Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Vincenzo Capirola (1474- after 1548) was one of the most important composers of Italian early 16th century instrumental music. + In the first decades of the century composers begin to write and publish specific instrumental pieces. + Consequently, instrumental music started to emerge from the medieval shadows. + Capirola played a leading role in this flourishing phase of instrumental repertoire. + His writing is strongly original, especially the ricercars, which have stunning compositional breadth.

BACH The Art of Fugue • Sergio Vartolo (hpd); Maddalena Vartolo (hpd) • NAXOS 8.570577 (2 CDs: 102: 13)


Some recordings deserve high praise, some deserve faint praise, and some earn their fair share of ridicule. Then there is the category of those that earn your respect over time, if you have the stamina to hang in. Bach’s The Art of Fugue , BWV 1080, usually considered an intellectually “dry” work, as played on the harpsichord by Sergio Vartolo (with Maddalena Vartolo on the final two pieces for two harpsichords), won me over after a struggle. The first time through, I experienced a rash of negative judgments: the tempo was too slow, the beat was too regular, the dynamic range was too narrow (only from p to f , while the piano could cover from ppp to fff ), the soloist is an academic (and you know how they are), and there was no exhilaration by acceleration. Everything was too risk free, too free of passion. I was under the spell of the modern piano readings of Bach’s music. But after putting these discs aside for about a week, I asked myself: “If the disc is all that, why did Naxos offer it?” I concluded that I must not have been listening with both frontal lobes of my brain operating. Or, maybe the first time through I’d put too much Kirsch in the fondue for lunch, and it affected my judgment. In any event, I didn’t “get it.”


So I listened to all 102:13 of it, again. This time I realized what I’d forgotten in my prejudice. Of course, the harpsichord had a limited dynamic range with each string being plucked by a leather plectrum under uniform pressure each time its keyboard note was struck (no matter how heartily or delicately). That is one of the limiting factors of its design, which became an incentive in the development of the forte piano. As for the tempo and the rhythm, I realized these were likely a secondary concern to Bach, a champion of well-tempered tuning, in these contrapuntal but equally harmonic exercises. The metronome had not yet been developed, so there couldn’t have been exact instructions from the composer as would become the later practice. There were likely “conventions,” probably issued verbally on the signature score, as to the approximate tempo the composer recommended for each section.


In my bifurcated Oblomovian mind, I decided to concede the tempo to the performer, especially as Vartolo is a highly prolific recording artist, a regular medal winner, as well as a professor at the Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna, where, in 1770, a new member—W. A. Mozart—was installed. I reasoned if there were existing instructions from Bach, or conventions that were observed concerning tempo, rubato, syncopation, etc., Vartolo (as scholar) would know them. And this time I enjoyed my listening much more. But I still wasn’t sold.


During my third trip through the Art of Fugue with Vartolo, I got so into the music I could forget about dynamic range and tempo and appreciate the gorgeous sound of the harpsichord, the skill of the Naxos recording engineers, as well as the spellbinding quality of Vartolo’s playing. I’ve taken to putting it in my CD player first thing in the morning, and (setting it on automatic repeat) letting it play all day while I am at my computer. The presentation of the music is so inevitable, the playing and recording so clean, that I’ve come to hear the clarity of the argument for original instruments, something I had thought too doctrinaire. Certainly, this music—when played on a modern piano, even by soloists who loved Bach (like Glenn Gould)—takes on a quite different mode of presentation. But I can hear the case for equally expert playing on the harpsichord.


In conclusion, I’m not too proud to climb down off my high horse and recommend this two-CD set. It has won me over by overcoming my knee-jerk reactions. If you are interested in Bach, or the fugue, or the harpsichord, or the body of work known as The Art of Fugue , I recommend this recording with high praise. Both the playing and the recording are damn fine. The lesson I’ve learned here, and hope to share with you is that in judging music, it seems best to admit your prejudices to yourself. If you can keep aware of your own preferences, education, music you exclude on specious grounds, you might discover the value of music that is new to you. As I have. Music loving ought to be inclusive. It depends on how you do it. I recommend that you Zen yourself out with Vartolo’s The Art of Fugue during a rainy weekend. You could be pleasantly surprised! And for you harpsichord players out there, you already knew all this. But isn’t it cool to see it in print?


FANFARE: Ilya Oblomov

Chisholm, E.: Music for Piano, Vol. 2

Gerhard Frommel (1906-1984) regarded his piano sonatas as a miniature compendium of his entire output, reflecting a fundamentally Romantic approach melded with Stravinskian vitality. The sixth sonata’s poised profundity, inventiveness and structural perfection gives it a place as one of the best in its genre, its serene transparency lying between the powerfully heroic fifth sonata and the crystalline quality of the seventh; a summation of expression in a work that Frommel was conscious would be his last.

As a twelve-year-old Tatjana Blome won first prize in the Steinway Competition and a year later gave her first evening recital. In 1995 she made her debut in the Berlin Philharmonie with Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1. She studied with Josef Matthias Blome, Renate Kretschmar-Fischer, Heidrun Holtmann, Aribert Reimann and Gerhard Oppitz. Her career has brought performances throughout Europe, with recitals in Austria, France, Slovenia, Portugal and Russia and appearances as a soloist with various orchestras. Tatjana Blome has recorded over fifty works for labels including Deutsche Grammophon, EDA and Grand Piano.

This superb disc is number 21 in Naxos’s projected series of Liszt’s complete piano music. Given that Leslie Howard’s Hyperion series (to my knowledge, the only one that is yet "complete" although he keeps finding more to record) ran to 57 volumes, some with multiple discs, this still has some way to go. I mention this because, in one of life’s coincidences, the discs in the series I have acquired previously are numbers 7 and 14 (respectively containing Rossini transcriptions and Bunte Reihe transcriptions of music by Ferdinand David), both of which were also excellent.

But, hang on a minute, this music certainly doesn’t sound like Liszt and, of course, it isn’t – it’s Beethoven. Although I have been aware of Liszt’s transcriptions of his symphonies for some time, this is my first experience of them. I approached the disc with several questions in my mind: Why did Liszt transcribe them? Why, when I can easily choose between recordings by Klemperer, Karajan, Böhm and Zinman, should I want to listen to a piano version? Even if I am interested in piano transcriptions of Beethoven’s symphonies, should I really be starting with the Ninth?

I would presume that Liszt was motivated to produce his transcriptions as a vehicle for his own performance and to increase the possibility of their performance more generally; although they would only ever be accessible to great virtuosos. My initial reason for wanting to listen to this was curiosity but I will re-listen in the future because the experience was much more compelling than I had expected. It made me think afresh about a work I thought I knew well. Each time I have listened to it I have marvelled at Beethoven’s music, Liszt’s conception for the piano, and Scherbakov’s musicianship and virtuosity.

My feeling is that the difficulties of playing the 9th Symphony on the piano must increase progressively throughout the work. The first movement is relatively straightforward compared to the scherzo, for which there is an incessant rhythmic challenge; despite this Scherbakov takes all the other repeats except the last one. In the adagio the difficulty is obviously not one of hitting the notes but conveying the feeling normally imparted in the string writing. Sensibly Scherbakov adopts a relatively fast tempo (although the duration of 12 minutes is similar to Zinman, Böhm takes about half as long again) and yet he convincingly conveys the spiritual essence of the music. But all this is nothing compared to the finale! As this began, I was really sceptical. Hadn’t Liszt thought of bringing at least a tenor along with him? Can a piano really sing like four soloists and a chorus? Of course it can’t but Scherbakov’s piano sings for all it is worth and the words went round in my head. The experience was quite different but still a rich broth rather than a consommé. Scherbakov handles the various contrasting sections of the finale with the same skill as a great conductor and he brings off a magnificent conclusion. The fantastic glow that you should feel at the end of this work was just as intense as ever.

Second time round, listening to this disc with the orchestral score was an interesting experience. The most striking thing was how many of the notes are in the piano version, a very high proportion and certainly all the ones that matter. Curiously though, there seems to be a small cut in the scherzo of eight bars just before the last repeated section (at 9’52" on track 2). This section (on page 133 of the Dover edition of the score) is played on all the orchestral versions mentioned above. Essentially it is a repeat of the opening eight bars of this movement. I don’t know whether Liszt, Scherbakov or Naxos is responsible for the omission. It would be surprising if it were Liszt because this short passage is so straightforward that even I could transcribe it for the piano (you couldn’t say that for more than 99% of the rest of this work!) although perhaps these bars were not in the edition of the score he used. Whatever the explanation, I raise it as a point of interest and do not feel that it detracts significantly from his truly magnificent rendition of this movement.

The recorded sound is not absolutely top-drawer and the piano initially seemed a little harsh in tone (this is not entirely inappropriate at the beginning of this work) but my ears adapted. The booklet is rather disappointing – no need here for a biography of Liszt, rather some more detail about the transcriptions would have been appreciated. But, for me, given music-making like this, these are minor considerations.

There is competition, both from within Leslie Howard’s complete Liszt series and also a complete Beethoven symphony transcription set by Cyprien Katsaris (see link to review below). Obviously, I haven’t heard these discs (yet) but, regardless of their merits, Scherbakov is worth hearing as well.

I am glad I started my piano transcription experience with the Ninth because it has made me want to explore the rest of the series. Apparently Scherbakov has already recorded three discs including the first six symphonies (see links to reviews of two of the discs below) and these are already available. I shall be looking out for these and the rest of this series, whatever their place in Naxos’s grand scheme. I shall also await volume 28 with anticipation - perhaps it might contain some original music by Liszt?

This is a magnificent disc and listening to it is a truly uplifting experience.

-- Patrick C. Waller, MusicWeb International

Schubert, F.: Impromptus - D. 899, 935

Emotional Soviet solo cello. If that’s what you’re looking for, this is hard to beat.

Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s solo cello sonatas are considerably more interesting than his preludes for the same instrument, which I reviewed here a few months ago. They aren’t a direct response to Bach, but very much Weinberg himself, a voice not far removed from Shostakovich’s, but with occasional added flavors of Jewish melody and jazz.

These sonatas are all very much of their composer: recognizably Soviet, emotionally quite austere, harmonically bittersweet. But they are written fluently and there are terrific moments: the transition from slow movement to impassioned finale in Sonata No 2, the uncommonly charming allegretto in No 3, the ethereal muted presto of the same sonata, and the otherworldly original andante to No 4, in which cellist Josef Feigelson (who also wrote the excellent notes) points out traces of Hindemith.

On the other hand, this music won’t have mass appeal. The occasional grayness of the writing — we don’t quite have Shostakovich’s emotional range here — and the fact that Weinberg’s style appears not to have changed very much between 1964 and 1986 means that this is the kind of disc you only put on the stereo when you’re in a very specific mood, or if you’re a very specific listener. That isn’t true of Weinberg’s stunning cello concerto, a rich, generous masterwork which works through a series of lush tunes in one broad emotional circle, and I think that my slight bitterness here may be due to the fact that I was expecting something along those lines and didn’t get it. The cello concerto is currently only available on Brilliant, in its live Rostropovich box, though Chandos has recorded a similarly good cello fantasy so there may be hope.

Josef Feigelson recorded this disc, and its companion, as a compendium of Weinberg’s complete cello music in the 1990s, very shortly after the composer’s death - learning the sonatas from the original manuscripts. Certainly his playing here is not to be faulted, and, as was true of the first volume, a more impassioned advocate of the music is hard to imagine. The sound is not too close, the cello tone full and darkly rich. Weinberg’s masterwork for the instrument remains the astonishing Cello Concerto, but these sonatas are very good in their way too. If you’ve been waiting for moody Soviet solo cello work, your ship has come in.

-- Brian Reinhart, MusicWeb International

Includes work(s) by Marco Pereira, Joao Pernambuco. Soloist: Graham Anthony Devine.
Includes work(s) for gtr by various composers. Soloist: Graham Anthony Devine.

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Piano Concerto No. 3, 8 Bagatelles

ALBÉNIZ Danzas españolas. Pequeños valses. Mazurkas de salon • Guillermo González (pn) • NAXOS 8.572196 (69:42)


Isaac Albéniz wrote some of the defining piano music of the Spanish school. By and large, this is not it. This disc, the third in Naxos’s Albéniz series, is devoted to salon music composed early in the composer’s life. At the time, he was known as a piano virtuoso who also gave lessons to young ladies to whom he dedicated many of his salon pieces, including all six of these mazurkas.


Premonitions of the mature Albéniz may be glimpsed in the Danzas españolas , which shares a pleasant lilt, usually in habanera rhythm, and the composer’s predilection for a melodic line in three against a languid accompanying figure in four. The pieces resemble Granados’s later set of Spanish Dances in their occasional underlying hint of melancholy, but those in Albéniz’s set are neither as formally diverse nor as pianistically challenging as are those of his slightly younger contemporary. Chopin is the predominant influence in the sets of waltzes and mazurkas. Once again the results, while mellifluous and polished, are no comparison to the works of the Polish master in terms of ingenuity and memorability.


González, a noted Albéniz specialist, has the kind of muscular technique necessary to tackle Iberia and the late masterpieces, but lacks delicacy in this refined repertoire. There would be no whispering or throat clearing in his salon! Overall, this is a pleasant collection but unrepresentative of the composer’s most exciting work. If you are curious about the antecedents of Iberia , it is worth a listen.


FANFARE: Phillip Scott

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

REVIEW:

Flemming Dreisig is the organist of Copenhagen Cathedral, and thus is enrolled in the “royal succession” of Danish organists. He has been a pioneer in performing Langgaard’s organ works, and made the first recording of Messis on the Ronna organ for Danacord in 1997-8. His new performance can be regarded as authoritative. Given the huge resources of the five-manual 1995 Marcussen organ of Copenhagen Cathedral and DaCapo’s technically excellent multichannel recording on SA-CD, this 2-disc set is another valuable item in the current reinstatement of Langgaard’s music.

There is no doubt that although Messis might be off-putting on account of its length and complexity, it really does grow on you. A fearsome challenge to organists, it is certainly an experience which organ-lovers should have, although I would not advise newcomers to Langgaard’s music to start with Messis, its seminal status notwithstanding. But clear some space in your diary and schedule a three night organ marathon at home; you could not have a better organ and organist to convert you.

– SA-CD.net

SZYMANOWSKI: Piano Works, Vol. 4

BACH Sonata in a, BWV 1020. Little Preludes: Excerpts. Partita No. 2 in d, BWV 1004: Chaconne. Italian Concerto, BWV 971 . Sonata No. 1 in g, BWV 1001: Presto. Sonata No. 1 in C, BWV 1033 • Dorina Frati (man); Piera Dadomo (gtr) • DYNAMIC 514 (74:09)


This is a lovely disc. The combination of mandolin and guitar brings a sparkling vivacity to the faster movements and a delicate charm to the slower ones. The mandolin is not able to sustain long melodies and so must fall back on tremolos to prolong the notes: it can’t compete with the flute or the violin’s abilities in this regard. However, if the listener accepts this limitation, the music is still well served. The silvery sound of the mandolin contrasts nicely with the more resonant guitar: imagine a harpsichord’s lute stop but with added piquancy in the upper register. Bach’s works have probably been transcribed for more instruments and ensembles than any other composer’s, and they fare well here. And of course, one doesn’t have to look too far to justify transcription, as Bach was so fond of it himself. The musicians also perform as soloists. Piera Dadomo’s Chaconne may be less forceful than some, but I found its gentle, intimate approach most persuasive: it’s an alternate view of a familiar masterpiece. Dorina Frati plays the Presto with engaging virtuosity, and left me eager to hear more solo Bach on the mandolin. There’s often a festive quality to this recording, joyful and spontaneous, and I found it a pleasing alternative to the original versions.


Just in case you haven’t memorized all the BWV numbers, 1020 and 1033 are for flute and harpsichord, 1001 is for the violin, as is the famous Chaconne from 1004, and the Italian Concerto is a perennial favorite with harpsichordists and pianists. Seven of the Little Preludes are included, short but “expressive little masterpieces” (Forkel). If you think you would enjoy hearing Bach expertly played by this musical duo, then don’t have any qualms about acquiring this CD.


FANFARE: Robert Schulslaper

The fantasia was in the process of being adapted for keyboard from lute and consort music during William Byrd’s youth, and his formidable mastery of counterpoint brought the form to a pinnacle equivalent to his matchless vocal works. These splendours combine with lively dances and virtuoso display and quotations from songs of love and death. They also may hold fascinating symbols which mark secret Catholic allegiances, a gift for Elizabeth I, and a memorial to the tragic Mary, Queen of Scots. Our cover image shows the only possible contemporary impression of Byrd, as a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal at the funeral of Elizabeth I.

The CD Bach Bo�ly and Beekman was recorded on the famous de Rijckere organ in the Oostkerk at Middelburg, located only 300 yards from the studio. It stands to reason that Beekman plays Bach, but other compositions include Bo�ly, B�hm, Widor, Van Noordt and some of his own.

R E V I E W S

They're at it again. The indefatigable piano duo team of Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow have been hard at work unearthing more hidden treasures from the classical repertoire: orchestral and chamber music arranged for piano duet or two pianos. A couple of years ago their first volume of "unauthorised" piano duos of Schubert's music featured The Trout Quintet, sparklingly rendered by this superlative husband and wife team of pianists, who sacrificed none of the character of the music in their interpretation of the transcription.

Now they have dug up a version for piano duet of the great B flat Piano Trio, which captures the spirit, the flavour and the zest of the vast and mighty trio. The arrangement was made by one Josef von Gahy, astonishingly not a professional pianist but a civil servant, though he must have been able to find his way around the keyboard as he was not only a friend but a regular duet partner of Schubert himself. A cracking disc for devotees of this genre, with a stunning transcription of the Arpeggione Sonata which catches all the grace, poise, and refinement of the work, along with its bubbling virtuosity."

-- Michael Tumelty, Glasgow Herald

The history behind this disc is interesting. Joseph von Gahy was not only a lifelong friend of Schubert but also his duet partner. After the composer’s death Gahy set about transcribing several of his partner’s vocal and instrumental works for piano duet. There is no question of the authenticity of the enterprise. Gahy remained faithful to the originals, even to the extent of parts of the phrases being split between the two players. So seamless is the performance of Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow that this cannot be detected.

The disc opens with Gahy’s arrangement of the Piano Trio in B flat major. The music is sublime. Exquisite melodies pour out from a composer in full creative flow reminiscent of his Lieder writing. Does it work without the violin and cello parts? On the whole, yes, although I’m not completely convinced about the Scherzo. Goldstone and Clemmow give a masterclass in the art of duet playing. They are completely sensitive to each other’s performance and play as one. After such a stunning opening the problem is that anything else that follows is likely to be an anti-climax – and it is. The Notturno, also written for violin, cello and piano, just doesn’t work as a duet; the Sonata in A major for arpeggione – an instrument long forgotten- and piano is not the composer’s best although there is evidence of his flair for melodic writing. The only work here originally written for piano duet is the so-called “Friendship” Rondo in D major, a nice-enough piece but not in the same league as the Trio. In spite of these reservations the disc is worth buying for that performance alone.

-- Shirley Ratcliffe, International Piano

The Piano Trio, D 898, Notturno D 897 and 'Arpeggione' Sonata D 821 are all original Schubert works and there is certainly nothing amiss to have them labelled unauthorized. So why is this and the previous issue of the 'Trout Quintet' been tagged as such? Josef von Gahy, who was not a professional musician, but a Hungarian civil servant happened to be one of Schubert's closest friends, and his admiration for the composer knew no bounds. They often played together four-hand works and Gahy's fine playing drew words of praise from Schubert many a time.

By the time of the latter's death, their relationship had become an inseparable one. As a humble homage to his great idol, Gahy decided to arrange some of Schubert's pieces for piano duet and this recording embraces three such arrangements plus the 'Friendship' Rondo, D 608, an original Schubert piece for two pianos, composed in honour of his great and dedicated friend.

The Goldstone and Clemmow duo, married since 1989, have etched a name for themselves in such repertoire, and these interpretations are as absorbing and entertaining as the arrangements themselves. While always highlighting the romantic streak of these works, they unfailingly bring to the fore both Schubert's and Gahy's flair for structure and melody.

-- Gerald Fenech, www.classical.net

Includes suite(s) by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Classical Music

Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 - Sonata for 2 Violin

Includes work(s) by various composers, Henry Thacker Burleigh, Henry Holden Huss. Soloists: Rachel Barton Pine, Matthew Hagle.

William Byrd's music in a unique recording on the Leversidge virginals of 1670 which was made in the Hill Music Room in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. The music is all taken from 'My Ladye nevells Booke' of 1591.