Barry Forshaw
BEETHOVEN: STRING QUARTETS 10 & 13, Chiaroscuro Quartet/BIS
The continuing series of Beethoven string quartets from the Chiaroscuro Quartet has quickly established itself as a market leader, particularly as the performances are recorded in the impactful, analytical SACD sound that the company BIS is celebrated for. These are readings of great musicality, with the instruments of the quartet placed in absolute balance. As with the first volume, quartets 10 and 13 are given readings of great sensitivity, and those who have begun collecting the new sequence will be impatient for volume 3.
RAVEL: DAPHNIS ET CHLOE, Sinfonia of London, John Wilson/Chandos
Certain pieces of music are particularly lucky in terms of recorded performances, and over the years there have been many highly competitive readings of Ravel’s sumptuous ballet. We are now accustomed to the most accomplished performances from John Wilson and the high-quality pick-up orchestra, the Sinfonia of London, and recorded sound of quite resplendent quality finesses these warm performances of Ravel’s masterwork. Whether or not you have earlier performances (such as the impressive SACDs conducted by Gergiev and Haitink) in your collection, this splendid new John Wilson version demands your attention.
WALKER: 5 SINFONIAS, National Symphony Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda/National Symphony Orchestra
One should not expect music new to the ear to always give up its secrets on first hearing, and so it proves with these five sinfonias by George Walker. But repeated performances will slowly but surely unveil the subtle appeal of these pieces, particularly in the impressive surround sound with which they have been set on disc. Not for every listener, perhaps, but George Walker’s music is well worth investigating.
DVORAK: COMPLETE PIANO TRIOS, Gittburg, Jaruska, Jarusek/Supraphon
Those of us who relish the music of Dvorak have a tendency to collect every iota of the Czech composer’s orchestral works, so this new recording is particularly welcome. Most aficionados of the composer begin with the magnificent symphonies, with the tone poems and overtures following close behind, but the very winning chamber music (such as the full set of string quartets) is well worth the attention of the Dvorak aficionado. And this set of the complete piano trios is nigh-definitive.
BACH: GOLDBERG VARIATIONS REIMAGINED BY CHAD KELLY, Rachel Podger violin/Brecon Baroque/Channel Classics
How many iterations of Bach’s Goldberg Variations are in your collection? Keyboard readings? Chamber-oriented sets with the minimum number of players? Or performances that swell out the chamber forces into something more closely resembling the modern orchestra? Whatever your current choice, it is hardly a surprise that Rachel Podger and the Brecon Baroque provide a fascinating new take in this version by Chad Kelly. Podger’s playing is, of course, sui generis, and the recorded sound by Channel Classics is splendid.
BACEWICZ: ORCHESTRAL WORKS, VOLUME 1, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo/Chandos
If you consider yourself overfamiliar with the standard repertoire, it is perhaps time to start reaching out for new discoveries – and the orchestral works of the Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz are proving to be immensely rewarding as they gradually appear — this is a voyage of discovery that is well worth making. The music here bristles with colour and invention, and proves that female composers need not simply be committed to disc as a box-ticking exercise – Bacewicz can stand alongside any of her male peers, particularly in this splendid Chandos recording of her third and fourth symphonies, along with the lively ‘overture’.
KAUN: SYMPHONY No. 3 ,etc., RSO Berlin, Jonathan Stockhammer/CPO
It is unlikely that many listeners will be familiar with the music of the composer Kaun, but the impressive symphony here demands attention. It was composed in 1913 at a time when Kaun wished to make a personal musical statement. The composer was obliged to increase his income through teaching – concert revenues were not sufficient, and despite his admission to the Royal Academy of Arts, he did not obtain an adequately remunerated position at the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory in Berlin until 1922. He dedicated his Third to the conductor Robert Laugs, who conducted the premiere in 1914. It’s an accomplished piece.
OCEAN FLOOR, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, LSO Percussion Ensemble/LSO Live
Those familiar with the highly sympathetic recorded sound of the LSO Live label, frequently overcoming any limitations in recording venues, will not be surprised to hear that this unusual and attractive set is set down in sound that suggests the players are in the listener’s living room. It is an adventurous and unusual recording that takes us some distance away from the overfamiliar, but which will repay the more adventurous listener.
HIGDON: CONCERTO FOR ORCHESTRA, DUO DUET, soloists, Houston Symphony, Roberts Spano/Naxos
The female composer Bacewicz mentioned above is not the only distaff talent receiving record company attention, and it’s encouraging to note that the extremely approachable music of Jennifer Higdon is finding its way onto disc – this performance of her attractive Concerto for Orchestra is the second to be recorded, and while perhaps not displacing that by the Atlanta Symphony under Robert Spano makes for a very collectable disc.
WEINBERG: SYMPHONY NO. 12, BBC Philharmonic, John Storgårds/Chandos
Weinberg’s 12th Symphony in Storgard’s capable hands has all the gravity and forcefulness one could wish for, frequently reminiscent of the composer’s friend and colleague Shostakovich. Of all the excavations of characterful 20th century music, few are as important as the current dusting-off of the music of Weinberg. The performance here is top-notch.
WAGNER: DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NURNBERG, Soloists, Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper, Berlin, John Fiore/Naxos Blu-ray
Despite its considerable length, Richard Wagner’s Meistersinger remains a calling card opera, full of the composer’s most glorious and approachable music along with the philosophical underpinnings that make the piece much more than just a lengthy comic opera. Clearly, too, it is a piece of great flexibility, as this modern dress reading of the piece functions quite as effectively as more traditional takes. The singing throughout is largely as accomplished as the playing of the Deutsche Oper, Berlin under John Fiore. In the current climate in which recordings of complete operas are not as common as they once were, this set of one of Wagner’s greatest achievements is particularly welcome, even for those who may have some reservations about the reading.