Schubert / Drigo / Vieuxtemps / Cage / Stravinsky / Apituley

Classical Music

Julius R�ntgen (1855-1932) was both a composer and a gifted pianist, and he knew how to write well for his instrument. R�ntgen was a child prodigy, and from an early age composed ambitious works for the piano. His partnership with baritone Johannes Messchaert was legendary, and they made several European tours. At one of their recitals, in the Vienna Musikvereinsaal, it was noted that Brahms and Grieg sat together in the front row. Recent renewed interest in R�ntgen has revealed many treasures still waiting to be awakened in the R�ntgen Archives (Den Haag). Alongside a huge series of unknown string quartets, string trios, piano trios, and symphonies there are some 30 piano sonatas and sonatinas from 1922-1932 alone.

The third volume in our series of Charles-Marie Widor’s Organ Symphonies, performed by Joseph Nolan on the magnificent Cavaillé-Coll organ of L’église de la Madeleine, Paris. Bridging the generations from Mendelssohn to Messiaen, Empire to Republic, Widor was born to the organ. His Lyonnaise kinsfolk were organ-builders, he showed early talent for the instrument, and for decades was the embodiment of its might and splendour across the Gallic domain - his ‘Organ Symphonies’ were genre-defining in their influence.

Joseph Nolan is an internationally renowned organist, acclaimed as ‘brilliant and such an astute musician’ (Gramophone UK). He was appointed to Her Majesty’s Chapels Royal, St James’s Palace in 2004, and has since been invited to perform and record in some of the world’s premiere venues – including the refurbished Organ of Buckingham Palace Ballroom and the Organ of Saint- Sulpice in Paris.

"Gothic music meets Gothic organ here in performances that encompass a broad expressive spectrum from quiet meditation to dramatic thunder and lightning.” The Times

Refulgent hyper-Szymanowskian writing, angry dissonance, delightfully stirring jewelled veils.

Ullén and Bis stick to their last with the seriousness of purpose that goes with eminence and invincible confidence in Sorabji’s music. That confidence is securely placed. Sorabji drank deep of that confidence in calling these pieces Transcendental in the first place.

Ullén, with a loftiness and fantasy that recalls Busoni and Godowsky, shoots the kaleidoscopic rapids of Sorabji’s Transcendental Etudes. The shifting veils of lapidary complexity in No. 44 are played with intoxicating fluency – not mere technical proficiency. After such refulgent hyper-Szymanowskian writing we come to the angrily dissonant No. 45 which in its volleys of notes recalls Nancarrow. The galloping articulated ruthlessness of Nos. 46, 48, 51, 53, 62 55, 60 and 62 is blended with humour (55) and in 60 there’s Mussorgskian macabre alongside romantic afflatus. The sprinting Volante continues into the Vivace (49). After breathtaking display comes a more Apollonian mood in No. 50. A Medtnerian spirit is alive in No. 52. The jewelled veils shift delightfully in an Aeolian wind whispering through the pages of No 54. Romance plays high cards in the Moderato. No. 58 in its episodic flurries contrasts with the knowing Cyril Scott meditations of the Quasi fantasia (59).

This disc is the very acceptable sequel to the 100 Transcendental Etudes nos 1-25 by Fredrik Ullén on BIS 1373. Studies 26-43 are on BIS-CD-1533. Volume 1 was reviewed by me in 2006; Volume 2 in January 2010.

Presumably there are two more CDs to come after this. Can we hope that Bis will then have moved on to his six reputedly elaborate piano concertos and the truly epic symphonic and choral pieces by then? They will be an expensive proposition.

Ullen’s commentary on the Studies can be found at the Sorabji Archive.

Other notable Sorabji recordings have been reviewed here: Opus Clavicembalisticum (Geoffrey Douglas Madge), Transcriptions (Michael Habermann) and an extremely desirable three CD collection of Michael Habermann’s performances on the BMS label.

Elegance and power personified in these Transcendental Studies.

-- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International

"Yevgeny Sudbin was born in St Petersburg and has lived in the UK since 1997. His previous outings on the BIS label, with recitals of Scarlatti (reviewed twice on these pages) and Scriabin have all been received to great acclaim, as has Sudbin’s concerto recordings for the same label...It is clearly apparent that Mr. Sudbin has established an enviable reputation, and for those to whom his name is already familiar, this release will be another shot in the arm of fine collections of piano recordings the world over.

There are quite a few rather special recordings of Haydn piano sonatas, but with 51 in the catalogue there are few pianists who would even consider tackling the whole lot, John McCabe on Decca being a distinguished exception, Jeno Jandó a highly competent if marginally less distinguished budget alternative on Naxos. There are a few fortepiano recordings both complete and ongoing, the Brilliant Classics one offers a different kind of Haydn to that on a modern grand piano, as does the excellent BIS complete set played by Ronald Brautigam. A pianist whose recordings have impressed me in recent years is Ragna Schirmer, and hers is the kind of cleanly unpretentious and witty playing with which I would compare Yevgeny Sudbin’s performances here. Schirmer gives Haydn every chance to shine and blossom in recordings which are crisp and full of colour, warm and clear at the same time, carrying us away with the music’s message, alive to the echoes of past music and the surprisingly potent emotional charge which can be surprising to find in this composer.

This is not so much a ‘better than’ kind of review, but I find it is useful to have a reference and a starting point from which to evaluate a new recording of an idiom which is familiar, even if the pieces don’t overlap. Yevgeny Sudbin has that lightness of touch which is essential for good Haydn, and especially good Haydn at the keyboard. The opening Allegro moderato movement of the Sonata No.47 in B minor says much about the rest of this programme, with richness of contrast and moments of drama fully exploited between music of almost naive simplicity. This simplicity is as important to Sudbin as every other aspect of this music. The thinning of texture to two-part lines which suggest harmony as much as proclaim it are all superbly rendered, sometimes held to the middle of the keyboard, sometimes turning the left hand into and orchestral bass section or a driving rhythmic leaping thing which serves multiple functions. The Minuet of this sonata is a development on this kind of purity of expression, and Sudbin knows exactly what he is doing, shaping phrases with elegance and a sense of proportion which seems to provide all answers: ‘yes, this is how it should sound.’

If I were to compare Sudbin and Schirmer then, by a small margin, Sudbin seems to explore depths ‘into’ or ‘within’ the notes a bit more, digging a little deeper where Schirmer sparkles and shines with a more twinkly kind of wit. This is all by a marginal degree however – Sudbin sparkles and Schirmer digs as well, just take the Finale: presto of this sonata for some crackling at the keyboard from Sudbin, with the minor key providing a reason for that extra layer of dark passion.

Following a minor key with a major, in this case the Sonata No.60 in C major is a good idea, and Sudbin lifts us high and carries us all the way in the opening Allegro, which is as full of smiles as a comedy turn by Michael Macintyre. His own booklet notes tell us something of how Sudbin approaches Haydn: “Is laughter the best medicine? I certainly hope so and would not hesitate to prescribe a healthy dose of Joseph Haydn twice daily.” Haydn’s humour is not to be found in heavy jokes, but in the very nature of the music itself. Any darkness is more often than not provided as a foil a contrast to those delightful moments of wit, and sometimes, as in this movement the ideas are so fun-filled that such moments need only be held for a few bars in the minor, or a segment of sublime beauty at 6:50 where the pedal suspends the music on a waft of mist for a mere moment. Sublime beauty is the essence of the Adagio of this sonata, and Sudbin traverses its measures with a good deal of freedom, creating a fascinating musical narrative in which you can become lost for what seems like a good deal longer than its 5:53 duration, but which you would gladly have last for a dreaming while longer. Sudbin has combined some of the original material from an earlier version of this movement, which was later revised to fit in with the outer movements of the sonata. I admire this kind of creative license and research based attitude, getting the best out of the music by exploring further beyond the notes on the page than would most musicians. The results certainly speak for themselves.

Elements of Scarlatti appear with the rippling passing ornaments thrown in with effortless ease by Sudbin in the Sonata No.53 in E minor. The contrast between the spectacular Presto and the almost invisible following Adagio could hardly be greater. Sudbin plays the Adagio with such transparency that light and air shine through the whole time: it’s like a single mote of dust floating down to land, slowly and gently, onto a crystal shimmering in a bath of late afternoon sunlight. The sunshine moods anticipate Beethoven in the final Vivace molto, with quicksilver harmonic twists and turns which are still pretty breathtaking even 230 years after they were conceived. About one minute in the mood shifts several gears at once, and we are taken on a journey far beyond expectations.

The Andante con Variazioni follows and refines the model of C.P.E. Bach, involving major and minor variations alternately. Some say this was written as a kind of memorial to Mozart for, although there are smiling moments, these are as poignant as they are jovial, and the mood of the music is certainly more tragic than comic. Refinement and poise, sensitivity and grace are all words which spring to mind for both the piece and this performance, which is given with admirable restraint, reserving the emotional core of the work for a penultimate outburst at 12:39.

To end the programme with a flourish, Yevgeny Sudbin gives us an encore in the form of his arrangement or ‘pianistic impression’ of the finale of Haydn’s String Quartet in D major, Op.64 No.5. “I find [the string quartets] all addictive. Just as his sonatas are incredibly communicative and chamber-music like, his chamber music strikes me as having a very pianistic potential.” Larking with Haydn is therefore Sudbin’s ‘affectionate tribute’ to the Great Master, and one which fits in very well with the vibrant nature of the release as a whole. In fact this whole disc is of course a fine tribute to Haydn, showing once again how alive and resonant his music even today. The entertainment factor is high with this disc, but superficial show is never the basis of the music or the playing. I’m a big fan of the St George’s pleasantly resonant acoustic, and it works very well for the solo piano and this music, with the SACD quality transplanting you straight to Bristol’s top chamber music location. Superbly recorded performances such as these do exactly what Sudbin hopes, seeing Haydn “taken much more seriously, in an unserious sort of way.”

-- Dominy Clements, MusicWeb International

Brouwer: Guitar Music, Vol. 2

Classical Music

• Volume 3 of Beethoven-Liszt transcriptions • Yuri Martynov plays a recently restored 1867 Blüthner piano, a piano maker much admired by Liszt • Volume 4 due early 2015 • Volume 5 due early 2016 • Comprehensive booklet notes in French and English • Yuri Martynov plays Prokofiev due autumn 2014

FROUNBERG / HORSVING / TEGLBJAERG / OLSEN / RASMUSSEN: Works

Andrzej Panufnik’s (1914-91) three original works for solo piano, spread out over almost four decades, are all highly crafted, demonstrating the composer’s fascination with mirror forms and symmetrical patterns. + Also included here are two ‘posthumous collaborations’ between the composer and his daughter Roxanna, herself an acclaimed composer, as well as two of Ms. Panufnik’s own compositions. + The young British pianist Clare Hammond devised the present disc for her first BIS release.

Classical Music

Orbit, a three-disc compilation of music for solo cello, all composed between 1945 and 2014 and performed by world-renowned cellist Matt Haimovitz, is the second release in the PENTATONE OXINGALE SERIES. In this series PENTATONE joins forces with Grammy Award-winning OXINGALE RECORDS, a trailblazing artist’s label since 2000 which is equally committed to revelatory interpretations of the canonic repertoire as to riveting performances of works by recent and living composers.

The album documents Matt Haimovitz’s musical journey since the turn of the millennium, together with his partner in life and music, composer Luna Pearl Woolf. It contains nearly all of the solo contemporary works that were initially released on Oxingale Records as five thematic albums - Anthem (2003), Goulash! (2005), After Reading Shakespeare (2007), Figment (2009) and Matteo (2011), as well as two newly recorded tracks: Philip Glass’s “Orbit” and a new arrangement by Luna Pearl Woolf of the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter”. More than twenty composers are represented in this set, fifteen of them still living, and ten works are recorded for the very first time.

This impressive solo cello odyssey offers the listener a fascinating kaleidoscope of musical influences from the past sixty years, encountering a variety of composers who range in musical style from vanguards Elliott Carter and Philip Glass to young, rock ‘n roll-influenced American composers, to the Italian avant-garde of Luciano Berio and Salvatore Sciarrino: a true 20th century Tower of Babel.

Classical Music

Chopin: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-3

Classical Music

As Scriabin's Preludes progressively leave their Chopin models behind and dig deeper into sensuous abstraction, Evgeny Zarafiants' probing, dark toned interpretations truly hit home. No skating over Scriabin's increasingly troubled waters for this pianist, whose wide dynamic range and multi-tiered palette of articulations add dramatic dimension and heft to these elusive scores. The real eye-openers, though, are four preludes written by Scriabin's eleven-year-old son Julian. They're quite extraordinary in their confident, fluent piano writing and harmonic sophistication, bearing hints of early Schoenberg alongside the elder Scriabin's musical style. Julian drowned at age 11 in 1919. We will never know if he would have grown up to take over the family business, so to speak, yet these remarkable pieces are no doubt worthy of the Scriabin name. --Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

If claims could be made for a certain composer to have invented a genre single-handedly, Felix Mendelssohn would be a strong candidate with his 'Songs without Words'. The term itself can be traced back to 1828, and a letter in which Fanny Mendelssohn mention having received a 'song without words' as a birthday present from her brother. Although Mendelssohn continued an existing tradition of writing short lyrical pieces for the piano, the concept of 'wordless songs' was new, and indeed the great majority of the Lieder ohne Worte display some sort of song-like structure (melody in the upper voice, an accom­paniment that is predominantly chordal or arpeggiated, ABA-form). Immediately popular with a wide audience, and soon a staple ingredient in domestic music-making all over Europe, the Lieder ohne Worte were also highly regarded by fellow composers, who imitated the style of Mendelssohn's pieces, and sometimes adopted his title for them as well. One such admirer was Robert Schumann, who was captivated by the 'Duett' (Op. 38, No. 6), hearing in it: 'lovers... conversing quietly, intimate­ly and confidently'. (The piece was in fact written for Cécile Jeanrenaud, who would later become Mendelssohn's wife.) Gathered on this disc are the first four books of the eight published collections of Lieder ohne Worte (two of which appeared posthumously) and an appendix consisting of five individual pieces which Mendelssohn never included in any collection but which nevertheless belong to the genre. One of today's leading exponents on the fortepiano, Ronald Brautigam has released complete sets of the piano music by Mozart and Haydn, and is currently recording a highly regarded series of the solo piano works by Beethoven. For the present disc he has chosen to play on a replica by the renowned maker Paul McNulty of a Pleyel instrument built in 1830, and thus contemporary with the music performed on it.

Parthenia, or the Maydenhead of the first musicke that was ever printed for the Virginalls, is perhaps the most important early publication of English keyboard music. It was first published either late 1612 or early 1613 and, as its title indicates, was the first printed collection of keyboard music to appear in England. The “mastermind” behind Parthenia was the engraver William Hole, who conceived it as a wedding gift to Princess Elizabeth Stuart (the second child and eldest daughter of James VI and I) and Frederick V, Elector Palatine of the Rhine. Stage plays, musical performances, mock battles on the Thames, and fireworks were featured in the festivities which accompanied the ceremony. The original dedication to Parthenia contains a somewhat cryptic passage that singles out the “neighbor letters E and F, the vowel that makes so sweet a Consonat, Her notes so linkt and wedded together seeme liuely Hierogliphicks of the harmony of marriage…” The author has linked these two together because they represent the royal couple, E referring to Elizabeth and F to Frederick. These two pitches play a central role in the piece, being the two opening notes and each section following begins alternately on E or F.

MOZART Piano Sonatas: No. 10 in C, K 330; No. 11 in A, K 331; No. 12 in F, K 332 • Noriko Ogawa (pn) • BIS 1985 (SACD: 76: 00)


Japanese pianist Noriko Ogawa has appeared in these pages several times in repertoire ranging from Beethoven to Takemitsu. This, however, is her first foray on disc into Mozart. I suppose there’s a degree of pertinence to Ogawa’s selection of these three sonatas for her Mozart debut, since it’s now believed that they were the first piano sonatas Mozart composed after his permanent move to Vienna in 1781. Some older sources, however, still suggest the late 1770s and Salzburg or even Paris as the time and place of their composition. The middle sonata of the set, No. 11, popularly known as “Alla Turca” for its last movement’s “Turkish”-themed Rondo, is the most unusual of the three works, not because of the Rondo but because the sonata is homotonal—i.e., all three movements are in either A Major or A Minor, thus having the same tonic. If you prefer hearing these pieces on a modern Steinway grand—and I do—it’s hard to imagine them being played any more sensitively, charmingly, expressively, and stylishly than they are here by Noriko Ogawa. The combination of BIS’s crystalline recording and Ogawa’s exceptionally limpid touch and pellucid tone makes this a winning entry in the Mozart piano sonata catalog. Recommended to all Mozart lovers, except those who are unalterably opposed to hearing this music played on anything other than a period fortepiano.


FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

15 years ago lutenist Jakob Lindberg bought a very special instrument - one of the four extant lutes by Sixtus Rauwolf, built c.1560. The restoration of the lute took several years and was rather painstaking: for some repairs they een used ancient wood from the library in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence! Considering the great age of the instrument it was nevertheless in good shape and is now probably the only one in the world that, retaining its orignal soundboard, is in playable condition. This unique feature Lindberg has wanted to celebrate by recording music suitable for the instrument. Once upon a time, probably in 1715, this lute was equipped with a new neck allowing for a greater number of courses. This makes it perfect for the lute works of Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750), famous among his contemporaries as the finest lutenist of his generation. (There is some reason to believe that Bach composed a couple of his works for solo lute after having met Weiss in 1739.) Weiss was also the most prolific of all lute composers: some 600 pieces have survived, whcih may amount to half of his entire production for the instrument. Most of the pieces on this disc are early works, grouped in suites - or Sonatas as Weiss himself termed them - by the composer himself or, in some cases, by Jakob Lindberg. Included are some of Weiss's best-known works, e.g. the 'Fantasie in C minor' as well as one of his rare fuguges for lute.

Classical Music

When Fredrik Ullén released the first instalment of Sorabji's 100 Transcendental Etudes the excitement among reviewers was almost palpable. To take on this huge, near-mythic collection of super-virtuoso pieces in its entirety was described as 'entering a snake pit' as well as 'a labour of love'. And the high expectations were met: in the words of the reviewer for American Record Guide, the disc gave 'a taste of the incredible variety of music Sorabji can conjure up from the piano. It is to Ullén's credit that he can present each study on its own terms; whether in muted impressionist tones, sharp pointillistic flurries, or sheer demonic virtuosity.' Sorabji composed the set of 100 Transcendental Studies, his second longest work with a total duration of at least seven hours, between 1940 and 1944. Most of the pieces are typical concert études in the sense that essentially a single technical or structural idea is explored. But as the cycle unfolds Sorabji inserts pieces that are on a much larger scale, culminating with the two last études, a hugely expanded elaboration of Bach's Chromatic Fantasia and a quintuple fugue with a duration of some 45 minutes each. This development begins already at the start of the present disc. As Ullén remarks in his own liner notes, with Study No. 26 (Dolcissimo) 'we enter a different world. The first longer piece in the cycle is more of a fantasia or nocturne than an étude: a delicate piece of night music, with allusions to Debussy'. The programme then takes in such varied pieces as the playful No. 29 (A capriccio), the mysterious and eerie study in major sevenths, No. 30 (Con fantasia) and No. 36 (Mano sinistra sempre sola) - a grand étude for the left hand alone, which includes a fugue that, in Ullén's own words, 'in places borders on the physically impossible.'

Schubert, F.: 4 Impromptus / Piano Piece in C Major / Adagio