CD Reviews - September 2017

In 2015, saxophonist Huw Wiggin’s recital was the highlight of the Brighton Festival’s lunchtime concerts, and the following year he returned with the fellow members of the Ferio Saxophone Quartet to wow audiences once again.  So it’s great to see that they now have a recording contract with Chandos and have launched their debut commercial disc with a wonderful programme of original works for the saxophone quartet.  The centerpiece of the disc is a set of six Cíudades (Cities) by the Dutch saxophonist Willem van Merwijk, under his composing pen name of Guillermo Lago (b.1960).  They performed a selection of these at that Festival gig, and the persistent energy of Tokyo, the mournful, eastern inflections of Sarajevo, as well as the bustling Addis Ababa struck me as highly evocative then.  So it’s great to hear the other movements, such as the rhythmically driven Córdoba with its contrasting slow sections, and the Piazzolla-esque slow tango, Montevideo.  The quartet inhabits each of these cities, and communicates their evocative moods well.  They clearly like Lago’s music, as they have since commissioned another work, ‘The Wordsworth Poems’.  Lago’s writing is very atmospheric here too, and the quartet exploits some very quiet playing in the first movement, ‘Composed on Westminster Bridge’, to great effect.  The disc opens with an altogether more sedate affair, a delightful Grand Quatuor concertant by the Belgian composer Jean-Baptise Singelée (1812-1875), with great melodic invention, allowing each instrument to shine. This is followed by an elegant set of variations on a jaunty little theme, the Introduction et variations sur une ronde populaire by Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937).  This earlier, more Romantic repertoire allows the quartet to demonstrate their ability to create a beautifully unified, warm tone, as well as bring each instrument to the fore when required.  The recording is rounded off with a lively Hoe Down by Will Gregory (b.1959) (of Goldfrapp fame), showcasing the baritone sax amid the dancing rhythms.  Even if you don’t think you like the saxophone (although why wouldn’t you?), this deserves attention for the sheer variety of repertoire and the impressive talent of these four players.  Highly recommended.

Various. 2017. Flux: Original Works for Saxophone Quartet. Ferio Saxophone Quartet. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 10987.

Johannes Pramsohler and his Ensemble Diderot bring us more rare Baroque repertoire, this time by another forgotten Dresden composer, Giovanni Alberto Ristori (1692-1753).  They are joined by Argentinian soprano, María Savastano, and Spanish oboist Jon Olaberria.  The bulk of the disc is taken up by three cantatas, with libretti written by Bavarian princess Maria Antonia who joined the Dresden court in 1747 when she married her first cousin, the Crown Prince Friedrich Christian.  Ristori’s settings of these three monologues are lively and full of dramatic interest.  There is the familiar story of Dido, abandoned and in despair, as well as the tale of Lavinia (also from the Aeneid) who is promised in marriage to Aeneis, and so is forced to leave her fiancé Turno (who Aeneis then kills!). The final story is a simpler tale of Nice’s woes over her absent shepherd lover Tirsi – and here we have a happy ending, with Tirsi taking the shape of a solo oboe for a final love duet. Savastano has a powerful, dramatic voice, and she gives full vent to the heroines’ passions.  There are long passages of recitative, yet these are filled with emotional word-setting, underpinned with dramatic instrumental flourishes.  In ‘Didone abbandonata’, Dido is a much angrier, even defiant heroine than Purcell’s rather passive characterisation, and again, Savastano relishes the passion in Ristori’s writing. But the height of dramatic pace has to be Lavinia’s final aria from ‘Lavinia a Turno’, with wildly exciting, racing strings, and a tour de force for the soprano.  Savastano’s virtuosity is very impressive here, yet she also demonstrates a gentler side in the final duet of ‘Nice a Tirsi’.  Olaberria’s sensitive playing also sets us up nicely for the final work on the disc, a delightful Oboe Concerto.  The writing for the oboe is delicate yet intricate, and Olaberria makes this sound deceptively easy.  His graceful touch in the slow movement is also lightly matched by the strings, and the courtly finale rounds things off beautifully.  As ever, Pramsohler and the Ensemble play with precision and great energy, making this yet another successful addition to their growing catalogue celebrating unknown gems of the Baroque repertoire.

Ristori, G. A. 2017. Cantatas for Soprano, Oboe Concerto. María Savastano, Jon Olaberria, Ensemble Diderot, Johannes Pramsohler. Compact Disc. Audax Records ADX 13711.

Max Reger (1873-1916) has been receiving a bit more attention of late, following the 100^th anniversary of his death last year.  Unlike the prevailing direction of early twentieth century Germanic music towards the atonality and serialism of the Second Viennese School (Schoenberg et al), Reger admired and very much followed in the footsteps of Brahms, and this is most evident in his three Sonatas for Clarinet and Piano.  In fact, it is said that hearing a private performance of Brahms’ F minor Clarinet Sonata in 1900 led him to state there and then that he would compose two sonatas for the instrument, which he proceeded to do in a matter of months.  He wrote one more Clarinet Sonata in 1908, and all three have been recorded here by clarinetist Michael Collins, with Michael McHale on piano.  They begin with the later work, the Sonata Op. 107, a weighty work at just over half an hour (the earlier Sonatas coming in at about twenty minutes each).  It is full of Reger’s characteristic rich, wandering harmonies, and like late Brahms, he exploits the dark lyricism of the clarinet to great effect.  He ends with a sunnier, playful if slightly rambling finale, although this concludes in a slower, more reflective mood.  The Sonata Op. 49 No. 1 has a turbulent, rather agitated opening movement, and both Collins and McHale give this great passion.  The strange harmonies of the slow movement’s opening bars are followed by some beautiful rhapsodic playing from McHale in particular, with Collins sailing lyrically over the top. Turbulence is never far from the surface, and although Reger never quite finds the moments of sublime beauty that his idol Brahms achieved, this is nevertheless fine chamber music that deserves greater exposure.  The Sonata Op. 49 No. 2 has another extensive first movement, followed by a bright, fleet-footed scherzo, delivered here with dazzling panache, again with McHale having the most virtuosic part to play. Throughout, Collins and McHale bring out the melodic and harmonic interest, never allowing Reger’s slightly rambling style to lose direction. 

Reger, M. 2017. Clarinet Sonatas. Michael Collins, Michael McHale. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 10970.

(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in GScene, September 2017)

CD Reviews - December 2016

The Australian Chamber Orchestra are renowned for their lively and exciting live performances, and under their director and lead violinist, Richard Tognetti, they have released a live recording of performances of Mozart’s final three Symphonies, Nos. 39-41, given in Sydney in 2015.  As with all good live recordings, this retains a real sense of energy, and leave you wishing you’d been there.  Tognetti takes the fast movements at a great lick, particularly the finale of No. 39, which has such spark, yet without compromising precision and detail.  Quick tempi in Mozart can sometimes feel too frenetic and breathless, but there is always just enough sense of control here.  The darker moods are also given great presence, particularly in the slow movement of No. 40.  And the still shocking harmonic gear changes in the finale are given enough drama without being overly aggressive.  No. 41’s slow movement is treated with sensitive care and attention, and the finale’s dazzling combination of no fewer than five themes is suitably jubilant. These are impressive Mozart recordings by any account, but with the added spice of their live energy, this makes them worthy of high praise indeed.

Mozart, W. A. 2016. Mozart's Last Symphonies. Richard Tognetti, Australian Chamber Orchestra. Compact Discs (2). ABC Classics 481 2880.

I’ve received two recordings this month featuring Irish pianist Michael McHale.  First of these is in fact a showcase album for fellow Irishman, the percussionist Alex Petcu.  This is a real calling-card selection, with a great variety of styles, as well as a range of percussion instruments.  McHale joins him for Piazonore by Alexej Gerassimez, a short piece for vibraphone and piano, loosely based on Piazzolla’s Libertango theme.  This has great drive, and Gerassimez (another percussionist) blends the piano and vibraphone well.  The Arabesque No. 1 by Debussy also receives a sensitive vibraphone treatment, and then the instrument becomes ethereal and haunting when bowed in Elliot Cole’s Postlude No. 8.  There’s plenty for the marimba too, including some tasteful Bach, and the delightful ‘A Little Prayer’ by the great Evelyn Glennie, here exploiting the instrument’s resonance to create a remarkably sustained sound.  Petcu also performs Steve Reich’s challenging marimba duet, Nagoya Marimbas (with himself!), at a mesmerizing speed.  He is joined by violinist Ioana Petcu-Colan in two pieces, both with folk influences. ‘Yerkinkn Ampel A’ is an arrangement of an Armenian folk song, and the Fugue from Prelude and Fugue by Sam Perkin has Andean influences.  Once again, Petcu blends well with his partner, and Petcu-Colan’s sweet tone complements the marimba timbre effectively. A range of drums and other pitched and non-pitched instruments also feature on the disc, which makes for a highly engaging and interesting programme.

Various. 2016. In Time - Music for Solo Percussion. Alex Petcu, Ioana Petcu-Colan, Michael McHale. Compact Disc. RTÉ lyric fm CD151.

The second disc has Michael McHale centre stage, performing two Irish Piano Concertos, with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Courtney Lewis.  Firstly, he performs the Piano Concerto No. 3 by John Field (1782-1837), the Dublin-born pianist composer who is credited with the ‘invention’ of the Nocturne as a genre piece. The concerto has just two movements, but apparently Field would often insert one of his nocturnes in as a middle movement in performance, and here, McHale himself has arranged the Nocturne No. 2 for piano and orchestra, and it does act as a convincing central movement alongside the Concerto. McHale gives a strong performance, showing particular sensitivity in the fantasia-like section of the opening movement, and relishes the virtuosic display of the final movement.  For the other concerto here, we jump forward to the present day, with Philip Hammond’s (b.1951) Piano Concerto, written for McHale, and premiered by him just last year.  Hammond describes his style here as ‘retro-romanticism’, clearly drawing on the Romantic tradition of the virtuoso concerto.  It is a striking yet accessible work, with a particularly haunting slow middle movement, with relentless rising scales creating intensity and tension, which then explodes into the rapid driving finale. McHale’s energetic virtuosity is ably supported by great precision from the orchestra and Lewis.

Various. 2016. Irish Piano Concertos. Michael McHale, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Courtney Lewis. Compact Disc. RTÉ lyric fm CD150.

Jacques Ibert (1890-1962) is a greatly underestimated French composer, and it is a real surprise that his music, which is often lively and full of humour, is not more often heard in the concert hall.  He didn’t restrict himself to any particular prevailing style, and the variety of his output can be seen in this disc of his orchestral works from the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, conducted by Neeme Järvi.  The rich impressionism of the opening movement of Escales… (‘Rome-Palerme’) stands in great contrast to his eastern influenced use of a solo oboe in ‘Tunis-Nefta’, and again to the Spanish heat of ‘Valence’.  Ibert’s Divertissement is perhaps his best-known work, with its wit and circus-like brass vulgarity and crazy police whistles.  Järvi and the orchestra have fun here, but take a slightly ironic approach, rather than fully letting go to its excesses.  Other gems here include another atmospheric oboe solo in Féerique, alongside the full-on Hollywood-esque celebration of Ouverture de fête.  The Suite symphonique ‘Paris’ is another compilation of incidental music, with Ibert deftly shifting action from the original South American location of a play by Romain, to the busy metropolis of Paris, and Järvi and the OSR bring out all the detail in Ibert’s lush and imaginative orchestration.  If you don’t know his music, then Ibert is definitely worth exploring – and this is the perfect place to start.

Ibert, J. 2016. Neeme Järvi conducts Ibert. Neeme Järvi, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Hybrid Super Audio Compact Disc. Chandos CHSA 5168.

(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in GScene, December 2016)