Ligeti's Horn Trio was written as a somewhat reluctant
homage to Brahms in 1982. He may have been quite indifferent
to Brahms' historicist approach, but this didn't
stop Ligeti from writing the ideal companion piece to a chamber
work, which until then had stuck out like a sore thumb in any
programme. Since then, a wealth of excellent works have appeared
in the genre from composers like Hans Abrahamsen, Poul Ruders
and Hugh Wood, but it is the Ligeti that remains the standard
coupling. That's quite an achievement considering Ligeti
doesn't compromise anything about his modernist aesthetic
to fit into the 19th century chamber music format.
Horn player Marie-Luise Neunecker is an authority on Ligeti's
music for the instrument. Ligeti's 'Hamburg'
Concerto was written for her, and it was she who played the
Horn Trio in the Ligeti Edition recordings that the composer
supervised in the 1990s. As with everything by Ligeti, the sheer
technical demands of this music limit the number of musicians
willing to perform and record it. Neither Neunecker, nor her
colleagues violinist Antje Weithaas and pianist Silke Avenhaus,
find anything here problematic.
Neunecker has a fascinating horn sound. She distinguished effectively
between open and stopped timbres, but even her open sound is
quite narrow and constrained. No doubt she has another sound
entirely when she plays in an orchestra, but this more intimate
chamber tone is very attractive indeed. It focuses her tone
and allows her to integrate into the unusual ensemble, giving
the full range of dynamics without being overpowering in the
louder passages.
The Brahms is given a wistful and nostalgic air, not too much,
but enough to bring out the feeling of reminiscence that pervades
so much of the music. Again, Neunecker's slightly constrained
and distant tone is ideal here, as is Weithaas's focused
but playful violin work. The performers ensure that neither
the Brahms nor the Ligeti are oblivious to each other. The former
is played to highlight the sense of overbearing history that
Ligeti heard in it, while the latter emphasises the connections
to Brahms, despite Ligeti's own protestations to the
contrary.
Kalevi Aho provides the filler, in the form of a new work for
unaccompanied horn, Solo X. It's a work of dynamic
extremes and extreme virtuosity. Placing it between the two
trios was a smart move, as it shakes the listener out of the
comfortable 19th century aesthetic and prepares the
ear for what is to come. Aho doesn't have the subtlety
or sophistication of either of his colleagues here. But it integrates
into the programme largely thanks to Neunecker's distinctive
tone. It is easy to spend the seven minutes of the Aho piece
speculating as to which of the other works it comes closest
to. I'd say it has the lyrical flow of the Brahms but
the tempo and dynamic extremes of the Ligeti.
Great performances and excellent SACD sound make this disc highly
desirable. It is encouraging to see that, as it turns 30, the
Ligeti Horn Trio has been granted full repertory status, to
the extent that a recording of the Brahms without it would now
seem remiss. It's not adventurous programming any more,
so any new recording has to fight on the merits of its performance.
Fortunately then, this one stands favourable comparison with
the best of them.
Gavin Dixon
Marie-Luise Neunecker (horn); Antje Weithaas (violin); Silke Avenhaus
(piano)
[59:16]