Classical Music

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

Classical Music

This lighthearted music is given wings by the flutist Mikael Helasvuo and guitarist Jukka Savijoki, both from Finland, in performances that were praised at the time of the original release – as three single discs – in for instance Classical Guitar, whose reviewer wrote, “Helasvuo and Savijoki achieve an ensemble that at times reaches near perfection … this is what good chamber music playing is all about.”

A MusicWeb International Recording of the Month

This set of discs is quite interesting: it brings together two French composers from the first half of the 18th century who are little known. That is to say: Jean-Baptiste Barrière is fairly well known, but almost exclusively as a pioneer of the cello in France. It is remarkable that the two collections which Luca Quintavalle has recorded were published at about the same time, but are stylistically very different.

Barrière was from Bordeaux and worked in Paris in 1730 as Musicien ordinaire de notre Académie Royale de Musique. In 1733 he was granted a privilege to publish sonatas and other instrumental works. He studied for some time in Italy, but there are different opinions on exactly when he was there. It is not that relevant from a musical point of view, because right from the start the Italian influence in his compositions is clearly discernible. His first two books with six sonatas each were printed in Paris in 1733 and 1735 respectively; these were followed in 1739 and 1740 by the third and fourth book. These collections show an increase in technical complexity and the last two books attest to Barrière's full embracing of the Italian style.

In 1739 he also published a book - as Livre V - for the pardessus de viole, the descant viol. It comprises six sonatas, the first five of which were also included in the book of harpsichord music which was published in the same year. These are not merely transcriptions but reworkings for a completely different instrument, including additional ornamentation, elaboration and idiomatic runs. These sonatas follow the Corellian trio sonata model: they comprise four movements in the order slow - fast - slow - fast. Barrière added a sixth sonata in three movements: andante - largetto (sic) - aria amoroso.

Their Italian character not only comes to the fore in the use of the form of the sonata. In fact, Barrière was the first French composer to write sonatas for keyboard. A further Italian trait is that the movements have exclusively Italian titles: adagio, allegro, andante, grave, largo, aria. The only dance included here is a sarabanda in the Sonata No. 2 in D. However, the most important token of Italian influence is the music itself. There are Neapolitan influences, but also references to the music of Vivaldi and Domenico Scarlatti. Some movements are quite dramatic; one of the most notable examples is the adagio which opens the Sonata No. 4 in G.

Barrière's harpsichord sonatas have little to do with tradition. Only one part of the Sonates et pièces can be connected to the French harpsichord school. The six pièces are character pieces as we know them from the oeuvre of, for instance, François Couperin. However, stylistically they are much closer to such pieces by the likes of Forqueray and especially his contemporary Joseph Nicolas Pancrace Royer (1705 - 1755). In the preface to his Premier Livre de pièces pour clavecin of 1746 Royer stated that "[the] pieces are open to great variety, passing from the tender to the lively, from the simple to the tumultuous, often successively within the same piece". That is the case with Barrière's character pieces as well; some indeed can be counted among the 'tumultuous', such as La Casamajor.

It is remarkable that the harpsichord pieces of the younger Bernard de Bury are more conservative than Barrière's. Much more than in the pieces by the latter we notice François Couperin's influence. His Premier livre de pièces de clavecin which dates from around 1736 includes several pieces whose titles are identical or almost identical with titles in the four harpsichord books of Couperin.

Bury came from a musical family; his father was ordinaire de la musique du roi. He spent his entire life and career in Versailles. He took several positions at the court; as maître de chapelle he succeeded his teacher Colin de Blamont, to whom he dedicated his harpsichord book. In 1785 he was ennobled by Louis XVI, five months before his death. In addition to his harpsichord works he composed music for the stage which found a positive reception.

Despite some Italian traits in his harpsichord music - just like in Couperin's ordres - his keyboard music is very French. The book comprises four suites of different lengths which include almost exclusively character pieces. The only exception is the loure in the 3e Suite in G. The chaconne which closes the 4e Suite in E and the entire collection, is one of the most telling tokens of this book's being part of the French tradition: hardly an opera was written without a chaconne and virtually every suite for keyboard or for an instrumental ensemble included a chaconne. There is no watershed between dances and character pieces: several of the latter were written in the form of a dance, or perhaps we should say that dances were given titles to indicate an extra-musical meaning. In the 1e Suite in A, for instance, we find a sarabande with the title Les Regrets. A form which Bury frequently uses is the rondeau, which was becoming increasingly popular in France around the mid-18th century.

Bury's harpsichord works have been recorded before, but are hardly known; they also seldom appear on programmes of recitals. As far as I know only a couple of pieces from Barrière's collection are available on disc; this is probably the first complete recording. I find that rather surprising, considering their quality and their historical importance. That makes this set a significant addition to the discography. This repertoire is served very well by Luca Quintavalle who delivers energetic and stylish performances. The brilliance of Barrières pieces and the different features of Bury's harpsichord works is convincingly conveyed. He plays a splendid instrument: a copy of a harpsichord by Pierre Donzelague of 1711. The miking is just right: it reveals enough details without losing the overall picture.

There is just one issue I need to mention. There is too little space between the pieces: the first movement of a sonata or a suite follows the last movement of the previous work almost attacca. That is an unlucky negligence on the side of the production team.

Considering the importance of the repertoire and the quality of music and interpretation this production deserves the label of Recording of the Month.

– MusicWeb International (Johan van Veen)

REVIEWS:

“This is a delightful idea for a recording... The non-musical items in the programme are done splendidly by the soprano Margarette Ashton... The performers are excellent. With original instruments joining a soprano voice that is small but admirably suited to the repertoire... The well-recorded programme really does create images of the scene that we are intended to imagine. A recommendation then for an imaginative and enterprising CD.” – Classical Music on the Web

John Cage's remarkable magnum opus A Book of Music for two prepared pianos is brought together here with his complete works for toy piano. Intricately structured according to Cage's ideas about Mozart, A Book of Music is an eloquent and virtuoso mosaic of driving and sometimes frenetic rhythms, the exotic sounds of the 'prepared' piano strings transporting the listener into worlds of the strangest imagining. The Suite for Toy Piano is a modest miracle of precise expression and the first ever serious concert music written for this instrument, while Music for Amplified Toy Pianos is composed using chance elements, generating a spacious field of sound filled with surprise.

Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 - Schumann: Introduction and Al

The generation of composers that proved so influential in mid-20th c. America included Roger Sessions, Howard Hanson, Roy Harris and Quincy Porter. Porter's much-admired orchestral music is marked by originality in it's absorption of neo-classicism, but his series of nine string quartets also represents an important contribution to the genre. Quartets Nos. 5 to 8 are the works of a composer who had been a professional string player in the 1920s and are marked by rhythmic sophistication and melodic tension. Inspired by the unique temperament of composer Charles Ives, the Ives Quartet is acclaimed for reveling in the unfamiliar and championing an eclectic repertoire, mixing established masterworks with neglected compositions of early-20th c. America, and commissioned new pieces. 'A very enjoyable disc which whets one's appetite for the remaining five quartets.' - Penguin Guide on Volume 1 (8.559305).

Giles Farnaby' compositions comprise no less than one-sixth of the contents of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, an immense anthology of keyboard works by the English virginalists. These pieces firmly establish Farnaby in the esteemed company of Byrd, Bull.

Aaron Copland wrote his rarely-heard ballet Hear Ye! Hear Ye! for Ruth Page, the dancer and choreographer who was to become the Grande Dame of American ballet. Its scenario is a murder in a nightclub and the ensuing trial in a Chicago courtroom. Copland infused the score with the spirit of his jazz-influenced pieces, controversially distorting part of the National Anthem, and infiltrating music from some of his earlier works. In complete contrast, Appalachian Spring is his most famous work, a true American masterpiece founded on transfigured dance tunes and song melodies.

J. W. STAMITZ Flute Concertos: in D; in C; in D; in G • Robert Aitken (fl); Donatas Katkus, cond; St. Christopher CO • NAXOS 8.570150 (69:15)


The music of Johann Stamitz (1717–57) is largely known through a handful of works. For clarinetists, the B? Concerto is arguably one of (if not the) earliest written for the instrument that uses both the upper clarion and the lower chalumeau registers, and thus earns its reputation for its modernity. Orchestral trios foreshadow the emerging symphony; and his later works, including the La melodia germanica series published in Paris in 1756, not only are some of the earliest to establish the four-movement conventional symphonic pattern, but they also popularized the orchestral effects associated with the Mannheim orchestra, of which Stamitz was the concertmaster. These include rapid scales (the so-called coup d’archet ), the layered crescendo (the original Mannheim steamroller), and the rapidly ascending triads known as the Mannheim rocket. Less well known is the fact that he was a prolific composer, who, in his position, was able to experiment with the capabilities of his instruments, the various textures that could be obtained, and with form and structure. As a result, his efforts had far-reaching impacts upon the music and composers that followed him.


Stamitz was active during a period that one either can characterize as galant or (to borrow a term from literature) empfindsam . Both of these are tricky to translate accurately in musical terms, the former meaning something like “polite” or “well bred” and the latter “emotional” or “sensitive” (and there are other words that work as well). But what it really means for the listener is that there is a new sense of freedom to explore the capabilities of the music, to play with rhythm and contrast, and to develop new genres and styles. This disc presents four of his flute concertos, probably written for Johann Baptist Wendling, a flutist who was arguably one of the best of the entire century. Considering that the instrument was made of wood and had only a couple of keys, both the tone production and technical capability was limited, making the instrument more appropriate to chamber work than playing versus an orchestra, particularly one the size and power of Mannheim. In all four works, Stamitz demonstrates a skill that focuses on a dazzling display of technical virtuosity that is rarely overshadowed by the accompaniment. Even when he adds horns, as he does in the two D-Major concertos, the use is sensitive to the overall sonority. As for the flute part itself, if the listener, spoiled by the long, lyrical lines and regular phrases of the two Mozart pieces, seeks such in these works, disappointment will follow. Instead, there is a virtual compendium of pyrotechnics that leaves the listener breathless (not to mention the poor flutist). Rapid runs, leaps between registers, perpetual-motion figuration, and the rapid oscillation between duple and triple rhythms make this a flute virtuoso’s delight, as these works push the envelope of what is technically possible with the instrument. Moreover, in the C-Major Concerto, even the orchestral ritornello is technically demanding for the strings. These are not student works, but require the utmost of agility and ability to perform.


Aitken, fortunately, is quite up to the task. He takes the break-neck tempos of the opening movements with apparent ease and clarity of tone, allowing the display to come through. In the slow movements, he pulls back the throttle, but never enough to dull the sometimes-sensitive lyrical writing. For instance, in the C-Major Concerto, the second movement’s minor key, replete with echo effects, is delineated with precision and displays considerable musical deftness. In the G-Major final movement, he allows for the folk-like main theme to peer through the leaps and runs, providing a contrast that is both pleasing and a welcome relief to the pyrotechnics. Only occasionally does he blur his scales and leaps, though this may be an aftereffect of using a modern instrument.


The Lithuanian St. Christopher group provides a precise and understated accompaniment. One might have wished for more presence in the recording, but perhaps this was a decision by the sound engineer to focus on the flute. It is true that the music on this disc is mostly all about the flute and its ability, and this lends a certain sameness to each of the concertos, but if one concentrates upon the remarkable technical display, then one will find a perfect example of what can happen when a composer of this pivotal period pushes the aerobatic envelope of a more reticent and intimate instrument. We would be lucky to have the remaining 10 recorded in the future. Highly recommended.


FANFARE: Bertil van Boer


Johann Stamitz is a name well known in musical history, but his voice is seldom heard. This latest Naxos disc of flute concertos - two volumes of symphonies and one of orchestral trios are already available - is therefore a welcome release.

Famous as a virtuoso violinist and then as Kapellmeister of the celebrated Mannheim court orchestra, Stamitz presided over the establishment of that band of players and over the development of what became the ‘Mannheim style’ – disciplined playing, thrilling dynamics and innovative instrumentation. He played a key role in developing the symphonic form, and in transforming musical composition from the Baroque style to the nascent Classical sound.

As well as symphonies, Stamitz left behind a large number of concertos, including fourteen for flute. The four featured on this disc probably date from the 1750s and may well have been played by the Elector Carl Theodor, and by Mannheim virtuoso Johann Baptist Wendling, who so impressed Mozart on his visit to Paris in 1763 and Mannheim in 1777-78.

They are beautiful works, but the main problem is that there is little to distinguish one from the other. The two D major concertos in particular sound very much alike, although the horn parts in the second at least differentiate it from it predecessor. The C major concerto’s shift into C minor for the slow Andante offers some tonal variety, while rapid triplet figures for the soloist in the first movement keep the momentum alive.

But one cannot escape the feeling that these works were really vehicles for Wendling’s – or someone else’s – prodigious talents. Attention therefore falls on soloist Robert Aitken. His flawless technique and lightness of touch make him perfectly suited to this kind of repertoire. He is particularly impressive in the hugely demanding cadenzas in each concerto, although his forward positioning in the recording can make the flute sound a little shrill on the ear in some of the higher registers.

For their part, the St Christopher (formerly Vilnius) Chamber Orchestra under Donatus Katkus have few opportunities to shine. Nevertheless, they keep the accompaniment chugging along nicely, hinting at Haydnesque and Mozartian sounds to come.

-- John-Pierre Joyce, MusicWeb International

Classical Music

Classical Music

Renowned for its luminosity and searing expressiveness, the music of Lithuanian composer P?teris Vasks frequently explores the relationship between nature and humanity, not least in the Flute Concerto written for Michael Faust, which is among the most expansive of Vasks’ orchestral works. Abstract qualities in the Sonata contrast with the deftly defined lyrical and rhythmic elements of Aria e danza, while Landscape with Birds exploits the entirety of the flute’s timbral range. Patrick Gallois and “the brilliant Michael Faust” (MusicWeb International) have also recorded the music of Mauricio Kagel (Naxos 8.572635).

The Kodály and Auer Quartets join forces to produce these exceptionally enjoyable performances of the Mendelssohn and Bruch Octets (the latter joined by Zsolt Fejérvári on the double bass). The combined ensembles sound of uniform mind and spirit in both works, playing with a sense of joyous abandon in the Mendelssohn and sinewy vigor in the Bruch. The rich string tone lends an ingratiating warmth to the collective sound, while the players' impeccable musicianship assures that every note registers, even in the many rapid ostinatos that comprise much of the Mendelsson. The Kodály and Auer play from the heart as well as the head, certainly so in their delicate phrasing in the tender slow movements. Naxos' close-perspective recording keeps the performers at a comfortable distance while providing ample space for the string timbres to naturally resonate. This one's an easy recommendation: beautiful, stimulating music, marvelous performances, and excellent recording all at the Naxos price. What more could you ask for?

--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Naxos’ ongoing complete Liszt piano music cycle reaches Volume 37 with the rarely heard first versions of three Petrarca Sonnets and Venezia e Napoli. The latter’s original incarnation included four rather than three movements. The opening movement features material that Liszt later recycled for his symphonic poem Tasso, with a middle section packed with scintillating arpeggios and rapid unison passages. It is followed by a brief declamatory movement, and then an Andante placido that would grow more elaborate, decorative, fluid, and imaginative as Gondoliera in the revised suite. Similarly, the later Tarantella is tighter and more dramatically cogent than its more diffuse yet no less demanding earlier counterpart. Among the three earlier Petrarca pieces, Sonetto No. 104’s differences particularly stand out from its later, more familiar revision, notably in a long, brooding introduction that Liszt replaced with the terser, agitated short phrases we know today.

Making his Naxos label debut, pianist Jue Wang plays best when his hands are fully occupied, as in the Tarantella’s bravura climaxes and long stretches of repeated notes, although Leslie Howard shapes the slower, rhetorical passagework with a stronger sense of the music’s declamatory nature and dynamic contrasts. While Wang captures the unquiet undercurrents of Schlaflos Frage und Antwort, his relatively heavy touch and general loudness take a back seat to Alfred Brendel’s faster and texturally clearer account on his Philips recording.

However, Wang’s light and supple Toccata points up the work’s foreshadowing similar textures and harmonic ambiguities of Debussy and Bartók. He tosses off the brief, flashy Galop de bal and the more substantial A minor Galop with tremendous character and technical finish, and serves up an ebullient Grand Galop chromatique that takes Liszt’s tempos and accentuations more seriously than the deliciously wacky Cziffra, whose galloping horse is closer to a souped-up bumper car. Keith Anderson’s annotations are up to his usual high standards.

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Originally created as an invitation by Rolling Stone magazine in 1977, as part of a gala issue celebrating the magazine's move from San Francisco to New York, which featured literary and art contributors honoring it's new home. Cage constructed his waltzes as a series of 49 multi-colored triangles superimposed on the Hagstrom map of New York City, each point derived by the use of chance operations. Wanting to celebrate Cage's memory, Don Gillespie decided to collect the sights and sounds from the locations specified in "49 Waltzes." This ambitious project of filming Cage's 147 specific locations in New York's five boroughs took one year to complete.

The Hungarian pianist has won a number of piano competitions in Hungary and abroad, including first prize in the 1973 Hungarian Piano Concours and first prize in the chamber music category at the Sydney International Piano Competition in 1977. He has recorded for Naxos all the piano concertos and sonatas of Mozart. Other recordings for Naxos include the concertos of Grieg and Schumann as well as Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and the complete piano sonatas of Haydn and Beethoven, the complete piano music of Bartók, and a wide repertoire of chamber music. His critically acclaimed recordings of the Complete Haydn Piano Sonatas are available in a 10-CD Box Set, released to mark the 200th anniversary of the composer's death.

BEETHOVEN Piano Trio No. 5. SCHUBERT Adagio in B?, “Notturno.” SCHUMANN Piano Trio No. 3 • Atos Tr • AZICA 71251 (63:57)


I’ve heard positive buzz concerning the Atos Trio, a young German ensemble that is quickly making a mark for itself just as the chamber-music world mourns the loss of the Beaux Arts Trio after an astonishing half century of concertizing and recording. The field is far more crowded now than when Menahem Pressler assembled his fabled threesome in 1955, and in the past 30 years their principal competition (at least in North America) has been the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. This latter ensemble also sponsors the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award (KLRITA) competition, and after garnering several other prizes, the Atos Trio took top honors in this prestigious contest in 2007. This new disc on Azica is fruit of that milestone.


In fact, this is their third recording, on the heels of one featuring trios by Heinrich von Herzogenberg on cpo and another with Brahms, Beethoven (Trio No. 1), and Kirchner on Ars Musici. The trios on this new disc by Beethoven, Schubert, and Schumann are described by annotator Laurie Shulman as “less familiar music,” a conclusion I take issue with, although she is certainly correct that there are other trios by these composers that have a stronger presence on the concert stage.


If Beaux Arts excelled in elegant interpretations of classical fare and KLR blossomed in full-throated, virtuosic readings of Romantic repertoire (an oversimplification to be sure), Atos steps easily between these poles as the music dictates. There are absolutely no technical obstacles they don’t easily vanquish, and their range of timbre and articulation are as complete as that of any chamber musicians working today. Listen to the pointed, almost pizzicato-like crispness of Stefan Heinemeyer’s cello in the first movement of Beethoven’s Trio No. 5, matched with exquisite unanimity later by the bow of violinist Annette von Hehn, then blended with the florid, rapid-fire passagework from pianist Thomas Hoppe, all combining for a fleet and nimble, yet stylish and graceful reading. There is an abundance of Haydnesque elegance in their traversal, but when more weight is called for (as in the main body of the opening movement), they have plenty of decibels in reserve. There is a reticent tenderness to their tone in the opening bars of the work, but they pull out all stops in the finale, which bustles with robust sound and unbridled virtuosity. Still, they often turn on a dime as the mood changes, a trait that seems to be a notable hallmark of their style.


Schubert’s single-movement Adagio in E?, D 897 (“Notturno”), was probably intended as the original slow movement of the Trio in B?, but it would be wrong to imagine it a simple, song-like intermezzo. Atos plays it with appropriate weight, conjuring a nearly symphonic creation that seems designed for larger forces (many have noticed its resemblance to the slow movement of the composer’s String Quintet in C). Again, the range of color and dynamics produced by the threesome is breathtaking. This may be the finest version of the work on disc.


Their sound and flow is utterly different in the Schumann, reflective of the moody impulsiveness that courses through much of the music. Yet they frequently switch gears, leavening the prevailing texture when called for. In general, they take a lighter hand with Schumann than the KLR Trio, but the virtuosic flair is there in reserve. The finest Schumann performances are tinged with moments of hair-trigger abandon that this threesome doesn’t quite attain, but their sense of the idiom is nonetheless fully convincing. Tonal sheen and discreet balance are never sacrificed on the altar of spontaneity, a posture that will please some and perhaps disappoint others.


In short, this trio has the goods to stand with the finest chamber groups on the planet, but their raw talent isn’t displayed simply as a way to prove their mettle. Their understanding of these touchstones of the repertoire is deep and vital, and they should, despite their tender ages, be counted among the very best.


I have mixed feelings about the sound, recorded at Waetjen Auditorium at Cleveland State University. Generally it is clean, well balanced, and tonally accurate, but also somewhat dry, clinical, and close. Balance is often a serious issue for piano trios, as the cello can be easily buried by the left hand of the piano, a pitfall mercifully lacking here. Naturally, the recording process can correct ills of this sort, but my gut tells me that they have solved this festering problem of trio performance, owing no doubt to Hoppe’s sensitivity and Heinemeyer’s full-blooded tone. If this disc is an accurate guide, Atos Trio deserves a major label contract and the engineering expertise that usually follows.


FANFARE: Michael Cameron

Pulitzer and GRAMMY® Award winner Jennifer Higdon is one of the most performed living American composers, and this program provides a unique opportunity to hear première recordings of her earlier chamber music. The String Trio was written while Higdon was a developing young composer, and the influences of Prokofiev and Copland can be heard in the Sonata for Viola and Piano. The beauty and immensity of the Western US sky was the inspiration for Sky Quartet, while Dark Wood explores the soulful and virtuoso character of the bassoon. Higdon’s “vibrant and individual voice” (Limelight Magazine) can be heard in further chamber works on Naxos 8.559298.

The Turkish pianist Idil Biret was one of the greatest child prodigies of the 20th century. Her recital at the Boston Conservatory demonstrated that she is no less prodigious today. She played a long and demanding program with the power, concentration. 747313127276 NXS8571272.2 14654756 .00 14.99 .20 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 09/29/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/8/9/6/1556981.jpg 1 1 N SCHUMANN / STRAUSS / FRAGER / SKD / KEMPE STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN EDITION 28 881488805352 PROL8053.2 14655517 .00 24.99 .48 PROFIL - G HAENSSLER COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 09/29/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/4/0/7/1557046.jpg 3 2 N KONTOMANOU,ELISABETH / ALLEN,GERI SECRET OF THE WIND Despite an obvious rapport, singer Elisabeth Kontomanou and pianist Geri Allen were not old friends when they met in France to lay down these tracks Kontomanou is based in Stockholm, while Allen is still in the states, a centerpiece of the University of Michigan's jazz faculty. The two met for the first time for a duet tribute to Billie Holiday in March 2011, at Montreal's annual Jazz en Rafale Festival. Geri Allen has long been considered the greatest jazz pianist since the 1980s, her work focused on furthering the legacy of Herbie Hancock and Thelonious Monk while retaining the gospel fervor of the blues. This program mixes traditional with new undertaking full-scale reimagining of iconic R&B themes like the opener, Marvin Gaye's God Is Love, and Curtis Mayfield's time-honored classic People Get Ready. 3760195730157 ONOT15.2 16491045 .00 20.99 .12 OUTNOTE RECORDS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 05/08/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/3/8/1/1971836.jpg 147 1 N RUDNER / WURTTEMBERGISCHE PHILHARMONIE REUTLINGEN FESTLICHES WEIHNACHTSKONZERT 4010276024705 PROL98635.2 16093973 .00 20.99 .22 PROFIL - G HAENSSLER COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS / CHANUKKAH 10/25/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/0/8/0/1900803.jpg 10 1 N BEETHOVEN / BIRET / BILSO COMPLETE PNO CTOS Love of Beethoven' works threads through Biret' life like a red ribbon. Her studio recordings and live concerts show this in an unequivocal language... Next to the Piano Concertos, the Triple Concerto and the Choral Fantasy she has also recorded and perfo.

Clarity, rhythmic poise and a light touch are keywords. Nosè lets the music speak.

London-Bach, as he has been called, was the youngest of Johann Sebastian Bach’s sons. He was fifteen when his father passed away and then moved to Berlin, where his half-brother Carl Philipp Emanuel was harpsichordist to Frederick the Great. Young Johann Christian studied with his brother and it was during this time he wrote his first concertos. In 1754 he moved to Italy where he was successful as an opera composer and it was in this capacity that he was called to London where he settled. In London he met the young Mozart and was greatly influenced by him as a composer. The six sonatas Op. 17, first published in Paris in 1774 as Op. 12, clearly show his compositional style. It is easy to hear similarities between the two composers, especially the earlier Mozart sonatas. Bach’s sonatas are good representatives of the gallant style with sweet melodics and the care-free and easygoing flow of the music.

Of these six sonatas only two are written in the traditional three movements and the brevity of most of them rather implies that they might have been labelled sonatinas instead. The exception is No. 6, which is on a much grander scale, elaborated and with deeper development of the thematic material. It is also technically the most demanding. Sonata No. 2 is the other three-movement piece and it also stands out as it is the only one in a minor key, which automatically lends it a more ‘serious’ character.

All the sonatas are highly entertaining and I don’t use that word in any pejorative sense. They are well constructed and fairly simple. Dr. Burney wrote about Bach’s keyboard compositions that they were ‘such as ladies can execute with little trouble’. But simplicity doesn’t exclude musical finesse, even though music of this kind shouldn’t be over-interpreted.

Alberto Nosè is a young Italian, who has a long list of prizes in prestigious piano competitions worldwide, most recently First Prize, Gold Medal and Sony Audience Prize in Santander 2005. The year before that I heard him in Florence where I found him better suited to Scriabin’s and Szymanowski’s late Romantic-to-Impressionist sound-world than Schumann’s more sweeping Romanticism. Half a century further back in history he reaps laurels through his clarity, his rhythmic poise and his light touch. He has a formidable technique, to which his prizes are testimony and which I also noted in Florence. He has ample opportunity to demonstrate this in Sonata No. 6, where the rousing finale in particular requires fluent finger-work. He sticks rather strictly to the basic tempos of each movement and keeps the dynamics within a rather limited scope, bearing in mind that these sonatas were composed for harpsichord or fortepiano. In other words he lets the music speak and puts himself in the background. I can’t think of better advocacy for Johann Christian Bach. Next time I would be happy to hear him in Scriabin or Szymanowski but I am afraid that Naxos have already dealt with both composers.

The recording has great clarity without being too analytical.

-- Göran Forsling, MusicWeb International

This selection includes a downloadable bonus track, Vincenzo Bellini's "L'allegro marinaro," from classiconline.com.