Volume 30 Issue 3 | December 2024 & January 2025

cool jazz, rock,

cool jazz, rock, hip-hop, free jazz and rapall shape the characters in this AfricanAmerican-Jewish family. The hip-hop beatthat drives the activist daughter Ruth’s sensationalI will tell you about Blackness has anurgency that intensifies her fury. Exquisitemodernist textures colour the heartbreakingdeathbed scene between the father, David,a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, andyounger son Joey, a pianist. The transformationof Purcell’s Music for a While intoan infectiously catchy vocal ensemble isused to bring the three siblings together forwhat turns out to be the last time. “Classicsmeets the street,” the eldest son Jonah, anopera singer, says. “People need this,” headds. Indeed.Defoort and van Kraaij draw on key historicevents in the never-ending struggle for civilrights in America. Inevitably what happensglobally impacts each character directly.Marian Anderson’s concert at the LincolnMemorial in 1939 brings hope and joy toDelia, an African American singer, and Davidwhen they first meet there. But the RodneyKing riots in 1992 bring tragedy for Jonah.This live recording was made during thefirst staged production at La Monnaie in2021, which won the the International OperaAward 2022 for Best World Premiere. Theexcellent cast, with Claron McFadden, AbigailAbraham, Lilly Jørstad, Levy Sekgapane,Simon Bailey, Peter Braithwaite and Mark S.Doss, the jazz quartet featuring Mark Turner’smelancholy tenor saxophone, the La MonnaieChamber Orchestra and choirs, are all ledby Canadian-Trinidadian conductor KwaméRyan with palpable insight and versatility.Pamela MarglesCLASSICAL AND BEYONDHenri-Joseph Rigel and the Winds ofRevolutionMagali Simard-Galdes; Nicholas Scott;Melisande McNabney; Arion BaroqueOrchestra; Mathieu LussierATMA ACD2 2828 (atmaclassique.com/en/product/rigel-and-the-winds-of-revolution)! The nameHenri-JosephRigel is probablyan unfamiliar onetoday, but duringhis lifetime he wasa highly esteemedcomposer andconductor in 18thcentury France. Born Heinrich-Joseph Riegelin Wertheim am Main in 1741, he moved toParis in 1767 where he soon earned a reputationin musical circles for his harpsichordpieces, symphonies and concertos, in additionto 14 operas.It seems particularly appropriate that theMontreal-based Arion Ensemble Baroquehas chosen to uncover the music of thisdeserving but largely forgotten composer onthis splendid recording titled Le Souffle de laRévolution under the direction of MathieuLussier. Collaborating with the Centre deMusique Baroque de Versailles, the grouppresents a program not dissimilar to a concertof the period in its attractive mix of orchestralworks, concertos, arias and duets.Leading off the program are the overtureand three arias from Rigel’s 1781 pastoralcomedy Blanche et Vermeille, the vocalpieces artfully performed by Québec sopranoMagali Simard-Galdès and British-born tenorNicholas Scott. The singers both do justice tothis unfamiliar repertoire and return laterin the program for arias from Rigel’s revolutionaryperiod operas Pauline et Henri andAlix de Beaucaire.The Symphony Op.12 No.2 and theFortepiano Concerto in F Major are fineexamples of the Viennese classical style –do I detect echoes of Haydn? The concertofeatures soloist Mélisande McNabney whooffers a stylish performance and provides aconvincing cadenza while under Lussier’scompetent baton, Arion proves a solid andsensitive partner.Like finding a treasure in an attic, thediscovery of this hitherto unknown music isa delight and a big merci to the AOB not onlyfor some fine music making, but for rescuingit from oblivion.Richard HaskellRobert Nathaniel Dett – NorthernMagnoliasLuke WelchIndependent (lukewelch.ca)! When we thinkof musical contributionsmade byBlack composersin America duringthe late 19th andearly 20th century,names like ScottJoplin or WilliamHandy may come to mind most immediately.Yet alongside these composers were otherssuch as William Grant Still and Florence Pricewho were more closely aligned with the late-Romantic European tradition. This list wouldalso include Robert Nathaniel Dett who wasborn near Niagara Falls, Ontario in 1882.Dett began piano studies when he was fiveand later studied at the Oberlin Conservatoryin Ohio where he was the first Black graduateto receive a Bachelor of Music degree. Heenjoyed a successful career as a composer,pedagogue and conductor and a fine selectionof his piano works appears on this delightful– and attractively-packaged – recording byToronto-based pianist Luke Welch.The disc opens with the five-movementMagnolia Suite from 1912, Dett’s first largescalework for piano. Movements such asThe Deserted Cabin and The Place wherethe Rainbow Ends are highly evocative,harkening back to a more innocent age. Othercompositions range in date from 1913 to 1922,all of them finely crafted miniatures with awide range of contrasting moods. After theCakewalk clearly shows the influence ofScott Joplin with its syncopated rhythms andragtime harmonies, while His Song from thesuite In the Bottoms is quietly introspective.Throughout, Welch displays a real affinityfor this engaging repertoire, his playingelegant and sensitively articulated. The discconcludes with the Inspiration Waltzes from1903. Ebullient and joyful, this is very muchmusic of its time and Welch treats it withgreat panache, rounding out a most satisfyingprogram.Richard HaskellBeethoven – Piano Concerto No.1 in CMajor; Sally Beamish – City StanzasJonathan Biss; Swedish Radio SymphonyOrchestra; Omer Meir WellberOrchid Classics ORC1003339(orchidclassics.com/releases/orc100339-beethoven-5-vol-2)! This is thesecond volumeof a series of thefive Beethovenconcertos frompianist JonathanBiss, each pairinga newly commissionedpianoconcerto with the Beethoven work thatinspired it. Here, Beethoven’s Concerto No.1in C Major Op.15 is paired with City Stanzasby British composer Sally Beamish. Theopening tutti of the Beethoven is immediatelywarm and elegant, with the SwedishRadio Symphony Orchestra directed by OmerMeir Wellber in fine form. Biss’ entrance issensitively shaped and coloured, with thepiano balanced slightly forward. The centraldevelopment section is darkly atmospheric,piano and orchestra creating a stilled andmysterious hush which still manages to keepa sense of forward momentum. Biss playsthe longest of the three cadenzas Beethovenwrote, but it does not outstay its welcomedespite its oversized dimensions; Biss is byturns dramatic, playful, and improvisatory,with an acute awareness of the unexpectedharmonic shifts. The Adagio second movementis deeply serene, and the finale playfullyenergetic, with Biss and Wellber makingthe most of the music’s many contrasts.Throughout, Biss is especially impressive inthe sparkling clarity of his passagework. Inshort, this is a performance both sophisticatedand exciting that fully delivers on theambition and expressive depth of the youngBeethoven.The companion work by Beamish isengaging and accessible, well-suited to Biss’transparent textures and awareness of suddencharacter changes. While all the work isderived from some aspect of the Beethoven50 | December 2024 & January 2025 thewholenote.com

concerto – pitches, rhythms, and structure –the mood is dark and sardonic, inspired byurban decay, greed and anxiety for the future.The toccata-like opening movement is spikyand pointillistic, the second builds to a climaxof deep anxiety, and the work concludes witha rhythmically dynamic rondo. As in theBeethoven, the performance is first-class, therecording detailed and realistic.Stephen RungeLiszt MetamorphosisCharlotte HuPentatone PTC 5187 259 (pentatonemusic.com/pianist-charlotte-hu-presents-lisztmetamorphosis)! It has been saidthat Franz Lisztquarried all availablemusical sourcesand reworkedthe material intoshowstoppersthat revealed hecould play octavesfaster and hit thekeys harder than anyone else; to even breakpiano keys. However, as these performancesreveal that while there may indubitably bemore than a dash of the showman in Liszt,his contribution to the development of 19thcentury music was immense. His pianisticfireworks represent just the surface, for in hissymphonic approach to music he anticipatedthe tone poems of Strauss, the fluid structuresof Wagner and the passionate romanticism ofSchubert and Schumann.It may take more than one disc such as LisztMetamorphosis from the prodigiously giftedpianist Charlotte Hu to demonstrate whatLiszt’s enduring legacy did for not simplypiano repertoire, but for music as a whole.However, Hu’s uncommonly deep dive intoLiszt’s conception – and her own artistry – isa wonderful start.Liszt’s shining genius – and Hu’s owntransmutation – is evident in the overwhelminglypowerful and authoritative readings ofthis performance. Hu unveils passion andpiety in the Schubert transcriptions, especiallyAve Maria (D 389), and the hair-raisingErlkönig (D.328).To play Liszt’s 3 Concert Etudes S.144requires formidable technique. To play themso that the poetry (rather than the effort)shines through – as in No. 3 Un Suspiro –requires a gift afforded to few. Hu’s Lisztshows her to be at the apogee of her art.Raul da GamaJohannes Brahms – The SymphoniesChamber Orchestra of Europe; YannickNézet-SéguinDeutsche Grammophon 486 6000(deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/brahms-the-symphoniesyannick-nezet-seguin-13508)! “I shall neverwrite a symphony!You have no ideawhat it’s like,how hard it is tocompose whenalways you hear thefootsteps of thatgiant marchingbehind you,” Brahms wrote in a letter to theconductor Herman Levi in 1872, when he(Brahms) was 40 years old. So deeply had hestruggled to write his first symphony, his earlyyears spent in fear of being compared withBeethoven, that his first symphony didn’t seethe light of day until 1876.Within a decade he had completed hissecond, third and fourth symphonies, asequence so revered that many declared themto be the most distinguished symphonicmusic since Beethoven. Hans von Bulow, whoconducted the premiere of Symphony No.4,famously declared that his favourite key wasE flat (signified by the letter b in German),for its three flat notes symbolised for himthe “Holy Trinity” of Bach, Beethoven andnow Brahms.No such shadows pursue Yannick Nézet-Séguin as he conducts the Chamber Orchestraof Europe through his cycle of JohannesBrahms: The Symphonies. He appearsunfazed despite the fact that he followssuch giants as Wilhelm Furtwangler whose1940s/1950s cycle seethes with broodingenergy and an overriding sense of tragedy.Nor is he affected by Herbert von Karajan’straditionalist cycle. He does appear to giveNikolaus Harnoncourt’s brilliant cerebralcycle on period instruments a run for itsmoney, though.The quality of the conducting by Nézet-Séguin, and the Chamber Orchestra ofEurope’s playing on this cycle, is altogetherexceptional. Nézet-Séguin takes nothing forgranted in his Brahms, nor should we whilelistening, even if you know how Brahms“goes.” Not that he does anything wildly idiosyncratic,let alone provocatively iconoclastic,à la Glenn Gould and Leonard Bernstein.Rather, he plainly understands that everyinterpretation is just one possibility, and heoffers us a very enticing opportunity to openour minds, especially to a familiar composer(and his works) most burdened by the weightof his great idol who bridged between theGerman Classical and Romantic tradition.In the mighty rumble of timpani that opensthe first movement of Symphony No.1 inC Minor Op.68 we find drama and power,followed by epic strivings, that develop intoexultant triumphalism. At the end of thefourth movement we marvel at the degreeof sage poetry that Nézet-Séguin imparts toBrahms’ epic achievement. This is followedby the refined, lustrous orchestral performanceof Symphony No.2 in D Major Op.73.Particularly impressive are the massed cellosin their great melody in the slow movement,and the finale which develops boundingenergy as it progresses.Nézet-Séguin’s use of pivotal phrases tochange the pace and emotional temperatureallows him to suggest immense breadth ofemotion coloured by an autumnal resignationin Symphony No.3 in F Major Op.90. Nézet-Séguin’s shepherding of the orchestra in anemotional rollercoaster of a performance ofSymphony No.4 in E Minor Op.98 highlightsthe inner logic of Brahms’ brilliantly gravesymphonic work. The performance of No.4is evocative only of Carlos Kleiber’s versionwith the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.Nézet-Séguin certainly challenges that greatmaster in the command of orchestral colourand electrifying dynamism in his performance.Overall we have a cycle of Brahms thatis superlatively judged by Nézet-Séguin on hisown terms. Bravo!Raul da GamaForgotten SoundsGraeme Steele Johnson; various artistsDelos DE3603 (naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=DE3603)! Whether ‘tisnobler to letsleeping dogs lie,some folks will playarchaeologist andunearth the bonesof former titans,or giants, or meremortals perhaps.Such is the admirable effort displayed on thisdisc by clarinetist Graeme Steele Johnson,assisted by some very fine chamber players.Forgotten Sounds is the title of both thealbum and the last track, an arrangementof Charles Loeffler’s pretty little bit of flufforiginally for voice and piano, here played byJohnson with Bridget Kibbey on harp.The centrepiece of this disc is Loeffler’sOctet (clarinets, strings and harp) discoveredand recomposed by Johnson. It includestwo clarinet parts just as Brahms’ originalsketches for a nonet* did. Coincidence, youask? Hmmm.Loeffler is referred to as a “cosmopolitan”composer, a European living in the U.S,acclaimed in his lifetime, ignored since. Hisstyle places him in the conservative end ofthe spectrum of post-Brahmsians, tonallyless inventive than either Schoenberg orZemlinksy, with quirky structural and timbraltropes both puzzling but pleasant. There’s noway of knowing how much the piece reflectsdecisions only the arranger could make, butverbatim it seems, like Saint-Saëns, Loeffler“lacked only inexperience.” Some of histhewholenote.com December 2024 & January 2025 | 51