Reviews in July 1996

Kathleen Battle, soprano / Orchestre et Choeur de l'Opéra Bastille / Myung-Whun Chung (DG 447 114 - 2)

Kathleen Battle has been releasing quite a few anthologies of vocal music lately, such as a disc of music by André Previn called Honey and Rue (DG), an assortment of lullabies (Sony) and now, this pretty interesting collection of French opera arias. This CD has been made all the more enticing with very trendy, stylish packaging and its inclusion of over 62 minutes of music.

A closer examination of and familiarity with the repertoire in this disc would reveal that a large number of these arias have already been championed by many well-known sopranos before Battle. Yet, being an admirer of Ms Battle's lovely voice, I was very interested to hear how she would tackle these rather varied and challenging pieces.

The CD opens with Salut à la France, taken from Donizetti's La Fille du régiment. Her saccharine-sweet voice caresses the ear like no other, but when the music breaks into its faster, livelier moments, for all the apparent ease with which she executes all those difficult coloratura passages, she unfortunately does not quite manage to command the same kind of confidence tempered with girlish charm that made Dame Joan Sutherland's Marie so unforgettable. In fact, this is a major shortcoming of the entire disc: characterization is over-simplified, and what we get is nothing but beautiful sounds, aria after aria. It is like listening to a pretty sound machine. These flaws are all the more unjustified when, by having an excellent chorus to back her up, the producers are obviously attempting to recreate those particular moments of the complete opera; this is not quite just a mere concert recital.

She fares better in Offenbach's On s'amuse, on applaudit (from Belle Lurette), and in Massenet's Suis-je gentille ainsi (from Manon). She is so soothing in the slower music, and hair-raising passages are tossed off with easy confidence and awesome flexibility. It's not unlike listening to the sweet serenade of a songbird. It is unusual to hear Gounod's famous Je veux vivre sung with such sweetness and beauty, but again, memories of Sutherland are far from erased. (She does fare better in this song that does Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.) The excerpts by Thomas are nice, but admirers of Callas and Sutherland need not be swayed.

The piece here that suits Ms Battle the most is, in my opinion, Charpentier's famous Depuis le jour, an engaging, heartfelt and fresh rendition of an over-sung aria. And the orchestral tapestry here, so cleverly and sympathetically weaved by Myung-Whun Chung and his Bastille Opera Orchestra, is just magical. This is by far one of the most glowing and inspired accounts I have ever heard. Berlioz's Je vais le voir (from Béatrice et Bénédict) is also given an equally inspired performance.

This is a collection that showcases Ms Battle's beautiful voice, and if that is what you are looking for, then you will definitely not be disappointed: we get Battle serenading so wonderfully and refreshingly in the slow music, and rattling off those fast coloratura passages with easy virtuosity, not to mention the elegance and gracefulness with which she hits those really high Ds and E-flats (quite a contrast to the shrill and coarse Callas). But as far as musicality is concerned, I just wished Ms Battle was out to prove herself to be not just a singer, but an intelligent musician as well. This Romantic music cannot survive with the apparent detachment which she exhibits particularly obviously in the faster, more buoyant arias. It might suit Mozartian roles, but not here.

The digital recording is excellent.

(For better collections of French arias, Sumi Jo's recent recording of French coloratura arias on Decca is quite worth considering. Or sample the numerous classic collections from the 50s to the 70s by Dame Joan Sutherland, all available on the Decca label.)

Written by Lionel Choi

Piano Concerto No. 22 in E flat, K.482;
Piano Concerto No. 23 in A, K.488

Mitsuko Uchida / English Chamber Orchestra / Jeffrey Tate (Philips 420 187 - 2)

Sad to say, Mitsuko Uchida's cycle of Mozart's piano concertos is not quite as inspired or as consistent as her highly-acclaimed recordings of all the piano sonatas. But amongst the few disappointments we might have with some of her recordings of the concertos, it is this particular one in the entire cycle that impresses me the most.

I am charmed and deeply touched by Uchida's excellent rendition of the very beautiful A major concerto, K.488 (my personal favourite) . I have never heard the second movement played with such depth of feeling and insight before; graceful and elegant, yet never becoming detached, cold or aloof. The opening movement is delicate and so lovingly played, phrase after phrase, by both pianist and orchestra. The finale contrasts well, sprightly and sunny, full of Mozartian vitality, energy and panache, sparkling from beginning to end. Amidst the running notes and quick passages, Uchida and Tate remain elegant and sophisticated, never ever succumbing to temptation to go over the top.

The E Flat concerto, K.482 is a little less distinctive. Some might find Uchida bordering on reticence in the outer movements, but these flaws are slight. The music remains sparkling and buoyant (although Murray Perahia might be preferred here). Not many pianists can match her in the sheer poignancy and Classical sophistication with which she performs the slow movement.

The English Chamber Orchestra sounds great, and Jeffrey Tate, Uchida's understanding partner throughout the entire cycle, is obviously attuned to his soloist's sensibilities and accompanies fantastically. The recorded sound is real and very clear.

Written by Lionel Choi

Sense and Sensibility (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Jane Eaglen, soprano / Orchestra / Robert Ziegler, conductor (Sony SK 62258)

Not all movie soundtracks are worth buying. More often than not, you will find yourself listening to extracts of music that only make sense if they were paired up with images. Not many soundtracks are good when heard alone - John Williams' music for Schindler's List and Michael Nyman's The Piano are two rare exceptions. Thus, those who missed out on Emma Thompson's brilliant movie adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility might just hesitate in plunging down some money on this CD.

I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and the music does bring back delightful memories, although I am still irritated by the number of tracks here that were lifted straight from the movie, and simply do not make sense when heard alone. (Just check out the abrupt ending of Felicity.) Nonetheless, this disc, with all music written by Patrick Doyle, does have its great moments. My favourite track is My Father's Favourite, a beautiful piece written in the style of an Andante movement from a Mozart piano concerto, elegant and exquisite. A Particular Sum is reminiscent of something from Grieg's Peer Gynt; Steam Engine (which also appears a little later in the disc as Miss Grey) is a jaunty number with a very fast, lively second section which is a variation of the first, and is a lot like a joyful folk dance; Willoughby is not unlike a brisk, joyful movement from Beethoven's Pastoral symphony; and the Excellent Notion, a harp solo, adds variety to the disc. There are many slow, wistful, even depressing pieces here in the disc, like Not A Beau For Miles, and while these are quite suitable as incidental music, they do not sound like music to be taken seriously.

There is a big bonus here by having soprano Jane Eaglen sing the opening and closing tracks of this CD. This is the first recording by Ms Eaglen, who, according to the liner notes, will be releasing her debut recording sometime this year. She opens with Weep You No More Sad Fountains, a familiar poem set to lovely music by Doyle. Eaglen has a large voice that is most skillfully and effectively scaled down to accommodate the music. The closing The Dreame is not as lovely a piece as Weep, but nonetheless receives passionate treatment from Eaglen.

The digital recording is very good, and the chamber orchestra that plays throughout is crisp, precise, warm and technically immaculate. This may not be a very good disc of classical music, but on comparing it with many other movie soundtracks, this one is a pretty good buy.

Written by Lionel Choi

Piano Works: Mikrokosmos, Suite Op.14, Rumänische Volkstänze, Sonate für Klavier, Im Freien, Sonatine, Allegro barbaro

Andor Foldes (DG 423 958 - 2)

Bartók is probably most famous for his Concerto for Orchestra and his piano and violin concertos. As a consequence, many of the works on this disc will probably be unfamiliar to most listeners out there.

This recording belongs to DG's Dokumente series and as such, is not a recent recording. It was recorded in 1955 in monophonic sound. However, since the whole disc is a piano recital, the monophonic sound isn't that serious a drawback.

Who was Andor Foldes anyway? From the documentation supplied with the disc, I gathered that he had quite an illustrious bevy of piano teachers. He studied the piano with Ernst von Dohnányi and first met Bartók at the age of fifteen in 1929. They later became close friends until Bartók's death. His intimate relationship with the composer himself hints that he probably is eminently qualified to interpret Bartók's work and this is borne out by the quality of the recital.

The Mikrokosmos are teaching pieces that range from beginners' pieces to works of exuberant virtuosity. Foldes is never condescending and he invests these pieces with detail and meticulous precision. I believe that Foldes hardly deviates from the strict dynamics and tempo markings that Bartó The same approach can be seen in the other pieces too. Rather than playing these works coldly and mechanically, as some pianists are apt to do, Foldes strives for emotion and expression. He is technically brilliant but never allows the technical aspect of a work to overshadow its intrinsic artistic qualities. This is one of the most atmospheric recordings I've ever heard and it is not hard to imagine the pianist playing right before you.

There's plenty of exciting moments in this disc, for example in the last part of the Suite Op.14. Percussive, almost overflowing in a kaleidoscope of sound but always coherent and imaginative, the playing is a delight. Nor are the slower parts especially boring. Foldes has a way of mulling over the slower bits in an interesting sort of way so that you are enlightened rather than irked.

Despite its vintage, the sound of this disc is perfectly acceptable and probably acoustically superior to many of our so-called digital recordings. This is not a disc for everybody but it should be rewarding for any serious collector of Bartók or piano music.

Written by Melvin Yap

Funny Face (soundtrack)

Fred Astaire / Audrey Hepburn / Kay Thompson / Adolph Deutsch's orchestra / Adolph Deutsch, conductor (Verve 531 231 - 2)

This is not quite the musical 'Funny Face' as originally conceived by the Gershwins but rather the soundtrack of the movie that uses music from it. The 1956 movie is a fantasy of love and Paris where a fashion photographer and his most famous model get together amorously.

The banal plot and the dated sound nevertheless does not detract from the immense attractiveness of this disc. While I didn't really like it at first hearing, it began to grow on me on repeated listenings. There are many memorable parts on the disc. 'How Long Has This Been Going On?', 'Funny Face', 'He Loves and She Loves' are all Gershwin hallmarks and they are all well presented here. Moreover, a few non-Gershwin songs are thrown into this disc too and these include 'Think Pink' and 'On How to Be Lovely'. 'On How To Be Lovely', by Roger Edens and Leonard Gershe, is especially charming and has a lovely innocence to it.

Astaire, Hepburn and Thompson may not be best known for their voices but their singing quality is especially appropriate here. Astaire has a ruminative manner while Thompson is loud and bold. Hepburn is unusually hard to classify. While her voice may not impress, there is a plaintive, innocent, little girl sort of quality that is touching and endearing. This can be especially seen in 'How Long Has This Been Going On?'

All in all, this disc is very enjoyable and highly recommended. The sound quality and the very music itself contribute to the nostalgic element of this recording. Don't be turned off by its short length. You won't be bored for a minute.

Written by Melvin Yap