Great Comedy Overtures—Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Lance Friedel (Naxos 573418)
It’s hard to disagree with David Hurwitz of ClassicsToday.com. “They don’t write ‘em like this anymore,” begins his ArkivMusic review. “This splendid program of comedy overtures spans more than a century, from Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto of 1792 or Wolf-Ferrari’s Susanna’s Secret of 1909. Funny how these two bookends both involve secrets, isn’t it? Along the way we get just about every popular favorite that appeared in the intervening years, from Hérold’s Zampa to Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, not forgetting Thomas’ Mignon, Flotow’s Martha, Auber’s Fra Diavolo, Reznicek’s Donna Diana, Lortzing’s Zar und Zimmermann, and wrapping up with Peter Cornelius’ The Barber of Baghdad. Sadly many of these delightful works, which used to grace “pops” programs both live and on disc, are familiar no longer, so all credit to Naxos and conductor Lance Friedel for offering seventy-nine minutes’ worth of them here…As I said, they don’t write ‘em like this anymore–heck, no one names their kid Adolph anymore either, for depressingly obvious reasons. The world has changed. Happily, we can enjoy this generous, extremely well played and well-engineered program to remind us of times past.”
Featured Fri 5/1, Tue 5/12, Thu 5/21
Textura—Duo Amaral (Duo Amaral 2013)
Better late than never! We are just now featuring this marvelous disc by Duo Amaral, though it was released late in 2013. This is the Duo’s second album, and includes several of their own arrangements like a Vivaldi Violin Concerto, a Sammartini Sonata and the six movements of España by Isaac Albéniz. Al Kunze of Soundboard Magazine days: “Duo Amaral’s Textura is a superb disc, featuring beautiful music, exquisite playing, and exemplary recording. Mia Pomerantz-Amaral and Jorge Amaral play with extraordinary precision allied with delicacy, nuance, and virtuosity in equal measures”. Bradford Werner of This is Classical Guitar adds: Textura “…deliver[s] some of the best ensemble work, musical expression, and repertoire. Another great album release! One of the premiere classical guitar duos of today!" (The link sends you to the website of Duo Amaral.)
Featured Mon 5/4, Wed 5/13, Fri 5/22
Lost and Found: 18th Century Oboe Concertos—Albrecht Mayer, oboe, English horn; Potsdam Chamber Academy (DeutGram 4792942)
From Gramophone online: “When an artist of Albrecht Mayer’s stature espouses Franz Hoffmeister, Ludwig Lebrun, Joseph Fiala and Jan Antonín Kozeluch, you can be confident that there is a compelling musical reason for doing so and that Mayer will show you what it is. And so it proves on this enchanting disc, with the Kammerakademie Potsdam lending poised, pointed support in their combination of clarity, discretion and vitality. Scrupulously classical, all four concertos nevertheless harbour traits that give them an individual accent. Hoffmeister’s C major Concerto links all three movements together; Lebrun’s in G minor has a rondo finale with a catchy tune veering between the minor and major. The Bohemians Fiala and Kozeluch are perhaps more predictable harmonically but both knew how to craft elegant, spirited music and how to exploit the solo instrument’s capacity for litheness and lyricism. Mayer and his team are thoroughly beguiling advocates throughout.”
Featured Tue 5/5, Thu 5/14, Mon 5/25
John Knowles Paine: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2 - Symphony No. 2 ‘In the Spring’; Oedipus Tyrannus Prelude; Poseidon and Amphitrite—Ulster Orchestra/JoAnn Falletta (Naxos 559748)
Composer John Knowles Paine was the senior member of an important group of late 19th century composers, the ‘Boston Six’ (the others were Arthur Foote, George W. Chadwick, Amy Beach, Edward MacDowell and Horatio Parker). Paine’s Spring Symphony was described after its New York premiere as “a serious, important and totally beautiful work.” The opening movement evokes “Departure of Winter – Awakening of Nature”, the scherzo is a “May Night Fantasy”, the Adagio is “A Romance of Springtime” and the finale revels in “The Glory of Nature”. The Prelude to the tragic play Oedipus Tyrannus was an immediate hit, and An Ocean Fantasy, Poseidon and Amphitrite, was his last orchestral work.
Featured Wed 5/6, Fri 5/15, Tue 5/26
Gabriel Faure: Orchestra Works—Demarre McGill, flute; Alexander Velinzon, violin; Efe Baltacigil, cello; Seattle Symphony Chorale; Seattle Symphony/Ludovic Morlot (Seattle Symphony Media 1004)
The fourth release from the Seattle Symphony’s new in-house label is a one-disc compilation of Gabriel Fauré’s most popular and beloved orchestral works: Masques et bergamasques, Pelléas et Mélisande Suite, Élégie, Berceuse and the Dolly Suite, along with the rarely-heard choral version of the Pavane. A terrific celebration of the partnership between talented young French conductor Ludovic Morlot and his American orchestra!
Featured Thu 5/7, Mon 5/18, Wed 5/27
Orchestral Lollipops—Brandenburg State Orchestra, Frankfurt/Howard Griffiths (Klanglogo 1506)
So let me get this straight: a Swiss conductor from England, a German orchestra and a British brass quintet in a pops concert that includes Elgar, Nielsen, Johann Strauss Jr. and Henry Wood’s Fantasia on British Sea Songs? I get that, and I get some of the American pieces, too, like Leroy Anderson’s Chicken Reel and The Typewriter, and Gershwin’s Strike Up the Band. But the Brandenburg State Orchestra of Frankfurt really gets my attention when they offer Sweet Georgia Brown, Pennsylvania 6-5000 (“Pennsylvania six five THOU-sand!”), Love for Sale, and Puttin’ on the Ritz! When Hoagy Carmichael’s Stardust begins, you’d think they were doing the intro for the classic Nat ‘King’ Cole recording! What a whacky, wonderful CD!
Featured Fri 5/8, Tue 5/19, Thu 5/28
Giuliani, Castelnuovo-Tedesco & Villa-Lobos Guitar Concertos—Narciso Yepes, guitar; English Chamber Orchestra & London Symphony/Luis Antonio Garcia Navarro (PentaTone 202)
You have to be of a certain age to remember Quadrophonic sound. It was all the rage in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and the guiding principal seemed to be: if stereo was good, then stereo times two (or even four) must be better! Unfortunately, imperfections in the playback equipment of the day made multi-channel tapes impractical. But modern day sound engineers have devised a method for re-mastering these 1977 recordings for 21st century audiences. Master Spanish guitarist Narciso Yepes was 50 years old at the time of these superlative performances (he died in 1997), and it’s just wonderful to be able to share his art with new generations!
Featured Mon 5/11, Wed 5/20, Fri 5/29