HAYDN Organ Concertos: in C, Hob XVIII:1; in C, Hob XVIII:8; in C, Hob XVIII:10. Fortepiano Concertos: in G, Hob XVIII:4; in D, Hob. XVIII:11. Harpsichord Concertos: in D, Hob XVIII:2 in F, Hob XVIII:3; in C, Hob XVIII:5 • Christine Schornsheim (org, hpd, fp); Mary Utiger (vn, cond); Neue Düsseldorfer Hofmusik (period instruments) • CAPRICCIO 5022 (2 CDs: 131:18)


Many of us tend to pigeonhole composers; we think of Beethoven and Brahms as symphonists (and rightly so) and associate the name of Mozart with his 20-odd piano concertos. With Haydn we might answer with either the symphony or his unassailable settings of the Latin Mass. Seldom—if ever­—is the gentleman from Rohrau, Lower Austria, thought of as a composer of concertos. But Haydn wrote a respectable number of them, including ones for flute, bassoon, and double bass that are irretrievably lost. Surviving ones include two each for horn and cello, one for trumpet and a number for keyboard as well. Although Haydn’s gifts as a keyboard performer were not comparable to those of Mozart, Haydn was a confident, not to mention accomplished performer, shown not only in the numerous surviving keyboard sonatas, but also in the solo parts of the keyboard concertos. With the exception of Hob XVIII: 11—the Concerto that concludes with the “all’ungarese,” or “Gypsy Rondo”—all of Haydn’s keyboard concertos were written before 1770.


The question of a solo instrument in these concertos is not an easy one to put to bed. The compass of the solo part in the five earliest concertos (Hob XVIII:1, 2, 5, 8, and 10) suggests the organ, with the first of these designated on the manuscript as “Concerto per l’organo.” But in his own catalog of compositions, Haydn wrote “per il clavicembalo,” so it seems that substitutions as pursued here by Schornsheim in the aforementioned concertos are entirely appropriate. However, in the later concertos (Hob XVIII:3, 4, and 11), the solo instrument was more than likely intended to be the harpsichord, the instrument of choice in Austria until around 1780. This explains the designation of the solo instrument in hand-written copies. But in the published versions, generally after the mid 1780s, the performer is offered a choice of either harpsichord or fortepiano.


As for the music itself, it is unquestionably solidly written, but it is not the Haydn of the middle or late symphonies; his comparative lack of interest in the keyboard concerto speaks volumes of his course and objective as a composer, as well as of the popular trend of the period. Beginning in the 1760s, the symphony emerged as the most accomplished form of orchestral music, and most composers placed the concerto in lesser regard. In Johann Georg Sulzer’s General Theory of the Beautiful Arts , we read that concertos were “nothing more than an exercise for the composer and performer, and an entirely indefinable, aimless diversion for the ear.”


Last year, Naxos released two CDs of Haydn’s keyboard concertos: the first disc (8.570485) contains Hob XVIII:3, 4, 9, and 11 performed by pianist Sebastian Knauer and the Cologne Chamber Orchestra. The second (8.570486) offers another five concertos, Hob XVIII: 1, 8, and 10 played by organist Ketil Haugsand and Hob XVIII:5 and 7 in performances by harpsichordist Harald Hoeren, both with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra. But all of the music on the Naxos discs may not be by Haydn, for The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians lists Hob XVIII:7 and 9 as spurious, with the first possibly written by Georg Christoph Wagenseil. There is also a period-instrument set of these concertos included in the 150-CD Haydn commemorative edition issued by the Dutch label Brilliant Classics, but I wouldn’t recommend buying it simply for the keyboard concertos unless they are something that you simply cannot live without, especially since the new Capriccio releases are now available stateside.


Schornsheim’s talents are hardly challenged by this music; her playing exhibits sparkling virtuosity and an exceptional sense of line. The outer movements exude typical Haydnesque vigor and the slow movements are appropriately lyrical, with nicely shaped melodic lines as well as fluent but never tedious ornamentation. Energetic, vibrant, and colorful, these comfortably paced performances are supported with sympathetic and precise, but never antiseptic playing from Neue Düsseldorfer Hofmusik, their biting brass and potent timpani adding much ceremonial pomp to Hob XVIII:1 and 8.


FANFARE: Michael Carter

HASSE Mass in d. Miserere in c • Hermann Max, cond; Mária Zádori (sop); Lena Susanne Norin (alt); Kai Wessel (ct); Hans Jörg Mammel, Wilfried Jochens (ten); Klaus Mertens, Stephan Schreckenberger (bs); Rhenish Kantorei; Kleine Konzert (period instruments) • CAPRICCIO 5125 (55:49)


Capriccio has reached into its back catalog to mate two works from two different recordings in a different combination from the one originally released under catalog number 10570. The original CD contained the Hasse Mass included on the present disc, but coupled it with Johann David Heinchen’s Requiem in E?-Major. In that configuration, it was reviewed by Brian Robins in Fanfare 23:4. A recording of Hasse’s Miserere was also reviewed by Robins in the issue prior, but it wasn’t this one. It was a performance by the Dresden Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir on a Raumklang CD. The original Capriccio Miserere with Hermann Max and these same Rhine forces appeared under catalog number 10557 and was coupled with other sacred works by Heinchen and Jan Dismas Zelenka. Capriccio’s reuniting of the two Hasse works on the current CD makes sense, I suppose, but the original Hasse/Heinchen coupling offered more generous timing. Be that as it may, the Mass was recorded in late April 1995, the Miserere in late April 1993.


Hasse returned, for a time at least, to his duties as Kapellmeister at the Dresden court following a trip to France, and it was upon his return that he wrote the D-Minor Mass in 1751. By then, he was already acclaimed far and wide as one of the greatest opera composers of the day. Neither a court appointment nor the lifestyle of his famous soprano wife, Faustina Bordoni, could long keep Hasse in Dresden. The city and its court, in fact, served primarily as a home base for the couple; she sang her way across the opera stages of Europe, and he freely came and went to oversee and direct performances of his operas in Turin, Rome, Venice, and Naples. Yet when back in Dresden, he found time to compose a considerable volume of sacred and instrumental chamber music.


Hasse is respectful of the “learned” style considered appropriate for the setting of liturgical texts. In other words, he didn’t avail himself of the opportunity in either the Mass or the Miserere to compose another opera; the writing in neither work is overly florid or operatic in style and, as Robins points out in his review, Hasse readily demonstrates his grasp of fugue and contrapuntal technique. As admired as Hasse may have been in Italy, however, there’s no mistaking the Mass for the work of either an Italian or a Baroque composer. The writing is already that of the early Classical period and of a type of choral-orchestral engagement that would soon resonate in the Masses of Haydn.


The Miserere is a rather different affair. First, it’s a much earlier work than the Mass, originally written perhaps as early as 1730; and second, that plus the fact that it was produced in Venice for performance during Holy Week explains the simpler homophonic and more modest style of the piece. The original version of the work called for women’s voices only, but a later Dresden version—the one heard here—is expanded to include tenor and bass soloists as well as male choristers.


At the time Robins reviewed the original Capriccio CD, he stated that neither the Mass nor the Miserere had been previously recorded. That was in 2000 and, as far as I can tell, no subsequent recording of the Mass has appeared. In Fanfare 35:1, however, Bertil van Boer reviewed a new release on Carus of Hasse’s C-Major Requiem, which happened to be coupled with the Miserere . So at least one of the two works has had a more recent outing.


The performances on the present disc sound perfectly fine and the recording is more than serviceable. Even if the operas of the long-lived Hasse (1699–1783) are today largely ignored in favor of the operas of his slightly older contemporary Handel, Hasse and his diva wife were forces to be reckoned with for much of the first half of the 18th century. Hasse’s music is worth getting to know. A worthwhile, recommended reissue.


FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

100 years ago the composer Max Bruch died. His remarkably long life of 82 years covered a period in contemporary history that was determined by scientific progress and comprehensive industrialization, developments that also found expression in art. Shortly after the turn of the century the scandals concerning the compositions by Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg were already rocking the musical world, however, Bruch met the tide of events as stoically as a rock: conservative, patriotic and above all unconditionally beholden to Romanticism in music. The present program was recorded during a Max Bruch Jubilee Concert in Halle and focused besides the famous Suite on Russian Themes also on the rarely performed Concerto for 2 pianos and orchestra.

REVIEWS:

This fine disc presents two Bruch rarities, composed towards the end of his life, both of which started out in other guises. The five-movement Suite on Russian Themes is an adaptation (with new material added) of his Songs and Dances Op. 79, originally for violin and piano. It is remarkable (even for a composer in his mid-60s) that music of such Mendelssohnian deftness and sparkle could have emerged during the first decade of the last century. But putting aside issues of chronology, those who delight in the charming rusticity of, say, the Scottish Fantasy, should find these well-crafted miniatures enchanting.

-- BBC Music Magazine

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Gottfried von Einem was one of those great composer personalities that played a major role in rebuilding the waste of the Austrian music scene after 1945, following the devastating cultural policies of Austrofascism, which were above all hostile to modern trends, and even more so those of the Nazis. We owe Einem not least his rescue of the note material of many works by banned colleagues from destruction. Catchy thematic and melodic ideas, sharply accentuated rhythm, strong gestural and dance-like energy and a pronounced feeling for differentiated timbres determined Gottfried von Einem's musical diction at an early age, features he retained throughout his life. On this release, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin explores some of Einem's finest compositions.

Walter Braunfels is a composer whose music died twice: Once when the Nazis declared his music “degenerate art," then again when post-war Germany had little use for the various schools of tonal music; when the arbiters of taste considered any form of romantic music – almost the whole pre-war aesthetic – to be tainted. This fifth release of Capriccio’s Braunfels Edition shows again his large range of colorful music. From his first success in 1908 (Carnival Overture), a still unknown virtuoso Viola Concerto (Scottish Fantasy) to a strictly structured Prelude and Fugue - Braunfels Music is worth being discovered in our days.

Neville Marriner practically was the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields – the orchestra he founded in 1958 and led for over half a century. Moreover, he was the face of classical music to millions of listeners… in a way that only Toscanini, Bernstein, and Karajan have rivalled in the age of recorded sound. In the later years, it was Capriccio that stepped in when other labels showed no interest to record the Academy in the bigger romantic repertoire. The central element of this collection is the set of Tchaikovsky symphonies. "The members of the Academy, trained on quite different repertory, let their hair down in playing that is both crisp and alert, obviously enjoying their outing into this pop repertory." (Edward Greenfield, Gramophone)

“I have always viewed Dr. Weigl as one of the best composers of the old generation; one of those continuing the illustrious Viennese tradition.” (Arnold Schönberg) In terms of style, with his works linked to basic tonalities, Weigl drew on the sound realm of late Romanticism, from whose aesthetics he never departed in favor of more progressive contemporary trends. The Symphony No. 1 in E major op. 5, written in 1908, is also far removed from any avant-garde experiments in the Romantic tradition, as epitomized among the Austrian composers of that time in the field of the symphony by composers such as Alexander von Zemlinsky, Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek or Franz Schmidt. On this release, the work is performed by the formidable Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz under the baton of Jurgen Bruns.

Classical Music

Capriccio Encore is a series of re-releases of the most famous recordings from Capriccio’s back catalogue, fully re-mastered and competitively priced. The legendary recordings of artists such as Sandor Végh, Ton Koopman, Sir Neville Marriner and the Vienna Boys’ Choir also contain repertoire highlights that have a particularly special appeal, from the baroque to the present day. This Encore release features William Boyce's 8 Symphonies, performed by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, lead by Sir Neville Marriner.

At first glance, it might be surprising that a pianist born in the Soviet Republic of Ukraine, who went through the classical Russian school of pianists, should compose exclusively in the idiom of jazz. But jazz was more prevalent in the Soviet Union that might be supposed. Already in the 1930s, Oleg Ludstrem began appearing with his Big Band touring in the UDSSR. Later, Nikolai Kapustin worked for many years in this orchestra as a pianist and arranger. ‘What interests me most is the fusion between classical music and jazz, and between the classical form and the jazz idiom. Here, the classical portion has more weight for me. The jazz style is merely color.’ (Nikolai Kapustin).

-----

REVIEW:

The alto sax-cello duo is the one work on this album written for a saxophone, and happily cellist Peter Bruns seems to have some experience in playing jazz time, because he plays his instrument almost like a jazz bass (or at least like a jazz cello, reminding me of Oscar Pettiford and Fred Katz). It’s a wonderfully imaginative piece, too, in which the alto sax plays almost continuous eighth-note figures while the cello prods him rhythmically, and occasionally our saxist, Christoph Enzel, puts some grit in his tone which helps to bring out the jazz connection very well. The second movement in particular (“Sonatina—Animato”) brings out some pretty nifty counterpoint while still having at least a foothold in jazz time.

In toto, then, an interesting album with good music from start to finish and some really good performances of it.

– Art Music Lounge

REVIEW:

Dimitrij Kitajenko's Prokofiev symphonies with the Guerzenich Orchestra are reference recordings. The long out of print overall picture is now available again in a new design.

No other conductor has portrayed the symphonic material so vividly, has penetrated so deeply into the seven works. He can gain wonderfully lyrical moments from the works, for example in the Andante of the 7th Symphony, but the main characteristic of the music is its luminosity, which, as a result of an inner nuclear fusion, is also accompanied by violent turbulence and a lot of kinetic energy. Kitajenko brings all of this into Prokofiev's symphonies and thus occupies a special position in the range of interpretations. In comparison, other conductors often seem superficial despite the power they produce.

Kitajenko is not simply heated up by the energy of the music, he keeps a cool head and structures like no other conductor, always concerned with achieving the highest level of clear architecture and tonal transparency. The result is an unparalleled richness of sound in which Prokofiev's brilliant imagination is revealed to us like never before.

– Pizzicato

What Boris Blacher passed on to many of his students - like Gottfried von Einem, Aribert Reiman or Isang Yun - primarily also characterizes his own music: a pronounced gestic and dance-like energy, lyrical melodies, orchestral sparkle, but also very subtle and intimately instrumented moments. The Poeme is an excellent example of the fact that for Blacher, who wrote a large number of ‘genuine’ ballets, movement plays a central role even in works that are to be understood as absolute music. It sounds almost a little strange that such an individualist and musician open-minded to absolute innovation had no direct problems with the conditions imposed by Nazi cultural policy also on the whole field of music, but quite the opposite, was in a position at that time to compose some of his major works. . It was probably due to the disunity of the pundits in the Third Reich that Blacher was permitted to continue his very individual course, without being disciplined too severely.