It’s not easy to make Rachmaninov’s prolix First Sonata cohere, yet not impossible. For example, Alexis Weissenberg’s gaunt tone, febrile temperament, and paragraphic sweep give shape and clarity to the work’s vast textural tundra. By contrast, Xiayin Wang often adapts a more lyrical approach and luxuriates in the keyboard writing while keeping a grip on momentum.

At first she seems to stretch out and sectionalize the right hand’s three-note phrases at bar 33 in the first movement, yet she’s simply leaning into the composer’s intentionally accented downbeats. The pianist allows inner voices and hidden melodies their songful due, even when they threaten to be obliterated by big, galumphing chords strutting in opposite directions. Her warm, sensitively voiced Lento shines among this movement’s finest recorded versions, notwithstanding Weissenberg’s more effectively translucent soft passages. While Wang clearly articulates the third movement’s complex thematic interactions (complete with its Dies irae quote), some of the obsessive dotted rhythms and driving climaxes bog down instead of being swept away.

Three Op. 23 Preludes provide an entr’acte. I understand the expressive intent behind Wang’s dynamic hairpins and tiny accelerations in No. 4, yet they wind up tangling up textural balances and cause the melodic thread to veer on and off a steady, floating course. Conversely, No. 5’s march motive truly swaggers, while Wang projects the Trio’s dynamic surges and famous countermelody with full-bodied presence. All the more surprising that she holds back in No. 6, which lacks the expansive dynamism and long line of Vladimir Ashkenazy’s reference recording.

I suspect that Wang has lived longer with the Second Sonata (heard here in the composer’s 1931 revision), for she knocks it out of the park. Wang keeps significant thematic matter, harmonic felicities, and magic transitional moments (such as the slow movement’s recollection of the opening movement’s first theme) in clear focus. At the same time she takes virtuosic flourishes, scintillating runs, and other decorative patterns out for a proverbial joyride, unpredictably speeding up and slowing down, yet maintaining continuity, flow, and excitement without a trace of vulgarity. Well, maybe a trace. But who cares? In short, a disc that gets off to a promising, searching start, and ends with a decisive knockout.

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Fabulous playing from a pair of completely on-form pianists, which lends The Rite of Spring’s rhythmic themes a quite thrilling intensity.

– Gramophone [8/2015]

Nicknamed ‘the poet of the piano,’ Nelson Goerner has an impressive discography, including his recent multi-award-winning Chopin and Debussy CDs. For this disc, Goerner tackles Beethoven’s Sonata No. 29 ‘Hammerklavier’, and his Bagatelles Op. 126. Of his Hammerklavier, the great composer said, “Here is a sonata that will make pianists work hard.” Goerner rises to this challenge beautifully, playing the forty-five minute work with passion and emotion.

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REVIEWS:

Goerner’s Hammerklavier is about flight, variety of shapes, sounds, ideas and precision of communication. Phrases are imbued with life and meaning but, equally importantly, they are separated by breath, lending them intelligibility. If ever there were an effortless Hammerklavier finale, this is it.

– Gramophone

The Hammerklavier has received several amazing recordings in recent years, and Nelson Goerner’s is one of them. It is also a highly individual though never quirky account.

– BBC Music Magazine

These keyboard pieces are just so agreeably written, the notes falling so easily under the fingers, the lines flowing so naturally, the melodies and harmonies so, well, Handelian, who wouldn’t love to play them–or hear them? And because of this it doesn’t seem to matter which competent pianist (and the piano is really the way to go here) does the honors–however, Philip Edward Fisher is an especially accomplished interpreter and more than able advocate for pieces that inexplicably don’t get the respect they deserve.

For some reason it’s been five years since the release of Fisher’s Volume 1 traversal of the first four of the eight suites known as “the eight great”, which colleague Jed Distler described as “an absorbing listen” and “provocative” and “inspired”. The same descriptors hold true here, driven by Fisher’s straightforward, discreetly ornamented, and clearly articulated interpretations of some of Handel’s most ingratiating and memorable keyboard inventions–including the famous E major suite No. 5 that concludes with a remarkable variations movement known today (but never titled by Handel) as “The Harmonious Blacksmith” (do yourself a favor and listen to the Swingle Singers’ faithful and very exciting version).

My long-time favorite recording of Handel keyboard suites–a selection that includes several of the “eight great” pieces–features Keith Jarrett (ECM) in somewhat more sharply articulated interpretations in a dryer, more close-up acoustic. I’m still a fan of those–Jarrett is a cool, capable master of the clear, simple, unadorned expression that defines one approach to these pieces, but Fisher employs just that slight bit of lyricism–more legato in this movement, a tiny bit of rubato there, a dynamic swell or fade in this or that phrase–that transforms these works from clever inventions to more deeply involving, affective performance pieces.

Fisher gives us big drama in movements such as the Prélude and Largo of the F-sharp minor Suite, makes it impossible not to join the dance in the concluding Gigue of the F minor, and makes us want to linger even longer over the gentle, mellifluous, caressing melodies and ingratiating harmonies of the Allemandes from the E major and F minor Suites. It all adds up to an hour of easy, happy listening–whether your interest is foreground or background. And the sound, from Symphony Hall in Birmingham, UK, gives Fisher’s Steinway plenty of space while allowing the listener to hear every detail. Strongly recommended.

-- David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

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This debut solo release from Xenia Pestova follows on the heels of her piano duo recordings of seminal works by Stockhausen and Cage for Naxos Records, and brings together six carefully crafted new works for keyboard instruments and electronics in an intricate and seductive blend of unusual sonorities and shimmering hues. Far from being 'effects' or tools for processing instrumental sound, the electronic identities blend and interact with the acoustic sounds in the same way that complex technologies extend our minds in daily life, becoming transparent and inseparable from ourselves. This project is also a collaboration with photographer and visual artist Veronika von Volkova, whose sensual, dark and dreamlike images are featured on the CD and it's companion book of photography, available directly from the artist.

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

“Some pianists seem to have been born to play Beethoven. Mari Kodama has the tools, as well as the inclination, needed to interpret this composer: a well-centered, beautiful tone, a love of the full range of keyboard colors, and a sensitivity to distinctions in rhythm both great and subtle." -- Audiophile Audition

Jordanian pianist Karim Said, the acclaimed 24 year-old Jordanian pianist now based in the UK, surveys the extraordinary period of musical innovation that characterized the final years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Six key musical personalities are explored, reflecting the dramatic social and artistic changes that saw late Romanticism evolve into the contrasting facets of modernism and nationalism that came to dominate the new century. Mr. Said was the subject of a Christopher Nupen BBC film in 2008. ‘a wonderful and highly interesting program’ (Daniel Barenboim)

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Along with Petrali, Davide di Bergamo and Fumagalli, Giovanni Morandi was one of the most influential organ composers of the 18th century. During his time as Master of Music at the cathedral of Senigallia, he wrote a great deal of liturgical works for organ. Morandi’s organ pieces feature brilliant melodies, pianistic writing, and sonic effects which mirrored the Italian opera world that was thriving around Morandi. This particular recording is made on an organ built by Gaetano Callido for the Paris church of SS Simon and Thaddeus in Borca di Cadore, as well as on an 1830 organ built by Antonio and Angelo Amati. Full organ specifications are included in the booklet.

One of the most important and prolific composers of the latter half of the 20th century, Hans Werner Henze wrote for guitar often, enjoying the evocative potential of the instrument and painting a diverse array of emotions and atmospheres in his compositions. The two Sonatas on Shakespearean Characters, featured on this album, portrays the timeless characters like Lady Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, and Ariel, personifying these characters with new and dramatic expression. Andrea Dieci is “a true star of the classical guitar.” (Corriere della sera). His previous recordings include Jappelli’s complete works, and guitar compositions by Piazzolla.

Spanish and French Guitar Music from Paris is a fascinating program concept evoking the unique atmosphere of Paris at the beginning of the 20th century. Izhar Elias draws captivating sounds and colours from his guitar. Elias won the coveted Dutch Music prize in 2010 and has since made a number of critically acclaimed recordings.

Chisholm: Music for Piano, Vol. 7

Organ 4-hand arrangements of two exceedingly popular orchestral works performed by Emanuele Cardi & Gianfranco Nicoletti. A demonstration recording for the recently built (2011) Mascioni organ, Church of Santi Cosma e Damiano in Vairano Scalo, Italy Booklet contains liner notes and information about the organ specifications.

• Lutenist Axel Wolf's fourth Oehms release

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MYSTERY VARIATIONS ON GIUSEPPE COLOMBI’S CHIACONA • Anssi Karttunen (vc) • TOCCATA 0171 (79:57)


COLOMBI Chiacona. KAIPAINEN Anything Goes. MATALON Polvo. REYNOLDS Colombi Daydream. COHEN Chaconne. TIENSUU Bleuelein. STUCKY Partite Sopra un Basso. SALONEN Sarabande per un Coyote. CAMPION Something to Go On. WALLIN Ciacconetta. ORTIZ Paloma. HEININEN Triple Antienne. HILLBORG Still and Flow. LERDAHL There and Back Again. PUUMALA Se Sillan. DUSAPIN 50 Notes in 3 Variations . HAKOLA Colombi Variation. DUN Chiacona After Colombi. NEIKRUG Tiny Colombi. YUASA Locus on Colombi’s Chiacona. WIGGLESWORTH Arietta. MATTHEWS Drammatico. SAARIAHO Dreaming Chaconne. FEDELE Preludio and Ciaccona. GLOBOKAR Idée Fixe. DAZZI Variation Sombre et Libre d’après Chiacona. TUOMELA Idulla. JOLAS A Fancy for Anssi. SRNKA A Variation. FRANCESCONI Anssimetry. LINDBERG Duello


Mystery Variations contains 30 different short works based on Giuseppe Colombi’s Chiacona. Colombi who lived from 1635 to 1694 replaced Giovanni Bononcini as maestro di cappella of the Modena Cathedral in Italy in 1678. The Chiacona is only one of an enormous number of pieces he wrote for various instruments, chamber groups, and orchestras. It is, however, said to be the oldest piece written for the cello. The music is part of a collection from the court of Francesco II of Este at the Biblioteca Estense in Modena. The idea for the Mystery Variations came from composer Kaija Saariaho and Muriel von Braun, the wife of cellist Anssi Karttunen, as a means of celebrating the cellist’s 50th birthday. They asked each of 30 composers to write a variation on the Chiacona . None of the composers knew who else had been asked and Karttunen promised to premiere music that he had not yet heard. Most of the variations range from just under two to just over three minutes long, so all of them fit on one disc. Few of these variations are truly melodic, most depend on texture, drama, percussion, and tonal color to excite the senses of the listener. Only one of the composers, Colin Matthews, uses electronics. Mark Neikrug and Magnus Lindberg use the letters of the cellist’s name as part of their variations. Some composers, such as Tan Dun, who was born in China and Pablo Ortiz from Argentina, make use of their native cultures while others, like Argentinian Martin Matalon and Texan Edmund Campion turn elsewhere. Matalon creates novel textures and far off sounds with a mute while Campion includes some aspects of Happy Birthday in his variation. Roger Reynolds’s Colombi Daydream , evokes an element of foreboding, while Jukka Tiensuu’s Bleuelein and Paavo Heininen’s Triple Antienne have plaintive, pleading qualities.


Composers like Steven Stucky, Kimmo Hakola, Joji Yuasa, Ivan Fedele, and Magnus Lindberg are fully aware of Karttunen’s virtuosity and have written works that show off some of his skills. Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Sarabande for a Coyote starts with the cello sounding a bit like a harp, before introducing some charming harmonies that expand the usual cello range. Rolf Wallin’s Ciacconetta has sliding arpeggios that resolve into an impressive dance. Lerdahl’s There and Back Again uses the dance to guide us from Colombi’s time forward to our own and back again. Anders Hillborg’s Still and Flow treats us to his seriously studied version of Bach. The in-your-face style of Veli-Mali Puumala’s… Se Sillan… is rather unique and it added a bit of spice to the mixture on this disc. Kartunnen follows it with Dusapin’s 50 Notes in 3 Variations, an inventive and intuitive work that resolves into a tone color-filled meditation. Also in the meditative mood, Ryan Wigglesworth’s Arietta offers more respite from the dramatic. Kaija Saariaho’s Dreaming Chaconne portrays a pastoral scene with her full-blooded sound vocabulary. In Idée Fixe, Vinko Globokar asks the cellist to sing and I found it a distraction. Gualtiero Dazzi’s Variation Sombre et Libre d’après Chiacona brings us a sweet and smooth melody played in the cello’s lowest notes. Idulla means germinating and Tapio Tuomela brings us a fantasy that includes tonal color and percussion. Betsy Jolas’s A Fancy for Anssi creates rivers of sound that broaden out to reflect fragments of Colombi’s theme. Miroslav Srnka, on the other hand, uses slides and double-stops to make us hunt for the theme while Luca Francesconi makes use of it openly but varies it in unexpected ways. The finale is Magnus Lindberg’s Duello , a dialogue between the Chiacona and music based on the cellist’s full name. It ends with a pleasing melody that leaves the listener feeling that the music was worthwhile hearing. The sound on this disc is excellent and I think many of our readers will find it interesting.


FANFARE: Maria Nockin

Ján Cikker (1911–89) was one of the leading 20th c. Slovak composers, credited with no fewer than nine operas. This disc features several first recordings of his piano music, of which little is known even in his native Slovakia. The music sits downstream from Szymanowski and Janáček, like them blending folk influences with French impressionism echoes. As also with Szymanowski, some of the pieces evoke the composer’s fondness for the Tatras, the mountainous borderland between Poland and Slovakia.

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LE BEAU 3 Klavierstücke. Original Theme with Variations . Sonata. 8 Preludes. Improvisata . Gavotte. Ballade. 3 Old Dances. Deutscher Reigen. Trauermarsch. Klavierstücke . Barcarole. Abendklaänge • Ana-Marija Markovina (pn) • GENUIN 10177 (79:48)


We often mourn the great music we have missed because of a handful of composers that died prematurely (Mozart, Schubert) or before a major breakthrough (Wagner). A far greater tragedy was the de facto removal of women from the compositional profession for most of the history of Western music, a state of affairs that has improved radically in recent decades.


Luise Adolphe Le Beau may seem like a mere historical footnote for those not familiar with her music (that included me until recently), but if this disc is any indication, this is one composer whose reappraisal is not happening quickly enough. She wrote in most of the major genres of the day, but not surprisingly it is her piano and chamber works that are getting the first modern glances. More often than not I’m skeptical about these revivals, but this fine recording by Marija Markovina of Le Beau’s complete piano works should spark renewed interest.


Biographical information isn’t easy to come by for the German composer, even with notes that are otherwise substantial. Her primary fame seemed to spring from her concertizing, though her compositions did make a minor splash with other composers of the day (Clara Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, and critic Hanslick) and in at least one contest. The demands on the pianist are significant, though by no means on the same level of virtuosity of Liszt or even Brahms. Some of these bear the hallmarks of parlor pieces, but others are substantial enough to take pride of place on a concert stage. The Improvisata has more meat than the name might imply, with a suggestion of a barcarolle in the rolling melody in triplets. The Ballade has some Chopin in its DNA, but there are also touches of Schumann and Brahms here as well as in most of the other works. The central tune is a thing of beauty, and the bravura final pages are stirring.


Her gift for spinning simple and memorable tunes is nowhere more apparent than in the sweetly pastoral Three Old Dances . The most extended work, Original Theme with Variations, dates from her early years, but the skills seem already fully developed. Here the mark of Schumann is most pronounced, with concentrated, inventive variations that reach well beyond the clichés of the Classical or early Romantic era.


I don’t often highly recommend obscure works beyond a pool of dedicated specialists. Here is a happy exception, a generous helping of engaging piano works performed in captivating style by a perceptive pianist. As a bonus for the collector, this is one recording that is sure to stump any competitors in a game of “guess that composer.”


FANFARE: Michael Cameron

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Hungarian composer Ernst von Dohnanyi was also an accomplished pianist. This new release features his works for piano, including his Passacaglia, Op. 6, Four Rhapsodies, and Three Singular Pieces. Accomplished pianist Daniel Rohm has won multiple prizes at international competitions, including the Mozart Foundation of Stuttgart and the Richard Wagner Society.