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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s 250 th birthday year has only just begun, but worthy new SACD recordings of the Austrian master’s music have been appearing for months. Andrew Manze, the baroque violinist par excellence, is joined by his usual accompanist Richard Egarr on fortepiano to offer stunning performances of four sonatas for keyboard and violin. The two works in F and the one in E- flat were among the very first pieces Mozart composed after moving to Vienna in 1781, finally escaping the stifling environment of Prince Archbishop Colloredo’s court in Salzburg. The pieces exude a sense of liberation and a progressive spirit that is fully evident in these fresh, exuberant readings. On pianoforte, Egarr plays full out without overwhelming the violinist, and Manze’s vibratoless but very appealing tone makes the material sound especially vivid and adventuresome, thanks to the bracing, earthy colors of the period instruments. The disc also holds the Sonata in C major, two movements completed by Mozart with a finale idiomatically finished up by Maximilian Stadler, who knew the composer well. Recorded in a Dutch church, the SACD doesn’t provide much suggestion of a reverberant acoustic, even in surround, but the characteristic sonorities of the violin and keyboard are faithfully captured. Likewise, Manze’s approach to three of the Mozart violin concertos is emotionally direct. The impression of a dialogue between soloist and orchestra is strong, reflecting the close working relationship between Manze and The English Concert. (The violinist took over the directorship of the renowned original instrument group from Trevor Pinnock in 2003.) Manze’s technique may not possess the steely perfection of an Anne-Sophie Mutter but neither is it threadbare. These are self-effacing interm u s i c classical Andrew Manze then again, we live in coarser times. The four-man Consort sings with ideal purity, their well-blended voices weaving in and out of the complex contrapuntal lines. In a French chanson about a maid’s deflowering, they sing with a rhythmic zest you could dance to, and an English selection opens with a hypnotically melismatic opening that leads to an early example of the round, with each voice taking the lead in turn. Not surprisingly, many of the texts are drawn from the Biblical Song of Songs, either directly or by inference. An Agnus Dei from a Mass by Frye makes a surprising appearance due to its use of the melody of the secular motet on the preceding track. Other composers include such luminaries as Machaut, Brunel, Gombert, and our old friend, Anonymous. Performances are first rate, the music attractive though perhaps best heard in chunks of several tracks unless you’re a devotee of this period’s dense counterpoint. At over 76 minutes, timing is generous. And the packaging is downright opulent: a 116-page book with copious color illustrations, texts, and translations, even a design for a “new medieval garden” with recommended grasses, trees, hedges and flowers. The engineering is ideal. Voices have body, timbres are true, and the ensemble singing is transparent. Despite a resonant church venue that lends warmth to the sound, the clarity is such that you can trace each of the complex vocal lines as they dip and bob and soar, essential in music that otherwise might sound congealed. DD FURTHER LISTENING: Orlando Consort: The Toledo Summit; Orlando Consort: Food, Wine and Song SACD Mozart: Violin Sonatas in F, K. 376; F, K. 377; E-flat, K. 380; C, K. 403. Andrew Manze, violin; Richard Egarr, fortepiano. Robina G. Young, producer; Brad Michel, engineer. Hybrid multichannel. Harmonia Mundi 807380. Music: ★★★★ 1/2 Sonics: ★★★ Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 3, 4 & 5. Andrew Manze, violin; The English Concert. Robina G. Young, producer; Brad Michel, engineer. Hybrid multichannel. Harmonia Mundi 807385. Music: ★★★★ Sonics: ★★★ 1/2 Mozart: Violin Concertos 3 & 4. Adagio, K. 261. Rondo, K. 269. Julia Fischer, violin; Netherlands Chamber Orchestra; Yakov Kreizberg, conductor. Job Maarse, producer; Sebastian Stein and Jean-Marie Geijsen, engineers. Hybrid multichannel. PentaTone 5186 064. Music: ★★★★ Sonics: ★★★ 1/2 Mozart: Wind Concertos: for Horn (No. 1); for Flute (No. 1); for Bassoon; for Oboe. Soloists; Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra. Everett Porter, producer; Jean- Marie Geijsen, engineer. Hybrid multichannel. PentaTone 5186 079. Music: ★★ 1/2 Sonics: ★★★ 1/2 156 THE ABSOLUTE SOUND ■ APRIL/MAY 2006
m u s i c classical HOT WAX Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites 1 and 2, Lyric Suite. Eileen Farrell (soloist); Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler, conductor. Cisco/RCA LSC 2125. Music: ★ 1/2 Sonics: ★★★ Areissue like this one rather makes me wonder what level of the barrel we’ve come to. It’s not that Fiedler and the Pops don’t play the dickens out of Grieg’s three suites, or that the sound from this relatively early RCA Shaded Dog isn’t up to snuff. The Boston Pops, than whom none was better at this sort of fare when Fiedler was at the helm, do their customary ebullient job, and Cisco’s repressing is a great improvement over the original in every regard. The weakish bass, in particular, has undergone a sea change, gaining considerable power, color, and solidity (though it still isn’t the most floor-shaking I’ve heard—for instance, on the celebrated bass drum thwacks at the finish of “In the Hall of the Mountain King”). String, wind, and brass tone are gorgeous. Nonetheless, given all the marvelous, little-known repertory that hasn’t been sold and resold on LP scores of times, I’m still left wondering whether the world needs another vinyl reissue of the Peer Gynt Suites, even one as well-played and good-sounding as this is. A few months ago, I actually had to sit through the Suites, which made up the post-intermission half of a Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concert. (The first half was, believe it or not, Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta!) I couldn’t leave for political reasons (though I saw my friend Mark Lehman sneaking out) and perforce had to endure “Ase’s Death” and “Anitra’s Dance” and “Ingrid’s Lament” for what seemed like days. My point is: You don’t. Unless you’re a Grieg completist, a Fiedler fan, or an RCA collector (and barring the off chance that you’ve never heard this music before in some elevator), my advice would be to steer clear. And my advice to my friend Robert Pincus at Cisco is that it is time to turn the page on bottom-of-thebarrel RCAs. There is a veritable universe of EMIs, Argos, Decca Heads, L’Oiseau Lyres, Novas, Hungarotons, Supraphons, MusicMasters, Pantons, Caprices, Contemporary Music Series, Epics, and Columbias out there that no one has touched. Be a little daring. JONATHAN VALIN FURTHER LISTENING: Ernst H. Meyer: Symphonie für Streicher; Viktor Kalabis: Sonáta pro Housle a Klavír pretations devoted to serving the composer’s expressive voice rather than to mere virtuosic display. The soloist wrote the stylistically apt cadenzas himself. The concertos were recorded at Air Studios’ Lyndhurst Hall in London, and the sound is intimate and relaxed— perfect for this music and Manze’s approach to it. The orchestra’s slapping of bows on strings during the “Turkish” episode of No. 5’s finale is striking in dynamic immediacy. I certainly have no problem with Mozart—or Haydn, Bach, Handel, or Vivaldi—executed on modern instruments, though the two PentaTone SACDs demonstrate the range of possible outcomes. Julia Fischer’s renderings of Concertos Nos. 3 and 4 are big, bold, and extroverted. She plays with graceful, lithe musicality and a sweetness of tone reminiscent of Hilary Hahn, who’s just a few years her senior. Yakov Kreizberg supports her sensitively, providing a wonderful ease and flow to the orchestral contribution. The disc is filled out with “substitute” movements from two other Mozart concertos, a lovely Adagio and a sprightly Rondo. Like Manze, Fischer plays her own cadenzas for most of the eight movements on the program. There can be no complaints about the technical capacities of the four soloists on the Wind Concerto album. Jacob Slagter (French horn), Emily Beynon (flute), Gustavo Núñez (bassoon), and Alexei Ogrintchouk (oboe) are, after all, first-chair players in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. But these performances, beautiful as they are, are wrong in scale, overly ripe and plush. As a result, some of the operalike drama is missing, and they begin to take on the flavor of nineteenth-century confections. The conductorless orchestra—again, all RCO members—plays well, if a bit blandly. Both the Wind Concerto disc and the Fischer program were recorded in Amsterdam’s Waalse Kerk; multichannel presents a very atmospheric feel for the venue. Fischer sounds to be positioned very close to the orchestra, and balances between soloist and ensemble are excellent on the Wind Concerto disc. AQ CLASSIFIEDS F O R S A L E TRANSPARENT MUSIC SYSTEMS 25+ Years Experience— Featuring Edge of Art Products— darTZeel, Manley, VAC, Evolution Acoustics (World Premier SOTA Speakers), Von Schweikert, Merlin, Harbeth, Epos, Esoteric, Triplanar, Dynavector, Whest, Grand Prix Audio, Silent Running Audio, Sound Aanchor, Creek, Consonance, Echo Busters, Jena Labs, Audience, & More. Convenient to PA/NJ/NY. 484-547-6799, bkonig@ptd.net. www.Transparentmusic.net. www.specialtyaudiosource.com Aliante Speakers, Nightingale Class A Tube Amps imported from Italy. Custom American made tube amps, wired internally with pure silver cryo treated wire. Incredibly sweet and euphoric. troy-logan@sbcglobal.net WWW.THEABSOLUTESOUND.COM 159
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IN THIS ISSUE ISSUE 161 ■ APRIL/M
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