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David's Review Corner - December 2005

ROSSINI: Il Turco in Italia. Myrto Papatanasiu (Donna Fiorilla), Natale De Carolis (Selim), Damiana Pinti (Zaida), Massimiliano Gagliardo (Don Geronio), Amedeo Moretti (Don Narciso), Piero Guarnera (Prosdocimo), Daniele Zanfardino (Albazar), Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Marrucino di Chieti, Marzio Conti (conductor). Naxos 8.660183-84 (2CDs). (144' 03").

Selim, a Turkish Prince, has just arrived in Italy on holiday, and soon finds Donna Fiorilla, the flirtatious wife of Don Geronio. She is only too happy to begin a relationship with the wealthy new arrival, though unknown to him his former slave, Zaida, to whom he was betrothed, is now living nearby. She had escaped from Turkey when his confidants persuaded him she was unfaithful, and is now with a band of gypsies. Add to this another lover of Fiorilla, Don Narciso, and you have the permutation to cause many comic situations explored to the full by Rossini before true love triumphs, Zaide returns with Selim, and Fiorilla sees good sense in staying with her old understanding husband. The performance is full of good things that are typical of opera in provincial Italy where they go to the heart of the work, warts and all. Here the only wart is an underpowered chorus, but as they do not have a lot to do, it’s a minor grumble. In the young Greek soprano, Myrto Papatanasiu, we have a Fiorilla with the technique to fly into the upper reaches and a pleasing voice to create the fickle female. She and Damiana Pinti, blend perfectly, while Amedeo Moretti does as well as any tenor with the high role of the silly Narcisco. Try track 2 on the second disc for the wonderful patter aria between Selim and Geronio, and I cannot ever remember a more exhilarating Rossini ensemble recording than we have in the second act Quintet (track 12). Add a virile orchestra with Marzio Conti always pushing tempos forward and a realistic theatre balance, and I am beginning to prefer this to the Decca version with a very starry cast headed by Cecilia Bartoli.

DELIBES:Les filles de Cadix. GOUNOD: Romeo et Juliette: Je veux vivre, Act 1. PUCCINI: Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro. La Rondine: Chi il bel sogno di Doretta, Act 1. Madama Butterfly: Un bel dì vedremo, Act 2. LEHAR: Die lustige Witwe: Vilja-Lied, Act 2. LUNA: El Nino Judio: De Espana vengo, Act 1. LOPEZ: Violetas imperials. CANTELOUBE: Chants d’Auvergne: Bailero. VILLA-LOBOS: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 - Aria (Cantilena); Danca (Martelo). Ana Maria Martinez (soprano), Prague Philharmonia, Steven Mercurio (conductor). Naxos 8.557827. (53' 24").

Oh wow, what a disc! Ana Maria Martinez is my type of soprano, her voice of pure shining silver dancing around the Spanish elements of the disc in such a way that she was born to sing. No less convincing in the opera arias, where she becomes a charming young daughter in Gianni Schicchi, seductively floating notes on air in Rondine, and a touching Butterfly who finds the final notes with such ease. Or why not go straight to the gorgeous Violetas Imperiales (track 6) where her rather lazy rhythm has you falling deeply in love with her voice. Maybe in the Canteloube she does not quite capture the earthy French quality of the music, but listen to that voice getting around those vocal decorations in the Gounod. She is fortunate in finding the Prague orchestra in better form than I have ever heard them, the cellos in the Villa-Lobos as good as any that have recorded the piece - and dare I say it, a cut above the Nashville in last month's Naxos recording. Issued to coincide with her debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera and her 2006 appearance at Covent Garden in Verdi's La Traviata. The sound is first class, so just go out and buy this sensational release together with another dozen copies for Christmas presents. Now let me settle down with it and fall in love with Ana all over again.

ALWYN: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3. Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, David Lloyd-Jones (conductor). Naxos 8.557648. (68' 47").

Last August I was welcoming the first in a complete cycle of William Alwyn's symphonies, describing his shamefully neglected symphonies as among the important works written in the second half of the 20th century. They came quite late in his life, the premiere of the First Symphony taking place when he was 45, by which time he had composed most of the 60 film scores that were to give him financial stability. Though it was to confirm his place of importance he was never the darling of the music establishment, his rejection of conventional atonality falling foul of their ideals, but he could communicate in a way audiences understood. The strong and dramatic opening Allegro is followed by a busy Scherzo and a relaxing Adagio, the work ending with a jubilant finale bubbling with happiness. The Third was completed six years later, the big and dramatic opening movement a more aggressive statement, and though the slow movement opens and ends in peace, violence erupts at the central point. This feeling is carried over to a finale that has militarism in its sense of impending conflict. Both scores look to their success in the virtuosity of the performance, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in superb form under the baton of today's doyen of British music conductors, David Lloyd-Jones. A disc no anglophile can possibly miss, the engineers capturing the music's very full and extended dynamic range.

PLEYEL: String Quartets, Op. 2 Nos. 1-3. Enso Quartet. Naxos 8.557496. (55' 38").

The life of Ignace Pleyel was as varied as it was profitable, each venture seeming to be a financial success. He was a pupil of Haydn - to what extent is not known - our earliest detailed knowledge of his life coming in the late 1770's by which time he was turned twenty. From therein he was busy as a composer, performances of his music leading to a career as a conductor, the two combined bringing him a popularity that was at least equal to that of Haydn. He settled in Paris and there set up a thriving publishing house - including the first miniature scores - and founded the most famous piano makers of the time. Though he helped to establish many composers, his publishing business could circulate his vast output of music, with thousands of editions published in Europe and North America, libraries overflowing with his scores. Stylistically his string quartets were derived from early Haydn, where the format was largely that of a solo violin with accompaniment. The opus 2 date from around 1784, by which time Pleyel was 27, and were a set of six quartets, as was the required number at the time. There are a few surprises, the Minuet and Trio forming an unusual conclusion to the first of the three quartets, while the final bars of the second quartet are quiet as the music ends in mid-air. The general feel is one of urbane friendliness, the lyric and charming central movement of the first quartet (track 2) being an ideal introduction if you want to sample. Give these pieces to the young Enso Quartet from America and they prove undemanding and totally entertaining. Fortunately they have a superb leader with spotless intonation - a necessity in Pleyel's first movement of the second quartet - a piece that could have become the opening of a violin concerto, while the Trio of the first quartet is technically very naughty. Add a recording that balances the musicians to perfection and matches their attractive tonal quality with a warm texture, and you have a most welcome release that has the market to itself.

WILLAN: Prelude and Fugue in C minor. Chorale Prelude on a Melody by Orlando Gibbons. Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue. Aria from 'A Fugal Trilogy'. Five Preludes on Plainchant Melodies. Passacaglia and Fugue No. 2 in E minor. Prelude on ‘Aberystwyth’. Epilogue. Patrick Wedd (organ). Naxos 8.557375. (77' 39").

Healey Willan was born in London in 1880, and though his musical aptitude was obvious even from an early age, his subsequent employment as a church organist brought financial rewards insufficient to support a young family. An invitation in 1913 to become head of the theory department at Toronto Conservatory was to be the turning point of his career. When he arrived in Canada he was soon offered a major church appointment as organist at Toronto's St. Paul's, Bloor Street, where a formidable Casavant Organ was installed the following year. Though many of the pieces on this disc were composed after he moved from that appointment, it was the size and scale of the instrument that was always to colour his music. Patrick Wedd's choice of programme presents a nice overview of his output, from his London days in 1908 with the high impact of the Prelude and Fugue, continuing through to the Second Passacaglia and Fugue composed when he was almost an octogenarian. Willan seems to have absorbed so many styles that the result is a mixture of Dupre's delicacy, the outgoing strength of Liszt and the pomp of Elgar. We hear them all in his best known piece, the Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue, where the sheer size of the St. Paul's organ obviously encouraging him to create an enormous piece. I will resist a detailed survey of each works on this release, stunningly played by the fine Canadian organist, but for a sample go to track 16, the massive Epilogue where you will hear every facet of Willan's writing. The organ used is the Casavant situated in the Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Montreal, the instrument installed one year after the one in St. Paul's and of similar dimensions. It is magnificent and is captured in a sound quality that is the best I have heard in Naxos's organ series.

BUXTEHUDE: Seven Trio Sonatas, Op. 2. (BuxWV259-65). John Holloway (violin), Jaap ter Linden (viola da gamba), Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord). Naxos 8.557249. (63'' 11").

The second disc in the Naxos series of Buxtehude's Trio Sonatas, the original recordings having been released in 1995 on Dacapo, Denmark's national record label that lays claim to the composer as having been born there in 1637. That maybe, but he spent his documented life living in northern Germany where he became one of the most influential composers of his time. Among his immense amount of music the two books containing the fourteen Trio Sonatas had the ambitious project of a work in each of the major and minor keys, this disc containing the second of those books. For their period they were revelatory to the point that we may describe some parts as rather quirky, the crushing harmonies in the opening movement of the third sonata being a perfect example (track 9). They do essentially follow the format of trios at the time, with the violin given the major role and also most of the technical challenges, though the viola da gamba does have some gorgeous passages in the slow movements. Holloway is certainly up to the many demands, getting around the myriad of notes with tremendous agility even if at times fingers do not find the centre of every note. His colleagues are more than dutiful in sharing the many joyful passages. There is a strange shift of microphone placement when we reach the Fifth Sonata, but the sound is nicely detailed in church acoustic.

SCHOENBERG: Three Folksongs Op. 49. Three German Folksongs (1929). Suite in G for String Orchestra. String Quartet No. 2 in F sharp major, Op.10. Simon Jolly Singers, Fred Sherry Quartet, Jennifer Welch-Babbidge (soprano), Twentieth Century Ensemble, Robert Craft (conductor). Naxos 8.557521. (78' 16").

Following Robert Craft's release of Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder, one of the most remarkable 20th century music recordings I have encountered, we move in this third volume to the composer in his many moods, the modernist producing six folksongs for mixed chorus that sound like church music from a long bygone era. They are excellently performed by a finely balanced group of singers, and so easy on the ear they hardly prepare you for the stringent atonality of the Second String Quartet. The Fred Sherry Quartet does bring a more approachable view to the music than is often the case, the second movement even playful when we were expecting malevolence, with the finale easing back to an unsettled tonality. Jennifer Welch-Babbidge's singing in the third movement is excellent, the engineers placing her well forward without masking string detail. We move back to full tonality in the Suite for Strings, the opening movement in the opulent Richard Strauss mode with some pastiche of dances from a previous era to conclude a rarely performed score. Craft seems to have the feel for this part of Schoenberg's output and obtains a benchmark account from the ensemble. The recording from various locations is first rate, the whole package - a little strange in content - being a valuable part of a Schoenberg discography.

HUMMEL: Fantasie in G minor, Op. 123. Fantasie in E flat major, Op. 18. Rondo quasi una fantasia in E major, Op. 19. ‘La Contemplazione’ in A flat major from Six Bagatelles, Op. 107. Fantasie ‘Recollections of Paganini’. Fantasina in C major on Mozart's ‘Non più andrai’, Op. 124. Madoka Inui (Piano). Naxos 8.557836. (68' 35").

At the time of Johann Hummel's death in 1837 his passing was considered a loss equal to that of Mozart. Posterity has not been so kind to a child prodigy pianist who at the age of ten was captivating audiences throughout Europe as he and his parents embarked on a concert tour that lasted four years. In later life he accepted the post of Kapellmeister in Weimar, a position that generously allowed him much free time to compose, his fame being mainly generated in the opera house. He died a highly respected musician and a very wealthy man, though today we know him largely for his pleasing piano scores. It would be foolish to exaggerate the quality or importance of the Fantasies, their attractive construction rather short of substance. But in the symphonic opening to opus 18 and its gently rocking slow movement there is much to enjoy. By far the finest is the one movement Fantasina on a theme of Mozart - Hummel's mentor - the music marked by a sense of spontaneous creativity. The performances from the winner of the Citta di Stresa International Piano Competition, Madoka Inui, are coloured by some youthful enthusiasm, at times fingers in danger of running away with themselves. But this impetuosity does lift the music off the printed page, so try track 3, a sarcastic little march of opus 123, a Fantasie that is here receiving its world premiere recording.

VIVALDI: Recorder Concertos: G minor RV 103; in D major RV 92; G minor RV 105; D major RV 94; A minor RV 108; in C major RV 87; G major RV 101. Laszlo Kecskemeti (recorder), Chamber Ensemble. Naxos 8.557215. (66' 39").

Vivaldi probably composed more than five hundred concertos for various instruments, yet they formed just a part of his enormous output, much of it probably lost after his death. It is true that only a few lay claim to masterpiece status, this group of 'Chamber Concertos' often sounding very ordinary with little melodic invention of real merit. They come from a group of twenty-five that feature the flute or recorder, with various permutations of accompanying instruments. Yet they possess a passing pleasure, and at times the fast movements call upon such dexterity from the soloist that we can enjoy a feast of virtuosity. Try track 18, the finale of RV 87, to sample Laszlo Kecskemeti's sheer brilliance, or maybe sit back and enjoy the lyric beauty of the slow movement of RV 92. Each of the concertos is quite short and in the conventional fast - slow - fast format. They are played in the order as shown in the heading to provide a modest change of mood as we progress through the disc. Maybe it was the soloist who requested the engineers to set him within the orchestral group where he can blend with the other solo instruments as Vivaldi would have expected. The unnamed Hungarian chamber group offers an engaging backdrop, tempos pushed along with a degree of urgency.

MAYUZUMI: Mandala Symphony. Symphonic Mood. Bugaku - Ballet in Two Parts (Court Dance Music). Rumba Rhapsody. New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Takuo Yuasa (conductor). Naxos 8.557693. (68' 18").

Naxos has been drawing our attention to a wealth of music by Japanese composers, none more vibrant and engaging than Tashiro Mayuzumi. Born in 1929, and musically educated in Tokyo, he spent some time at the Paris Conservatoire in the early 1950's and it was in the city that he came in contact with the most progressive European composers. It was their adventurous policy that was to be the major influence on his music when he returned to Japan. So much for the background, but listening with an innocent ear and without knowing its origin, you would be struck with the similarity to Debussy in the opening of Symphonic Mood - composed before his time in Paris - then surprised by the aggression in the central section of the first movement. Maybe, you would think, he is American with a French influence, for when we reach Bugaku - based on Japanese Court Dances - the scoring could have served as a backdrop to a Hollywood film from the later part of the 20th century. So what of the quirky piece that opens the Mandala Symphony? With a mix of French and Far Eastern influences it is back to a Hollywood scenario in its big and noisy conclusion. And finally a Rumba Rhapsody from a composer who is uncertain as to what the dance is really all about. The programme notes that I have not seen may tell a very different story. Whatever the scenario the orchestration is always daring and dramatic and comes from a composer never afraid to experiment. The New Zealand orchestra plays with total commitment, the quiet moments containing great beauty, the massive outbursts conveying tremendous power. The engineers needed to work on a large dynamic canvass, the result often startling in its impact.

BACH: Sacred Cantatas for Alto: Vergnugte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust, BWV 170; Widerstehe doch der Sunde, BWV 54; Gott soll allein mein Herze haben, BWV 169; Bekennen will ich seinen Namen, BWV 200; Schlage doch gewunschte Stunde, BWV 53. Marianne Beate Kielland (alto), Cologne Bach Choir and Chamber Orchestra, Helmut Muller-Bruhl (conductor). Naxos 8.557621. (62' 40")

A few years back I had the task of reviewing all of Bach's 197 Cantatas, a task that proved to me as daunting as it was ultimately disappointing, discovering along the way his accepted masterpieces but too many works that could have been the work of any competent Kapellmeister of the time. The works for solo alto came somewhere between the two extremes, a lot of routine music spaced between passages of considerable beauty, the gorgeous Gott soll allein mein Herze haben being the exception. Its long opening Sinfonia for orchestra with organ - excellently and nimbly played by Harald Hoeren - followed by a score that is shared between the alto soloist and a four part chorus, the final brief choral being a tiny jewel. The five cantatas are here performed by the highly acclaimed young Norwegian mezzo, Marianne Beate Kielland, a singer who down in the lower part of her range takes on the quality of a male alto. I like her in Gott soll allein mein Herze haben when the music is in her true mezzo range where there is a warm and radiant quality. Helmut Muller-Bruhl is a Bach conductor who takes no liberties, his tempos gently pushed along without rushing instrumentalists who are of the highest order. Add a reliable sound quality, and the disc makes a commendable addition to Naxos's ever-growing Bach collection.

WELCHER: Haleakala: How Maui Snared the Sun. Prairie Light: Three Texas Watercolors of Georgia O’ Keeffe. Clarinet Concerto. Richard Chamberlain (narrator), Bil Jackson (clarinet), Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, Donald Johanos (conductor). Naxos 8.559287. (57' 03").

I hope this Naxos reissue from the Marco Polo label will bring Haleakala to a wider audience. When concert promoters have grown tired of yet another performance of Peter and the Wolf, they may look at this highly improbable fun story set on a Pacific island where Maui captures the sun, only letting go when it has promised to regularly return with its warmth. The story is ideal for children, its music adult enough to find a place in the symphonic repertoire. Richard Chamberlain is the ideal narrator, telling the story with a slightly understated sense of fun. Dan Welcher was born in the States in 1948 and has become a prolific and oft performed composer, and in 1990 was named Composer-in-Residence with the Honolulu Symphony. He well knows how to draw colours from an orchestra, Prairie Light being three highly inventive and atmospheric music pictures ending in the peace of a Starlight Night. I was expecting this outgoing personality to continue in the Clarinet Concerto, but the opening movement is rather introverted, only coming to life in the tricksy and rhythmically vibrant Blues and Toccata finale. It has an athletic soloist in Bil Jackson, the seldom-recorded Honolulu Symphony showing good form, the orchestra - probably not large in number - producing a nicely balanced tone ideally suited to the music.

SCHUBERT: Der Tod und das Madchen, D531. Der Leidende, D432. Totengraberlied, D44. Die Mutter Erde, D788. Der Leidende, D432b. Die Nonne, D208. Taglich zu singen, D533. Klage, D371. Stimme der Liebe, D412. Seufzer, D198. An eine Quelle, D530. An die Apfelbaume, wo ich Julien erblickte, D187. Die Fruhe Liebe, D430. An den Mond, D259. Abendlied, D499. Klage, D436. Auf den Tod einer Nachtigall, D201. Auf den Tod einer Nachtigall, D399. Auf dem Wasser zu singen, D774. Lied in der Abwesenheit, D416. Der Liebende, D207. Minnelied, D429. Der Traum, D213. Seligkeit, D433. Wolfgang Holzmair (baritone), Ulrich Eisenlohr (fortepiano). Naxos 8.557568. (60' 57").

It was basically a good idea to issue the complete Schubert songs brought together by the poets used, though as we progress to those who featured less frequently in his output it is becomingly increasingly difficult. We are presently in a group with the ubiquitous heading 'Poets of Sensibility' of which this is the third volume. The main contributors here are Holty and Claudius with a sprinkling of anonymous poets of sensibility. The mix is good as we are continually change mood, though sadness tends to be the touchstone of the recital, only as we come to the end of the disc does a more happy atmosphere prevail. The size of the heading points to the short length of each song, Wolfgang Holzmair's nice light baritone characterising each as quickly as Schubert allows, his diction exceptionally good, the voice well supported and of exemplary intonation. Ulrich Eisenlohr's fortepiano accompaniments are always responsive though at times slightly one-dimensional in dynamic range. Taken in isolation from the series this is a Schubert disc I would strongly recommend.

LEVY: A Summer Overture. Symphony No. 3. Cello Concerto No. 2. Rondo Tarantella. Scott Ballantyne (cello), National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Takuo Yuasa (conductor). Naxos 8.559234. (64' 51").

This is my first encounter with the music of Frank Ezra Levy. Born in Paris in 1930 of musical parents he moved with them to the safety of New York in 1939 as Europe came close to conflict. There he studied both composition and cello, the latter with Leonard Rose and Janos Starker. He then followed a dual career as a cellist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and as a very active composer, his list of works including a large-scale opera, four symphonies and eight concertos. Mainly working in a tonal idiom and with a desire to make ready communication with his audience, A Summer Overture makes a pleasant, vivid and sunny beginning to a disc that contains two of his most significant scores. Premiered in 2002 the Cello Concerto is a welcome addition to the instrument's repertoire, the dark and brooding opening movement leading to an elegant and restrained central movement where the soloist sings above an accompaniment that is often disruptive. Finally the cello takes charge in a noisy and virtuoso finale with percussion adding brilliant colours to the strong and pounding rhythms. The Third Symphony, in two movements, dates from 1989, the first in two very differing moods, the slow pulse of the opening growing to an anguished climax before linking to a mercurial finale full of catchy rhythms. Levy is his own man which makes guidance by similarity with others rather difficult, but if you enjoy early Shostakovich you are at least tuned to Levy's period. Scott Ballantyne lacks nothing in sheer technical brilliance, and produces a finely spun tone in quieter moments. The Irish orchestra, with the outstanding Japanese conductor, Takuo Yuasa, has that knack of playing music for the first time with that surety and impact that usually comes from frequent performances. Here they provide all of the brilliance needed, and revel in the fiendish Rondo Tarantella. Excellent recorded sound.

BUSONI: Fantasia Contrappuntistica, K256b. Improvisation on the Bach Chorale ‘Wie wohl ist mir, o Freund der Seele’. Fantasie fur eine Orgelwalze (Mozart arr. Busoni). Duettino Concertante nach dem Finale von Mozart's Klavierkonzert, K459. Allan Schiller, John Humphreys (piano duo). Naxos 8.557443. (58' 02").

Ferruccio Busoni is one of music's great enigmas, his personal conflict between remaining true to the influences of Baroque, and in particular to the music of Bach, while wishing to relate to progressive composers of his own time, leading to an output that embraced both. So without prior knowledge you never quite know what to expect when 'discovering' his music, in this instance we are within his Bach and Mozart era embellished with his passion for complexity. The Fantasia Contrappuntistica exists in two formats; the solo piano version of mind-boggling difficulty, and the one for two keyboards that divides the challenge but adds an extra weight. The Improvisation is hardly less difficult, and only when we reach the delightful arrangement of the finale of Mozart's Nineteenth Piano Concerto can the duo relax. Though we admire the skill and preparation that is required in these pieces, they are not works of self-glorification, the performers having to be content with our deep respect. The British duo are right on top of the demands made, their unanimity very good, and if tempos are just a notch slow, they do allow us to savour inner detail to a greater extent than usual. I think they are alone in presently offering the Duettino Concertante on disc. The totally natural recording quality has successfully separated the pianos, so that we can follow the progress of each.

SCHUMANN: Konzertstuck for four horns, Op. 86. HANDEL: Concerto in F major. TELEMANN: Overture - Suite in F major, TWV55. HAYDN: Symphony No. 31 in D major, ‘Horn Signal’. American Horn Quartet, Sinfonia Varsovia, Dariusz Winiewski (conductor). Naxos 8.557747. (75' 38").

Although described on the sleeve as 'Concertos for Four Horns', none of the works on the disc were intended by the composers to be considered as such. As close as we come are the three movements of Schumann's Konzertstuck, a work horn players love to perform, the music falling so perfectly on the instrument. It has no shortage of recordings, but few can rival the wonderfully crisp and alert playing of the Americans. They do avoid that brazen quality that has become fashionable in the finale, their burnished and rounded tone perfect for the central Romanza. The Handel piece, in one short movement, was originally intended for the Water Music, its simple solemnity being scored for brass, wind and strings. Telemann's Overture - Suite is more adventurous in its nine varied sections. It is scored for a chamber orchestra, the engineers having giving solo status to the horns, their presence creating a big and bold sound early in the score and returning for an exciting finale. The are equally placed forward in a happy account of the Haydn symphony, though here they have comparatively little to do, and my attention was drawn to the excellence of the violin and flute solos in the finale. Indeed throughout the playing of the Sinfonia Varsovia shows good period style. Maybe the presence of such fabulous horn playing has rather captivated the engineer's attention, but that apart it is a most enjoyable issue.

BRUBECK: Elegy. God’s Love Made Visible. Cello, Celli. The Desert and the Parched Land. Regret. BACH (arr. Parisot): Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV1048. Jesus Christ! Je t’implore, BWV639. BACH (arr. Kenneson): Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B flat major, BWV1051. The Yale Cellos, Aldo Parisot (director). Naxos 8.557816. (65' 08").

The Yale Cellos have become part of America's musical folklore since the arrival of Aldo Parisot in 1958, the list of his former pupils who now rank among our finest cellists seemingly endless. He had already established his own career as one of the great soloists of the 20th century, appearing around the world with its major orchestras, and recording for a number of companies. Gathered with him for this recording are twenty of his students playing works by Bach and Dave Brubeck, the music used on the one hand to show their classical pedigree, and on the other their virtuoso response to music of our time. The Bach pieces are adapted for cellos, the transfer detracting only a little from the original concept. Brubeck takes us through a whole gambit of emotions from the "sweet sadness, longing for lost moments, might-have-beens, and a past that cannot be re-lived" as expressed in Regrets, to the outgoing virtuosity of Cello, Celli! an extended piece in one movement. Throughout the disc the playing passes unfailingly through every technical challenge, with only unease in intonation to disclose their student status. The recording quality is unusual, seemingly using close microphones in a small studio. A delight for all Yale fans.

GLINKA: Ivan Susanin (A Life for the Tsar). Maxim Mikhailov (Ivan Susanin), Natalia Spiller (Antonida), Yelizaveta Antonova (Vanya), Georgi Nelepp (Sobinin), Alexander Hosson (Commander of the Russian Detachment), Ivan Skobtsov (Polish messenger), Fyodor Svetlanov (Commander of the Polish Detachment), Bolshoi Theatre Chorus and Orchestra, Alexander Melik-Pashayev (conductor). Naxos Historical 8.111078-80 (3CDs). (202' 43").

Though Ivan Susanin was to establish Glinka's name among the outstanding Russian composers in the first half of the 19th century, and was one of the most frequently performed in his native land, it has never achieved popularity in the Western world. Maybe the plot of the peasant, Ivan, who gave his life to save that of Tsar Mikhail has never really gripped our imagination, its not inconsiderable length and long patches where Glinka sets out this historic story lacking the impetus an opera needs. Still the overture, the soprano's Cavatina and Rondo, together with the long ballet scene has sufficient drive and impetus to keep our attention intact in the first two acts. Alexander Melik-Pashayev is a highly persuasive advocate, and vocally there are here many attractions to recommend the performance, not least Natalia Spiller's fresh voiced Antonida, and a very fine chorus. By the time the recording was completed in 1950, Maxim Mikhailov, in the leading role of Ivan, was 57 and his big and imposing bass voice was becoming frayed, intonation approximate and hardly a virile hero. Naxos has made the disappointment more obvious by adding some additional tracks to fill the third disc, Mark Reizen showing how the role should be sung. After the rather boxy sound of the Overture, ears quickly adjust to its limited dynamic range, with the voices placed well forward. I don't speak a word of Russian, but I assume the text used is Sergey Gorodetsky politically correct 1939 version that 'murders' the original libretto.

VERDI:Rigoletto: E il sol dell’anima, Act 1; La donna e mobile, Act 2. DONIZETTI: Lucia di Lammermoor: Verranno a te, Act 1. Don Pasquale: Tornami a dir che m’ami, Act 3. L'elisir d'amore - Una furtiva lagrima, Act 2 (2 takes). BARTHELEMY: Pesca d’ammore. SCHIPA: Ave Maria; A Cuba. DE CRESCENZO: Ce steve ‘na vota; CAMPERO: Madrigal espanol. FALLA: Siete canciones populares espanolas - Jota. DI CAPUA: O sole mio. LISZT (arr. Schipa): Liebestraum. TRAD (arr. Schpia): La farfalletta. ANON (arr. Cibelli): La girometta. BUZZI-PECCIA: La nina querida; Mal d'amore. FLOTOW: Martha: M'appari, Act 3. PUCCINI: La Boheme : Sono andati; Oh! Dio, Mimi, Act 4. MASSENET: Werther: Pourquoi me reveiller, Act 3. DELIBES: Lakme: Fantaisie aux divins mensonges, Act 1. Amelita Galli-Curci (soprano), Lucrezia Bori (soprano), Tito Schipa (tenor), various orchestras and conductores. Naxos Historical 8.110333. (72' 14").

Tito Schipa spent much of his life in the United States were he created one of the most musically intelligent tenors of his time, a singer who could elevate Neapolitan songs from their 'pop' world and make them into an art form. Just try track 10, the popular O sole mio to sample this transformation, yet on the other hand in the Liebestraum he slides around in a way that is completely at odds with the music. He had originally intended to be a composer, though from the songs here included, he made a wise decision moving to singing. The opera arias do have moments when he is willing to play about with tempos and rhythms in a way that today would be unacceptable, La donna e mobile being a typical example. The disc offers two takes of Una furtiva lagrima with little difference, and he is only the supporting singer in a heavily cut final scene from La Boheme with Lucrezia Bori stoking up our sympathy as a girlish Mimi. The original discs come from 1924 and 1925, the pressings as we now have them suffering from variable surface noise, Naxos restoration team drawing the best from them that we can ever hope for.

BEETHOVEN: Fidelio: Oh, war ich schon mit dir vereint, Act 1. WEBER: Der Freischutz: Trube Augen, Liebchen; Kommt ein schlanker Bursch gegangen, Act 2. THOMAS: Mignon: Connais-tu le pays? Act 1. MOZART: Le nozze di Figaro: Non so piu, Act 1; Voi che sapete, Act 2; Deh vieni, non tardar, Act 4. Don Giovanni: Vedrai, carino, Act 2; Batti, batti, o bel Masetto, Act 1. Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail - Durch Zartlichkeit und Schmeicheln, Act 2; Welche Wonne, welche Lust, Act 2. Die Zauberflote: Ach, ich fuhl's, Act 2. Exultate, jubilate, K165. LORTZING: Der Wildschutz: Auf des Lebens raschen Wogen, Act 1. GOUNOD: Faust: Air des bijoux, Act 3. AUBER: Fra Diavolo: Quel bonheur, Act 1. HUMPERDINCK: Hansel und Gretel - Wo bin ich? Act 3. STRAUSS: Die heiligen drei Konige aus Morgenland, Op.56 No.6. Elizabeth Schumann (soprano), various artists. Naxos Historical 8.111098. (77' 10").

You would expect in 1915 to find a fresh and vibrant young voice from the twenty-seven year old Elizabeth Schumann, but somehow the restrictions of those early recordings wiped those characteristics away, the general quality being strangely matronly. She is best heard in the Mozart arias, though the coloratura in Durch Zartlichkeit und Schmeicheln is a bit hit and miss, and Exultate Jubilate is not a piece best suited to her voice. Indeed to sample the Schumann that we hold in such regard you have to go to track 15, where she moves to her beloved Richard Strauss in Die heiligen drei Konige aus Morgenland on which she lavishes her most seductively silky smooth quality. Many of the original discs have pretty rough surfaces, so much noise created that the accompaniment is almost obliterated in the Fidelio aria. This is the first in Naxos's complete Elisabeth Schumann edition and the best is yet to come, but those who value completeness will welcome this release.