folk song Archive
BEETHOVEN & BRUCH Violin Concertos – Accardo & Masur – Pentatone
Accardo and Masur combine for splendid work in pillars of the violin concerto repertory. BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61; BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 1 in g, Op. 26 – Salvatore Accardo, violin/ Gewandhausorchester Leipzig/ Kurt Masur – Pentatone RQR multichannel (4.0) SACD PTC 5186 237, 71:22 (10/21/16) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Italian virtuoso violinist Salvatore Accardo (b. 1941) still reigns as a recognized “heir” to Niccolo Paganni, especially given his recorded survey of the six Paganini concertos with Charles Dutoit. Accardo and Kurt Masur recorded the present (Philips) coupling of the Beethoven Concerto and the First Bruch Concerto in 1977-1978, the latter a particularly happy rendition since conductor Masur (1927-2015) had immersed himself in much of Bruch’s symphonic repertory, besides. The Beethoven Concerto receives a gentle, lyric, Apollinian approach, to my mind much in the tradition of splendid rendition Oistrakh and Cluytens made for EMI. Nothing of the expansive, first movement Allegro ma non troppo feels rushed: the phrase arches evolve lustrously, with seamless attention to the rhythmic pulse over which the violin weaves its beguiling tapestry, sempre perdendosi, forgetting itself. When Masur requires a more monolithic effect, the Gewandhaus certainly swells to the occasion, but without […]
Jasper Hoiby, doublebass – Fellow Creatures – Edition
Jasper Hoiby, doublebass – Fellow Creatures – Edition EDN1075, 55:11 (7/15/16) *****: (Jasper Hoiby – bass, composer/ Mark Lockheart – saxophones/ Laura Jurd – trumpet/ Will Barry – piano/ Corrie Dick – drums) Vital new music from a Danish bassist and composer that features group interaction at the highest level. As I look out the window at the mud and the rain on what seems like an especially cruel and dark November day, I can’t say that I’m in the mood for an up rendition of “Autumn Leaves.” Nor does the doctor recommend any nerve-flaying aggression. Likewise, I politely decline musical narcotics and soporifics, accepting the condition of being fully awake in the world. What is called for is a new music which will affirm the old verities: Intelligent composition, comradely interaction, and hard swinging. If it can conjure up a world that is friendly to man and beast, all the better. We first meet Jasper Hoiby standing on a dock in Denmark. He looks like a thoughtful Viking, who, having surveyed the blue horizon, has decided to do some work on the land. [I thought he was just thinking “Why are you taking a photo of me?”…Ed.] The title […]
SAINT-SAENS: Piano Trio No. 1 in F Major & No. 2 in E Minor – Aquinas Piano Trio – Guild
Splendid ensemble graces these realizations of the Saint-Saens piano trios, music both melodically and polyphonically engaging.
BRITTEN: Winter Words; Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo; Six Folk Song Arrangements – Nicholas Phan, tenor/ Myra Huang, p. – Avie
Top of the world, ma. A Winter Words winner, and the other music easily match it.
KALINNIKOV: “Symphonic Works” = Symphonies Nos. 1 in g minor & 2 in A Major; Intermezzi Nos. 1 in A Major & 2 in G Major; Serenade for Strings; Nymphs; Bylina Overture; The Cedar and the Palm; “Suite;” Incidental Music to “Tsar Boris” – USSR State Academic Sym. Orch./ Evgeny Svetlanov – Melodiya (3 CDs)
A most worthwhile collection of orchestral works by this rather obscure Russian composer.
Marc Johnson/ Eliane Elias – Swept Away – ECM
An appealing outing by some highly sympathetic players.
McKinley Black – Beggars, Fools And Thieves – Stockfisch Records
Indie artist showcases a songwriting talent with a special voice.
JULIA WOLFE: Cruel Sister – Ensemble Resonanz – Cantaloupe Records
Cruel Sister is another arch work, of similar intensity and invention as Wolfe’s series of string quartets released several years back.
Jeno Hubay and his pupils play Hubay violin works (Music&Arts)
2-CD set homage to the founder of the Hungarian violin school
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
