The Gathering Note

Actually, at this point in the game, I’d say Chloe Hanslip is no longer a little girl. Naxos was right to snatch her up when they did, Hanslip has real instinct. He last release on Naxos was a collection of accessible 20th century pieces for violin and orchestra including works by John Adams and John Corigliano. Now she tackles two almost completely unknown pieces by Benjamin Godard, a Frenchman whose life inhabits about the same time period as Massenet (He died only few years before the turn of the century). Compositionally though, Godard has a true knack for structure and balance while at the same time leaving ample elbow room for his soloist. The violin concertos of Mozart are the first comparison that springs to mind, but Godard is definitely a bit more lavish than Mozart, perhaps a bit crisper with color as well, but they seem to share the sense of mischievous fun. These are the type of concertos that light hearted romantics just eat up. If a piano concerto by Godard ever surfaces you can bet that Howard Shelly will record it.

While I’m against aria collections solely on principle, I will allow Anne Sofie von Otter to make as many as she pleases because A) She good at them, B) she chooses interesting repertoire and C) it’s not like I can tell her to do any differently. Available for months in the UK before even being solicited to vendors in the states, von Otter has chosen an interesting theme, to honor composers who died in the concentration camp Theresienstadt such as Pavel Haas, Adolf Strauss, Ilse Weber and Karel Svenk. It would be incorrect to say that this is an Anne Sofie von Otter aria collection though, as she’s only on 12 of the 25 tracks. The other tracks are pieces for baritone (Christian Gerhaher) and a very nervous, but emotional violin sonata by Erwin Schulhoff (played excellently by Daniel Hope). The pieces vary a great deal, from Weill inspired cabaret songs to lullabies and standard Germanic song cycles. Emotionally the songs vary a great deal as well, from uplifting and carefree to isolated and alienating. Classical music written during 1940’s era Germany is somewhat hard to find (outside of R. Strauss) so when a nice collection such as this one pops up it’s good to at least take note of it as it may be a while before another shows up.

Super star Hilary Hahn has finally put out a disc I can support. Coupling the fantastic, yet easily mangled, violin concerto of Jean Sibelius with the excruciatingly difficult and rarely performed violin concerto of Arnold Schoenberg. These beauty and the beast pairings rarely pan out, but I gave this one my blessing weeks before it came out simply because it was a brave choice in comparison to the otherwise mainstream picks that Hahn usually opts for. Also, Hahn is better at more technically difficult modern works than lush romantic/post-romantic pieces (Any Seattleite who has heard her recording of the Meyer violin concerto shouldn’t be surprised when they see her billed to play the Tractor Tavern). The real great thing about this pairing is that not only is she going to outsell any previous recording of the Schoenberg concerto (a somewhat easy feat sadly), but she may even popularize it to the point where others might record it was well. Her Sibelius is going to cause debate simply because of her style, but her Schoenberg has the possibility of becoming a definitive recording.