Classical Music

Classical Music

EIGHTH BLACKBIRD: Thirteen Ways

Classical Music

This album was nominated for the 2007 Grammy Awards for "Best Choral Performance" and "Best Surround Sound Album."
This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

The Chiara Quartet is now in their sixteenth season performing together, and for this release are continuing to move forward by taking a cue from the past. The ensemble, for this release, explores the centuries old tradition of performing without printed sheet music. For almost all of the ensemble’s concerts this season, the musicians will be performing the works from memory. The purpose of this practice is to rely solely on hours of practice, rather than the distraction of the sheet music. Chiara’s cellist, Gregory Beaver, says of this practice: “The act of performing from memory has been challenging for us. Each member must find a way to know the music inside and out. But the payback for each of us is equally rewarding, bringing us that much closer together in our music making.”

Harpist Yolanda Kondonassis and guitarist Jason Vieaux have come "Together" to create a recording featuring two world premieres for the duo. Each of the five works on this recording shows off the unique character of the harp/guitar combination in general, with the two premieres especially revealing the engaging musical personalities and communicative skills of this duo in particular. Since making her debut at age 18 with the New York Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta, Yolanda Kondonassis has been celebrated as one of the world’s premier solo harpists and is widely regarded as today’s most recorded classical harpist. Jason Vieaux, “among the elite of today's classical guitarists” (Gramophone), is the classical guitarist that goes beyond the classical, putting his expressive gifts and virtuosity at the service of a remarkably wide range of music.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

The only collection of the complete string quartet works of American composer John Adams. Includes liner notes by John Adams.

“Hearing the Attaca Quartet play is to experience a mix of high energy technical skill and musical intelligence. They are an ensemble devoted to their mission with a future of unlimited potential.” – John Adams

The internationally acclaimed Attaca Quartet has become one of America’s premier young performing ensembles. Praised by Strad for possessing “maturity beyond its members’ years,” they made their professional debut in 2007 as part of the Artists International Winners Series in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.

“Fellow Traveler” [is] an exhilarating new CD devoted to the complete string quartet works of John Adams...the [Attacca Quartet's] playing is exuberant, funky and exactingly nuanced...[A] vivacious, compelling set. -- Steve Smith, New York Times [3/29/2013]

------

When it comes to composers broadly categorized under the heading of minimalism, it's rare to find works grouped by genre in the conventional way. But the Attacca Quartet, a young group out of New York's Juilliard School, shows what can be done with this set of three pieces by John Adams, entirely different in tone but clearly the products of the same composer. The best-known work on the program, John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994), has been recorded several times. It's a madcap work, full of humorous or satirical images and references to styles of music from the Baroque to rock, yet very tightly constructed. Its ten movements may be played in any order, and they do seem to suggest dance interpretation, even though Adams referred to them as "alleged dances" because the dance steps for them had not been invented yet. The String Quartet of 2008, by contrast, is in keeping with the general greater seriousness of the music of Adams' middle age. Its giant 20-minute first movement manages to weave sections of traditional sonata form together with a progression from the composer's basic minimalist style into more jazz-inflected music, and it's one of Adams' most ambitious structures. The Attacca Quartet does well with both these contrasting emotional worlds and is undaunted by the considerable technical challenges in the music. The small Fellow Traveler (the work is dedicated to opera director Peter Sellars and refers to his interest in physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, suspected of being a Communist or "fellow traveler" by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation) closes out the program with melodies related to those of Adams' operatic works. Adams operas like Doctor Atomic and especially Nixon in China are better known than any of the music here, but this crackling release might carve out a place for the two larger works in the general quartet repertory.

-- All Music Guide

Zuill Bailey is a distinguished soloist, recitalist, artistic director and teacher. His rare combination of celebrated artistry, technical wizardry, and engaging personality has secured his place as one of the most sought-after cellists today. Joined by, according to American Record Guide "Among the finest guitarists of all time," David Leisner is an extraordinarily versaitle musician with a multi-faceted career as an electrifying performing artist, distinguished composer and master teacher. Together, they are incredibly expressive in this beautiful repertoire.

Classical Music

The world-renowned Brentano String Quartet presents the Franz Schubert String Quintet with guest Michael Kannen. Recorded in concerts at Amherst College the energy of the live performance is evident in this stunning recording of Schubert's masterpiece.

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.
Includes march(es) by various composers. Ensemble: Kristiansand Wind Ensemble. Conductor: Bjorn Sagstad.

"Dionysian imbalanced exaltation… from restless, mysterious meditation of strongly religious character to dizzying Dervish-like ecstasy" was how one newspaper critic described the 1927 premiere of Achron’s Violin Concerto no. 1. In fact, Achron filled his concerto with biblical cantillation melodies that have roots in Jewish antiquity. Mysterious legends of the past and biblical stories also inspired him to create exotic orchestral tone poems based on the Golem of Prague and Belshazzar’s Feast. All of these works are recorded here for the first time.

Click here to view all available releases in the Milken Archive Series at ArkivMusic.

Around the year 1906, Perosi conceived the large-scale project to dedicate symphonic works for full orchestra to Italian cities, some of which had been the venues of his musical experience. Over the years that followed, the "Roma", "Venezia", "Firenze", "Messina", "Tortona", "Milano", "Torino" and "Genova" suites appeared, with, perhaps, a ninth, unfinished one for "Naples". The project was to have concluded with a tenth suite entitled "Italia", which would have included voices with the orchestra. Composer Alberto Gasco provided this interpretation of Perosi's intentions: "Maestro did not intend writing description music, nor creating a portrait of the cities themselves. Was this wise? I do not think so, and confirming my opinion is the fact that the Messina suite, as the composer himself decalres, was inspired by the horrific reality of the city in ruins. Therefore, little by little, Perosi arrived at the idea of creating a special character in the music of his suites. Entitling his compositions aftre Rome, Venice and Florence, through sound he conveyed the solemn majesty of the metropolis, the infinite languor of the city on the lagoon, and the carefree, pulsating Italian soul of the city of art, condensing emotional aspects into his works." Author Vittorio Podrecca offered this praise of the compositions: "Here, Perosi, with soul, reawakens the symphony by composing suites. Radiating through his noteworthy qualities are a limpidity of inspiration and design, sweetness of effects, sincerity of emotion, persistent elegiac poetry, and efficacious, tasteful orchestration."

Includes work(s) by Frederic Rzewski. Ensemble: Eighth Blackbird. Soloists: Matt Albert, Molly Alicia Barth, Matthew Duvall, Lisa Kaplan, Michael J. Maccaferri, Nicholas Photinos.

A perpetuator of Corelli’s style, but endowed with a more passionate nature and a more refined technique, Tartini fully embodies the musical taste of the 18th century, according to which “music ought to be expressive and not merely ornamented, insignificant and artificial”, thus truly earning the title of “master of the nations”. The works of the present release embrace an arc of almost thirty years, spanning from the 1730s (Sonata No. 45) to the 1760s (Sonata No. 40). All of them have initial themes that are easily remembered because of some peculiar traits and of the incisiveness of their motives, the apex of expressiveness being in the slow movement. The Allegros that follow, often passionately vigorous, are dominated by vivid colours and very interesting rhythmic and harmonic variety, and permeated by refined technique.

Jennifer Koh is a really good violinist, and this enterprising program showcases her skills comprehensively. Schubert's remarkable late Fantasie in C for Violin and Piano D. 934 still isn't as well known as his other late works, perhaps because he wrote so little music for this combination, but it's a major masterpiece and Koh plays it like one. Her tone is wistful at the opening, lively in the allegros, and in general more gutsy (all to the good) than the recent Shiokawa/Schiff rendition on ECM. Her partner, Reiko Uchida, shares her conception of the piece and isn't afraid to take center stage when called for, particularly in the work's latter stages.


I actually prefer this piano and violin arrangement of Schumann's Fantasie in C Op. 131 to his rather soggy original for violin and orchestra, scored in his most monochrome late style. Koh and Uchida find a lightness and lyricism in the piece that allows us to enjoy the beautiful tunes free of their orchestral shackles, and you would never know that this was not Schumann's intention all along. I'm less thrilled with the Schoenberg Phantasy, which is played about as beautifully as it can be, but it's ugly music and out of place in this context despite the eloquent case made for it in the very detailed and articulate booklet notes by Andrea Lamoreaux. This is one of those cases where the lineup perhaps appears better in theory than in practice, though Ornette Coleman's soulful "Trinity" Fantasy for solo violin does sound right at home here for some reason and makes a fine conclusion to an enterprising program.


Sonically this disc is simply gorgeous. The balances between piano and violin turn out to be just about perfect, and the lower octaves of the keyboard have a depth and presence, especially in piano passages, that is simply thrilling. I would recommend this disc on technical grounds alone, even if the artistic side weren't as successful as it clearly is. So despite my small reservation regarding the inclusion of the Schoenberg (and others may differ with me there), this is a pretty terrific recording on all counts, and the Schubert and Schumann performances make it essential listening for fans of those composers.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

BLACKWOOD: String Quartet Nos. 1-3

PAGANINI: Guitar Quartets Nos. 2, 8 and 15

Knowing his earlier work, one might expect a certain amount of ironic and subversive wit with any of Mauricio Kagel’s pieces, but this new Naxos issue is full of deadly serious stuff, and all the more welcome for it.

There was always more to Kagel’s art than just jokes, and this set of works show him in the context of broad canvasses, from the Mahlerian orchestral song-cycle form of Duodramen, to the double chorus and full orchestra of Liturgien. Szenario was conceived as a stand-alone concert piece, but has since become associated with the Luis Buñuel/Salvador Dalí silent film Le chien andalou of 1928. The tape part of the score consists of animal noises, with of course a whining, and later a barking dog. These sound samples could have been better, coming over rather distorted and tinny, rather than threatening and aggressive where required. The juxtaposition of sometimes eloquent strings and animal sounds is a little uneasy as well, with the extra noises only cropping up now and again – their relevance not entirely clear without any visual references. Nevertheless, there is an unremitting and pungent weight to the march-like rhythm which is a constant backdrop to some colourful string writing. Kagel can’t resist the occasional Wagner quote, but this work has all of the pregnant atmosphere one should expect from good film music – intentional or not.

Duodramen opens immediately with a post-romantic, operatic sense of drama. Looking at the libretto (available online via a link provided on the CD label) one receives the impression less of a coherent story, more an association of ideas and disparate characters – names such as Casanova, Alma Mahler, Henry Ford and Cosima Wagner inhabiting the score and meeting each other in strange and impossible relationships. The text is in German, but has an English translation on the web-page. There is a great deal of complex detail and dramatic context from beginning to end in this piece, giving it an intensity and resonance which I found quite stimulating. That is not to say that there are no moments of repose, and there are indeed some passages of remarkable orchestral colour – chillingly suggestive or vibrantly picturesque – no doubt helped by the addition of percussion and winds, I found the images conjured in this score in many ways to be far more vivid than the previous Szenario. The brutal intimidation of male over female doesn’t make for easy listening, but then, neither is Wozzeck.

Playing, singing and recordings are all excellent on this disc, and this remains true of the final live performance of Liturgien. Referring once again to the online page, the words are all taken from existing religious texts, the source for each of which also being included in detail. The language used is Latin, which for many will soften the impact of having ‘Alleluia’ standing close to ‘Allah is great!’ There is a ritual nature to the music which suits this intentional levelling of symbolism, and I sense traces of Britten, Martin, Stravinsky, Penderecki, Szymanowski – names whose stamp on religious musical expression, if not necessarily as ambiguous as here, at least invariably bears a strong humanist element.

This piece has an other-worldly, magical quality which is something I have always valued in Kagel, and am delighted to find existing in his larger-scale work. If Duodramen is a drama on a private, intimate scale, Liturgien is very much a public statement. No-one can ignore the significance of religious text, and neither is it possible to ignore the idea of effectively taking religion and mixing its writings in the waste-bin of a shredder. This music has all of the seriousness and weight to carry Kagel’s message of homogeneity. While revelling in this work’s spell it was also nice for me to come across some familiar names to one who works at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague – I shall never forget Wout Oosterkamp’s warm encouragement as a teacher, or some performances and workshops by Romain Bischoff’s amazing Vocal Laboratory.

Originally recordings by Saarbrücken Radio, Naxos has made a sound move in releasing these recordings – conducted by the composer, and unlikely to be repeated or bettered any time soon. 2006 is Kagel’s 75th jubilee, but no mention of this is made in the booklet, neither is there any suggestion that this is to be part of any series or collection. I would say there is room for such an edition – especially on the strength of this release.

-- Dominy Clements, MusicWeb International

Capriccio Encore is a series of re-releases of the most famous recordings from Capriccio's back catalogue, fully re-mastered. 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 album features violinist Andrea Keller, flutist Martin Sandhoff alongside the Concerto Koln playing works by Francois-Joseph Gossec.

-----

REVIEW:

The two central works, each in three movements, are exceptionally compact while remaining gently amiable. This lively music heard in lively music-making. It draws on an amiable personality who mines both serene dignity and regal grace.

– MusicWeb International

The son of the famous Bologna composer Giovanni Battista Vitali, Tomaso Antonio moved with his father to Modena in 1674, joining the court orchestra of Duke Francesco II d'Este, which he was later to lead, in the following year.