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Presto News - 30th April 2012Hamilton Harty’s Chamber Music |
 A real rarity this week in the form of chamber music from the Irish composer Herbert Hamilton Harty (1879-1941). I had first come across the name Harty as a conductor – he was principal conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester from 1920-1933 and made some important early recordings, including a very fine Elgar Enigma Variations, an excellent Walton First Symphony, and also various concertos with soloists like Solomon and Szigeti.  Herbert Hamilton Harty As a composer most of his works were performed once or twice in his lifetime and then promptly forgotten, and through much of the twentieth century it seems only his arrangements of Handel’s Fireworks and Water Music remained in the repertoire. Over the past thirty or so years the growth in authentic performance practice has meant that these are now the rarity, but thanks to Chandos and then Naxos his orchestral works at least have become much more widely known. So it was with much interest that I embraced Hyperion’s new recording (released today) of his two String Quartets and a Piano Quintet. Written in the early 1900s around the time that Harty moved from his native Ireland to London, these are all early works but show a composer with much imagination and impressive craft. Listening to the quartets I suppose Mendelssohn is the composer who most springs to my mind: full of charm, texturally quite rich much of the time, frequent rhythmic flamboyance and lots of good tunes. The Goldner String Quartet’s refined playing and natural musical affinity with the stylistic demands makes for very enjoyable performances. The Piano Quintet (written in 1904) is a really impressive work. Harty was a fine pianist himself and was regarded throughout his life as one of the finest accompanists of his generation. His quintet is on a grand scale with the models of Schumann and Brahms clearly in mind. After a bold and imposing opening movement, the short scherzo, characterised by folk-like pentatonic theme, provides excellent contrast. The slow movement is undoubtedly the emotional core of the work with big sweeping tunes and frequent octave doubling in both piano and strings leading to impressive climaxes, before a life-affirming finale with frequent exotic surprises (both melodically and harmonically) keep the listener’s attention right to the end. Recorded in Potton Hall in Suffolk (which incidentally is currently for sale if you have a couple of million to spare!), the sound is rich and colourful and the balance between the piano and strings is just right. Australian pianist Piers Lane plays superbly and has an impressive ability to switch often quite suddenly between bold statements, rippling accompaniments, and sudden flashy outbursts. They all play with complete musical conviction and all these works (but particularly the Piano Quintet) warrant repeated listening. The music spills just onto two discs, but Hyperion sensibly price it as one, and as usual sound samples are available via the links below. The printed music hasn’t been published, which is a pity as this is just the sort of repertoire that I’m sure a good amateur string quartet would enjoy getting stuck into. Hopefully that will change with time, but for now there is plenty to enjoy with the CD alone.
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 Hamilton Harty: String Quartets & Piano QuintetGoldner String Quartet with Piers Lane (piano) |
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
Listen - sound samples available for this itemNew Releases30th April 2012 |
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. |
 The Romantic Violin Concerto 12 - VieuxtempsChloë Hanslip (violin), Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Martyn BrabbinsHyperion’s record of the month for May heralds a new collaboration with the brilliant young British violinist Chloë Hanslip, the former child prodigy famously signed to Warner Classics at the age of just fourteen. Here, she lends her now-mature talents to the second release in Hyperion’s overview of Vieuxtemps’ Violin Concertos and Volume 12 of the burgeoning Romantic Violin Concerto series. |
 Brahms: Clarinet SonatasEmma Johnson (clarinet), John Lenehan (piano)"At first it seems surprising that Emma Johnson has waited until now to record two pillars of the repertoire, Brahms's opus 120 clarinet sonatas, but it soon becomes apparent why: these are the fruit of Brahms's sunset years, works of profound maturity that require a deep understanding that only years of careful performance and interpretation can produce. The result is definitive; Johnson's gorgeous tone evoking the reputed delicate, warm and unaffected sound of the sonatas' dedicatee, Richard Mühlfeld." - Stephen Pritchard – Observer – Sunday 8th April 2012 |
 Beethoven: BagatellesSteven Osborne (piano)Following his highly acclaimed Beethoven ‘Moonlight’, ‘Pathétique’ and ‘Waldstein’ Sonatas release, Hyperion’s Gramophone-award-winning artist Steven Osborne turns his talents to Beethoven’s complete Bagatelles. Though the composer himself referred to these thirty short piano works, which he penned throughout his life, as ‘trifles’, these are nonetheless trifles from the mind of a genius. In this polished album, Osborne lends his remarkable artistry to everything from the Six Bagatelles of Op 126, which at times occupy the same rarefied spiritual world as the late quartets and were the very last works Beethoven ever wrote for the piano, to the composer’s most famous stand-alone piano piece, the mysterious little A minor Bagatelle known to all the world as ‘Für Elise’. |
 Handel: Theodora, HWV 68Frode Olsen, David Daniels, Richard Croft, Dawn Upshaw, Lorraine Hunt, Michael Hart-Davis, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment & The Glyndebourne Chorus, William ChristieHere for the first time on CD is Glyndebourne’s acclaimed 1996 production of Handel’s oratorio Theodora. Although Theodora is a story of a virtuous woman and sexual persecution, this has not proved to be an obstacle to its enduring success, the subject a deeply touching one, resonating from the age of antiquity to the present day. |
 Joubert: String Quartets Nos. 1, 2 & 3Brodsky QuartetThis release celebrates John Joubert’s 85th birthday with world premiere recordings by the world famous Brodsky Quartet. They too are celebrating, as this year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the quartet. They are featured in the April issue of The Strad. Their performances have taken them on a unique voyage of discovery, culminating in their recording of these quartets. |
 Martin, Honegger & Schoeck: Three Cello ConcertosChristian Poltéra (cello), Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Tuomas HannikainenThe Swiss cellist Christian Poltéra here performs works by Frank Martin, Arthur Honegger and Othmar Schoeck. This follows a series of discs from Poltéra that were dedicated to these three composers. His disc of Frank Martin’s music (BISCD1637) was a Gramophone Editor’s Choice.
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 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103 'The year 1905'Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Yakov KreizbergShortly before his death, Kreizberg had stated that his Shostakovich recording was a fine one and that he would be happy for it to be released. He had begun a very successful partnership with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic. “…it was a perfect match. All of Kreizberg’s familiar virtues are in evidence (Stravinsky OPMC001) - tight dynamic control rooted in a profound understanding of the work.” Gramophone Recording of the Month. |
 Australian EloquenceThe latest batch of Eloquence releases includes two rare early Decca Nikita Magaloff recordings marking the centenary of his birth; two Pascal Rogé discs; Peter Maag's celebrated recording of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream together with ballet music and overtures by Delibes, Chopin/Douglas and Rossini; a 4-CD set of Ansermet's early Stravinsky recordings for Decca; Pierre Monteux's much beloved Elgar Enigma Variations recording with the LSO; the 1960s/70s Abbado Beethoven 7 and 8 recordings with the Wiener Philharmoniker; and Joan Sutherland's first Traviata recording under Sir John Pritchard. |
Download - download options available for this item BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 28th April 2012 |
Building a Library - Vivaldi Opera Round-Up |
 Vivaldi: L'Olimpiade RV725Marianna Kulikova (mezzo-soprano), Sara Mingardo (contralto), Laura Giordano (soprano), Riccardo Novaro (baritone), Sergio Foresti (bass) Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini |
Disc of the Week |
 Bach, J S: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2Peter Hill (piano) |
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