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January 30th-February 5th, 2006
MORTON FELDMAN’S FIRST STRING QUARTET ON NAXOS
NAXOS AND NAIVE GRAMMY NOMINEES ON CNN.COM
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MORTON FELDMAN’S FIRST STRING QUARTET ON NAXOS
Review by Jeff Simon
Buffalo News, Friday, February 3rd, 2006
The world premiere of Morton
Feldman's 1979 String Quartet was in May 1980 in New York City. It lasted well
over one and a half hours. A month later, the same group - Benjamin Hudson's
Columbia Quartet - performed it at Feldman's June in Buffalo Festival at the
University at Buffalo. When he talked about it later at a lecture at Cal Arts,
writes Douglas Cohen in these disc notes, its composition, he said, was like
"I'm watching some bugs on a slide and I'm just watching how I feel. .
. . So the string quartet has a lot to do with that kind of watching and letting
it go. And the reason the piece is so long is that I got into dangerous territory.
I let things go. . ."
This recording by former
UB Creative Associate Hudson's group first appeared in 1994 on the Koch label,
but it's appearance now in budget-priced Naxos is a godsend to venturesome ears
and spirits.
From a column by Chistopher
DeLaurenti
The Stranger (Seattle), Thursday, February 2nd-8th,
2006
Naxos just reissued an
excellent recording of this 78-minute opus in which muted strings quietly exhale
vaporous harmonics while hollow bow strokes toll gently, as if marooned from
all other music.
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WILLIAM BOLCOM: Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Leonard Slatkin,
Various Soloists
Michigan State University Children’s Choir
University of Michigan School of Music Symphony Orchestra and Choirs
University of Michigan Contemporary Directions Ensemble
8.559216-18
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From “Strenuous Beauty,
Worthy Effort” by Porter Anderson
CNN.com
Accentus at work
So finely tuned is founder
Laurence Equilbey's ensemble Accentus that these 32 singers place before you
something surely close to what Schoenberg himself described as "an illusion
for mixed chorus."
A poignant note written
by Schoenberg in 1923 explains that at the time he was composing his "Friede
auf Erden" ("Peace on Earth"), he "thought such pure harmony
between men was conceivable. Since then I have had to learn to make concessions."
Accentus makes none. Their
reading of the difficult, reaching, entwined harmonies and sense-sharpening
vocal reaches are deliberate, driven: "Oh, how many bloody deeds / Have
been perpetrated by Discord," as Conrad Ferdinand Meyer's text has it.
As a collective, they clearly
are as committed to their group voice as the Polyphony singers are in the rival
Grammy-nominated CD "Lux aeterna" by Morten Lauridsen. (Read the review)
And it's meant as no slap
to the excellent instrumental Ensemble Intercontemporain (formed by Pierre Boulez
in 1976) to say that Accentus is at its most formidable when singing a cappella.
For a quick, thrilling sonic
snapshot of this choir's power, jump right to the final cut on the CD, the "De
profundis," a setting of Psalm 130. "Out of the deep have I called
unto thee," the altos lead the group into a sung and chanted "Lord,
hear my voice" picked up by the men.
The work, only five minutes
long, builds to a freezing, lonely plea, "O Israel, trust in the Lord,"
the sopranos sustaining ear-popping arcs of white-fire sound while the men chant
beneath them, earthbound in plodding, dependable faith: "with him is plenteous
redemption."
For sheer technical choral
artistry, the battle of this Grammy category is between Stephen Layton and Polyphony
and Equilbuy and her acute Accentus.
Inside 'outsider'
Bolcom, the Seattle-born
pianist and composer, spent more than a quarter of a century on his huge song
cycle, "Songs of Innocence and of Experience: A Musical Illumination of
the Poems of William Blake."
"Revelation"-like,
this sequence of Blake's poems appeared in 1783 ("Songs of Innocence")
and 1789 ("Songs of Experience"). Alternately advice for inspirited
living and sheer rhapsodies of religious fervor, these verses have all the abandon
and strong line of thought you find in Blake's paintings of heroic titans in
cosmos-spanning poses.
From the "Innocence"
introduction's sweet "Piping down the valleys wild" to the gathering
joy of "The Tyger" in the first section of "Songs of Experience,"
Leonard Slatkin's direction of the University of Michigan's symphony, School
of Music soloists and choirs, and the University Musical Society is forceful
and firm.
Overall, the delivery is
crisp, bright and blessed particularly by the acrobatic solo work of soprano
Christine Brewer and Bolcom's wife, mezzo Joan Morris. Tenor Thomas Young has
some gamy moments, too, as what may at times seem the voice of Blake, himself.
There are stunning acoustic
effects managed by these forces, and some piercing evocations of the 18th-century
world in which Blake could have envisioned receiving instruction from cloud-borne
celestial figures.
Where Bolcom's long sojourn
through the valley of the shadow of these luminous writings may have overtaken
his compositional balance is in such passages as "The Little Vagabond"
-- suddenly a Wild West-toned music-hall affair for a whining fiddles and belching
bass.
So fond of Blake's concept
of the "contrary" is Bolcom that he may have at times looked for contrarian
impulses in his creativity that might better have been served by coordinated
strands of the same mirror-like effect Blake sought in his writings ("The
Little Girl Found," "A Little Girl Lost").
In the end, we miss the
unity of the composer's voice that we know and love in the poet's words and
the painter's muscular color. These images and moments -- some as fleeting as
Messiaen's visions, others as colloquial as Grofe's donkeys -- are contrary,
alright. And maybe to keep an audience in its seats for as long as this work
takes to perform, you want lots of contrast.
But it's Bolcom's craftsmanship
you'll finally honor here, in lieu of consistency. Without question, this is
a massive achievement, a life's key work brought to jangling fruition in Ann
Arbor's Hill Auditorium.
It's just the creaking of
the conscious creator you hear in a few too many chords, the formidable composer
trying so very hard to clothe his beloved Blake -- who knew so well that his
own figures strode best when naked.
It's "the mind-forg'd
manacles I hear," as Blake wrote -- the painstaking work of Bolcom's desire
to pay tribute to the poet. Bolcom is a good, good blacksmith. He, Blake and
their listeners could do worse.
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Georges ENESCU: Oedipe
ViennaStateOpera Orchestra, Chorus, and Boys Choir; Michael Gielen
Marjana Lipovsek, Egils Silins, etc.
8.660163-64
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From a review by David
Patrick Stearns
Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday, February 5th, 2006
Enescu was one of the 20th
century's great composers, though there's scant proof of that outside of this
1936 opera, which was the most substantial work in the fitful composing life
of a man who also was a great violinist and educator. The opera's approach to
Sophocles isn't linear, but zeros in on four episodes from the life of the tortured
ruler whose fate was incest and gouged eyes, and does so with a vivid musical
language like no other. (Unfortunately, the package comes with a scene synopsis
rather than a libretto translation.)
This
isn't the opera's first recording; that distinction goes to a 1989 EMI French
production with José van Dam in the title role. But this performance from the
Vienna State Opera, with a spare, modernist approach toward the orchestra from
Michael Gielen and a Wagnerian Oedipus from Monte Pederson, is such a different
experience that you sometimes wonder if it's the same work. If nothing else,
this set needs to be heard for Marjana Lipovsek's astoundingly imaginative,
bone-chilling portrayal of the Sphinx.
Rating: 
Review by Andrew Clements
The Guardian, 03/02/06
George Enescu’s Oedope is one of the forgotten masterpiece of 20th century opera, which was given its premiere in Paris in 1936 but has yet to be staged in Britain. It has only been recorded once before, and this fine performance, taken from a production at the Vienna State opera in 1997 and released now, is a terrific bargain, even though no libretto or translation is provided with the discs. The French text is based upon Sophocles, with the third and fourth acts corresponding to Oedipus Tyrannus and Oedipus at Colonnus respectively, but deals with Oedipus’s life from birth to death. The dramatic pacing can be uneven – the most sustained section of the score is the second act, which builds remorselessly to Oedipus’s self-binding – but the carefully interlaced thematic working is wonderfully telling. Michael Gielen is a superb conductor of music like this, and with Monte Pedersen vivid in the title role, Egil Silins as the blind seer Tiresias and Marjana Lipovsek as both Jocasta and the Sphinx, the cast is equally fine. Strongly recommended
From a review by Scott
Cantrell
Dallas Morning News, Tuesday, January 31st, 2006
Long lost, the Second Symphony
is the prize here, but the First is worth hearing. Marin Alsop leads persuasive
performances by the Bournemouth orchestra, capably recorded.
From a review by David
Hurwitz
ClassicsToday.com
Naxos is, in truth, doing
music lovers a real favor in making so much music of the Classical period available
on disc, and not just because the label is rescuing many fine works that collectors
will enjoy. . . . the Enso Quartet plays with great confidence and verve, not
to mention excellent rhythm and admirably accurate intonation. This is good
music, and in these performances the players have you believing in its quality
at every point. Their powerful attack on the highly "Sturm und Drang"
G minor quartet is particularly impressive. It's perhaps the most interesting
work in the set, with a curious "Grazioso" finale that remains in
the minor right up to the end. The sonics are also quite warm and very present.
The remaining three quartets in Op. 2 also will be recorded by these players
for Naxos, and I look forward to hearing them. Strongly recommended.
From a review by Jed
Distler
ClassicsToday.com
William Bolcom's two-piano
oeuvre fully reveals his uncanny facility for assimilating the nuts and bolts
of any musical style or genre that crosses his composing table. . . . The 1993
Sonata for Two Pianos harks back to the tough, dissonant, and arguably academic
style that typifies some of Bolcom's "pre-ragtime" pieces, including
the shorter 1963 Interlude recorded here. Lastly, the two-piano duo rag arrangements
markedly flesh out Bolcom's solo originals in terms of keyboard color and dynamic
intensity. I'm not certain that Bolcom supervised or coached these recordings,
but I can't imagine he'd be less than ecstatic over the Bergmann duo's caring,
refined, and meticulously worked-out interpretations.
Rating:
Review by Robert Beale
The Manchester Evening News 07/02/06
One of the less noticed celebrations of Tippett’s centenary last year (he was born in 1905) was this disc from the Manchester-born virtuoso Peter Donohoe. But it should not be overlooked. Tippett wrote only four piano sonatas in total, but is individual and the set forms a kind sample, in keyboard monochrome, of his evolving style. The first is strictly neoclassical, as befitted the temper of 1937, when it appeared. Its slow movement uses a Scottish folk song (with much trilling decoration), and its scherzo and final rondo adopting jazz idioms in a way that once sounded daring. The second sonata is real 1960s stuff: a single-movement, episodic works in radical harmonic mode. The third, premiered by Paul Crossley in 1973, shows a return to formal models but with a melodic exuberance which marks it our – and a slow movement 11 minutes long which develops into near-impressionist mystery. Well worth encountering.
Review by Anthony Holden
The Observer, 05/02/06
Last months Violetta in the Royal Opera’s production of La Traviata, Puerto Rican-born, now American-based soprano Ana Maria Martinez shows her full range in this delightful collection of lyric arias with a distinctly Latin twang , from Luna and Lopez to Villa-Lobos. But there’s also more familiar material from Delibes, Gounod, Lehar and Puccini (‘O mio babbino caro’ and ‘Un bel di’) in a honey-toned recital, confirming that this top-notch Elvira and Fiordiligi has more in her armoury than we have yet to seen onstage.
Review by Elizabeth Roche
The Daily Telegraph, 04/02/06
This fascinating disc provides a first-class introduction to the earliest named English composer who had a substantial body of great music to his credit even better its bargain price puts it within the reach of any listener interested in exploring a period when England was one of Europe’s most important and influential musical nations.
John Dunstable (c1390- 1453) was renowned on the continent for his use of the “contenance angloise”, the sweetly harmonious style characterized by successions of thirds and triads. This helped to transform the 15th century musical
Landscape – and still makes his music immensely pleasant to listen to. The richly sonorous motet Quam pulchra es and the Kyrie at the start of this well-planned programme have a beauty and expressiveness that transcend the lapse of time, as does the ethereally lovely Sanctus for three high voices. In these pieces, as in the faster-moving and more intricately polyphonic Gloria and Credo setting, Tonus Peregrinus sing with an impressive understanding of this highly sophisticated music, with its complex rhythms, luxuriantly interweaving melodic lines and exciting climaxes, enabling listeners to share their obvious enjoyment of it.
Review by Simon Trezise
Opera Now, January/February 2006
One can buy this famous Schwarzkopf recording on EMI differently coupled, but if Naxos’s coupling of historic Lehar recordings appeals, this is a superb set. From the outset of the overture the considerable beauty of the analogue sound is gloriously revealed; there is no hint that Mark Obert-Thorn was working from LP’s, and his transfers give the voices a seductive bloom. no transfer engineer can alter the fussy, uneven singing of Schwarzkopf, which contrasts so pointedly with Nicolai Gedda’s elegant legato, but Schwarzkopf has many more admirers than dissenters; they at least will be content. More to the point and unfailingly idiomatic are Emmy Loose as Mi and Erich Kunz as Gustl. There are a few more infectious operetta recordings and the 16 tracks of mainly pre-war records is highly enjoyable.
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