Angela Hewitt BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas Op 10 No. 2 - Op 26 - Op 27 No. 2 "Moonlight" - Op 90

Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt made her reputation with fine, distinctive recordings of Bach and other Baroque composers, treated pianistically but not anachronistically. Baroque specialists who record Classical and Romantic music, especially that of Beethoven, tend to generate unorthodox results; exhibit A was Hewitt's fellow Canadian Glenn Gould. Hewitt has undertaken her own Beethoven piano sonata cycle, and while her readings are not outrageous like Gould's, they're perhaps part of the same general family. Her approach is quiet almost throughout; the sharp accents in the finales of the "Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, Moonlight," and in the "Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major, Op. 26," seem to come out of nowhere because her touch up to that point has been so gentle. At times she makes Beethoven sound almost like Bach, and this is all to the good in the outer movements of the "Piano Sonata No. 10 in F major, Op. 10/2," where all kinds of details of counterpoint show up and remind us that Beethoven took on Vienna's top contrapuntist, Albrechtsberger, as a teacher. In the more Schubertian late "Piano Sonata in E minor, Op. 90," Hewitt's gossamer textures may be a matter of taste, but there's no question that she executes fully thought-out interpretations that could, if they strike the listener in the right way, be quite hypnotic. If you're wondering about the program and the unusual placement of the early "Moonlight" sonata at the end, Hewitt cheerfully explains in her own notes (in English, French, and German) that no particular principle other than including one famous sonata along with a group of less familiar ones governed her choice. Not everyone's cup of tea, but on balance a recording that will certainly satisfy Hewitt fans and may well make her some new ones. (James Manheim, Rovi)

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata in A flat major, Op 26
1) Movement 1a: Andante con variazioni [1'12]
2) Movement 1b: Variation I [1'07]
3) Movement 1c: Variation II [0'55]
4) Movement 1d: Variation III [1'14]
5) Movement 1e: Variation IV [0'56]
6) Movement 1f: Variation V [1'45]
7) Movement 2: Scherzo. Allegro molto [2'45]
8) Movement 3: Marcia funebre sulla morte d'un eroe [6'09]
9) Movement 4: Allegro [3'06]
Piano Sonata in F major, Op 10 No 2
10) Movement 1: Allegro [8'23]
11) Movement 2: Allegretto [3'50]
12) Movement 3: Presto [4'04]
Piano Sonata in E minor, Op 90
13) Movement 1: Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck [5'37]
14) Movement 2: Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen [7'43]
Piano Sonata in C sharp minor 'Moonlight', Op 27 No 2
15) Movement 1: Adagio sostenuto [5'37]
16) Movement 2: Allegretto [2'05]
17) Movement 3: Presto agitato [7'15]

2010 Hyperion Records
1 CD DDD
CDA 67797

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Angela Hewitt BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas Op 13 "Pathétique" - Op 28 "Pastoral" - Op 2 No. 3

Angela Hewitt's Beethoven recordings for Hyperion will not be regarded as the most heroic, stormy, or passionate ever made, but her polished technique, transparent execution, and penetrating interpretations make her performances exciting to hear, even if they aren't frenzied, hair-pulling experiences. Hewitt is best known as a leading exponent of J.S. Bach's keyboard music, and her impeccable playing may seem better suited to the narrow range of expression in Baroque music than to the much greater mood swings of late Classical and early Romantic music, which are especially pronounced in Beethoven's works. Still, there is much to recommend Hewitt's playing in these three piano sonatas, where her clear lines and controlled dynamics give nuances and dimensions to the music, and place the emphasis on refinement over showiness and finesse over force. The delicacy of Hewitt's playing of the "Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major" is appealing, and the expressive details she finds in the "Piano Sonata in D major, Pastoral," are compelling and quite affecting; the most noticeable subtleties come in the "Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Pathétique," which Hewitt plays with suppleness, freshness, and clarity, and she almost makes one forget that this is one of Beethoven's most overworked warhorses. Hyperion's sound meets its highest standards, and the piano sounds crisp and clean in this resonant recording. (Blair Sanderson, Rovi)

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata in D major ‘Pastoral’ Op 28
1) Allegro [10'49]
2) Andante [6'46]
3) Scherzo: Allegro vivace [2'31]
4) Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo [4'47]
Piano Sonata in C minor ‘Pathétique’ Op 13
5) Grave — Allegro di molto e con brio [11'21]
6) Adagio cantabile [5'13]
7) Rondo: Allegro [5'02]
Piano Sonata in C major Op 2 No 3
8) Allegro con brio [10'38]
9) Adagio [7'55]
10) Scherzo: Allegro [3'33]
11) Allegro assai [5'36]

2007 Hyperion Records
1 CD DDD
CDA67605

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Angela Hewitt BEETHOVEN Piano sonatas Op 57 "Appassionata" - Op 10 No. 3 - Op 7

Angela Hewitt's first instalment in a projected Beethoven sonata cycle for Hyperion offers intelligent, stylish and often illuminating interpretations. The contrapuntal acumen she regularly brings to Bach suits Beethoven's linear trajectory, as borne out by Hewitt's astute (yet never fussy) care over inner voices and bass-lines. She takes Beethoven's characteristic dynamic contrasts on faith but not to extreme, discontinuous ends, while her ear for uncovering melodic outlines of rapid arpeggios ensures that these figurations don't sound "notey". In addition, Hewitt's strong left hand lends uncommon clarity and direction to passages such as the double notes in Op 10 No 3's first movement, or the motoric sequences 208" into Op 7's Rondo. Occasional telltale signs of pre-planning include Hewitt's tendency to hesitate a split second before Beethoven's trademark subito pianos, thereby softening one's sense of surprise. I also think her protracted treatment of Op 10 No 3's Largo would have benefited from Claudio Arrau's gravitas and sustaining power. Fusing poetry and passion, Hewitt lets her long hair down and her fingers run wild in the Appassionata's first movement. She continues with a brisk and well unified account of the central variations, and suffuses her powerful, headlong finale with cutting accents and perceptive modifications of the basic pulse. The Fazioli piano's lean bass and bright treble characterise the kind of timbral differentiation one often associates with instruments of Beethoven's time. (Jed Distler / Gramophone, November 2006)

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata in D majorOp 10 No 3
1) Presto [7'16]
2) Largo e mesto [11'02]
3) Menuetto: Allegro [2'38]
4) Rondo: Allegro [4'23]
Piano Sonata in E flat major Op 7
5)Allegro molto e con brio [8'22]
6) Largo, con gran espressione [8'28]
7) Allegro [4'49]
8) Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso [6'55]
Piano Sonata in F minor ‘Appassionata’Op 57
9) Allegro assai [9'22]
10) Andante con moto [5'46]
11) Allegro ma non troppo [8'15]

2006 Hyperion Records
1 CD DDD
CDA67518

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Sonia Wieder-Atherton CHANTS D'EST

It's impossible to avoid an aura of profound mournfulness, once Sonia Wieder-Atherton embarks on her mission of music-gathering from Central and Eastern Europe. The Sinfonia Varsovia, from Warsaw, provides a highly sensitive surround here, for what is essentially a cello showcase. The album is subtitled Songs from Slavic Lands, but its orientation isn't as folkloric as initial impressions might suggest. Traditional sounds are filtered through the studied compositional process, with the repertoire including works by Rachmaninov, Dohnányi, Prokofiev, Martinů and Mahler. A living composer, Franck Krawczyk, provides the longest work, as a midway centrepiece. There is also a pair of traditional Jewish songs to further broaden the palette.
The separate pieces are invariably episodic, but gradually make up a woven whole as they progress, building up a pseudo-suite of compatible atmospheres. Wieder-Atherton's sonorous tone always lies at the heart, her romantic flourishes taming an imagined gypsy wildness, slowing its expression down to an introverted hover. These songs might not feature any actual vocals, but the cello takes on a suitably singing role throughout. Alexander Tcherepnin's Tatar Dance is frustratingly brief, failing to hit three minutes, but it acts as a bridge into Franck Krawczyk's seven-part Jeux D'Infants. The composer might be barely 40 years old, but this work is completely in keeping with the older pieces that surround it, turning into a harrumphing waddle for oboe and clarinet, introducing theatrical percussion that suggests a tumbling clown. In a sudden schizophrenic switch, it develops a sincere sadness which marches on into Prokofiev's Field of the Dead.
Martinů's Variations on a Slovak Folksong provide the album's second extended section, once again passing through a variety of humours. Mahler follows, still morose, but with hope for the new dawning. Then, there's a short dervish romp to conclude, with another Jewish traditional dance tune. (Martin Longley)

Serge Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943)
1)Nunc dimittis, Vespers
Erno Dohnanyi (1877 - 1960)
Ruralia Hungarica, Op. 32B
2) Andante Rubato, Alla Zingaresca
3) Presto
Jewish traditional
4)Song in Remembrance of Schubert
Alexander Tcherepnin (1899 - 1977)
5) Tatar Dance
Franck Krawczyk (1969 -)
6) Jeux d'enfants, after Janacek's moravian songs #1
7) Jeux d'enfants, after Janacek's moravian songs #2
8) Jeux d'enfants, d'après les chants sur des poésies moraves #3
9) Jeux d'enfants, after Janacek's moravian songs #4
10) Jeux d'enfants, after Janacek's moravian songs #5
11) Jeux d'enfants, after Janacek's moravian songs #6
12) Jeux d'enfants, after Janacek's moravian songs #7
Serge Prokofiev (1891 - 1953)
13) Alexander, Nevsky, The Field of the Dead
Bohuslav Martinu (1890 - 1959)
Variations on a Slovac Folksong
14) Theme, Rubato
15) Variation 1, Moderato
16) Variation 2, Poco allegro
17) Variation 3, Moderato
18) Variation 4, Scherzo, Allegretto
19) Variation 5, Allegro
Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911)
20) Rückert-lieder, Ich bin des Welt abhanden gekommen
Jewish Traditional
21) Danse

Sonia Wieder-Atherton, cello
Sinfonia Varsovia
Christophe Mangou, conductor

2008 Naïve
1 CD DDD
V 5178

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'THE FAM'D ITALIAN MASTERS' Music for trumpets and strings from the Italian Baroque

No one has trawled through more 17thcentury instrumental music in the past 30 years than or Peter Holman. This programme reveals the extent of his referencing - as C and D major trumpet works are discriminatingly juxtaposed with an interesting panoply of string pieces in reflective relief, such as the affecting F minor Scarlatti Sonata. The trumpet works are rather more variable. Crispian Steele-Perkins has recorded many such discs for Hyperion in the past two decades and, frankly, there isn't that much good stuff left. While trumpet music in the Italy of the 1680s and 1690s was plentiful (and historically important for its blue-printing of concerto principles), only a few composers knew how to extend the limited harmonic constraints of the natural trumpet with the necessary elan and interest.
Stradella was one. If La Barcheggio is not quite in the league of his Sonata a 8 (a little masterpiece from Modena around 1675), then, like the Grossi piece, the instruments are still given arresting material. Steele-Perkins plays the latter with his inimitable range of colour and sensibility of articulation, not to mention a doleful mien in the slow sections. The Jacchini and Melani - and to a certain extent the pedestrian Torelli (though as Sergio Vartolo's three-disc marathon shows, there are better pieces) - are full of quick-silver dialogue but somewhat wearing after a while.
The Vivaldi, however, will open a few ears. What a revelation to hear this as a chamber concerto! The Parley have taken a calculated risk with an exposed single-string approach throughout but apart from some scrappy moments and rather blanket characterisation, the intimacy of concept rings true. Steele-Perkins is joined by the excellent and versatile Alison Balsom. They make an agreeable pair, timbrally suited and musically well-matched. (Jonathan Freeman-Attwood / Gramophone, September 2003)

Ferdinando Lazzari (1678-1754)
Sonata a 6 in D major
1) Movement 1: Presto e spicco [1'58]
2) Movement 2: Grave [0'35]
3) Movement 3: Canzona [0'59]
4) Movement 4: Grave [0'31]
5) Movement 5: Presto [1'40]
Maurizio Cazzati (1620-1677)
6) Sonata a 4 in G minor 'La sampiera' [3'36]
Andrea Grossi (fl1680-1690)
Sonata a 5 in D major Op 3 No 10
7) Movement 1: Vivace [1'11]
8) Movement 2: Adagio [2'06]
9) Movement 3: Grave [0'59]
10) Movement 4: Presto [1'13]
Giuseppe Maria Jacchini (c1663-1727)
Sonata a 5 in D major
11) Movement 1: Grave – Allegro [1'08]
12) Movement 2: Grave [0'38]
13) Movement 3: Allegro [1'06]
14) Movement 4: Grave – Allegro [1'16]
Giovanni Vitali (1632-1692)
15) Sonata in A minor 'La sassatelli' Op 5 No 10 [3'06]
Alessandro Melani (1639-1703)
Sonata a 5 in C major
16) Movement 1: Adagio – Allegro [2'01]
17) Movement 2: Allegro [3'14]
18) Movement 3: Canzona – Grave [2'42]
19) Movement 4: Vivace [2'22]
Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690)
20) Sonata in E minor Op 10 No 17 [5'15]
Alessandro Stradella (1639-1682)
Il barcheggio
21) Sinfonia in D major. Movement 1: [Allegro] [0'56]
22) Sinfonia in D major. Movement 2: Andante [2'13]
23) Sinfonia in D major. Movement 3: Allegro ma non troppo [1'16]
24) Sinfonia in D major. Movement 4: Allegro [1'36]
Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709)
Sonata a 5 in D major G7
25) Movement 1: Grave – Allegro [1'02]
26) Movement 2: Adagio [1'26]
27) Movement 3: Allegro [1'11]
28) Movement 4: Grave – Allegro [1'44]
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
Sonata a 4 No 1 in F minor
29) Movement 1: Grave [0'51]
30) Movement 2: Allegro [1'38]
31) Movement 3: Larghetto [2'09]
32) Movement 4: Allemanda [1'08]
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto in C major RV537
33) Movement 1: Vivace [2'52]
34) Movement 2: Largo [0'33]
35) Movement 3: Allegro [3'16]

Crispian Steele-Perkins (trumpet)
Alison Balsom (trumpet)
The Parley of Instruments

2003 Hyperion Records Ltd, London
1 CD DDD
CDA67359

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Maria João Pires J.S.BACH Partita No. 1 - English Suite No. 3 - French Suite No. 2

Acclaimed as one of the greatest interpreters of Mozart, Portuguese pianist Maria-João Pires is an artist who combines exquisite stylistic refinement with a serious effort to plumb the intellectual complexities and spiritual depths of music. Refusing to conform to the traditional image of a concert virtuoso, Pires emphasizes the spiritual dimensions of music, always searching for hidden meanings which may elude the analytical performer. This remarkable reverence towards works of music, clearly manifested in her performances of Mozart, was made explicit by her remark that, as a performer, she acts as a channel for the composer's ideas. Interestingly, Pires views both the composer and the performer as conduits for a transcendent force. However, while approaching the work of music with immense awe, Pires is acutely aware of its formal structure, finding a certain transparency in the most intricate formal constructions. In her performances of Romantic masters, particularly Chopin and Schumann, Pires masterfully reconciles her passionate experience of the music with an admirable appreciation for the inner logic of the work she is interpreting. Reflecting her vast emotional range, her tone, as critics have observed, encompasses a dizzying variety of intensities, from an almost imperceptible lightness to an imposing monumentality, with a rich scale of intervening nuances. Another hallmark of her style is her uncanny ability to capture, and convey, the precise variety of inner movement which constitutes the being of a particular musical creation.
Pires started playing at the age of three, giving her first public performance two years later. Pires performed Mozart concertos when she was seven and received Portugal's major prize for musicians at nine. She studied with Campos Coelho and Francine Benoit at the Lisbon Conservatory, graduating at 16. Post-graduate studies took her to Germany, where she studied with Rösl Schmidt, in Munich, and with Karl Engel, in Hanover. In 1970, she won the Beethoven Bicentennial Competition in Brussels. Pires made her London debut in 1986, and she first played in New York three years later. She has performed with the major European and American orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, and the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Often praised for her extraordinary renditions of Mozart's works, Pires has shown a remarkable affinity with several of the greatest composers, including Bach, Chopin, and Schubert. An enormously successful recording artist, Pires, who since 1989 records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon, released several critically acclaimed discs, including a Bach disc, recordings of Chopin's Nocturnes and Schubert's Impromptus, and a recording of two Mozart concertos with Claudio Abbado. Her recording of Mozart's complete sonatas received the 1990 Grand Prix du Disque. Since 1989, Pires has been an enthusiastic performer of chamber music, touring Europe and the Far East with violinist Augustin Dumay. Forming a trio with Dumay and cellist Jian Wang, Pires toured the Far East in 1998, playing Beethoven's Concerto for piano, violin, cello, and orchestra in several European centers in 1999. In 2000, Pires decided to take several months off in order to concentrate on a variety of educational projects in Portugal. Several collections of her performances, including Artist Portrait: Maria-João Pires, appeared in the early 2000s. (Zoran Minderovic)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Partita No.1 in B flat major, BWV 825
1. 1. Praeludium [1:57]
2. 2. Allemande [2:37]
3. 3. Corrente [2:55]
4. 4. Sarabande [5:07]
5. 5. Menuet I [1:23]
6. 6. Menuet II [0:44]
7. Menuet I da capo [0:46]
8. 7. Giga [2:05]
English Suite No.3 in G minor, BWV 808
9. 1. Prélude [3:20]
10. 2. Allemande [3:45]
11. 3. Courante [2:22]
12. 4. Sarabande [4:31]
13. 4b. Les agréments de la même Sarabande [5:01]
14. 5. Gavotte I [1:21]
15. 6. Gavotte II ou la Musette [0:43]
16. 6b Gavotte I da capo [0:46]
17. 7. Gigue [2:39]
French Suite No.2 in C minor, BWV 813
18. 1. Allemande [3:39]
19. 2. Courante [1:57]
20. 3. Sarabande [4:01]
21. 4. Air [1:26]
22. 5. Menuet I-II [1:44]
23. 6. Gigue [2:55]

Maria João Pires

1995 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
1 CD DDD
447 8942 3 GH

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Wendy Warner - Irina Nuzova RUSSIAN MUSIC FOR CELLO & PIANO

The WarnerNuzova duo — cellist Wendy Warner and pianist Irina Nuzova — makes its recording debut with five late-Romantic Russian works on an album dedicated to the memory of one of Warner’s mentors, the illustrious Russian cellist, composer, and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich (1927–2007).
Fittingly, two of the pieces were originally written for Rostropovich: Nikolai Miaskovsky’s rarely heard Sonata No. 2 in A Minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 81; and Alfred Schnittke’s Baroque-inspired Musica nostalgica, for violoncello and piano.
This is the first American recording of Miaskovsky’s mellifluous Sonata No. 2, a work that’s rarely performed outside of Russia. It will be a discovery for most listeners.
Alexander Scriabin’s Etude Op. 8, No. 11, is a beautiful encore piece brimming with chromatic harmonies; Sergei Prokofiev’s Adagio from Ten Pieces from Cinderella, Op. 97b, is based on a duet from his ballet; and Sergei Rachmaninov’s Sonata in G Minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 19, is a riveting four-movement work from the same period as his Second Piano Concerto.

Nikolai Miaskovsky (1881 – 1950)
Sonata No. 2 in A minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 81
I. Allegro moderato (9:42)
2) II. Andante cantabile (7:26)
3) III. Allegro con spirito (5:56)
Alexander Scriabin (1872 – 1915)
4) Etude Op. 8, No. 11 (4:03)
Alfred Schnittke (1934 – 1998)
5) Musica Nostalgica, for Violoncello and Piano (03:22)
Sergei Prokofiev (1891 – 1953)
6) Adagio from Ten Pieces from Cinderella, Op. 97b (3:51)
Sergei Rachmaninov(1873 – 1943)
Sonata in G Minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 19
7) I. Lento – Allegro moderato (10:39)
8) II. Allegro scherzando (6:38)
9) III. Andante (5:59)
10) IV. Allegro mosso (10:34)

2010 Cedille Records
1 CD DDD
CDR 90000 120

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María Bayo HAENDEL Opera Arias & Cantatas

Bayo sings a selection of arias from Giulio Cesare, Rinaldo and Alcina along with the Italian cantata Tra le fiamme and the Spanish language cantata No se emendara jamas.
Bayo is accompanied by Skip Sempe and his Capriccio Stravagante, which guarantees lively and interesting accompaniment; though the size of the group is perhaps a little small for some of the operatic arias.
This singer has a rich, vivid voice and sings with liveliness, vivacity and accuracy; in many ways her singing on this disc is ideal. She comes over as a singer of great character who can bring drama through a fine musical performance.
In Cleopatra’s Da Tempeste, from Act 3 of Giulio Cesare, her performance is fast, crisp and very up front, her runs are fabulously clean and articulated. She gives the performance far more ‘welly’ than a singer like Valerie Masterson; her Cleopatra is obviously a creature to be reckoned with. That this can turn into a bit of a weakness is indicated by the second aria, Cleopatra’s V’adoro pupille from Act 2. Here Cleopatra is supposed to be seducing Cesar. Bayo’s singing is beautifully done but, for me, lacks the element of seduction; I have heard other singers bring a far greater element of soft allure to this aria. For all its musicality this performance lacks the necessary erotic element, though partial compensation is given by the lovely rich accompaniment.
Almirena’s Lascia ch’io pianga from Rinaldo is profoundly moving and Bayo sings the aria with a fabulous sense of line. This is followed by the popular Italian cantata, Tra le fiamme. There are many versions of this on disc, but I have no complaints from this bright, lively and vivid account; in fact it is almost ideal.
Cleopatra’s Se pieta, from Act 2 of Giulio Cesare is prefaced by its recitative which proves to be a strong decision. The singer’s approach to the recitative is beautifully characterised and full of drama; on this showing I wished that more recitative could have been included in the disc. The aria itself is presented with a lovely, very focused sound and bright, forward tone, with a few quieter moments. Her way with the aria is convincing and beautiful, but is rather more up-front than some accounts that I have heard.
The Spanish cantata No se emendara jamas is something of a Handel rarity, but the chamber cantatas from his time in Italy do reflect something of the polyglot nature of the salons of the Italian counts and cardinals who were the young Handel’s patrons. That the piece was deliberately Spanish in style is indicated by the delicate guitar accompaniment. Bayo and Capriccio Stravagante play this as real chamber music, which of course it is. The cantata was written in Rome in 1707 and was probably written for Count Ruspoli, Handel’s Roman patron.
Morgana’s Tornami a vagheggiar from Act 1 of Alcina is both brilliant and uplifting. Bayo follows this with 2 of Alcina’s arias from the same opera. These are beautifully done, but I get the sneaking suspicion that she is temperamentally more inclined towards the bad girls of Handelian opera seria.
In all these items, the singer is beautifully accompanied by the crisp, up-front playing of Skip Sempe and Capriccio Stravagante. It is a shame the space could not have been made for the group to play an item on their own.
This is a lovely recital and displays Bayo’s talents in this tricky repertoire. Her vocalisation in the Italian opera arias is nearly ideal, though temperamentally I think she might have been better off if rather more badly behaved sorceresses had been included on the disc. (Robert Hugill)

George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759)
1) Da tempeste (Cléopâtre, Giulio Cesare) [5:57]
2) V'adoro, pupille - sinfonia & aria (Cléopâtre, Giulio Cesare) [7:18]
3) Lascia ch'io pianga (Almirena, Rinaldo) [4:05]
Cantate HWV 170
4) Aria & recitativo: "Tra le fiamme..." [5:47]
5) Aria & recitativo: "Pien di nuovo..." [5:11]
6) Aria & recitativo: "Voli per l'aria..." [5:25]
7) Che sento? Oh Dio! (Cléopâtre, Giulio Cesare) [1:08]
8) Se pietà (Cléopâtre, Giulio Cesare) [8:43]
Cantate HWV 140
9) Aria & recitativo: "No se emendará jamás..." [3:16]
10) Aria: "Dicente mis ojos..." [1:47]
11) Torna mi a vagheggiar (Morgana, Alcina) [4:21]
12) Si, son quella! (Alcina, Alcina) [4:22]
13) Mi restano le lagrime (Alcina, Alcina) [6:24]

María Bayo, soprano
Capriccio Stravagante
Skip Sempé

1999 Auvidis / Naïve France
1 CD DDD
E 8674

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Alice Sara Ott BEETHOVEN

“These two sonatas are both a part of me – I have spent a lot of time with them. There comes a point at which every musician has to document his or her own engagement with Beethoven. In my case this point may appear to have come early, but there is no doubt that it is a challenge that allows one to grow. And, after all, Beethoven was still young when he wrote these works.” Alice Sara Ott has been working on Beethoven’s two C major sonatas for ten years. Nor is this the first time that she has considered the idea of comparing and contrasting these two very different works: “I have always wanted to show this contrast because I find it enormously exciting to see how fundamentally Beethoven changed within the space of only eight years. These two sonatas reveal Beethoven as man and artist at two very different periods of his life. They are in the same key, but the mood of these two works could hardly be more different. Normally the key of C major makes one think of brightness and energy, and this is certainly true of the op. 2 no. 3 Sonata, which exudes tremendous vitality and a very real love of life. But with the ‘Waldstein’ Sonata we enter a completely different world.” Alice Sara Ott is convinced that the performer can find everything he or she needs to know about a work within the music itself. In spite of this, she has taken a close interest in Beethoven’s letters since her childhood and has also read accounts of the composer’s life.
The “Waldstein” Sonata is generally regarded as the epitome of the Classical piano sonata: rarely in the history of the genre has brilliant virtuosity been merged so seamlessly with pianistic technique and a consummate awareness of the piece’s formal design. At the same time, however, Alice Sara Ott believes that no one listening to the piece can fail to hear that it was written only a year after the composer’s “Heiligenstadt Testament” of October 1802, the shocking­ly depressing contents of which are in such stark contrast to his career, which had hitherto proved so brilliant and promising. “Even the opening strikes me as very gloomy: the whole of the first movement creates the impression of a tempest followed in the second movement by calm. With the transition to the third movement, finally, the sun rises, while the final Rondo is like a new dawn. The work as a whole closely reflects Beethoven’s own situation at this time: he was in despair at his failing hearing, and he even toyed with the idea of taking his own life. The Allegro con brio of the ‘Waldstein’ Sonata makes this despair very clear. At the same time Beethoven was someone who refused to give up hope and who remained a great idealist. This emerges from many of his works, and in his op. 53 Sonata one can sense the way in which hope begins to burgeon from the final note of the second movement onwards.”
For this reason, too, Alice Sara Ott is grateful that Beethoven discarded the Andante favori that he had originally intended as the second movement of the “Waldstein” Sonata and replaced it with a new middle movement. The Andante favori, she explains, is “far too powerful and far too expansive a piece to fit comfortably between these two violent outer movements.” But as an independent piece it goes wonderfully well with her concept. By the same token the Rondo a capriccio – its popular alternative title, “Rage over a Lost Penny”, has nothing to do with Beethoven – ideally complements the earlier sonata: “In each case I have added a piece from the corresponding period, resulting in what for me is a convincing and rounded programme.”
The early op. 2 no. 3 Sonata was dedicated to Joseph Haydn, and in many respects it reveals its debt to the older composer. As such, it is a completely different type of piece from the “Waldstein” Sonata. And yet its slow movement already looks forward to the dark shadows of the later sonata: following the radiant opening movement, the twenty-five-year-old Beethoven transforms this Adagio by means of a sudden change of colour and turns it into a night-piece in which virtuosity gives way to a far more contemplative mood. “Even this early sonata is a magnificent work and has an enormous depth to it. And it is also the first sonata to be conceived along orchestral lines, almost like a piano concerto – there is no trace whatsoever of this in the two other op. 2 sonatas. And yet everything retains a certain lightness, a fearlessness that I no longer hear in the later Beethoven.”
Does one need to feel a certain fearlessness to record Beethoven? Alice Sara Ott takes a justifiably relaxed view of this question: “One goes one’s way and leaves behind a trace, and this trace is an expression of what I feel at a given moment. This recording of these Beethoven sonatas is an important musical step for me, even if it is entirely possible that I shall play these pieces in a very different way in a year from now. Music knows only one truth but an infinite number of ways of formulating that truth. And in my own view this also applies to interpretations: they may change, but their basic element remains the same.” (Oswald Beaujean)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
Piano Sonata No.3 in C, Op.2 No.3
1) 1. Allegro con brio [10:51]
2) 2. Adagio [6:52]
3) 3. Scherzo (Allegro) [3:32]
4) 4. Allegro assai [5:26]
Piano Sonata No.21 in C, Op.53 -"Waldstein"
5) 1. Allegro con brio [11:16]
6) 2. Introduzione (Adagio molto) [3:29]
7) 3. Rondo (Allegretto moderato - Prestissimo) [9:59]
8) Andante favori in F, WoO 57 [7:52]
9) Rondo a capriccio in G, Op.129 "Die Wut über den verlornen Groschen" for piano [6:20]
Alice Sara Ott

2011 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
1 CD DDD
477 9291 GH

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PASSWORD: elhenry.MusicIsTheKey

Anne-Sophie Mutter RIHM Lichtes Spiel CURRIER Time Machines

Time and again she seeks out the challenge of a first performance – perhaps, too, because she regards the chance to engage in a dialogue with living composers as a form of refuge before she returns to a repertory she has known for thirty years and which she nonetheless feels each time is a terra incognita. Above all, however, Anne-Sophie Mutter is motivated by the desire to keep on rediscovering the violin. That is why she seeks out composers who can coax new sounds from her instrument, finding new musical languages and awakening a new sensuality.
She also enjoys returning to musicians she knows. “In the life of a soloist there’s more than just one facet. After premiering a concerto, I generally want a chamber work. This was the case with Krzysztof Penderecki’s Metamorphosen and would also have been the case with Witold Lutosławski if he hadn’t died first.” Wolfgang Rihm’s violin concerto from 1991, Gesungene Zeit, was initially followed by a second orchestral work, Lichtes Spiel, which received its first performance in New York in 2010. But this last-named work was followed almost at once by a piece of chamber music: Dyade. The differences between the two orchestral works are clear for all to hear and see. For Lichtes Spiel, Anne-Sophie Mutter wanted a Mozart orchestra. “For years I’ve been conducting Mozart’s concertos from the violin. I wanted to compare and contrast these wonderful pieces with an alternative work that would be similarly orchestrated but which would contain new markings for the violin.” She had hoped that the resultant restrictions would inspire her, and in this she was to be proved right. “The decision to forgo a vast body of percussion instruments and an elaborate brass department leads necessarily to a greater concentration on the innermost quality of the principal instrument, which is the violin’s singing tone.” This singing tone is central to Rihm’s work, which is subtitled “A Summer Piece”. For Anne-Sophie Mutter, the “light game” conjures up associations of a summer night, a midsummer night’s dream, while the flashing accents of the score recall Shakespeare’s will-o’-the-wisps. “Time and again the flickering lights illuminate an almost romantic in-between state. Perhaps this is where the idea for Lichtes Spiel originates. I find these flickering accents typical of Rihm’s work in general – they were already present in Gesungene Zeit. The manner in which an emotion suddenly flares up and an interval abruptly comes to the forefront of our attention, only for it to withdraw again, is characteristic of Rihm’s musical language in Dyade, too.”
In Lichtes Spiel, the theme that is revealed in the very first bars returns in the form of a development section and a series of recapitulations that are laid out along almost classical lines, with the result that the theme is ever-present. By contrast, the rhapsodic Dyade remains in a state of endlessly flowing motion. There are no rests in the score. In a letter to the violinist, Rihm describes Dyade as a “two-way relationship, with all that that involves”. The work eschews the sort of dialogue normally associated with a concert piece, preferring in its place what might be described as a single voice structured in the form of a dialogue. The music has something immediately graspable and comprehensible to it. If Rihm speaks of “the relationship between a couple” and of the “result of a coming together of two separate entities”, then this makes immediate sense. “Earnestness and sweetness are inextricably interwoven”, Rihm goes on. “The whole thing is an organic, flowing, developing structure that sounds as if it had just been improvised. You will inevitably be familiar with this idea of growth from the works of George Enescu. Organic growth, born entirely from the musical line.”
This intense and lyrical conversation that two people conduct with a single voice is a microcosm of miniature thoughts and ideas, not a musical dialogue in which a theme is expounded and taken up by the other instrument. Conversely, this classical approach is pursued by Krzysztof Penderecki in his Duo concertante, in which violin and double bass take turns to speak, one of the partners falling silent whenever the other has a clearly defined musical idea to express. “Here we toss balls to and fro or else we avoid one another. At the same time, the piece has at its command an inexhaustible rhythmic muscularity and exploits the incredible threat that is posed by the sort of attack of which the double bass is capable. I’m pleased to say that these two pieces explore the whole range available to these extremely disparate string instruments when they play together: the symbiotic fusion and the classical duo concertante form. We commissioned it because of Roman Patkoló. The double bass is still awaiting its renaissance as a solo instrument. Roman’s personality and his altogether inexhaustible virtuosity give any composer carte blanche.” Rihm in particular took advantage of this opportunity: technically speaking, Dyade is foolhardy to a fault, with insane leaps in the double bass and extremely demanding violin writing.
As long ago as the 1980s Anne-Sophie Mutter had taken an interest in a work that revolves around time. The work in question was Sebastian Currier’s Clockwork. The violinist was introduced to Currier by her chamber music partner of many years’ standing, Lambert Orkis, and within a matter of only a few years he had written and dedicated to her his Aftersong for violin and piano. She and Lambert Orkis gave the work’s first performance in August 1994. Even before Time Machines Currier had already written a violin concerto for her, but its extreme orchestral demands made it virtually unperformable. “That’s why I asked Sebastian to revise it. The result, after a lengthy period of creative effort, was Time Machines, a violin concerto which, classical in spirit, is unusually gripping from a rhythmic point of view but at the same time conventionally orchestrated. Music, after all, unfolds over time and plays with time, which is why each of the work’s seven movements is about time.” Currier has indeed created a kaleidoscope that explores our experience of time, dissecting it into its fragmentary parts, moving hesitantly and yet also compressing, stretching out and drawing together the material, helping time to hurry ahead by means of thematic flash-forwards, then running backwards in time with the help of retrospective glances. “Taken together, all the movements constitute a kind of time machine that catapults us forwards or allows us to review the past. In short, it makes time visible as in a series of time-lapse photographs.” And like Lichtes Spiel, Time Machines dies away at the end, morendo. “No one gives me flashy endings – I don’t know why. But I’m grateful for an honest ending that doesn’t bank on an outburst of impassioned enthusiasm on the part of the audience but which prefers, rather, to provide a reflection on the innermost nature of the work.” (Oswald Beaujean)

Wolfgang Rihm (1952 - )
1) Lichtes Spiel [17:08]
Anne-Sophie Mutter, New York Philharmonic, Michael Francis
Krzysztof Penderecki (1933 - )
2) Duo concertante [5:03]
Wolfgang Rihm (1952 - )
3) Dyade [12:35]
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Roman Patkoló
Sebastian Currier (1959 - )
Time Machine
4) 1. Fragmented Time [2:36]
5) 2. Time Delay [4:19]
6) 3. Compressed Time [1:29]
7) 4. Overlapping Time [3:44]
8) 5. Entropic Time [6:25]
9) 6. Backwards Time [1:39]
10) 7. Harmonic Time [8:52]
Anne-Sophie Mutter, New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert

2011 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH
1 CD DDD
477 9359 GH

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OSVALDO GOLIJOV La Pasión según San Marcos

The last days of Jesus on earth: recounted variously by four Gospel journalists in the century that followed, they have been retold, and set to music, thousands of times ever since. J. S. Bach's settings of two of the four Passion texts loom magnificently, but in the year 2000, with Bach dead exactly 250 years, the International Bach Academy of Stuttgart dared to commission new settings of the Passion segments of all four Gospels, translating the spirit of Bach - but not necessarily his musical style - to present times. Taking on the task were Germany's Wolfgang Rihm, Russia's Sofia Gubaidulina, China's Tan Dun and Osvaldo Golijov, who was born in Argentina in 1960, moved to Israel in 1983 and settled in the US three years later. All four works - each lasting 90 minutes - were widely acclaimed, but it was Golijov's setting of the Gospel of Mark that truly raised the roof at its Stuttgart premiere in September 2000 - conducted by the work's dedicatee, María Guinand - with an ovation lasting well over half an hour.
Similar reactions have met subsequent performances, all involving the original troupe of Latin American musicians: the US premiere, presented by the Boston Symphony under Robert Spano in February 2001; the New York premiere given by the Brooklyn Philharmonic and Spano in October 2002; and the Holland Festival performance of this marvellously visual music, again with Robert Spano conducting and again with María Guinand's Schola Cantorum de Venezuela.
Why is Golijov's Passion eliciting such euphoric responses everywhere it is produced? Any five minutes of this throbbing score, streaked with flashes of audible lightning, will hold the answer. What Golijov has accomplished here is to swerve the focus - familiar to us from the great Bach Passions, with the sublime narrations of the evangelists Matthew and John, interspersed with the brief words of Jesus, set off in a halo of string tone, and the commentary of chorus and vocal soloists - to an intense drama, virtually an enactment of the events, that seems to compel participation by performer and audience alike.
The son of Eastern European Jews, Golijov did not even own a copy of the New Testament when the commission came from the Bach Academy. This proved something of an advantage. Lacking the “theological burden" of familiar images, he was free to create Jesus and his surroundings out of his own experience. Golijov's Pasión según San Marcos takes place in present-day South America. Its story follows Mark's detail of the trial, betrayal and Crucifixion, but these familiar episodes are peopled differently from our traditional images. In Golijov's words, “the main thing in this Passion is to present a dark Jesus, and not a pale European Jesus ... It's about Jesus' last days on earth seen through the Latin American experience."
This St Mark Passion takes place on the streets; it draws its sounds, its accents, from the rhythms of street life, in a village in Brazil or Cuba. Spanish is the work's predominant language, but it has been “Africanized," in Golijov's word: its rhythms are created as much by drums as by words; we hear this, for example, in the heavy rhythmic stress on some words. Other languages intrude at times: Latin, in quotations from the Lamentations of Jeremiah at the start; Aramaic, Jesus' own language, in the concluding Kaddish, the haunting Prayer for the Dead. To underline the moment of Peter's tears of contrition, when he realizes his guilt in his denial of Jesus, a poem in Galician is added: “Lúa descolorida" (“Colorless Moon") by Rosalía de Castro, the accompaniment numbed down to an almost toneless string quartet. The near silence of the moment, and the pained motionlessness of the singer, create a kind of vacuum that becomes the breath-stopping climax of the entire work.
The instrumentation is mainly voices and percussion. “There is a strong tradition," says Golijov, “that news or stories are told by voices and drums in Cuba and Brazil, the Latin geographical centers of my Passion. This tradition comes from Africa, you know, and that's how this Passion is being told. The voices represent the people who don't understand, who are in fear - and Jesus himself, who understands but also fears - and then doesn't fear. There is a male soloist, a female soloist and a choir. I thought that most of the time the voice of Jesus would be the choir, because for me Jesus represents the voice of the people, transformed into a collective spirit. I have sections where there are three choirs - they divide themselves into three - because a lot of my piece has to do with processionals. I imagine choirs from three villages proceeding down from the tops of the mountains; this is based on a South American Easter tradition. Unlike a Protestant Passion which is about meditating and commenting, this Passion is about enactment and ritual. It is a synthesis of Latin American traditions, Catholicism and the Yoruba religion brought by African slaves. So it's a completely different approach.
“The piece is driven by percussion instruments and specific rhythms," Golijov continues. “In some parts things go completely crazy, like the rhumba with the spoons. Still, every section has a center of gravity symbolized by a percussion instrument or a group of percussion instruments. One percussionist will play the berimbau to accompany a Capoeira dancer. Capoeira is an incredible martial art from Brazil that the slaves brought from Africa, and it's beautiful. Three Capoeira dances articulate the three divisions of the Passion. The first is a dance of sacrifice representing the first time Jesus is on earth as a human being. The second dance takes place when Jesus is arrested, after Judas comes with the soldiers and kisses him. Mark has this strange episode of an unknown young man, wrapped only in a sheet, presumably St Mark himself. He is the only one who, instead of running away, follows Jesus until a soldier realizes that he is following them and takes the sheet away from him - he then runs away naked, so the second dance is with a white sheet. The third dance is at the very end, near the Crucifixion, when the soldiers give Jesus a purple cloak to mock him. The cloak becomes the sacred veil." (Alan Rich)

CD 1:

Osvaldo Golijov (1960 - )
La Pasión según San Marcos
1. 1. Visión: Bautismo en la Cruz [1:04]
2. 2. Danza del Pescador Pescado [0:52]
3. 3. Primer Anuncio [3:55]
4. 4. Segundo Anuncio [2:02]
5. 5. Tercer Anuncio: En Fiesta No [0:57]
6. 6. Dos Días [1:40]
7. 7. Uncíon en Betania [1:11]
8. 8. ¿Por qué? [4:00]
9. 9. Oración Lucumí (Aria con Grillos) [2:27]
10. 10. El Primer Día [1:30]
11. 11./12. Judas y El Cordero Pascual [4:35]
12. 13. Quisiera Yo Renegar (Aria de Judas) [2:49]
13. 14. Eucaristía [3:52]
14. 15. Demos Gracias al Señor [5:14]
15. 16. Al Monte [1:06]
16. 17. Cara a Cara [1:11]
17. 18. En Getsemaní [2:04]
18. 19. Agonía (Aria de Jesús) [8:21]
19. 20. Aresto - 21. Danza Sabana Blanca [2:31]
20. 22. Ante Caifás 1:45

CD 2:

1. 23. Soy Yo (Confesión) [2:26]
2. 24. Escarnio y Negación [1:38]
3. 25. Desgarro de la Túnica [0:55]
4. 26. Lúa descolorida (Aria de las lágrimas de Pedro) [5:44]
5. 27. Amanecer: Ante Pilato [3:46]
6. 28. Silencio [1:48]
7. 29. Sentencia [1:46]
8. 30. Comparsa Al Gólgotha [3:36]
9. 32. Crucifixión [1:55]
10. 33. Muerte [1:06]
11. 34. Kaddish [6:41]
Biella da Costa

Orquesta La Pasión

Members of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela

María Guinand

Schola Cantorum de Venezuela

2010 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg

2 CDs DDD

477 7461 7 GH 3

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You can download here: CD 1 / CD 2

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Mitsuko Uchida SCHUMANN Fantasie - Davidsbündlertänze

The masterly pianist Mitsuko Uchida is widely acclaimed for the refinement and intelligence of her playing. Schumann brings out her fanciful and impetuous side, as is clear on a wonderful recording of two major Schumann works . . . Ms. Uchida captures the music's unbridled imagination. But at her core, since she is such an elegant and insightful musician, she also plays with an acute sensitivity to harmonic shadings and contrapuntal complexities and, when it is called for, uncanny textural clarity. This makes for an uncommon blend of rhapsodic freedom and revealing detail. The three-movement Fantasie is a homage to Beethoven and, despite its title, one of Schumann's most ingeniously structured works. Ms. Uchida conveys both the architectural and fantastical elements in her magisterial performance. The recording, a Decca Prestige Edition release, includes a bonus CD of Ms. Uchida discussing Schumann with the critic James Jolly. It is fun to hear her thoughts about how the piano music of Schumann (like that of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and others) reveals what kind of pianist he was. (Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times / 11. April 2011)

Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856)
Davidsbündlertänze, Op.6
1. 1. Lebhaft [1:59]
2. 2. Innig [1:37]
3. 3. Etwas hahnbüchen [1:34]
4. 4. Ungeduldig [0:47]
5. 5. Einfach [2:45]
6. 6. Sehr rasch [2:02]
7. 7. Nicht schnell [4:48]
8. 8. Frisch [0:46]
9. 9. Lebhaft [1:44]
10. 10. Balladenmässig, sehr rasch [1:29]
11. 11. Einfach [2:16]
12. 12. Mit Humor [0:48]
13. 13. Wild und lustig [3:33]
14. 14. Zart und singend [2:23]
15. 15. Frisch [2:17]
16. 16. Mit gutem Humor [1:57]
17. 17. Wie aus der Ferne [4:38]
18. 18. Nicht schnell [2:07]
Fantasie in C, Op.17
19. 1. Durchaus fantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen - Im Legenden-Ton [12:46]
20. 2. Mäßig. Durchaus energisch - Etwas langsamer - Vielbewegter [7:46]
21. 3. Langsam getragen. Durchweg leise zu halten - Etwas bewegter [12:55]

CD 2:
1. Mitsuko Uchida in conversation with James Jolly [29:21]

2011 DECCA
2 Compact Discs DDD
478 2280 6 DH 2

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The Best of Anne-Sophie Mutter

For the first time, a "Best of" two CD set including the most beautiful samples of her extensive discography is being published now. The album presents excerpts of Anne-Sophie Mutter's show pieces of the of the great violin classics.
Herewith the gigantic spectrum of her repertoire is displayed ranging from Bach to Rihm, from baroque to contemporary music, from the classical violin concert to tango and jazz. Among others, pieces by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Tschaikowsky, Silbelius and Massenet are to be found on the double album which is available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

CD 1:
Violin Concerto No.5 in A, K.219
1) 1. Allegro aperto [9:38]
Violin Concerto No.3 in G, K.216
2) 2. Adagio [9:49]
Violin Concerto in D, Op.61
3) 3. Rondo. Allegro [10:16]
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64
4) 2. Andante [7:15]
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64
5) 3. Allegretto non troppo - Allegro molto vivace [6:12]
Lieder ohne Worte, Op.62 - Arr. Fritz Kreisler
6) 6. Frühlingslied [2:16]
Sonata for Violin and Piano No.5 in F, Op.24 - "Spring"
7) 4. Rondo (Allegro ma non troppo) [7:16]
Violin Concerto No.1 in A minor, BWV 1041
8) 3. Allegro assai [3:08]
Violin Concerto No.2 in E, BWV 1042
9) 2. Adagio [7:09]
Concerto for Violin and Strings in F minor, Op.8, No.4, R.297 "L'inverno"
10) 1. Allegro non molto [3:27]
Concerto for Violin and Strings in G minor, Op.8, No.2, R.315 "L'estate"
11) 3. Presto (Tempo impetuoso d'estate) [2:33]
Tango Song and Dance (dedicated to Anne-Sophie Mutter)
12) 2. Song. Simply [4:58]

CD 2:
Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor, Op.26
1) 1. Vorspiel (Allegro moderato) [8:36]
Violin Concerto in D, Op.35
2) 2. Canzonetta (Andante) [7:18]
Violin Concerto in D, Op.35
3) 3. Finale (Allegro vivacissimo) [9:30]
4) Thaïs / Acte Deux - Meditation [6:36]
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op.47
5) 3. Allegro, ma non tanto [7:13]
Violin Concerto in D, Op.77
6) 2. Adagio [9:18]
7) Hungarian Dance No.6 in D flat - transcr. in B flat major for violin and piano by Joseph Joachim [3:40]
8) Zigeunerweisen, Op.20 [8:36]
9) Caprice viennois op.2 [4:09]
10) Porgy and Bess - Summertime [2:09]
11) Beau Soir [3:00]

2011 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
2 Compact Discs
480 5566 1

You can download here: CD 1 / CD 2
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Paul Lewis SONATA

The 'INITIALES' series is an invitation to discover the artists of harmonia mundi. Ten years after a Schubert disc recorded in the ‘New Musicians' series, this double album celebrates a British pianist at the peak of his artistry and in his genre of choice. It is no coincidence that Paul Lewis has made a speciality of the sonatas of three pianist-composers: Beethoven (of whose complete sonatas he has made a memorable recording), Schubert of course, and finally Liszt, a performance that returns to the catalogue thanks to this reissue.

CD 1:

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)

Sonata No. 8 "Pathétique" in C minor op. 13

1) I. Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio [9:48]

2) II. Andante cantabile [5:23]

3) III. Rondo Allegro [5:21]

Sonata No. 25 "Alla tedesca" in G Major op. 79

4) I. Presto alla tedesca [5:30]

5) II. Andante [2:33]

6) III. Vivace [2:10]

Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)

Sonata No. 19 in C minor D. 958

7) Allegro [10:33]

8) Adagio [8:26]

9) Menuetto [3:17]

10) Allegro [9:42]

CD 2:

Sonata No. 20 in A major D. 959

1) Allegro [11:59]

2) Andantino [7:46]

3) Scherzo Allegro vivace - Trio Un pocco più lento [5:11]

4) Rondo Allegretto [13:11]

Franz Liszt (1811- 1886)

5) La lugubre gondola (version 2) [7:19]

Sonata in B minor

6) Lento assai [12:04]

7) Andante sostenuto [7:22]

8) Allegro energico [10:44]

2011 Harmonia Mundi

2 Compact Discs DDD

HMX 2908456

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Bernold - Tharaud BOULEZ - DUTILLEUX - JOLIVET - MESSIAEN - VARÈSE Sonatines pour flûte & piano

It is tempting to think of this marvellous programme as masterpieces of the modern flute repertoire. They are certainly masterpieces, and each has entered the flute repertoire, but they can scarcely be given the epithet ‘modern’ when all were composed by the middle of the last century. Philippe Bernold and Alexandre Tharaud have assembled a recital of flute pieces by the French composers who had the greatest impact on postwar musical thought. Unlike similar rival collections, there is not a single musical weak link in this recital even if, with the exception of Jolivet’s Cinq incantations, these pieces are not representative of their respective composers’ mature styles. Nevertheless, each is a classic example of the progressions made in writing for the flute after Debussy.
In this respect, this release is a logical and welcome progression from Bernold’s earlier delectable exploration of Debussy’s music for flute on the same label. His bewitching tone and capacity for minute gradations of volume and timbre are again much in evidence, particularly in Varèse’s Density 21.5 and the inner movements of Jolivet’s Cinq incantations. Elsewhere Bernold also demonstrates a harder, though not harsher, edge, and Tharaud is exemplary throughout, especially in Boulez’s fiendish Sonatine. Recommended. (Christopher Dingle)

Pierre Boulez (1925 - )
1)Sonatine
Olivier Messiaen (1908 - 1992)
2)Le Merle Noir
André Jolivet (1905 - 1974)
Cinq Incantations
3) 1. Pour Accueillir Les Négociateurs, Et Que L'Entrevue Soit Pacifique
4) 2. Pour Que L'Enfant Qui Va Naître Soit Un Fils
5) 3. Pour Que La Moisson Soit Riche Qui Naîtra Des Sillons Que Le Laboureur Trace
6) 4. Pour Une Communion Sereine De L'Être Avec Le Monde
7) 5. Aux Funérailles Du Chef, Pour Obtenir La Protection De Son Âme
Henri Dutilleux (1916 - )
8) Sonatine
Edgar Varèse (1883 - 1965)
9) Density 21.5

Philippe Bernold

Alexandre Tharaud

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PASSWORD: elhenry.MusicIsTheKey