Tag: Romantic

Capella Savaria, Nicholas McGegan
58:19
Hungaroton HCD 32794

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] much-loved symphony plus three shorter lesser-known works for violin and orchestra which have in common dating of 1816-17 make for a more than usually interesting Schubert collection.

The Symphony No. 5 in B flat of course needs little introduction, a near-perfect work of Classical poise and elegance that has frequently lead to it being termed the most Mozartian of all Schubert’s symphonies. Yet what particularly struck me listening to the present performance is the young Schubert’s skill as a contrapuntist, perhaps an aspect of his writing that we don’t always sufficiently appreciate. That my attention should be drawn to this aspect of the composer’s writing is in itself a tribute to the poised and finely balanced performance Nicholas McGegan draws from Capella Savaria, the Hungarian period instrument orchestra with which he has worked for 30 years. Listen, for example, to the way in which the imitative writing is so clearly yet unobtrusively laid out after the first double bar in the Andante. I like, too, the way in which McGegan gives the cellos and basses real presence. Add to that sensible tempos throughout and a truly affectionate approach to this most lovable of symphonies and the result is a performance that needs no further recommendation.

Of the three works for violin and orchestra the most appealing to my mind is the least known, the Polonaise in B flat, D.580, a work of great charm here given with spirit and elegance by Zsolt Kalló, Capella Savaria’s leader, who produces some especially delicious playing in the central trio section of this brief work. Both the other pieces, the Concert Piece in D, D.345 and the Rondo for Violin and Strings, D.438 are more ambitious, the latter, the only one of the three for which a full manuscript has survived, in particular aiming high. It opens promisingly with a portentous theme that gives way to allow the soloist to steal in with a lovely lyrical melody replete with arabesques and roulades, but once the main dance-like rondo theme is introduced there is insufficient interest to sustain the 14 minutes or so of its duration. That is certainly no fault of Kalló, whose playing both here and in D.345 is exemplary.

Brian Robins

Benvenue Fortepiano Trio with Carla Moore violin  and Jodi Levitz viola
59:48
Avie AV 2365

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] really wanted to like this recording of some of my favourite Schumann chamber music – indeed I have been looking for a fine period instrument recording of the piano quintet. This recording has much to recommend it. The Märchenbilder  for viola and piano are given passionate and lyrical accounts by Jodi Levitz and Eric Zivian while the less familiar Fünf Stücke im Volkston  are revealed by Zivian and Tanya Tomkins to be works of colourful and evocative imagination. However in both these works I was aware of the rather uncomfortably close and slightly dead recording, and this proved to be more of an issue with the piano quintet, perhaps simply because of the involvement of more players. However there also seemed to me to be a slight lack of lustre to the actual playing, and it perhaps due to this that I was also aware of some slightly uncomfortable intonation. I am at a loss to account for these shortcomings in a CD from Avie, a company usually at the forefront of recorded quality, although I note that the recording was made in the USA by an independent recording company. This is a pity, as I feel that in a more supported recording environment this would have been a recording I would have felt very differently about.

D. James Ross

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