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Classical Music

Tveitt: Piano Concerto No. 4 "Aurora Borealis" / Variations on a Folksong
Gimse / Sussmann / RSNO / Engeset
Naxos 8.555761 Reviewed by SG
Few will have heard of Norwegian composer Geirr Tveitt, let alone know his work. He incorporated the folk music of his native country into much of it, but managed to avoid any form of over romanticised sentimentality, and created a style that is pretty much unique. His Fourth Piano Concerto Aurora Borealis' is actually a three movement tone poem, full of luminous textures, with evocative keyboard writing that creates a wonderful sense of mystery, and reveals the bold ruggedness of rhythm that is at the heart of Scandinavian folk music. The single-movement Variations on a Folksong from Hardanger, for two pianos and orchestra, is actually longer than the Piano Concerto, but with a lovely theme, these beautiful variations are easy to follow and never dull, with the pianos avoiding the simply percussive qualities that can result from this form of composition being put in the wrong hands. In fact, both the performers and the engineers have excelled throughout, with first-rate playing, sympathetic direction and a vibrant sound. In the early 1970s, a fire destroyed much of Tveitt's music, so we must be grateful that these two works survived, and that Naxos have discovered these gems to record.

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 6 Pathetique
Rautauaara: Apotheosis
Swedish Radio SO, Franck
Ondine ODE 1002-2 Reviewed by JMH
Those who believe there's nothing more to be said about the mainstream classical repertoire should hear this remarkable account of Tchaikovsky's Pathetique conducted by Mikko Franck. It's a powerful performance of brooding anger and (ultimately) nihilistic destruction. Tempi are very broad, leading to an overall time just short of 55 minutes - some 8 to 10 minutes longer than average. Yet the performance doesn't feel slow; just weighty, inexorable, and ultimately inconsolably tragic. Franck makes sure the music doesn't drag, and keeps rhythms crisply sprung and articulate. But such things are incidental. The key to this performance is its incredible concentration and farsightedness; its seriousness and intensity. The climax of the first movement's development section (from about 15min) is electrifying, as is the coda of the finale - a vision of bleak tragedy, bereft of hope or salvation. It's a performance to put beside Bernstein's (DG); there can be no higher praise. Rautavaara's short orchestral piece Apotheosis is atmospheric and richly-hued - like a highly saturated variation of Ravels Une Barque sur l'Ocean. Ondine's recording is sonorous and detailed without obvious microphone spotlighting. Tchaikovsky's dark scoring is revealed with great clarity, yet balances remain open and natural. You can almost feel the woody-brown textures of the double basses in the finale.

Schumann: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 3
Zehetmair Quartet
ECM New Series 1793 472 169-2 Reviewed by SG
Despite Schumann's quartets being very much under-performed, they can certainly be put on a level with his orchestral works, piano music or songs - at least when hearing such committed performances as these. Some have regarded them as lacking romantic expressiveness, but the Zehetmair Quartet have revealed the complex blend of tenderness and vitality that epitomises them and reveals the tension in much of the composer's better loved works. Some may be unsettled by the daring tempos employed here, such as in the Scherzo and finale of String Quartet No. 1, but these animate the dynamics of the work, giving the performance a real sense of spontaneity. In fact I have never heard these works sound so exhilarating. There is 'certainly a physical energy to the playing, but this is allied to a care for the musical colours and textures, conveying exquisite poise and a sense of emotional lyricism. This has all come about through a sensitivity to Schumann's music. All four members of the ensemble play with masterful technical assurance, and ECM have provided an excellent recording. It is just a pity that all three quartets were not included, when they would all fit on one CD.

Mahler: Symphony No 6
Orchestre National de France
Bernard Haitink
Naive V 4937 Reviewed by JMH
Bernard Haitink's '90s Berlin Philharmonic cycle of the Mahler symphonies on Philips was never completed alas (symphonies 8 and 9 were left unrecorded), so it's a pleasant surprise to see this Radio France account of the sixth. Taken from live performances given over 2 days in October 2001, the overall timing is slightly faster than either of his previous studio versions with the Concertgebouw and Berlin Philharmonic respectively, so the performance fits on one CD. But the first movement repeat is missing - something Haitink previously observed. It's unusual to hear a French orchestra playing Mahler, and one wonders how often the Orchestre National de France had encountered this music - though Maazel taped the first symphony with them for CBS. Whatever the answer, they play the sixth superbly. They make the right sort of burnished sound too -ripe, sonorous, craggy though the recording gives the top-end slight prominence. Tonally, the recording is very sweet and open, but slightly on the bright side - the upper partials of the brass are emphasised, though the sound remains clean. The orchestral playing is alert and disciplined, but not regimented, and the performance has plenty of fantasy. Applause is included, but some idiot shouts 'Bravo' at the end a sure indication that he didn't understand a single note. Stunned cowed submission is the only fitting response to Mahler's sixth!

Schubert: Octet in F major, D803
Gaudier Ensemble
Hyperion CDA67339 Reviewed by JMH
Over a decade has passed since the release of the Gaudier Ensemble's first recording of this work, on ASV. While that particularly refined CD was admired for its intrinsic worth, illustrating this work as a step on Schubert's "way to a grand symphony", there have since been a few changes to the group's personnel, with the present players revealing an even better understanding of the piece. The new version may lack some of the all-embracing beauty of the old performance, which exhibited flowing lines and an almost eternal sense of loveliness, especially in the Andante and the particularly gripping opening to the finale, but it reveals the details of Schubert's composition more comprehensively. And the playing provides a sublime tension as each of the performers respond to the others' input with a high degree of intelligence, especially in the Allegro vivace. There is still a wonderful romantic quality to proceedings but, while full of the most intimate moments, the newer performance leaves a more open impression. This is helped by Tony Faulkner's engineering, which provides sound that is particularly spacious, all resulting in a far more compelling and consistent example of fine, large-scale chamber music.

Respighi: La Boutique Fantasque (after Rossini) La Pentola Magica, Prelude and Fugue (after J. S. Bach)
BBC Philharmonic, Noseda
Chandos CHAN 10081 Reviewed by JMH
Of course the main attraction here is the colourful ballet score La Boutique Fantasque. Brimfull of catchy Rossini tunes, it's a work that never loses its freshness or appeal. Noseda's performance is by turns brilliant, sparkling, and witty, and he plays the music for all it's worth. Yet although buying the disc for this work alone is justified, in many ways it was Lo Pentola Magica (another ballet score, lasting about 25 minutes) that caught my ear. Rarely performed or recorded, it deserves to be better-known. As so often with Respighi, the music is very evocative and atmospheric - not perhaps as immediately appealing as (say) the Three Botticelli Pictures, but attractive enjoyable music, worth returning to. The orchestration of Bach's D major prelude and fugue is from another age, when baroque music needed (or was felt to need) the equivalent of a face-lift to make it acceptable. Today we innocently enjoy the opulent vulgarity of Respighi's expert scoring, perfectly realised in this fresh effervescent performance. The recording is typically Chandos; fairly reverberant, with the orchestra set well back in a lively acoustic. Clarity is quite well maintained, though the impression is more one of atmosphere than sharp detail.

La Belle Marie, Songs to the Virgin from 13th Century France
Anonymous 4
Harmonia Mundi HMU 907312 Reviewed by SG
While the American female vocal group, Anonymous 4, have decided to disband after 17 years to pursue individual interests, they will still be around until the end of the 2003-4 season. As usual, this release features repertoire gained from original manuscripts, but also utilises research into pronunciation of French and French Latin from the period. That music is a varied and compelling collection of conductus and chansons, all anonymously composed with the exception of the monophonic conductus, Beata viscera by Perotin. Their performance is also typical, producing sound of remarkable unity, with voices impeccably in tune and a tremendous clarity of tone. Over the years, that tone may have observed a touch of mellowing, but this vocal quartet still present the highest standard of musicianship, and now add a few extra shades of colour to their glittering presentation. The more complex, livelier works feature some wonderful interplay between voices and, like the singing, the engineering is up to a very high standard. If you can see this group live, then I urge you to. Like listening to this delightful release, it will only emphasize what you will be missing once its members have finally gone their separate ways.

Mahler: Symphony No 5
Netherlands PO
Hartmut Haenchen
Pentatone Classics PTC 5186 004 Reviewed by JMH
It's a bit naughty of me to write about this surround-sound SACD, having only heard it as a two channel CD. But, even in its CD format, the recording is impressively detailed and sonorous. Dynamic range is very wide, and as a result it's a good idea to increase volume levels by something like 3dB to 5dB. Recorded live in Amsterdam's famed Concertgebouw, the sound is not overly reverberant, but nicely balanced. Played at realistic volume levels, climaxes have shattering power, while quiet passages sound clear and focussed. Perspectives are wholly natural, and clarity is excellent with no hint of microphone spotlighting. You hear lots of detail because the sound is so open and transparent. There's some impressive deep bass too. A little audience noise is sometimes audible, but not much, and you really sense the ambience of the venue between movements as people cough and move in their chairs. So - no complaints from a sonic point of view; one of the best-sounding Mahler Ss ever issued. The performance is good too; well-paced and expressively played, without tricks or gimmicks. Haenchen doesn't try to milk every last drop from the score, yet neither is he aloof or cold. The overall timing of just over 68 minutes is slightly on the fast side, yet the playing doesn't sound rushed or hasty. A very good performance, superbly recorded. Applause is included.

Alkan: Esquisses, Op. 63
Steven Osborne
Hyperion CDA 67377 Reviewed by SG
While Charles-Valentin Alkan's compositions for the piano may have earned a not altogether unfair reputation as being difficult and full of the most extraordinary flamboyance, requiring a performer who possesses the most remarkable virtuosity and perfect technique, these 48 Sketches represent a far more restrained side of the composer's character. Even Steven Osborne's notes in the accompanying booklet explain that he had previously avoided Alkan's works because of a similar judgment. Now, having introduced these Esquisses to us, Osborne deserves our gratitude. They were written over a period of several years, before being assembled for publication in 1861. While they still hold material that will test the pianist, they are often sublime, requiring a performer of the utmost sensitivity, and in Osborne they find the perfect exponent. He is receptive to their diversity of mood and contrasting character, and produces playing of great luminosity, revealing an extraordinary range of expressions, such as the grotesque lyricism of Les Diablotins, the rapture of Delire or the simply poignancy of Petit air dolent With very good, sympathetic engineering, those preferring the emotional and more exquisite side of music for the solo piano, as well as the pianist's art, should look no further.

Dvorak: The Golden Spinning Wheel; The Noon Witch; The Water Goblin; The Wood Dove
Royal Concertgebouw orchestra
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Teldec 2564 60221-2 (2CDs priced as 1) Reviewed by JMH
Three of the four works on this double CD have previously been issued as fillers to Hamoncourt's recordings of Dvorak's symphonies 7, 8 and 9. Since the combined timing of all four works only just exceed 83 minutes, Teldec have put out this two-disc set for the price of one. The performances are detailed and sensitive, and Hamoncourt displays plenty of sympathy for Dvorak's folksy Bohemian idiom and his special unique sound world. In many ways Dvorak's symphonic poems are neglected pieces. Yet they're among the best works this composer wrote, and each of the four scores included here contains music of the highest quality. The orchestration is particularly impressive, and Dvorak creates some telling sonorities to illustrate the subject, using a whole gamut of effects with great subtlety and imagination. The live recordings sound very atmospheric and highly detailed. The orchestra is nicely set-back in a warm but not overly-reverberant acoustic, and the results are well-nigh perfect. If you didn't buy the symphonies, treat yourself to this double CD and speculate on what you missed!

Weigl: Symphony No. 5 'Apocalyptic'; Phastastisches Intermezzo
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Sanderling
BIS CD-1077 Reviewed by SG
Karl Weigl worked under Mahler in Vienna. There he enjoyed respect and admiration, despite being regarded very much as a traditionalist in a progressive age, until 1938, when the Nazis marched into Austria, forcing him to emigrate to America. The Apocalyptic Symphony, although not premiered until 1968, was composed in 1945 and dedicated to President Roosevelt's memory. It is full of tonal riches and harmonic complexities, revealing a certain Mahlerian irony, but with an underlying admiration for the likes of Beethoven and Brahms. It opens with sounds of the orchestra tuning, over which the trombones blast out the first movement's main theme, establishing order from chaos. The Scherzo has an oriental feel to it, while the Adagio is one of the most beautiful written during the 20th Century. The finale consists of a bitterly ironic march into a man-made apocalypse before bells announce the conclusion to this remarkable work. The delightful and utterly original Phantastisches Intermezzo is scored more lightly, revealing areas of profound contrast. Throughout, Thomas Sanderling and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin reveal great commitment and understanding, delivering sparkling performances of intense feeling, and with excellent sound, this is a superb release.

Bloch: Concerto Symphonique; Scherzo Fantasque; Hiver-Printemps
Dinova (piano), SO State Academic Cappella of St Petersburg
Tcherrushenko
Chandos CHAN 10085 Reviewed by JMH
Bloch is dangerously close to being a one-work composer; only Schelomo is played/recorded with any frequency - and even that much less often than it should be! Yet he had a unique voice, and wrote music that amply repays the time taken to get to know it. All three works on this disc are high quality pieces. The Concerto Symphonique (1947-8) in three movements is a big ambitious work for piano and orchestra lasting some 40 minutes. It has the same archaic seriousness as Schelomo; although you know it's music written during the past fifty or sixty years, it somehow feels much older - like the score for one of those Hollywood Biblical epics from the '60s. And while you won't whistle it on your way to work, it's music of real substance. Bloch definitely had something of importance to say. The Scherzo Fantasque (1948) has something of the diabolical in its make up - a malevolent streak quite different to the almost religious fervour of the Concerto Symphonique. Both works feature solo piano, and Halida Dinova grapples manfully with Bloch's bigboned writing. The disc ends with the atmospheric Hiver-Printemps; an early work (1904-5) beautifully scored for orchestra. Chandos' recording is very good; not as reverberant as their typical European sessions, but clear, open, and well-balanced.

Audiophile Recordings

Various Artists - Oh Blues Where Art Thou?
Audio Fidelity AFLP 0015 Reviewed by DD
This is a great set lovingly compiled and re-mastered by Steve Hoffman. The material all dates from the early '50's and whilst none of the recordings can be termed 'hi-fi' Hoffman has wrung the best from each and every one of them. There's a roundness, and naturalness to each of these performances that's a joy to listen to. From the opening 'Key to the Highway' from Brownie McGhee and his Jock Block Busters to the closing 'Dangerous Woman With a 45 In Her Hand' from Sonny Terry there's not a duff track here. Standouts include John Lee Hooker, with a great driving acoustic take on 'Yes, Baby Baby', the great Lightnin' Hopkins performing 'My Heart To Weep' and several tracks by Sonny and Brownie together and apart. Listen too to 'Bulldog Blues' by Bob Gaddy and his Alley Cats. Great, down and dirty stuff as is 'So Sorry' from LC. Williams, and, well every track on the album. There's not a trace of slickness here, just honest music making. The sleeve very obviously comped together and taking a leaf, like the title, from the Cohn Brothers is very naff. The sleeve notes too leave a few gaps or in the case of Ray Charles, cover musicians who are strangely absent from the track listing, but don't let any of that detract from this superb album. It's an essential purchase for any blues lover.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

The Graham Collier Septet - Deep Dark Blue Centre
Whatmusic.com WMLP-0017 Reviewed by RP
British jazz, with perhaps the exception of an odd Tubby Hayes album, is a field that has been sadly neglected in audiophile circles. Sometimes it takes an outsider to see beyond those grandiose technical solutions found in a180g pressing or on an SACD format and to simply put the music first. This is very much the case in point here with Whatmusic's no nonsense digitally remastered cut of bass player Graham Colliers 1967 debut, Deep Dark Blue Centre. A side one opener, Charlie Mariano's 'Blue Walls', is the only track of six not written and arranged by the Gil Evans and Herb Pomeroy influenced Collier. There, and on 'Hirayoshi Suite' and 'Crumblin' Cookie', the sidemen: Mike Gibbs (trombone); Dave Aaron (alto sax); Karl Jenkins (baritone sax); Philip Lee (guitar) and John Marshall (drums) are joined by Harold Beckett who replaces the excellent Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and fluegelhorn. Musically, the style is a lucid, open, generous and busy form that gives all musicians ample space and freedom to explore these dusky hewed layers which revolve around an inner core identity - jazz dyed in the darkest indigo. A welcome release when the highly prized original LPs are so scarce and expensive.
Supplier: The Cherished Record Company - www.cherished-record-company.co.uk (44)(0)1579 363603

Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else
Blue Note 1595 / Classic Records Reviewed by DD
Ranking dose to Davis's Kind of Blue as one of the all-time great jazz album's this set has been released many times since it first hit the light of day in 'S8. I have a stereo audiophile pressing of uncertain origin that sounds just fine but this mono release, given that I haven't a hope in hell of tracking down an affordable original, is the best yet. The synergy with Kind of Slue is no accident of course since Davis although technically relegated here to a sideman dominates the album with some of his best playing. The opener 'Autumn Leaves' is a key example. His stabbing, muted horn leads the way and despite some great accompaniment, not least from Hank Jones' piano, it's Miles that stamps his personality all over the track. As he does in the following 'Love for Sale' although here the other guys get more of a look-in and both Cannonball and Jones contribute great solos. The title track opens side two and this is perhaps the strongest number on the album, certainly the most evenly balanced with Davis and Adderley trading riffs from the start. Classic have done a great job with this album. Weighty, with much more distinct bass and more evident attack and character from each of the horn players than my stereo pressing, this album, even if you own an earlier re-issue, is undoubtedly the way to go. Nice one Classic!
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

Piano x 4
Speakers Corner / Saba SB 15035 ST Reviewed by RP
This is a record that goes some way towards proving how the interpretative and technical strengths of Sixties European jazz musicians have for far too long remained in the shadow of their more illustrious and better known contemporaries from across the Atlantic. The album, structured around four pianist (Dieter Reith, Elsie Bianchi, Ewald Heidepriem and Wolfgang Dauner) was taped during four sessions at the SABA Studios between October 1963 and April 1964. It features ten tracks that include standards like Ellington's Take The Coltrane' and Cole Porter's 'What Is This Thing Called Love', alongside arrangements and compositions by these principal players. It's an impressive format that kicks off with the Dauner Quartet's swinging and smartly executed Take the A-Train' and closes with Heidepriem and The Frieburg Modern Jazz Group's solid and unpretentious cut of Porter's 'Big P: These astute performances and those elsewhere by the Elsie Bianchi Trio and Dieter Reith's Quintet are full of pithy observations and virtuoso moments carefully framed within natural sounding and informative acoustics. Definitely an album worthy of serious consideration.
Supplier: The Cherished Record Company - www.cherished-record-company.co.uk (44)(0)1579 363603

The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
ABKO 8823012 Reviewed by AS
There is something about the Rolling Stones; you had to be there! There is a whole generation of people (mostly men, aged between 30 and 60) who have along-standing affinity with the Stones that never, ever really goes away. To this demographic, ABKO's CD / SACD hybrid reissue collection of 1960s classic Stones albums is at once manna from heaven and a time machine, plopping you back to a time when you thought you looked pretty cool in your crushed velvet loon pants. Beggars Banquet is one of the late 1960s period albums, when the Stones turned dark and moody and became more of a challenge to The Doors than The Beatles. The tracks are raw, potent and some are still powerful; 'Sympathy For The Devil' has lost none of its freshness, despite being 35 years old. The SACD re-master gets you far closer to the recording studio sound than was ever possible on vinyl, perhaps unless you own a test pressing of this million-seller disc. The DSD transfer is remarkable, in a warts-n-all way; the analogue hiss, the minor little tape glitches are all there and even more noticeable than with the standard LP or CD pressing (although, strangely, the CD layer of the disc is also wonderfully detailed sounding, too); if this were an audiophile recording, you may be upset by these, but here you feel somehow closer to Mick and the boys. When they weren't pensioners.
Supplier: The Cherished Record Company - www.cherished-record-company.co.uk (44)(0)1579 363603

Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde
Sundazed / Columbia LP 5110 Reviewed by RP
In their quest for authenticity Sundazed have retrieved the original mono master tapes from the Columbia archives and begun to release the best Dylan albums on this format. Two of the most important, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde, appeared within six months of one another in 1966. They cemented Dylan's movement away from the folk scene and into a new field of rock music, with both offering an absorbing commentary on the Sixties social revolution through the great man's fondness for parables and exaggerated storytelling. Here though there are those pithy and exceptionally wise songs like 'Visions of Joanna', 'Just Like A Woman' and 'I Want You', which thematically move us forward into that perilous realm of the love affair as well. The trademark barbed and acerbic wit, underwritten by compact-sounding keyboard lines and comparatively tenacious guitar hooks, continues to explore all these concerns to their very limit. But in Bob Johnston's Nashville production it might just be possible to detect a softening in attitude. Musically brilliant and sonically intriguing, this is an indispensable record that should be in every collection whether you run a mono system or not.
Supplier: The Cherished Record Company - www.cherished-record-company.co.uk (44)(0)1579 363603

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