MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2023
Approaching 60,000 reviews
and more.. and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


CD REVIEW

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

alternatively
CD: AmazonUK AmazonUS
Download: Classicsonline


Franz  SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
Music for Flute and Piano
Sonata in A minor Arpeggione D821 (arr. Uwe Grodd) [23:53]
Six Schubert Songs (arr. Theobald Boehm): Gute Nacht, D 911/1 [4:39], Der Lindenbaum, D911/5 [4:25], Das Fischermädchen, D957/10, Ständchen, D 957/4 [5:25], Am Meer, D957/12 [3:52], Die Taubenpost, D957/12 [3:36]
Variations on Trockne Blumen  from Die schöne Müllerin D802 Op. 160 [20:49]
Uwe Grodd (flute); Matteo Napoli (piano)
rec. 26-27 August 2007, WE Academy, Waikato University, Hamilton, New Zealand. DDD
NAXOS 8.570754 [69:23]
Experience Classicsonline

Following the Classical era, the flute suffered something of a dwindling of repertoire by established composers. There were many reasons for this, but perhaps the most important was to do with the development of music and of the instrument. Composers started to make greater use of dissonance and chromaticism which were not particularly suited to the simple system flute. Its intonation was in any event problematic. Mozart’s apparent displeasure with the flute was well documented, and the problems in the early 1800s were important factors in the development of the instrument, as many makers (most notably Theobald Boehm) looked for ways of improving its reliability, intonation and sound. The flute repertoire contains a number of works by Schubert, although many of them are arrangements. His flute writing in the symphonies is often quite soloistic - particularly in the fifth symphony - and his music lends itself well to the flute sound.
 
The Arpeggione sonata was originally composed for an instrument of that name, a type of bowed guitar which is now obsolete. The work lives on in several arrangements, for viola, cello and also flute.  Each of the flute transcriptions - there are a few – is subtly different. That by Uwe Grodd adds some further embellishment in the slow movement. This performance is a good one – the piano sound is clear and bright, and there is a good sense of partnership between the players. At times I would have liked a clearer flute sound to match that of the piano, as the microphones sometimes pick up air in the sound. The music is well phrased, and Grodd makes use of some lovely tone colours. The music is allowed to sing without being overly forced and the performers do not give in to self-indulgence.
 
Schubert is perhaps best known for his songs, and Theobald Boehm, developer of the modern flute, made arrangements of six of these for flute - or later for his newly invented alto flute - and piano. The first two of these songs come from Winterreise while the remaining four belong to Schwanengesang. These are wonderful arrangements, which are mostly simple and include some variation-like embellishment of the original theme. The themes are lyrical and expressive, and are played here with sensitivity. A particular favourite of mine is Ständchen, with its dark harmonies, mournful theme and turbulent climax.
 
Schubert’s original flute work, the Variations on Trockne Blumen is a substantial work, lasting over twenty minutes. The breathtaking introduction takes the dark harmonic mood of Ständchen and develops the lines further. This is a truly stunning opening which allows the flute an opportunity to show its rich, dark sonorous qualities. The minor key theme ends in the major, reflecting the poem (from Die schöne Müllerin), and this pattern is maintained throughout the majority of the variations. The work is a true duo, with complex technical displays for both instruments. Unfortunately there is a tendency for the flute to rush in the fast passages, and the ensemble and intonation suffers slightly as a result.  The accuracy is not as good as we have become used to in the modern recording age, and this mars an otherwise reasonable recording. The piano moments are more measured and are aggressive where required without losing control.
 
Carla Rees
 

 


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools




Return to Review Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.