Volume 28 Issue 1 | September 20 - November 8, 2022

STRINGS
ATTACHED
TERRY ROBBINS
Every now and then a CD comes along of
such stunning quality that it almost leaves
you speechless. Such is the case with Avant
l’orage – French String Trios 1926-1939,
a 2CD set priced as a single disc, featuring
seven beautifully crafted works, mostly by
composers who aren’t household names,
in simply superb performances by the
Chicago-based Black Oak Ensemble of
violinist Desirée Ruhstrat, violist Aurélien Fort Pederzoli and cellist
David Cunliffe (Cedille CDR90000 212 cedillerecords.org).
The trios by Henri Tomasi, Robert Casadesus and Gustave
Samazeuilh are world-premiere recordings; these three works, along
with the trios by Jean Françaix and Gabriel Pierné were all written for
and dedicated to the renowned Trio Pasquier. The other two trios here
are by Jean Cras and Émile Goué. All seven works are high quality and
extremely attractive, and it’s hard to imagine their ever being played
better – or with better recorded sound, for that matter.
The Madrid-based violist Wenting Kang,
ably supported by pianist Sergei Kvitko
makes her album debut with Mosaic, a CD
celebrating an era in which Spanish and
French composers were frequently friends
and collaborators (Blue Griffin Records
BGR609 bluegriffin.com).
Nearly all the tracks were adapted by
Kang from violin or cello arrangement
scores, to great effect – in fact, Kang sounds like a violin or cello in
many of the pieces; her beautifully clear tone and dazzling technical
perfection resulting in a wide range of tonal colour.
There are two pieces by Debussy, two by Ravel and four by Fauré,
with Spain represented by the Tárrega Recuerdos de la Alhambra in
the challenging Ruggiero Ricci solo transcription, the Albéniz Tango
and the da Falla Seven Popular Spanish Songs. Casals’ Song of the
Birds and a solo Fantasia on the same song by the Japanese composer
Akira Nishimura round out a superlative disc.
There’s more outstanding viola playing
on Charm, Passion, and Acrobatics –
Music for Viola and Piano featuring violist
Misha Galaganov and pianist John Owings
(Navona NV6434 navonarecords.com/
catalog/nv6434).
The CD resulted from Galaganov’s
purchase of a collection of music scores
from the library of Armand Pushman, who
died in 1999 aged 98, and who studied viola at the Paris Conservatory
in his youth. Among the long-forgotten works were five featured here:
the Nocturne (1905), the charming Prelude et Saltarelle (1907) and
the short but intense Impromptu from 1922 by the French composer
and conductor Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht (1880-1965), and the 1921
Sonata and 1939 Rhapsodie by the French composer and organist
Pierre Kunc (1865-1941), whose manuscripts remained available only
to copyright holders until 2021. All are premiere recordings.
Chausson’s final work, the 1897 Piece for Cello (Violin or Viola)
Op.39 completes an impressive CD.
Solus et una (“Alone and together”) is a
reflection on cellist Amit Peled`s journey
during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he
spent a lot of time playing the Bach cello
suites in his home studio. The two that
attracted him the most were the Suite No.4
in E-flat Major BWV1010 and the Suite No.5
in C Minor BWV1011, both presented on this
deeply felt and immensely satisfying CD
(CTM Classics 95269 15090 ctmclassics.com).
The cello is a Giovanni Grancino from c.1695, and Peled uses its
deep, warm tone to maximum effect, creating smooth, flowing lines
in beautifully judged readings that mine the emotional depths of these
exceptional works.
An encore track is the one piece Peled was able to record with his
students during the lockdown: an arrangement for eight cellos and
piano of the Andante from Brahms` Symphony No.3. It`s a lovely end
to a quite beautiful disc.
When the Danish cellist Jonathan Swensen
won the 2019 Windsor Festival International
String Competition part of the prize was
a debut recording with Champs Hill
Records; his CD Fantasia – works for solo
cello is the result (chandos.net/products/
reviews/HR_168).
Swensen says that he wanted the studio
recording to have “exactly the same energy
that comes from a live concert,” and he certainly succeeds with a
What we're listening to this month
The WholeNote Listening Room
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In the Brink
Bergamot Quartet
"In the Brink" demonstrates an
ensemble that is evolving the
string quartet idiom from a strong
grounding in its well established
performance practice.
Robert Paterson
String Quartets 1-3
The Indianapolis Quartet
Listeners will experience a wide
range of emotions in this debut
album, featuring word premiere
recordings of quartets by
award-winning composer Robert
Paterson.
thewholenote.com September 20 - November 8, 2022 | 49