Classical Music

Classical Music

Aspects portrays the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet's love of musical diversity. It is a collection of music that observes a startling variety of perspective and which reflects the group's ability to craft an emotive and diverse musical tapestry. The album includes original works for four guitars, arrangements that have been made by members of the group, and even a new work written especially for this project. Aspects is both retrospective and prospective: it includes favorites which the Quartet has been performing for many years and also pieces which it has learned specifically for this recording and which will form the basis of new concert programs in the future.

CASELLA Symphony No. 3. Italia. Introduzione, Corale e Marcia • Gianandrea Noseda, cond; BBC PO • CHANDOS 10768 (69:35)


Alfredo Casella’s Third Symphony of 1939–40 followed his Second after a gap of 31 years. Neither work was available on record until recently. It is only lately that we have been able to appreciate fully the achievements of this previously neglected composer, thanks largely to two ongoing series, from Francesco La Vecchia for Naxos and Gianadrea Noseda for Chandos. While La Vecchia’s recordings have been and continue to be excellent, it is Noseda and his BBC forces who really shine, with, it must be admitted, considerable help from the Chandos recording team. Noseda’s recording of Casella’s Second Symphony revealed it to be a work of Mahlerian scope and impressive technical assurance (see Paul A. Snook’s review in Fanfare 34:2), and in this new release the conductor makes an even more convincing case for the Third.


It is a work of vast proportions, lasting 42 minutes in this performance. The first movement expands from an initial pastoral theme played by a solo oboe, and Casella develops his material with a rigor reminiscent of Hindemith. The emotional center of the work is the slow movement, which again proceeds with an inevitability that signifies the composer’s long experience. The fourth movement finale is the most episodic, concluding with a return to the opening material that strengthens the structure of the work as a whole. The third movement scherzo takes the form of a sardonic interlude. In the past I felt this movement was overlong, as the material is mostly repeated in changing orchestral garb but not developed in any significant way. Noseda’s performance makes it work by the careful contrasting of dynamics: the first part of the movement is robust and primarily forte , whereas the quieter second part is like an extended, ghostly echo of the first. This is very clear in the new recording.


Noseda and Chandos pull out all stops for the early tone poem Italia , written to be Casella’s answer to Respighi’s popular Roman trilogy and to Richard Strauss’s Aus Italien . Like Strauss, Casella makes use of Danza’s tune Funiculi-Funiculà (in Casella’s case with the composer’s permission) and treats it in an exciting, freewheeling way. Strangely enough, it is this specific musical reference that dates the work. Funiculi-Funiculà conjures up the ethos of Dean Martin (or even Chico Marx’s comic character) that Americans once associated with Italy but of course no longer do. In a performance as colorful as Noseda’s, any such period flavor is not the drawback it might be in less committed hands.


The Introduzione, Corale e Marcia for woodwind, brass, timpani, percussion, piano, and double basses is another late piece, dating from 1935 when Stravinsky’s neoclassicism was a predominant influence on Casella. While just under eight minutes in total length, it is a strong work, cleanly scored and tightly organized. Again, the forces on the new disc make a compelling case for the piece. According to the CD cover, this is its premiere recording.


La Vecchia recently got around to the Third Symphony in his Naxos series, a version that I regret to say I have not heard. It would have to be very special to equal Noseda. (Raymond Tuttle in these pages called La Vecchia’s performance “completely satisfactory” but had some reservations about the symphony itself; see Fanfare 35:2.) Back in January 2010 ( Fanfare 33:3), Paul A. Snook and I reviewed another recording of the symphony and Italia by the WDR SO Köln, conducted by Alun Francis. We both liked it, and indeed it is a classy, well-recorded performance. Francis stresses the Symphony’s neoclassical qualities, while Noseda makes more of the work’s orchestral panoply. Both versions are recommendable, but my preference falls slightly on the side of the new release because of the musicians’ energy and sensitivity, the brilliant Chandos sound, and the inclusion of the Introduzione, Corale e Marcia . This is a most welcome disc; so much so that it has earned a coveted place on my 2013 Want List.


FANFARE: Phillip Scott

Classical Music

Recorded in: Blackheath Halls, London 26 May & 22-23 July 1992 (Idyll & Suite for Strings) Recorded in: Smetana Hall, Prague 3-6 June 1990 (Sinfonietta) Recorded in: Spanish Hall, Prague Castle 22 June 1991 (Overture: Jealousy) & 10-11 March 1992 (The Fiddler's Child); 3-4 February 1991 (Suite: The Cunning Little Vixen & Taras Bulba) Producer(s) Nicholas Parker (Idyll & Suite for Strings) Brian Couzens (Sinfonietta & The Fiddler's Child) Ralph Couzens (other works) Sound Engineer(s) Tim Handley & Adrian Hunter (Idyll & Suite for Strings) Ralph Couzens (Sinfonietta) Richard Lee (Sinfonietta) Ben Connellan (other works) Philip Couzens (Assistant) Richard Smoker (Assistant)

Sofia Gubaidulina is one of the world's most famous living composers and her music has a tremendous worldwide following. This is currently the only available recording of Hommage à Marina Tsvetayeva, and there is only one other recording of The Canticle of the Sun. Recorded in: Danish Radio Concert Hall, Copenhagen 7 & 8 May 1999 (The Canticle of the Sun) and 15 & 16 November 2002 (Hommage à Marina Tsvetayeva) Producer(s) Claus Due (The Canticle of the Sun) Chris Hazell (Hommage à Marina Tsvetayeva) Sound Engineer(s) Jørn Jacobsen

This disc offers works for violin and orchestra from Russian contemporaries and friends Rimsky-Korsakov and Taneyev. Described here as ‘Violin Concertos’ the first score is Rimsky-Korsakov’s Fantasy on Russian Themes based on old Russian folk-tunes. Taneyev is represented by his Suite de Concert a work that inhabits the world of old European dance forms from the baroque period. These are both unfamiliar scores, yet melodic and rewarding, without making any claims to greatness. For further listening I have provided in the footnotes a list of several other lesser known scores by these composers.

I immediately noted the link that both Rimsky and Taneyev had been composition professors at their respective conservatories: the former at the St. Petersburg and Taneyev at Moscow. Stylistically very different in inclination the Moscow Conservatory was more associated with the music of the Austro-German tradition as opposed to the Russian nationalist school at St. Petersburg.

The first born of the two composers is Rimsky who is by far the better known; primarily for his famous symphonic suite Scheherazade, Op. 36 (1888) and also the popular Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34 (1887).

Rimsky started his career as a naval officer and went on to become Professor of Composition at St. Petersburg. He taught many pupils who went on to achieve great success as composers, notably: Anatoly Lyadov; Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov; Anton Arensky; Sergei Prokofiev; Alexander Gretchaninov; Igor Stravinsky, Ottorino Respighi and Alexander Glazunov.

Rimsky-Korsakov was the youngest of the circle of self trained amateur composers known as ‘The Five’ also known as ‘The Mighty Handful’ or ‘Balakirev's circle’. They met in the years 1856-1870 and promoted a Russian Nationalistic style. Commenced in 1861 Rimsky-Korsakov’s Symphony No. 1 in E flat minor, Op. 1 was completed and premiered at St. Petersburg in 1865. The composer surprised the audience by taking his ovation wearing his naval uniform. Although it was not the first symphony to be composed by a Russian the score is sometimes known as the “First Russian Symphony”; owing to its use of Russian folk song and oriental melodies. Rimsky-Korsakov revised and re-orchestrated the Symphony No. 1 in 1884.

Rimsky-Korsakov composed his three movement Fantasy on Russian Themes in 1887. It was written for Krasnokutsky the violin teacher at the Imperial Chapel where Rimsky was assistant to Balakirev, the Musical Director. Biographer Gerald Abraham wrote of the Violin Fantasy:

“Though the themes are attractive, their treatment is of slight interest, the orchestral part being very evidently written for the pupil’s orchestra of the Chapel.” (Rimsky-Korsakov: A Short Biography by Gerald Abraham, Duckworth, London, 1945, p. 80).

The opening movement is wild and fresh, punctuated with cadenza-like passages. Mordkovitch plays with great tenderness against a minimal orchestral accompaniment. The Lento section includes a long, languid and heartfelt theme. From point 2:03 Rimsky-Korsakov employs the highest violin registers. Like a breath of fresh air the Finale bursts onto the scene blowing away any cobwebs with a brisk gypsy-dance. A cadenza of considerable difficulty is played with assurance by Mordkovitch and conveys an unusually warm and gentle atmosphere.

It was in 1866 that Sergey Taneyev entered the Moscow Conservatory. He became a composition student of Tchaikovsky and also received piano tuition from Nikolay Rubinstein. He graduated with a gold medal for performance and composition. As a virtuoso Taneyev was entrusted by Tchaikovsky with giving the premières of virtually all his scores for piano and orchestra. Taneyev was the only composer within his circle from whom Tchaikovsky sought critical appraisals on his works. Later in his career in 1881 Taneyev returned to the Moscow Conservatory to undertake teaching duties and in 1885 was appointed as Conservatory Director. Taneyev’s pupils include several famous names namely: Reinhold Glière; Sergei Rachmaninov and Alexander Scriabin.

Sadly Taneyev’s music has been consigned to the shadows for many years. His influence on the development of Russian music, especially his success as a composition teacher, is often overlooked. Thankfully Taneyev’s melodic and approachable music is rapidly gaining a large group of enthusiasts. In an interview for The Independent newspaper in 2005 the eminent Russian pianist; conductor and composer Mikhail Pletnev expressed the opinion that Taneyev was,

“… the key figure in Russian musical history … He was the greatest polyphonist after Bach. And look who his pupils were: Rachmaninov and Scriabin, and Prokofiev who said he learned more about composing in one hour from Taneyev than from all his other tutors at the Moscow Conservatory.”

Today Taneyev is best remembered as the composer of four symphonies. His final work, the second cantata At the Reading of a Psalm (1914-15) completed just two years before the Russian Revolution, is receiving attention thanks to maestro Pletnev’s recording on Pentatone. Very active in the field of chamber music Taneyev composed a considerable number of scores in the genre. According to Grove Music Online there are nine string quartets (1874-1911), plus two incomplete quartets; two string quintets (1901 and 1904); a piano quartet (1906) and a piano quintet (1911).

His substantial forty-seven minute Suite de Concert was composed in 1908-9 in between the turmoil of the ‘Failed Russian Revolution of 1905’ and the ‘Bolshevik Revolution’ or ‘October Revolution’ of 1917.

Dedicated to his friend the renowned violinist Leopold Auer the score is a combination of several traditions of writing. The Prelude and Gavotte sections reflect the style of the Baroque suite with the closing Tarantella conceivably indicating the Gigue. The substantial and late-Romantic Fairy-tale section undoubtedly reminds one of Schumann or Brahms. One wonders if the theme and set of variations were influenced by Brahms’s Haydn Variations (1873) or Tchaikovsky’s Mozartiana, orchestral suite, Op. 61 (1887).

In the Prelude I enjoyed the exciting and extrovert opening section. It calls for and receives considerable virtuosity from soloist Lydia Mordkovitch. The overall sound-picture is one of brooding sultriness. From the scope of an eighteen century Gavotte the music develops a distinct late-Romantic feel. The Fairy-tale section, an Andantino, commences in a quite sinister, almost menacing mood. This is music evocative of a woodland scene at dusk with all sorts of extraordinary creatures revealing themselves. The main theme that Rimsky-Korsakov employs is attractive yet undemanding. The first variation is delightful, contrasting with the bold and assertive second variation and the elegant waltz third variation. Marked Fuga doppia the fourth variation consists of richly-textured writing. The lighter fifth variation feels bright and breezy. Variation six is a severe mazurka and I loved the heartfelt compassion of the final variation that closely resembles the original theme. The Finale of the score, a tarantella, provides predominantly foot-tapping excitement. The climax makes a thrilling and satisfying conclusion to this impressive work.

I found this to be a splendidly presented disc with Calum MacDonald’s essay in the booklet a model of authorship. I did notice that in the liner-notes and booklet Taneyev’s birth date is incorrectly given as 1889 not 1856.

-- Michael Cookson, MusicWeb International

Recommended Recordings of Less Familiar Scores:

Rimsky-Korsakov

For those looking for lesser known scores of high quality and although not noted for his compositions in the field of chamber music I can enthusiastically recommend the following two scores:

The Quintet for piano, flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon in B flat, Op. posth. (1876). I love the fresh and committed playing by pianist Felicja Blumental and members of the New Philharmonia Wind Ensemble, London. The work was recorded at Chelsea, London in 1979 on Brana Records BR0019 c/w Anton Rubinstein Quintet for piano, flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon, in F major, Op. 55 (1855).

The rare String Sextet in A major, Op. posth. (1876) is an undemanding yet highly attractive early score worthy of wider recognition. Played with freshness and genuine enthusiasm by the Kocian Quartet with Josepf Kluson (viola) and Michal Kanka (cello) on Praga Records PRD350039 c/w Quintet for Piano and Winds, Op. posth. (1876).

Taneyev

I can highly recommend a splendid version of the Piano Quintet, Op. 30 (1911) and Piano Trio, Op. 22 from the stellar cast of: Vadim Repin (violin); Ilya Gringolts (violin); Nobuko Imai (viola); Lynn Harrell (cello) and Mikhail Pletnev (piano) recorded in Vevey, Switzerland in 2003 on Deutsche Grammophon 4775419.

Another Taneyev release to receive considerable acclaim is the live 2003 St. Petersburg, Russia recording of At the Reading of a Psalm. Conducted by Mikhail Pletnev and performed by the Russian National Orchestra; the St. Petersburg State Academy Capella Choir; the Boys Choir of the Glinka Choral College and soloists on PentaTone Classics Super Audio CD PTC5186038.

A valuable addition to Taneyev’s expanding discography is a recording of the String Quartet No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 4 (1890) and String Quartet No. 3 in D minor, Op. 7 (1886, rev.1896). Recorded in Columbus, Ohio in 2006 I especially enjoyed the assured playing and impressive unity from the Carpe Diem String Quartet on Naxos 8.570437. This first volume for Naxos as part of a projected cycle from the Carpe Diems Quartet of Taneyev’s complete quartets.

Classical Music

A splendidly characterful Kijé matched with some fine lesser-known works

As we reach the centenary year, Neeme Jarvi continues the Prokofievian odyssey on which he embarked in the mid-1980s with one of this master's most popular works, the Suite from Lieutenant Kije and one of his least known, the ballet The Tale of the Stone Flower. I enjoyed Lieutenant Kije in Jarvi's hands more than I have for a long time: he has the measure of its sense of fantasy and magic, as well as its festive spirit. His is a splendidly characterful performance which has the benefit of an excellent Chandos recording.

The Andante, Op. 50bis is a transcription for full strings of the middle movement of the First String Quartet (1930): the only previous recording I can recall was Rozhdestvensky's 1963 account (HMV Melodiya—nla). As its opus number implies, Autumnal sketch is an early work, dating from 1910, only a year after the First Piano Sonata, though Prokofiev subsequently revised it twice, in 1914 and 1934. Not surprisingly it finds his musical language not fully formed, though his imagination is rich. The shades of Rachmaninov hover and Prokofiev himself confessed that its inspiration could be traced to certain Rachmaninov works, namely The isle of the dead and the Second Symphony. It is scored for small orchestra (double woodwind plus bass clarinet, trumpet, four horns, harp and strings) and makes resourceful use of these forces. I have to say that I found this performance just a little less atmospheric than Rozhdestvensky's 1971 account (HMV—nla) and felt that it could have benefited from a slightly more leisurely tempo.

I saw The Tale of the Stone Flower, the last of Prokofiev's full-scale ballets, in Paris in the 1960s and thought its inspiration neither as fresh nor as seemingly inexhaustible as Cinderella or Romeo and Juliet. It is infrequently performed though it was running to packed houses in Moscow last autumn. Rozhdestvensky's complete 1975 recording of the score (HMV—nla) dispelled the impression that this was just Prokofiev on automatic pilot. The present suite, one of three Prokofiev fashioned from the work, contains some attractive and characteristic ideas (as in the Dance of the fiancee's girl-friends and the Scene and waltz of the diamonds), which improve on repetition, and left me wishing that Chandos had persuaded Neeme Jarvi to record a more generous selection, or even the whole ballet! Not top-drawer Prokofiev perhaps but well worth having all the same.

-- Robert Layton, Gramophone, reviewing original release Chandos 8806 [2/1991]

Another excellent budget reissue … very desirable.

Here is yet another excellent budget reissue of various works that originally acted as fillers for the Järvi/Prokofiev symphony cycle of the 1980s. That cycle was – and is – very highly regarded (see review), as were other series devoted to Strauss and Shostakovich, so it’s no surprise that this disc is very desirable at budget price.

The most famous item on here is, of course, the suite from Lieutenant Kije, and that is the work that has the severest competition. I grew up on the famous Szell/ Cleveland LP, and remember marvelling at the orchestral precision and flamboyant rhythmic bite of the whole thing. Having not heard it for many years, I can’t honestly say how the RSNO stack up against the Clevelanders, but this is hugely enjoyable on its own terms. Järvi’s approach is not dissimilar to Szell’s; he keeps a tight rein on proceedings but lets the orchestra unleash its full force where required, as at the start of the famous Troika, which then goes at quite a lick. There’s bags of detailed wind and brass playing throughout – that lovely doleful solo cornet at the start – and a sense of fun mingles with the grip Järvi obviously has on the score.

The suite from the ballet The Stone Flower is, I suspect, much less well known. In fact, I seem to remember Järvi’s recording as being instrumental in bringing the music to a wider public. It’s mature Prokofiev and, as in many other instances, he created the suites (three of them in the end) because of the shelving of plans to mount the full ballet. This is the first suite, entitled The Wedding Suite – the others were Gypsy Fantasy and Urals Rhapsody – though conductor Jarvi has added other bits from the original to make up a substantial half-hour chunk. Even by this composer’s enviable standard, it’s rife with memorable melodic invention, with glorious soaring melodies – just sample The Amorous Dance (tr.10) to hear what I mean. It’s full of Prokofiev’s best thumbprints – melodic, rhythmic, timbral, instrumental – and is a delight to get to know. I don’t have a comparison to hand – in fact, there aren’t a great deal – but Järvi and his RSNO really lift their game and play with passion, commitment and real flair.

The three short items are also well worth having. Both Dreams and Autumnal are extremely early compositions from his conservatory days, and it’s easy to hear Debussy, Scriabin and Rachmaninov in the mix, but there are just those odd glimmers of the mature composer to come. Try them out on your musical friends and see who they come up with. The Andante is a transcription for full strings of the slow movement of the First String Quartet, and it could be argued that it benefits from the fuller textures, especially in the rich and expansive treatment from Järvi and his disciplined RSNO strings.

The sound is in the best tradition of the house and still provides demonstration listening on good quality equipment. With excellent notes by Noel Goodwin, this is very easy to favour.

Tony Haywood, MusicWeb International

These amazing chants caress the human soul, exposing it to goodness, light and beauty, assuaging suffering and implanting in it the great meaning of Life. The tradition of monophonic church singing came to Russia from Byzantium as the most important aspect of the divine service. The history of the origins of Russian church singing has come down thanks to the chronicler of the Book of Degrees. The oldest chant of the Russian Orthodox Church is teh znamenniy chant. Its name derives from the Slavonic word ''znamya''. The maliy chant appeared as a counterbalance to the bol'shoy, being an abbreviated version of the znamenniy chant. The works of Russian chant writers have remained basically anonymous to this day; only certain names have come down through the ages.

Recorded in: All Saints' Church, East Finchley, London 4-6 March 1998 Producer(s) Nicholas Anderson Sound Engineer(s) Jonathan Cooper Richard Smoker (Assistant)

This disc is number 15 in The Contemporaries of Mozart Series Contemporaries of Mozart Series. Though little known today, Wranitzky played a prominent role in the musical life of Vienna. Music Director for Count Johann Baptist Esterházy and director of the newly formed orchestra of the Kärntnerthorteater in Vienna, the composer was friends with Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. Haydn insisted that Wranitzky conduct performances in 1799 and 1800 of his oratorio 'Die Schöpfung'. At Beethoven's request he conducted the première of that composer's First Symphony. During his lifetime, Wranitzky's reputation as a composer was considerable. His compositions comprise of over twenty stage works, including ten operas; fifty-one symphonies; at least fifty-six string quartets; and a large amount of other orchestral and chamber music. His music reflects most of the stylistic trends of the classical period: the symphonies usually have four movements in the traditional order, most often with a slow introduction; the slow movements demonstrate a cantabile character; his minuets and rondos often display folk-like elements. Wranitzky's symphonies, composed between 1786 and 1805 are characterized by their perceptive and masterful scoring. Recorded in: All Saints' Church, Tooting, London 28 & 29 January 2001 Producer(s) Ralph Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Jonathan Cooper Christopher Brooke (Assistant)

Classical Music

Recorded in: Danish Radio Concert Hall, Copenhagen 8-10 August 1992 Producer(s) Peter Hanke Sound Engineer(s) Lars Palsig