The Dover Quartet, “the young American string quartet of the moment” (The New Yorker) unveils the second installment in its critically acclaimed Beethoven quartet cycle on Cedille Records. The Dover’s three-album set of Beethoven’s “Middle Quartets” includes the three Op. 59 “Razumovsky” Quartets, infused with Russian folk tunes; the graceful “Harp,” Op. 74, named for its plucked string figures; and the intense Op. 95 “Serioso,” a forward-looking experiment that Beethoven originally intended “for a small circle of connoisseurs.” The Dover Quartet’s first Beethoven release, a traversal of the Op. 18 quartets, has garnered international praise. England’s The Strad said the ensemble exhibits “a beguiling freshness and spontaneity that creates the impression of these relatively early masterworks arriving hot off the press.” Toronto’s The Whole Note cited “performances of conviction and depth. This promises to be an outstanding set.” Utah-based CD Hotlist remarked, “The Dovers stand out from the pack by playing with utterly perfect intonation, a near-telepathic sense of ensemble, and a lovely balance of passion and clarity.” New York’s WQXR proclaimed, “It’s hard to imagine a group better suited to recording these works than the Dover Quartet.” In concert, the quartet has presented three complete Beethoven cycles, including the University at Buffalo’s famous “Slee Cycle” — which has offered annual Beethoven quartet cycles since 1955 and has featured the likes of the Budapest, Guarneri, and Cleveland Quartets. The Dover Quartet serves as the inaugural Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music and holds residencies with the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, among other prestigious posts.

A brilliant start and now the sequel on Vol. 2 with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's complete basset horn trios in arrangements by Ulf-Guido Schäfer for trio d'anches. From the twenty-five individual movements - in part of quite enigmatic transmission - Schäfer has put together two more highly entertaining divertimentos. Deeply moving excerpts from Così fan tutte form a dramatic contrast to the serenade tone of the trios. The trio d'anches consisting of an oboe, a clarinet, and a bassoon is actually a creation of the twentieth century. French composers in particular felt inspired by the homogeneous sound of this ensemble not unlike the sound of the human singing voice. Whether Mozart would have shared their predilection remains speculation - but not the fact that his music creates such an authentic impression in Schäfer's arrangements that it is as if it had been composed in eighteenth-century Vienna. Schäfer himself plays the clarinet in the Trio Roseau - the instrument that so greatly fascinated Mozart during the last years of his life. And so it is precisely in his late operas that we repeatedly encounter demanding solo passages for the winds - a genuine treasure trove for ambitious chamber arrangements. Here the Trio Roseau delves into the long and multifaceted tradition of opera transcriptions for wind ensembles. Since they could be performed in the open air, they already enjoyed great popularity during Mozart's times. This brand-new Super Audio album conveys a veritable three-dimensional sound picture and brings genuine serenade feeling into the home atmosphere of the living room.

Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto and Richard Strauss’ Metamorphoses represent late, great works by two composers whose geniuses were once more expressed in unprecedented intensity. + The WWII era Metamorphoses for 23 strings is characterized by profound grief, but ultimately expressing hope for the future. + Commemorating the outbreak of WWI, young Austrian composer Flora Marlene Geisselbrecht (b. 1994) joins in on the appeal for peace with Die Waffen nieder! ("Lay Down Your Arms!"), giving credit to Bertha von Suttner by incorporating citations of the first female Nobel peace-prize winner.

MOZART WILLENS (COND.); BRAUTIGAM (FORTEPIANO); DIE KOLNER AKADEMIE PIANO CONCERTOS- PIANO CONCERTO NO. 24 IN C MINOR, K 491; PIANO CONCERTO NO. 25 IN C MAJOR, K 503

From the mythological setting of Idomeneo via the sparkling wit of Le nozze di Figaro and powerful tragicomedy of Don Giovanni to the fantastical workings of the late Singspiel Die Zauberflöte, Mozart’s mature operas stand among the greatest achievements of Western art, dramas that illuminate the composer’s creativity as a whole and which stood out in their own time for the new level of characterisation, wit and lessons on life and humanity they brought to the musical stage. Featuring recordings made during the last ten years from some of the world’s leading opera houses, this collection offers an acclaimed series of productions that present consummate interpretations of Mozart’s scores through striking set designs and peerless singing, paying homage to a group of masterpieces which are just as relevant today as when they were first performed.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
THE GREAT OPERAS
(13-DVD Box Set)

Idomeneo


Idomeneo - Ramón Vargas
Idamante - Magdalena Kožená
Ilia - Ekaterina Siurina
Elettra - Anja Harteros
Arbace - Jeffrey Francis


Salzburg Bach Chor
(chorus master: Alois Glassner)
Camerata Salzburg
Roger Norrington, conductor


Karl-Ernst Hermann, stage director, set and costume designer
Ursel Herman, stage director


Recorded live from the Salzburg Festival, 2006


  Die Entführung aus dem Serail


Konstanze - Laura Aikin
Belmonte - Edgaras Montvidas
Osmin - Kurt Rydl
Blonde - Mojca Erdmann
Pedrillo - Michael Smallwood
Bassa Selim - Steven Van Watermeulen


Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera
The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra
Constantinos Carydis, conductor


Johan Simons, stage director


Recorded live at Het Musiektheater, Amsterdam on 2, 7 and 19 February 2008

Le nozze di Figaro


Il Conte di Almaviva - Peter Mattei
La Contessa di Alamviva - Christiane Oelze
Susanna - Heidi Grant Murphy
Figaro - Lorenzo Regazzo
Cherubino - Christine Schäfer
Marcellina - Helene Schneiderman
Bartolo - Roland Bracht
Don Basilio - Burkhard Ulrich
Don Curzio - Eberhard Francesco Lorenz
Barbarina - Cassandre Berthon
Antonio - Frederic Caton


Paris National Opera Chorus and Orchestra
(chorus master: Peter Burian)
Sylvain Cambreling, conductor


Christoph Marthaler, stage director
Anna Viebrock, set and costume designer
Olaf Winter, lighting designer
Thomas Stache, choreographer


Recorded live at the Palais Garnier, Paris, 2006

Don Giovanni


Don Giovanni - Carlos Álvarez
Commendatore - Alfred Reiter
Donna Anna - María Bayo
Don Ottavio - José Bros
Donna Elvira - Sonia Ganassi
Leporello - Lorenzo Regazzo
Masetto - José Antonio López
Zerlina - María José Moreno


Madrid Teatro Real Chorus and Orchestra
(chorus master: Jordi Casas Bayer)
Victor Pablo Pérez, conductor


Lluis Pasqual, stage director
Ezio Frigerio, set designer
Franca Squarciapino, costume designer
Wolfgang von Zoubek, lighting designer
Nuria Castejón, choreographer


Recorded live at the Teatro Real de Madrid, 8, 10 and 12 October 2005

Cosi fan tutte


Ferrando - Topi Lehtipuu
Guglielmo - Luca Pisaroni
Don Alfonso - Nicolas Rivenq
Fiordiligi - Miah Persson
Dorabella - Anke Vondung
Despina - Ainhoa Garmendia


The Glyndebourne Chorus
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Iván Fischer , Conductor


Nicholas Hytner, Stage Director


Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in June and July 2006

La Clemenza di Tito


Sesto - Susan Graham
Annio - Hannah Esther Minutillo
Vitellia - Catherine Naglestad
Servilia - Ekaterina Siurina
Publio - Roland Bracht
Tito - Christoph Prégardien


Paris National Opera Chorus and Orchestra
(chorus master: Peter Burian)
Sylvain Cambreling, conductor


Ursel Herrmann, stage director
Karl-Ernst Herrmann, stage director


Recorded live at the Palais Garnier, Paris, May and June 2005

Die Zauberflöte


Sarastro - Günther Groissböck
Tamino - Saimir Pirgu
Queen of the Night - Albina Shagimuratova
Pamina - Genia Kühmeier
Papagena - Ailish Tynan
Papageno - Alex Esposito
Monostatos - Peter Bronder


Milan La Scala Chorus and Orchestra
Roland Böer, conductor


William Kentridge, stage director


Recorded live at La Teatro alla Scala, 20 March 2011


Bonus:
- Overview of The Magic Flute
- Illustrated synopsis

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Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian + Chinese (Idomeneo) / Dutch (Serail)
Running time: 24 hours 20 mins
No. of DVDs: 13

As in its Schubert recording in 2018, the Quatuor van Kuijk likes to delve into a composer’s youthful output and then measure his evolution by confronting it with his mature works. Hence, after recording two of Mozart’s early string quartets in 2016, the French group, here joined by violist Adrien La Marca, voted ‘Revelation’ at the Victoires de la Musique Classique in 2014, now offers the String Quintets K515 and K516. These two large-scale works dominate Mozart’s instrumental output in the year 1787, which ended with the premiere of Don Giovanni. They show us a composer at the height of his creative powers, in a genre to which he had not returned for fourteen years and which he here brought to a high degree of formal perfection.

This recording of Mozart’s Mass in C minor features Harry Christophers in his role as Artistic Director and conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society - America’s oldest continuously performing orchestra and chorus. Mozart’s Mass in C minor needs little introduction - one of the best-known and most widely performed of the composer’s mass settings, it is generally considered to be one of his greatest works and, as such, is often referred to as the ‘Great Mass’. It is a remarkable union of musical vision and religious text and draws on Mozart’s skill for drama that made his operatic works such a phenomenal success.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach had begun his series für Kenner und Liebhaber – ‘for Connaisseurs and Amateurs’ – with the traditional formula of a set of six sonatas, but became more unconventional in the second and third collection in which he alternated three sonatas with three rondos. With the fourth instalment, published in 1783, he went further still as he increased the number of pieces to seven and added ‘free fantasias’ to the sonatas and rondos. Continuing his survey of Bach’s keyboard music – and the Kenner und Liebhaber series – Miklós Spányi performs the collection on a tangent piano, an early form of the piano with strings that are struck by small wooden slips (‘tangents’). The basic sound of the instrument is reminiscent of the harpsichord, but this can be modified in a number of ways through the use of various devices. Spányi rounds off the programme with two further works, of which the Sonata in F major, Wq 65/19 may be the very last keyboard composition that Bach completed during his lifetime.

The 6 Piano Trios of W. A. Mozart, which were composed in the years 1776, 1786 and 1788, already show the increasing emancipation of the string instruments – while in the first work (1776) the keyboard instrument still predominates, and the two strings take on a more accompanying role, even though in some cases a distinctive one, the relationship between the instruments developed in the five works of the 1780s lead to an approximate equality. The peculiarity of this new recording is that for the first time the autographs, some of which have only recently become available, have been taken into account, which has brought about some changes compared to the previously printed sheet music editions, especially in the area of phrasing and articulation, and thus, the Vienna Mozart-Trio presents an authentic complete recording for the first time with this 2-album set.

Transfigured Night brings together two outstanding composers associated with Vienna: Joseph Haydn and Arnold Schoenberg. The former is often seen as the oldest representative of the “First Viennese School”, whereas the latter founded the “Second Viennese School”, using the classicism of his predecessors to explore new, atonal musical paths into the twentieth century. By combining Haydn’s two cello concertos (in C-major and D-major) and Schoenberg’s symphonic poem Verklärte Nacht – in the 1943 edition for string orchestra – this album sheds a new, fascinating light on both Viennese masters. The connection between the stylistically contrasting pieces on this album is further enhanced by the inspired playing of American cellist Alisa Weilerstein and the Trondheim Soloists. For Weilerstein, this album is not only a fascinating exploration of the rich Viennese musical heritage, but just as much a confrontation with the dark history of a city her grandparents had to flee in 1938. Transfigured Night is Weilerstein’s first album as an exclusive PENTATONE artist, as well as the first album recorded with the Trondheim Soloists since her appointment as Artistic Partner of the ensemble in 2017.

REVIEW:

You’d go far to find performances of the Haydn concertos that match Alisa Weilerstein’s mix of stylistic sensitivity, verve, and spontaneous delight in discovery, and for a performance of the Schoenberg that combines chamber-musical intimacy, transparency of detail, and urgent human expressiveness, you won’t do better than this.

– Gramophone

A complete edition of all Gaspare Spontini’s vocal chamber-music pieces currently known is presented here for the first time. These pieces were composed for all sorts of purposes and performed in the circles of private drawing rooms. This recording, which is the outcome of an extensive, meticulous work on the sources, includes the collections, the independent tunes and, in the appendixes, the modified or translated pieces, the drafts and sketches, and the original contemporary arrangements.

This new Beethoven symphony cycle with Malmö Symphony Orchestra is conductor Robert Trevino’s debut release on Ondine. Trevino is one of the fastest rising young conductors and known for his fresh and vivid interpretations of both standard repertoire as well as contemporary works. Trevino is currently holding the tenures as chief conductor of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and as music director of the Basque National Orchestra. After studies with conductors David Zinman, Seiji Ozawa and Michael Tilson Thomas, Trevino worked closely as Leif Segerstam’s assistant before making his debuts with a number of leading symphony orchestras worldwide. These Beethoven symphonies were recorded in connection with a Beethoven festival which was arranged in Malmö, Sweden in October, 2019.

REVIEW:

It may seem bold and even brash for a relatively young conductor like Robert Trevino to launch a new label relationship with a Beethoven symphony cycle recorded in live performance. Yet he has an obvious affinity for this repertoire, compounded by the Malmö Symphony Orchestra’s polished and responsive music making. Ondine’s engineering captures the orchestra in fine detail without artificial spotlighting, conveying a genuine concert hall ambience.

In a perceptive interview with David Patrick Stearns published as part of this set’s annotations, Trevino cites consultations with David Zinman and Daniel Barenboim concerning interpretive matters. Indeed there’s evidence of Zinman’s chamber-like aesthetic and fast tempos, as well as the power and dynamism distinguishing Barenboim’s great Berlin Staatskapelle Beethoven symphony cycle. But Trevino goes his own way, with variable results.

His brisk outer movements in Symphony No. 1 are akin to Toscanini’s opera buffa approach, particularly in the Allegro con brio development section’s playful woodwind repartée. Certain phrases in the Minuet push ever-so-slightly ahead of the beat, yet remain securely locked in, ensemble-wise. In No. 2, Trevino effects an assiduous transition between the Adagio introduction and an enchantingly rollicking Allegro con brio. For all its suppleness of execution, I prefer the more pointed string articulation in Paavo Järvi’s similarly conceived traversal. The controlled delicacy in the Larghetto’s softer music makes this movement sound faster than its actual duration, although it’s on the square side when compared alongside the more robust and inflected Harnoncourt reading.

Trevino undersells the cross-rhythmic sforzandos in the Eroica symphony’s first movement, while the exposition’s basic tempo gradually spreads and slows down: not a lot, but the energy flags. Trevino’s Funeral March is as eloquent and moving as the catalog’s best versions. The conductor accelerates for the Fughetta, yet the carefully layered counterpoint and tremendous dynamic build reflect the music’s shattering intent. The Scherzo has all of Szell/Cleveland’s surface perfection, minus its nervous energy, while the finale variations brilliantly showcase the Mälmo woodwinds’ proficiency.

Trevino largely underplays No. 4. The opening Adagio’s blended string and woodwind passages are super clear but lack the foreboding aura of Thomas Fey’s marked dynamic contrasts and stinging accents. The slow movement’s two-note phrases are not as well-defined as in the Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony recording.

Some may find No. 5’s first movement overly driven, yet Trevino’s attention to linear interplay never derails. If the Andante con moto doesn’t aspire to Beethoven’s “dolce” directive, notice the uncommon clarity of the upper strings’ staccato 32nd notes. The Scherzo’s clipped detaché tuttis and difficult cello/bass fugal entrance in the Trio are appropriately forceful, while the Allegro finale mirrors the first movement’s relentless momentum.

In the Pastorale, Trevino emulates Zinman’s transparency and fast tempos, but with more distinctive first-desk soloists. The bird-call intimations in the second movement are deliciously shaped, but the fourth-movement storm doesn’t break out into a Klempererian or Kleiberian torrent.

No. 7’s fast-paced outer movements border on glibness, missing the force and drama with which Barenboim/Berlin Staatskapelle, Wand/NDR, the first Solti/Chicago, and Carlos Kleiber/Bavarian State Radio Orchestra grab you by the jugular, figuratively speaking.

Trevino’s first-movement tricks in No. 8 don’t quite work, such as a diminuendo in the opening phrase that telegraphs the subito piano that follows, plus odd accelerandos here and there. The conductor gives short shrift to the cross-rhythmic accents, and to the cellos and basses who carry the melodic burden in the transition leading into the recapitulation. The Allegretto’s woodwind gurgles are recessed to polite effect, when they ought to be in your face. The rollicking finale stands out for deft interplay between orchestral strands, yet the similarly lithe Haitink/London Symphony recording proves more incisive in every respect.

Trevino maintains the basic tempo of No. 9’s first movement with little modification, and makes expressive points solely through variety of articulation and specificity of phrasing. The Scherzo’s vibrantly shaped Trio compensates for the main section’s coolness and lack of fervency. In the briskly reserved Adagio, the decorative string passages still manage to sing out and breathe. And the “Ode to Joy” finale benefits from fine singing and “centrist” tempos that are intelligently unified and not too fast nor too slow.

The conductor observes all repeats, eschews the traditional brass reinforcements in the Ninth’s Scherzo, and opts for the trumpets continuing their phrases in the Eroica first-movement coda. If this Beethoven cycle falls short of our reference versions’ consistent satisfaction and seasoned authority, Robert Trevino’s stylish flair, astute musicianship, and good taste are never in doubt.

– ClassicsToday (Jed Distler)

Classical Music

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

BEETHOVEN Piano Concertos: in E?, WoO 4 (reconst. Brautigam); No. 2 in B?. Rondo in B? • Ronald Brautigam (pn); Andrew Parrott (cond); Norrköping SO • BIS 1792 (58:04)


Few piano recording buffs will have missed the remarkable career trajectory of Dutch pianist Ronald Brautigam. Particularly since his association with the Swedish label BIS began in 1995, the releases don’t seem to quit. Now in his mid-fifties, it’s natural that Brautigam should be at the peak of his powers. His recorded repertoire, if not catholic, demonstrates a healthy musical curiosity. Canonic figures are amply represented alongside those less frequently encountered: Haydn and Mozart with Joseph Martin Kraus; Mendelssohn with Gade; Shostakovich and Hindemith with Duruflé, Martin, and Hahn. But it’s not Brautigam’s enviable technical polish that sets him apart from many of his colleagues, nor his lofty musical grasp. It is his individuality. He has a searching musical intelligence, a disarming self-effacement before the score, and an astonishing conscientiousness that, in combination, make him sound like no one else. Witness, for instance, his complete Haydn set, some 15 discs (BIS 1731) representing essentially all the master’s solo keyboard works currently known, recorded over five years, beginning in 1998. Here the same care and imagination are lavished on the earliest experimental sonatas from the lean, free-lance years that are accorded the mature works representing the summit of Haydn’s achievement. Finally, Brautigam has the uncanny ability to turn in consummate performances, equally compelling in stylistic terms, whether he plays replicas of historical instruments or the modern concert grand. In this aspect he seems an entirely new type of pianist. His on-going Beethoven project with BIS, demonstrates this parallel track aptitude with stunning artistic results: the sonatas are being recorded on period-appropriate fortepiano replicas, while the concertos are played on the modern piano, fully informed by cutting-edge performance practice.


Following the release of the First and Third Concertos (BIS 1692) last year, Brautigam and Parrot turn their attention to the earliest known works of Beethoven for piano and orchestra. Only a manuscript of the piano solo part of the E? Concerto survives, dating from around 1784. Fortunately for posterity, Beethoven incorporated the orchestral tutti into the piano part, along with some subsequent editorial changes. Thus a speculative reconstruction of the lost orchestral score is possible, based on the composer’s unusual instrumentation (calling for strings with two flutes and two horns, but no oboes or bassoons). The reconstruction recorded here is Brautigam’s own, as are the candenzas for both WoO 4 and the Rondo. (Beethoven’s 1809 cadenzas are used in the Concerto No. 2.)


Given its sparse representation in the catalogs, the E? Concerto is of special interest. Little in this charming piece suggests that it is the creation of a 13-year-old. Brautigam brings an air of naive exuberance to the difficult solo part; the delicate fiorituras of the Larghetto are breathtakingly poetic. Here, in Brautigam’s superbly reconstructed orchestral score, as indeed throughout the recording, Parrott and the Norrköping musicians are responsive partners of remarkable sensitivity. Moreover, in the Rondo of No. 2, the give-and-take between soloist and orchestra is nothing short of sublime, imbued with an exhilaration that’s utterly infectious. It follows an Adagio of ethereal tenderness. Without doubt, this is the most dynamic, shapely, and vivid recording of the Beethoven Second one is ever likely to hear. It’s worth mentioning that the Steinway D used here, with lid removed, was placed in the middle of the orchestra, continuo style, which does a lot to explain both the cohesive ensemble and the beautifully blended sound of the recording.


Comparisons? This canonic repertoire boasts more than a few canonic interpretations—Schnabel’s revelatory musicality, Rubinstein’s aristocratic poise, Serkin’s modest edginess, and the lofty humanism of Backhaus come immediately to mind. Let me put it this way, without any denigration of artists whom I respect and admire immensely: listening to two recent wonderful Beethoven cycles, those of Plentnev with Gansch and the Russian National O (DG) and Goode with Fischer and the Budapest Festival O (Nonesuch), I hear the glorious recent past, ripe, insightful, often brilliant, immensely pleasurable; listening to Ronald Brautigam, Andrew Parrott, and the Norrköping SO, I hear the future.


FANFARE: Patrick Rucker

Ronald Brautigam is an excellent Beethoven pianist, and he turns in a performance of the Second concerto's solo part that's as lively and attractive as anyone has yet recorded on a modern instrument. It's especially nice to hear the finale taken at a tempo that permits all of the main theme's rhythmic bounce to register without it ever sounding breathless or frantic. The same holds true of the Rondo in B-flat, the Second concerto's original finale. Indeed, the only caveat in these performances concerns the slow movements, where Andrew Parrott, evidently with the acquiescence of his soloist, encourages the orchestra to indulge in that dry, vibrato-less string tone that is the very opposite of stylishness (and utterly contrary to what their own sources say about sustained lyrical music in slow tempos).

The E-flat concerto is an early work in Mozartian style, here very nicely reconstructed by Brautigam from the existing piano score. Indications of scoring in the keyboard part point to an orchestra of strings, two flutes, and two horns, a very unusual combination, and I'm not convinced that two oboes ought not to have been added as a matter of course. Still, there's no denying the distinctive tone color that the absence of double reeds gives the work's overall sonority, and it would be hard to imagine a more sympathetic performance than this one (never mind Parrott and his scratchy strings). I look forward to further releases in this (so far) very rewarding edition.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.


Expectations ran high in anticipation of this release, and they have not been disappointed. BIS just completed a partially successful Beethoven piano concerto series in which an often inspired Ronald Brautigam was shackled to an expressively challenged and period-pedantic Andrew Parrott. Here, both conductor and soloist are consistently operating on the same exciting wavelength. Osmo Vänskä's credentials as a Beethoven conductor remain impressive. He understands the importance of accents, of sforzandos that enliven but don't disrupt the melodic line. He never fails to balance Beethoven's all-important bass lines clearly (opening tutti of the Fourth concerto), or to give sufficient prominence to those rapid accompaniments in repeated notes that energize the music's texture (first movement of the "Emperor"). The orchestra plays with real intensity as well as expressiveness, offering the perfect collaboration for Yevgeny Sudbin's contributions.

These are no less memorable. It's sometimes said that you can tell how well the Fourth concerto will go from the pianist's handling of the opening phrase, and there's some truth to this observation. Sudbin plays it with simple dignity, refuses to make a big ritard at the end, and strictly observes Beethoven's eighth-note value on the last note. The result is that the phrase sounds incomplete (as it should), arousing expectation and carrying the music through the pause to the hesitant entry of the violins in a different key. He understands that some of Beethoven's biggest surprises arrive softly. In short, there is a true give-and-take between soloist and orchestra throughout these performances that makes them especially engaging.

The slow movement is wonderful: Vänskä finds a tempo--a touch slower than usual--that allows him to observe the "sempre staccato" indication and provide the necessary rhetorical weight to the strings' emphatic proclamations, while Sudbin's answers represent the soul of inward poetry. The finale, by contrast, is dazzling and uninhibited, with trumpets and drums cutting through the texture, and Sudbin's fast passage-work is joyous but never tonally forced or hard.

Indeed, it may sound odd to say so, but one of the joys of Sudbin's playing is his handling of simple scales and runs. Mozart once remarked how he delighted in making them "go like oil", with perfect smoothness, and that's just how Sudbin handles them. There are a lot of scales in these pieces, in the "Emperor" particularly. In its first movement, each major entrance (and exit) of the piano features a simple scale, and anyone who can make these as memorable and beautiful as Sudbin does is a major talent indeed. He has a particular way, in the Adagio for example, of rendering the melodic line expressive through control of touch and dynamics without distorting the rhythm, and this makes the music touching without excess sentimentality. It all seems very much in the spirit of Beethoven, as is the robust and perfectly-timed manner in which he and Vänskä launch the finale--grand in all of the right ways. The coda's huge, amazingly well-judged diminuendo and ritard only confirm the generally masterful impression. Gorgeous SACD sonics make this release a Beethoven experience you will not want to miss.

– David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was more systematic than many of his composer colleagues when it came to keeping track of his own works and made at least two catalogues of his compositions for solo keyboard. At various times he also destroyed manuscripts that remained in his possession, especially those of early works. But even so, there are a number of pieces that slipped through the net, and several of them can be found on this album. A few of them were included anonymously into the second Clavierbuchlein for Anna Magdalena Bach, while Emanuel Bach was still living in his father’s home in Leipzig. Among the pieces are some that have been identified as being by Bach only recently, during the ongoing work of producing a printed edition of the composer’s complete works. As devised by Miklos Spanyi, the programme is a colourful mix of brief dance movements and other miniatures, provides both variety and insights into the formative years of the composer. It ends with Bach’s Variations on a Menuet by Locatelli, the most technically demanding of his variation sets composed in 1735 when he was a young man of 21.

Bridge's new Complete Mozart Flute & Orchestra album features the Odense Symphony Orchestra and their principal flautist, Rune Most, performing on a wooden flute. The recording, made in the acoustically superb Carl Nielsen Hall, includes the two flute concertos, the rondo, and perennial Mozart favorite, the Concerto for Flute and Harp. Rune Most began his studies at the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music in Odense with Karl Lewkovitch. Later came studies with Professor Lóránt Kovács in Budapest, and in 1990 he made his debut from the soloist class of the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, where he had studied with Toke Lund Christiansen. Today Rune Most is solo flautist with the Odense Symphony Orchestra and teaches at the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music in Odense. Over the years music has taken him to South America, China, Russia and many countries in Europe as a chamber musician and soloist. As a soloist and chamber musician he has recorded several albums of, among other things, Danish and South American music.

Classical Music

On this ninth installment in Ronald Brautigam’s series of the complete piano concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the program consists of three works composed in 1776 and 1782-83. As on previous discs, Brautigam – whose ‘muscular yet sensitively nuanced command of Mozartian discourse’ has been described by BBC Music Magazine as central to the series – is supported by Die Kölner Akademie under Michael Alexander Willens, in a partnership that for each new recording becomes ever more intuitive and close-knit.

Review:

Ronald Brautigam and the Cologne Academy under Michael Alexander Willens offer stylish and enjoyable performances.

– BBC Music Magazine

This disc joins two masterpieces of the orchestral repertoire: the last fully classical of Mozart's symphonies (no. 38) and the last symphony by Schubert, the triumph of the romantic sensitivity. Mehta and IPO ravish the listener in both cases, enhancing the specific features of each symphony structure and atmosphere.

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.



WEBER Symphonies: No. 1; No. 2. Andante e Rondo ungarese. 1 Bassoon Concerto in F 1 • Jean-Jacques Kantorow, cond; Jaakko Luoma (bn); 1 Tapiola Sinfonietta • BIS 1620 (Hybrid multichannel SACD: 67:42)


There is little that can be done for Weber’s gauche, mindless early symphonies, written when he was 21. They are all sparks and bombast, with colorful surfaces but virtually no content. Single woodwinds (there are no clarinets) generally carry the tunes, passing them around the section, while strings offer some relief; brass join in for consistently loud, fanfare-like tutti. The general consensus has been to play the symphonies as fast as possible (to get them over with?). Kantorow does that too, and his 40-piece orchestra, playing modern instruments with all the snap, sparkle, and tonal panache of period practice—more so than Roy Goodman’s period-instrument Hanover Band—makes the most of the symphonies, aided by BIS ’s usual sensational recorded sound. Luoma’s bassoon stands out among the winds; Roger Norrington’s London Classical Players have better-balanced wind soloists, but the overall performances are not as precise. The Second Symphony opens this disc, beginning with a stunning two-bar fanfare; unfortunately, it never does anything with it, making the 10-minute Allegro seem endless. As if the composer immediately recognized the problem, the following three movements whiz by in a mere eight minutes. After the “final” coda and a pause, two brief pp notes from bassoon and low strings bring the proceedings to a close. Haydn did everything better, including jokes and false endings.


Concerted pieces always inspired the best from Weber: three for clarinet, three more for piano, one each for oboe and French horn. These two for bassoon are the cream of that instrument’s repertoire (there also was a kid named Mozart). Playing a bassoon built in 2000 by Wilhelm Heckel—I don’t know if he is related to the creator of the heckelphone—Luoma sails through both works with the greatest of ease, producing consistently lovely tones. Whatever happened to that grumpy old instrument that was so difficult to play?


The First Symphony comes last, probably so that its Presto finale, the most successful movement of the eight, can wind up the disc with a bang. As fine as the CD is, SACD opens up the sound, giving it more life. Trumpets and strings gain clarity and presence, which makes the winds recede slightly from the spotlight. Surround sound adds an airy feeling, but doesn’t alter the basic sound. If you must have Weber’s symphonies, this is certainly the disc to get, especially so given the bonus bassoon works. But the others mentioned also include marvelous bonuses: Melvyn Tan plays the fortepiano Konzertstück with Norrington, and Anthony Halstead plays a natural horn in the Horn Concertino with Goodman.


FANFARE: James H. North


Finely honed performances of charming music played with relish.

These works were all written between 1807 and 1811, so pre-date Weber’s fame as an opera composer. He had just left Breslau, having survived a dreadful accident when his father, a printer, left a nitric acid solution in a wine glass which his son absent-mindedly then drank. His next post was a temporary one, when he went to Bad Carlsruhe and the court of Count Eugen Friedrich of Württemberg-?ls, who, being himself a fair oboist, encouraged Weber to compose. Both symphonies were written there during these idyllic few months, the first in C major in December 1807 and January 1808, the second (also in C major) later the same month. Reflecting the resources he found there, the scoring lacks one flute and most surprisingly there are no clarinets. Solos for the rest abound however, some of them very demanding, so standards must have been high. Obviously the oboe has his plate full, but the remaining winds, particularly the bassoon, are active, so too the French horn and some solo strings; in fact pretty well everyone has their fifteen seconds of fame. Written when Beethoven’s first three symphonies were already known, it is important to regard Weber’s more in Haydn’s style, with the crossing of the cusp between Classic and Romantic reflected more by orchestral colour than any disturbance of formal structure. Even so, these are not predictable works, in particular the finale of the Second, which stops and starts for individual solos before scampering on to the next pause like an American football game. This is Haydn’s wit at work. Much the same can be said of the First Symphony, which highlights individual wind players once again. It is full of confident orchestral outbursts on the one hand - the opera conductor here - and charming melodies of an almost rustic hue. At a minute and a half, the Minuet and Trio of the Second Symphony must be the shortest ever. Note that this recording inexplicably starts with the Second Symphony and ends with the First, easy to miss that as both are in the same key.

The rest of the fare is devoted to two concerted works for bassoon and orchestra. The brief Andante and Hungarian Rondo was originally composed in 1809 for Weber’s violist brother Fritz, while the bassoon transcription was made for the virtuoso player Georg Friedrich Brandt with some inevitably consequent changes. The Rondo’s rhythms emphasise the Hungarian flavour of the music. Weber’s writing exploits fully the facility of the instrument, its agility over a wide range of notes, tonal quality, and its lyrical as well as comical element. It was in March 1810 that he found himself conducting a concert with the Munich Court Orchestra, its programme including a clarinet concertino he had written for Heinrich Bärmann. Its success encouraged the orchestra’s principal players to ask for solo works, so two concertos for clarinet followed in 1811 and, on 28 December, a bassoon concerto for Brandt. He made some revisions in 1822, expression and dynamic indications expanded and some string accompaniments rewritten, and this is the version heard on this CD.

The performances by Jaako Luoma are finely honed in both works. His instrument paints a wide palette of colour, his phrasing is stylish. The Tapiola Sinfonietta under its former (1993-2000) director Jean-Jacques Kantorow match him in detail in a cleanly balanced recording. Both symphonies are played with relish, all solo opportunities exploited to the full. The music is charming, but Weber is surely still going to be remembered best for his operas and their overtures, but at least it gives clarinettists and, in this instance, bassoonists a chance to shine. 

-- Christopher Fifield, MusicWeb International 

Featuring sensitive interpretations and a dazzling orchestral accompaniment, this release includes Four Mozart piano concertos punctuated by smaller Mozart tunes. Award-winning pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet enjoys a prolific recording and international concert career. He regularly works with orchestras such as The Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and NHK Symphony orchestras, and collaborates with conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vladimir Jurowski, Gianandrea Noseda, François- Xavier Roth, Nicholas Collon, Gábor Takács-Nagy and Sir Andrew Davis amongst others. Bavouzet records exclusively for Chandos and his recording of Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Bergen Philharmonic under Edward Gardner has been nominated for the Concerto category of the 2018 Gramophone Awards. Together with Manchester Camerata and Gábor Takács-Nagy, Bavouzet has recorded several of Haydn’s Piano Concertos and embarked on the present series of Mozart concertos, which have been critically acclaimed.

Aïda Stucki's recognition as an artist is both inevitable and overdue. Her artistry is a timeless inspiration. Her interpretation incorporates bewitching sound, personal instinct coupled with great insight to the wishes of the composer. These recordings are a must for any string player and music lover. This second volume of her works shows her broad repertoire, and includes works from Brahms, Schumann, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Dvorak.

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

A generation of strict musicologists, literalist critics, and unimaginative performers will be offended by Freddy Kempf’s traversal of Beethoven’s three most approachable “name” sonatas, because the young Englishman is by no means strict, literal, or unimaginative. He seems to be goading us with the very first chord of the “Pathétique,” sustaining only the left-hand notes, creating an unexpectedly blunt strike against the keyboard (an effect he reproduces every time that passage repeats). The introductory material is full of hesitations and rubato that call to mind C. P. E. Bach, and the main theme takes off like the proverbial bat out of hell. Never does Kempf’s handling of the music seem arbitrary, but it is surprising enough to keep jaded listeners alert.

There’s tenderness and repose here, too, notably in the second movement of the “Pathétique,” although this movement also has its odd dull moments. The over-famous first movement of the “Moonlight” sonata is full of unexpected detail, although it is neither sentimentalized nor excessively dramatized. The final movement is fleet and assertive, with immaculate passagework, all the while Kempf proving that it’s not necessary to hammer the klavier. The “Appassionata” has fewer surprises, yet it’s keenly organized (listen to his absolutely right transition into the final presto pages), and fiery in the outer movements. In DSD surround mode, the recorded sound is close in a reverberant space, perhaps a bit harder in forte passages than is ideal; it’s more generalized and quite solid in two-channel CD playback.

Kempf’s Beethoven, while by no means outlandish (certainly not by the standards of a century ago), will not please listeners who frown on any little departure from the printed score. But it’s full of panache that never misrepresents Beethoven, and it’s that rarest of things, a new standard-rep recording individual enough to justify being released into a crowded market.

James Reel, FANFARE

Classical Music

Classical Music

The LaSalle Quartet was active from 1946-88; however, it's influence goes far beyond that. Violinist Walter Levine is still a vital, much sought out authority for string players. From their founding, the Quartet was devoted to the late 19th and 20th c repertoire. The works of Schoenberg, Berg and Webern were a significant part, as were the quartets of Schoenberg's teacher, Alexander Zemlinsky. This CD of studio recordings from 1965, 1968 and 1977 draws Zemlinsky together with Haydn and Brahms - a bold program for an ensemble specializing in modern to include some "early music".

Joseph Haydn's The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross is one of the most unusual and remarkable compositions of the classical period. Performed here by the brilliant Callino Quartet, the piece exists in four different versions and the edition for string quartet, which has a particular purity and intimacy, is the form in which the music is most often heard today. Suffused with profound sorrow and grief but also with strength and hope. The Seven Last Words is a work so deeply moving and contemplative that it has impassioned listeners in all its forms for over 200 years and was considered by the composer himself to be one of his greatest masterpieces. The Callino Quartet was formed at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in 1999 and has been delighting audiences ever since with its fresh, enthusiastic interpretations and engaging programmes. The versatility of the quartet has enabled it to cultivate a diverse and challenging repertoire with a thoughtful and historically informed approach to the classical quartet literature as well as develop close collaborations. The quartet has worked with numerous contemporary composers and has received many awards including prizes at the Borciani and Tromp international string quartet competitions. The group has performed in many of the world's best concert halls including Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall.

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REVIEWS:

I have listened to this over and over, each time finding it more evocative of how the music sounds in my head. If you want to replace whatever quartet version you already own, this is the time to do it.

– Fanfare

If the quartet version of the Seven Last Words convinces you, this recording certainly offers a perspective worth hearing.

– Gramophone

Piano four hands ensemble DUO Stephanie and Saar (Stephanie Ho and Saar Ahuvia) continue their series of recordings that challenge listeners to hear iconic works in new guises. Catalyzed by Beethoven's own arrangement of the famous Grosse Fuge op. 133, the duo presents Hugo Ulrich and Robert Wittman's stately transcription of the op. 130 string quartet to which the iconic fugue originally belonged, alongside Schubert's brooding F minor Fantasie, D. 940. Pianists Stephanie Ho and Saar Ahuvia collaborate as DUO Stephanie & Saar in dazzling performances filled with visceral excitement, elegance and artistic vision. The duo are founders and artistic directors of Makrokosmos Project, a critically acclaimed Oregon-based new music festival featuring dynamic American composers of our time. In its sixth year, the festival is entirely driven by community support. Some of the featured composers include Kenji Bunch, Gabriela Lena Frank, Caroline Shaw, Julia Wolfe, John Luther Adams, Karen Tanaka, Michael Johanson and Alexander Schwarzkopf, among many others.

For her new, and Alpha debut, recording, pianist Olga Pashchenko has chosen the combination of Beethoven’s two Opus 49 sonatas and three sets of his variations, thus tackling what are commonly called ‘smaller forms’ but which remain important works nonetheless, especially the Variations, op. 35. • This young pianist commands admiration for her way of always enlarging her route, already a long one (she gave her first recital when she was 9, in New York), relying on certain great influences (in particular, Alexei Lubimov) and thereby further affirming her personality as an exceptional musician.