MusicWeb Reviewer’s Log: March 2006
Reviewer: Patrick C Waller
I have never much liked
points or token schemes but when it
ultimately leads to a free disc, who’s
complaining? Having recently accrued
enough tokens from a mail-order company,
I vacillated for some time about what
to choose. Eventually I decided to go
for Glière’s concerto
for coloratura soprano and orchestra
which I had come across by chance on
the radio a little while back. Turning
on somewhere near the beginning, I was
transfixed by the music and also very
puzzled as to what it was. This reminds
me of Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras
No 5 and, interestingly, was written
at about the same time (1943). There
don’t seem to be many recordings of
it around but a Chandos disc from 1992
(CHAN9094) featuring Eileen Hulse accompanied
by the City of London Sinfonia under
Richard Hickox seemed the obvious choice.
The couplings are two harp concertos
– by Glière and the Argentinian
composer Ginastera and
these also turned out to be most worthwhile.
I have been waiting
expectantly for the arrival of Boughton’s
Trumpet Concerto played by John Wallace
for a while and it is finally here (see
link 1). This previously unrecorded
work is in two movements and was written
for Boughton’s son Brian in 1943 but
declared unplayable by his teacher.
The couplings on the disc are also splendid
– trumpet concertos by Carmichael
and Hewitt-Jones plus
Iain Hamilton’s concerto
for jazz trumpet. The latter is a "must
hear" if you like that kind of
thing and the good news is that the
disc is at mid-price.
Hyperion’s Romantic
Piano Concerto series continues with
the original version of Delius’s
concerto coupled with John
Ireland’s. Piers Lane is the
soloist and does a fine job in a recording
made in Belfast with the Ulster Orchestra
under David Lloyd-Jones. As Ian Lace
indicates (link 2), the Delius is probably
not a case of the composer’s first thoughts
being best but the work is attractive
in this form. The catalogue is not overburdened
with recordings of Ireland’s concerto
and his Legend for piano and orchestra
- originally intended to be part of
a second concerto - is a significant
bonus.
The two most worthwhile
discs I have reviewed this month have
been Frank Martin’s Cello
Concerto in a blistering performance
from the Dutch cellist Quirine Viersen
(link 3) and two string quartets by
Ferdinand Ries, pupil
of Beethoven (link 4). I had not come
across the Schuppanzigh Quartet - glad
I don’t have to pronounce that one!
- but their playing is most convincing
and this is the first of series that
should be worth looking out for. It
is good to see Ries emerging a little
from Beethoven’s shadow just as Ignaz
Pleyel is from Haydn’s and Mozart’s.
Another fine quartet – the Ensõ
have recorded his Op. 2 quartets for
Naxos and I enjoyed the first three,
as did Göran Forsling (link 5).
It is good news that Naxos has the rest
of the set following sharply behind
- how often does one have to wait for
ages for the follow-up to an enjoyable
disc? - and it is sitting in my reviewing
pile right now.
Before we leave the
string quartet, I should mention an
interesting compilation from DG of recordings
made by the Amadeus Quartet in the 1960s
and 1970s released last year following
the death of their leader, Norbert Brainin
(477 5739). In recent years I get the
feeling that recordings by this quartet
have suffered a little at the hands
of critics but this release may help
to put that right. This is a two CD
set (for the price of one) with quartets
by Verdi (his solitary
work in the genre dating from 1873),
Smetana’s first (From
my life), Tchaikovsky’s
first and Dvořák’s
American. There is also Bruckner’s
String Quintet with Cecil Aronowitz
playing second viola. The latter is
the least successful performance here
– after a broad first movement which
I found promising, the great adagio
seems a bit cool and the finale doesn’t
quite hang together. But everything
else on these discs caught and held
my attention, and the Smetana in particular
is riveting.
Apart from the above,
my listening has been dominated by the
letter "S". First, I have
been digging out every recording of
a Sibelius symphony I
could find for comparisons with Anthony
Collins’s cycle from the 1950s as part
of a review which is on its way (see
review).
Secondly, Scarlatti –
my traversal through Scott Ross’s complete
sonata recordings has reached Kirkpatrick
number 448 (of 555) and there are just
six discs to go (link 6). Finally, Schubert
and Hyperion’s complete song edition.
Having reached disc 10, I left Schubert
somewhere late in his miraculous year
of 1815 - in which he wrote about 200
songs - and moved to the final three
discs of the set which contains songs
by his contemporaries.
I understand these
three discs are due for separate release
soon. They include eighty-one songs
by forty composers, all of whom lived
during some part of Schubert’s 31 years.
Starting with Haydn’s Der
Gries for a quartet of singers,
the first disc also contains a splendid
version of Beethoven’s
cycle An die ferne Geliebte sung
by Mark Padmore. Other well-known composers
represented include Mendelssohn, Schumann
and Liszt each of whom get only a single
item because the main focus seems to
be on much more obscure composers. Certainly
I had never come across Reichardt
and Zelter before, both
of whom have several offerings, including
their settings of one of Schubert’s
most famous songs – Erlkönig.
I am not allowed to play this song when
my wife is around because she profoundly
hates it. She also disliked these versions
- and recognized them immediately from
the words - but perhaps not quite as
much as Schubert’s take on it, indicating
the power of his music. All three versions
use the same words by Goethe and it
is notable how much broader Schubert’s
view is – about four minutes is normal
– Reichardt here lasts 1’31" and
Zelter 2’20". Back in the Schubert
part of the set, there are two versions
of this song. I have only heard one
so far and this is unusual in utilizing
three singers – one for each part.
Aside from Erlkönig,
these discs make one realize that many
song texts were set by multiple composers
although often only one version remains
well-known. About fifty of the songs
presented here were also set by Schubert
and are cross-referenced. Another of
Zelter’s songs has a very familiar title
– Um Mitternacht is one of Mahler’s
Rückert settings. But this version
is by Goethe and its impact could hardly
be more different – this is midnight
on a balmy summer evening with none
of Mahler’s dark undertones. Some other
composers well-represented here who
I had not heard of before are Zumsteeg,
Hüttenbrenner and
Lachner.
It was brave of Hyperion
to complete the set in this way and
it has been superbly realized with Susan
Gritton, Ann Murray Mark Padmore and
Gerald Finley bearing the brunt of the
work. As ever, Graham Johnson’s accompaniments
sound faultless. These discs provide
welcome context to Schubert’s songs,
make the word "complete" an
understatement and will be a highly
desirable stand-alone collection when
they are so released.
Patrick C Waller
Links
1. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/Jan06/British_Trumpet_CDWHL2159.htm
2. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/Jan06/Delius_Ireland_CDA67296.htm
3. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/Feb06/Martin_Cello_KTC1290.htm
4. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/Feb06/Ries_Quartets_7770142.htm
5. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/Jan06/Pleyel_Quartets_8557496.htm
6. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Nov05/Scarlatti_sonatas_2564620922.htm
