Recent reviews An Editor's Choice in the April issue of Gramophone, the magazine cites 'exceptionally compelling performances ... cannot be recommended highly enough.' A review in today's Los Angeles Times asserts 'this CD could be his entree into the big time.' Augustin Hadelich's sensational debut on Avie Records, Flying Solo (AV 2180), helped catapult him from a highly respected and acclaimed position in the classical music world, into an ever-widening and adoring circle of fans who helped drive the album into the Billboard Classical Chart. Alongside major debuts with the likes of the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, his UK debut at the Sage Gateshead and return performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Indianapolis Symphony, major feature coverage in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and more has propelled Augustin's media profile to an all-time high. Called "luscious" by Ariama.com, Echoes of Paris is Augustin's first chamber recording and casts intriguing connections between Frenchmen Debussy and Poulenc and Russians Prokofiev and Stravinsky, who both flocked to Paris and were heavily influenced by the city's electric atmosphere and cultural scene. Augustin comments, "I have chosen the four works on this album primarily because they fit so well together ... the 'echoes of Paris' that tie them together include puppetry, percussion, marches and jazz references." Above all it is Augustin's riveting performance of these striking 20th century works that will captivate consumers and continue to broaden his outstanding reputation far and wide. critical acclaim for Augustin Hadelich "If a layer of surface noise were added to Augustin Hadelich's recent solo-violin recording on the Avie label, you might think you were hearing a virtuoso out of the Golden Age." - The New Yorker "an exacting focus, an unerring dramatic sense and a rich, beautiful tone ... an easygoing but winning virtuosity" - The New York Times "Outstanding musicianship separates Augustin Hadelich from the pack" - Gramophone "behind Hadelich's talent was a molten intensity, a determination to explore the music's passionate, earthy sides with gritty articulation and tender lyricism." - Cleveland Plain Dealer "impressive -- intonation dead-on, with a luscious tone and an Old World grace that you don't hear very much from young violinists anymore." - Los Angeles Times "he easily confirmed his place on the shortlist of today's top violin virtuosos" - The Denver Post, on Augustin's New York Philharmonic debut at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival

Think you know Italian baroque chamber music? Think again. The range, diversity - and even wackiness - is remarkable, as illustrated by Flights of Fantasy, an album of acute inventiveness by Avie stalwart Monica Huggett and the chamber soloists of her Irish Baroque Orchestra. Take Carlo Farina's Capriccio Stravagante, which translates as "outlandish whim", and imitates barking dogs, meowing cats and gunfire. More serious, but no less virtuosic, experimental forms occur in works by Marini, Castello, Legrenzi, and Cavalli - the Venetian best known for his operas - all heard on this album. Created in 1996, the period-instrument Irish Baroque Orchestra occupies a fundamental place in Ireland's musical landscape. Ten years in, the mantle of artistic director was assumed by Monica Huggett, who has created a decades-long career of critically acclaimed and award-winning recordings, including the Billboard chart-topping, Grammy-nominated Bach Orchestral Suites on Avie (AV 2171). critical acclaim for the Irish Baroque Orchestra and Monica Huggett "Nothing lacks from Sonnerie's playing, which is generously, beautifully judged for pace and attractively recorded ... classy" - Gramophone "fresh, lively, and full of spirit" - Classic FM CD of the Week, on Monica Huggett directing Bach Orchestral Suites (AV 2171) Irish Baroque Orchestra: Critics' Choice for the IBO's Masterworks Series, January 2010 - The Irish Times

Classical Music

The 2-CD Bach set takes the ever-popular Brandenburg Concertos, and uniquely couples them with two Harpsichord Concertos, one of which is also presented in a reconstruction for violin. Taking its name from the classical god of music and the sun, Apollo's Fire is dedicated to the performance of 17th- and 18th-century music on period instruments. Founder and Music Director Jeannette Sorrell and her ensemble of dynamic and creative early-music artists from North America and Europe have been praised internationally for stylistic freshness and buoyancy, animated spontaneity, technical excellence, and creative programming. An award-winning harpsichordist and conductor, Sorrell studied with Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam and Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood. Praised for its "temperament and personality" by The New York Times, the ensemble has toured throughout North America and, in November 2010 embarks on its first tour of Europe. critical acclaim "Led by a brilliant harpsichordist, Jeannette Sorrell, the ensemble exudes stylish energy . . . a blend of scholarship and visceral intensity." - Gramophone "Apollo's Fire has developed into one of America's leading Baroque orchestras, and one capable of competing with some of Europe's much-recorded bands." - The Boston Globe "The exhilaration and sense of discovery is utterly infectious." - International Record Review "These are performances of enormous drama, delicacy and zest played with keen attention to expressive and textural nuances." - The Cleveland Plain Dealer

A serious sense of purpose without dourness, harmonic variety without abstruseness, rhythmic vitality without being overly complex and immediate impact yet worthy of greater study.

It’s especially interesting for me to be listening to and reviewing this disc as I have just been ‘doing’ Egon Wellesz who, like Gál was an émigré as a result of World War II. Gál’s situation was, if anything, even worse as in March 1933, at a time when he had a role of some eminence in German musical life and also a little in Austria, he was forced out of his position on account of his Jewish background. He fled to England. After many vicissitudes he ended up working and living for the rest of his life in Edinburgh.
 
The Violin Concerto comes from the period 1931-2 when Gál was at his most successful in Germany. It is in many ways quite an untroubled work. Throughout it I kept pinching myself that this was not a British concerto as it seems to bear little relationship with the Austro-Germanic tradition of the late Romantics or early moderns prevalent at the time. The ‘Fantasia’ opening movement and the second movement marked ‘Arioso’ begin with a very English-sounding pastoral melody on the oboe. The only vicious and angry writing comes in the cadenzas which Gál himself wrote. The piece was written for Georg Kulenkampff and Fritz Busch and is in three movements. The finale, a Rondo, is quite lively and the brightest of the three but the opening is a Fantasia with four or five contrasting ideas. The work as a whole hangs together in a most satisfactory manner. Annette-Barbara Vogel tells us in a brief essay that recording this work and indeed the entire disc has been her dream for many years. She can be triply proud of her efforts, those of the orchestra and of Kenneth Woods who enables the orchestration to breath with such clarity. The recording engineers must also take a bow.
 
It’s interesting that despite all of the difficulties thrown at Gál and his family in 1934 he wrote the genial, easy-going yet masterful ‘Improvisation, Variations and Finale on a Theme of Mozart’ for string quartet (Meridian CDE84557 - Edinburgh Quartet). In 1939 he wrote an equally lyrical ‘Concertino’ which, ironically is, if anything, more virtuosic than the concerto. Its opening Andante tranquillo is fecund with ideas, almost Fantasia-like. Its melody on cellos is almost Korngold and even more so when the soloist takes it up. But the second subject is strident and dotted. The work is in just two movements linked by a challenging bridge-cadenza before hustling in a ‘Rigaudon’. This was a melody which Gál noted down, apparently from a British Museum Manuscript dated 1716; in contrast there is a more romantic second subject. A nice touch is created by this idea melting away into another, briefer cadenza before the opening melody of the first movement returns with a sense of sadness and nostalgia. The dance tune is suddenly re-invigorated for a final fling in the orchestral strings and then by all, leading to a light-hearted ending.
 
The CD places ‘Triptych’ between these two concertante works. It dates from around Gál’s 80 ^th year when he was experiencing a late burst of creative activity. The excellent booklet notes by Eva Gál tell us that this was the time of Third Quartet in 1969, the Fourth of 1971, the Fourth Symphony of 1973 and a Clarinet Quintet of 1977. One is therefore reminded of late-flowering composers such as Berthold Goldschmidt and Havergal Brian. The Triptych is intractably conservative for its time. Indeed in the clarinet writing of the slow, middle movement - called a ‘Lament’ - and in the lyrical second subject of the third movement marked ‘Comedy’, one may well be reminded of autumnal Brahms. There are times anywhere in the work when other composers might come to mind. My wife, who really took to this “warm-hearted old man”, at one moment shouted out ‘Glazunov’ in the first movement (marked romantically, ‘Impromptu’). There’s even a hint of Elgar at one point. But this music is not shackled to any particular time and like its composer is related to no particular place. It has a serious sense of purpose without dourness. It has harmonic variety without abstruseness. It has rhythmic vitality without being overly complex. It has an immediate impact but is worthy of greater study.
 
The presentation is exemplary with photos and examples of Gál’s neat manuscript work and wonderful performances. If from my descriptions the music seems to have an appeal then search out this CD out because if successful then I suspect more Gál might appear in the next few years.
 

-- Gary Higginson, MusicWeb International

The exhilaration and sense of discovery is utterly infectious.” — International Record Review

“These are performances of enormous drama, delicacy, and zest played with keen attention to expressive and textural nuances.” — Cleveland Plain Dealer

This all-Mozart recording leads with the composer’s darkest Symphony, No. 40 in G minor. American soprano Amanda Forsythe joins the group in a dramatic recitative and virtuoso aria from Lucio Silla, and the disc includes the Ballet Music from Idomeneo, a festive and rarely-heard suite from the last great work in the opera seria tradition. Rounding out the set are four lively and entertaining Contradances.

MOZART Piano Concertos: No. 18; No. 22 • Imogen Cooper (pn); Northern Sinf • AVIE AV2200 (66:20)


Both Imogen Cooper and her playing of Mozart need no introduction to regular readers of Fanfare. Colin Clarke recently did a feature review with her regarding a new Schubert recording project in 33:6. Michael Ullman reviewed previously released discs of Mozart concertos in 30:5 (Nos. 9 and 23) and 32:1 (Nos. 24 and 25); the latter were also reviewed by Evan Dickerson in 32:3. All the reviews were quite positive, though Ullman did not find that her performances were quite on the same level as classic accounts by Schnabel and Gieseking.


My reaction to this latest CD issue is very similar to that of Ullman, though I will accentuate the positive to a greater degree. For me at least, such comparisons have become more difficult to make because of the far-reaching changes that period-instrument performances have brought to our understanding and expectations of Mozart interpretation. For example, while the Northern Sinfonia plays on modern instruments, it employs minimal string vibrato and the woodwinds are more pungent, creating a leaner sonority that emphasizes rhythmic crispness and harmonic tartness over melodic warmth. There is also considerably less use of rubato for expressive effect. For those accustomed to, say, the fuller sound and romantic warmth of a Bruno Walter (a personal touchstone in Mozart), any performance adopting or influenced by period practices risks sounding less expressive. In moving from one to the other, I personally must make a conscious effort to adjust my aesthetic expectations and look for the type of interpretive expressiveness apropos of the performance style in question.


On their own grounds, these performances succeed quite well indeed. Led by first violinist Bradley Creswick, the conductorless Northern Sinfonia plays with exemplary ensemble and balance. Cooper is about as elegant a Mozartian as one could want; her touch is delicate and crystalline, her runs fluent and seamless, and she makes very sparing use of the pedal. Interpretively she stresses the graceful elements of the music, but is by no means superficial or slighting of those moments requiring more gravitas. If the slow movement of K 482 does not have the sheer weight and darkness brought to it by, say, Barenboim in his classic EMI recording with the English Chamber Orchestra, it is still effective on its own terms. Above all, there is a relaxed, singing quality to her playing; even though the timings of the movements are virtually identical to those of several other performances with which I made comparisons, they have a more leisurely, almost playful feel to them, without seeming to drag in the slightest. The recorded sound is clear and not too closely miked, which adds a bit of warmth and takes the edge off the leaner string sound. My one complaint is that the booklet notes include gushy puff-piece overviews of Cooper and the Sinfonia of the sort found in concert program brochures, at the expense of more substantive comments on the music. But those seeking recordings of Mozart piano concertos that reflect the best melding of modern instruments and period-performance practice can turn to this disc with complete confidence.


FANFARE: James A. Altena

Classical Music

The Brook Street Band burst onto the scene in 2003 with their Avie debut, the world premiere recording of Handel’s “Oxford” Water Music, which earned the period-instrument ensemble an Editor’s Choice from Gramophone. Now, the all-girl group presents their first recording of the music of J.S. Bach, adapting his Organ Sonatas to their own instrumentation of two violins, harpsichord, and cello.

“The smartest new baroque band around … if you need instant sunshine, play this disc.” — The Times

Classical Music

Classical Music

VIVALDI Concertos for Various Instruments: RV 86 1 , 163, 271 2 , 312 3 , 445 4 , 482 5 , 500 6 , 526 7 , 530 8 ) • Adrian Chandler, dir 2,7,8 (vn); Pamela Thorby 1,3,4 (rcr); 1,5,6 Peter Whelan (bn); 7,8 Sara Deborah Struntz (vn); La Serenissima (period instruments) • AVIE AV 2201 (72:01)


One of the underlying motifs of this program seems to be Bohemia, which Vivaldi visited in 1730 and where he probably acquired the paper on which some of these concertos are written. This mixed program opens with what must be one of his briefest concertos, RV 163, in B?. Though under four minutes, and with no special solo instrument, it encompasses many of Vivaldi’s salient characteristics: a strong opening theme, a fine melody, and rhythmic surprise. This brief piece is called “Conca,” for reasons Adrian Chandler connects with a Bohemian use of the conch shell to ward off impending storm. The only storm in front of us here, however, is the pleasurable swirl of Vivaldi’s invention.


In 1727–28, Vivaldi wrote two sets of string concertos, both, in the end, called La Cetra (the lyre). One set was published in Amsterdam in 1727 as op. 9 and may have originally been intended for the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI, to whom, on a visit to Trieste in 1728, however, he personally gave a manuscript of a set of new concertos. Vivaldi may have been looking for a job, and the emperor was certainly interested, but nothing happened because the emperor died and Vivaldi, having moved to Vienna without a patron, died in poor straits. The ensemble plays one concerto from the published set (RV 530) and two from the manuscript (RV 526 and 271, of which the former had to be reconstructed by Chandler).


The remaining four concertos on this disc use bassoon and recorder for the concerted part. Two of these, however, are single-movement fragments (RV 482 and 312, the latter reconstructed by Chandler). There is also a “sonata” for recorder and bassoon (RV 86).


Numbering 19, La Serenissima is a fairly large band, as early instrumental ensembles go. This gives a pleasant and most-welcome heft to its sound. The soloists are all good and it would be invidious to single out one of them. This is Vivaldi at his most vivacious, but don’t overlook the rightly named “amorous” concerto (RV 271) from the 1728 manuscript with which the program ends. Anyone looking for an introduction to Vivaldi’s instrumental pieces other than The Four Seasons would do well to start here.


FANFARE: Alan Swanson

Classical Music

Classical Music

TUDOR CITY • New York Polyphony • AVIE AV2186 (62:51 Text and Translation)


Music of BYRD, CORNYSH, TALLIS, LAMBE, DUNSTABLE, TAVERNER, TYE, A. SMITH, ANON


This four-man vocal ensemble, based in the Big Apple, has given its second disc a title with a double meaning. Tudor City is a familiar residential landmark in midtown Manhattan, and the program consists largely of music of the Tudor era. Dunstable’s Speciosa facta es and one anonymous piece from the Worcester fragments are earlier than the Tudors, while four works by Andrew Smith (b. 1970), commissioned by the ensemble, are contemporary. Two of his pieces are juxtaposed with earlier works using the same texts, Flos regalis (the Worcester piece) and Magnificat by Taverner.


I cannot find Flos regalis on any previous recording, going all the way back to Denis Stevens’s full LP devoted to the Worcester fragments. The title appears as the cantus firmus of a Mass by Walter Frye, twice recorded ( Fanfare 16:6 and 24:2), but the Mass has been linked to a lost antiphon or a lost responsory, neither of which matches this text after the first two words. The Dunstable is familiar from the Gothic Voices (11:2, reissued in 33:6) and the Orlando Consort (24: 1), but there were three earlier versions in the LP era. Lambe’s Stella caeli has been recorded by Harry Christophers three times, for Meridian (9:4), Hyperion, and Collins (17:5), and by the Orlando Consort (26:4). For Gaude Virgo Mater Christi , William Cornysh should not be dated as “died 1523,” for the composer of this work, which survives in the Eton Choirbook, died in 1502. It has been recorded by Andrew Carwood (21:2), Peter Phillips (12:5), and Harry Christophers (9:2). Most of the Tallis selections comprise five of the nine brief tunes for Archbishop Parker’s psalter, recorded complete by Peter Phillips (10:3, since reissued) and Alistair Dixon (in the sixth volume of his complete Tallis). The longest work on the program is Taverner’s Magnificat à 4, recorded most recently by Harry Christophers (17:4).


The difference between this all-male ensemble and the other groups (only Orlando is all-male, but it has a countertenor on top) are evident. To compare only the closest rival, this group takes the Lambe work a whole tone lower than the Orlando, and the latter is noticeably livelier, though not all that much faster overall. The new version of the Dunstable is even lower than the Orlando rendition, but here this group moves right along. So if you should have a sizable collection of these pieces, the new disc will demonstrate equally fine interpretations with a darker tone of voice. This is an ensemble to reckon with, and its versions are worthy of close comparison.


FANFARE: J. F. Weber