Bruce Atwell is the horn professor at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and is currently Principal Horn with the Fox Valley Symphony, the Green Bay Symphony, and the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra. He earned a B.M. at California State University, M.M. at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and D.M.A at the University of Cincinnati.

arlheinz Stockhausen recalled that one day in September 1969 ‘I had the idea of one single musical figure or formula that would be expanded over a very long period of time…I wrote down this melody on an envelope.’ Thus was born Mantra, the first mature example of Stockhausen’s ‘formula’ technique which was to dominate his output until his death in 2007. Effectively a trio including a sound projectionist, Mantra retains a good deal of freedom, transcendental mysticism and playful, abandoned inventiveness within its quasi-serialist approach. This recording is the first to use digital technology, with equipment specially designed by Stockhausen’s former assistant Jan Panis, and approved by the composer.

An important marker in Debussy’s compositional development, the Fantaisie reflects something of the influence of César Franck’s Symphonic Variations yet embodies his own new aesthetic. Unpublished in Debussy’s lifetime, it is heard here in its 1968 revision. The delicately evocative Rapsodie for saxophone is an exotic work with an ‘oriental’ atmosphere and Spanish or Moorish associations. Although composed as a Conservatoire test piece, the Première Rapsodie for Clarinet has long since entered the repertoire as an important addition for the instrument. The glittering Danses for harp and strings recall Satie’s Gymnopédies, with the Danse profane in particular calling for a degree of virtuosity. Volume 6 of this much-admired series (Naxos 8.572583) was praised for its ‘subtle and sensitive readings’. (Gramophone)

"We've reached Volume 7 in Naxos's superb Lyonnaise exploration of Debussy's orchestral works with the thrilling Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra, superbly played here by Jean-Yves Thibaudet. It's a grand showpiece, reminiscent of César Franck's Symphonic Variations but painted in Debussy's inimitable palette."

-- Stephen Pritchard, The Observer [11/19/2011]

Ken Field's Revolutionary Snake: Year of the Snake

Franz Schubert‘s song cycle Winterreise, the undisputed highlight of the Romantic lieder genre, achieves new dimensions: Gregor Meyer sets a stylistically varied and atmospherically dense choral accompaniment alongside the solo baritone voice of Daniel Ochoa and the piano played by Christian Peix. Soloists, choir and conductor have intimately worked together to create a knowledgeable and refreshing reinterpretation of this timeless classic, which, with its new approaches to understanding both text and music, will hopefully soon be heard more often in the concert halls. Baritone Daniel Ochoa, who is praised for his stage presence and expressiveness by audiences and critics alike, recently added many achievements to his portfolio. In 2015–2016 he had his role débuts as Giovanni and Marcello at the Vienna Volksoper, played the role of Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus) in Tokyo’s Bunka Kaikan Theatre and gave several concerts in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Furthermore, several recordings featuring Ochoa have been released in the last few years, among them two Bach recordings by Deutsche Harmonia Mundi.

Les Travers�es Baroques continues it's exploration of the great repertory of sacred music from northern Europe. After Marcin Mielczewski, the ensemble has decided to turn to Mikolaj Zielenski for it's new recording, thus rehabilitating this Polish Baroque composer whose biography is no more than a long series of question marks, but whose magnificent music amply compensates for the gaps in our knowledge. Established in 2008 in Burgundy, Les Travers�es Baroques dedicates it's repertoire priorities toward the countries of Eastern Europe during the 17th c.

An outstanding volume in Koopman's complete Buxtehude cycle from Challenge will delight, stimulate and please in every respect.

Ton Koopman's survey of the entire works of Buxtehude seems to be getting more enjoyable and exciting with each release. Here we are at what must be (just under) about two-thirds of the way through - volume 14, the fifth in the series of the composer's vocal works. The five high soloists and a tenor and bass are lively, confident, sensitive - the dialogue in Bedenke Mensch das Ende [tr.5] is a good example of real, studied drama - and technically brilliant (listen to the ensemble singing and pacing towards the end of Jesu, komm, mein Trost und Lachen [tr.7], for instance). They infuse their performances with joy, depth, clarity, devotion and the other emotions required by the glorious - yet almost unknown - writing of Buxtehude … essentially Germanic but with the inevitable influence of Italy in general and Monteverdi in particular also much in evidence.

Some of the works on this CD were recorded as long ago as 2007 and 2008; the booklet is unusually unforthcoming about which and where. This suggests that Koopman may be 'collecting' from Buxtehude's œuvre at this stage in the project. But there is nothing about the collection on this generous and amply-recorded CD to make us think we're experiencing the 'also-rans' or dregs. This is music of great exactness: penetrating, striking and original. Buxtehude's gift for melody, structure and the creation of complex, subtle yet highly meaningful textures is in evidence from first note to last.

Only three or four of the works presented here are otherwise available - in compilations and on DVD, for example. So there is every reason to acquire this CD without hesitation - even were its performances not of the extremely high calibre that they are. Each of the soloists has something definite, communicative and enriching to offer. The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra is also on typically excellent form.

The new impetus given to music after the devastation of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) by the evolving Geistliches Konzert (sacred concerto) is also responsible for much of the measured yet unmistakable vivacity of Buxtehude's choral writing here … usually a short instrumental introduction, an impactful, self-contained and focused Biblical phrase or section of text is explored by one or more soloists - with instrumental 'support' rather than intricate comment in its own right. A true point of departure for and from the church cantata. The musicians involved in this excellent CD from Challenge thoroughly understand the idiom of the Geistliches Konzert.

This CD has other forms which are as striking by their then innovative nature at Buxtehude's time as by their 'stability' and overseeing command of the blend of musical form and idea with text are to us now. These include the strophic arias and ciacconne; and the concerto-aria cantatas ( Je hoher du bist [tr.1] and Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe [tr.2]). One senses Buxtehude's delight at the freedom of expression which these forms afford him. And the performers' responsiveness and involvement … Buxtehude was laying all sorts of ground for others - not least Bach. But he was also writing devotional music for local 'consumption' and probably specific occasions in Lübeck. So the singers need to steer a fairly narrow course between emphasising the historical moment in which the music was written; and its more general meaning. They do. At the same time, their singing and playing have a modern touch … it's immediate, 'edgy' almost, the singers' articulation of the all-important texts are crystalline, liquid, limpid - without ever being florid.

The acoustic is clean, though perhaps a touch too dry for the not ostentatious but peacefully declamatory nature of some of the music. The booklet with notes by Christoph Wolff is highly informative and has the texts in German (and Latin for Jesu, dulcis memoria) and English. If you're already collecting this cycle, don't hesitate for a second. If you want to sample historically significant and beautiful music from the under-performed Buxtehude, this is a great place to start.

-- Mark Sealey, MusicWeb International

With this new series entitled ‘Salon de musique’, Alpha presents recordings made by artists who have enlivened the Fesival of Salon de Provence for some years now: the pianist Eric le Sage, who has made many recordings for Alpha, the clarinettist Paul Meyer, and others. With cellist Claudio Bohórquez, they have now recorded two Beethoven trios. By 1798, the year Ludwig van Beethoven composed his Trio for piano, clarinet and cello op.11, he was already well-known in Vienna as a remarkable improviser and an ambitious young composer. The piece was clearly aimed at the enlightened aristocracy, as well as competent musical amateurs. This did not prevent the critics, though universally positive, from judging the score to be over-complex in places. Dedicated to the Empress Marie-Theresa of Austria, the Septet was published in 1802 by Hofmeister, and upon being well-received it was then rearranged for various combinations. Beethoven himself made a version for clarinet, cello and piano, op.38 in E Flat major – the one recorded here.

FAURÉ Cello Sonatas No. 1 & 2. Romance. Elégie. Sérénade. Papillon. Berceuse. Clarinet Trio, op. 120 1 • François Salque (vc); Éric Le Sage (pn); 1 Paul Meyer (cl) • ALPHA 600 (74:02)


Here we have the type of recital that has almost disappeared from the face of the earth: quintessentially French performances of quintessentially French music. As an analogy, I should also point out that quintessentially German, Italian, Austrian, Dutch, and British performances have also faded to a precious few. The standardization of both instrumental style and sound has, by and large, imposed a generically pretty but nationally ambiguous style and sound on orchestras, solo musicians, and chamber groups the world over. Heck, we even have a hard enough time coming up with a quintessentially American sound anymore.


But Éric Le Sage and François Salque are indeed throwbacks to at least the 1940s. Salque’s cello avoids the generically rich, dark sort of timbre one hears from most such players the world over nowadays, but has rather a lean, edgy sonority not unlike Pierre Fournier. This does not mean that Salque’s low range lacks depth of tone, just that it’s not a basso profundo sound; it’s more like a basso cantate, which is fine by me. Likewise, Le Sage’s piano plays with light and shade, color and nuance, in a way that, fortunately, has never entirely disappeared from the lexicon of French pianists on record, from Cortot to Thibaudet.


Thus these performances reach inside the music not just in terms of emotional response but also in terms of coloristic response. They do not lack for energy or excitement when the music calls for it, even in such a piece as the op. 69 Romance, yet despite a CD cover that is almost completely black with white and blood-red lettering, their playing is a virtual rainbow. Some modern listeners, more used to the plush generic quality of many musicians nowadays, may find this approach foreign to them or difficult to comprehend, but as the expression goes, “this is the real deal.” As good as the recording of mostly the same music by cellist Ina-Esther Joost Ben-Sasson is (Naxos 8570545), my decision in favor of this release is predicated by exactly the virtues (or, if you prefer, idiosyncrasies) mentioned in the second paragraph. I should also add that Paul Meyer manages to fit in very well indeed in the performance of the Clarinet Trio. You simply can’t sing Italian comic patter like an Italian, you can’t conduct Má Vlast as well as a Czech-born conductor can, and you can’t play French music any better than the French do it.


FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

Classical Music

Johann Rosenm�ller compiled an impressive oeuvre of more than two hundred vocal and instrumental works. On the occasion of this composer's four hundredth birthday, the Ensemble 1684 is presenting a CD with a cross section of his music including the world-premiere recordings of four of his large-dimensioned concertos. Rosenm�ller's post as a teacher at the St. Thomas School introduced him to an exciting musical and academic environment that greatly stimulated him. Very early he displayed his talent for absorbing artistic and cultural influences. The St. Thomas cantor Tobias Michael and the Dresden court music director Heinrich Sch�tz were of particular significance here. The new Italian concerto models with which Sch�tz had become acquainted during his second stay in Venice were above all a source of inspiration for Rosenm�ller, who very soon also began experimenting with them. A masterful compositional craftsman and contrapuntist of Sch�tzian stamp!

Even if the title refers more to the gothic sacred buildings of England, Nadege Rochat, inspired by her two-year studies in London, wanted to place the no less spectacular mansions of the island a musical monument. With works by Elgar, Walton and Boyle, she takes us to the time of the series Downton Abbey and designs a musical panorama of England at the beginning of the 20th century.

Classical Music

REVIEW:

Each of the two has strong competing recordings as well. In Richard Stoltzman’s version of the Corigliano concerto (RCA), there is more of an emphasis on the music’s jazzy rhythms and the contrast between its expressive and abstract elements. While Eddy Vanoosthuyse may not capture the same sense of spontaneity as Stoltzman, or equal the mournful quality of his playing in the Elegy, his phrasing and control illuminates distinctive details along the way, negotiates the treacherous opening cadenza fluidly, and packs more punch in the powerful closing pages. I call it a toss-up. The same holds true for the Carter concerto, where Vanoosthuyse and Michael Collins (DG) both handle the angular passages with aplomb, and offer an absorbing account of the contemplative episodes. Oliver Knussen, conductor for Collins, is a brilliant interpreter of Carter’s music, and the must-hear DG disc also features the only available recording of Symphonia. But Vanoosthuyse’s conductor, Paul Meyer, is a notable clarinetist himself, and his grasp of these concertos is no less effective. All things considered, this is an exceptional release in every way.

— Fanfare

Classical Music

Vol. 6 of this complete recording presents what might be termed the opposite ends of the broad spectrum covered by Kuhnau’s music, both in formal matters and in chronological respects. On the one hand, in “Ihr Himmel jubiliert von oben” and “Lobet, ihr Himmel, den Herrn” we have two magnificent Ascension cantatas for large ensembles from Kuhnau’s late period as St. Thomas music director. On the other hand, “Bone Jesu, care Jesu” and “Laudate pueri Dominum,” works of Italian stamp scored for chamber ensemble from Kuhnau’s time as a St. Thomas organist with a wide range of activities, offer exemplary illustrations of the sacred concerto of the late seventeenth century. “Ich freue mich im Herrn” for four concertists, choir, and strings occupies a middle position between these works and offers an interesting mixture consisting of the concerto-aria-cantata popular in the late seventeenth century and the rondo form and is borne musically by the affection of joy. Once again the Opella Musica ensemble of soloists founded by Gregor Meyer in 2011 and the historically oriented Camerata Lipsiensis orchestra interpret the cantatas on the basis of the recently published critical musicological edition.

Pianist Ursula Oppens, stalwart champion of 20th- and 21st-century American music and recipient of multiple Grammy nominations and other honors, celebrates her decades-long friendship and professional association with composer Laura Kaminsky on an album of world-premiere recordings. The program includes two recent works written for the pianist: Kaminsky’s Piano Quintet, performed with the Cassatt String Quartet, “a concise work of considerable substance and atmosphere” (New York Classical Review) and the turbulent Reckoning: Five Miniatures for America for piano four-hands, with pianist Jerome Lowenthal, created expressly for this recording. A large-scale Fantasy for solo piano explores sonorities from French Impressionism to jazz. Oppens gave the New York premiere in 2017.

Kaminsky’s Piano Concerto was inspired by visual images of sunlit rivers in New York City and St. Petersburg, Russia, where Oppens gave the world premiere with the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic led by its artistic director Jeffery Meyer. On this world-premiere recording, Meyer, who is also director of orchestras at Arizona State University, conducts the ASU Symphony Orchestra.

REVIEW:

The solo piano Fantasy is just that, an imaginative fantasia piece that moves in unexpected directions at Kaminsky’s whim. A few hints of jazz rhythm come and go in it as well as a remarkable passage in which the two hands play completely different and opposing lines against each other. Interestingly, this Fantasy is longer than the entire Piano Quintet and only eight seconds shorter than the entire Piano Concerto that ends the disc. More and different permutations follow within that time span, all of them unexpected and interesting. These performances, all first recordings of these works, are all excellent, which helps us to appreciate Kaminsky’s sound world. Highly recommended.

– The Art Music Lounge

Titan of the contemporary keyboard, Ursula Oppens is a rarity among artists living today. She is the stalwart bearer of a mid-century musical torch that apparently burns eternal. How fortunate we are to have such musicians as Oppens still making music with fortitude, passion and tireless faith.

Oppens wields her piano at the album’s centre, steering a varied vessel with consistent skill and surety. Even in brief piano passages, as she peeks out from dense ensemble material, Oppens’ artistry sings unmistakably. The 20-minute solo Fantasy (2010) should be considered a tour de force in and of itself. When it comes to a career such as Oppens’, dedication and staying power carry the day. May she always urge us to listen close and listen well, ever compelling our ears toward the future.

-- The WholeNote

When violinist Mary Rowell asked Rick Baitz to write a piece for her quartet, what emerged was Chthonic Dances, a mashup of rhythms, patterns and harmonies gleaned from his early years living in Brazil and South Africa. Rick says: “The healing energy of dance is a constant wherever I’ve lived. From South African township music to Brazilian samba, the juxtaposition of dance and story-telling creates catharsis- and if you’re down, the act of dancing your pain is a force in transcending it. So the dance of chthonic spirits brings out their complement, the spirits of light.” The New York Times described it as “a bright-hued, vigorously melodic score,” and it opens his new innova album, Into Light. ‘Hall of Mirrors’ is also permeated with the spirits of light and groove, merging the tribal with the computerized, employing mbiras, windwands, table, and electronics, which refract the instruments into processed and transformed versions of themselves. Kind of like when you go into a funhouse and see a bizarro reflection of yourself. Commissioned by the Juilliard School, ‘Hall of Mirrors’ is both earthbound and celestial, dance-like and trance-like, with an underlying sense of rhythmic slight-of-hand and a prevalent- but at times ambiguous- drone. The final piece on the album, ‘Into Light,’ dates back to 1984, but philosophically it’s in the same ballpark as the others. Rick thinks of it as both a dance and a meditation; a voyage through light and darkness with a lot of harmonic and rhythmic trickery along the way.

Choral music has always played a significant and central role at Belfast Cathedral, since its consecration in 1904. This strong choral tradition continues to this day with the recently formed all-adult, fully professional vocal ensemble. This ‘new’ cathedral choir brings together some of the finest singers in Northern Ireland who lead the liturgy and worship of Belfast Cathedral and are featured here in their debut album for Resonus Classics. Featuring a varied program of seasonal carols from composers including Elizabeth Poston, John Rutter and Philip Ledger, this album celebrates Christmas from Northern Ireland’s national cathedral.

Heinz Wallberg's intimate familiarity with the work (he conducted it on almost fifty separate occasions) can be heard throughout this 1961 performance of Richard Strauss' operatic masterpiece Der Rosenkavalier. Captured live at the Teatro Col�n, Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1961 with a stellar cast that included Regine Crespin and Fritz Wunderlich, among other Straussian notables, and offered here in 24bit/96kHz re-mastered sound, this is a recording to be set alongside those of Clemens Krauss, Karl B�hm and Herbert von Karajan, all famed and important 20th c. Strauss interpreters.

Daishin Kashimoto, Emmanuel Pahud, Paul Meyer, Zvi Plesser and Éric Le Sage, who have been close musical partners for years, joined forces once again at the Salon de Provence Chamber Music Festival to record this programme devoted to Viennese composers of the early twentieth century. The most famous and innovative of these are represented: Schoenberg with his Kammersymphonie no.1, Mahler with two lieder transcribed for flute and piano, Zemlinsky’s Clarinet Trio and several pieces by Berg. This is an album that encapsulates both the exhaustion of a bygone Romantic age and the avant-garde promises of a modern world still to be built.

Classical Music

The Akathistos Hymn to the Virgin Mary is a lyrical masterpiece in 24 stanzas that has been treasured for nearly 1,500 years by Eastern Christians. Father Ivan Moody's 1998 setting, composed specially for Cappella Romana, weaves beloved Greek melodies into Russian choral textures as it progresses from reverent contemplation to ecstatic transcendence. Vocal ensemble Cappella Romana combines passion with scholarship in it's exploration of early and contemporary music of the Christian East and West. It's name refers to the medieval Greek concept of the Roman oikoumene (inhabited world), which embraced Rome and Western Europe as well as the Byzantine Empire of Constantinople ("New Rome") and it's Slavic commonwealth. "purity and radiance in perfect realizations" (Gramophone) "The sound is splendid" (American Record Guide) "light and warmth over an ancient musical ground" (Willamette Week)

The five works brought together on our complete recording of Johann Kuhnau’s cantatas once again cover a wide spectrum of forms. Presumably, these works as a whole date from the first half of his tenure as music director at St. Thomas in Leipzig – presumably, because once again most of them have been transmitted only in secondary sources, which means that the dating process depends solely on stylistic criteria. Above all the concluding psalm concerto, “Singet dem Herr ein neues Lied,” is one of the most impressive examples of the outstanding artistry of the St. Thomas music director Kuhnau. The opulent instrumental ensemble with two trumpets, timpani, and five-part strings offers a tonally magnificent setting of Psalm 98. Here the individual instrumental and vocal groups engage in vigorous interplay in almost all the sections, thereby perfectly staging the jubilating, singing, and music-making to the glory of God as celebrated in the text. Throughout these works Kuhnau holds in store polyphonic feats, great challenges for the virtuosic talent of his musicians, and highly effective tonal blends and echo effects. Once again the Opella Musica ensemble of soloists founded by Gregor Meyer in 2011 and the historically oriented Camerata Lipsiensis perform the cantatas on the basis of the recently published musicological critical edition.

Two of Mozart's best-known wind concertos under the baton of Claudio Abbado are released together for the first time on vinyl. Emmanuel Pahud's recording of Mozart's Flute and Harp Concerto in C major, with harpist Marie-Pierre Langlamet and conductor Claudio Abbado, is a highly acclaimed performance. Recorded in 1996, this rendition showcases Pahud's elegant and expressive flute playing, characterized by a remarkably warm and full tone. Sabine Meyer's recording of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A major, also with the Berlin Philharmonic and Abbado, is a significant interpretation of this masterpiece. Recorded in 1998, Meyer performs the concerto on the basset clarinet, the instrument for which Mozart originally conceived the work, allowing for a deeper and richer tonal palette in the lower register. Meyer's rendition of the sublime Adagio is often highlighted for it's exquisite delicacy and deeply felt lyricism.