Järvi and the Philharmonia hammer home the terrors of war in Prokofiev 6

James Ehnes
© Benjamin Ealovega

James Ehnes (violin)

The Philharmonia

Paavo Järvi (conductor) 

3pm, Sunday 26 November 2023

Royal Festival Hall, London

★★★★

Claude Debussy (1862-1918): Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35

Encore:

Eugene Ysaÿe (1858-1931): Sonata for Solo Violin in D minor 'Ballade', Op 27 No. 3

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953): Symphony No. 6 in E flat minor, Op. 111

Paavo Järvi
© Kaupo Kikkas

Debussy:

Järvi’s take on Faune was languorous and warm, yet with a kind of mystical reverence.

Tchaikovsky:

'Ehnes’ unquestionable virtuosity is such that this performance felt almost understated, in a good way. Nothing appeared to be any effort at all, so even in the craziest runs every note was clearly articulated'.

'Järvi et al had great fun with the finale’s rustic drones, and Ehnes’ gunshot spiccato got faster and faster, with a frankly crazy but exhilarating race to the end'.

Prokofiev:

'Järvi put the Philharmonia through their paces, with some particularly unforgiving tempo, especially in the finale, but they were up to the challenge'.

'This was surely Prokofiev’s anger at the horrors of war, and Järvi and the Philharmonia duly delivered the required sense of terror'. 

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

'A Million Little Diamonds' - engaging performances of Anthony Cæsar's settings of children's verse from Amy Carson & Nicola Rose

Anthony Cæsar (1924-2018) was formerly Chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II, but also composed, best known for his Missa Brevis Capella Regalis. Soprano Amy Carson and pianist Nicola Rose have released a short recording of his short set of eight songs, A Million Little Diamonds. The songs are setting of poems from A Treasury of Verse for Little Children, and this recording is a bit of a family affair. Cæsar wrote the set in 1908 for his niece Judith, and the songs had not been heard until Carson (a cousin of Judith) was approached to record them. They are light numbers, but with joyful and playful setting of the simple texts, and Carson delivers them with and bright and clear tone. There are hints in the writing of that early twentieth century English pastoral style, and the harmonic language is pretty straightforward, but there is a charm in their simplicity. Evening Song that ends the set has more poignant nostalgia, but otherwise they are mostly light in mood. Carson has performed with The Sixteen, the Monteverdi Choir and the Gabrieli Consort, and specialises more in Baroque repertoire, but the lightness of touch she brings here is very much suited to these pretty songs. Nicola Rose, who works as a repetiteur for various opera companies, including Welsh National Opera and Longborough Festival Opera, provides smoothly flowing accompaniments, and brings out well the few moments of less expected harmonic movement, as well as bouncing along the more rhythmic accompaniments of songs such as The Four Winds and I Would Like You for a Comrade. They both enjoy the light humour of The Clocking Hen, yet give the briefly glistening Winter Jewels a pretty shine. Whilst relatively small scale overall, the set would sit nicely within a longer recital, and the performances here are touchingly engaging. 

Cæsar, A. 2023. A Million Little Diamonds. Amy Carson, Nicola Rose. Compact Disc or Download. Convivium Records CR082.

An engaging and effective evocation of the night in Night Fragments from Richard Carr and the American Contemporary Music Ensemble

Richard Carr is a New York-based violinist, pianist and composer, and together with a string quartet drawn from the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, he has recorded a haunting album of atmospheric reflections on the space ‘between the gloaming and dawn’, in ‘Night Fragments’. ACME have worked with the likes of Wayne McGregor, Meredith Monk and Max Richter, to name just a few, and Carr has worked with artists such as Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins and Sly & Robbie, as well as numerous recordings in his own right. The sound world is improvisatory and rhapsodic, with many tracks combining scored parts for the string quartet beneath Carr’s flights on the violin, although he also plays piano, hammer dulcimer and makes use of electronics on other tracks. A common element is slow moving chords, often in the string quartet, whilst a solo line adds flourishes and folksy melodic lines on top. As a result, many of the tracks have a slower overall tempo, although The Ghost of a Flea, with its rapid perpetual string motion brings a little more rhythmic energy, with its minimalist influenced repetition, which slowly becomes more jerky and lively. A Twist in the Mist gives the improvisation to the strings, whilst the piano provides the shadowy, introspective grounding. And there’s an eerie piano opening to the ACME Nocturne (named in honour of the ensemble), and Carr cites Morton Feldman as an influence here. When the strings join, they add further atmosphere with mysterious shifting chords and shimmering effects. Use of electronics is sparse in Thunder Asunder, providing extra texture to the pizzicato strings at the start evoking the increasing raindrops, and Carr’s violin has folk tinges in its melodic lines. However, Deep in the Cloisters makes more significant use of electronics, with Carr playing violin and adding all the electronics here. It open with Pärt-like glassy strings, but then develops with low electronic drones and swelling waves, creating a very rich soundscape. Electronics feature again in Slightly Fitful, along with Carr on both piano and hammer dulcimer, creating a lighter, more meditative mood. Nocturnal Entomologyadds string improvisations to piano and dulcimer rhythmic backing, conjuring up cicadas, katydids and tree crickets. And finally, Just Before Dawn again puts string improvisations alongside Carr’s piano, here again showing the influence of Feldman, and there is a real sense here of those last nocturnal moments before a new day dawns, with increasing intensity and expectation over a tolling low piano bass note. Overall, there is a similar feel to many of the tracks here, but Carr’s use of different textures through addition of piano, dulcimer or electronics adds enough variety to sustain interest. The performances are clear and precise throughout, and the recorded sound is atmospherically warm and resonant, resulting in an engaging and effective evocation of the mysterious world of the night.

Carr, R. 2023. Night Fragments. Richard Carr, American Contemporary Music Ensemble. Compact Disc. Convivium Records CR073.

Confusion clouds any central critique in Clément's Don Giovanni at Glyndebourne

Andrei Bondarenko (Don Giovanni), Michael Ronan (Masetto),
Charlotte Bowden (Zerlina) and Chorus
© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

Stephanie Childress (Conductor)

Mariame Clément (Director)

Paul Higgins (Revival Director)

Julia Hansen (Designer)

Bernd Purkrabek (Lighting Designer)

Étienne Guiol (Projection Designer)

Keith Wallis (Fight Director)

The Glyndebourne Sinfonia

Richard Milone (Leader)

Ben-Sau Lau (Fortepiano continuo)

Jonathan Tunnell (Cello continuo)

The Glyndebourne Chorus

Aidan Oliver (Chorus Director)

Andrei Bondarenko (Don Giovanni) & Sam Carl (Leporello)
 © Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

4pm, Sunday 12 November 2023

Glyndebourne Opera House, Glyndebourne

★★★

Sam Carl (Leporello)

Kseniia Proshina (Donna Anna)

Andrei Bondarenko (Don Giovanni)

Ivo Stanchev (The Commendatore)

Nico Darmanin (Don Ottavio)

Alexandra Lowe (Donna Elvira)

Charlotte Bowden (Zerlina)

Michael Ronan (Masetto)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Don Giovanni

(libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749-1838))

Kseniia Proshina (Donna Anna) & Nico Darmanin (Don Ottavio)
 © Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

'There is so much going on here – keys standing in for gravestone inscriptions (why?), dead body chalk outlines flashing up in lights, rapist masks and a rotting 10-foot high cake topped with the number 2075 (again, why?), to name but a few'.

'Bondarenko was nimble in voice and tone throughout. Sam Carl’s Leporello (complete with Columbo mac) was equally convincing vocally'.

'Proshina showed the full range of emotions, with fear and anger uppermost, with impressively steely coloratura in Act 2. Lowe by contrast gave us real despair and anguish in her tone'.

Sam Carl (Leporello), Andrei Bondarenko (Don Giovanni)
& Ivo Stanchev (Commendatore)
 © Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

'Stephanie Childress conducted with energy and panache, and on the whole, ensemble was tight, and the complex sextets, septets and chain finales were given strong energy and drive'.

'Musically strong performances all round, but ultimately too much extraneous detail undermined what could have been a strong critique for our times'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Another joyful Glyndebourne return for Annabel Arden's fizzy Elisir d'amore

Maxime Nourissat (Dulcamara's Assistant) & Filipe Manu (Nemorino)
© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Tristram Kenton

Adam Hickox (Conductor)

Annabel Arden (Director)

Lez Brotherson (Designer)

Leah Hausman (Movement Director)

Giuseppe Di Iorio (Lighting Designer)

The Glyndebourne Sinfonia

Richard Milone (Leader)

Matthew Fletcher (Fortepiano continuo)

The Glyndebourne Chorus

Aidan Oliver (Chorus Director)

Mariam Battisteri (Adina) & Tiziano Bracci (Dr Dulcamara)
© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Tristram Kenton

Mariam Battistelli (Adına)

Filipe Manu/Rhys Batt (Nemorino)

Theodore Platt (Belcore)

Tiziano Bracci (Dr Dulcamara)

Ffion Edwards (Gianetta)

Maxime Nourissat (Dulcamara's Assistant)

4pm, Saturday 11 November 2023

Glyndebourne Opera House, Glyndebourne 

★★★★

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848): L'elisir d'amore

(libretto by Felice Romani (1788-1865))

Filipe Manu (Nemorino) & Mariam Battistelli (Adina)
© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Tristram Kenton

'The single setting makes perfect sense and, as a result, we are immediately drawn into this small yet vibrant world'. 

'The Nemorino ‘team’ carried us through the second act remarkably convincingly, and his (Rhys Batt's) 'Una furtiva lagrima' was astonishing'.

'Mariam Battistelli’s Adina was light and playful, her tone was clear and bright throughout'.

Filipe Manu (Nemorino), Mariam Battistelli (Adina)
& the Glyndebourne Chorus
© Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. Photo: Tristram Kenton

'The chorus were in fine form, but the women deserve special mention for their comic ensemble in Act 2, shifting from their drunken entry to competitive avarice when they learn of Nemorino’s newly acquired wealth'. 

'This production delivered just the right combination of comedy and emotion and, with fine solo and chorus singing throughout, left the audience with a warm glow on a cold November evening'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.