Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 10 is the last and only unfinished symphony in his complete oeuvre. On September 5, 1910 Mahler wrote his last notes: exactly 100 years later, the 23-year-old conductor and composer Yoel Gamzou presented with great success his new reconstruction of this extraordinary work. The world première with the International Mahler Orchestra took place at the Ryckestrasse synagogue in Berlin as part of the Jewish Cultural Days 2010. Yoel Gamzou first came in contact with the Adagio from Mahler’s unfinished 10th Symphony when he was about 12 or 13 years old, whilst fishing curiously amidst a jungle of books and scores in a local library. Already at first glance, it was obvious to me that this symphony has – or indeed would have had, considering it was almost lost and forgotten for decades – a unique meaning in musical history. "When I discovered that it was only the first movement of a large unfinished symphony, I instantly started investigating. I became indescribably fascinated and intrigued, in fact hypnotized, by the sheer magnitude of meaning and content hiding within this manuscript. It was immediately clear to me that the piece was entirely thought-through and that the meaning behind this hurried testament was an almost unbearably painful albeit thoroughly planned legacy. It seemed like the sketch was staring at me demanding to be heard, like a message in a bottle that hasn't really been found, let alone entirely understood, for almost a century.“ - Yoel Gamzou

Having won a special prize for the best Mazurka interpretations during the 1955 International Warsaw Chopin Competition, it's no surprise that pianist Fou Ts'ong has a long-standing reputation for playing--guess what?--Chopin Mazurkas! I've never heard Fou's all-Mazurka Westminster LP, but his complete Mazurka cycle issued in 1993 by Sony Essential Classics now gains reissue thanks to Arkivmusic.com's on-demand reprint program.

Fou's forceful, creative Mazurka style commands attention. He dishes out lots of rubato and elongated beats, together with wide dynamic extremes and outsized accents. Yet somehow the interpretations rarely sound fragmented, and no matter how far out things get, you almost always can discern the Mazurka rhythm. What is more, Fou is not afraid to blur the pedal for coloristic and expressive purposes.

He's also fond of subjecting repeated phrases to subtle variations in nuance and touch (Op. 6 No. 1's main theme; Op. 7 No. 1's trills; Op. 63 No. 3's intense canonic dialogue; Op. 30 No. 4's dramatically contoured inner voices). Only occasionally does Fou's approach produce cloying results (Op. 17 No. 4 and Op. 68 No. 4).

The pianist also makes the most of transitional passages, be it a single, solitary upbeat or a quick succession of chords; Op. 24 No. 4, Op. 56 No. 3, and Op. 41 No. 2 are particularly striking in this regard. You easily can listen past the strident, harsh engineering, albeit not for long periods of time. That's just as well, since it's wisest to absorb Fou's multi-layered, hyper-detailed Mazurking in small doses.

Incidentally, Fou presents the Mazurkas in near-chronological order rather than according to opus, as is so often done. While Rubinstein's stereo and Ohlsson's digital Mazurka cycles remain safer, sonically superior versions of reference, Fou Ts'ong certainly casts individual and thought-provoking light on this repertoire.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com
reviewing the complete set of Mazurkas recorded by Fou Ts'ong, Sony 53246

I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS DO

"It exudes a buzzing energy that is wonderfully invigorating...A truly superb disc, beautifully engineered."

PICKARD String Quartets Nos. 1 and 5 • Brodowski Qrt • TOCCATA 0197 (64:08)


My previous Pickard review, in Fanfare 36:4, covered Toccata Classics’ enterprising first installment of the music of John Pickard. Here is the second volume, which effectively acts as confirmation of Pickard as a composer of original voice and deft compositional technique. There is a Bergian combination of lyricism and angst that underlies much of the writing of the String Quartet No. 1 of 1991 (particularly the intense second section, but also in the shadowy Prestissimo of the eighth); yet the impression is simultaneously that of a folkloric longing of a lost past. The piece is in 10 short sections (including two fugues), each of which manages to say huge amounts in small time-spans. The Brodowski Quartet (2008 winners of the Royal Overseas League Competition) plays with huge conviction and massive technical security.


The Fifth Quartet was premiered in April 2013, and represents Pickard’s first quartet after a five-year absence from this genre. Although shorter than the First (some 26 minutes as opposed to 38), it is no slip of a piece. And yet, the impression is of a new concise way of expression. The tense, serious, shifting opening houses kinetic energy that is pent up like a coiled spring. As that energy uncoils, the performance by the Brodowski Quartet reaches almost unbearable levels of intensity; the “Desolato” movement that follows offers relief from ongoing movement, but little more. The heaviness of the emotion is palpable, especially in as heartfelt a performance as this one. It is easy to get dragged in, not to notice how exquisitely the textures are balanced, or how sweetly the phrases are tapered. Pickard’s Fifth Quartet is a magnificent creation, perfectly proportioned, almost classically so, and yet containing a wealth of feeling. The pizzicatos of the third and central movement (there are five) are superbly done here, descending gestures like falling rain. The fourth movement certainly lives up to its title (“Drammatico”), but also seems to be trying to find a voice by trying out different instrumental combinations. The intense and fraught Finale seems the perfect end, technically challenging yet not overtly virtuoso. Rather, it exudes a buzzing energy that is wonderfully invigorating.


A truly superb disc, beautifully engineered (it was recorded in St Paul’s Church, New Southgate, London). Volume Two of Pickard’s chamber music is in every way as impressive as Volume One—perhaps more so.


FANFARE: Colin Clarke

Releases like this show why Arkivmusic.com's "on demand" program is so important to collectors. These aren't Strauss' greatest works, but they are comparative rarities on disc. Serious Strauss collectors will want them to fill the gaps in their collections. The performances are very beautiful, brilliantly played, and excellently paced. Mehta always has been an excellent Straussian, and in 1990 was in top form. There never would be a big market for this release, even by classical music standards, but that doesn't mean that the music should not be available to those who love Strauss' orchestral works, or little-known Romantic gems. So here it is; come and get it!

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Distance lends enchantment. This famous mid-century group used to sound ‘big’ in its time, and fortepiano fanciers will wince at the expansive, fruity opening to the Archduke. The rest of us can enjoy a generosity of phrasing that now seems to sing the joy and pain of life itself. To be frank it is a bit sedentary, but the steady pulse allows the interplay of fine musical responses to be taken in at ease. Several degrees lighter in manner and acoustic – and despite a stereo spread that, with headphones, has violin and cello arguing from opposite sides of your head – the Ghost has energy and feeling even if it doesn’t peer over the existential edge.

-- Robert Maycock, BBC Music Magazine

BAROQUE IN ITALY MALGOIRE, SC

SKORYK The High Pass: Melody. Violin Sonatas: No. 1; No. 2. Hutsulian Triptych: Allegretto and Dance. Caprice for Solo Violin. Carpathian Rhapsody. Poem. Spanish Dance • Solomia Soroka (vn); Arthur Greene (pn) • TOCCATA 0137 (65:42)


Violinist Solomia Soroka, who has collaborated with the composer in performances of his works, herself wrote the booklet notes for Toccata’s collection of Miroslav Skoryk’s music for violin and piano, in which she’s joined for recital by pianist Arthur Greene. The notes trace the composer’s early years in Siberia, to which his family had been exiled, through his attempts to study musical composition in Ukraine, to his final work with Dmitri Kabalevsky. They also trace his affection for Hutsulian modes and the kolomyika , a dance of the same ethnicity (familiar from one of the most intoxicating of Béla Bartók’s duos for two violins).


The Melody (from 1981) recalls Skoryk’s work as a composer for movies, this being an adaptation from his first effort, The High Pass , which movie—and melody—Soroka relates, became “universally popular” in Ukraine. Firmly tonal and strongly evocative, it nevertheless sounds a bit edgy in Soroka’s performance, perhaps due to the strong but slightly abrasive quality of the tone she produces (still, her generally suave manner of performance hardly sounds unnuanced). The engineers have focused the spotlight on her, and she appears to dominate the piano in the recorded sound. The First Violin Sonata, from 1963, recalls the dark harmonic shimmer of Prokofiev’s work (Soroka relates that Skoryk wrote his doctoral dissertation on that composer’s modal practices). Passages crop up in the first movement (of three) that recall the earlier composer’s haunting Five Melodies , which Prokofiev himself arranged for violin and piano. In these moments, Soroka adopts a throaty manner that accentuates the music’s sultriness, a manner that continues, intensified, in the brief Largo. The finale thrusts and slashes in this performance, relieved by searingly intense expressivity.


If anything, the Allegretto and Dance from Hutsulian Triptych (1964) sound even more accessible; they come from another Ukrainian movie, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors , and Soroka and Greene extract all the poignant lyricism and stormy drama, and gaiety, respectively, that the music and its program suggest. The four-odd-minute Caprice for Solo Violin (1978), according to Soroka, harks back to Paganini’s 21st Caprice, but it also bears some connection, in its combination of a declamatory slow opening section and a brilliantly animated concluding one, with Kreisler’s Recitativo and Scherzo Caprice (with double-stopped tremolos and pizzicatos, although, of course, in a completely different style); Gustave Samazeuilh’s similar piece, Lamento et Moto perpetuo , also comes to mind.


The Carpathian Rhapsody (2004) and Poem (2006), the most recent items on the program, both began their lives, according to Soroka, as required repertoire for violin competitions. The first sounds forbidding, perhaps because Soroka makes it seem more difficult than ingratiating. Although the Poem opens more reflectively, and overall sounds less ethnic, it nevertheless contains its share of purely violinistic difficulties and probes further into the harmonic penumbra than any of the pieces that precede it on the program. The Second Violin Sonata (1990) explores differing styles, but Soroka points to the recurrence of material from Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata as a unifying element. The slow movement (the center one of three) makes a more consistent impression, centered on a single somber mood, captured by Soroka in a long-breathed melodic outpouring. The virtuosic finale recalls that of Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto but also interweaves some lyrical jazzy elements. The Spanish Dance, from 1978, also began as incidental music, for The Stone Ruler . It’s heavier, darker, and more smoldering than Sarasate’s pieces, and could serve as a substitute for one of them on almost any program. According to Soroka, Bodhar Kotorovych, of the Kiev Conservatory, considered the original arrangement of this final movement from a suite for string orchestra to be technically too simple. Violinists should hear how Skoryk responded. In fact, violinists should hear the whole disc, as should those interested in relatively recent repertoire for the instrument. In fact, its workable performances, fascinating booklet, and clear recorded sound should appeal to almost anyone with the slightest interest in the violin.


FANFARE: Robert Maxham

"A well-assembled programme of attractive works from 1905 (Ravel) to 1973 (Francaix), played by an expert ensemble and recorded with striking fidelity, all detail being warm but clear. . . . [A] group of rich-toned and serious-minded artists, whose ensemble is flawless; they excel in lyrical passages, such as the tender opening of the Francaix Octet’s slow movement . . . . [A] very recommendable disc." -- Lionel Salter, Gramophone

A brilliant pianist and organist, Shchedrin has appeared throughout the entire world as a successful performer of his own works. A second CD with recordings from 1964 and 1983 of his own piano works has appeared within the Edition Rodion Shchedrin on WERGO. This CD chiefly introduces his early works for piano, with the exception of "Notebook for the Youth", which was written in 1981 and which is, in contradiction to the title, not only meant for young people, but also for the advanced concert pianist. Shchedrin recorded this CD in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, "the place with the best acoustics in Moscow" - at night, when the team got the desired peace and quietness which is absolutely indispensable for recording quiet and "transparent" music. "Yes, we were children of our time and of our country where we were born and where we lived. You cannot run away from that. Time always leaves it's mark," says Rodion Shchedrin.

[André Watts] meets [the Liszt Sonata's] super-human demands heroically, and keeps faith with the introspective and contemplative facets of the work. The second version of Liszt’s Paganini Études finds Watts in audacious mood, and his bravura playing is masterful. Reminiscences de Don Juan, Liszt’s Mozartian fantasy, and the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10 are effectively played by Charles Rosen, and remastered sound is pleasing.

-- Michael Jameson, BBC Music Magazine

Robert Kahn, born in Mannheim in 1865, was one of the oldest Jewish composers to have to flee Hitler – he left Germany in 1938 and settled in Kent, England, where he died in 1951. He produced a large body of attractive chamber music, expertly crafted and basically Brahmsian in style. His three violin sonatas, written over a twenty-year-period at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th c., reveal a lyrical composer in the Romantic mainstream but capable of considerable formal inventiveness. This is the first recording of these highly attractive works.

SCHUBERT: OCTET CLEVELAND OCT

MARLBORO FEST 40TH ANNIVERSARY

[Nikolai Tcherepnin]...student of Rimsky-Korsakov and teacher of Prokofiev, is revealed in all his pianistic glory in these fascinating first recordings, from the lushly romantic early "Three Pieces", with their tinges of Chopin and Rachmaninov, to a charmingly original set of tone poems based on children's alphabet sketches, which display just why his friends teasingly called him "Debussy Ravelovich".

- Stephen Pritchard, The Observer, [15 May 2011]

Nikolai Tcherepnin (1873–1945) – a student of Rimsky-Korsakov and teacher of Prokofiev – was a Russian-born composer and conductor, and the first of his family’s musical dynasty. His piano music reveals a diversity of influences: the Three Pieces (c. 1890) have echoes of Chopin and Rachmaninov; the Fourteen Sketches on Pictures from the Russian Alphabet (1908) are miniature tone-poems inspired by Alexander Benois’ beautifully illustrated alphabet book for children; [reproduced in the CD booklet] and The Fisherman and the Fish (c. 1914) is a vivid musical depiction of this Pushkin poem, complete with watery splashes!

- Toccata Classics

Pianist David Witten's international career has included numerous concert tours in Ireland, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, Mexico, and South America. As the recipient of a 1990 Fulbright Scholar award, Witten spent five months teaching and concertizing throughout Brazil, and he is frequently invited back to give concerts and masterclasses.

Classical Music

BEETHOVEN: PIANO SONATAS OP. 1

CHOEURS DE L'OPERA DE VIENNE -

Classical Music

Roy Agnew (1891-1944) - one of few early-twentieth-century Australian composers to gain international success - wove many external influences into a warmly Romantic personal style of striking variety and wide appeal, and his compositions, largely for the piano, are startlingly virtuosic, harmonically daring and charmingly sentimental by turn. Beautifully written by a natural pianist for his own instrument, they often recall the virtuosic textures of Liszt and Skryabin and occasionally show flashes of the Impressionist colours of Debussy. This is the fifth album that Stephanie McCallum - Associate Professor in piano at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music - has recorded for Toccata Classics. The four earlier ones all focused on French composers: Alkan, Bo�ly and Ropartz. Now she turns her considerable talents to rescue a forgotten composer from her native Australia.

Classical Music

ALFONSO X EL SABIO: CANTIGAS D

This album introduces both a new voice and a new choir to western audiences: the Estonian P�rt Uusberg (b. 1986) is well known at home as a film actor as well as a composer; and in 2017 Collegium Musicale carried the coveted Silver Rose Bowl of the EBU competition 'Let the People Sing' home to Tallinn. Uusberg's works use many of the devices that have made recent Baltic choral music so popular in the wider world: melodies that unfold calmly over long bass lines, sustained by suspensions and piqued by mild dissonance - reflecting an awareness of the immensity of nature in music that is both exquisitely beautiful and infinitely touching. Endrik Uksvarav graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater as a conductor in 2004. The Estonian chamber choir Collegium Musicale was founded by Endrik Uksvarav in October 2010, with a repertoire extending from Renaissance to contemporary music. A special place in that repertoire belongs to Estonian composers, among them Arvo Part, Erkki-Sven Tuur, Helena Tulve and Part Uusberg. The aim is to act as ambassadors for Estonian music at the same time as delivering an intense emotional experience.

Eight piano works by McCabe, now one of the most respected figures in British music, played by Gramophone Magazine award nominee Tamami Honma. "A splendid release. Make no mistake: Honma is a superb player. The composer provides his imprimatur of her in the booklet, but hearing her one appreciates immediately how technically able and interpretatively alert she is. Very strongly recommended." - Guy Rickards (Gramophone)

This is not an historical recording. Yet mysteriously the music is performed in an interpretation which is historically authentic down to the last detail. The key to this mystery is: The original performer was present at the recent recording session, but not physically: The music is heard on a modern Steinway. Never has music stored in the Welte-Mignon system sounded so "right" or so good. Thanks to TACET's much-praised recording technique, and because the Welte-Mignon memory system and sound production mechanism have now been newly adjusted for the first time by the leading expert in the field - and are thus able to meet TACET's requirements. (Welte-Mignon was invented in 1904.) the Welte-Mignon mystery can now speak to US without distortion.