This recording contains a charming five-movement work by German composer Franz Schmidt (1874-1939) - Quintet in A major for Piano Left-Hand, Clarinet, Violin, Viola & Cello. Musicians featured on this recording are pianist Kae Hosoda-Ayer, clarinetist Christopher Ayer, violinist Jennifer Dalmas, violist Kathryn Steely, and cellist Evgeni Raychev. This performance was recorded in June of 2014 at Baylor University, Waco, Texas.

As ever, Mr. di Bonaventura plays with pristine clarity, exquisite technique and impeccable musicianship. He has long had a special affinity for Scarlatti's single-movement sonatas. For this program of 14 works he has chosen some of the less familiar sonatas, like the capricious A flat (K. 127), an elusive piece that keeps shifting moods: by turns playful, episodic and curious. Mr. di Bonaventura vividly conveys the fanfares, hunting calls and Spanish-influenced dance rhythms that run through this music, as in the jocular Sonata in E (K. 216). And he elegantly articulates Scarlatti's intricate contrapuntal writing, which threads through boldly shifting modes and keys in these inventive pieces. The pensive and elegant Sonata in C minor (K. 302) comes across as a work of astounding nobility and harmonic ingenuity. This recording is worth the wait. -- ANTHONY TOMMASINI, The New York Times 11/11/2007

ANTON RUBINSTEIN Grigorios Zamparas, piano; Philharmonia Bulgarica/Jon Ceander Mitchell. ANTON RUBINSTEIN: Piano Concerto No. 3 in G major, Op. 45; PianoConcerto No. 4 in D minor, Op. 70.

A new addition to Centaur's Complete Recordings of Anton Rubinstein Piano Concertos, this release features Grigorios Zamparas, Jon Caender Mitchell and the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra. Anton Rubinstein was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor where he ranked among the besth 19th-century pianists. Grigorios Zamparas has received worldwide acclaim for his astounding musicianship and versatile performances. He has performed with prestigious orchestras such as the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra, Indiana University Symphony Orchestra and many others.

RUBINSTEIN Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 94. Caprice russe, Op. 102. Der Thurm zu Babel, Op. 80: Overture • Grigorios Zamparas (pn); Jon Ceander Mitchell, cond; Bohuslav Martin? PO • CENTAUR 3204 (74:55)


The fifth and last of Anton Rubinstein’s piano concertos was composed in 1874. Dedicated to the French pianist and composer Charles-Valentin Alkan (misspelled “Arkan” in Centaur’s notes), it is by far the longest of Rubinstein’s works in this genre, comparable in duration if not stature to the concertos of Brahms. The first movement alone lasts over 22 minutes in this performance, with a total timing of 50 minutes. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that Rubinstein chose the same key for this work, E?-Major, as did Beethoven for his “Emperor” Concerto. That lengthy first movement is a grand, expansive, often rhapsodic statement, although as is usual with Rubinstein, there is too much repetition. The slow movement strikes me as rather perfunctory, but the brilliant, exuberant finale, at 17 minutes nearly as long as the first movement, offers considerable pleasure. The performance by Grigorios Zamparas is straightforward, crisp, fluent, and technically proficient. He does not quite match the brilliance, forcefulness, and spontaneity that pianists such as Joseph Banowetz and Marc-André Hamelin have brought to other Rubinstein concertos, although he does contribute some pretty impressive rapid passagework. Hamelin, however, has not recorded this concerto, and the Banowetz reading, on Marco Polo, is currently available only as an MP3 download. I have not heard it, but the Marco Polo catalog is gradually being transferred to Naxos, so Banowetz may eventually be available again on CD. On the other hand, the Centaur recording, although a bit dry and unreverberant, is better focused and balanced and more realistic than the Marco Polo series, and the piano sound is solid and well defined. Peaks have plenty of impact and are free from strain or harshness. No other recordings of this concerto are currently available.


The Caprice russe , an appealing 20-minute fantasy for piano and orchestra on three folk or folk-like themes, was written in 1878. Zamparas once again offers a straightforward and proficient performance, perhaps lacking a degree of the flamboyance that Rubinstein’s music seems to demand. The only other recording of this piece in the catalog is that of Banowetz, also coupled with his performance of the Fifth Concerto and therefore available only as an MP3. Rubinstein’s “sacred opera” Der Thurm zu Babel (The Tower of Babel), one of several he wrote on biblical themes and to German librettos, dates from 1869. Its brief overture is deliberate and brooding but uneventful. No other recordings of the overture and none of the opera itself are available.


Under Jon Ceander Mitchell, the Bohuslav Martin? Philharmonic shows itself to be a capable and proficient ensemble, although lacking the tonal opulence of some more famous orchestras. The violins, at least as recorded here, can sometimes seem thin and steely, but the winds are reliable, more so than in the Slovak orchestra used in the Banowetz recordings of the first four concertos. (A different Slovak orchestra performs in the Fifth Concerto.)


In the absence of any current competition on CD, I can recommend these accomplished and well-recorded performances to anyone interested in Rubinstein’s music.


FANFARE: Daniel Morrison

Early in his career Carl Roskott wrote atonal compositions. He became increasingly frustrated with the expectations for modern music, though. He ultimately abandoned atonality, and in his later career wrote music that, while it incorporates some 20th Century techniques, is first-rate, melodic music that is readily accessible to all. On this release, his Concerto for Violin Solo and Orchestra and his Sonata for Violin and Piano are presented by violinist Akemi Takayama, pianist Silvan Negrutiu, and the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. Akemi Takayama appears internationally as a soloist and chamber music collaborator. She was a violinist in the retired Audubon Quartet, of which she was a member for fourteen years. She serves as associate professor at the Shenandoah University Conservatory of Music and concertmaster of both the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and the Williamsburg Symphonia in Virginia.

Also Available: Volume 1 - Rorem: Piano Sonatas performed by Thomas Lanners.

Ned Rorem has always written for the piano, and after hearing both of these discs, I agree with Thomas Lanners. “These works deserve wider acclaim than they currently enjoy . . . a significant body of captivating works that musically inquisitive pianists would be wise to explore.”. . . Lanners’ two-disc survey of Rorem’s piano music. Vol. 2 (2007) includes works composed around the same time as the three sonatas, as well as others from much later in Rorem’s career. The three Barcarolles share the traditional 6/8 meter and are primarily gentle and soothing, although Rorem’s harmonies, in keeping with the date of composition (1949), sound appropriately modern (nothing extreme, however). The second is the slowest of the three, and at first suggests that Rorem’s boat is becalmed; the forward motion picks up as it continues. The third is the liveliest, with bursts of speedy figuration propelling the vessel across the waters. A Quiet Afternoon (1948) is a suite of nine short pieces for children. The music is serene, playful, and wistful; it’s a pleasant addition to the genre. Fast- forward almost 30 years to 1976 and the Eight Etudes: conceived as a group, they naturally pose various challenges, including the rarely encountered one of an etude for the right hand alone (parallel motion plus simultaneously conflicting rhythms). Others include (in Rorem’s words) “a study in softness . . . [one] for speed without pedal . . . [and one for] slow tune with fast filigree.” There are also studies for fourths, sevenths, loud contrary motion, and a novel concluding etude that’s “a disguised medley of all the preceding ones.” This is an exciting and imaginative set in a modern idiom—“fiendishly difficult but exceptionally well-crafted for the instrument”—that deserves a place alongside such famous 20th century etudes as those by Bartók, Messiaen, and Ligeti. The five brief pieces that Lanner performs after the Eight Etudes were written for friends of the composer (for example, Sixty Notes for Judy celebrates singer Judy Collin’s 60th birthday). These are all more or less cut from the same cloth: slow, evocative, harmonically interesting, occasionally with more dynamic variety than one would expect in such a short span (the longest only takes 1:42). Recalling (2003) is in three parts. The first, “Remembering Lake Michigan,” begins mysteriously, and then startles the listener with a sudden, fortissimo crash. This pattern, repeated several times, gives way to a driving series of bass and treble flurries, also periodically interrupted by crashes. It’s an unforgettable opening to the program. In “The Wind Remains (Remembering Paul Bowles),” Rorem (in his own words) “quotes the descending minor third—‘the dying fall’—as utilized by Paul Bowles” in his opera of the same name. The piece is very similar in mood (as well as thematically and harmonically) to “Remembering Lake Michigan’s” slower moments. To Rorem, “‘Remembering Tomorrow’ defies explanation, as indeed does any music.” Paradoxical title aside, it’s interesting that the piece begins with a 12-tone row. (I’m taking Lanners’ word for that, as I didn’t count. I just heard it as an unexpected use of pointillism, perhaps symbolic of the future?) Combined with scurrying figures in both hands and references to the earlier movements, the result is an exciting piece that “races towards its crashing conclusion.” Song and Dance (1986, commissioned as a competition piece) combines jazzy syncopation and sweet-toned lyricism: it ends amusingly with a bland major cadence that drops in out of the blue. The piece is “appropriately flashy and crowd-pleasing”; it would make a great encore. Lanners plays it to the hilt, as he does all the virtuosic pieces, and he’s also a sensitive musician who communicates the essence of Rorem’s varied moods. Additionally, his album notes are so “spot on” that I felt obliged to quote him throughout my review. Recommended.

- Robert Schulslaper, Fanfare, Issue 33:3 [Jan/Feb 2010]

This is a great live recital performed by Antonio Pompa-Baldi. Pompa Baldi has more piano recordings for Centaur than any other pianist. This is an exceptional recital.

Classical Music

Melodic tonal music for saxophone and orchestra.

Bruzdowicz, a pupil of Messiaen with a gift for Gallic-accented melody, launches this collection with her Largo. It's from her film music for Jacquot de Nantes (1991) - Rachmaninov's Vocalise out of Fauré and with a decidedly sombre curve. Away from the soprano saxophone to the alto with Raman's gentle Aria which was inspired by the Bozza Aria. Raman was a pupil of Paul Chihara - who himself wrote a saxophone concerto (1981) which was premiered by Harvey Pittel in Boston. Raman's Aria moves in dove-gentle tones between Barber and Vaughan Williams. Kilar's Vocalise, with solo parts for harpsichord and piano, unfolds at unhurried leisure. It has the mien and plaintive droop of the quieter parts of Nyman's Where the Bee Dances. The Villa-Lobos is well enough known from the soprano original - a pity we do not get the whole thing. Leatherbarrow was born in England but is how studying in the USA. His Don Quixote in Love is an offshoot from a work-in-progress, tone-poem The Last Dream of Don Quixote for soprano saxophone and full orchestra. The work heard here is tender and melodic with a Delian susurration over which the saxophone slowly glides and courses. Gleaming strings melt their way from phrase to phrase. The sound recalls an intensely romantic take on the ‘seagull music’ from Watership Down. Bozza's equable and feminine Aria is the oldest piece here. It was dedicated to Marcel Mule. The apt orchestration is by Hunter Ewen. While Bozza cannot quite match his likely models, the Ravel and Fauré Pavanes, this is certainly an agreeable and moodily pleasing piece.

David Morgan (not the same David Morgan whose Contrasts recently featured on Lyrita), based at Youngstown University, writes for both the jazz and classical worlds. The triptych that is the Three Vignettes was written specially for Greg Banaszak. The first vignette is The Secret of the Golden Flower and moves without effort between Vaughan Williams and an Oriental sway: fast, punchy and meditative. Consolation has the contours of a primitive church hymn moving through a mist of melancholy. The final First Light makes play with Latin-American dance. Elements of rumba and tango are married to 1950s-style commercial sophisticated light music. Morgan's writing is delicate and luminously orchestrated. An undemanding delight.

The Hovhaness concerto was written for the New England Conservatory, then performed once by the Chatauqua Symphony and forgotten. The composer's widow assures us that like many works of its vintage the solo line was written with her high coloratura voice in mind. This seems completely plausible and by all means listen to the later Poseidon CDs for further proof. The three movement concerto pleases with its high sinuous solo line and breathing string figuration. The second movement is a surprise: its instrumental solo melody suggests sentimental British music-hall rather than Eastern esoterica. The composer also draws here on a dashing Mozartian effervescence which only once reconnects with Hovhaness's core lingua franca. The finale carries the archetypical title Let the Living and the Celestial Sing. It returns us to the composer's 'campground' with delicate pizzicati, great wheeling yet grounded angelic paeans and sinuous foregrounded solos. These are lent airy movement by surprising interactions with the warm string choir. Intriguingly, even in this last movement, Hovhaness admits elements of sentimentality to interact with the devotional.

The helpful notes are by Dr Myron Schwager and provide us with pretty well everything we want to know about this music. It's a shame we don't get birth years for some of the composers and dates of some of the compositions. Also regrettable are persistent little errors such as Hovhannes for Hovhaness and Rubenstein for Rubinstein. These are small flies in the ointment in what is a pleasingly consistent collection for those wanting melodic tonal music for saxophone and orchestra.

-- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International

Noted for her wonderful integral recording of the complete Debussy works for solo piano, Larissa Dedova now brings us an equally wonderful recording of the complete solo piano works of Maurice Ravel. For over 30 years Larissa Dedova has appeared in solo and chamber recitals in concert halls throughout the world at such venues as Carnegie, New York, Kennedy Center, Washington DC, Great Hall of St. Petersburg Philharmonic, St. Petersburg, Sumida Triphony Hall, Tokyo, Teatro Ghione, Rome, and many more. As a soloist, she has played with famous orchestras, including St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Dresden Philharmonic, Kiev Philharmonic, Orchestre de Chambre de Budapest, Moscow Philharmonic and Estonian State Symphony Orchestra, among many others. The lyricism, romanticism, and virtuosity of Ms. Dedova’s performances have brought her love and affection of audience and critical acclaim. Commenting on Ms. Dedova’s performance of the D-minor Brahms Concerto with Fairfax Symphony, the Washington Post described it as “performance that went straight to the heart of the music.” Larissa Dedova holds both Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts Degrees in Piano Performance from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory where she studied with Lev Oborin and Evgeny Malinin.

GARIBOLDI,KLOSE,CAVALLINI,ETC ADAMI CLARINET QUARTET RARE ITALIAN CLARINET CHAMBER MUSIC OF THE 19TH CENTURY

RAGTIME CLASSICS 1901–1919 • Brian Dykstra (pn) • CENTAUR 3340 (68:00)


JOPLIN Gladiolus Rag. The Chrysanthemum—An Afro-American Intermezzo. Bethena—A Concert Waltz. Peacherine Rag. Solace—A Mexican Seranade. The Entertainer. LAMB Top Liner Rag. SCOTT Grace and Beauty. TURPIN The St. Louis Rag. JOPLIN/HAYDEN Sun Flower Slow Drag. WOODS Slippery Elm Rag. COOKE Blame It on the Blues. JOHNSON Dill Pickles. AUFDERHEIDE The Thriller!


I interviewed pianist/composer Brian Dykstra in Fanfare 35:6, at which time two CDs featuring his concert rags were very favorably received by Lynn René Bayley, Barry Brenesal, and yours truly. This time around, he’s chosen to bring us some of his favorite classic rags rather than his own novel creations. These include such Joplin staples as The Entertainer, Solace, Peacherine Rag, Gladiolus Rag, and Bethena—A Concert Waltz . The program also features works by composers whom fame has passed by, such as Charles L. Cooke, Charles L. Johnson, and May Aufderheide (according to Dykstra one of many women ragtime composers). Cooke’s catchy Blame it on the Blues sounds quite happy for a song with “blues” in the title and Johnson’s Dill Pickles is more likely to make you caper with frolicsome abandon than pucker you lips with vinegar. Apparently it owes its comical name to chance: Johnson, who worked for the Carl Hoffman Music Company, was stuck for a title when he noticed a fellow employee carrying a box of dill pickles, eh voilà! Aufderheide’s The Thriller! is full of sass and bounce: Dykstra doesn’t hold back on the dynamics in the “thrilling” last measures. There are also pieces by the “other” famous ragtime composers, James Scott and Joseph Lamb. Lamb’s Ragtime Nightingale ’s opening left-hand pattern reminds Dykstra of Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude but, title to the contrary, he doesn’t feel that the music contains any particularly bird-like figurations, so he’s added a lengthy trill to make amends. Looked at from Lamb’s perspective, it’s possible that the composer thought that some of the lighter, “tinkly” bits preceding the trill might suggest the nightingale’s song.


Dykstra’s tempos are sometimes faster than those to which I’ve grown accustomed. I’ve loved Solace since I heard it in The Sting , played, I believe, by Marvin Hamlisch. His languid, dreamy performance made the most of the tango rhythm and brought out more of the music’s wistful melancholy. I prefer his version to Dykstra’s more straight-ahead approach, but it’s interesting to hear a contrasting point of view. Joshua Rifkin (you can hear him on YouTube if you don’t have the original recording to hand) is likewise on the slow side (sometimes too slow for my taste). Of course, Rifkin’s landmark recordings were notable for their slow tempos, which honored Joplin’s oft-quoted advice to “Never play ragtime fast at any time.” A comparison of the two pianists in The Entertainer is also revealing, with Rifkin substantially slower than Dykstra. Rifkin, of course, enjoys iconic status as one of the prime movers of the ragtime revival of the 1960s, but there’s a lot to be said for Dykstra’s spritely playing. Also, he’s either added substantial variants of his own or is playing from an edition I haven’t encountered: This alone makes him worth hearing. Add in that this enjoyable program is garnished with rarities to whet a connoisseur’s palate and it’s plain that it deserves a place in any ragtime collection.


FANFARE: Robert Schulslaper

RACHMANINOFF Etudes-tableaux, op. 33: Nos. 1–3. Piano Sonata No. 2. PROKOFIEV Reminiscences. Suggestion diabolique. Sarcasms. SCRIABIN Piano Preludes, op. 11: Nos. 1–3, 5, 9–12, 14–17 • Mayron Tsong (pn) • CENTAUR 2946 (69:06)


This is a remarkable first recital by a pianist completely unknown to me, Dr. Mayron Tsong, a Canadian native who teaches at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. One reason it is remarkable is, naturally, the high quality of her musical conceptions, but the other reason is the completely out-of-center repertoire. Not a single piece on this disc of Russian music is overly familiar or hackneyed; in fact, some of it is very little known, particularly the Rachmaninoff Etudes-tableaux and the two early Prokofiev pieces.


To say that Tsong plays these pieces like a true believer is an understatement. She tears into them as if they’d been coursing through her bloodstream, picking up her emotions and body warmth, for most of her life. This is scarcely the timid first step of a technical wizard not yet a master of her art as, sadly, too many first recital discs are. This is the work of a seasoned veteran (and no, it doesn’t matter to me what her chronological age is, she is a seasoned master to my ears) who has so much to say about music that she scarcely knows where to begin.


Tsong is a genius, plain and simple. Judging by the 69 minutes of this disc, she already ranks with such modern masters as Andsnes, O’Conor, Pollini, Sokolov, and Sheppard, and she nearly eclipses the best of her female rivals, Laredo, McDermott, and Deyanova. This recital will grab you by the collar and not let you go until the final note dies away, and even then you are not released from her spell. A genius? Perhaps more than that; perhaps a wizard. Her performances of the early Scriabin preludes are a touchstone: they sing, they sigh, and exult with a remarkable range of dynamics and expressive devices. Her Rachmaninoff is emotional but not sentimental. Her technique is dazzling, yet subjugated to a controlling intellect and deeply felt sensitivity that removes her from the category “virtuoso” by nature of her long-range artistic vision.


To say I’d like to hear more of Tsong is an understatement. I want to hear her Beethoven, her Mozart, her Stravinsky, her Liszt, her Chopin, in fact anything she chooses to record in the future. I want to hear her in the concertos of Prokofiev, Scriabin, and even Van de Vate. In fact, I wish she could record an entire album of Van de Vate’s best piano pieces. I want to hear her play the Griffes and MacDowell sonatas, Bartók’s Mikrokosmos —you name it. I only hope that this disc gains her enough recognition to inspire such future projects.


The cover of this disc is very unprepossessing, a darkly lit photo of the artist with the plainest of what looks like Times Roman lettering. One would never guess from it the musical passions and subtleties within, so here is another example where the cover does not sell the book. I listened to the entire disc twice before I could even tear myself away long enough to write this review. Grab it while you can.


FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

Rediscovered works from a major figure of the early days of American music, excellently revived.

John Powell is one of those America composers who fits chronologically between the New England School (Chadwick, Parker, Beach) and the "classics" (Copland, Thompson, Harris). Although well-known in the mid-years of the century he has been mostly forgotten since then, partially because of his reactionary political and cultural views. Regardless of the latter he did produce some interesting music, which the soloist on this disc, Nicholas Ross, seems anxious to revive.

Powell spent a number of years in Europe touring as a pianist before the First World War but had started composing before this. This recording contains three of those early works, written almost simultaneously. They demonstrate Powell’s preoccupations with the American South, Anglo-Saxon folk music and the pianistic style of Liszt. As a composer Powell became well-known with In the South, the first section of which combines slightly salon-style music with American folksiness. However the degree of pianistic difficulty is amazing. Love Poem is a similar mixture, with a little ragtime thrown in. It could be described as gracious but not especially stimulating. The Negro Elegy is based on both black and Anglo-Saxon material and proves more substantial than its two predecessors. The Pioneer Dance is based on "The Arkansas Traveler" and the old tune "Soapsuds". It proves lively and inventive.

At the Fair explores different types of American music of the time and is somewhat simpler in style but more original in development than In the South. The first two sections especially show Powell developing as a composer. The third, Merry-go-round is slight, but Clowns is definitely the most original section of the suite with its mixture of blues and ragtime. The Snake-charmer contains a lot of charm but I couldn’t find the snakes. Powell’s handling of the three well-known folk-melodies in Banjo-picker again demonstrates his growing compositional ability, to be further demonstrated in the Sonata noble and its two companions, as well as his most famous work, the Rapsodie Negre of 1917.

Having heard the old LP recording of Powell’s Sonata teutonica I expected something rather heavy and bombastic from the Sonata noble. Nothing could be further from the truth. The first movement is simple in tone and almost Bachian in its purity. It suggests folk music without actually quoting any folk tunes. The theme of the second movement is even simpler with a very imaginative second variation and a third that is Schumannesque. The last two variations are the only instances of more conventional pianistic bravado. The third movement is a minuet that has some fascinating manipulation of the original material in its middle section. I would have to say that the last movement is the most interesting in the piece - the manipulation of the material is quite striking, accompanied by trills and repeated figures in the bass. The overall feeling is one of nostalgia, which seems to be Powell’s favorite emotion.

Nicholas Ross’s playing and advocacy are both to be applauded. He handles the entire range of emotional and technical expertise required by these works almost effortlessly. It is obvious that he finds Powell not only unjustly neglected, but possessing real qualities of originality. The sound quality on this disc is also commendable: much more life-like than many piano recordings that come my way. I assume from the excellent notes that Mr. Ross is planning another disc of Powell’s music and while I am not as convinced as he is regarding the composer’s stature, I will definitely be interested to hear such a disc, both from the point of view of the music and for the qualities Mr. Ross contributes.

-- William Kreindler, MusicWeb International