Reviews in August 1996

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1759 - 1791)

Piano Quartet No.1 in G minor, K478; No.2 in E flat major, K493; Horn Quintet in E flat major, K407

Clifford Curzon, piano / Amadeus Quartet / Dennis Brain, horn (K407) / Grillier Quartet (K407) (Decca 425 960 - 2)

Mozart's piano quartets have never occupied a central part of mainstream repertoire and it is puzzling to me that this should be so. These are delectable works, invigorating and invested with Mozart's inimitable cheerfulness and boundless energy. There is much beauty in these chamber works and they capture my interest and imagination few classical works have been able to.

Clifford Curzon and the Amadeus Quartet tackle these two works with in a masterly fashion, culminating in a performance which the Penguin Guide describes as overshadowing all other versions of the piano quartets in existence. It is not difficult to appreciate their enthusiasm. Clifford Curzon, as usual, is the perfect accompanist, playing with amazing elegance and beauty in both quartets. There is that indefinable aristocratic quality that I detect in his approach in his approach to Mozart that I have heard in few other pianists, save masters like Perahia and Gilels. The quartet is of course flawless and throughout the recording, they are imaginative and sympathetic.

No complains either for the Horn Quintet. Dennis Brain was something of a legend who unfortunately died prematurely in a driving accident. Despite being recorded in 1944, one quickly forgets that, so superb the mono recording is. Brain is always keen and insightful and provides a wonderfully warm and beautiful interpretation of this work together with the quartet. He is never brash but delightful in his thoughtfulness and subtlety.

This is without a doubt one of my most treasured Mozart recordings. Do not be apprehensive about the monophonic sound. The sound is first-class and the balance is as good or better than that of many contemporary recordings, with only a hint of hiss to suggest its age.

Written by Melvin Yap

Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911)

Symphony No. 9 in D

New York Philharmonic Orchestra / Kurt Masur (Teldec 4509 - 90882 - 2 )

As most classical music enthusiasts know, Mahler's Ninth Symphony is commonly viewed as a depressing, even despairing work. From the quiet of the opening off-kilter rhythmic figure, said to represent Mahler's sickly heartbeat, on to the allusion a moment later to the "farewell" motif from Beethoven's Les Adieux Sonata, you know the music inhabits a world far removed from the chipper nature of the First Symphony or from the ecstatic triumph of the Eighth. We hardly need to be told of Alban Berg's view that premonitions of death permeate the first movement, for we discern full well that the concluding Adagio depicts death itself. Yet, despite the morbid life-and-death struggle throughout the piece, despite the hints of despair and foreboding (tonality here, like life, seems to be slipping away), the work is ultimately an affirmative statement: when death finally does come it is peaceful, almost sweet, the ineluctable but myopically dreaded fate of all humankind. In short Mahler makes death, if not exactly palatable, at least acceptable.

Most conductors today catch the spirit of this work to one degree or other, but few maintain a consistent vision from beginning to end in the hour-and-a quarter-plus duration. Along the way, too many fuss with this detail or that, or offer too restrained a reading, scrupulously adhering to the composer's copious directions in the score, all right, but failing to infuse them with life. Kurt Masur, however, convincingly passes muster on this Teldec CD by finding that elusive crucial balance between the moment-to-moment happenings and the overall trajectory of the piece. He understands that the architecture of this symphony demands that the conductor not detour his reading to indulge in the least urge to italicize or exaggerate, or to overplay some climactic passage simply for its momentary effect. His pacing in the first movement is brisk, but always conveys the sense of the inexorable, the desperate. When the main theme returns at 17:56, for instance, he imparts an anxiety to it, and maintains a sense of doom to the movement's end, eschewing the common tendency here to romanticize or sentimentalize the music. In the middle movements Masur catches the diabolical elements within the mirth and repose in their correct measure. And his Adagio is rendered beautifully, with tension building in the main theme and finally yielding a powerful climax at 15:36, the subsequent struggles never having the air of calculation about them, always, however, sounding desperate, terribly sad, doomed, but richly beautiful.

This recording was derived from a live performance--or, more probably, from live performances--in April, 1994. The Teldec sound is excellent and the audience mostly quiet, miraculously so in the hushed ending. And the New York Philharmonic plays splendidly throughout, belying its reputation as the weakest of the big five American orchestras. While there are other superb Mahler Ninths--Giulini/DG, Pesek/Virgin, Bernstein/Sony & DG--this one is surely in their class. I may marginally prefer Pesek's reading over Masur's because of a slightly superior first movement. But Masur's performance has better sound, features that curious appeal that live performances so often possess, and fits on one disc (Pesek's takes two, with the Tenth's Adagio as the typical but meager filler). In sum, this disc is a winner.

Written by Robert Cummings

The Essential Kiri

Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano / Various orchestras & conductors (Decca 436 286 - 2)

If you are ever coming up with a list of top ten sopranos, this great New Zealander should make it into the list as one of the finest and most beautiful sopranos ever. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has come a long way, since her young days as a lounge singer in New Zealand. She then bravely ventured to an unknown future in London, where she had to struggle with many smaller roles in the opera houses before her big break in 1971 when she took on the role of The Countess in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro at Covent Garden. What a beautiful Countess (both physically and vocally!) she turned out to be, and from then on, her illustrious career started to take off at full steam.

Decca has always been very good at these opera compilations, and this is no exception. I am glad to find two excellent extracts of Dame Kiri's Mozart in this CD. By far her best Mozart ever, her rendition of Porgi Amor is absolutely enchanting and touchingly beautiful. She takes it a little slower than usual, and the result is nothing short of breathtaking. Dove Sono is also superbly sung, with the closing faster section sung with charisma, elegance and panache.

All the other tracks on this CD are also very fine representations of Dame Kiri's prowess. Her invitation to sing at the Royal Wedding in 1981 (never mind the couple have broken up) brought her to the attention of an even wider audience. She sang Handel's Let The Bright Seraphim. She is clean and agile in coloratura, though not as powerful or as memorable as Dame Joan Sutherland's famous account. I like her soaring vocals on Gounod's Ave Maria, Villa-Lobos' Cantilena from the Bachianas brasileiras no.5, Rachmaninov's Vocalise for voice and piano, and Micaela's Aria Je ne dis que rien ne m'epouvante (from Bizet's Carmen). Handel's Messiah is also represented here by a surprisingly straightforward and poised account of I Know That My Redeemer Liveth.

The Puccini and Verdi extracts suit her less well, with Vissi d'arte a little on the bland side, though unfailingly elegant and beautiful. She falls short of credible characterisation, and her roles in these Romantic arias come out somewhat two-dimensionally. But that unmistakably creamy voice is never for a moment sounding ugly. The two excerpts with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir are rather cheesy, with the orchestral and choral arrangement for Rodgers & Hammerstein's celebrated You'll Never Walk Alone somewhat overdone. But again, with such a uniquely beautiful voice, who's really complaining?

If there is ever a CD you wish to purchase to hear Dame Kiri in her full glory, then this is undoubtedly the one to check out. The recordings, which span from 1975 to 1991, are consistently clear and good.

Written by Lionel Choi

George Gershwin (1898 - 1937)

Strike up the Band

Barett / Luker / Chastain / Graae / Fowler / Goff / Lambert / Lyons / Sandish / Rocco / Chorus & Orchestra / John Mauceri (Nonesuch/Warner 7559 79273 - 2; 79473 - 4 [id.])

Being something of a Gershwin aficionado, I make it a point to collect his musicals as they are released from Elektra Nonesuch. Unfortunately, they have decided to terminate the series and I gather that there are a lot of disgruntled Gershwin fans out there who are disgusted by this decision.

'Strike up the Band' is one of my personal favourites and I never tire of re-listening to it. Even though it has an inane Wodehousian story-line consisting of ambitious cheese industrialists, amorous heroes, jingoistic military men and lovestruck maidens, the brilliant combination of Ira's ingenious lyrics and George's stimulating music make this an unforgettable hit.

Dating originally from 1927 (with a revival version in 1930), this work is very Gilbert and Sullivanish and despite its commercial failure (which I cannot really understand), it is a tour de force which deserves to be one of Gershwin's better-known works.

There are many delightful and felicitous moments in this disc, some famous, others more obscure. The very famous numbers --- The Man I Love, Strike Up The Band, I've Got A Crush On You --- are here but many other less familiar but equally deserving songs are also found in this veritable treasure trove of Gershwin's music.

My favourites include '17 and 21', 'I Mean to Say', 'Soon' and 'Hangin' Around With You'. The singers are very fine and well-suited to this genre. The orchestration is also humorous and spontaneous. The sound is transparent, well-balanced and pretty good. I cannot recommend this disc too strongly, even to non-Gershwin fans. Collectors of musicals will find this an admirable addition to their collection. This 2-disc set is also accompanied by a handsome slip-case and a magnificient 111-page booklet that tells you everything you could conceivably want to know about the musical.

Written by Melvin Yap

Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924)

Requiem, op.48; Pelléas et Mélisande, suite, op.80; Pavane, op.50

Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano (Requiem) / Sherill Milnes, baritone (Requiem) / Montreal Symphony Chorus & Orchestra / Charles Dutoit (Decca 421 440 - 2)

Fauré's Requiem is so radically different from those by his illustrious predecessors like Mozart and Brahms. Fauré sees death more as a 'joyful deliverance, an aspiration towards happiness towards the grave, rather than as a painful experience'. The parish priest disapproved of these ideas, but Fauré nonetheless went ahead and put in the Offertorium and Libera me.

This is a splendid work, magnificent and grand, yet totally sophisticated, restrained and utterly beautiful. And what better orchestra and conductor to perform this than the Montreal Symphony under Charles Dutoit. Dutoit is in familiar territory here, and he treads through the lush orchestral tapestry with gentleness, flair and unwavering confidence. The result is simply glowing and radiant from beginning to end. The Montreal sound is suitably large yet totally atmospheric. The performers bring out the glow and lush, serene beauty of Fauré's writing with much care and attention. Phrases are carefully and lovingly moulded.

I personally prefer a boy soprano in the Pie Jesu, and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's distinguished contribution here is a little too mature for me, but nonetheless, she is unfailingly sweet and convincing. Sherill Milnes is simply beyond reproach, firm in tone, yet understanding to the musical idiom. The chorus is excellent, especially the Sanctus and In paradisum.

The digital recording from the late 80s is typical high-standard stuff we always get from Decca. The superbly-executed Pavane and the Pelléas et Mélisande suite make highly-appropriate and enjoyable bonuses.

Written by Lionel Choi