Positive energy and spirit bring the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra's season to a close

Joanna MacGregor (piano/director)

Ruth Rogers (violin)

Peter Adams (cello)

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

2.45pm, Sunday 26 March 2023

Brighton Dome

★★★★

Samuel Barber (1910-1981): Adagio for Strings

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): 

Triple Concerto in C major, Op. 56

Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73, 'Emperor'

The Brighton Philharmonic, under their Music Director Joanna MacGregor, brought their season to a highly successful close before an almost full house at the Brighton Dome. Their performances, full of energy and spirit, were warmly received, and it was great to see the Dome so full on a Sunday afternoon. It would appear that, having recently managed to sell out on a Saturday night, they are managing to add some newly acquired audience members to the faithful regulars in their traditional slot, and long may this continue. 

The repertoire was perhaps less adventurous than in their Glass/Rautavaara Saturday night programme (my review here), although including not one but two Beethoven Concerti was a brave choice. The Triple Concerto (for violin, cello and piano) is less performed than the Piano Concerto No. 5, ‘Emperor’, however, and was more likely to be new to listeners. It is a challenging work, not least in terms of achieving the right balance between the three solo instruments, and with the orchestra. The two string soloists were Ruth Rogers on violin, completing her first season as BPO Leader, Peter Adams on cello, Prinicipal Cello with the BPO for many years now, and Joanna MacGregor directed proceedings from the piano. She also directed the Piano Concerto from the keyboard. This is certainly doable, but a brave choice – the benefits were certainly a greater level of engagement and energy with her fellow soloists and with the orchestra, but it is a tall order to maintain focus on the solo role whilst quickly shifting into conducting mode, and occasionally the joins were visible. In both concerti, the leaders (Co-leader Nicky Sweeney in the Triple, Ruth Rogers in the Emperor) took on some conducting too whilst MacGregor was otherwise engaged in solo passages – again, this led to a few untidy joins as the baton was figuratively passed to and fro.

 

But they began with a more reflective opener for strings alone – Barber’s Adagio for Strings, directed by the concert’s first-half leader Nicky Sweeney. Chosen as a contemplative reflection on the BPO’s journey, post-Covid, ‘Towards the Light’, it certainly provided a contrast to the lively, more triumphant Beethoven works that followed. Sweeney directed with a steady, even tempo, certainly not on the slow side, and they opened with some beautifully pianissimo playing. It is a difficult piece to coordinate, as the phrases are long and entries by one instrument at a time need to be precise, so a solid tempo helped here. As the piece developed and became more expressive, it was harder to maintain quite such a regular tempo, and occasionally entries became a little less tight, particularly as they built towards the searing climax. The string blend took a while to settle in, with the violas faring better than the violins initially. But altogether, they gave an atmospheric reading, leading up well to the explosions of energy to follow that the Beethoven would deliver.

 

Ruth Rogers, Peter Adams, Joanna MacGregor
and the BPO
© Nick Boston

In the Triple Concerto, Peter Adams managed well the challenges of the cello part, the most virtuosic of the three solo parts. In order to ensure the cello cuts through the balance, Beethoven writes a lot in the instrument’s highest registers, and apart from perhaps at the join between the second and third movements, Adams was secure, and the warmth of his tone was a delight in the more lyrical moments, particularly in the slow movement. Rogers matched Adams well in response, with a singing tone, and injecting much-needed additional energy into the Rondo, which otherwise occasionally lost momentum. MacGregor did a great job of keeping the orchestra at bay to allow the soloists to come through, and delivered energy as well as warmth in the piano part. The woodwind players from the BPO were particularly nimble in the finale, and the orchestral martial cadences in the first movement had a lively bite.

The orchestra delivered some of their finest playing of the afternoon in the 'Emperor' Concerto, with tight orchestral ensemble in the opening movement, and again lithe woodwind playing, especially from the bassoons. The strings produced their warmest sound in the slow movement, definitely the highlight of the performance, with some beautifully quiet yet fluid playing from MacGregor too. Despite some inaccuracies, the finale had spirit, and brought the afternoon to a rousing finish. 

All in all, this was a joyfully positive afternoon of music making, and a sign of great things to come, as the BPO under Joanna MacGregor’s direction build towards their centenary in 2025.

CD Reviews - August 2022

Baritone Roderick Williams has joined with the Coull Quartet for a wonderful new recording of works for voice and string quartet. Surprisingly, despite the centrality of the string quartet in the chamber repertoire, works that put this together with voice are relatively rare. At the centre of this disc is one of the most significant works, Samuel Barber's (1910-1981) 'Dover Beach'. Here it receives a gloriously atmospheric performance, from the mysterious opening from the strings through to its dark, almost desperate climax. Williams relishes in the word-painting, highlighting the expression on words like tremulous, slow and sadness. Williams has then arranged two other of Barber's songs here for string quartet accompaniment. This adds sensitive textures to 'Sleep Now', with a tender lullaby lilt in the strings, and disturbing interjections in the wintry central verse, with rumbles of unease remaining from the strings before the final peaceful cadence. 'Sure on this Shining Night', which lends its title to the disc, is full of soft and tender wonder, with gently pulsing strings, and a delicate violin countermelody winding its way around Williams' warm toned vocal line. Following the Barber is 'Tree Carols', a set of five songs by Sally Beamish (b. 1956). The poetry (by Fiona Sampson) is full of dark imagery, colour and emotion, with dark simplicity expressing loss in 'The trees are troubled', and high, bright lines evoking starlight and 'tree heaven' in 'The tree is a changing sky'. Writing specifically for Williams, Beamish exploits the ease and bright tone of his higher registers, and the bloom of his high lines in 'The Miracle Tree' which opens the set is contrasted wonderfully with the shimmering strings to create a sense of wonder. At the start of the disc, Williams is joined by soprano Sophie Bevan and tenor James Gilchrist for a collection of songs by Peter Warlock (1894-1930). Warlock is probably best known for his Capriol Suite, The Curlew song cycle, or perhaps some of his boisterous drinking songs, but he wrote over 120 songs, as well as numerous choral pieces and works for voice and chamber ensembles. There are a couple of duets here. 'Corpus Christi' sees a soft-toned Williams paired with mellow warmth from Bevan, against darkly sliding harmonies from the Coull Quartet, and in 'Sorrow's Lullaby', Bevan is joined by Gilchrist, the two voices weaving with a violin line, strings muted throughout. Elsewhere, Gilchrist brings a light bounce to 'Chopcherry' and 'The Fairest May', and he floats lightly above the dancing strings in 'My lady is a pretty one'. Bevan shows clarity and impressive control in the melodic leaps to high notes in 'A Sad Song', and sweet simplicity in 'My little sweet darling'. Williams is gently lyrical in 'Mourn no moe' and suitably plaintive in 'Take, O take those lips away'. The disc ends with three more arrangements from Williams, this time of songs by Frederick Delius (1862-1934). In 'I-Brasil', the mystery of the mythical island is captured in the falling snap rhythmic figure, and Williams is suitably wistful in the sorrowful calls. The open fifths at the start of 'Twilight Fancies' sit particularly well with the strings here, sounding almost like horn calls, and Williams is atmospherically expressive above the rich string textures. The accompaniment for the final song, 'Young Venevil', is playful and imaginative with bird-like violins, and Williams places the melody delicately above, with some effortlessly light top Gs. This is a fascinating disc, offering some delightful repertoire with top notch performances from singers and players alike.

Various. 2022. On This Shining Night - Music for Voice and String Quartet. Roderick Williams, James Gilchrist, Sophie Bevan, Coull Quartet. Compact Disc. SOMM Recordings SOMMCD 0654.

In this short disc, Italian pianist Alberto Nones performs the three works by Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) with Fantaisie in the title. Nones’ approach here is to somewhat strip away the virtuosic fireworks to reveal the precise detail that sometimes gets lost in more overtly showy performances. This is very evident in the fluid Fantasie-Impromptu, Op. 66. The outer sections certainly flow here, apart from occasional halts in the momentum, and there is no compromise of tempo. The central section, however, could flow more, as there is extensive pulling about of the tempo here. But every detail can be heard, and the final section, whilst not as fiery as some other performances, is certainly impressive. In Fantasie, Op. 49, Nones’ approach is perhaps more successful, with its gentle opening to the drama that unfolds in a somewhat matter of fact way. Nones gives weight where needed, but the chorale like sections have a gentle simplicity. Nones gives the Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op. 61, a more stately, expectant opening, bridging well the transition from the recit-like statements into the flowing dance that finally gets going. There is a lightness here that allows the dancing melody to sing out, and the build to the virtuosic conclusion is not rushed or obscured by excessive weight. So whilst these might not be definitive recordings of these work, there is much to be savoured here in Nones’ refreshingly unfussy playing, revealing fresh insights into familiar works. 

Chopin, F. 2022. Complete Fantasies. Alberto Nones. Compact Disc. Convivium Records CR074.

Somewhat slightly different territory for me now - another pianist recording with Convivium, but this time the Italian jazz pianist Matteo Bisbano Memmo. Clearly a highly virtuosic pianist, he demonstrates this with some astonishing playing in the first half of the disc, a selection of standards, with a number of arrangements from the extraordinary Art Tatum. Here, Bisbano shows no fear, with rippling fluidity and startling virtuosity in Charlie Mingus' 'Duke Ellington's Sound of Love', and the wild, fiendishly racing 'Tiger Rag'. There is some lightness of touch in 'Alfonsina Y El Mar', and softness in the rich chords of 'Yesterdays', but mostly the requirements of the extreme virtuosity does lead to a somewhat harshly percussive sound in places. However, in the second half of the disc, Bisbano moves to a selection of his own compositions, and the mood is completely different. The virtuosity is still evident, in the driving energy of the extended composition, 'Metalknife', for example, but there is also more dynamic variety in the lively, urban 'Smokey Stogie', and enigmatic, more lyrical writing in 'Rose'. He uses the open piano strings effectively at the mysterious start of 'Metalknife', and the atmospheric, slow-moving harmonies in 'Stardust Light' are highly effective. And what to finish with? Well, a cover of Metallica's 'Master of Puppets', of course. He captures the relentless drive and percussive hammering here, once again with highly virtuosic playing, but there are also moments of sudden delicacy in the brief lyrical interludes. Overall, this is an impressive display of virtuosic talent, but for me, it is in his more expressively varied own compositions that Bisbano's pianistic voice shines.

Various. 2022. Metalknife - Music for modern piano. Matteo Bisbano Memmo. Compact Disc. Convivium Records CR066.

(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in Scene, August 2022) 

Moving intimacy in Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason’s impressive Chamber Prom - BBC Proms 2020 Live

Isata & Sheku Kanneh-Mason
© BBC/Chris Christodoulou

  Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello) 

  Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano)

  BBC Proms 2020 Live

  8pm, Friday 11 September, 2020, BBC4

  (first broadcast Sunday 6 September

  2020, BBC Radio 3, 

  recorded Thursday 27 August 2020)

  Royal Albert Hall, London

  ★★★★★

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op. 102 No. 1

Samuel Barber (1910-1981): Cello Sonata, Op. 6

Frank Bridge (1879-1941): Mélodie

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943): Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19

© BBC/Chris Christodoulou

Beethoven:

'The Kanneh-Masons enjoyed the conversational exchanges in the two movement’s slow openings, whilst giving the fast sections that follow in both cases great energy and momentum'.

Barber:

'The exquisite mixture of sunlight and sadness was as transparent in his facial expression as in the passion of both performers’ rendering of Barber’s late Romantic outpourings'.

Bridge:

'Sheku and Isata remained in total sync, right to the perfectly timed finish'.

Rachmaninov:

'The sibling closeness shone through, and despite those two huge ‘solo’ parts, they played as one'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Karabits and the BSO journey beyond the moon in a fast machine - BBC Prom 4

Kiril Karabits
© Chris Christodoulou

Nemanja Radoluvić (violin)
Trinity Boys Choir
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Kiril Karabits (conductor)

Sunday 21 July, 7.30 pm

BBC Prom 4

Royal Albert Hall, London

★★★★




Adams, John (b.1947): Short Ride in a Fast Machine - fanfare for orchestra

Barber, Samuel (1910-81): Violin Concerto, Op.14

Encore:
Traditional: Pašona kolo

Holst, Gustav (1874-1934): The Planets, Op. 32

Adams:
'The BSO were on top of the complexities, the woodwind fizzing and the brass soaring'.

Radoluvić:
'Great presence and involvement with the orchestra, giving Barber's generous melody warm tone, yet maintaining lightness of touch'.

Nemanja Radoluvić & Kiril Karabits
© Chris Christodoulou

Encore:
'Radulović brought the front desk strings to their feet for a blistering performance of a traditional Serbian circle dance'.

Holst:
'Karabits ... achieved a sense of awe and calm ... giving tight attention to dynamic control'.

'A Planets with considerable insight, dynamic variety and atmospheric contrasts'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

CD Reviews - August 2016

Having recorded four volumes of British Works for cello and piano, the brothers Paul Watkins and Huw Watkins (cello and piano respectively) have turned their attention to American works for the same forces. Their disc includes works by five American composers (incidentally, three of whom were gay), and the works span forty or so years of the twentieth century.  The earliest work is by Samuel Barber (1910-1981), his Sonata Op. 6.  Barber composed the work after playing Beethoven & Brahms’ cello sonatas in Italy with Domenico Menotti, the brother of Gian Carlo Menotti, Barber’s subsequent life partner.  It is a strongly romantic work, with clear influence of Brahms, and perhaps without the individuality of his mature output.  However, Barber cuts through the lush lyricism of the Adagio with a central scherzo-like Presto, and the Watkins brothers handle this contrast expertly.  Similarly, the impassioned finale is controlled with frequent tempo changes, which can threaten the work’s coherency, but not so here.  Next up are Three Meditations by Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), arranged by the composer from his monumental and highly controversial Mass from 1971, a musical theatre piece which intersperses settings of Latin mass movements with contrasting sections in English, drawing on several choirs, a rock band and a marching band.  Not particularly well received at the time, it still divides opinion on whether its mash-up of genres works or not.  Even in these three short Meditations, Bernstein combines earnest, almost yearning writing, and glassy harmonics for the cello in the first, spiky chromaticisms drawing on a theme from Beethoven’s Ninth Sypmphony in the second, with an unexectedly bouncy, folk dance (with Huw Watkins adding bongos rather than Bernstein’s instructions for using the piano lid for percussive effect) in the final Meditation.  A somewhat bizarre mixture of styles, Paul and Huw nevertheless make a convincing case for the work, particularly in the complex second Meditation.  Elliott Carter (1908-2012) was an incredibly prolific composer, particularly in his latter years, before his death at the age of 103.  His Sonata for Cello and Piano dates from 1948, and marks a shift in Carter’s output from a more popular neoclassicism to the beginnings of his exploration of what he called ‘temporal modulation’, where the relationship of pulse lengths become a key structural element of composition.  Once again here, the Watkins duo navigate this with expert precision, and their commanding performance here is the stand out moment of the disc.  Huw then gets a rest as Paul performs George Crumb’s (b.1929) Sonata for Solo Cello.  Composed in 1955, he dedicated the work to his mother, an accomplished cellist.  Drawing on baroque traditions in its Fantasia and Toccata outer movements, there are also strong influences of Bartók evident here.  Paul Watkins is particularly impressive in the rapid Toccata, with its almost perpetual motion throughout.  The brothers join for the final piece, the Waltz and Celebration from Aaron Copland’s (1900-1990) Billy the Kid, arranged by the composer for cello and piano.  I am not a fan of Copland in his faux-folksy mode, and after the intensity and complexity of some of the other works on the disc, these two short, rather light movements feel a little out of place, but they receive articulate and sensitive attention here.  Overall, very strong performances, and a fascinating survey of such varied composers, despite being broad contemporaries.

Various. 2015. American Works for Cello and Piano. Paul Watkins, Huw Watkins. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN 10881.

A few years ago I reviewed an excellent disc of mezzo-soprano Clare McCaldin singing works written for her by Stephen McNeff (b.1951), and she has returned to disc with a collection exploring the theme of female ‘madness’, entitled ‘Notes from the Asylum’.  McNeff’s and McCaldin’s working relationship has continued, and in 2013 McNeff wrote his opera in six songs for mezzo-soprano and piano, Vivienne, which McCaldin performed with pianist Libby Burgess.  The work explores the life of Vivienne Haigh-Wood, who married T. S. Eliot in 1915.  The relationship was difficult to say the least, and after Eliot decided on a separation, effectively then shunning her from his life, Vivienne’s mental and physical health finally led to her brother having her committed to an asylum in 1938, where she remained until her death in 1947, never visited by Eliot. McNeff’s six songs, using texts by Andy Rashleigh, move from Vivienne in the asylum remembering her life before her relationship with Eliot, through the turbulence of their relationship, as well as her affair with Bertrand Russell, leaving Vivienne at the end imagining Eliot visiting her and coming back to her.  McNeff writes strikingly nostalgic music, perfectly evoking a sense of the time, particularly in the spoken lines of Bertie, à la Walton’s Façade.  Yet there is a highly individual voice here too, particularly in the sense of disintegration McNeff creates in the final song, Belladonna, as the voice is left increasingly alone.  As is often the case when performers have premiered a work of this nature, McCaldin has clearly inhabited the world of Vivienne, and her performance communicates a strong sense of truth and honesty, throughout the highly virtuosic demands put on her, with real extremes of range and dynamics.  A real tour de force.  Vivienne actually closes the disc, and before this McCaldin moves through a good three centuries of repertoire exploring her theme and how composers, mostly but not quite all male, have portrayed in their music women with perceived madness.  Useful sleeve notes by Paul Conway discuss the prurient 17^th century obsession with mental illness, and how this was reflected in the popularity of the Restoration ‘mad’ songs, of which Purcell’s ‘Mad Bess’ is a prime example, describing ‘poor senseless Bess’, presumably as a result of lost or unrequited love.  Here, it is performed in the arrangement made by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), which adds a harder edge to the song, and McCaldin matches this accompaniment with a fuller sound than might be expected in Purcell.  Two sets of songs by Brahms (1833-1897) and Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) (who also ended his life in an asylum) are preceeded by a brief song by Harriet Abrams (1758-1821), ‘Crazy Jane’, a rather quaint setting of a text more anguished than the music might suggest, once again reflecting the image of a woman driven mad by the falseness of men.  Brahms’ Ophelia Lieder draw on texts from Ophelia’s ‘mad scene’ in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and despite their brevity, Brahms packs an emotional punch, particularly in the final song of the set, ‘Und kommt er nicht mehr züruck?’ (‘And will he not come again?’).  Wolf set many poems by Eduard Mörike, and here McCaldin sings five, all sung from the perspective of an Ophelia-like character, Agnes.  The harmonic language is denser and more dramatic here than the Brahms songs, with strong touches of Wagner.  McCaldin’s full tone is well suited to these affecting songs, and the emotional climax of ‘Wo find ich Trost’ (‘Where shall I find comfort?’) is particularly powerful.  Jumping forward to 1971, McCaldin and Burgess are joined by clarinettist Catriona Scott for American composer Ned Rorem’s (b.1923) Ariel, Five Poems of Sylvia Plath. These are highly virtuosic settings, for all three perfomers, which capture the sense of anger and turbulence of the poetry, written shortly before her suicide at the age of 30.  The Hanging Man has a particularly challenging cadenza for clarinet, and Lady Lazarus pushes the bounds of technique for the singer, ending ‘with a loud gasp’. This is a powerful disc, and McCaldin demonstrates the wide range and adaptability of her voice across such a broad range of repertoire, but it is in Vivienne that her dramatic abililties are most impressively in evidence.  Libby Burgess (piano) also deserves praise, showing great command throughout the wide-ranging repertoire. 

Various. 2016. Notes from the Asylum. Clare McCaldin, Libby Burgess. Compact Disc. Champs Hill Records. CHRCD111.

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

CD Reviews - April 2015

The Tallis Scholars have recorded their first CD of contemporary music since their famous recording of music by Sir John Tavener back in 1984 (my review of its recent release is here), unless you count their single track download of the piece they commissioned from Eric Whitacre to celebrate their 40^th anniversary in 2013 (and a review of that here too).  However, they have performed works by contemporary composers frequently in concert, and their Director Peter Phillips sees a close link between the music of Arvo Pärt (b.1935) and the renaissance polyphony repertoire with which The Tallis Scholars are mostly associated.  So, as a tribute to Pärt in his 80^th year, they have released an album of his music.  It’s entitled Tintinnabuli, which is Pärt’s own composition technique, formed after he experienced a block in composing in the early 1970s.  He had been composing in the neo-classical style, and then using serialism, but reached a compositional dead end, as well as getting into trouble with the Soviet authorities.  He turned to early, particularly medieval music for inspiration, and his new style combined simple meditative harmonies with the clustered overtones bells make when struck. The Tallis Scholars have recorded eight of Pärt’s most significant a capella works here, the most well known being his setting of the Magnificat, which they precede on the disc with his Sieben Magnificat-Antiphonen ('Seven Magnificat Antiphons'). The Tallis Scholars’ pure sound is well suited to this music, and the sopranos in particular produce an appropriately ringing sound. Most of the works here were written for larger choral forces, but The Tallis Scholars bring an intensity which means that the sudden fortissimi perhaps don’t create the wall of sound we might expect, but still achieve a sense of power – the climax of the Magnificat is a case in point.  Rhythmic interest is rare in Pärt, with the sixth Magnificat-Antiphon, and the curiosity of ‘Which Was the Son of…’ stand out. In the latter piece, a daring setting of the genealogy of Christ, so basically just a list of names, Pärt actually achieves considerable interest in varying the textures and The Tallis Scholars relish the slightly tongue-in-cheek fun – Pärt was mildly mocking the Icelandic way of organizing family names (the work was commissioned by the City of Reykjavík). There are some delightfully simple textual settings here, such as I Am the True Vine, and The Woman with the Alabaster Box.  As well as the bell-like quality of the perfectly blended sopranos, the basses also deserve mention for their rich tone and anchoring drones.  A stunning release, and a fitting 80^th birthday present. You can watch The Tallis Scholars in a video about the recording below:

Pärt, A. 2015. Tintinnabuli. The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips. Compact Disc. Gimell CDGIM 049.

Violinist James Ehnes has reached his third volume of chamber works for violin by Béla Bartók (1881-1945), and this disk is dominated by the set of Forty-four Duos for Two Violins, for which he is joined by fellow violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti.  The Duos appeared in four books, and were intended for students of the instrument to play either with their teacher or with fellow students (I remember attempting a few with my own teacher many years ago!).  They draw on a whole range of folk traditions, as one would expect from Bartók, but they also make extensive use of canon between the two violins, as well as bitonal harmonies and unexpected dissonances to shake up their seeming simplicity.  Rarely longer than a minute each, these spiky miniatures make for a surprisingly rewarding listen, as the folk melodies fly by one after the other. My highlights include ‘Wedding Song’ and ‘Pillow Dance’ from Book 1, the ‘Soldier’s Song’ from Book 2, the ‘Dance from Máramos’ from Book 3, and the slightly more substantial ‘Prelude and Canon’ which opens Book 4 – but you will certainly find your own favourites here. The two violinists are perfectly blended, to the extent that you will be hard pressed to know who is playing which line.  The disc begins however with Contrasts, a trio for violin, clarinet and piano, and for this Ehnes is joined by Michael Collins on clarinet, and Andrew Armstrong on piano.  The work was requested by Bartók’s compatriot, violinist Joseph Szigeti, who wanted a work to perform with Benny Goodman (and who recorded the work with the composer in 1940).  Bartók swaps around our preconceptions of the instruments here, often giving the jazzier lines to the violin, and the folk melodies to the clarinet, especially in the opening ‘Recruiting Dance’ movement. Again in the last movement he marries complex Bulgarian folk rhythms with jazz. The middle movement ‘Relaxation’ has a strange otherworldly feel, not least because of the unusual retuning of the strings of the violin required. Collins excels in his virtuosic cadenza in the first movement, and Ehnes responds with equal élan to his cadenza in the finale, ‘Fast Dance’.  In between, Ehnes and Armstrong perform the Sonatina, which is actually a transcription by Gertler of an original solo piano work.  Bartók used melodies here that he had recorded from Romanian village fiddlers, so the transcription by the young 18-year-old student was entirely appropriate, and Bartók gave his approval.  In its three short movements, he crams in five different folk tunes, including ‘Bagpipes’ and a ‘Bear Dance’.  A great disc of endlessly fascinating music, excellently performed by Ehnes and friends.

Bartók, B. 2014. Chamber Works for Violin, Volume 3. James Ehnes, Michael Collins, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Andrew Armstrong. Compact Disc. Chandos CHAN10820.

Chinese pianist Xiayin Wang has recorded three American Piano Concertos with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by Peter Oundjian.  George Gershwin’s (1898-1937) Concerto in F major will probably be the best-known work here, but the disc begins with the Concerto, Op. 38 by Samuel Barber (1910-1981).  The short two-movement Concerto by Aaron Copland (1900-1990) follows, and they finish with the Gershwin.  There is a thread of jazz influence throughout all three works, although in very different ways. The Barber Concerto is the latest work here, composed in 1962, and it is in the last movement especially, in 5/8 time, that jazz rhythms come to the fore.  It is an incredibly challenging work for the pianist, and Wang is completely on top of its demands.  The central movement has a typically sad extended lyrical melody, whereas the first movement is more confidently strident.  Wang and the RSNO under Oundjian judge these contrasts well, and this was definitely the highlight of the disc for me.  I have to confess to not being a fan of Copland, and I find his attempts at jazz unconvincing, and reviewers of his Concerto’s première felt much the same.  He’s at his best when he sticks to his French influenced post-impressionism (ironically considered distinctively American).  Anyway, his short two movement Concerto has a bluesy first movement, followed without break by a ‘snappy number’, as Copland referred to it. His attempts at humour here, with its swaggering, almost drunken feel I’m afraid just don’t work for me, and the competent performance from Wang and the RSNO doesn’t convince otherwise.  The Gershwin Concerto, composed one year earlier than Copland’s in 1925, is so much more successful – it is what it is, a joyous exploration of jazz, blues and dance.  Occasionally Wang could perhaps relax into the idiom a little more, although in the slow movement there is more of a sense of style.  Overall, it’s the Barber – both the work and the performance – that wins out on this disc.

Various. 2014. American Piano Concertos. Xiayin Wang, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Peter Oundjian. Hybrid Super Audio Compact Disc. Chandos CHSA 5128.

(Edited versions of some of these reviews first appeared in GScene, April 2015)