Tag: Classical

Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen
57:42
Hyperion CDA68090

This is – without a doubt – my recording of the month. As much for proving that Haydn is every bit as fun and charming as his younger countryman as for the brilliant playing (in every sense) of all concerned. Recorded between 2012 (bassoon concerto) and 2014 (Haydn), the orchestral lists read like a “Who’s Who” of the greats on the UK early music scene and the soloists are all outstanding – the rapport between the four in the Sinfonia concertante is palpable; I wonder if Haydn’s own performances were this good.

As for Mozart, well, I have long been in love with the slow movement of his bassoon concerto – among other things, it was my constant saviour when my niece and nephews would not sleep as young children! Peter Whelan’s dulcet tones would charm the noisiest child, and his understated virtuosity in the outer move-ments is all the more impressive for not being showy. I was not nearly so keen on the oboe concerto – until now! Somehow Alfredo Bernardini’s delicately rendered account (on an 1800 Grenser instrument) has persuaded me – and I laughed out loud when the ripieno oboes joined in the last movement cadenza. The outstanding string players in the Haydn are violinist Ilya Gringolts and cellist Nicolas Alstaedt, playing a Stradivarius and a Guarnerius respectively. A large part of the success must be down to young director, Jonathan Cohen, clearly a man to watch as much in classical repertoire as he has already shown himself to be in Baroque material. I have a sneaking suspicion he might move forward into Romantic music with this quite exceptional band and I will definitely be going along for the ride.

Brian Clark

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Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini
75:18
Alpha 671
W. F. Bach Symphony in F FK67, Haydn Symphonies 22, 46 & 47

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his second instalment in Alpha’s projected complete symphonies recording in time for the 300th anniversary of the composer’s birthday features three striking works from the master and another by Bach’s oldest son. With 44222 strings, pairs of oboes (or cor anglais in symphony 22, whose subtitle gives the CD its name), horns, bassoon and harpsichord, the band is well balanced and all of the voices are clearly audible in the remarkably clean and well captured acoustic.

Antonini lets the music speak for itself and there is never any audible hint of micromanagement. Each of the Haydn works has its own distinctive feature – 46 is in the frightening key of B major, 47 features a musical palendrome and 22 reverses the order of the first two movements – and they work well as a balanced programme. I really like the idea that each release in the series will not be devoted exclusively to his music though; so, as well as offering the finest period instrument performances, they will also contextualize it. I look forward to more discoveries along the way.

Brian Clark

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Matthias Höfs piccolo trumpet, Christian M. Kunert bassoon, Wolfgand Zerer harpsichord
66:38
Es Dur ES 2052
H504, 516–521, 542/5 (aka BWV1020), 545 (aka BWV1031), 552, 578

Not infrequently in these pages one reads how Bach’s music will pretty much work in any medium, and – while few modern musicians have (to my knowledge) gone down that route with the music of his sons, C. P. E. recycled his own material to such an extent that one can surely forgive the present performers for wishing to pay tribute to the man despite an obvious lack of repertoire for their combination. Clearly, had they not been players of such distinction, such a scheme should probably not have been very successful, but when the only thing that one could seriously fault in the performances is the dreaded modern trill with its relentless uniformity, then one gets the measure of the line-up. The harpsichordist uses subtle inégalité and if the trumpeter does no quite respond, he at least shapes the lines with a sense of light and shade that sounds natural. The music chosen for the recital ranges from the flute sonata in E flat, which might be by Bach père, to extracts from the six sonatas for clarinet, bassoon and harpsichord. I did not expect to enjoy this, but was very pleasantly surprised!

Brian Clark

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Salzburger Haydn-Quintett
146:02 (2CDs)
cpo 777 907-2

[dropcap]O[/dropcap]f the five works that make up this fine collection, only one is categorically named “Quintetto” by the composer (Perger 110); of the others, two are divertimenti (106 with six movements, and 112 with seven!), while 109 is a “Notturno” and 108 has this designation and Quintetto. All are in major keys and abundant in Michael Haydn tunefulness and mirth. One of the most interesting movements is one of the Allegretto variations from 105, marked “Recitativo. Adagio. Senza Rigor di Tempo”. Contrasting the pairs of violins and violas is a common technique throughout, and the Salzburger Haydn-Quintett on period instruments seem to enjoy this entertaining if not exactly intellectually challenging repertoire. Since Haydn was a viola player in the prince-elector’s chamber ensemble, we must possibly imagine him enjoy his turn in the limelight.

Brian Clark

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