Ligeti, G.: Etudes, Books 1 and 2

Rubinstein: Symphony No. 4, 'Dramatic'

MARK ISAACS QUINTET: Closer

RAWSTHORNE: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2

Listen to the piano turn into a bumblebee, a donkey, trolls, a bird, a horse and a butterfly! Sometimes it isn't anything except a piano, but the music coming out of it is exciting and beautiful.

Jia Daqun is one of his country’s most internationally admired composers, whose Flavor of Bashu was named Chinese Classic Musical Composition of the 20th century by the Chinese government. The evocative percussion works here exemplify his ability to combine a variety of musical cultures and instruments in a single work. In Pole this is achieved through the fusing of Chinese traditional percussive instruments and those from the West, whilst in The Song without Words a panoply of vivid instrumentation celebrates the quarter-century of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. Jia draws on elegant folk customs and uses evocative native instruments such as gongs, ban-drum and muyus (Chinese temple block) in the exotic Sound Games.

This programme is probably catchy enough to get the young listener off to an enthusiastic start.

This is one of a batch of CDs in the Naxos 'My First Album' series which founder Klaus Heymann declares "one of our most important projects with music for children". Each comrpises around 15 to 25 pieces of music selected as a gentle but inspiring introduction to the subject matter: in this case the violin repertory. Other volumes showcase Tchaikovsky, the lullaby, ballet, ‘classical music’ and so on. Virtually all the music consists of single movements drawn from larger works, with the average timing here just under the five-minute mark.
 
The CD booklets are attractively designed with youngsters in mind, with a fairy-tale-style pencil/pastel drawing on the cover and many smaller colourful ones on every page - violins feature prominently in this volume. Inside, after a brief introduction to the subject - "The violin is one of the most popular instruments the world over" and so on - each item on the disc is allotted a 'Keyword', ranging from the obvious to the odd, such as 'Thrilling', 'Dance', 'Goblins', 'Film' and 'Sting', and there follows a descriptive/explanatory paragraph, in straightforward language that should be intelligible to children as young as five or six, and unpatronising up to about ten or eleven. The texts enlarge on some of the things going on in the music, either as heard in the instruments or, if the work is programmatic, in the story itself, generally with a mention of the mood of the piece and usually alerting the child to some detail or other.
 
The blurb states that the booklet "is full of information on every piece of music", but that is a bit of an exaggeration. For a start, only the composer's surname is given in the main text, whereas first names - likely to be of interest to younger children - and dates of birth and death are relegated to the small print at the back of the booklet. Unfortunately, there is not even the most cursory of biographical note on any of the composers - this seems an odd omission when the texts talk freely about them as if they were old friends to the reader. Such detail is certainly more relevant than the titles in their original languages, such as 'Danza Española' or 'Souvenir d'un Lieu Cher' - only some of which have in any case been supplied.
 
For an important project, there is some surprising inconsistency or rashness in the language used in the notes. It is no good a child knowing that "Carmen is the world's most famous opera" or that a cor anglais "sounds like a dark oboe" if (s)he has no idea what an opera is or an oboe sounds like. "Can you hear the birds fluttering on the violin?" is likely to be understood literally by younger children. To describe the cimbalom as an instrument that "sounds a bit like a very old piano" is facile. The remark that "Schindler's List [...] is about the story of the Jews in World War II" is crass, inaccurate and semi-literate. As for that film's title theme - "incredibly sad music"? Nostalgic, touching, introspective - but surely not "incredibly sad", except perhaps for those who have seen the film.
 
The back of the booklet is the place to go for details of performers, rightly judged this time to be of little importance to nascent listeners, but a necessary reference for parents wishing to delve further into the music, whether on their child's behalf or perhaps - why not - for themselves. Yet the recordings drawn on for these compilations are not really the best ones to look out for, nor even the cheapest anymore. For the first batch of discs at least Naxos have drawn widely on their back catalogue bargain basement, meaning that performances tend to be rarely more than fair-to-middling, whilst the recordings themselves, some over twenty years old, can show their age in their thin or tinny quality, always most noticeable in the orchestral tracks.
 
That said, this CD is the best of the bunch so far - most of the performances are perfectly serviceable and the chamber recordings, of which there are many on this album, sound decidedly less lossy. Moreover, it is also true that the intended audiences are neither hardcore audiophiles nor zealous collectors but ordinary children, who will probably not notice anyway! Still, there seems no obvious reason why Naxos did not use newer, better recordings across the board.

Asking a six-year-old to sit through seventy-five minutes of any music is a tall order. Even a few minutes of less immediate material might induce premature boredom, in which case other or at least shorter Mozart and Beethoven might have been included instead, and a different Tchaikovsky melody. In smaller servings, this programme is probably catchy enough to get the young listener off to an enthusiastic start, yet it is difficult to discount the idea that those selecting the music and writing the notes could have thought a bit harder.
 
-- Byzantion, MusicWeb International

Beethoven was a musical giant. He wasn't taller or fatter than everyone else, but his music is big and his name is important. Beethoven is like the Olympic champion of classical music.

Great Classical Masterpieces from Bestselling Recordings 1987-2012. All of these bestselling titles come from the first 10 years of the label and feature our most successful artists. Some are still recording for us, including violinist Takako Nishizaki, the co-owner of the Naxos label; Jeno Jandó, who is busy recording Bartók's piano music; Jeremy Summerly and his Oxford Camerata; and Antoni Wit whose new recordings with the Warsaw Philharmonic are among the fi nest in our catalogue. Norbert Kraft is still active as producer of the Naxos guitar series and much of our chamber music. Although he no longer records for Naxos, Stephen Gunzenhauser is still active as a conductor. Sadly, Zdenek Košler to whom we owe many great recordings with the Slovak Philharmonic passed away a few years ago. Others have retired or disappeared altogether from the musical scene. Therefore, in a way, this compilation is a tribute to all the artists who made the success of Naxos possible in the early days of the label. - Klaus Heymann [Founder of Naxos]

Includes work(s) for orch by Arthur Honegger. Ensemble: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Takuo Yuasa.

Liszt Complete Piano Music, Vol. 18: Beethoven Symphonies No

If you listen carefully to this CD, you will get to know one of the best composers in the world. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived 250 years ago but he carries on being famous-so he must have been special. He giggled a lot.

GORDON BRISKER QUINTET: My Son John

Thanks to the thorough liner notes written by Morihide Katayama, I learned from this release that Kôsçak Yamada is considered the “father” of Japanese orchestral composition—the overture (1912) and symphony (1912) are claimed to be the first such scores composed in Japan. My curiosity was whetted when I read that Yamada, born in 1886, first encountered music through exposure to military bands and Anglican hymn tunes (though his father was born into the prevailing samurai class, his mother’s family was at some point converted to Protestantism), and at age eighteen traveled to Europe to study with, among others, Max Bruch at the Berlin Musikhochschule. From this unusual background, I was hoping to discover a Japanese Charles Ives. No such luck, at least from the evidence of the earliest works here (Yamada’s compositional career continued on until his death in 1965, though a cerebral hemorrhage in 1948 apparently restricted him to small-scale songs). The brief (under four minutes) overture is, to my ears, pure Mendelssohn in melody and spirit, and the symphony, somewhat more serious in form and content, sweeps through intimations of Dvo?ák, Beethoven, and Schumann, comfortable in its old-fashioned, pastoral style, and certainly without a trace of the Sturm und Drang suggested by the title. Katayama suggests that this title may have been added after WW I began in 1914; he also posits that the conservatism of these works may be due to their being student works submitted to Yamada’s composition teacher, Karl Leopold Wolf, reflecting the staid German instruction and required mimicry of models.

Certainly, there is a profound difference in tone and intent in the two symphonic poems composed in 1913. The brooding harmonies, more colorful orchestration, occasional bombastic eruptions, and less formal constraints of The Dark Gate point to the influence of Richard Strauss, and there’s even a hint of Scriabinesque mystery. Some credit, however, should go to Yamada’s ability as a psychological scene-painter, since the music was inspired by a poem describing the anxiety felt by a group of sightless persons unable to escape from behind a large gate. Likewise, the symbolism of death and paradise in Madara No Hana finds its voice in lush, Impressionistic orchestration (including a tenor saxophone!) and outbursts that suggest a familiarity with Mussorgsky as well as Scriabin.

Interestingly, Katayama mentions that Yamada came to the US in 1918–19 and conducted the New York Symphony Orchestra (now Philharmonic) twice in Carnegie-Hall concerts of his own music. What he does not relate is that Yamada’s desire to become established as a composer/conductor in the West was, ironically, apparently hindered by his fluency in Western compositional styles; American audiences wanted something exotic, and at this time Yamada’s music lacked Japanese character. By 1921, however, Yamada composed a symphony, Inno Meiji, that combined traditional Japanese instruments with a symphony orchestra, anticipating post-WW II trends, and whatever confluence of styles he might have subsequently devised remain so-far unheard by the bulk of non-Japanese listeners. Perhaps Naxos will document Inno Meiji, and some of Yamada’s later work. In the meantime, the historical and curiosity factors outweigh the sheer musical pleasures of this initial release.

Art Lange, FANFARE

ALPHORN CONCERTOS

SPOHR: String Quintets Nos. 5 and 6

Japanese composer Akio Yashiro (1929-76) studied in Paris with both Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen and writes in a style reminiscent of a cross between Ravel and Dutilleux. Original he ain't, but there's nothing wrong with that. Indeed, his considerable craftsmanship and polish reflect the best in the French tradition, and anyone who loves the modern French school will feel very comfortable with these atmospheric and appealing works.


The Piano Concerto begins like some dreamy offspring of Messiaen and adds a touch of Bartók to the mix as well. Its marvelous central slow movement obviously owes its inspiration to Ravel's "Le Gibet" from Gaspard de la nuit, with its creepy persistent repeated notes and aura of Gothic horror. Hiromi Okada plays a pretty mean piano, as poetic in the music's softly impressionistic moments as in its more virtuosic passages. While hardly conventionally melodic, this brilliantly written piece offers no difficulties to any listener with a reasonably open mind and an ear for adventure.


The Symphony makes just as favorable an impression. It opens with sounds that could have come from some lost late tone poem of Sibelius. The vivacious scherzo shares the same "perpetual ostinato" technique as the comparable movement from Debussy's string quartet. It all culminates in a lengthy and melancholy Lento, featuring some lovely wind solos and long, lyrical phrases that carry the melodies effortlessly over the bar lines. The finale owes a lot to Messiaen: it begins with a few characteristic bird-like "whoops" and then takes off like a rocket. The ending paraphrases the climactic chorale and frantic dash to the finish line of the Turangalila-symphonie, complete with extravagant cymbal and tam-tam crashes.


It would be easy to dismiss this music as excessively derivative, but it works so well and sounds so confidently written that in the end it winds up striking you more as a friend you believe you might have met in a previous life than some sort of cheap imitation of a beloved master. Takuo Yuasa leads the Ulster Orchestra in exciting, flamboyant, very well recorded performances of both works, reminding us that in the arts what matters is not so much who does something first, but who does it best. Yashiro was, without question, one of the best.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

SPOHR: String Quintets Nos. 3 and 4

Classical Music

Over two centuries of the world’s greatest love themes, tenderly played by world-class orchestras and performers. The 11 gorgeous, sensual tracks include Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini -Andante cantabile; Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 – Andante; Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 – Notturno; Atovmyan: The Gadfly Suite – Romance; Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 – Adagio; Khachaturian: Spartacus - Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia; and more romantic classics!

CLASSICAL MOMENTS 3: Classical Music to Relax to

"The orchestra is full of interesting colors, and, under Yablonsky gives the familiar melodic material considerable direction and shape. There is something wonderfully human about the interpretive ideas that makes these performances so interesting." -- Peter Dobrin, The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 2003

"Let me say immediately that this new complete Swan Lake is thoroughly recommendable, and most enjoyable, both as a performance and recording. The Russian State Symphony Orchestra is obviously thoroughly at home in this glorious music. So is their excellent conductor, Dmitry Yablonsky, whose tempi can hardly be faulted.Throughout the four acts, Tchaikovsky's magnificent score is presented spontaneously and excitingly, vividly underlining the coherence of this masterpiece. The Russian solo playing is consistently impressive: Act 2's 'Dances of the Swans' (with fine solo violin and cello contributions) are as vivid as the national dances of Act 4. The orchestra is set back realistically and the effect is always convincing, suitably brilliant with good range and atmosphere and arresting climaxes (the Russian trumpets are especially striking)." -- Ivan March, Gramophone

This program, three Mozart Divertimentos and the searching C minor wind Serenade K. 388, balances light-hearted entertainment-genre works against the darkly passionate utterances of the latter. The Oslo players favor rapid, agile tempos in the lively Allegro of K. 227 and in the zestful finale (Presto) of K. 252. Their direct and forceful style, highlighted by pointed articulation and tonguing, seems ideal. The recording picks up some key-noise, especially in running passages--an annoyance for some, heightened realism and immediacy for others. This brisk, punchy approach gives unexpected rigor to the minuets, but also contributes to a highly imaginative account of the stylish variations that (unusually) open the F major Divertimento K. 253. The two bassoons, who have important roles here, are excellent.


In the C minor Serenade, the closely focused sonics significantly bolster the urgent, impulsive manner of the performance. After the incisive unison start, the first movement is thrusting and dramatic, with dynamics carefully observed and maximal contrast attained in the radiant second subject, highlighted by superb phrasing from the first oboe. The Andante is capably done, but more coolly than in the performance by Consortium Classicum on EMI, where there's more individuality and distinctiveness from denser-toned clarinets and softer-edged horns.


The Oslo recording, with its clearer perspectives, makes canonic writing in the vehement Minuet terse and austere-sounding, but you may prefer Consortium Classicum's more genial and imaginative characterizations of the finale's variations. Finally, the Oslo winds' lively, bustling account of the last variation, in bright tonic major, is quicker and also more brilliant, completing a fine budget release. [6/11/2002]
--Michael Jameson, ClassicsToday.com

Includes cto(s) for bsn by Antonio Vivaldi. Ensemble: Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia. Conductor: Béla Drahos. Soloist: Tamás Benkócs.

This charming disc (containing newly recorded and previously issued works) begins with a suitably brooding if not spectacular Finlandia, and then proceeds from one delight to the next. Outstanding items include: Madetoja's Elegy for Strings, Melartin's Festive March, Rautavaara's Fiddlers, Sallinen's Sunrise Serenade, and two pieces (Prelude and Berceuse) by Järnefelt. The other items have less substance but plenty of tuneful and easygoing appeal. As an advertisement for the attractions of Finnish music beyond Sibelius, this collection serves an admirable purpose, particularly as all of the items are well played and recorded. As has become particularly clear over the past two decades or so, the 20th century musical legacy of Finland is every bit as rich and varied as that of any other country, and is well worth exploring. Here's a fine place to start if you're curious but like to keep things on the light side. --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Flute Concertos (Romantic)

Reviews of recordings in this set:

The Creation


Although The Creation is no stranger to period-instrument performance, two in particular spring to mind as particularly outstanding. The first of these is Christopher Hogwood's on L'Oiseau-Lyre, which is in English and remains the only version to assemble the huge forces for which Haydn actually wrote, with singularly thrilling results. Second, there is Hengelbrock on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, who demonstrated that at least on recordings the music can sound just as big and colorful, but without extensive doubling of instrumental parts. In his version of The Seasons, René Jacobs accomplished a similar feat, and so does this newcomer, even outdoing Hengelbrock in wringing every last drop of color from Haydn's perennially fresh orchestration. All of the other period performances, including Brüggen, Weil, Harnoncourt (twice), Kuijken, and Gardiner, stand at some remove from these three.

Andreas Spering has a lot going for him right from the beginning: crack vocal and instrumental forces, a strong lineup of soloists, and an excellent German radio production that sounds fabulous...This account of Chaos must stand as the most creepy and desolate on disc, the music still truly revolutionary and modern even at this late date. Spering takes time to make every detail tell: the sudden brass interjections, the startling clarinet run leading to the recapitulation, the muted strings and soloistic writing for timpani. Spering rightly treats the piece Romantically, allowing plenty of opportunities for rhetorical emphasis, as at the thrilling eruption of light and the ensuing recitative, taken a bit slower and more grandly than usual. But there's nothing mannered or unduly exaggerated: everything is dictated by the sense of the text. The chorus obviously relishes the words and sings as though they really mean something.

There are too many outstanding details to list completely. The concluding choruses of all three parts combine blazing brass with exceptional contrapuntal clarity. Sunhae Im and Hanno Müller-Brachmann make a charming Adam and Eve. The latter hasn't the steadiest of baritone voices, particularly in his lower register (as I noted in his recent recording of Bach's B minor Mass for Naxos), but he does surprisingly well in Raphael's big Part 2 aria "Nun scheint in vollem Glanze der Himmel", and tenor Jan Kobow turns in an excellent "In Native Worth" (as it's known in English). Spering somehow manages to play the living daylights out of the great duet with chorus at the center of Part 3, which Tovey called the greatest single movement that Haydn ever wrote, without making an anti-climax out of the following Adam and Eve duet and the big closing ensemble, with its dazzling coloratura "Amens". In short, from just about every possible standpoint, this is as fine a performance of this work as I hope to hear, one that at every turn reveals the miraculously undying youthfulness of Haydn's inspiration. Now on to the The Seasons, please!

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Il ritorno di Tobia (The Return of Tobias)

A welcome addition … worthy to set alongside the other great achievements of Haydn’s middle period.

This is a real find and a welcome addition to the Naxos catalogue. Haydn is justifiably famous for his oratorios The Seasons and The Creation. The latter has been recorded by these artists for Naxos to great acclaim. Now Andreas Spering and his Capella Augustina have unearthed Haydn’s first, all but forgotten oratorio, The Return of Tobias. The apocryphal subject of Tobias and the angel was extraordinarily popular in Haydn’s Vienna when he was composing this work, and he chose to home in on the section of the story when Tobias (Tobia) returns from his long absence from home and, with the help of his friend Asaria, aka the Archangel Raphael in disguise, cures his father’s blindness. Haydn takes this as an opportunity to create an oratorio which, while not as pacy or fast-moving as The Seasons and The Creation, contains much of beauty, and some very virtuosic singing for both chorus and soloists. Popular as the Tobias legend was in 1775, however, it quickly fell out of favour. It was furthermore felt that Haydn’s oratorio was too long (nearly 3 hours) and difficult to be easily revived so it fell out of favour and has barely been heard since. Length is less of an issue when you listen at home and, thankfully, the artists involved here make this difficult score seem all but effortless.

The first accolades have to go to the young soloists. We might hope that Nikolay Borchev would have sounded a little more weighty as Tobit, the blind father, but he brings pathos and sympathy to what could have seemed a dry character. His opening aria, Ah tu m’ascolta, oh Dio appropriately invokes sympathy for a man who seems to have lost all sympathisers on earth. Similarly Anders J. Dahlin is perhaps less forthcoming than we would expect from the hero of the story, but he brings a wonderfully mellifluous tone to the character of Tobias himself, from his first aria upon his return to his parental home, until the final miracle when his father is healed. The outstanding contributions, however, come from the three women soloists. Anna, Tobias’ aged mother, is characterfully sung by Ann Hallenberg. Her rich, fruity mezzo is perfect for the tone of despair the character needs at the opening, and she lightens her tone admirably when the mood of the piece turns more joyful in Part 2. Listen to her exciting opening aria (CD1, Track 4) and you will see how Haydn can create instant interest in the character, as well as how seemingly easily Hallenberg copes with it. Her nightmare aria is Part 2 is thrilling. Sophie Karthäuser tailors her tone to handle Tobias’ virtuous and dutiful wife, Sara. Most admirable of all, however, is Roberta Invernizzi, singing the role of Raphael. The angel is given appropriately difficult, often stratospheric music and Invernizzi sings it with flawless coloratura and effortless command of the technique.

The chorus seems totally convinced by this work and they throw themselves into their parts as if they were singing opera, which it often feels like they are. Two moments to watch out for: their fugal chorus that ends Part One is particularly exciting, and their stormy Part 2 chorus, Svanisce in un momento was resurrected by Haydn as his concert motet Insanae et vanae curae. The Capella Augustina, a period ensemble founded by Andreas Spering himself, plays this music as if it were written for it, and the chamber textures that Haydn is fond of using sound perfectly judged. Listen to Sarah’s Part 2 aria, Non parmi esser fra gl’uomini for a good example of how well orchestra and soloists blend. Spering holds the whole thing together with assured control, but also a sense of spontaneity, as if the music is unfolding in precisely the correct manner. This CD is a welcome addition to the catalogue, and something worthy to set alongside the other great achievements of Haydn’s middle period. Three cheers to Naxos for choosing to give it such a distinguished outing on CD. The booklet contains commentary, synopsis and Italian texts, but no translations.

-- Simon Thompson, MusicWeb International

Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky: a great Russian name for a great Russian composer! Tchaikovsky was not always a happy man. He didn’t laugh a lot. But he wrote music that is full of good melodies. He often felt sad, but sometimes this made him write music that was even more special. This CD is all about Tchaikovsky. Imagine the ballet dancers twirling around to his tunes: you can twirl around too, if you like!

The ‘My First’ album series from Naxos is the ideal springboard for a lifelong journey through classical music. Each selection is carefully tailored for younger listeners and includes famous tracks as well as unexpected gems. The booklet is full of information on every piece of music. Unique and imaginative, these CDs will open a door to a wonderful world that children and parents can discover together.

An orchestra has lots of different instruments producing lots of different sounds. Whether they’re playing on their own or all at the same time, it can be a tremendously exciting experience to listen to them. From Wagner’s grand ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ to Tchaikovsky’s gentle ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’, you can hear on this album how the character of an orchestra changes all the time!

For centuries, babies and children all over the world have been rocked to sleep with a song to calm them. Whether parents sing or play, or press play, they know that music so often soothes with success. Composers have written lullabies for different reasons—sometimes as standalone songs or pieces and sometimes as part of a larger work. Here is a variety of restful tracks to foster the sweet dreams of all!