Monthly Archives: May 2013

Widor: Organ Symphonies Vol 2 Nos 1 and 2

Posted on by

Joseph Nolan, Cavaille-Coll organ, La Madeleine, Paris

SIGNUM SIGCD 319        78’09

The first volume in this series had coupled the sixth and fifth symphonies, both probably better known than the first and second, even to regular followers of organ concerts.

The first symphony was worked on regularly by the composer over many years and appears in five different versions. Though the notes are extensive they do not tell us which version Joseph Nolan is playing – not that that need inhibit our enjoyment of his performance. The symphony is in fact seven loosely connected and contrasted movements, which give the organist many opportunities to demonstrate not only his technical finesse but the splendid range and subtlety of the Madeleine Cavaille-Coll. Just consider the wonderful contrast as Joseph Nolan moves from the gentle, floating phrases of the Allegretto to the skittish playfulness and power of the Intermezzo. The Marche pontificale (like the Toccata from the 5th symphony) is certainly more familiar and here given a rousing, full-blooded romp which fires the blood.

The second symphony goes even further in its demands for range and texture, with movements vying for our attention. The Pastorale is particularly effective, the solo voice ringing out in the vibrant acoustic like a pipe across the valleys. By contrast the Salve Regina seems to hark back to the baroque in both style and registration, the organ coping brilliantly with both. The bright reeds come into their own for the vibrant Scherzo, before a haunting Adagio and the final Allegro which deserves to be as well known as the more popular finale to the fifth!

The notes give us appropriate background to the compositions, but the analysis may be a little too technical for the non-organ buff.

Given the rich acoustic of La Madeleine there is no such thing as silence. When the music dies there is still a very strong sense of place. A pity then that the engineers have chosen to cut off each movement with actual silence, rather than allow us to stay in the building, as we would in a live performance. BH

Other events in Holy Trinity

Posted on by
Opera South East present their annual concert for the Hastings and Rother Voluntary Association for the Blind at Holy Trinity on TUESDAY June 11th at 7.30
‘ The Birthday Party’ is a concert of music by composers whose anniversaries occur this year; namely Verdi, Wagner, Britten and others!?
Tickets are available from the Blind Association on 01424 436359 and on the door, priced £7.50
 
‘Scott in the Antarctic’ is an illustrated talk to be given by local wildlife enthusiast Judith Scott on Friday June 14th at Holy Trinity at 7.00 pm
Free admission with refreshments available( for £3) and a retiring collection in aid of the Marine Conservation Society and the Church.

Holy Trinity, Hastings, summer lunchtime concerts

Posted on by

Wednesdays – 1.10 – 1.50pm

The Lunchtime concerts begin next week, June 5th at 1.10 with Ken’s ‘What makes French music French.’This is a teasingly titled recital, generously coloured with explanation and anecdote.
 

June 5th            ‘What makes French music French’ Kenneth Roberts, Piano

June 12th          ‘A couple of old cartes’ Jane Metcalfe, Mezzo-Soprano and Barry Clarke, Baritone with Nigel Howard, Piano

June 19th          Rebekha Gilbert, Contralto with Nigel Howard, Piano

June 26th          Prue Raper, and Michael Paine Songs of Florence Aylward

July 3rd             Claremont School Monica Esslin-Peard, Director Richard Eldridge, Piano

July 10th           Lucy Ashton, Anya Williams and Imogen Willets, Sopranos with Ivora Rees, Piano

July 17th           Michael Lovejoy, Violin Tom McLelland-Young, Piano

July 24th           Tyrone Whiting, Organ and Piano Mendelssohn and Bach – Organ; Bach and Gershwin – Piano

July 31st           Nuri Koseoglu, Violin; Sandra Lambourne, Soprano; Richard Eldridge, Piano

August 7th       Carolyn Bruce, Mezzo-Sopran; Hiroshi Kanazawa, Tenor; Nigel Howard, Piano

August 14th     Katie Molloy, Guitar

August 21st      Five Spice; Battle Town Band Quintet, sponsored by Bay Spice

August 28th     Karen McInally, Mezzo-Soprano; Nigel Howard, Piano

Glyndebourne: Fidelio

Posted on by

 Beethoven: Fidelio

Glyndebourne Festival Opera, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bernard Haitink

ARTHAUS 102307        128’00

This DVD dates from 1979 and is the famous production by (Sir) Peter Hall with naturalistic sets by his regular designer, John Bury. It was originally made for Southern Television and the images suffer occasionally from the age of recording. There also some minor in-balances with individual singers as they move about the stage. This said there is still a great deal to recommend the DVD.

Peter Hall’s approach is deeply humane in its handling of character, moving without being sentimental and ultimately life-enhancing. Elisabeth Soderstrom is a convincing Leonore, and Anton de Ridder an heroic Florestan. Robert Allman’s Pizarro is no simple villain, and is sung with dignity and authority. Curt Appelgren’s Rocco may be a little too easy going but is in keeping with the naturalism which Peter Hall is creating.

Orchestra and chorus under Bernard Haitink are in good form, and given this was an unedited, live performance there are remarkably few slips. A welcome addition to the back catalogue of Glyndebourne’s historical productions. BH

Elgar & Sibelius

Posted on by

Elgar: Symphony No 2, Sospiri, Elegy Op 58

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo

BIS 1879     63’54

Sakari Oramo has an innate feel for Elgar. His anniversary performances in Birmingham of the oratorios were among the finest I can recall. This new recording fully supports my memory of those events. Where many conductors can make the second symphony seem dense and even oppressive, Sakari Oramo brings clarity and light throughout. Time and time again it is the balance of voices we are aware of rather than the almost Brahmsian impact which can result. The Rondo is particularly impressive. The movement can easily seem confused or skittish but here every nuance is allowed to blossom and flourish no matter how fleetingly.

The disc also includes delicate versions of Sospiri and the less familiar Elegy for strings. BH

 

Sibelius: Symphonies No 1 & 4

Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vanska

BIS 1879     74’10

It is interesting to compare these new recordings with those Osmo Vanska made with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. In the intervening years his approach to Sibelius seems to have become leaner and more intense. In the new recording the symphonies are marginally shorter, but more than that, there is an urgency in them which is not reflected in the original Finnish recordings. The first symphony seems less obviously romantic, looking forward rather than backwards, and the fourth is so bleak that at times it almost disappears into thin air. However, these are fine and totally convincing interpretations, and his new orchestra have many splendid solo musicians amongst their numbers. BH

Brighton Philharmonic Summer Prom

Posted on by

 

Saturday 22nd June, 6pm at Hove County Cricket Ground

Brighton Philharmonic will give Brighton & Hove’s first ever open air prom as part of the first Sussex Festival of Music at the Hove County Cricket Ground.

The “Curtain” will be raised by the Sussex Harmonisers, a well known barbershop group of around 40 members who sing acapella both songs from yesteryear and those more modern.

After this gentle introduction to the prom, its time for dinner, whether you take advantage of the tremendous catering of Sussex Cricket Club, bring a picnic, or visit food stalls around the ground.

At around 7.45 the Orchestra will appear on stage and will play favourite light classical pieces including:

  • Overture to La Forza del Destino – Verdi
  • Scenes from Carmen – Bizet
  • Largo from The New World Symphony – Dvorak
  • Overture to William Tell – Rossini
  • Blue Danube – Strauss
  • Fantasia on British Seas Songs – Sir Hentry Wood
  • 1812 Overture – Tchaikovsky

All capped off with some spectacular fireworks!

Adult Early Bird tickets just £25.00, child and other concessions available along with great value dining packages!

Book your tickets now online by clicking here
or visit sussexfestivalofmusic.co.uk for more info.

The Colon Ring; Wagner in Buenos Aires

Posted on by

 

The Colon Ring; Wagner in Buenos Aires; a film by Hans Christoph von Bock

MAJOR 712808                 93.00

 

This fascinating documentary is as complex and contorted as the most unbelievable of opera plots. The Colon Opera House in Buenos Aires decided to mount a shortened Ring Cycle. There have, over the years, been many attempts at this, the Birmingham Touring Opera version by Jonathan Dove being particularly successful. On this occasion however, it was decided to stage the work in a single day, reducing the score to just over seven hours.

So far, so good, but the way the house went about it reflects a clash of cultures on a grand scale. Having invited Katharina Wagner to direct, and ordered the sets and costumes, they failed to have everything in place when she arrived to start rehearsals. A Wagnerian storm blew up and, in the end, she walked out. Valentina Carrasco was brought in, with a totally fresh approach, but restrained by having to work with the same basic set and costumes. Running parallel to this was the arrangement of the score. Rather than preparing it well in advance, the cuts and re-orchestration were happening hour by hour during rehearsals, with the result that individual members of the orchestra did not have the same scores in front of them, and many were riddled with mistakes.

That the outcome was so successful seemed far more luck than judgement, but it certainly makes for a fascinating film. BH

WNO: Lohengrin

Posted on by

The shimmering opening to the prelude and the atmospheric front cloth were positive omens for this new Lohengrin; when the swan arrived this all turned to magic. Few productions that I have seen in over fifty years have managed to combine the stark brutality of teutonic warfare with the mystical realm of the grail so successfully. There may have been some minor problems with illness but these can hit any company at any time. To still be such an overwhelming success is heartening. Added to this the startling conclusion came out of the blue. Gottfried, returned long before the state is ready for him, proves to be as arrogant an authoritarian as any before him, and thus all of Lohengrin’s Buddhist-leaning desires go unrequited – to say nothing of the emotional tangles with Elsa.

Anthony McDonald’s set designs did not look promising in the models, but proved highly effective in performance. The late nineteenth century military costumes, the oppressive Protestantism of the chorus, waving their bibles, and the desolation of the building did not prepare us for Thomas Rowlands’ swan drawing Lohengrin’s boat – two radically different worlds crashing into each other. Though Peter Wedd’s knight looked as teutonic as any of the others on stage, with his short blonde hair and military baring, his clothing is revealed as monk-like, and his expectations towards peace and unity. That he fails is as much a result of the society into which he comes as it is Elsa’s for demanding to know his background. The nineteenth century setting helps us to understand the tension in Emma Bell’s Elsa, torn between fairy-tales which come true and a world which does not trust outsiders. If this were just a fairy-tale, it would be Elsa’s fault for giving in too easily, but we are presented with a palpably real world which does not take easily to genius however useful they are on occasions.

Susan Bickley’s Ortrud is alive to all of the nuances of the narrative as they unfold. She may have little to sing in act one but was magnificent in her silence as she manipulates events. It is telling that she is struck down at the end by Gottfried as if he has inherited Lohengrin’s power which overcame her husband. It is difficult not to feel sorry for Telramund, and Claudio Otelli makes much of the nobility of the character as well as his authority. The opening of act two was particularly effective in the shifting power relationship between Ortrud and Telramund.

There was an apology before the start for Matthew Best who had a throat infection. He sang bravely, and we put in the top notes for him where they were missing. What proved more interesting was the unusually hesitant characterisation he gave which I do not think was simply as a result of his vocal problem. He seemed to be showing us a weakened King, who needs an outsider like Lohengrin to galvanise the situation. At the end he is at the mercy of Gottfried – woe unto the country where the king is a child.

Throughout the evening the chorus had sung magnificently, the raised staging helping to project the voices in the outer acts and the close proximity helping in the second. Accuracy and flair were never in doubt.

The orchestra have been on superb form for some time now and this built on their reputation for Wagner in Die Meistersinger two years ago. I have never heard the act three entr’acte, with ten trumpets in the auditorium, so thrillingly played. It was a fitting build into the final scene, where Peter Wedd started In fernem land sitting and speaking quietly to Elsa, becoming gradually more powerful until we were aware of the anger he felt at having to announce who he was.

I do hope that this production will be revived. In a world that is too often at the mercy of directorial ideas which go awry, here is a production which does no disservice to either music or narrative but would allow for differing approaches to any of the lead parts. Let us see it again soon! BH

 

Brighton Festival: Elias String Quartet

Posted on by

 

St George’s Church, Kemptown, 20 May 2013

The Elias String Quartet were effectively in residence for the Brighton Festival, giving three recitals all drawing on the Beethoven Quartets. I caught the final concert, which, like the earlier ones comprised of three contrasting compositions from across Beethoven’s lifetime. At St George’s for this final event they brought us Op18 No5, Op59 No3 Razamovsky and Op131.

The venue was sold out and the audience highly enthusiastic. I say this because I found difficulties with their approach. While there is no doubting the technical skill and versatility of the players, their approach is more than simply spirited. They frequently seem to be attacking the works with such violence that the result is uncomfortable and overtly aggressive. The opening Allegro of Op18 No5 was often frenetic in its created tension and the Menuetto seemed exagerated in its phrasing. The gentler variations in the Andante cantabile worked far better but the movement was still hard driven, before an extrovertly aggressive final Allegro.

I had hoped that this might simply have been their approach to the earlier work. Certainly the atmospheric opening of the Razamovsky was impressive and the following Allegro vivace more civilised. However the Andante was unexpectedly stark and the cello pizzicato passages violent in their attack to the point of discomfort. A modern composer may ask for this level of ugliness but I found it out of place in Beethoven. The Menuetto produced some warmer phrasing with a better internal balance, but the hectic hell-for-leather approach to the Allegro molto did little to bring us to a satisfactory conclusion.

The Op 131 Quartet in C sharp minor suffered in exactly the same way. I can understand that there will be listeners who find this approach challenging and stimulating, but I regret it was not for me. BH

Wagner, Schumann & Beethoven at the Congress Theatre

Posted on by

 

London Philharmonic Orchestra, 19 May 2013

Two young men set this concert ablaze – conductor Nicholas Collon and pianist Benjamin Grosvenor. They came together in Schumann’s piano concerto, the light touch giving an improvisatory feel to the opening movement, though it romped to a close before a warmly indulgent Intermezzo. The finale found many moments of repose to offset the passion of the main theme and the intense rapport between soloist and orchestra. Benjamin Grosvenor delighted us with an encore – a gentle piece of Schumann, in fine contrast to the concerto, delicately played.

Before this we had heard the prelude to Act One of Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg. The orchestra are no strangers to this score having played it so magnificently at Glyndebourne in 2011, but it seemed even fresher on this occasion, the counterpoint sparkling and the brass fanfares truly alive.

Siegfried Idyll was an unexpected extra, given the potential length of the programme, but none the less welcome, allowing Nicholas Collon to demonstrate his sensitivity to the nuances of the scoring and the gentle inner voices.

The afternoon concluded with Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. This may be a popular choice where programming is concerned but I was surprised at how rarely I have covered a live performance in the last few years. What impressed more than anything was the clarity of the sound Nicholas Collon drew from his players. From almost inaudible ppps to the blazing rasp of the brass this was a remarkably fine performance. The opening movement had real bite without being over fast, while the moody silences of the second movement were atmospherically charged. There was little sense of dwarves in procession from the jaunty opening of the third movement but the build into the unleashing of the final movement was stunning. Moreover, the repeat in the final movement – so often cut – was here even more impressive for the tiny adjustment to the rhythm as it unfolded. Masterly! As had been the whole afternoon. We will be watching Nicholas Collon’s future with great interest, and not only because his hair reminds us of the young Simon Rattle! BH