Old Wine in New Bottles

Tchaikovsky – Eugene Onegin (Glyndebourne)
Soloists; London Philharmonic Orchestra; Andrew Davis
Opus Arte OA1374D (naxos.com/Search/KeywordSearchResults/?q=OA1374D)

Glyndebourne, England’s private opera house is close to 90 years old, supported entirely by private donations. It was established in 1934 by John Christie on the principle “Not just the best we can do, but the best that can be done anywhere!” and ever since it has been a great honour for any artist to be invited as a guest of the Christie family. In 1994, they built a state-of-the-art opera theatre, and this archive production is from the very first season in 1994.

Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece, this most beautiful of Russian operas, is based on Pushkin’s epic poem which is a morality tale. Tatjana’s innocent love is rejected by a bored, high-handed Onegin but later he regrets it bitterly. Now desperately in love himself he is rejected by Tatjana who in the meantime has become rich and married into high society. During the opera Onegin because of a foolish, jealous quarrel even kills his best friend in a duel that he regrets all his life. Tatjana’s rejection is the ultimate tragedy for him. Sad story.

The director, the late Sir Graham Vick rightly concentrates on two key scenes, the two rejections and emphasizes the alienation between Onegin and Tatjana. The stage is empty except for two chairs diagonally opposite at either end, as if they don’t even want to listen to each other and hear the pronounced rejection.

Woytech Drabowitz, a mellifluous baritone is an elegant Onegin; his friend Lensky is Martin Thompson, a passionate tenor, whose famous aria before the duel is movingly sung. The crucial Letter Scene is sung passionately by Elena Prokina (Tatjana) and basso profundo Frode Olson as Prince Gremlin, who sings proudly to Onegin about how much he loves Tatjana in another highlight. All these are interspersed with the dances Tchaikovsky is so famous for, the lovely Waltz and the Mazurka in the second act and the gorgeous Polonaise in the finale. 

The London Philharmonic in the orchestra pit is conducted sensitively by Toronto’s beloved Sir Andrew Davis.

Elgar & Lalo Cello Concertos
Ofra Harnoy
Sony Classical 19658824342 (ofraharnoy.ca)

There’s a fascinating story behind the release of Ofra Harnoy Elgar & Lalo Cello Concertos. When Harnoy joined the international artists roster of RCA Victor Red Seal in 1987, she became the first Canadian classical instrumental soloist since Glenn Gould to gain an exclusive worldwide contract with a major record label. The Elgar was recorded with George Pehlivanian and the London Philharmonic Orchestra in April 1996 at the Abbey Road studios, but was never edited and released, apparently due to the ending of Harnoy’s association with RCA/BMG, now part of Sony Classical. 

After repeated enquiries and searches over the years the master tapes were finally located in 2022. Fortunately, notes from the sessions survived, and the original producer, Andrew Keener, was available to advise Harnoy’s husband and manager Mike Herriott, who edited the tapes in their own home studio. Ron Searles of Red Maple Sound in Toronto mastered the final edit, as well as remastering the Lalo Concerto in D Minor, a reissue of the 1995 recording with Antonio de Almeida and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

In an interview just after the recording sessions Harnoy said that the Elgar “is one of those pieces that just wrings me dry; I always end up crying.” It’s a truly beautiful performance, emotionally searching and full of warmth. There is also a direct link to Jacqueline du Pré, with whom the concerto is inextricably associated, through mutual teacher William Pleeth as well as Harnoy’s participation in a du Pré masterclass. 

Lalo’s Concerto in D Minor was recorded at the Poole Arts Centre in Dorset in May of the previous year. It’s a fine addition to a significant release.

Riccardo Chailly and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra – The First Years (Accentus Music ACC70570 naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=ACC-70570). This elegant 4DVD- boxed set is titled such that one can only hope there will be more to come. The Lucerne Festival Orchestra began in 1938 under the baton of Toscanini and existed for 65 years. The musicians were culled from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, some members from the Berlin Philharmonic as well as from other leading ensembles. It went dormant for ten years but was resurrected in 2003 especially for Claudio Abbado. After his passing, Riccardo Chailly became the music director in 2016 and has recently had his contract extended through 2026, so this set of “early years” refers to a recording each year between 2016 and 2019. 

The 2016 recording is of the powerful Mahler Eighth Symphony, with which Chailly completes the cycle left unfinished by Abbado. This performance of enormous energy heralds the newly appointed conductor. Chailly was well familiar with Mahler having previously released Mahler: The Symphonies in 2005 with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Radio Symphonie Orchestra Berlin, among other highly acclaimed recordings.

The second disc in this box contains Mendelssohn’s ever-fresh music from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony. The Manfred is more thrilling than ever and suffice it to say that Chailly’s direction highlights the high qualify of the orchestra in excerpts from the Mendelssohn.

Disc three is the collection of performances of four of Ravel’s most popular works, Valses nobles et sentimentales, La Valse, Daphnis et Chloé (Suites Nos.1 and 2) and Bolero. Who could resist these, especially in these Romantic performances from 2018? 

Finally, this eclectic collection is rounded out with an all-Rachmaninoff disc recorded in 2019. These will be the versions to be remembered with dazzling performances by pianist Denis Matsuev. The program opens very gently with the deceptively difficult Third Piano Concerto. This piece begins with a very simple melody and builds to a vigorous and grand Rachmaninoff style tutti. The encores were equally impressive, Etude Tableau in A Minor Op.39/2 and the orchestral version of Vocalise Op.34/14. This live concert was rounded out with Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No.3 in A Minor Op.44, regarded as his more Russian symphony with its beautiful dance rhythms and lush orchestration.

Sviatoslav Richter plays Prokofiev – “War Sonatas” Nos. 6-7-8; Visions Fugitives; Gavotte from Cinderella (Alto ALC 1459 altocd.com) Richter surely recorded these works many, many times and undoubtedly all the transfers vary greatly in quality, but I can tell you that these performances are stunningly impressive. The recordings date from between 1956 and 1962 and you can feel the energy in each and every one of them. In fact, they are all startlingly real and fresh. As many readers might know, these sonatas can be aggressive and disturbing, certainly to be expected from “War Sonatas,” but there is also very beautiful melodic, lyrical music here and Richter understands and captures all of it. 

His relationship with Prokofiev is well documented and they had a deep and abiding friendship. In 1943 Richter performed the world premiere of the Piano Sonata No.7, and for Prokofiev’s 55th birthday, he performed all three of these sonatas for the first time in concert. To thank him for his dedication, Prokofiev inscribed Piano Sonata No.9 to Richter and it may be said that no one played these pieces with such great understanding. 

It is unfortunate that Richter did not record these sonatas in ideal studio conditions, but to the best of my knowledge he did not. There are so many recordings out there but to my ears, these are outstanding. So, without a doubt this CD should be added to your collection, no matter how many versions you may already own. 

Mieczyslaw Weinberg – String Quarters 7 and 8; Serenade for Orchestra; Sinfonietta No.2 (Alto ALC1458 altocd.com) Polish born Soviet composer and pianist Mieczysław Weinberg has been a favourite of mine for many years although I admit that I don’t know all his works. I was pleased to receive a new reissue, including several pieces with which I was previously unfamiliar.

The disc opens with Serenade for Orchestra Op.47 No.4 played by the USSR State Radio Orchestra under Alexander Gauk. This is a very happy and optimistic piece in four short movements and provides a great introduction to Weinberg for those not familiar with him. The two string quartets, No.7 in C Major recorded in 1957 and No.8 in C Minor recorded in 1959 are played by the Borodin String Quartet. These works are intense and reflect the tensions of the then “current times.” It is no surprise that Weinberg’s music was strongly influenced by one of his closest friends, Shostakovich, and that this fine ensemble who worked so closely with that master should take on the music of Weinberg too.  

Almost as a bonus, Sinfonietta No.2, Op.74 played by the Moscow Chamber Orchestra under Rudolf Barshai (recorded in 1960) is friendly and lyrical. All the transfers of these precious performances are immaculate and alive. These early rare recordings are a most welcome addition to my collection. 

Der Ring Des Nibelungen, Sofia Opera and Ballet, Dynamic, Blu-Ray 57964 | DVD 37964 (naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=DYN-57964). Although technically not “old wine in new bottles” as this is the first issue of these performances from a decade ago, I’ve repeatedly enjoyed experiencing them so much over the past few months that I wanted to share them with you. 

Wagner’s Der Ring Des Nibelungen, directed by Plamen Kartaloff is featured in an 8-DVD set of performances that were recorded between 2010 and 2013, one opera each year. Finally released in 2023, to the best of my knowledge this represents the first complete Ring Cycle from the Balkans. There was clearly no lack of talent as these performances attest. The cycle obeys Wagner’s music direction and libretto but uses technology unavailable to him, technologies that I believe he would have fully embraced and utilized given the chance. Pavel Baleff conducts the first three operas and Eric Wachter conducts Götterdämmerung. Although I am unfamiliar with either of them, this is world-class conducting.

Costuming, projections and powerful sets come together to create an extraordinary illusion. The fundamental circular ring motif is used to great affect and with the aid of projection and lighting they represent the magic ring of fire, the beautiful Rhine as well as the dragon’s lair. The other dominant staging component, the cones, are used to represent everything from horses to the spires of Valhalla and I thought the Ride of the Valkyries was among the most noteworthy. Lighting projections by Rumen Kovachev and Kartaloff were matched to the music and onstage drama.

At first I thought that the staging and costuming was a distraction and was quick to notice aspects that I didn’t like. However, once I gave myself permission to listen and watch, I discovered that, in fact, the staging truly serves the music and the story. It was strange not seeing the sets I was familiar with, but I came to realize that this staging told the story just as well and perhaps highlighted some facets of the libretto even more clearly or persuasively than I had experienced before. I have been immersed in these DVDs for weeks now and realize there is so much to be appreciated in every scene. Ultimately the costuming was a bit preposterous, it was the debut of Nikolay Panayotov as his first foray into costume design for opera. I imagine that some of them worked better on stage than the camera closeups afforded. Costumes were bright and colourful and at once futuristic, space-aged and retro.   

The majority of the singers save three Brünnhildes are Bulgarian and those three Mongolian Brünnhildes studied at the Conservatoire in Sofia. There was so much to admire in many of the voices. The Brünnhilde in Götterdämmerung, sung by Iordanka Derilova was particularly noteworthy as was the Loge in Das Rheingold, Daniel Ostretsov. Yes, there were many more excellent voices. The acting was very convincing and the camera work did not disappoint.

CPE Bach – Württemberg Sonatas
Keith Jarrett
ECM New Series 2790/91 (ecmrecords.com)

Best known as a jazz pianist, Keith Jarrett’s musical career has encompassed a variety of genres, including numerous forays into classical music. This recording of Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach’s Württemberg Sonatas, made in May 1994 and unreleased until now, followed a period in which Jarrett had recorded J.S. Bach’s Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, Goldberg Variations, French Suites and the 3 Sonaten für Viola da Gamba und Cembalo, as well as Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues and Handel’s Keyboard Suites. 

The Württemberg Sonatas were dedicated to Duke Carl Eugen of Württemberg, who studied with the younger Bach at the court of Frederik the Great in Berlin. Published in 1744, these sonatas are now regarded as musical masterpieces of the era between the Baroque and the classical and are fascinating studies in the seismic shifts happening in music at the time, as the highly ordered music of J.S. Bach and Handel was overtaken by simpler, freer and less structured music that focused more on expressive impact and improvisation than internal organizational principles.

Jarrett’s approach to this music is rooted in his renowned understanding of improvisation, resulting in interpretations which are simultaneously surprising and delightful, though never ostentatious or imposing. Bach was a magnificent improviser and, while Jarrett does not often follow historically informed performance practices and presents this music on a modern piano, his ability to find colours, textures and affects within individual movements and depict the architecture of the whole is unparalleled.

A duo of musical polymaths, this recording is a fine testament to the musical genius of C.P.E. Bach and Keith Jarrett, rewarding listeners with the rare combination of brilliance from both composer and interpreter.

Michael Stimpson – Recorded Works
Various Artists
Various Labels (michaelstimpson.co.uk)

In the history of music sometimes important composers’ reputations can be diminished due to mean-spiritedness, through ignorance or due to that mysterious phenomenon called neglect. The British composer Michael Stimpson’s reputation seems to have taken an unfortunate hit due to a combination of both latter reasons.

This is a travesty for a composer known for lofty ideas, audacious compositions and the sheer breadth of his library of written works. Moreover, Stimpson’s work has been performed over the years by some of the finest European ensembles. To name a few: the Philharmonia Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of London Choir, the Allegri and Maggini String Quartets, and a plethora of stellar virtuoso instrumentalists and singers.

It is still never too late to catch up with a composer who stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the greatest who have put pen to staved paper. And what better occasion than to celebrate Stimpson’s 75th birthday with Recorded Works, a long-overdue 7CD compendium, each with superbly written liner notes; a box including of some of his most celebrated compositions, with inspired performances by some of the finest artists of this generation. 

While Stimpson belongs to our 20th/21st-century era his voice sweeps across eras like a proverbial wind across the European soundscape, gathering momentum and musical voices from the past (Berg, Webern and others come to mind) heralding a breathtaking future for contemporary British music held aloft by artists and pedagogues across disciplines – from poetry to palaeontology and anthropology. Everywhere Stimpson allows his febrile brain to be immersed into stories of extraordinary human import, then turning his attention to transforming the ideas and great narratives of phenomena, and of extraordinary people – scientists, sportsmen and artists alike – who have done extraordinary things. Using his own unique brain Stimpson has transformed the lives and works of his subjects (and their unique achievements) into a one-man museum of the art history of our time. 

The recordings presented in this boxed set range from works for small ensembles, featuring piano and strings, large-scale works of symphonic proportions and operatic works. One of the most remarkable aspects of Stimpson’s being able to express his art and shape his craftsmanship to such a degree is the fact that he does it all not only being – like Beethoven – profoundly deaf, but he is also practically blind like the legendary British neurologist Oliver Sacks. It would seem as if – to compensate – Stimpson’s brain has afforded him rare insights into humanity. 

Like both historic figures, Stimpson has turned his disability to great artistic advantage. In an extraordinary twist of fate, for instance, the composer has a finely tuned sensibility for stringed instruments enabling him to recreate such human emotions as sorrow, anguish and unfettered joy in a truly vivid manner. This ability is superbly displayed in String Quartet No 1 (Robben Island) in which Stimpson tells the story of Nelson Mandela and the collapse of apartheid.

The way Stimpson overcomes hearing impairment is truly remarkable. The Dylan song cycle for baritone and harp is utterly breathtaking as Stimpson turns the dense lyricism of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’ poetry into a poetic work all its own, with the highly articulated baritone voice of Roderick Williams alongside the harp of Sioned Williams.  

Stimpson’s gift for the epic is manifest in the rugged elegance of his opera, Jesse Owens and in the tone poem, Age of Wonders, celebrating the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin. Stimpson’s shorter works: Silvered Light for choir and orchestra and the trio Reflections (elsewhere in this set) are no less seductive.