CD and Book Reviews - my/maSCENA

Lebrecht’s Album of the Week: Christopher Rouse – 5th symphony (Naxos)

By Norman Lebrecht on 24 July 2020 CD and Book Reviews, Lebrecht Weekly

When Christopher Rouse died ten months ago, aged 70, it seemed to spell the end of a line of American composers who placed the symphony at the heart of their art. And not just Americans. Apart from Kalevi Aho and Leif Segerstam in Finland, David Matthews and Philip Sawyers in the UK and one or two Russians and Germans, composers seem to have given up on the symphony in the 21st symphony. The assumption is that audiences have lost interest. Is that really the case? In these Covid times, we have no way of judging except on record. Rouse, an…

CD Reviews

By LSM Calendar on 15 July 2020 CD and Book Reviews

André Mathieu: Concerto de Québec and works for two pianos Alain Lefèvre et Hélène Mercier, pianos. Warner Classics 9029548866 Total time: 65:24 ★★★★★ For his second album on Warner Classics, Alain Lefèvre returns to repertoire he knows well, but this time with an accomplice, Hélène Mercier, in works for two pianos by André Mathieu. We can strongly recommend this album, which includes a new transcription of the famous Concerto de Québec as well as works written when the prodigy was as young as five. The program begins with the Rhapsodie romantique, which bears witness to the composer’s virtuosity (octaves, chromaticism,…

National Arts Centre Orchestra and Alexander Shelley : “Darlings of the Muses” (Analekta)

By Arthur Kaptainis on 21 May 2020 CD and Book Reviews

“Darlings of the Muses.” Brahms: Symphony No. 1. Schumann: Symphony No. 1. Clara Schumann: Piano Concerto Op. 7. Gabriela Montero: Five Improvisations. Gabriela Montero, piano. National Arts Centre Orchestra/Alexander Shelley. Analekta AN 2 8877-8. Total Time: 122:17. Clara, Johannes and Robert (Schumann, Brahms and Schumann) have long been a source of voyeuristic fascination. In 1947 there was a sentimental movie, Song of Love, supposedly based on the triangle. Now there is Darlings of the Muses, a serious-minded album from the National Arts Centre Orchestra under Alexander Shelley combining orchestral music by all three with a set of improvised piano miniatures intended to…

Coronation gets the royal treatment

By La Scena Musicale Team on 2 March 2020 CD and Book Reviews

by Paul-James Dwyer Le Sacre Royal de Louis XIV (the Coronation of Louis XIV). Antoine Boesset, Etienne Mouliné, Jean Veillot, Roland de Lassus, Henry Du Mont, Francesco Cavalli, Charles d’Helfer, Anonymous. Les Pages du Centre de musique baroques de Versailles/Olivier Schneebeli. Ensemble Correspondances/ Sébastien Daucé. Harmonia Mundi CV5017 Total time: 108 minutes. Ensemble Correspondances seems to move from summit to summit. With the 2018 DVD Ballet Royal de la Nuit release, they vaulted into international stardom, and a subsequent invitation to founder/director Sébastien Daucé to direct the London Early Music Festival in 2018. Such is the finesse that the viewer…

Record Roundup : Continental drifts

By Marc Chénard on 2 December 2019 CD and Book Reviews, Scena Jazz

American Grooves Michael Formanek Very Practical Trio Even Better – Intakt CD335 While the musicians on this recording are identified with the experimental jazz scene, they have produced an album accessible enough for a more mainstream-minded audience. Alto saxophonist Tim Berne and the leader of this date, double bassist Michael Formanek, are established outcats, while guitarist Mary Halvorson is a new force to reckon with on the New York scene. From the first notes of this 57-minute side, this unit hits its stride and maintains the momentum through eight pieces by the bassist and one cover, Scott La Faro’s Jade…

CD Review – Mia Brentano’s River of Memories: A Mystery Trip

By Justin Bernard on 21 November 2019 CD and Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Mia Brentano’s River of Memories: A Mystery Trip Benyamin Nuss, piano, Andy Miles, clarinets & bass clarinets and friends Mons Records, 2019, MR874621 After Hidden Sea, released in 2018, Mia Brentano comes back with a new album, named River of Memories: A Mystery Trip. Over the course of 15 pieces, the composer alternates between a vast array of styles. From various forms of jazz, using piano and clarinet, to almost pop-sounding music, using electric guitar; from aquatic sounds – underwater and rain, more specifically – to what we would be tempted to call “modern music.” With its warm and sensual…

CD Reviews

By La Scena Musicale Team on 6 November 2019 CD and Book Reviews

Shostakovich plays Shostakovich Dmitri Shostakovich, Iosif Volovnik, Daniil Shafran, David Oistrakh, Maxim Shostakovich, Miloš Sádlo, Nina Dorliak, Zara Dolukhanova, Aleksei Maslennikov, Mieczysław Weinberg, Alexander Gauk, Samuil Samosud Melodiya MELCD1002596 Five CDs. Total time: 5:42:00 5/5 Most records are disposable. A few are memorable, a small handful are treasurable and every now and then now one comes along that is indelible. This box is something else. I think this is the first time I have ever described a record set as indispensable. The five CDs collect all the Russian state recordings of Dmitri Shostakovich playing his own music. The composer was…

Critiques CD Reviews

By La Scena Musicale Team on 3 October 2019 CD and Book Reviews

Skye Consort & Emma Björling Leaf Music, LM225 4/5 Sentez l’air frais du nord s’insinuer dans vos oreilles avec cette rencontre remarquable entre la chanteuse suédoise Emma Björling et l’ensemble Skye Consort formé de Seán Dagher (bouzouki, banjo, voix), Alex Kehler (nyckelharpa, violon, voix) et Amanda Keesmaat (violoncelle, voix). Né grâce à la complicité des artistes et au retard fortuit de l’avion d’Emma lors d’un retour de concert au Québec, l’album Skye Consort & Emma Björling compile des airs traditionnels scandinaves, anglo-saxons et acadiens ponctués de compositions instrumentales. L’album est bien équilibré dans le choix des pièces; le groove fleuri…

Lise Davidsen/Renee Fleming (Decca)

By Norman Lebrecht on 7 June 2019 CD and Book Reviews, Lebrecht Weekly

A soprano at the start of her journey cuts a debut album as another reaches what must be the end. The contrasts are simply too compelling to ignore. Lise Davidsen, a Norwegian, came to attention in the Kathleen Ferrier competition four years ago, though her voice is more Flagstad than Ferrier. This is a genuine Wagnerian instrument, fully formed at 32 years old and equal to a massive orchestra. Two Tannhäuser arias are surmounted here with what sounds like nonchalance, a walk in the Bayreuth park in a really pleasant breeze. The shortcomings are exposed in a set of Richard…

Off the Record: Four Pianos All in a Row

By Marc Chénard on 4 June 2019 CD and Book Reviews, Scena Jazz

Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn: The Transitory Poems (ECM Records, ECM 2644) Nine years after their first concert performance, duo keyboardists Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn have finally released their recording debut. Just shy of 75 minutes, the album captures a performance staged in Budapest a little over a year ago. Eight tracks flow almost seamlessly, the pauses between them so short that the listener barely has the time to take a single breath. The players never lose focus, as they are so in tune with each other and so able to compose on the spur of the moment. Blessed as they…

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Lebrecht’s Album of the Week: Christopher Rouse – 5th symphony (Naxos)

CD Reviews

National Arts Centre Orchestra and Alexander Shelley : “Darlings of the Muses” (Analekta)

Coronation gets the royal treatment

Record Roundup : Continental drifts

CD Review – Mia Brentano’s River of Memories: A Mystery Trip

CD Reviews

Critiques CD Reviews

Lise Davidsen/Renee Fleming (Decca)

Off the Record: Four Pianos All in a Row

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