Instrumental
CD and Other Review

Review: Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op. 90, 101 & 106 (Steven Osborne)

Critically acclaimed Scottish pianist Steven Osborne’s latest recording finds him tackling one of the great monsters of the classical piano repertoire – Beethoven’s Op. 106 Piano Sonata, the Hammerklavier. Brutal, experimental and relentlessly modern, the Hammerklavier hurtled relentlessly forth into new harmonic territory via a revolutionary four-movement structure. Osborne takes the first two of these at a terrifying clip before sinking into the devastating emotionality of the Adagio Sostenuto, throughout which his extraordinary technical clarity is maintained: the upper register notes drip like acid rain, burning where they land. It’s often said that Osborne’s playing reveals hitherto unheard nuances, and this is certainly true of the final, smashing fugal movement, which is compelling and repays repeated listening. The Hammerklavier is accompanied by the two sonatas preceding it chronologically – Op. 90 and 101. As renowned Beethoven scholar Professor Barry Cooper points out in his superb liner notes, these “three sonatas represent an enormous crescendo in terms of length and difficulty”. Osborne’s tone is bright and crisp, but never harsh or brittle, and the recording is in accord with Hyperion’s usual high standards of fidelity. Osborne has released over 20 albums since signing with Hyperion in 1998; many have met with…

March 17, 2017
Instrumental
CD and Other Review

Review: Passion (Fabio Martino)

Brazilian pianist Fabio Martino studied and now lives in Germany. His second solo recital disc concentrates on the big guns of the Romantic repertoire: Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No 23 (Appassionata); Liszt’s three Liebesträume, and Schumann’s Fantasy in C, Op. 17. Martino’s Appassionata is clearly conceived as a whole. He saves the surging drama for the final movement, notably the closing Presto, and deliberately understates the work’s opening movement, which proceeds prettily with no overt suggestions of significance. The work unfolds naturally: an approach I like in Beethoven. The Liszt pieces are sympathetically done, with poise and a feeling for rubato that gives them an improvisational feel. Martino seems especially in touch with the sound world of Schumann. In the rhapsodic Fantasie of 1835 he sweeps through the Sturm und Drang with passion, and is suitably restrained in the final movement. Here’s a young artist whose superlative technique is placed completely at the service of the composer. Who is Zequinha de Abreu? He wrote the song Tico Tico, made famous by an older Brazilian bombshell, Carmen Miranda. Marc-André Hamelin’s challenging arrangement provides the quirky (and, to be honest, not entirely appropriate) encore to this recital. Martino tosses it off… Continue reading…

March 17, 2017
Instrumental
CD and Other Review

Review: Italian Lute Virtuosi (Jakob Lindberg)

Jakob Lindberg has well and truly earned his reputation as one of the top lute players in the world. In this fine recital, he performs the music of Francesco da Milano, Marco dall’Aquila and Alberto da Mantova. In its heyday, the lute was the instrument of the greatest composers in the same way the piano was the instrument of choice in later centuries. These three Italian Renaissance lutenists were regarded as some of the finest musicians of the age (for example, da Milano was apparently nicknamed “Il Divino” and described as being “superior to Orpheus and Apollo”!). Although this is music of dense, criss-crossing contrapuntal lines, which makes it sound knotty and complex, in fact these pieces are ever-tuneful. In the liner notes, Lindberg divides the pieces into three categories – fantasias/ricecars (where the composer writes freely whatever he feels like), intabulations (re-workings of music originally for voices), and dances. Adept combining of pieces from each category ensures that there’s never a dull moment and that the pieces are shown in their best light, with ricecars rubbing shoulders with vocal music by Josquin and Arcadelt. BIS certainly knows… Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already…

February 16, 2017