Superb new album featuring the music of little-known Italian Baroque composer Agostino Steffani, including the beautiful aria "Mio bel cavallo che attraversa il campo".
Friday, December 7, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
Everybody cut...
Puritanism, as H.L. Mencken put it, is "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy", and they appear to be out in force in Mali, according to the Washington Post. Frowning upon music has long been a favourite pastime of our moral superiors but this usually extends only as far as particular genres. It takes a truly dedicated fundamentalist to go the whole way and try to eliminate all music. But I suppose it does make sense: if you just ban opera, then sneaky composers are going to produce works that sound exactly like operas but are technically sacred oratorios. So you can't trust musicians, and it's best to ban everything, with no exceptions, even the life of the mother. (Oops! wrong debate!) Because - well, as Schubert's friend Franz von Schober put it in An die Musik:
Oft hat ein Seufzer, deiner Harf' entflossen,
Ein süßer, heiliger Akkord von dir
Den Himmel beßrer Zeiten mir erschlossen
which Wikipedia translates as
How often has a sigh escaping from your harp,
A sweet, sacred chord of yours
Opened up for me the heaven of better times
And we can't have musicians opening up heaven, can we?
Friday, November 9, 2012
8tracks mix: Trecento Italy
At last I near the end of chapter 7 of A History of Classical Music through Recordings, which should appear on Music is Good soon. Here's the accompanying 8tracks mix.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Nereffid's Guide Awards 2007
Wait a second, does that say 2007?
Yes indeed. The very first Nereffid's Guide Awards appeared in January 2008, long before I started this blog, at a time when I was heavily involved in the community of users of eMusic. The aim of the awards back then, and of the second awards the following year, was to highlight the best classical albums that were available on eMusic. It was only with the 2009 Awards that I decided to expand coverage to all releases. The results of the 2007 and 2008 Awards were available on my old Nereffid's Guide web site, which no longer exists. But rather than simply repost that information I thought it would be good to produce new versions that reflect the full spectrum of those years' releases. I don't know why I ended up being surprised that it took far more effort than I was expecting.
Anyway, here's the new-and-improved 2007 Awards. They're very different: aside from the fact that they cover far more releases (including, now, the major labels), there are some changes from the original award categories, some changes to the sources of reviews, and a total overhaul of the scoring system. The end result is that, of the 17 releases that originally won awards, only - ahem - 2 of them were victors this time round, in the 14 categories I'm using now (I've left out the Archive and Reissue categories here).
Scroll down the page to see each award in turn, or click on these links to jump to the relevant post:
Living Composer - Vocal
This has been an intriguing exercise because, unlike any other time I've produced these Awards, here I'm dealing with recordings that we've had many years to live with. Looking at the winners now in hindsight, by and large they seem to have held up very well. Maybe not all of them can be, or ever will be, considered timeless classics, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if, like me, you found a handful of your favourites here. I hope that a similar situation will apply as we look back on the later Awards. Then again, this year's opera winner just recently appeared in BBC Music Magazine's "Building a Library" feature as "one to avoid".
Critics, eh?
This has been an intriguing exercise because, unlike any other time I've produced these Awards, here I'm dealing with recordings that we've had many years to live with. Looking at the winners now in hindsight, by and large they seem to have held up very well. Maybe not all of them can be, or ever will be, considered timeless classics, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if, like me, you found a handful of your favourites here. I hope that a similar situation will apply as we look back on the later Awards. Then again, this year's opera winner just recently appeared in BBC Music Magazine's "Building a Library" feature as "one to avoid".
Critics, eh?
Awards 2007: Medieval & Renaissance
Monteverdi Choir/John Eliot Gardiner
Soli Deo Gloria
Fanfare's JF Weber calls this "a treasure, not to be missed" and describes the circumstances behind the disc's creation: "The Monteverdi Choir made the pilgrimage from a
point in southwest France that brought them first to Conques, then to
other churches along the way, where they stopped to sing these works of
sacred music... Sometime after they returned to London,
they made this recording in the space of three days, the music in their
hearts as well as their voices, the experience still fresh in their
minds. All of this is audible, palpable, in the playback". Mary Berry in Gramophone describes the recording as "a result of inestimable value".
Runners-up:
Monteverdi: L'Orfeo. Furio Zanassi et al; Concerto Italiano/Rinaldo Alessandrini [Naive]
Monteverdi: "Combattimento". Rolando Villazón; Patrizia Ciofi; Topi Lehtipuu; Le Concert d’Astrée/Emmanuelle Haïm [Virgin]
"Musique and Sweet Poetrie: Jewels from Europe around 1600". Emma Kirkby; Jakob Lindberg [BIS]
Gombert: "Tribulation et angustia" - motets. Brabant Ensemble/Stephen Rice [Hyperion]
Awards 2007: Baroque Instrumental
La Serenissima/Adrian Chandler
Avie
This is, according to Robert Maxham in Fanfare, "an almost ideal survey of Vivaldi in his role as celebrated violinist-composer, opera composer, and impresario". On MusicWeb, Glyn Pursglove says "this British group matches up to the
standards the Italian Vivaldians have
set in recent years, in performances
which are richly communicative and committed...
clearly the work of musicians utterly
at home with Vivaldi". Ardella Crawford in American Record Guide admits "I was a little skeptical about this release; at first glance it looks like a hodge-podge of sorts... But it is a magnificent recording... This is vintage Vivaldi".
Runners-up:
Handel: Concerti grossi, op.3. Academy of Ancient Music/Richard Egarr [Harmonia Mundi]
Bach: Lute works, volume 1. Paul O'Dette [Harmonia Mundi]
"An Italian Sojourn". Trio Settecento [Cedille]
D Scarlatti: "Duende" - harpsichord sonatas. Skip Sempé; Olivier Fortin [Paradizo]
Awards 2007: Baroque Vocal
Bach Collegium Japan/Masaaki Suzuki
BIS
In the first incarnation of the Nereffid's Guide Awards, I quoted an eMusic user, ChrisW: "At the risk of
slight over statement this is possibly the greatest work by the greatest
composer conducted by his greatest living exponent". Gramophone's Jonathan Freeman-Attwood called this "a B minor performance of
extraordinary devotional weight", while on Classics Today David Hurwitz said "This performance of the B minor Mass has everything: great playing,
sensational singing from the soloists and chorus, ideal pacing, and a
powerful feeling for the character of each movement as well as for the
architecture of the whole massive musical edifice... this is one of the great versions of Bach’s masterpiece".
Runners-up:
Lully: Thésée. Howard Crook et al; Boston Early Music Festival/Paul O'Dette, Stephen Stubbs [CPO]
Vivaldi: "Heroes". Philippe Jaroussky; Ensemble Matheus/Jean-Christophe Spinosi [Virgin]
Handel: Il duello amoroso, etc. Andreas Scholl; Accademia Bizantina/Ottavio Dantone [Harmonia Mundi]
Schütz: Opus ultimum. Collegium Vocale Gent; Concerto Palatino/Philippe Herreweghe [Harmonia Mundi]
Awards 2007: Solo Instrumental
Marc-André Hamelin
Hyperion
Marc-André Hamelin does in 2007 what he also achieved in 2010: wins the Recording of the Year, which is to say the recording that got the highest marks according to the awards scoring system. "Recommendation is superfluous. Anything an artist of Hamelin’s stature does is of self-commending interest", says Adrian Corleonis in Fanfare. Fair enough, and it's worth noting that one of the runners-up this year, with a recording of Haydn piano sonatas, is one Marc-André Hamelin. Classics Today's Jed Distler listens to the Alkan and tells us that "no boundaries exist between composer and performer... No piano lover should miss this absolutely transcendent, watershed release". While in Gramophone, Bryce Morrison says "one can only listen in awe and amazement. Scaling even the most
ferocious hurdles with yards to spare, he is blessedly free to explore
the very heart of Alkan's bewildering interplay of austerity and
monstrous elaboration... All this is superbly recorded and presented, prompting some not
unreasonable conjecture: if Liszt feared Alkan's mastery as a pianist he
may well have feared Hamelin's".
Runners-up:
Scriabin: Piano music. Yevgeny Sudbin [BIS]
Haydn: Piano sonatas, volume 1. Marc-André Hamelin [Hyperion]
Liszt: Piano music. Arcadi Volodos [Sony]
"Spanish Album". Stephen Hough [Hyperion]
Awards 2007: Chamber
Takács Quartet
Hyperion
In Fanfare, James Reel says "This is an exceptional release from an ensemble with no shortage of such things in its catalog". A few issues later, his colleague Bart Verhaeghe also reviews the disc: "Granted, we’re not short of sublime recordings of
these two great string quartets, but sometimes one is stunning, and so
we reviewers should grant it the attention it deserves (of course,
that’s our pleasure)... It is unnecessary to repeat what has been said before, but
certainly worth a little recapturing; this recording is quite thrilling". David Hurwitz says on Classics Today, "Hyperion already has cornered the market with its roster of top
pianists, and with this release the label looks about ready to do so
with string quartets as well".
Runners-up:
Kalliwoda: String quartets nos.1-3. Talich Quartet [Calliope]
Toch: Tanz-Suite; Cello concerto. Christian Poltéra; Spectrum Concerts Berlin/Thomas Carroll [Naxos]
Bartók: String quartets nos.5 & 6. Arcanto Quartet [Harmonia Mundi]
Viola music by Brahms, Bridge, Enescu, Franck, Glinka, Tabakova. Maxim Rysanov; Evelyn Chang [Avie]
Awards 2007: Concerto
Martin Fröst (clarinet); Lahti Symphony Orchestra/Osmo Vänskä
BIS
Martin Fröst "seems to have Nielsen's irascible masterpiece in his bloodstream, as
surely as he has its technical contortions under his fingers", according to David Fanning in Gramophone. "Few would now question the status of the Nielsen as the finest clarinet
concerto of the 20th century. Time will tell with Kalevi Aho's concerto
in the 21st. In the short term it will probably daunt as many
prospective soloists and orchestras as Nielsen's work did in its time.
But there can have been few equally impressive head-on engagements with
the concerto medium in recent years". Göran
Forsling on MusicWeb has no doubts: "A
clear winner on all accounts and Aho’s concerto is pre-destined
to be a standard work".
Runners-up:
Tchaikovsky: Violin concerto, etc. Julia Fischer; Russian National Orchestra/Yakov Kreizberg [Pentatone]
Honegger: Cello concerto, etc. Christian Poltéra; Malmö Symphony Orchestra/Tuomas Ollila-Hannikainen [BIS]
Szymanowski: Violin concertos nos.1 & 2. Ilya Kaler; Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra/Antoni Wit [Naxos]
Sibelius, M Lindberg: Violin concertos. Lisa Batiashvili; Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo [Sony]
Awards 2007: Symphony
Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Philharmonia Orchestra/Charles Mackerras
Hyperion
Owen E Walton is forthright on MusicWeb: "I will
say immediately that this latest cycle is perhaps the finest
that I have heard, if such a statement does not appear absurd.
For here we have all the gains of historically informed performance
and up to date research without the studied caution that so
many conductors have brought to the period performance movement
in recent years... To have the greatest works of one of our finest composers conducted
with such understanding by one of the late-twentieth century’s
finest and most enquiring conductors would be a privilege even
at full price. At Hyperion’s modest price tag this is certainly
the Beethoven set to have". This category represents the first time I've had to invoke a particular eligibility criterion: only one entry from a recording series is allowed among the finalists. In this case, two of Paavo Järvi's Beethoven symphony recordings made it to the shortlist, but I dropped the lower-ranked one (of the 4th and 7th symphonies).
Runners-up:
Beethoven: Symphonies nos.3 & 8. Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen/Paavo Järvi [RCA]
Ives: Symphonies nos.1 & 4. Dallas Symphony Orchestra/Andrew Litton [Hyperion]
Schumann: Symphonies nos.2 & 4 (Mahler versions). Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra/Riccardo Chailly [Decca]
Villa-Lobos: Symphony no.2; New York Skyline Melody. Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR/Carl St.Clair [CPO]
Awards 2007: Orchestral
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Stéphane Denève
Naxos
"One is drawn in, beguiled, and perpetually surprised. For sheer vivacious cogency, this Bacchus goes to the top of the heap", says Adrian Corleonis in Fanfare. David Hurwitz on Classics Today: "What makes the performance so special is that all of this excitement
never compromises precision of execution, or that special sparkle and
lightness of touch that we have come to regard as quintessentially
French. This team looks set to become a major musical force, and a
genuine star of the Naxos catalog. Keep it coming, please!"
Runners-up:
Nielsen: Orchestral works. Danish National Symphony Orchestra/Thomas Dausgaard [Dacapo]
Ginastera: Estancia; Panambi. London Symphony Orchestra/Gisèle Ben-Dor [Naxos]
Schmitt: Psaume XLVII; La tragédie de Salomé; Suite sans esprit de suite. BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Thierry Fischer [Hyperion]
Alwyn: Elizabethan Dances; Oboe concerto; etc. Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/David
Lloyd-Jones [Naxos]
Awards 2007: Solo Vocal
Anne Sofie von Otter; Christian Gerhaher; Bengt Forsberg; Gerold Huber; et al
DG
Anne Sofie von Otter explains that this album "reflects my sincere wish
to commemorate those who created music under conditions of
unthinkable misery and who so tragically lost their lives". On MusicWeb, Steve Arloff says "This
disc is an absolute must for anyone interested in sampling
music by those whose lives were cruelly cut short by a monstrous
ideology, and who would have made further hugely important
contributions to the music of the 20th century... This is my nomination for Disc of the Year without
reservation". As Robert A Moore puts it in American Record Guide: "Sometimes one is privileged to discover a recording that has as much merit for its humanitarianism as for its musical significance".
Runners-up:
FG Scott: "Moonstruck". Lisa
Milne; Roderick Williams; Iain Burnside [Signum]
Grieg: Olav Trygvason; orchestral songs. Marita Solberg et al; Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Ole Kristian
Ruud [BIS]
Kate Royal. Kate Royal; Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Edward
Gardner [EMI]
"Helsinki Recital". Karita Mattila; Martin Katz [Ondine]
Awards 2007: Choral
Yann Beuron et al; Tenebrae Choir; London Symphony Orchestra/Colin Davis
LSO Live
This is "gentle, lyrical Berlioz", says Philip Greenfield in American Record Guide. "From any angle - choir, soloists, orchestra, conducting - this new offering looms large in the Berlioz discography and in the choral canon". But hasn't Colin Davis already recorded this work before? Yes, and, says Robert Levine on Classics Today, this one "strikes me as the finest... Davis' understanding of Berlioz’s layering of sounds remains unsurpassed."
Runners-up:
Stockhausen: Stimmung. Theatre of Voices/Paul Hillier [Harmonia Mundi]
Brahms: German Requiem. Dorothea Röschmann; Thomas Quasthoff; Rundfunkchor Berlin; Berliner Philharmoniker/Simon Rattle [EMI]Bantock: Omar Khayyám. Catherine Wyn-Rogers et al; BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra/Vernon Handley [Chandos]
Martin: Le vin herbé. Sandrine Piau et al; RIAS Chamber Choir; Scharoun Ensemble/Daniel Reuss [Harmonia Mundi]
Awards 2007: Opera
Johannes Weisser et al; Freiburger Barockorchester/René Jacobs
Harmonia Mundi
"For
a wholly engrossing performance of this eternal masterpiece
with swathes of cobweb blown away, this is a set that should
be in every collection irrespective of how many other versions
one already has" -
Göran
Forsling on MusicWeb. Richard Wigmore in Gramophone states that this is "among the liveliest and most enjoyable on offer. It is certainly one of the most brilliantly played." True, he warns that "Jacobs being Jacobs, there are controversial things here". But this is an awards celebration so let's not get bogged down in controversies. Robert Levine on Classics Today says "At this point, my recommendation for a complete recording favors this new Jacobs". This category, incidentally, was the worst for the major labels, something surely unthinkable a couple of decades ago: of the 37 recordings that made the final long list, just two were released by major labels (Donald Runnicles' Tristan on Warner, and an Andrea Bocelli-led Pagliacci on Decca). Another fun fact: Opera Rara recordings came 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th on the long list.
Runners-up:
Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel. Jennifer Larmore et al; Philharmonia Orchestra/Charles Mackerras [Chandos]
Nono: Prometeo, Tragedia dell’ascolto. Various artists [Col Legno]
Mercadante: Maria Stuarda. Judith Howarth et al; Philharmonia Orchestra/Antonello Allemandi [Opera Rara]
Dukas: Ariane et Barbe-Bleue. Lori Phillips et al; BBC Symphony Orchestra/Leon Botstein [Telarc]
Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel. Jennifer Larmore et al; Philharmonia Orchestra/Charles Mackerras [Chandos]
Nono: Prometeo, Tragedia dell’ascolto. Various artists [Col Legno]
Mercadante: Maria Stuarda. Judith Howarth et al; Philharmonia Orchestra/Antonello Allemandi [Opera Rara]
Dukas: Ariane et Barbe-Bleue. Lori Phillips et al; BBC Symphony Orchestra/Leon Botstein [Telarc]
Monday, October 15, 2012
Awards 2007: Opera Recital
Anna Netrebko; Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre/Valery Gergiev
DG
Anna Netrebko also appears as a runner-up in this category, duetting with Rolando Villazón, who further appears as a runner-up on his own. Opera Recital is traditionally the least-populated of all the categories, and this year was no exception. But there are no doubts about the quality. "This is the best disc Netrebko has made so far and should make many new friends for Russian opera", according to Patrick O'Connor in Gramophone. Meanwhile on MusicWeb, Göran Forsling says "Anna Netrebko is blessed
with one of the most beautiful voices in the operatic world
today and she has polished her technique to such an extent that
she can carry through anything she wants to do. But this is
only one prerequisite of becoming a good opera singer,
albeit an important one. What makes her stand out is her ability
to catch the various moods of her arias and create a believable
character... there
are musical riches aplenty and once heard these arias will be
friends for life".
Runners-up:
"Arias for Rubini". Juan Diego Flórez; Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia/Roberto
Abbado [Decca]
"Gitano". Rolando Villazón; Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid/Plácido
Domingo [Virgin]
"Duets". Anna Netrebko; Rolando Villazón; Staatskapelle Dresden/Nicola Luisotti [DG]
"Great Operatic Arias". Jennifer Larmore; Philharmonia Orchestra/David Parry [Chandos]
Awards 2007: Living composer - Instrumental
Evelyn Glennie; Estonian National Symphony Orchestra/Paavo Järvi; Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Virgin
Maybe it's not wise to begin by offering a warning, but here's one from Jerry Dubins in Fanfare: "Like the wrinkled face of a Shar-Pei that only a
mother could love, Tüür’s external features are likely to be embraced
only by those who do not put much stock in surface beauty." Clearly, Hubert Culot of MusicWeb is one of those, as he says: "These
impeccable performances are a pure joy from first to last.
Needless to say, too, that Evelyn Glennie almost effortlessly
navigates through the often demanding and physically taxing
percussion part... I warmly recommend this magnificent disc not only
to lovers of Tüür’s music but also to all those who enjoy
vital, all-embracing music of great communicative strength."
Runners-up:
Rorem: Piano concerto no.2; Cello concerto. Simon Mulligan; Wen-Sinn Yang; Royal Scottish National Orchestra/José Serebrier [Naxos]
Corigliano: Violin concerto, 'The Red Violin'; Violin sonata. Joshua Bell; Jeremy Denk; Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop [Sony]
Cerha: Cello concerto; Schreker: Chamber Symphony in A. Heinrich Schiff; Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra/Peter Eötvös [ECM New Series]
Corigliano & Friedman: Works for string quartet. Corigliano Quartet [Naxos]
Awards 2007: Living composer - Vocal
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson; Boston Symphony Orchestra/James Levine
Nonesuch
Reviewers were deeply touched by the love story behind this recording of music composed by Peter Lieberson for his wife, and her death from cancer just six months after this recording was made. So there was no doubt some sentimentality in the warmth with which the album was received - but the quality of the music wasn't in doubt either. James H North in Fanfare: "It is hard to say which is more beautiful, the music
or the singing, because they are inseparable. His compositions have
never been so simple, so pure, cleansed of all excess, all adornment.
Her singing has never seemed so true, so removed from the necessary
artifices of vocal production. He subtly captures the Spanish aura of
the songs, which she recreates indelibly."
Runners-up:
Rautavaara: "Song of my heart". Gabriel Suovanen; Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/Leif Segerstam [Ondine]
Lauridsen: "Nocturnes". Polyphony; Britten Sinfonia/Stephen Layton [Hyperion]
Bingham: The Secret Garden; Salt in the Blood; etc. BBC Symphony Chorus/Stephen Jackson; Fine Arts Brass Ensemble [Naxos]
Vasks: Pater Noster; Dona nobis pacem; Missa. Latvian Radio Choir; Sinfonietta Riga/Sigvards Klava [Ondine]
Sunday, October 7, 2012
I am so sick of these people
Efforts to find a cheaply downloadable (ie, available on eMusic) recording of Rachmaninov's Symphony no.1 brought me to a 1979 performance by Gennadi Rozhdestvensky with the BBC SO, released on BBC Legends.
Bob Briggs on MusicWeb:
...at the time, this performance was a revelation. It’s high powered, passionate and forthright... this is an interpretation of great stature and one of the best performances of the work currently available.
Barry Brenesal in Fanfare:
...an impressive affair, buoyed along by the conductor’s attention to detail and the grandly theatrical gesture. ... This recording has quickly moved to the front rank of my favorites, alongside Svetlanov
Andrew Achenbach in Gramophone:
...a perplexing letdown. Rozhdestvensky presides over a fitfully involving but at times uncomfortably rowdy display that does his reputation no favours at all... the performance as a whole pales next to the towering splendour of Svetlanov's volcanic 1966 recording
(And now it's time for my semi-regular apology for not blogging. Many many circumstances have been intervening. But in a couple of weeks I hope to have a spectacular retrospective Nereffid's Guide Awards thing. Stay tuned.)
Friday, August 3, 2012
Samplers, and starting out
For some reason, I hadn't noticed that Hyperion has been giving away monthly samplers for download on its web site for the last several months. So now I'm enjoying several months' worth of samples - because Hyperion seems quite unhorrified at the idea that it could be losing millions, if not billions, of pounds' worth of revenue from people downloading 5-month-old free tracks.
Ah, samplers. They were what helped me discover a lot of music in my early classical years (I posted about that ages ago), and the Hyperion ones are fine examples. But does anyone discover music (in the broad sense) in that way anymore? Back in 1992 - my early classical days and also, I'm reminded, the year that saw the launch of both BBC Music Magazine and Classic FM - there weren't many options. But these days you have Amazon selling the complete Mahler symphonies for download for under a dollar, not to mention various other huge collections of varying quality for relatively small change, and much of the difficulty of building up a decent-sized (and, for that matter, decent) classical collection has been eliminated. But maybe so has some of the fun, too.
A couple of weeks ago I bought, second-hand, David Hurwitz's Beethoven or Bust, a guide for the absolute beginner that was published in - hey! - 1992. His basic idea is that you don't need any significant understanding of music theory or history before you start listening and enjoying, which was certainly true in my case, but at the same time he spends much of the book pointing the reader in certain directions and warns against "the temptation to progress too quickly". Perhaps there's something to be said for simply getting 10 hours of Chopin for a tenner and seeing what works for you. But I like Hurwitz's idea better: listen to Chopin's Études along with those by Schumann and Debussy, and Bach's Inventions; listen to Chopin's Piano sonata no.2 along with Alkan's Grande Sonate, Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit, and Rachmaninov's Sonata no.1; and listen to Chopin's Preludes and Waltzes in the company of Debussy's Preludes and, most intriguingly, Alwyn's Fantasy Waltzes. I'd never even heard of those - words that in my mind always accompany the humble sampler.
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