Uncategorised
CD and Other Review

Review: Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Kreisleriana; Brahms: Theme & Variations (Cooper)

  The two extremes of Schumann’s personality exist side by side in the two sets of pieces recorded here. The Fantasiestücke of 1837 alternate between the introverted, reflective Schumann (his Eusebius alter ego) and the extrovert, somewhat manic Schumann (Florestan). No wonder, as the sleeve note states, this was regarded as “difficult and private music”. In the eight Kreisleriana of the following year, Schumann juxtaposed these expressive extremes more blatantly, even chaotically. Pianists attempting these pieces not only require considerable fluency at the keyboard; they need to convey the sudden changes of attitude. When that is achieved, as it is here, the music springs to life and the work of Schumann’s contemporaries seems impersonal by comparison. As befitting a great chamber musician, Imogen Cooper’s strengths lie in the detail of her playing and a finely honed ability to separate important thematic material from accompaniment in thicker textures. While reflective moments are bewitchingly otherworldly in her hands, she finds power in the fast music without resorting to overemphasis (or, let’s be frank, bashing). Cooper is equally at home in the variations Brahms transcribed from his String Sextet Op 18, but the prize of this disc is the Schumann, where a distinguished…

July 10, 2013
Uncategorised
CD and Other Review

Review: Martin: Mass & Duruflé: Requiem (St George’s Cathedral Choir)

Choral music aficionados will love this program, featuring as it does two great mass settings of the twentieth century, Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir and Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem. Both works in their own way exude a very Gallic musical and spiritual sensibility. Martin’s a cappella Mass is an early work and reflects something of his Swiss Calvinist upbringing, but its austerity is relieved with some lush harmony derived from his love of French composers Franck and Debussy. Duruflé’s Requiem is a thoroughly Catholic affair, based largely on the plainsong Mass for the Dead but clothed in a luxuriously colourful harmonic idiom. The St George’s Consort, an adult ensemble formed in 2008, handles the Martin with equal amounts of skill and passion. As in all choral music recordings, a balance has to be struck between closely observed vocal power and the enchantment of distance. In the Martin, the balance is tipped in favour of immediacy. This allows for sections like the Pleni sunt coeli of the Sanctus, with its motoric rhythms, to make maximum impact as well as showing how capable the group is of sustaining long phrases like those in the Agnus Dei. The cathedral choir and consort together…

July 10, 2013
Opera
CD and Other Review

Review: Handel: Arias (Sabata)

Xavier Sabata delves into the darker side of Handel with this tribute to the composer’s scoundrels, miscreants and rebels – the so-called “Bad Guys” often neglected in favour of the heroes and their chivalrous effusions. The Spanish countertenor’s glossy voice isn’t an obvious embodiment of pure evil, but then neither are these complex characters, and Sabata brings out their ambiguities nicely. Vengeful arias like Egeo’s Voglio stragi (from the seldom heard Teseo) are forcefully sung, but it’s in reflective, melodious mode, as in the same character’s striking Serenatevi, o luce belle, that Sabata is at his most expressive and interesting. His mellifluous sound is underpinned by a wheedling, insistent quality, perfect for a master manipulator, and while the voice is full of sweetness, he’s prepared to employ a few dark and sinister colours – the snarling conclusion to Polinesso’s Se l’inganno sortisce felice (from Ariodante) is especially menacing. Though at times crisper diction and more emphatic delivery might be welcome, Sabata’s tone is firm and focused, and his timbre is attractive if not staggeringly distinctive. He’s a persuasive advocate for these arias, many of which are rarely performed in isolation. Tolomeo’s… Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per…

July 10, 2013
Uncategorised
post

Lyon – concerts and travel

After an exuberant time in Barcelona, we met at the Palau de Musica a final time to get on the bus to Lyon. Over the course of the journey, the choristers had the opportunity to capture their impressions of tour so far, in whichever art form they desired. An esteemed judging panel at the front of the bus received musical compositions (both original and arrangements), sketches, poems, videos and photos. In the end, Abel’s original interpretation of the Barcelona streetscape (below) most impressed  the panel. We arrived in Lyon at the statue of Saint-Exupery and his little Prince to meet our host choir, La Cigale de Lyon and their vivacious director, Anne-Marie Cabut. As the choristers met their billet families, they engaged in enthusiastic practising of various levels of French. After a much-needed night’s sleep, we reconvened in Place Belle Cour the next morning, to meet Roland and Caroline, two parents of La Cigale members who had volunteered their time to show us around town for the day. Before heading off to see the sights, we began the day with a rehearsal in order to revitalise our interpretations – checking details that may have been forgotten, realigning our singing and performing…

July 9, 2013
Classical Music
news

Dutch orchestra set to disband

Drastic budget cuts by the Dutch Government forces the Netherlands Chamber Philharmonic to close. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

July 9, 2013
Uncategorised
post

Dundee & the Scottish Chamber Orchestra

My favourite thing about Pollock Halls is undoubtedly breakfast time. And a big breakfast was definitely necessary for the trip to Dundee for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra tonight.  The backstory: last week I met with Gabrielle the CEO of AWO (Australian World Orchestra) for hot chocolate, becoming their inaugural mentee for their new mentoring program helping young people explore music abroad. Alison Mitchell is my mentor, who was guest flute professor/my teacher at Sydney Con for my first year, and currently is back in action with SCO as principle player and soloist tonight. I was also presented with a bonus of 30 pounds in cash to spend on more hot chocolate, after signing my name to some terms and conditions which works on the small condition that I keep a written blog. So this morning, I ate three eggs cooked three different ways, giant wild mushrooms and grilled kipper. I sat with a Russian girl who drank two coffees and appeared to be 20 but was actually 13. In the afternoon I took a bus into the city centre costing one pound and fifty pence, which clanged into a tin till box, and took a seat on the tartan bus-seats. A man on the…

July 7, 2013