Volume 16 Issue 5 - February 2011

Proulx plays the 1921 Casavant restoredin 1979 by Guilbault-Therien (CathédraleSaint Germain de Rimouski) and makesthe the most memorablemovement. Proulx also plays the SymphonyNo.4 in what is the most skilfully registered(tonally coloured) and virtuosic performancein the entire set. Superb.Benjamin Waterhouse performs SymphonyNo.2 at Cathédrale Saint Hyacinthe onone of Casavant’s earliest instruments (1885,rebuilt in 1978). The fugal 4th movementScherzo is a playful dance of solo reeds andSymphony No.3 is played by GillesRioux on a 1964 Casavant, rebuilt in 1990 inthe Basilique Notre-Dame-du-Cap, Cap-dela-Madeleine.The 2nd movement Minuettois an utter delight and the 3rd movementMarche is simply explosive!Organist Jacquelin Rochette plays the1943 Casavant (rebuilt 1995) in Église Saint-Roch, Quebec City. Her performance of theSymphony No.5 features the famous Toccataevery organist either plays or wishes theyplayed better. Her Symphony No.6 Finale iseven more spectacular and shows Widor athis rhythmic and inventive best.Symphonies 9 and 10 are both more compactworks with fewer movements. OrganistJacques Boucher has the advantage of playingthe 1995 rebuild of the 1915 Casavantin Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal.Of all the organs this one seems most solidlyin tune throughout its entire set of ranks.Most others show some minor tuning issues,though not serious enough to detract fromtheir performance.—Alex BaranEditor’s Note:selections from the XXI-21 organ catalogueon our website: www.thewholenote.com.Universal Music Canada, distributor forXXI-21, tells us that the label’s product isavailable at L’Atelier Grigorian(www.grigorian.com).Brahms – Handel Variations;Rhapsodies; Piano PiecesMurray PerahiaSony 88697794692Brahms – Works for Solo PianoStéphan SylvestreXXI XXI-CD 2 1717As youthful inappearance as pianistMurray Perahiamay be, he is nowrightfully regardedas one of the veteransof the concertstage,havingenjoyed a successfulinternational careerever since makinghis debut at NewYork’s CarnegieHall in 1966. Hisrecordings covermost of the majorrepertoire, yet forsome reason, theentlyin his creative output. (Perhaps he feltthat Bach was better suited for his recurringreturned to the master from Hamburg in thisSony recording which features the HandelVariations, the two Rhapsodies Op.79, andtwo sets of Piano Pieces, Opp.118 and 119.From the very opening measures of theHandel Variations, the listener senses thatthis disc is a winner. True to his pianisticstyle, the playing is controlled, elegant, andcidedlyBrahms for the 21st century, cleanand straight-ahead without being fussy and-of piano pieces Op.118. And I also found thetone a little bright – a little more bass please!But this is the Perahia we have come toknow and respect, at all times allowing themusic to speak for itself.From a veteran, we go to music ofBrahms as performed by a young Canadianartist, Stéphan Sylvestre. Currentlyon faculty at the University of Western Ontario,Sylvestre is a graduate of the Universitéde Montréal and the Glenn GouldSchool. He was twice a prize-winner at theJeunesses Musicales of Canada, and also awinner at the Prix d’Europe, the CanadianMusic Competition, and the Montreal SymphonyOrchestra Competition. This CD, onthe XXI label, is his fourth, and features theBrahms Ballades Op.10, and the two sets ofPiano Pieces Op.118 and 119. In contrast toPerahia’s no-nonsense interpretation, Sylvestre’sapproach is much more romantic,but equally appealing. His playing is introspectiveand thoughtful, imbued with a deepsensitivity. Tempos are considerably morelanguorous, and he produces a wonderfullywarm and resonant tone from the instrument.If this is Brahms for the 19th century, so beit – Sylvestre’s masterful performance is awelcome presence in our sometimes harshand too technologically advanced world.So for all lovers of Brahms’ piano music(and there should be many), these are twotionsto the catalogue.—Richard HaskellMahler – Symphony No. 4; Ruckert-LiederMagdalena Kožená; Lucerne FestivalOrchestra; Claudio AbbadoEuroArts 2057988Mahler – Des Knaben Wunderhorn;Adagio from Symphony No. 10Magdalena Kožená; Christian Gerhaher;Cleveland Orchestra; Pierre BoulezDeutsche Grammophon 477 9060These twoexceptionalperformances canbe counted amongthe crown jewels ofdiscs celebrating thelegacy of GustavMahler. The mezzosopranoMagdalenaof exceptionalintelligence andsensitivity wellknown for herartfully calculatedinterpretations,features in bothperformance of the Rückert-Lieder withthe superb Lucerne Festival Orchestra.This hand-picked ensemble of Europe’sClaudio Abbado’s direction and possessesa clairvoyant ability to respond instantlyto his minutest gestures. Their stunninglive performance of the Fourth Symphonycaptured here on a EuroArts DVD isa miracle of gracefulness, though themacabre sarcasm of this most accessible ofMahler’s symphonies is equally pointed.The highlight of this disc is the beautifully ablebaritone Christian Gerhaher in twelveselections from Mahler’s Des KnabenWunderhorn song cycle on the DeutscheGrammophon label. This is a live performancewith The Cleveland Orchestra and completesthe cycle of Mahler’s orchestral worksrecorded by Pierre Boulez over the past 15years with various orchestras. Unfortunatelythe rustic charms and barnyard humour ofthese early songs of Mahler’s do not seemparticularly well suited to the über-urbaneBoulez, who adapts some curiously straitlacedtempos and, with the exception of64 thewholenote.comFebruary 1 - March 7, 2011