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it is difficult to distinguish
the characters. For
example, Magdalena
Kožená and Nathalie
Stutzmann as the Child
and the Mother respectively
have similar dark
mezzo-soprano voices. In
a recording it would have been helpful to have the
Child sung by a lighter and more obviously youthful
singer. Be that as it may, the performance has
lots of vitality and humour.
The performance of Ma Mère l’Oye (Mother
Goose) is equally good. Ravel originally composed
this music for piano duet and children performing,
but in its orchestral form the music is
extremely subtle and sophisticated and not suitable
for children at all.
This CD includes ‘bonus material’ which can
only be accessed on a computer. However, EMI
allows you to access this material only by joining
their EMI Classics Club. And having signed up
what do you get? Basically two things: a bunch of
promos for their new recordings and a chance to
accumulate points to buy more EMI products. In
this age of internet downloading, this seems like
a step backwards and a misuse of the technology
available to genuinely give the buyer something
extra. There is nothing whatever in this ‘bonus
material’ to enhance one’s enjoyment of these
two fascinating pieces by Ravel.
PER
Richard Wagner: Lohengrin
Johan Botha (Lohengrin), Adrianne Pieczonka (Elsa
von Brabant), Falk Stuckmann (Friedrich von
Telramund), Petra Lang (Otrud), Kwangchul Youn
(King Henry), Eike Wilm Schulte (Herald); Prague
Chamber Choir; NDR Corus; WDR Radio Choir
Cologne; WDR Symphony Orchestra
Cologne/Semyon Bychkov
Hänssler Profil PH09004 (3 Hybrid SACD – 215 min 15 s)
★★★★★★ $$$
This is the kind of CD
release that record
reviewers dream about.
It presents a new benchmark
performance of a
staple work reproduced
in the finest conceivable
sound quality (for conventional
CD playback and stereo or multichannel
super audio). It is an album that reinforces
two fundamental truths: Firstly, independent
labels have clearly stepped up to take the initiative
away from the moribund ‘majors’. Hänssler
proves that it is still worthwhile to go to the trouble
of recording new performances. And secondly,
that the gramophone remains the supreme
exponent of great music in itself. In recent years,
opera collectors have increasingly turned away
from audio CDs in favour of DVDs containing
both live stage and feature film productions. The
technically advanced DVD can give us the ‘full
Monty’: opera uniting every artistic discipline.
And yet, listening to this set reveals how much
the visual sense takes over our perception on the
small screen. This magnificent Lohengrin was
recorded after concert performances in Cologne
just one year ago. Here is Lohengrin as Wagner
conceived it: the score, the entire score and nothing
but the score. This account surpasses the
standard audio versions conducted by Kempe
(EMI), Kubelik (DG) and Barenboim (Teldec).
Semyon Bychkov administers a master class in
Wagner conducting and reveals some of his
secrets in an addendum to the booklet note. And
it must be said that over the course of a decade,
Bychkov has developed an extraordinarily fine
radio orchestra in Cologne. Within the context of
this performance, the cohesion of the massed
choruses is astonishing and a further tribute to
the conductor’s consummate skill in mounting a
performance with diverse forces.
The vocal soloists, including Canadian soprano
Adrianne Pieczonka, are superb. Hearing this performance
is a truly invigorating and inspirational
experience. Go for it, allow it to stir your soul and
give your eyes a rest for three acts. WSH
MUSIQUE INSTRUMENTALE
Bright Sheng: Spring Dreams
Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Singapore Symphony
Orchestra/Tsung Yeh; Erin Svaboda, clarinet; André-
Michel Schub, Bright Sheng, piano
Naxos 8.570601 (48 min)
★★★★✩✩ $
Bright Sheng est un
compositeur américain
d’origine chinoise. Sa
musique élégante et
évocatrice, de tendance
néoromantique mais
ponctuée d’accents
modernes, amalgame
les traditions occidentale et orientale. Dans le
premier mouvement de Spring Dreams
(Midnight Bells), le violon dialogue dans une
atmosphère pastorale avec l’orchestre traditionnel
chinois. Puis, dans Spring Opera, la
conversation se fait plus discordante, faisant
place aux percussions et au zheng, l’orgue à
bouche chinois (dont la sonorité s’apparente
tant à l’orgue de barbarie qu’à l’harmonica).
Des images de costumes exotiques, de dragons
asiatiques ou de théâtre d’ombres
invitent à un rafraîchissant dépaysement. Le
langage des Three Fantasies, pour violon et
piano, est franchement plus moderne; toutefois,
les couleurs emblématiques de la Chine
y sont assez bien représentées pour se détacher
sur le canevas général. La troisième des
Fantaisies, Kazakhstan Love Song, est
particulièrement attrayante, avec ses arpèges
et ses délicats coloris du piano embrassant
avec tendresse un violon retenu. À l’audition,
une délicate cour amoureuse se dessine dans
notre esprit, où le doux amant attentionné
réussit à séduire la belle et farouche princesse.
Une Tibetan Dance vigoureuse, robuste,
expressionniste, complète le programme. FC
Dalbavie, Kurtag, Lutos∏awski, Sørensen
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano; Symphonieorchester des
Bayerischen Runkfunks/Franz Welser-Möst
EMI 50999 2 64182 2 3 (76 min 6 s)
★★★★★★ $$$
Certaines réalisations
artistiques ont des airs
de manifestes. En voici
un exemple. L’alternance
de pièces en solo
(Sørensen aux extrêmes,
Kurtag au centre) et de
concertos contemporains
(Lutoslawski d’abord, Dalbavie ensuite)
aussi judicieusement sélectionnés rendent
l’écoute en continu plus que satisfaisante.
Mais quand on connaît la mauvaise réputation
commerciale de la musique contemporaine,
on s’étonne qu’une étiquette majeure
publie ce programme et le confie à ses interprètes
vedettes. Or, les musiciens s’y donnent
complètement, jouant avec une précision hors
du commun – précision qui, malgré son autorité,
accueille les articulations feutrées des passages
piano et les éclats fougueux des passages
forte. Rappelons que deux pièces sont ici présentées
pour la première fois sur disque (dont
l’étonnant Concerto de Dalbavie, à découvrir),
rendant ce CD essentiel.
RB
Dvořák Violin Concerto, Cello Concerto
Ruggiero Ricci, violin; Zara Nelsova, cello; Saint
Louis Symphony Orchestra/Walter Susskind
Brilliant 93260 (66 min 10 s)
★★★★★✩ $
The performances here
can best be described as
“oldies but goodies” –
two legendary instrumentalists
captured in
their prime, together on
the same disc playing
two chestnuts at a bargain basement price. Ricci
is still with us at the grand age of 91 – he bid
farewell to the concert stage only in 2003, after
an unbelievable 75-year career. Winnipeg-born
Nelsova passed away in 2002 at the age of 84.
Both are super-virtuosos of their era, masters of
the old school, with their own distinctive sound.
Of course there are numerous wonderful contemporary
CDs and DVDs of both concertos, but
there is something to be said about going back to
the old recordings for a more individual style and
a sound that is – dare I say it – more distinctive
and less generic than it is today. Still, I am very
fond of Nelsova’s playing here, not at all dated.
The Ricci is more in your face, perhaps more a
function of the digital transfer. The sound is overly
bright, edgy and icy, typical of first-generation
CD transfers. By nature, the violin sound is bright,
so Ricci’s playing, with its showy style, is a bit
hard and fierce. Nelsova has a more mellow and
introspective tone. No matter, this is a really great
disc and at this price, you can’t go wrong. JKS
Gustav Mahler: Symphonie No. 4
Mojca Erdmann, sopran; Bamberger
Symphoniker/Jonathan Nott
Tudor 7151 SACD (55 min 29 s)
★★★★★✩ $$$$
Jonathan Nott compte parmi les plus féroces
jeunes gladiateurs de l’arène mahlérienne. Son
travail auprès du Bamberger Symphoniker est
22 Juin 2009 June