NIGHTS IN THE GARDENS OF SPAIN / Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Review

 

NIGHTS IN THE GARDENS OF SPAIN

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Victoria Concert Hall

Thursday (5 December 2024)

This review was first published in Bachtrack.com on 9 December 2024 with the title "Vasily Petrenko with the Singapore Symphony: chalk, cheese and chocolate".

Once in a while, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra throws up a concert programme that makes simply no thematic sense. A popular Russian work for strings, the most famous Spanish piano concerto ever written and a staple Beethoven symphony, led by Russian guest conductor Vasily Petrenko, had absolutely no connection with each other. This serving of chalk, cheese and chocolate might as well have been three separate mini-concerts, and despite the disparity on show, the sum was strangely greater than its individual parts. 

Concert One. The orchestra’s vaunted string section got its own showcase in Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings (Op.48). Straight off, its rich tone and homogeneity of texture hit one face-on with the opening chorale, then impressed with lightness and lift in the swifter Allegro moderato. The popular Waltz was kept simple, the music being allowed to speak for itself. 

The Elegie, the music’s heart, had few moments more beautiful than the first violins’ melody accompanied by pizzicato strings. The Finale, based on two Russian folksongs, was a masterclass in virtuoso string-playing, closing with a reprise of the chorale and an emphatic flourish. 

Concert Two. Spanish pianist Javier Perianes was the soloist in Manuel de Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain, a programmatic piano concerto coloured in picture-postcard impressionism. The demanding yet elusive piano part is so well-integrated into the orchestral score as to be almost an obbligato role. Simulating the guitar and harp was his purview, as were roles as sultry chanteuse in song routines and instigator of dance rhythms. 

He got occasionally drowned in dense orchestral textures, but Perianes rose to meet the powerful climaxes of En al Generalife and En los Jardines de la Sierra de Cordoba. Admirers of famous recordings by Alicia de Larrocha and Arthur Rubinstein would have much to enjoy in this live performance. His stylish encore of Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance from El Amor Brujo, a no-brainer really, provided the final dollop of icing. 

And finally, Concert Three. Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony in A major (Op.92) is so often performed that it risks becoming a hackneyed sideshow. Under Petrenko’s direction, however, it sounded freshly minted. The opening movement’s slow introduction was a clear indication, deliberate but gradually generating enough tension before letting loose in the ensuing Vivace like an uncoiled spring. The boisterous pace never lost momentum till its closing bar. The noble second movement, an Allegretto (thus a slow movement by comparison), unfolded with a magisterial air. Its variations built up arch-like in a gentle crescendo to a mighty climax. This was famously encored at its 1813 Vienna premiere, and nobody would have objected had the SSO played it again. 

The last two movements were predicated on speed. The third movement’s Scherzo blazed away, held back somewhat by a more restrained Trio, but one sensed Petrenko who was animatedly skipping on the podium had something in reserve and more up his sleeve. That was the Finale, which built on the earlier kinetics and went for broke. Very accurate playing at terminal velocity made for a breathtaking experience. Richard Wagner had famously deemed the symphony an “Apotheosis of the dance”, but no one was going to dance to this. What he probably meant was dynamic and vibrant rhythms, and this memorable reading was full of this. 

Star Rating: *****

The review as seen on Bachtrack.com:

https://bachtrack.com/22/296/view/27884

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, January 2014)

MOTO PERPETUO

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas

JAVIER PERIANES, Piano

Harmonia Mundi 902138 / ****1/2

The four very varied piano sonatas on this recording, which cover different periods of Beethoven’s output, appear unrelated. They are however united by the fact that each of their final movements are “perpetual motions”, as the title of the disc suggests. The idea of constant movement appealed to composers, translating to virtuoso studies which never seem to end while taxing the performer to the utmost. Two such perpetual motions close the Sonatas in A flat major (Op.26), which paradoxically follows a funeral march, and in F major (Op.54), one of Beethoven’s shorter sonatas.

The Appassionata Sonata in F minor (Op.57), an obvious candidate, is not included. In its place is the Tempest Sonata in D minor (Op.31 No.2), the finale of which is a slightly slower variant, an eternal spinning wheel that has seemingly no beginning or end. Even less expected is the closing movement of the Sonata in E minor (Op.90), which is a leisurely Schubertian song without words. Spanish pianist Javier Perianes is a most persuasive and imaginative advocate who makes this music sound positively vital.    

THUILLE Violin Music

MARCO ROGLIANO, Violin

GIANLUCA LUISI, Piano

Naxos 8.572870 / ****1/2

If one has enjoyed the violin sonatas of Brahms or Richard Strauss and hanker for more lush romantic melodies, a further step would be to investigate the music of Ludwig Thuille (1861-1907). The little-known Austrian composer was born in Bolzano, Italy but studied in Munich where he became closest friends with Strauss. While the latter became world famous, Thuille died prematurely of heart failure and in obscurity.

Twenty-four years separate his two violin sonatas, but both are stylistically conservative in idiom. The shorter First Sonata in D minor (1880) has a substantial opening movement, followed by three shorter movements, reliving the folksy spirit of Beethoven’s Spring Sonata without imitating it. The more mature Second Sonata in E minor (1904) plumbs more deeply, with an impish scherzo-like finale to provide contrasts.

Serving like an encore, Thuille’s Allegro Giusto (1906) plays like a carefree country dance. The excellent Italian duo of Marco Rogliano and Gianluca Luisi give totally committed performances, full of passion and spirit, which deserve many listens.

  

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, January 2012)

DE FALLA Piano Works
Nights in the Gardens of Spain
JAVIER PERIANES, Piano
Harmonia Mundi 902099 / ****1/2

Thanks to Arthur Rubinstein. Alicia de Larrocha, Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim, Noches en los Jardines de España (Nights In The Gardens Of Spain) by Spanish nationalist Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) is no longer considered such an exotic species of piano concerto. Its sultry blend of hot-blooded Spanish dance rhythms, nocturnal allure and Romantic pianism make its three conjoint movements pleasurable listening. Brilliantly realised by young Spanish pianist Javier Perianes and the BBC Symphony conducted by Josep Pons, this recording is more than a match for his famous predecessors.

The 80-minute anthology offers much more besides. Fantasia Baetica, written for Rubinstein, is a substantial work that distils the same passion and sweeping virtuosity of the concerto, a glorious extrapolation of the popular Ritual Fire Dance. Four Spanish Pieces (1906-09) are wonderfully written dance music from various regions including Aragon and Andalusia. Two Homages (to Debussy and Dukas) and four further salon-like short works complete this rather comprehensive survey. Perianes’s sensitivity and impressive pianism distinguishes him as an ideal interpreter of music from his homeland.

BACH Sonatas & Partitas
REGER Preludes & Fugues
SAYAKA SHOJI, Violin
Mirare 128 (2 CDs) / *****

The late 19th and early 20th century saw the emergence of a “Back to Bach” movement, led by composers like Ferruccio Busoni and Max Reger (1873-1916) who sought to relive the complex counterpoint and baroque formality of Johann Sebastian Bach’s aesthetics in their music. This lovely double album (retailing at the price of a single disc) marries Bach’s matchless unaccompanied violin music with selected Preludes and Fugues from Op.117 for solo violin by Reger. Was Bach a visionary or was Reger a retrogressive?

Reger’s Prelude in G minor opens with exactly the same chord as Bach’s Sonata No.1 in G minor, while Reger’s fugue follows a similar rhythmic dance pattern as the corresponding Bach fugue. Similarly the Fugue in B minor seamlessly leads the ear into Bach’s Partita No.1 in the same key. Although Reger does not bring anything new (not even dissonant asides) to the form, this is an act of homage rather than plagiarism. Young Japanese Sayaka Shoji offers immaculate versions of all six works (including the Bach Partita No.2 with its famous Chaconne), allying perfect intonation with faultless articulation, which demand an unqualified recommendation.

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, March 2011)

BLASCO DE NEBRA Piano Sonatas
JAVIER PERIANES, Piano
Harmonia Mundi 902046
*****

When was the last time you heard piano music that is exquisitely crafted, sounds somewhat familiar but yet completely unknown? Welcome to the cloistered world of the short-lived Spanish composer Manuel Blasco de Nebra (1750-1784), a contemporary of Mozart and Salieri, whose music languished undiscovered for centuries. Spanish pianist Javier Perianes performs a selection of six sonatas, originally for harpsichord or fortepiano, and these sound perfect on the modern piano. Each lasts about 10 minutes, beginning with a meditative slow movement where the sonorities could easily have come from the late Romantic period. The shorter concluding fast movements bear influences from keyboard masters Scarlatti and Soler and share their whimsical qualities. The two Pastorelas, drawn from the archives of Montserrat monastery near Barcelona, close with two dance-like fast movements. This is highly engaging music, beautifully performed.

PUPILS OF CHOPIN
Hubert Rutkowski, Piano
Naxos 8.572344

****1/2

The Romantic era saw the emergence of many pianist-composers who are virtually never heard of today. The names of Karol Mikuli, Thomas Tellefsen, Carl Filtsch and Adolph Gutmann are united by the distinction of having been taught by Frederic Chopin. Their piano music unsurprisingly betrays the master’s influence. The best known of the four, Mikuli lived long enough to develop a more individual style in his Polonaises (Op.8) and character pieces. Tellefsen introduced his native Norwegian elements into his Mazurkas, which look forward to Grieg’s Lyric Pieces.

Filtsch’s Impromptu No.1 is almost a carbon copy of Chopin’s own First Impromptu, while his Impromptu No.2 contains a page right out of Chopin’s First Ballade. The young virtuoso should perhaps be forgiven, having died from peritonitis at the age of 14. Gutmann was Chopin’s favourite student, and his Nocturne (Op.8 No.1) and Bolero are more than mere imitations. Polish pianist Hubert Rutkowski accords this collection of 22 pieces with the same cantabile and elegant virtuosity as the best of Chopin. Recommended listening.

BEAU SOIR
JANINE JANSEN, Violin
Itamar Golan, Piano
Decca 478 2256

*****

Dutch violin sensation Janine Jansen’s first recital disc explores French music. The major works are violin sonatas by Debussy and Ravel, one form where the so-called Impressionist composers differ like chalk and cheese. Debussy’s intimate musings, recalling the spirit of the French baroque, are poles apart from Ravel’s urbane manner where he even dabbles in the blues. Ironically, it is Olivier Messiaen’s early Theme and Variations which sounds most impressionistic while honing a lofty spiritualism which has come to define his later music.

Jansen lavishes the music with a gorgeous sonority, full of lush vibrato allied with perfect intonation. The disc is also filled with miniatures; Fauré’s Apres un reve (After A Dream), Debussy’s familiar Clair de lune and the titular Beau soir (Beautiful Evening), all in transcriptions, belong to the Belle Epoque. Swiss composer Richard Dubugnon contributes three short pieces. The dreamy half-lights of La minute exquise (The Exquisite Minute) and Hypnos evoke twilight moments and somnolence, while Retour a Monfort-l’Amaury is his tribute after visiting the home of Ravel. A most delightful anthology.