To quote from an article of Village Voice, pianist Russ Lossing is “a gripping improviser, pulling ideas out of the air and nudging them into the action at hand as if they always belonged there”. Here on his new disc the improviser/composer Lossing devotes the whole album to a collection of new original compositions to create a powerfully impressive suite.
“Russ Lossing, a talented pianist who has been active professionally for over three decades, found it easy to generate some fresh approaches to playing standards and time-tested jazz compositions, given his track record on earlier small-group record dates.” (Ken Dryden – NYCJR on SCCD 31863 Changes”)
“Here’s some nourishing refreshment, and it comes from a piano, bass and drums trio which, while working broadly within a continuum defined by Paul Bley and Bill Evans, carves out distinctive territory of its own.”
(Nic Jones – Jazz Journal on SCCD 31863)
Joachim Raff was a largely self-taught composer whose style stands somewhere between the German traditionalism of Schumann and the newer school of Wagner. Raff composed seven Suites for Piano, a form he preferred to the sonata, and this provided him with greater freedom as a composer, resulting in his most substantial contribution to the piano literature. This is reflected in the Mendelssohn-like lyricism of the First Suite; contrasts between Baroque and Romantic styles in the Third Suite, a piece admired by Liszt; and more nationalist inclinations in the memorably melodic Fifth Suite.
Although the music of Robert de Visee has transcended the ages, many scholars are still trying to unravel the mysteries surrounding the composer's life. Among them, Thibaut Roussel - accompanied by Perrine Devillers, Mathilde Vialle and Myriam Rignol - delights hearts with his own interpretation of the rich music of the greatest theorbist of the 17th century. Interwoven with pieces by contemporary composers, Robert de Visee's exquisite arias transport the listener to the pomp and splendour of the evenings at the court of Louis XIV.
The six cello suites on this recording have their parallel in six sonatas for solo violin, also from Bach's time in Kothen, before he moved to Leipzig. On the title page of the violin sonatas the composer wrote Libro primo. The original manuscript of the cello suites has vanished, but both wife Anna Magdalena and others left copies. Did the composer perhaps call the cello suites Second Book? Traditional dance forms are the bones of the suites as they are in other suites by Bach and other Baroque composers. But this is not music for a palace ball. The dance tradition serves as the basis for an unrelenting elaboration and exploration of contours, sounds, and rhythms. Bjorg Lewis is one of Norway's most sought-after and admired cellists. She plays on a Gennaro Gagliano dated 1748.
Elgar: Violin Concerto; Salut d'Amour; Delius: Suite
Channel Classics
CD
$20.99Feb 21, 2025
'If you want to know who, for me, is the greatest living composer, I'll tell you without hesitation - it's Elgar, whom I place on the same level as my idols Beethoven and Brahms!' So said the great virtuoso Kreisler.' Nicolas Dautricourt continues: 'This Concerto, with it's unbridled lyricism and unique proportions, is an Everest for any violinist.' In this, his first recording for Channel Classics, the French violinist brings together three works by two English composers. In 1888, in the same year Elgar wrote the famous Salut d'amour for his fiancee Caroline Alice Roberts, Frederick Delius composed his Suite for Violin and Orchestra, one of his very first works. The Suite, which only received it's premiere in 1984, is heard here in this insightful arrangement by Frederic Chaslin for violin, piano and string quartet.
Miriam Prandi's deeply personal interpretation of Bach's suites for solo cello reveals a musical personality shaped by freedom and reverence for the work; her phrasing recalls not only the elegance of line in Bach's arias and recitatives but also the intricate figuration of his keyboard works. She naturally embraces certain elements of historically informed performance practice, although she refuses to be confined by it's prescriptions. She allows the music to speak in a way that all today can understand: a way that transcends stylistic labels and so-called modernity and speaks with clarity, conviction, and from the heart.
In the long and eventful history of the Dresden court music, the figure of Kapellmeister Johann Christoph Schmidt undoubtedly marks a critical juncture. However, it seems that Augustus the Strong recognized Schmidt's talent early on, as his rise was steady and culminated in 1697 when he officially succeeded Schutz - a wise decision by the ruler, who Schmidt well served with musical creations that catered to the favored French taste. The Serene Highness likely experienced many unexpected delights: behind the facade of the conventional suite lies sophisticated rhythmic and metric artistry that enlivens the progression with displaced accents and whimsical turns, demanding an exceptional ensemble like the one Schmidt assembled in Dresden.
Comedians and jazz musicians have been more comforting and enlightening to me than preachers or politicians or philosophers or poets or painters or novelists of my time. Historians in the future, in my opinion, will congratulate us on very little other than our clowning and our jazz. -Kurt Vonnegut
La Barre: Suites Et Sonates / Ensemble Tic-Toc-Choc
Incises Records
CD
$29.99May 14, 2021
“In this way, La Barre, your enchanting flute inspires tender feeling, Your triumphant sounds ignite the passions; They even make Love more tender, And, wanting only to hear you, Love allows you to wound hearts.” An extract from an Ode by the poet Antoine Houdar de La Motte (1672-1731) these lines sing the praises of one of the first and most famous French flautists. This moving tribute is also evidence of the friendly relations that existed between the poet and the musician who set two of his libretti to music, first in 1700 (Le Triomphe des arts) and then in 1705(La Vénitienne). Michel de La Barre wrote numerous “serious” and drinking songs, published mostly in the main anthologies of the period between 1694 and 1732, but he is above all the originator of a specific and idiomatic repertoire for his instrument. He is the composer of three collections of the first pieces for transverse flute and basso continuo (1702, 1710 and 1722), of seventeen suites for two flutes without bass, a genre of which he was also the originator, and lastly three important books of pieces for trio (“for violins, flutes and oboes”), published in 1694, 1700 and 1707 which are also amongst the first of the genre. Thanks to his art and the compositions closely linked to his instrument, Michel de La Barre is considered the founder of the French school of flute.
Purcell: The Complete Suites & Other Music for Keyboard
SOMM Recordings
CD
$18.99May 16, 2025
SOMM Recordings is pleased to release the first-ever recording on piano of the eight keyboard suites by one of England's greatest creative artists, Henry Purcell (1659 -1695). Making his SOMM debut is the Romanian-British pianist Cristian Sandrin, who is building a career in the UK as a rising young artist following his debut solo recital at Wigmore Hall in 2017. Reviewers have noted "Sandrin's generous sonorities issue forth in marvellous diversity," Fanfare Magazine; and "An immaculately played recital," Music Web International. Henry Purcell was at the height of his powers at the time of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which saw King William III and his wife Queen Mary II crowned as joint British monarchs. Queen Mary was an avid lover of dance, which led to it being a regular and expected part of Restoration theatrical productions. Purcell's first great operatic work, Dido and Aeneas from the late 1680s, included no less than seventeen original dances. Purcell wrote in every form-ranging from theatre and church to concerts and balls-and his music dominated public demand in almost every genre. His success led to requests for music of all kinds, particularly dance movements, either singly or forming parts of suites for the keyboard. At the time, there was a growing fashion for French keyboard music, and Purcell willingly accepted the structural influences from that school. And yet, his music remained infused with the individual expression of an undoubtedly English composer. Tragically, Purcell died at the peak of his career on 21 November 1695 at his home in London. He is believed to have been 35 or 36 years old at the time. A year after his death, Purcell's widow, Frances, posthumously published A Choice Collection of Lessons for the Harpsichord or Spinet. These eight suites, long overshadowed by his more celebrated theatre works, are the core of Purcell's keyboard output, shifting from major to minor keys, from humour to seriousness, to create a uniquely expressive musical world. The suites incorporate French dance forms like the Almand, Corante, and Minuet, and the Spanish Saraband, which Purcell imbued with a quintessentially British idiom. This finds particular expression in movements like a Corante that deftly incorporates tunes from Ireland and Scotland; a brilliant Jigg that seems to catch the listener unawares; and a burly Hornpipe that draws on earlier incidental music. Cristian Sandrin intersperses Purcell's posthumously published eight keyboard suites with occasional additions from other works, and his recital concludes with the beautiful Sefauchi's Farewell. Purcell was deeply impressed on hearing one of the greatest of all castrati, the Italian 'Sefauchi' (Giovanni Francesco Grossi), in London. This keyboard work is a tribute from one noble musician to another.
A New York Times Top 25 Classical Track Choice for 2020
A European bestseller in their time, Händel’s 1720 suites are far from having regained, in concert and on disc, the eminent place they once held. Does the fault lie with the anathema pronounced by the ‘pope’ Gustav Leonhardt, who always openly shunned Händel? With the man himself, a startling virtuoso, but keener to compose for the opera? With recordings that are often pleasant but rarely showcase the strongest personalities of their generation?
Three decades after the exceptional Scott Ross, Pierre Hantaï in his turn is determined to rehabilitate Händel the harpsichord composer.
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REVIEW:
Handel’s eight suites for harpsichord have sometimes been viewed more or less as training exercises. Pierre Hantaï, known for his vivid Scarlatti, dispels the slightly derogatory preconceptions with suave danciness and lucid touch.
Massenet: Visions, Overtures (2), Espada, & Les Erinnyes Suite / Tingaud, RSNO
Naxos
CD
$19.99Oct 09, 2020
Jules Massenet is famous for his series of 27 operas that include Manon and Werther, but he also wrote a significant portfolio of orchestral music which include ballets, orchestral suites and incidental music. The works presented here show his versatility and lyricism and include the one-act ballet Espada, saturated in Iberian color and beguiling rhythms, as well as Les Érinnyes (‘The Furies’) with a vivid sequence of contrasting themes. Modeled after Liszt, Visions is a poème-symphonique of both ethereal and dramatic power.
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REVIEW:
Between JoAnn Falletta and Jean-Luc Tingaud, Naxos seems to be cornering the market when it comes to unusual but worthy repertoire. Tingaud’s specialty, unsurprisingly, has (thus far) focused on French music, and this Massenet collection includes some pretty nifty and rare titles. Visions, for example, is a symphonic poem in Lisztian style dating from 1891, and it’s an imposing and impressive fourteen-minute hunk of good, romantic music. Brumaire is a powerful, militant overture that belies the composer’s reputation as little more than a soft orchestral voluptuary.
The Espada Suite is another in the seemingly endless series of French works with a Spanish flavor, and it’s none the worse for that. Best of all, perhaps, is the incidental music to Érinnyes (The Furies). Dating from 1876, this substantial half hour of music features an extended “Scène religieuse” and a three-movement divertissement full of memorable and vigorous ideas. The program concludes with the darkly dramatic overture Phèdre–like all of the music here very well played and conducted with real conviction. The sonics, too, do the music proud. I love this stuff, and I suspect that you will too.
Son of the better-known Georg Muffat, Gottlieb was also hawked around the courts of Europe by his father as a boy wonder of music, anticipating the course of Mozart's early years under the self-interested care of Leopold. However, when at home, Gottlieb Muffat grew up in Vienna under the careful tutelage of Johann Joseph Fux, master of music at the Hofkapelle, a relationship which deepened once Georg died in 1704, when Gottlieb was just 14 years old. In due course Fux pulled strings to get his talented pupil an official post, and this album of keyboard partitas offers ample proof that his faith in Gottlieb Muffat was justified. Their date is uncertain: during his lifetime, only two collections of his music were published, and after 1739 he seems to have broken off composition, focusing his energies on performing and teaching at the Hofkapelle. Listeners familiar with the keyboard partitas by JS Bach will find a certain degree of common ground in the elegant sequence of French-style dances which are headed by a more exploratory Prelude. Muffat's counterpoint may not be so rigorous, but his ear for a well-turned melody offers satisfying reward in it's own right. The use of French, English and even Spanish titles to individual movements underlines the imaginative and fanciful qualities of the collection: see for example Postillon in the Suite in F major; Coquette in the Suite in A major; a Hornpipe in the Suite in D minor and the Intrada to the Suite in F. As well as enthusiastically received albums of Pasquini, Gabrieli, Vivaldi and above all Frescobaldi, Roberto Loreggian has previously recorded the 1739 collection of Componimenti Musicali to which this new recording forms a sequel. Of his collection of Partitas by Telemann, Fanfare commented: 'Without seeming driven, his playing is lively and well-articulated, and he is always sensitive to Telemann's stylistic variety, whether it is tending, at any given moment, to the courtly or to the common.'
Prokofiev: Summer Night Suite - Scythian Suite - Khachaturian: Masquerade Suite - Spartacus Suite
Oehms Classics
CD
$31.99Aug 21, 2020
This recording brings together unique orchestral suites by the Soviet composer Sergei Prokofiev and the Soviet-Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian. Summer Night Suite is based on the music from Prokofiev’s opera Betrothal in a Monastery and Scythian Suite was derived from his ballet Ala and Lolly. Aram Khachaturian wrote his Masquerade Suite in 1941 to accompany Mikhail Lermontov’s play of the same name. His ballet Spartacus (1954) portrays the defeat the Romans by the hero Spartacus who leads an uprising of slaves. The suites present a range of moods and variety of melodic invention that are completely engaging. This is the Zagreb Philharmonic’s third recording for the OehmsClassics label. Their recording of Glazunov’s The Seasons, also under the direction of Dmitrij Kitajenko, received an ICMA nomination.
