For the last 25 years of his life Antonio Soler occupied the distinguished positions of maestro di capilla and organist at the Escorial palace. He wrote around 150 keyboard sonatas, which remain his best-known achievement, a body of music that reveals the subtle influence of Domenico Scarlatti on the Catalan composer, as well as prevailing Viennese trends. Volume eight of the complete sonatas shows Soler’s cultivation of expressive melancholy in No. 77 in F sharp minor, a virtuosic use of the full range of the keyboard in No. 85 in F sharp minor and characteristically vibrant Spanish motifs in No. 86 in D major. Soo-Jung Ann has had great success at international piano competitions, receiving first prize at the International Telekom Beethoven Competition in Bonn in 2013, the Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Prize of the Piano Academy in Eppan in 2013, and first prize at the Maria Canals International Music Competition. She has performed widely and appeared as a concerto soloist with the finest orchestras of Europe.

In 1757 the young Catalan composer Antonio Soler was appointed to a distinguished position at the Escorial, the palace of the Spanish Court. The keyboard sonatas he wrote there, many specifically for the son of King Carlos III, Don Gabriel, constitute his best known achievement as a composer. The Sonatas heard on this fifth volume once again reflect the influence of Domenico Scarlatti and the latest central European models but Sonata No. 57 also draws inspiration from Spanish folk music while Sonata No. 61 ends with use of the Scotch snap rhythm.

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Antonio Soler's training as a chorister, organist and composer equipped the young Catalan for the prestigious position of maestro di capilla at the Escorial palace. Here he was strongly influenced by domenico Scarlatti in his writing o fkeyboard sonatas for the young prince Don Gabriel, son of Carlos III. The inventive and ingenious works heard in this volume of the complete set of sonatas reveal his command of the medium, from the fugal brilliance of No. 67 in D major and the virtuoso elements of No. 69 in F major to the delightfully Spanish flavor encountered in No. 74 in D major.

The fourth installment in Naxos’ Soler keyboard sonata cycle introduces 25-year-old pianist Mateusz Borowiak, who has begun to make a name for himself on the competition and European festival circuit. While his playing is sensitive and stylish with regard to ornaments and phrasing, Borowiak is not afraid to exploit the modern concert grand’s dynamic range and potential for tone color. Listen, for example, to the effective crescendos and sudden contrasts in the C minor No. 48’s introductory measures, to the cross-rhythmic accents that punctuate the G major No. 45’s broken octaves, or to the shaded precision of the C major No. 50’s two-handed unison passages. Sample the A major No. 53’s differentiated detached and sustained articulation, not to mention those impressively calibrated trills. The intimate yet full bodied sonics are remarkably lifelike, as if Borowiak is working his magic just a few feet away from you. In short, this disc, along with numerous live performances posted on YouTube, clearly positions Borowiak as a piano talent to keep on your radar.

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Antonio Soler’s eminent position at the eighteenth-century Spanish court led to a series of important works, both sacred and secular. Of them, the best known are his keyboard sonatas, many of which were written for the young prince, Don Gabriel, son of Carlos III. The sonatas manage to absorb the influence of Domenico Scarlatti but also exude the prevailing modernist trends of Vienna. Some are designed in pairs, and many employ subtle echo effects, syncopation and exciting, athletic leaps that show his delight in repetition and contrast. This is Volume 3 of the complete Soler Keyboard Sonatas.

This collection completes the 27 sonatas by Padre Antonio Soler which make up his contribution to the Fitzwilliam manuscript. Nos 1–15 are available on Naxos 8.572515. These bipartite sonatas contain prime examples of Soler’s theories of modulation, from elegant “slow” passing between notes to “agitated” extremes of contrast. The result is constant surprise, both in spectacular technique and expressive depth. Award-winning pianist Vestard Shimkus has been described as “a phenomenon” (conductor Paavo Järvi), “superb” (American Record Guide) and “inspired” (BBC.co.uk website).

Soler was music master to the princes of Bourbon in El Escorial, the palace of the King of Spain. It’s probable that most of his keyboard sonatas were written for Prince Gabriel and these essentially private works—around 150 have survived—bear comparison with the works of Domenico Scarlatti and C.P.E. Bach. Soler was fond of dance rhythms and guitar imitations, as well as infectious and delightful modulations. These fifteen sonatas are heard here in the order proposed by Rubio’s catalogue. Pianist Martina Filjak—“brilliance, sensitivity and imagination” (New York Times)—is a much admired international artist.

The symphonic poems Smetana wrote during his stay in Sweden were composed during a pivotal time in his life. Financial prospects at first seemed better in Gothenberg than in his native country, while the dual influences of Berlioz and Liszt were informing the direction of his music. Richard III is not a programmatic drama, but focuses instead on the haunting scene before the Battle of Bosworth in Shakespeare’s play. Wallenstein’s Camp is symphonically structured, while Hakon Jarl dramatizes the life of the tyrannical Viking warrior with memorable flair. The Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra was established in 1949 by the esteemed conductors Vaclav Talich and L’udovit Rajter. Since then, the orchestra has performed under the batons of some of the world’s greatest conductors. The Slovak Philharmonic has made numerous recordings and has toured extensively throughout the world.

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REVIEW:

Aside from Ma Vlast, these are the best of Smetana’s orchestral pieces (though you might also want to toss the Festive Overture in there as well). Svárovsky is a fine conductor who works hard to shape and pace the music his own way; for those who like a more elegant line, he is clearly a good choice.


– Art Music Lounge

SMETANA / SUK / NOVAK: Piano Trios

Smetana: String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2

SLAVONIC FESTIVAL

Camillo Sivori was Paganini’s only acknowledged pupil, and a musician in his master’s mould, a virtuoso of incredible brilliance. He was also a composer of distinction. His Caprice-Studies are superbly realised examples of grace, lyricism and exceptional digital difficulty drawing on the resources of a prodigious technique. La Génoise consists of a theme and seven variations with violin and piano equal partners in a breathtaking display of brio and bravura. Folies espagnoles is a descriptive marvel, a parade of narrative ‘engravings’ that summon up Spanish sights and sounds.

SINDING Prélude, op. 43/3. Romance, op. 100. Abendlied, op. 89/3. Rustle of Spring for Piano Solo. Romance, op. 30. Sonate im alten Stil, op. 99. Elegy, op. 61/2. Ballade, op. 61/3. Abendstimmung, op. 120a • Paul Kraggerud (vn); Christian Ihle Hadland (pn) • NAXOS 8.572255 (58: 23)


The second volume of Christian Sinding’s music for violin and piano (including his famous piano solo, “Rustle of Spring”) includes short pieces, somewhat longer ones like the Romance, op. 100, the Ballade, and Abendstimmung , as well as the more complex—and paradoxically forward-looking—five-movement Sonate im alten Stil . As did the first volume (Naxos 8.572254), this one offers committed, idiomatic performances that can be recommended with equal warmth. As before, as well, Kraggerud plays a 1744 Guarneri del Gesù lent to him by Dextra Musica AS, drawing from it here a tone chastely pure in the upper registers and lush in the lower ones. The Romance, op. 100, offers possibilities for more than routine expressivity, and he takes advantage of them just as effectively as he does the more skittish playfulness of pieces like Abendlied . “Rustle of Spring,” a popular piano solo made a comical appearance as a piano-roll solo in the movie of Meredith Willson’s Music Man . Hadland plays it with the sense of importance he might have accorded a Beethoven Sonata. The brief Romance, op. 30, traverses a varied emotional landscape during its just less than five-minute duration. The Sonata consists of five movements of varied affect that often return, as in the first movement, Marcato, to Sinding’s basic lyrical Romanticism. The second movement, Andante doloroso, sets a pining melody over poignant harmonies, and offers the duo ample opportunities for sensitive cantabile, of which both Kraggerud and Hadland take ample advantage. A playful Menuetto gives way to a movement of which the notes and the blurb on the back of the jewel case make a great deal, with a main section in 7/4 that returns after an intermezzo in 5/4, passages that sound more experimental on paper than they do unusual or waddlingly duck-like in performance. The Sonata ends with a move from skittish scherzando to authoritative declamation. (Dora Bratchkova and Andreas Meyer-Hermann played the Sonate im alten Stil , op. 99, as well as the Violin Sonata in F Major, the Romance, op. 9, and Scènes de la vie , op. 51, on cpo 999 931, 28:6. Bratchkova’s tempos seem almost ponderous by comparison in the fast movements, and in the Andante doloroso, the extra time she takes for meditation doesn’t confer any extra expressivity—if anything, Kraggerud’s reading’s more allusive). The three-minute length belies the serious statement the Elegy makes in this performance, and the duo sends its companion Ballade aloft with expressive urgency. Abendstimmung , according to the notes, Sinding’s last work for violin and piano, incorporates slightly impressionistic harmonies and melodic patterns, but remains generally within Sinding’s familiar melodic range.


If this recital’s a labor of love for Kraggerud and Hadland, their enthusiasm and devotion seep through the staves and bar lines and Naxos’s clean recorded sound adds a dollop of whipped cream. Those who enjoyed the duo’s first volume of Sinding, cited above, should find this one equally satisfying. Warmly recommended.


FANFARE: Robert Maxham

Recording information: Old Frederikstad Church, Fredrikstad, Norway (11/20/2006-11/25/2006).

German-born Simon Mayr received his musical training in Italy (he's also properly known by his Italian name Giovanni Simone Mayr), and that's where he spent his career writing both operas and sacred vocal music at the cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo. One thing's clear about this composer/teacher/choir master: he knew his Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, and if you like their sacred and theatrical music, you'll enjoy this program featuring two delightful cantatas. L'Armonia, an extended (45-minute) near-opera with three scenes, characters, choruses, virtuoso arias, and well-developed recitatives, was presented on the occasion of a state visit to Bergamo in 1825 by the Emperor Franz I and his entourage. It contains all the conventions of the day to satisfy and impress an imperial audience--the references to classical poets and mythology, symbolic associations to the emperor's benevolence and wisdom (not to mention a surprise tribute to the Empress), grand choruses and florid arias glorifying the defense of the nation's and its people's ideals in battle, and textual quotations espousing the goals of harmony and peace.

But rather than being tedious and predictable, Mayr treats us to some very appealing, expertly crafted music that handily combines some dramatic and very demanding Mozartian opera-style arias--beautifully sung by all three soloists--with choruses right out of the church works of Mozart and Haydn. The pacing is swift and conductor Franz Hauk keeps his forces tightly together most of the time--some ragged instrumental ensemble and choral intonation slips are only occasionally noticeable. Mayr also cleverly uses a harp at opportune moments to add color and for symbolic reference to the Bards, which are among the cantata's "characters".

And speaking of references, if you know Beethoven, you'll have fun picking out Mayr's nifty insertions of excerpts from some of the master's works in the Cantata for the Death of Beethoven. This 15-minute piece was basically cobbled together from original material and from existing works, and again, it's a very satisfying listen marked by strong vocal writing for the soloists and stylish orchestration. Once more I do have to mention the solo singers--soprano Talia Or, tenor Altin Piriù, and bass Nikolay Borchev--all first class and very solid in some very challenging music. They have a lot to do here, and they really carry the show. A pleasant surprise!

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com