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David's Review Corner - October 2005

MOZART: Requiem; Inter natos mulierum – Offertory, K.72; Misericordias Domini – Offertory, K. 222. Miriam Allan (soprano), Anne Buter (mezzo), Marcus Ullmann (tenor), Martin Snell (bass), Gewandhaus Chamber Choir, Leipzig Chamber Orchestra, Morten Schuldt-Jensen (conductor). Naxos 8.557728. (52' 19").

Mozart's Requiem featured among Naxos's early releases in a likeable account conducted the Zdenek Kosler with a fine group of soloists. Time and recording techniques have moved on, and it is now replaced by a new performance available in surround-sound technology. It has again opted for a 'traditional' approach distancing itself from those who are offering period authenticity without having a clue as to the style of singing used in Mozart's day, simply ignoring that factor to give the solo roles to the most marketable singers they can find. Morten Schuldt-Jensen uses unhurried tempos that allow his singers to sympathetically shape their phrases in accord with the text. The are essentially a lyric group, with Miriam Allan's soprano just adding a hint of brightness to her tone. I suppose we can best describe they as a team, for I do not particularly remember individual contributions. The choir sound is of ample proportions with a nice warm quality and impeccably trained intonation, the chamber orchestra using dynamics to fully support and complement the singers. There are so many recordings already in the catalogue that choice is difficult, though I would place this among my short list of preferred 'traditional' versions. Two fillers seem to have been used just to give the disc a respectable total time. I have only heard the standard disc, but it is also available in SACD (6.110116) and DVD-A (5.110116).

LUTOSLAWSKI: Twenty Polish Christmas Carols. Five Songs. Lacrimosa. Olga Pasichnyk (soprano), Jadwiga Rappe (soprano)), Polish Radio Chorus, Cracow, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice), Antoni Wit (conductor). Naxos 8.555994 (54' 20").

The Polish Christmas Carols must be one of the most beautiful choral works of the 20th century. Witold Lutoslawski's gift of attractive and colourful melody comes down his line of teachers from Rimsky-Korsakov, adding some piquant modern harmonies. It is scored for soprano and children's voices, the text of telling the story of the birth of Jesus in a series of carols that are quite short. The original was for voices and piano and dates from 1946, as if Lutoslawski wanted to compose something of innocence to offset the evil of the war that had just ended. It is here performed with orchestral accompaniment that captures the mood of the biblical scene. We revert to the Lutoslawski we more readily recognise with the Five Songs dating from 1958 and scored for soprano and 30 instruments. It came twelve years later, the songs forming musically graphic pictures of the text by Illakowicz, and cover subjects as diverse as a stormy wind and an icy-cold winter. This is volume 9 of the composer's orchestral works, a series that has proved to be one of the most resplendent jewels in the Naxos crown. The performances have been exemplary and here they continue in that mould with children's voices of the most exquisite quality, their intonation beyond question, a feature shared by the bright and pure soprano voice of Olga Pasichnyk in the carols. Excellent orchestral playing and superb sound quality.

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Songs of Travel. The House of Life. Linden Lea. Four Poems by Fredegrond Shove. Roderick Williams (baritone), Iain Burnside (piano). Naxos 8.557643. (67' 04").

Roderick Williams is the new generation of great exponents of English song, his voice so perfectly focused, his diction beyond criticism, and above all he has an innate feel for the music that very few have ever possessed. Vaughan Williams achieved a perfect fusion of words and music, the lyric quality of the vocal line complemented by an accompaniment that graphically comments on the text. But, like most other English song composers of the 20th century, he had a special vocal timbre in his mind that locked him into the breed of his native singers. In essence they were German Lieder transferred into a British idiom, each cycle exploring many different aspects of life, though death and love are often the topic. His best known is The Songs of Travel, Roderick Williams launching into The Vagabond with his warm and fulsome voice, the dynamic range taking him to the most hushed and floated pianissimos he uses so effectively in the fourth song, Youth and Love. In fact I would exhaust superlatives to describe the disc, not least on Iain Burnside's accompaniment, for even by his exalted standards this is very special. Every note is crystal clear, perfectly matching Williams' shaping of phrases, both performers meticulous in everything they do, with note values observed to a level of perfection that is extremely rare. All of this is contained in a sound that must be regarded among the finest in the song repertoire, the piano uncannily realistic. Without doubt this will be my vocal disc of the year.

RUBBRA: Violin Concerto in A major, Op. 103. Improvisation, Op.89. Improvisation on Virginal Pieces by Giles Farnaby, Op. 50. Krysia Osostowicz (violin), Ulster Orchestra, Takuo Yuasa (conductor). Naxos 8.557591. (57' 02").

Why do we not hear Rubbra's Violin Concerto as part of every major soloist's repertoire? That is the enigma that surrounds his whole output. Born in 1901, Edmund Rubbra was a highly gifted pupil of Holst, and much influenced by Ireland and Bax, the initial critical acclaim of his output never converted into a lasting presence on the concert platform. The concerto is a score that can stand among the great violin compositions of the 20th century, an English version of the Prokofiev concertos springing to mind. The two composers share a passion for sending the violin flying on high, as if a bird were singing to an orchestral accompaniment. It could never enjoy a more passionate performer than Krysia Osostowicz, her spotless intonation in the upper stratospheres matched by the silvery quality of her playing in the central Poema, a movement that here grows to an impassioned central point. The finale is full of action and calls on the soloist for a display of glittering brilliance. The best known of Rubbra's works, the Farnaby improvisations, is a lightweight and highly pleasurable modern pastiche on music by the 16th century composer, Rubbra working much in the mode of Vaughan Williams. I had never heard the opus 89 Improvisation before and it may well be its first recording. A rhapsodic score for violin and orchestra it appears to have been Rubbra's first thoughts on a violin concerto. These are first class performances in every way, and are offered in exemplary sound. At this very low price I hope it will spark a revival in Rubbra's fortunes and I fervently commend it to anyone even remotely interested in 20th century music.

SCHUMAN: Symphonies Nos. 7 & 10. Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz (conductor). Naxos 8.559255. (60' 46").

If you started this disc at the final track, the third movement of the Tenth symphony, you could sit back convinced that this would be a disc of easy enjoyment. The catchy rhythms, brilliant orchestration and high-octane impact all look to a mainstream masterpiece from the 20th century. But nothing is quite straightforward with William Schuman, his music so wide ranging in style and content you never quite know what to expect. Go back to the Seventh Symphony and you find music that you will probably have to play several times before you get to grips with the stylistic idiom. Born in 1910, Schuman became the most influential person in American music during the second half of the 20th century, his appointment as President of the Juilliard School of Music and President of the Lincoln Centre for Performing Arts, giving him enormous power in New York’s music. Having started out as a composer of songs, his later output was mainly symphonic and enjoyed success in the concert hall but seldom appeared on disc. The Seventh and Tenth date from 1960 and 1975 and are basically tonal, the Seventh having massive dynamic and mood swings, with sadness permeating the sombre third movement for strings, and a volatile finale for full orchestra. The Tenth, subtitled 'American Muse' is unrestrained in outer movements that encapsulate a contemplative central Larghissimo. The recordings were originally released on the Delos label and are everything the music needs - a brilliant orchestral sound; a conductor who understands the music and engineers who have ideally captured the music's vast dynamic range. Make no mistake this is important 20th century music perfectly served by the performers.

ADAMS: I was looking at the Ceiling and then I saw the Sky. Martina Muhlpointner (Consuelo), Kimako Xavier Trotman (Dewain), Markus Alexander Neisser (Rick), Jeannette Friedrich (Leila), Darius de Haas (David), Lilith Gardell (Tiffany), Jonas Holst (Mike), Young Opera Company Freiburg, The Band of Holst-Sinfonietta, Klaus Simon (conductor). Naxos 8.669003-04 (2CDs). (115' 55").

John Adams, Philip Glass and Steve Reich have been the leading figures in the development of Minimalism, though by the 1980's Adams had distanced himself from the pure form of that style. Two operas, Nixon in China and The Death of Klinghoffer, established him as a major opera composer, Minimalism mixed with the melodic conventions of vocal writing that came from both past and present. Another change came in 1995 when he began work on I was looking at the Ceiling and then I saw the Sky, a score that owes more to 'pop' music and Broadway than the classic world of opera. There is an element of Kurt Weill's cutting satire on modern society; a follow up to Bernstein's West Side Story; a little influence from Stephen Sondheim all mixed with classical rock, progressive jazz and a return to minimalist repetition to hammer home the point. It is all used to capture a story of racial tensions in Los Angeles after the 1994 earthquake, and pictures the crooked society that exists in the States. Built from a series of show songs without the usual opera convention of thematic growth, it is, as you would expect from Adams, full of catchy numbers that immediately burn into your memory, such as Leila's Song (track 14, disc 1), a slow seductive number. The singers, probably with a 'pop' background, are recorded very forward of the accompaniment - which often comes from electronic keyboards - so that you never miss a word. The acoustic is very tight and dry in the best 'pop' music traditions. It may not belong to opera as we know it, but it is interesting.

RESPIGHI: Variazioni Sinfoniche. Suite in E major. Preludio, Corale e Fuga. Ouverture Carnevalesca. Burlesca. Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adriano (conductor). Naxos 8.557820. (78' 58").

At the end of the 1980's the Marco Polo record label embarked on a series of Respighi recordings that introduced many items new to the disc catalogue. It was at a time when little was known of his output save for his famous Festivals, Pines and Fountains of Rome, though he had been a highly productive composer. Basic though it may be, one of Respighi's problems was his dreadful choice of title, as you would hardly expect the Preludio, Corale e Fuga to be a tuneful and lightweight score more readily associated with ballet. It comes from his student days in St. Petersburg where he financially supported his studies by playing in the theatre orchestra. The charming Suite was composed in the same year, 1901, and has the influence of Tchaikovsky's ballets that Respighi was probably playing in the orchestra pit. There are passing moments when the Slovak orchestra shows they were on unfamiliar ground, but Adriano obviously loved the scores and together with his musicians communicates that affection to the listener. With the present renewed interest in the composer, it is obviously time to reissue the performances on the less expensive and more readily available Naxos label. It's a real charmer.

BAUER: A Lament on an African Theme, Op. 20a (orch. Martin Bernstein). Concertino for oboe, clarinet and string quartet, Op. 32b. Trio Sonata, Op. 40. Symphonic Suite for Strings, Op. 33. Duo for oboe and clarinet, Op. 25. Piano Concerto, Op. 36, 'American Youth'. Jeremy Polmear (oboe), Eli Eban (clarinet), Jonathan Snowden (flute), Judith Herbert (cello) Diana Ambache (piano), Ambache Chamber Orchestra. Naxos 8.559253. (58' 42").

Marion Bauer was born in the United States in 1897, her mature musical studies taking place in Paris and Berlin where her teachers included Boulenger and Ertel. On her return home she entered into a career as a teacher, first at New York University and later at the Juilliard School of Music. The present disc is an overview of her output of orchestral and chamber works, easily accessible, strongly melodic and very well constructed, its roots firmly planted before the Second Viennese brigade arrived on the scene. The Symphonic Suite for Strings, dating from 1940, had stylistically not moved far forward from Elgar's Serenade for Strings, written fifty years earlier, and there is much to link the gentle lyric aspects of the Piano Concerto with composers as far back as MacDowell. It is in the Duo for oboe and clarinet, composed in the 1930's, that we find evidence of Bauer experimenting with music of greater pungency that does toy with atonality. I greatly enjoyed the atmospheric Lament on an African Theme, my ears particularly attracted to the Concertino, its pastoral qualities related to English composers of the time. Apart from an under-powered orchestral finale to the Piano Concerto, the performances are persuasive and serve the music well. The engineers having provided a safe and warm sound.

PITIELD Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2. Air and Variations (The Oak and the Ash). Studies on an English Dance Tune. Toccata. Xylophone Sonata. Peter Donohoe (piano), Anthony Goldstone (piano), Royal Northern College of Music Orchestra, Andrew Penny (conductor). Naxos 8.557291. (54' 38").

Thomas Pitfield never quite made up his mind whether he wanted to be an artist or a musician, his problem being that he was highly gifted in both. Born in the industrial heartland of northern England, he studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music (now the Royal Northern College of Music), and later returned there as the professor of composition for a twenty-six year period from 1947-73. Continuing in a melodic mode that goes back to English music at the turn of the century, the First Piano Concerto has a nice sense of vitality in the outer movements. I don't know of the aegis of the Second, but its two very short movements would suggest an unfinished score. I find the exuberant Air and Variations on the traditional song, The Oak and the Ash, a wonderfully inventive and engaging piece. It provides an ideal vehicle for Peter Donohoe's nimble fingers, and throughout the disc the sheer clarity of his playing makes you sit up and take notice that he remains one of the great pianists of our time. Anthony Goldstone gives an attractive account of the First. The remaining part of the disc is given to piano solos, and here we find Pitfield's inventiveness taking tonal music into a quasi-atonal format, intriguing, great fun and at times staggeringly difficult. For sheer mind-blowing virtuosity go to the brief track 16, a study in octaves. Donohoe reminds us in the Xylophone Sonata that as a student he was also a highly gifted percussionist who was often seen as an 'extra' in major UK orchestras. With Pitfield's connection with the RNCM it was appropriate to inviting the current college orchestra to take part, conducted by another college product, Andrew Penny. There are passing moments of fruity intonation, but they accompany with good spirit.

IFUKUBE: Sinfonia Tapkaara. Ritmica Ostinata. Symphonic Fantasy No. 1. Ekaterina Saranceva (piano), Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitri Yablonsky (conductor). Naxos 8.557587. (60' 43").

The life of the Japanese composer, Akira Ifukube, was certainly unusual, the first ten years of his working life spent as a forestry engineer having graduated in that faculty at the Imperial University. In those years he was also developing his skills as a composer, his first ballet premiered when he was twenty-two and heard in Vienna two years later. His career having been interrupted by the Second World War, five major ballets were composed in quick succession in the six years from 1948 before devoting his life to symphonic works. The three contrasted movements of the Sinfonia Tapkaara date from 1954, their content a fusion of Japanese influences and West European orchestration. Maybe the central movement lacks that depth of emotion Western composers use at that point, and Ifukube is generally happier when bright rhythms take over, the pounding music of the finale is strong and attention catching. Ritmica Ostinata, written seven years later, introduces a solo piano, the repetitive mode coming close to the Minimalist composers. By far the most immediately attractive work comes with the Symphonic Fantasy, the incessant opening rhythm giving way to a tuneful central section that in mood has strong links with Hollywood, the third part being aggressive. The performances sound very convincing.

HAYDN: Symphonies Nos. 1 - 5. Sinfonia Finlandia, Patrick Gallois (conductor).

Naxos 8.557571. (71' 36").

We seem to be nearing the conclusion of the complete cycle of Haydn symphonies on Naxos, which will be only the second time this has been achieved on one label. The series is now in that era when the date of composition is unclear, but show Haydn taking symphonic form one gentle step forward from the Italian style of 'sinfonia' that acted as opera overtures. All are in the major key and scored for strings and pairs of oboes and horns and probably intended for around ten or twelve players. The movements generally alternate between fast and slow - Haydn experimenting with some unexpected dynamics in the central movement of the Fourth, with the Third and Fifth changing the format with the introduction of an additional Minuet. The Sinfonia Finlandia have the lean quality of period instruments, the horns quite pungent and allowed to dominate, bringing character as they duet with the oboes, a device particularly used in the third movement of the Third symphony. Intonation is spotlessly clean, even when Patrick Gallois employs very brisk tempos in the outer movements to put the strings to test. The opening of the Fourth is a good sampling point for the disc in general (track 11). Reverberation magnifies the sound and slightly blurs articulation in fast passages.

PAVLOVA: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4. Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio, Vladimir Fedoseyev (conductor). Naxos 8.557566. (57' 31").

Reviewing the previous disc of two Alla Pavlova symphonies issued on Naxos a couple of years ago, I concluded with the question, " who musically is Alla Pavlova?", the total contrast between the two works leaving me grasping for an artistic character. This present disc gets me no closer. Born in Russia in 1952, she studied at the Gnesin Academy of Music in Moscow before working as a composer in Sofia and Moscow. Moving to New York in 1990, she became a member of the New York Women Composers group, and it is her new life that has brought the Second and Fourth symphonies. As with the previous disc the music oscillates between a melodic and readily attractive idiom, not too far distant from Hollywood in its scoring, and an aggressive idiom that has Khachaturian lurking in the background. Cast in four movements, the second being a short and uneasy scherzo, the Second symphony with the subtitle Towards a New Millennium is redolent in colour and with an oriental flavour to the melodic input. The sentimental slow movement harks back to a previous era, and that mood goes through to a finale ending in peace. With the massive organ statement that opens the Fourth, my thoughts turn to the film of Dracula, but we are told that the score "depicts the composer’s own path of spiritual development – visually captured by the painting ‘Path to Shambala’ by Nicholas Roerich". The power eventually gives way to a long lyric section with an extended violin solo bringing the 20-minute work to a close. The playing is persuasive, and if you like symphonic film music you should hasten to buy this. I enjoyed it, and the sound quality is fine.

ENGLISH ANTHEMS & HYMNS: All people that on earth do dwell. Dear Lord and Father of mankind. King of glory, King of peace. Ye watchers and ye holy ones. Let all mortal flesh keep silent. Immortal, invisible, God only wise. All my hope on God is founded. The Lord’s my shepherd. Tell out, my soul. Christ is made the sure foundation. Come down, O Love divine. Praise to the Lord. And did those feet in ancient time (Jerusalem). Abide with me. Alleluya, sing to Jesus! Ye holy angels bright. My song is love unknown. Holy, holy, holy! Glorious things of thee are spoken. O for a thousand tongues to sing. Praise, my soul the King of Heaven. O praise ye the Lord. Marlowe Brass Ensemble, The Choir of St George’s Chapel, Windsor, Tim Byram-Wigfield (conductor). Naxos 8.557587. (69' 04").

The connection between Windsor Chapel and the British Royal Family will give this new release a ready market, the disc setting the scene with trumpets that surround such Royal occasions bringing a feel of pomp to All people that on earth do dwell. It is a disc intended to bring comfort to traditionalists, rejecting the trendy brisk tempos much in fashion. That equally extends to the familiar phrasing that has become encrusted over the years and would probably have surprised the composers. Tim Byram-Wigfield uses his singers to create a changing pattern between full and sectional verses, the organ accompaniment providing positive and often fulsome support. Long-standing favourites are all here on twenty-two tracks, avoiding the new melodies loved by a faction in the Church of England, though I would have welcomed more descants to add piquancy to the performances. Boy trebles do have some individual intonation ideas, but overall the performances are rock steady and of pleasing quality.

DUNSTABLE: Quam pulchra es. Kyrie. Gloria a 4. Credo a 4. Gloria - Jesus Christe Fili Dei. Sanctus. Credo - Da gaudiorum premia. Sanctus - Da gaudiorum premia Agnus Dei - Veni Sancte Spiritus - Veni Creator. Gloria in canon. Tonus Peregrinus, Anthony Pitts (conductor). Naxos 8.557341. (70' 06").

Or should it be John Dunstaple, we shall never know, nor will the mystery of how his music arrived in Italy and Germany be solved, for there is no evidence that he ever ventured to Italy, and it is presumption that he went with the Duke of Bedford to Germany. It remains to speculate whether he lived part of his life in France, but for whatever reason these manuscripts did thankfully survive on those foreign parts as few were found in his homeland after his death in 1453. He was apparently a highly gifted man in both science and the arts, his rank in the country as a composer only known from writings of other eminent musicians. At the same time they did cause confusion as to his importance, and today we look back at a highly skilled craftsman who often experimented in unusual harmonic shifts. It was the free flowing tracery over lower and slower supporting lines that was his innovation at the time, the Sanctus on track 7 being a good and particularly beautiful example. There is also an ethereal quality in much that he composed, and you feel he often had a large building in mind for the music's performance. Dates are unknown, though it is thought that these surviving scores came from his later years - he lived till he was 63. The performances from Tonus Peregrinus are very good, the spicy quality of the male altos bringing a cutting edge to their role, their combined performance of his best known work, Veni Sanctus Spiritus, being most convincing. The sopranos are good, floating high passages helped by the resonant acoustic of the recording venue. Of course we can only guess how they would have been originally performed, but this will certainly convince and please modern ears.

TURINA: Sonata romantica on a Spanish theme Op. 3. Sonata fantasia, Op. 59. Rincon magico, Op. 97. Sonata. Concierto sin orquesta, Op.88. Jordi Maso (piano). Naxos 8.557438. (67' 45").

Turina was making such little headway as a musician in Spain that he decided to spend time in Paris to study both the piano and composition. By the age of thirty-one he had established a major career in France, and, as is so often the case, was welcomed on his return to his homeland as one of the country's leading composers. As he was rather shy, he was more at ease writing piano works than working on the musical canvass of the symphony orchestra, though it was this field of composition that made him famous. He wrote piano music throughout his life, dying in 1949 after a long illness. The present disc, which is the second volume in the complete Turina keyboard works - contains his three Sonatas composed in a very personal and Spanish idiom and far from the academic style the title suggests. Structurally they are very fluid yet never less than engaging, though I must confess I was expecting some musical fireworks in the Concierto, which is a rather quiet piece. Most of the items are otherwise unavailable, but in any event you have the feeling that Maso's performances are 'one-off' events. His feel for the idiom and his lovingly shaped phrases bring the music to life, the clarity and razor-sharp precision of his playing creating a glittering quality. Try track 5 as a sample of his brilliance. He is blessed with some of the most realistic piano recording I have ever heard.

GRANDJANY: Fantasy on a theme of Haydn, Op. 31. TOURNIER: Vers la source dans le bois. ROTA: Sarabanda e Toccata. PIERNE: Impromptu-Caprice, Op.9. FALLA: La Vida Breve - Spanish Dance No.1. FAURE: Impromptu, Op.86. Une Chatelaine en sa tour, Op. 110. MURPHY: Harp Concerto ‘And then at night I paint the stars’ – III: Scintillation (Cadenza). PROKOFIEV: Prelude in C major, Op. 12 No.7. SALZEDO: Ballade, Op. 28. Judy Loman (harp). Naxos 8.554561. (59' 23").

A nicely varied and popular selection of harp 'lollypops', the music tending to fall into the instrument's usual role of a sparkling melody accompanied by rippling backdrops. With such a large repertoire to chose from, I don’t quite see the point of including a harp arrangement of Falla's Spanish Dance from the opera La Vida Breve, or the Prokofiev Prelude, particularly as the other tracks are original pieces for the instrument. Gabriel Pierne's much performed Impromptu is one of the most intensely beautiful harp pieces ever conceived, and comes after the rather ordinary work by Nino Rota. Loman ideally shapes the two Faure items, the full extent of her brilliance saved until the end with a really stunning performance of Salzedo's Ballade, a work that has almost become mandatory to all solo harpists. Microphones have been placed quite close so as not to blur the fast running passages, the result is a most realistic sound.

REGER: Choral fantasia on "Alle Menschen muessen sterben", Op 52. Six Trios, Op. 47. Canon in E major. Gigue in D minor. Kanzonetta in A minor. Scherzo in A Major. Siciliano in E Minor. Fugue in C Minor. Introduction, Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme in F sharp minor, Op. 73. Martin Welzel (organ). Naxos 8.557338. (72' 08").

We have reached volume 6 in Naxos's complete organ works of Max Reger and have come to scores that are rarely heard. He was a composer who knew the instrument from the standpoint of an outstanding performer, most of his works having been written for his own use. In style it was a curious mix of the two composers who had stimulated his early interest in the instrument - Bach and Wagner - a pairing that brought a strict academic backdrop to frame the romantic quality of his scores. Many organists regard it as the peak of composition in the late-Romantic era, the music often laying down a challenge with its complexity and density. The massive Introduction, Variations and Fugue being a wonderful score that would please the audience both melodically and in the challenges they know the performer is facing. It is a major masterpiece to act as a foil to the lightweight Six Trios whose content includes a busy scherzo where two completely different ideas seem to be opposing one another, in this performance probably more than Reger expected. The Second Sonata, dating from 1901, counts among his finest works in the genre, the imposing score in four movements concluding with a mighty fugue. I am never quite sure whether I want to hear cycles played by one performer, or to take the Naxos idea that it is good to have various views of a composer. Martin Welzel received his musical training in Germany, moving to the United States to studied with Carole Terry in Seattle. He is technically right on top of the music's difficulties, though some may wish he had brandished his virtuosity more openly. The organ at the Trier Cathedral in Germany has been well captured.

WERTHMULLER: Sonata in A major, Op. 17 (trans. Pfeifer). BACH: Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005 (trans. Krivokapic). SCARLATTI: Sonata K.162 - Andante. Sonata K. 208 - Andante et cantabile. Sonata K. 209 - Allegro (trans. Marchione). BOGDANOVIC: Guitar Sonata No. 2. Goran Krivokapic (guitar). Naxos 8.557809. (61' 09").

A guitar disc largely devoted to music from the Baroque era is a brave choice by the young winner of the 2004 Guitar Foundation of America, with awards in seventeen international competitions before that. They are, of course, all transcriptions for the modern guitar, some rather more successful than others. The twenty-six year old Goran Krivokapic shows a very good response to the period, the trills in the Bach are perfectly tight, and his phrasing is well thought through. You could, of course take exception to the Scarlatti harpsichord pieces, the guitar just a pale reflection of the pungency possible on the keyboard, but as pieces of music they work well enough. It is the move to original guitar music with the Second Sonata by his compatriot Yugoslav composer, Dusan Bogdanovic that gives us the real Krivokapic. It is rather like releasing him from a leash and allowing him to become his own person with passion, brilliance and technical fluency all on display. It is a superb work that exploits the instrument's colours, Krivokapic's nimble right hand bringing a wonderful clarity to the busy pages. Which does bring me back to my hobbyhorse, Krivokapic being so intense in the Baroque era that his left hand fingers move so audibly that for long passages we have a noise preceding every note. Thankfully that largely disappears in the Bogdanovic sonata. But whatever reservation I have, he is a real discovery that you should hear.

MARTINU: Deux chansons. Trois melodies. Vocalise-Etude. Dve balady (Two Ballads to Folk Texts). Ctyri pisne (Four Songs to Folk Texts). Polka and Waltz for piano from the ballet Spalicek. Three Christmas Songs. Four Children’s Songs and Nursery Rhymes. Koleda milostna (Love Carol to a Folk Text), Prani mamince (A Wish for a Mother). Olga Cerna (mezzo-soprano), Jitka Cechova (piano). Naxos 8.557494. (53' 38").

I have never come across Martinu's songs until I heard this disc, though apparently he wrote over a hundred throughout most of his productive career, the majority remaining unpublished at his death. They cover a wide range of subjects from the dramatic to a group related to children's fun songs, all told in a direct and simplistic way that is utterly different to the adventurous Martinu we know from his symphonies and string quartets. Very tuneful, the piano mostly providing little more than a conventional backdrop to the vocal melody, and they make few demands on the performers. Olga Cerna has a very distinctive voice that concentrates on clarity of diction, and maybe it is the recording that smoothes the dynamics. She is well partnered by Jitka Cechova who adds two piano solos, the little Polka more characteristic of Martinu. The disc rather has the CD market to itself.

MUSSORGSKY: Kovanschina. Boris Freitkov (Ivan), Ivan Nechayev (Andrey), Vladimir Ulyanov (Golitsin), Ivan Shashkov (Shaklovity), Sofia Preobrazhenskaya (Marfa), Mark Reizen (Dosifei), Nina Serval (Susanna), Yakov Mischenko (Scribe), Valentina Volokitina (Emma), Kirov Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Boris Khaikin (conductor). Naxos Historical 8.111124-26 (3CDs). (212' 36").

It is the realism of the sound that first strikes you; the delicate orchestral shades realised in a way that defies its origins of the war-torn city of Leningrad in 1946. When the singers enter we do have the forward placing that would have been fashionable at the time, but as the performance progresses we have all manner of effects not least the gradual arrival in the march scene. Remembering those gritty surfaces of my Melodiya pressings that arrived here direct from Russia, this reissue seems to have come from master tapes so quiet is the background. Of course in the big moments we lose inner definition, but the overall sound would sit quite happily on ears brought up in the CD era. Mussorgsky tried to write the text and music of Khovanshchina as he progressed, and on his death little was orchestrated and parts had not even been started, Rimsky-Korsakov left to do both tasks. It was never to achieve a permanent place in the repertoire outside of Russia, and truth to tell it is a work that opens well but slowly runs out of inspiration. Yet given a performance of this quality it does rivet our attention, the fact that it could have been mounted with such excellence so shortly after a war making it even more remarkable. Today, with the exception of the great bass, Mark Reizen in the pivotal role of Dosifei, the names of the cast will mean little, though Sofya Preobrazhenskaya was the leading Russian mezzo of the time and had made a number of appearances at the Salzburg Festival. Her excellent singing of Marfa is characteristic of the dark Slav mezzos and vocally makes an ideal foil to Valentina Volokitina bright soprano as Emma. Boris Freitkov is an impressive Ivan at the centre of the story, though Ivan Nechayev sounds very stressed as Andrey. Boris Khaikin had only recently begun his years as conductor at the Kirov, but he knew his way around the score, shaping every phrase with affection. I'm not so keen on the additional tracks of Russian opera, but it’s a matter of taste. The modern Kirov recording with Gergiev at the helm is mighty attractive, but this older version has an earthy quality that greatly attracts me.

SCHUMANN: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 29. SAINT-SAENS: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33. Carnival of the Animals - The Swan. RUBINSTEIN Melody, Op. 3 No.1 (arr. Popper). Romance, Op. 44 No. 1. RACHMANINOV: Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14. RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Sadko - Song of the Indian Guest. CUI: Orientale, Op. 50, No.9. TCHAIKOVSKY: Chanson Triste, Op. 40 No.2. None but the lonely heart, Op. 6 No.6. Six Morceaux - Valse sentimental in F minor, Op. 51, No. 6. SCHUBERT: Moment Musicale, Op. 94, No. 3. WEBER: Rondo. GRANADOS: Intermezzo. Gregor Piatigorsky (cello), Ralph Berkowitz (piano), London Philharmonic Orchestra, John Barbirolli (conductor), RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner (conductor). Naxos Historical 8.111069. (77' 56').

Born in Russia in 1903, Gregor Piatigorsky became the leading cellist of his era. He was just twenty-one when he was appointed principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, but such was his impact that he decided four years later to devote himself to a soloist's career striking up a duo partnership with Schnabel, and with Carl Flesch added for their trio. He made his debut in the States in 1929 and it was there that he was to spend much of his life, eventually forming a high-profile trio with Heifetz and Rubinstein. He was not a cellist with that deep-throated tonal quality we associate with Russia, his silvery quality shimmering in his quick and pronounced vibrato. Intonation did become questionable as the years passed, and even as early as the 1934 recording of the Schumann there were problems. Yet when everything came together, as in the delectable account of the Saint-Saens' first concerto, he was a most persuasive performer, the accompaniment from the RCA Victor Symphony sparkling with a light-hearted good humour. Yet his widespread fame as a recording artist largely rests on his 'lollypops', and in this field he was excellent, playing them with a profusion of colours that brought them to life. The recordings date from 1934 to 1950 - a large period of his performing life - and are of mixed quality, the Naxos restoration team adequately removing surface noise without a cut-back in frequency range. Not a first choice for the Schumann but otherwise an admirable historic document.

CILEA: L’Arlesiana - E' la solita storia, Act 2. PUCCINI: Manon Lescaut - Ah! Manon, mi tradisce, Act 2. MASCAGNI: Lodoletta - Se Franz dicesse … Ah! ritrovarla, Act 3. Isabeau­ - Non colombelle, Act 1; E passera la viva creatura. GIORDANO: Andrea Chenier - Un di all' azzuro spazio, Act 1. VERDI: La forza del destino - La vita è inferno; Oh tu che in seno, Act 3. MILITELLO: Ninna nanna grigioverde. Tenerezza. TAGLIAFERRI: Passione. CIOFFI: Tre rose. BIZET: Carmen - Quels regards, Votre mere avec moi. NARDELLA: Surdate. CIOFFI: ’Na sera ’e maggio. VALENTE: Troppo ’nnammurato. OLIVIERI: Son poche rose.

LEONCAVALLO: Pagliacci - Si puo (prologue). MILLOCKER: Der Feldprediger - Gluckswalzer. BIXIO: Cinefollia. Dimmi tu, primavera. Beniamino Gigli (tenor), Rina Gigli (soprano), La Scala Orchestra, Umberto Berrettoni / Giovanni Militello (conductors). Orchestra, Dino Olivier (conductor), Prussian State Orchestra, Bruno Seidler-Winkler (conductor), Orchestra and Chorus of the Rome Opera House, Luigi Ricci (conductor). Naxos Historical 8.110272. (76' 49").

We have reached the 1940's in this complete series of Beniamino Gigli recital recordings, by which time he had realised you have to act with your voice as well as just sing. His detractors were complaining that he was now crooning his way through the high passages, and his added acting was to mask the wear and tear on his voice. Both are no doubt true, but this is the period I enjoy most in his career. There seems much more involvement in the characters he is portraying while he has found a way of making popular Neapolitan songs more of an art form. There is one novelty with the tenor singing the prologue to I Pagliacci (the orchestral part rather mutilated), and there is the welcome inclusion of his daughter, Rina, making a brief appearance as Micaela in Bizet's Carmen. She was a soprano that far from enjoying her father's name seems never to have enjoyed the success she deserved. The quality of recording from diverse times and recording locations is remarkably good with the singer placed well forward of the accompaniment. Orchestras were of mixed quality.

J. S. BACH: Fantasia in C minor. SCARLATTI: Sonata in D major. Sonata in D minor. CHAMBONNIERS: Sarabande in D minor. RAMEAU: La Dauphine. Air grave pour deux polonaise. COUPERIN: Les Barricades Mysterieuses. L’Arlequine. Air dans le gout polonaise. CROFT (attrib. PURCELL): Ground in C minor. ANON: The Nightingale. HANDEL: Air and Doubles from Suite No. 5 in E major. MOZART: Rondo in D major. Rondo alla Turca. Menuet in D major. VIVALDI (trans. J. S. BACH): Concerto No. 1 in D major. OGINSKI (trans. LANDOWSKA): Polonaise in A minor. Polonaise in G major. POLONAIS (trans. LANDOWSKA): Gagliarda. LANDOWSKA: Bouree d’Auvergne. The Hop. CATO (trans. LANDOWSKA): Chorea Polonica. COUPERIN (trans. LANDOWSKA): Three Polish Dances of the 17th Century. CHOPIN: Mazurka No. 34 in C major

Wanda Landowska (harpsichord). Naxos 8.111055. (77' 35").

It is now difficult to believe that by the beginning of the 20th century the harpsichord had almost disappeared from concert use. Baroque music was played on the piano, the weak tonal quality of the harpsichord found to be unsuitable to modern concert halls. Onto the scene came the Polish born pianist, Wanda Landowska. Born in 1879, she came to the realisation that her performances of 17th and 18th century music was incorrect and needed the original harpsichord. She commissioned Pleyel to make her a large two-manual instrument that could be heard in modern surroundings, and slowly audiences came to accept the 'new' sounds. Even then the small brigade of harpsichordists criticised her for the 'overblown' sound of her instrument, but more or less single-handed she brought the instrument back to popularity. By today's sterilised standards her playing will appear mannered, her tempos often taken to extremes and phrasing very much her own. Her Scarlatti is big-boned; her Couperin charming, with Handel stylistically well considered. There is some pretty heavy 'rumble' in the background of some tracks that the restoration engineers could not remove without affecting the gusty lower end of her instrument. So this is where the revival started. Hear it for it tells you a great deal about the music.

FOERSTER: Eva. Iveta Jirikova (Eva), Kostyantyn Andreyev (Manek), Denisa Hamarova (Mesjanovka), Igor Tarasov (Samko), Elizabeth Batton (Zuzka), Roland Davitt (Rabac), The Wexford Festival Opera Chorus, Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaroslav Kyzlink (conductor). Marco Polo 8.225308-09. (2CDs). (113' 46").

The plot for Josef Foerster's Eva would have been ideal for Janacek. The seamstress, Eva, escapes from a desperately unhappy marriage to become the mistress of Manek. They leave their Czech village to work on a farm in Austria and life for both is blissful until Manek's mother catches up with them, and persuades her weak-willed son to desert Eva and return home. Eva heartbroken commits suicide by jumping into the Danube. It was to be Foerster's only success in the theatre, though today it has fallen into oblivion. As a composer he had all of the credentials required, having come from a musical family (his father a teacher at the Prague Conservatoire), his immense talents shared between the possibility of becoming a writer, actor or composer. He was to marry one of the leading opera singers of the day, and became a major critic in Prague, Hamburg and Vienna. Yet fame in the theatre he sought eluded him. In Eva, dating from 1897, we probably have the reason, the score beautifully constructed with attractive lyric melodies, the mix of arias and duets arranged to give a well-balanced piece. It is in those moments when Janacek would have screwed up the tension to play on our emotions that Foerster just pulls back, though we must remember that Janacek came later and could well have learned much from Eva. In this well sung performance there is much to enjoy with Iveta Jirikova 's a fulsome voice for Eva that proves deeply moving in the hopelessness of the third and final act. If Kostyantyn Andreyev's lyric tenor as Manek becomes rather pinched at the top, it is a good portrayal of the weak person. The other two major roles, the mother, Mesjanovka, and husband, Samko, are well taken, though it is the orchestra that is the undoubted joy of the release, the chorus joining in with gusto. The sound is the best I have heard from Wexford, stage noises kept to a minimum, the audience remaining quiet - a rare event in this theatre.

MERCADANTE: La Vestale. Doriana Milazzo (Emilia), Dante Alcala (Decio), Agata Bienkowska (Giunia), Davide Damiani (Publio), Danna Glaser (Le Gran Vestale), Andrea Patucelli (High Priest), Ladislav Elgr (Licinio Murena), Mattia Denti (Lucio Silano), Wexford Festival Opera Chorus, Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra, Paolo Arrivabeni (conductor). Marco Polo 8.225310-11 (2CDs). (97' 05").

With Rossini and Donizetti enjoying success touring around Europe, Saverio Mercadante was left to enjoy the opportunities that existed in Italy following the death of Bellini and before the arrival of Verdi on the scene. He composed over 30 operas that enjoyed varying levels of attainment, La Vestale considered by many to be his outstanding work. Certainly it was not short of performances after its Genoa premiere in 1841, in the same year enjoying a long run at Milan's La Scala. The story surrounds the Roman general who is in love with Emilia, forced by her father to become a priestess. The two illicitly meet but are discovered and Emilia is sentenced to death. She is entombed alive, with her lover committing suicide on her tomb. The young Verdi was in the opening night audience, and to be generous the similarity with Aida is probably coincidence, though it cannot be coincidence that Mercadante's first act also has a victory parade complete with fanfare trumpets. Given a good performance - and this one is very good - it has many attractions, the present performance to a new score edited by Marco Galarini from the original manuscript. The long opening act duet between Emilia and Giunia being a particularly wonderful moment, the following march nicely handled, and with the arrival of the virile voiced Dante Alcala, a tenor with an heroic timbre and a real find, the duet ends the first act in highly charged mood. The female singers have the heavy East European vibrato that is an acquired taste, but certainly characterise their roles with conviction. The orchestral playing under Paolo Arrivabeni is quite good, and the sound from this 'live' performance at the Wexford Festival in 2004 is most acceptable (try track 6 on the second disc to sample the performance in general). Stage noises are minimal, but the audience does want to show their pleasure at the end of the big duets.

BRAUNFELS: Prinzessin Brambilla. Enrico Marabelli (Pantalone), Peter Paul (Prince Bastianello), Eric Shaw (Claudio), Elena Lo Forte (Giazinta), Ekaterina Gubanova (Barbara), Vincenc Esteve (Gascon), Alessandro Svab (Brutz), Riccardo Massi (Buffel), Stewart Kempster (Cuniberto), Kim Sheehan (Young Girl), Wexford Festival Opera Chorus, Wexford Festival Children¹s Chorus, Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra, Daniele Belardinelli (conductor). Marco Polo 8.225312-13 (2CDs). (95' 12").

Though now almost totally forgotten Walter Braunfels composed quite a large catalogue of music, despite twice withdrawing from public life when blacklisted by the Nazi party. As an educationalist, he was largely responsible for the creation of the modern Cologne Hochschule fur Musik. He was a traditionalist, his operas mainly in the style of Wagner with Humperdinck as a further influence. He was to write opera through his whole creative career, Prinzessin Brambilla being his earliest score, and it was preparation for a revival in Cologne in 1954 that Braunfels suddenly died. He had completed the score in 1908 to his own libretto based on the story by Hoffmann. Set in 18th century Rome at Carnival time with everybody either in fancy dress or disguise, the plot is - to say the least - complex. But basically it is a love story between an ambitious actor, Claudio, who falls in love with a 'Princess' in disguise, her real identity being the girlfriend he has deserted. Finally she is revealed to be Giazinta, and he comes to his senses and the two are united. For a sample of the opera turn to track 6 on the second disc - the opening of the Carnival scene. It is a work of immense charm and vivacity, and as this is our first experience of the work on disc, we have to take the performance on trust. The singing is of good quality, though I could imagine a more seductive 'Princess'. After some diffidence in the overture the orchestra settles into a most enjoyable accompaniment. There are plenty of stage noise early in the work, but they are generally less evident as the piece progresses. Sound quality is well detailed and has plenty of impact.

LUMBYE: Napoli - Final Galop. Eugenie Waltz. Polka militaire. Mjoiner Galop. Greeting from Stockholm. Holger Danske. Spanish Gypsy Dance. The Alleenberg Steam Carousel Galop. The Paris Student. The Dream of the Young Mother - Dream Pictures, Fantasia. Echo from Denmark. Il Trovatore - Final Galop. Julefestgave - Anna Waltz. Borneballet - Hopsa Galop. Tivoli Symphony Orchestra, David Riddell (conductor). Marco Polo 8.225266. (60' 30").

All too often such extended series run out of steam, but this one devoted to Lumbye bucks the trend, with the attractions of each new album growing in interest. Volume 11 opens with an invigorating galop from the ballet, Napoli, my interest grabbed by the Eugenie Waltz, a piece that could have done service as an Offenbach operetta overture. Riddell's tempos seem just right, the waltzes never rushed, polkas bouncing rather than pushed along. Fortunately the orchestra play considerably better than their vocal contribution to The Paris Student, one of the most extensive and skilfully worked pieces on the disc. That he was influenced by the music of the Strauss family is part of the Lumbye story, and we do have many of the effects that Johann embroidered onto his scores. Yet as we hear in The Dream of the Young Mother, Lumbye can be far more inventive than any of the Strauss dinesty. Maybe in the final analysis he did not have the ability to compose immediately memorable melodies, but give him a chance with a few hearings and the melodies have more inherent grace. The Tivoli orchestra, which Lumbye founded, possesses the lilt and bounce the music requires, with the technical side of the orchestra always impeccably presented under the watchful eye of their conductor. The engineers have gone in close to the orchestra to obtain a nice punchy sound, and if you haven't started collecting the series yet, start here.