Debussy/Poulenc : Sonate pour violoncelle et piano

Jean-Guihen Queyras, violoncelle ; Alexandre Tharaud, piano
Harmonia Mundi HMC 902012 (62 min 47 s)
***** $$$

Le tandem Queyras-Tharaud nous avait donné, il y a deux ans, une interprétation remarquable de la Sonate "Arpeggione" de Schubert. Il lui avait accolé des pièces de Webern et de Berg, comme pour marquer une filiation entre le premier et les seconds, tous trois nés à Vienne mais à un siècle d'écart. Dans ce nouvel enregistrement, les interprètes rapprochent deux compositeurs dont les univers ne se touchaient pas mais qui se réclamaient l'un et l'autre de la grande tradition française représentée par Couperin et Rameau, qu’ils estimaient menacée par l’influence germanique. L’un et l’autre ont écrit une sonate pour violoncelle et piano. Celle de Debussy est souvent jouée. Celle de Poulenc, en revanche, est sous-estimée. Elle présente pourtant des qualités et son deuxième mouvement, une Cavatine, est fort beau. Diverses pièces plus légères, dont des transcriptions, complètent le programme. L’interprétation, autant chez Queyras que chez Tharaud, est d’une finesse toute française. Les notes du livret, très intéressantes, sont signées Anne Roubet.

- Alexandre Lazaridès

Brahms Piano Quartets

Xiayin Wang, piano; Amity Players
Marquis 774718-1377-2-2 (73 min 47 s)
*** $$$$

The young Amity Players collaborated with pianist Xiayin Wang on two of Brahms’ dramatic piano quartets, both conceived at times of personal tumult. He began the Piano Quartet in C Minor in the mid 1850s after his mentor, Robert Schumann, attempted suicide. His Piano Quartet No.1 in G minor was composed between 1857 and 1859, following Schumann’s death. Brahms had formed a close relationship with Schumann’s wife Clara that intensified after her husband’s death and was the subject of much speculation. Both quartets are informed by turbulent emotions, oscillating between anguished brooding and violent abandonment. In livelier movements, such as the G minor Rondo, the Player’s tempo and accent style detracts from the vigorous intensity that could electrify the composition. However, Wang sparkles with precision, solidifying and invigorating the quartet. Cellist Raphael Dubé plays expressively, with singing tone in the C minor Andante, and the group produces a thick, murky texture that beautifully darkens the G minor Andante con moto. Overall, the Amity Players and Xiayin Wang capture the dark and confused emotions that permeate the two compositions.

- Hannah Rahimi

Firebrand: Chamber Music of T. Patrick Carrabré

Gryphon Trio; Winnipeg Chamber Music Society
Centredisques CMCCD 13408 (62 min 01 s)
**** $$$
The Gryphon Trio attacks the works of T. Patrick Carrabré with the same energy and zeal they put into all their recordings. The ensemble’s clean elegance balances the brash virtuosity of Carrabré’s Firebrand. From the darkest reaches employs more predictable rhythmic and melodic elements but the Gryphon Trio imbues it with a unified character and somber energy; filling in the weaker gaps in Carrabré’s writing. Both trios on this disc were written for the Gryphon, adding to an extensive library of over 40 commissioned works.

A hammer for your thoughts… commissioned and performed by the Winnipeg Chamber Music Society, takes its name from its form and content. Traditionally piano quintets involve a large solo piano part. Carrabré takes the sound image of the hammered piano strings and expands it to the glockenspiel. The work is filled with repeated-note figures in every instrument, a further play on the same idea. The WCMS doesn’t quite live up to the same standard and level of energy as the Gryphon Trio – it presents a stolid rendition of what might otherwise have been a gripping work.

Overall, this disc would make a fine addition to any contemporary Canadian music enthusiast’s library and perhaps that of an adventurous open-minded listener. But if you’re looking for a disc to play during a dinner party, keep shopping.

- Marcin Swoboda

Georges Delerue: Œuvres pour piano et instruments divers

Minna Re Shin, piano; Olivier Thouin, violin; Guillaume Saucier, cello; Fabrice Marandola, percussion
DCM Classique DCM-CL205 (54 min 50 s)
*** $$$

The French composer Delerue (1925-1992) is known for his success in film music. This disc serves as an introduction into his lesser known classical works, featuring violin, cello and percussion paired with piano. The short, beautiful Antienne 1 for violin and piano sets the tone for the whole disc. Thouin’s approach to this simple piece is clean and honest. Concerto de l’Adieu was originally for violin and orchestra but appears here with piano. Something is lacking, and the writing has a meandering tendency. Aria et Final for cello and piano feature some interplay that is both interesting and jarring. Cellist Guillaume Saucier plays stiffly and the ensemble offers little in the way of emotional connection. The Final is disappointing and lacks energy. Marandola steals the show with Mouvements pour instruments à percussion et piano. After more standard arrangements of strings and piano, the inclusion of percussion is quite refreshing. In addition, Marandola’s variety in colour and subtle dynamic shifts makes for an enthralling performance. The disc is capped off with Stances for cello and piano and Sonate pour violon et piano. For 20th century music Delerue’s writing is very accessible, but the longer works may leave you wishing there was video included.

- Micheal Spleit

Crazy

I Furiosi Baroque Ensemble (Gabrielle McLaughlin, soprano ; Julia Wedman, Aisslinn Nosky, violons ; Felix Deak, violoncelle et viola da gamba)
Dorian-Sono Luminus DSL-90802 (64 min 22 s)
** $$$

Ce CD n’est accompagné d’aucune note explicative mais comprend une invitation, rédigée en anglais seulement, à consulter quatre sites Internet pour obtenir des informations. On y apprend que l’ensemble I Furiosi est torontois et qu'il réunit des musiciens canadiens qui auraient renouvelé l’interprétation du baroque. On ne s’en serait pas douté à l’écoute du disque, dont l’objectif est de parcourir, et je traduis, « les corridors de la folie elle-même ». Le programme se compose de quatorze numéros : airs sur le thème de l’insanité amoureuse, sonates et variations de compositeurs italiens et anglais du 16e au 18e siècle, dont « La Folia » de Vivaldi, et « Suzanne » de Leonard Cohen (l'allégeance baroque de Cohen m'était, je l'avoue, inconnue). Les ratés d’intonation des cordes, l’absence générale de style, les limites de la soprano et une prise de son sans relief amènent l’auditeur à s’interroger sur l’utilité d’un tel enregistrement.

- Alexandre Lazaridès

Messiaen Chamber works

Hebrides Ensemble
Linn CKD 314 (73 min 59 s)
**** $$$$Ceux que la curiosité attire vers Messiaen mais qui craignent les rigueurs de l’avant-garde devraient prendre le pari de ce disque. D’abord pour le choix des œuvres, qui s'étalent du tout début (1932) à la toute fin (1991) de la carrière du compositeur. Ensuite pour l’instrumentation, familière et engageante. Enfin, et surtout, pour la calme précision de l’interprétation. Les habitués du Maître trouveront que le Quatuor pour la fin du temps n'inspire pas le recueillement mystique qui lui est si caractéristique, et qu’il souffre de problèmes d’équilibre (le souffle de Martin à la clarinette va parfois jusqu'à dominer le timide violoncelle de Conway), mais ils applaudiront à l’exécution de Thème et variation et du Merle noir, sans oublier les rares Fantaisie (récemment redécouverte par la veuve du compositeur) et Pièce pour piano et quatuor à cordes.

- René Bricault

Goodbye, Columbus

A colleague in Columbus, Ohio, has alerted me to a local downturn. The city is planning to shrink its symphony orchestra into a chamber ensemble, abolishing 22 positions and cutting the concert season by half. That, they say, ought to wipe out an annual $1.5 million deficit.

"This is to try to save the orchestra and enable us to grow it into something special," said Robert "Buzz" Trafford, chairman of the symphony board, in a comment to the local newspaper which appears to endorse the move.

Hello? Come again? Anyone at home?

Surely no-one imagines that playing Haydn instead of Mahler is going to bring crowds banging on the doors, or that kicking musicians into limbo will improve morale in the band. Cutting an orchestra is usually one short step from killing it altogether.

Columbus, where I have never set foot, has (so I'm told) an appreciative, cultured audience who don't want to fly to Cleveland or Detroit for a symphonic experience. It also has a proud and supportive NPR station.

A city of 1.75 million can surely stump up a few donors to cover a $1.5 million hole. Slash and burn, which is what the board is proposing, is a policy that went out in the 90s with the bonfire of vanities. Someone needs to take a quick rethink and a look at the map.

Without a symphony orchestra, Columbus becomes a speck.

For more information, check www.symphonymusicians.com

source: Artsjournal