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Presto News - 5th November 2007Why composers marked repeats |
 Listening to Building a Library last weekend on the Schubert C Major String Quintet I was very surprised to hear the reviewer (Anthony Burton) state that he wasn't going to consider whether or not recordings took the repeat in the first movement as with CDs you can hear recordings over and over again. I found this a very irresponsible remark to make and it shows a complete lack of understanding on his behalf as to why composers marked repeats at all.  Typically in Sonatas, Symphonies and Chamber Music from Haydn and Mozart right through to Schubert, Beethoven and even Brahms composers would indicate that certain sections of different movements should be repeated. Normally this would involve the exposition (or opening section) of the first movement, varying parts of the slow and last movements and a very set pattern of repeats in the third movement (which was typically a minuet and trio). Anyone performing these works needs to come to a decision as whether or not to take all or some of the repeats. But while some of them can be omitted without doing any harm to the overall structure, the first movement repeat is often more important than this as it helps establish the tonality and thematic material of the movement (and often whole work). There is a significant danger that in some works if it is not taken the movement feels imbalanced as the listener has not had the opportunity to understand (whether consciously or subconsciously) the home key and basic thematic material from which the movement unfolds. You could even argue that the first movement as a whole may also be somewhat lightweight compared to the rest of the work if the first repeat is not taken. All this obviously depends on the musical content of the work in question, and Schubert's works are probably more controversial regarding repeats than many. There has been heated debate for example about his B-flat major Piano Sonata (D960), with Alfred Brendel arguing passionately against taking the repeat in the first movement while András Schiff is convinced it should be done. The decision as to whether or not to take the repeat lies with the performers based on their musical understanding and opinion on how the music goes and how the work is structured. This is no more or less significant on recordings than it is in the concert hall, and anybody presenting a comparative review of an individual work really needs to consider this as it can have a dramatic influence on the overall convincingness of the performance.
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Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
New Releases5th November 2007 |
It is proving a great autumn for new releases this year. I suppose they'll have to start slowing up soon but in the mean time there is a lot more to enjoy this week with Natalie Dessay and the Takács Quartet amongst our weekly picks. This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 Bach - Inventions & PartitaJanine Jansen (violin), Maxim Rysanov (viola) & Torleif Thedeén (cello)A fascinating new recording from one of my favourite violinists around today - Janine Janson. As well as a solo performance of Partita No. 2 in D minor (concluding with the monumental Chaconne), she is joined by viola player Maxim Rysanov and cellist Torleif Thedeén to present the two and three part inventions (originally of course keyboard works) in a whole new light. |
 Beethoven - Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-3Maurizio Pollini (piano)Maurizio Pollini continues his celebrated cycle of Beethoven sonatas. In this album, recorded like its predecessors in Munich’s Herkulessaal, the Italian pianist turns his incomparable keyboard mastery to Opus 2, the three astonishingly individual, inventive and forward-looking sonatas comprising Beethoven’s first publication in the genre, dedicated to his teacher Joseph Haydn. |
 Bellini: La SonnambulaJaël Azzaretti, Natalie Dessay, Francesco Meli, Carlo Colombara & Sara Mingardo, Chœur & Orchestre de l’Opéra de Lyon, Evelino PidòHaving steadfastly built her reputation as a major performer in the pyrotechnic coloratura roles, Natalie Dessay is at a turning point in her career and is exploring, to great international recognition, the more lyrical roles such as Amina, one of the great Bellini heroines. “Natalie Dessay haunted the role of Amina for the first time in Paris, and the standing ovation she received at the end of the concert proved she captivated the ears and hearts of the Parisians.” - Concertonet.com |
 Bach, J S: Magnificat in D major and Handel: Dixit DominusNatalie Dessay, Karine Deshayes, Philippe Jaroussky, Laurent Naouri & Toby Spence, Le Concert d’Astrée, Emmanuelle HaïmRecorded in October 2006, this programme is a definite asset to Virgin Classics’ catalogue, enriching it with Bach and Handel’s ever-popular Magnificat and Dixit Dominus by mainstream artists of the new Baroque generation. |
 Macmillan - Tenebrae (and other choral works)Cappella NovaThis outstanding Scottish group Cappella Nova gives a beautiful performance of three world premiere recordings of works by leading contemporary composer James MacMillan. “Effortlessly high-floating sopranos, honeyed altos, trumpet-like tenor singing and basses entering so as to give the impression of organ-stops being drawn out” - The Daily Telegraph |
 Tippett - The complete music for pianoSteven Osborne (piano), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn BrabbinsThe musical and intellectual exuberance of Tippett’s music is fully demonstrated in his piano works, recorded here in their entirety on a double CD. The sonatas and concertante works recorded here offer a more compact survey of the various stages of his composing career than any other of the traditional genres he favoured: symphony, opera, and string quartet. |
 Brahms: Piano Quintet and String Quartet No. 2Stephen Hough (piano), Takács QuartetTakács Quartet’s first CD with Hyperion was heralded as a uniquely successful collaboration: ‘the best string quartet in the world’ working under ideal recording conditions, creating a release that is ‘a model for what chamber music should be’ (The Guardian). They now turn to Brahms’s celebrated Op 51 No 2, a work which the composer held back for years despite frequent requests for it until it had reached his requisite standard of perfection. Brahms’s struggle with the string quartet medium eventually led him to find an intensely personal language for it, with an unmistakable originality of melody and texture. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 3rd November 2007 |
Building a Library - Walton: Viola Concerto |
 First Choiceoriginal version (1928/9)Lawrence Power (viola), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov |
 Mid-Price Choicerevised versionNigel Kennedy (viola), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, André Previn |
CD of the Week |
 Schreker: Chamber SymphonyNetherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, Peter Eötvös |
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