CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES & OVERTURES

This is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording

A monumental set of 33 variations built from a simple waltz theme by Anton Diabelli. A stunning performance of a legendary masterwork by one of the great pianists of our time. Pianist Gabriel Chodos has been a revered New England Conservatory faculty member for a quarter-century.

Classical Music

SYMPHONY NO.9

“Weil and his [Tafelmusik] players convince us that Beethoven can sound as radical in the 21st century as he must have done in the 19th”- Gramophone Magazine. Tafelmusik is thrilled to present its recordings of the complete Beethoven symphonies, six CDs packaged in a striking box set. Recorded under the direction of conductor Bruno Weil over a twelve-year period, Tafelmusik’s cycle marks the first time a North American orchestra has recorded all nine Beethoven symphonies on period instruments. Recorded in Toronto at Koerner Hall and George Weston Recital Hall between 2004 and 2016, these performances chart Tafelmusik’s evolution as it expanded its repertoire to explore the music of classical and early romantic composers. The set contains recordings originally made for the Analekta label, including the JUNO Award-winning Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6, and the JUNO Award-nominated Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8. Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and the JUNO Award-nominated Symphony No. 9 were recorded live in concert on the Tafelmusik Media label. Under the direction of Bruno Weil, Tafelmusik first performed a Beethoven symphony (No. 2) in Toronto in 1993. Maestro Weil also directed the orchestra in international performances of Beethoven symphonies at the Klang und Raum Festival in Irsee, Germany, during its 19-year tenure there as orchestra-in-residence. Much admired by the international music press, Tafelmusik’s Beethoven interpretations have been praised for their “transparency of articulation and balance … remarkable precision, vitality and tonal focus. Beethoven benefits mightily from the silken strings, woodsy winds, clarion brasses and pinpoint timpani” (Gramophone Magazine). “We approach the Beethoven concerts and recording as if they were the very first performances, as though the music had been composed yesterday. There’s no sense of routine with Tafelmusik musicians and everybody’s playing with a full heart and a full soul and spirit. That is the secret to a great performance,” - Bruno Weil. “Although the Beethoven symphonies are familiar to many music lovers, few have had the privilege to experience them as Tafelmusik and Bruno Weil have over the past many years. Our journey with Bruno exploring these great works has been a profound and intensely personal one.” - Jeanne Lamon, Music Director Emerita

The Brunsvik String Trio, named after Beethoven’s “Eternal Beloved” Josephine Brunsvik, presents this recording of his five String Trios in celebration of 250 years since the great composer’s birth. These works display everything we love about Beethoven in full color; drama and passion interspersed with piercing sorrow and soulful reconciliation, expressed within the parameters of the classical period. How Beethoven extended the medium of music as a tool to express what cannot be said with words is already palpable, even in the opus 3 and 8 which are both in the form of Serenades; music for entertainment! Beethoven himself declared his opus 9 as his finest compositions at the time of their publication. They are in every sense equal to his String Quartets; awe inspiring music that transports the listener to a world of magic and draws out emotions from the depth of our being.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, "Choral"

When I reviewed Robert White's Angel collection of Beethoven and Weber folk-song arrangements {The Gallant Troubadour, Fanfare 9:4), I mentioned this RCA collection as another possible source of pleasure to those who enjoyed the Angel set. Here it is on compact disc sounding at least as good as ever with the tenor in his element supported by virtuoso playing (Beethoven's settings were supposed to be playable by amateurs but they'd better be good amateurs). Full texts are provided, but so clear is White's enunciation that you'll have little need for them; one of the songs, “The Soldier,“ is probably better known nowadays as “The Minstrel Boy.“ Unfortunately, RCA could think of nothing appropriate that would serve to fill the CD out, so it contains only 44:25 of music, including pauses between songs, but what's here is certainly choice.

-- James Miller, FANFARE [9/1987]

GREATEST HITS (DBS PACKAGING)

Conceived on the basis of an original idea of Maestro Kent Nagano, CD 1, titled "The General" offers an entirely new interpretation of Beethoven's Egmont, itself based on a poem by Goethe. Offered as a tribute to Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire, the spoken text was written by author, critic and musicologist Paul Griffiths and is narrated by the noted actor Maximilian Schell with soprano Adrianne Pieczonka. The new narrative relates the events surrounding the Rwanda crisis in 1994. CD 2 includes Beethoven's 5th Symphony and excerpts from the incidental music to Egmont, performed by Orchestre symphonique de Montréal conducted by Kent Nagano.

Ma and Ax bring their series of Beethoven's music for cello and piano to a close with this release. No recording date is given, but we must assume the performances were taped some time after the preceding four sonatas, not only because of the later release but because of the immeasurably improved sonics. Ma is now the aural equal of Ax, and no longer sounds as if he's playing some respectful obbligato from another room. Ma's elegance and propensity toward understatement are no match for the muscular and assertive Ax as it is, and the cellist needs all the help he can get to give his 50%. an equal hearing. Which is my basic problem with the Ma-Ax partnership: I don't find them particularly well-suited to each other, especially in these sonatas where equality is the key to the performance (as in the equal fire of Rostropovich and Richter in their be-all Philips set). But mine is a minor voice where this popular duo is concerned, and those who have followed the series with satisfaction and joy will find the familiar silken tones of the cellist and the rambunctiousness of the pianist much in evidence. Their C-major Sonata is unmistakably related to their D major, that is, both are played like early 19th-century works rather than the beginning of Beethoven's late period. Like the D major this new C major sings and jumps with an extrovertedness which is quite different from the pensive, mysterious performances we're apt to hear of these perplexing sonatas. If Rostropovich and Richter tell me a whole lot more of what I think I want to hear in these works, I nonetheless am quite taken with the spirit (and the sensational playing) of Ma and Ax, although as I've said, I'd rather hear them paired with others (Ma with Alfred Brendel sounds good, while Ax with Mischa Maisky would probably be hair-raising).

Ma lets his hair down (doesn't sound right, does it?) for the variation pieces, and he comes out slugging with his partner, with the results being some positively ebullient music-making. I've always loved the “Maccabaeus“ variations, and a quick comparison with Barenboim and du Pré (a particular favorite) clearly establishes the newer recording as the one to have for brio, virtuosity, and just plain ol' craziness. I loved it, and I was quite pleased with the sense of fun and beautiful tone (from Ma especially) in the Mozart variations. Even if the sonata is not to your liking, the variations are well worth the purchase of the disc and can easily be put at the top of the list of the not-very-many recordings of these charmers.

As mentioned above, CBS' engineers have the balance right this time, and one may enjoy this unusual partnership in warm and roomy sound. The surfaces on my copy (domestic for this issue) could have, should have, been better. The CD edition, due any day, should certainly be the medium to opt for.

Before winding up with a recommendation for fans of the Ma-Ax duo, I must mention the cover of the album which pictures these two wonderful-looking people—Ma cross-legged and Ax with his gams hanging over the keyboard—sitting atop the piano. The happiness on their faces gives me a really good feeling. If you like these boys in this repertory, or have been searching for a special recording of the three variation works, by all means snap this one up.

-- Vincent Alfano, FANFARE [9/1986]

Drawn from the worldwide catalog holdings of Sony Classical, which includes both the Columbia/CBS and RCA Victor label imprints, the SONY Classical Originals, SONY Classical Masters Singles and Box Sets, and SONY Opera House series offer an extensive selection of highly desirable and collectible EU (Germany) pressed import editions, smartly-designed and graphically-pleasing, featuring the most sought-after recordings by the world’s preeminent, legendary artists both past and present, with many titles newly re-mastered in 24bit High Resolution Audio.

BEETHOVEN: PIANO SONATAS OP. 1

Distance lends enchantment. This famous mid-century group used to sound ‘big’ in its time, and fortepiano fanciers will wince at the expansive, fruity opening to the Archduke. The rest of us can enjoy a generosity of phrasing that now seems to sing the joy and pain of life itself. To be frank it is a bit sedentary, but the steady pulse allows the interplay of fine musical responses to be taken in at ease. Several degrees lighter in manner and acoustic – and despite a stereo spread that, with headphones, has violin and cello arguing from opposite sides of your head – the Ghost has energy and feeling even if it doesn’t peer over the existential edge.

-- Robert Maycock, BBC Music Magazine