Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

E. FRANCK Piano Trios: in E; in Eb, op. 22; in D, op. 53 • Swiss Pn Tr • AUDITE 97690 (74:21)


By now, readers should be somewhat familiar with Eduard Franck (1817–1893), following half-a-dozen or so appearances he has made here on recordings mainly of his chamber works. The Audite label, in particular, though not exclusively, has taken up the dual causes of Eduard and his son Richard with 15 or so discs devoted in large part to the two composers’ chamber music output; and, being the compulsive collector of 19th-century chamber music that I am, I’m proud to say I’ve acquired every last one of them. But there’s more to Eduard Franck than quartets, quintets, sextets, trios, and duo sonatas; among Audite’s offerings have been two violin concertos, a disc of concert overtures, and two symphonies.


This latest release, containing three of Eduard’s piano trios, holds no surprises if you’ve already acquainted yourself with one or another previous Eduard Franck release, but like those that have preceded it, this disc of piano trios does hold in store just as many musical felicities.


I use the word “felicity” with intent; for Eduard studied privately with the “Felix” of Mendelssohn fame, and mostly Mendelssohn is what you get with these three trios. It’s really hard to describe how brimming over this music is with sheer contentment in untroubled, joyful song. The nonstop rippling piano parts are shot through with Mendelssohn’s nimble keyboard work, and even Franck’s melodies are consistently constructed from intervals and phrases that are dead ringers for Mendelssohn’s melodic invention. If you find Felix’s two piano trios irresistible, you will be thrilled to know that Eduard Franck composed at least four piano trios just like them.


In fact, this is Audite’s second volume of Franck’s piano trios. The first (92567), on SACD, contained the trios in E Minor, op. 11, and D Major, op. 58, performed by a different ensemble of players than the Swiss Piano Trio on the current disc, which, for some reason, did not come to me on SACD. Also, be aware that if you purchased the Naxos CD containing Franck’s sonatas for cello and violin, plus the Eb-Major Piano Trio I recommended in 36:5, the trio is duplicated on this Audite disc. No matter, though; it’s worth the one duplication to get the two additional trios included on the present CD.


This is now my third or fourth encounter with the Swiss Piano Trio on record, and each one has elicited from me the highest praise. The ensemble’s recent Audite release on SACD of Clara Schumann’s Piano Trio led me to declare the Swiss Piano Trio one of the top ensembles on today’s stage in 36:6; and in a 35:1 review of Robert Schumann’s piano trios, Steven Ritter declared the Swiss Piano Trio’s Audite SACD an essential recording.


It seems only fitting that the Swiss Piano Trio, having already committed Mendelssohn’s two piano trios to disc on another Audite SACD—to which I gave an urgent recommendation in 34: 6—should now turn its attention to Mendelssohn’s musical doppelgänger , Eduard Franck. You cannot love 19th-century piano trios in general, and Mendelssohn’s piano trios in particular, and not love these trios by Franck. Considering Franck’s dates, the skewing of his catalog towards chamber works (though he did pen symphonies and orchestral scores), and his strong leaning towards a Mendelssohnian style, he bears comparison, I think, to his very close “French-though-I-prefer-to-be-German” contemporary, Theodor Gouvy (1819–1898).


I just don’t understand why previous Audite releases have been SACDs and this one isn’t. Perhaps there is a parallel SACD version, and I just happened to receive the standard two-channel stereo CD one. Anyway, with the music, performances, and recording being so beguiling, it would be churlish of me to complain. This is a must-buy recommendation.

FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

PLAYS BACH, FRANCK, LISZT

The Clarigotto Duo presents a collection of Romantic works transcribed for the unusual combination of clarinet and bassoon and joined by piano on the trio selections in an aurally fascinating glimpse at the sonic possibilities of these two instruments, so closely allied in orchestral settings yet seldom present within chamber settings.

V4: COMPLETE WORKS FOR ORGAN

For its very first excursion on Chandos, the Crouch End Festival Chorus presents a landmark recording of J.S. Bach's St. John Passion sung in English - the first for over forty-five years. With communicative zeal, beautiful articulation, and focused energy, this choir of more than 100 voices lends precision and power to the performance alongside the instruments of the Bach Camerata, one of the finest UK baroque orchestras, all under the inspired direction of David Temple. The essence of the work is the conveying of a human story underpinned by the universal themes of love, betrayal, loss, and hope. The performance in English allows the drama and visceral energy of the work to go straight to the heart of the English-speaking listener. The narrative is immediately understood, and the power of the storytelling imbues Bach's music with extra freshness and meaning. Thanks to an array of superb soloists and orchestral musicians, the new recording brings those qualities together in a performance which will present a well-loved piece in a completely new light, and appeal to existing and future generations of music-lovers alike.

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REVIEW:

One will struggle to find more committed, well-balanced, agile and crisp singing than that of the Crouch End Festival Chorus, who are on top form throughout. Frankly none of the soloists could be bettered, nor the superb continuo team. Congratulations to all concerned on producing such a buoyant, absorbing, and sonically thrilling recording.

– Gramophone

Classical Music

Includes work(s) by Johann Adolf Hasse.

For most period-instrument bands, improvisation means judiciously adding ornaments. But in works by Strozzi, Cabezon, Attaingnant, Monteverdi and others, the recorder player Vicente Parrilla and his superb Seville-based ensemble More Hispano elaborate freely and inventively on the composers' melodies and classic dance rhythms, much as a virtuoso jazz band would do with standards. Alvaro Garrido's vigorous percussion underpinnings have a world-music quality that suits these works, and Raquel Andueza, a soprano, sings with an earthy, almost vibrato-free tone. -New York Times, 2011 Music Gift Guide, Allan Kozinn.

This music could be called pre-Elgarian, since it was composed between 1878 and 1879, well before this late-bloomer had begun to find his distinctive voice. It was designed for a specific group of friends who joined together in an ensemble that was off kilter both in terms of its makeup (two flutes, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon) and in terms of its varying skills (the clarinetist was apparently less fluent than the flutists, while the bassoonist—the composer himself—was just beginning to master the instrument). It was penned under less-than-ideal circumstances, too: according to Jerrold Northrop Moore, cited in Noël Goodwin’s informative notes, the young church-organist composer tossed off much of this music during Sunday sermons.

All of this is apt to seem inauspicious, especially for those who don’t much care even for such “important” early works as the Bavarian Dances or for those who don’t like Elgar’s miniatures more generally. Rest assured: there may be nothing even faintly characteristic of the composer here, but the music is consistently captivating in a way that may bring the wind versions of Rossini’s String Sonatas to mind. No profundity, no sentimentality, no significant aesthetic aspirations, no formal challenges, no real attempt to engage the listener on any but the most superficial level: next to this, even the sunnier moments of the Dvo?ák Wind Serenade seem both monumental and avant-garde. But in its bursts of wit and in its unflagging and self-confident optimism, Elgar’s egregiously old-fashioned tidbits will surely brighten your brunch. These spirited performances, by the players who introduced the music to the wider public, have been staples of the Chandos catalog for years—and for good reason. If you’ve missed them in their earlier incarnations, now is a good time to make their acquaintance.

FANFARE: Peter J. Rabinowitz

The central intention of the edition Haendeliana Hallensis is to preserve and present the richness and variety of the music culture and tradition at and around the Handel place of Halle. Volume 2 of this edition demonstrates the capacity of treasures selected from the collection of historical keyboard instruments at the Handel House. The double CD brings in relation the keyboard work of three composers affiliated to Halle, who spent around 1800 an important period of their lifes in the city and thus each distinctly formed regional music culture. Daniel Gottlob Türk and Johann Friedrich Reichardt resided till the end of their days. Within Türk's oeuvre keyboard music fills an important place; while keyboard compositions by his contemporary Reichardt or his student Carl Loewe mark a kind of curiosities. During their life times and long after their aesthetic value have been underestimated. Only through a gradual understanding that these works should not be compared with those of Beethoven, but instead regarded as specimens of an independent genre which arose during the same period in Central and Northern Germany, can they be appreciated and enjoyed for their beauty, melodic invention, rhythmic sophistication and certain interesting harmonic developments. This CD intends to propose new impulses to this discovery.

Classical Music

Anna Sikorzak-Olek plays rarely recorded 20th century Polish harp repertoire.

Classical Music