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Volume 7 Issue 1 - September 2001

  • Text
  • September
  • Toronto
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CPE Bach states, "these

CPE Bach states, "these [sonatas for violin and harpsichord] Berg's Violin Concerto will be performed are the best by Leonidas Kavakos and the Toronto works by my Symphony Orchestra on October 3, 4, and 5 · beloved father. at Roy Thomson Hall. They sound Pamela Margles excellent and Schoenberg: Erwartung Alessandra Marc Staatskapelle Dresden, Giuseppe Sinopoli Teldec 3984-22901-2 (Full Price) A deranged woman searching the woods for her duplicitous lover-that is what audiences will encounter when the Canadian Opera Company revives its acclaimed production of Arnold Schoenberg's Erwartung ("Expectation") in performances beginning September 21. Previous recordings have featured a riveting Anja Silja, and, more recently, a gorgeous Jessye Norman. But for shattering dramatic impact soprano Alessandra Marc and conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli ha~e the edge. Marc reveals the layers of hallucination with overwhelming conviction. Her upper register can be harsh, · anp her low notes sometimes forced, but her rough edges are actually effective in conveying the disintegration of this woman's vulnerable psyche. The text is a fragmentary s~ries of her suggestions, outbursts, accusations and questions, and Marc achieves just the right note of delirium. But the glory of this live performance is Sinopoli's orchestra. It has been beautifully recorded, with the singer integrated into the texture, so that each instrumental line represents a voice emerging from the forest. The effect is staggering: menacing ostinati, dissolving motifs, and, at the end, ominously rising chromatic scales. As a composer himself, (as well as psychiatrist and archaeologist), Sinopoli conducts as ·though he understands the mysteries of love, oetrayal, and death expressed in this opera. Because this is one of his last recordings-he died in April just 56 years old- it is to be treasured all the more. As a bonus, this recording of Erwartung has been paired with a spl'endid performance of Schoenberg's seminal masterpiece, Pi~rrot Lunaire. Pamela Margles J.S. Bach: Sonatas for Obbligato Harpsichord and.a Melody Instrument, Vol.l Genevieve Soly, harpsichord Jeanne Lamon, violin Jay Bernfeld, viol da gamba Analekta fleurs de lys FL 2 3060 (Full Price) 36 Wholenote SEPTEMBER 1, 2001 -Oc TOBER 7, 2001 still give me much pleasure, even though over 50 years have passed." 250 years later the sonatas still shine brilliantly in performances by Soly, Lamon and Bernfeld. Bach is most often credited with being the great master of ar-chaic forms, but in these sonatas we see otherwise. The old forms are revitalized and new forms are everywhere. There are cantabile movements where the harpsichord is not polyphonic continuo but elaborately textured harmonic support, as in the first movement.of the c-minor violin sonata. Lamon floats on long intelligent phrases over the very "modern" accompaniment of the harpsichord. One wishes that the world would stop, take heed, and be healed by this balm. The gamba sonata is darker, somber, deep. Here the trio sonata influence is most conspicuous because the gamba plays the middle line and the harpsichord takes the treble. Balance is always the problem in harpsichord sonatas. The traditional baroque trio sonata has the harpsichord playing a schematically written figured bass part to be improvised, usually with another bass instrument for support. In these sonatas, the harpsichord part is fully written out, dense and complex, and creates_a full partnership with the melodic instrument. The current recording succeeds mostly, and only occasionally does the harpsichord fade into the background. Soly is brilliant throughout, clean and ~risp with Bach's tremendous scores. She establishes equal footing with each of the bowed soloists. Highly recommended. Gt

Winds in peak form playing music by Great Recordings of the Century: Canadian composers Brian Cherney, Bengt Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky Hambraeus, Norman Sherman, Robert Aitken Alban Berg Quartet and Michael Parker. All the works employ a EMI Classics CDM 67551-2 (Mid-Price) distinctly modern approach ... no hints of neoclassicism here. The harmonic language is colourful, and at times dissonant, but never bland. My favourite piece on the CD is the title track Folia by Robert Aitken. The piece is a virtuosic display of extended technique in which the musicians are called upon to perform multiphonics, flutter tonguing and singing into their instruments while playing them. All of this may sound like an exercise in technical mastery, but the flurry of energetic sound that results is quite compelling. The Canadian Music Centre is to be commended for reissuing the material on this CD. It may not be everyone's cup of tea-if you like polite, happy classical period rriusic this CD may not be to your taste-but if you feel adventurous, enjoy the sound of the woodwind quintet, and want music that expresses a wider range of moods and emotions, this is a recording that should be in your collection. Merlin Williams Tully Potter's liner notes for this hybridized reissue make a strong case for linking the works of the three composers included, but to my ear Stravinsky is somewhat out of place. The Debussy and Ravel quartets, modern classics by any definition, were written a few years before and after 1900 respectively. They are both undoubtedly forward-looking works but they share a sonic lushness that is worlds away from the angularity of Stravinsky's writing. Dating from 1914, just a decade after Ravel's quartet, Stravinsky's Three Pieces reflect a different time, one in which the "war to end all wars" was just getting under way. Perhaps it is this fact that explains the dirgelike final movement. The Concertino of 1920 is quite reminiscent of more familiar Stravinsky works of that time, but the Double Canon of 1959, a dark work that utilizes some of Schoenberg's dodecaphonic (serial) techniques, is yet another world removed. Somehow I just don't get the connection to Debussy and Ravel. That being said, I'm happy to look on the inclusion of these rarely performed Stravinsky pieces as a bonus, and there is no obligation to listen to them at the same sitting as the impressionist masterpieces. The ABQ gives us wonderful performances of all the works, although I would have preferred a somewhat faster tempo in the Ravel Assez vif pizzicato movement. EMI is to be applauded for this fine, affordable addition to catalogue. David Olds SO Great Recordings: Sibelius - Second Symphony/Beethoven - Fifth Symphony Concertgebouw Orchestra, George Szell Philips 464682-2 (Mid-Price) Years ago on the late CJRT-FM Paul Robinson and I regularly discussed "The basic repertoire." We independently listened at home through umpteen versions of the piece under discussion and brought to the studio a handful of "finalists" for discussion. The reason I mention this is because often each of us believed we "knew" before the Continues page 38 I lf,.A'!1Jlll''t/fl'llf'"71t"ll1 f:l·"'T"llt"' «'-.1f~""&"'[' C· 'IP,;f /!Y.fl:.J£. ~JffA .. L.£'1£,''1iJ .~ . • li':tlf. : ~;~JL ..· · ·. .iif/[J!ti< Strad Various Ltd., a division of Remenyi Music, has managed the Royal Conservatory Music Bookstore sirice 1991 as their print music division. Effective April 1st, 2001 we will relocate from the Conservatory Building to Ol,lr main premises across the street at 210 Bloor Street West COJiwt\l:tiNniilG A,fl .. QJ.JR .. DJ:'flf!)IOf'l/.$ '01.\~1:1)11\ '6!~ IIDOP ·~rttt .a liliflisfte. Stf!$e .l.i:i:eJ:-lo 0~ · - fine Stringed lnstrumuts Helnway Piano hllny MuSic Bookstore and "/1USiki}!"Chlldrtn'l Mn!l c Hm The Open Store Remenyt House of Mu-sic 210 BLOOR STREET WEST (justW ofAvermeRd.) Tel: 416.96LS111 www.remenyi.com SEPTEMBER 1, 2001 -OCTOBER 7, 2001 Wholenote 37

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