Schubert: The Complete Songs, with Graham Johnson ★★★★★

This is a fairly lengthy work of 40 CDs representing the complete songs of Franz Schubert. The common aspect of the Hyperion production is the pianist, Graham Johnson. The vocalists are a broad assortment, many quite well known names, but all being superb in their delivery. The recordings are also completely top-notch. The length makes this a little challenging to listen to all at once, and this is my second time straight through. The brilliance of Schubert as a song writer is reflected strongly in this production. The song cycles, especially Schwanengesang, are superlative. The entire cost of this set is a royal bargain, worth any classical collection.

Zemlinsky: Complete Choral Works and Orchestral Songs, conducted by James Conlon with the Kölner Philharmoniker ★★★★

Zemlinksy was an Viennese contemporary with Mahler, Strauss, and Schoenberg, and acquainted with all of those. Being mixed Jewish, Muslim and Catholic, he eventually emigrated to NY City in 1938. Unfortunately, his life was always spent in the shadow of his better known contemporaries. His music resembles a merger of Mahler and Strauss. The EMI performance here is apparently a reissue, as EMI seems to be the only record company that has produced Zemlinsky’s works in depth. He is a worthy composer and most of his works do not deserve the obscurity that they have received. This album will definitely be enjoyed by those who enjoy choral works from the turn of the 20th century Viennese genre.

Trumpet Concertos by Haydn, Hummel, Neruda, and Weber, by Niklas Eklund ★★★★★

These are four  baroque and classical trumpet concertos, with only the piece by Dedrich Weber being written for a valved trumpet. These are played by Eklun on a modern valved trumpet. Eklund has a few legendary trumpeters to compete with, the most recent being the masterful performances of Wynton Marsalis. Yet, Eklund holds his own, have a fluid, very non-brassy tone to his instrument that is most pleasurable to listen to. To put it bluntly, Eklund’s performance is quite stupendous. Naxos offers very affordable recordings, and these are most worthy of a classical collection.

Bach’s B-minor Mass, Herbert Blomstedt conducting Gewandhausorchester und Gewandhauskammerchor ★★★★★

This is an all-adult performance (no child-musicians) on modern instruments. It is held in the choir loft of the Thomaskirche, facing the altar and grave of JS Bach. Having been in that church a number of times, I’m not sure how they fit everybody in. The acoustics were superb, and performance was most delightful. Blomstedt is a very engaging conductor. He tends to manifest a very friendly face to the musicians, frequently smiling and interacting with the musicians with his eyes and hands, while singing along with the music. The musicians seem to respond in kind to him, maintaining a dynamic spirit that promotes the spirit of the piece. As an example, when the credo speaks of the crucifixion and burial of Christ, the music is quite solemn and hushed. This immediately transforms into a most joyous explosion of the trumpets, orchestra and musicians when singing of Christ rising from the grave, and Blomstedt makes it happen perfectly. This performance is not with a large choir and orchestra, but reflects perfectly the spirit of Bach in Bach’s home. I’m sure that Bach gave a smile in the grave.

B minor mass, performed by the Neubeuern Choral Society, Enoch zu Guttenberg conducting ★★★★

This is a difficult piece to critic. There is so much good and bad about it. The performance itself was very good. The singers were very well organized. The orchestra and soloists performed flawlessly. Guttenberg conducted with intense spirit. I was surprised at how young many of the singers and musicians were. Though there were a few older people in the performance, it was mostly younger people. The choir itself was much larger than the orchestra and placed behind the orchestra, which was an average size for a Bach performance. The entire production occurred in a small narrow church, so that it seemed that the distance between the conductor and last row of the choir was quite great.

Things that bothered me were several. The recording itself did not do justice to the performance, coming across as a bit flat. You really didn’t have the feel like you were recording in a church. The conductor recently appeared to have left upper extremity surgery, and his arm was in a sling and cast, making it very distractive. The biggest flaw of the recording was the camerawork, which was constantly straying to painting and fixtures on the wall of the church. It was quite annoying. The camerawork and audio recording gets a 1 star for failing to make you feel present at a performance. Other than that, it is a worthy recording to have in ones collection.

Bach Messe in H-moll with Janowitz, Topper, Laubenthal and Prey, Conducted by Karl Richter, Münchener Bach Chor ★★★★

I have always liked Karl Richter, and his renditions of many of the Bach cantatas are absolutely first class. Interestingly, this performance, held in a large baroque styled church in 1969, seemed to be a bit flat. Except for Hermann Prey, none of the soloists seemed really moved by what they were singing, and the entire performance limped. The quality of performance was exemplary, and the performance occurred without a flaw. Even the cameraman seemed to be bored, with him rarely holding onto the performers, but focusing on the ceiling or drifting around the walls and lattice ornaments of the church. It would have been more enjoyable to simply listen to the performance, and not watch it on the DVD.

Bach h-moll Messe with Thomanerchor Leipzig, Cantor George Biller and Gewandhousorchester Leipzig ★★★

This performance had a number of distinct differences from the performances above. The choir was a boy’s choir. The alto solo was a male alto. There were added pieces in latin, some of which were sung by the cantor. The performance was quite decent, and stupendous for the boys. My problems with this production were several. First, I really don’t like boy’s choirs, except as a curiosity. Second, I find male altos to be especially harsh on the ear, even though this alto was not bad at all. Thirdly, the camera seemed to find particular fascination with the newly remodeled roof of the Thomaskirche. A nice touch was the camera panning in on Bach’s grave at the very beginning and very end of the performance.  All things considered, it was a rather impressive performance for the Knabenchor. This was a nice change from the typical performance of the B-Minor mass.

Keeping Score – Shostakovich Symphony #5 with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony ★★★★

Besides Bach, Shostakovich is one of the truly great composers to ever have lived. His was a life like Bach’s that was filled with tormentors and critics that had no appreciation for the greatness of the person. This film is one of the “Keeping Score” series where the director of the San Francisco Symphony engages in an educational forum that briefly describes the life of Shostakovich, while doing a quick analysis of the 5th symphony. It is quite educational, and even if one doesn’t like Shostakovich, they would find this film to be  informative. The DVD actually consists of two parts, the first being an analysis of the piece, and the second  being a live performance in London of the 5th symphony. Together they help to give a person a starting understanding of person of Shostakovich and the style of his compositions. The film is definitely intended for musical beginners, though anybody will get value out of seeing Thomas’ interpretation one of the great symphonies of all time, Shostakovich’s fifth.

Ives: The Symphonies, performed by Dohnanyi, Marriner and Mehta ★★★

These are reasonable performances of Charles Ives, a early 20th century American composer (1874-1954). Ives uses much American folk tune and American hymn motifs in his writing. Together, he makes for very poorly convincing symphonies. His are symphonies that I would never use for my “Desert Island Collection” or attend in formal concert. I’ll settle on listening to these symphonies from time to time simply to stay knowledgeable in American music. They are not enjoyable. Better classical music in the 20th century is Russian and German.  The English speaking world flunks in the classical music realm.

This is a hodge-podge 34 CD collection from the Deutsche Grammophon archives, presumably reflecting the best of Liszt. It was probably produced for the bicentennial year of Liszt’s birth. Sony has also produced a 25 CD collection, as well as the recently reviewed Leslie Howard complete piano works of Liszt. Sadly, nobody has ever compiled the entire production of Liszt like has been done for Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and other composers. This collection has all superb performances, as well as superb recordings. It is a very worthwhile introduction to Liszt for the classical lover who would like to get into Liszt.

Both of these albums were taken from historical archives. Thus, their quality is ok to quite poor. The recordings could have been cleaned up a little better, but were not. Many of these marches and songs are quite difficult to obtain. Of note, the Horst Wessel Lied is not available in Germany. It is illegal to have the tune, or to play it. It was hard enough to procure here in the US. For my German friends…

Bitte zur Beachtung! Passen Sie auf! Dieses Lied ist nicht erlaubt auf Deutschland. Hör es nur mit Kopfhörer. Wenn der Staat wisst, das du dieses Lied gehören hast, kannst du bestraft sein. Du werdest in Gefängnis geworfen sein, und der Schlüssel weg geworfen. Hör auf eigene Gefahr!

01 Horst Wessel Lied (Nazi Party Anthem – choral) 1

First, a clarification. I wish to compare this song with the French and American National anthems.

French National Anthem

Finally, the US National Anthem (I hope you know it already!)

O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
’Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust;”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Notice that the anthems all tend toward violence, and the Nazi anthem is no worse than the French or American. The only redeeming value of the American anthem is the last stanza, which is unfortunately rarely ever sung. Francis Scott Key wrote other hymns, one which is still in the church hymn repertoire, “Lord with glowing heart I’ll praise thee”, but unfortunately is not found in many hymnals any more.

As you can tell, I’ve been reviewing mostly Russian music, including Borodin, Rachmaninoff, and Shostakovich. Shostakovich is my favorite of all Russian composers. This 11-CD set includes all 15 of Shostakovich’s symphonies, as well as his violin concerto. Though recorded a few years ago by Melodia, the sound is quite excellent. Kondrashin provides very convincing performances, that rank among the best. His tempo and dynamics often differ a bit from western conductors, but is done in a way that is quite pleasing. The 5th symphony is comparatively slower than Bernstein’s, yet maintains all the vim and fire worthy of the symphony. This is a set of Shostakovich’s symphonies that is worth having, and is probably the best Russian performances available. I have complete sets by Barshai, Haitink, Maxim Shostakovich, and Jansons, as well as this set by Kondrashin, and tend to prefer the Kondrashin and Jansons sets above the others. Each conductor provides a much different interpretation of these symphonies, and all of the sets are worth having. Kondrashin would be a reasonable starting set for the beginner.

This is one of the sets produced by Brilliant Classics as a budget series, though none of the recordings in this set would fit the “budget” category as being highest quality performances. Especially delightful were the piano concertos with Earl Wild at the piano. This is reportedly a comprehensive set of Rachmaninoff’s works, including his operas, solo piano and solo voice works and other works. As a special treat, various historic performances of Rachmaninoff were also included. This set doesn’t seem to be available any longer from Amazon.com, but for the price when it was available, was a true bargain.

Alexander Borodin was a Russian chemist associated with “The Five”, a group of amateur musicians that sought to reform Russian music. The others in “the Five” were Balakirev, Cui, Rimsky-Korsakov,  and Mussorgsky. Though the musical output of the Five was not massive, it did have a profound influence on composers to follow, including Tchaikovsky and the 20th century Russian composers. Borodin has a sweet style to his music that is neither harsh on the ears or lacking in luster. Borodin’s chamber music is not commonly heard, and that’s a shame, since it is both tuneful and creative. The recording is flawless with a strong sense of presence, and the performances by the Moscow Trio/Quartet manifest charm in their interpretation. This is a worthy set to have in either small or large collections.

Die Beinahe Sechs (The nearly six) vocal ensemble  from Germany has composed and revised various Christian themed songs. They offer a mix of songs sung in German and English in a truly remarkable performance. Dr. Kretschmar (from Leipzig) first introduced me to this album. Rather than offer a ponderous description of their music, I thought it best to include two excerpts, both in highly reduced format to hopefully render these as not violating copyright laws. My only regret is that this group is not producing more albums, as they beat most of the Christian music being produced in the English-speaking world.

Jesu, meine Freude

What A Friend We Have In Jesus

Bartók has a unique style of composition and Kocsis a delightful ability to render those compositions in a pleasant and enjoyable manner. Bartók was born in Hungary, eventually emigrating to the United States in the early 1940′s to escape the war, though many of his works were produced prior to his emigration. He delved into a range of styles, including atonality of the Schönberg style, polymodal chromaticism, and various modifications of early 20th techniques. Bartók focused on the utilization of Hungarian folk song themes in his compositions. Kocsis manages to take these various forms of composition, and make them flow with reasonable emotive expression. These performances would never be in my “desert island” top 10, but they have great value in most music lovers’ collections, and much to commend to them.

I don’t often review music that’s sat in my library for many years, but this is an exception owing to its excellence. Tchaikovsky isn’t too well known for his chamber music, yet this set of 3 string quartets is gripping, addicting, moving, and most enjoyable to listen to. The melodies are catching but never “jingo-istic”. The Borodin Quartet is flawless in their performance, but not mechanical, adept at extracting the soul of the piece. The absence of popularity of these pieces should not prevent one from giving these pieces one’s full attention for many an evening.

Wagner wrote three early operas that are relatively unknown since they are rarely performed, including die Feen, das Liebesverbot, and Rienzi. They are operas that are not typical of  Wagner’s mature style, but do show development toward the final Wagnerian style. Rienzi is the opera that launched Wagner’s career as a musician, and several of the pieces including the overture are still occasionally performed. There were no available movie versions of this opera until this performance came out, so I decided to buy it, especially with the reasonable reviews given to it by Amazon.com reviewers. This performance has its merit. The singers were faultless, acting and singing well. The recording was high quality, though there were often problems with mixing of the sound of the singers and the orchestra, in that the orchestra tended to drown out the voices on stage.

My problem with this performance is the staging. I don’t object to modern versions of operas, so long as they don’t distract from the story and theme of the original opera. If the staging is such that it creates another theme or story than the original opera, or if it restricts itself to being solely a commentary on either the opera or the composer, then it should not be considered as a legitimate version of the opera. I recall the Peter Sellars versions of various operas that attempted contemporary contextualization of 18th and 19th century operas, yet they were never sold as straight opera renditions. Creative license with modern European staging tends to destroy the composers intent, and this should be overtly stated. It would be like re-writing a Beethoven symphony for a Jazz band but calling it the original symphony. Liszt did not have the audacity to do that, but was willing to call his transcriptions something else, and bizarre creative staging should be called something other than the original opera.

The staging used in this performance is indeed bizarre. The citizens of Rome come out masked at first, eventually removing their masks and donning suits that looked more like Soviet peasant outfits. Rienzi and his daughter appeared more like Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun than a noble Roman tribune. The themes of Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini prevailed, forcing the entire opera into an entirely other interpretation. Adriano, the traitor, is made into the hero, and Rienzi is reduced to totalitarian scum. The final scene, with Rienzi in Hitler’s bunker and Speer’s model of the new Berlin before him was exceptionally distractive to the aria “Allmächtiger Gott…” and completely out of place. The videos of Rienzi as a totalitarian propagandist before microphones appearing on television were seriously distracting. Wagner’s character development in the opera was completely re-written. The behind the scenes slaughter of the assassins at the end of act 1 altered the story of the opera. This is not the way Wagner intended the opera to be, and the staging was too divergent from the actual opera story to be legitimate. I’d rather just listen to a recording than to watch what Stölzl has given us.

Whatever one may think of Wagner, I suggest that performances should leave Wagner alone. It is true that Wagner was a truly despicable  egotistical, racist person, yet his composing is sublime. It is quite easy to see his anti-Jewish sentiments throughout his operas, which must be overlooked. Thankfully, many Jewish Wagner conductors and performers have been able to do that, producing some of the best performances of Wagner in existence (eg., James Levine’s Ring, Leonard Bernstein’s Tristan und Isolde). To be obsessed with mid-twentieth century totalitarianism when performing a Wagner opera deprives the opera of its legitimate interpretation and reduces the performance to just another case of Euro Trash.

Shostakovich Symphonies, conducted by Mariss Jansons, multiple orchestras ????
My first complete Shostakovich Symphony set was that conducted by Haitink, and also have complete sets by Barshai, Maxim Shostakovich, as well as multiple renditions of symphonies that do not have complete sets, such as symphonies conducted by Bernstein and von Karajan. Jansons seems to be the most novel of all the sets. Some symphonies did not sound entirely like what I heard out of the other performances. In many instances, such as his performance of the Fourth Symphony, it has a very accessible nature, probably the best 4th I’ve heard so far. Some of the recordings had annoying background noise and were not of highest quality. I still prefer Haitink as the all-round best performance of the Shostakovich symphonies, but consider Jansons in very rightful competition for the interpretation of these symphonies, and very much worth having in a music collection.

This is a collection of 60 CDs, representing more than 60 albums of music published on vinyl under the Living stereo label. I remember having a number of these recordings as a teenager. They are now reproduced in CD format. For all of the CDs, the transfer was impeccable, with a brilliant and clean sound. Many of the performances are historically notable, such as the VanCliburn Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto. Also featured were many of the recordings of Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Charles Münch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as Jascha Heifetz. This set represents a super value, running at less than $2/disc when purchased on Amazon.com.

I have long sought for performances of the Zion’s Harp songs, the hymnal used by the Apostolic Christian Church. Kufchak has done a memorable service to this music by providing well-performed and orchestrated renditions of many Zion’s Harp songs, as well as a few of his own compositions and other music. Many of the songs had a ACCA translation (?), not the translation that  I was used to with the ACCN hymnal. Orchestration tended to be one-dimensional, in that the orchestra essentially paralleled the 4 part harmonies, with only an occasional embellishment. Kufchak tended to limit the amount of brass used in these pieces, and probably for good reason since the trumpets were seriously marginal in their performance.  I would wish that Kufchak continue his work, as he is to lauded for a great start in making public many Zion’s Harp songs. I hope that as he ages, his orchestrations develop a sophistication that complements rather than simply parallels the choir.

John Field Piano Concertos (sic), performed by Benjamin Frith, Northern Sinfonia ?????

First a brief comment about the English language. The pleural of concerto is NOT concertos but concerti. Unfortunately, we must live with this unbearable abuse of the common language. John Field is a little known contemporary of Ludwig v. Beethoven. That he is little known is a terrible travesty, since his concerti are so delightful. These 6 concerti on 3 CDs belong in the regular repertoire, as they are most compelling, and fascinating to hear. Field maintains a style that is distinctly classical, but distinctly different from Beethoven and more in line with Mozart or perhaps Schubert. These performances are crisply recorded, and though offered on a budget set, are definitely not budget recordings. They are most highly recommended by me. Though Field does not have much music that is offered in recorded form, he is worth seeking out for what little he may have out there. I have commented previously on the fact that British Isle music is generally lacking, with significant decent composers from those parts being able to be counted on one hand with most of the fingers amputated. Field is Irish, and would have to be added as one of the few that gets counted as a truly great British Isles (though NOT British!) composer.

This set consists of  Beethoven: Fidelio ????, Janacek: The Cunning Little Vixen ???, Mozart: Don Giovanni ????, Verdi: Othello ?????, Offenbach: Les Contes d’Hoffman ?????, Offenbach: Barbe-Bleu ??, Mozart: Le Nozze de Figaro ????.

Felsenstein was the manager of the Comic Opera in east Berlin, and also the producer of these operas. There distinction with this set, is that the operas were all performed in German, though only Fidelio was actually written in German. They are also produced as movies for film. Oftentimes, the opera script was heavily edited, such as Fidelio, with a number of inessential sections removed. In the Tales of Hoffman, additional spoken material is added and acts 2 and 3 are reversed. The operas work unbelievably well in German, and the modifications mostly improve rather than diminish the operas. These recordings have as much a historical value as well as entertainment value. The first three operas above were in black and white and thus somewhat lacking in the best of quality. The latter operas were very impressive, and the Tales of Hoffman and Othello were competitive with the best productions of those operas. The singing and acting were superlative in all the operas. The only opera that I didn’t like so much was Offenbachs’ Barbe-Bleu, but that had nothing to do with Felsenstein or the production, as it was not an appealing opera compositionally.

Charles Marie Widor, principal organist at Saint Sulpice in Paris and the most distinguished organ position in all of France, commanded the international scene from the late 19th century up to his death in 1933. He had multiple distinguished students, including Louis Viernce, Dupre, Varese, as well as Albert Schweizer. Widor had a strong interest in the organ works of Bach, and these organ works definitely have the distinct imprint of Bach on them. These are very attractive works, and while his most memorable organ symphony is his 5th, it would be a disservice to one’s self to limit listening to only his 5th symphony, as the grand total of his ouvre is remarkable and worth listening to. This set consists of 7 CD’s, and Ben van Oosten does a marvelous and flawless job of performance. I have not heard other sets of Widor and so can’t offer comparison, though this set seems to have a high rating on most public forums.

Louis Vierne was an assistant to Charles-Marie Widor in Paris, and during the first third of the 20th century was a formidable organist at Saint Sulpice in Paris. He was legally blind, and had a fairly unfortunate life, being involved in an accident which injured his left leg, having an unfortunate marriage and social life, but otherwise commanding a great presence in the organ scene. His improvisations often became the subject of many of the compositions above. While he is distinctly different from Widor, there are many similarities in their compositional style, including a Debussy-style compositional trait of painting moods rather than distinctive tunes. The result is organ music that is very easy to listen to, yet compelling enough to never venture towards being boring. Vierne is unfortunately not well enough known, and his works are definite masterpieces worth belonging in a good classical collection. There are a grand total of 9 CD’s in this 3 set collection, and the performance by Ben van Oosten is most compelling.

I’ve been listening to the works of the Beaux Arts Trio, who perform a number of classical as well as modern composers, but have selected a few that are my favorites. Of the modern composers, Shostakovich has written the best piano trios. They are tuneful, easy to listen to, and conducive to many repeat listening sessions. There aren’t many piano trios that are wearisome to listen to, whether they are from Beethoven, Mozart, Chausson, Faure, Brahms, or whoever. Yet, the Shostakovich trios stand out as the best of the best. These are NOT Schubert quartets. They are far more soulful, heart-wrenching, agonizing. The trios are accompanied by seven romances that consist of the piano trio plus a solo soprano, also well done, but doesn’t totally fit with the two trios on this disc. For the 20th century classic music aficionado, these are piano trios of that genre at their best, and a must-have.

This is a most compelling set of piano trios and flawlessly performed by the Beaux Arts Trio. Schubert’s best knack is that of coming up with highly memorable tunes, developing them in complex fashions, and then delivering them in a most enjoyable fashion. These discs are very easy listening, and yet would not be identified as “elevator music” as creative genius exudes from each measure that is performed. Of all my music (of which there is much), this is one of my favorite sets for a relaxed encounter with the sublime.

I’ll be reviewing the Haydn piano trios here, and the following two reviews will go over the Schubert and Shostakovich trios by the same group. All of the performances are superbly done,with a delicacy and interpretive style that conveys a richness to the pieces that are hard to not notice. The Haydn piano trios are a “must hear” set. This is a lengthy set as one would expect with Haydn, but gives an opportunity to see the progression of composition style of Haydn. The first trios of a young Haydn are attractive but slightly pedantic, with a sense of predictability, but the later trios truly reflect the genius of Haydn. It is possible that the interaction with Mozart, especially with the novel compositional style of the Mozart Haydn quartets, triggered the most delightful and mature Haydn to compose as he did. With the superlative performances of the Beaux Arts trio, this is a set that should be in every classical collection.

Kenneth Fuchs is a contemporary composer who teaches music at a college in the mid-west. Having a name roughly similar to my own, it piqued my curiosity. It was quite easy to listen to him, much against my expectations for a contemporary composer. Actually, it sounds like a merger between modern music and elevator music. This is not intended to be an insult but a compliment. There is nothing in these pieces that stood out as either bad or superlative. Fuchs has potential as a composer, and will keep an eye out for subsequent works from him.

Philip Glass creates a violin concerto and other works that do not seem to press the virtuosic abilities of the performer so much provide a minimalistic but not monotonous array of tones that enchant the hearer. I’m not a huge fan of minimalistic music, and would probably die at a Glass opera. This music lacks the intensity of a Wagner or Beethoven, or the cacophony of a late Schönberg. It is easy on the listener. The performance is very well done, and recording made with highest standards. This is a good buy for the budget price that one would find with most Naxos discs. It is to be commended to those who appreciate minimalistic music.

This is a historic collection, and thus contains much disturbing recording noise to it, though in many of the tracks, it tends to be less apparent. There are now a number of Chopin collections, including the Biret and Ashkenazy collection, both of which are superb. I also have  other Chopin recordings by a potpourri of other performers, and the historic performer that is my favorite is Vladimir Horowitz. Artur Rubinstein (not related to Anton Rubinstein) was a Polish-America Jewish child prodigy, making his greatest claim in the interpretation of Chopin. His was a somewhat wanton life, living as a hedonist, though occasionally expressing moral approbation when his personal value system was affronted. While fighting “racism”, he arrogantly manifested himself as the greatest racist and intolerant to others not of his own thinking. Like Richard Wagner, his own personal life and character tends to distract from the personal genius of the man. This is an inexpensive set worth having for historical reasons, though better recordings are now available.

Saint-Saëns; Oratorio de Noël performed by the Bachchor and Bachorchester Mainz ?????; Requiem and Psaume XVIII, by the L’Orchestre National D’Ile France ????

Both of these works are excellent, that oddly have not made it into the standard repertoire . The first piece, a Christmas oratorio, is superbly performed with sensitivity to the script. Neither piece has catchy tunes to titillate the senses or become the object of Hollywood movie moguls. Both have a sweetness to them that make listening easy. Saint-Saëns varies from simplicity to complexity in the pieces while avoiding the bombastic attacks of orchestra and choir as Händel and others might do. Both are high recommendations.

Franz Liszt is mostly known for his piano music. During his lifetime, he underwent various phases. Starting first as a virtuoso performer of the piano, Liszt set new standards throughout the music world of what was expected of a solo music performer. Eventually, he would write more complex pieces for the piano than what was then existent in order to showcase his performance technique. Later in his life, he retreated to a monastery. Living most of his life as a European playboy and “rockstar”, it is a little bit unusual to get a large proliferation of sacred music from him. Yet, the quality of this music is variable but quite good. Of all the CDs reviewed briefly here, the Graner Messe was the best in both composition and performance, and St. Stanislaw close behind. The Corydon Singers do an orchestrated version of the Via Crucis, and quite capably performed. The other Via Crucis found on the last CD was quite anemic, and was the piano and male chorus version of the work. This Via Crucis was a bit anemic, the piano version being performed much better by the Netherlands Chamber Choir and found on the Philips label. The last piece, Liszt’s Requiem, was also performed somewhat marginally, and could have been more convincing in its presentation. Though I appreciate the choral works of Liszt, I find that his piano compositions are far more enjoyable and best demonstrate Liszt’s creativity.

As with my previous post, the review of these CDs reflect my horrid infatuation with the music of Shostakovich. All three of these CDs were budget, yet absolute marvelous specimens of music, impeccably and creatively performed, charming, enjoyable, and compelling. The Songs and Waltzes were particularly attractive, in definite competition with the best of the Johann Strauss waltzes. Shostakovich is not known well enough for his greatness. Much of the music on these CDs is totally accessible. They are not atonal pieces of cacophony so typical of much modern music, but reflect a creativity distinctive of 20th century music while not straining the ear of the listener, and very tuneful. Thus, my highest recommendations.

Those of you who know me well know that I am crazy about Shostakovich. He is, in my opinion, the greatest composer of the 20th century. These works are “pop” works of his, totally accessible, catchy, tonal, entirely tonic-dominant music. Yet, it is creative and possessing a clear brilliance. These are more collector pieces rather than something one would like to time and again. Some pieces, like the Fall of Red Hill in the Unforgettable Year 1919 suite, are absolute masterpieces of all time. The only regrets that I have while listening to these CDs is that the films are not themselves available with English subtitles (0f course). These CDs were purchased separately but were sold by Amazon.com as budget CDs, yet they are NOT budget music presentations.

These choral works are entirely religious, and encompass the breadth of Mendelssohn’s career. Purchased from Amazon.com, they are a steal at less than $3/disc. Some are works that are quite popular, such as Hör mein Bitten, but performed better than more expensive recordings that I have purchased in the past. There was no piece in this set that was inferior, and the soloists were always in top form, not weak as is often heard with Mendelssohn performances. It is a pity that Mendelssohn is so seriously overlooked, especially among church choirs. It is also a pity that Nicol Matt is not better known, as he is a first-rate conductor. Perhaps works like this will draw more attention to Mendelssohn, and we will see more high quality performances of his work.

Five stars should not suggest that these are my favorite quartets. For contemporaries, I certainly prefer the quartets of Beethoven or Schubert. Yet, these quartets have a delightful charm of their own, and worthy of highest recommendation. The Melos Quartet offers a very spirited interpretation, making it a joy to listen to each one of these six quartets. Cherubini is often forgotten, though one must remember that both Hayden and Beethoven praised with works. Anybody who listens attentively to these quartets will understand why Cherubini should stand among the great classical composers. Both the quartets as well as his religious choral works are charming, creative and enjoyable to listen to.

A one time I never found much of interest in Schumann. Now that I’m re-listening to a number of his works, they are gaining a fascination. This album is no exception. The performances are charming and impeccable, very masterfully done. Each piece has its own delights, and provides for differing styles and types of works. This set is a budget set that consists of four CDs, and is a true bargain that will delight.

These set of songs were adequately performed, but lacked brilliance and charm. It is typical of Vaughn Williams to have very predictable music, so that if one has heard one Vaughn Williams piece, you’ve heard them all. There is nothing about these choral pieces to excite the soul or transcend the realm of the ennui. I purchased this CD hoping to find in VW and British music some charm—but, British music, like British food, tends to be bland and uninteresting. The Brits have failed to produced good composers, outside of Purcell and the Beatles. The more I listen to VW, I realize that it is not a matter of missing something in the music that is subtle or complex, such as learning to appreciate the music of Wagner. The music of VW is just plain boring and uncreative.

I am not a big fan of Philip Glass, but these quartets were quite appealing to me. True, they possessed a minimalist aspect to them, with much repetitive structures. In opera, minimalism creates boredom. It does just the opposite in the string quartets, creating a relaxed, meditative atmosphere. Yet, Glass maintains enough character to the overall flow of the pieces to lend character and distinction to each movement and each quartet. This made listening a joy rather than a matter of endurance. These quartets are a “must hear” for anybody who enjoys the whole panoply of classic music.

This and the next review focus on contemporary American composers. Samuel Barber is best known for Barber’s Adagio, popularized by Bernstein. This disc contains not only the Piano Concerto, but several other short works by Barber. The performance was technically adequate, but the pieces lacked an overall luster to them. Perhaps the performers didn’t have a chance? Barber seems to have a sense of non-direction to his music, being occasionally bombastic, occasionally quiet, but never leading anywhere. Fortunately, it was reasonably tonal and thus endured listening to. This is not exactly a disc that I’d encourage you to rush out and purchase.

La Fille du Regiment, by Donizetti, starring Natalie Dessay ???

Donizetti was an extremely productive early 19th century Italian opera composer, though most of his works go unperformed at this time. His greatest works include this opera, as well as Lucia de Lammermoor, L’elixir d’Amore, Anna Bolena, and a few others. This is probably the poorest conceived of his better known operas, and best known with Joan Sutherland as the star daughter of the regiment. In this opera, Natalie Dessay is the star. Her vocal qualities do not compete with the excellence of Dame Joan, though her acting and overall operatic skills make her one of the better daughters to ever have filled this role. Thus, it was a delight and joy to watch. The staging was a cross between traditional and minimalist, and served as much as a distraction as a help to the overall flow of the opera. This is not one of my favorite operas. The music is not memorable, and the plot contrived. A baby girl (Marie) is picked up and raised by a French army regiment, but recovered by a rich Tyrolean couple who think that she is their long-lost daughter, and arrange a marriage for her though she is love with a Tyrolean Toni who she met in the regiment and who joined the French regiment in order to marry her. Eventually Tonio and Marie resolve the issues that hold them apart. Yawn! Ho-hum.

This is the last of the budget series that I’ll be reviewing, with the conducting of Eugene Ormandy. Eugene Ormandy was born in Hungary as Jeno Blau, being a prodigy that received a masters degree in music at age 14 before coming to the US. After a short stay as director of the Minnesota symphony, he moved and stayed for 40 years at the Philadelphia Philharmonic. Though his major mentor was Toscanini, his style and form are much different from this conductor. Ormandy excelled at modern works, and his renditions of Shönberg works were notable. Many of his works in this set were straight forward, though the recordings left something to be desired. His performance of Mahler’s second symphony was quite poor and left something to be desired. At least Ormandy never felt the urge to speed through a piece like Toscanini. It is without a doubt that Ormandy is one of the great US conductors of the 20th century, though this set would tend to betray Ormandy at his best. My advice would be to seek out Ormandy recordings, but not this set of recordings. There are better out there.

This is the second of three composer collections that I will be reviewing, the first being that of Arturo Toscanini. Furtwängler possesses far greater sensitivity in his conducting that Toscanini. Furtwängler was the director of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra during the second world war years, and was eventually replaced by Herbert von Karajan. It is without hesitation that I could remark on the greatness of Furtwängler as a conductor, in spite of his associations with Hitler and the Nazis. These recordings are quite variable, many of them having much record noise, but many being quite clean. For $17 it is hard to beat as a sampling of Furtwängler. The collection includes mostly classical and romantic composers, with a few non-German composers included.

It is typical that the first performance of any classical work that one hears, if well performed, tends to stick in ones mind, and defines for hearings of other performances a standard to measure up to. I grew up on Toscanini, and was told repeatedly that he was one of the greatest conductors of the twentieth century. I remember sitting for hours, listening to nothing but Toscanini. In the case of Toscanini, the rule introduced at the beginning has not held true, and I have found much better recordings and performances of just about everything that Toscanini has to offer. This compendium of 10 CDs of his works confirms that statement. Toscanini tends to always be very sharp, bombastic, and unfeeling in his performances. Somehow, he seems to think that if a work is flawlessly performed in double the meter of any other conductor, it is better performed. Toscanini just has no feel as to the soul of any piece of classical music. There is nothing on this CD that I have not heard better performed by other conductors. Toscanini does a reasonable job with the American composers like Gershwin and Grofe, but destroys Wagner. I will be comparing two other conductor sets in this series, one with Furtwängler and the other with Ormandy. Furtwängler is not my favorite composer but is total delight to listen to, after having one’s ears abused with Toscanini. In addition, the recordings in this set are poorly cleaned up, and much of the record noise and tinny sound remains. They could have done better, though this set was only $17 for 10 CDs so it’s hard to complain too bitterly. The  good grace of this set is that it is very inexpensive, and does give one a proper feel for Toscanini.

Edition Bachakademie Hänssler, mostly featuring Helmut Rilling ?????

This is now my second hearing of this set of 172 CDs, consisting of all the known works of Johann Sebastian Bach. There exist two other collections of his works, one put out by Brilliant Records, and the other by Teldec. I do not have the Teldec set, but will probably purchase it when it becomes available again. This set, costing about $1600 (I paid much less for it), is now being offered for $300 on Amazon.com, which should be a total steal. The Hänssler edition is the only collection that utilizes adults and modern instrumentation for the productions of all the cantatas and other choral works. The only exception, of course, is the boys choir in the Mätthaus Passion. There are better performances many of Bach’s cantatas. I feel that Karl Richter’s cantatas are superior in terms of feeling and expressive content, though Richter offers less than half of all of Bach’s cantatas. Rilling is a most capable conductor, offering the complete cantatas and other vocal works of Bach, with more compelling performances than any of the other complete collections. The Brilliant and Teldec sets oftentimes uses boy performers, which can easily become quite wearisome to the ears. Rilling, like Richter, avoids period instruments, thus giving a brilliance and charm to the works that other performances do not possess. Regarding using modern vs. original instrumentation, the keyboard works for harpsichord are variously performed in this set, occasionally with a piano, occasionally with a clavecin, and usually with a harpsichord. I appreciate harpsichord music, but, much dynamics of performance appear to be missing with a harpsichord. Even when a piano is used instead of a harpsichord, the performer usually tends to plays the piano in a fashion like I was taught, to make it sound like a harpsichord. This ends up in a rather mechanical sound, that might be imitated by a piano roll. Perhaps, this is why I really appreciate the Bach performances of Glen Gould, who breaks out of the mold of original instrument thinking, and allows Bach to speak in a new and fresh fashion. Sometimes, an unusual array of instruments are used, such as in the Wohltemperte Klavier, where the harpsichord, organ and Clavicin are all variously utilized. The keyboard works were quite variable, though most with quite convincing and compelling performances, even though a number were more routinely and mechanically driven. In total, this set is an amazing compendium of mostly top notch, well performed Bach. The cantatas are the selling point of this set, though that should not diminish the attractiveness of the rest of the works on the set, whether they be keyboard, violin or cello sonatas, or any of the other plenteous compositions of the greatest of all composers of all time. Any lover of Bach must have this set: it will be treasured for many hearings.

Les Contes d’Hoffman is opera at its best, and this is a superlative performance of that opera. Domingo makes a perfect Hoffman. This performance utilized different opera stars for each of the women in Hoffman’s life, as well as a different “evil man” for each act. The story starts and ends in a tavern adjacent to an opera house, and Hoffman is led to tell the story of the lost loves in his life, all of which are based on short stories by ETA Hoffman. The first is Olympia, a young girl that Hoffman falls deeply in love with, only to discover that she is a mechanical doll. The next act, Hoffman falls in love with a courtesan in a harem, only to end up losing his shadow. The third is a young musician, told not to sing by her father, but encouraged to her death by Dr. Miracle. The music in each act of this opera, as well as the prologue and epilogue are unforgettable and often copied by later composers. This is one of the desert island operas that one would wish to watch many times over, and this is a wonderful performance of that wonderful opera.

Schumann Masterworks: Multiple performers, produced by Deutsche Grammophon ?????

This is a wonderful mix of Schumann’s compositions, including his symphonies and other orchestral works, concertos, large choral works, songs, chamber music, and a rather comprehensive mix of his solo piano works. There are multiple performers, so that even in the piano works, you’ll hear a number of different pianists, including Pollini, Ashkenazy and others. Not all the works are the best of Schumann. As an example, Karajan does a much better job of the symphonies than does Gardner included in this set. The Lieder (songs) are very compelling, and offer a superb portrayal of Schumann at his best. Before my listening of Karajan’s rendering of the Schumann symphonies, I have never paid much attention to the works of Schumann as they have tended to be bland. Between Karajan, Kempff, and this set of Schumann Masterworks, life is brought into the Schumann compositions that has stirred my interest in this composer. This set contains 35 CDs and is well worth the price that one can find on the internet.

This is not a comprehensive collection of Schumann’s piano works, but rather an assembly of his most popular romantic works. Kempff performs flawlessly and with spirit, making them appealing. As with his Schubert performances, Kempff is one of the best interpreters of the early Romantic composers, and deserves a careful listening. This set consists of 4 CDs, and is usually sold quite reasonably through Amazon.com.