JANIS IVANOVS
Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2
Latgalian Landscapes
JANIS IVANOVS (1906-1983): Symphony No. 1 in B Flat Minor, Symphony No. 2 in D Minor, Latgalian Landscapes. Those of you who questioned the legend "Volume 3" on the cover of our last Campion Ivanovs release (12A045), will be glad to know that you haven't missed anything! Here is Volume 1 (and Volume 2 will be in our July catalogue), providing CD premieres of the first symphony (1933) and Latgalian Landscapes (1936). The former is part symphony and part tone-poem ( a single-movement work lasting 13 minutes), dating only a year after Ivanovs obtained his diploma from the Latvian Conservatory. The slow second section uses a Latgalian folk song - the first of many uses of such melodies from the part of Latvia where the composer was born. Latgale (in eastern Latvia) with its meadows, hills and lakes, offers a more variegated geography than the rest of the country and Ivanovs returned often to its folk melodies in his compositions. The Latgalian Landscapes, however, do not use any actual folk music and its three loosely related sections point toward the composer's later cycles of symphonic poems (of which The Cloudy Mountain will appear next month). The second symphony owes much to Sibelius in its brooding atmosphere and its use of thematic cells to generate musical material as well as to Franck in its use of thematic material; it also shows the first signs of what a fine orchestrator Ivanovs was to become. Latvian National Symphony Orchestra; Imants Resnis, Vassily Sinaisky, Janis Zirnis. Campion Cameo 2008 (England) 06A001 $16.98
The British Symphonic Collection, Vol. 4 From CLASSICO
ARTHUR BUTTERWORTH (b.1923): Symphony No. 1, Op. 15, RUTH GIPPS (1921-1999): Symphony No. 2, Op. 30. Butterworth's symphony dates from 1957 and was inspired by Sibelius' sixth symphony (Sibelius' influence on tonal British composers of this century is formidable. This is predominantly nature music - the harsh, cold, craggy yet grandly inspiring landscapes of northern England and Scotland were the composer's muses for this symphony which ends in a whirlwind of exhilaration after passing through four movements of storm, nocturnal calm, bright, dancing but cold sunlight and a dazzling tour-de-force of play with chromatic scales in the finale. A student of Gordon Jacob and of Vaughan Williams, Gipps' earlier works, such as this symphony which dates from 1945, show considerable influence of the latter (especially in some folk-song inflected segments). A single-movement work of some 24 minutes, her second symphony contains the elements of a traditional four-movement piece with a martial sounding scherzo section and a rousing, optimistic conclusion which seem to owe something to the composer's joy at the end of the war and an eloquent and elegiac adagio section which may be a tribute to the fallen. A must-have for any collector of Bax, Vaughan Williams, Moeran, etc. Munich Symphony Orchestra; Douglas Bostock. Classico CLASSCD 274 (Denmark) 06A002 $14.98
XAVIER MONTSALVATGE (b.1912): Sinfonía Mediterránea, Laberinto, Folia Daliana - Sinfonietta for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, String Orchestra and Percussion, Sortilegis. The oldest work here is 1948's Sinfonía, a four-movement work in a tradtional harmonic scheme, highly rhapsodic and rich in melodic expression. Laberinto (1971) is a three-movement impression of the legend of Theseus, the Minotaur and Ariadne in which a freely atonal first movement plays with 12-note rows to musically depict the labyrinth's paths which lead nowhere while a second movement describes the two human characters in music of stark contrasts; the finale uses the Spanish zapateado dance as the basis for an obsessive portrait of the bull-man. Sortilegis (1992) is a virtuoso orchestral piece written for a conductors' competition while 1996's Folia Daliana shows Montsalvatge's powers little dimmed at 84: a neo-classically structured set of variations on the famous "Folia de España" with solos for four wind players. A fine example of a contemporary composer with a broad yet always approachable range of styles. Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria; Adrian Leaper. ASV DCA 1060 (England) 06A003 $16.98
ERKKI MELARTIN (1875-1937): Violin Concerto, Op. 60, Suite Lyrique No. 3 "Impressions de Belgique", Sleeping Beauty Suite, Op. 22. Melartin's eclectic muse is given more attention by Ondine who have completed the cycle of his symphonies. The violin concerto (1913) has a northern quality about much of it - the slightly melancholy first movement, the wistfully tranquil slow movement but especially in the Karelian-flavored finale which has a folk-like theme of Sibelian epic quality. The suite dates from 1914, inspired by the composer's visit to the ancient and crooked streets of Bruges and there is more than a hint of French Impressionism in many of its six movements. The incidental music to a Finnish play (1911) comprises a romantic overture and five dance movements which are delightfully descriptive and expressive. John Storgårds (violin), Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra; Leif Segerstam. Ondine ODE 923 (Finland) 06A004 $17.98
LEO SMIT (1900-1943): Symphony in C, Concerto for Piano and Wind Orchestra, Concertino for Cello and Orchestra. Smit spent the better part of a decade during the late 20s and 30s living in Paris where his admiration for the music of Stravinsky, Milhaud and the French Impressionists was more welcome than in his native Holland. The two concertante works here date from 1937, his first year back in Amsterdam: the one for piano has many jazzy syncopations and the scintillating look and feel of Ravel while the cello concertino is similar though somewhat more lyrical. The symphony dates from 1936 and while its slow introduction pays homage to the nineteenth century symphony, the remainder of the work is solidly of its time with a slow movement reminiscent of big band music, a mockingly dissonant, Stravinskian scherzo and a hectically turbulent finale. Ronald Brautigam (piano), Peter Wispelwey (cello), Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra; Ed Spanjaard, Thierry Fischer. NM Special 92098 (Netherlands) 06A005 $9.98
WILLY BURKHARD (1900-1955): Concerto for String Orchestra, Op. 50, Concertino for Cello and String Orchestra, Op. 60, Toccata for String Orchestra, Op. 55. All these works were composed between 1937 and 1940, all written for one of the several Swiss chamber orchestras whose conductors (Paul Zacher, Edmond de Stoutz, etc.) are responsible for commissioning some of the major string works of the 20th century from composers such as Martinu and Bartók. Burkhard's pieces stand up well in that company, like them concerned with objectivity, condensation of form and directness of utterance. The Baroque concerto grosso and suite are the forms which Burkhard based these works on but, of course, the language is entirely that of the 20th century - bold harmonies, bracing themes, dense yet transparent contrapuntal passages and grave, intense slow movements of vocal quality. Patrick Demenga (cello), Zurich Chamber Orchestra; Howard Griffiths. Novalis 150 153 (Switzerland) 06A006 $16.98
MANUEL PONCE (1882-1948): Piano Trio (Trio romántico), Sonata for Guitar and Piano, 3 Preludes for Cello and Piano, 4 Pieces for Guitar Duo. Ponce's piano trio dates from 1911 when he was studying in Europe and there is a fin-de-siècle style of faded elegance in its slow movement - a hint of the salon - while elsewhere a full-blooded Romanticism prevails, often colored by an Italianate operatic quality. The other major work, the guitar sonata, dates from 1931; written for Segovia, it is a fine example of Ponce's mature style mixing Latin American flavors with European formal design. Carlo Pezzimenti, Leslie Enlow (guitars), Marta Urrea (piano), Trio Tulsa. ASV DCA 1053 (England) 06A007 $16.98
MAX BRUCH - Odysseus and Moses - CD premieres!
MAX BRUCH (1838-1920): Odysseus, Op. 41. Bruch and his ideological compatriots in the traditionally-oriented school of composition tried to revive the classical oratorio tradition during the last quarter of the 19th century and many more worthy works were written than have ever been heard (or heard of, for that matter). Odysseus dates from 1872 and unites epic, dramatic and lyric elements in settingten scenes from Homer's Odyssey. The texts were by Wilhelm Paul Graff and do not stick too closely to Homer in a couple of cases (a long monologue in which Penelope mourns her absent husband and a subsequent weaving song for her only briefly mentioned in the epic poem); rather they successfully create dramatic tension through solo arias, duets and choruses which paint a rousing picture of epic striving, heroic suffering and the joyous celebration of homecoming. 2 CDs. German-English texts. Jeffrey Kneebone (baritone), Nancy Maultsby (soprano), Camilla Nylund (soprano), NDR-Chor, Budapest Radio Choir, NDR Hannover Radio-Philharmonie; Leon Botstein. Koch Schwann 3-6557-2 (Germany) 06A008 $33.98
MAX BRUCH (1838-1920): Moses, Op. 67. Moses was composed in 1894 and was Bruch's first foray into what he had considered an unapproachable form - the religious oratorio, whose masterpieces he felt had ended with Mendelssohn. The work is in four sections: "At Sinai", "The Golden Calf", "The Return of the Scouts from Canaan" and "The Promised Land"; the second contains much vividly dramatic and striking music, the third acts as a "slow movement" and the work's finale closes with a grandly effective lament of Israel for Moses' death. 2 CDs. German-English texts. Michael Volle (baritone), Robert Gambill (tenor), Elizabeth Whitehouse (soprano), Bamberg Symphony Chorus and Orchestra; Claus Peter Flor. Orfeo C 438 982 H (Germany) 06A009 $37.98
PHILIPP SCHARWENKA (1847-1917): Chamber Music, Vol. 1 - Piano Trio in C Sharp Minor, Op. 100, Violin Sonata in B Minor, Op. 110, 3 Abendstimmungen, Op. 10 for Piano, Elégie & Caprice Slave for Cello and Piano, Op. 98. Unlike his more famous and extrovert brother, Xaver (who composed, founded conservatories on two continents and performed as a virtuoso pianist), Philipp devoted himself entirely to composition. His music is less bombastic, less showy and less overtly virtuoso than his brother's, inhabiting a more intimate, soulful and private world and his harmonic language often seems to prefigure the tense expressionism found in the works of the Second Viennese School. The Romantic Chamber Group of London. Olympia OCD 655 (England) 06A010 $16.98
LUIS G. JORDÁ (1869-19??): Vals Impromptu, Anita, Delia, Minuto, Mazurca de concierto, Elodia, Berceuse, Hermosas Tapatías, Danzas Nocturnas, 7 Songs. Little biographical material exists on this Catalan-born musician who spent his creative life in Mexico and who is known (barely according to the Spanish-only notes) for a series of popular zarzuela-like works. This release alternates salon-style piano pieces of a nostalgic, often gently melancholy nature with songs whose sentimental, romantic ethos owes much to the stage. All the works date from between 1890 and 1910 and provide a charming snapshot of Mexican high society of the Porfirian period of the turn of the century. Silvia Navarrete (piano), Fernando de la Mora (tenor). Clasicos Mexicanos SDX 27082 (Mexico) 06A011 $12.98
GUADALUPE OLMEDO (1853-19??): Segunda Rêverie, Op. 28, LUIS HAHN (19th cen.): Villa de Guadalupe, Galop de Ferro Carril, ANICETO ORTEGA (1825-1875): Canto de la huilota, MELESIO MORALES (1838-1908): El Guarany, TOMAS LEÓN (1826-1893): Sofía, JULIO ITUARTE (1845-1905): Ecos de México, ERNESTO ELORDUY (1853-1913): Airam, Tardes de otoño, FELIPE VILLANUEVA (1862-1893): Tercera mazurca, Op. 27, RICARDO CASTRO (1864-1907): Berceuse, Op. 26/2, JOSÉ ROLÓN (1886-19??): Valse Caprice (Sobre la Olas). A fascinating release which opens up the little-known area of 19th century Mexican piano music. Most of the pieces are in a traditionally European idiom - salon pieces, dances, character pieces - but there are flavors of actual Mexican folk music in Ituarte's piece. Otherwise, echoes of Chopin and glittering European ballrooms predominate. Lavishly produced, over-sized booklet in slipcase - but your Spanish had better be in good shape! Silvia Navarrete (piano). Clasicos Mexicanos SDX 27106 (Mexico) 06A012 $12.98
EDWARD MACDOWELL (1860-1908): Two Old Songs, Op. 9, 3 Lieder, Op. 11, 2 Lieder, Op. 12, From an Old Garden, Op. 26, 3 Lieder, Op. 33, 2 Songs, Op. 34, 6 Love Songs, Op. 40, 8 Songs, Op. 47, 4 Songs, Op. 56, 3 Songs, Op. 58, 3 Songs, Op. 60. In his settings of English, Scottish and German poetry, MacDowell continues the German lied tradition in which he had been trained while studying in Frankfurt; in many of these (always brief) songs, there is much in common also with the clarity and directness of Grieg. Steven Tharp (tenor), James Barbagallo (piano). Naxos 8.559032 (New Zealand) 06A013 $5.98
NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844-1908): Pan Voyevoda - Suite, Sadko, Op. 5, Overture on Russian Themes, Op. 28, May Night - Overture, Boyarinya Vera Sheloga, Op. 54 - Overture and Lullaby. This collection of music from Rimsky's operas showcases a less-well known side of his uvre: Pan Voyevoda, set in Poland, pays tribute to Chopin and its suite consists of an introduction two characteristic dances and a nocturne while May Night treats a comic tale by Gogol and Boyarina Vera Sheloga functions as a short curtain-raiser to The Maid of Pskov. Sadko treats a Russian folk legend while the overture (an early work from 1866) is a sparkling tour de force. Elena Okolysheva (mezzo), Moscow Symphony Orchestra; Igor Golovschin. Naxos 8.553858 (New Zealand) 06A014 $5.98
OTTORINO RESPIGHI (1879-1936): Sinfonia Drammatica. This recording, originally released in 1986 on Marco Polo, brings us Respighi's largest-scale work: a 1914 spectactular, scored for very large orchestra, which demonstrates the composer's admiration for Richard Strauss, Mahler and Debussy. Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra; Daniel Nazareth. Naxos 8.550951 (New Zealand) 06A015 $5.98
BALDASSARE GALUPPI (1706-1785): Complete Harpsichord Concertos - in D, C, E Flat, G, F, C Minor, A and F. This rare excursion into the non-dramatic uvre of this prolific opera composer brings eight concertos whose dating is uncertain. The D major and the last F major listed above, besides being two to three times the length of the others, show the influence of the Classical style in their melodic inspiration, long modulating progressions and formal construction. The remaining six are more in the Baroque style but with much exuberant music and, especially, very communicative slow movements which owe in affect something to Galuppi's operatic muse. 2 CDs. Accademia dei Solinghi; Rita Peiretti (harpsichord). Dynamic CDS 215/1-2 (Italy) 06A016 $35.98
GIUSEPPE SAMMARTINI (1695-1750): Harpsichord Concerto in A, Flute Concertos in D and A, Oboe Concerto No. 9 in B Flat, Oboe Concerto No. 12 in C. Like Handel and Geminiani, Giuseppe Sammartini adapted his style to the conservative tastes of the English public when he moved to London in 1728 and wrote music in the prevailingly popular high Baroque style. A virtuoso oboist himself, Sammartini's concertos for his own instrument are particularly brilliant and lyrical in turns. I Musici Ambrosiani; Paolo Suppa. Dynamic S 2020 (Italy) 06A017 $13.98
JOSÉ JOAQUIM EMERICO LOBO DE MESQUITA (1746?-1805): Ego enim accepi a Domino, Bênçâo das Cinzas e Missa para a Quarta-feira de Cinzas, JOSÉ MAURICIO NUNES GARCIA (1767-1830): Overture in D, Overture Zemira, Tota pulchra es Maria, Dies Sanctificatus, ANON.: Matais de incêndios, Ex tractatu Sancti Augustini, Bajulans, Asperges me / Domine Hyssopo. This is the first disc of a series which will trace the origins of native Brazilian music and contains examples of works from around 1759 through the early decades of the 19th century. Typically, early music in the New World was mainly vocal and religious; this release also offers two sparkling instrumental overtures by Nunes Garcia in Mozartian Classical style. Vox Brasiliensis Chorus and Orchestra; Ricardo Kanji. K617 096 (France) 06A018 $17.98
JACOB RAUSCHER (1771-1834): Fanfare, Treurmuzijk, Op. 68, FRANÇOIS DUNKLER SR. (1779-1861): Grenadiersmars "Turf in je ransel", WOUTER HUTSCHENRUYTER (1796-1878): Overture for Large Orchestra, FRANÇOIS DUNKLER JR. (1816-1878): 's Gravenhaagsche Spoorweggalop, JOHANNES VERHULST (1816-1891): Grüss aus der Fernen, Op. 7, JOHANNES MEINHARDUS COENEN (1825-1899): Morgendämmerung - Adagio for Horn and Wind Orchestra, ALBERT GRUNDT (1840-1878)/JOHAN WILHELM KNOLL (1832-18??): Potpourri Caracteristique "Den Brug over den Oceaan", ALPHONS DIEPENBROCK (1862-1921): Academische Feestmars, NICOLAAS ARIE BOUWMAN (1854-1941): Thalia-ouverture. Collectors of music for wind band will delight in this potpourri of Dutch wind music from the 18th century in Classical and Romantic styles. Volume one of a series. Paul Van Zelm (horn), Dutch National Youth Wind Orchestra; Jan Cober. NM Classics 92080 (Netherlands) 06A019 $16.98
UNICO WILHELM VAN WASSENAER (1692-1766): 6 Concerti Armonici, PIETER HELLENDAAL (1721-1799): 6 Concerti Grossi, Op. 3. Wassenaer's marvelous, harmonically rich, Italian flavored (with a touch of Bach here and there too!) concerti were only authenticated as his in 1979 (you will recognize several themes which Stravinsky used in Pulcinella thinking they were by Pergolesi) and make for a major addition to the recorded repertory of the baroque period. Hellendaal's set of concerti grossi were published in London in 1758 and are also in late Baroque, Italianate style. (Reissue of recordings released in 1993 & 1993.) 2 CDs. Mid-price. Combattimento Consort Amsterdam; Jan Willem de Vriend. NM Special 92097 (Netherlands) 06A020 $19.98
JOSEF MYSLIVEâEK (1737-1781): Cello Concerto in C, KARL DITTERS VON DITTERSDORF (1739-1799): Cello Concerto in D, BOHUSLAV MARTINÒ (1890-1959): Concertino for Cello and Chamber Orchestra. The classical concertos are in the finest high Classical style with a winning Mozartian lyricism especially in the Myslivecek; Dittersdorf's equally fine and tuneful work is currently not represented in the catalogues. Martinu's neo-classical concertino makes a fine coupling in recordings from 1985 and 1992 (Martinu) licensed from Supraphon. Bohuslav Pavlas (cello), Prague Chamber Orchestra; Hubert Soudant, Charles Mackerras. Vars VA 0090 (Czech Republic) 06A021 $16.98
FRANTISEK XAVER BRIXI (1732-1771): Organ Concertos in F, C, G and D. Brixi's organ concertos possess a wealth of delightful melodies and an abundance of harmonic inventiveness in music of charming light-heartedness which nevertheless explores a wide range of coloristic possibilites. These brilliant new performances are the first for these compositions on period instruments. Vûra HeÞmanová (organ), Capella regia musicalis; Robert Hugo. Panton 81 9005 (Czech Republic) 06A022 $16.98
PASQUALE CAFARO (1708-1787): Stabat Mater dolorosa for Soprano, Alto, Mixed Choir, Strings and Continuo, Christus factus est for Soprano, Choir, 2 Violas and Continuo, Salve Regina for Soprano, Strings, 2 Oboes, 2 Horns and Continuo. Cafaro's Stabat Mater reconciles the rigor of contrapuntal structure with the fanciful cantabilità of his native Neapolitan melody in music of dramatic contrasts and lyrical effusion. The accompanying works are finely etched miniatures infused with a profound and sincere spirituality. Paola Busci (soprano), Maria Luisa Sanchez Carbone (mezzo), Ars Cantica, Il Viaggio Musicale/ Giovanni Acciai. Sarx Records SX 017 (Italy) 06A023 $16.98
PIERRE-JEAN PORRO (1750-1831): Sonata ou Duo for Violin and Guitar, Op. 11/3, 3 Romances nouvelles for Voice, Flute and Guitar, Op. 34, 4 Songs for Voice, Flute and Guitar, Op. 37 and 9 other vocal pieces. These works date from 1788-1802, a time when the guitar was undergoing many structural changes and the performances, on three period guitars, bring out all the subtle, evocative qualities of these intimately sentimental romances. French-English texts. Ensemble Adelaïde. Solstice SOCD 162 (France) 06A024 $16.98
OTTORINO RESPIGHI (1879-1936): Maria Egiziaca. Described by its composer as both a "triptych per concerto" and as a "mystery", this three-part setting of the story of Mary of Alexandria depicts the moment of her calling, her conversion and her death as a hermit in the Egyptian desert in an unusually highly stylized manner reminiscent of the early sacra rappresentazione. Premiered in 1932, this work will appeal to any collector interested in Respighi's late period of interest in Gregorian music and in Catholic mysticism. Italian-English texts. Javora Stoilova (soprano), Carlo Desideri (baritone), Santa Cecilia Conservatory Chorus and Orchestra; Ottavio Ziino. Bongiovanni GB 2008 (Italy) 06A025 $16.98
ERMANNO WOLF-FERRARI (1876-1948): Suite concertino in F for Bassoon, 2 Horns and String Orchestra, Op. 16, FRANCO DONATONI (b.1927): Concerto for Bassoon and String Orchestra, NINO ROTA (1911-1979): Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra, OTMAR NUSSIO (1902-19): Variations on an Air by Pergolesi for Bassoon and String Orchestra. Wolf-Ferrari's rarely heard Suite concertino, from 1933, mixes a Germanic sensibility with Italian warmth and sponteneity. Nussio's conservative work is eminently approachable (as befits a student of Respighi) while Rota's work from the mid 1970s is in a neo-classical vein (consisting of a toccata, recitativo and a variation final movement) with the composer's characteristic directness and freshness of expression. Not least the odd work out in this company is Donatoni's student piece of 1952 - three years before he embraced serialism - which was written while he was still a student of Pizzetti and which is in a bracing, modern neo-classical vein with Bartokian influences the most clearly evident. Christopher Millard (bassoon), CBC Vancouver Orchestra; Mario Bernardi. CBC Records SMCD 5185 (Canada) 06A026 $16.98
RUUD LANGGAARD (1893-1952): Messis - Organ Drama in Three Evenings (BVN 228), In tenebras exteriores for Organ (BVN 334). Composed over the period 1932-37, Messis was described by its composer as "an organ drama in three evenings". Intended as a liturgical piece, it is based on various passages of scripture (the scores have many citations in the manner of "programmatic guides" to the music). At this time in his life, Langgaard had turned his back on the avant-garde on the one hand and disagreed with the prevailing Danish liturgical composers who sought to strip away the excesses of Romanticism which had attached themselves to church music throughout the 19th century. He wrote this massive piece in a pure, high Romantic style (Gade was his paragon and model at the time) in which his deeply felt religiosity is always present. The three sections are: Messis - deliberations on the harvest, the end of the world and the Crucifixion; Juan (peculiarly, he chose the Spanish name for St. John) - the segments carry generic titles but the program comes mostly from the St. John Gospel; and Buried in Hell - describing the account of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Abraham's bosom". Whether you follow the liturgical program or not, you will be in for a memorable hour and forty-five minutes of rich, colorful organ music by one of the century's true eccentrics. 2 CDs. Flemming Dreisig (organ of the Church of St. Nicholas, Rønne). Danacord DACOCD 485-486 (Denmark) 06A027 $35.98
STEPHAN WOLPE (1902-1972): Stehende Musik, 5 marches caractéristiques, Adagio No. 5, Variation, Tango, JOSEF MATTHIAS HAUER (1883-1959): Nomos, Op. 2, Tanz, Op. 10, Phantasie, Op. 17, Zwölftonspiel Weihnachten, VLADIMIR VOGEL (1896-1984): nature vivante - six pièces expressionnistes, einsames getröpfel, GEORGE ANTHEIL (1900-1959): Sonatina "Death of the Machines", Shimmy, HANS HEINZ STUCKENSCHMIDT (1901-1988): Marsch Alexander des Großen über die Brücken von Hamburg. This wonderful collection is entitled "Music at the Bauhaus" and contains works by composers who were associated with this new-wave bastion of artistic ferment in Weimar and which were composed predominantly in the 10s and 20s. Hauer's experiments with tone-rows have received quite a bit of attention in these pages over the last 12 months (and nothing new need be said about Antheil's confrontational pieces from this period); Wolpe's early piano works will appeal to anyone interested in the kind of "constructivist music" produced by, say, Mosolov during the same period. Vogel's two pieces are strongly expressionist while Stuckenschmidt's march is biting ironic with a typically Dadaist title. Steffen Schleiermacher (piano). MD&G 603 0878 (Germany) 06A028 $17.98
ROBERT WARD (b.1917): Symphony No. 2, Piano Concerto, 5X5 - Four Variations on a Five-Part Theme, By the Way of Memories - A Nocturne for Orchestra. Ward's 1947 symphony is in the fine American tradition of wide-open-spaces music, with a strong American flavor in its harmonies and use of popular-style melodies and his 1968 piano concerto belongs to the same tradition while also upholding the "grand manner" of Romantic piano concertos. New to CD are 5X5 festive commission for an orchestral anniversary and By the Way... - a meditative, reflective night soliloquy of quiet dignity and moving simplicity. Japan Philharmonic Orchestra; William Strickland, Marjorie Mitchell (piano), Stuttgart Radio Orchestra; Strickland, Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra; Alan Balter. Citadel CTD 88136 (U.S.A.) 06A029 $14.98
BORIS BLACHER (1903-1975): Dance Scenes ("La Vie"), Chiarina, Alla Marcia. Dating from 1938 and 1946 respectively, Blacher's two ballet scores contain much jovial, topical reference to popular dance music of their times but they are often undercut by a disquieting strangeness and unease which infects the joy and shadows the nostalgia. (Originally released in 1995 but not widely available.) Berlin Radio Symphony, London Philharmonic Orchestra; Noam Sheriff. Largo 5142 (Germany) 06A030 $16.98
MAURICE JOURNEAU (b.1898): 6 Impromptus, Opp. 56, 56, 58-61, GABRIEL FAURÉ (1845-1924): Ballade in F Sharp, Op. 19, Thème et Variations in C Sharp, Op. 73. Journeau's 75 compositions remain mostly unpublished and he was not a professional composer; these Impromptus were composed between 1971 and 1974 but might well have come from the 20s or 30s, so steeped are they in Debussy and Ravel. Sure to appeal to collectors of French Impressionism! Christophe Vautier (piano). REM 311317 XCD (France) 06A031 $16.98
JOSEPH RYELANDT - RICH FLEMISH LATE ROMANTICISM
JOSEPH RYELANDT (1870-1965): Symphony No. 4 for Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 55, Idylle Mystique for Soprano and Orchestra, Op. 30. Ryelandt's fourth symphony (from 1912-13) expresses a fervent, Brucknerian religious faith with a language that synthesizes German high and late Romantic influences with early French Impressionism. Franck's cyclical principal is employed along with Wagnerian leitmotivic use and German polyphony, seasoned by a refined chromaticism and archaic-sounding modal touches reminiscent of Fauré to produce a four-movement work suffused with a mystical, religious atmosphere (the main cyclical idea comes from the Credo of the Liber usualis) of wide dynamic and rhetorical range with exciting climaxes and deeply communing slow sections sure to delight any lover of large-scale symphonic music. The Idylle Mystique (1901) draws on the "Song of Songs" in music of joy, serenity and humility. Mireille Capelle (soprano), Koor Novecento - Gent, Musica Handrorum - Harelbeke, Flanders Symphony Orchestra; Fabrice Bollon. Cyprès CYP1616 (Belgium) 06A032 $17.98
PEDRO ÉTIENNE SOLÈRE (1753-1817): Concerto Espagnol for Clarinet and Orchestra in B, Concerto for 2 Clarinets and Orchestra in E Flat, SOLÈRE/JOSEPH IGNAZ SCHNABEL (1767-1831): Clarinet Concerto in E Flat. Solère was a traveling clarinet virtuoso and later taught at the Conservatoire in Paris; like his many fellow clarinettists, he wrote concertos for himself (and as exhibited here, he also collaborated with other clarinettists on pieces). Most striking here is the Concerto Espagnol which has a slow movement based on an Andalusian song-form and a fiery fandango finale with castanets and tambouine- there is nothing like this anywhere in the classical clarinet literature! Dieter Klöcker, Sandra Arnold (clarinets), Prague Chamber Orchestra. Orfeo C 481 991 A (Germany) 06A033 $18.98
MUZIO CLEMENTI (1752-1832): Piano Works, Vol. 16 - Black Joke, Mr. Collick's Minuet, Rondo in B Flat, "Batti, Batti" - Variazioni su un tema de Mozart, Canon ad Diapason, Allegro in G, 6 Monferrine Postume, Tarantella in A Minor, Arie Russe, Allegro in E Flat. This final installment in Arts' exhaustive Clementi series contains music not included in the original 15 CD box set on the old Frequenz label. The major work is the Black Joke - a set of variations of wide-ranging mood and of great pianistic bravura on a theme also used in the sonata, Op. 3/3. Also worth mentioning are the lovely Monferrine - rural dances in the style of the Viennese ländler. Pietro Spada (piano). Arts 47386 (Germany) 06A034 $10.98
MICHAEL HAYDN (1737-1806): Missa in honorem St. Gotthardi in C, Alleluja. Laudate pueri, Anima nostra, Effuderunt sanguinem sanctorum, Alleluja. Dextera Domini, Alleluja. Surrexit Christus. Michael Haydn wrote more sacred music than any other type but only now are we beginning to appreciate the sheer quality of this work. The mass is a festive work from 1792, full of drama and contrasts with high trumpets making thrilling appearances. Haydn wrote graduales for every Sunday in the church calendar; four of them are coupled here along with an offertory, all of which combine simplicity with charm. Soloists, Zurich Sängerknaben, Munich Chamber Orchestra; Christoph Poppen. Tudor 7046 (Switzerland) 06A035 $16.98
NICOLÒ PAGANINI (1782-1840): 24 Caprices for Violin and Orchestra (arr. Meszlény). This version for violin and orchestra of Paganini's famous caprices is based on Robert Schumann's piano accompaniment and is captured in a live recording from last year at a concert which celebrated violinist Ricci's 80th birthday. Ruggiero Ricci (violin), Weiner Chamber Orchestra; Richard Weninger. Dynamic CDS 244 (Italy) 06A036 $17.98
LUISE ADOLPHA LE BEAU (1850-1927): 3 Klavierstücke, Op. 1, Original-Thema mit Variationen, Op. 3, Sonata in A Minor, Op. 8, 8 Preludes, Op. 12, Gavotte, Op. 32, Ballade in B Minor, Op. 47, 3 Danze antiche, Op. 48, 3 Klavierstücke, Op. 57, Barcarole, Op. 59, Abendklänge, Op. 64. A self-admitted arch-conservative, Le Beau's models in her piano pieces are Chopin, Schumann and Mendelssohn, all of whom can be heard clearly especially in the early pieces in this recital. The composer's preference for romantic character pieces and stylized traditional dance forms produce music of consistent songfulness and transparency which will appeal to any dyed-in-the-wool Romantic. Madeleine Stucki (piano). Relief CR 971041 (Switzerland) 06A037 $18.98
GIUSEPPE SARTI (1729-1802): Gloria in piva, Cantate Domino, Oreitur in diebus, Ecce nunc, Magnificat, Sinfonia for Organ, Te Deum, FERDINANDO BONAZZI (1764-1845): Sinfonia & Pastorale for 2 Organs. This release recreates a hypothetical Christmas celebration at Milan Cathedral which would have been performed by the Chapel Choir (around 1780) with organ support. Particularly delightful is the Gloria in piva which employs easily accessible melodies over an ostinato composed of popular Christmas peasant dances. Luca Micheli, Marco Ruggeri (organs), Gruppo Vocale Musica Laudantes; Riccardo Doni. Stradivarius STR 33532 (Italy) 06A038 $16.98
GAETANO DONIZETTI (1797-1848): Il Fortunato Inganno. One of the composer's earlier works, this dramma giocoso dates from 1823, during the period when the unknown Donizetti was fluently producing some thirty operas in the formal, abundantly florid style of the dominating figure of the Italian stage at the time, Rossini. 2 CDs. Italian-English libretto. Stefania Donzelli (soprano), Nicolas Rivenq (baritone), Domenico Colaianni (baritone), Massimiliano Chiarolla (baritone), Bratislava Chamber Choir, Italian International Orchestra; Arnold Bosman. Dynamic CDS 228/1-2 (Italy) 06A039 $35.98
VALENTINO FIORAVANTI (1764-1837): I Matrimoni per Magia. Another example of what Bongiovanni do best: unearthing another frothy farce by an unknown composer (with 80 other stage works to his credit). This work shows his forte: parlanti - passages of dialogue over an ostinato motif, delivered with a vivacious gaiety and genial charm to which even Cimarosa and Rossini had to yield the palm. A fun discovery! Italian-English libretto. Dora Lozito (soprano), Luigi Petroni (tenor), Sassari Symphony Orchestra; Roberto Tigani. Bongiovanni GB 2183 (Italy) 06A040 $16.98
LORENZO PEROSI (1872-1956): Il natale del Redentore - Oratorio in 2 Parts for Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra. One of Perosi's major works, this oratorio dates from 1899 and uses fully contemporary compositional syntax and orchestral technique. Modern harmonies and contrapuntal elaboration clothe the composer's characteristic expressiveness and directness in music by turns passionate and majestic and devotional and spiritual. Sure to appeal to anyone interested in late Romantic sacred music (and the voice of the young Freni - recorded in 1963). Latin-English texts. Mirella Freni (soprano), Claudio Strudthoff (baritone), Giuseppe Nait (tenor), Jeda Valtriani (soprano), Ortensia Beggiato (mezzo), Coro Polifonico di Milan, Angelicum Orchestra of Milan; Carlo Felice Cillario. Sarx Angelicum ANG 97018 (Italy) 06A041 $16.98
LORENZO PEROSI (1872-1956): Transitus Animae - Oratorio for Mezzo-Soprano, Chorus and Orchestra, Messa da Requiem for 3 Male Voices, Chorus and Organ. Transitus Animae dates from 1907 and the mezzo-soprano represents the Soul who appears before God at the moment of transition to Eternity while the chorus pronounces various prayers for the suffering in music of crystalline purity and artless polyphonic simplicity. The requiem mass was for Pope Leo XIII in 1903 and is a magnificent, large-scale work which runs the gamut from hushed intimacy to imposing grandeur. Latin-English texts. Fiorenza Cossotto (mezzo), Coro Polifonico di Milan, Angelicum Orchestra of Milan; Franco Caracciolo, Francesco Zambelli, Alessandro Togni (tenors), Rino Chigioni (baritone), Coro della Cappella dell'Immacolata di Bergamo; Egidio Corbetta, Achile Berruti (organ). Sarx Angelicum ANG 97005 (Italy) 06A042 $16.98
LORENZO PEROSI (1872-1956): Missa Pontificalis Prima for 3 voices and Organ, Missa Pontificalis Seconda for 3 Voices and Organ. Dating from between 1896 and 1899, these are early works which exhibit the composer's adherence to the movement for the reform of Catholic church music in which all romantic, operatic excess was to be stripped away and a return made to Palestrinan ideals. The purity and abstract quality of this music does not preclude an ability to touch the emotions and lift the spirits in a simple and sensitive way. Francesco Zambelli, Alessandro Togni (tenors), Rino Chigioni (baritone), Coro della Cappella dell'Immacolata di Bergamo; Egidio Corbetta, Achile Berruti (organ). Sarx Angelicum ANG 97019 (Italy) 06A043 $16.98
LORENZO PEROSI (1872-1956): Messa detta "Cerviana" for 3 Male Voices and Organ, Missa in honorem SS. Gervasii et Protasii for 2 Mixed Voices and Organ, Missa "Te Deum Laudamus" for 2 Voices and Organ. The first two of these masses date from around 1898, shortly after Perosi's appointment as director of music of the Sistine Chapel and possess, in common with other compositions of his from the same time, a simplicity and spontaneity colored with sweetily ecstatic passages and veins of melancholy. The third (undated) work is shorter and exudes a character of sincere mysticism. Coro della Capella dell'Immacolata di Bergamo, Egidio Corbetta, Luigi Rossi & Achille Berruti (organ). Sarx Angelicum ANG 97009 (Italy) 06A044 $16.98
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE (1844-1900): Christmas Oratorio for Soloists, Chorus and Piano. The pianist on this recording has painstakingly reconstructed the teenage Nietzsche's oratorio (composed during the years 1860-61) from the series of fragments published in the Bärenreiter edition of the philosopher's musical compositions. The work is predominantly simple, inward, often intensely melancholy and falls into three parts which set sections of Biblical text and which have several significant solo piano parts (fully one-quarter of the work is for solo piano); for an epilogue, Nietzsche chose to set Kerner's poem "Schmerz ist der Grundton der Natur" ("Grief is the prevailing mood of Nature"), paradoxically leaving the listener less than uplifted by the whole experience but probably attesting to the suitability of his future calling as a philosopher! German-Italian texts. Graziella Tiboni (soprano), Ivan Cò (baritone), Walter Testolin (bass), Ars Cantica Choir; Marco Berrini, Francesco Lotoro (piano). Sarx Records SX 029 (Italy) 06A045 $16.98
JACQUES IBERT (1890-1962): 5 Pieces en trio, ALEXANDRE TANSMAN (1897-1986): Suite pour trio d'anches, GEORGES AURIC (1899-1983): Trio, DARIUS MILHAUD (1892-1974): Pastorale, JEAN-LOUIS PETIT (b.1937): Solipse II. This collection of works for the combination of oboe, clarinet and bassoon has all of the virtues one associates with French composers: dry humor, bubbling energy and a sheer joie de vivre which carries all before it. Petit's 1996 work sounds more modern but its heart is in the same place. Trio de Poche. REM 311327 (France) 06A046 $16.98
NINO ROTA (1911-1979): The Taming of the Shrew - Original Soundtrack Recording. Previously available as a high-priced Italian import, Rota's fine score for this Shakespeare adaptation is now available at an affordable price. Orchestra; Carlo Savina. DRG Movies 32928 (U.S.A.) 06A047 $16.98
East Germany may be no more but its music survives. This series - fascinating both historically and musically - sets out to showcase the music that was composed behind the iron curtain between WW II and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The principal musical models encountered may be no great surprise, though the sheer diversity of individual expressiveness, and lack of conventional adherence to an "accepted" style make this an exceptionally rewarding treasure-trove of first-rate music.
RUDOLF WAGNER-RÉGENY (1903-1969): Genesis - Canata for Alto, Mixed Choir and Orchestra, An die Sonne - Cantata for High Voice and Symphony Orchestra, Schir Haschirim - Cantata for Also, Baritone, Womens' Choir and Small Orchestra. The composer's intent is to avoid romantic excess, and in these three cantatas, however divergent their texts, it is his economy of utterance and clarity of line that make the music especially telling. Resolutely tonal, the music has almost a Bachian sense of the importance of the vocal line above all. Within the framework he has established, Wagner-Régeny has written music of profound and beautiful expressiveness - An die Sonne of 1967/8 may remind some of Strauss' Four Last Songs, and no praise could be higher. Appealing. Mono. Hertha Töpper (alto), Leipzig Radio Chorus and Orchestra; Herbert Kegel (rec. 11/27/56), Dresden Philharmonic; Kurt Masur (2/6/70), Gerda Schriever (alto), Günther Leib (baritone), Dresden Symphony Chorus, Dresden Philharmonic; Horst Förster (5/6/66). Hastedt HT 5301 (Germany) 06A048 $13.98
KURT SCHWAEN (b.1909): Piano Concerto No. 1, Piano Concerto No. 2 "Vietnamese Concerto", Violin Concerto. Schwaen's incisive and concisely expressed music, basically tonal, is the most Eisleresque to be encountered in this series, though Prokofiev is another apparent influence. The second piano concerto of 1987 does not sound notably more "modern" than the first, and is distinguished by the inclusion of whole-tone scales as part of its "Vietnamese" inspiration. Those familiar with Ronald Stevenson's Piano Concerto No. 2, which also melds musical vocabularies from different cultures will find this work similarly appealing. Siegfried Stöckigt (piano), Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra; Adolf-Fritz Guhl (10/23-24/73), Tôn Nu Nguyêt Minh (piano), Halle Philharmonic; Olaf Koch (2/18/89), Wolfgang Hentrich (violin), Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie Chemnitz; Dieter-G. Worm (6/28-29/89). Hastedt HT 5202 (Germany) 06A049 $13.98
GÜNTER KOCHAN (b.1930): Piano Concerto, Op. 16, Violin Concerto, Symphony No. 5. Perhaps as a result of his study with Eisler, Kochan's music is always readily accessible, with an admirable directness of utterance. The piano concerto has a kind of neoclassical nonchalance; its nearest relative in the established literature may be Shostakovich's second concerto. The violin concerto explores darker and more intense emotional territory, but remains almost romantically accessible in spirit. This is also true of the dramatically compressed symphony, which covers a considerable range of emotional territory in a brief span, again without renouncing tonality, and without ever risking abstraction or alienation of the audience. Dieter Zechlin (piano), Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra; Herbert Kegel (2/9/59), Egon Morbitzer (violin), Staatskapelle Berlin; Friedrich Goldmann (2/19/82), Berlin Symphony Orchestra; Claus Peter Flor (11/13/87). Hastedt HT 5303 (Germany) 06A050 $13.98
GERHARD ROSENFELD (b.1931): Amore e Sapienza - Oratorio after texts of St. Francis of Assisi for Baritone, Chorus and 15 Wind and Brass Instruments, Rifugio d'uccelli notturni for Soprano, Mixed Choir, Oboe and Percussion. Amore e Sapienza, of which this recording is of the world premiere live performance, sets texts of St Francis of Assisi to music which is coolly restrained and lyrical - coincidentally somewhat reminiscent of Britten's vocal style. Rosenfeld avoids here the white-hot intensity of his best orchestral music, or the deliberately unsettling atmosphere of the stage works, preferring a gentler, more reflective and less dissonant idiom. Rifugio is closer in mood and language to the uneasy and psychologically complex stage works. Andreas Scheibner (baritone), Potsdam Oratorio Choir, Orchestra di fiati della Sagra Musicale Umbra; Matthias Jakob (9/28/96), Christa Hilpisch (soprano), Burkhard Glaetzer (oboe), Leipzig Radio Choir; Horst Neumann. Werner Legutke, Hans-Joachim Naumann, Gerd Schenker (percussion) (6/21/76). Hastedt HT 5304 (Germany) 06A051 $13.98
GERHARD ROSENFELD (b.1931): Violin Concerto, Architektonischer Entwurf for Orchestra, Flute Concerto, Sinfonie. The violin concerto is not typical of the direction Rosenfeld's music has gone in in subsequent years, but on its own merits it is a magnificent achievement. Basically a big romantic virtuoso concerto, yes, overwrought at times, even occasionally verring dangerously near bathos - but try to deny the young composer's unbridled passion in his craft. Just sit up (bolt upright on the edge of the seat; you won't relax much during this) and indulge! The later works are more abstract, and simultaneously more organised, but hearing them in the context of the concerto, one senses the same passionate undertow, the same seething energy under the chiselled surfaces. Highly recommended. Gustav Schmahl (violin), Dresden Philharmonic; Gerhard Rolf Bauer (11/8/63), RSO Berlin; Siegfried Kurz (9/20/87), Otto Rühlemann (flute), Halle Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra; Olaf Koch (2/22/77), Weimar Staatskapelle; Peter Gülke (2/27/83). Hastedt HT 5305 (Germany) 06A052 $13.98
GERHARD ROSENFELD (b.1931): Die Verweigerung - Chamber Opera in 15 Scenes after Gogol. Escape - the escape of the individual from the intolerable "real" world into one that betters it in that the individual can assume control over his own suffering - or into delusion - is the theme of this chamber opera, and many other works of 20th-century art, and is a leitmotif of Gogol, on whose story this work is based. Rosenfeld skilfully evokes a claustrophobic microcosm of the world, using obsessively repeated rhythmic figures and motivic word-play to suggest a network of formal rules which simply cannot be evaded except by denying the existence of reality. German texts, English synopsis. Various Soloists and Instrumentalists; Felix Krieger (10/16-19/96). Hastedt HT 5315 (Germany) 06A053 $13.98
REINER KUNAD (1936-1995): Quadrophonie for 4 String Orchestras, Brass and Timpani, Concerto for Organ, 2 String Orchestras and Timpani, scène concertante for Orchestra, Piano Concerto. This is one of the most striking issues in this series. Kunad's ear for sonority is acute, and his close-knit clusters and highly chromatic chordal material leads to some thrilling sounds. The music is expressive, or expressionistic, and not infrequently builds emotional tension to a fever pitch. The piano concerto, the earliest and longest work here, is a large narrative structure replete with every kind of dramatic tension and a demanding solo part. A very exciting discovery. Staatskapelle Dresden; Siegfried Kurz (4/25/74), Christian Collum (organ), Dresden Philharmonic; Kurt Masur (9/11/71), Dresden Philharmonic; Günther Herbig (5/30/76), Günter Kootz (piano), Dresden Philharmonic; Kurt Masur (1/15/71). Hastedt HT 5307 (Germany) 06A054 $13.98
MANFRED SCHUBERT (b.1937): Concerto for 2 Violins and Orchestra, Canzoni amorose - Concerto for Baritone and Large Orchestra, Vogelreden III - Capriccio for 6 Flutes (1 Player) and String Orchestra. The Double Concerto playfully refracts classical models - especially that of Bach - through a teasing hall of mirrors of 20th-century techniques, producing a result that is full of individuality and appeal while playing with the listener's preconceptions and thereby heightening the point of the composer's argument. There is a serenity of expression throughout these works, especially in the voluptuous Canzoni Amorose, which is unusual in music of our time which does not seek to avoid a modern vocabulary. Michael Erxleben, Lothar Strauß (violins), Berlin Radio Orchestra; Robert Hanell (9/6-8/89), Siegfried Lorenz (baritone), Staatskapelle Berlin; Manfred Schubert (5/5/87), Karl-Bernhard Sebon (flutes), Berlin Radio Orchestra; Hans-Dieter Baum (9/92). Hastedt HT 5308 (Germany) 06A055 $13.98
FRIEDRICH GOLDMANN (b.1941): Piano Concerto, Symphony No. 4. Goldmann's piano concerto, despite the composer's assertion that it sets out to renounce the traditional virtuoso-soloist-vehicle concertante style, has so powerful a narrative sense, with the soloist as heroically striving protagonist, that the whole emerges almost as having a romantic program associated with it! Here and in the symphony, in a language not unlike that of Lutoslawski (including occasional microtones and complex interplay of thematic material), Goldmann's clear and incisive technique always succeeds in making his intentions admirably apparent and emotionally compelling. Bernd Casper (piano), Staatskapelle Berlin; Friedrich Goldmann (2/19/82), Orchestra of the Berlin Comic Opera; Friedrich Goldmann (12/15/89). Hastedt HT 5309 (Germany) 06A056 $13.98
JOHAN CILEN·EK (b.1941): Fifth Symphony, Konzertstück for Piano and Orchestra, Konzertstück for Violin and Orchestra. Cilensek's output contains much orchestral music, and in his chosen field he displays sure-footedness and concentration of purpose on a very high level. His instrumental writing, and the somber, drawn-out melancholy of his melodies not infrequently brings Shostakovich to mind - as in the painfully beautiful slow movement of the symphony - elsewhere, Bartók (of the Concerto for Orchestra) comes to mind in the exuberant craftsmanship of the orchestration. Berlin Radio Symphony; Horst Stein (3/5&7/60), Dieter Zechlin (piano), Weimar Staatskapelle; Gerhard Pflüger (12/4/67), Konrad Other (violin), Leipzig Radio Symphony; Max Pommer (2/21/88). Hastedt HT 5310 (Germany) 06A057 $13.98
OTTMAR GERSTER (1897-1969): Eisenkombinat Ost - Cantata for Soprano, Tenor, Bass, Mixed Choir, Children's Choir and Orchestra, Piano Concerto in A, Festouvertüre. Gerster's 1951 cantata is a good example of how what is essentially a politically motivated work can be driven by the inspiration felt by those who genuinely believed in the possibility of building a better world through politics to a level of emotional power that rather belies its conflict-of-the-heroic-workers-with-the-warmongers libretto. The music has a blunt accessibility reminiscent of Eisler, though with perhaps less aggressiveness. The piano concerto is a straightforward but attractive work, inventive and melodic, and not without a slightly detached sense of drama and conflict. Mono. Sonja-Vera Korch (soprano), Ernst Kozub (tenor), Herbert Rössler (bass), Berlin Radio Choir, Dresden Kreuzchor, Berlin Radio Orchestra; Helmut Koch (9/5/51), Siefgried Stöckigt (piano), Berlin Radio Symphony; Rolf Kleinert (12/5/59), Leipzig Radio Symphony; Hermann Abendroth (3/1/49). Hastedt HT 5311 (Germany) 06A058 $13.98
MANFRED WEISS (b.1935): Concerto for Organ, String Orchestra and Percussion, Violin Concerto, Symphony. Weiss achieves a difficult synthesis between a musical vocabulary that is completely contemporary and involves elements of dodecaphony, cluster chords and extreme dissonance, and an immediately approachable emotional impact; perhaps it is the rhythmic organisation of his material that gives the music a reassuring familiarity. The organ concerto flings us into the argument in media res and the listener's first impression may be of a hectic, almost out-of-control energy - but the composer's stated objective, to use music philosophically to make sense out of people's lives applies also in a technical sense; however harmonically wild the music, one senses throughout the guiding hand of the composer refusing to allow the listener to flounder unaided. The spiritual rewards of this approach are undeniable. Amadeus Webersinke (organ), Dresden Staatkapelle; Siegfried Kurz (1/7/77), Ralf-Carsten Brömsel (violin), Dresden Philharmonic; Johannes Winkler (6/21/79), Dresden Philharmonic; Lothar Zagrosek (5/28/89). Hastedt HT 5306 (Germany) 06A059 $13.98
CARL ANTON WIRTH (1912-1986): Idlewood Concerto, Jephthah, JOHN C. WORLEY (1919-1999): Claremont Concerto, KAREL HUSA (b.1921): Élégie et Rondeau, WILLIAM GRANT STILL (1895-1978): Romance, WARREN BENSON (b.1924): Aeolian Song. This mellow and attractive disc explores repertoire left to us as part of the remarkable legacy of saxophone vituoso Sigurd Rascher. These works were all written for him by American composers. The Wirth concerto, a delightful idyll, is named for the composer's retreat in northern New York state. Husa's Élégie et Rondeau is made of sterner stuff, and develops considerable intensity, but is nonetheless a most approachable work. The Still is simply lovely, a gentle little gem, while Worley, as a saxophonist himself, contributed a concerto which exploits the technical and expressive possibilities of the instrument fully, in an accessible tonal vocabulary that guarantees instant popularity whenever the piece is heard. Lawrence Gwozdz (alto saxophone), Steffen Hass (soprano saxophone), Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic; Kirk Trevor. Albany TROY 331 (U.S.A.) 06A060 $16.98
AKIRA NISHIMURA (b.1953): Padma Incarnation, Canticle of Light, Heterophony for 2 Pianos and Orchestra, Monody for Orchestra, Melos Aura, Concerto for Flute, Winds and Percussion. Nishimura's orchestral music has little that sounds explicitly of the Orient about it, although his æsthetic and philosophical inspirations draw from cosmological and mystical sources that have some parallels in Eastern philosophies. His musical vocabulary is reminiscent of pre-neo-romantic Penderecki, or Ligeti, with much use of cluster glissandi and layered textures. The predominant mood in most of the works here is one of calm, as the composer seeks to suggest the awe-inspiring processes of the cosmos. 2 CDs. Various artists and orchestras. Camerata 30CM-520-1 (Japan) 06A061 $35.98
ROSS EDWARDS (b.1943): Dance Mantras for Voices and Drum, Raft Song at Sunrise for Shakuhachi, laikan for Flute, Clarinet, Piano, Percussion, Violin and Cello, Binyang for Clarinet and Percussion, Ab estatis foribus for Mixed Choir, Enyato II for Solo Viola, Ecstatic Dances for 2 Flutes. As this collection makes clear, Edwards is a composer of eclectic influences, capable of a wide range of expression. From the haunting, not particularly oriental-sounding shakuhachi work which gives the disc its title, via the Dance Mantras, which sounds as though it strayed out of Fanshawe's African Sanctus, to Laikan, which mixes ethnic sounds of various origins with a kind of minimalistic stillness, all within the context of a "conventional" contemporary-music small ensemble composition, the breadth of the composer's inspiration is readily apparent. Ab estatis . . . is an attractive set of choral partsongs with no apparent ethnic referents whatsoever, while Ecstatic Dances has a Terry Riley meets mediæval hocketing imitative character which is readily appealing. Various Artists. Tall Poppies TP126 (Australia) 06A062 $18.98
CLAUDE LEDOUX (b.1960): Miroirs de la transparence for Violin, Trombone and Piano, ...L'aimer... for Solo Violin, DENIS BOSSE (b.1960): Ondes Rebelles for Trombone, Inzwischen for Violin, Trombone and Piano, MICHEL FOURGON (b.1968): Plaisir for Violin and Trombone, Traverses for Piano. The three composers represented on this disc share certain æsthetic preoccupations, though their music is clearly identifiable and distinguishable. Ledoux' compositions are highly active, and make plentiful use of microtones and alternative playing techniques. Bosse explores instrumental timbres and the possibilities inherent in layering the sonorities of the sustaining instruments. Fourgon's music is comparatively structured and melodious, but like the others, glissandi and microtones and the rich diversity of sounds available from this combination of instruments is fully explored. L'autre trio. Cyprès CYP4604 (Belgium) 06A063 $17.98
R. NEIL OLMSTEAD (b.1953): Sinfonia Borealis, RUTH LOMON: Terra Incognita, DAVID KOWALSKI (b.1956): Double Helix, DONALD REID WOMACK (b.1966): Pentacle, JAMES CALDWELL (b.1957): Elegy, NEWTON STRANDBERG (b.1921): 4 Preludes for Orchestra. Sinfonia Borealis is a colorful tone-poem in which Olmstead seeks to convey the majesty of the northern lights in a basically tonal idiom. Lomon's work is a study in tension, using more modern orchestral techniques and achieving a growing sense of menace. Kowalski's Double Helix takes a more restrained approach to color, exploring the relationships between subtle juxtapositions of tones and values. Womack's Pentacle exerts the mysterious fascination of numerological correspondences and their apparent if uncanny relation to life, and is a most skilfully realised, harmonically ambiguous yet harmonically functional work. Caldwell's gentle, atmospheric Elegy aand Strandberg's brief, concise and cogently argued contrasting orchestral preludes balance the disc well. Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra; Jerzy Swoboda, Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra; Joel Eric Suben, David Stock. MMC 2069 (U.S.A.) 06A064 $16.98
FEDERICO HEINLEIN (b.1912): Queridas aguas, CARLOS BOTTO (b.1923): Cantata Tiempo, Op. 43, LUIS ADVIS (b.1935): 2 Canciones, MIGUEL LETELIER (b.1939): 3 Canciones, SANTIAGO VERA-RIVERA (b.1950): Silogístika II, GONZALO MARTINEZ (b.1967): Pierrot, FERNANDO GARCÍA (b.1930): Pasión y muerte. The enterprising Ensemble Bartók specialises in 20th-century music for voice and various instrumental combinations, especially of South America, of which the repertoire here would seem to be a representative sample. Some of this music is clearly folk-influenced, like the Advis; some, like Vera-Rivera's Silogístika II suggests an ancient and mysterious world through more modern means. Letelier's powerful and haunting Nocturno is a highlight of the disc, as are the García songs, which blend and contrast Bartókian motoric drive with a quite unmistakably Latin voluptuousness. Ensemble Bartok. SVR-6003-2 (Chile) 06A065 $16.98
DONAUESCHINGER MUSIKTAGE 1995 - JOSEF ANTON RIEDL (b.1927): WU-TKAR; SSLA ZTASTAL-TKARBU for Speech and Electronic Sounds, Clapping and Tape, SABINE SCHÄFER (b.1957): TopoPhonicPlateaus - Electro-Acoustic Room-Installation for Loudspeaker Ensemble and Computerized Concert Piano, VINKO GLOBOKAR (b.1934): Masse, Macht und Individuum for Orchestra and 4 Instrumental Soloists, TOSHIO HOSOKAWA (b.1955): New Seeds of Contemplation - Mandala for Shômyô and Gagaku, HANSPETER KYBURZ (b.1960): The Voynich Cipher Manuscript for Mixed Choir and Ensemble, OLGA NEUWIRTH (b.1968): Vamphyrotheone for 3 Soloists and 3 Ensemble Formations, MICHAEL HIRSCH (b.1958): Lieder nach Texten aus dem täglichen Leben for Speaker, JULIO ESTRADA (b.1943): eua´ on ´ome for Large Orchestra, MICHAEL OBST (b.1955): Diaphonia for Soloists, Large Orchestra and Live Electronics. The autonomy of sound, and the simultaneous search for semantic meaning in certain fields of contemporary music make paradoxical bedfellows. This paradox is explored pretty thoroughly in this valuable set from the 1995 Donaueschingen festival. CD1 starts with a "sound-poem" by Riedl, in which fragments of text and sounds function like "found objects" in a sculpture, and are subject to rigorous organisation. In Schäfer's work it is the spatial disposition of sounds (via a loudspeaker installation) that lends them meaning. The accompanying booklet provides an invaluable essay in which the complex socio-philosophical background to Globokar's Masse, Macht und Individuum are expounded. The second disc contains a large work by Hosokawa, using traditional gagaku forms and instruments to effect a stately ritual. Kyburz' work is based on fragmentary interpretations of a mysterious mediæval manuscript, and is appropriately oblique in its musical material. Neuwirth's excitingly-entitled work concerns a kraken-like creature as metaphor for the artistic process, and is fluid and uneasy; the Hirsch is a sprechtstimme exercise using texts "of everyday life". The final two large-scale orchestral works extend the kind of structural and textural orchestral thinking that Stockhausen pioneered back in the years when "avant-garde" carried some connotation of novelty. 3 CDs. Various Performers. Col Legno 31898 (Germany) 06A066 $56.98
PETER PAUL NASH (b.1950): Symphony No. 1, Apollinaire Choruses. Anyone who thinks - wrongly - that the avant-garde effusions of the 50s and 60s and the post-romantic backlash that followed did irreparable damage to the potential of symphonic music to function on both a structural, musical level and a philosophical one in which meaning is clearly, though not semantically, expressed, owes it to him or herself to hear this disc. Of course, it all comes down to individual personality, in the end - doesn't it always? Nash doesn't belong to any "school" - but neither does he sound as though he is self-consciously trying not to. And both works here just work - so elegantly, so clearly, so expressively - that one forgets entirely which decade, or which country, they were written in. Tremendously impressive, and watch out for future recordings of Nash's work. BBC Symphony Orchestra; Martyn Brabbins, BBC Singers; Simon Joly. NMC D055 (England) 06A067 $17.98
MARTIN CHRISTOPH REDEL (b.1947): Dreamdance for Percussion and Strings, FRANCO DONATONI (b.1927): Concertino for Strings, Brass and Timpani, SIEFGRIED FINK (b.1928): Concertino for Vibraphone and Strings, TOSHIMITSU TANAKA (b.1930): Suite for Marimba, Strings and Percussion. Rather surprising, this disc. Subtlety and refinement are the watchwords here, and finely crafted musicianship. Donatoni's Concertino is a masterpiece of understated drama, in which the timpani soloist is as eloquent as one would normally expect of a more conventional soloist, in a rather Shostakovich-like context. Fink demonstrates that the vibraphone can sustain a concertante role almost as well as say, a piano. An attractive ear-opener, well worth investigating. Peter Sadlo (percussion), Munich Chamber Orchestra; Gilbert Varga. Koch Schwann 3-1811-2 (Germany) 06A068 $16.98
AARON JAY KERNIS (b.1960): Before Sleep and Dreams for Piano, Air for Violin and Piano, Meditiation for Cello and Piano, The Four Seasons of Futurist Cuisine for Ensemble. Diverse though the styles embraced by Kernis in the compositions on this disc may be, a strong vein of lyricism runs through all his work, and an inescapable feeling for tonal harmony. Before sleep is an unabashedly romantic cycle in the tradition of Schumann or Debussy, a little sentimental and full of feeling. Air, the most recent work here, is also full of lyrical sweetness and poetry, a fine addition to the violin repertory. Meditation does for John Lennon's "Imagine" what Saint-Saëns' tortoise did for the can-can, but to more serious effect. The Four Seasons is an appropriately hysterical, absurdist piece of music theatre, skillfully assembled, and great fun. The Eberli Ensemble. Phoenix USA PHCD 142 (U.S.A.) 06A069 $14.98
JOHN CAGE (1912-1992): Complete Piano Music, Vol. 3 - Music of Changes I-IV. Music of Change" was the first composition that Cage wrote for David Tudor, a major four-part cycle based on chance operations. The "score" consists of charts of pitch, duration, volume and tempo, and results in a complex texture, and one of Cage's most organised works, with a great deal of activity in many voices occurring at some points. Even when it is known that the piece is based on chance interactions of material, the result is disquietingly coherent and shaped - undoubtedly a good part of this is due to the meticulous decoding of the system on which the piece is based by the present soloist. Steffen Schleiermacher (piano). MD&G 613 0786 (Germany) 06A070 $17.98
WILLIAM BOLCOM (b.1938): Recuerdos, JOHN CORIGLIANO (b.1938): Chiaroscuro for 2 Pianos Tuned a Quarter-tone Apart, MORTON GOULD (1913-1996): Two Pianos, NED ROREM (b.1923): 6 Variations, PAUL SCHOENFIELD (b.1947): Taschyag. For two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart, the Corigliano makes of this odd device a major compositional virtue, creating some extraordinary sounds, ingeniously augmenting the expressive range of this often problematic ensemble. Rorem's variations are sonorous and lyrical, while the Schoenfeld is a hyperactive romp through a range of material culled by the composer from a variety of sources, some distinctly non-classical. Maxim & Irina Jeleznov, Duo Turgeon, Dominique Morel & Douglas Nemish, Mark Clinton & Nicole Narboni, Irina & Julia Ekina (duo pianists). Vanguard Classics SVC-106 (U.S.A.) 06A071 $13.98
TIGRAN MANSURIAN (b.1939): Capriccio for Solo Cello, 5 Bagatelles for Piano Trio, 2 Madrigals for Soprano and Ensemble, The Shadow of the Sash for Ensemble. Mansurian is a miniaturist, but one who invests his small-scale compositions with great seriousness of purpose and density of musical argument. Eschewing the bombastic element in fellow-Armenian Khachaturian's output, his highly concentrated and personal style is most reminiscent of Shostakovich's chamber music, though with occasional suggestions of the eclecticism of Schnittke, and a sense of uneasy repose which seems to be something of a trademark for the composer. Yet another fine composer from the former Soviet Union, well worth investigating. Studio for New Music; Igor Dronov. Megadisc MDC 7839 (Belgium) 06A072 $18.98
MAREK KOPELENT (b.1932): String Quartet No. 4, Brass Quintet, Morning Eulogy for Organ, Ballade for Piano, Karrak for Cello and Piano, Mon Amour for Soprano, Tenor, Flute, Clarinet, Cello, Female Chorus and Percussion. Clusters, pedal-points, drones and strikingly presented intervals used in their own right as thematic material characterise much of Kopelent's music. His carefully chosen sonorities are striking and highly colorful, in the case of the organ piece, suggesting Messiaen in the emphasis on the rich pallette of colors in the upper partials of the instrument. Mon amour after Marc Chagall's poem is a chamber cantata of quite haunting beauty and subtle fragility. Various Artists. Multisonic 31 0356 (Czech Republic) 06A073 $10.98
HAROLD SHAPERO (b.1930): Four-Hand Sonata for Piano, ARTHUR BERGER (b.1912): Composition for Piano Four-Hands, Suite for Piano Four-Hands, Perspectives III, VIRGIL THOMSON (1896-1989): Symphony No. 1 "Symphony on a Hymn Tune". Shapero was an early friend and classmate of Leonard Bernstein, and his four-hand sonata, which has an unmistakable if indefinable American-ness sounds rather like something his (later) more famous colleague might have written. The influences of Copland and jazz, both well absorbed, are obviously common to both. Berger's music is more formal, somewhat in a Stravinskyan neoclassical vein. The four-hand arrangement of Thomson's Symphony on a Hymn Tune is John Kirkpatrick's, and the symphony is surprisingly successful in this simple unadorned guise. David Kopp & Rodney Lister (pianos). New World 80536 (U.S.A.) 06A074 $16.98
MORTON FELDMAN (1926-1987): Intersection for Tape, Nature Pieces for Piano, Variations for Piano, Extensions 1 for Violin and Piano, Extensions 3 for Piano, Extensions 4 for 3 Pianos, Piece for Violin and Piano, Intermissions 3-5 & 6a for Piano, Intermission 6b for 2 Pianos, Music for Jackson Pollock for 2 Cellos, Music for Jackson Pollock (original film soundtrack). Those fascinated by Feldman's unique æsthetic will need to have this disc. It contains, among other things, his sole foray into electronic music - a tape piece written for a project initiated by Cage (and partially realised by him), and the music which makes the direct connection between Feldman and Abstract Expressionism most manifest - the music he wrote for the 1951 film about Jackson Pollock (we hear the actual soundtrack, including Pollock's voice). Elsewhere we are presented with a treasure-trove of unpublished works or alternative versions (many of them from the archives of Feldman's long-time champion, David Tudor). The Turfan Ensemble; Philipp Vandré (piano). Mode 66 (U.S.A.) 06A075 $16.98
CHARLES WHITTENBERG (1927-1984): Variations for Nine Players, EDWIN LONDON (b.1929): Portraits of Three Ladies (American), RICHARD HOFFMANN (b.1925): Orchestra Piece 1961. Music by two American composers who saw themselves as standard-bearers of rigorous serial asceticism, and one who reached out to a suitably attuned audience through highly theatrical eclecticism, during the turbulent 1960s. London's Portraits . . . have something in common with Peter Maxwell Davies' music-theatre works - not quite so outrageous, perhaps, while the disciples of the Second Viennese School, Whittenberg and Hoffmann, strove for Webernesque concision and purity. Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, Marilyn Coles, Royal MacDonald (narrator), University of Illinois Chamber Ensemble, Oberlin College Conservatory Orchestra; Robert Baustian. New World 80562 (U.S.A.) 06A076 $16.98
MARK PHILLIPS (b.1952): String Quartet No. 2, "Another Lark Quartet", JEREMY BECK (b.1960): Songs Without Words, EDWARD J. MILLER (b.1930): Duo concertante for Violin and Piano, PAUL A. EPSTEIN (b.1938): Palindromic Variations for Flute, Cello and Piano, ROBERT EIDSCHUN (b.1962): Bantam Masai for Clarinet, Trumpet, Percussion, Violin, Cello and Electric Bass Guitar. The longest work here, Phillips' string quartet, is a very fine piece, most idiomatically written for the ensemble (meaning, it is hard to imagine it translating well to another medium), and progressing from a serious and intense opening via an utterly hushed and withdrawn second movement, towards the close of which the clouds suddenly lift, allowing the finale to take us on a wild ride in the utmost high spirits. The Beck, though instrumental, has a discursive, monologue-like quality, suggesting the texts on which the works are based . Miller's Duo is also tautly argued and filled with event and drama. Epstein's variations use a palindromic cell in a process-music context. The disc ends with Eidschun's wildly energetic Bantam Masai, for a really odd ensemble, imaginatively used. Various Artists. Capstone CPS-8660 (U.S.A.) 06A077 $16.98
MIKLÓS SUGÁR (b.1952): Ear mouvements for Flute, Trumpet, Harp, Electrotary, Cello and Synthesizer, Short Story for Violin, Fluctus for 2 Flutes and Synthesizer, Models for Bassoon, Percupicsy for Percussion, Iris for Flute, Violin, Viola, Cello and 3 Synthesizers. Sugár is the founder of the EAR ensemble (ElectroAcoustic Research), and one of Hungary's leading composers in this medium. His music consists of cunningly transformed instrumental sounds, in some cases leading to extraordinary sonorities which genuinely sound unlike any recognisable or previously encountered instrument. By no means difficult to listen to, either, this music reintroduces the concept of "cool" into contemporary composition. Various Artists. Hungaroton HCD 31788 (Hungary) 06A078 $16.98
VALENTIN SILVESTROV (b.1937): Symphony No. 5, Exegi Monumentum: Symphony for Baritone and Orchestra. Silvestrov's fifth symphony is pure philosophy in music - a complex philosophical argument, and one vehemently presented at times, but covering a wider range of experience and in more depth than much of even the most ambitious music of our century. An extended monologue in form, sometimes the symphony suggests the tranquility after passion and torment to be found in the last movement of Mahler's Ninth; sometimes it surpasses in gentle brooding the most introspective efforts of the Pärt/Kancheli minimalists, and sometimes it erupts in volcanic abandon to rival anything in the literature. Exegi Monumentum (setting a poem of Pushkin) acts as a kind of postscript to the symphony; it concerns the artist's search for self-justification in the face of the indifference or hostility of the world, and makes manifest Silvestrov's own apparent conclusion that the artist must express his own truth no matter the consequences or apparent contradictions of so doing. Sergei Jakovenko (baritone), Ural Philharmonic Orchestra; Andrei Boreiko. Megadisc MDC 7836 (Belgium) 06A079 $18.98
ALFRED SCHNITTKE (1934-1998): Cello Concerto No. 2, (K)ein Sommernachtstraum. Schnittke's concerto, a massive work lasting nearly three-quarters of an hour, functions more like a symphony than a classical or romantic soloistic showpiece, despite the almost constant presence of the extremely taxing solo part. A brooding, introspective work, for all its sometimes hectic, even violent activity, it seems to have a subtext of the struggle of the individual against overwhelming odds - and as tended to be the way in Schnittke's later music, polystylistic shock-tactics are virtually absent, and the musical argument is far more sustained as a result. An old joke goes that Schnittke would be a great composer when he finally worked out which one he wanted to be; in this piece he apparently decided to be Alfred Schnittke, a very great composer indeed. (K)ein Sommernachtstraum of 10 years earlier is altogether a more playful, if far less profound, piece, full of the sort of thing that used to motivate people to tell the previously mentioned joke. Alexander Ivashkin (cello), Russian State Symphony Orchestra; Valeri Polyansky. Chandos 9722 (England) 06A080 $16.98
ARNO BABADJANIAN (1921-1983): Violin Sonata in B Minor, ALEXANDR SHUK (1907-1995): 3 Stücke for Violin and Piano, MIROSLAV SKORIK (b.1938): Tanz, VITALY SETSHKIN (1927-1987): Meditation, ALFRED SCHNITTKE (1934-1998): Moz-Art. Babadjanian's Shostakovich-like (and dedicated to the great Russian master) violin sonata is the principal work on this disc, and a compelling one it is too. Serious and expressive, it is a worthy tribute to the older composer. The Ukrainian, Shuk, is a fine melodist, and these little pieces are heartfelt and genuinely moving, without artifice. The other pieces function like encores, and are lively and entertaining. Vladimir Astrakhantsev (violin), Olga Astrakhantsev (piano). Cavalli Records CCD 233 (Germany) 06A081 $18.98
GYÓRGY ORBÁN (b.1947): Passion. Orbán's Passion is unusual, first of all in its choice of texts. The composer has assembled, in Hungarian, folk texts as well as translated extracts from the gospels, rather than following one gospel account. The music also has a recognisably Eastern European flavor; Janácek may often be brought to mind, as well as Bartók - from which one will deduce that it is tonal, modal rather, in a broad but unfailing sense of both terms. This is a very dramatic telling of the passion, without being excessively operatic - but it possesses a strong humanistic element, perhaps through the use of the vernacular text, but more likely because of the overt emotionalism of the composer's chosen idiom. A very moving experience. Ildikó Cserna (soprano), Xavier Rivadeneira (tenor), Ákos Ambrus (baritone), Tamás Szüle (bass), Zsuzsa Elekes (organ), Loránd Eötvös University of Sciences Béla Bartók Chorus and University Orchestra; Gábor Baross. Hungaroton HCD 31824 (Hungary) 06A082 $16.98
BERNARD HEIDEN (b.1910): Clarinet Quintet, Sonata for Piano Four Hands, Prelude, Theme & Variations for Alto Recorder, Solo for Alto Saxophone and Piano, Preludes for Flute, Double Bass and Harp, Intrada for Woodwind Quintet and Alto Saxophone. Heiden's attractive, tonal music covers a wide range of expression and idiomatically composed instrumental styles, as exemplified in this diverse collection. A prolific composer in many genres, Heiden studied with Hindemith before emigrating to the USA in the 1930s. His music is finely crafted and eloquent, and his woodwind writing in particular, is exemplary. James Campbell (clarinet), Corigliano Quartet, Cordula Hacke & Leonard Hokanson (piano), other artists. Cadenza CAD 800 920 (Germany) 06A083 $17.98
TAMAR DIESENDRUCK: Such Stuff (String Quartet No. 1), String Quartet No. 2 (Babel Dreams), IV from the imaginary one-act micro-opera "The Pit Band from Outer Space". Tamar Diesendruck appears to be the sort of composer for whom the word "eclectic" was waiting. This is not so unusual nowadays, but what makes these two extended string quartets especially interesting is the fact that she succeeds in bringing together a Babel (as in the title of Quartet No. 2) of modern influences into a flowing, continuous, functional whole. The music has a driven quality, as though it knows it has a great deal to say, and despairs of the possibility of getting more than a fraction of it across in the allotted time; nonetheless, its clarity is admirable, and a great deal does get said, covering a wide spectrum of emotional territory. Diesendruck's language is basically tonal, at least when she wants it to be, though as in the third movement of the first quartet, complex counterpoint is the object of the exercise over all. Intriguing and challenging, though never abstruse, music. Pro Arte Quartet. Centaur CRC 2412 (U.S.A.) 06A084 $16.98
OVERSTOCK SALE
These items are offered on a special price basis. On some items, quantities are limited; first come, first served.
JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809): Divertimenti Nos. 1-12. 4 CDs. Hamburg Soloists; Emil Klein. Arte Nova 31682 (Germany) 06A085 Was$35.98 Now$15.98
JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809): Clarinet Concertos Nos. 7 & 10 in B Flat, No. 11 in E Flat, Concerto for 2 Clarinets in B Flat, Basset Horn Concerto in B Flat, Concerto in B Flat for Clarinet and Bassoon, STAMITZ/JOHANN JOSEPH BEER (1774-1811): Clarinet Concerto No. 6 in E Flat. 2 CDs. Karl Schechta (cl, bas hn), Jürgen Demmler (cl), Jürgen Gode (bsn), Kurpfälziches Chamber Orchestra; Jiri Malát. Arte Nova 30477 (Germany) 06A086 Was$17.98 Now$7.98
FRANZ ANTON DIMMLER (1753-1827): Clarinet Concerto in B Flat, FRANZ TAUSCH (1762-1817): Clarinet Concerto in E Flat, FREDERIC BLASIUS (1758-1829): Clarinet Concerto No. 1, JOHANN SEBASTIAN DEMAR (1763-1832): Clarinet Concerto in E Flat, JOSEPH FIALA (1748-1816): Concerto in B Flat for Clarinet and Horn, PETER WINTER (1754-1825): Sinfonia concertante in B Flat for Violin, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon, FRANZ DANZI (1763-1826): Concerto in B Flat for Clarinet and Bassoon, Sinfonia concertante in B Flat, Op. 47 for Clarinet and Flute, GEORG FRIEDRICH FUCHS (1752-1821): Sinfonia concertante in E Flat for Clarinet and Horn. (Also contains the concertos listed in the item above: 06A0) 5 CDs. Karl Schechta (cl), Helmut Koch (eng hn), Jürgen Gode (bsn), Xiao-Ming Han (hn), Wolfgang Schwarzmüller (vln), Gunhild Ott (fl), Kurpfälziches Chamber Orchestra; Jiri Malát. Arte Nova 37327 (Germany) 06A087 Was$44.98 Now$19.98
JOHANN MELCHIOR MOLTER (1752-1821): Oboe Concerto in C Minor, Cello Concerto in C, Sinfonias in F, C Minor and F, Sonata à 2 Cori in F. Roman Storojenko (cello), Voichita Popa (ob), Josef Böck (hpschd), Europa Symphony; Wolfgang Gröhs. Arte Nova 40741 (Germany) 06A088 Was$8.98 Now$3.98
FERDINAND THIERIOT (1838-1919): Octet in B Flat for String Quartet, Double Bass, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon, Op. 62, Quintet for Piano and Winds in A Minor, Op. 80. Mithras Octet. Arte Nova 49689 (Germany) 06A089 Was$8.98 Now$3.98
JUAN JOSÉ FALCÓN SANABRIA (b.1936): Misa Gloriosa, LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827): Mass in C. Soloists, Chorus and Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra; Adrian Leaper. Arte Nova 30461 (Germany) 06A090 Was$8.98 Now$3.98
ALEXANDER MOSOLOV (1900-1973): Piano Sonatas No. 4, Op. 11 & No. 5, Op. 12, Turkmenian Nights. Daniele Lombardi (piano). Arte Nova 27793 (Germany) 06A091 Was$8.98 Now$3.98
FRANZ HUMMEL (b.1939): An den schönen blauen Donau - Opera, Portrait Liana Issakadze for Violin and Chamber Orchestra. Soloists, Georgian Chamber Orchestra; Alexei Kornienko. Arte Nova 38023 (Germany) 06A092 Was$8.98 Now$3.98
STEFAN WOLPE (1902-1972): Symphony No. 1, Yigdal Cantata, Chamber Pieces Nos. 1 and 2. NDR Symphony Orchestra; Johannes Kalitzke. Arte Nova 46508 (Germany) 06A093 Was$8.98 Now$3.98
BERTHOLD GOLDSCHMIDT (1903-1996): String Quartet No. 1, Op. 8, Piano Sonata, Op. 10, Clarinet Quartet. Mandelring Quartet, Kolja Lessing (piano), Ib Hansmann (clarinet). Largo 56621 (Germany) 06A094 Was$16.98 Now$10.98
BERTHOLD GOLDSCHMIDT (1903-1996): String Quartet No. 2, String Quartet No. 3, Last Chapters, Belsatzar. Mandelring Quartet, ars-nova-ensemble Berlin; Peter Schwarz. Largo 56620 (Germany) 06A095 Was$16.98 Now$10.98
BERTHOLD GOLDSCHMIDT (1903-1996): String Quartet No. 4, Retrospectum for Piano Trio, Variations on a Palestinian Shepherd's Song for Piano, 2 short pieces for violin and piano & 4 short piano pieces. Mandelring Quartet, Gaede Trio Berlin, Kolja Lessing (piano), Hansheinz Schneeberger (violin). Largo 56622 (Germany) 06A096 Was$16.98 Now$10.98
KAREL GOEYVAERTS (1923-1993): Aquarius - Opera for 16 Soloists and Chorus. 2 CDs. Various Artists. Megadisc MDC 7850/51 (Belgium) 06A097 Was$37.98 Now$23.98
KAREL GOEYVAERTS (1923-1993): Piano Quartet with Tape Recorder, (2 Versions), Aquarius-Tango, Stuk voor Piano, Pas à Pas, Litanie I, Voor Harrie, Harry en René. Jan Michiels (piano). Megadisc MDC 7848 (Belgium) 06A098 Was$18.98 Now$11.98
ALEXANDER KNAIFEL (b.1943): A Silly Horse - 15 Tales for (Female) Singer and (Male) Pianist. Tatiana Milentieva (sop), Oleg Malov (pno). Mega-disc MDC 7844 (Belgium) 06A099 Was$18.98 Now$11.98
VALENTIN SILVESTROV (b.1937): Ode to the Nightingale for Soprano and Chamber Orchestra, Diptych for a capella Choir, Canata for a capella Choir, Cantata for Sop. and Chamber Orch. Ukrainian National Capella, Kiev Camerata; Virko Baley. Megadisc MDC 7842 (Belgium) 06A100 Was$18.98 Now$11.98
BEREFT OF A BLISSFUL UNION - Music from the Choreography by George can Dam & Peter Vermeersch. X-Legged Sally - The Smith Qt. Mega-disc MDC 7843 (Belgium) 06A101 Was$18.98 Now$11.98
JOHN WHITE (b.1936): Piano Sonatas Nos. 15, 29, 31, 54, 55, 57, 75, 76, 78, 86, 87, 95, 104, 108, 121 & 124. Roger Smalley (piano). MMC D038 (England) 06A102 Was$15.98 Now$5.98
TAN DUN (b.1957): Symphony 1997 (Heaven Earth Mankind). Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Imperial Bells Ensemble of China, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra; Tan Dun. Sony SK 63368 (U.S.A.) 06A103 Was$16.98 Now$10.98
ABEL EHRLICH (b.1915): Das Buch der Zeichens for Strings, Thou Knowest Not for Violin and Choir, Flee to the Mountains Like a Bird for 11 Instruments, Music for Orchestra. Ensemble Oriol Berlin; Sebastian Gottschick, Shlomit Sivan (vln), Rubin Conservatory Children's Choir, Israel Contemporary Players; Paul Mefano, Israel SO Rishon Le-Zion; Noam Sheriff. Music in Israel MII-CD-21 (Israel) 06A104 Was$17.98 Now$10.98
CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD (1852-1924): 28 Songs and Ballads. James Griffett (tenor), Clifford Benson (piano). Cameo 2001 (Austria) 06A105 Was$14.98 Now$9.98
JOACHIM STUTSCHEWSKY (1891-1982): 3 Movements from Landscapes of Israel, MENAHEM AVIDON (1908-1985): 4 Impressions, PAUL BEN-HAIM (1897-1984): 5 Pieces, Op. 34, MORDECAI SETER (1916-1994): Chaconne and Scherzo, YEHEZKEL BRAUN (b.1922): Sonata, TZVI AZNI (b.1927): Sonata No. 1. Pnina Salzman (piano). Music in Israel MII-CD-19 (Israel) 06A106 Was$17.98 Now$10.98
PETER RUZICKA (b.1948): Metastrofe for 87 Instrumentalists, "...fragment..."for String Quartet, Stress for 8 Percussion Groups, In processo di tempo... for Cello and 26 Instrumentalists, Bewegung for Tape. RSO Berlin; Michael Gielen, Westphal-Quartett, Siegfried Fink Percussion Ensemble, Claus Kanngiesser (cello), RSO Berlin; Peter Ruzicka. Wergo WER 6071 (Germany) 06A107 Was$19.98 Now$13.98
JEAN FRANÇAIX (b.1912): Elégie for 10 Winds, Petite valse européenne, FRANÇAIX/SCHUBERT: 3 Marches Militaires, FRANÇAIX/CHOPIN: 3 Ecossaises et Variations sur un Air popularire allemand, FRANÇAIX/CHABRIER: 3 pièces pittoresques. Amadé Wind Ensemble. Alcra ALC 5104 (Germany) 06A108 Was$19.98 Now$13.98
PAUL HUBER (b.1918): Concerto for Hammered Dulcimer and Strings, ROLF LIEBERMANN (b.1910): Suite on 6 Swiss Folk Songs, JEAN DAETWYLER (1907-1994): Alphorn Concerto No. 1, MELCHIOR ULRICH (b.1945): Ethnophony for Ländler Ensemble and Orchestra. Benno Bernet (dulcimer), Martin Roos (alphrn), Swiss Chamber Philharmonic; Patrice Ulrich. Musica Helvetica MH CD 103.2 (Switzerland) 06A109 Was$16.98 Now$9.98
HEINRICH SCHWEIZER (b.1943): East West Symphony, Historical Symphony Suite, 5 Days in Avignon, Swiss Panorama, Suite for Flute, Bassoon and Piano, The New Sound, Hadlaub, Variations for Oboe and Orchestra. China Broadcasting Orchestra of Traditional Musical Instruments, Zurich Symphony Orchestra; Bian Zushan. Musica Helvetica MH CD 102.2 (Switzerland) 06A110 Was$16.98 Now$9.98
WILLY HESS (b.1906): Suite in B Flat for Piano, Op. 45, OTHMAR SCHOECK (1886-1957): 2 Klavierstücke, Op. 29, HEINRICH SUTERMEISTER (b.1910): Sonatine in E Flat for Piano, PAUL MÜLLER-ZÜRICH (1898-1993): Capriccio for Flute and Piano, Op. 75, WILLY BURKHARD (1900-1955): Suite en miniature for Flute and Piano, Op. 71/2, KLAUS HUBER (b.1924): Ein Hauch von Unzeit I for Flute. Desmond Wright (piano), Andrea Kollé (flute). Musica Helvetica MH CD 85.2 (Switzerland) 06A111 Was$16.98 Now$9.98
RICHARD FLURY (1896-1967): 3 Pieces for Violin and Piano, CASPAR DIETHELM (b.1926): Suite of Variations on a Swiss Folk Song for 2 Violins, Op. 294, ALOYS FORNEROD (1890-1965): Concert for 2 Violins and Piano, Op. 16, ERNEST BLOCH (1880-1959): Poème mystique, GASPARD FRITZ (1716-1783): Violin Sonata, Op. 2/4. Sibylle & Mirjam Tschopp (violins), Isabel Tschopp (piano). Musica Helvetica MH CD 90.2 (Switzerland) 06A112 Was$16.98 Now$9.98
JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU (1683-1764): Overtures from Les Fêtes de Plymnie, Les Indes galantes, Zaïs, Castor et Pollux, Naïs, Platée, Les Talens lyriques, Zoroastre, Dardanus, Les Paladins, Hippolyte et Aricie, Le Temple de la Gloire, Pigmalion, Les Surprises de l'Amour, Les Fêtes de l'Hymen et de l'Amour, Acante et Céphise. Les Talens Lyriques; Christophe Rousset. L'Oiseau Lyre 455 293-2 (England) 06A113 Was$16.98 Now$10.98
JOHANN ADOLF HASSE (1699-1783): Motet Chori angelici laetantes, Salve Regina in E Flat, Salve Regina in A, Sinfonia in D, Fuga & Grave in G Minor, Sinfonia in F, Op. 3/5. Barbara Bonney (sop), Bernarda Fink (mez), Musica Antiqua Köln; Reinhard Goebel. Archiv Produktion 453 435-2 (Germany) 06A114 Was$16.98 Now$10.98
JEAN JOSEPH CASSANÉA DE MONDONVILLE (1711-1772): Les Fêtes de Paphos. Sandrine Piau, Véronique Gens, Agnès Mellon (sops), Jean-Paul Fouchecourt (ten), Olivier Lallouette, Peter Harvey (bars), Chur de Chambre Accentus, Les Talens Lyriques; Christophe Rousset. 3 CDs. L'Oiseau Lyre 455 084-2 (England) 06A115 Was$50.98 Now$29.98
NICOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844-1908): The Maid of Pskov. Galina Gorchakova (sop), Vladimir Ognovienko (bass), Kirov Chorus and Orchestra; Valery Gergiev. 2 CDs. Philips 446 678-2 (Netherlands) 06A116 Was$33.98 Now$21.98
CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR (1844-1937): Messe in F Minor for Men's Chorus, Mixed Choir and 2 Organs, Op. 36, Symphonie Antique, Op. 83 for Soloists, Chorus, Organ and Orchestra, Op. 83. Andreas Meisner, Paul Wißkirchen (organs), Domkantorei Altenberg, Gürzenich-Chor Köln, Total Vokal Dortmund, Pilsen Radio Symphony Orchestra; Volker Hempfling. Motette CD 40181 (Germany) 06A117 Was$17.98 Now$9.98
CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR (1886-1979): Symphony No. 1 in C, Mass for the 500th Anniversary of the Death of Joan of Arc. Lorna Haywood (sop), Terry Patrick-Harris (mez), Joseph Harris (ten), Jozik Koc (bass-bar), Royal Scottish National Chorus and Orchestra; James Paul. Reference Recordings RR-78CD (U.S.A.) 06A118 Was$16.98 Now$10.98
DING SHAN-DE (b.1911): Long March Symphony. Russian Philharmonic Orchestra; Mak Ka-Lok. Hugo HRP 7105 (Hong Kong) 06A119 Was$19.98 Now$12.98
DING SHAN-DE (b.1911): 6 Preludes, Op. 34, Sonatina, Op. 32, 8 Pieces for Children, Op. 28, Scherzo, Op. 35, Rondo, Op. 33, 16 Studies, Op. 31, 4 Little Preludes and Fugues, Op. 29, Concerto in B Flat for 2 Pianos, Op. 23. Zhand Wei-cong, Zhang Ying, Sun Mei-ting, Yao Gang (pianos). Hugo HRP 736 (Hong Kong) 06A120 Was$19.98 Now$12.98
LAW WING-FAI: Pipa Concerto, Phantasm for Cello and Orchestra, Musica Concertata for Orchestra. Wong Ching (pipa), Wendy Law (cel), Russian Philharmonic Orchestra; Tsung Yeh. Hugo HRP 7104 (Hong Kong) 06A121 Was$19.98 Now$12.98
LIU FU-AN (b.1927): Cappriccio on an Anhui Folksong, XIN HU-GUANG (b.1933): Symphonic Poem Ga Da Mei Lin, Lady General Mu Takes Command (4 Composer Collaborative). Central Philharmonic Orchestra; Hu Bing-xu. Hugo HRP 770 (Hong Kong) 06A122 Was$19.98 Now$12.98
BERNARD HERRMANN (1911-1975): Jason and the Argonauts. This spectacularly performed and engineered release provides the most complete and up-to-date recording of this phantasmagorically colorful score yet. Concentrating on clarity, instrumental color and the striking stereo separation effects Herrmann wrote into the score, this sonic bonanza will appeal to all collectors. Sinfonia of London; Bruce Broughton. Intrada MAF7083 (U.S.A.) 06A123 $16.98
RICHARD ADDINSELL (1904-1977): Music from the Films Blithe Spirit, Encore, Gaslight, The Passsionate Friends, Scrooge, Southern Rhapsody, Waltz of the Toreadors, South Riding, WRNS March, Fire Over England. Music from nine films, most of it unavailable elsewhere, is supplemented by the Southern Rhapsody, written for British Television, and the WRNS March, a stirring wartime piece from 1942. Royal Ballet Sinfonia; Kenneth Alwyn. ASV WHL 2115 (England) 06A124 $12.98
Turn of the Century Salon Music from Germany
FRED RAYMOND (1900-1954): Abends, wenn die Lichter glühn, HARRO STEFFEN (b.1920): Gesand der Lerche, CHRISTIAN SCHMITZ-STEINBERG: Gigolette, EDWARD ELGAR (1857-1934): Salut d'amour, Op. 12, FRANZ PETER HUB: Pizzicato Violins, GERHARD WINKLER (1906-1977): Frühling in Sorrento, Clarina, Südliche Nächte, JOSÉ ARMANDOLA: Blue Pavilion, LUTZ HELGER: Geigegalopp, FRIEDRICH SCHRÖDER (1910-1972): Träume kann man nicht verbieten, WALTER KOLLO (1878-1940): Die Männer sind alle Verbrecher, S. TRANSLATEUR (1875-1944): Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, Op. 161, FRITZ KREISLER (1875-1962): Liebesleid, OTTO STOLZENWALD: Fröhliche Geigen, GIUSEPPE BECCE (1887-1973): Souvenir de Capri, Op. 12a. This new, all-woman salon ensemble (2 violins, cello, double-bass, clarinet and piano) offers an hour's worth of less-well-known music (mostly German) from that turn-of-the-century period when bright yet sentimental, virtuosically vibrant music helped people pass the time in coffee shops, hotels, bars and ocean liners. Pomp-A-Dur, Andrea Nolte (accordion). BIS Northern Lights NL-CD-5009 (Sweden) 06A125 $17.98
Orchestral Potpourris from Theatre Works
JOHANN STRAUSS II (1825-1899): Potpourris, Vol. 1 - Indigo und die 40 Räuber, Cagliostro in Wien, Prinz Methusalem, Das Spitzentuch der Königin, Der lustige Krieg, Eine Nacht in Venedig. Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra; Christian Pollack. Marco Polo 8.225074 (New Zealand) 06A126 $14.98
JOHANN STRAUSS II (1825-1899): Potpourris, Vol. 2 - Simplicius, Ritter Pásmán, Fürstin Ninetta, Jabuka (Das Apfelfest), Die Göttin der Vernunft. Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra; Christian Pollack. Marco Polo 8.2250745(New Zealand) 06A127 $14.98
Orchestral compilations of tunes from works written for the theatre served two purposes in 19th century Vienna: they allowed the public to sample the type and quality of the music on display in the great theatres and they allowed the composer to make extra money by selling the scores to civic orchestras and military bands for public performance. These two new releases contain many melodies familiar to listeners from recordings of orchestral numbers excerpted from the full stage scores but they also have a surprising amount of material new even to devotees of Strauss' music.
FERDE GROFÉ (1892-1972): Niagara Falls Suite, Mississippi Suite, Grand Canyon Suite. The riot of orchestral colors in Grofé's dramatic depiction of the Grand Canyon is known to practically anyone who has heard any "classical" music. However, Grofé wrote at least seven other suites on geographical or monumental subjects and this recording brings us two of them: the Mississippi Suite is one of his early works (1926) and its four movements ("Father of Waters", "Huckleberry Finn", "Old Creole Days" and "Mardi Gras") vividly capture Festival time in New Orleans. From the other end of his career (1961) comes the Niagara Falls Suite ("Thunder of the Waters", "Devil's Hole Massacre", "Honeymooners" and "Power of Niagara - 1961"), commissioned for the opening of a hydro-electric power plant whose first three movements vividly depict the power and romance of the falls while the final (and by far the longest) movement is a colorful portrait of the power plant itself (although not exactly on the order of Mosolov's Iron Foundry!). Lots of color and good, clean fun! Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; William T. Stromberg. Naxos 8.559007 (U.S.A.) 06A128 $5.98