CD Review: Sandro Fuga - Piano sonatas 1-3 (G and C Fuga, C Voghera, piano) Naxos 8.579110

Sandro Fuga (1906-1994) was a prolific composer who has been somewhat overlooked in recent years. Like several other Italian composers of his generation, he came under the influence of Franco Alfano and Giorgio Federico Ghedini – very much opposite ends of the spectrum – both of whom he studied with.

It would appear that when it came to the sonata form, for Sandro Fuga they came in threes: there are a trio of sonatas for piano, violin (recorded on Naxos 8.573142) and cello (recorded on Tactus TC900601). The first and third sonatas are in four movements, the second sonata in three movements.

Fuga’s piano writing, if these recordings are anything to go by, was extremely varied. That said, in these works the imprint of Alfano and Ghedini is hard to detect. There is little doubt that the sonata form pre-occupied him, yet repeated listening shows that his approach to it became more sequential and episodic rather than focussed upon thematic development. As Flavio Menardi Noguera’s useful liner notes make clear, Fuga’s writing is honest, direct and founded upon the many fluctuations of tempo and sonority that inhabit his works. Melody, harmony and rhythm are Fuga’s bedrocks, though sometimes it is all too easy to hear the cracks between them, as it were. Fuga was not always the master of integration, which is why perhaps why I find them of niche interest, rather than something I will revisit often.

The recordings are fine – family members Giacomo and Carlotta Fuga (Sandro’s children, one assumes) take the first and second sonatas respectively. The third sonata is played by Claudio Voghera, who studied with Luciano Giarbella, one of the elder Fuga’s pupils. Each artist has the measure of their respective works and one has the feeling that each recording is more personally important to me than I find them.

CD Review: Shostakovich / Weinberg Piano trios & songs (Kateryna Kasper and Trio Vivente) cpo 555367-2

The pairing of works by mentor and mentee composers can make for a good concept on record. Shostakovich and Weinberg were just two such composers; they knew each other and exchanged artistic ideas for many years. On this recording, the comparison bears fruit through the pairing of piano trios and song cycles.

Shostakovich’s First Piano Trio, from 1923, is an early work. Audibly more carefree than his later compositions, it is notable for being written in a single movement. The Trio Vivente give it a convincing reading, with the instrumental lines clearly articulated in a demonstration quality recording. There is a greater contrast of emotions to be traversed within Weinberg’s Piano Trio, written in 1945. The white-hot passions of the Prelude and Toccata might be more immediately captured in the recordings led by Gidon Kremer (DG) or Linus Roth (Evil Penguin), but Trio Vivente acquit themselves with honour nonetheless. Nowhere is this more the case than in the Trio’s Aria and Poem, which are played with sophistication.

Shostakovich sets the bar rather high with his powerful setting of Seven Romances on Verses by Alexander Blok, written in 1967. Although the instrumental accompaniment provides shades of gloominess, the vocal part is almost uniformly bombastic in nature. This, Kateryna Kasper provides in spades, whilst the Trio Vivente are attentive to the nuances inherent within the accompaniment. More vocal subtlety is evident in Weinberg’s earliest published work, the Jewish Songs, written in 1943. A collection of miniatures that is quirky yet forthright at times, they provide adroit insight to the texts set, bookended by vocalises.

If you are new to Weinberg’s music, this release could provide a way in to his absorbing sound-world, even though you might end your listening experience with the impression he wrote under Shostakovich’s shadow. For that reason alone, it is worth exploring Weinberg beyond the confines of a single recording: there are interesting things to be discovered.

CD Review: Mozart / Voříšek: Symphonies in D (Gewandhaus / Herbert Blomstedt, conductor) Accentus ACC30574

Blessed with talent and longevity, Herbert Blomstedt’s ascension to his position as one of today’s most revered conductors has been a slow and steady one. For many, he was known for his advocacy of Nielsen, Mendelssohn, Orff, Richard Strauss and Sibelius through his Decca recordings, alongside other recordings of Hindemith, Roger Sessions and Harbison amongst others, which might have hinted at his musically enquiring mind. One former Decca exec told me he considered Blomstedt talented but without the charisma to really grab public attention – a somewhat unfair assessment. Since then, the standard fare of Beethoven, Brahms and Schubert symphonic cycles were committed to disc, but so too have accounts of works by Stenhammer, Lidholm and Rosenberg, which hint at the conductors Swedish ancestry.

The present recording is the latest from Blomstedt and Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Orchestra, with whom he has a long association. On one level, the offering of two D major symphonies might be slightly mean, particularly as one of them is Mozart’s “Jupiter”. Does one really need another recording of that? Maybe not, but then, really its role here is to provide context for the Jan Václav Voříšek (1791-1825) symphony. As one of the great Czech composers, these live recordings made in September 2020, capture concerts dedicated to the Gewandhaus Orchestra’s Czech former chief conductor Václav Neumann.

It is hard to fault the performances of either work, but, for me, it’s the Voříšek one that is the most ear-catching. Elegantly played and directed with refined brio, the first of its four movements is driven forward but not at the expense of musicality. The second movement is no less sophisticated, but its tone is more moody and introspective. Blomstedt captures the atmosphere in a way that Charles Mackerras did not quite in his recording for Decca, as Blomstedt handles the transitions with greater confidence. The third movement could be what Schubert might had written, if only he was Czech. The final movement is robust and riotous, as much fun as it is decent to have with the symphonic form.

The Mozart symphony could be said to be performed with scant regard for historically informed practices: it’s an Old School big boned affair with the repeats observed. To my mind, the symphony benefits from this and surely Mozart knew what he intended. Many of the same characteristics that marked out the Voříšek symphony are present here too: superbly handled transitions, detailed yet unobtrusive playing, excellently atmospheric recording quality. The final movement is lengthy due to the repeats, but it is upbeat and filled with sunshine. What more could one want? More Voříšek, perhaps.

CD Review: Enescu Piano Quartet 1; Piano Trio in A Minor (Josu De Soluan, piano, etc) Naxos 8573616

This cracking release brings together two of Enescu’s most brilliant, yet neglected, chamber music compositions.

He attempted writing a piano quartet in 1893, aged twelve, when the young violinist and composer was already a well-established student at the Vienna Conservatoire. His first mature and complete piano quartet, op.16, only followed in 1909 by which time Enescu had transferred to Paris to continue his studies. An early performance was given at Ravel's newly-established Société Indépendante Musicale on 18 May 1910 with Enescu at the piano. The piano quartet is a lengthy work that has sometimes been criticised for not deliberately advancing Enescu's compositional style, but its generosity of expression, thematic material and warm mood peppered with purposeful contrasts offer ample compensations to the listener and makes it deserving of a far wider audience. Throughout, one senses Enescu the composer-architect at work, concerning himself with structural balance and sonata form as integral elements that build and shape his musical edifice. Unsurprisingly, given his Parisian surroundings, various French influences are to be detected.

The opening Allegro moderato at times can sound rather like Chausson, given that the piano part is filled out with tremolo and arpeggio figures, and the movement's lengthy, inexorable fugal elaboration owes much to Fauré, but the unison opening strikingly gives prominence to Enescu's Romanian musical roots; recall similarly narrative passages in the Octet or First Orchestral Suite, for example. The closing coda is noteworthy also for the intricacy of its construction. The second movement is sparsely scored, as befits the marking Andante Mesto, mesto meaning 'sad'; Enescu heightens the effect through rhythmic ambiguity. Fauré again casts a shadow, but discernibly with an Enescuvian turn of phrase, thus bringing matters to a head before subsiding. The closing Vivace brings welcome humour to the proceedings; the strings are once again in unison whist the piano makes pointedly abrupt contributions to impart a Bachian feel momentarily. The middle section contrasts at length through its lyricism, before elements from both sections are woven together by way of conclusion.

The Piano Trio in A minor is one of three compositions he completed in 1916. Apparently written at speed within a month – the final movement is dated 22 March, when Enescu was in a Bucharest hospital – the work remains without an opus number. The opening Allegro Moderato’s notable feature is a real Enescu hallmark: marrying rhapsodic feeling within a tightly structured sonata form. The Allegretto con Variazioni, the last formal set of variations Enescu wrote, begins with less harmonically demanding writing that is closer in flavour to the piano suite. However much of the material given by the violin and cello is quite depressing, with the listeners invited to witness something akin to a Marche Funebre. In contrast to many other of his wartime works, here the emotional atmosphere of the times fully breaks through into Enescu’s writing. The closing Vivace amabile sees a return to the happier mood that imbues the opening movement in music that is replete with freshness and sparkle.

Both performances capture the requisite moods for the works. The performers play the music with such sweep and grandeur of ensemble that demonstrates it is fully within their fingers. Additionally, there is attention to individual lines and details: with Enescu the devil is always in the detailed myriad of markings and instructions that litter the score. The violinist Stefan Tarara, viola player Molly Carr, cellist Eun-Sung Hong and pianist Josu De Solaun all acquit themselves with honour. De Solaun’s experience with Enescu’s solo piano music – his cycle on the Grand Piano label is a good supplement to Luiza Borac’s recordings on Avie – pays dividends on the present recording too. Yes, good alternatives to this recording do exist, but if you have not heard these works before, why look any further? Useful if brief liner notes and demonstration quality sound round out this highly recommendable recording. Recordings like this are exactly what Enescu’s music needs (and requires) to bring it to the widest public, presented it in the best possible light. More from these artists, please.

CD Review: Maria Bach chamber music (Christine Busch, violin et al) cpo 555341-2

Maria Bach (1896–1978), was an Austrian pianist, violinist and composer, she was also active as a painter. Back then, growing up in an extremely artistic household near Vienna was the norm for anyone entering society. Brahms, Korngold, Nikisch, Klimt, Kokoschka were frequent visitors; Joseph Marx was her most important teacher at the Vienna Music Academy for piano and composition. Although, as the three works on this release demonstrate, her style bears comparison with Marx or Korngold as all three composers favoured a luxurious instrumental sound and harmonies that exploit this, Bach’s style is nonetheless wholly her own. Though the trio of works are all on the early side in terms of her oeuvre (cello sonata 1924; “Wolga” piano quintet 1928; string quintet 1936), nothing about them is slight. By the 1930s, Maria Bach was firmly established as a composer.

The cello sonata is the most straightforward of the three works on this release. It is carefully written, indeed at times perhaps too carefully: you can hear the mind working on how best to take it forward when more impetus might have lent the result a greater sense of the impromptu. That said, it nevertheless has a strong impact due to Bach's own harmonic language, which is never less than ear-catching. Mathias Johansen and Yukie Takao play the sonata for all it is worth.

The two other works demonstrate that Maria Bach appears to have had an affinity for the theme and variations form. This lies at the heart of both works, though the piano quintet is the more extrovert and richly textured of the pieces. The middle movement variations upon the Wolga lied lend the string quintet its nickname. However, it is the instrumental textures more than anything that I find absorbing in Maria Bach’s writing. Violinists Christine Busch and Elene Meipariani, viola player Klaus Christa and cellist Mathias Johansen are joined by cellist Conradin Brotbek to give the string quintet a committed reading. This is also evident in the piano quintet, for which the core four players are joined by Akiko Shiochi at the keyboard. The recorded sound, from different radio sessions in 2019 and 2020 is excellent, but the accompanying notes on Maria Bach and the three compositions fall short on detail. A pity, as for many this release could be their first encounter with this music.

It is interesting to note that another recording of Maria Bach’s chamber music was released almost simultaneously with this one. That recording, also features the cello sonata and the "Wolga" piano quintet, but with the solo cello sonata, on the Hänssler label.

CD Review: Nielsen & Sibelius violin concertos (John Dalene/RSPO/Storgårds) BIS-2620

John Dalene’s approach to recording violin concertos has paired both the well-known (Tchaikovsky) and the lesser played (Barber). To that are now added the Sibelius and Nielsen concertos. Both are fine works and they receive performances worthy of their stature. John Storgårds and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra provide characterful accompaniment throughout.

The Nielsen is a rather unusual piece, written in two movements that are each preceded by slow introductions. Yet, for all that, Dalene makes a fine case for it: by turns he conjures a bashfully romantic tone, at others a more jovial one. Personally, I have always found Nielsen a composer rather difficult to ‘place’; just when one gets a feel for his approach, he dashes it all by throwing in something new without much care for stylistic integration. Dalene integrates where he can with the two cadenzas.

The Sibelius is of course much better known. On occasions, it can feel like something of a war horse to be ridden so that the soloist merely survives the experience. Witness the particularly persuasive reading of the slow movement, the passionate closing movement or the lengthy single cadenza, all of which set this apart from many another recording.

Both works have been paired together on disc before: Cho-Liang Lin on CBS is the primary contender. However, the superior sound and playing of the present release ensures that it wins out in head-to-head listening. This is another recording from the BIS stable that fully deserves the plaudits it has garnered from the international press.

CD Review: Germaine Tailleferre Piano works revived vol.1 (Nicolas Horvath, piano) Grand Piano 891

Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983) is a composer ripe for rescuing from obscurity. With this first release in a new survey of her complete piano works the Monaco-born pianist Nicolas Horvath proves he is the man for the job.

Tailleferre, it would seem, possessed a rebellious streak. Against her father’s wishes, she insisted on a career in music. To that end, she rubbed shoulders in the 1920s with Milhaud and Poulenc as the only female member of the Montmartre-based collective Les Six. It is known that she wrote at the piano, hence, keyboard music is central to her output. Tailleferre’s compositional style, however, was far from fixed: it shifts from the neoclassical and tonal to bitonality, rhythmically disciplined to irregular and wilfully dissonant. Each of these aspects is heard across the fifty-five tracks of this packed release. Several works - many in their first recordings - are presented as groupings: Fleurs de France (written in 1930), Suite dans le style Louis XV and transcriptions of works by Scarlatti, Lully, Monteverdi, etc.

Horvath delights in it all, relishing the different aspects of this music. Unsurprisingly for a pianist with a penchant for a wide repertoire - his recordings of Erik Satie's music on the Grand Piano label are noteworthy - he plays it with both awareness and a sense of wonder. The release benefits from helpfully insightful liner notes and first class recorded sound. Further volumes in this series are keenly awaited. Might those volumes even extend to her concertos? There's one for a single piano and another, dating from 1934, for two pianos, chorus, four saxophones and orchestra. When, one wonders, would an orchestra be brave enough to programme such a work today?