David Starobin returns to the music of leading Italian composer/guitarist, Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829), with a disc featuring Giuliani's solo and chamber music. Among the rarities are Two Rondos, op. 68, for piano and guitar, performed with the Israeli pianist, Inon Barnatan; Variations, op. 24a, played with Amalia Hall, winner of the Postacchini International Violin Competition (2013); and Variations on a March by Cherubini, arguably the finest solo of the composer's late period. The Italian journal Il Fronimo (Milan) wrote of Starobin: "David Starobin has grasped the authentic spirit, aided by his perfect instrumental technique. Here, the music acquires its truest meaning, exalting the quality of phrasing as it is rarely ever heard. Starobin's is a truly influential artistry, a great personality who does honor to both music and the guitar." - Bridge Records

'Valis' is based on a novel by Philip K. Dick.

Classical Music

LISZT Années de pèlerinage , Book III: Les Jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este. Harmonies poétiques et religieuses: Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude; Funérailles. Nuages gris. 4 Little Piano Pieces : No. 2 in A?. Mephisto Waltz No. 1. BEETHOVEN-LISZT Adelaide. BACH-LISZT Fantasy and Fugue, S 463 • Garrick Ohlsson (pn) • BRIDGE 9409 (76:27)


A few months back, I was wowed by a blazing new Liszt recital from Valentina Lisitsa (see Fanfare 37:4). Here, on a solidly engineered disc featuring a pianist of an earlier generation, we get something substantially less dazzling, although in its own way even more impressive. Not that Ohlsson lacks technique: whether in the clarity of the voices in the Bach-Liszt Fugue or of the sprays of notes in Jeux d’eaux , Ohlsson strides through this often transcendentally difficult music with supreme and fully justified confidence. Still—and I mean this as a descriptive, rather than an evaluative, claim—there’s a maturity to the playing that we don’t hear in Lisitsa’s more exuberantly youthful and improvisatory performances.


For the most part (the closing Mephisto Waltz is the primary exception), Ohlsson has chosen from Liszt’s more sober works—and for the most part, his moderate tempos and (where appropriate) his bass-centered sonority give the details of the music a chance to sink in. More importantly, I think, he manages to probe beneath the surface of the music and (miraculously) to do so without sacrificing any of its immediate rhetoric. Thus, for instance, there’s no lack of virtuoso sparkle in Jeux d’eaux ; but Ohlsson is also unusually alert to its subtler emotional shadings, capturing the disarming splashes of nostalgic regret, in particular, as well as anyone. Similarly, while he can crush you with the climaxes of Funérailles , he’s unusually tender in the quieter moments, giving the work a nobility it doesn’t always have in the hands of more consistently extroverted pianists like Horowitz and Barere. In his appropriately enthusiastic review of Ohlsson’s previous Bridge Liszt recording (the Sonata and the Ad Nos Fantasy , 35:2), Patrick Rucker referred to Ohlsson’s “profound wisdom and almost excruciating beauty”—and the same overriding qualities certainly characterize this remarkable Funérailles , too.


Ohlsson also has an enviable sense of architecture. This emerges not only in his treatment of the individual works (there’s consistent impetus to Bénédiction , a work that can easily stall but that here provides an engrossing sense of journey), but also in his design of the program as a whole. I particularly enjoyed the way that Jeux d’eaux , which follows the joyful reading of the Bach-Liszt Fugue, serves as to prepare us for beauties of Bénédiction —as well as the way Nuages gris (played with remarkable finesse) and the second of the Four Little Piano Pieces provide a transition between the grimness of Funérailles and the dash of the Mephisto Waltz.


In sum, music-making that deserves to be savored. I hope that Bridge and Ohlsson have plans for continuing the series.


FANFARE: Peter J. Rabinowitz

On October 22, 2011, the musical world will celebrate the 200th birthday of Franz Liszt. Garrick Ohlsson, one of the great piano virtuosi of the current era, contributes to the celebration with recordings of two of Liszt's towering achievements: the infrequently recorded Busoni transcription of Liszt's organ piece, 'Fantasie und Fuge über den choral Ad nos, ad Salutarem Undam", (To us, to the healing waters, come again) S. 259 and, the most beloved of all of Liszt's piano compositions, the Sonata in B Minor, S. 178. Those who revel in great pianism need look no further than this spectacular program.

When brand new, this CD’s reputation preceded it: winner of many rave reviews, it has already received the initial WQXR Gramophone American Award. It is dedicated to the memory of the composer’s mother, Birgitta Lieberson-Wolfe (1917–2003), who was known professionally as Vera Zorina, but the disc is being viewed widely as a memorial to mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, who passed away in July 2006, at the height—or could it have been only the beginning?—of a great career. No singer since Callas has been so idolized, but her life and her achievements remind me more of Kathleen Ferrier’s. In a moving encomium in The New Yorker (September 25, 2006), Alex Ross makes the cogent point that conventional adjectives simply do not apply to Hunt Lieberson, but that we must fall back on them because there are no words in the language which can do her justice. I, too, fell under her spell on several occasions. She was radiant as Didon in Les Troyens, and then bitterly hurt and angry at being abandoned by Enée, feelings projected throughout the giant Metropolitan Opera House. In Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby and Harbison’s opera thereof, Myrtle Wilson is hardly more than a convenient plot device, yet Hunt Lieberson brought her to life; such a change could upset the balance of a work but in this case added nuance and depth to a work that needed both. Her singing of Britten’s Phaedra with the New York Philharmonic was so devastating that I had to reconsider everything I thought I knew about the work. The final time I heard her was in her husband’s lyrical, loving Neruda Songs, with Levine and the Boston Symphony; she was beauty itself. These occasions could have been four different singers, if such singers existed.

Peter Lieberson, the son of a composer, has been at least three composers in one: he writes works related to his “long-standing practice of Tibetan Buddhism;” he has written exciting, complex music that mirrors such earlier teachers as Babbitt and Wuorinen; and—under his wife’s influence—has recently written lyrical, expressive vocal music. It is the complex music (call it difficult, if you must) that appeals most strongly to me—viz., a thrilling recent DG disc, 457 606, titled Raising the Gaze. I am too ignorant of Buddhist beliefs and ceremonies to appreciate that side of the composer; although some of his most heart-felt music falls into that category, I have seldom been able to understand its statements or follow its procedures. These categories begin to overlap in the instrumental works on this disc. The Six Realms (1999–2000) mixes complexity with Buddhism. Written for Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project, its movements reflect “the six realms described in Buddhism . . . a highly detailed portrait of our human consciousness” (the quotations are taken from the composer’s program notes). Yet he also refers to the piece as “my concerto.” Written for solo cello and a large orchestra often sparingly used, its 27 minutes cover a wide range of emotional (presumably religious) and musical expression. After a bumpy start (mine), The Six Realms is now beginning to reveal its depth and power.

The Horn Concerto (1998–1999) is more conventional, as much so as anything I have heard from Lieberson. Lyricism meets complexity, each making room for the other. It consists of two roughly nine-minute movements, the first of which recalls concertos of Schoeck and Hindemith, the second Stravinsky, especially his Symphony in Three Movements. Fine models all, but surprising for Lieberson (who knew Stravinsky as a child). As the piece progresses, the writing for horn becomes more vibrant, more exciting, and no doubt very difficult to play. William Purvis rides it like a champion.

But the pieces de resistance here are the five Rilke Songs (1997–2001), taken from The Sonnets to Orpheus. Lieberson’s straightforward music seems to equate simplicity with truth. Music and performance transport us into Rilke’s world and involve us in his musings; that the vocal line is lyrical and the voice beautiful is almost incidental. While the performances of the two instrumental works are excellent, that of the songs is so ideal as to disappear. Pianist Serkin and the composer have been friends from birth and collaborators for decades; the singer was wife, inspiration, and artistic advisor; the three are one artistic whole. It comes as a shock to hear an eruption of applause; the audience at the Ravinia Festival must have been holding its collective breath for these 18 minutes. So was I.

Every one of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson’s recordings is a treasure. Every Peter Lieberson disc ought to be treasured; Oliver Knussen called his music “the real thing.”

FANFARE: James H. North

The ensemble Hexagon (Susan Rotholz, flute; Alan Kay, clarinet; Matt Dine, oboe; Chris Komer, French horn; Michael Finn, bassoon; and James Winn, piano) begins its French odyssey in a most unusual way. Are these six players eating dessert before dinner by beginning their program with a trifle they often use as an encore, the last movement from Jean Françaix's L'Heure du berger? Well, perhaps: the remainder of the music on this disc is frequently of a much more serious bent, but the ensemble plays with such élan, so elegantly and yet with such a spirit of fun that you can't help but be swept up in the parade. The concluding Saint-Saëns Tarantella is delivered with similar good cheer and a light touch, nicely book-ending the disc.


But what comes between is no less impressive. The raucous opening and closing moments of the Poulenc Sextet echo the mood of the Françaix (and also show off the group's fantastic technical skills), and the players never lose the emotional threads of the middle Divertissement, though they twist and turn through segments that are alternately dreamy and sharp-tongued. Saint-Saëns' Caprice, written while the composer was on tour in Russia for the czarina, is a strange, meandering piece that never quite manages to cohere--but it still offers the players a chance to show off that lovely, creamy tone.


The Poulenc trio features some impressive performances, particularly Finn's extraordinarily crisp delivery in the opening Presto, Dine's gracefully singing tone in the Andante, and Winn's spiky jabs in the concluding Rondo. Albert Roussel's Divertissement flows beautifully, played at a wistful tempo and with seamless lines. The sound is ideally balanced between the players, something of a feat considering how tricky it can be to mike winds. I wish that these powerhouse players had a more expanded repertoire at their disposal; this recording is a real treat.
--Anastasia Tsioulcas, ClassicsToday.com

Paul Lansky's burgeoning career shift — from composer of computer-generated music, to composer of music written for, as he humorously puts it, "carbon-based life forms" — is documented on the present recording, comprising three symphonic works created during the past five years. Shapeshifters for two pianos and orchestra was commissioned by The Alabama Symphony and Justin Brown for the piano duo Quattro Mani. The title, Shapeshifters, denotes a kind of homage to music's ability to change and morph itself in uncanny and unusual ways. With the Grain was composed for the guitarist David Starobin. The concerto's four movements are named after wood grains and their kinetic qualities. Imaginary Islands was commissioned by Justin Brown and the Alabama Symphony. The work is in three movements, each a kind of sonic landscape for an imaginary island. Lansky's music freely mixes popular and classical elements in works full of energy and fantasy.

Classical Music

This was the last recording that Jan DeGaetani made.

This enterprising disc contains all of Hindemith's chamber music featuring solo cello either alone or in combination with piano. The pieces cover a wide stylistic range, from the spiky, dissonant neo-classicism of the early sonata Op. 11 No. 3, to the warmer, almost Romantic work written in 1948. The humorous variations for cello and piano on the English nursery tune "A frog he went a-courting" ought to become an encore staple of chamber recitals. A string player himself, Hindemith clearly knew how to show off the cello to best effect. Even the comparatively difficult works have a fluency and musical logic that proves compelling at first listen, and none of them overstay their welcome. A lot of the credit for this music's favorable impression belongs with the cellist, Wendy Warner. Her accurate intonation and warm, singing tone prove a constant source of delight, and she's ably partnered by pianist Eileen Buck. These two superb players demonstrate conclusively that the success of so much of Hindemith's music really depends on sympathetic performance. Bridge's sonics flatter the music and the players. An excellent disc in every respect. [11/30/1999] --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

American pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, who has accumulated a catalog of outstanding recordings, performs five captivating and stimulating sonatas by Franz Joseph Haydn. In addition to these solo works, McDermott also joins the Odense Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Scott Yoo in two Haydn piano concertos.

“I've long admired Anne-Marie McDermott's unsurpassed performances of Haydn. Her understanding of his music is superb and her playing of it so apt and expressive that I could not resist her invitation to provide cadenzas for one of Haydn's concerti. It was a joy to write them, and reproducing my own thoughts in the language of this ancient composer was exhilarating. It goes without saying that their realization in sound is exactly what I had intended.” - Charles Wuorinen (The noted American composer who wrote the cadenza for Haydn's Concerto No. 4 in G major, Hob.XVIII:4)

It is an astonishing gift of fate when a creative artist, known to the world for a particular achievement, is suddenly shown in a quite different light thanks to the existence of a single document that has somehow escaped the ruthless culling mechanisms of time. Harry Partch's Bitter Music is such a document, a "diary of eight months spent in transient shelters and camps, hobo jungles, basement rooms, and on the open road". This long-lost journal of Harry Partch's wanderings during the Great Depression (from cleaning sewers to having tea with Irish poet W. B. Yeats) is an extraordinary musical portrait of an American pioneer, chronicling his occasionally hilarious and often heartbreaking struggles to forge a new music system outside the classical tradition. This premiere recording of Bitter Music takes the form of readings and collected musical fragments- an aural diary of what was going through Partch's mind and ear during a critical period in his artistic development.

The only reservation that attaches to this excellent complete survey of Ernesto Halffter's piano music lies in a certain sameness that naturally colors a disc containing nearly 80 minutes of mostly short piano works. Halffter's musical influences are clear: Falla, Ravel, and in the two single-movement sonatas, Scarlatti. You can hear Falla's influence most clearly in the two delightful dances from the ballet Sonatina (the complete work has been recorded by ASV). Ravel (of Miroirs fame) makes an appearance in the haunting triptych entitled Crepúsculos, particularly the first ("The Castle's Old Clock"). Like Falla, Halffter also composed a set of Hommages, in this case paying gentle tribute to the memories of Turina, Mompou, and his own brother Rodolfo. Elsewhere, as in the spiky Marche joyeuse, or the poignant Lament for Ricardo Viñes, a more personal idiom emerges, demonstrating that the derivative quality of much of the music stems quite reasonably from its intentional references to the music and musicians that the composer loved most.


Adam Kent has made a careful study of these works, and he plays them with the confidence that comes with familiarity. He's especially good at creating a solid rhythmic foundation with his left hand while allowing the right the necessary freedom to gracefully phrase Halffter's winsome melodies. This quality pays handsome dividends not just in the numerous dance-inspired pieces such as Preludio y danza, Dos piezas cubanas, and L'espagnolade, but in the thicker-textured sonatas as well. Bridge gives Kent warm and clear recorded sound, perhaps a shade lacking in sparkle in the piano's upper octaves, though this seems to be more a quality of the instrument itself. Like so many Spanish composers, Halffter composed comparatively little, but always with a high standard of craftsmanship. You may not want to play this entire disc at a sitting, but wherever and whenever you dip into it, you're likely to find a gem, and happily Kent's performances are as consistently polished as the music itself.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

BENITA VALENTE—GREAT SINGERS OF THE 20TH CENTURY, VOL. 1 • Benita Valente (sop); Various accompaniments • BRIDGE 9316 (69:01 Text and Translation)


MOZART Un moto di gioia. Le Nozze di Figaro: Deh Vieni, non tardar. Vorrei Spiegarvi o Dio. HANDEL Rinaldo: Lascia ch’io pianga. SCHUBERT Heidenröslein. Nacht und Träume. Rastlose Liebe. Der Hirt auf dem Felsen. BRAHMS Meine Liebe is Grün. Vergebliches Ständchen. WOLF Auch kleine Dinge. Mir ward gesagt. Wer rief dich denn? Du denkst mit einem Fädchen. Wie lang schon. Ihr jungen Leute. Mein Liebster singt. Ich hab’in Penna einem Liebsten wohnen. DEBUSSY Il pleur dans mon coeur. Chevaux de bois. Aquarelles I. Green. Aquarelles II. Spleen. OBRADORS All Amor. Con amores la mi madre. Del Cabello mas sutil. Chiquitita la novia


The rarely recorded Benita Valente won the Metropolitan Auditions in 1960, and two years later made her operatic debut in Freiburg, Germany, as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, a role she sang almost 100 times. It was the role in which she debuted at the Metropolitan. At the Met she was featured in the broadcast of Falstaff in 1975 as Nannetta; she also sang Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro the following year. In Start Up at the New Met Paul Jackson wrote: “Valente is a lovely Susanna. Her voice, not overlarge, is so distinguished by its lemony sweet timbre on the staff and the exquisite shine on high that she gives the servant status beyond her station.” She sang 66 performances at the Met between 1973 and 1984.


This recording illustrates her lovely bright voice and excellent technique, as well as her astounding versatility in different forms of music. The first three selections are examples of her excellence singing Mozart. In the song Un moto di gioia the accompaniment is by pianist Richard Goode, who also accompanies her in the Schubert, Brahms, and Wolf songs. She sings “Deh vieni, non tadar” beautifully with the Eastman Orchestra conducted by David Effron, who also conducts the Handel aria “Lascia ch’io pianga.” A highlight of the disc is a live performance of Mozart’s Vorrei Spiegarvi o Dio with Alexander Schneider conducting the Mozart Festival Orchestra.


Three well-sung Schubert songs follow, then another great live performance, Der Hirt auf dem Felsen , with pianist Rudolf Serkin and clarinetist Harold Wright from the Malboro Music Festival.


Goode accompanies the two Brahms songs and the eight Hugo Wolf songs. They demonstrate Valente’s understanding of German Lieder. She also demonstrates her ability in French art songs in beautiful versions of four Debussy songs accompanied by pianist Lydia Artymiw. Finally, rare recordings of Spanish songs by Fernando Obradors that are delightful and accompanied by pianist Effron.


The booklet contains two essays about her career, both by Robert Baxter, as well as texts and translations. The sound is very good. As Baxter writes about her ability, “She spoke serenely but eloquently through the music she sang.” I certainly agree that this is an eloquent recital, and strongly recommend it.


FANFARE: Bob Rose