International chess virtuoso François-André Danican Philidor’s fortunes as a musician at the court of Versailles were transformed when he turned his attention to the new genre of opéra-comique. Sancho Pança, gouverneur dans l’isle de Barataria derives from Cervantes’s famous novel Don Quijote, covering Sancho Panza’s adventures as governor of a fictitious island on which a succession of characters plot to cure him of his delusions of grandeur. Opera Lafayette’s production of this comedy revue is a ‘sparkle of shining surfaces’. (Washington Post)

The first performances of Les Femmes Vengées (The Avenged Women) in 1775 restored the fortunes of Francois-André Danican Philidor, which had been wavering since the great success of Tom Jones a decade earlier. His opéra-comique, which foreshadows the plot of Mozart’s Così fan tutte (Mozart had been in Paris during the first performances of Philidor’s work), offers delicious opportunities for mock-indignation and repartee in its arias and ensembles. This recording presents the complete music. Opera Lafayette and Ryan Brown’s recording of Philidor’s Sancho Pança [8.660274] was hailed as a ‘witty, authentic interpretation’ by the American Record Guide.

The musical expression of German Romanticism is the theme of this disc. The trajectory of Schumann’s Konzertstück, Op 86, written for four horns and orchestra, goes from heroism to introspection. Two of his Symphonic Etudes, Op 13, were orchestrated by no less a figure than Tchaikovsky, while Albert Parlow orchestrated four of Brahms’ most exciting Hungarian Dances. Mendelsssohn’s Overture to his Ballad Opera Die Heimkehr aus der Fremde (Song and Stranger) embodies classical virtues. Anton Webern’s Langsamer Satz for string quartet has been vibrantly orchestrated by Gerard Schwarz. Hans Pfitzner, one of the last representatives of the movement, is represented by his concise, melodic Symphony in C major.

This second volume of Pfitzner’s Complete Lieder covers the period between 1884 and 1916 and shows why he was considered such a key figure among composers of his generation. A central theme of the songs is the archetypical Romantic focus on the portrayal of nature as a reflection of human feelings. The youthful and enduringly popular Ist der Himmel darum im Lenz so blau (Is the sky so blue in the spring) reflects his greatest qualities as a song composer- a memorable tune and rich, flowing harmonies. Favoring the bold use of color, Pfitner’s songs are characterized by a lively, pulsing rhythm and sweeping, ecstatic melodies. Tenor Colin Balzer has sung acclaimed recitals in London, New York, and Philadelphia, and concerts with the Portland, New Jersey, Toronto, Quebec, Atlanta, Montreal, and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestras as well as other notable ensembles across North America. Most notably in his career, Balzer earned the Gold Medal at the Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau with the highest score in 25 years.

Petrassi’s long creative life was marked by ceaseless absorption of ideas and by constant invention. His Flute Concerto is notable for its boldness of design and the surprise of its unorthodox sound world, where instruments rotate in block form. The Piano Concerto is more overtly virtuosic, even showing some influence from Prokofiev. The orchestral suite drawn from the ballet La follia di Orlando (The Madness of Orlando) is often clothed in Petrassi’s experimental orchestral sonorities. ‘The rehabilitation of Italian twentieth-century music by the Naxos label continues unabated: the latest release is this remarkable collection…that any genuine Petrassian will rush to purchase’. (International Record Review on 8.572411)

The unifying thread that binds these three works is not simply the composers’ Italian birth, but their early musical maturity. Petrassi became, with Dallapiccola, one of his country’s most outstanding 20th-century musicians. His broadly neo-Classical Preludio, Aria e Finale, composed when he was twenty-nine, embraces a wide range of emotions, from intense lyricism to desolate introspection. Francesco Cilea’s exuberant and melodic Cello Sonata is the work of a talented 22-year-old on the brink of establishing his reputation in the operatic world, while the very approachable Sonata of the gifted Sandro Fuga is suffused with elegance and serenity.

•Collins Classic reissue of Maxwell Davies' chamber opera based on the disappearance of three lighthouse keepers from the Flannan Isles Lighthouse, Orkney Islands, in unexplained circumstances in 1900.

Listen to the Naxos Podcast to learn more about this release

The contribution of the American composer, teaching and pianist Vincent Persichetti to the harpsichord repertoire is unique among 20th century composers. He wrote a diverse selection of music, including an opera and nine symphonies, while his substantial output for harpsichord offers a vivid and rich variety of expression. The ingenious contrapuntal writing alludes to baroque ornamentation while remaining firmly rooted in the contemporary idiom. Lyrical passages and technical brilliance abound vitality and inventiveness.

Craig Morris has transcribed four major works for trumpet and piano in this voyage of sonic discovery, reclothing them in new textures and colors.

The 18th century French writer, Charles de Brosses described Pergolesi' Stabat Mater, completed as the composer lay dying, as 'the master work of Latin music'.

PENNY MERRIMENTS: Street Songs of 17th Century England

Penderecki composed his first violin sonata at age 20, a work in three compact movements lasting seven and a half minutes and strongly influenced by Shostakovich's spiky, acerbic wit. The three Miniatures evoke Webern's "pocket music" language and time scale, but without the Viennese master's fierce commitment to each note and silence alike. Nearly 50 years later, Penderecki's second violin sonata revisits his Shostakovich roots in more ways than one (its five-movement arch form, for instance), yet with plenty of room for the Polish composer to exercise the rhapsodic abandon that typifies the climactic moments of his concerted and choral works. This is particularly true of the 13-minute adagio that serves as the sonata's structural and emotional centerpiece. Lastly, the solo cadenza Penderecki added to his viola concerto is effectively recast for violin.


Violinist Ida Bieler's dynamic and impassioned interpretations ooze accomplishment and commitment in every bar, to say nothing of pianist Nina Tichman's robust tone and ability to sustain long lines in continuous arcs (the first sonata's Andante is a case in point). Naxos' excellent engineering, moreover, effects balances between instruments in the first sonata superior to CPO's recording, where the violin is prominent to a fault (although the latter's finale benefits from slightly faster tempos and from violinist Hans Kalafusz's more fanciful inflections). For this premiere recording of the second sonata Bieler and Tichman set high standards that future interpreters will have to work hard to match. Fine booklet notes by Richard Whitehouse add to my enthusiastic recommendation. [5/21/2004]
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Recording information: Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall, Poland (09/24/2008-09/27/2008); Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall, Poland (09/30/2008); Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall, Poland (12/03/2008-12/04/2008).

Recording information: Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, Poland.

Penderecki deserves a great deal of credit for turning his back on the avant-garde of the 1960s and '70s, recognizing much of it for the music dead-end that it has turned out to be. His "return to Romanticism" was prophetic, but at the same time we must remember that there really are only two kinds of music: good and bad, and the fact that some music might be more conventionally listenable doesn't make it inherently better. On the whole, Penderecki always has been a very talented composer, deeply concerned with serious expressive issues, but this hasn't prevented some of his neo-Romantic works from sounding relentlessly heavy, grey, and dull, nor does his change of style diminish the sonic thrill of his earlier, more radical pieces. He did excellent work in all periods, as you can plainly hear on this marvelous new release.

The Eighth Symphony, "Songs of Evanescence", actually is a cycle of 12 German poems by the likes of Rilke, Goethe, Eichendorf, and Hesse. Far from being uniformly grim, the texts (available on Naxos' website) speak of the cycle of life, death, and renewal in a manner not too dissimilar from Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde (save that the entire work lasts scarcely longer than Mahler's last song, "The Farewell"). The music is beautiful: lyrically melodic, sumptuously scored, and highly varied, with harmony that ranges from the sweetly diatonic to ferociously dissonant, everywhere responsive to the text. This piece, which requires solo soprano, mezzo, baritone, and full chorus, must rank among Penderecki's finest recent creations, and I easily could see it becoming a repertory item.

Dies Irae, dating from 1967, is a work of Penderecki's radical phase. As the title suggests, it's a dark, menacing, but sonically enthralling piece that forces both vocal and orchestral forces to make some of the most hair-raising sounds in Western music. It's interesting how with the passage of time much of the music's perceived difficulty has evaporated, leaving behind a raw-nerved, expressionistic intensity that's quite special and all the more moving for being very much of its time and place (aren't all classics?). The brief Psalms of David, from the late 1950s, helped to establish Penderecki's credentials as a major composer. The percussive last movement might strike today's listeners as almost Latin-sounding, though of course the harmonic language is more acerbic, but the music exudes the freshness of a powerful new voice on its first flights of fancy.

Antoni Wit's Naxos recordings, particularly those of contemporary music, have been almost uniformly splendid, and this one is no exception. He summons terrific playing from the orchestra, has a brilliant and enthusiastic choir at his disposal, and has assembled a very impressive team of soloists, especially soprano Michaela Kaune, baritone Wojtek Drabowicz, and tenor Richard Minkiewicz. Singing this stuff isn't easy, but they make it seem so. The sonics capture the music's massive climaxes as well as its more ethereal moments in natural balance, and with plenty of head room. In short, this disc makes an ideal introduction to Penderecki's art, and to his vocal music in particular. It covers his entire creative life thus far, and offers compelling evidence of just how fine a composer he was, and remains.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com