Volume 21 Issue 3 - November 2015

Melnikov’s pianoforte is again the Streicher
(1847 Vienna), Faust’s violin the 1704 Strad
and Queras’ cello the 1696 Gioffredo Cappa.
Bruce Surtees
Mahler – Symphony No.5
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra; Myung-
Whun Chung
Deutsche Grammophon 481 154-0
Mahler – Symphony No.10
Orchestre Metropolitain; Yannick
Nézet-Séguin
ATMA ACD2 2711
!!
Two very different
recordings pose the
question: how “live” is
a live performance?
The Korean conductor
Myung-Whun Chung
has brought the Seoul
Philharmonic to the
world’s attention
thanks to his recording contract with the
venerable yellow label and the orchestra
certainly sounds fabulous in this latest DG
recording of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.
Though it is difficult to say precisely whether
the credit lies entirely with the conductor or
the German Tonmeister team, the results are
sonically exceptional. It is, after all, quite
unusual to detect the grainy sound of contrabassoon
doublings so distinctly in the concert
hall or to apprehend orchestral balances this
clearly in real life live performances. In any
case, Chung proves himself a master of this
familiar work, conducted from memory and
sensitively interpreted with a convincing
Viennese lilt in the lengthy third movement
Scherzo and a moving yet not maudlin
performance of the celebrated Adagietto. The
challenge of the Rondo finale is adroitly
solved by taking a middle-ground tempo that
binds together the ever-shifting tempi of the
disparate sections.
From the outset of his Tenth Symphony
it is clear that
Mahler was tentatively
entering into a
new sonic realm of
expanded chromaticism
and rhythmic
freedom, tragically cut
short by his untimely
death at the age of 50.
He left behind skeletal sketches of the entire
work which has been reconstructed several
times, the most familiar of these being the
third Deryck Cooke version presented here.
For the most part the Orchestre Métropolitain
delivers an impressive performance save
for some occasionally ragged playing by the
brass section. Though the normal OM string
section has been doubled in strength for
this performance, they still fall 17 players
short of the Seoul forces and the difference
is telling. Nonetheless Nézet-Séguin uses this
to his advantage, bringing forth a beautifully
veiled pianissimo behind the exquisite
flute solo in the moving finale of the work.
ATMA’s production is far less interventionist,
spliced (not altogether seamlessly) together
from multiple performances in long takes
with a modest array of microphones. Despite
the disparate production values of these two
releases it is the ATMA recording I find myself
returning to most often; Nézet-Séguin clearly
has something special to say about this least
familiar Mahler symphony and I am willing to
forgive its relatively minor shortcomings.
Daniel Foley
Rachmaninov; Haydn; Ravel
Alain Lefèvre
Analekta AN 2 9296
!!
Ever since winning
first prize in piano and
chamber music at the
Paris Conservatoire
followed by first prize
at the Alfred Cortot
International Piano
Competition, Alain
Lefèvre has earned a
reputation as an artist of the first rank. His
performances have won him rave reviews
in the press and he has appeared on concert
stages as far reaching as New York, Berlin,
London and Shanghai. Although born in
Poitiers, France, Canada has long claimed
him as a native citizen, owing to his long
period in this country beginning with his first
lessons at the Collège Marguerite-Bourgeoys
in Montreal.
His newest disc on the Analekta label
features an eclectic program of music by
Rachmaninov, Haydn and Ravel. From
the opening descending arpeggio of the
Rachmaninov Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor,
the listener is made keenly aware that Lefèvre
is in full command of this most challenging
repertoire. Like Chopin’s sonata of the same
key, this work is a study in contrasting movements.
Lefèvre approaches the technical
demands of the first and third with apparent
ease, capturing the dark and dramatic spirit
with much bravado, while the quietly introspective
second movement is treated with
much sensitivity. In total contrast is the
Haydn Sonata No.38 in F Major, dating from
1773. Lefèvre’s interpretation is elegant and
precise, demonstrating a particular clarity of
phrasing as befits this music, clearly rooted in
the classical tradition.
Ravel’s La Valse from 1918 has always been
regarded as a tour de force. In this version for
piano, Lefèvre adroitly captures the waltz’s
kaleidoscopic moods, from the opening references
to a gracious Second Empire ballroom
to its final frenzy – a true musical depiction
of a “harsh new world” brought on by the
immense political and social changes of the
early 20th century. Bravo, M. Lefèvre – once
again you have proven yourself most worthy
of the accolades bestowed by critics and
audiences alike.
Richard Haskell
Prokofiev – Cinderella
Mariinsky Ballet & Orchestra; Valery
Gergiev
Mariinsky MAR0555
!!
Of late, with its
ongoing confrontation
in Ukraine, European
trade sanctions and
a worrisome intervention
in the Syrian
war, Russia is again
starting to look like a
frozen-in-time empire
of the Cold War. There
is no such freeze in
the artistic life of the country however. Case
in point: new, exciting choreography for
Cinderella. This staple of traditional ballet,
rendered beautifully by many artists, from
Margot Fonteyn to Maya Plisetskaya, was a
stylish piece, to be sure, but it has been in dire
need of a makeover. The new Cinderella is
simply brilliant. Contemporary and energetic,
with smart costumes by Elena Markovskaya,
it plays, as it should, as a modern parable
of the triumph of good over evil. The sheer
nervous energy of the performance highlights
the beauty of the score. In typical Prokofiev
fashion, the music reveals itself to be even
more ahead of its time than we suspected.
The physically demanding new choreography
illustrates perfectly the tension of the
score and highlights Prokofiev’s uncanny
ability to express movement through
music. Filmed in the Mariinsky Theatre
in St. Petersburg, the work truly belongs
in Mariinsky II, designed by the Canadian
starchitect Jack Diamond. Fresh, exciting and
triumphant, this recording leaves us hoping
that Putin’s Russia is nothing but a phase in
the history of a great artistic nation.
Robert Tomas
Shattered Expectations
Acclarion
Acclarion Records ACC3000 (acclarion.ca)
!!
Acclarion’s latest
release showcases the
phenomenal musicianship
of clarinetist
Rebecca Carovillano
and accordionist David
Carovillano. Partners
both in life and in this
12-year duo project, they perform here with
passion, elegance, wit and stylistic acuity.
Five tracks are composed by David
Carovillano. It is always a joy and an earopening
experience to hear a composer play
his own works. Rooted in romantic and postromantic
soundscapes with touches of jazz
flavours, the serene virtuosic opening and
challenging fluid lines of Twilight of Shadows
and driving momentum of the aptly titled
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