The Los Angeles Times
has praised the Cypress String Quartet for its "musical astuteness
and virtuoso resources," and Chamber Music magazine has
singled out the San Francisco-based quartet as a "Generation X
Ensemble to Watch." Its members—violinists Cecily Ward and
Tom Stone, violist Ethan Filner, and cellist Jennifer Kloetzel—are
young, gifted, and deserving of praise.
On this recent release, the follow-up to the acclaimed 2000 debut Cypress
Quartet Live: Call & Response, the quartet shows no sign of
a sophomore slump. Rather, the seven-year-old Cypress engagingly transports
the listener through over 100 years of string-quartet music, highlighting
the works of three composers—Haydn, Ravel, and Schulhoff—whose
music was strongly influenced by vastly different times and disparate
circumstances. The result is an evocative and wonderfully cohesive program—recorded
at Skywalker Sound in filmmaker George Lucas' state-of-the-art digital
recording studio in Northern California—that showcases this quartet’s
knack for exploring contemporary music while remaining true to its motto
"revitalizing tradition."
Franz Joseph Haydn's String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76, No. 5, is one
of the great composer’s more serious string pieces, drawn from
a set of five quartets written between 1796 and 1799. This dynamic quartet
is blessed with graceful, pretty melodies and a Finale that opens abruptly
with cadential chords usually reserved for the ending of a movement.
Maurice Ravel's String Quartet in F Major, completed in 1903 at the
end of the composer's frustrating experience at the Paris Conservatory,
underscores the harmonic and rhythmic complexities in Ravel's early
work. The quartet (heavily influenced by Debussy's G-minor quartet)
was panned during the composer's lifetime, but it has since entered
the standard repertoire of increasingly popular French chamber music.
The second movement echoes those exotic sounds, including Javanese Gamelan
music, heard by Ravel at the 1889 Paris exposition.
The final tracks are reserved for Ervin Schulhoff's Five Pieces for
String Quartet, delightful satirical miniatures that spoof such dances
as the Viennese Waltz (in 2/2 timing), a dizzying Czech folk dance,
and a plucky tarantella. These obscure Schulhoff pieces are the real
prize here: often humorous and richly dynamic. The classically trained
Czech composer and pianist, greatly influenced by jazz, wrote these
works in 1923. Twenty years later, the left-leaning Schulhoff would
be gone, a victim of the Nazi death camps.
Thanks to the Cypress Quartet, his playful work lives on as part of
the modern string-music tradition.
For details about the Cypress Quartet, including its innovative Call
& Response
educational outreach program, visit www.cypressquartet.com.
Shostakovich:
Piano Quintet, Op. 57. Schnittke: Quintet for Piano and String Quartet.
Vermeer Quartet; Boris Berman, piano. (Naxos, 8.554830)
Dmitri Shostakovich's
great Piano Quintet balances the somber, dark Russian soul with an appealing
lightness and exuberance. The refined performance of these artists reflects
our times, but misses the rougher, incendiary aspects of the recording
by the composer who lived in that tumultuous period of Russian musical
suppression. Alfred Schnittke's Piano Quintet, written over a three-year
period (1972–76), is a tragically expressive work dedicated to
the memory of his mother. Whether it is the macabre waltz of the second
movement, the ghostlike, spare first movement, or the melancholic, wistful
finale, the work is an evocative tribute to a departed loved one.
—Robert
Moon
Bravo! Virtuoso and
Romantic Encores. Nikolaj Znaider, violin; Daniel Gortler, piano.
(RCA Victor Red Seal, 09026-63960-2)
Twenty-eight-year-old Nikolaj Znaider is a welcome throwback to the
golden age of violin playing. In Wieniawski's Concert Polonaise and
his Variations on an Original Theme, listen to the throbbing intensity
of Znaider's lyrical line, the highly expressive phrasing and rubato.
Znaider handles the most difficult passagework not just fearlessly but
with audible joy. Znaider plays Sarasate's Romanza Andaluza as a true
romance, without a trace of the harshness that can afflict this composer's
double-stop passages. Znaider's tone is delicately sweet for Rachmaninov's
Vocalise, and opulent through the rest of the recital, including two
Chopin transcriptions (where his portamento may be a bit over-generous)
and Ponce's Estrellita. His performance of Ysaye's spooky Solo Sonata
No. 3 is dramatic and nuanced rather than just fierce, and Znaider similarly
provides a hypnotic, ecstatic treatment of the florid cadenza in Achron's
Hebrew Melody. The disc's title may seem self-congratulatory, but Znaider
earns it. Bravo, indeed!
—James
Reel
Julia Wolfe:
The String Quartets. Ethel, Cassatt String Quartet, Lark Quartet.
(Cantaloupe, 21011)
Released on the house label for New York City's new-music superpower
Bang on a Can, this is a gripping recording of some powerful new additions
to the literature. BOAC cofounder Wolfe, an acclaimed violinist and
composer who admits to an equal passion for Beethoven and Led Zeppelin,
holds a wide assortment of commissions and awards from the Koussevitzky
Foundation, Kronos Quartet, the Library of Congress, the American Academy
and Institute of Arts and Letters, and elsewhere. These compositions
prove that Wolfe can certainly burn a barn: This is music with potent
forward motion and an unabashedly sexy energy, crossed well with elegiac,
introspective moments and expertly composed for the string quartet.
It plays well as a single listen. The raw power of Dig Deep (in a fantastically
open-throttled performance by the New York-based quartet Ethel) leads
beautifully into the Cassatt Quartet's clear, pristine reading of the
weepy, searching opening of Four Marys, which then gives way to the
swiftly menacing creep of Early That Summer's dense, juggernaut-like
harmonies performed by the Lark Quartet. Each work is cast in a single
monolithic paragraph, and though the entire record clocks in at just
over half an hour, the sheer force of this music will leave nobody feeling
shortchanged.
—Daniel
Felsenfel
Sibelius, the Complete
Works for Violin and Orchestra. Christian Tetzlaff, violin; Danish
National Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard, cond. (Virgin Veritas,
724354553424)
Touted as the greatest of all Nordic string compositions, the Violin
Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47 (included here with various suites, two
serenades, and several humoresques) has been hailed as the violinists'’
violin concerto. Tetzlaff draws considerable warmth from the bleak winter
soundscape of the concerto’s opening movement (maybe too much
for some listeners),but the real gem here is the playfully lyrical E-flat
major humoresque.
—G.C
In Full Swing. Mark
O'Connor's Hot Swing Trio; Wynton Marsalis, trumpet; Jane Monheit, vocals.
(Sony, SK 87880)
Mark O'Connor is much more than a fiddler who can get out of first position.
He writes music that sits comfortably on classical programs, and ventures
into territory well beyond his American fiddling roots. His latest release,
In Full Swing, is a lively tribute to jazz violinist Stephane
Grappelli, one of O'Connor's mentors. Hearing O'Connor's Hot Swing Trio
is like listening to a reincarnation of Grappelli’s Quintet of
the Hot Club of France, which thrived in the 1930s with guitarist Django
Reinhardt as coheadliner. O'Connor, the equally versatile guitarist
Frank Vignola, and bassist Jon Burr not only swing, but they do it with
impeccable technique. Add to the mix trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, easing
self-effacingly into three tracks, and vocalist Jane Monheit guesting
in the standards "Honeysuckle Rose," "Fascinating Rhythm,"
"Misty," and "As Time Goes By," and you get an album
of uncommon style, smarts, and verve.
—J.R
Goodnight Ginger.
John McCusker, fiddle, viola, whistles, cittern; Ewen Vernal, Andy Seward,
and Kris Drever, double bass; Ian MacFarlane, fiddle. (Compass, 7-4352-2)
BBC Radio 2's 2003 Folk Musician of the Year struts his stuff on this
enjoyable project, recorded at his home studio in Yorkshire. "I
just saw it as a chance to get all my pals round, have a bit of fun,
and play a few tunes," he says. The pals include his wife, British
folk poster girl Kate Rusby, who delivers the song, "The Bold Privateer"
with her distinctive, waiflike voice. The rest of the disc is tunes,
tunes, and more tunes, most of them written or cowritten by McCusker.
Many of these bear a striking resemblance to Scottish traditional tunes,
albeit with a few quirky twists: a chromatic run slipped into an otherwise
diatonic jig here, a third beat dropped from a waltz there. McCusker's
clean and compelling fiddling is complemented by some fun and groovy
accompaniments. Take this one for a spin, you’ll enjoy the ride.
—Elisa
M. Welch
Martinu
String Quartets Nos. 3 and 6; Duo for Violin and Cello; Three Madrigals
for Violin and Viola. Martinu Quartet. (Naxos, 8.553783)
Bohuslav Martinu's seven quartets are propelled forward by counterpoint,
filled with an infectious and vibrant energy, laced with Czech melodies,
and never emotionally shallow. Both quartets reflect Bartók's
influence, but the third demonstrates a French flavor. (Martinu studied
with French composer Albert Roussel.) Quartet No. 6, written after a
serious head injury suffered at Tanglewood in 1945, couples nervous
energy with exuberance. The virtuosic and deeply felt Three Madrigals
for Violin and Viola is highlighted by a middle movement of shimmering
luminosity. The Martinu Quartet, notably violist Jan Jísa and
violinist Lubomir Havlák, play with spirit and beauty. All seven
quartets are now available with these artists. Don’t miss them.
—R.M.
Metamorphosis. Joan Jeanrenaud, cello. (New Albion, NA120)
In her first solo album since leaving the Kronos Quartet three years
ago, cellist Joan Jeanrenaud explores new directions and new sounds
mostly alone or in tandem with electronic loops or a computer. This
disc, the soundtrack to a performance piece of the same name, features
compositions by Jeanrenaud (an improvisational piece using a guitar
processor and computer), Phillip Glass (the title track, arranged here
for four cellos), Steve Mackey, Hamza El Din (an intriguing piece based
on the nontempered pitches of the oud and Arab-African rhythmic cycles),
Karen Tanaka, and Mark Grey. Visceral, hypnotic, and often compelling
music.
—G.C.
Fresh Canadian Fiddle Tunes. Brian Pickell, guitar, mandolin, vocals;
Shane Cook, Brian Hebert, Jon Pilatzke, Mark Sullivan, James Stephens,
Pierre Schryer, Dan Schryer, Louis Schryer, and Geoff Somers, fiddles.
(Canada Council for the Arts, NA120; available from www.brianpickell.com.)
No, that's not a typo in the title. Although some of the tracks serve
up a distinctively traditional French-Canadian flavor, this is all "fresh"
music composed by Brian Pickell. His pleasing original tunes sample
the spectrum of influences in Canadian traditional music, including
Irish, Scottish, and the aforementioned French Canadian. Pickell's project
features a host of excellent fiddlers, including the Schryer Triplets—Dan,
Louis, and Pierre—brothers of award-winning luthier Raymond Schryer.
Their sister Julie provides excellent piano accompaniment. The disc’s
two obviously heartfelt songs fall a bit short of the musicianship achieved
on the many instrumentals, which are guaranteed to set toes tapping.
—E.M.W.
Weaving the Worlds. Beth Bahia Cohen. (Available at PO Box 307,
Watertown, MA 02471; www.bethcohen.com)
Beth Cohen is the Greek/Turkish violin expert in southern New England.
Her new album is a departure from her previous traditional recordings
with her Greek and Turkish groups. The only instrument on the CD is her
acoustic violin. But by using electronic loops, Cohen plays long lines,
then as they repeat, she layers on responsive answers. The multiple strands
of her life’s musical voyage are here, but the Middle Eastern maqam
(mode or scale) always returns as the foundation of her improvisations.
This is an introduction to a violinist worthy of more attention, to her
personal melding of Eastern and Western styles, and to an effective way
of using electronics in the service of wonderful music. In the accompanying
liner notes, Robert Labaree of the New England Conservatory aptly cites
the spirit of Béla Bartók in this CD in the sense of transforming
the old music of other peoples into something new.
—Stacy Phillips
Touchwood. Iain Fraser, fiddle; Christine Hanson, cello (CPN, 001D)
Iain Fraser performs Scottish
fiddle music from the 18th and 19th centuries—from slow airs to
jaunty jigs—as Christine Hanson contributes freshly composed cello
parts (not based on the original bass parts). The result is a refreshing
mix of the traditional and the modern. The set culminates in a monster
eight-tune medley performed in a Cape Breton style and inspired by the
fabled Buddy MacMaster, uncle of fiddler Natalie MacMaster. (For details,
visit www.iainfraser.com.)
—G.C.
Knaifel: Svete Tikhiy
(O Gladsome Light). Keller Quartett; Oleg Malov, piano; Tatiana
Melentieva, soprano; Andrei Siegle, sampler. (ECM, 289 461 814-2 3)
Uzbekistan-born Alexander
Knaifel's quiet, desolate, mood-setting works are not for
people who think of music exclusively as a closely reasoned argument
or an eventful journey. The first piece, In Air Clean and Unseen, for
piano and string quartet, is inspired by the yearning verse of 19th-century
Russian poet Fyodor Tyutchev. The first movement, simple and still,
consists of delicate, widely spaced piano notes and chords. The second
is a very slow elegy for strings, and all players come together in the
third movement, which maintains the established mood. It's basically
Morton Feldman without dissonance. Svete Tikhiy (O Gladsome Light) takes
off from texts in the Russian Orthodox liturgy, the chanting and singing
voice of Tatiana Melentieva manipulated through a sampler. Think of
it as a haunting, more consonant answer to questions raised nearly 40
years ago by the choral music of György Ligeti. Performances are
warm and patient. You'll either love this music or be bored to tears;
there's not much middle ground.
—J.R.
Thirty years
ago, quadraphonic albums were the wave of the future, but a lack of
industry support quashed the format in its infancy. Now the resurgence
of interest in five-, six-, and seven-channel sound (due largely to
the introduction of home-theater systems) and the advent of DVD-Audio
and the Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) formats has led to affordable
multiple-channel audiophile sound.
PentaTone, the Netherlands-based label distributed in the states by
Telarc, has just released several noteworthy SACDs. The first set of
eight remastered quadro recordings (RQRs) are the same quadraphonic
recordings made in the 1970s by Philips Classics. These new hybrid discs
can be used on most CD players with standard two-channel stereo but
only SACD-capable units will reproduce the 5.1-channel effects. All
of the recordings feature solid performances, beautifully remastered
and reproduced with stunning spatial resolution.
Among those first RQR titles are Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor,
Op. 67, and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 in A, Op. 90 "Italian,"
performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra (Beethoven) and the Boston Symphony
Orchestra (Mendelssohn), both under Sir Colin Davis; and Tchaikovsky's
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 and Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, by
the Orchestre de Paris with conductor Seiji Ozawa. Future releases will
include several string-related titles.
PentaTone also plans to release new core classical recordings performed
by top classical artists, including Kent Nagano and the Berlin Deutsches
Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Netherlands
Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yakov Kreizberg, the Russian National
Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, and many others.
