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Classical Music

Ludwig Van Beethoven: Piano concerto No 4 (chamber version); Symphony No 2 (as Piano Trio).
The Orch. Revoloutionnaire et Romantique.
Robert Levin (fortepiano)
DG / Archiv Blue 474 224-2 Reviewed by JMH
Although it's well known that several of Mozart's piano concertos were arranged for chamber forces, I hadn't realised that Beethoven himself had been involved in re-writing his fourth piano concerto for piano and string quartet. Although he entrusted the arrangement to someone else, he did extensively alter the solo part, giving the piano greater prominence. And while I still prefer the simpler original, Beethoven's florid additions make for interesting listening. With solo strings the, 'orchestral' part sounds very intimate and expressive - for example, the strings' answer to the piano introduction - though speaking personally, I hate the way Levin plays the beautiful opening chord as an arpeggio. Aside from that, the performance is impressive; by turns delicate and demonic - sensitive and seismic. Every Beethoven lover should hear it. The piano trio arrangement of the second symphony has been recorded before, and in its chamber guise one gets a better sense of the music's high spirits and unbridled fun. Levin and co play the work for all it's worth, and the result is very engaging. Rhythms are crisply sprung, and the bright lean sonorities of period instruments ensure the music has plenty of snap and bite.

Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony
Goerke / Polegato / Atlanta Symphony O. and Chorus / Spano
Telarc SACD-60588 Reviewed by SG
This may be the first contemporary recording by an American conductor with an American orchestra of any Vaughan Williams symphony, but the results are not unsympathetic to the music's traditional background. Vaughan Williams' First Symphony emerged from the long tradition of English choral music and, along with the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, it cemented the composer's distinctive style. While Robert Spano drives the music forward in an acutely powerful way, this is not an unreasonable tactic and strengthens any frailty in the work's structure. He increases the excitement and exposes the unmistakable impression of the sea's grandeur and magnitude, although there are infrequent stylistic inconsistencies that establish disruptions to the music's relaxed flow. The soloists are excellent, but it is the choirs precision and tonal beauty that seats this performance closest to the composer's character. The crystal-clear sound complements Spano's interpretative ideas, with its colourful and vibrant tones, and revealing the work's huge dynamics. The integration of chorus, soloists and orchestra is superb, and with such a creative yet considerate performance of A Sea Symphony, this release is recommended, although it does not eclipse Boult's classic interpretation for EMI.

Felix Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream; Overture 'The Hebrides' Op 26
Orchestre des Champs Elysees
Philippe Herreweghe
Harmonic Mundi HMC 901502 Reviewed by JMH
Although originally released back in 1994, this beautiful performance of Mendelssohn's wonderful score still sounds impressively natural and realistic. Harmonic Mundi have a special knack when it comes to making recordings that sound open and sweet while retaining impact and detail. Here, the orchestra is nicely set back in a clear spacious acoustic, allowing even the loudest passages to expand with no sense of tonal hardness. The vocal numbers demonstrate this beautifully, combining richness and depth with impressive lucidity and detail. The sound is fullblooded and dynamic, yet at the same time delicate and subtly refined, making you fully appreciate the composer's skilful and imaginative orchestration. Herreweghe is perhaps better known for his performances of earlier music, but he directs an idiomatic account of Mendelssohn's magical score, capturing its Fairy lightness to perfection. Tempi are on the fast side, but the playing is light and airy creating a quicksilver mood. Some short linking passages are omitted, otherwise the music is presented complete.

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Borodin: In The Steppes Of Central Asia
Balakirev: Islamey
Kirov Orchestra / Gergiev
Philips 470 618-2 Reviewed by SG
The rich and menacing snarl of the opening bars of this performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Symphonic Suite after A Thousand and One Nights is totally characteristic of Valeri Gergiev's direction on this recording. It is full of boldness and fervour, with Gergiev taking an obviously dramatic view of this celebrated work. The sea swells with an obvious intensity beneath Sinbad's ship, the Kalendar Prince's adventures are brought to life, and there is a definite erotic tension between the young, prince and princess. The two other works are entirely apt, with the virtuosity of the Kirov Orchestra and the solo violinist, Sergei Levitin, tremendous throughout, evoking the mood of each piece splendidly. Philip's engineering is also full-bodied . and warm, although the sound is a little heavy at times, lacking some of the bite of the original CD, and the soundstage lacks depth. In fact the recording does not sound entirely natural, conferring a feeling that the sound has been manipulated to increase the music's drive and vigour. Despite this, these great performances earn a firm recommendation, especially as we now have a Scheherazade performance that ranks alongside those of Beecham and Reiner.

Igor Stravinsky: Minatures - Tango; Suites 1+2; Octet; Concerto in D; Concertino; Ragtime, Scherzo a la Russe.
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
DG 453 458-2 Reviewed by JMH
With their combination of brilliance and precision, the Orpheus Chamber orchestra prove to be an ideal ensemble for Stravinsky. Their playing is impressively refined and rhythmically alert, with crisp attack and accurate ensemble. Difficult works like the Concerto in 0 for string orchestra are played with fabulous precision, allowing the listener to appreciate Stravinsky's clever shifts of metre and tricky syncopations. Yet for all the brilliance of the playing, the performances are very musical. There's never any sense of the players using the music to showcase their own virtuosity. Indeed, the playing is often notable for its subtlety and finesse - for example, the almost understated account of Tango which opens the disc. Of course this makes the more extrovert moments stand out in greater relief, emphasising the huge range of contrasts in the music. The recording is wonderfully crisp and immediate, yet at the same time very smooth and refined. Stravinsky had a wonderful ear for sonority, and the combination of razor-sharp ensemble playing, meticulous musical balance, and a highly detailed recording creates some impressive sounds.

Grieg: In Autumn/Piano Concerto / Symphony in C minor
Ogawa / Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra / Ruud
BIS-SACD-1191 Reviewed by SG
Despite later revisions to both In Autumn and the Piano Concerto (which Grieg was continually updating until the last year of his life), these works come from the period 1863-8. The composer did not revise the Symphony in C minor because, in 1867, he heard Svendsen's First Symphony and decided to withhold his own work. It was bequeathed to Bergen Library on the understanding that it would never be performed, although he thought enough of the inner movements to publish them in piano-duet form. These wishes were respected until 1981, when a photocopy of the autographed score was smuggled out to be performed on Moscow radio, negating any need to continue Grieg's ban. The Symphony may not be his most characterful composition, but the Piano Concerto is, and can still seem astoundingly fresh even when the performance does not rate as highly as Noriko Ogawa's charming and elegant interpretation. She is ably backed by Ole Kristian Ruud and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and the engineering is detailed, with only the slightest hint of brightness, revealing a fairly natural acoustic, all making an enjoyable disc that may just miss being the first choice for these works.

Antonin Dvorak: Slavonic Dances Op 46 and Op72
Vienna Philharmonic
Rafael Kubelik
Decca Legends 468 495-2 Reviewed by JMH
Recorded in March 1955, these lively zestful performances of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances count among Decca's earliest stereo sessions with the Vienna Philharmonic. The sound is certainly very good for the period - clean, sharp, and very open and immediate - especially the Op72 set, which sound slightly cleaner than Op 46. Stereophonically, however, the soundstage is not very widely separated. Many early stereo recordings have exaggerated left/right separation, as though to emphasise the benefits of twin-channel reproduction. Here the effect is more subtle, the orchestra being centrally placed in a bright and lively acoustic. Unusually for Decca, the sessions were held in the Musikverein rather than the Sofiensaal. The balance is close rather than spacious, but clarity is good and there's plenty of detail. Kubelik takes the Dances quickly, emphasising their drive and rhythmic brilliance. The orchestral playing is crisp and full of life, and the performances have an exciting idiomatic Czech feel to them. Although Kubelik's much later Bavarian RSO set on DG is probably a safer bet, sonically and musically, this early Decca recording impresses too with its winning combination of youthful zest and excitement.

La Folia
Jordi Savall / Rolf Lislevand / Micheal Behringer / Arianna Savall / Bruno Coeset / Pedro Estevan / Adela Gonzalez-Campa
Alia Vox AVSA 9805 Reviewed by SG
I know of no artist who can transform the academic into genuinely entertaining music as well as Jordi Savall. His performances of early music are totally accessible, with tremendous rhythmic qualities, and this disc is no exception. Taking its title from the folia (loosely translated as "folly" or "insanity") whose structure has its origins in Portuguese dance, it presents a myriad of variations on its theme that span a period of two centuries. While most have a foundation based on a four chord progression, this is simply a source of improvisation, a talent for which Savall has an enviable reputation, and which is abundantly displayed here. While the Corelli and Marais works are relatively well known, they are more prominent here among earlier pieces by the likes of Ortiz, Enzina and Cabezon, with Savall enthusiastically developing the Iberian atmosphere to intensify its magnificent ostentation. Percussionist extraordinaire, Pedro Estevan is prominent throughout, and creates, aided by the group's natural talent for timing, a magnificent rhythmic extravaganza. With superb engineering that reveals every nuance and timbre of each instrument, appearing within a natural soundstage, this release is a complete winner and possibly the most enjoyable SACD to date.

Joaquin Rodrigo - Fantasia para un gentilhombre
Manuel Ponce, Concierto del Sur Andres Segovia / Symphony of the Air / Jorda
DG The Originals 474 425-2 Reviewed by JMH
I thought I knew the DG catalogue well, but I never knew Segovia recorded for the yellow label! How strange, given Segovia's legendary reputation, for these recordings to have been out of circulation for so long. The CD booklet illustrates original LP sleeves, so the recordings must be genuine DG, albeit possibly licensed? Apparently Segovia never played Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez out of deference to Regina Sainz de la Maza, the guitarist for whom Rodrigo wrote the work. He pressed Rodrigo to write something for him, and the result was the Fantasia para un Gentilhombre - completed in 1954. Segovia's performance is finely shaded and beautifully characterised. The recording (taped in New York in 1956) places the orchestra at a distance, allowing one to hear the guitar part with startling clarity. It's not an ideal balance, but it does mean you can hear every nuance from the soloist. It's a tribute to the cleanness of Segovia's playing and accuracy of intonation that it survives such XRay treatment. The playing is cultured and refined, with an aristocratic poise and elegance. The sound itself (balance issues aside) is very good; crisp, sharp, open, and 'very detailed, with low tape noise. A real collector's item!

Jose Marin: Tonos Humanos
Montserrat Figueras / Rolf Lislevand / Arianna Savall / Pedro Estevan / Adele Gonzalez-Campa
Alia Vox AVSA 9802 Reviewed by SG
This disc is one of the first batch of hybrid SACDs from the consistently superb label Alia Vox. Musically it consists of a number of fragrant, secular songs (Tonos Humanos) penned by the 17th Century Spanish composer Jose Marin, who's exotic rhythms, evocative melodies and erotically charged texts, mostly dealing with the heady mixture of despair and ecstasy of love, lust and jealousy, make for a wonderful combination. Soprano Montserrat Figeras infuses these spicy songs with sparkling vitality, dramatising them further with her improvisational abilities, especially in Sepan todos que muero, while adding colour through her colloquialism. Rolf Lislevand's guitar accompaniment is always enchanting and flavoured by the backing of castanets, hand clapping and timbrels, conveying this early music with an unmistakable and timeless Iberian provenance and accurately recreating the sounds of Madrid's royal court. While the recording, . originally released about five years ago on CD and taken from 96 kHz/20-bit tapes, is relatively unenhanced, the natural-sounding acoustic and the natural timbres of the instruments are so well produced as to only further the standing of this format and gain this gorgeous release a firm recommendation.

Robert Schumann: Symphonies 1 – 4 Overture, Scherzo and Finale
Dresden Staatskapelle
Wolfgang Sawallisch
EMI 7243 5 67768-2 Reviewed by JMH
Given their near legendary status as performances, it's surprising to learn that Sawallisch's EMI set of the Schumann symphonies almost happened by accident. Apparently, EMI planned to record Wagner's Rienzi, but difficulties with the star singers led to the project being postponed. To fill the vacant sessions EMI agreed to let Sawallisch tape the Schumann symphonies instead. I bought the LPs when they came out back in 1973, and was mightily impressed with the combination of passion and clarity Sawallisch brought to the music. In particular, the performance of the fourth symphony stood out for its incredible power and energy - I'd never heard the linking passage that leads to the finale played with such fire! When the finale begins it's like a dam bursting. Coming back to Sawallisch's set, one notices how scrupulously musical everything sounds. The playing is vital and alive, but the conductor takes no liberties with the scores. The recording sets the orchestra in a spacious acoustic, but clarity is good and the sound has a glowing richness that suits Schumann perfectly. The new remastering has given the sound extra weight and cleanness, so that heavy climaxes seem less dense and congested.

The Erik Westberg Vocal Ensemble: Across The Bridge Of Hope
Opus 3 CD 22012 Reviewed by SG
The Erik Westberg Vocal Ensemble hail from the far north of Sweden, and this is their second recording for the label (the first being the wonderful Musica Sacra CD 19506 - see issue 11 - or SACD 19516). While that release contained pieces of sacred chorale music dating back to medieval times, this new venture is far more contemporary, with all works being by Swedish composers, including a couple that include the improvised chant of the Sami culture of Lapland known as yolks. Again the sixteen voices create a particularly spiritual listening experience that is a perfect antidote to the stresses of modern living. Gone are the improvised saxophone and organ of Musica Sacra, but the various forms of percussion remain on some tracks - this time performed in total sympathy and with great virtuosity by Anders Astrand, who also composed Touch and Bagattelle, and his ensemble. Also, appearing on three tracks is a Swedish key-fiddle (similar to a hurdy-gurdy). Despite being Jan-Eric Persson's first true venture into multi-channel recording, the sound vividly creates the acoustics of the Church of the Nederlulea meaning that this beautiful release can only add to the eminent reputations of both label and performers alike.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

Audiophile Recordings

The Violins of Cremona - Homage to Fritz Kreisler
Accardo / Manzini
Fone SACD 003 Reviewed by RP
Salvatore Accardo's long association with the Cremona music festival has ensured his place as one of the town's favourite sons. So who better to handle five of their exquisitely crafted Amati, Stradivarius and Guarneri instruments which were borrowed from The Violin Room at the Cremona Town Hall for this mouth-watering Fritz Kreisler recital disc. This eighteen-track collection includes old favourites like his arrangements of the Brahms Hungarian Dance, Schubert Impromptu, Gluck Melodie and Dvorak Song My Mother Taught Me. Brilliant compositions, elegant transcriptions, deft and delightfully fluid scores. Laura Manzini's piano of course has an important supporting role, but her sympathetic underpinning of these rich tonal textures is not the real focus for our attention. That is reserved for Accardo, whose captivating approach, invention, virtuosity and disarming style shows he has a beautifully balanced and complete command of these pieces-one that never trivialises even the most familiar melodies. Again, the Nagra analogue source and those precisely placed Neumann U47 and M49 microphones have captured the essence of these instruments and the skill, compositional colour and moments of undisguised Kreisler cheek. Another fascinating and superbly presented SACD from an often-overlooked audiophile label.
Supplier: fone@mclink.it             www.fone.it

Chausson - 12 Songs
Duparc - Poem de I'amour et de la mer
Doneux / RTBCO / Souzay / Baldwin
Testament SBT 1208 Reviewed by RP
These stunning and incandescent Gallic performances of the Chausson Poem and Duparc Songs which date from the 1970s should not be overlooked. The baritone, Gerard Souzay, is a powerful interpreter and musically persuasive advocate for these French pieces. Those already acquainted with the Poem will probably be more familiar with the performances by Victoria de los Angeles or Dame Janet Baker. However, this rich, deeply sensuous and searching Souzay rendition charts the emergent, lingering and reflective aspects of love with an enviably warmth that lacks nothing by comparison. Moreover, he is beautifully (no, make that, tenderly) supported by Edgard Doneux and his Belgium chamber players. For the Twelve Songs (Duparc's entire output for voice) Souzay is joined by his old sparring partner the pianist Dalton Baldwin. Theirs was an empathic musical relationship. Here this synergy is revealed through the intricate detail and discrete or keenly observed moments that develop from the expression of wide-ranging themes and emotions. The Songs roam across romance, melancholia, fulfilment, sorrow and, in La vie anterieure, embrace feelings that drip with the kind of pathos which can only be forged by piano and voice. Delectable dueting lovingly recreated on this transfer.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

Ravel: La Valse, Bolero, Pavane, Rapsodie Espagnole, Daphnis et Chloe Suite No.2.
Skrowaczewski / Minnesota Orch.
Mobile Fidelity MFSL 4002 Reviewed by RP
Under Stanislaw Skrowaczewski's direction the Minnesota players give a wonderfully balanced performance of these familiar orchestral pieces. Authoritative and unrelenting in the Bolero, delicate and melancholic for the Pavane pour one Infante defunte, yet brooding, mysterious and keenly rhythmic in a Rapsodie Espagnole that sways twist and twirls with an unmistakable ethnicity. La Valse is magical and drama-filled, while the Daphnis et Chloe Suite No.2 (although not quite as sumptuous as their handling of Ravels Suite No. 1) conveys a sensuous, piquant and spine-tingling immediacy that misses none of the subtle shapes or textures which colourfully permeate every aspect of this music. A resonant, fully ripened hall acoustic really suits the impressionistic atmosphere conjured from within these scores and its vibrant, dynamic and cavernous qualities allow instruments to breathe freely across their ranges. The SACD transfer of those original Turnabout / Vox four-track analogue tapes is an exemplary one which not only draws out the tiniest and seemingly most inconsequential of tonal details but then recreates this music with accuracy, and complete assurance.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

Eleanor McEvoy - Yola
Vivante / Alto VA 302 Reviewed by RP
In the past year I have written many hundreds of words in appreciation of Eleanors emotionally supercharged and heart rending lyricism and too few praising the "quiet man" alongside her, Brian Connor. He is a quick-witted and amazingly gifted classically trained jazz pianist whose dry sense of humour is delivered with that same understated yet perfectly timed degree of acuteness or gravity of tone which is reserved for the Steinway and keyboard accompaniment heard on this LP. His playing on my favourite song 'The Rain Falls' not only mimics the inclement Wexford weather but it critically develops the emotional delicacy. He also provides musical steeliness towards the end of this track when confident, firm and resounding strokes underpin the message about moving on. This empathic musical relationship is pivotal to the album's greatness. If you don't believe me then just listen to their subtle and beautifully woven exchanges in 'Did I Hurt You?', 'Last Seen October 9th' and the stunning 'I Hear You Breathing In'. The shades and shifts in tone together with the effortless interaction between the performers are nicely presented. But this warm sounding transfer to vinyl is cut at a slightly lower level so your system may have to work a touch harder in resolving all the minute details taken from the SACD.
Supplier: Vivante - www.vivante.co.uk (44)(0)1293-822186

John Coltrane Quartet - Ballads
Speakers Corner Impulse StereoAS-32 Reviewed by RG
Rather like the abstract painter proving that he can draw proper pictures, Ballads was John Coltrane's right of Jazz passage. A collection of eight standards, ranging from 'You Don't Know What Love Is' to 'Nancy (With A Laughing Face)' provide the playground for Coltrane's talent, ably backed by Jones, Garrison and Tyner in support. For someone with a reputation as an angry young man, he plays with astonishing sensitivity and perfect poise. The themes are caressed, the backing impeccable, but it's the sinuous lines of 'Trane's sax that hold the ear and centre stage (even if the recording places him way left). All but one of these tunes was recorded in a single take, and that after a bare half hours rehearsal, the band arriving at the studio never having played the songs before. The results are superb: fresh, vibrant and full of character. Recorded by Rudy Van fielder on September the 18th, 1962, the sound is sweet, open and immediate. Trane's horn is slightly oversized and solidly in the left hand speaker, with piano, bass and drums set back in an arc across the rest of the stage. It's hardly classical stereo but what it lacks in dimensionality the recording more than makes up in sheer musicality. Relaxed yet compelling and beautifully re-pressed by Speakers Corner, buy this one now!

Brahms: Violin Sonatas 1, 2 and 3, Scherzo
Accardo / Canino
Fone SACD 008 Reviewed by RP
Idyllic Mountain scenery and the warmth of those summer holidays spent in Carinzia and Hofstetten inspired the three Brahms Violin Sonatas written between 1886 and 1888. Melodic, lyrical, serene and good tempered in nature, these are all expressively phrased works which often allow the piano (an instrument that Brahms wrote for particularly well) to have many exuberant virtuoso moments especially in the D Minor OP. 108 Sonata. This is not to Salvatore Accardo's disadvantage because his violin is frequently given wonderful opportunities of its own. In the instrumental exchanges, Bruno Canino's piano and the stunning violin interventions compliment one another when drawing out the last ounce of intimacy from these Sonatas, founded upon the precepts of a romantic classical tradition. The filler is a youthful Scherzo in C Minor, which while it lacks maturity, does exhibit ingenuity, freedom and occasional masterly flourishes. Those original analogue master tapes employed for these recordings made at the Santa Cecilia in Rome have been lovingly transferred to SACD. It reproduces with great clarity and tonal accuracy those gorgeous wooden sound box and vibrant string textures as well as some sonorous keyboard notes that are surely the by-product of this disc's analogue / valve origins. Rare treats indeed.
Supplier: fone@mclink.it             www.fone.it

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