Bartok, Weiner, Kodaly - Solti's last recording
Dutilleux: The Shadows of Time
Fürtwangler - as composer and conductor
Pizzetti's opera Murder in the Cathedral
Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet
Rachmaninov's Third Symphony and Symphonic Dances
Schumann's Dichterliebe and Liederkreis
Three opera videos: Le Comte Ory, Der Rosenkavalier, Les Contes d'Hoffmann
J.S. Bach: Motets. The Scholars Baroque Ensemble. Naxos 8.553823.
Whether Bach's Passions, Cantatas and Motets should be performed with one solo voice for each vocal line rather than for a full choir was argued effectively but inconclusively by Joshua Rifkin some years ago. He caused uproar in musicological circles when he argued for a single voice for each vocal line in Bach's choral muisc, and attempted to make his case with recordings of the Mass in B minor and a couple of cantatas with one voice to each line. Now Naxos have revived the issue with this recording of the six Motets, by the English Scholars Baroque Ensemble. In Jesu, meine Freude, for example, although there are two choruses required, the total number of singers performing the work is eight. The level of performance is extremely good, and the interested listener who makes a comparison with any of the other recordings of the works with full chorus, may not find it difficult to come down on the side of the Scholars. The music is clearer and cleaner, whatever the historical justification for peforming it in this way. The CD is well worth having, even if one is not convinced musicologically, as it is excellent in its own right.
Bartok: Cantata profana. Weiner: Serenade for small orchestra. Kodaly: Psalmus hungaricus. Tamas Daroczy (tenor), Alexandru Agache (baritone), Choir of Hungarian Radio & TV, Children's Choir of Hungarian radio & TV, Schola Cantorum Budapestiensis, Budapest Festival Orchestra cond. Sir Georg Solti. Decca 458 929-2.
Apart from being fine performances of three Hungarian works - two important ones, and one hardly so - this disc is a landmark in being the last recording made by the late Sir Georg Solti. Whwe he made the recordings he was on a nostalgic visit to the land of his birth, and this is the only time he ever made a recording there. He chose works by three of his teachers at the Franz Liszt Academy - Bartok, Weiner and Kodaly. Solti may have been close to the end of his life, but there is no evidence of any relaxation in his nervous intensity, the hallmark of his conducting. It would be difficult not to have a twinge of emotion when hearing the disc; Solti was a foremost recording artist from the very first years of LP, until his recent death, and we music-lovers and record-buyers owe him much for the thrills he has given us. Farewell, Sir Georg.Bernstein: Dybbuk. David Johnson (baritone), John Ostendorf (bass), New York City Ballet Orchestra cond. Leonard Bernstein. Sony SMK 63090.
Probably the least known of Bernstein's theatre music, the ballet Dybbuk was first performed by the New York City Ballet in 1974. Bernstein collaborated with Jerome Robins, the two having previously worked together to produce the smash hit West Side Story in 1957. The story is about a thwarted lover who comes back to life as a dybbuk to claim his beloved who is about to marry another; the bride dies to rejoin him in spirit. Bernstein turned to the cabbala, the Jewish mystical system of numerology, and said that every note of the score was arrived at by the cabbalistic manipulation of numbers, which emerged while he was at work on the score. Whatever the source of inspiration, the music is not, in my estimation, top-drawer Bernstein, but it will interest many who enjoy his other ballet scores. The performers and the recording engineers do their best.Britten: Billy Budd. Thomas Hampson, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Eric Halfvarson, et al., Hallé Orchestra cond. Kent Nagano. Erato 3984-21631-2 (2 CDs)
Billy Budd is one of Britten's most impressive but least performed of operas, maybe because Herman Melville's story, set on a British man-o-war a couple of centuries ago, is entirely for male voices. The original version of the opera (recorded here) consisted of four acts, and was premiered in 1951. Britten revised the work in 1960, reducing it to two acts, and that is the version he conducted in his own 1967 recording. The first impression of this new recording is the sharpness and brilliance of the Hallé Orchestra under Nagano. Another is the clarity of the diction of the principals, who perform their roles - few of them sympathetic ones, I fear - with great conviction. Those familiar with the original Britten recording, in which Peter Pears was the Captain Vere, will have to re-acquaint themselves with the different impression that Rolfe Johnson creates with the role. Hampson is superb as Billy Budd, the naive seaman who falls foul of the brutal Claggart. All told, this is a marvellous new recording of the opera, and the four-act version too will give a new insight into Britten's translation of Melville's story into operatic form.Britten: War Requiem. Carol Vaness, Jerry Hadley, Thomas Hampson, American Boychoir, Westminster Symphonic Choir, New York Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Kurt Masur. Teldec 063-17115-2 (2 CDs)
The benchmark recording of Britten's War Requiem must be the composer's own, which was virtually a repetition of the first performance at the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral in 1962. For my generation it was the sound of all the participants on that recording that seared its path in our minds, and other performances, live or on record, no matter how good, merely remind us of that first experience. But the work is an imperishable masterpiece, and there has to be many new performances, with new insights and view of the work. Apart from an old East German recording under Kegel, this is the only one I know of not made by a British team. Although another East German, Masur, is the conductor, the work undergoes a kind of Americanisation, so to speak, with the a softer impact than Britten's original, searing performance. The soloists Vaness, Hadley and Hampson deliver their lines with conviction, certainly, but the English boys' choir in the Britten recording has as a different sound altogether than the American Boychoir. The work presents great difficulties for the recording engineers when they attempt to capture on disc the various layers of the performers, essential to a true impression of the work. Nonetheless, this Masur/Teldec is a worthy effort, and deserves recommendation, being an interesting alternative to the Britten original.Bruckner: Symphony No.6. New Zealand Symphony Orchestra cond. Georg Tintner. Naxos 8.553453.
Tintner's Bruckner Fifth on a recent Naxos CD received a warm reception worldwide, and his next effort in what must be, I expect, a complete series of the composer's symphonies is equally acceptable. Frankly I think he has an easier task with the Sixth, compared with the Fifth, which is probably the most difficult of the Bruckner symphonies to bring off. Experienced Bruckner listeners will inevitably compare Tintner with the two benchmark recordings of Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic and Klemperer with the Philharmonia, but despite the fact that those two had superior orchestras, Tintner and his Kiwi band measure up to the task. There are many felicitous points, and the newcomer to Bruckner can buy this CD with the sure knowledge that it presents the magnificent work in full measure.Dutilleux: The Shadows of Time. Boston Symphony Orchestra cond. Seiji Ozawa. Erato 3984-22830-2
It is difficult to know what to make of this work of Dutilleux. The piece has five linked episodes - "The Hours", "Evil Ariel", "Memory of Shadows", "Waves of Light" and "Blue Dominant?", implying that there is a meaning beyond the music itself. One might puzzle to find the connection between the music and the titles, but in the end the work would have to be judged as music per se. In any event, it is an inventive and interesting score, with many fascinating episodes, but it would be fruitless to attempt to find any kind of form or structure. Dutilleux has written some fine pieces - the Cello Concerto, for example - and this piece, which was premiered quite recently, is worth hearing. But the timing of the complete CD, incidentally, is only 21 minutes, absurd for a full-price disc.
Furtwängler: Symphony No.2. Schumann: Symphony No.4. Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Wilhelm Furtwängler. DG 457 722-2.
Furtwängler's 1953 recording of Schumann's Fourth Symphony is justly famous, probably one of the finest performances of the work ever committed to disc. The magical transition from the Scherzo to the Finale was caught by him as no one else could. But the main work on this 2-CD set is Furtwängler's own Second Symphony, an enormous work, with a first movement 25 minutes long, and a finale of almost half an hour - the second slow movement, and the allegro third movement are comparatively short, at 12 and 16 minutes respectively! Furtwängler was disappointed that he was not taken seriously as a composer, and said once that that was the reason he became a conductor. The listener to his Second Symphony will undergo a unique experience: the musical line of thought is expansive and prolix in the extreme, with a foreboding sense of doom omnipresent. Furtwängler took up where Bruckner left off, and his symphony stands right at the end of the Romantic movement. It is as long as Mahler at his most verbose, but devoid of the latter's kaleidoscopic imagination. It is worth hearing, but the sound of this recording has severe limitations.
Gluck: Alceste. Rose Bampton, René Maison, Leonard Warren, Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, New York, cond. Ettore Panizza. Naxos 8.110006-7.
One of the new series of "Immortal Performances" of from the Met. archives issued by Naxos, this Alceste was broadcast in March, 1941, and includes the introduction and commentary of Milton Cross. (I recall hearing many of these broadcasts, with Cross commenting, when I was in the United States for a couple of years in the early 1970s.) Who will be interested in the release is hard to guess; the sound, particularly of the orchestra is pretty primitive, and the recording has the limitations of a live performance. Maybe the voice of Rose Bampton, which is impressive indeed, could be the attraction, but she is virtually forgotten these days. Leonard Warren was, of course, one of the stars of the Met. at the time of the performance. Bampton made her mark as the Leonore in Toscanini's recording of Fidelio. Immortal? Hardly. I think Flagstad's Alceste, issued on mono Decca LPs in the 50s, is more deserving of that title.
Handel: Acis and Galatea. Jill Gomez, Robert Tear, Philip Langridge, Benjamin Luxton. Handel: Il pastor fido - Hunting scene; Look down, harmonious Saint; Meine Seele hört im Sehen; Süsse Stille. Arne: Bacchus and Ariadne. Fair Cecilia love pretended. Boyce: Song of Momus to Mars. Hook: The Lass of Richmond Hill. Robert Tear. Academy of St Martin-in-the- Fields cond. Neville Marriner. Decca 452 973-2 (2 CDs).
It would be pleasant to welcome the re-issue of this 1970 recording of Acis and Galatea, but bearing in mind the competing recordings, by Gardiner, King, and others, including a recent Naxos, the deficiencies have to be weighed against the advantages. Jill Gomez is fine, although her voice is occasionally distorted; Tear's Acis seems to be too close to the microphone, but both Langridge and Luxon are excellent in their roles of Damon and Polyphemus. Somehow one can imagine a more imaginative contribution from Marriner, whose direction is somewhat relentless. The arias are in the A-B-A da capo form, but there is no effort to vary the A repeats with embellishment or any kind of variation. Robert Tear's recital of more Handel and other English baroque odds and ends fills out the second CD. All told, to be greeted with moderate rapture.
Handel: Arias from Rinaldo, Alcina, Giulio Cesar, Semele and Xerxes. Yvonne Kenny, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra cond. Paul Dyer. ABC Classics 456 689-2.
The soprano Yvonne Kenny is very much at home in the music of Handel, as she has demonstrated in opera houses in Europe and Australia, her native country. Her previous releases by ABC Classics have been immensely popular in the land of the Southern Cross, and this CD is bound to be too. Handel's operas were a rare event a decade or two ago, but now audiences, accustoming themselves to the conventions of Baroque vocal music, are discovering that in them considerable beauty. This CD is an excellent addition to the Handel discography.
Honegger: Symphonies Nos 1-5; Pacific 231; Rugby. Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra cond. Charles Dutoit. Erato 3984-21340-2 (2 CDs)
Swiss-born Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) was one of Les Six, the group of composers who joined together briefly in Paris after World War I to promote a new face of music and to free themselves from late Romanticism. Honegger's symphonies are breezy, vigorous and musically approachable. The most impressive of the five is the Second, composed in Paris during the German occupation in 1942. Its first two movements are sombre, reflecting the dejected mood of the time, but in the last, an optimistic atmosphere is transfigured by a chorale tune, played by solo trumpet, as if offering a prayer of hope. A number of conductors have recorded the work, one of the most recent being Jansons, but for my part Karajan's older performance with the Berlin Philharmonic is the great one (ironic, isn't it, when one thinks of what Karajan was doing at the time it was written). These Dutoit recordings date from 1984 and 1986, and quite adequately present the works, including the two mouvements symphoniques, Pacific 231 and Rugby. A very useful compilation.
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos 1 to 6. Budapest Festival Orchestra cond. Ivan Fischer. Philips 456 570-2.
Although it is a Hungarian orchestra, with a Hungarian conductor, performing this very Hungarian music, it simply hasn't enough panache to arouse my enthusiasm. One keeps wondering what Stokowski, or Dorati would have done with these pieces, and then, the piano versions can be recalled as yielding much more excitement. Enough said.
Mozart: Violin Concertos in D major K.211, in G major K.216, and in A major K.219. Vadim Repin, Vienna Chamber Orchestra cond. Yehudi Menuhin. Erato 3984-21660-2.
The recording studios seem to be awash with remarkable young violinists, and the Russian Vadim Repin is one of them. He has come to Mozart after an emphasis on the Russians - Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich, and Sibelius. He plays an exceptionally fine Stradavarius violin, and in this recording of three Mozart concertos he is accompanied by a Viennese otrchestra conducted by Lord Menuhin, who, one suspects, feels that he might have preferred playing them himself. In the notes accompanying the CD Repin says he is not entirely convinced by the D major concerto, the No.4, and has substituted the other D major, K.211, which in my estimation is vastly inferior to the G major, D major and A major. The performances are elegant, but not especially memorable. In recording these works Repin labours under the disadvantage that the experienced listener will have in mind, and maybe possess, recordings by the great violinists of the past 50 years, dating back to Menuhin himself. Although no one will be dismayed at owning this CD, there is for me the last touch of magic missing.
Pizzetti: Murder in the Cathedral. Hans Hotter, Kurt Equiluz, Anton Dermota, Gerhard Stolze, Paul Schoeffler, Walter Berry, Hilde Zadek, Christa Ludwig, et al., Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera cond. Herbert von Karajan. DG mono 457 671-2.
DG have come up with four hitherto unreleased recordings of live performances of operas conducted by Karajan at the Vienna State Opera in the 1960s: Pizzetti's Assassinio nella cattedrale (after T.S. Eliot's play about the murder of Thomas Beckett, Murder in the Cathedral), The Coronation of Poppea, Die Frau ohne Schatten and Tannhäuser - an important addition to the Karajan discography. The casts, too, are a roll-call of the stars of the Vienna State Opera of that time. But the presentation of Death in the Cathedral, despite its great merits as a performance, is scarcely satisfactory: the opera, originally in Italian, is sung in German, and the booklet in the plastic box gives the libretto only in German. It is a very dramatic setting of the play, but anyone unable to follow the words is at a loss, and can only guess at exactly what's going on. Nevertheless, the music is attractive, particularly in the sceond act; it is lyrical and expressive, and Karajan must have relished the score. The orchestra sounds magnificent. Hotter has the leading role as Beckett, and as he was at his prime at that time, the recording is valuable for that alone. To sum up, one for the specialists.
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet. Cleveland Orchestra cond. Lorin Maazel. Decca 452 970-2 (2 CDs).
This is one of the best of the recordings that Maazel made when he was in Cleveland, exhibiting the precision of the orchestra and the incisive touch of Maazel himself. There have been other recordings of the complete ballet, let alone numerous of suites drawn from it, but this one compares favourably with others of the full score, such as those by Ozawa and Previn. As the music is one of Prokofiev's finest scores, this mid-price re-issue must rate the "don't miss" recommendation.
Prokofiev: Piano Sonatas Nos 2, 7 & 8. Mikhail Pletnev. DG 457 588-2.
Speaking for myself, Prokofiev's piano sonatas are a difficult nut to crack, coming across as music of more interest to the performer than the listener. So I suppose I am disqualified from judging this new release by Pletnev, who has also been active in the DG recording studios with his Russian national Orchestra (see Rachmaninov, below). Let me say however that listening to the disc carefully I am struck by the pianist's virtuosity and the percussive power of the music. The point should be made, however, that this new DG full-price release clashes head-on with Naxos 8.553021 of Bernd Glemser playing the same three sonatas, that CD coming at a third of the price.
Puccini: Madama Butterfly. Eleanor Steber, Richard Tucker, Giuseppe Valdengo, Jean Madiera, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, New York, cond. Max Rudolf. Sony 7464-62765-2. (2 CDs).
Like Gluck's Alceste above, this performance originated at the New York Met., and dates from 1949. But it is a studio recording, and was issued on mono LPs by Columbia (US). There is no commentary: it is a straightforward performance, and a very good one at that. Sonically the singers are much better than the orchestra, and the conductor Rudolf steers a rapid course through the score. The soloists were favourites at the Met. at the time: Richard Tucker was a marvellous tenor, and his Pinkerton ia all bravado and brashness. Eleanor Steber too projects a dramatic portrayal of the betrayed geisha, and Valdengo's Sharpless and Madiera's Suzuki are superb. Of course the recording as such is not really comparable to present-day products, however opera buffs interested in the standards of yesteryear will revel in this release. A multi-lingual libretto accompanies the discs.
Rachmaninov: Symphony No.3; Symphonic Dances. Russian National Orchestra cond. Mikhail Pletnev. DG 457 598-2.
So far I haven't been highly impressed with the recordings offered by the Russian national Orchestra and its conductor, Mikhail Pletnev. Competent, idiosyncratically Russian, yes, but good enough to supplant the likes of Ormandy and Previn, no. The Third Symphony of Rachmaninov has no where near the attraction of the composer's Second; for me there is a whiff of the same dish rechauffé. But the Symphonic Dances are another matter; the sinuous saxophone melody in the first movement is one of the work's wonders. So this DG issue can only rouse my lukewarm recommendation.
Roussel: Symphonies Nos 1-4. Orchestre National de France cond. Charles Dutoit. Erato 3984-21090-2 (2 CDs)
The four symphonies of the French composer Albert Roussel (1869-1937) were written in the latter part of his life. The First, composed at the turn of the century, shows the influence of Debussy, the Second (1922) is a much more serious work and is obviously influenced by World War II. The Third was commissioned by Koussevitzky for the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, while the Fourth (1934) is a further advance in style and musical language. For my part I became familiar with the Second and Third symphonies from Ansermet's early LP for Decca, and later Karajan recorded a powerful version of the Fourth. It is very useful now to have the four symphonies available together in these excellent performances by Dutoit, originally recorded in 1987. Roussel is a major French symphonist of this century; his music presents no difficult challenge to the listener, as he was uninfluenced by the Second Viennese School. Woth having.
Schubert: Winterreise, D.911. Christoph Prégardien (tenor), Andrea Staier (fortepiano). Teldec 0630-18824-2.
The last Winterreisse I mentioned in these reviews was the Polygram Belart re-issue of Gerard Souzay and dalton Baldwin, which for me takes the top accolade. This new version is performed by Christoph Prégardien who was educated at Frankfurt and has notched up considerable experience in opera, oratorio and lieder recitals. He sings Schubert's tragic song-cycle in a straightforward fashion (a contrast to Matthias Goerne, below), but with warm expression and sincerity. The accompanist, Andrea Staier, plays on a fortepiano, which I do not think adds anything to the performance; this attempt at "authenticity" has doubtful historical justification. Nevertheless both singer and pianist measure up to the music's statue, and while it hardly supplants the Souzay, it deserves high marks.
Schumann: Dichterliebe Op.48; Liederkreis Op.24. Matthias Goerne (baritone), Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano). Decca 458 265-2.
Critics in Europe and America have given this Schumann recital a warm welcome, and I can only add my words of praise. It is certainly an outstanding release; Goerne's baritone is full-toned and most expressive; he doesn't hesitate to "interpret" the music, with so many nuances by way of crescendi, diminuendi, etc., that it could be regarded as a re-writing Schumann's familiar music. The result is a fresh, new and exciting reading of Dichterliebe in particular, and I strongly advise everyone who has lived with and loved music to hear this performance. It is a disc to treasure.
Vivaldi: Stabat Mater; Nisi Dominus; Longe mala. Graham Pushee (countertenor), Aurora Musicale cond. John Liddy. ABC Classics 456 636-2.
After a surfeit of concertos by Vivaldi over the past thirty years, the musical public is beginning to realise that the composer also wrote music for voice, both sacred and secular. One of his Glorias has become familiar, but when the record companies discover the operas, it will be discovered what wonderful pieces they also are. This CD of three sacred pieces is welcome. Graham Pushee is a Sydney-born Switzerland-based counter-tenor who has made his name in Europe, the United States and Australia in the Baroque repertoire, especially in the operas of Handel, and he performs these Vivaldi quite beautifully. The accompaniments are fine, as is the recording. Recommended.
Videos
Rossini: Le Comte Ory. Marc Laho, Ludovic Tézier, Stella Woodman, Annick Massie, London Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Andrew Davis. Warner 0630- 18646-3. Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann. Placido Domingo, Luciana Serra, Agnes Baltsa, Ileana Cotrubas, Royal Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Covent Garden, London, cond. Georges Prêtre. Warner 0630-19392-3 Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier. Kiri Te Kanawa, Anne Howells, Aage Haugland, Barbara Bonney, Royal Opera Orchestra, Covent Garden, London, cond. Sir Georg Solti. Warner 0630-19391-3
Two of these videos I would place in the category of excellent records of sumptuous performances, being Les Contes d'Hoffmann and Der Rosenkavalier. Visually the Covent Garden productions are sometimes breathtaking, and the soloists are excellent; these productions are traditional, contrary to some of the ridiculous attempts to place the operas in other places and other times than intended by the composer. The Hoffmann dates from 1981 and the Rosenkavalier from 1985; John Schlesinger is the producer of both operas. Domingo, in Hoffmann, meets all expectations for both his acting and his vocalism, although in Act 11 one could be put off by his white costume with an upright collar, somewhat reminiscent of a certain popular rock singer of a past age. The three soprano roles are sung by separate soloists, which is not always the case: in the Sutherland recording, for example, she takes all three parts. Kiri Te Kanawa was performing the Marschalin in Rosenkavalier for the first time in this production, which will be of great interest to her legion of fans. Also in that opera, Howells, the Octavian, Bonney, the Sophie, and Haugland, the Baron Ochs give superb impersonations, visually and vocally. Lovers of these operas will rest satisfied with these videos. Le Comte Ory came late in Rossini's life, and those knowing the music of Il viaggio a Reims, from the excellent Abbado CDs, will find some it familiar, as Rossini borrowed extensively from the earlier opera. This Glyndebourne production of 1997 has much to recommend it, particularly the fun and games in the second act when the licentious Count and his friends are disguised as nuns. The scene in the bathing chamber where the ladies "are occupied in domestic tasks" (to quote the synopsis) will keep your eyes glued to the screen. While the soloists are uniformly excellent, the weakness in the production comes from an unexpected quarter: the London Philharmonic under Andrew Davis. The fizz of Abbado's conducting in Il viaggio a Reims is entirely absent from Davis's pedestrian direction. Despite that, it is an enjoyable performance. All three operas have subtitles, so there is no need for librettos.
You may email John Holmes at jholmes@netspeed.com.au