Review: Carl Ruggles Compilation Re-Issued!

The Complete Music of Carl Ruggles
Judith Blegen soprano. John Kirkpatrick, piano. Gregg Smith Singers,
Buffalo Philharmonic/Michael Tilson Thomas
Other Minds 1020/1021-2
Disc One Total Time:  43:33
Disc Two Total Time:  41:03
Recording:   ****/****
Performance: (*)***/****

In 1980, Columbia Records released an historic set (M234591) of recordings featuring the music of Carl Ruggles (1876-1971).  Other Minds has now licensed the recordingsfor this very special presentation. Ruggles’ music is often linked with Ives (who he corresponded with) dueto its intensity of dense textures and more “extreme” modernist approach tocomposition.  Really it is simply thatthe rugged individualism of the music and style simply does not fall so easilyinto pre-existent (and dare we say European categorization?) that causesRuggles to not be easily placed within our own music history.  That and the limited output often tends tomarginalize him (though it does not seem to have caused the same to happen toWebern!).

Ruggles studied composition with one of America’s firstcomposition teachers at Harvard, John Knowles Paine whose music is firmlyrooted in 19^th century Romanticism. He would find himself in Winona, Minnesota, in 1907 where he wasinstrumental in starting the short-lived Winona symphony and where he wouldoften sign letters to friends back East with “yours in exile.”  His music found some important advocates inHenry Cowell and Edgar Varese but still struggled to find an audience.  Performers John Kirkpatrick and MichaelTilson Thomas continued his advocacy as the 20^th century came to aclose.  There is very little opportunityto track down Ruggles music on disc.  Infact, other than this particular collection, his two important orchestral works(Men and Mountains, Sun-Treader) appear on a very goodLondon/Decca release from 1998 with Christoph von Dohnanyi or in the less thanideal release on CRI with William Strickland recorded in Poland.

The primary output of his music lands from the mid-to-late1910s through 1958.  He essentiallystopped composing at the death of his wife in 1957, the Exaltation for brass, chorus, and orchestra being the last work hewould finish which is dedicated to her memory. To help provide a great context for listening to Ruggles’s music, therecording is essentially arranged chronologically.  This results in chamber music and orchestralmusic being in alternation on the albums. It also allows comparison to changes that happened to works such as Angels (heard in two different versions),the early version of Men which wouldfind its way into the larger three-movement Menand Mountains and both the orchestral and piano versions of Evocations—both equally fascinating.  Taken as a whole you will not likely findsuch an amazing attention to the works of any composer equaled elsewhere whichmakes the re-issue here all the more important.

The accompanying booklet is simply beyond exceptional.  It includes the original liner notes byMichael Tilson Thomas (featuring many fun quotes by Ruggles) and in-depthanalysis of the music by Kirkpatrick. Also included is a reprint of Lou Harrison’s fabulous essay about thecomposer.  In all some 33 pages ofreading material await the student and music lover willing to enter in toRuggles’ world. 

This is not a recording one can just sit through withoutsome guidance and having the notes readily available will make this far moreaccessible to those who are willing to make the effort.  The performances of the orchestral works byDohnanyi and another Tilson Thomas one with the Boston Symphony may be slightlybetter than those presented here, but the reissue and packaging is simplystellar and having these releases back in the catalogue is quite welcome.

Review: Sherlock Series 2 (Arnold/Price)

Silva's release of Sherlock-SeriesTwo comes quite close on the heals of the first series’ music release.  The update for the show finds the classicdetective and partner Watson placed in modern day London.  The scores are by David Arnold and MichaelPrice and for this release the music from the three stories are placed withinthe presentation for each respective episode.

The first selection of music comes from “A Scandal inBelgravia.”  There is a beautiful violinselection which opens the disc as “Irene’s Theme.”  “Potential Clients” has a somewhat lighterfeel that falls well into place with other BBC television music for similarprograms.  More electronics appear in thefollowing “Status Symbols.”  And thatessentially provides a window into the elements of what will be part of theepisode’s score represented by seven tracks here.  As with the first series, the music hereprovides a slight nod to the Zimmer score for the Robert Downey, Jr. filmversions, but the highlight this time out are the more pronounced thematicideas that appear and are shaped throughout each episode while weaving inimportant thematic elements for the primary characters from series one.

The center piece of the album is music for an episodeadapted from one of Doyle’s most famous novels, The Hound(s) of the Baskervilles—tweaked to be plural in thisupdate.  Seven selections provide a goodoverall musical suite to the music from this episode.  There is certainly a darker quality to theselections chosen from this episode. Intriguing manipulated sound elements enter into the musical texturehere cast against breathy flute writing and other more horror-music like designideas.  A good balance is struck betweenthe eerier musical moments and more traditional thematic material, itselfimpacted by the narrative developments. 

The final five tracks come from The Reichenbach Fall episode. For this episode, there are some additional sound-effect type ideas andmore electronic music with design elements often hinting at the slipperiness ofMoriarty who figures prominently in the episode.  The music thus takes on a fare morecontemporary feel that one hears in British television series such as Being Human, Primeval, or Torchwood—allof whose music has equally found its way to disc.  The music for this particular episodecontinues that descent into darkness and eeriness hinted at in the previousepisode’s music.

The organization of this disc into identified episodescertainly makes it an easier recommendation for non fans than its predecessor,and the result is that the music feels better dramatically than from the seriesone presentation.  The episodes themselvesdo hold great opportunity for darker dramatic moments at any rate well-servedhere.  It is an improvement from alistening point of view at any rate.  Eitherway, both releases feature fine work by Arnold and Price.  Note that the collaborative effort here ismaintained by not identifying which composer wrote a specific cue.  Another fine release of well-crafted dramatictelevision scoring.

Review: Shostakovich's 9th & 15th Symphonies

Shostakovich: Symphonies 9 & 15
Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, SWR/Andrey Boreyko
Hanssler Classic 93.284
Total Time:  71:30
Recording:   ****/****
Performance: ****/****

After essentially 5 massive symphonies, Shostakovich’s ninthoften comes as a bit of a surprise to those who only know the big WWIIworks.  His lesser known last symphony,the fifteenth, holds an equally unusual place in the repertoire.  But in Andrey Boreyko’s new release, thesetwo seemingly different works are paired together for the first time in whatturns out to be a revealing pairing. Both works might be said to belong more to the sardonic, neo-classicaland modern style’s of the 1920s, they are certainly infused with some of thatwit, form, and melodic construction.  Theemotional impact of the works at first might seem rather distant as well.  Yet in these performances there is moreweight given to the music that allows us to hear them a bit differently.

Every composer of symphonies feels an extra responsibilityperhaps when they arrive at their ninth work in the genre.  Shostakovich no doubt wondered about theplace of this work both within his oeuvre and life.  The piece had been requested/commissioned bythe Stalin government to celebrate the victory over Nazi Germany.  The expectation, in the wake of suchmonumental works as the seventh and eighth symphonies was that this new workwould have the same weight, aspiring to Beethovian heights.  Such expectations would be disappointed.  In fact, the whole work plays out to about25-26 minutes, shorter than whole movements from some of the previoussymphonies.  The first movement has adecidedly martial-like trumpet idea, but there is a bit of a bite to the melodyand the harmonies and accompanying orchestration seem more to deny any sort ofreal celebration.  The closely-knitsecond movement, with sinewy wind writing seems to suggest a landscapelittered, with the dead and with the destruction of the war.  The plodding movement might be perceived evenas soldiers returning home.  Not quitethe celebratory victory in this chromatically powerful music.  The appearance of a macabre circus march inthe center of the third movement “Presto” also suggests the inability to lookhard at the cost of the war itself.  Thejoyfulness of the movement might be the play of children whose innocence isperhaps shattered by reality itself as the work moves along.  In short, Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony has the sort of depth that one hears in thoseearlier works, but perhaps touched by the sort of enthusiasm and youthful hopesof his very first effort.  Boreyko’sapproach is to go at the heart of this piece. He does not treat it as parody or satire, but as a serious reflection onwhat Shostakovich’s views were as the war came to an end.   By doing this the connection to thoseprevious works becomes quite clear. Rather than being easily dismissed as an unworthy symphony, theperformance here allows for a greater insight into its place withinShostakovich’s life and work.  Afterhearing this new recording you will feel as if you head has been in the sand upuntil now with most previous interpretations. 

Such a thought certainly follows into the performance of theFifteenth Symphony (1971).  Interestingly set in a key a tritone apartfrom the ninth.  (The ninth is in“Eb-Major” the fifteenth in “A Major”.)  Atfirst hearing, this particular symphony may feel a bit out of place aswell.  One certainly must know theirmusic history well to get at the heart of the piece.  The music is practically a catalogue ofShostakovich’s own musical life with quotes from musical literature, orapproaches, certainly perceived as “decadent” Western music.  The opening melodic idea bears someresemblance to a theme from the 9^th and even the trumpet calls,including the melody from Rossini’s WilliamTell, announce that something different is happening here.  The appearance of these various quotes, bothfrom Shostakovich’s own work and the likes of Bach, Beethoven, Schoenberg, andWagner, point to a more reflective testament of the composer’s place within thehistory of music.  The choices themselveshave implications lost on the casual listener as the works chosen includepieces that were significant signposts in Soviet life under Stalin.  There is also that sense of needing tosuggest what might have been sacrificed by the art purged before WWII and thefollowing suppressions.  Quotes from the14^th symphony and even the 7^th, the latter set againstthe death motif from Wagner’s Die Walkurecreate an atmosphere that is biographical both for the composer and the Sovietpeople.  The Fifteenth Symphony is a work that requires some dedication to themusic of Shostakovich.  Awareness ofprior work certainly will lead to a deeper appreciation that eschews the sensethat this is a pastiche.  One certainlycan enjoy the wit, thematic quotes, and new dressing in the work on its ownwithout concerning themselves with the context of the piece.  At roughly 44 minutes, it certainly has aweightier feel.

One of the great assets of this new Hanssler release iscertainly the recording of the orchestra itself.  The detail and balance across the ensemble issimply amazing.  Whether a wind solo or abrass statement, one hears these perfectly in the sound image allowing to heareverything without needing to constantly shift volume control to pick outsofter sections.  The solos are quitebeautifully performed and you can hear the way the whole ensemble responds tothe interpretation of articulation.  The“Largo” of the Ninth Symphony isperhaps one of the clearest places to actually hear this as the crisp attacksof the first movement become translated into a new melodic line in bassoonmatched in strings.  Tempos are equallywell thought out with the slower tempos perhaps being just a tad slower thanmost recorded versions (though really imperceptibly so).  There are many highlights worth revisiting inthis new release which was recorded live (though one cannot tell until theappreciative applause at the end of the final movements).

Boreyko’s first Shostakovich recording was of the intense Fourth Symphony, itself rarelyperformed.  If he intends to survey theentire symphonic cycle, he is intriguingly tackling those works that are worthrethinking historically both within the development of music during the Sovietperiod and the growing understanding of Shostakovich’s place and life.  The performances are perfect in their shapingof drama and you will likely be hard pressed to find better performances ofeither of these works.  Hisinterpretation may even reveal new depths to pieces often quickly dismissed.

Review: Robert Fuchs' Serenades (A master teacher's famous last Serenades)

Robert Fuchs: Serenades 3-5
Cologne Chamber Orchestra/Christian Ludwig
Naxos 8.572607
Total Time:  68:54
Recording:   ****/****
Performance: ****/****

You will perhaps never read a review of any of thesecomposer’s works and see the name Robert Fuchs (1847-1927): Enescu, Korngold,Mahler, Schmidt, Schreker, Sibelius, Wolf, or Zemlinsky.  Each of these composers were pupils of RobertFuchs at the Vienna Conservatory, one of the great composition teachers of the19^th century.  Brahms himselfwas an advocate of Fuchs music which should also certainly have someweight.  And one period critic pointed tohis influence in Mahler’s second symphony! Though Fuchs music was somewhat popular in his own day, it was already losingfavor by the end of his death and even biographical musicological resourcesdismiss him.  Even today there are a mere26 recordings of Fuchs’ music in the catalog. The first serenade only received its US premiere in 2009!  His three symphonies have yet to make it todisc and would indeed be fascinating to hear against the work of hiscontemporaries.  The five serenades werehis best known works (he was sometimes called the “Serenader Fox”) and they havenow been surveyed for Naxos by the Cologne Chamber Orchestra of which this isthe second disc containing the last three works.

The Serenade No. 3,Op. 21 (1874) is cast in four movements. Some period context is perhaps appropriate to get a sense of where thiswork falls historically.  The year 1874saw the completion of the fourth symphonies of both Bruckner and Dvorak, Grieg’sfirst take on his incidental music for PeerGynt, and Smetana had begun work on his MaVlast and Tchaikovsky his first piano concerto.  Dovrak’s own Serenade for Strings would appear the following year.  Into this amazingly fertile musical milieucomes this third serenade.  It opens witha delicate “Romanze” and is followed by a fine minuet.  Sibelius’ ValseTriste could certainly said to be a much later kindred spirit of thisopening movement which does seriously make one think of that composer’s musicin its opening bars.  The second movementfinds us a bit closer to that of Brahms own first orchestral serenade from1857-58.  The third movement featuressome quite fascinating string writing and a light march-like main theme withinteresting harmonic ideas.  The finalmovement is a bit of exotic writing cast in a fiery Hungarian-influenced style.  The latter no doubt bringing full circle thework’s dedication to Her Imperial Highness Elizabeth of Austria.

The fourth serenade appeared some twenty years later in 1895and perhaps more adequately reflects the multi-movement form with five distinctmovements.  A lot had happened musicallyin those preceding twenty years with the form of the symphony being expandedand the early Impressionist music of France beginning to appear.  Mahler’s third and Rachmaninov’s firstsymphonies belong to this year, as does some of Sibelius’ Leminkainen movementsand Richard Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel.  The latter more definitely hearkening to thechanges in Austrian music to come.  Withinthe confines of this serenade most admired by Brahms, one finds some musicalstamps that would become part of the styles we hear in Hugo Wolf and FranzSchmidt.  The emotional heart of theserenade, the “Adagio,” would no doubt be of interest to Schmidt with itsharmonic modulations becoming a hallmark of that composer’s style.  The string writer here is a bit denser andchromatic harmony is also much more in the forefront of often gorgeous melodicideas from the start of the opening “Andante sostenuto.”  The second movement is a scherzo-like “Allegrettograzioso.”  The “Menuett” certainly isthe most gorgeous melodies in the suite with beautiful horn writing.  The latter becomes a part of thechromatically rich “Adagio” in ways that certainly have one thinking Mahler attimes.

The final serenade appeared shortly after its predecessorand is for small orchestra.  The fourmovements follow a similar pattern of slow opening movement, a more substantial“Allegro grazioso” and brief “allegretto” before a quick-paced finale.  As much fin-de-siecle that one might apply tothe previous serenade, here the music seems like a more reflective look back atthe century as Brahms is certainly a worthy contemporary sharing this work’ssound with a bit of Johann Strauss referenced stylistically in the concludingmovement.

The Cologne Chamber Orchestra perfectly captures this greatmusic in fabulous performances that are well-recorded.  They play these pieces not as overtlyRomantic Brahmsian knockoffs, but for the great works that they are giving themthe sort of emotional weight and depth one expects in the serenade form andwhich can be heard in performances of similar works by Brahms, Dvorak, orTchaikovsky that became the more familiar expressions of this 19^thcentury multi-movement form.  Yet, Fuch’sserenades are certainly more fascinating to hear than Brahms own massiveapproaches to the form—of course, in Brahms case these are more like symphoniesin all but title!  The interesting shiftsof harmony and melodic content make the works here all integral discoveries toa deeper appreciation of Austrian symphonic music.  Closer familiarity will certainly deepen theawareness of the music by Fuchs’ more famous pupils, some of who would changeour perceptions of melody, enrich our harmony, and even live to influencepopular music well into our own century.

Highly recommended!

Review: Roy Goodman Does Mozart & Beethoven Ballets

Mozart/Beethoven: Ballet Music
Vasterås Sinfonietta/Roy Goodman
dB Productions 148
Total Time:  77:51
Recording:   ****/****
Performance: ****/****

The present release is an import from Sweden with a photo onits cover of Roy Goodman that looks like it belongs on a disc of swing musicfrom the 1940s.  That dance-master styleshot, though somewhat odd, is a bit appropriate to an album of ballet music insome ways.  The Vasterås Sinfoniettaconsists of “half-time” musicians who come together for this chamber ensemblethroughout the year.  Their attention to performancepractice of the 18^th and 19^th centuries is perhaps one ofmany remarkable traits that is on display in the present recording.

Ballet in the 18^th century was in many respects atrue cosmopolitan affair finding its main outlets in the  bustling cities of London, Paris, andVienna.  Part of this was due to one ofthe great early masters, Jean-Georges Noverre. Noverre would befriend Mozart and commission eventually his Les Petits Riens (1778).  The ballet music from Idomeneo (1781), rarelyheard in concert or on disc, makes for an interesting pairing with a later workby Beethoven, the two works some twenty years apart.  Beethoven would be more fortunate inobtaining a commission for his Creaturesof Prometheus from the Viennese court. But though both may claim a central home, they are quite distinct.

Mozart was no stranger to dance music having composedhundreds of minuets, contredanses, marches, serenades and other smaller “background”social music.  But the chance to includea ballet in his opera was part of a social expectation influenced by a Frenchpractice where ballets often were inserted into operas.  Many times the ballet would have nothing todo with the actual plot, or even have music by the same composer.  In Mozart’s case, he was able to compose themusic himself and there are four movements that are the result (K. 367).  If one is familiar with Rameau’s music, thereis certainly a sense that Mozart had the style in the back of his mind whenwriting these pieces.  The first “chaconne”is strikingly in a High Baroque style, minus a harpsichord continuo.  Paired winds are far less common in the musicthan one might expect and only gradually does the music seem to move closer tomore “Classical” style.  In fact, themusic owes a bit perhaps to Haydn’s music from the previous decade.

Beethoven’s ballet for dance master Salvatore Vigano is alsounique.  Vigano had developed a sort ofhybrid of mime and dance allowing the accompanying music to work quite similarto the way one perceives the underscore in a film—though far more prominent.  From a musical point of view, Creatures is most fascinating.  It too bears some resemblance to Haydn’s later,more firmly “Classical” style.  Haydn’s Creation oratorio was actually performedin the same venue as Beethoven’s work only two years prior.  The contrast in paired winds playing verymuch like one would expect is set against some quite beautiful solo writing forthem all.  And the colors as they arecombined with one another and with different string voices is quiteexquisite.  Something also worth notingis that this is one of the very few works where Beethoven wrote for harp whichappears first in the fifth movement with delicate and gorgeous solos for eachwind instrument.  The finale of theballet features a theme that would appear in the great conclusion to his Eroica symphony.

Pairing these two works together is quite revealing.  For in the Mozart we can hear that connectionto the Baroque and the bridge into the Classical style.  Too often, Mozart’s music tends to be used asexamples of form alone and we often miss the intriguing way his orchestralwriting can be very rooted in late-Baroque style.  It is something that actually occurs in hismore mature music whereas his early symphonies might perhaps be said to be morea Rococo effort linked more to the likes of J.C. Bach than his father.  Beethoven’s music too provides a fascinating listenas we hear classical orchestration quite firmly, with many of his dramatictouches beginning to shift into what we will eventually hear as forebears ofRomantic style.  Certainly the tempest ofthe introduction is one such place and the 14^th movement “allegrocon brio-presto” could easily fall into one of the first two symphonies.  Clarinetists will certainly wish the composerhad written a concerto for them with some of the great solo passages thatappear in the ballet (especially one in the “Solo della Signore Cassentini”movement).  Here in particular Beethoven’sdramatic style is very much a part of this music with punctuated drums andpercussion, and those great crescendos into brass fanfare sectionsforeshadowing the great orchestral works to come.

What makes these connections even easier to hear is thechamber orchestra itself which consists of some 30 players.  The Vasterås Sinfonietta certainly is on finefooting here in music that really showcases their sections and illustratestheir ability to capture the style of the period well.  The result is that many of the textures arecrystal clear and exposed in ways that allow a deeper appreciation for themusic itself.  Roy Goodman’s recordedrepertoire surely prepared him for such an understanding of capturing theessence of the style with tempos that work well for the music and bring out thetext without too much over-interpretation. There have been a few recordings of the Mozart over the years, includingperiod instrument ones (this is not a period instrument performance) and whilesome very good recordings of the Beethoven appeared in the mid 1990s, most ofthose recordings (save perhaps the one with the Orpheus Orchestra) featured farbigger ensembles than is heard here.  Andone might expect that the performances emphasize the more Romantic tendenciesof this music.  The overture has anynumber of fine performances by ensembles big and small.  But nowhere can you hear these two workstogether and performed with such amazing attention to period style and detail.

Highly recommended!