Wednesday, 11.26.08, 6:00 am
British Music Loses its Finest Advocates – Vernon Handley & Richard Hickox Remembered
2008 had many anniversaries to celebrate: the bicentennial of Schubert (1808–1878), the 150th birthday-anniversaries of Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931), Hans Rott (1858–1884), and Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), the centennials of Herbert von Karajan, Olivier Messiaen and Elliot Carter, the latter still around to receive congratulations.
Add to that the death anniversaries of John Blow who died 300 years ago and Rimsky-Korsakov (100 years ago). 50 years ago, in August of 1958, the great Ralph Vaughan-Williams died. Now, very sadly, two of the best interpreters of Vaughan-Williams have died in this anniversary year: Vernon George Handley, born 1930, died on September 10th, Richard Sidney Hickox just last week, on November 23rd at the age of 60.
Neither Vernon Handley nor Richard Hickox have ever achieved the fame (or that much deserved “Kt.”) that their compatriot conductor colleagues Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Roger Norrington, Sir John Elliot Gardiner, or Sir Simon Rattle have, had, or got. This is not the least due to their reputation as “British music conductors”, an epithet neither of them appreciated. Speaking to Lewis Foreman, Handley once remarked: “Being a British music specialist has harmed my career without any doubt and my image as the British music man has got out of proportion. I only do this music, and a lot of it, because I believe that a native conductor ought to. There are British composers who are close to my heart, but the first reason is much more important. I am a conductor, not just a ‘British music conductor’”.
Both had a far broader repertoire than their recorded legacy – already surprisingly broad – would have us think. And yet, as an epitaph, “British music conductor” in its most positive meaning might well be apt. The service not just to Vaughan-Williams but to British music in general of these two men, is invaluable.
Both conductors recorded principally for Chandos (Hickox recorded upward of 280 discs for them, Handley about 50) as well as EMI, Decca, Hyperion and Lyrita. Their discographies will be the measure of future contributions to the constant re-discovery of all the English music that veers between ‘justly neglected’ and ‘unrightfully forgotten & rescued’. If the pendulum has swung toward the latter over the last 10 years, it is not the least because of these two men’s and efforts.
Richard Hickox was a regular guest with the NSO, leading them in 21 performances between 1988 (Handel’s Messiah) and 1995 (Britten, Ravel, Beethoven). Below I list some of the recordings by which best to remember them – focusing on British repertoire and especially those composers who would be less known yet, had it not been for these two maestros’ efforts.
Richard Hickox:
William Alywn, Complete Symphonies, London Symphony Orchestra – Chandos 9429
Lennox & Michael Berkeley, Berkeley Edition Vol.3, BBC National Orchestra of Wales – Chandos 5014
Frank Bridge, Orchestral Works Vol.1, BBC National Orchestra of Wales – Chandos 9950
Frederick Delius, A Mass of Life, Requiem, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra – Chandos 9515
Edward Elgar, Symphony No.3 (Payne), BBC National Orchestra of Wales – Chandos 5057
Gerald Finzi, Intimations of Immortality, Grand Fantasia & Toccata, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – EMI 64720 (ArkivCD)
Edmund Rubbra, Symphonies Nos. 5 & 8, BBC National Orchestra of Wales – Chandos 9714
Ralph Vaughan-Williams, Symphony No.2 “London”, London Symphony Orchestra – Chandos 9902
William Walton, Christopher Columbus, BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales – Chandos 5034
Vernon Handley:
Malcolm Arnold, Symphony No. 5 et al., London Philharmonic Orchestra – LPO live 13
Granville Bantock, Complete Orchestral Music, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Hyperion 44281
Granville Bantock, Omar Khayyám, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus – Chandos 5051
Arnold Bax, Complete Symphonies, BBC Philharmonia Orchestra – Chandos 10122
Frederick Delius, Florida Suite et al., Ulster Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra – Chandos 6628
Gerald Finzi, Violin & Cello Concertos, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / City of London Sinfonia – Chandos 10425
Edward Elgar, Violin Concerto, London Philharmonic Orchestra (with Nigel Kennedy) – EMI / Classics for Pleasure 75139
Ernest John Moeran, Symphony in g-minor, Rhapsody for Piano & Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra – Chandos 10169
Robert Simpson, Complete Symphonies, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia – Hyperion 44191
Charles Villiers Stanford, Complete Symphonies, Ulster Orchestra – Chandos 9279
Ralph Vaughan-Williams, Complete Symphonies, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra – EMI / Classics for Pleasure 75760
Sunday, 11.23.08, 6:00 am
December in Music
December isn’t a strong month for quality music, but there is enough to keep you busy if you wanted to attend all that there is left. It begins with your Bach-Tuesday when the Noontime Cantata opens the month with the Washington Bach Consort performing Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (BWV 61) on December 2nd. If the Noontime Cantata usually is your getaway from daily noise and madness, it can serve as a refuge from excessive, sleigh bell-enriched elevator muzak being piped out of every store and the tacky “holiday” decorations that have already ensnared the unsuspecting residents. (Noon)
December 4th offers more Bach if you make it out to the Clarice Smith Center for the University of Maryland School of Music’s Bach Cantata Series (also a free concert) which will feature Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 140). If “free Bach” doesn’t make your heart jump, I don’t know what will. (Maybe Elliot Carter, of which – rejoice – there will be plenty in December, too!) (1.30pm)
The Juilliard String Quartet, amazingly, is still active – and on Friday, December 5th they will perform a nicely put together program of Mendelssohn (Quartet no.1 in E-flat), Ravel, and Dutilleux (“Ainsi la Nuit”) at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. (7.30pm)
One of the piano highlights of the season, the modest acoustics not withstanding, will be the National Gallery of Art’s Beethoven sonata recital with Till Fellner on Sunday, December 7th. It’s free, but to get a good seat you must come early to get in line. Bring a book or a chatty friend. With Alfred Brendel retired, Fellner is the pianist to continue the Austrian tradition of great, yet understated pianists. (6.30pm)
Monday, December 8th the Young Concert Artists Concert will feature works of its young composers in residence. “Music with a pulse”, if you will, and if you are interested in what the future of (American) classical music sounds like, attendance would seem mandatory. Among the works played will be the Sonata-Fantasy for violin and piano by Benjamin C.S. Boyle whose work has charmed me greatly on most every occasion I had to listen to it. (7.30pm)
Not technically a concert, but if you are interested in Elliot Carter (or more importantly: interested in why other people are interested in Elliot Carter), the free showing of Frank Scheffer’s documentary “A Labyrinth of Time” at the Library of Congress would be a great event to attend on December 9th. (7pm)
Not only the Carter centenary is upon us, but also Messiaen’s. La Maison Française combines them in a two-for-one musical celebration in their second “Musicians of the Paris Opera” program. Messiaen is represented by his curiously timeless “Quartet for the End of Time”, Carter by an array of miniatures. Among the players will be Alexis Descharmes whom Washingtonians might have heard before at the Maison Française’s Contemporary Music Festival. It’s happening on December 10th. (7.30pm)
That’s the same date (and time) as the first installment of the Musicians from Marlboro at the Freer Gallery of Art. Mozart’s String Quintet K. 614, Mendelssohn’s Octet, op. 20, and Janácìk’s String Quartet no. 1 are on the promising-looking menu, made to look yet more promising since it is free (tickets required). (7.30pm)
The Library of Congress celebrates Elliot Carter laudably, extensively. On December 11th, it’s the Verge Ensemble to do the honors (throwing in small pieces by contemporary composers who could be Carter’s grand children – 8pm) and on December 12th, it’s “Sequitur” who include the Double Concerto for piano, harpsichord and two chamber orchestras in their program, as well as two more young whippersnapper compositions. (8pm)
On December 13th it is the Left Bank Concert Society’s turn to do their Carter at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, combining it with some Schoenberg and Argento. (7.30pm)
The Harlem Quartet offers an exciting mix of Turina (La Oración del Torero), Piston (String Quartet no. 3), Strayhorn (Take the “A” Train – also featured on their recent CD) and Schubert (String Quintet in C Major, D.95) at the Library of Congress on December 18th, which is the last decent concert of the year before the variously ill-conceived Christmas Carol carousing and all the Messiahs take over. If you feel like indulging in one, though, my recommendation would be the National Symphony Orchestra’s series of performances under the very capable organist and conductor Martin Haselböck (Handel-Festival Göttingen, Salzburger Festspiele et al.) from December 18th through the 21st (Kennedy Center).
Wednesday, 11.19.08, 1:05 pm
New Releases: CDs
Three Beethoven Symphony Cycles (Fedosseyev, 3/3)
"New Releases" posts are regular columns that feature reviews of new CDs that are, for one reason or another, truly outstanding among the many I come across every month.
The Vladimir Fedos(s)eyev Beethoven is a bit of an oddity, on the small Relief label seemingly not even distributed in the US. The set’s un-appealingness starts with the five low-grade digi-packs in a flimsy paper slipcase and cumulates in a cover that’s ugly as sin (a bad cut-and-paste job of Beethoven’s bust next to the Russian maestro’s head), itself stark proof how saving on a good graphic designer (because “our secretary can do that, too”) is the wrong idea. Just as the visual is part in eating, so it is of listening. Whether the product is Anna Netrebko or a box of Beethoven symphonies (think Abbado’s or Rattle’s nicely produced Berlin and Vienna cycles on DG and EMI, respectively), the packaging is a sales argument – and here it is one against the purchase of this cycle.
Some might think this is a shallow or insubstantial perspective. But I don’t claim that this matter is a question of whether the visual should be a factor in the purchase of an audio product, merely that it is. On we go.
These symphonies with the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Radio (formerly known as the USSR State Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra or also Symphony Orchestra of All-Union Radio and Television) were recorded live in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and there is plenty ambient noise. Lots of clapping, players talking (neither between movements, thankfully), coughing, page-turning and the like.
The liner notes claim that Fedosseyev is the “most Russian among Russian conductors”, and perhaps the TSOMR is the most Russian orchestra, too. Those looking for a Russian cycle of Beethoven should probably look here (not Pletnev) – although I cannot honestly say that I know what one would be looking for in a ‘Russian’ LvB cycle, or whether this one particularly, notably offers such ‘Russianness’. If edge-of-the-seat playing (chaos just beneath the surface) is meant, then there isn’t more to be found here than in many other live cycles. The brass is not so typically bloated or strident (the liner notes call it “husky”) as might be expected, nor the strings more voluminous (“full, vibrant, ‘red glow’, as ascribed to them by Urs Weber, author of those liner notes) than any other large symphony orchestra.
What is audible are very unlovely woodwinds (3rd Symphony), imprecise strings, a boomy, not sprightly, 1st Symphony (with little ‘Mozart’, nor particular spontaneity – despite Fedosseyev’s claim or aim to the opposite), and a children’s choir in the 9th Symphony for which the word “ghastly” might be too harsh a description… but “pretty” sure sounds different. There are good moments, too, of course – the 7th sounds compelling so long as not compared to Karajan’s and there is a sense of excitement in the 5th that’s not undermined by scrappy playing. But over all, the interpretations are surprisingly ‘standard’ – and a standard of decades past, at that. No exposition repeats are taken, and the tempos are generally slower than Karajan’s, and subjectively slower, still, than the timings would indicate. For Fedoesseyev-fans only, I’d say, and no competition for recent live cycles like Mackerras’ (hyperion) or Abbado’s (DG, Rome).
(These Relief recordings are available via Tower Japan, HMV Japan, ClassiCDirect, MusiContact – both Germany).
Saturday, 11.15.08, 6:00 am
New Releases: CDs
Three Beethoven Symphony Cycles (Blomstedt, 2/3)
"New Releases" posts are regular columns that feature reviews of new CDs that are, for one reason or another, truly outstanding among the many I come across every month.
The Blomstedt Beethoven cycle with the Staatskapelle Dresden has been available in many different versions – for many years as a super-budget box when Brilliant Classics licensed the recordings. I bemoaned that Brilliant chose the Kurt Masur/Leipzig recordings for their “Complete Beethoven” box, instead of the Dresdeners, but perhaps Brilliant’s license had already run out and the rights gone back to Berlin Classics / Edel – the successor to the GDR’s “VEB Schallplatten” (“People Owned Company – Records”). It would make sense, because Berlin Classics has now issued these recordings themselves, in a neat slim cardboard box at just a little more than Brilliant’s asking price and with a higher production value thanks to a fine little booklet with good liner notes and a short biography of Herbert Blomstedt in English and German, but unfortunately no text for the last movement of the Ninth.
This Beethoven cycle is the epitome of everything that is good about “Kapellmeisterdom” – significantly broader than Karajan’s (Blomstedt also ignores the exposition repeats), these are ‘old-Europe’ readings, steeped in the long tradition of the wonderful sounding Dresden Staatskapelle. Even if it sounds nonsensical, I find these very well recorded readings – made between 1975 and 1980 in Dresden’s St. Luke’s church – “spectacularly solid” and even. There simply isn’t a weak spot in the lot – and while no single symphony (I am trying to avoid the word “interpretation”, because it might insinuate the injection of overt personality on part of Blomstedt, which is wholly absent in a way comparable to Günter Wand) might make anyone’s first choice, as a whole this is one of the ‘standard’ cycles to compete with the very best, more famous ones.
In the Seventh Symphony, Blomstedt doesn’t nearly reach the intensely driven, propulsive mood that Karajan does, but how glorious shineth its slow movement! The Fifth Symphony doesn’t start very alertly, but the immense power he packs into the work without any sense of exaggeration is terrific in its cumulative effect.
The long arch that reaches from the first to the last note in the Ninth Symphony (Peter Schreier and Theo Adam ‘good enough’ but no more; neither Helena Does nor Marga Schiml leaving room for many complaints) keeps you gently smiling throughout even if you’ve listened to the work a couple too many times to still be astounded by its grandeur and original novelty. Throughout the set, the star is the Dresden Staatskapelle, which sound marvelous. (Look in the upcoming Gramophone Magazine for the Dresden Staatskapelle in their “20 Best Orchestras in the World” ranking.) The only qualm about sound I have is the choir, which sounds slightly veiled, and Schreier who is less to my taste here than with Karajan a few years before.
Given the $27 price tag of the set on Brilliant, Berlin Classics’ asking price of ~$33 makes it no worse a deal, considering the somewhat increased production value. It is one of the finest ‘standard’ symphony sets and in its presentable, space saving box ideal as an introduction to the symphonies – as good a first cycle as there are, without interpretive kinks leaving the listener unbiased for further exploration of more individual readings. Of its type and style of interpretation, the only modern cycle that competes is Barenboim’s (Warner) whose Beethoven of dark varnished oak is more individual, but equally rich and often as expansive.
Karajan-77 is discussed here, Fedosseyev here.
Thursday, 11.13.08, 6:00 am
New Releases: CDs
Three Beethoven Symphony Cycles (Karajan 77, 1/3)
"New Releases" posts are regular columns that feature reviews of new CDs that are, for one reason or another, truly outstanding among the many I come across every month.
Three Beethoven Symphony cycles all at once could be a case of masterpiece-overkill for the reviewer, but faced with H.v.Karajan (DG, Berlin Philharmonic, Karajan Symphony Edition), Herbert Blomstedt (Berlin Classics, Staatskapelle Dresden), it turned out to be more joy than chore. Only going through Valery Fedosseyev’s cycle, so much up front, was more a case of duty.
If Karajan’s 1963 set of Beethoven symphony recordings (recorded 1961-62 on DG) is generally hailed as (one of) the over-all best cycles, Karajan-77 might in some ways be the better Karajan-Beethoven cycle – namely because it is more typical of Karajan and what he had achieved with the Berlin Philharmonic in the many years they were his orchestra. In the same way, the 80’s cycle might be considered as the exaggerated characteristic of everything that was questionable about Karajan’s particular approach – a trend toward homogeneity gone wrong, with edges first overstated, then smoothed over, and captured in sound worse than either of the predecessors.
Karajan-63 is individual, dynamic, conductor-driven, and – for its time – progressive. A comparison of the best (or at least most exciting) modern interpretations of the “Eroica” Symphony (Paavo Järvi / Bremen on RCA or Osmo Vänskä / Minnesota on BIS) with the Karajan’s 1963 version (available individually as part of the Karajan Master Recordings re-issues and as part of the SACD-remastered cycle) shows that, the ever-missing exposition repeats aside, Karajan created a stunning sound: modern then, timeless today.
Karajan-77 is a more collaborative effort with his orchestra, the detailed sound and clarity of his earlier Beethoven married to the homogenous orchestral sound that is said to have been his ideal. Although the timings are not very different from the earlier cycle (in the “Eroica” Karajan shaves off over two minutes from his previous account, [inadvertently?] coming close to Beethoven’s metronome markings), the symphonies often ‘feel’ a little bit more deliberate because the saturated, secure sound of the orchestra (and recording) removes any sense of instability and nervous energy.
Among the absolute highlights is the Seventh Symphony, and within the Seventh the Presto which is simply terrific, riveting – energy and weight used toward very propulsive ends which is taken right into the Allegro con brio. In addition to the nine symphonies, this cycle also includes Karajan’s 1960’s recordings of the Egmont-, Leonore III-, Fidelio-, Coriolan-, Creatures of Prometheus-, and Ruins of Athens-Overture.
Notable, too, are the excellent liner notes: three different essays, one in English, German, and French each – that don’t vaguely or generally discuss Beethoven or engage in undue hagiographic Karajan-worship, but poignantly, candidly discuss the specific recordings at hand. The set is available only in the UK it seems – and in the US as an import. What is available, however, is the “Karajan Symphony Edition”, undoubtedly the best deal among all the commemorative Karajan re-issues. Apart from this Beethoven cycle, it includes Karajan’s complete Brahms, Bruckner, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky cycles, some Haydn, and late Mozart – 38 discs in total, offered at a ridiculously low $100 in the US. Consider the Haydn and Mozart anachronistic throw-ins to what are some of the finest standard repertoire symphony recordings available (Brahms, Bruckner, and Mendelssohn especially).
Blomstedt’s and Fedosseyev’s cycles are discussed here and here, respectively.
Thursday, 11.6.08, 6:00 am
Alfred Brendel’s Good-Bye in C-Minor
Alfred Brendel has been on stage for 60 years – beginning with a 1948 recital of “The Fugue in Music” and ending his concertizing career with two performances of Mozart’s E-flat concerto No.9 on December 17th and 18th in Vienna. A WPAS organized recital on March 17th of this year was the last time he played in Washington. Last Wednesday and Thursday his 13th-to-last stop en route to permanently closing the lid was Munich, where Christian Thielemann and the Munich Philharmonic accompanied him in Mozart’s c-minor concerto.
Framed by Beethoven (a brilliant Coriolan Overture and a fine, dynamic “Pastorale”), Brendel delivered Mozart in the manner that has made him one of the foremost interpreters of the Viennese Classics: Music from the heart, not the fingers. And few pianists have more heart for Mozart than Brendel. The warm geniality of his touch, his casual yet sincere way with the notes, is what has made Alfred Brendel such an unlikely superstar of classical music.
His opening notes in the Munich concerto were halting, as if acknowledging that these would be some of his last sounds emitted from the piano in Germany. But even if this was good-bye, ‘c-minor’ was not sad with Brendel, it was serious and collected. The separation of notes in the cadenza made the ears perk, and his skilled simplicity, his serious ease and dry wit (well hidden) made the ears smile. Because of who he is, how he plays, and what we know him to be, his whole persona, not just the naked notes, determines the impression he makes in concert. Perhaps that’s one reason why this listener finds him a good deal more appealing live than on record.
His performances were never special because of pianistic infallibility but the humanist touch he endowed every note with. What we got in the musician Brendel was the simultaneously serious and comic, the orderly and the absurd. “Chaos, in a work of art, should shimmer through the veil of order” (Novalis) was one of his favorite quotes. With Brendel you saw that veil on stage, in his playing you heard what was going on behind it: the machinations of joyous re-recreation at every turn of a phrase.
Softly, tenderly, wistfully he parted with an encore of Schubert’s op.142/3 Impromptu. How good to have had one more opportunity to hear him at his best.
Recommended recordings:
