MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2023
Approaching 60,000 reviews
and more.. and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW
RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Plain text for smartphones & printers

Support us financially by purchasing this from

Nostalgia
Stephanie Houtzeel (mezzo-soprano)
Charles Spencer (piano)
rec. 4tune Studios, Vienna, June 2014.
CAPRICCIO C5262 [50.45]

This is a delightful and unexpected programme of largely twentieth century music of great beauty. Listen, for example to the very first piece, Ginastera’s Canción al arbol del olvido and there is an immediate sense of great artistry, but no distortion of an underlying simplicity. Great artistry in performance brings out what is in the music, not pulling it about for some imposed effect. That sensitivity is the hallmark of Stephanie Houtzeel’s approach to all the music in this first recital.

As a performer she is largely unknown to British audiences – perhaps this CD will do something to rectify that lack. She was born in Kassel, Germany, but grew up near Boston. Today, most of her work is in Germany and Austria – she appears, for instance, in Reimann’s Medea at Vienna State Opera in Spring 2017. I first heard her sing at the Lech Classical Festival in 2013, and was instantly impressed, only to be bowled over by her performance as Orfeo in Gluck’s opera (a concert performance) the following year. This was an artist of both stature and presence, so it is good to hear her better represented on disc.

This programme might be considered brave – too many debut recitals simply play safe with the choice of music. There is obviously reference to her background in these pieces, and it is good to be reminded of Ives’ gifts as a songwriter. For most of the songs here, Susan Graham’s recital (coupled with Pierre-Laurent’s performance of the Concord Sonata) on Warner Classics (Warner 256460972) has been for me the benchmark. The new performances bear comparison with those (Songs My Mother Taught Me, The Housatonic at Stockbridge, Ann Street and The Indians are common to both recordings). In The Indians, Houtzeel captures perfectly the sense of sadness felt for Native Americans – such grief is simply expressed in the simple last line, ‘Their children go to die.’

I enjoyed the Mahler no less, though the songs are perhaps more familiar. The Argentinian works combine the familiar, such as Piaziolla’s Los pájaros perdidos, with the unfamiliar. Buchardo was a name new to me, but he has a melodic gift.

Charles Spencer is one of the finest contemporary accompanists and he and Houtzeel have an evident rapport and similar sensitivity to both text and music.

Texts are given in the accompanying booklet, but no translations, which is a pity, as not everyone is equally fluent in English, German and Spanish. Notes are in English and German. Recording quality is excellent.

This is a recital to which I shall return often: there are so many wonderful moments to treasure.

Michael Wilkinson
 

Contents
Alberto GINASTERA (1916 – 1983)
Canción al arbol del olvido, op.3 [2.25]
Charles IVES (1874 – 1954)
Songs my mother taught me [2.28]
Gustav MAHLER (1860 – 1911)
Rheinlegenden
Carlos López BUCHARDO (1881 – 1948)
Prenditos de la mano [2.24]
Charles IVES
Down East [2.51]
Ann Street [1.07]
The Housatonic at Stockbridge [3.27]
Gustav MAHLER
Ich atmet’ einem linden Duft! [2.24]
Carlos GUASTAVINO (1912 – 2000)
Encantamiento [1.54]
Gustav MAHLER
Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht [3.51]
Carlos GUASTAVINO
Pampamapa (Aire de huella) [3.36]
Gustav MAHLER
Ich hab’ ein glühend Messer [3.18]
Charles IVES
The Indians [2.06]
Tom Sails away [2.38]
Gustav MAHLER
Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen [6.55]
Alberto GINASTERA
Triste, op.10 no 2
Astor PIAZZOLLA (1921 -1992)
Los pájaros perdidos [2.53]

 

 



Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing