The Lost Generation The
The Lost Generation The Orchestra Now; Leon Botstein Avie Records AV2684 (avie-records.com/ releases/the-lost-generation-hugo-kauder- •-hans-erich-apostel-•-adolph-busch) ! Leon Botstein (founder-conductor of Orchestra Now, a graduate-level, multi-year program at Bard College in Red Hook, New York) enjoys rediscovering and performing unfairly neglected works. Here, works by three composers of “the lost generation” – those born between 1888 and 1901 – receive their first available recordings. Hans Erich Apostel’s Variations on a Theme by Haydn (1940) utilizes a graceful theme from Haydn’s Symphony No.103. Apostel’s variations, while not completely atonal, reflect his studies with Schoenberg and Berg. Despite their melodic aridity and astringent harmonies, listener engagement is maintained by Apostel’s imaginative changes of tempo, rhythm and orchestration. Renowned violinist Adolf Busch composed his sentimental, cheerful Variations on an Original Theme for piano four-hands (1944) as a Christmas gift for his wife. Often played by his son-in-law Rudolf Serkin and grandson Peter, they’re heard here in Peter Serkin’s orchestration. The CD’s major offering, Hugo Kauder’s 40-minute Symphony No.1 (1920-1921), opens with Bewegt. As per its title, it’s emotionally agitated, Brucknerian in sonority and drama. The following scherzo is a wryly rustic Mahlerian dance (Kauder dedicated the symphony to Alma Mahler), interrupted by a lyrically nostalgic trio. The gorgeous slow movement is very much in the Bruckner- Mahler mould, featuring long-lined, yearning melodies and noble, hymn-like crescendos. The finale, a passacaglia, begins skulkingly, with alternating playful and solemn variations before ending abruptly. Amazingly, it took 100 years since its creation for Botstein to conduct this fine symphony’s U.S. premiere at Carnegie Hall in 2022. Michael Schulman Cuando el Fuego Abrasa Ensemble Bayona; Eros Jaca Eudora Records EUD-SACD-2403 (eudorarecords.com) ! At first glance, the cultural connection between Spain and Switzerland may seem a tenuous one. Nevertheless, the two countries work closely together on political, economic and cultural levels and this premier recording by the Spanish-based quintet Ensemble Bayona is an intriguing demonstration of this close alignment. Titled Cuando el Fuego Abras (When the Fire Burns), it features works by both Swiss and Spanish composers, all of them first recordings. Focusing on music from the first half of the 20th century, the ensemble made its debut in Berlin in 2021 having won the Dwight and Ursula Mamlok Prize the previous year. The disc opens with the Piano Quintet in F Major Op.6 by Swiss composer Joseph Lauber, music very much in the German late romantic style. What a fine sound these musicians produce, the warm tone of the strings – particularly from cellist and artistic director Eros Jaca – perfectly blending with the solid and assured playing by pianist Camile Sublet. In contrast are two contemporary compositions, the Variations on a Swiss Theme for string trio by Swiss-born Christoph Blum and the Cantos for string quartet by Valencian composer Francisco Coll. The variations are a true study in contrasts with alternating pizzicati and glissandi and the use of vocal parts throughout, while the Cantos is quietly introspective. The program returns to 20th century Spain with a 12-movement suite from Manual de Falla’s 1915 ballet El Amor Brujo specifically arranged for the ensemble by the Spanish composer José Luis Turina. The ensemble approaches the music with much bravado with vocalist Maria José Pérez further enhancing this fine performance of De Falla’s colourful and sensuous score. With outstanding playing and a melding of two musical cultures, this disc is well worth investigating. Richard Haskell Solace Kormaz Can Saglam Sono Luminus DSL-92272 (sonoluminus. com/store/solace) ! The name Korkmaz Can Sağlam may not be an overly familiar one, but this up and coming Turkish pianist already has much to his credit. Born in Ankara in 1999, he was the Grand Prize winner of the 2022 Alexis Gregory Vendome Prize, having received his bachelor’s degree from the Juilliard School. While there, he was also recipient of the Ahmet Ertegün Memorial Scholarship and the Susan W. Rose Piano Fellowship. Sağlam is currently pursuing his master’s degree at the Cleveland Institute and this premiere recording, featuring works by Handel, Rachmaninoff and Turkish composer Ilayda Deniz Oguz, is worthy proof of his stature. Handel’s six-movement Suite in D Minor (c.1720) is a set of stylized dance movements, each a musical miniature. Sağlam delivers a polished and elegant performance, from the expansive opening Prelude to the virtuosic presto finale, easily demonstrating that baroque keyboard repertoire can sound as convincing on a concert grand as it does on a harpsichord. History has never been too kind to the Rachmaninoff Piano Sonata No.1 Op.28. Very much in the grand late romantic tradition; it was written for the composer’s tour to the U.S. in 1909, yet he never performed it in public again. Nevertheless, Sağlam approaches the score with a particular vitality, always clearly focused throughout the myriad technical complexities. In contrast is Rachmaninoff’s lyrical In the Silence of the Secret Night, the third of his Six Romances Op.4. Of even greater dissimilarity is Bozluk, a contemporary composition by Sağlam’s friend Ilayda Deniz Oguz, where the use of prepared piano demonstrates yet another facet of Sağlam’s musical capabilities. Richard Haskell MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY Canadian Suite Celebrations Duo Majoya Centrediscs CMCCD 32423 (cmccanada. org/shop/cmccd-32423) ! The talents of five veteran Canadian keyboardists combine in listenerfriendly music for the unusual pairing of piano and organ, championed by Edmonton-based Duo Majoya – pianist Joachim Segger and organist Marnie Giesbrecht, both now retired from university posts in Edmonton. From 1969 to 2021, Denis Bédard (b.Quebec City 1950) served as a church organist in Quebec and Vancouver. His charming fiveminute Capriccio (2007) made me smile. The four brief movements of his Duet Suite (1999) are, in turn, dramatic, playful, stately-ceremonial and celebratory. Bédard’s 27-minute Grande Suite (2016) is, by far, the CD’s longest work. Overture moves from solemnity to cheerfulness. Evocation (Des prairies canadiennes) is a haunting soundscape of hushed repeated piano arpeggios over moody organ chords. Ritournelle is a piquant folk dance, Dialogue an echoing children’s song, Intermezzo a hesitant waltz, followed by the mock-courtly Menuet and jubilant Marche. Pianist-organist Ruth Watson Henderson (b.Toronto 1932) was, for many years, accompanist for the Festival Singers and Toronto Children’s Chorus, composing over 200 choral pieces. Her Suite (2011) is in four brief movements – a portentous Prelude, gentle Intermezzo, a searching, ambulating 44 | September 2024 thewholenote.com
Romance and rollicking Dance. In 1976, Jacobus Kloppers (b.1937) left his native South Africa, settling in Edmonton where he chaired Kings College’s music department (1979-2005), also teaching organ at the University of Alberta. In The Last Rose of Summer – Reminiscences in Autumn (2011), he quotes the title song in music surging with sentiment, ending in an aura of quiet nostalgia. Michael Schulman Games of the Night Wind – 12 Nocturnes by David Jaeger Christina Petrowska Quilico Navona Records nv6630 (navonarecords. com/catalog/nv6630) ! The celebrated Canadian pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico has collaborated with composer and producer David Jaeger on a number of recordings over many decades. Games of the Night Wind is their third on the Navona Records imprint alone. The devotion of the pianist to the composer’s music is, predictably, personal. It speaks of long acquaintance with these works on offer, the 12 Nocturnes by Jaeger, and you need only sample the first set of four to hear how lovingly the pianist caresses the music that gives it a unique raptness. While the 12 Nocturnes may be the centrepiece of the recording, particularly the tenth which lends the album its name, and the other nocturnes are spectacular as well. For example, the enormously uplifting second, A Blessing, the sixth, Forget the Day and the ninth Lament for the People of Ukraine, are all especially impactful. With Jaeger’s nocturnes we are treated to the composer’s sublime grasp of the form, and enthralled by Petrowska Quilico’s performance. Her treatment of the other pieces is absolutely scintillating too. Toru Takemitsu’s Les Yeux Clos is other-worldly-ethereal, and Henryk Górecki’s Intermezzo is longlimbed and beautiful. Meanwhile Górecki’s superb, crepuscular Lullaby is evocative (as an angular contrafact) of Mozart’s Twelve Variations on Ah vous dirai-je, Maman, albeit darker in colour. Jaeger also gets high marks as session producer of this recording. Raul da Gama A Walk to Meryton Made by Musicbots and Arne Eigenfeldt Redshift Records TK533 (redshiftmusicsociety.bandcamp.com) ! North Vancouverbased composer Arne Eigenfeldt has worked with Artificial Intelligence since the1980s. His musical tool creation Musebots is a modular, interactive system which generates countless musical environments like washes, percussive sounds, held notes, intervals and low to high pitches. Ten pieces with video co-written and generated by Musebots feature genres like contemporary music, jazz, spoken word and electronics. Live human performers John Korsrud (trumpet, flugelhorn), Meredith Bates (violin), Jon Bentley (soprano & tenor saxophones) and Barbara Adler (text/reading) were recorded then overlaid to the Musebots tracks. Each musician was given a generated score with melodies, harmonic progressions and suggestions where to improvise. Adler wrote her spoken texts based on her conversations with Eigenfeldt about walking, Jane Austin, musebots and internal dialogs. Room for a Moment features tonal, accessible lyricism like electronic clicks, held notes and ringing bell sounds between phrases. Background spoken words and violin mix well to closing comforting sound. Fit As You Are opens with a repeated walking and exercising drum beat. Then a bit slower with intervals and held notes. Spoken word articulation at times matches the generated rhythms. Trumpet and sax fit well but are too soft. In Pleasure to Suffer grim low held notes support higher lines of spoken word, alternating bell like sounds and held notes. Abrupt saxophone trills add interest. I am SO surprised and excited by this Musebots generated music. Yes, it still has that “familiar TV/film computer sound” yet Musebot’s lush harmonic tonal to atonal melodies, washes and percussive rhythms combine perfectly with the human performers. Tiina Kiik Vanessa Marcoux – Cendres Vanessa Marcoux; Marie-Christine Poirier; Strings Independent (youtube.com/ playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ m8IULQX12yWqxLhPwlHI63QGXkhcnHpQ) ! This CD comes without any information about Vanessa Marcoux other than that she’s the violin soloist in her own compositions, performing with pianist Marie-Christine Poirier, also heard here, as Duo Cordelia. Also lacking, other than the movement titles, are any descriptions of the music. Searching online, I learned that she’s Québecoise, was born in 1986, studied composition with Ana Sokolović, was a member of the Juno-nominated klezmer band Oktopus and scored the film adaptation What we're listening to this month: thewholenote.com/listening Time Again Koppel Blade Koppel An absolutely diverse, constantly captivating album. Father and son, the Koppels, join forces with master drummer Brian Blade - Three hearts with the same beat. Evolver Bruno Råberg Tentet "..all the heft and color of a big band, with imaginative arrangements that exploit the timbral range from bottom to top.” J. Garelick - ArtsFuse That Place, Darling Heather Macdonald Unbound by genre, this “wonderfully evocative and spirited” (Textura) debut reimagines the landscape for oboe recordings. Gift Marteau Rouge & Evan Parker They build a coherent collective structure before making it implode. So, a lava of sound sweeps away all barriers. We, the witnesses, float like slag... fumaroles, shadows... thewholenote.com September 2024 | 45
