C. Davis: The Great Gatsby

Pursuing a musical career was no easy matter for women in the nineteenth century, but Louise Farrenc’s character and determination resulted in her becoming a respected part of the European scene, and the first ever female senior professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire. Farrenc’s Second Symphony owes something to Mozartian models, with imaginative writing for winds and hints of Beethoven. The Third Symphony is notable for a richness of harmonic writing which, in its color and lyricism, is reminiscent of Mendelssohn and Schumann.

Rachmaninov’s ‘Piano Concerto No. 3’ is a complex, epic narrative that moves from a simple opening melody to the triumphant apotheosis at its conclusion. The composer ingeniously links motifs, melodies and at times whole sections between the movements, unifying the concerto into a single overarching storyline. In the ‘Variations on a Theme of Correlli,’ Rachmaninov reworks the original theme using his unique harmonic language until there is no trace left of its Baroque or Renaissance origins. Pianist Boris Giltburg was born in 1984 in Moscow and has lived in Tel Aviv since early childhood. He began lessons with his mother at the age of five and went on to study with Arie Vardi. In 2013 he took first prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition, catapulting his career to a new level. His previous solo Rachmaninov recording was named Gramophone album of the month in June 2016, and more recently his first concerto album won a Diapason d’or for his account of the Shostakovich concertos.

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REVIEWS:

Boris Giltburg’s new Naxos recording of the D minor Concerto with Carlos Miguel Prieto and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra shatters the encrustation of reputational habit, offering instead a vividly imaginative re creation of a score that lives and breathes with irresistible vitality. Giltburg’s approach is fundamentally lyrical, rhetorically apt and, aided and abetted by Prieto and the Scots, sensitive to every marking in the score.

– Gramophone The opening bars of this Third Concerto performance set the scene for a very personal approach to the ones we have already on disc; the whole performance gives us a totally new approach where the choice of tempos is very personal, at times unusually relaxed, at other times are charging headlong. The first movement cadenza is almost improvisatory in every respect, and sets out his credentials as one of today’s most outgoing virtuosos. His finale is full of white-heat moments. The conductor, Carlos Miguel Prieto, is at one with his soloist, while the Royal Scottish National are on fine form. A very attractive account of the Variations on a Theme of Corelli closes the disc. The recorded quality of the concerto is excellent..

– David's Review Corner (David Denton)

Ronald Binge was one of the most highly respected and successful English composers of his generation. He played a significant role in creating the Mantovani sound, but his big breakthrough came with the Elizabethan Serenade, which became an international hit. The evocative moods and memorable melodies of his best works saw their regular use as themes for TV and radio, and the soothing tones of Sailing By are still in use today as the close-down music for BBC Radio 4.

This recording contains the complete recital given by Clara Haskil at Ludwigsburg Castle in April, 1953. The Debussy works and the encores have never been previously released. The performance is musically outstanding and features engaging repertoire, thus being an impressive record of a legendary musician. The eminent Romanian pianist, Clara Haskil began, her career as a child prodigy and entered at the Bucharest Conservatory when she was 6. At age 7 she was sent to Vienna and profited from the tutelage pf Richard Robert (whose memorable pupils included Rudolf Serkin and George Szell) and briefly with Ferruccio Busoni. She was only 7 (or 10) when she made her public debut there. At 10 she was sent to Paris to continue her training with Morpain, and, at 12, entered the Paris Conservatoire. A celebrated interpreter of classical and early romantic repertoire, many considered Clara the foremost interpreter of W. A. Mozart in her time. She was also widely known for her interpretation of Beethoven and Schumann, both of which can be heard on this recital.

There are two aspects underlying this recording by Raphael Feuillatre, First Prize winner at the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America Competition in 2018: original works for the guitar and transcriptions. Among the former is Villa-Lobos’s Prelude No. 5, part of one of the most evocative and Romantic guitar cycles of the 20th century, the Chopinesque brilliance of the inventive Valse by Barrios Mangore, and the compendium of virtuosity that is Llobet’s Variations on a Theme of Sor. The transcriptions range from Rameau, through Rachmaninov’s pianistic showcase, the Prelude No. 4, Op. 23, to the superbly evocative Alfonsina y el mar by Ariel Ramirez.

Alberic Magnard became a French national hero when he died defending his home at the outbreak of the First World War and, although he wrote relatively little, his catalogue is full of expansive and beautifully crafted music. Magnard was a symphonist at heart, and with its evocations of landscape and expressive lyricism his Third Symphony was admired by Paul Dukas for its ‘perfect clarity’ and as an ‘all too rare creation.’ The luminous Fourth Symphony is one of Magnard’s last surviving works- a masterpiece that successfully synthesizes Wagnerian high drama with Classical transparency.

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REVIEW:

There’s little to quibble about concerning this well-filled new disc containing Albéric Magnard’s two best (and best-known) symphonies. Fabrice Bollon delivers confident, flowing performances that fully encompass the music’s wide-ranging expressive vocabulary, from the haunting modal opening of the Third Symphony, to an amazing clean and clear fugal development in the finale of the Fourth. He and the Freiburg orchestral clearly enjoy the rustic charm of the two scherzos, while the profound lyricism of the slow movements emerges naturally and songfully, without dragging.

If there are any negatives, they have to do with the Freiburg Philharmonic which, despite committed playing, sounds a bit undernourished in the string section. In the richly scored Fourth Symphony the added clarity this offers the woodwinds compensates to some degree, but I found myself wishing that these symphonies would get picked up by one of our truly great orchestras. The music deserves the attention, and it would be wonderful to hear it done at the very highest level. As it stands, this does not displace Thomas Sanderling’s reference versions on BIS, but it’s a heck of a lot less expensive and well worth hearing all the same.

– ClassicsToday (David Hurwitz)

Complete Flute Quintets

"...This is the all-male version of Cappella Romana, and Alexander Lingas has his Portland-based ensemble going from strength to strength, perfectly judged balances among the melodists and those singing the ison, or lower drone notes, and executing these sometimes hugely challenging chants with razor-sharp precision and flawless unanimity. But what strikes me the most is the superb tonal quality of the group, rich, full, and velvety smooth in a genre that too often gives way to acerbic sonic ineptitude and soloistic grandstanding which gives chant a bad name. The resonance of the Stanford Memorial Church in California is expertly caught, though you might want to boost the volume a little. This disc is, simply, irresistible." — Steven Ritter, Audiophile Audition

David Ian Vintage Christmas breathes new life into a set of familiar Christmas classics in relaxed, swinging arrangements that capture the spirit of the season and the spirit of jazz. In this beguiling blend of instrumental and vocal versions, the mood is intimate, the vibe is mellow, the sound warm and inviting. While dozens of Christmas albums are released each year, the most evocative ones are often those made by jazz musicians. This should come as no surprise, since the emotional primacy in the best jazz music echoes the spirituality inherent in the best Christmas songs. Jazz and Yuletide music have a long and complementary history, from Chet Baker's Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Christmas to Vince Guaraldi's a Charlie Brown Christmas to Wynton Marsalis' Crescent City Christmas Card. Taking proud place in this music lineage is David Ian Vintage Christmas, which breathes new life into a set of familiar Christmas classics in relaxed, swinging arrangements that capture the spirit of the season while respecting the sanctity of the material. Rather than burying the songs under a wall of sound, Ian has opted for a small jazz combo that places the accent firmly on their melodic and lyrical content.

Projects such as this can go so horribly wrong. Opera singers trying to perform “lighter” fare usually do no favors either to themselves or to the music. Only rarely does a classically trained singer working exclusively in that world show an ability to convincingly capture a popular style; usually the inflections and expressive nuances are just “off”, unnatural-sounding, and sometimes even humorous in their attempts at loosening or altering long-practiced, specialized technique. Fortunately, the music on this happily successful effort is many steps removed from the merely “popular”–and the singer, tenor Jonas Kaufmann, is likewise far from a typical opera singer.

The works on offer are characterized by Kaufmann as “tenor hits from the age of the talkies”, a special time in Germany’s cultural history when his grandfather, from whom he first heard many of these tunes, was studying in Berlin, a period that for this recording roughly spans the decade from 1925-35, the world of Sally Bowles and the Kit Kat Klub, as well as Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán, Paul Abraham, and Erich Korngold. In a way, these songs are the “classical music” of a time and place during which many of the composers of the real thing were expelled, banned, exiled, or imprisoned. Yes, these songs are lighter fare than we associate with the most refined operatic repertoire, but, especially as Kaufmann sings them–or rather, performs them–their “lesser” musical/artistic credentials warrant absolutely no apologies. And there are many, many moments of music and singing as spectacular as you’ll hear in any opera.

I’ve praised Kaufmann’s “rich, baritonal tenor” and have cited his “uncommon lyricism and emotional depth” and “lovely high-register soft singing” (in his recording of Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin), and in his review of Wagner arias, colleague Robert Levine is equally impressed, describing the tenor’s “easy ascents above the staff”, “smooth legato”, “phrasing that confirms great musicianship”, and “beautiful, fully rounded, lustrous sound”. You get the idea: Kaufmann has established himself–at least in the opera world–as perhaps the pre-eminent tenor. All of the above traits and techniques and abilities are on display here, from the two versions of Lehár’s “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz!” (one in English, the other in French) and Kálmán’s “Grüss mir mein Wien”, to Eduard Künneke’s “Das Lied vom Leben des Schrenk” (complete with concluding high-C) and Korngold’s gorgeous, disc-highlight “Glück, das mir verblieb”. The latter is a duet–and here is another plus for this recital: the singer accompanying Kaufmann on this and two other numbers, soprano Julia Kleiter, is wonderful, a superb singer who matches the tenor perfectly, vocally and stylistically.

The accompaniments, including several arrangements by Andreas Tarkmann, are all finely played by the Berlin Radio Symphony and Jochen Rieder, and recorded in the broadcasting studio of the former East German Radio–noted for its excellent acoustics, and apparently retaining much of its ambience from that earlier time. You may not love absolutely all of the selections here (I could have done without the too-sappy “My little nest of heavenly blue”, another by Lehár), but I’m pretty certain that you will enjoy every single note. Highly recommended.

-- David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Riccardo Muti leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and bass soloist Alexey Tikhomirov in this poignant performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13, Op. 113 (Babi Yar). Recorded live in September 2018, the ensemble shines throughout—from passages requiring the sheer sonic force of the first movement to the indelible moments provided by single instruments, reminding the listener that despite the enormity of its theme, this is, after all, a symphony of individuals. Muti and musicians expertly navigate the intricacies of the five movements, each set to the poetry of Yevgeny Yevtushenko and expressing themes that were dear to Shostakovich—revolution and war, the individual’s role in society, idealism in the face of easy compromise, prejudice and intolerance. Yevtushenko said, “Over people like Shostakovich death has no power. His music will sound as long as humankind exists. . . . When I wrote ‘Babi Yar,’ there was no monument there. Now there is a monument.”

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REVIEWS:

There are American ensembles with a more sustained Shostakovich tradition than the Chicago Symphony but the present recording, taken from the opening concerts of the orchestra’s 2018-19 season, can stand comparison with any of its distinguished predecessors, however different in tone. Strongly recommended.

– Gramophone

The tone virtually throughout is dark and intense, most particularly the opening movement which sets the title poem. Muti confirms his identification with this work in its subsequent movements. Tikhomirov, rich-toned and sentient throughout, is backed by a superbly characterful Chicago Symphony Chorus.

– BBC Music Magazine

The CSO’s performance, with bass Alexey Tikhomirov and the men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, revealed Muti’s continuing devotion to Shostakovich’s often-shattering music. It was the first concert of the CSO’s new Symphony Center season, and the audience’s mood was festive. Muti channeled that excitement into rapt, almost reverent attention with a searing performance of a dramatic work that is very close to his heart.

– Chicago Sun-Times

This formidable release features Inbal Segev performing Elgar’s emotive Cello Concerto coupled with DANCE, an inspiring new work by Grammy-nominated English composer Anna Clyne that was commissioned by Inbal. On this powerful recording, Marin Alsop conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Marin introduced Inbal to Anna, sparking a special synergy between the three women. While Anna was composing DANCE, a five-movement concerto inspired by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi, further connections ensued. Anna’s soulful and vibrant music combines cultures that include her Irish-English family, Polish-Jewish ancestry and Inbal’s Israeli-American heritage.

Inbal expounds, “Anna’s music has an old-soul sensibility but is fresh and modern at the same time. This juxtaposition of old and new has always appealed to me; it suits my playing, as well as the tone of my 1673 Ruggieri cello.” Inbal’s idea to record Anna Clyne’s DANCE alongside Elgar’s Cello Concerto is timely: the two works were composed exactly 100 years apart. Inbal enthuses, “It is so rewarding to record and perform the work of a contemporary female composer whose music withstands comparison with Elgar’s. The two pieces share a certain sensibility – a romanticism, warmth and humanity – that transcends any stylistic differences.” Elgar’s Cello Concerto, written in the wake of World War I, is deeply reflective. Anna Clyne’s DANCE is optimistic and forward-looking. Inbal’s recording of these two cello concertos is timeless.

The ever-more comprehensive Sony Classical Masters series is pleased to announce ten new releases. Ranging from symphony cycles to solo piano music, these budget-priced box sets celebrate some of the leading musicians of recent times. Pierre Boulez transformed the musical tastes of a generation with his groundbreaking, lucid interpretations of early 20th-century repertoire. Gramophone wrote that his death in 2016 marked “the end of a whole way of perceiving music”. This collection of three CDs brings together the key early ballet scores of Stravinsky with a number of other works by the Russian composer, all recorded with ensembles with whom Boulez maintained a close relationship. With the New York Philharmonic are recordings of the Firebird and the Pulcinella suite, Petrushka, the tone poem Chant du rossignol and the Symphonies of Wind Instruments. His famed Rite of Spring, recorded with the Cleveland Orchestra, is “meticulously contemplated” (BBC Music Magazine), and Gramophone described his Firebird suite with the BBC Symphony Orchestra as a “clear, sharp-edged” recording. True to surprising form, Boulez recorded not the commonly heard Firebird suites from 1919 or 1945, but Stravinsky’s original version of 1910.

Seraphic Fire, GRAMMY®-nominated professional choir, presents it's newest recording, Hildegard of Bingen: Ordo virtutum. This recording is the first complete performance of the 12th century masterpiece on album. Composed by 1151 CE, Ordo virtutum tells the story of a wandering soul, Anima, and her struggles between the forces of good and evil. The musical roles of Ordo virtutum are exclusively female. The Devil, who faces off against the heavenly Virtues in a battle for Anima's soul, is the only male character in the play, and is unable to sing-he can only shout. Luthien Brackett sings the role of Anima; Clara Osowski portrays Humility, Queen of the Virtues; and James K. Bass gives voice to the song-less Devil. Virtues, Embodied Souls, and Patriarchs and Prophets are sung by the women of Seraphic Fire, and artistic director Patrick Dupre Quigley conducts.

Violinist Esther Abrami’s eponymous Sony Classical debut album is a creative melting pot of different styles of classical music – full of new and inspiring compositions. Collaborating with a great variety of contemporary composers and musicians as well as the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Esther Abrami has set a creative and inspiring musical landmark representing a new generation of classical musicians.

British composer and pianist Alexis Ffrench, Dutch neo-classical pianist Annelie, French pianist and composer Alban Claudin, Oscar-winning British composer Rachel Portman, British Cellist and composer Julian Llyod Webber and American film-composer Jacob Shea all contributed new compositions to Esther Abrami. Next to this, the album features original compositions by Clara Schumann and Amy Beach as well as several unique new arrangements of some of the most famous classical melodies by Pjotr Tchaikovsky, Eric Satie or Frédéric Chopin. Composer and pianist Florian Christl has written a new arrangement based on Bach’s famous violin concerto and producer and composer Wide Eyed created an atmospheric new variation over Mozart’s legendary “Eine kleine Nachtmusik”. A special highlight on the album is “Sainte Victoire en sol mineur” – a great orchestral composition Esther wrote together with French producer Worakls.

“I've decided to perform different styles to connect with all my audience. People who get to know me via TikTok aren’t the same as those who found me on YouTube or on the radio. I wanted to link all of them together. I don’t think we should just be put in a box with only one music style. In classical music, musicians have a tendency to fade behind the music, but with this album people can discover who I really am as I’ve satisfied all my musical tastes and been able to be myself” says Esther.

She adds: “I’ve worked directly with Rachel Portman, who was one of my idols when I was younger. It was very important for me, as it’s going in the same direction as with Tomorrow by Annelie or Romance by Clara Schumann. I want to inspire young women to become a classical composer or musician, as we are still too few. It’s time to change things!’’

REVIEW:

Abrami’s self-titled debut album is a pleasing patchwork of pieces, from familiar items in new arrangements to works by high-profile newcomers. Radio airplay is surely guaranteed for this playlist, the gloss of which is almost blinding. Some lovely moments.

-- BBC Music Magazine

Tracklisting

1. Pjotr Iljitsch Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Variation
2. Sergei Rachmaninoff: Paganini Variation
3. Julian Lloyd Webber: Jackie's Song (Romanza)*
4. Annelie: Tomorrow
5. Johann Sebastian Bach: Bach Variation feat. Florian Christl*
6. Alexis Ffrench: Hope, Ascending
7. Jacob Shea: Mozart Variation
8. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mozart Variation feat. Wide Eyed
9. Maurice Ravel: Ravel Variation
10. Frédéric Chopin: Chopin Raindrop Variation
11. Clara Schumann: Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22: I. Andante molto
12. Worakls, Esther Abrami: Sainte Victoire en sol mineur*
13. Rachel Portman: Themes from "Chocolat"*
14. Alban Claudin: Sunken Dreams
15. Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman: Scales and Arpeggios (from "Aristocats")*
16. Eric Satie: Satie Variation (after Gymnopédie No. 3)
17. Amy Beach: Romance for Violin and Piano

*feat. Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra

Ivo Pogorelich has a special relationship with the piano music of the Polish Romantic composer Frédéric Chopin. It is Chopin, after all, whom he has to thank for his international breakthrough. When, at the age of 22, Pogorelich took part in the 1980 Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, his exceptional playing caused an immediate sensation. Martha Argerich, who was on the jury, described him as a “genius”.  Since that time, Pogorelich has been increasingly committed, on recording and in concert, to an image of Chopin that is far from the commonplace cliché of the brilliant and pleasing composer of salon music. Now Pogorelich once again offers completely new insights into Chopin’s world and the soul within the sound in what is in fact his fifth Chopin album, but the first for more than twenty years. He has selected works from the 1840s, the last decade of the Polish master’s life. These include the Nocturnes op. 48 no. 1 and op. 62 no. 2, the Fantasy op. 49 and Chopin’s third and last Piano Sonata, op. 58.

What Pogorelich admires in these works is Chopin’s ability to make the piano a gateway to the soul: “Chopin delivers an open invitation to penetrate human psychology. It’s a specific invitation to continually seek out and explore every possibility that the piano has to offer. That’s a never-ending process, and it will continue to challenge new generations of artists in the future too.”

The Croatian-born pianist traces a path in this recital that starts with the small form, continues by way of the brilliant Fantasy and finally reaches the large-scale, four-movement sonata form. In Pogorelich’s hands, despite their magical lyricism, the two Nocturnes have a  gripping sense of tension and drama. The Fantasy in F minor, op. 49 is marked by a sombre mood of conflict, yet at the same time it reflects the improvisational skill for which Chopin was celebrated. With the Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, op. 58, the composer not merely bids farewell to this genre, with all its rich tradition. The work also demonstrates his efforts to create a new kind of sonata. And with Ivo Pogorelich this much-performed and popular piano work is transformed into an exciting new encounter with Frédéric Chopin.

REVIEW:

After a 20-year hiatus from the recording studio as regards Chopin, Croatian pianist Ivo Pogorelich (b. 1958) returns with an hour of deeply-thought, if eternally controversial, interpretations of some standard, late-Chopin repertory.

Pogorelich claims that “art is cruel,” that it often violently confronts our conventions and our complacency. Even if one does not subscribe to Antonin Artaud’s credo of art’s “theater of cruelty,” we must acknowledge that Pogorelich softens the blows with a wonderfully warm sonority and clarity of line.

If one is willing to concede that “depth of expression” compensates for or justifies hyperbolic slowness, then Pogorelich’s Fantasy in F Minor (1841) will appear a miracle of sustained intimacy, given its full three-minutes’ length beyond that of Claudio Arrau. The grim, martial opening will soon cede to national, Polish impulses in aristocratic contours, in mazurka and polonaise rhythms. Pogorelich becomes mesmerized by his own poetic filigree, so the musical thread loses a sense of dramatic continuity. Again, the luxury of the arpeggios and runs, high and low, mixed together with declamatory bass chords, proves haunting. In the middle section, Lento sostenuto, Pogorelich finds a drawn-out, poetic balance of improvisatory and ballade-like narrative. The last pages become a postlude or epilogue, very slow and deliberate, strumming their way into a vaporous coda.

Pogorelich’s way with Chopin last, published Nocturne in E (1846) feels better suited to his grand leisure: marked Lento, dolce sostenuto, the melodic line can bear the stretched, serpentine extension it receives, more like Berlioz than Chopin. The secondary theme in ascending, bass runs achieves C-sharp Minor and a series of syncopations that articulate Chopin’s advanced sense of polyphony. Pogorelich makes these rhythmic impulses more lyrical than their accustomed wont. We feel significantly alerted to Chopin’s trills and moving bass line, as the piece eventually assumes a modified rondo format. The music ends, or rather collapses, into the tonic and evaporates.

The last of Chopin’s three piano sonatas, this in B Minor (1844), receives the most improvisatory treatment in the program. The opening, Allegro maestoso, acquires a searching gravitas, alternately martial and nostalgic. Pogorelich milks the secondary theme in D, breaking its dreamy phrases to contrast with the quicksilver runs that provide a coda to the disparate fragments. That the movement ends in the tonic major seems artificial here, another spliced-on, poetic shard.

So far as improvisation occurs, the Scherzo: Molto vivace in E-flat Major from Pogorelich really proves the berries. He invests a liquid urgency into its eighth-note runs, while the chordal, B Major section projects reflective poise. Doubtless, all of Pogorelich’s slow tempos have been awaiting the B Major Largo movement, which now drags out a long, chain-link series of nocturnal thoughts in E Major. If the playing were not so intrinsically lyric, the progress would resemble a sweet dirge with tolling bells. The last movement, Finale: Presto non tanto, assuming the listener’s patience has endured, moves with a hard-won (after a lingering, high dominant 7th chord) gallop, a bit marcato for my taste, but at least moving with decisiveness, especially in the brilliant runs. The secondary theme in the relative B Major, hurls a sense of national pride at us, its left hand’s singing in the manner of a liberated etude. Pogorelich’s sonority gains the heroic high ground at last, thundering to a firm, B Major coda.

-- Audaud.com (Gary Lemco)

Johann Baptist Vaňhal was one of Haydn’s most important contemporaries. His symphonies in particular were widely admired throughout Europe, with music historian Dr. Charles Burney reporting that Vaňhal’s symphonies were known in England before those of Haydn. The finely wrought works in this recording include the Symphony in F minor, considered one of his best in this genre, and the Symphony in C which was highly popular in its day. All of these works illustrate Vaňhal’s sophisticated mastery of musical structure, imaginative handling of the orchestra, and a profusion of memorable themes.

This is wonderful advocacy of enchanting music.

A brilliant swordsman, athlete, violin virtuoso and composer, Joseph Bologne, Chevalierde Saint-Georges might well lay claim to being the most talented figure in an age of remarkable individuals. The string quartet was still in its infancy in France in the 1770s,but while these pieces are small in scale they are exceptionally rewarding. Saint-Georges appreciated the intimate nature of this genre, avoiding overt soloistic virtuosity and exploring chamber music timbres, amply demonstrating his rich lyrical gifts and a natural ability to delight performers and audiences alike.

REVIEW:

The Six Concertante Quartets were typical of the still nascent genre of French string quartets in the 1770s when they were composed. Elegant and fun, these delectable works were intended for ‘amateurs’, a word that still referred in the thriving French scene to music lovers rather than implying lower skill levels.

There’s certainly no lack of prowess in these delightful performances. The  Arabellas wisely err on the side of briskness for the faster music, but with no loss of grace or refinement. They also appropriately add little ornaments and variants, making the fifth quartet’s ‘Gratioso’ a model of tasteful decoration. Occasionally more could be made of the score’s relatively few dynamic markings, though the boomy acoustic does not help. And violinists Julie Eskar and Sarita Kwok might have sat opposite each other to highlight when phrases flit back and forth between them. In all, though, this is wonderful advocacy of enchanting music.

-- BBC Music Magazine

Meyerbeer was a precocious composer and this album traces some of his very earliest works. Der Fischer und das Milchmädchen was his first stage work, a charming rural vignette that contains all the essential features of a ballet-divertissement couched in writing that enchantingly evokes the 18thcentury. Collaborating with his teacher, the Abbé Georg Vogler, Meyerbeer composed DerAdmiralin1811. The following year saw Wirt und Gast with the vivid Oriental exoticism of its Janissary music, while Romildae Constanza, his first Italian opera, shows his complete assimilation of Rossinian models.

REVIEWS:

Convincing performances of some delightful, largely unknown, scores.

I have had cause to praise the players of the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice on this website before...On this occasion their skilled sensitivity to the demands of the music is again well to the fore and they give us completely idiomatic accounts that are characterised, as appropriate, by delicacy or finely controlled energy. Several passages, especially in the earliest works, offer considerable opportunities for solo woodwind players and, whether from the flautist, oboist or clarinettist, those are invariably finely delivered. To employ a well-worn but nonetheless very useful cliché, all 34 musicians perform as real chamber players who are constantly listening intently to each other – as well as taking their musical lead from their conductor. Dario Salvi is, of course, something of a specialist explorer of the lesser-known byways of music composed in the second and third quarters of the 19th century and, by skilful control of orchestral colour, orchestral balance and dynamics he creates performances that could hardly, I think, be more idiomatic.

-- MusicWeb International

Ives’ Sets for Chamber Orchestra are largely based on his songs, and display a panoply of style and technique. Set 9 includes The Unanswered Question in its original form, and this recording contains world premiere recordings of new realisations and editions, as well as being the first recording of the complete edition of the Sets. The three Orchestral Sets conducted by James Sinclair can be heard on 8.559370.

REVIEW:

The Sets for Chamber Orchestra by Charles Ives (1874–1954) are, in a sense, songs without words, based on songs whose texts are printed in the booklet. Although some sets do not have descriptive titles as others do (Three Poets and human Nature, From the Side Hill, Water Colors) most parts of the sets do have a name that describes their character. Set 9 includes The Unanswered Question in its original form.

For this recording, James Sinclair, Kenneth Singleton, and David Porter have thoroughly revised the scores and weeded out errors.

The interpretations are refined, clearly structured, and expressive. Unlike other conductors, Sinclair does not play to the fullest the aggressiveness of the compositions, but strives for a fine portrayal of the grotesque, the ironic, and the nostalgic.

-- Pizzicato (Norbert Tischer)

Baroque works for oboe have long been fertile ground for transcription to the trumpet and there are several examples here of this refashioning. The sequence of concertos and sonatas include examples from Handel’s Italian years, and from Johann Gottfried Stolzel, who was strongly influenced by Vivaldi. Telemann’s marvelously inventive Concerto in D Major is performed on the modern flugelhorn. In addition, there is the only known surviving work from Johann Michael Fasch, younger brother of the more famous Johann Friedrich.

Sir Arthur Sullivan called Edward German ‘the one man to follow me who has genius’. Notwithstanding German’s success in operetta, especially with Tom Jones and Merrie England, orchestral music was always central to his life. Stylistic affiliations with French and Russian music – not that common in British music of the time – are often evident. German, like Elgar, was a stylistic cosmopolitan whose music is, paradoxically, quintessentially English, and the ‘Norwich’ is indeed an outstanding late 19th-century British symphony. German gave us another superb symphony too, albeit in miniature, with his Welsh Rhapsody, a brilliant orchestral showpiece that remains his most performed extended orchestral work.

REVIEW:

In the mid-1990s, Marco Polo set about recording much of Edward German’s orchestral music. This programme was issued in 1995, and is now one of four discs re-released on Naxos.

I have not heard German’s 1st Symphony. His four-movement 2nd Symphony subtitled ‘Norwich’ is apparently even finer. It was commissioned by the Norwich Festival Committee. It has assured orchestration and inventive colours, and its material is often memorable and always clearly presented. There have been other recordings over the last fifty years, but none is now available.

The second movement Andante con moto, the real star for me, is overwhelmingly enchanting. But we start with a sonata-form Allegro preceded by a dark, slow introduction marked Andante maestoso. This powerful movement compares interestingly with the lighter touches of the later Allegro scherzando and the boisterous finale. The last movement at times brought to my mind anything by Dvořák and, possibly less surprisingly, Eric Coates. To me, this is the finest British symphony before Elgar; some of you might even prefer it. David Russell Hulme’s excellent, detailed booklet notes remind us that Elgar thought very highly of Edward German.

German’s most performed orchestral work may be the Welsh Rhapsody, written for the Cardiff Music Festival of 1904. The booklet writer calls it symphonic, and I know what he means. It falls into four distinctly different movements of varying tempi and mood. German uses several traditional melodies. The third part is a whirling Scherzo. The finale begins with a chorale-like idea, and moves into the famous ‘Men of Harlech’ tune developed with much enthusiasm. You might think it’s a little over the top, but it brings the work to a great climax, so it often gets a standing ovation.

The Valse gracieuse was originally part of the Leeds Suite written for the Leeds Festival in 1895. This beautifully scored piece proved so popular that German revised it twenty years later to make an independent concert waltz. If you know German’s famous Tom Jones or his Merrie England with its waltz-songs, then the main melody of Valse gracieuse may remind you how good a tunesmith he could be.

I have known this music for over twenty years, and it never fails to please. The performances and recording are a joy, and do the music proud.

-- MusicWeb International (Gary Higginson)

Leif Ove Andsnes releases a second Mozart Momentum album with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, presenting a portrait of the master composer during the years in which his writing for the piano was at its most revolutionary, creative and game-changing.

“As masterly and finished and perfect as the music itself” – The Telegraph
(on Mozart Momentum 1785)

Leif Ove Andsnes and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra follow their “triumphant” (Gramophone), “sparkling” (New York Times) and award-winning Mozart Momentum 1785 release with its partner album, focusing on the composer’s extraordinary creativity in the year 1786. “When you realize how quickly Mozart developed during the early years of the 1780s, it makes you ask: why did this happen? What was going on? It’s about the momentum of his creativity at this time,” says Leif Ove Andsnes.

In 1786 the white-hot inspiration of Mozart’s work on his opera The Marriage of Figaro spilled over into the composer’s piano concertos and chamber music. Suddenly, Mozart’s music was filled with a new spirit of conversation, deeper layers of meaning, and fuller explorations of instrumental and human character. In these works, Mozart was looking far beyond the confines of public taste and writing, apparently, to satisfy himself.

The double-album Mozart Momentum 1786 includes Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 24, Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Piano Trio in B-flat major and Recitative and Aria Ch’io mi scordi di te? featuring guest soprano Christiane Karg.

The two Mozart piano concertos are game-changers in the history of the form. They fed off the new creative energies the composer was experiencing in Vienna in 1786, as he rode an unprecedented wave of popular success and musical evolution. These scores are often held up as the most exquisite that Mozart ever wrote. “There was new creative energy in the air,” says Andsnes: “Mozart seems to have gone deeper and deeper into the idiom and its possibilities and tried new techniques. I don’t know any music that offers such emotional diversity.”

For this recording, Andsnes has been reunited with his colleagues in the Mahler Chamber Orchestra – a team “you’d be hard-put to find … better matched,” raved The Guardian. “There is an attitude in the Mahler Chamber Orchestra,” says Andsnes, “that you are not just there to play well, you’re there to find a truth in the music. It’s something that is very special and that I have never experienced in quite the same way with another orchestra.”

The Mozart Momentum project draws no distinction between forms of music – whether orchestral, chamber or even vocal – but all the pieces are united by the presence of the piano. “The idea,” says Andsnes, “was to explore the diversity of what was going on in Mozart’s creative life at the time – to show that a separation between solo playing, chamber music playing and concerto playing isn’t really relevant.”

Mozart Momentum 1785 was named one of “The Best Classical Albums of 2021” by Gramophone and Andsnes’s performance of Piano Concerto No. 22 was chosen as one of “The 25 Best Classical Music Tracks of 2021” by The New York Times. The release was also named “Album of the Week” by The Sunday Times and BBC Radio 3, and awarded a Diapason d’Or de l’année by France’s leading classical music magazine and Radio France.

Includes:                 
Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488
Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat major, K. 493       
Rondo in D Major, K.485

"Ch'io mi scordi di te? ... Non temer, amato bene," K. 505 (ft. Christiane Karg)  Piano Trio in B flat major, K502            
Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491     

Praise for Mozart Momentum - 1785 / Andsnes, Mahler Chamber Orchestra:

Socially distanced they may have been but the camaraderie that was so evident in their groundbreaking Beethoven cycle with Leif Ove Andsnes is, if anything, even more apparent here.

-- Gramophone (Recording of the Month, June 2021; Critic's Choice)

With so many alternatives out there (among classics, Mitsuko Uchida, Murray Perahia, András Schiff), why this? The balance between pianists and ensemble is ideal, clear, vital. And the choice of cadenzas, especially the one by Dinu Lipatti, will make your ears stand up.

-- The Guardian

"This collection of recordings is especially meaningful for me because it charts my growth as an orchestral composer from my years as a student – when the Marimba Concerto was composed – to more mature work such as Moonlight. It also reflects the wonderful relationship I have enjoyed over the years with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop. The Marimba Concerto, which reflects my love of Mozart’s piano concertos, also represents my most direct and unguarded voice as a composer. The City was originally intended as a portrait of the city of Baltimore and more generally of the American city, but the death of Freddy Gray while in police custody and the subsequent unrest in Baltimore sent me in an unexpected direction with the piece." -- Kevin Puts

REVIEW:

Marin Alsop, as well as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, have contributed significantly to this composer’s prominence, as they do here. Their playing reveals the diverse aspects of the works. Thus they do not overload the Marimba Concerto with unnecessary context, and in The City they show the demanding bustle of American cities with concisely figured playing. They offer the soloists colorful panoramas on which to develop.

Ji Su Jung was very interested in the marimba concerto and thus offered it for recording. Personally, the instrument is not particularly close to me, but Ji Su Jung elicits wide spectrums from the work with superior technical execution that proves the stylistic possibilities of use despite a unified sound.

With this fresh addition to the solo repertoire, oboist Katherine Needleman has found a rich field of activity for her instrument that she fills with virtuosity and creative inspiration.

-- Pizzicato