Tag: Romantic

James Akers romantic guitar
61:00
resonus RES10165
Music by Giuliani, Legnani, Mertz & Sor

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s lecturer in early plucked strings at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, James Akers has put together an intriguing programme of romantic guitar music inspired by the traditional music and landscapes of Scotland. In the wake of the vogue for all things Scottish which followed the publication of James MacPherson’s Ossian material, composers throughout Europe tried their hands at Scottish (or perhaps Scot-‘ish’) music, and Akers’ programme includes music by the Italian-born guitarist Mauro Giuliani, Italian opera devotee and guitar virtuoso Luigi Legnani, Spaniard Fernando Sor, and the German guitar virtuoso Johann Mertz. While the latter attempted like his compatriot Mendelssohn to recreate the Scottish landscape, and more specifically Fingal’s Cave, in music, the others wrote pieces in imitation of or variations upon Scottish airs. Employing a period guitar and two modern reconstructions, Aker’s employs his own considerable virtuosity to bring this neglected seam of music to vivid life, and he certainly captures the enthusiasm these composer’s poured into their subjects as well as hinting at the stunning techniques they must all have demonstrated as players. The warm tone of the authentic instruments is a further factor in the success of this CD. Just occasionally I feel that Akers doesn’t fully trust the resonance of his instruments, moving on too soon from some chords in the slower pieces when I would have liked him to linger just a little, but generally speaking this is a revelatory and engaging CD of music which is nowadays almost entirely unfamiliar. Akers’ erudite and wide-ranging programme notes are a real bonus.

D. James Ross

Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall
52:14
Alia Vox AVSA9916

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] was shocked when opened the booklet for this CD – after, I should point out, having been blown away by the drama and energy of the opening movement of one of my favourite Beethoven symphonies! – to discover that this is actually a recording from 1994. 22 years later, as I say, it still has the ability to make one sit up and take note, whether it be the brilliance of the woodwind tone, the shimmering tremolo strings with cutting cross-accents driving the music forward like some sort of life-bringing juggernaut that refuses to be ignored; perhaps for the first time, I heard what my university lecturers meant by the shock value of “Eroica”, and Savall does all of this without milking each of the many dramatic moments. Of course he does more than just let Beethoven’s genie out of the bottle, but perhaps I also appreciated for the first time what a conductor does in terms of “interpreting” a symphony and, I confess I loved it – and you’ll hear no complaints from me about the short duration of the CD as a whole; by the end, I was mentally exhausted!

Brian Clark

Ariadne Daskalakis violin, Wolfgang Brunner fortepiano
61:34
cpo 777 676-2
opp. 8/1, 16/2 & 71

[dropcap]R[/dropcap]ecently I reviewed Ariadne Daskalakis’s performances of violin concertos by Kalliwoda, also on cpo, which impressed me hugely, especially the differing colours she is able to extract from her instrument. The same is true of the present set in which, in the company of brilliant accompanist Wolfgang Brunner, she mines another rich vein of repertoire, this time some violin sonatas by Beethoven’s friend and pupil, Ferdinand Ries.

Although they span less than eight years, the three chosen works show how Ries’s musical language changed; the op. 71 sonata in C sharp minor (his last, written in St Petersburg during a concert tour he undertook in the north of Europe around 1812) is (as the key choice might suggest) a dark, brooding work, while the other two are lighter in character, with more of the dance about them. That is not to say that they are slight – a criticism too often (and, in my opinion, most unfairly) levelled at the composer; the facility with which Ries moves from one key centre to another is frequently surprising! Daskalakis and Brunner are perfect partners, never vying for the limelight, always listening to one another. This is just the latest in a stream of Ries recordings from cpo and I certainly hope they continue to explore his output.

Brian Clark