CD Reviews (The Straits Times, October 2014)

SCHARWENKA Piano Concertos

ALEXANDER MARKOVICH, Piano

Estonian National Symphony / Neeme Järvi

Chandos 10814 (2 CDs) / ****1/2

How the fortunes of Franz Xaver Scharwenka (1850-1924) have fallen over the decades since his death, for once he was feted as a piano virtuoso and founder of musical conservatories. Even his Polish Dance in E flat minor (Op.3 No.1), once popular among amateurs, is rarely heard these days. This double CD album (priced as one disc) hopes to revive the memory of the Polish composer whose four piano concertos combined the virtuoso flourishes of Liszt and nationalistic fervour of Chopin, and like Rachmaninov, all cast in minor keys.

It does not matter which CD one begins with, as the foursome spans between 1876 and 1908 and displays little or no tendency to evolve with the times. Perhaps the best known, however little, is No.1 in B flat minor, which was famously recorded by Earl Wild in 1969. It has a scintillating Scherzo and is cyclical in form, as the opening theme also closes the concerto. All four are extremely accessible and make enjoyable listening. Russian pianist Alexander Markovich’s no holds barred approach and thunderous pianism is not always subtle but the full-blooded Romanticism of these scores shine through. Estonian conductor Neeme Järvi is a committed proselytiser of rarely-heard music, and the Estonian National Orchestra whole-heartedly supports this well-conceived venture.

GREAT RECORDINGS

Berlin Philharmonic

Deutsche Grammophon 479 2231 (8 CDs) / *****

Want to sample the greatness of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/? Look no further than this mini box-set that provides a cross-section of its discography from the late 1940s to 2005 under the batons of seven great conductors. There is only one duplication with the 50 CD Centenary Edition, that of current chief conductor Simon Rattle leading Brahms’s Piano Concerto No.1 with soloist Krystian Zimerman. More representative of the orchestra’s legacy of discipline and pristine sound may be found in recordings by Herbert von Karajan (Richard Strauss’s An Alpine Symphony), Claudio Abbado (Mahler’s Ninth Symphony) and Carlo Maria Giulini (Beethoven’s Choral Symphony), the obvious plums of this set.

Further Austro-German music come from Wilhelm Furtwängler (overtures and orchestral highlights from Wagner operas) in 1949 and 1951 mono recordings, Karl Böhm (Schubert’s Unfinished and Great Symphonies) and a very satisfying outing with Rafael Kubelik (Schumann’s Second and Fourth Symphonies). Fans of Anne-Sophie Mutter will delight in her very precocious teenaged account of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Karajan. The original sleeve-art has been replicated but no write-up or history of the orchestra has been included. Priced at about $4 a disc, this set is still an excellent and hugely enjoyable bargain.  

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, October 2014)

DAVID GARRETT

The Early Years

Deutsche Grammophon 479 2936 (5 CDs) / ****1/2

Like a certain Vanessa-Mae, David Garrett is today acknowledged as a highly successful crossover violinist with definite pop-star appeal. Like EMI Classics which trotted out Vanessa-Mae’s childhood classical recordings, the German yellow label has done the same, but Garrett’s portfolio appears more substantial and far better marketed. The German-American, born in 1980 as David Christian Bongartz, was recorded between 1993 and 1997, revealing an astounding maturity in repertoire works. Listen to his refreshingly unmannered and regal way in Bach’s Second Partita, with a leisurely, almost timeless look at the Chaconne, which lasts almost 20 minutes!

The firebrand, who studied with Ida Haendel and Itzhak Perlman, also delivers the goods in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto and the little known but engaging E minor Concerto of Julius Conus, partnered by the Russian National Orchestra and Mikhail Pletnev. The obligatory virtuoso fare continues in Paganini’s 24 Caprices, with Schumann’s piano accompaniment, a highly enjoyable account with Italian pianist Bruno Canino. Also gratifying are his encounters with Mozart and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Claudio Abbado – the two D major concertos (No.4, where he plays his own cadenzas and K.271a), a sonata and the Adagio K.261. A final disc of short pieces and encores with pianist Alexander Markovich, only recently released, completes this portrait of a prodigy. One wonders what might have been had Garrett continued on this trajectory. 

MERCURY LIVING PRESENCE

The Collector’s Edition Volume 2

Universal Music 478 5092 (55 CDs) / ****

After the roaring success of Volume 1 of the Mercury Living Presence Collector’s Edition, Volume 2 follows up with those recordings that have not been earlier cherry-picked. The collector’s dilemma is this: Will the general listener be equally drawn to Antal Dorati’s Bartok, Beethoven, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky recordings, Paul Paray’s famous French music sojourns with the Detroit Symphony, diverse wind band repertoire from the Eastman Wind Ensemble under Frederick Fennell and the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra with Howard Hanson in contemporary American music? Chances are only the interminably curious will muster enough interest to go through the entire contents of this cornucopia.

The must listens: a thrilling Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring from the Minneapolis Symphony (Dorati in 1953), all of Dorati’s Bartok recordings, Ravel and Debussy with Paray (from 1955 to 1961), the Chicago Symphony in Hindemith, Schoenberg, Kodaly and Bartok (Rafael Kubelik and Dorati in 1953-54) and the bonus disc of John Corigliano’s Piano Concerto and Richard Strauss’s Parergon for piano left hand (with pianist Hilde Somer). If there is more time, sample the excellent wind discs, harpsichord recitals by Rafael Puyana, the Howard Hanson symphonies (conducted by the composer) and a delightful cello recital by Janos Starker in Chopin, Mendelssohn, Debussy and Bartok. All these feature the then-revolutionary trademark house sound of the label perfected by founders Robert and Wilma Cozart Fine. Inquisitiveness and patience will be more than amply rewarded.