Piano Protagonists - a triumph for Orion Weiss

Pianist Orion Weiss assembled this program around a theme - the composer responding to a specific source of inspiration with a virtuoso composition. It's an interesting idea, and it yielded an album that virtually spans the Romantic Period. 

The earliest work is Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” by Frederic Chopin. And the inspiration was Mozart's music. Nikolai Rimmsky-Korakov's Piano Concerto in C-sharp minor was composed in homage to Franz Liszt, who had recently died. 

And Eric Wolfgang Korngold's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in C-sharp minor was commissioned by Paul Wittgenstein. This virtuoso pianist had lost the use of his right arm in the First World War. He was determined to rebuild his career by commissioning the best composers in Europe to compose music for him. Korngold's was the first such commission. 

I really enjoyed Orion Weiss' thoughtful performances. While each work is full of technical challenges (and fireworks), they're never the point with Weiss. His playing brings out the underlying thematic organization of each work. And he adapts his technique to suit the piece.

The Chopin variations retain a certain Mozartian elegance and the feathery keystrokes that Chopin was known for. In the Rimsky-Korsakov work, I heard joy and exuberance -- just what I imagine Franz Liszt feeling as he performed. 

In the Korngold concerto, I heard the struggle inherent in the music. This is a piece filled with big gestures -- gestures that Wittgenstein overcame with the sheer force of will (and incredible left-hand technique).

The Orchestra Now directed by Leon Botstein makes excellent performance partners for Weiss. While the names on the album are famous, these works aren't. This is a great opportunity to hear some finely crafted and inspired music and music-making.

Piano Protagonists: Music for Piano and Orchestra
Orion Weiss, piano
The Orchestra Now; Leon Botstein, conductor
Bridge Records 9547

Auber Overtures Volume Four - The Hits Keep Coming

Like the other three volumes, this Daniel-François-Esprit Auber release delights. Kudos to Dario Salvi for some innovative programming. Volume Four features three opera overtures, plus an unusual orchestral work. Most of these receive their world premiere recordings here. 

Fra Diavolo is Auber's best-known (and most recorded) work. Dario Salvi's interpretation of the overture compares favorably against the others I've heard. And in many ways, it's the version I prefer. Salvi has immersed himself into Auber's music -- and not just his operas. That deep understanding, I think, gives these performances an added lift. 

The overtures to the other operas don't disappoint. Le Duc d’Olonne, Le Philtre, and Actéon won't be staged at the Met anytime soon (if ever). But there's plenty of great music to enjoy in these neglected operas. Auber was a master of both grand opera and opéra-comique. He knew how to write melodies, and how to orchestrate them for his intended audience. 

Although the series is primarily about Auber's overtures, some of his other works are included. This volume features  La Fête de Versailles, ‘Divertissement de Versailles’. this 26-minute work was used to celebrate the opening of the museum at the Palace of Versailles in 1837. Auber masterfully weaves together melodies from many sources to tell the history of Versailles. 

Auber references music from the court of Louis the XIV, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, as well as -- of course -- some of his own operas. The music accompanied a masque, and so is episodic by nature. And yet it all hangs together quite well. Part of the fun of listening to this piece is finding out all the quotes and the pastiches Auber includes. It took me more than a few listens. 

The Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra under Salvi's direction has a tight, clear sound. It can be light and transparent as the music requires. But the orchestra can also deliver when darker, more dramatic sounds are needed. 

Well done. Again!   

Daniel-François-Esprit Auber: Overtures, Vol. 4
Le Duc d’Olonne, Fra Diavolo, Le Philtre, Actéon, Divertissement de Versailles
Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra; Dario Salvi, conductor
Naxos

  

July 4th Classical Music - Making a Federal Case

I've shared my thoughts many times about traditional Fourth of July classical programming. Sousa marches, Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" and -- of course-- Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" are pretty much the default. 

But there's so much more. American composers have been writing music celebrating their heritage right from the beginning. Sometimes it was expressed simply in the style of the music. Other times it was overtly patriotic in character. 

Interested in celebrating America's rich classical music heritage this holiday? Here are a few suggestions from the Federalist Era, when America first grew into its own as a new nation. 

John Antes (1740-1811)

Antes was born in Pennsylvania and served as an American Moravian missionary. The Moravians had a vibrant music tradition and kept current with European composers in the 1700s. 

Antes was also an instrument maker and is credited with making one of the earliest violas in the U.S. He composed a set of string trios in 1780. They're among the earliest American chamber works, and model Haydn's trios (written around the same time). 

William Billings (1746-1800)

Billing was born in Boston and was a tanner by trade. By avocation, he was a choral composer -- American's first. His hymns were in a new, distinctively American style, with melodies and harmonies that came from folk traditions.

Billing's music was written for amateur choirs, and distributed through hymn collections. They proved quite popular, especially in non-denominational churches that sprang up along the frontier. There were other composers of fugueing tunes, but none as popular as Billings.

"Chester" was originally a patriotic hymn for the new nation, composed in the 1770s.

Benjamin Carr (1768-1831)

Carr emigrated from England in 1793. He became a prominent figure in Philadelphia's music scene. He was a sought-after teacher of piano, organ, and voice. He founded the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia and ran a music publishing company. One of his publications was awarded the very first copyright in 1794 awarded under the then-new U.S. Constitution

His 1794 Federal Overture incorporates many of the tunes Americans were singing at the time. 

Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809)

Like Carr, Reinagle was born in England and emigrated to the States. He settled in Philadelphia and continued Carr's work. Reinagle introduced American audiences to the music of Mozart and Haydn. He also produced over 75 opera ballets in Philadelphia.

Reinagle was a friend of George Washington and wrote music in his honor, as well as a presidential march for another friend -- James Madison. Reinagle's Federal March was published in 1788.

#ClassicsaDay #SchumannsCircle Week 4

The Classics a Day team honors Robert Schumann's birthday (June 8, 1810). The theme for June is Schumann and his circle. During the month, you're encouraged to share works written by Schumann, his friends, his colleagues, his rivals -- and of course, his wife.

Here are my #ClassicsaDay selections for the last week of #SchumannsCircle.

6/28/21 Joseph Joachim plays Brahms Hungarian Dance #1

Joachim recorded this work by his close friend on August 17, 1903. It was as part of a session for  Gramophone and Typewriter Ltd.

6/29/21 Ignaz Moscheles: Piano Concerto No. 6 "Fantastique"

Moscheles, who had studied with Beethoven, didn't think much of younger composers like Chopin. But he did admire Schumann very much.

6/30/21 Niccolo Paganini: Caprice No. 24

Schumann saw Paganini perform in 1830. He wrote, "How he cast his magnetic chains into the listeners lightly and invisibly so that the latter swayed from one side to the other!"

Josef Schelb Orchestra Music Vol. 2 features concertos

German composer Josef Schelb lost most of his manuscripts in a Berlin air raid during World War II. He made up for those losses after the war, creating 150 new works between 1949 and his death in 1977. This album features three of his post-war concertos.

The Kammersymphonie Berlin seems the ideal ensemble for this music. Schelb's music has a stripped-down sound to it. The ensemble's tightly focused sound adds intensity to the stripped-down nature of Schelb's works. 

Overall, Schelb's music bears some resemblance to that of Paul Hindemith. One of the real values of this release is hearing how Schelb moves beyond Hindemith as time moves on. 

The 1949 Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra is the most Expressionistic work of the three. Schelb seems to use Hindemith's concepts of tonality in this piece. Pianist Tatjana Blome performs with authority and energy. 

The Viola Concerto, completed in 1956, has a different character. Schelb's use of chromaticism is much more aggressive. Although there's still a tonal framework, the music has an unsettled quality to it that works quite well. Violist Sarina Zickgraf delivers an engaging performance that sounds organic to that of the orchestra. 

Schelb's Concerto for Cor Anglais and String Orchestra was written in 1970. The chromatic elements seemed to have softened. They're still present but used to create consonances rather than dissonances. 

Dominik Wollenbweber plays the cor anglais with supple lyricism. Even the most angular of Schelb's melodies have a smoothness to them that softens their sharp edges. 

Josef Schelb: Orchestral Music, Volume 2
Orchestral Music, Volume Two
Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra; Concerto for Viola and String Orchestra; Concerto for Cor Anglais and String Orchestra
Tatjana Blome, piano; Sarina Zickgraf, viola; Dominik Wollenweber, cor anglais
Kammersymphonie Berlin; Jürgen Bruns, conductor
Toccata Classics TOCC 0604