Monthly Archives: April 2003

Robert Levin (fortepiano) and friends

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Piano Concerto No 4 (Beethoven)
Symphony No 2 (Beethoven)

Archiv 474224-2
TPT 1: 07: 29

reviewed by Neville Cohn 

Here’s something for the collector of musical curiosities: Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 4 in G in a version for fortepiano and string quintet as well as the same composer’s Symphony No 2 in an arrangement for fortepiano, violin and cello with Robert Levin at the keyboard. All the string players are members of the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique.

Levin does wonders with the scores. In the concerto, astoundingly nimble fingerwork, a superbly spun trill and a commanding address that sweeps all before it, result in playing that is utterly persuasive. This is a rare opportunity to hear Beethoven’s Concerto No 4 in a chamber version that had the Master’s stamp of approval. Beethoven himself made more than eighty changes to the piano part in the outer movements alone (in the process making an already difficult keyboard part even more demanding on the soloist) and entrusted a friend with the task of reworking the orchestral part of the concerto for string quintet..

Much of the first movement is couched in powerfully dramatic terms and Levin and friends do wonders in unbottling its passionate genie. The slow movement is a compendium of marvels, with the keyboard’s gentle, arpeggionated responses to the assertive gruffness of the accompanying strings beautifully considered. This is wonderfully introspective playing ­ until the moment when Levin commences the movement’s extended trill which comes across with all the urgency and intensity of a blaring klaxon.

For all those who delight in the insouciant, peekaboo quality of the finale, this recording will not disappoint. As well, there is a cadenza on an heroic scale. Strings sound close-miked; there’s a rasping, grainy quality as bows bite strings. It makes for bracing listening.

The purists may well wax apopletic at the notion of Beethoven’s
2nd Symphony being played in a version for piano, violin and cello. But this, in fact, is an arrangement prepared by the composer himself. The first movement bristles with energy and drive thnat make for frankly thrilling listening. And in the scherzo, sforzandi are attacked with a relish that sweeps all before it.

Levin’s astonishing technical prowess is well to the fore here with virtuosic treatment of rapid repeated notes. And he’s a key player in evoking the robust, back-slapping humour of the writing.

The recordings were made in London’s Henry Wood Hall.


SAFFIRE

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The Australian Guitar Quartet
Granados, Koch, Pujol, Maxwell Davies, Houghton, Myers, Charlton

ABC Classics 476 701-2
TPT 1:04:06

reviewed by Neville Cohn 

Although some of the selections on this CD are rather thin musically, they are presented with care and skill – and not a little virtuosity – and the sound engineers have done a splendid job of realistically capturing the combined sound of the four classical guitars of Slava Grigoryan, Antony Field, Gareth Koch and Karin Schaupp.

Of a remarkably eclectic compilation, it is Stanley Myers’ instantly recognisable Cavatina from The Deer Hunter that fares best, its haunting, bittersweet measures beautifully presented. And Peter Maxwell Davies’ Farewell to Stromness, with its Scotch snap and minor mode that sounds rather like music for a melancholy folk dance, falls pleasantly on the ear.

Much of Pujol’s Grises y Soles is music of a very different world with its lively rhythms and darting, busy note streams, inspired by the energetic bustle of Buenos Aires and separated by dreamy, rather introverted episodes descriptive of the city’s many public parks. In Saffire’s hands, it flashes into virtuosic life.

Granados is represented by arrangements of three of the Danzas Espanolas. Villanesca (No 4) fares best; its charming measures presented with a simplicity of expression that it sounds entirely appropriate. Zambra, cast in flamenco mould, is less persuasive; semiquavers do not always flow smoothly but elsewhere there are sensitively handled rubati.

There’s a world premiere recording: Richard Charlton’s Stoneworks. As new repertoire for an ensemble of four guitars is still very small, Stoneworks will be listened to with more than usual interest by musicians hoping to expand their repertoires.
Precise ensemble runs through the presentation like a silver thread. Stones of Light is music of amiable charm if not especially memorable. Stones of Desire is described in the liner notes as music suggesting envy and desire but despite the most diligent listening on a number of occasions ­ and noting the beauty of phrase-shaping and quality of corporate tone – I could not, in all frankness, detect anything in the work reminiscent of either desire or envy. I liked Standing Stones, introduced as a shimmering stream of sound but, again, hardly evocative of the “ancient mystery” the liner notes allude to. And Stones of Power, described as dealing “with the power that stone has given man ­ the great monuments, temples, gods..hewn from marble and granite”, raised expectations of craggy grandeur that failed to materialise.

Opals, another mediation on stones but of a significantly smaller sort, made for rather more satisfying listening. Black Opal is a delight with notes clothed in glowing tone, a miniature that fleetingly reminds one of Scarborough Fair. I particularly liked Water Opal, a gently introverted piece that gives way toWhite Opal, the intricate lines of which are informed by excellent levels of ensemble and clarity. And a good deal of spirit and beguiling corporate tone is brought to Gareth Koch’s Rumba Flamenca.

Copyright 2003 Neville Cohn


Richard Bonynge (conductor and accompanist)

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ABC Australian Heritage series


ABC Classics 475 070-2 (4-CD pack)
TPT: 5:04:49

  reviewed by Neville Cohn 

In the minds of most people, it is probably fair to say that Richard Bonynge is associated inextricably and exclusively with the dazzling career of his wife, soprano Joan Sutherland. Certainly, the blindingly bright spotlight trained for decades on La Stupenda (now retired) ensured that for much of his own career, Bonynge toiled away in the shadow of his famous spouse.

Now, a 4-CD pack brought out by ABC Classics redresses the balance slightly, focussing, as it does, on a number of LPs that Bonynge recorded in his own right as far back as 1968. These have been retrieved from the obscurity into which they had fallen, most having been dropped from the catalogues years ago.

Bonynge’s father, an accountant, had fond hopes of his son joining the diplomatic corps. Little Richard’s eye, however, was on another star altogether – although as a little boy he didn’t always take kindly to the grind necessary to develop a sound command of the keyboard (he would read comic books while mechanically practising finger exercises at the piano).

There was good deal of music in the family home – and listening to ancient 78rpm records of sopranos Amelita Galli-Curci and Tetrazzini sparked an interest in opera that would prove invaluable years later when coaching his wife in an ever-expanding repertoire. Aged 14 years, he’d bought a full score of Bellini’s I Puritani and learned all the arias by heart. In the same year, he was soloist in Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, no mean achievement for a youngster. And it was Eugene Goossens, as then-head of the Sydney Conservatorium , who gave the young Richard an opportunity that was to yield golden dividends over the years, honing skills as an opera repetiteur for student productions which gave him the experience to confidently coach the young Sutherland.

This often-fascinating set of recordings includes a recital of arie antiche by soprano Renata Tebaldi which she made towards the end of her glittering career – and even if the once flawless voice is here lightly touched by time, the subtle interpretative nuances brought to these pieces are a more than adequate compensation. As well, there are a number of first rate offerings from French-Canadian mezzo Huguette Tourangeau. Certainly opera lovers seeking rarities are well served here with Tourangeau singing arias from, among others, Verdi’s first opera Oberto, Maillart’s Les Dragons de Villars and Bizet’s Djamileh. It’s worth having the set if only to hear these very seldom encountered works, recorded in Geneva in 1970. It’s a pity, though, that the words of these operatic excerpts – or, at the very least, a precis – weren’t included in the liner notes, especially as few listeners would be familiar with the plots of these largely forgotten works.

An entire CD is devoted to Massenet’s ballet Cigale, one of music’s more tedious scores, eminently forgettable music that takes a conscious effort of will to listen to. Bonynge clearly is devoted to the music of Massenet who is represented here by his Fantasy for cello and orchestra, the complete Cigale – and no fewer than 20 songs which Bonynge accompanies on the piano.

The last-mentioned are far and away the chief joy of this collection; they are sung with exquisitely understated artistry by Tourangeau with Bonynge a competent accompanist. These are interpretations to which I’ve returned time after time for the sheer pleasure of listening to exceptional chanson delivery. And Tourangeau is wondrous, not least for the warmth of her deep register mezzo notes, in ‘Sventura Ildegonda from Balfe’s Ildegonda nel Carcere. And in an aria from Vaccai’s Giuliette e Romeo, she brings a depth of expression that is moving. Bonynge conducts the Suisse Romande Orchestra in the operatic arias.

In the cello works – Massenet’s Fantasy and concertos by Popper and Auber – Jascha Silberstein brings a good deal of ardour and expressive phrase-shaping to his interpretations although occasionally intonation slips slightly.

As well, this set of CDs also includes Bonynge directing the English Chamber Orchestra in satisfactory accounts of four purely instrumental works by Salieri and J.C.Bach.

Of the 38 pages of the liner notes booklet, ten are taken up by photos of Bonynge.

Copyright 2003 Neville Cohn


CHINASONG

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Shanghai QuartetDELOS DE 3308
TPT 1:08:56

reviewed by Neville Cohn 

This is a fascinating and delightful excursion into the folk and popular music of China. For many, such as myself, with little contact with the indigenous music of the most populous nation on earth, this collection is revelatory, not least in the sense of it being a closed book to. just about every listener in the West. As the Shanghai Quartet’s 2nd violin Yi-Wen Jiang,(who arranged most of the pieces on this CD for the medium of string quartet) points out, he undertook the task in the belief that through his arrangements of this treasure trove of music, the SQ could share their folk heritage internationally. One senses that these often beautiful melodies would have brought comfort to Yi-Wen during the difficult and terrible days of the Cultural Revolution.

Yi-Wen states emphatically that, in his arrangements, he was not endeavouring to simply imitate the traditional Chinese instruments used to perform this music in China but to bring the harmonies and structure closer to styles which would be meaningful to the ears of non-Chinese. On the evidence of this collection,, he has certainly succeeded in doing this. In fact, I cannot imagine a western listener failing to respond in a positive sense to these charming miniatures.

To its international audience, the Shanghai Quartet is almost exclusively thought of in relation to their interpretations of masterworks of the genre. But the SQ musicians are not by a long chalk hidebound traditionalists. They frequently leaven their compilations of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms with music by composers at the cutting-edge. Now, these folksy and pop items bring a new dimension to their programs.

There are 21 tracks. I especially liked the extrovert energy of Double Dance and, in Dali Girl, a folk song from Yunnan, the pure sound of a high-pitched violin melody to the accompaniment of cheeping, twittering birdsong simulations. Reflection of the Moon in the Er-Quan Spring is another exquisite vignette, originally written for the erhu,, an ancient two-stringd instrument. Unsurprisngly, this quiet, bittersweet miniature is considered the Chinese equivalent of Barber’s famous Adagio. And Caprice (track 8 ) has all the energy and extroversion one associates with,, say, Aaron Copland’s Hoe Down.

And a set of Sichuan folk songs are made memorable by flute obbligati provided by the gifted Eugenia Zukerman.

Neville Cohn

 

Solomon (piano)

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Solomon (piano)

Halle Orchestra conducted by

Hamilton Harty *

Chopin, Liszt, Tchaikowsky*

Naxos 8.110680
TPT: 1:14:34

reviewed by Neville Cohn

More, perhaps, than any other of the 20th century’s great pianists, it was Solomon who brought an irrefutable musical logic to just about everything he played. It set him apart in a unique and unchallenged category of excellence. A keyboard technique honed to perfection,, an ability to coax a myriad tonal shadings from the piano as well as paying the closest attention to detail without ever losing sight of the grand design of whatever he happened to be playing, made Solomon’s illness-induced, early departure from the concert platform a personal tragedy and an immense loss to the international concertgoing public. But until a stroke cruelly halted his career (perhaps brought on, if only partially, by a very heavy smoking habit), Solomon gave listening pleasure to many – and his recorded legacy, although small, remains a monument to his rare gifts.Although the standard of sound recording at the time was primitive compared to current expertise, Solomon’s performance with the Halle Orchestra conducted by Hamilton Harty of Tchaikowsky’s Piano Concerto No 1 (recorded in November 1929 and February 1930) demonstrates an impeccable grasp of the work. Shining through are the immaculate technique, tempi choices that sound entirely appropriate – and a breathtakingly fine clarity of exposition as he expounds Tchaikowsky’s musical argument. (Solomon was to record the work again years later for HMV’s plum label.)One listens with a sense of wonder to Solomon’s account of Liszt’s Au bord d’une source, its diabolical difficulties resolved with astonishing ease, the playing informed by fingerwork of stunning delicacy. It makes for euphoria-inducing listening. Much the same could be said of La leggierezza. And in his justly famous account of the Hungarian Rhapsody No 15 (Rakoczy March) – as in almost everything he essayed – one is left with the impression that heart and mind were in perfect accord. Whether in poundings of demonic intensity or in very rapid fingerwork, this is a reading that seizes the attention and holds it in a vice-like grip. There is not the slightest hint of strain. Recorded quality in tracks 8 to 12 leaves something to be desired. There is some occasional distortion of sound here. And in the Fantasie in F minor, Solomon, most uncharacteristically, sounds fleetingly under strain. This is one of a bracket of Chopin works, including the Etude in F from opus 25, in which arpeggionated figures are marvellously controlled, like strings of perfectly matched beads. And the Polonaise in A flat, opus 53 is informed by a rugged power. Magnificent!This CD contains all the recordings that Solomon, who rose from humble beginnings as a cockney kid from London’s East End to international prominence, made for Columbia.

 

Neville Cohn