Svyati - Steven Isserlis plays the music of John Tavener

Includes work(s) by Richard Wagner. Ensemble: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Lorin Maazel.

Evgeny Kissin is an interpreter who tends to shoot from the hip in the big Romantic masterpieces, resulting in many moments of genius rubbing up against baffling gaucheries. Fortunately, nearly everything comes together for Kissin in his late-1990s recordings of Schumann's Kreisleriana and C major Fantasy. The latter virtually explodes in the face of Kissin's ardent, volatile virtuosity, which dwells at opposite ends of the scale from Pollini's ironclad, symphonically inclined steadiness. Particularly noteworthy (all puns intended) are Kissin's spectacular leaps in the second-movement coda, where he cleanly delineates the outer voices most other pianists are merely content to hit accurately. The whiplash articulation and huge dynamic range Kissin brings to Kreisleriana's faster movements are cut from the same Dionysian cloth that shrouds the great Horowitz (Sony) and Argerich (DG) recordings. In short, the catalog claims no stromger coupling of these works, and with Kissin on top form, who can resist? [6/14/2004] --Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics written by Tim Rice.
Principal cast: Glenn Carter (Jesus); Jerome Pradon (Judas); Renee Castle (mary); Fred Johanson (Pilate); Rik Mayall (Herod); Frederick B. Owens (Caiaphas); Michael Shaeffer (Annas); Tony Vincent (Simon); Cavin Cornwall (Peter).
Producers: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Nigel Wright.
Recorded at Whitfield Street Studios, London, England.

Includes work(s) by Veli-Markus Tapio. Ensembles: Huelgas Ensemble, Waverly Consort, Munich Capella Antiqua, Niederaltaich Scholars. Conductors: Paul Van Nevel, Michael Jaffee, Konrad Ruhland.

Reissue of his 2001 album.

Includes work(s) by various composers.

MOZART Allegro in g, K 312. Andante and 5 Variations, K 501. 1 Minuetto in D, K 355. Marche funèbre, K 453a. Andantino, K 236. Klavierstücke in F, K 33b. Adagio for Glass Harmonica, K 356. La‚t uns mit geschlungen Händen, K 623. Rondo in F, K 494. Theme and 2 Variations in A, K 460. Fantasia in d, K 397 (2 versions). Sonata in D, K 381 1 • Christopher Hogwood (clvd); Derek Adlam (clvd) 1 • DEUTSCHE HARMONIA MUNDI 82876 832882 (73:46)


Mozart played on the clavichord? What at first may seem an odd concept has ample documentary evidence to support it. As anyone who has been to the Geburtshaus in Salzburg will probably recall, Mozart himself owned a clavichord that he used as a compositional tool for his last major works, according to his widow Constanze’s testimony. And as Christopher Hogwood reminds us in his notes, Mozart makes frequent reference to the instrument in general in his correspondence. As Bach, and Handel before him, then, it seems extremely likely that Mozart used this quietly intimate instrument in domestic music-making.


Hogwood’s recital is played on three instruments, including Mozart’s own, an unfretted instrument of unknown provenance conforming to the simple construction methods of late 18th-century German clavichords. It is the brightest and clearest of the three, with an attractive bell-like sonority in the upper register that makes it highly suitable for the late Adagio for Glass Harmonica, and a “buzzy” quality in bass, as heard in the final passage of the F-Major Rondo, the final movement of the composite Sonata, K 533/K 494. The oldest instrument, used for the first three works in the heading, is an unfretted clavichord by the Hamburg maker Johann Albrecht Hass, signed and dated 1761. The sound (at least as recorded) is to my mind rather on the “tubby” side, with a veiled quality that works particularly well in the chromatic intensity of the Minuetto in D.


Finally, Hogwood plays four works on an unfretted instrument by the Bavarian builder Johann David Schiedmayer. Interestingly, this late example (1791) is the one that approaches most closely the sound of a fortepiano, although I’m not sufficient of an expert on the subject to know if this was a conscious aim of later makers. Among the works played on it are both versions of the familiar Fantasia in D Minor, one of Mozart’s most unsettling keyboard works. The original breaks off on a dominant cadence, while there is another with a 10-bar completion by another hand, possibly August Müller. Hogwood plausibly suggests that the incomplete version was intended as the introduction to a work in D Major (he is not, as he implies, the first to do so; Alfred Einstein advanced the same theory 60 years ago), and consequently uses it as a lead-in to the Sonata in D, K 381, a not altogether convincing solution since the latter is for four hands. The sonata, much the most substantial work on the disc, is given a high-spirited performance by Hogwood and Derek Adlam, who achieve excellent ensemble (listen to the unanimity of the detached eighth-notes at the start of the second half of the opening Allegro), while making much of the concerto-like texture of the finale.


In general, Hogwood’s performances are as accomplished as would be expected from such a seasoned performer. Tempos are sensible, with andantes and allegrettos kept moving purposefully, while fingerwork is clean and well articulated. Ornaments are added where appropriate. Occasionally, I felt the touch was a little heavy and that rhythms were rather unyielding. A little more flexibility and expressivity would not have come amiss, but the recital is nonetheless highly rewarding both as to repertoire and as the rare opportunity to hear what Mozart sounds like on the clavichord. The CD is the third in a series devoted to the clavichord and entitled “The secret . . .”, previous issues having been devoted to Bach and Handel (both on Metronome). To come are “The secret Haydn,” and “The secret Beethoven.”


FANFARE: Brian Robins

Personnel include: Ray C. Davis, Emma Williams, David Ross, Graham Hoadly, George Gillies, Carrie Fletcher, Emil Wolk, Anton Rodgers (vocals).
It is hard to resist the extravagant charms in the stage adaptation of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (which is based on the MGM/United Artists movie of the same name), which is billed as "the most fantasmagorical stage musical in the history of everything!" The music and lyrics of Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman complement Jeremy Sams's stage script perfectly by creating the aural equivalent of the story's magic (the ultimate protagonist is, of course, a flying car). A 34-piece orchestra, directed by Robert Scott, backs the original London cast (led by Michael Ball and Emma Williams) on this fine recording that works alone and as a souvenir of one's visit to the theater.

This is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording

The Essential Beethoven

Bach: Lute Suites, Vol. 1

Singer/songwriter Mary Fahl makes her solo album debut with the release of the Other Side of Time. Fahl's distinctive and highly personal sound features her unforgettable voice, an earthy, viscerally powerful contralto that blooms in each of the album's contrasting instrumental settings. The songs take listeners on a wide ranging journey through both emotional and musical territory.

ESCAPE THROUGH OPERA

Includes son(s) for vln and pno by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Soloists: Yefim Bronfman, Isaac Stern.