Category: Off the shelf

Next week I take off to Chicago for business and pleasure. The pleasure includes ushering in the Muti era with the CSO and Berlioz’s justly famous (and loved Symphonie Fantastique) and his less known Lelio. The Muti era is sure to build on the successes of Pierre Boulez and Bernard Haitink — the orchestra’s two post Barenboim placeholders. Neither will be gone from the Windy City’s classical music scene however. Boulez is slated to conduct a few weeks while Haitink returns for a series of Mahler concerts toward the end of the season.

Later this month CSO Resound will release a new recording of Verdi’s Requiem. The recording comes from a Muti led concert last season I believe. My favorite recording of the piece has always been Solti’s blazing performance on RCA. I expect this new recording to be as muscular, but with Muti’s signature elan.
Continue reading Off the shelf: Chicago bound

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Two innovative new releases highlight the course of classical music in the 21st Century: Cortical Songs (Nonclassical) by the duo John Matthias and Nick Ryan and Provenance (Innova) cellist, Maya Beiser’s new album. Both albums underscore a growing desire by musicians and composers to avoid confining forms, formats, and labels. Both releases come right up to the classical music line; neither crosses it.
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A number of notable albums have landed on shelves over the past few months. A number of them with local connections. Leading the bunch are two William Schuman releases from Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony. Schwarz and the local orchestra have been slowly recording all of William Schuman’s published symphonies and assorted orchestral pieces for Naxos. The final two releases in the series, disks featuring the Eighth Symphony and the Sixth Symphony , come coupled with shorter orchestral pieces also played by the SSO. The former includes the ballet score Night Journey and Variations on America; the later, Prayer in a Time of War and the New England Triptych — two patriotic pieces. On both releases, Schuman’s pieces are given heartfelt readings and the recordings are natural, faithful representations of the orchestra and the Benaroya Hall acoustic.

Continue reading Off the shelf: Seattle Symphony, Ehnes, and the Prism Quartet

It has been a busy fall for live performances and equally busy for new, recommendable album releases.  A survey of some of the best, new recordings is overdue. One of the most notable releases, is the San Francisco Symphony’s recording of Gustav Mahler’s 8^th Symphony. It is hard to get this piece to sound right in performance and on disk. So much is happening at all times where do a conductor, sound engineer and musicians begin? MTT seems to have a handle on all of the forces before him, and that allows him to proceed with an idiosyncratic performance, full of energy, which captures the spirit of the performance the recording is taken from. Whether you will enjoy this album depends on how you like your Mahler. If you want a performance which is straight faced and buttoned up then you should steer clear of MTT’s romp. However, if you like your Mahler, unpredictable and inventive then this disk is for you.

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Peter Breiner, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra; Janacek Orchestral Suites from the Operas Vol. 3 (Naxos) ****

I am a fan of volume I and II in this series of orchestral suites drawn from Janacek’s various operas. Peter Breiner is both an able composer and conductor. He has produced a number of successful orchestrations and arrangements for Naxos, but his work arranging Janacek’s operas into orchestral suites is his best to date. In this recording, which includes two suites, one from the “Cunning Little Vixen” and the other “From the House of the Dead” is helped by a dearth of orchestral music in both operas for Breiner to work with. As was the case with the previous two releases in this series, this recording will undoubtedly introduce Janacek’s rarely heard operas to new listeners and give Janacek fans a new way to experience the composer’s operas.

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Neeme Jarvi, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Boris Berman and Horacio Gutierrez (piano); Sergey Prokofiev Piano Concertos 1-5 ***
Neeme Jarvi and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra recorded Prokofiev’s five piano concertos between 1989 and 1990. For the recording, Jarvi and the orchestra are joined by Boris Berman in Nr. 1, 4, and 5 and Horacio Gutierrez in Nr. 2 and 3. Jarvi’s Prokofiev interpretations are special. Unlike Gergiev who pushes through the music too quickly in his LSO Phillips recording of the symphonies and Ozawa whose interpretation of the same music is the sonic equivalent of quick sand – slow, unpleasant, and sinking – Jarvi’s Prokofiev recordings tend to be astutely paced. This concerto set is no different. For instance, Jarvi pushes the First Concerto forward feverishly but also takes time in the middle of the piece, to hang on the piece’s lyricism. And, the Fifth Concerto zips along without sacrificing orchestral color. Along with Ashkenazy’s recording of the complete piano concertos, this re-release is a satisfying way to acquire all five concertos at a wallet friendly price.

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Gerard Schwarz, Seattle Symphony; Mahler: Symphony Nr. 8 “Symphony of a Thousand” (Self Release)

***
Mahler’s Symphony Nr. 8 is an oversized piece of music.  This is apparent to anyone who hears a recording of this symphony.  Even more so when you see the piece performed live.  Hundreds (not thousands) of musicians, soloists, and singers are crammed onto a stage.  Whoever the unlikely person is conducting the piece is more often than not feverishly trying to balance the bloated orchestra, soloists, and multiple choruses.  The conductor is spinning plates more or less.  Keeping everything from crashing to the floor.  Because of the difficulties in staging the “Symphony of a Thousand” the piece is seldom performed.

The Seattle Symphony took up the work last September, opening their 2008/2009 season while also simultaneously celebrating the tenth anniversary of Benaroya Hall.  With the help of Martin Selig, the Seattle Symphony was able to record and release the September 2008 performance on a limited edition recording that also includes original album art from local artist Dale Chihuly.

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David Zinman, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra; Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 5 (RCA) ***
The current release in the Tonhalle’s Mahler cycle is curious.  On the one hand, it is a no-nonsense performance of perhaps Mahler’s most popular symphony.  There is tension and drama but its not overdone.  The SACD recording quality is splendid.  But, on the other hand, the disc lacks the punch of other recordings of this symphony.  When I first heard this disc, I didn’t like it at all.  Then again, I was comparing it to my preferred recording by John Barbirolli who takes an expansive, romantic approach to the piece.  After repeated hearings, the transparency, and fluid sound of the orchestra grew on me.  This recording is easily better than the recent release of the same symphony by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony and it is a recording Mahler fans will want to hear even if it ultimately won’t rank as one of the best.

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