For a few words about my
reviewing process and preferences, please see the introduction to
Classical Review #36.
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BRAHMS' GREAT PIANO TRIOS
BRAHMS: PIANO TRIOSNICHOLAS ANGELICH, RENAUD CAPUCON, GAUTIER
CAPUCON
VIRGIN CLASSICS 72435 4565328
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BRAHMS: COMPLETE TRIOS
BEAUX ARTS
TRIO
PHILIPS DUO 438 365-2
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BRAHMS: COMPLETE TRIOS
FLORESTAN
TRIO
HYPERION CDA67251/2
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What is it about the music of Johannes Brahms that so often elicits sighs
and tears? Wherein lie the roots of his almost magical ability to create
simple progressions of notes that strike such universal chords within us?
Such questions arose upon revisiting Brahms' early Piano Trio No. 1 in B
major, Op. 8. Paired with the two other Brahms Trios for violin, cello &
piano, the works have just been recorded anew by the trio of Renaud &
Gautier Capucon and Nicholas Angelich and issued by EMI's Virgin Classics in
a two for the price of one set.
As soon as the opening theme of Brahms' early piano trio of 1854 reached my
ears, I could do nothing more than sit still and capitulate. Even in his
youth, the man was filled with such longing, such a need for love, that his
later “autumnal” works seem but a natural outgrowth of a youthful
temperament that so frequently weeps amidst joy.
Gray bearded and wizened at the end of his 64 years, Brahms began composing
and playing the piano as a child. At 13, he turned to playing in taverns and
brothels to earn money. Some biographers suggest the experience forever
soured the handsome young man to the idea of marriage. Whatever the real
story, Brahms eventually relinquished hopes of uniting with another in
sustained physical relationship.
Instead, he chose to channel the bulk of his passion into composition.
Brahms was only 20 when in 1853 he met the great composer Robert Schumann
and Robert's “child bride” Clara. Robert became his great champion, Clara
his great love. Although some suggest otherwise, it is commonly believed
that even after Robert descended into the incapacitating mental illness that
led to his death in 1856, Brahms expressed his love for Clara solely through
friendship and musical inspiration.
Despite occasional breaks in their friendship, Clara Schumann (a pianist and
composer in her own rite) remained Brahms' life-long supporter and
confidante. To her he dedicated one of his many expressions of melancholic,
unconsummated love, the slow movement of his revised Op. 25 Piano Quartet.
When Brahms sent the music to her, he wrote that she would understand its
meaning like no other listener.
Brahms often consulted Clara, rewriting music according to her preferences.
An exception occurred in 1880, when he simultaneously began work on two
piano trios. After completing the opening movement of each, he showed them
to Clara. Despite her preference for what might have become the Piano Trio
in E flat major, he destroyed it. Two years later, he returned to the other
movement, completing the Piano Trio in C major, Op. 87 in 1882.
Destroying a single movement was hardly an isolated occurrence. Brahms
completely destroyed many of his chamber works before publication. That only
24 chamber works eventually saw the light of day is testament to the man's
perfectionism. Indeed, besides those 24, the great Requiem, four symphonies,
two piano concertos, one violin concerto, one double concerto, and a number
of works for solo piano, the bulk of Brahms' writing consisted of songs.
Many are infrequently performed because of their unrelenting darkness of
tone.
Brahms' piano trios may not be jolly, but they are consistently accessible,
deeply moving, and beautiful beyond words. The Piano Trio in C minor, Op.
101, completed before the revised Op. 8 heard on this recording was
published in 1889, is the shortest and most intense of the three. The C
minor begins with great force, its themes hurled at us with orchestral-like
power. Despite the beauty of its slow movement, it is the vigor of its
emphatic finale that remains with us after the work concludes.
Touched by their rendition of the opening Allegro of the B major, I
initially held much hope for Virgin's new offering from violinist Renaud
Capucon, his cellist brother Gautier, and pianist Nicholas Angelich. In
addition to being terminally cute, Gautier and Renaud have already given us
several superb recordings.
The young trio approaches Brahms in an undeniably modern manner. No grand
tugs on the heart, no churning ebb and flow or dramatic chiaroscuro; rather,
relatively even, judiciously paced playing. Emotional expression seems more
a consequence of tempo choice, consistently the slowest of the three
versions of the trios I auditioned than of deep deliberation. Some may
prefer this “let the music do the talking” approach to that encountered on
the faster paced, far more emphatic classic recordings by the Beaux Arts
Trio or the very different but equally nuanced 1997 versions by the
Florestan Trio. But to these ears, les deux Capucons et Angelich touch
neither heart nor heaven.
Take the intense C minor trio. Critic Donald Francis Tovey described its
marvelous second movement scherzo as one that “hurries by, like a frightened
child.” The Florestans indeed scamper along, their sprightly touch lending
the music a haunted quality. The Beaux Arts do the same, the writing's
mystery heightened by a strikingly beautiful interplay between violin and
cello. No such detail from the cuties. Pianist Angelich doesn't seem to get
it at all; rarely does he offer noteworthy softening or rhythmic crispness.
Perhaps as a result, the brothers play equally understated, failing to make
a distinct impression. Most of Brahms' instrumental dialogue, so much a
reflection of his emotional state, passes unnoticed by these players.
Les Capucons et Angelich certainly remain consistent in their approach. In
the C major's andante, the piano line fails to rise, fall and sigh as it
should. (The contrast between Angelich's straightforward playing and that of
the Beaux Arts' fabled Menahim Pressler reveals that only Pressler catches
the heart; his intensity of line sets the stage for much beautiful interplay
between the string players). Rather than upstage their reticent pianist, the
Virgin Capucons seem content to rein themselves in, rarely striking out on
their own or drawing attention to their playing.
In the B major's opening Allegro, the new kids on the block offer a lovely,
even blend, albeit marred by frequent borderline astringency from violinist
Renaud's Stradivarius. But once we hear the heart-warming treatment by the
Florestans, or the dramatic, even intentionally gritty tugs from Beaux Arts
cellist Bernard Greenhouse in a rendition that emphasizes struggle over
resignation, les Capucons et Angelich sound more like a warm up act than the
real thing.
The Virgins' lukewarm approach is reinforced by relatively flat,
undistinguished instrumental tone. The richness of the Florestans' Susan
Tomes' piano, the sweetness of Anthony Marwood's violin, and the overall
warmth and energetic charge of their blend seems far more in keeping with
Brahms' intent than the uniform, slightly acidic sound of les Capucons et
Angelich. Surely Brahms had more than tea and toast in mind when he composed
these master works.
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JORDI SAVALL AND HESPERION XXI
ANTONIO VIVALDI; LA VIOLA DA GAMBA IN CONCERTO
JORDI SAVALL,
LES CONCERT DES NATIONS
ALIA VOX 9835
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VILLANCICOS Y DANZAS CRIOLLAS DE LA
IBERIA ANTIGUA AL NUEVO MUNDO 1550-1750
LA CAPELLA REIAL DE
CATALUNYA, HESPERION XXI, JORDI SAVALL
ALIA VOX 9834
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ARIANNA SAVALL: BELLA TERRA
ALIA
VOX 9833
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Early music virtuoso and conductor Jordi Savall is largely responsible
for the modern rebirth of the stringed viola da gamba. He is especially
known for his performances of Marin Marais' music in the 1992 movie “Tous
les matins du monde” starring GÈrard Depardieu.
Born in 1941, Jordi Savall has founded three award-winning ensembles since
1974. The first, Hesperion XXI, features his wife and ensemble co-founder
soprano Montserrat Figueras. Figueras is especially prized for the pure,
plaintive quality of her voice and the self-effacing sincerity with which
she negotiates the filigreed twists and turns of baroque music. It is with
Hesperion XXI that the couple frequently tours the United States.
Savall's other ensembles include La Capella Reial de Catalunya, a vocal and
instrumental ensemble dedicated to performance of Hispanic and Mediterranean
music; and Le Concert des Nations, dedicated to the presentation of baroque
music in the French manner.
Irrepressible in his explorations of rarely performed early music, Jordi
Savall has over 80 discs to his credit. The latest three out of an
astounding 35 CDs released since 1998 on the Alia Vox label founded by
Savall and Figueras, confirms the family's place in the early music
pantheon.
I dare not count the number of times people have answered the question, “Do
you enjoy classical music,” with the response, “Well, I love Vivaldi's ‘Four
Seasons.'” Here freshly seasoned novitiates can widen their appreciation
through The Concert of Nations' authentic, period instrument performances of
seven of Antonio Vivaldi's over 800 surviving compositions.
Distinguished by a palette of colors that can be fully appreciated only when
played on the instruments for which they were intended, Vivaldi's spirited
concertos for violin, viola da gamba, violoncello and diverse instruments
are alternatively rousing and evocative. If not as immediately memorable as
“The Four Seasons,” they are nonetheless consistently tuneful and enjoyable.
Savall's musicianship, complete with the occasional little blip and scratch
that some record companies unfailingly edit out, is everywhere compelling,
evidencing the imaginative shading that make his mastery of the viola da
gamba so prized.
On Savall and Figueras' other recent release, Hesperion XXI and La Capella
Reial join forces for Villancicos y Danzas Criollas 1550-1750. A meeting of
musical traditions and cultures of the Iberian Peninsula and Ibero-America,
Savall terms the collection “an essential hymn to the unity between people.
These [songs and dances] are, in the final analysis, hymns of life and
spirituality, of love and joy, which bring us a little closer to the living
history of the men and women of that now distant New World and make us
dream of and long for a more just and humane (New) World in Harmony.
While just how much these pieces will make you long for world peace is open
to conjecture, the collection does include a number of sacred invocations.
Many of the secular works summon forth the requisite gusto, but the softer,
more inward works such as Juan Perez Bocanegra's processional hymn
“Hanacpachap cussicuinin” -- sung in the Quechua language of Peru and the
first example of polyphony printed in the Americas -- display the consummate
refinement and grace for which Savall, Figueras and their musicians are
especially prized. Figueras gives Juan Hidalgo's spirited “Ay que me rÌo de
amor” (“Oh, how I laugh at love”) her all, but it's in the more plaintive
works that her voice truly shines.
Hesperion XXI's recently completed North American tour was unique in that in
some cities it united mother and father with their grown children Arianna
and Ferran. A trio composed of Jordi and Arianna on medieval and renaissance
harps and Hesperion XXI's Pedro Estevan on percussion performed “La Lira
d'Esperia” in Boston, Victoria, BC and Seattle. Montreal, San Diego, and
Berkeley were treated to a quintet that featured Jordi, Montserrat, Arianna,
Pedro, and multi-instrumentalist son Ferran Savall. Jordi Savall also offers
solo viola da gamba recitals in several cities.
Having attended the Berkeley presentation by the entire clan plus Estevan, I
can state unequivocally that theirs is amongst the most subtle and refined
music-making I have experienced in many a year. Estevan was a marvel.
Looking like a cross between a hermit and an eccentric scholar, his fingers
moved like water over his percussion instruments. The touch was light, the
coloration ideal, and the choice of percussion instruments brilliant.
Figueras' voice cut through the air like fine etched glass, with a special
glean ontop. As expected, Savall's viola da gamba playing was nothing short
of amazing. Daughter Arianna Savall was lighter of voice than her mother but
equally refined and extraordinary on harp. Son Ferran proved the most
reticent of the lot, his solo stint suggesting that if his writing does not
mature, he would better off as an ensemble player.
Soprano and harpist Arianna Savall's release, Bella Terra, whets the
appetite for more. Her exquisite collection of twelve ancient and modern
poems set to her own music is, to quote the artist, “born out of my hope for
a world where there will be more light, love and mystery, a more open and
Mediterranean world.” The texts speak of “living the present moment here and
now, the tenderness and passion of love, the almost lost innocence of the
child-adult, the strength and evocative power of the sea.” And when sung by
Savall, they take on a transcendent beauty that transports us to a place of
emotional truth.
Arianna's skill in shading her crystalline, slightly spicy voice evidences
her mother's teaching. Supported by her soulful harp and the instrumental
mastery of three other musicians (including percussionist Pedro Estevan),
Savall communicates a gentle longing and earthy nostalgia that have totally
won me over. The words may be in Spanish, but the feelings are universal.
With texts that include an anonymous Sephardic poem and an excerpt from the
1000-year old Rubaiyat of the Persian Omar Khayyam, this is an exquisite
offering that I have found myself playing over and over. Absolutely get this
disc.
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ROLANDO VILLAZN: ITALIAN OPERA
ARIAS MNCHNER RUNDFUNKORCHESTER, MARCELLO VIOTTI
VIRGIN CLASSICS 7243 5 456262 4
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JOSEPH CALLEJA: TENOR ARIA *
ORCHESTRA SINFONICA E CORO DI MILAN GIUSEEPE VERDI, RICCARDO CHAILLY
DECCA
B0002140-02
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THE VERY BEST OF JUSSI BJORLING
EMI CLASSICS 7243 575900 2 0
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ENRICO CARUSO: THE COMPLETE
RECORDINGS, VOL. 2 NAXOS 8.110704
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TENOR HOPES FOR OPERA
Pavarotti has just limped off the stage, the Carreras voice of old is long
gone, and Domingo remains a slowly declining but still marvelous presence on
operatic stages. Yet the decline and eventual retirement of “The Three
Tenors” need not cause opera lovers to dress in black. Fresh, wonderful
voices offer hope for decades more thrilling performances.
To our current embarrassment of mezzo and countertenor riches, we can now
add the voices of three very different, relatively young tenors: Juan Diego
Florez, Rolando Villazon, and Joseph Calleja. With the lighter-voiced
Rossini specialist Florez already well covered by the media, this review
will focus on the latest two arrivals on the scene.
Villazon's debut disc was released in February. Initial impulses toward
objectivity on my part were abandoned as soon as I played the opening aria,
“E la solita storia” from Cilea's L'Arlesiana. Here we encounter an enviably
virile instrument, under impeccable control as it smoothly swells from sweet
(if not overly honeyed) piano utterances to full-blooded, ringing forte. The
sound, distinguished by an unforced, masculine squillo on high, is produced
with a grace and refinement that elevate performances far above the
commonplace. In this aria, at least, Villazon lingers over notes, stretching
out phrases for emotional effect without ever lapsing into ego gratifying
self-indulgence. Thanks to the palpable and credible emotion of the voice,
the result is an undeniably moving performance of a kind last encountered
from the likes of di Stefano, Corelli, and Bjorling.
Villazon was born in Mexico City in 1972. At the age of 11, he entered the
Espacios Academy for the Performing Arts where he studied music, acting,
contemporary dance and ballet. Seven years later, he met baritone Arturo
Nieto who introduced him to the world of opera.
At age 20, Villazon entered the National Conservatory of Music. After
singing in several operas and winning two national contests, he launched an
international career. In 1998 came enrollment in San Francisco's Merola
Opera Program, whose list of graduates includes many of the today's
top-flight singers. Then came the Pittsburg Opera's Young Artists Program.
By 1999, the tenor had won Prize of the Public, the Zarzuela Prize, and
second prize overall in Placido Domingo's Operalia competition.
Rolando Villazon's European debut came as Des Grieux in Manon in Genoa in
March 1999. Debuts at Opera Bastille, Bavarian State Opera, Deutsche Oper
Berline, Hamburg State Opera, Berlin State Opera, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma,
Opera de Lyon, Opera de Montpellier, New York City Opera, Los Angeles Opera,
and the Met followed. San Franciscans eagerly await his forthcoming Alfredo
in La Traviata, a role he first sang as a Merola artist back in 1998.
Joseph Calleja is younger still. Dressed like a sunglass-sporting Mafioso on
the disc's back cover, the 26-year old Maltese sensation was a pre-teenager
singing pop songs when he saw Mario Lanza's cinematic performance in The
Great Caruso. Blown away, he tried imitating Lanza until he went hoarse.
After next hearing the disc Essential Pavarotti 2, he followed an aunt's
suggestion and began studying singing. Soon he joined a choir. After adding
piano and theory lessons to his studies, he appeared as a second tenor in
the chorus of Verdi's Rigoletto in Malta's National Theatre, Valletta's
Teatru Manoel.
Calleja then began study with Paul Asciak, a Maltese tenor who was a regular
at Covent Garden in the 1950s. Asciak developed Calleja as a light-lyric
tenor and exposed him to the great recordings of tenors of earlier
generations.
In 1997, at age 19, Calleja debuted in the role of Macduff in Verdi's
Macbeth and was a prizewinner of the Belvedere Competition in Vienna. A year
later, he won the Caruso Competition in Milan and appeared in Pesaro and
Ireland. Since then have come performances in Brussels, LiËge, Toronto,
Dresden, Bologna, Welsh national Opera, Covent Garden, Frankfurt, Bavarian
State Opera, and Vienna State Opera.
Because his sound is so focused and pure on disc, it's impossible to deduce
with certainty the size of Calleja's voice. It may be slighter than
Villazon's, more along the lines of Florez's but with a true Italianate ring
and ability to move into heavier if still essentially lyric repertoire. It's
also a wonderfully controlled instrument. Calleja can be very sweet in the
manner of Gigli when singing with honeyed softness, but he's equally capable
of a ringing, full voice. The very top sounds a little tremulous, with the
tenor wisely avoiding some of the roles Villazon has already undertaken.
Nonetheless, the voice is gorgeous. Within the confines of repertoire right
for his sound, the man is potentially one of the great tenors of the 21st
century.
Both tenors undertake the Cilea aria. (Calleja has assayed it only on disc,
finding the role as yet too heavy for his voice). They also both sing
Macduff's “Ah! La paterna mano” from Verdi's Macbeth, “Parmi veder le
lagrime” from Verdi's Rigoletto, Edgardo's tomb scene from Donizetti's
Lucia, and “Quanto e bella” from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore. Beyond that,
Calleja stays with lighter repertoire, while Villazon undertakes heavier
tenor arias from La Boheme, Tosca, and Don Carlo, as well as the Traviata
Alfredo they have both performed.
Because we're dealing with debut discs, ultimate assessments are impossible.
But careful listening to individual performances, combined with comparisons
with the some of the great tenors of the 20th century, does provide some
enlightening insight.
First, a strong acknowledgement of operatic reissues from Naxos, EMI,
Universal and other labels. There is no way any lover of opera, or anyone
wishing to understand the greatness of the medium, can fully appreciate the
range and possibilities of the tenor voice without listening to the
recordings of singers from an earlier generation.
NAXOS has done us all a tremendous service by reissuing Mark Obert-Thorn and
Ward Marston's bargain price digital remasterings of pressings from Jussi
Bjorling, Beniamino Gigli, and Enrico Caruso. Even though EMI owns many of
the original Bjoerling masters from the early part of his career, their
reissues have often been heavily filtered, with truncated highs that destroy
the beauty and emotional impact of the man's voice. (Their horrible
Bjoerling Heroes disc is a case in point). BMG/RCA committed a travesty when
they most recently reissued Caruso mated a modern orchestra. NAXOS may often
have access to pressings as opposed to masters, but what Marston and Obert-Thorn
do with those pressings is light years ahead of anything else you will hear.
The NAXOS Bjoerling series is up to four, Gigli to three, and Caruso to
eleven. These discs are indispensable.
Equally indispensable is EMI's recent 2-disc The Very Best of series. For
once, these selections frequently present an excellent cross sampling of
repertoire from a singer's prime years. The Very Best of Jussi Bjorling, The
Very Best of Franco Corelli, The Very Best of Giuseppi Di Stefano, The Very
Best of Fritz Wunderlich and The Very Best of Jose Carreras belong on every
opera lover's shelf. Throw in some Melchior, Martinelli, Schipa, de Lucia,
Bonci, Tauber (also from Naxos), and Schiotz for starters, and you've got
impeccable criteria by which to judge any new tenor on the scene.
Doing so, we make some interesting discoveries. To these ears, two men stand
out singing Rodolfo “Che gelida manina” from Puccini's La Boheme. Bjorling
has an innate longing in his voice, the kind of natural, heart-tugging throb
and passion that makes us believe his every utterance. The sound is also
gorgeous, with its vibrant head voice and impetuously hurled top notes.
Corelli, on the other hand, phrases far less impeccably, with heavy
aspiration that upon occasion can border on bull-in-a-china-shop production.
But he is so thrilling. Listening to his “Che gelida manina” on EMI's recent
The Unreleased Franco Corelli. Even the fact that only the last half of the
performance survives cannot detract from the simple reality that he is the
one tenor who, when he declares his love in a blazing high C, sounds so
sensual and real that some listeners must actively resist the temptation to
tear their clothes off and throw themselves at his feet. The man's sound is
the epitome of greatness.
Villazon is not at this point either a Bjorling or Corelli. His top does not
ring as vibrantly on “Che gelida manina.” Nor is the tone (while certainly
distinctive) as ardent. For that matter, neither tenor's phrasing of “Questa
o quella” from Verdi's Rigoletto or Villazon's rendition of “La donna e
mobile” from the same opera impresses with the variety and verve of Caruso's
(although that great tenor's “Che gelida manina” comes up disappointingly
prosaic). But the voices of these two new tenors are nonetheless extremely
beautiful, and their performances imaginative and deeply felt.
Listening to older tenors, or to a soprano such as Montserrat Caballe who is
still singing, one cannot help lament the modern tendency to perform arias
in strict time. We only hear rubato occasionally at the end of phrases or in
certain commonly accepted, idiomatic places. Think what more Calleja could
do with his honeyed diminuendo if only he would slow down more and stretch
things out for effect. Listen to how Bjorling stretches out high notes and
key transitions in his incomparable “Nessun dorma” from Puccini's Turandot,
or how Corelli and Callas turn a simple recitative into a major musical
statement. The lack of elasticity with tempo is a problem that afflicts
instrumental interpretatiions as well (modern renditions of recently
reviewed Brahms' Piano trios beings a case in point).
Music is a living, breathing organism. Artists must be allowed to breathe
life into it at their own pace. We do not have to stick to the beat in all
cases. The heart has its own rhythm and will show the way.
Villazon and Calleja are certainly pointing the way ahead. Depending upon
how they proceed, how they husband their resources, and how they develop and
deepen their artistry, we will have a lot to look forward to.
- Jason Victor Serinus
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