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: 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: Ukrainian Piano Quintets (Bogdana Pivnenko. violin, etc) Naxos 8.579098

Ukrainian composers have gradually been achieving wider international recognition through several notable recordings in recent years, several on the Naxos label. Two composers who have fared particularly well in this regard are Boris Mikolayovich Lyatoshynsky and Valentin Silvestrov.

Boris Lyatoshynsky (1895–1968) is often considered the father of Ukrainian music. That said, he often found influences in western composers and forms that were brought to bear on his writing. The Ukrainian Quintet, dating from 1942, is certainly expansive at over forty minutes’ duration, but it is also an extrovert and emotional one. There is a sombre intensity to the first movement that is realised through an uncompromising approach in the instrumentalists’ playing. Sensitivity is not the primary quality here, but it is more evident in the second movement. Forming the heart of the piece, the writing affords each of the musicians to shine individually. The violins of Bogdana Pivnenko and Taras Yaropud are bright and incisive, Kateryna Suprun’s viola provides warmth in the mid-range, whilst Yurii Pogoretskyi’s cello grounds the strings and provides much character. Iryna Starodub’s pianism is superbly musical and partners the strings with unassuming confidence. Much of the last two movements consist of writing that has a direct, even confrontational character. The third movement scurries along in trenchantly hushed tones before turning more towards dance-like forms. The various instrumental dialogues that make up the final movement are uncompromising scored, yet they are realised with a sense of atmosphere from the players that leaves one in no doubt that this is music of deep personal meaning which has been lived with for many years.

Valentin Silvestrov (born 1937) dedicated his Piano Quintet, written in 1961, to Boris Lyatoshynsky. Written at a time when Silvestrov was starting to pursue a modernist path in reaction to the Socialist realism imposed upon Ukrainian composition in the period of Stalinist occupation, it is a work that is at once powerful yet restrained. The opening movement, Prelude, is sombre and if not a little ironic in outlook. The second movement Fugue is an impetuous allegro that is initially carried along by the piano whilst the strings weave lines of contrast around and alongside it. The finale has a somewhat elusive character, with its music pared back to the extreme: solo violin and cello parts dominate, albeit in their restraint, alongside the brooding piano.

Victoria Poleva (born 1962) has written in a style called ‘sacred minimalism’ since the late 1990s. Her Simurgh-quintet, written in 2000 and revised in 2020, has a three movements-in-one structure. Her piano quintet provides a significant contrast to much of the music in the other two works on this recording. Of its compact form of 17’45”, the first 12’55” is a mysterious sequence of string textures played at a mezzo-piano or piano dynamic marking laid over minimal chords and repeated notes on the piano. The effect is somewhat meditative with its sense of calm introspection. The middle section coalesces around a growing sense of dynamic intensity that builds inexorably towards an emotional climax, after which the dynamic recedes into a manner that echoes the quintet’s opening. There are qualities in the execution of this recording that make this an immediately impressive listening experience. Listen to the precision with which the sonorities are unobtrusively blended between the individual string parts and in combination with the piano. Or the delight with which tonalities shift and merge with the glissandi, which are playfully realised.

The recording quality of this Naxos release is excellent, faithful and atmospheric. Richard Whitehouse’s introductory liner notes are up to his customary high standard. If you are looking for some interesting chamber repertoire off the beaten track in superbly played performances at a great price, then look no further.

CD Review: Callaerts / Ryelandt piano trios (Ryelandt Trio) Etcetera KTC1730

There are several notable Belgian piano trios in the repertoire, such as those by César Franck, written in the early to mid-nineteenth century, and those by Joseph Jongen and Guillaume Lekeu, written in the closing decade of the century. The single piano trio by Joseph Callaerts (1838-1901) dates from 1892, whilst the two works for the genre by Joseph Ryelandt (1870-1965) are from 1915 and 1944.

Joseph Callaerts’ was for much of his working life the organist at the cathedral in Antwerp, the city of his birth. Unsurprising, organ compositions form the bulk of his output, alongside some piano and chamber pieces. The piano trio was awarded a prize by the Belgian Royal Academy, but after some popularity fell from public view after the composer’s death. This world premiere recording of the work finally brings it to modern audience. What an imposing piece it is, too.  Cast in four movements, each around five minutes’ duration, it is very much in the late Romantic mould. The opening movement begins with a smouldering intent of the intricately written pages that flow from the initial thematic ideas. The second movement lives up to its cantabile marking, as it proves to be a lyrical outpouring of some delicacy. The third movement scherzo is in a somewhat jocular vein, whilst tensions are brought to a head in the energetic finale. I find the Ryelandt Trio’s performance a totally compelling one. Their use of period instruments achieves a textural blend that is most beguiling in the second and third movements. Pieter-Jan Verhoyen’s playing of the 1898 Erard concert grand anchors the entire performance, whilst the glowing tone of Pieter-Jan De Smet’s 1725 Ambroise de Combie cello provides unobtrusive warmth against the elegant tone of Jeroen De Beer’s 1805 Pique violin.

Joseph Ryelandt’s two trios date from 1915 and 1944 respectively. The first trio, written during his confinement to Bruges during the First World War, has two movements, but each is substantial. The opening Allegro con moto movement has a nervous character initially, from which more passionate emotions emerge at length. It is in these later passages that the trio really takes flight, but the players of the Ryelandt Trio are evidentially masters at sustaining a musical argument convincingly throughout its many ebbs and flows. The second movement Andante embodies the ambiance of profound romance, delightfully played by violin and piano before the cello enters and a set of variations ensue.

Ryelandt’s second trio is more conventionally written in three movements. The opening movement, a rolling Allegro, shows a comfort with the trio form that perhaps was occasionally missing from Ryelandt’s first trio. The middle movement Largo is the heart of the piece and it very much wears its heart on its sleeve: the Trio bring out the contrasting emotions with winning candour and ease of expression in their fluent phrasing. The forthright final movement concludes the trio in relatively short order, yet with a careful ear for sonority throughout.

Ryelandt’s slender three-minute Canon en Trio, op.70, written for his eldest three children in 1918, is presented almost as a coda to the three major works on this recording. Not musically challenging, the simplicity of the interwoven lines in this gentle Andante movement draws this release to a comforting conclusion.

The recording is admirably clear with a sense of space around the instruments, which allows the individual sonorities to blend beautifully. The liner note by David Vergauwen usefully sets the scene regarding both composers and the works performed, however the lack of a structural analysis of Ryelandt’s second trio – only a brief performance history is given – might be something of an omission when a structural overview is provided for the other pieces.

Following listening to this release, I am tempted to explore Ryelandt’s instrumental writing further – another Etcetera label release featuring the Terra Nova Collective or a volume on Toccata Classics featuring the De la Haye Ensemble would seem good places to start, particularly as they do not duplicate the recorded repertoire. For now, though, the present release of piano trios proves more than worthy of repeated listening.