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Sergei
RACHMANINOV
Piano Concertos 1 & 4
Simon Trpceski & Vasily Petrenko
Avie Records
THE TELEGRAPH: “As with their Avie coupling of the Second and Third Concertos (AVR 2192) last year Simon Trpceski, Vasily Petrenko and the RLPO bring understanding and instinct to their performances, and take to heart the different temperaments that each of the three works on this recording manifests.
If the First Concerto is essentially music of youthful optimism, the Fourth is shot through with far more hints of deep nostalgia and, at times, agonized brooding. The Fourth Concerto in the “definitive” 1941 version, played here, is markedly different from the one Rachmaninoff conceived in the 1920s. The concerto’s outer movements have a new, almost menacing energy and darker undercurrents that this performance brings out.
Here, as in the First Concerto and Paganini Rhapsody, the judicious variety of touch and color, and ability to reveal important details of the music, combine with an expressive maturity to make these performances utterly compelling.”
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John
Luther ADAMS
Four Thousand Holes
Hallé Orchestra
Stephen Drury
Cold Blue Music
BOSTON GLOBE: There are at this moment, strange to say, two composers named John Adams writing significant contemporary classical music. John Coolidge Adams is much better known, as the composer of operas such as “Nixon in China’’ and “Doctor Atomic.’’ But the reputation of John Luther Adams has been building in recent years, as the lush, meditative music of this Alaska-based composer has begun traveling far from the western wilderness landscapes from which it draws its prime inspiration.
His recent piece, “Four Thousand Holes,’’ was in fact commissioned by the Boston-based pianist Stephen Drury, who will give its first performance on June 23 in Jordan Hall as part of this year’s Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice — better known by its nickname, “Sick Puppy.’’ In advance of that premiere the work has found its way onto a compelling new disc on the Cold Blue label, with Drury and percussionist Scott Deal. (Drury’s Callithumpian Consort takes on the disc’s second work “… and bells remembered …’’ from 2005.)
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Edward ELGAR
Enigma Variations & Overture “In the Sound”
Vladimir Ashkenazy
EXTON
CLASSICAL MUSIC SENTINEL: Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) is one of the few British composers whose music suffers from too much Wagnerian and Brahmsian influence. A classicist with solid foundations, his music just doesn't seem to fit his period in time. Although he is considered a national treasure in his own country, most of his music fails to grab the attention of the non-British public. If it wasn't for his Cello Concerto, made famous by the wonderful recording by Jacqueline du Pré, or the Variations on an Original Theme "Enigma", Op. 36, his name might have been doomed to fade within the pages of musical history books.
The Enigma Variations is without a doubt, a staple at the English dinner table. It's one of those magic recipes loaded with all the best ingredients, some of them secret, culled from its own backyard. But add impressive craftmanship and originality to the mix, and it has become a favorite dish served regularly around the world. In fact the "Nimrod" variation at the centre of the work, with its stoic melancholy and broad harmonic intervals, has come to represent English music at its best.
The people at Exton, a Japanese audiophile label, have once again produced an impressive recording with plenty of headroom. The imaging is so natural that you can almost visualize the space between the instruments, but yet the orchestral sound is rich and full of impact. The strings shimmer in the high notes, and the bass drums, rather than being heard, are felt like distant thunder. Highly recommended!
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Julian Steckel
Cello Concertos
CAvi-music
MUSICWEB-INTERNATIONAL: This is the
concerto debut disc by the young – not yet thirty – German cellist Julian Steckel. Let me say right away I like everything about this disc – a lot! Intelligently programmed, very well engineered and stunningly played by both the orchestra and all importantly the soloist. Clearly there are many fine cellists competing for the attention of the classical music world. Most have bravura techniques that were the reserve of the super-elite barely a generation ago but all too often this can be at the expense of musicality or sensitivity. What impresses and indeed thrills me about Steckel’s playing is the range of colour and emotion he finds in this trio of rather wonderful scores.
I like very much the balance that has been achieved between soloist and orchestra. Given that the three works were recorded at different sessions spread over four months the consistency of the sound is exceptional. Here on a single disc we have the finest version of the Korngold and performances of major works by Bloch and Goldschmidt more than equal to any other. Julian Steckel – remember that name – Bravo!
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