MusicWeb Reviewer’s Log: March 2005
Reviewer: Patrick C Waller
As in the world of
wine, perhaps there are good and bad
years for recorded music. To my mind,
the 2005 vintage is shaping up very
well. Here we are in early March and
already there have been many outstanding
new issues. MusicWeb has had so many
recordings and bargains of the month
recently that it has been hard to keep
up. The one I listened to with greatest
anticipation was Elgar’s
Piano Concerto (link 1), remembering
well the amazing experience of hearing
the first performance of his 3rd
Symphony on the radio back in 1998.
If the Piano Concerto is not quite in
the same league as a work, this probably
reflects Elgar’s contribution (or lack
of it in places) more than the input
of Robert Walker who put it together.
Whilst Elgar on his deathbed indicated
that he didn’t want such tinkering with
his works, I wonder if he would have
changed his mind if he knew how good
the tinkerers would be. Never mind all
that, it’s a great disc, playing and
recording are excellent and there are
several bonuses (notably the Elegy in
Memory of Elgar by Anthony Collins).
In spite of my enthusiasm
for it, the Elgar would not be my disc
of last month. The palm there goes to
Véronique Gens’s splendid renditions
of the Songs of the Auvergne
(links 2 & 3) with memorable accompaniments
from the Orchestre National de Lille
under Jean-Claude Casadesus. Canteloube’s
evergreen arrangements have surely never
sounded so well, the only possible gripe
being that it’s not a complete set (in
fairness they don’t quite fit on a single
CD).
More on recent discs
from Naxos below but the label of the
moment for me is undoubtedly Hyperion
with no less than four tremendous recent
offerings, the three of which have so
far been reviewed on this site were
considered "Recordings of the Month".
The coupling of Violin Concertos by
Coleridge-Taylor and Somervell
is particularly splendid
(link 4) and Anthony Marwood is a fine
advocate for both of them. The two works
contrast quite a bit, the Coleridge-Taylor
dramatic, the Somervell lyrical but
both hit the spot. I almost bought a
record of the former coupled with Dvořák’s
concerto when it was released last year
but, given this pairing, I am now glad
I never got round to it.
Next came the first
two Stanford String Quartets
(apparently there are six more to look
forward to). We are not overrun with
British string quartets and this is
a series which has not so far appeared
on disc. Whilst they do not break new
ground, they not deserve their previous
neglect. I was struck by Christopher
Howell’s review (link 5) – he bought
the scores in the early 1970s and only
now is able to listen to them! The later
Fantasy for Horn and String Quartet
is an interesting bonus. See also link
6 for Michael Cookson’s review.
The final Hyperion
disc of last month is the first of a
projected series of all Fauré’s
Songs (links 7 and 8). As with their
Schubert and Schumann songs series,
Graham Johnson is the pianist and different
singers are matched to the pieces. Felicity
Lott is the best known singer and contributes
five songs from Venice and Au bord
de l’eau, the latter providing the
title of the disc. I found the duet
Pleurs d’or particularly enchanting
with splendid singing from Jennifer
Smith and John Mark Ainsley.
At the time of writing,
Hyperion’s highly recommendable disc
of Études by Adolf von Henselt
(CDA67495) has not been reviewed on
MusicWeb. Piers Lane is the pianist
and makes a compelling case for these
neglected works which were written in
the late 1830s and influenced by Chopin.
The Études all have titles and
sound just a little easier for the student
than Chopin’s but they make for very
pleasant listening. The Poème
d’amour is a lovely bonus which
is sandwiched between the two sets of
12 Études, one for the concert
hall and one for the salon.
An appeal in Hyperion’s
court case is imminent (see link 9).
I can only echo the views of Cliff Occomore
on the Bulletin board (link 10) that
many music lovers will be rooting for
them. Whatever the rights and wrongs
of the case, it seems a pity that it
has got this far – the only real winners
will probably be the lawyers.
Coming back to Naxos,
I must mention their fine discs of British
Piano Concertos (link 11) and British
Guitar Music (link 12). Peter Donohoe
is doing a fantastic job with the piano
series, the highlight of the latest
disc perhaps being the concerto by Howard
Ferguson. There are three more
on the disc – by Rowley,
Darnton and Gerhard
– hardly household names but all worth
hearing. I was previously virtually
unaware of British guitar music but
thoroughly enjoyed Graham Anthony Devine’s
recital. Lennox Berkeley
provided the lion’s share of the music
and he wrote felicitously for the instrument.
Naxos are currently
putting out premières of Sammartini’s
sacred cantatas and I reviewed the first
disc couple of months ago (link 13).
A second disc has appeared on 8.557431
(not yet been reviewed on MusicWeb),
a worthy follow-up which is very much
in the same mould. Two more cantatas
from 1751 are presented with the same
forces apart from the contralto and
tenor soloists. It is interesting that
the artists singing these parts on the
first disc were not to Jonathan Woolf’s
taste (link 14) although I felt more
positive about the whole enterprise.
That difference of
view was minor compared to the opinions
put forward over Schnabel’s disc of
Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas
Nos 27-29 (see links 15 and 16), particularly
regarding the Hammerklavier.
Colin Clarke obviously loved it and
I didn’t. Presumably record companies
won’t be too bothered about that, reading
such disparate views could be a stimulus
to finding out for oneself.
One of the joys of
recorded music is being able to construct
concert programmes in your own living
room. I have just given over half an
evening to a couple of premières
(meaning I haven’t heard them before)
which went together very well. Courtesy
of Naxos the total cost was about half
that of one ticket for a concert I recently
attended. I can now listen in perpetuity
and also have the various other works
on the two discs as bonuses. First up
was George McKay’s Violin
Concerto (links 17 and 18) from 1940.
The USA has not been the world’s greatest
producer of violin concertos (Barber’s
is the most obvious exception) and for
some reason seems to have been keeping
one of its best a secret. I had not
heard of the composer until recently,
nor was I familiar with fiddle player
(Brian Reagin) or conductor (John McLaughlin
Williams) but I was impressed all round.
After a short interval came Rawsthorne’s
Pastoral Symphony (No 2, written
in 1959). I confess to some soft spots
for the Pastoral Symphonies of Ludwig
van B and RVW, and this one didn’t disappoint
either. There is possibly some influence
from RVW’s ‘take’ on the countryside
but also great originality. A snoring
dog added to the rural atmosphere at
the opening of the slow movement (far
preferable to the local bronchitics).
Charlotte Ellett’s singing (with words)
in the finale was impressive as were
the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under
David Lloyd-Jones. The couplings on
this CD are two other Rawsthorne symphonies
and I was interested to see a rider
on the documentation that the composer
marked short gaps between the movements
of the third symphony (presumably there
to head off critics who can’t find anything
else to whinge about!). My only gripe
would be that the slow movement of the
First Symphony is given as "Allegro"
(oops) but, whilst wondering what the
correct marking is, I share Em Marshall’s
enthusiasm for this disc (link 19).
Her review popped up on Music Web just
a day or so after my personal concert.
Dag Wirén
seems to be an underrated composer and
I enjoyed reviewing a disc of his orchestral
music recently (see link 20). My bargain
of the month also features some of his
music (ASV CDDCA 825). I happened to
come across a disc of live recordings
of the Lindsay String Quartet selling
for just £3 which opened with the 3rd
Quartet. Other works on the disc are
André Tchaikovsky’s
2nd Quartet (a recording
of the première from 1978), Hugh
Wood’s 3rd Quartet
from the same year and Samuel
Barber’s one and only with the
slow movement that everyone knows. I
enjoyed the Wirén (and indeed
all of it) but the Wood impressed most,
a cogent single movement work, very
well argued by the Lindsays. The sound
is a little close and the audiences
occasionally intrusive but this is a
splendid memento. The disc was issued
in 1992 to celebrate 25 years of the
quartet and now 2005 will be the last
for them. I will particularly treasure
their first recorded Beethoven series
but also have fond memories of hearing
them live perform the Op.130 quartet
(with the Grösse Fuge as the finale)
and Schubert’s String Quintet. Their
concentration in such works was simply
amazing. A final bravo for the Lindsays.
Bernard Haitink’s series
of Brahms Symphonies for
LSO Live has just been completed with
the issue of the Fourth Symphony (LSO0057).
I have enjoyed his traversal of these
great works and the 4th is
a highlight. In this work Haitink adopts
a surprisingly light touch at times,
particularly in the first movement.
Overall, though, it is a highly convincing
reading with wonderful playing from
the LSO and a decent recording. I was
a little disappointed that it received
short shrift in the Gramophone
– the one take away message being that
it is poor value at 42 minutes (despite
the very low price). Never mind the
width, feel the quality! On the subject
of CD timings, there is no doubt that
record reviewers did us all a great
service some years ago by harping on
about the need for full CDs. Now, I
don’t think it is necessary. Record
companies have certainly got the message,
to the extent that if something won’t
quite fit on one CD and there is no
coupling they now often just charge
for one. If, in a live series such as
this, they had nothing else suitable
as a fill up for one of the four discs
(the others have extensive couplings),
then surely that is forgivable. The
whole series certainly represents excellent
value and, if issued as a set, would
be a prime modern recommendation (at
least until Marin Alsop’s is complete
and I have a feeling this will be a
close run contest).
Finally, a happy 18th
birthday to Naxos (link 21) – this label
has certainly "come of age".
Their low price hasn’t changed in all
18 years but the quality and quantity
of their output has steadily increased.
Never a month goes by without some irresistible
addition(s) to their catalogue and my
shelves. The Canteloube disc mentioned
above is one of their recent gems –
if there are still any doubters that
Naxos price means you can’t be getting
the very best, they should listen to
this.
I hope you are enjoying
the 2005 vintage as much as I am. Cheers!
Patrick C Waller
Links
1. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Feb05/Elgar_piano_concerto.htm
2. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Feb05/Canteloube_Gens_RB.htm
3. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Feb05/Canteloube_AO.htm
4. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Jan05/Coleridge-Taylor_Somervell.htm
5. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Feb05/Stanford_quartets.htm
6. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Mar05/Stanford_Quartets.htm
7. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Feb05/Faure_songs1.htm
8. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Mar05/Faure_songs1.htm
9. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Feb05/Hyperion_Sawkins.htm
10. http://members2.boardhost.com/MusicWebUK/msg/1863.html
11. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Jan05/Ferguson_piano.htm
12. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Feb05/British_guitar.htm
13. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Jan05/sammartini_pianto_ferrari.htm
14. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/Dec04/Sammartini.htm
15. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Feb05/schnabel8.htm
16. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Mar05/Beethoven_Schnabel8.htm
17. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Feb05/McKay_violin_concerto.htm
18. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Mar05/McKay_violin.htm
19. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Mar05/Rawsthone_1-3.htm
20. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Feb05/Wiren_Gyckeldans.htm
21. http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/advertisements/Naxos/Naxos_index.htm
