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Music Lane It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes. |
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Music Lane It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes. |
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In Reply to: Jumping the gun just a bit: My faves from 2014 posted by Chris from Lafayette on December 23, 2014 at 17:11:22:
I love these lists, always turn up something we missed. I usually run my list on PF but have a feeling it won't get run this year, so here it is for fun.
Lutoslawski. Symphonies, Concertos, Choral and Vocal Works. 10 CDs. Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit. Naxos 8.501066.
Listening to this generous treasure trove of music by Polish modernist composer Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994) affords a marvelous opportunity to hear twentieth century music evolve in the hands of a single brilliant composer. Lutoslawski is the major voice of first generation Polish modernism, years ahead of his great successor, Penderecki. Very little of his music is performed by American orchestras, keeping us even more provincial that we already are. Naxos is both wise and fortunate to have allied themselves with Wit and the Polish National, the organization who have also recorded much of Penderecki's music for the label. Naxos' presentation of these two major modernist composers is a huge cultural gift to the world.
Britten. Reflections. Matthew Jones, viola and violin. Annabel Thwaite, piano. Naxos 8.573136.
I did not realize until I listened to this wonderful new release of his (very) early music for solo viola, viola and piano, and violin and piano how much of his most moving music was written in the 1930's when Britten was in his late teens and early twenties. He knew a lot of what he knew from the beginning. Part of what makes this group of works (14) so impressive is the musicianship. To my ears, violinist/violist Jones and pianist Thwaite have an instinctive feel for Britten
Thomas Adès, The Tempest. The Metropolitan Opera HD Live. Thomas Adès, conductor. Robert LePage, producer. Deutsche Gramophone. DVD 073 4932.
DG has released a high definition DVD of the Met's 2012 production of Thomas Adès' The Tempest. It comes without Meredith Oakes' libretto, so you'll need the CD release too, which includes one; or you can order one through Amazon for $5 and change. http://www.amazon.com/The-Tempest-Libretto-Faber-Edition/dp/0571523374. The staging adds enormously to the experience—no surprise there—and now that I've seen this DVD, I consider it essential for getting at some of the wonderful visual subtleties of the opera.
Ludwig Van Beethoven. Piano Trios, Opus 70 and 97 ("Archduke"). Alexander Melinkov, piano; Isabel Faust, violin; Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello. Harmonia Mundi HMC 902125.
Those who prefer their Beethoven restrained will likely find Melinkov-Faust-Queyras too outspoken. They are that. But they are also so good they may well lead you to rethink your preference. I'll admit I was afraid of this album before I heard it. I knew it wasn't going to sound like the Florestans whom I admire greatly, and I was right about that. All I can say to you now is, fear not. And the sound is terrifically present.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Magnificat; Heilig is Gott, WQ217; Sinfonia in D Sharp Major. RIAS Chamber Choir, Akadamie für Alte Musik Berlin. Hans-Christoph Rademann. Harmonia Mundi HMC 902167.
Coming to the choral music of CPE Bach from that of his father, Johann Sebastian, can be an thrilling shock, especially if the son is in the hands of Alte Musik Berlin who relish their difference. We leap from the baroque to the rococo, where textures are simpler, melodic lines are longer, and the atmosphere is more vibrant. Alte Musik Berlin's CPE Magnificat (1849) gives us religious faith that is bursting with more affirmative energy than reverence.
Schubert. ‘Goerne Schubert Cycle, Vols. 8 and 9.' Wanderers Nachtlied. Matthias Goerne, baritone. Helmut Deutsch, Eric Schneider, piano. Harmonia Mundi HMC 902109 and Wintereisse, with Eschenbach, piano. HMC902107.
Schubert's lieder is his greatest music. It is also the most protean. It changes its very being depending on its interpretation. I am fond of its painfully lyric eloquence coming through the voice of high tenor Peter Pears; and of the smooth richness that comes through Fischer-Diskau. But from Mathis Goerne, I hear music that almost literally makes the earth move, as it surely must have done in the musical mind of the composer himself. Goerne sings like God's cello, the instrument most often compared with the human voice—the entire range of the cello. There is a timbre to his voice that no other Schubert singer can approach.
Shostakovich, Symphonies Nos 13 and 14. Gal James, soprano. Alexander Vinogradov, baritone. Royal Liverpool Symphony Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko. Naxos 8.573132 and 8.573218.
Petrenko's continuing insistence on Shostakovich as musical poet and the emotional power of his ardent young soloists, Russian baritone Vinogradov and Israeli soprano James (on No. 14), makes moments of these performances almost overwhelming. That anyone could imagine Shostakovich being considered Mahler's superior let alone his equal would have been unthinkable as recently as a decade ago. If this view is now thinkable, we have Vasily Petrenko to thank for this.
Alfred Schnittke, Complete Piano Music. Simon Smith. Delphian D D 34131 (2 cds's)
As a whole, this 2-CD album is an exciting and representative introduction to a composer who is just beginning to be appreciated. This is twenty-first century music composed a half century before we were ready for it. The sound is spectacular: I've seldom heard this much of a piano on a recording. Clear the room of the timid and timorous and let it rip. This is one of my favorite releases of 2014.
Brian Ferneyhough. Complete Works for String Quartet and Trio. Arditti Quartet. Claron McFadden, soprano. aeon records AECD 1335 (3 CD's).
To my 76-year-old ears, along with the somewhat more conservative Thomas Adès, Ferneyhough has become (always was?) the premier British modernist. But that won't make him any easier for you if you're where I was twenty years ago. This music was composed between 1967 and 2010. It is music you are unlikely ever to hear in a concert hall, at least in the U.S. At least outside New York City. It is too bold, too unsociable! Is there such a thing as delicious dissonance? If so, this is it. Not in the least sweet or smooth on the pallet. But tasty. Tangy, peaty, complex.
Anthony McGill, Pacifica Quartet, Mozart and Brahms Clarinet Quintets. Çedille CDR 90000 147.
McGill's clear, rich tone, no surprise, takes center stage as it should. I haven't heard a great many clarinetists over the years but he's easily the best I've heard. The Pacifica musicians clearly knew whom they wanted for this outing. Their characteristically crisp style complements his harmonic richness perfectly. On the Brahms, McGill's musicianship is absolutely mesmerizing. While we are able to hear the differences between woodwind and strings, McGill brings them closer together, which on the Brahms especially makes the work more moving. This is some of the most exciting playing I've heard this year.
Music in Europe at the Time of the Renaissance. [Various Artists and Ensembles] Ricercar.
This is 'the album I can't put away.' Surely we all have a few of these. No matter what I listen to and then either add to the shelf or give away to my trusty webmaster, this one sits there and says, 'Come back—this is where you want to be.' Issued by one of the great niche (renaissance and baroque) companies, Ricercar, it is a treasure. Choice of repertoire, quality of voices & instrumental musicianship, and richness and clarity of recorded sound are all A+. Not to mention a handsome book with commentary with a complete list of the rich and varied musical contents, work by work, along with names of artists and ensembles. Eight CD's presumably compiled from their extensive catalog (not just re-released whole CD's) along with a large selection of recordings from Harmonia Mundi, Accent, Ramée, Pasacaglia, Alpha, and Glossa, which cover scores of renaissance composers from all over Europe, paying special attention to major composers but seemingly getting everyone else as well. Choral and instrumental music, sacred and secular. If you plan on buying just one album this year, make it this one. Fulsome and exquisite.
Ludwig Van Beethoven, Complete Works for Cello. Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello. Alexander Melnikov, piano. 2 CD's. Harmonia Mundi HMC 90218384.
One of the best recorded performances of this music, it does not respect the music too much to go at it—with humor, imagination, and expressiveness. Queyras and Melniikov are sufficiently major musicians to meet Beethoven on his own high, mercurial ground. Right from the first movement of Sonata No. 1, they go with him through beauty, grace, strut, virtuosity, sass, and even charm. And the character of their playing never lets up. Great music making.
Penderecki. Chamber Works. Vol. 1 Various musicians. Dux 0780
You don’t have to know much about classical music or be a fan of contemporary modernism to hear how good this music is. To my ears his closest predecessor is Stravinsky. But where Stravinsky depends on structure within which he builds his modernist art. Penderecki is freer. His music is the natural progression from the great Russians. I hope this series goes on forever.
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Follow Ups
- RE: Jumping the gun just a bit: My faves from 2014 - Bob Neill 12/24/1410:04:52 12/24/14 (2)
- Archduke... - kuma 14:29:14 12/24/14 (0)
- Wow - Thanks, Bob - Great List and Descriptions! - Chris from Lafayette 10:30:20 12/24/14 (0)
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