Russian Piano Music

CELLO CTO

The Honegger, Martinu and Rivier pieces are not currently listed in the Gramophone Classical Catalogue, but these fine performances do far more than merely fill gaps. Ravel's Sonata, dating from 1920-22, was an important piece in its composer's development, as he himself acknowledged, and the probable inspiration of the other works here. In turn, Ravel was acquainted with Kodaly's Duo, Op. 7 of 1914, which the Turovskys have already recorded (Chandos ABRD1102, 11/84). The Sonata must have come as a shock after the luxuriance of La valse (1919-20), but its scalingdown of resources led to no loss of musical intensity, and although the writing does not, at least now, sound outre, it is extremely inventive in instrumental terms and the Turovskys make an aptly zestful response.

Afterwards, Rivier's 1937 Sonatina sounds modest indeed, yet its three movements are melodious, graceful and effectively written, without conveying anything of the sense of pushing the boundaries outwards, musically and technically, which makes the Ravel so exhilarating. Honegger's and Martinu's pieces are weightier than Rivier's and the former, dating from 1932, has a quite sombre central Andante, plus an extremely diverse finale. More consistent, and just as capably written, is Martinu's two-movement Duo of 1927. And again, there are strong contrasts, the first movement being thoughtful, the last one effervescent.

The Turovsky's performances are thoughtful, too, and resonantly virtuosic when required, nowhere more so than in Martinu's cadenza. Their recital plays for 63 minutes, and while the recording is thoroughly lifelike on LP it seems to me that on CD the separation of the two instruments is more explicit and the music is projected rather more sharply. Ravel's Sonata exemplifies these points especially well.

-- Gramophone [7/1985]

A perceptively played and admirably recorded performance of two substantial piano works by William Alwyn.

This is a perceptively played and admirably recorded performance of two substantial piano works by William Alwyn, who died last September at the age of 79. The 11 Fantasy-Waltzes are notable for their variety within an integrated conception, and this is also true of the 12 Preludes, both works encompassing a wide range of modern piano-writing techniques. John Ogdon is naturally a match for the technical demands of the music and, since he tells us in the sleeve-note that he recorded the 58-minute programme in the presence of the composer and his wife, we may take it that a high degree of authenticity to the composer's intentions has been achieved. With excellent sound balance and documentation, this is a disc to treasure.

-- Gramophone [11/1985, reviewing the original LP release]

Includes work(s) by Josef Strauss, Johann Strauss Jr., Karl Millöcker, various composers. Ensemble: Johann Strauss Orchestra Vienna. Conductor: Jack Rothstein.

Rossendale Male Voice Choir: Valley of Song (The)

All these works are small in scale and modest in their emotional range, but they make a highly enjoyable collection. John Ireland's wistful, slightly melancholy romanticism is well brought out by David Garforth, and the orchestra respond with warm, sensitive playing. Though the ECO are not a large ensemble they produce considerable depth of tone and their rich string sound has been well captured by the engineers.

Norman del Mar's performance of the Bridge Suite, also on Chandos, is most sympathetic and there is little to choose between his version and that of Garforth. But Del Mar's original 1978 recording is a little pale in comparison with the new issue, and though the strings of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta play well they sound fewer in number and less tonally opulent than the ECO players.

-- Gramophone [5/1987]

COPLAND: Piano Concerto / BRITTEN: Piano Concerto in D major

ELGAR: Choral Works

Bax's fine Quintet, its three movements composed in 1922, is the weightiest piece here, with numerous melodies that sound like Irish folktunes but are apparently original. The first movement has a rhapsodic introduction, the last is in the character of an Irish dance. As in the Harp Quintet (reviewed on page xxx) the textures are remarkably varied, and in the central Lento a long initial passage for strings alone is balanced by oboe cadenzas, solo and accompanied. Next in musical interest stands the Moeran, a quite powerfully moody single movement that passes through several distinct yet related areas of expression. Lacking the poetic imagination of these two works, Gordon Jacob's Quartet is still excellent, its four movements being written with clarity, economy and a ready invention. Like the Bax, it was designed for Leon Goossens.

Holst's contributions date from 1896, although the Pieces were revised in 1910. As Colin Matthews's sleeve-note honestly admits, there is nothing of the mature composer here, though he was already a deft craftsman. These performances, too, are most expressive and in general well recorded, although I feel that the oboe is rather forward in Bax's Quintet.

-- Gramophone [2/1985]

TIPPETT: Symphony No. 2 / New Year Suite

“ ... [Davis] on fine form here with the Bergen Philharmonic. The opening to the Corsaire holds no terrors for them ... The lesser-known overtures reveal their virtues well. Davis, abetted by an excellent recording, responds vividly to Berlioz’s pioneering orchestral textures...” - John Warrack – International Record Review – February 2013

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The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis here perform seven dazzling orchestral overtures by Hector Berlioz, a composer who excelled in blending literary and musical elements into highly energetic and personal creations.

The overtures are widely varied in mood, as are the operas from which they were drawn. Berlioz wrote his first large-scale instrumental composition, the Overture to Les Francs-juges, in 1826, the year in which he enrolled at the Paris Conservatoire. Even though the opera itself was never performed, Berlioz remained proudly affectionate of the overture, which was played all over Germany and Holland in its early days. His second opera, Benvenuto Cellini, followed in 1838; its music gave rise both to the opera’s overture and to the concert overture Le Carnaval romain which depicts its subject in brilliant colour through breathtakingly vibrant orchestration.

The comic opera Béatrice et Bénédict took its inspiration from Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing. The overture draws on an intense solo scene for Béatrice and adds elements of the cheerful banter that make up the story of the title characters’ playful courtship.

When Berlioz visited the Hungarian capital Pest in 1846, it was suggested to him that one way of winning the hearts of the audiences there would be to make an arrangement of the beloved Rákóczy March, which up until that point had been known only as a piano piece. Berlioz agreed, and on the very night before he left for Pest, he put together his own orchestral version of the piece. It was a resounding success when performed at his first concert, to the extent that Berlioz promptly included it in the large work on which he was working at the time: La Damnation de Faust.

Le Roi Lear, Le Corsaire, and Waverley have one thing in common: all are independent concert pieces that have been given the title overture as in many respects they do resemble opera overtures – but none is in actual fact connected to an opera. The composer here took his inspiration from literary works. Le Roi Lear, for instance, is a remarkable tone portrait of Shakespeare’s deranged king, full of energy and anger, while Le Corsaire may be loosely based on Byron’s The Corsair. Berlioz based Waverley on a novel of the same name by Sir Walter Scott, and the score bears a quotation in English: ‘Dreams of love and Lady’s charms, give place to honour and to arms.’ The contrast expressed so well in this simple quotation is equally evident in the music itself. Here the ‘dreams of love’ unfold in a long cello melody, which is repeated with richer orchestrations, before leading into the vigorous musical depiction of ‘honour and arms’. - Chandos

Classical Music

Classical Music

Chandos' repackaged Rimsky-Korsakov symphony cycle effectively steals the thunder from Neeme Järvi's set on Deutsche Grammophon. Not only is the Chandos set offered at mid-price, but Dmitri Kitajenko's grittier and bolder readings better present the music. While Järvi luxuriates in Gothenberg's smooth sonorities, Kitajenko draws more stark sounds from his Bergen Philharmonic players. This is especially telling in the Antar Symhony (which Rimsky-Korsaskov later published as a "symphonic suite") where Kitajenko's gruff approach makes the second movement's growling argument more forbidding.


The First and Third symphonies (not particularly strong works, but full of color) fare similarly well under both conductors, with Järvi perhaps a little brighter overall in the Third. Brighter too is Järvi's Russian Easter Overture, which finds Kitajenko labored and lacking that air of pagan ritual so convincingly conveyed by Temirkanov and the New York Philharmonic on RCA. In addition to the Capriccio espagnol, Kitajenko stacks the deck with fine performances of the Sadko overture and Rimsky's only Piano Concerto (nicely played by Geoffrey Tozer). Again, it's a slight work, but contains some really catchy tunes. Chandos provides its customary, big, rich sound. If you're looking for a complete set of these symphonies, this is the one to get.
--Victor Carr, ClassicsToday.com