Piazzolla's chamber music in impressive performances

From May 2, 2012:

One of the highlights of Piazzolla's final years was his collaboration with the Kronos Quartet. He wrote and was involved in recording two important works with the group: Four for Tango for String Quartet and Five Tango Sensations for Bandoneon & String Quartet. These two great works focus more on the classical side of his music, though the traditional tango and to a lesser extent the jazz component remain in play. They are performed by Interensemble Padova on two CDs just re-released by Newton, in impressive performances that nearly match the famous Kronos recordings on Nonesuch: Piazzolla: Five Tango Sensations and Kronos Quartet : Winter Was Hard.

Interensemble Padova released two discs of Piazzolla chamber music on the Italian label Rivoalto in 1997 and 98. This new Newton re-release, in their standard two-disc format at a bargain price, should help bring this music to a wider audience. Besides the two works already mentioned, the two generously-filled discs include a variety of works for various combinations that represent the wide range of Piazzolla's chamber music. While not every piece is a masterpiece, this set has the great advantage of variety, which unfortunately doesn't happen with many Piazzolla discs of tangos and milongas for a particular ensemble of instruments. It's a valuable showcase for a composer who studied with Alberto Ginastera and Nadia Boulanger, and who claims significant interest even if you set aside the tango wave he rode to his current fame. I'm especially impressed with Bernardino Beggio's Trois Preludes for solo piano, and with the Tres Piezas for solo guitar, as played by Marco Pavin. The whole package is highly recommended.

Iconic performances of great chamber music

January 19, 2012:

These recordings of the late Dvorak quartets were made in New York by Sony in the early 1970s. Newton Classics has put together another double-disc set of very attractive repertoire, as is their wont, though the price is not as attractive as some double-disc re-issues.

This is amazing music, played as well as you could wish, and it's very well recorded, with warmth and a nice sense of space. It's not perhaps as carefully presented as the music and performances deserve, as another reviewer here has noted. But in this day of such an embarrassment of classical music riches, it's good that Newton is pushing forward these iconic performances of some of the greatest chamber music of the 19th century. And it's nice to hear the Terzetto (a quartet minus the cello). What an odd little piece, but certainly a charmer! It's an illustration of Dvorak's cleverness, and how much he loved and understood the viola.

Vital Smetana and Dvorak

From October 3, 2011:

Newton Classics has been re-releasing some outstanding classic recordings recently; this time last year I was very impressed with their repackaged Decca disc of Spanish music played by Alicia de Larocha Falla: Suites from El Sombrero de tres picos; El amor brujo; Fantasia Baetica; Cuatro piezas espanolas. Here comes another: two discs from Antal Dorati recorded at the Concertgebouw by Decca in 1986.

Smetana's Ma vlast (My country) includes six movements, but most music lovers know only The Moldau, with its famous river theme. That theme was featured in Terrence Malick's film The Tree of Life; look for the movie's trailer on YouTube to see how Malick uses The Moldau theme to represent life itself. The movement, and the entire tone poem, is perfectly framed by Dorati, beautifully played by the Dutch musicians, and presented in sparkling, clear, lifelike sound by the Decca engineers. By the way, the version used in Malick's film is by Vaclav Smetacek and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, on Supraphon, which is a classic recording as well, and, of course, completely authentic. But there is no lack of authenticity in this performance as well, as Dorati brings out the best of Bohemian music with a middle-European flavour and world-class musicians. Make sure you take the time to listen to all 80 minutes of Ma vlast; these are castles, woods and fields worth visiting with Smetana as your guide.

The Overture: In Nature's Realm by Antonin Dvorak is another work I recommend highly, especially to those of you who only know his Symphonies (and perhaps only his best-known, From the New World). Dvorak's tone poems contain some of his best music, with lovely and lively themes and rich orchestral colour. Dorati is once again a more than reliable interpreter; his Dvorak is as vital and alive as his Smetana.

A strong Spanish programme by a much-loved pianist

From Septembe 29, 2010:

Alicia de Larrocha, who died in September 2009, was always closely identified with the music of the great Spanish composers: Albeniz, Granados, & Manuel de Falla. This new disc on Newton brings back, in a splendid package, a Decca disc of important piano works by de Falla which were originally recorded at Kingsway Hall in June of 1973.

The centre-piece of the programme is the Fantasia Baetica of 1919. This amazing work of modernism was written for Arthur Rubinstein, just like another 20th century masterpiece, the Rudepoema of Villa-Lobos. As with the Rudepoema, Rubinstein didn't keep this difficult work in his repertoire long, though of course we owe him so much for having commmissioned such great pieces in the first place. The Fantasia shows many influences: Spanish flamenco; the French piano music Falla came across in Paris, most notably Debussy; and the harpsichord music of the baroque period, especially Scarlatti. Guitar plucking and strumming, and chords based on guitar tuning, are found throughout. This is a work that rewards multiple listening. Good luck to the pianist who attempts to master it!

The disc also includes some more accessible music: de Falla's first important piano work, the Cuarto piezas espanolas; and the lively piano versions of two important ballets. The CD provides nearly an hour of entertainment and enlightenment, played by a most distinguished artist, close to the peak of her powers.