J. S. Bach - Brandenburg Concertos 4-6 - Sir Neville Marriner - Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields - PHILIPS

This is the second part of the “Brandenburg Concertos" recordings by Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Unlike the first one, I don’t have any problems with the tempos or with the general style of conduction in the second disc. The concertos are played, I think, at just the right pace and with just enough balance to make for a fantastic reading. There’s nothing that can be found wrong with the soloists either. Again, we are talking about modern instruments here, so people looking for that “antique” sound will not find it here. The orchestra sounds fuller and bigger due to modern playing techniques and modern instruments, and if it lacks that characteristic “baroque” sound of period-instrument recordings, it makes up for it with a greater degree of dynamic freedom and an easier display of emotion.

This set contains probably my least favorite of the six concertos, # 6 in B-flat. Written pretty much as a concert for two violas, it lacks the vitality of the rest of the pieces, in my view, in part due to the fact that it was the earliest concerto to be written, but also probably due to the dryer sound of the viola. On the other hand, we have the amazing concerto # 4, with the astonishingly original opening motif for two recorders (soft flutes), or the incredible # 5, an early keyboard-instrument concerto whose harpsichord cadenza at the end of the first movement still amazes me, for the breadth of invention that Bach packs in those several measures for the instrument playing solo.

A fantastic set. I’ll rank it higher than the first one in tempos and playing, but slightly lower because of the somewhat conventional concerto # 6. Owning these concertos, all of them, is essential nevertheless. And this is as good a place to start as any, if you’re looking for the rich sound of modern instruments.

4/5

J. S. Bach - Brandenburg Concertos 1-3 - Sir Neville Marriner - Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields - PHILIPS

Johann Sebastian Bach is, without a doubt, my favorite composer of all time. I find his music incredibly alive, complex, it fills me with a feeling that no other music can, it makes me doubt my knowledge of the languages I speak when I can’t ascribe any particular emotional label to some of his most arresting passages. His music makes sense musically first and foremost. To explain Bach’s music, you have to do it using musical terms. To like it, to enjoy it, we have to separate music from other arts and manifestations and listen to it only from its own perspective.

I have always been baffled at the magnificent work of the Eisenach master, amazed at his counterpoint, at his melodic grace, at the vitality, energy and dynamics of his music. While some people think of Bach as the ultimate artisan in music, a cold and cerebral genius, I hear his compositions and I see a connection of a higher level that I just fail to see anywhere else. Whether we believe or not in superior being is another matter (I don’t), but it’s clear nevertheless that Bach was inspired by sources of a definite different –higher- nature.

Of his gigantic output, one of my favorite works are the outstanding “Brandenburg Concertos” (whether they should be called that way should be discussed in a different forum), probably the most fantastic sets of orchestral music written before the arrival of the great symphonists of the classical and romantic eras. The degree of musical magic that the master can generate is nothing short of unbelievable. With just a handful of ideas he can create movements of the highest polyphonic complexity, and at the same time his gift for melody assures moments of more down-to-earth emotions.

Thus, I approached this recording of the first three concertos with optimism. After all, Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields have always been favorites of mine for pre-romantic music. Their use of modern instruments assured me that the intensity of the works would be fully conveyed and exploited.

The actual results of my experience have been great, tough less than perfect. The playing is superb, no questions about that. All solo instruments, from the violin(o) of the first concert to the trumpet of the second concerto, execute their task perfectly. The orchestra is top-notch, with a string section that captures all the energy of the phrases and creates a rich texture for the soloist instruments to play against.

The only little qualm I have with this recording lies in the tempos. At times the music moves just too fast. The grandiose opening of the third concerto, for example, it’s agile and joyful, yet it somewhat lacks the grace of other slightly-slower versions. The incredible third movement, in all its contrapuntal excellence, passes by like a tornado, dazzling the listener with its brilliance but also leaving him kind of wanting to go back and catch his breath.

It’s the style that Marriner instills to the music that tends to get on my nerves. It’s like he was directing Mozart, not Bach. For a few seconds, I actually thought of the music of the Salzburg master when listening to the treatment that the conductor selected for the string section. This, and the totally absurd addition of a movement of another work to “complete” the third concert and give it a second, slow movement (in a work that couldn't be more “complete” as it is, with the two chords that separate the first from the third movement), is my only complaint about this version and the reason this album full of the best music available doesn’t get a perfect score from me.

4/5

Vivaldi - L'estro Armonico ; 4 Concertos for wind instruments - Sir Neville Marriner - Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields - DECCA

I had always preferred Vivaldi’s latest concert cycles to “L’Estro Armonico” (his earliest), especially "Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione" (where his famous “Four Seasons” come from). Listening to this recording by the venerable Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields hasn’t changed my mind, but it has added extra weight to the figure of the Italian priest.

There are 12 concertos in the cycle, some in major, and some in minor keys. The breadth of variation here is enormous, with Vivaldi dazzling us in every piece with every little turn or twist. Though most concertos are in the three-movement form (with the exception of the 2^nd in G minor), not all of them adhere to the traditional fast-slow-fast structure, and the Italian master keeps surprising us with his creativity

As a second part of the set, we get 4 concertos for wind instruments. While not as vibrant or impressive as the ones in “L’Estro Armonico”, they serve as a good introduction for the rest of the composer’s concert output, which was not exclusively based on the violin and the other strings. I found two of them particularly exciting: the concerto for bassoon in A minor, where Vivaldi had to deal with an instrument that demanded a more cautioned approach to the orchestra part, and the one for 2 oboes, 2 horns and violin in F, where the composer masterfully combines 5 concertino voices with that of the ensemble.

The recording is not up to the best standards set by more modern releases, and at times the music just doesn’t jump up front. Clarity is OK but not perfect. The versions themselves, on the other hand, are of the same high quality that Marriner and his ASMF have made us used to. I recommend this double-set for the great music and the great playing in modern instruments by the performers. For a person new to Vivaldi, I’d try first with the “Four Seasons” before I jump to any complete cycle.

3.5/5

Ginastera, Brahms et al. - Chamber works - FIU Chamber Players - Miami, January 2010

On January 21 I attended a concert that took place in the Florida International University’s Wertheim Performing Arts Center. The program for the night consisted of chamber music performed by the FIU Chamber Players. During the first part of the concert the music was from Latin America composers, including 5 songs by the well-known Argentinian master Alberto Ginastera. The second part of the event featured a work by one of the biggest names in the post-romantic era (and one of my ten favorite composers), Johannes Brahms.

The auditory was not even half-full, a fact that, while not good by any means for the artists, helped bring the noise factor closer to zero. We were soon introduced to our soprano for the night (Kathleen Wilson) joined by the pianist, young Jennifer Renee Snyder.

The first group of featured works was by unknown-to-me composer Carlos Guastavino. The set consisted of 2 songs (or Lieder, if I’m not wrong in using this denomination to Spanish songs written in the 20^th century). I have never been a big fan of these kinds of compositions, not even of the ones by composers more familiar to me like Schubert or Mahler. The songs were brief and rather forgettable.

The second group of works was a selection of 5 songs by famed Argentinean composer Alberto Ginastera. As the night was unfolding, I felt I had chosen the wrong concert to attend, but at the same time, I thought “this is more challenging than going to a concert full of music you already like”. Anyway, the music, rather simple and short, was pleasant, and worked well as introduction for what came next, since I started to hear more adventurous, constraint-free music. While the soprano sung very well but never really impressed me, the pianist showed a lot of energy and power in her performance, practically upstaging her vocal counterpart, especially in the faster songs like “Chacarera” or “Gato”. All in all, I’ve never been able to empathize with academic-music songs (for simple vocal music, I really prefer popular genres), and this first two sets left me rather cold..

The two musicians left the stage and came back joined by three more artists: viola player Laura Wilcox, clarinetist Julian Santacoloma, and the conductor, Orlando Garcia. Garcia introduced us to the work of Aurelio de la Vega, “The Magic Labyrinth”. To explain the work, an image of the score was projected on a screen behind the stage. The score featured a rather strange, labyrinth-like figure which, with a closer look, was revealed as the actual music. Garcia explained that the work was written in such a way that the key and harmonies had to pretty much be “sensed” by the musicians, and that they had to follow the labyrinth until the end. The music started and I was surprised. This was atonal music, the kind that has never been my favorite but that I have always wanted to see performed live. The melodic ideas were few and far between; most of the time harmony took center stage as the instruments’ dialogue was rather sequential, one speaking after the other. Lots of percussive effects by otherwise non-percussive elements like the soprano’s score-holder and the body of the grand piano joined forces with very-high, twirling figures in the viola and abrupt-ending scales and phrases in the clarinet. The soprano’s voice was used as another harmonic instrument, never really singing but providing bursts of harmony (or disharmony, I should say). The piece was effective and I enjoyed it a lot. I’m not sure I’ll run to buy a recording of it, but I’m glad I was able to listen to it live.

What followed next was a composition by the conductor himself, “Parallel Universe I”. Garcia explained us that this is part of a longer work exploring parallel universes in music. The screen projected a video of a foggy, dusty gray place that looked like a cell, gradually opening the shot during the performance until we saw the entire room. The music was atonal, devoid of melody, but in this case, sadly, also devoid of interest. The constant repetition of little ideas on each of the instruments, with almost no room for any thematic exploration, or even experiments in color, left me cold. The big idea was to explore the fusion of live music with recorded music. At some points, music would sound through the speakers in the auditory, and the live ensemble would harmonize with it and play at the same time. Though a novel trick, it felt more like a gimmick to me, with little substance. It was a new and somewhat exciting experience, though, and I’m glad I could take part of it.

After the intermission, finally, traditional music came back with a vengeance, so to speak. Johannes Brahms’ Sonata in D Minor, Op. 108 for piano and violin was the closing piece of the night. What a way to end a concert! A big fan of his music for big orchestra, I’ve just started to explore the chamber side of the catalogue of the Hamburg master. I was extremely pleased with the music, beautiful, romantic, powerful and soft, menacing and soothing, performed very well by Robert Davidovici on the violin and, especially, Kemal Gekic on the piano. I think Davidovici played in a great way but his actual stage presence was lacking - I know it’s not rock or metal, but the musician really looked like a robot in front of the piano, and while music is what really matters in the end, I believe a powerful-looking performance greatly enhances the transference of emotions to the audience-. Gekic, on the other hand, was outstanding, sending us wave after wave of emotion and passion for the art. The work itself was majestic, I particularly enjoyed the last movement, during the last moments of which piano and violin looked as if they were finally trying to settle the score of an impossible battle once and for all. The second movement was a good moment for the violinist to show us his most exquisite abilities, and his great understanding of the piece. In general, the way it was played, the sonata sounded more as a violin concerto, where the orchestra consisted of only one instrument, the piano,

I left the Wertheim Center very satisfied with what I just witnessed. I had the chance to step out of my comfort zone and venture into the world of songs and atonal music, and, especially the latter, I enjoyed it a lot. And, even better, the night was closed off with a grandiose finale.

Albinoni (Gaziotto) et al. - Adagio, Canon and more orchestral favorites - Herbert Von Karajan - Berlin Philharmonic - DG

When I think of Herbert von Karajan and his long term association with the Berlin Philharmonic, I rarely think of baroque music first. Usually, I picture Von Karajan conducting Beethoven or Mahler or some other Germanic, romantic-oriented composer. Nevertheless, I needed a new version of “Albinoni’s” “Adagio” and Pachelbel’s “Canon”, two of the best-known little baroque pieces that for some reasons weren’t in my collection in any shape or form. So I tried with this DG recording, and I can say that associating the Austrian maestro with baroque music will not be so far-fetched for me anymore.

The first track in the disc is the piece still known as “Albinoni’s Adagio”. It has long been established that Tomasso Albinoni never composed the piece, but Remo Giazotto, who published it and has been denied the fame he justly deserves even if only for this single work. This reading of the Adagio is fantastic, it literally made my eyes watery, conveying so much emotion; probably the best I’ve heard. Not good for purists maybe, but for me, Karajan added a romantic depth to the piece that turned it from a minor pretty composition into a masterpiece of sadness.

Next on is Vivaldi’s “La Notte”, a concerto for flute, strings and harpsichord. Vibrant as all Vivaldi is, it was the first time I ever heard it so I can’t compare it with other versions. The energy of the music is easily brought to life by the Berlin orchestra’s superb string section.

I didn’t pay much attention to Bach’s “Air” from his third orchestral suite as I don’t like listening to the piece without listening to the entire work. Anyway, it’s almost impossible to even imagine a bad version of Bach by the Germans and Karajan (actually, it’s hard to imagine anyone making this little thing sound anything else but glorious. Bach’s music is that perfect.)

Pachelbel’s “Canon and Gigue”, the other main reason for my buying this album, gets a good if-a-little-fast reading. Unlike with the Adagio, in here the orchestra sounds cold, playing through the motions. It’s the best orchestra in the world, so it sounds ok. But I’ve heard warmer versions. The addition of the entire work (some recordings omit the gigue) is welcomed.

Christoph Willibald Gluck’s music has never been one of my strong points. I have to admit listening to the “Dance of the Blessed Spirits” from “Orpheus and Eurydice” was a revelation. The music is astoundingly beautiful, Mozart-like beautiful, and the recording here does it justice.

The disc closes with Mozart’s “Serenata Notturna”, K. 239. A light, graceful, rather forgettable little piece by the Salzburg master, the work receives fair treatment by the orchestra. Though, again, I feel the version is a little on the uninspired side of things. It’s not Mozart’s best work, but I’ve heard it played with more gusto even by lesser ensembles.

Overall, this album is a good option for someone wanting to have a version of the Adagio and Pachelbel’s Canon without having to get more music by either Albinoni (who isn’t the author of the piece anyway) or the German composer. The recording is clear and efficient, and the playing is extremely accurate, and in three of the works, inspired.

3.5/5

Handel - "Water Music", "Royal Fireworks Music" - Neville Marriner - Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (DECCA)

Now we’re talking! This is probably the best version of Handel's “Royal Fireworks Music” I’ve heard so far, modern instruments and all. I absolutely love the grace, the emotion that modern strings and winds can convey when conducted by the right hands, and the right hands Neville Marriner’s certainly are. Though I have other preferred directors for music composed after the classical era, for baroque and classical-era works none does it for me like this conductor and his venerable Academy of St.-Martin-in-the-Fields. Just listen to the first powerful notes of the magnificent overture, carrying all the pomp and elegance and honor that it’s supposed to carry. The sound of the recording helps matters, as all instruments strike the right balance. Right from the start, in the overture (which has some of the best music in all of Handel), we can see how Marriner’s expert hand combines the ceremonious, solemn side of the event, with the energy and vitality of the thousands of people present, in the absolutely marvelous second section of the piece, played perfectly. Unlike the last recording I reviewed, here the horns and winds in general are in the perfect level of volume and presence. Just listen to the fantastic "La Rejouissance" for evidence of this.

My only minor gripe with this recording is the snare used in the solemn and triumphant minuet that ends the suite. I have heard a few versions that include it but I really don’t like it that much. There was no need for that militaristic element that I’ve noticed absent in many other versions.

The “Water Music” suites are played perfectly. This is the best version I’ve found yet (though I loved an old Russian -soviet to be exact- vinyl I had in the MELODIYA label also. I can’t remember the orchestra). All the melodic wizardry of Handel is brought to the forefront by the orchestra. This version doesn’t include the variants on the themes that the Gardiner-PHILIPS version included, but I think it’s better this way, as those were unnecessary repetitions of themes already present, with slightly different orchestration, in the three suites.

This disc proves again that I favor modern instruments over period-instruments recordings of baroque music. I think the drama, emotion and energy that modern instruments can provide can’t be matched by period instruments and the style they demand to be played with.

4.5/5

Handel - "Water Music", "Royal Fireworks Music" - John Elliot Gardiner - English Baroque Soloists (PHILIPS)

Georg Friedrich Handel’s “Water Music” and “Royal Fireworks Music” are two of my all-time favorite works of the baroque era, especially the second one. The grace, the energy, the vitality and the beauty of the music is unparalleled. I’ve heard multiple versions, but this is my first time with a period-instrument recording.

Period-instrument recordings are not for everyone. Many people love to listen to baroque pieces in a style that probably resembles how they originally sounded centuries ago much more closely, but it’s not everybody’s cup of tea. The lack of modern techniques like vibrato, the slightly colder sound of less-developed instruments sometimes prove too much for some music lovers used to the deep and powerful sounds of 20^th century orchestras.

In my view, Handel’s masterpieces receive a great treatment in this Philips recording but ultimately the sound of period-instruments leaves me a little cold. I miss the sweeping vibrato of modern versions like Marriner’s with the St. Martin-in-the-Fields Academy. Notes sound too blunt, too final when performed in period-instruments, compared to the depth that modern strings and winds provide. Also, I have some gripe with the horns, so important especially in the suites in D and F of “Water Music”. They’re too over-the-top on this recording, pretty much robbing the rest of the ensemble of its importance whenever they appear. It might be a problem with the sound quality of older horns and trumpets or with the recording, I’m not sure.

The tempos are OK but I feel they’re a little on the fast side. While Gardiner certainly known how to bring about the vitality of the music, its pomp, its majesty, seem a little bit overshadowed on his version of both pieces, which were both composed for solemn occasions and for royal ears, but which seem too gentile, too light here.

I recommend this recording for fans of period instruments. But I’ll rather stay with the venerable version by Marriner and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-fields in DECCA.

3/5

"The Planets - An HD Odyssey" - Houston Symphony Orchestra - Hugo Graf - Ft. Lauderdale, Jan. 2010

A couple of weeks ago I attended a concert in the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, with the Houston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of maestro Hugo Graf. The concert was named “The Planets -An HD-Odyssey”, for the main event was Gustav Holst’s masterpiece played in its entirety with a video presentation of the seven celestial bodies depicted in the music, in full HD. Completing the set were Stravinsky’s early “Scherzo Fantastique” and Dutilleux’s “Timbres, espace, movement”.

This was the first time I ever heard the Stravinsky’s piece. Familiar with his ballets and some of his unique symphonies, I’ve heard little of his early output. The “Scherzo Fantastique” was an entertaining little piece with hints of the revolutionary rhythm-work that the master would deliver later in his life with “The Rite of Spring” and his earlier ballets. The Orchestra played it very tight and smooth, with a fantastic string section that gave me a lot of hope for the main course of the concert, which was the one that attracted me to the event in the first place.

Next in the program was Dutilleux’s work, scored for a much smaller string section but a larger percussion group. I had never heard of this composer before and I was gladly impressed. The atonality of the music was not a problem, as the dynamics in the piece kept me interested all the way through, even when the melodic element was close to null. Harmonies and colors flying everywhere set up the mood perfectly for the second part of the concert. The orchestra, once again, delivered, imprinting some vitality in a difficult work where emotion takes a second seat to cold musical science.

After the intermission, the full orchestra came back. Lights were dimmed and the projection started with a rather uninspired documentary on the creation of the visuals. Maestro Graf came back to the helm and Holst’s masterpiece started in full energy with the percussive string pattern of “Mars, bringer of war”. The orchestra built the tension perfectly, making the arrival of the full-ensemble explosion much more of a relief for the listener. One thing I didn’t like (from the audience) was the applause in-between planets, which was unnecessary; neither the orchestra nor the conductor acknowledged it. Next on the list of seven planets (Earth is not depicted in the work, and Pluto was yet to be discovered when Holst composed the music) comes “Venus, bringer of peace”. The peaceful, beatific music has little to do with the character of the actual planet (a hell in the solar system, if there ever was one) and more with the deity after whom the planet is named. “Mercury, the winged messenger” came and left quickly. My favorite movement, “Jupiter, bringer of jollity”, started with fantastic precision from the strings and a rather imposing declaration by the brass. The tempo was just right for me, not too fast, not too slow. When the magnificent middle-section arrived, I was completely swept away by the emotion. The orchestra conveyed all the solemn grace of the music perfectly. “Saturn, bringer of old age” was the perfect contrast, and “Uranus, the magician” was, as its name requires, magical. “Neptune, the mystic” closed off the piece with its mystical, ethereal women chorus creating a sense of distance, of undiscovered territories, making the listener understand that while we know a little about our solar neighbors, there’s so much more that lies beyond.

The orchestra and conductor received a long round of applause by the audience, and after the second one Graf came back for a little surprise: Stravinsky again, this time with the minute piece “Fireworks”, a rather light, playful piece that closed the concert in a high, if a little irrelevant, note. Graf and the Orchestra received more than three rounds of applause before they left the hall.

This was an excellent concert, with the best orchestra I have seen live. The string section especially was phenomenal, with crystal clarity and perfect execution. Graf’s version of Holst’s suite was much to my liking, not overly fast, not terribly slow, but just at the right pace. I’m glad to say the event has marked me in more ways than I expected, since it has reignited in me the need to see live classical music performances that I had when I was considerably younger.

As a side note, the visual presentation was rather forgettable, as there was nothing of interest but shots of each planet with little energy and little relation to the actual musical events. Anyway, “The Planets” don’t need high definition video; they just need high quality performers. And that’s exactly what we’ve got with the Houston Symphony Orchestra under Hugo Graf.

The objective (or lack thereof) of my blog...

On this blog I will talk about my oldest, dearest musical love: classical music. I’ve been listening to it for the past 25 years, and even though I have abandoned it from time to time, it has never ceased to be the music that speaks closer to my heart, as it was what I listened to first when I was a kid.

I’m not a professional musician nor do I have a degree in musicology or music theory. Therefore, my comments on the music will come mostly from my heart, with the help of my brain to bring order and a little bit of objectivity to the proceedings. I’ll mostly give my opinions about the different versions and performances of a piece, leaving the more scientific, academic factors for the true experts. What my little music-theory knowledge will force me to leave unsaid, will be compensated by the countless hours I’ve spent with most of these works of art. In the case of compositions that I’m just hearing for the first time in my life, I’ll try to make the best effort to describe the feelings they generate in me.

Actually, let’s eliminate objectivity as one of my aims on this blog. My comments will be purely, totally subjective. If a work leaves me cold, no matter how revolutionary or unique it might be, I’ll be glad to say it so, for this blog is about classical music and its magic, and there can’t be magic where there are no feelings present.