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As mentioned in a couple of earlier posts, I’ve been occupied much of this year in transferring my CD collection to iTunes (using Audirvana for computer playback) – a very slow process, especially since I’m listening to at least one track of every CD that I transfer, and I’ve got thousands still to complete. So I’ve not kept up with newer (2014) releases to the extent I’ve been able to in previous years. It’s also been disappointing that a couple of releases from the babe musicians who might ordinarily make my yearly list have been so uninteresting to me (e.g., Lisa’s new Bach CD – ewww!).Nevertheless, even though my list is not as extensive as it was in days of yore, there were still a number of discs I want to put in a plug for.
SACD / Blu-ray Audio:
I love what the LSO Live label is doing now with their inclusion of SACD, Blu-ray Audio and Blu-ray Video all in the same release – excellent value IMHO! Although I was brought up on the fevered nightmares of the Munch and Paray recordings of the Sf, I’ve grown to appreciate over the years how an emphasis on orchestral weight can also pay dividends in this work – as in the Boulez or the under-the-radar Colin Davis / VPO recordings. (I’d place the better known Davis/LSO and Davis/RCOA recordings more midway between these extremes.) Based on Gergiev’s conducting in his Les Troyens and Benvenuto Cellini videos, I expected something near to Munch and Paray in this new recording. But not at all – Gergiev seems to be holding back here, bringing up some very interesting textural detail in the process. It’s not entirely on my wavelength, but it IS interesting. As usual, my tolerance for the Barbican acoustics as recorded on the LSO Live label is higher than that of many other listeners, so I even enjoyed the engineering too!
My incarnation of this recording is actually the two-channel 24/96 download. Perhaps you might be able to find certain details that you might prefer on other recordings (or even whole roles – I’m not entirely happy with the Maria here), but, particularly for the sound quality and orchestral execution in this work, I’d be surprised if there were a better recording overall than this one.
A bit of a controversial performance here because of Fischer’s jet-propelled approach to some sections. I like it a lot, because I feel that he’s tapped into the latent kinetic energy that could be part of the Bruckner sound world, and which has all but disappeared in Bruckner performances these days. Needless to say, the SQ is also excellent.
Jaspar de Waal was first horn in the RCOA from 2004 to 2012, and rarely will you find as full and as beautiful a tone quality on a French horn as what you hear on this recording. The two staples of the repertoire (the Brahms Horn Trio and the Schumann Adagio and Allegro) are joined by an enjoyable Clarinet/Horn/Piano Trio by Carl Reinecke, which, although written as late as 1905, sounds as if it could easily have been composed 50 years earlier. Nothing wrong with that in my book! The only criticism I have is that I wish the other players had been a bit more assertive and articulate in places, especially in the Brahms and Schumann works.
This blu-ray audio disc surely has to be the most beautiful recording of A German Requiem ever released. A few listeners might prefer greater intensity in some sections, but for me, this performance (aided by incredible SQ – especially in multi-channel) is very moving indeed. Sure, I might prefer the young Barbara Bonney (with Giulini) in “Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit”, but this is another instance where the total effect of the whole performance is overwhelming in its emotional impact. The choral work in particular is superb.
Just released a month ago (at least in the U.S.), this blu-ray shares the same virtues as the Wit/Warsaw German Requiem above, with the same spectacular SQ. It might be a difficult call between this new recording and the earlier Jansons/RCOA performance on an RCO Live SACD, but in this case, my very slight preference for Christiane Libor in the solo soprano parts (over Krassimira Stoyanova in the Jansons performance) might just tip the scales in favor of this new Naxos release. And even though Jansons has the Wiener Singverein at his disposal, Wit’s wonderful Warsaw Philharmonic Choir need not defer one. . . uh. . . whit to the better known group!
The field of just the recent recordings of the Sibelius Concerto has been incredibly competitive. My preference has been for Lisa (Batiashvili) in an in-concert performance on a Sony plain old CD, despite the inconsistent tone quality of the solo violin (no doubt caused by Lisa’s writhing as she plays – there used to be a video of this performance on YouTube which was later taken down). And from a purely sonic point of view, it would be hard to beat Akiko (Suwanai) in her performance (like Lisa’s, with Oramo conducting) on a Philips SACD. I think this new recording by Jenny (looking kind of Goth on the cover!) is certainly up at this level in terms of solo playing and SQ. (I have the 24/96 download, rather than the SACD.) The orchestral work under Andrew Davis however is just a bit on the bland side (in the purely orchestral works too), but I still want to include this recording on my list, if only because of Jenny’s outstanding solo playing.
Blu-ray Video:
I still have Chailly’s earlier Mahler 9 with the RCOA on a Decca SACD. I love it, but this new one with the LGO has even more intensity and sense of purpose. The bonus tracks which deal with Chailly’s explanation of certain points of interpretation add even more to the value of this release. I can’t remember if Chailly’s Mahler 5 was also released this year – if so, I’d include that release too.Plain Old CD:
All was not lost for the babe musicians this year, and here, looking more babeliocious than ever at the age of 40+ (and straight from the pages of Elle and Vogue!), comes cellist/supermodel Nina Kotova in the Bach Cello Suites. In some ways, this recording was all I could have hoped for: this is Bach playing as if HIP never existed – so heartfelt and emotional! (And with actual vibrato – imagine!) I still like Starker’s SACD version the best, but I’m glad to have Nina’s recording in my library too. However, I’m a little put off by the engineering, the decibel level of which is noticeably higher than on other recordings – and when Nina pours out her soul in some of the more passionate sections, the SQ gets to be just a bit uncomfortable. I wish things were better in that respect. I was hoping that a 24/96 download might become available, but so far, I haven’t seen anything.
I don’t read the Gramophone much these days, but this was one of that magazine’s records of the month – and deservedly so too! I actually have the two-channel 24/96 download rather than the CD, and it sounds great – allowing us to hear the details of articulation and tone production of both artists in a way that I miss on so many older recordings.
OK – this is a bit of nepotism here, but I think this new recoding of my late father-in-law’s guitar music is very appealing: simple, unpretentious, and yet interesting at the same time. I'm not a guitarist, but Bradley Colton certainly seems to have this music well in hand. There are also a couple of song transcriptions too – the genre for which Bacon is best known, although I’d love it if there were a recording of some of his choral and orchestral music too, such as his “Hymn to the United Nations”.
I’m lazy today, so I’ll just condense my Audio Asylum comments from last week:Khatia has already shown that she can do this type of music extraordinarily well (think: Liszt Liebestraum or Chopin Waltz in C-sharp minor), and she certainly doesn't disappoint here. Quite often, she achieves the deepest emotional effects with this often thrice-familiar repertoire by risking extraordinarily slow tempos, but, through sheer control, she builds astonishing continuity rather than splintering the line into fragments (as all too many other pianists would do at similarly slow tempos). For instance, she’s daringly slow "October" from Tchaikovsky's "The Seasons" (really "The Months"!), and, wow, does she ever bring it off! You just want to shout, "Tchaikovsky! Such marvelous self-pity!". ;-)It's not all slow tracks however: there's a Mendelssohn Song Without Words (Op. 67, No. 2) which moves right along, as well as one of the pieces in Ligeti's "Music Ricercata" (No. 7), which, despite its rapid motion (lots o' notes in a short amount of time), still keeps to the meditative theme of most of the program. One exception to Khatia's penchant for slower than normal tempos is her Dvorak Slavonic Dance in E minor, Op. 72 No. 2, where she's joined in the composer's original four-hand version of the piece by her her sister, Gvantsa. Compared to other renditions, this performance just flies - it's surprising, but, at least IMHO, it works beautifully, thanks to both sisters' control of tone and balance as well as their marvellous leggiero touch!
Again, just a condensation of my Audio Asylum comments from last week:Man, is this ever HOT! Khatia's gone back to her hepped-up mode! The second movement of the Franck Sonata really made me sit up at attention - what a charge she imparts to the music, especially to that piano solo right at the beginning of the movement! I've heard a lot of recordings of this piece (far from all however!), but I feel confident that this is one of the great ones!And I've never heard such a high-voltage version of the Grieg C-minor Sonata, and would never have expected that the folk-dance-inspired last movement would respond well to such treatment - but it does, and how! As so often with Khatia, she just gives us a new, revealing slant on the music. Khatia goes back to "calm" mode in the first two tracks of the Dvorak - very beautifully played by both musicians. And not to forget Capucon, he plays very well himself throughout the recital.
Finally, I’d like to mention that there were/are more recordings I was interested in this year, but I just didn’t get a chance to hear them, including the Järvi Nutcracker and the Bavouzet/Gardiner Janacek release on Chandos, the Brahms Choral Music with the Swedish Radio Choir released last month on Channel Classics, as well as a number of recordings on the BIS label (still waiting for multi-channel BIS downloads to become available).
Edits: 12/23/14 12/23/14Follow Ups:
I just ordered the German Requiem
I love these lists, always turn up something we missed. I usually run my list on PF but have a feeling it won't get run this year, so here it is for fun.
Lutoslawski. Symphonies, Concertos, Choral and Vocal Works. 10 CDs. Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit. Naxos 8.501066.
Listening to this generous treasure trove of music by Polish modernist composer Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994) affords a marvelous opportunity to hear twentieth century music evolve in the hands of a single brilliant composer. Lutoslawski is the major voice of first generation Polish modernism, years ahead of his great successor, Penderecki. Very little of his music is performed by American orchestras, keeping us even more provincial that we already are. Naxos is both wise and fortunate to have allied themselves with Wit and the Polish National, the organization who have also recorded much of Penderecki's music for the label. Naxos' presentation of these two major modernist composers is a huge cultural gift to the world.
Britten. Reflections. Matthew Jones, viola and violin. Annabel Thwaite, piano. Naxos 8.573136.
I did not realize until I listened to this wonderful new release of his (very) early music for solo viola, viola and piano, and violin and piano how much of his most moving music was written in the 1930's when Britten was in his late teens and early twenties. He knew a lot of what he knew from the beginning. Part of what makes this group of works (14) so impressive is the musicianship. To my ears, violinist/violist Jones and pianist Thwaite have an instinctive feel for Britten
Thomas Adès, The Tempest. The Metropolitan Opera HD Live. Thomas Adès, conductor. Robert LePage, producer. Deutsche Gramophone. DVD 073 4932.
DG has released a high definition DVD of the Met's 2012 production of Thomas Adès' The Tempest. It comes without Meredith Oakes' libretto, so you'll need the CD release too, which includes one; or you can order one through Amazon for $5 and change. http://www.amazon.com/The-Tempest-Libretto-Faber-Edition/dp/0571523374. The staging adds enormously to the experience—no surprise there—and now that I've seen this DVD, I consider it essential for getting at some of the wonderful visual subtleties of the opera.
Ludwig Van Beethoven. Piano Trios, Opus 70 and 97 ("Archduke"). Alexander Melinkov, piano; Isabel Faust, violin; Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello. Harmonia Mundi HMC 902125.
Those who prefer their Beethoven restrained will likely find Melinkov-Faust-Queyras too outspoken. They are that. But they are also so good they may well lead you to rethink your preference. I'll admit I was afraid of this album before I heard it. I knew it wasn't going to sound like the Florestans whom I admire greatly, and I was right about that. All I can say to you now is, fear not. And the sound is terrifically present.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Magnificat; Heilig is Gott, WQ217; Sinfonia in D Sharp Major. RIAS Chamber Choir, Akadamie für Alte Musik Berlin. Hans-Christoph Rademann. Harmonia Mundi HMC 902167.
Coming to the choral music of CPE Bach from that of his father, Johann Sebastian, can be an thrilling shock, especially if the son is in the hands of Alte Musik Berlin who relish their difference. We leap from the baroque to the rococo, where textures are simpler, melodic lines are longer, and the atmosphere is more vibrant. Alte Musik Berlin's CPE Magnificat (1849) gives us religious faith that is bursting with more affirmative energy than reverence.
Schubert. ‘Goerne Schubert Cycle, Vols. 8 and 9.' Wanderers Nachtlied. Matthias Goerne, baritone. Helmut Deutsch, Eric Schneider, piano. Harmonia Mundi HMC 902109 and Wintereisse, with Eschenbach, piano. HMC902107.
Schubert's lieder is his greatest music. It is also the most protean. It changes its very being depending on its interpretation. I am fond of its painfully lyric eloquence coming through the voice of high tenor Peter Pears; and of the smooth richness that comes through Fischer-Diskau. But from Mathis Goerne, I hear music that almost literally makes the earth move, as it surely must have done in the musical mind of the composer himself. Goerne sings like God's cello, the instrument most often compared with the human voice—the entire range of the cello. There is a timbre to his voice that no other Schubert singer can approach.
Shostakovich, Symphonies Nos 13 and 14. Gal James, soprano. Alexander Vinogradov, baritone. Royal Liverpool Symphony Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko. Naxos 8.573132 and 8.573218.
Petrenko's continuing insistence on Shostakovich as musical poet and the emotional power of his ardent young soloists, Russian baritone Vinogradov and Israeli soprano James (on No. 14), makes moments of these performances almost overwhelming. That anyone could imagine Shostakovich being considered Mahler's superior let alone his equal would have been unthinkable as recently as a decade ago. If this view is now thinkable, we have Vasily Petrenko to thank for this.
Alfred Schnittke, Complete Piano Music. Simon Smith. Delphian D D 34131 (2 cds's)
As a whole, this 2-CD album is an exciting and representative introduction to a composer who is just beginning to be appreciated. This is twenty-first century music composed a half century before we were ready for it. The sound is spectacular: I've seldom heard this much of a piano on a recording. Clear the room of the timid and timorous and let it rip. This is one of my favorite releases of 2014.
Brian Ferneyhough. Complete Works for String Quartet and Trio. Arditti Quartet. Claron McFadden, soprano. aeon records AECD 1335 (3 CD's).
To my 76-year-old ears, along with the somewhat more conservative Thomas Adès, Ferneyhough has become (always was?) the premier British modernist. But that won't make him any easier for you if you're where I was twenty years ago. This music was composed between 1967 and 2010. It is music you are unlikely ever to hear in a concert hall, at least in the U.S. At least outside New York City. It is too bold, too unsociable! Is there such a thing as delicious dissonance? If so, this is it. Not in the least sweet or smooth on the pallet. But tasty. Tangy, peaty, complex.
Anthony McGill, Pacifica Quartet, Mozart and Brahms Clarinet Quintets. Çedille CDR 90000 147.
McGill's clear, rich tone, no surprise, takes center stage as it should. I haven't heard a great many clarinetists over the years but he's easily the best I've heard. The Pacifica musicians clearly knew whom they wanted for this outing. Their characteristically crisp style complements his harmonic richness perfectly. On the Brahms, McGill's musicianship is absolutely mesmerizing. While we are able to hear the differences between woodwind and strings, McGill brings them closer together, which on the Brahms especially makes the work more moving. This is some of the most exciting playing I've heard this year.
Music in Europe at the Time of the Renaissance. [Various Artists and Ensembles] Ricercar.
This is 'the album I can't put away.' Surely we all have a few of these. No matter what I listen to and then either add to the shelf or give away to my trusty webmaster, this one sits there and says, 'Come back—this is where you want to be.' Issued by one of the great niche (renaissance and baroque) companies, Ricercar, it is a treasure. Choice of repertoire, quality of voices & instrumental musicianship, and richness and clarity of recorded sound are all A+. Not to mention a handsome book with commentary with a complete list of the rich and varied musical contents, work by work, along with names of artists and ensembles. Eight CD's presumably compiled from their extensive catalog (not just re-released whole CD's) along with a large selection of recordings from Harmonia Mundi, Accent, Ramée, Pasacaglia, Alpha, and Glossa, which cover scores of renaissance composers from all over Europe, paying special attention to major composers but seemingly getting everyone else as well. Choral and instrumental music, sacred and secular. If you plan on buying just one album this year, make it this one. Fulsome and exquisite.
Ludwig Van Beethoven, Complete Works for Cello. Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello. Alexander Melnikov, piano. 2 CD's. Harmonia Mundi HMC 90218384.
One of the best recorded performances of this music, it does not respect the music too much to go at it—with humor, imagination, and expressiveness. Queyras and Melniikov are sufficiently major musicians to meet Beethoven on his own high, mercurial ground. Right from the first movement of Sonata No. 1, they go with him through beauty, grace, strut, virtuosity, sass, and even charm. And the character of their playing never lets up. Great music making.
Penderecki. Chamber Works. Vol. 1 Various musicians. Dux 0780
You don’t have to know much about classical music or be a fan of contemporary modernism to hear how good this music is. To my ears his closest predecessor is Stravinsky. But where Stravinsky depends on structure within which he builds his modernist art. Penderecki is freer. His music is the natural progression from the great Russians. I hope this series goes on forever.
I love it! Intimate but lively modern reading. It's one of my recent favourite, too.
I am beginning to learn Lutoslawski's music whenever I get a chance. A few wks ago CSO/Prieto played his Concerto for Orchestra which was great.
In many ways, our lists are compliments to each other, with mine being more on the conservative side, and yours being more adventurous. I was tempted by those Beethoven Cello Sonatas with Queyras and Melnikov, but didn't get a chance to hear them. But for me, Melnikov, a great player, has compromised the appeal of many of his more recent releases by using one of those blasted fortepianos. (But I think he may be using a real piano on his recording of the cello sonatas with Queyras?) In any case, thanks again!
Great titles that I will add to my ever-growing list of look-out-fors!
Now I just need an SACD/Blu-ray/DVD-A/HDCD/CD/MP-3 player solution!
LOL!
Dman
Analog Junkie
An Oppo BDP 95 or 105?
Harry Z
Perfect timing Chris, as we close-out 2014. Excellent pics!
I will add these titles to my list.
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