as are the vibrant jazz harmonies of Tous les droits, the scurrying opening lines of Marie, and those treacherous wide-open voicings at the beginning and end of Luire (sung perfectly tuned, producing a hair-raising resonance). Not to take anything away from the rest of the choir, it’s important to give special mention to those sublime sopranos, who have so many passages and individual notes that are high and very exposed, and who sing them with extraordinary confidence, clarity, and accuracy, while always mindful of the lower voices.

Most popular among Poulenc’s choral works are surely the Christmas motets, especially the oft recorded O magnum–and here the Elora singers deliver it with a completely natural, easy flow from phrase to phrase; repeated statements (iacentem) are given emphasis without dynamic exaggeration; overall, there is a gentleness of expression coupled with an exceptional sense of devotion to the music. And devotion to the music is the key to the success of this entire program, whether conveying the joy, the sadness, or more reflective, prayerful moods and moments. Noel Edison and his singers have made perhaps their finest recording to date, a reference for choirs who follow and for listeners who want an important and enduring addition to their choral music library.

The production and sound, overseen by Bonnie Silver and Norbert Kraft in the choir’s home venue–St John’s Church, Elora, Ontario–capitalizes on the church’s excellent choral acoustics (which somehow, in different ways, are excellent no matter whether the church is empty or full of people). Thoughtful, informative notes by Dominic Wells cap this essential release.

-- David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Stefanie Schumacher was born near Freiburg and is a member of the Ensemble Zeitsprung. She performs regularly as a guest with other contemporary ensembles such as the Ensemble Oktopus. With works that she has herself commissioned, her goal is to allow the direct emotional expression particularly associated with the accordion in folk music to influence the contemporary creation of new music for her instrument.

After the resounding success of Volume 1 (Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Diapason d’Or, Choc de Classica, FFFF Télérama), the project to record the complete Sibelius symphonies continues with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Santtu-Matias Rouvali, whose career as a conductor is entering top gear: he has just been appointed Principal Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. At the turn of the twentieth century, as Finland struggled to free itself from Russian rule, Sibelius and his wife faced several domestic dramas, including the loss of one of their daughters, Kirsti, to typhoid fever. The Second Symphony, written in the brilliant key of D major, seems to be marked by the events of the composer’s private life, but many of his contemporaries nevertheless saw it as a political manifesto! In 1898, Sibelius composed the incidental music for Adolf Paul’s play King Christian II, the story of the downfall of a king of Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden and Norway) in the sixteenth century. The suite derived from it was successfully performed in several European cities.

Classical Music

Pictures while listening to symphony no. 9: A joyful, almost boisterous opening movement. A dreamy, contemplative second followed by a sparkling presto. And then this short fourth movement, the helpless lament of a lonely bassoon, still showing signs of vitality against the stark, unbending, unison brass. A small, tormented individual under brutal state power. Nevertheless, still it laments. The dictator repeats his demand. But the bassoon does not totally lose heart. It starts the last movement with a shy, slightly mischievous dance that becomes gradually more light-hearted. Somewhere along the line, the timpani and horns give the signal to rise up, initially very softly. This is the announcement to the dictator: watch out, Stalin, this is it, now I'll make you think with pen and ink! The furious ascent peaks with a grotesque triumphal march that sounds like liberated laughter. The powerless one makes fun of the all-powerful – and then whistles in his face! Looking back, the question arises: who is the one lying as heavy as cold sheet metal in an eternal bottomless pit and who is the one who remains laughing in history? Judging by the music, by the 9th symphony Shostakovich had put the worst of times behind him. Quite different from in the 5th, but that's another story. Another story, by the way, that you can also find in this cinema.

This is the Morton Gould album to get, especially for the Symphony No. 4, subtitled "West Point." The piece is interesting, convincing, and accomplished. The performance is superb, and the sound quality is simply stunning.

The most popular of Morton Gould's clear-cut, distinctive compositions have become less often heard in the recent years since his passing. He composed many more pieces than most people have heard and he achieved numerous commissions, hence there are many occasional pieces marking special events as well as pieces for specific ensembles. Gould's bright orchestration combined melodic turns from American folksong, jazz, gospel and blues peppered with colorful splashes of deftly applied 20th century dissonance and snappy dance rhythms, makes his music distinctively recognizable. One can however grow weary from overexposure to his bag of tricks so unless you absolutely love the Gould sound, acquiring albums that have good performances of his most popular works points to where to start if Gould is new to you. This distinctiveness is particularly noteworthy in his writing for wind instruments found on this album. He had a good ear for combining instruments to produce new colors.

The Naxos CD offers several big pluses. Anyone who played in a high school, college or university symphonic band probably played a Gould piece at one time or another and will want this album but whether you did or not, this is the Morton Gould album to get, especially for the Symphony No. 4 subtitled "West Point". The piece really is interesting, convincing and accomplished yet without the slick, facile quality found in some of Gould's lighter, entertaining works. The performance is superb and the sound quality is simply stunning. The other pieces on the album are also of interest. All of this, plus the price, places this release by the University of Kansas Wind Ensemble under Scott Weiss above the much older but otherwise excellent, classic Eastman Wind Ensemble recording conducted by Frederick Fennell. The piece was commissioned by the United States Military Band in 1952 and is not just a ceremonial work but instead, a serious, true symphony with a sustained melodic and contrapuntal development, particularly in the second movement, that draws you in and leads you through many fascinating moments.

The other works, though not on the level of the symphony, are worth hearing. With its musical depiction the trumpeting that brings down the walls in a straight-forward and obvious way, Jericho will thrill some listeners and bore the jaded. There doesn't seem to be a deeper meaning to this piece, just a well-written musical depiction of the fall of Jericho. The trumpet calls might remind you of Jerry Goldsmith's film score for Patton.

The Saint Lawrence Suite, composed for the Saint Lawrence Power Project is also of immediate melodic appeal. Cast in four dance-like movements, it is the kind of piece that if programed on a classical radio station will hit listeners just right prompting calls requesting to know what it is. This music is greatly aided by the fine musicianship of the University of Kansas players.

There is also the suite titled Derivations, written for clarinetist Benny Goodman and the rarely heard Fanfare for Freedom which was commissioned, along with Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, for wartime concerts. Even in the lesser works, the great sound quality and musicianship carry the day and it is the 4th Symphony that is the masterpiece in its best performance on record.

– Greg La Traille, ArkivMusic.com

All tracks have been digitally mastered using 24-bit technology.

Isabel Leonard’s luxuriant vocal tone, riveting stage presence and remarkable artistic versatility make her one of today’s most in-demand singers. In this – her first Delos release – she explores the riches of Spanish song in all its varied Iberian forms and styles that can be traced back as far as its millennium-old Moorish influences. The generous program encompasses pure folksongs, folk-influenced art songs, dances and popular theater songs by quite a few of Spain’s finest composers of the late-19th and 20th c., Mompou, Falla, García Lorca, Sanjuán, Granados and Montsalvatge. Herself a Spanish speaker and passionate devotee of Iberian musical art, Ms. Leonard is partnered here by Brian Zeger, one of America’s most supremely sensitive and accomplished piano collaborators. “…magnetic charisma and a remarkable depth of tone” (Bachtrack)