Back to Basics

I envisioned this blog as something in between. There is room, I thought, for someone to review and comment upon classical music concerts and the occasional recording from an informed listener's perspective. More than "I liked" or "I didn't like" but less than the technical reviews who excoriate a performance where the "second bassoon misses the quiet back beats that are essential to the architecture..." and so on.

But I noticed that in my recent writing, I was starting to lean towards the latter... and not being a trained musician, was failing miserably.

Thus I am going to head back to what I think I do best, comment on what I heard but from the informed listener's aspect. I know a lot about music, I know what I like. I can tell good from bad, committed from apathetic and when a performer or ensemble communicates their message. That is what made "Puggingham Palace" and now "Pictures on Silence" what it is... whatever that is. It made it fun for me, and being selfish, that is what I am going to do.

Back to basics, and if lean towards the extremes as I mentioned above... call me on it.

A Concord Essay

I love the term “bucket list” and think everyone should have one. For the un-initiated, the term comes from a movie where two terminally ill men go off on an adventure to do things they always wanted to do before they euphemistically “kick the bucket”. One of life's greatest pleasures is to cross off something on one's list.

This past Saturday February 21st, I got to do just that. I heard a live, complete performance of a work on my music “bucket list”, the Piano Sonata No. 2 (Concord, Mass., 1840-1860) by Charles Ives. In St Joseph, Missouri of all places, performed by the remarkable, über-talented and shall we say brave pianist Robert Pherigo. Assisting in this insane genius work was Rico McNeela in the tiny, but often omitted viola line in the first movement and Lyra Pherigo in the more important but also sometimes omitted flute part in the Thoreau movement.

As was typical of the feisty and innovative composer, Ives broke most of the piano sonata rules. The sonata is programmatic to a point, something rather unusual for a piano sonata, being a musical portrait of transcendentalist authors who lived in Concord, Massachusetts, around 1840-1860: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, the Alcott's Louisa May and her father Bronson, and Henry David Thoreau. Most classical sonatas were in three movements, but Ives included four, stretching the work to almost symphonic stature. Few, if any, piano sonatas have parts for viola and flute scattered about either. Early material exists from around 1904 and it seems the work was conceived as a piano concerto. Work on the solo sonata started in earnest around 1910-11 and was mostly finished around 1915. Ives tended to fiddle with his music off and on thus the work was revised in 1947, the edition that seems to be played the most.

Like icing on a tasty cake was the informative pre-concert talk by author and composer Kyle Gann, one of the foremost authorities on Charles Ives, the Concord Sonata and Vice President of the Charles Ives society. Gann focused on the work's background and the personages that inspired it while highlighting the recurring themes and motives that tie the sprawling work into a quite logical and organic whole.

More than a recital or concert, this was an old fashioned “happening” for those who remember what that meant.

The performance? I make no bones that I am nowhere near qualified to judge, just looking at the score gives me a headache. I found it technically excellent to my ears, having heard the work many times in recordings and Robert negotiated the work from memory without a visible sweat or concern. A Hamelin, Fitzpatrick, Denk or Kalish might bring more polish, technical brilliance and more experience with the complex score (Hamelin's “Alcotts” will bring goose-bumps, but this one was not far behind) but Pherigo brought the work and Concord, Mass. to life for the appreciative audience, many of whom I am sure, like me, had never had the opportunity to hear it live. Even Gann said it had been a while for him. Certainly far far far and did I say far from a slam-bang run through, Robert found the humor, the lyricism, the tenderness, nobility and humanity in this complex score. On that damp, winter night in St Joseph Robert brought the work to life, let us glimpse the world of the denizens of Concord and communicated Ives own commentary on them and on humanity itself.

Kansas City Symphony: Old and New

The Kansas City Symphony concerts for the weekend of January 16-18 likely attracted two different types of listeners; those who never tire of hearing the standard repertoire again and again and, quite oppositely, those looking to hear new works fresh from the composer's pen. A new concerto by composer, conductor, pianist, jazz and pop artist Andre Previn just premiered last November was sandwiched in between two giants of the orchestra repertoire, the Mozart Symphony no. 35 “Haffner” and Brahms' Symphony No. 1. Michael Stern, music director conducted, with Jaime Laredo, Violin and Sharon Robinson, Cello as solos in the Previn.

The Cincinnati Symphony plus a consortium of orchestras, including the Kansas City Symphony, commissioned Previn to write the Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra for Laredo and Robinson. Orchestras in Austin, Detroit, Los Angeles, Canada and Europe are scheduled to perform the work over the next few months.

The Double Concerto, clocking a compact 20 minutes is certainly bright, colorful (yet fairly conventionally scored) with little, if any, qualities that would offend the most conservative of listeners. Yet immediately afterward it was difficult, if not impossible, to really remember anything about the work.

The first movement “Quasi Allegretto” immediately introduces the violin and cello echoing the Brahms Double Concerto. There the comparison ends. Glowing, busy and certainly virtuosic, the movement lacks organization and seems to move from one episode and mood to another. Laredo and Robinson, long time collaborators and spouses, dig in to the busy music, keeping their lines and glowing tones above all the fray.

Part bluesy nocturne, part-heart-on sleeve romantic fantasy, the second movement marked “slow” has more emotional gravitas and, due to the slower tempo, seems to be more organized. Chains of lovely melodies abound, major key statements and swelling dynamics morph into minor key angst... yet again the movement leaves little lasting impression. The final movement, “Presto” is a fun, skittish romp ending in big honking C major chords for all assembled. The prestige and orchestras behind this work will ensure that many will hear it but to me the Double Concerto is “gone in 60 seconds”... here one second, gone the next.

Mozart's “Haffner” Symphony No. 35 in D, K.385 opened the program. Stern and the symphony reminded the audience that the work began as a serenade (not to be confused with the Serenade also known as “Haffner” in the same key, K.250) with a sprightly and spirited performance. Mozart asked that the first movement be “played with fire” and the last “as fast as possible; Stern and his forces certainly obeyed Mozart's command. Stern's graceful but not fussy “Andante” 2^nd movement contrasted nicely with the energetic 1^st, 3^rd and 4^th movements. Mozart added flutes and clarinets to the symphony's orchestration giving it a more mellow yet full texture. This touch benefited the always excellent KCS woodwinds, allowing them to contribute to an appropriately propulsive opener.

When I was introduced to the Brahms Symphony No. 1 in c op 68. my classical music mentor Herbert Glass told me that the work needs to start off “like a force of nature” or else it is a failure. Dr. Glass was a geologist by profession so he knew much about forces of nature, of course. And he is right and so was Stern and the KCS in their performance. Right from the start this was a powerful and forward performance. Not a glacier force but one like a flowing river, relentless but with control.

I am known to readers and friends as not a big fan of Brahms. Perhaps I have been exposed to too much glacier-like performances. Brahms had to be big, heavy, bulky and sometimes sweet, like a good German dinner. Stern has always gotten Johannes up from the table and out for a brisk jog in the woods, all to great benefit. Trust me, there is still great majesty and throughout, the final pages of the first movement, the opening of the finale, and the climatic pages of the “allegretto” 3^rd movement, are just a few. Stern also is keen to note the change in mood and temperature the middle two movements bring to the work. He does not allow them to wallow but provides just enough contrast and release of tension to make the final movement even more persuasive.

Special mention must be made to the excellent brass performances in this work. Not all that long ago, the anticipation of a prolonged horn or trumpet solo caused great anxiety among the regulars in the hall. Not now. The horns, introducing the alphorn inspired theme, emerged glowing and golden from the low strings and tympani, followed by the dulcet flute. A minor bobble of the trumpet and trombone chorale there after marred little, the whole episode was breathtaking. The chorale theme, an homage to Beethoven, demonstrated the excellent sound of Helzberg Hall, one could hear the darker husk of the violas, bringing out a texture not often captured on a recording. Stern milked the drama from the movement's final pages, not a headlong dash but an unleashing of the once bottled up force of nature.

Best CDs of 2014... Number 14

What a dolt I am! I forgot one. Not until I was rummaging around in my CDs (after HRH Olive the Pug knocked a few over) did I remember this recording that I planned to add to my list. I can't very well knock one off  the list after publishing it, so I will just do this supplement and add #14 to the list:

Darius Milhaud The Oresteia of Aeschylus: Agamemnon, Les choëphores, Les euménides
University of Michigan Percussion Ensemble, University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, University of  Michigan Choral Union, Kenneth Kiesler, Conductor
Naxos 660349 3 discs

A long time ago, a strange LP of a strange sounding work "Les choëphores" caught my eye. Even though conducted by the New York Philharmonic and Leonard Bernstein, it was only available as a "Columbia Special Products" LP and thus really hard to get. My local record store tried and was told it did not exist. It finally made an appearance on CD a few years ago and I picked up a copy, but it soon disappeared from the catalog. I didn't know about the Markevitch version that was on DG occasionally. My curiosity was only partly satisfied, what about the rest of the trilogy? All the years of not being able to get it made me so damn curious about it.. you know what it is like when you can't have something.... it makes it all the more intriguing.

Finally, here it is in all its. Strange, percussive, fascinating, dramatic, violent and in-your-face glory. Great sound, great performances (the Markevitch "Les chöephores" is better than the Bernstein and in some ways better than this performance, if you want to explore them) and great fun. But good grief, NO TEXTS. What a shame, but still a landmark recording.

I should be shot for forgetting this!

Baker's Dozen Best Recordings 2014

Well! Here we are again. It is time to reflect on the past 12 months, review the defining events of 2014, recall celebrities who have passed away and of course the best of this and that. I concentrate on the latter, leaving the obits and news analysis to the talking heads of the TV. So yes, the best recordings of 2014 list is here. As usual, since the list is mine, I make the rules. These are not always brand new recordings, sometimes they are ones I heard for the first time in 2014 or dusted off my shelf. No pop or jazz, since that is not really my thing, and I am sure I have missed some “blockbusters” because the artists or repertoire were not of interest to me. No “Dude” or Sir Simon Le Rat (sic) or other “big names” recording more Mahler or whatever they are into now. You are more likely to find recordings of Havergal Brian (none this year though) or Morton Feldman (one this time around) than Bach, Beethoven or Brahms. So with all that, here are my baker's dozen favorite recordings, as usual listed in no particular order.

Britten: Works for String Orchestra Camerata Nordica, Terje Tonnesen, Director

BIS 2060

Britten tuned 100 in 2013 and of course big box releases were plentiful. With all the big guns firing, this 2013 release escaped me until this year. I have been slow to appreciate all of Britten's works; the “War Requiem”, “Peter Grimes” and “Sinfonia da Requiem” are givens, but much of his work long has baffled or left me cold. But this charming, well performed and enlightening disc opened the string orchestra works to my enjoyment. There is nothing “simple” about the “Simple Symphony”, the Bridge Variations is a masterpiece and Lachrymae is simply beyond description. Get this disc.

Yevhen (Yeven or Evgeny) Stankovych (Stankovich): Symphonies 1, 2 and 4 Theodore Kuchar, Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra

Naxos 8555741

These are actually 1995 Marco Polo recordings re-released on Naxos. I enjoy exploring the vast unknown of 20th century Russian/Soviet Bloc music. A lot of junk was produced (even by the big names) but there are many, many jewels buried in the trash heap. Ukrainian Yevhen Stankovych (seemingly the preferred spelling) is prolific yet lyrical, dramatic and listenable. Unlike many, the ghost of Shostakovich and Prokofiev is not overwhelming, but still always there. One of the jewels hidden in the pile.

Brahms and Schumann Piano Quintets Joyce Yang, Piano/Alexander String Quartet

Foghorn Classics FCL2014

The talented Alexanders and brilliant Joyce Yang take on two towers of 19th century chamber music, the Brahms Piano Quintet in f Op 34 and the Schumann Piano Quintet in Eb op 44. Frankly any recording that elicits a positive comment about Brahms from me is worth noting. No stodgy, elegant (read dull and technical) readings here, these are gutsy, lively, exciting and maybe even a bit edgy performances. Excellent production, including concise yet informative notes.

Bartók And Kodály Complete String Quartets Alexander String Quartet

Foghorn Classics FCL2009 (3 discs)

While we have the excellent Alexanders in front of us, mention must be made of this always intelligent, intense, musical, satisfying and well recorded set. Add this to the list of recordings that challenge and maybe surpass the classic Julliard recording of the Bartók cycle. Combine the fine and less well known Kodály quartets and you have a special release indeed.

Troubadour Blue: Nils Bultmann Works for Viola. Nils Bultmann, Hank Dutt violas, Parry Karp cello, Stephen Kent, didjeridu.

Innova 851

Thanks to I Care if You Listen and my fellow contributor Jarrett Goodchild, I had the notion to listen to this disc of works by San Francisco based composer/violist Nils Bultmann. Bultmann is one of the rare composers who can open your ear while not assaulting it, his music is tonal but inventive, rhythmic and visceral. The works on this recordings will both challenge and please. One simply has to hear “From the Depths” an imaginative and strikingly beautiful set of duos for viola and didjeridu and the “10 Viola Duets” for 2 violas are as often amusing as they are fascinating.

Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center: Music by Babbit, Arel, Davidovsky, Luening, El-Dabh, Ussachevsky.

Columbia/Sony 3268 (Available as an ArchivMusic on demand CD)

I remember this recording, released in 1964, from my teen years as I explored classical music. I don't think I ever owned a copy, but heard it at the library where probably most of the copies ended up. But it, along with other trail blazing recordings, led me to daydream about being an electronic music composer, which of course did not come to pass. This disc was on the cutting edge of the avant garde in the 60's, but now we giggle at the almost absurd series of bleeps, buzzes, warbles and squeals that comprise the works' electronic elements. The big names of the early electronic era are here and the compositions are representative of their time.... 50 years ago... seems like yesterday. Nostalgia for the radicals out there.

American Masters: Violin Works by Mason Bates, John Corigliano and Samuel Barber. Anne Akiko Meyers, Violin, Leonard Slatkin London Symphony Orchestra

eOne 7791

Three works for violin and orchestra from three American masters who share much more than is obvious. Barber (Violin Concerto 1939) was a mentor to Corigliano (Lullaby for Natalie 2010) who was Mason Bates' (Concerto for Violin “Archeopteryx” 2012) teacher. I reviewed this disc for I Care if You Listen in November and frankly I think I was too hard on the Bates Concerto. Further listening reveals a finely crafted, tuneful work that fits and compliments the other two works. The Barber is an utter masterpiece so maybe the others pale in comparison, but in that case, so do many others. Fine, fine recording. A keeper for sure.

Stanislaw Skrowaczewski: The Complete Oehms Classics Recordings. Music of Bruckner Brahms, Beethoven, Berlioz, Schumann, Skrowaczewski and others.  Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra,  Bavarian Radio Chorus,  Saarbrücken Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Oehms Classics 90

The great Stanislaw Skrowaczweski turned 90 in 2013 and Oehms released this wonderful set of his recordings for them late last year. Complete Beethoven, Brahms, and Bruckner and Schumann Symphonies plus some Bartok, Berlioz, the two Chopin Piano Concerti and some of Skrowaczewski's own excellent compositions. I first heard him when he was the Music Director at Minnesota and always find his performances suave, exciting and musical. My conducting god, I drove 4 hours one way to hear him do Bruckner 8 and would do it again in a heartbeat. Lucky the performance here is first rate so I can stay in tonight.

Organ Polychrome: The French School. Jan Kraybill, Organ. Casavant Organ, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City, MO                                         Reference Recordings RR133

A hallmark of a great concert hall is a great organ. Not used every day, but when a work requires an organ it is nice to have one around. The Casavant here is a fine “symphonic” organ and blends well with the orchestra. As a solo it is a fine instrument, especially under the control of Jan Kraybill, who oversees it and two other wonderful organs in Kansas City. Great, idiomatic performances of many of the French masters, including Widor (thankfully not the overdone “Toccata”), Vierne, Gigout, Guilmant, Franck, Alain... et al. Lease breaking sonics to boot.

Morton Feldman String Quartet #1, Three Pieces for String Quartet, Structures for String Quartet. Flux String Quartet                                                                               Mode 269 3 discs and DVD

At a mere 90 minutes instead of the 6 hours required for String Quartet # 2, # 1 is a trifle. But what a trifle; serene, glowing, glacial, energetic, softly ringing.... one incredible sound after another. Feldman is an acquired taste, but like that of scotch, anchovies or whatever... it is worth it for those in the know. The recording perfectly captures all the subtle changes in dynamics and harmonics. The DVD allows you to hear the whole quartet without interruption. Three Pieces and Structures are also vintage Feldman and are much, much shorter. It is a cold, misty dark December evening as I write this... I think I will pull this disc out... it fits.

Miraculous Metamorphoses: Bartok, Miraculous Mandarin Suite, Prokofiev, Love for Three Oranges Suite, Hindemith, Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber. Kansas City Symphony, Michael Stern. 
Reference Recordings RR132

Performances that can stand with the best of them and sonics that sound fabulous even on my computer speakers combine for another Reference Recordings/Kansas City Symphony “hit”. One also has to give the Kansas City Symphony, Reference Recordings and all involved great credit for daring to record major standard repertoire pieces that often have some very heady competition.

Shostakovich Symphony # 14 (1969) Gal James, Soprano, Alexander Vinogradov Bass Vasily Petrenko Royal Liverpool Philharmonic                                                         Naxos 8.573132

Overall, an excellent performance but I still can not live without the Barshai led performances with Vishnevskaya/Reshetin or with Simoni/Vaneev in the Cologne recording. Barshai was there at the beginning and had the music in his veins. The Curtin/Estes Ormandy is a sentimental favorite, with some of the most impressively ghoulish cover art ever devised. I thought the Liverpool strings were a bit weak and James less impressive than Vinogradov, but other critics disagreed. Overall a fine addition to the Shostakovich canon.

Shostakovich Symphony # 13 “Babi Yar” Alexander Vinogradov, Bass, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Chorus                                                                               Naxos 8.573218 

If the 14th was a fine recording, then the powerful 13th was perfection. Vinogradov is dark, brooding, frightening and frightened with deep voice that is still clarion clear. The chorus is not as idiomatic as a fine Russian ensemble, but is clear and present, well blended with the other forces. This is also one recording that does not let down after the long and dramatic first movement, the other four are equal in their drama and pathos. Great performance and a fitting end to a fine cycle. Petrenko is just 38 so he may yet have an even finer cycle in store some day.

Terrain of the Heart, Song Cycles of Mark Abel

“Terrain of the Heart”

Song Cycles of Mark Abel

Jamie Chamberlin, Soprano

Ariel Pisturino, Soprano

Victoria Kirsch, Piano

Delos 3438

Look around the rock music world of New York City in the late 70's and you would likely run into a fellow named Mark Abel. He might be leading a group he created, making a record with another or maybe producing an album or two. Originally from Connecticut, Abel had studied music in California before heading back to the east coast. He returned to the Bay Area in 1983, not to produce music but to work in news journalism, eventually becoming Foreign Editor of the respected San Francisco Chronicle. Musically, during his two decades in journalism, Abel moved away from rock and pop and began to explore classical forms and concepts becoming especially focused on solo vocal music. Thus Abel melds his experience in classical, rock and song writing music into songs that are sophisticated, accessible, original and tuneful.

An accomplished writer, Abel often writes his own texts for his songs. “Terrain of the Heart” showcases three of Abel's song cycles, two of which are settings of his own text. “The Dark Eyed Chameleon” and “Rainbow Songs” use his own poetry. “Five Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke” obviously set poems by the Bohemian novelist-poet.

Musically, nothing in these three cycles would be out of place in a contemporary musical. Frequently tonally ambiguous, and contemporary in sound, they are nonetheless well crafted, emotionally complex and engaging lyric songs in the truest sense of the form.

At nearly a half hour, “ The Dark Eyed Chameleon” (2007) is the most substantial and most emotionally affecting of the three song cycles. The nearly half hour cycle tells the tale of the composer's painful break up of a long term relationship. Hints of past tragedy and loss, misunderstandings, longing, realizing the inevitable (“underneath us the ground is always shifting, unstable like our California”) and the final break (The fatal blow is struck by telephone..) permeate the lyrics to the five songs. Very theatrical in nature, “Chameleon” could be envisioned as a one actor play, but Abel's accompanying music, alternatively wistful, agonized and even confused, propels the story forward as much as the lyrics. Soprano Jamie Chamberlin, along with pianist Victoria Kirsch totally understand and are committed to the work. Chamberlin negotiates the many chromatic leaps and rapid changes of emotion and texture. Kirsch is a sensitive yet propulsive accompanist and a full partner in telling the story.

For the “Five Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke” (2004) Ariel Pisturino, soprano, takes over the vocal duties. Pisturino is gifted with a big, but clear and slightly bright voice that perfectly suits the darkly expressive poetry. Her's is a voice tailor made for art song. Of the three cycles, “Five Poems” is the most “classical” influenced, more adventurous and flexible in tempi and dynamics, befitting the more hauntingly symbolic nature of the lyrics. “In this town the last house stands” is shaded and ultimately enigmatic, the vocal lines lyrical but unsettled at the same time. The longest of the five songs, “All of you undisturbed cities” is punctuated with relentless ostinati over which Pisturino weaves the jagged melodic line, laced with impending doom. In the remaining songs,“My life is not this steeply sloping hour”,“You darkness, that I come from” and “I live my life in growing orbits”, Abel's stark and expressionistic music works in tandem with the often mysterious poetry to deliver a most satisfying yet challenging musical experience. “Five Poems” is certainly a fine addition to the song repertoire and worth repeated hearings in recordings and in recitals or concerts.

Chamberlin returns with her lighter voice (should I say less “operatic” and more “Broadway” voice and start that whole argument??) in the final four “Rainbow Songs”. More light hearted and fanciful than the other cycles, “Rainbow” could be dismissed as fluff and nothing new but for the colorful and atmospheric “La Sonnambula”, depicting a woman wandering through desolate streets looking for her lover, but doomed to never find him. “La Sonnambula” is a touch more sophisticated than many of the other songs, growing in drama, dynamics and lyrical intensity from a shadowy figure in the piano. To my ears, it is the single most effective song on the disc.

Abel's music in each of the cycles is highly chromatic and linear, the linearity and incessant forward motion showing the formidable influences of the composer's rock music roots. While appropriate to the lyrics, which, with the exception of the Rilke songs, are also rock influenced and linear in nature, the chromatic and declamatory sound world can lead to a numbing sameness if one listens to the whole 73 minute CD in one sitting. Probably best to get into this music by listening to one cycle at a time.

Delos' notes and bios are of their usual high standard as is the stellar sound engineering. There is frequently a lot going on in the songs, lyrically and musically, so the close and somewhat dry sound works well to keep everything clear. Mark Abel's website (www.markabelmusic.com) has perusal scores for all the songs for those wanting to follow along.

Perhaps this music is more influenced by Sondheim than Schubert, but that was not the composer's intention. Put all that aside, and listen to some fine, easily approachable and frequently satisfying songs.

Kansas City Symphony Verdi Requiem

The May 30 through June 1 performances of the Verdi Requiem could be summarized as “redemptive”, not just for the departed soul but for the Kansas City Symphony and Chorus, led by Music Director Michael Stern. The symphony's last performance of Verdi's 1874 masterpiece in May 2008 was problematic to be kind; the main culprits being the chorus and the totally unenthusiastic soloists. The performance was leaden, loud rather than powerful and overall disappointing. This time around in the much friendlier and spacious Helzberg Hall, a rejuvenated chorus, a seasoned orchestra and more committed soloists combined for a powerful, expressive performance.

The chorus has, in my experience, never made a more subtly expressive entrance than that of the opening, practically whispered “Requiem”. Clear, perfectly balanced, quietly powerful with excellent diction, it set the tone for the rest of the work. Most impressive was their brisk and precisely executed “Sanctus” a wickedly complex eight part fugue for double chorus. Diction was excellent throughout, despite the sheer size of the chorus, something that is not always the case. One could easily make out the Latin and if anyone was not clear of the meaning, the translations were available on a screen high above the stage.

The solo quartet was 1000% (sic) better than those in the 2008 performances. Tenor Dimitri Pittas was strong and lyrical (giving a very fine reading of the “Ingemisco” section of the “Dies Irae”) but a bit strained at times and not always able to float above the fray. Bass Jordan Bisch possessed a dark but slightly unwieldy voice and seemed a bit tentative at times. Tamara Mumford, mezzo-soprano, was quite fine with a clear yet burnished tone. The star of the quartet, soprano Amber Wagner dug into her many long solos with gusto and with resigned sweetness when needed. She alone could consistently float over the huge forces. Mumford and Wagner were superb in the “Agnus Dei” (in my opinion the most moving and sublime of all the sections of the work), sweetly blended and perfectly together, the chorus equally well integrated with the solo lines.

Stern kept the performance moving, critical in the long, episodic Dies Irae section. He viewed the work not as “Verdi's greatest opera” but as a powerful statement of the awe and fear present in the liturgy of the requiem mass. The orchestra sometimes plays second fiddle to the vocalists, but in every moment the excellent ensemble work, singing tone and steady rhythm of the orchestra provided a firm foundation for the text and drama. The stunning bass drum blows in the “Dies Irae” were powerful and resonant, whereas they can often be a muddy thud.

Much of this season has been devoted to encore performances of past seasons' favorites, re-imagined for the new concert hall. If a work ever needed a second chance it was the Verdi Requiem. It got that chance, and we were richly rewarded for it.

newEar Distant Travels

http://www.icareifyoulisten.com/2014/05/newear-distant-travels-kansas-city/

My latest review on I Care if you Listen.

A "Tasty" Flute Recital by Luisa Sello

The contemporary music gurus Larry and Arlene Dunn saw the program for this concert and declared it "tasty". Indeed the April 28th concert, part of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory Performance Series was quite a full meal. Italian flutist Luisa Sello's guest artist recital included four US premieres of compositions written for her, two charming turn of the twentieth century works by Casella and Chaminade and sonatas for flute and keyboard by J.S. Bach.

Sello opened the program with a fluid and elegant performance of Bach's "Sonata for Flute and Obbligato Keyboard" BWV 1030 with Karen Kushner on the piano. Purists would cringe at the modern flute and piano, but this was a crisp, clear and light performance devoid of any romantic mannerisms, yet never starkly dry either. Sello, in her remarks, compared the sonata to the languages Bach would hear in his contacts with other musicians.  The opening Andante was formal, economical German, the following Andante, Sello noted, was infused with the melodic sensuality of Spain. In the concluding Presto, Sello heard and vividly communicated the hard, chewy consonants of English invoking the rhythm of a gigue.

The Bach was a fitting opener since the next piece, Kansas City based composer Mara Gibson's "Flone", is based on Bach, specifically the "Partita for Flute" BWV 1013. Atavistic fluttering and the pizzicato of tapped keys evoke earth sounds as the theme from the Allemande of the Partita emerges and takes flight. The theme is embellished by a myriad of effects and vocalizations from Sello until it climaxes and deconstructs into fragments, returning to the earth music of the opening. A most compelling and fascinating work, with undoubtedly the best and most clever title for a piece in my memory.

Like "Flone", "Erbarme dich"  (2005) by German composer Rainer Bischof is also based on Bach;  the work's subtitle is Sicilliano on Bach's Matthaus-Passion. In this case, Bischof deconstructs the Bach fragment from its whole, returning it to nature sounds and elements of dance whereas Gibson's "Flone" has Bach emerge from the elements. "Flone" works best in this case, the Bichoff, no doubt definitively performed, sounding as if the flute is just superimposing sound effects over the Bach tune.

The charming "Barcarolla e Scherzo" for flute and piano (1903) was a revelation. Alfredo Casella (1883-1947) was a contemporary of Respighi and once as highly regarded. He was conductor of the Boston Pops for a period in the late 1920's and was instrumental in re-introducing Vivaldi to audiences. His Third Symphony (1939) was written for the Chicago Symphony and well received. But Casella thereafter returned enthusiastically to Fascist Italy and soon his reputation all but vanished. Sello's performance of this seldom heard impressionistic fantasy was liquid and flowing, the flute and piano in perfect communication. Cécile Chaminade's  Concertino, op 107 was heard in its arrangement for flute and piano. A lovely, romantic work, exquisitely performed but paling in comparison to the more adventurous and sensuous Casella.

If the Casella was a musical rocking of a little barque, Narong Prangcharoen's 2014 compostion "Lom" (Thai for "wind") provided the wind and the waves. The breathy flute evoked bamboo flutes, storms, breezes and the atmospheric sounds of nature in the work's short span. Provocative and elementally melodic, as is all the music I have heard from this fine composer who is also on the UMKC faculty.

One can always count on the prolific James Mobberly to provide a challenging and frequently humorous work for a contemporary music recital. "Respiri", (2014) also making its US premiere, was a barnstorming tour-de-force, chock full of his trademark bursts of energy, startling contrasts of tempo and volume and every musical trick in the book. Sello was inspired to doff her heels in preparation for the action. Breathing and vocalizations from the flutist plus rock-inspired key tapping take primacy over traditional melody or pitches. Sello was in total command of the flute, even ending the exhilarating piece with a little dance. One has to hand it to Mobberly, his works leave you with a satisfied smile all while challenging the ear and mind.

Karen Kushner returned to accompany Sello in the closing bookend; a charming and graceful performance of the Andante from the Bach "Sonata for Flute and Continuo" BWV 1034.

A star-studded evening for contemporary music with Gibson, Prangcharoen and Mobberly in attendance along with renowned composers Chen Yi and Zhou Long listening along in the White Recital Hall at the James C. Olsen Performing Arts Center on the UMKC campus.

Road Trip Music from The Alexander String Quartet

The road between my current home and my home town is not the most exciting in the world. Vast stretches of fertile farmland are punctuated by a few trees here and there that usually indicate the location of a small stream or a town. The winter bleakness can be starkly picturesque, the summer corn an endless wave of green, but after traversing it for as long as I have, the bloom is off the rose.

Thus faced with a trip home that would involve some late night driving, I grabbed some CDs to keep my mind alert and my bleary eyes open. One of my selections this time was a new disc sent for my perusal by the Alexander String Quartet. Readers will know I have been exploring some of their recent releases on their Foghorn Classics label and have been highly impressed by their musicality and repertoire selections. This is a bit of a different animal from the Brahms and Bartók cycles of late, a single disc released late summer 2013 of arrangements for string quartet of songs by Jerome Kern and George Gershwin. Clarinet Joan Enric Lluna joins the quartet in the Gershwin "Porgy and Bess" selections.

Usually this is not my type of thing. I prefer to hear Gershwin, Kern, Rodgers, et. al., as originally written, voice and piano preferably. I half expected the usual schmaltzy, overblown and stiff results that all to often characterize classical music's forays into "pop" idioms. But leave it to the Alexanders to find and so superbly record picture perfect arrangements of these miniature masterpieces.

Carl Davis’ (noted composer and arranger, working frequently in TV and film) arrangement of Porgy and Bess selections for clarinet and string quartet is nothing less than suave, sophisticated and totally enjoyable. Davis started with Heifetz’s arrangement of these selections for violin and piano with the clarinet taking the solo violin parts and then linking the song via brief cadenzas. Lluna is fully in tune with the sound and rhythms of Gershwin, classically elegant in "Bess You is my Woman Now", just a touch bluesy and sentimental in "Summertime" and brash and sassy in "A Woman is a Sometime Thing" and "It ain't Necessarily So". The quartet does not take a back seat to the clarinet solo but is an equal partner in stating the lush melodies and setting the moods. They also swing and sass while at the same time exhibiting their usual tight and taught ensemble.

The Kern selections have a similar pedigree. Kern's assistant Charles Miller transcribed the six songs selected and arranged by Kern for string quartet in 1942. They were first recorded on 78's in 1948 and likely are making their CD debut on this recording.

The songs ("All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight", "Bill", "The Song Is You", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "Once in a Blue Moon") are well known to anyone familiar with American song. As with the Gershwin, these are sophisticated, classical inspired arrangements, suggesting comparisons to Schubert and Schumann rather than to the "easy listening" channel or Muzak. The Alexanders capture the pathos, longing, and sadness in "Smoke.." and "Bill", the tenderness in "The Way.." and the elegance and economy of scale in each of these classic works.  The lyrics are rarely missed or, for that matter, needed.

The disc ends with the only work originally written for quartet, the charming and familiar "Lullaby" by Gershwin. Frequently heard in a full string orchestra arrangement, the original presented here is just fine, thank you, basking in lazy and languid light.

This disc, (an all too short 48 minutes, but each one a jewel) was not the sleepy elevator music so often made from these fine examples of the song writers art, but engaging enough to entertain and delight while negotiating the mind numbing Interstate Highway. Fine production and the usual complete notes too.

Gershwin and Kern
Alexander String Quartet
Joan Enric Lluna Clarinet
Foghorn Classics  CD 2008

First Listen: Petrenko's Shostakovich Symphony # 14

I have loved the enigmatic and moving Shostakovich 14^th Symphony since I first heard the RCA Ormandy, Curtin/Estes, Philadelphia recording on vinyl back in the 70's as a classical music crazed teenager. I frankly have heard it so many times, words and musical passages are imprinted on my mind. Whether you wish to think of it as a symphony or a song cycle a la “Das Lied von der Erde” matters little. It is really, if you look at it all closely, Shostakovich's most intimate and emotional masterpiece.

Vasily Petrenko began his Royal Liverpool cycle on Naxos in 2009 with an excellent 11^th Symphony. It seems only the incredible and under-performed “Babi Yar” 13^th is left after the release of the 14^th this month (April 2014). Most have been quite good, challenging the highly regarded Kondrashin and Barshai recordings. Naxos' bargain price is a plus, since the Kondrashin is hard to find (and the complete cycle is now priced in the stratosphere) and Barshai is most easily available in a complete cycle not individually.

So what is my first impression of the sometimes chilling, sometimes nostalgic and often neurotic 14^th? First and foremost, the all-important vocal soloists, Gal James, Soprano and Alexander Vinogradov, bass, are usually in good form. Only hiccup (pun intended) is James' unconvincing “Kha, kha, kha, kha, kha. I ya khokhochu” sobs in “Madam, posmotrite!” Vinogradov gives us an overall powerful performance, with a most expressively eloquent “O Delvig, Delvig”. The important and colorful percussion is uniformly excellent throughout.

The weak points are the sometimes tentative, weak Liverpool strings, especially noted at the very beginning of the symphony and in the last climactic death rattle at the end. They redeem themselves with a gut wrenching col legno episode in “At the Santé Prison” movement, the abandoned prisoner pacing in his gloomy has rarely been so realistically portrayed. The "Lorelei" episode is exciting, but a touch frenetic. 

Petrenko gives us a well paced performance, around 50 minutes, leading to a rather skimpy disc. But really, what else could accompany a work like this? Sound, played through my computer speakers via the Naxos Music Library, seems to be good. Finally, it appears the usual fine, informative performance notes are included with this recording, another plus of the Petrenko cycle.

Overall, an excellent performance but I still can not live without the Barshai led performances with Vishnevskaya/Reshetin or with Simoni/Vaneev in the Cologne recording. Barshai was there at the beginning and has the music in his veins. The Curtin/Estes Ormandy is a sentimental favorite, with some of the most impressively ghoulish cover art ever devised. Avoid Bernstein's and the Haitink sung (in a version sanctioned by the composer) in the original languages... it just doesn't sound right.

Shostakovich Symphony # 14 (1969)

Gal James, Soprano, Alexander Vinogradov Bass

Vasily Petrenko Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

Naxos 8.573132

Kodály and Bartók Quartets from The Alexander String Quartet

In this generous and lavishly presented three disc album, the Alexander String Quartet programs eight of the 20^th century's most fascinating string quartets from two composers linked as contemporaries and countrymen, Béla Bartók and Zoltan Kodály. Bartók's canon of six quartets have long been a part of the standard repertoire for all the great string quartet ensembles of the past 50 years. Kodály's have been less fortunate, with just a few recordings of his two quartet essays. Combining the two composers' quartet oeuvre is a brilliant stroke, making this recording more than just another Bartók cycle.

Kodály's two string quartets were almost exact contemporaries to Bartók's First and Second Quartets. Paring them allows for some illuminating comparisons. Even Bartók's earliest quartets tend to be highly contrapuntal and more harmonically and structurally complex. Kodály who played violin, viola and cello, produced quartets that were idiomatic and well grounded in form and style. Yet unlike Bartók, his works did not break new ground. Both of Kodály's works, the First Quartet, in particular, sound more like the quartets of Debussy and Ravel and have been combined with them on recordings. French in spirit they may be, but thoroughly tinged with the rhythms, sounds and pungent harmonies of Hungarian folk music, they are unique and totally satisfying works. The third movement of the 1^st quartet lets loose with some distinctly Hungarian-like music, very reminiscent of Kodály's masterpiece, the Sonata for Solo Cello.

The Alexanders dig into this music with technically secure, well paced performances; especially important in the Kodály 1^st, which at approx 38 minutes can descend into longeurs if not careful. Given their French inclinations, Kodály's quartets come across a tad more relaxed and melodic than Bartók's. The Alexanders realize this, bringing out the innate lyricism and tenderness of the music especially in the second quartet's somewhat threadbare “andante quasi-recitativo” section.

Thoroughly enjoyable, interesting and colorful works that are shamefully neglected. Perhaps this new recording (and one by the Dante Quartet on Hyperion, that I have not heard) will open some eyes and ears to the satisfying charms of these two works.

My (and I am not alone) benchmark for the Bartók quartets is the classic 1963 Julliard set on Sony (Columbia). The Takács and Emerson cycles give them a run for their money in more modern sound and similar performances. Thus the Alexander's cycle on their own Foghorn Classics label enters into some good company and faces some strong competition.

Bartók's quartets are often described as tough, dense and gritty and that would generally be true. The Alexanders' performances are dramatic, lean and intense, but never unpleasant or forced. Clean, clear and on pitch pizzicati are noteworthy throughout the three discs, especially important in the 4^th quartet's all pizzicato movement, which comes off swimmingly. The quartet has a fine feel for the folk music elements and relish them at every turn without exaggerating or even detaching them from the overall texture.

Highlights: the mysterious, skittering, hair raising “Prima Parte: Moderato” of the 3^rd Quartet. The deeply expressive “Lento” opening movement of the 1^st Quartet, with dark, resonant cello and redwood-like viola passages. The aforementioned 4^th Quartet scherzo (along with the controlled mayhem of its “Prestissimo con sordino” movement, and the whole dramatic and even demonic 4^th quartet for that matter) and the slightly jazz tinged 5th Quartet's scherzo.

As with every Foghorn Classics release I have encountered, complete, legible and intelligent notes are part of the package. Add these always intelligent, intense, musical, satisfying and well recorded performances to the list of recordings that challenge and may surpass the classic Julliard recording. Combine the fine and rare Kodály quartets and you have a special release indeed.

Bartók And Kodály String Quartets Foghorn Classics #2009 3 discs

A Brahms and Schumann Revelation from The Alexander Qt and Joyce Yang

Brahms Schumann Piano Quintets

Joyce Yang, Piano/Alexander String Quartet

Foghorn Classics FCL2014

First off, I was most impressed with this recording of two towering masterpieces of the Quintet form, the Schumann Quintet for piano & Strings in E-Flat Major, Op. 44 and the Brahms Quintet for Piano and Strings in F Minor, Op. 34 performed by the terrific Alexander Quartet with Joyce Yang piano. In a nutshell, these are gutsy, lively, exciting and maybe even a bit edgy performances. That statement merits a bit of full disclosure on my part. I generally am not a huge fan of the music of Brahms or Schumann yet I fully realize their genius and popularity. My “thing” is 20^th and 21^st century music, so I (and maybe others so inclined) relate to and enjoy these very visceral, very “modern” performances.

However... these are not dry, hard or cold readings; on the contrary, there is plenty of Romantic warmth and passion. Both quintets are products of young composers and were seen as adventurous, exuberant works at their debuts. The Alexander Quartet and Yang simply allow the composers' youthful energy to shine through.

As the notes to the recording state “The piano quintet is an unusual form. It combines two completely different sonorities: the percussive sound of the piano and the sustained, resonant sound of the string quartet.” Thus, a recording of a piano quintet requires first rate sonics, detailed, out front and bright yet balanced. This Judy Sherman produced disc more than meets that requirement. Although bright and close, the piano rarely comes across too forward or overwhelming. The strings are solid and never mushy and the viola's darker color is always distinct from the other strings.

Brahms composed his only Piano Quintet between 1862 and 1864 when he was around 30 years old. As did several of his works, it had a protracted birth, starting as a sting quintet, then arranged for two pianos and finally recast in its definitive form in 1864.

The first movement of this massive work is a musical adventure unto itself. From the dramatic, arresting opening measures, musical ideas, melodic lines, intriguing harmonic progressions and pulsing cross rhythms flow forth. The forces here bring out all of the music's complexity but always drives the movement forward, never letting the details bog everything down.

The tender “Andante, poco Adagio” leans more to the andante side than the adagio yet still maintains an almost Schubertian lilt. Listen to the gently rocking flow of the very beginning, the recording captures the gentle interplay of the piano and strings. Worth the price of the disc itself.

The C minor scherzo is a revelatory study in musical drama. Moving forward like an elemental force of nature, Yang and the Alexanders pounce into this darkly brooding movement. The devilish syncopated march is muscular and tight, emerging from the murky, funereal opening. The lyrical trio is but a quick respite from the drama before all plunges back into the fray. Totally mesmerizing playing.

The ensemble deftly negotiates its way through the episodic rondo finale. Tender at times, powerful when needed ending with a satisfyingly rushing coda. A fitting a powerful end to a most recommended performance.

Unlike Brahms, the 32 year old Schumann took only a few weeks to complete his Piano Quintet in the fall of 1842, the crowning achievement of his celebrated “Chamber Music Year”.

The energetic and virtuosic “Allegro brillante” opening movement is certainly “brillante” in the hands of Yang and the Alexanders; intelligently paced, sparkling and technically perfect. The deftly contrasted second theme is dolce but never cloying.

The second movement is often referred to as a “funeral march” but Schumann only alludes to a funereal mode, calling the movement “In modo d'una Marcia”. If it is a funeral march, the Yang/Alexander quintet make it a most stumblingly macabre one, likely as Schumann intended.

If one can not imagine a missile streaking towards the heavens while listening to the opening moments of the scherzo, then there is something wrong with you. The ensemble launches the ascending theme with power, grace and firecracker intensity, yet brings welcome contrast to the lyrical trios. Just simply some of the most exciting chamber playing on record.

Whereas the Brahms ends in a bit of a disappointing finale, the Schumann concludes with a dramatic double fugue including the main theme of the first movement. Every entrance and melodic line is precise and clear never bogging down in an unintelligible mess.

San Francisco based Foghorn Classics provides concise but intelligent notes including bios on the artists and a listing of their instrument makers to complete this attractive package. Yang and the Alexander Quartet rouse these grand old gentlemen from their “La-Z-Boys” and make them feel young again to everyone's great benefit. Most recommended.

Brett Dean and Beethoven in St Louis

A trip to St Louis for this concert with the St Louis Symphony, read about it at I Care I You Listen

http://www.icareifyoulisten.com/2014/02/st-louis-symphony-conncects-brett-dean-beethoven/

Miraculous Metamorphoses: KC Symphony Hindemith, Bartók, Prokofiev

Gone forever, it seems, are the days when the major orchestras of the US and Europe churned out new recordings by the dozens every month for the great labels of the era…Columbia, Deutsche Grammophon, Decca… conducted by the giants of the time. Filling that gap are smaller labels like Reference Recordings who produce a few expertly prepared recordings each year. Lucky for all us recorded music fans, Reference has forged a bond with the Kansas City Symphony culminating in a series of well received recordings. Their newly released 4th (a 5th is “in the can”) collaboration was recorded in February 2012 at the then brand new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City.

I also have to give the Kansas City Symphony, Reference Recordings and all involved great credit for daring to record major standard repertoire pieces that often have some very heady competition. No unknown composers or works on this latest disc containing three 20^th century orchestral showpieces, Prokofiev’s “Love for Three Oranges” Suite, Bartók’s “Miraculous Mandarin” Suite and Hindemith’s “Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber.” The program, titled “Miraculous Metamorphoses”, captures some of the best playing yet heard from the Symphony. The ensemble is crisp and visceral, lyrical when called upon combined with Stern's trademark brisk yet not excessive tempi.

Michael Stern’s very first concert as Music Director included a performance of the Hindemith “Metamorphosis” that wowed the audience. This one is even better with the orchestra's now trademark sparkling winds, burnished brass and ringing, clean percussion. One of Hindemith's more colorful and splashy scores, “Metamorphosis” can easily become mere fluff in the wrong hands. Stern relishes the driving, dancing rhythms of the opening movement (reminding us of its origins as a ballet score) followed soon thereafter by a tender and elegant Andantino 3rd movement. The liner notes describe the “Turandot Scherzo” second movement as “giving the percussion a stunning workout”. The percussion of the Kansas City Symphony are more than up to the task at hand and the sonics let the pitched percussion glow while capturing the deep resonance of the drums.

The clarion horn calls over the chattering winds in the march finale are just breathtaking simply one of those recording moments you just have to put on repeat and relish as long as you can. But do not linger too long, the mad rush to the climax is thrilling and powerful.

The Prokofiev “Love for Three Oranges Suite” verily crackled with wit and snap. The whole set is brisk and fresh and the usual clear Reference Recordings sound highlighted the often clever wind and string detail to advantage. The tender elegance of “The Prince and the Princess” movement was nicely contrasted with its more sardonic suite mates, for example the almost too familiar “March” with its absurd wit. Stern fully realizes “Love for Three Oranges” is a charming and farcical romp full of jesters, witches, royalty and magic but never degenerates into mere silliness. Far from dry and foursquare, this is a fine performance that would stand with my favorite Dorati/London or Marriner/London performances.

The violent and complex score of the Bartók “Miraculous Mandarin Suite” was breathtakingly realized by Stern and his forces aided by the stellar recording. Note, for example, the clear ting of the tambourine and the rumbling organ pedals making themselves heard through the din of the street in the opening prelude. The seduction games sections are wonderfully sleazy and decadent. The details that Stern and the recording bring into focus are instrumental in setting this mood, not just an end into themselves. The concluding “chase” fugue is bracing and quick, but not too wild, controlled brutality would be a good description. The important, driving percussion is clearly heard along with the gutsy, frantic strings bringing the suite and the program to an exciting close.

Readable, enlightening CD booklets are almost a surprise in this day of skimpy multi-lingual booklets or no information at all when listening to a download or music service. “Miraculous Metamorphoses'” notes by Richard Freed are intelligent and informative and also include bios of Stern, the recording crew, a brief history of the orchestra and a roster of the musicians.

Produced and engineered by two of the recording world's geniuses, David Frost and Keith O. Johnson, “Miraculous Metamorphoses” has an envious pedigree. I noted that the sound on this release, the first from Helzberg Hall in the Kauffman Center, is a bit dryer, cooler and less reverberant than the previous recordings in the cavernous Community of Christ Auditorium. Details abound however, most welcome in the thickly scored Bartók, and you still want to reach out and touch the instruments that seem to be right with you.

Performances that can stand with the best of them and sonics that sound fabulous even on my built-in computer speakers combine for another Reference Recordings/Kansas City Symphony “hit”.

“Miraculous Metamorphoses”

Hindemith, Prokofiev, Bartók

Kansas City Symphony, Michael Stern Music Director and Conductor

Reference Recordings RR-132

newEar Does L'histore du soldat and Some Bach Thrown in Too...

On February 22, newEar, Kansas City's foremost (and only) contemporary music ensemble, presented a most interesting, slightly strange and ultimately partly satisfying concert at the Community Christian Church, a venue that can frankly be described in the same manner, A collaboration between newEar and the Bach Aria Soloists ensemble, the highly anticipated concert (a local reviewer called it the best thing since Mr Reese and Mr Hershey combined their wares) was billed from "Bach to Stravinsky" an exploration of the baroque influence on contemporary music. The forces combined to perform the rarely heard complete narrated Stravinsky L'histore du Soldat. The first half was billed, since the beginning of the season, as selected baroque works influencing contemporary music.

For some reason I think something went astray in the execution.

The first half was solely a single work by Bach, the Sonata for Violin and Basso Continuo in E-minor, BWV 1023. Elizabeth Suh Lane (violin), Jeff Harshbarger (bass) and Elisa Williams Bickers (harpsichord) all members of the Bach Aria Soloists gave a fine, committed performance of the work. Sprightly and precise as it should be and slightly on the gritty side as I kind of like my Bach. The harpsichord was all but inaudible, possibly thanks to the acoustics in the hall, yet the bass was nicely integrated with the busy violin.

No one could argue that both Bach and Stravinsky were influential composers, Bach more so after his death. Stravinsky was more influential during his life time. That was part of the connection for sure as was the Stravinsky's very linear writing in his Neoclassical works in general and in L'histore in particular. It would have been more interesting to hear some contemporary composers' transcriptions, orchestrations and arrangements of Bach and other baroque forms, but likely limitations of the ensemble size prevented that.

Whatever the case, we were treated to a fine Bach performance and a thought provoking program.

The evening was all about the Stravinsky really. Performances of the complete L'histore du soldat are likely much more rare than the instrumental suite. In its full form (as Stravinsky noted it is a work "to be read, played, and danced") L' histoire is an engaging, timeless and cynical look at material wealth and selling one's soul to attain it. In this case the work was played and read but with no dancing or acting, just the musical ensemble and the narrator taking both the parts of the Devil and the Soldier. The ensemble was made up of members of the newEar core group, the Bach Aria Soloists members and brass from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Mark Robbins narrated with William Schrickel conducting the forces.

The ensemble was impeccable, fully capturing Stravinsky's sec, linear and quirkily metered music. Balance (with an ensemble of violin, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, cornet, trombone and percussion not always easy) was excellent, only occasionally swallowing the narrator in the more thickly scored sections. Shrickel kept things moving along in brisk but breathing tempo. Elizabeth Suh Lane, the all important violin, never let her tone get unpleasant but kept the gritty, dry quality Stravinsky wanted. The exposed brass duo were outstanding as were all the members of the septet. The final "Triumphal March of the Devil" was most effectively snarling, arrogant and cynical.

Robbins was a fine narrator and deftly differentiated the soldier's lines from the devil's (often divided between two performers) with inflection of voice, posture and volume. As with the music, he kept things going even when the words were spinning ferociously. The un-credited English translation from the original French was generally faithful to the story. However to me the attempt to modernize C. F. Ramuz's original libretto with references to every current fashion designer known to man (in the scene where Joseph the Soldier starts his meteoric rise to super-salesman on the Home Shopping Network) and current investment and banking language smacked of being more a cheap laugh than anything genuinely funny. Yet these contemporary references served to ground the moralistic tale in our time, making its bitter message more relevant than if it was a distant fairy tale.

I should just quit being analytical (a friend who used to accompany me to concerts before she moved away told me she could see me writing a review in my mind as the concert progressed) and sit back and enjoy the fact that I was able to hear an excellent Bach Sonata and finally experience a live performance of a work I have known and loved since Christ and I were both teenagers.

The Annual We Three Pugs Post

It is that time of year again, as we have done since 2007 or so, our annual Christmas Greeting from all of us at the Palace.

We Three Pugs

(to the tune of We Three Kings)

We three Pugs of Orient are

Snuffling low we can not go far

Bellies dragging, tails a'wagging

Hounding the Milk Bone Jar

Oh! Oh!

We love treats and we love hugs

We love all 'cause we are pugs

Licking, sneezing, snoring, wheezing

Guide us to the warmest rugs!

Merry Christmas

Happy New Year

From Puggingham Palace

And Pictures on Silence

D & O

13 for '13: Baker's Dozen Best Recordings of the Year

As has become custom, here is my 13 for 13, the baker's dozen best CDs for the year. When compiling this list, I realized I did not do one for 2012, don't have a clue why. This is a quite subjective list and often includes recordings that may have been released earlier but just got around to hearing (or listing in this case) this year. If you note an abundance of Cedille and Naxos recordings listed, it is not because I am paid by them or have any connection. Those two labels just happen to be releasing some fine recordings of interesting repertoire as opposed to the junk (sorry... my opinion) that the “majors” are offering. And since it my list and my rules, there are two Havergal Brian recordings on the list, as usual.

So here are the chosen ones, not in any order whatsoever:

Kubelik Complete Masterpieces.

Mahler, Bartok, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Martinu, Janacek, Bruch, Mussorgsky, Smetana, Hindemith, Schoenberg, Mozart

Rafael Kubelik, various orchestras

Membran Documents 600038 10 CDs

Far from complete and mostly pre 1959 recordings from various places. Inexpensive, with good period sound and pressings. Worth the bargain price alone for the 1950's Chicago Symphony recordings which were wonderfully recorded but often manhandled when released on CD.

Havergal Brian

Symphony #10, Symphony # 30, Concerto for Orchestra, English Suite # 3

Martyn Brabbins Royal Scottish National SO

Dutton Epoch CDLX 7267 

Long overdue new recording of the 10^th and first recordings of the other works. Fine conducting and sound. A new Symphony cycle? We can only hope.

Havergal Brian

Symphonies 22, 23 and 24, English Suite # 1

Alexander Walker New Russia State SO

Naxos 8572833

A revival of the Naxos cycle? The earlier Penny/Leaper cycle seems to have stalled and there is precedence for Naxos not finishing a cycle for various reasons. Symphonies 23 and 24 are first recordings and thus invaluable for us Brian fanatics.

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Symphony # 3, Symphonic Dances

Detroit SO, Leonard Slatkin

Naxos 8573051

Slatkin is back in the recording studio and so is the Detroit Symphony in brilliant sound and fine performances. Slatkin is a first rate Rachmaninoff interpreter; he takes the dramatic end of the Symphonic Dances just right and lets the gong “LV” and decay just as it should be. Top of my list for one of my favorite pieces.

Delights & Dances

Lees: Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra, Abel: Delights and Dances for String Quartet and Orchestra, An-Lun Huang: Saibei Suite No. 2: Saibei Dance , Fleischer: “West Side Story” Concerto for String Quartet and Orchesta (after Bernstein)

Mei-Ann Chen, Chicago Sinfonietta, Harlem Quartet 

Cedille 141

YAY! A new recording of the fascinating (and Kansas City premiered) Benjamin Lees String Quartet Concerto. Performed by Szell, Slatkin and others over the years but only a long out of print Igor Buketoff, Royal Philharmonic RCA LP to show for it. Fine performance in an excellent modern recording. The other works may appeal to some, but for me the Lees is worth the whole disc.

The Rascal and the Sparrow - Poulenc Meets Piaf

Francis Poulenc, et al

Antonio Pompa-Baldi Piano

Steinway and Sons 30015

A brilliantly conceived program mixing piano transcriptions of songs by the “rascal” Poulenc with transcriptions of songs by various composers made popular by the “sparrow” Edith Piaf. Not parlor music at all but tastefully well done. Of course included are “Non, je ne regrette rien” and “La vie en rose”.

“Drama Queens”:

Arias by Orlandini, Porta, Handel, Hasse, Cesti, Keiser, Monteverdi, Giacomelli, and Haydn; Joyce DiDonato, Alan Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco

Virgin Classics/Erato 2654

This is a 2012 recording that would have been on the list if I did one. Home town girl (I have a picture of me with Joyce to prove it) makes good in this wonderful collection of Royalty having a true operatic hissy fit.

Sean Hickey

Concerto for Cello, Concerto for Clarinet

Dmitry Kouzov, Cello Alexander Fiterstein, Clarinet. Vladimir Lande, St Petersburg State SO

Delos 3448

I reviewed these for www.Icareifyoulisten.com and you can read the whole thing here: http://www.icareifyoulisten.com/2013/09/sean-hickey-concertos-on-delos-recordings/ Decidely conservative in form and sound but unlike a lot of newer works, I have tended to listen to them frequently since they both have something to say.

Sir Edward Elgar

Enigma Variations, Vaughan: Williams Fantasia on Greensleeves, Vaughan Williams: The Wasps Suite

Kansas City Symphony, Michael Stern

Reference Recordings RR 129

Again the Kansas City Symphony and Reference Recordings dazzle with a superbly recorded disc of British repertoire. Even the Brits liked it, so you know it has to be good. The end of the Elgar with the subtle but present organ is the best on record.

The Soviet Experience Vol. 4: String Quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich and his Contemporaries.

Shostakovich String Quartet # 13, #14 and # 15, Schnittke String Quartet # 6

Pacifica String Quartet
Cedille 115

Great concept of pairing the Shostakovich String Quartets with an example of one of his contemporaries. Incredible performances and great sound in all 4 volumes. Replaces the classic Fitzwilliam cycle in my book.

John Cage: Works For Two Keyboards, Vol. 1

Suite for Toy Piano, Music for Amplified Toy Pianos, A Book of Music for 2 Prepared Pianos

Xenia Pestova, Pascal Meyer pianos

Naxos 8559726

Some of Cage's most colorful and listenable music. Excellent performances that transcend the gimmicks to make a revelatory listening experience.

Carlos Chavez, José P. Moncayo García, Samuel Zyman

Chavez: Concerto for Piano, “Meditación” for solo piano; Moncayo Garcia: “Muros Verdes”; Zyman: “Variations on an Original Theme”
Jorge Federico Osorio, piano, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional De Mexico
Cedille 140

I reviewed this for www.icareifyoulisten.com as well: http://www.icareifyoulisten.com/2013/06/carlos-chavez-piano-concerto-cedille-records/ A most welcome recording of Chavez's brash and big concerto. Other works are well done and quite good. Concerto was recorded live and captured a clean, exciting performance.

Morton Feldman

Early Piano Pieces

Sabine Leibner Piano

Wergo 6747

18 short solo piano works from 1950-1964 plus the later (1977), half hour long “Piano, for Piano”. Interesting contrasts between the atmospheric shorter works and the more characteristic long and meditative “Piano”. Leibner is simply the reference for Feldman's piano works. Check out her earlier recordings of Feldman's bigger piano works such as “For Bunita Marcus”. A disc for those who enjoy and appreciate Feldman's unique sound but do not have the hours to listen to his major works.

How I Feel

Substitute writing for talking and that is sometimes how I feel about "Pictures on Silence". I think I am reasonably good at music writing, not good enough for some people, but better than the hack jobs I have read in some publications. I get a few reads here and more at the actual publication to which I contribute now and then, but I will never make a living at it.

So it is a labor of love, it feels a need I have to express my voice. I should do it more often, I suppose, but I am really a terrible dancer.

Kansas City Symphony: Dramatic Works by Saint-Saëns, Strauss and Tchaikovsky

When 18 year old Park University student Behzod Abduraimov won the London International Piano Competition in 2009, he not only became a local musical hero but garnered world wide attention and acclaim. He has performed world wide, inked a contract with Decca recordings and performed with some of the world's great ensembles... all before his 24^th birthday. As with many of his generation he has talent and formidable technique to burn. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he has an undeniable sense of musicality.

The Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No 2 in g Op. 22, which he performed as soloist with the Kansas City Symphony, Micheal Stern, Music Director conducting, verily defines the terms flashy and showy. Abduraimov milked the flash and show to be sure, but thankfully never fell into the banging and pounding trap. A committed and sensitive pianist, he (with Stern's able guidance of the orchestra) found this  music's charm, wit, elegance and drama often hidden behind the challenging performance demands.

Abduraimov imbued the dramatic solo that opens the work with deep, rich organ-like sonority. Fitting since over the years many critics and writers have compared this passage with a Bach organ prelude. Abduraimov, a native of Uzbekistan, also infused this intense cadenza with a bit of “Russian” soul, linking it the later works of Rachmaninoff. The orchestra rode along superbly in the brisk and forward performance.

Sadly, about 1/3 of the way through the Saint-Saëns on Saturday, November 2^nd, Abduraimov suddenly stopped playing. After a few moments of awkward and confused glances between Stern and Abduraimov, Stern announced they would be right back. Returning to the stage, they began the movement from the beginning. The second time around was free of any mishaps and was a most satisfying and brilliant performance. From my perch, I could not hear Abduraimov's obviously heartfelt and sincere apology and explanation. It didn't matter, things happen (although I am racking my memory as to anytime I have witnessed a performance break down by a professional... but it happens for sure) and all was quickly forgiven if not forgotten.

The 2^nd movement, all charming dance, rippling piano passages and infectious rhythm, received a clear, ringing performance. Stern and the orchestra saw this movement as a dialog (not a contest) and the resulting interplay between the orchestra and piano was simply a marvel. Abduraimov's brilliant technique served the music well; each phrase was perfectly articulated, making melody instead of mind numbing repetition.

The concluding tarantella was brisk with a subtly dark and demonic streak. The middle section with its sequence of trilled figures in the piano was lithe and breathtaking. The climatic pounding chords were clarion clear and powerful, aided by a precise and sympathetic orchestra.

The concert opened with Schumann's rarely heard Overture, Scherzo and Finale op 52 from 1841. This little symphony sans slow movement (the composer even called it his Second Symphony for a time), pales in comparison with his four numbered symphonies but makes for an interesting change of pace opener. Stern and the orchestra provided as fine and vivid performance as one could ask.

The second half was not lacking for musical drama either. Richard Strauss' early tone poem “Tod und Verklärung” (Death and Transfiguration) led off followed by Tchaikovski's “Overture Fantasy Romeo and Juliet”.

“Tod und Verklarung” began appropriately hushed and atmospheric. The subtle tympani pulsed under the glowing clarinet, harp, violin and oboe solos. Reluctant entrances (especially the very beginning of the work) and a general weakness in string numbers diminished the intensity of the agitated central section. The brass were guilty of a few blatty entrances as well, and the final death stroke could have used some more oomph overall. The all important horns were usually at their best tonight, often soaring as required over the rich textures.

However, the final transfiguration pages were a revelation; dignified and imbued with a cool radiance, achingly, agonizingly rising to the beautifully offered statement of the transfiguration theme. The audience was simply transfixed by the simple grandeur of the closing moments, the prominent harps taking the soul on its journey.

The full program ended with a passionate but never drippy Romeo and Juliet. A well paced, lyrical and dramatic performance, notable for the fine wind work (the wind chorale in the lovers' funeral dirge was

intimate and tender, a highlight of the whole work) and a lush, full of ardent longing but certainly not cliched love theme. The battle music episodes were taught and powerful as well. A most enjoyable and welcome rendering of a work that can be almost too familiar.