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Presto News - 5th July 2010A Russian Sibelius cycle |
 There is no shortage of recordings of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’s seven Symphonies. They have been common in Western Europe and America ever since the 1930s when the composer’s friend Robert Kajanus recorded the First, Second, Third and Fifth Symphonies with the London Symphony Orchestra. Those were the first recordings made of the works and it is unfortunate that Kajanus died in 1933 before he was able to complete the set, as one imagines they are probably quite close to what the composer would have had in mind. Since then there have been a number of excellent complete cycles ranging from Anthony Collins 1955 cycle to Colin Davis’s live recordings from only a few years ago. But during all that time there has been very little from a country much closer (at least geographically) to Finland - in fact its eastern neighbour – Russia (or the USSR as it has been known for most of that time).  Gennady Rozhdestvensky I was therefore both intrigued and excited when I found out that the Russian label Melodiya were planning to issue Gennady Rozhdestvensky’s early 1970s recordings with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra which have never before appeared on CD. I’m sure a lot of readers will be familiar with the typical Russian orchestral sound, with their very individual woodwind timbre, a wide vibrato from the solo brass instruments and a coarse and rasping sound when the brass are playing together. Sibelius writes well for brass instruments and there is therefore plenty in here for the Russian players to get their teeth into. I’ve given you a long extract from the first movement of the Fifth Symphony to give you an idea of this style of playing. Listening to it, a lot of interesting questions come up. For example, I’ve always found the opening of this symphony quite mysterious, but when the horn player uses as much vibrato as this you don’t get that impression at all. The booklet contains a selection of Rozhdestvensky’s thoughts on Sibelius, and a number of them point to similarities and connections to Russian music. He talks about the similarities with Borodin, Glazunov and Tchaikovsky, the orchestration of Mussorgsky, and the ‘foresights’ to Shostakovich. Sibelius knew a lot of Russian music and Finland at the time had close political and social connections to Russia, so it is not impossible that this sort of sound world was more familiar to him than the more restrained style of western orchestras you hear on all the other recordings. Apart from the fascinating orchestral sound, the other big selling point here is Rozhdestvensky’s innate Sibelian instincts. In many ways they’re quite straightforward readings, refreshingly free from eccentricity but with a real splendour and power. He has an excellent understanding of the structure, so the pacing is superb and the climaxes often magnificent. The sound is very good, recorded in an ample acoustic and the woodwind solos always very clear. It would have been nice to have slightly more depth to the string sound but for me this is only a minor drawback against a number of positives. But probably the most overwhelming impact of these discs is the brass sound, which is probably about as unsubtle as you get. I know it isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste but no one can deny that it is terrifically exciting (listen to the last minute of the extract below), and just maybe it is actually more what Sibelius had in mind.
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 Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1-7 (complete)Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky
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Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
listen - Sibelius - Symphony No. 5: I. Tempo molto moderato (opening)New Releases5th July 2010 |
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. |
 Handel: Concerti grossi Op. 6 Nos. 1-12 HWV319-330Avison Ensemble, Pavlo Beznosiuk (director)This recording encompasses Handel’s complete Concerti Grossi Opus 6, a work widely thought to be the definitive example of the concerto grosso and one of the composer's greatest contributions to the Baroque period. Under the masterful direction of Pavlo Beznosiuk the Ensemble’s enviable precision and musical rapport is evident. The period ensemble creates dazzling colour, the tones and textures bringing this popular Baroque masterpiece to life. |
 Bach, J S: Partitas Nos. 1-6, BWV825-830Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano)Since Vladimir Ashkenazy’s debut with Decca in 1963, with more than 200 albums as pianist or conductor, he has never recorded the Six Partitas. The ‘master musician’ (Sydney Morning Herald) infuses a lifetime of pianistic and philosophical discernment into the Six Partitas of Bach. This album will become an obligatory purchase for Bach and Ashkenazy fans: a summit-meeting of masters. |
 Martinu - Cello Sonatas Nos. 1, 2 & 3Paul Watkins (cello) & Huw Watkins (piano)Paul Watkins is one of the world’s finest cellists. He is much in demand throughout the world and although he has made several recordings for Chandos in the past, this is his first as an exclusive artist. He is accompanied by his brother Huw Watkins, with whom he has developed an extremely rewarding musical partnership. |
 Wolf-Ferrari: Susanna's Secret & SerenataDora Rodrigues (Susanna), Marc Canturri (Count Gil), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily PetrenkoVasily Petrenko, the RLPO and the European Opera Centre reunite for a rare, live recording of the one-act opera Susanna’s Secret by Wolf-Ferrari, uniquely coupled with the composer’s Serenata: Five Songs for Baritone. “This addictive entertainment was as much a showcase for Vasily Petrenko and the Liverpool Phil as it was for Canturri’s incisive, handsome baritone and Rodrigues’s smooth, well-focused soprano” The Independent on Sunday (on the live performance of Susanna’s Secret in Liverpool) |
 Beethoven - Piano Sonatas Volume 3Angela Hewitt (piano)Angela Hewitt’s legion of fans will be delighted at this eagerly awaited third volume of Beethoven sonatas. Her first two releases in this series were praised for their ‘clarity, intelligence and elegance’ … ‘fusing poetry and passion’, and all these trademark qualities of her playing are fully present in this third disc. Four contrasting sonatas are presented here, including Op 27 No 2 ‘Moonlight’, which needs no introduction. |
 Wagner: SiegfriedStephen Gould (Siegfried), Gerhard Siegel (Mime), Albert Dohmen (Der Wanderer), Andrew Shore (Alberich), Bayreuther Festspiele Chorus & Bayreuther Festspiele Orchestra, Christian Thielemann (conductor)Recorded live at the Bayreuth Festival in 2008, this production is the third part of Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle. Christian Thielemann, one of the most sought-after conductors in the world, takes the baton with the Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra. |
 Philippe Graffin plays SchumannPhilippe Graffin (violin), Claire Désert (piano), Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Christoph PoppenViolinist Philippe Graffin’s second recording for Onyx sees him partnered once again by pianist Claire Désert, in Schumann’s highly charged second violin sonata and the delightful Three Romances by Clara Schumann, composed for Joseph Joachim. The concerto is a rarity – not the D minor violin concerto op. posth, but the composer’s arrangement of his much-loved cello concerto op.129. Unusual and intelligent programming from Philippe Graffin, who is rapidly gaining a reputation as one of the most insightful and inquisitive violinists of our time. |
 Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder & Orchestral MusicMeasha Brueggergosman (soprano), Cleveland Orchestra, Franz Welser-MostDeutsche Grammophon continues its successful relationship with the acclaimed Cleveland Orchestra and its chief conductor Franz Welser-Möst with this thrilling all-Wagner album. The release of this album will tie in with Franz Welser-Möst picking up the baton as General Music Director of the Vienna State Opera. In addition to Measha Brueggergosman's Wesendonck Lieder, the Clevelanders deliver Lohengrin Prelude (Act I and Act III), The Ride of the Valkyries, the Rienzi and Meistersinger Overture, and the orchestral version of opera’s non plus ultra of love’s power to transfigure, the Liebestod, from Tristan und Isolde. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 3rd July 2010 |
Building a Library - Barber: Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24 |
 First Choice(coupled with Menotti: The Old Maid and the Thief (What a Curse for a Woman is a Timid Man); Harbison: Mirabai Songs & Stravinsky: The Rakes’ Progress (No Word From Tom))Dawn Upshaw (soprano), St Luke's Orchestra, David Zinman |
Disc of the Week |
 Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem & Sancta CivitasChristina Pier (soprano), Andrew Staples (tenor) & Matthew Brook (baritone), The Bach Choir & Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, David Hill |
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