Pierre Boulez MAHLER Symphonie No. 8

Mahler called his “Symphony of a Thousand" his magnum opus and regarded it as his “gift to the entire nation". “I have just finished my Eighth," he wrote in August 1906, “it is the greatest thing I have done so far. And so unique in terms of its content and form that it is impossible to write about it. Imagine the whole universe beginning to ring and resound. These are no longer human voices, but planets and suns revolving."
A little over a century later these planets and suns have been revolving again, this time in Berlin in the spring of 2007. Pierre Boulez - arguably the most famous composer and conductor of our age - has been enthusiastically acclaimed by public and press alike for his interpretations of Mahler, including the Eighth Symphony, which he has conducted at a series of festivals organized by the Staatsoper unter den Linden in Berlin. He is now completing his cycle of all Mahler's symphonies for Deutsche Grammophon. It is no accident that this exceptional artist has saved the supreme challenge - the “Symphony of a Thousand" - till the end. For Pierre Boulez, too, this work is a milestone in the history of the symphony: “I discovered Mahler from a kind of retrospective perspective, as a link between the Second Viennese School on the one hand and Wagner on the other. Paradoxically, I was familiar with the mark he left on the musical world before I became familiar with the composer himself. It took a while before I could experience this music clearly, nothing in my education having prepared me to overcome some enduring cultural prejudices. Once through this first stage, I became fascinated with Mahler's astonishing blend of organization and spontaneity, his command of large musical spaces as well as his mastery of the miniature. The course of my development is represented by my cycle of Mahler symphonies, now completed with the Eighth, which - in my opinion - is probably the most highly contrasted symphony I have ever confronted. In recording it, I've been privileged to enjoy the best possible studio conditions, which in truth is what I prefer, even if it's sometimes more difficult to breathe tension and life into a performance."
Boulez chooses an uncompromisingly analytical path through the thicket of a symphony that teems with associations and allusions. This is an exploratory path that only a very small number of conductors can take with Mahler. Following the performance of the Eighth Symphony, the distinguished music journalist Volker Hagedorn wrote that “all steamy emotionalism disappeared from this whole gigantic work, so that the listener had more space in which to think. [...] The human voice became all the more significant in the dimensions deployed by Boulez. [...] This is arguably something that can be achieved only by someone like Boulez, who has himself used similar procedures in Dérive ..."
This says something very basic about Boulez as a Mahlerian. What matters for him is differentiation, translucency and dramaturgical necessity (to say nothing of nobility of sound). And the Eighth Symphony, with its remarkable byways and its liturgical context - Mahler himself once said that it was his Mass - very much demands this lofty rigour. The symphony appears to be some rocky massif of ideals. When Boulez stands at the head of more than 300 musicians - the Berlin Staatskapelle, two choirs and a team of eminent soloists - the profundity of his reading becomes clear. Essentially, nothing needs to be added to what Mahler himself set down on paper. One thing alone is required by this consummate work to ensure its elemental impact: precision.This explains the use of a recording studio, even though the live concert had already been highly instructive for listeners who believe in the score. The studio in this case was the Jesus-Christus-Kirche in Berlin-Dahlem, a building famed for its excellent acoustics, allowing Boulez to shed light on every last corner of the score. Sometimes he brings lucidity to it, sometimes weight. On other occasions he wields a fine pen, on others again a sword. Mahler encompasses all these aspects: in this barely soluble inner conflict, he is Schubert's legitimate successor. Boulez's previous Mahler recordings are notable for the conductor's skill at finding the golden mean between these extremes. His readings are always both razor-sharp and lyrical, a point well made by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in the wake of his recording of the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen: the “precision of expression that the conductor cultivates is almost impossible to separate from the sense of sonority of Boulez the composer".
The release of the Eighth Symphony in the form of a studio recording involving more than 300 participants was a vast project demanding considerable logistical and financial resources. The outlay confirms the impression that had already been gained. In his interpretation of the “Symphony of a Thousand" Pierre Boulez makes the planets and sun revolve. (Jürgen Otten)

Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911)
Symphony No.8 in E flat - "Symphony of a Thousand"
Part One: Hymnus "Veni creator spiritus"
1) Veni, creator spiritus [1:24]
2) "Imple superna gratia" [3:21]
3) "Infirma nostri corporis" [2:31]
4) Tempo I. (Allegro, etwas hastig) [1:27]
5) "Infirma nostri corporis" [3:18]
6) "Accende lumen sensibus" [4:54] $ 1.29
7 "Veni, Creator...Da gaudiorum praemia" [3:47]
8) "Gloria sit Patri Domino" [3:03]

CD 2:
Part Two: Final scene from Goethe's "Faust"
1) Poco adagio [7:16]
2) Più mosso (Allegro moderato) [4:20]
3) "Waldung, sie schwankt heran" [5:09]
4) "Ewiger Wonnebrand" [1:43]
5) "Wie Felsenabgrund mir zu Füßen" [5:04]
6) "Gerettet ist das edle Glied" - "Hände verschlinget" [1:08]
7) "Jene Rosen, aus den Händen" [2:03]
8) "Uns bleibt ein Erdenrest" [2:02]
9) "Ich spür' soeben" - "Freudig empfangen wir" [1:19]
10) "Höchste Herrscherin der Welt" [4:28]
11) "Dir, der Unberührbaren" - "Du schwebst zu Höhen" [3:33]
12) "Bei der Liebe" - "Bei dem Bronn" - Bei dem hochgeweihten Orte" [5:26]
13) "Neige, neige, du Ohnegleiche" [1:04]
14) "Er überwächst uns schon" - "Vom edlen Geisterchor umgeben" [3:31]
15) "Komm! hebe dich zu höhern Sphären" - "Blicket auf zum Retterblick" [7:21]
16) "Alles Vergängliche" [6:05]

Robinson

Wall

Queiroz

DeYoung

Schröder

Botha

Müller-Brachmann

Holl

Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin

Rundfunkchor Berlin

Aurelius Sängerknaben Calw

Staatskapelle Berlin

Pierre Boulez

2007 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg

2 Compact Discs

477 6597 4 GH 2

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Danielle de Niese THE MOZART ALBUM

Danielle DeNiese made her Met debut as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro. At just 19, it was already clear that she was destined to be a major Mozart singer, with her extraordinary sensitivity to language and ability to communicate emotion through the expressive use of vocal color, not to mention her personal charisma, her star quality, and the irresistible force of her personality.
This recording of Mozart arias is thus a natural follow-up to the remarkable Handel album. Her partnership here with Sir Charles Mackerras lends her the wise and authoritative support of one of the great modern heroes of Mozart performance style and practice. It’s an added bonus that in the only duet on this album -- "Là ci darem la mano" from Don Giovanni -- Danielle is reunited after ten years with the great Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, who had also been in the Figaro in which she made her Met debut.
From the famously elaborate coloratura piece "Exsultate, jubilate" to the ever famous concert piece "Bella mia fiamma, addio!," Danielle displays her remarkable versatility and ability to demonstrate musical and emotional contrast. On the Mozart Album, she also explores other opera gems from Cosi fan tutte, Idomeneo, Don Giovanni, and more! (DECCA Records)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
1. I Exsultate, jubilate
2. II Fulgit amica dies
3. III Alleluja
4. Bella mia fiamma (Concert aria K.528)
5. Giunse al fin il momento ... Al desio di chi t'adora
6. Una donna a quindici anni (from "Così fan tutte" K.588)
7. Quando avran fine o mai ... Padre, germani, addio! (from "Idomeneo" K.366)
8. Ah Fuggi il Traditor (from "Don Giovanni" K.527)
9. Oh, temerario Arbace! ... Per quel paterno amplesso (Concert aria K.79)
10. L'amerò (from "Il re pastore" K.208)
11. La ci darem la mano (Duet with Bryn Terfel) (from "Don Giovanni" K.527)
12. Laudate Dominum (from "Vesperae solennes de Confessore" K.339)

Danielle de Niese

Orchestra fo the Age of Enlightenment

Sir Charles Mackerras

2009 Decca Music Group Limited

1 CD DDD

478 1511 DH

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J.S BACH Violin Concertos - Orchestral Suite No. 3 - Chaconne from Partita No. 2

The Times has written that Alina Ibragimova performs with "a mixture of total abandonment and total control that is in no way contradictory" and that she is "destined to be a force in the classical music firmament for decades to come".

With repertoire extending from baroque to contemporary works, Alina's recent engagements have included her BBC Proms debut with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Philharmonia, HR Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt and the City of Birmingham Symphony, with conductors including Sir Charles Mackerras, Osmo Vänskä, Yannick Nèzet-Séguin, Jac van Steen and Gianandrea Noseda.

Alina made her debut as soloist/director with the Kremerata Baltica during Salzburg Mozartwoche 2005, and has since performed with the Kremerata and Gidon Kremer at Salle Pleyel Paris, Mozartwoche 2008, and the Salzburg, Verbier and MDR Musiksommer festivals. She also collaborates regularly as soloist/director with the Britten Sinfonia and recently toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, directing from the violin. Alina has performed solo recitals, duo recitals, and chamber music, at the Musée du Louvre Paris, Wigmore Hall London, for NHK Television in Japan and at festivals including Salzburg, Verbier, City of London, Lockenhaus, Heimbach, Aldeburgh and Moritzburg. She was a member of the BBC New Generation Artists Scheme 2005-7, appearing frequently on BBC Radio 3 and with all the BBC orchestras.

Born in Russia in 1985, Alina is a former pupil of the Moscow Gnesin and Yehudi Menuhin schools, and the Royal College of Music London. Her teachers have included Natasha Boyarsky, Adrian Butterfield for baroque and classical violin, and Gordan Nikolitch. Alina continues her studies with Christian Tetzlaff as part of the Kronberg Academy Masters. (www.alinaibragimova.com)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major BWV 1068
1) Ouverture [5:59]
2) Air [4:17]
3) Gavotte I - II [3:24]
4) Bourrée [1:07]
5) Gigue [2:41]
Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor BWV 1041*
6) Allegro moderato [3:40]
7) Andante [5:06]
8) Allegro assai [3:26]
Violin Concerto No. 2 in E major BWV 1042*
9) Allegro [7:09]
10) Adagio [6:05]
11) Allegro assai [2:29]
12) Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D minor BWV 1004* [14:37]

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Alina Ibragimova, violin*
Nicholas Kraemer, harpsichord / director

2007 BBC
1 CD DDD
BBC MM284

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Steve Reich DRUMMING (reuploaded)

For one year, between the fall of 1970 and the fall of 1971, I worked on what turned out to be the longest piece I have ever composed. Drumming lasts for about one and a half hours and is divided into four parts that are performed without pause. The first section is for four pairs of tuned bongo drums, stand-mounted and played with sticks, together with male voice, the second for three marimbas and female voices, the third for three glockenspiels, whistling and piccolo, and the last section for all these instruments and voices combined. I chose instruments that are all now commonly available in Western countries (though the bongo drums originate in Latin America, the marimbas in Africa, and the glockenspiel ultimately derives from the instruments of Indonesia), tuned to our own tempered diatonic scale, and used them musically within the context of my own previous works.

Six Pianos (1973) grew out of the idea I had for several years to do a piece for all the pianos in a piano store. The piece which actually resulted is a bit more modest in scope since too many pianos (especially if they are very large grands) can begin to sound thick and unmanageable. Using six smaller grands or spinet pianos made it possible to play the fast, rhythmically intricate kind of music I am drawn to while at the same time allowing the players to be physically close together so as to hear each other clearly.

While working on Six Pianos I also began another piece that seemed to grow very spontaneously from one simple marimba pattern to many patterns played by different instruments. Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ was completed in May 1973, and deals with two simultaneous, inter-related rhythmic processes. (Steve Reich, 1974)

Steve Reich (*1936)

CD 1:

Drumming

1) Part I (24:35)

2) Part II (25:19)

3) Part III (15:40)

CD 2:

1) Part IV (18:57)

2) Six Pianos (24:14)

3) Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ (18:32)

1974 Polydor International GmbH, Hamburg

2 CD ADD

427 428-2 GC2

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Steve Reich DIFFERENT TRAINS - ELECTRIC COUNTERPOINT (reuploaded)

Different Trains (1988) for string quartet and tape begins a new way of composing that has its roots in my early taped speech pieces It's Gonna Rain (1965) and Come Out (1966). The basic idea is that speech recordings generate the musical material for musical instruments.

The concept for the piece comes from my childhood. When I was one year old, my parents separated. My mother moved to Los Angeles and my father stayed in New York. Since they arranged divided custody, I traveled back and forth by train frequently between New York and Los Angeles from 1939 to 1942 accompanied by my governess. While these trips were exciting and romantic at the time, I now look back and think that , if I had been in Europe during this period , as a Jew I would have had to ride very different trains. With this in mind I wanted to make a piece that would accurately reflect the whole situation. In order to prepare the tape, I had to do the following:

1.- Record my governess Virginia, now in her seventies, reminiscing about our train trips together.

2.- Record a retired Pullman porter, Lawrence Davis, now in his eighties, who used to ride lines between New York and Los Angeles, reminiscing about his life.

3.- Collect recordings of Holocaust survivors Rachella, Paul and Rachel - all about my age and now living in America - speaking of their experiences.

4.- Collect recorded American and European trains sounds of the 1930s and '40s.

In order to combine the taped speech with the string instruments I selected small speech samples that are more or less clearly pitched and then notated them accurately as possible in musical notation.

The strings then literally imitate that speech melody. The speech samples as well as the train sounds were transferred to tape with the use of sampling keyboards and a computer. Kronos then made four separate string quartet recordings which were combined with the speech and train sounds to create the finished work. (Steve Reich, August 1988)

In Electric Counterpoint the soloist pre-records as many as ten guitars and two electric bass parts and then plays the final 11th guitar part live against the tape. I would like to thank Pat Metheny for showing me how to improve the piece by making it more idiomatic for the guitar.

Electric Counterpoint is in three movements -fast, slow, fast- played one after the other without phase. It was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival for guitarist Pat Metheny. It was composed during the summer of 1987. The duration is about 15 minutes. It is the third in a series of pieces dealing with soloists playing against pre-recorded tapes of themselves. (Steve Reich, September 1987)

Different Trains (1988) will probably go down in history as Reich's masterpiece. And deservedly so. Reich's phase-shifting minimalism is made dazzlingly entertaining in Different Trains, which is scored for string quartet and digitally sampled voices that repeat bits of speech concerning trains and Reich's experience with them growing up. The sinister part here is than some trains carried Jews to death camps. That's here as well. The Kronos Quartet has also never sounded better. Electric Counterpoint (1987) has one guitar--Pat Metheny in this case-- playing to 10 pre-recorded motifs, also on guitar. You absolutely need this. (Paul Cook)

STEVE REICH

Different Trains

1) America-Before the war (8:59)

2) Europe-During the war (7:31)

3) After the war (10:20)

Kronos Quartet:

David Harrington, violin

John Sherba, violin

Hank Dutt, viola

Joan Jeanrenaud, cello

Electric Counterpoint

4) Fast (6:51)

5) Slow (3:21)

6) Fast (4:29)

Pat Metheny, guitar

1989 Elektra/Asylum/Nonesuch Records

1 CD DDD

9 79176-2

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Kronos Quartet plays TERRY RILEY Salome Dances for Peace (reuploaded)

"The idea for Salome Dances for Peace came out of an improvisation on a theme from The Harp of New Albion. I realized this was potentially a whole new piece. Around that time, David Harrington called me and asked me to write another string quartet."
"I thought that it should be a ballet about Salome using her allurring powers to actually create peace in the world. So Salome in this case becomes like a goddess who - drawn out of antiquity: having done evil kinds of deeds - reincarnates and is trained as a sorceress, as a shaman. And through her dancing, she is able to become both a warrior and an influence on the world leader's actions."
"What I do is to make many, many minute sketches of ideas and file them away, and at some as I'm writing, one of those ideas will be rhe right one for the time. I trust the fact that anything that occurs to me is related to whatever occurred to me before."
"All of the kinds of music that appear in my string quartets are the kinds of music that I personally love, and I don't necessarily keep them in separate cabinets. One of the challenges, in fact, is to bring things you love together to live harmoniously. It also creates an understanding of how the notes work. These styles all have their particular flavors and expressions but they can be united. Notes all work under certain universal laws, they observe laws just like everyrhing else in the universe does."
"To me it's all a unified field. It's the general search we're going through now in physics, trying to find a unified theory. I think for a musician that is also relevant and works towards evolving new, deeper and richer musical traditions."
"I'm always trying to find ways that I can, besides doing music, contribute to world peace, or maybe neighborhood peace or home peace. I told David when we first satrted that I thought we ought to create a piece that can be played at the United Nations on special holidays. It would not be just a concert piece but a piece that could be played as a rite." (TERRY RILEY, FROM A CONVERSATION WITH MARK SWED)

Terry Riley (1935 - )

Salome Dances for Peace

CD 1:
I. Anthem of the Great Spirit

1) The Summons
2) Peace Dance
3) Fanfare in the Minimal Kingdom
4) Ceremonial Night Race
5) At the Ancient Aztec Corn Races Salome Meets Wild Talker
6) More Ceremonial Races
7) Oldtimer at the Races
8) Half Wolf Dances Mad in Moonlight
II. Conquest of the War Demons

9) Way of the Warrior
10) Salome and Half Wolf Descend Through the Gates to the Undeworld

11) Breakthrough to the Realm of the War Demons
12) Combat Dance
13) Salome Re-enacts for Half Wolf Her Deeds of Valor
14) Discovery of Peace
15) The Underworld Arising

CD 2:

III. The Gift

1) Echoes of Primordial Time
2) Mongolian Winds
IV. The Ecstasy

3) Processional
4) Seduction of the Bear Father
5) The Gathering
6)At the Summit
7) Recessional
V. Good Medicine

8) Good Medicine Dance

KRONOS QUARTET:

David Harrington, violin

John Sherba, violin

Hank Dutt, viola

Joan Jeanrenaud, cello

1989 Elektra/Nonesuch

2 CDs DDD

9 79217-2

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Kronos Quartet AT THE GRAVE OF RICHARD WAGNER (reuploaded)

In 1973, David Harrington was inspired to form Kronos after hearing George Crumb's Black Angels, a highly unorthodox, Vietnam War-inspired work featuring bowed water glasses, spoken word passages, and electronic effects. Kronos then began building a compellingly diverse repertoire for string quartet, performing and recording works by 20th-century masters (Bartók, Shostakovich, Webern), contemporary composers (Sofia Gubaidulina, Arvo Pärt, Alfred Schnittke), jazz legends (Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk), and artists from even farther afield (rock guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, Indian vocal master Pandit Pran Nath, avant-garde saxophonist John Zorn).

Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886)
1) At the Grave of Richard Wagner (2:47)

Alban Berg (1885 - 1935)

String Quartet, Op. 3 (19:03)

2) I

3) II

Anton Webern (1883- 1945)

Five Pieces, Op. 5 (10:38)

4) I

5) II

6) III

7) IV

8) V

KRONOS QUARTET:

David Harrington, violin

John Sherba, violin

Hank Dutt, viola

Joan Jeanrenaud, cello
Aki Takahashi, piano

Marcella DeCray, harp

1993 ELEKTRA/NONESUCH

1 CD DDD

979318

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Steve Roach YOU ARE (VARIATIONS) (reuploaded)

You Are (Variations) is scored for three sopranos, alto, and two tenors, with two flutes, oboe, english horn, three Bb Clarinets, four pianos, two marimbas, two vibraphones, and strings. The overall duration is a little more than 26 minutes. The piece was co-commissioned by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lincoln Center, and the Friends of the Ensemble Modern.
Cello Counterpoint (2003) is scored for eight cellos and can be played by a soloist with the other parts prerecorded, as it is on this CD by Maya Beiser, or by a cello octet. It is in three movements: fast, slow, fast.

Steve Reich was recently called "America’s greatest living composer." (The Village VOICE), “...the most original musical thinker of our time” (The New Yorker) and “...among the great composers of the century” (The New York Times).. From his early taped speech pieces It's Gonna Rain (1965) and Come Out (1966) to his and video artist Beryl Korot’s digital video opera Three Tales (2002), Steve Reich's path has embraced not only aspects of Western Classical music, but the structures, harmonies, and rhythms of non-Western and American vernacular music, particularly jazz. "There's just a handful of living composers who can legitimately claim to have altered the direction of musical history and Steve Reich is one of them," states The Guardian (London).
This CD was chosen by The New York Times as one of the top albums of 2005.

Steve Reich (1936 - )
You Are (Variations)
1) You Are Wherever Your Thoughts Are (13:14)

2) ShivitiHashen 'Negdi (I Place The Eternal Before Me) (4:15)

3) Explanations Come To An End Somewhere (5:24)

4) Ehmor M'Aht, V'Ahsay Harbay (Say Little And Do Much) (4:04)

Los Angeles Master Chorale

Grant Gershon, Conductor

5) Cello Counterpoint (11:31)
Maya Beiser, cello

2005Nonesuch Records

1 CD DDD

79891-2

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Lisa Batiashvili SIBELIUS / LINDBERG Violin Concertos

It's been said that Magnus Lindberg forges his works more from harmony and rhythm than from unfolding melodic lines, and the celestial acrobatics of this neatly constructed Violin Concerto, a real star-burst of a piece, tend to bear out that theory. It was premiered last year in New York, the soloist, as here, Lisa Batiashvili, whose agility and tonal sweetness serve as an ideal foil for the blinding colours on Lindberg's constantly shifting canvas. The work opens like a bright light descending, the soloist a first among equals who, beyond her brief cadenza, witnesses a gradual darkening of orchestral texture. The harmonic complexion can be either ravishing or dissonant, and the range of musical gesture, from ethereal reverie to Bart Olcian dance is consistently pipping. The breathless stream of invention recalls Lindberg's similarly hyperactive Clarinet Concerto and I can't image that anyone who enjoyed that work wouldn't also relish this one.

Sibelius's Concerto provides a comforting disc companion, especially as the performance so memorably focuses on the dreamier elements of the first movement. Batiashvili bows a seamless, sensual line, her tone smooth as silk. Sakari Oramo conducts a cleanly detailed and warmly articulated accompaniment, stronger on pulse than on drama, and at times sounding almost like chamber music. Those who like their Sibelius flinty or roughhewn might find this reading just a little too civilised, though for me the joy of hearing everything so considerately thought through and "joined up" more than compensates for a lack of elemental drive. In any case it's the Lindberg that makes this disc unmissable. (Rob Cowan)

Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957)
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47
1)Allegro moderato (16:17)
2) Adagio di molto (8:33)
3) Allegro, ma non tanto (7:36)
Magnus Lindberg (1958 - )
Violin Concerto
4) 1st movement (12:04)
5) 2nd movement (10:07)
6) 3rd movement (3:45)

Lisa Batiashvili, violin
Finnish Radio Smphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo

2007 SONY Classics
1 CD DDD
1293623

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Jonas Kaufmann SEHNSUCHT

The German national newspaper, Der Spiegel, has said of Jonas Kaufmann: “not only does he sing with a wonderfully smooth, warm, and masculine voice, [but] he also looks dammed good”. And Kaufmann is indeed a record company’s dream: his darkly smouldering pin-up looks ensure mass market appeal, but they come attached to a voice that is desired by opera houses of the stature of Covent Garden and La Scala. His second solo album for Decca is of German operatic operas and is conducted by Claudio Abbado. This is not only Abbado’s first vocal recording for Decca, but also his first Decca recording for over 40 years, and Kaufman has certainly made it worth his while.

Arias from Wagner’s Lohengrin, Die Walkure and Parsifal make up half of Kaufmann’s programme, after which Mozart is represented by Die Zauberflöte ("The Magic Flute”), and Beethoven by Fidelio. So far, so recognisable. However, Kaufmann also throws in two operas by Schubert. Whilst Fierrabras is still occasionally staged, Alfonso und Estrella isn’t, having always been considered to be dramatically weak despite featuring some great music. Kaufmann’s tender performance of “Schoen, wenn es beginnt zu tagen” would quite possibly be enough to persuade a brave opera house to take it on, though. In fact, the promise of his voice could probably persuade opera houses to do a great many things they hadn’t previously intended to do.

Aside from the smooth, warm masculinity described by Der Spiegel, he has enormous versatility, helped by a voice that, whilst tenor, has the deep tone and resonance of a baritone. In Die Zauberflöte, the fact that flute-playing Tamino is desperate for a little wife and larks around a bit means he’s often cast as the puppy-like light relief. Kaufmann’s performance here, partly through his dramatic reading and partly through his deep tone, lends Tamino unusual nobility. These qualities also make Kaufmann the perfect Wagnerian tenor, his voice soaring above Wagner’s lush orchestral textures, and dramatically upping the ante for the many heart-on-sleeve climaxes.

Meanwhile, the orchestra and choir under Abbado provide a perfectly matched accompaniment, picking up and colouring the moods and tones set by Kaufmann. (Charlotte Gardner, BBC)

Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883)

1) Lohengrin/Act 3 - "In Fernem Land, Unnahbar Euren Schritten"
2) Lohengrin/Act 3 - "Mein Lieber Schwan!"
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)

3) Die Zauberflöte, K.620/Act 1 - "Dies Bildnis Ist Bezaubernd Schön"
4) Die Zauberflöte, K.620/Act 1 - "Die Weisheitslehre Dieser Knaben"

Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)
5) Fierrabras, D796/Act 1 - Recitativ Und Arie: "Was Quälst Du Mich..."
6) Alfonso Und Estrella, D.732 - Schon, Wenn Es Beginnt Zu Tragen...Und Mein Herz Will Ihm Nach
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)

7) Fidelio Op.72/Act 2 - "Gott! Welch Dunkel Hier!" In Des Lebens Frühlingstagen"
Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883)

8) Die Walküre/Erster Aufzug - Winterstürme Wichen Dem Wonnemond
9) Parsifal/Act 2 - "Amfortas! Die Wunde!"
10) Parsifal/Act 3 - "Nur Eine Waffe Taugt"

Jonas Kaufmann

Mahler Chamber Orchestra

Claudio Abbado

2009 DECCA Record Co.

1 CD DDD

478 1463 4

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Chloë Hanslip JENÖ HUBAY Violin Concertos

Jenö Hubay's violin concertos -- there are four of them -- have been recorded twice before in the digital era, most conspicuously by Hagai Shaham for Hyperion and Vilmos Szabadi for Hungaraton. Considered the father of the Hungarian violin school, Hubay is best known for the folk-flavored "Hejre Kato, Op. 32/4," which comes from his series of single pieces "Scènes de la Csàrda." Before 2000, recordings of Hubay's violin concertos were quite rare; during the LP era only the "Violin Concerto No. 3 in G minor, Op. 99," was issued in the West, as recorded by Aaron Rosand for Vox in 1972. Needless to say, with this sort of famine turned into a near feast, one can be relatively selective in picking among the various offerings for these works. Naxos has brought out one of its big guns to bear on Hubay in recording English violin sensation Chloë Hanslip in its Jenö Hubay: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2; can concertos No. 3 and No. 4 be far behind?

There's a reason these concertos aren't done very often. Hubay's short pieces are great, affording a soloist the opportunity to show off some flash in 6-10 minutes; moreover, these pieces are ripe with the Hungarian folk idiom that seldom fails to please an audience. The concertos are different, however; the technical requirements of Hubay's large-scale works are almost ridiculous, and for the average soloist to keep this level of execution up for a full half hour is as much a test of endurance as virtuosity. While Hubay may have been a great violinist, he was only a fair orchestrator and particularly in the "Concerto No. 2" the operetta-styled orchestration can sound a little cloying over time and competes to some extent with the soloist. What Hanslip brings to this project is youth and starry-eyed enthusiasm; her violin blazes with energy throughout this supreme test of her ability; the "Dramatique" concerto (No. 1) is just that. The shorter pieces are pulled off with gusto and aplomb. With Andrew Mogrelia and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Hanslip has a far more sympathetic accompaniment than the ratty band that supports Szabadi on the Hungaraton, though it is not as smooth and sleek as the BBC Scottish under Martyn Brabbins that backs Shaham on Hyperion. Shaham also benefits somewhat by virtue of greater familiarity with the material and the Hungarian violin idiom in general; his performances are assured and confident, whereas Hanslip's are at times impulsive, though not without a certain refreshing spontaneity and sense of discovery that's attractive.

It is no secret that Naxos has an enormous standing catalog, and when new artists come aboard they need to find ways to avoid duplicating what's already in the catalog. With Hanslip's next Naxos album, they really ought to let her record the Beethoven concerto or whatever else she really loves and knows like the back of her hand. Because as good a job as she does on Jenö Hubay: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2, it still sounds like a lot of work. (Uncle Dave Lewis)

Jenö Hubay (1858 - 1937)
Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor ("Dramatique"), Op. 21
1) Allegro Appassionato (11:33)
2) Adagio ma non tanto (11:01)
3) Allegro con brio (7:56)
4) Scenes From Czardas No. 3 for violin & piano ("Maros Vize"), Op. 18 (7:13)
5) Scenes From Czardas No. 4 for violin & piano ("Hejre Kati"), Op. 32 (6:19)
Violin Concerto No. 2 in E major, Op. 90
6) Allegro con fuoco (11:10)
7) Larghetto (9:13)
8) Allegro no troppo (6:22)


Chloë Hanslip, violin
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Mogrelia


2009 Naxos Rights International Ltd.
1 CD DDD
8.572078


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Natalie Clein | Charles Owen BRAHMS / SCHUBERT

In 1994 at the age of 17 cellist Natalie Clein won the Young Musician of the Year contest and was the first British winner of the Eurovision Competition for Young Musicians. She did not rush into a solo recording career, but concentrated on studies with the great cellist and conductor Heinrich Schiff, as well as developing an international concert reputation performing with top orchestras and collaborating with superstars such as Martha Argerich, Ian Bostridge and Steven Isserlis.
A decade on Clein has issued her first solo recording, broaching the challenging central romantic repertoire of Brahms; two cello sonatas, together with Schubert's Arpeggione sonata. Accompanied by rising piano star Charles Owen the result is a disc which belies the relative youth of its performers with music-making not only of great lyrical beauty, but also of mature thoughtfulness and unguarded intimacy. A most rewarding debut recital which points to an outstanding career ahead.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Cello Sonata No. 2 in F Op. 99
1) I. Allegro vivace
2) II. Adagio affettuoso
3) III. Allegro passionato
4) IV. Allegro molto
Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)
Arpeggione Sonata in A minor D821
5) I. Allegro moderato
6. II. Adagio -
7. III. Allegretto 8:45
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor Op. 38
8) I. Allegro non troppo
9) II. Allegretto quasi Menuetto
10) III. Allegro

Natalie Clein, Cello
Charles Owen, Piano

2004 EMI Records Ltd.
1 CD DDD
586 1462

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Sarah Chang DVORAK Violin Concerto / Piano Quintet

When music lovers talk about the great violin concertos, Dvorák's almost always takes a back seat to those by Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and even Bruch. Still, the concerto has received a fair share of top-notch recordings over the years -- including those by Maxim Vengerov and Itzhak Perlman, among others -- but none is as convincing as this one by Sarah Chang. Chang's ardent, sweet-toned playing is absolutely beguiling, making one wonder how such a tuneful, richly romantic piece like this could ever be taken for granted. Colin Davis's sensitive, surefooted conducting and the warm response of the London Symphony also deserve full marks. EMI's flawless engineering is icing on the cake. The coupling is an inspired choice, too (and unusually generous) -- a rhapsodic performance of Dvorák's Piano Quintet, featuring the brilliant Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and two members of the Berlin Philharmonic. Suppleness and spontaneity are the keywords here, making this old chamber music chestnut sound utterly fresh. Don't be surprised to find this ear-opening disc on many "Best of 2003" lists. (Andrew Farach-Colton)

Antonín Dvorák (1841 - 1904)

Violin Concerto, Op. 53 (B108)

1) I Allegro, ma non troppo - Quasi moderato - (12:08)

2) II Adagio, ma non troppo (11:12)

3) III Finale: Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo (10:25)

Sarah Chang

London Symphony Orchestra

Sir Colin Davis

Piano Quintet, OP, 81 (B155)

4) I Allegro, ma non tanto (14:00)

5) II Dumka: Andante con moto - Un pochettino piú mosso - Tempo I - Vivace (quasi l'istesso tempo) - Tempo I (12:24)

6) III Scherzo (Furiant): Molto vivace - poco tranquillo - Tempo I (3:56)

7) IV Finale: Allegro (7:48)

Leif Ove Andsnes, piano

Sarah Chang, violin

Alexander Kerr, violin

Wolfram Christ, viola

Georg Faust, violoncello

2003 EMI Classics

1 CD DDD

5 57439 2

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ODE TO FREEDOM Bernstein in Berlin BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9

"Ode To Freedom" is the headline on the cover of this latest version of the Ninth Symphony from Leonard Bernstein, a live recording of the Christmas morning performance he conducted in East Berlin, setting a seal on the historic happenings of the previous few weeks. As the list above indicates, musicians not just from East and West Germany but from Leningrad, New York, Paris and London were playing in the orchestra, and fairly enough Bernstein made the occasion the more explicitly symbolic by replacing Schiller's word, "Freude" ("Joy") in the choral finale with "Freiheit" ("Freedom"). When both Schiller and Beethoven were working in a political climate suspicious of anything that even remotely implied revolution, 'Joy' was a much safer word, but in it they plainly had freedom in mind too.
What is fascinating, particularly for those who have followed Bernstein as a Beethoven interpreter, is how different this is from his previous accounts of the Ninth on record. The last one, made with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1979 as part of his Beethoven cycle for DG, was also a live recording, but one edited in Bernstein's usual manner from several performances, and tidied up in the hall at a separate closed session. Inevitably there are flaws of ensemble as well as audience and other noises in the new recording, taken without editing from a single performance, but it is remarkable, particularly in the choral finale, how much more intensely the atmosphere of a live performance is captured. I am rather reminded of Furtwãngler's live EMI recording, made at the reopening of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus in 1951 and Bernstein, like Furtwdngler, seems to have been encouraged by the very weight of the occasion to adopt unusually slow speeds, markedly slower in all four movements than those he favoured in 1979, or for that matter in his earlier New York recording for CBS.
In the first movement it was a point I registered from the very opening, even before I checked the overall timings for the movement-17'50" this time against 15'15". The discrepancy is far less in the scherzo, and Bernstein compensates by omitting the first repeat, which last time he observed.
The differences in the slow movement are more complex. The opening statement of the first theme is even more rapt and hushed than before, and seems slower but in fact is not so. Only later in the movement—after a marked contrast of speed, as before, for the Andante second theme—does the new performance bring an extra expansiveness, so that in this movement too the overall timing is amazingly different, 20'12" against 17'45".
Though the first movement this time is less tautly dramatic than in the much faster 1979 performance, the concentration remains keen. In the scherzo the easier tempo makes for extra clarity and lightness, and in the slow movement the more spacious reading brings extra warmth, with Bernstein readier to indulge in affectionate phrasing and expressive tenutos. If the recitatives in the finale are less tense than in 1979, the chaos music is even more vividly dramatic with the horns well caught. All through the symphony the sound has satisfying weight, openness and sense of presence. There are oddities of balance in the choral finale, but the wonder is that the engineers have conveyed the feeling of a big choir with its fullness and freshness, so well. The Dutch bass, Jan-Hendrik Rootering, makes a superb impact with his first entry, and the word "Freiheit" comes over very clearly. The solo quartet is a strong one, though almost inevitably ensemble and matching are not always good.
What matters is that the excitement of a unique event is vividly caught. On CDV this could be a winner too, an issue to get the adventurous collector investigating the new medium. Vision would also help one to pass over what some may find irritating in this recording—the rather close bumps and bangs which I assume were caused by the conductor himself in his more balletic moments. As it is, Bernstein's Berlin Ninth may not match Furtwangler's as a supreme revelation, but it too is an unusually moving reading, one which fittingly reflects in its depth of emotional conviction the occasion which it crowned. E.G.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
Symphony No.9 in D minor, Op.125 - "Choral"
1) 1. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso [18:04]
2) 2. Molto vivace [10:43]
3) 3. Adagio molto e cantabile [20:14]
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Members of the Staatskapelle Dresden
Members of the Kirov Orchestra, Leningrad
Members Of The London Symphony Orchestra
Members Of The New York Philharmonic
Members of the Orchestre de Paris
Leonard Bernstein
4) 4. Presto - Allegro assai[28:57]
June Anderson
Sarah Walker
Klaus König
Jan-Hendrik Rootering
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Members of the Staatskapelle Dresden
Members of the Kirov Orchestra, Leningrad
Members Of The London Symphony Orchestra
Members Of The New York Philharmonic
Members of the Orchestre de Paris
Leonard Bernstein
Bavarian Radio Chorus
Berlin Radio Chorus
Dresden Philharmonic Childrens Chorus
Wolfgang Seeliger

1990 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH
1 CD DDD
429 8612 1 GH

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BEETHOVEN Tripelkonzert / Ouvertüren: Egmont - Coriolan - Fidelio

Few repertory works present such formidable problems of balance as the Triple Concerto, both to the performers and to the engineers. This first CD version, remastered from an analogue original, underlines those problems, for though the soloists are less forwardly placed than on most rival versions, they are plainly well in front of the orchestra. Microphone placing made necessary by the soloists may also account for the fact that orchestral tuttis are far less transparent than we have grown used to, particularly on CD. The sound effectively brings out Karajan's view of this concerto as a work of high, dramatic contrasts. Though he is plainly the master, the individuality of the three excellent young soloists comes over very positively, even if this was one of the rare occasions when Yo-Yo Ma's intonation was not always centre-of-the-note, a point underlined by the precision of CD. Ensemble is not always so crisp as on rival versions.
The three overtures, making a worthwhile fillup on CD, come from much earlier recordings, and though tuttis have a touch of stridency, the sound is otherwise very acceptable, with the Berlin Philharmonic made to sound mellower than in latterday recordings, thanks to a warm, helpful reverberation, apt for the massiveness of Karajan's readings. (E. G., Gramophone / August 1985)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
Concerto for Piano, Violin, and Cello in C, Op.56
1) 1. Allegro [17:48]
2) 2. Largo - attacca [5:50]
3) 3. Rondo alla Polacca [12:32]
Anne-Sophie Mutter

Mark Zeltser

Yo-Yo Ma

Berliner Philharmoniker

Herbert von Karajan
4) Music to Goethe's Tragedy "Egmont" op.84 [8:21]
5) Overture "Coriolan", Op.62 [9:00]
6) Overture "Fidelio", Op.72c [6:55]
Berliner Philharmoniker

Herbert von Karajan

1985 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg

1 CD ADD

415 2762 2 GH

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Argerich / Pletnev PROKOFIEV Cinderella Suite / RAVEL Ma Mère l'Oye

As her fans know, Martha Argerich often prefers the duo-piano format to performing solo, and the musical chemistry she shares with Mikhail Pletnev on this recording provides plenty of justification for this choice. Especially in the suite from Serge Prokofiev's ballet Cinderella -- nine numbers from the orchestral score transcribed by Pletnev himself -- the two come together in such unity that only the sheer number of notes gives away the fact that more than one pianist is at work. They communicate the humor and poignancy of Prokofiev's music vividly, and there's no shortage of fireworks in the virtuoso dances. A worthy addition to the duo-piano repertoire, Pletnev's transcription is a delight from start to finish. Maurice Ravel's Ma Mère l'Oye (Mother Goose) is also better known in its orchestral form. In this case, however, Ravel composed the version for four-hand piano first, only later arranging the score for orchestra (and expanding it into a ballet). Ravel's fairy tales have an air of impressionistic mystery that Prokofiev's harder-edged fable lacks, with Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, and the other characters making their appearances through a veil of nostalgia for childhood's lost innocence. Still, Mother Goose makes a perfect disc-mate for Cinderella, not least because it gives us the opportunity to hear another sublime performance from Pletnev and Argerich, whose artistry captures the essence of both of these exquisite voyages into the land of make-believe. (Scott Paulin)

Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953)
Cinderella, Op.87
Suite from the Ballet: Transcribed for 2 Pianos by Mikhail Pletnev
1) Introduction. Andante dolce [2:33]
2) Quarrel. Allegretto [3:28]
3) Winter. Adagio [4:14]
4) Spring. Vivace con brio [2:04]
5) Cinderella's Valse. Andante - Allegretto [6:05]
6) Gavotte. Allegretto [2:23]
7) Gallop. Presto [4:13]
8) Valse lente. Adagio [4:27]
9) Finale. Allegro moderato [6:07]
Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937)
Ma mère l'oye
for Piano Duet
10) 1. Pavane de la Belle au bois dormant [1:27]
11) 2. Petit Poucet [2:29] $ 1.29
12) 3. Laideronnette, Impératrice des Pagodes [2:56]
13) 4. Les entretiens de la Belle et de la Bête [4:10]
14) 5. Le jardin féerique [3:05]

Martha Argerich
Mikhail Pletnev

2004 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
1 CD DDD
474 8172 0 GH

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Daniel Grossman & Ensemble 28 EROICA

This is not a stunt. It is true that Beethoven premiered the "Eroica" with what he thought was a formidable ensemble consisting of 28 players, so in fact the appropriately named Ensemble 28 is just the right size for the work. But, even in these post-period instrument days, the very idea of having the "Eroica" performed with only eight violins -- two each of violas, cellos, and basses -- pairs of winds and trumpets, plus a trio of horns and tympani when double or triple that is the norm does at first seem rather like a stunt.
But listen to it! Under the direction of young German conductor Daniel Grossmann, Ensemble 28 performs the "Eroica" with unimaginable energy and unbelievable intensity. Its sound is lean and tight, its tone is strong and supple, its enthusiasm is immense and infectious. The group surges through the opening Allegro con brio, races through the Scherzo, and rides the closing Allegro molto to triumph. Some listeners might object that Grossmann's tempo of the "Marcia funèbre" is perhaps too quick for an Adagio assai. But while the movement's sense of massive monumentality may be slightly diminished, its feeling of great-hearted grandeur is enormously increased. And, moreover, a faster "Marcia funèbre" fits better with the rest of Grossmann's irresistibly driven interpretation. While this shouldn't be the first or even the 10th "Eroica" one should hear -- try Furtwängler's, Toscanini's, Walter's, Klemperer's, Kleiber's, and Szell's, then Karajan's, Solti's, Abbado's, and maybe Bernstein's -- but anyone who loves the work and knows it by heart will want to hear this recording. Preiser's 2004 digital sound is big, bright, and brilliant. (James Leonard)

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Symphonie Nr. 3 Es-dur op. 55 "Eroica"
1) Allegro con brio
2) Marcia funebre. Adagio assai
3) Scherzo. Allegro vivace
4) Finale. Allegro molto

Daniel Grossman

Ensemble 28

2005 Preiser Records
1 CD DDD

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