Clare Hammond is a fearless pianist,
specialising in virtuosic repertoire from the 20th and 21st
centuries, often championing the work of contemporary composers and premiering
their work. She performed in a stunning
lunchtime recital at the 2013 Brighton Festival. Her latest CD is ‘Étude’. It includes 26
études, a form which began as study exercises for pianists to develop a
particular aspect of technique, but largely through the efforts of Chopin and
other pianist-composers after him, has become an art form in itself, with
composers exploring the outer limits of technique and pushing the pianist to
new extremes of virtuosity. The disc
begins with three from a set of twelve ‘Études
d’exécution transcendante’ by Russian composer Sergei Lyapunov (1859-1924).
This set was dedicated to Liszt, and completed the cycle which Liszt had
begun of studies in all the 24 major & minor keys. Though whilst Liszt was clearly a major
influence, this is undoubtedly music from the late Romantic Russian
nationalistic school. With surging
rivers (‘Térek’), an atmospheric ‘Nuit d’été’ and an full-on raging ‘Tempête’, the three chosen here give
Hammond a perfect opportunity to set the scene for some barnstorming
playing. The six Piano Études which follow are from South Korean composer Unsuk Chin (b.1961). Often thinner in texture, yet no doubt more
technically demanding, these pieces manage to convey remarkable energy and
imagination within the potentially restrictive demands of studies based on repetition
or scales, and are probably the most pianistically challenging works on the
disc. Hammond seems to relish the
challenges set, yet also manages to find a sensitive touch in the delicate
moments amid the fireworks. Polish
composer Karol Szymanowski’s (1882-1937)
set of 12 Studies live in the
same soundworld in many ways as Debussy’s études, composed just one year
earlier than Szymanowski’s (in 1915).
These are short pieces, all under two minutes long, and Szymanowski does
well to create a specific mood in such a short space of time, although there is
perhaps less variety across the different études here, with the consistently
bitonal harmonies creating an other-worldy feel throughout. The disc ends with Ukranian pianist/composer,
Nikolai Kapustin’s (b.1937) Five Études
in Different Intervals, providing the perfect closing sequence for this
astonishing disc. Kapustin combines
classical and jazz styles in a unique way, and here he takes a seemingly
restrictive concept, a specific interval for each study, as a starting point
for five exuberant and joyous confections, once again fiendishly
challenging.
The
Six Concerti Armonici for strings
and basso continuo were first published in 1740, but without an ascribed
composer. There have been many theories,
and the most popular choice for many years was Pergolesi. But the mystery was solved in 1980 by the
Dutch musicologist, who found a manuscript of the concerti with a preface by Count Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer
(1692-1766). A renowned Dutch
diplomat, he was also admired for his compositions. The Innovation Chamber Ensemble consists of principal string players from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, under the artistic direction of Richard Jenkinson, and they certainly
show how much they enjoy this change of repertoire with stylish and spirited
playing throughout. This are not early
instrument expert performances, but they play sensitively, and it is only
perhaps in the slow movements where occasionally the sound is a little heavy
for my liking. However, these are
beautiful concerti and contain great variety and invention, giving the
Innovation Chamber Ensemble plenty of scope for varying tone and dynamics,
which they do well. Predominantly in the
Italian style, they are nevertheless far from formulaic works, and many of the
faster movements practically fizz with energy.
Harpsichordist
Steven Devine performs regularly
with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and London Baroque, and has
performed on numerous occasions in events in the Brighton Early MusicFestival. His Goldberg Variations
recording won much deserved phrase, and he follows this with a further disc of J S Bach, including the ‘Italian’ Concerto and ‘French’ Overture, both from the second
part of his ‘Clavier-Übung’. But Devine
starts his disc with the Chromatic
Fantasia and Fugue, BWV 903. Right
from the word go, it is clear that this is full-blooded harpsichord playing,
and and recorded sound from Chandos is appropriately warm and upfront. It is refreshing to hear the harpsichord played
with command and intent, and not in an overly sensitive and precious way, which
is sadly often the case. I like the
rhythmic drive he gives, not allowing the rapid ornamentation in the Fantasia
to upset a strong sense of pulse. This
is equally evident in the Aria variata
which follows – a theme with 10 variations ‘in the Italian manner’. The Fantasia
in C minor, BWV 906 comes next, and again precision and rhythmic integrity
is paramount here. Although the form of the ‘Italian’ Concerto which follows is clearly based on the concerti
with orchestra, of Vivaldi, Bach takes this and uses dynamic contrast and
varying textures to create a virtuoso concerto for the solo instrument. Once again the opening movement has drive and
energy, but in the central slow movement, Devine shows that he can also make
the instrument sing, allowing the beautiful aria solo line to breathe, before
the crashing Presto sweeps aside contemplation.
The ‘French’ Overture closes
the disc, and opens with a long Ouverture movement which is a phenomenal
construction in itself. Here Devine’s
programming makes perfect sense, with this great work offering the opportunity
for him to bring together his strong virile approach with a lighter touch in
the faster dance movements such as the Passpieds and Bourées, as well as giving
us a touching Sarabande. The closing
Écho is given suitable panache, and he clearly enjoys the echo effects to their
full – a joyful end to a stunning recording.
(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in GScene, February 2015)
Karl-Heinz Steffens returned to conduct the Philharmonia Orchestra in performances of Mendelssohn's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' Overture, Op. 21 and Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F major, 'Pastoral', Op. 68. They were joined by baritone Markus Werba to perform a selection of songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn by Mahler.
Royal Festival Hall, Thursday 5 February 2015.
 |
| © Francesco Luciani |
'The Philharmonia was on fine form, with tight ensemble throughout, and they responded well to Steffens' assured control of dynamics'
'Werba gave a highly characterful performance of the chosen songs'.
Steffens' 'enthusiasm and energy was matched by an attentive and lively performance from the orchestra'.
Read my full review here.
 |
| © Benjamin Ealovega |
Rory Macdonald had his debut concert conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra in Brighton on Saturday. They performed Humperdinck's Prelude to Hansel and Gretel, and were then joined by pianist Lambis Vassiliadis for Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21. For an encore, Vassiliadis played Liszt's Réminiscences de Norma, S394. The concert ended with Dvořák's Symphony no. 8 in G major, Op.88.
Brighton Dome, Saturday 17 January 2015.
'fine orchestral playing and an intelligent performance in particular of Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony'
'a strong and arresting performance, receiving a deservedly warm reception from the Brighton audience'.
Read my full review here.
I have reviewed a number of
discs to come out of the Heimbach Festival, and they have always proved to be
enjoyable live performances from great chamber musicians. The latest disc of Dvořák and Shostakovich
is no exception. The disc begins with Dvořák’s great ‘Dumky’
Piano Trio, with Artistic Director of the festival, Lars Vogt (who joins the Royal Northern Sinfonia as Music Director in 2015) on piano, and Christian Tetzlaff and Tanja Tetzlaff on violin and
cello respectively. The Dumka is a
Ukranian dance, with the characteristic of shifting between slow melancholy and
lively exuberance, and Dvořák uses this principle throughout this six-movement
trio. The performance here is very
touching in the slow sections, with real sensitivity particular from Tanja
Tetzlaff on the cello. The boisterous
sections once or twice become a little overblown acoustically (particularly in
the second movement), understandable in the context of a live performance. However, this is a lively and enjoyable
performance of a colourful piece, full of emotional contrasts. The disc
continues with a selection of six pieces from Dvořák’s
Zypressen for String Quartet. The performers here are Alissa Margulis, Byol Kang
(violins), Tatjana Masurenko (viola)
and Gustav Rivinius (cello). Dvořák arranged 12 of the cycle of 18 songs he had
written to express the unrequited passion he had for Josephina Cermáková (whose
sister he ended up marrying), and six of them are performed here. No. 2 has definite echoes of Dvořák’s
American String Quartet, and No. 11 has a delightfully bouncy rhythm, which the
performers here enjoy to the full. This might be the ‘filler’ here, but
it was in fact the performance I enjoyed the most. Dmitri Shostkovich’s (1906-1975) Piano Trio
No. 1 dates from 1923, and was a student work, dedicated to his beloved at
the time, Tanya Gilvenko. It is a rather
rambling single movement work, but contains music of great passion. Shostakovich’s father had died the year
before, and he was forced to work as a cinema pianist to support his mother and
sister. Perhaps this experience, and the
need to switch the emotions of the music quickly to suit a film dramatically,
goes someway to explain the sudden changes of mood in the Trio. Highly Romantic, passionate music gives
sudden way to stormy, urgent passages with particularly virtuosic and turbulent
writing for the piano. The performers
here, Aaron Pilsan (piano), Alissa Margulis (violin) and Marie-Elisabeth Hecker (cello) give an
especially ardent performance, and the energy of their live performance hides
the somewhat disjointed nature of this youthful work.
Various, 2014. Dvořák: Dumky, Zypressen, Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 1. Lars Vogt, Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff, Alissa Margulis, Byol Kang, Tatjana Masurenko, Gustav Rivinius, Aaron Pilsan, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker. Compact Disc. Avi-Music 8553265.
George Onslow (1794-1835) is one of that strange band of composers who were
incredibly successful in their day, and whose music has more or less
disappeared without trace in terms of contemporary performance and recording. Born to an English aristocratic father and
French mother, he was known at the time by many as ‘the French Beethoven’. He stood out at the time, as in
post-revolutionary France, the only really popular genre was opera – ‘pure’
instrumental music was much more a German tradition, and Onslow’s music is
clearly in the tradition of Beethoven, Spohr and Schubert. Onslow composed a vast amount of chamber
music, as well as four symphonies and four operas. But after his death, his music suffered from
being seen as too conventional – and good old Wagner didn’t help, branding some
of his music as ‘trivial’. Yet, whilst
there isn’t perhaps the depth and transcendence of some Beethoven or Schubert,
say, his music has real interest, and no less than Schumann said that only
Onslow and Mendelssohn approached Beethoven’s mastery of the string
quartet. The Trio Portici from Belgium have recorded a pleasing selection of
Onslow’s smaller scale chamber works, beginning with the Piano Trio, Op. 14 No. 2. The
Trio is perhaps the most obviously Beethovenian work here, with the spiky,
off-beat rhythms of its Minuetto vivace,
and the emphatic feel of its two confident outer movements. The individual voice of the composer is
strongest in the slow movement, variations on an ‘Air populaire des montagnes d’Auvergne’, combining French folk
roots with Germanic classicism and early Romantic idioms. This is followed by a delightful Duo for Piano & Violin, Op. 15. The work opens with a heartfelt and slightly
mysterious slow introduction, leading into an energetic display for both
players in the brisk first movement. After
a fun Minuet, a pleasing set of variations on ‘Au clair de la lune’ forms the
slow movement, before a sprightly finale.
They finish with the Sonata for
Piano & Cello, Op. 16. No. 1. After
another lively opening movement, this work’s core is the touching and lyrical,
very Schubertian central slow movement. It
finishes off with a bouncy yet tightly constructed contrapuntal exchange of one
main idea between the two instruments. The
Duo and the Sonata are in fact world première recordings, and the Trio Portici give
confident performances throughout. This
seldom heard music could not ask for stronger advocates.
Pianist Peter Donohoe has released his second volume of Prokofiev Piano Sonatas. After the first five in Volume 1, he has
jumped to the final Sonata, missing out for now the three emotionally heavy
‘War Sonatas’ (although he has previously recorded these in 1991). Following the ‘War Sonatas’, Prokofiev returned
to a certain extent to a more outwardly straightforward style for his final
completed work for the piano, the Sonata
No. 9, although this apparent simplicity is deceptive, with increasingly
complex contrapuntal writing growing from relatively small scale ideas. Donohoe achieves the perfect balance of
introspective reflection with the sudden occasional bursts of controlled drama,
particularly in the wry final movement. The
brief fragment of the incomplete Sonata
No. 10, with just under one minute of emphatic, confident music, manages to
show that Prokofiev still had much to say in his music right at the end of his
life. The Sonata for Cello & Piano, Op. 119, was written for and first
performed by Rostropovich and Richter in 1950.
Here, Donohoe is joined by cellist RaphaelWallfisch. The opening movement is
by far the most substantial part of the work, almost as long as the other two
movements combined, and it carries the serious weight of content, after which
the lighter short middle movement, which has Prokofiev’s trademark sardonic
wit, with a more lyrical central section.
The finale starts off lightly, but gains in grandeur and on the build to
the climax, the writing for both players becomes more and more dramatic, before
a reference to the opening cello theme from the first movement brings things to
a virtuosic close. Wallfisch and Donohoe
play together with evident mutual respect and close communication, and
Wallfisch produces a beautifully warm tone when needed (for example in the
extended lyrical section of the first movement), as well as humour, and a more
angular, spiky sound for the final movement.
Prokofiev’s two Sonatinas, Op. 54,
appear slight, particularly in comparison to the the Piano Concertos 4 & 5
which he composed either side of them.
Yet these introverted miniatures, concise almost to the point of
terseness, are in fact extraordinary in their development of key relationships
and expression within three brief movements each, both Sonatinas lasting around just
nine minutes each. I am not sure if Donohoe
plans to revisit the ‘War Sonatas' for a final volume, but these two volumes
have proved to be a real delight.
(Edited versions of these reviews first appeared in GScene, January 2015)
