November 24, 2014

  • More New Music, and Some Stravinsky, from Seattle

     

    Raskatov: Piano Concerto; Stravinsky: Rite of Spring
    Tomoko Mukaiyama, piano. Seattle Symphony/Ludovic Morlot
    Seattle Symphony Media 1005
    Total Time:  63:19
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    The Seattle Symphony continues to church out one release after another from last concert season as they show off their new music director Ludovic Morlot.  A number of these releases have been reviewed here as they have tended to blend new works with classic repertoire making for some very interesting and notable recordings.  The present release pairs a brand new work by a fairly unknown composer alongside one of the great 20th Century ballet masterpieces.

    Alexander Raskatov (b. 1953) is part of the post-1950 Eastern Europe composers that explore more modern and avant-garde styles of composition (a la Schnittke).  The music exhibits fascinating orchestral touches and a surprisingly emotional depth within the dense harmonic writing that is balanced by sparser musical textures.  The present work, was part of a commission by the Seattle Symphony with the Netherland’s Residentie Orkest for the soloist on this release, Tomoko Mukaiyama.  The subtitle, “Night Butterflies” came to the composer after his visit to a butterfly greenhouse.  The work was composed between 2012-2013 and premiered this past March—captured in the present recording.  Rather than create a traditional structured concerto, Raskatov instead takes his inspiration more from piano cycles like Schumann’s Papillons or Prokofiev’s Visions fugitives.  The result is an amazing exploration of the piano across each of these often fleeting movements that move from delicate ideas to rapid passagework; the latter on great display in the intense “Furioso” fifth movement.  One would also expect a sense of hovering, or fluttering ideas and they are certainly on display here.  As is often the case even with the new modernists, there is a folksong quotation that is part of the final movement which is the emotional release of the work and includes an interesting surprise.  Elena Dubinets provides an interesting program note that helps guide the listener through this interesting work.  The explanations here may provide a bit more of a guide to what might otherwise be perceived as a dramatic and at times cerebral work without much pulling it all together on its surface.  The music does tend to fall into a category of composers whose style often has more personal implications that inform the music without necessarily being programmatic on the surface.  Much praise to Morlot for providing a committed performance and to the Seattle players for the courage to let a live recording of a new work out into the world.  It is a continued testament to the great orchestra there in the Pacific Northwest.

    The decision to pair this “neo-modern” work with the modern/primitive style of the 1920s is an interesting one.  There are many recordings of The Rite of Spring and a live one (recorded this past June as part of a presentation of 3 of the composer’s ballets!) allows for a bit more excitement than one might capture in a pure studio recording.  It was the season closer.  What is really helpful is that each section of the ballet is given its own track which makes this release very useful for educators and listeners wanting to closely examine the work.  Fans of the orchestra will want to compare this performance to one conducted by Gerard Schwarz and recently reissued on Naxos.  This performance is stunningly captured here sonically with low and high ends well balanced.  Crisp articulation and excellent accents make this an engaging performance.  The “Dance of the Young Girls” is really stunning with Stravinsky’s music with its rounds and Impressionistic style blended with modernist accents coming through really well.  The final “Dance of the Earth” from part one is a swirling exciting conclusion that builds very well as those ostinato patterns form the foundation for what is over them, though personally it feels like they needed to come out just a bit more at the beginning.  The “Introduction” to part 2 is really excellent (though with just a couple of slight ensemble issues).  Part two is equally well done with an exciting conclusion in the “Sacrificial Dance” full of energy and an enthusiastic crowd applauding at the end.

    So, while many will pick this up to experience Raskatov’s concerto, the Stravinsky will be a nice surprise.  The latter is an exciting performance that is pulled together from the concert performances (with a couple of subtle edits just barely audible).  It may not be the “best” of the lot, but it certainly will hold its own with this exciting performance that must certainly have left the orchestra’s fans ready to get their season tickets for the coming year!