CD Reviews (The Straits Times, October 2015)

NORDIC TRUMPET CONCERTS

OLE EDVARD ANTONSEN, Trumpet

Nordic Chamber Orchestra 

Christian Lindberg (Conductor)

BIS 1548 / ****1/2

Do not let the title of Nordic Trumpet Concertos deter you the listener, as Norwegian virtuoso trumpeter Ole Edvard Antonsen's anthology does not contain a single atonal work, but rather an eclectic mix of different modern styles which are both accessible and engaging. The Finn Harri Wessman's Trumpet Concerto (1987) is both congenial and melancolic, with a main theme that recurs in the finale, heightening the trumpet's ability to sing the moody blues. This is contrasted with Swede Britta Bystrom’s Forvillelser (Delusions, 2005), a more dissonant work that is an unsettling portrait of social isolation and psychosis set in the urban landscape of Stockholm.

The cornet features in Alfred Janson's Norwegian Dance (1996), which has elements of minimalism, with a single theme repeated through cycles of varying tempos, from slow to fast and back to slow again. A manic kind of waltz results, dedicated to the memory of Rikard Nordraak, the short-lived nationalist composer and close friend of Edvard Grieg. Celebrated Swedish trombonist and conductor Christian Lindberg's jazzy Akbank Bunka (2004) is the most extroverted work in the collection, derived from Turkish and Japanese inspirations. Antonsen's exuberant yet sensitive playing is recommended listening for all brass enthusiasts.

BOOK IT:

THE SOUND OF THE NORDIC WITH

OLE EDVARD ANTONSEN AND BAND

Tuesday 13 October 2015 

Victoria Concert Hall at 8 pm

Tickets available at SISTIC

SHOSTAKOVICH Cantatas

Soloists & Estonian Concert Choir

Estonian National Symphony

PAAVO JÄRVI

Erato 0825646166664 / ****1/2

This year marks the 40^th death anniversary of Soviet era Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975), which will account for the rush of new recordings of his music. This disc of three rarely performed cantatas demonstrates how a composer's art may be compromised by the political and social milieu he occupies. While Stalin was alive, composers' works were to glorify the State and party policies, Hence the blissful optimism and lack of irony of The Sun Shines Over Our Motherland (1952), which sounds like an extended national anthem at 14 minutes. A longer pot-boiler, The Song Of The Forests (1949) praising USSR's reforestation programme, won Shostakovich the Stalin Prize First Class and 100 thousand roubles despite having been denounced as a formalist and enemy-of-the-people merely a year before.     

Contrast these with The Execution Of Stepan Razin (1964), with texts by Yevgeny Yetuvshenko, a mightily serious work which decries political persecution and totalitarianism. Stalin had died in 1953 and his legacy was thrashed by Krushchev shortly after that. Its dark and bitter subject makes this work the one of three most likely to be performed in concert outside of Russia. The performances by Paavo Jarvi's Estonian forces are examplary and are vividly recorded. The only drawback is the absence of texts and translations, which would have enhanced the appreciation of this period-specific music. Recommended listening, nonetheless.