Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

For all his successes on the operatic stage, Menotti has never won the same reputation in the field of instrumental music. As the 'Violin Concerto' on this disc reveals, however, Menotti's orchestral music is as concerned with creating vivid, dramatic images as are any of his operas. Recorded in: Teatro Nuovo, Spoleto, Italy 4 & 5 July 2001 Producer(s) Ralph Couzens (Recording) Aidan Oliver (Assistant) Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Christopher Brooke (Assistant)

Howard Shelley and the London Mozart Players present the latest in his series of Hummel works for Chandos and on this occasion shows a less-known side to Hummel's compositional style: that of dance-composer. All three works receive their premiere recordings with this release.

Richard Hickox?s pioneering account of the 1913 version of A London Symphony (CHAN 9902) was Gramophone?s ?Record of the Year? and received many other awards including the Classical Brits ?Orchestral Disc of the Year?, a Rosette in the latest Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and a Grammy nomination. This release features the premiere recording of the reconstructed Norfolk Rhapsody No. 2. Recorded in: All Saints' Church, Tooting, London 16-18 January 2002 Producer(s) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Michael Common (Assistant)

Includes work(s) by Camille Saint-Saëns. Ensemble: Orchestra Della Svizzera Italiana. Conductor: Diego Fasolis. Soloists: Guillemette Laurens, Marie-Paule Dotti, Luca Lombardo, Nicolas Testé.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Today, the Mass in E Flat is increasingly acknowledged as an individual masterpiece; powerful and disquieting, more monumental than the fifth, but likewise seeking to reconcile liturgical grandeur with Schubert's own subjective romantic feeling, while still influenced by Haydn, Beethoven, and Bach. Richard Hickox has long wanted to record this powerful work. The recording follows the successful concert at the 2007 BBC Proms. The same stellar cast is brought together, including Susan Gritton, James Gilchrist and Mark Padmore, accompanied by Collegium Musicum 90. The Guardian commented on the Proms performance: 'it was graciously sung and conducted...' The Daily Telegraph wrote: 'Wednesday night brought Schubert's wonderful and rarely-performed late E flat Mass, performed by some fine soloists and the 'early music' orchestra and choir Collegium Musicum 90, conducted by Richard Hickox. It's close to being Schubert's last piece, and has an amazing harmonic daring mingled with a minatory severity - a very potent mix'. The recording is dedicated to the memory of Francesca McManus, the manager of CM90 who sadly died at the end of November. Also available: Hummel Mass in D major CHAN0681; Mass in E flat, CHAN0712; Mass in D minor CHAN0724

This is the third release on Chandos from the USA's Center City Brass Quintet. The acclaimed Center City Brass Quintet takes its name from the famous downtown district of Philadelphia, where the ensemble was founded in 1985 by students at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music. Although the members have gone on to establish successful solo careers and assume positions with major symphony orchestras around the country, the group continues to perform regularly. This imaginative programme contains some of the most famous brass ensemble repertoire and showcases the Quintet's versatility, vibrancy and technical skill. 'Another super brass quintet recording from Chandos... dash out and get this one - you won't be disappointed.' Brass Review on CHAN 4554 (On the Town) Recorded in: Trinity Lutheran Church, Akron, Ohio August 1993 Producer(s) Rosalind Illet Sam Pilafian (Co-producer & Project consultant) Sound Engineer(s) Michael Bishop

"As Rumon Gamba's nicely slick performances with BBCNOW show, these are all nicely proportioned pieces...they don't deserve the total neglect they've suffered for the last three-quarters of a century." - The Guardian

Rumon Gamba and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales present a collection of rarely heard overtures from the British Isles. Among these is Sir Frederic Cowen’s The Butterfly’s Ball (1901), illustrating a popular children’s poem by William Roscoe. All is vividly evoked by Cowen’s pleasing melodic lines and delicate instrumental colour. It is easy to see why, in its day, the piece was a firm favourite, being played twenty-six times at the Proms between 1900 and 1940. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor achieved immediate success early in his career with his four-part cantata cycle collectively known as Scenes from The Song of Hiawatha. The Overture, composed in 1899, was intended as a prelude to the complete cycle but is now rarely heard in this context. Indeed, very little of the material in this Overture comes from the other Hiawatha pieces, the principal theme being the spiritual ‘Nobody knows the trouble I see, Lord’. Perhaps better known as a leading baritone of his generation, Frederic Austin was also a composer of some achievement. In his tuneful and exciting concert overture The Sea Venturers, from 1936, he wanted to evoke ‘something of the lives and character of English seamen who...took peril and pleasure as it came’. - Chandos

Recorded in: Blackheath Halls, London 27-29 November 1996 Producer(s) Nicholas Anderson Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Richard Smoker (Assistant)

Also available: Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol 1 / Bavouzet and Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol 3 / Bavouzet



The virtues of the first three-CD set that launched Jean Efflam-Bavouzet’s Beethoven sonata cycle for Chandos largely prevail throughout Volume 2. Like Richard Goode and Claude Frank, Bavouzet’s lean, pinpointed sonority, rhythmic directness, freedom from mannerisms, and strong linear awareness convey both a strong sense of classical style and expressive economy. Bavouzet’s dynamic range is not particularly large, yet his subtle variety of articulations, thoughtful accentuation, and very discreet use of the sustain pedal give the playing a distinctive profile that recalls other intimate, Apollonian Beethoven stylists like Wilhelm Kempff, Walter Gieseking, and Robert Casadesus. Moreover, Bavouzet brings more tension and fire to his interpretations than those of his label mate Louis Lortie.

If Bavouzet falls short of Stewart Goodyear’s brash audacity and risk taking, at least this pianist avoids the occasional fussiness we hear from Paul Lewis and András Schiff, or the often faceless perfection of Mari Kodama, among recent Beethoven cycles. The opera buffa-like character of Op. 22’s Allegro con brio comes out through Bavouzet’s minuscule stretching of certain rests and note placement of cadences. The steady, slightly muted Adagio leads gracious, simply shaped third and fourth movements that nevertheless sound a trifle bland next to the Pollini remake’s heightened left-hand details.

A soft-grained start to the Op. 26 opening movement variations does not prepare you for the minor-key variation’s sudden intensity, or for the Scherzo’s forceful detached articulations. The Funeral March is as focused and rock-steady as one can wish, yet never rigid, while subtle accents and dynamic hairpins gently illuminate the toccata-like Allegro’s cross-rhythmic phrasings. I like Bavouzet’s long-lined animation in Op. 27 No. 1’s opening Andante theme, but the sudden quick episode’s barrage of notes loses impact when the pianist makes slight ritards at the end of phrases. While the second movement moves slower than what I take Beethoven’s Allegro molto e vivace to represent, Bavouzet’s steady momentum wins the day.

The “Moonlight” Adagio sostenuto proceeds at an ideal “walking” tempo, with bass notes, lilting arpeggiated accompaniment, and right-hand melody voiced with harmonious transparency. The Presto agitato is slightly held back, yet its carefully gauged climaxes and textural clarity make up for the droopy, foursquare Allegretto. The “Pastorale” receives another clear and transparent reading that somehow leaves a plain and matter-of-fact impression when compared to the similar yet more imaginatively nuanced account by recent contender Jonathan Biss–yet sparks eventually fly in the Rondo, capped by Bavouzet’s buoyant prance through its treacherous final pages. He plays the two little Op. 49 works well, if not with anything to displace more characterful and affectionate traversals (Stephen Kovacevich, for example).

Bavouzet’s “Waldstein” evokes the classicism, bracing rhythm, and refinement of Solomon’s great 1950s EMI recording, down to an ever-so-slight reluctance to take the Rondo’s controversial long pedal markings on faith. A lovely, understated Andante Favori makes for an apt encore, in that it was Beethoven’s original “Waldstein” slow movement.

I save the three Op. 31 sonatas for last, because they contain Bavouzet’s most consistently inspired and satisfying work here. Few pianists sustain the G major sonata Adagio grazioso’s detached left-hand accompaniment and intricate right-hand writing to Bavouzet’s slow, concentrated effect. The “Tempest” abounds with vivacious linear interplay in the first movement, while minute gradations of touch and emphasis bring new life to the Rondo’s galloping accompaniment. Also notice Bavouzet’s sardonic, gruff handling of the woodwind-like keyboard writing in Op. 31 No. 3’s Scherzo, and the deftly contoured (if not quite “con fuoco”) Presto finale. In short, Volume 2’s few disappointments should not detract from its considerable felicities, and I look forward to this cycle’s next installment.

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music