SHOSTAKOVICH & ROSLAVETS Viola Sonatas
ROSLAVETS
First Viola Sonata
ROSLAVETS Second Viola Sonata
Allegro
commodo, Assai moderato, Allegro conspirito
SHOSTAKOVICH Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 147
Victoria Chiang, viola; Randall Hodgkinson, piano
Centaur Records crc 2450
"Chiang (an exceptionally smooth-toned violist)
and Hodgkinson make the most of the melodic content of the First,
too, playing
up the Faureesque bittersweetness of its thematic material rather
than the heightening our sense of its rhythmic conflicts, and coaxing
us with their flexible phrasing rather than startling us with their
revelation of the music's contrapuntal density. The resulting
performance is faster, less pressured, than Gridchuk's-and
in the end, it makes a stronger case for the music.
Chiang and Hodgkinson
resist current received opinion even more strongly in the Shostakovich.
There is, perhaps, nothing heretical about their account of the
ferociously obsessive middle movement,
which Chiang plays with the gritty tone that she avoids elsewhere.
But the opening Moderato and especially the closing Adagio gloss
on the "Moonlight Sonata" are another matter. The current
iconography of the bitter, dying Shostakovich has encouraged us
to hear the slow movements of his late music as spare, static,
and pregnant, each note carrying a poignant meaning- and the performances
of the outer movements of the Viola Sonata, especially of the Adagio,
have consequently tended to ignore the metronome markings and draw
out the tempo, as if each note had to be given a chance to tell
its tale of sorrow. Chiang and Hodgkinson, however, think in lines
rather than points, cutting a good five minutes off the 18 that
Bashmet and Muntian (16:4) devote to the finale-indeed, cutting
a good two minutes off the relatively speedy Kashkashian/Levin
account. As a result, the music seems less despairingly barren,
less "remorselessly glacial," less like what Robert
Carl calls "one of the great valedictory movements in music" than
it often does. But if, like me, you've sometimes shared Royal
S. Brown's belief that "the final Adagio never really
makes a case for its constant flirtings with Beethoven's "Moonlight
Sonata," this recording may well convince you of the music's
quality. Certainly, it emerges with more—dare one say humanity?
In sum, these are the kinds of performances that encourage you
to reexamine your presuppositions. The sound is fair, the annotation
insufficient-but that's no obstacle to a strong recommendation."
-- Fanfare, The magazine for serious record
collections
"This unusual program of Russian viola music
makes for gratifying late-night listening."
-- American Record Guide
I have always looked forward to receiving
recordings of violists with whom I'm not familiar. Ms. Chiang is
an artist-faculty
member of the Peabody Conservatory of Music and has had an extensive
career of performing and teaching. I asked Ms. Chiang a couple
of questions before writing this review. One was what kind of viola
did she play? I expected to hear she played an instrument that
was at least 100 years old since it had a lovely tone throughout
its entire range. I was very surprised to hear it was made by Etienne
Vatelot in Paris in 1997. Ms. Chiang is a daring and consummate
artist of whom, I'm sure, we shall hear much more in the
future."
-- Journal of the American Viola Society
"Violist Victoria Chiang, a current faculty
member at Peabody Conservatory, has released an outstanding disc
of viola works by Nikolai Roslavets
and Dmitri Shostakovich. Chiang is to be commended not only for
her excellent playing, but also for her compelling program, which
demonstrates the inexhaustible invention of two very different
composers."
-- Cadenza, An die Musik's Guide
to New and Unique Recordings
"These two distinguished American musicians
play both [Roslavets] sonatas persuasively. Victoria Chiang sounds
altogether purposeful
in the Shostakovich Sonata. The performances are very good."
-- The Strad, Tully Potter
Purchase Shostakovich/Roslavets CD
PLEYEL Sinfonia Concertante
IGNAZ PLEYEL Symphonies Concertantes, Violin Concerto in D
David Perry, violin; with Isabella Lippi, violin, and Victoria Chiang, viola
Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Markand Thakar, conductor
NAXOS 8.570320
Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) did not write a lot of music, and not a lot of his music has been recorded. My first exposure was some years ago, around 1972, when one of these pieces (I believe) was coupled with some Mozart on a Columbia album that featured Pinchas Zukerman as soloist. I didn't think too much of it at the time, but as I was still discovering the infinite variety of riches found in the Austrian composer, Pleyel seemed like another classical period wannabe whose light inevitably flailed in the radiance of Wolfgang. How wrong I was!
The nine or so concertos of varied stripes were composed during the composer's sojourn in Strasburg, working at a cathedral there. He did not write any during his youth despite the undoubted influence of his teacher Haydn. But as anyone can tell from the unarguable quality of these pieces, the Haydn influence remained. The B-flat work is easily categorized as a true double concerto, replete with all of the sparkle and wit one could want, and effortlessly competitive with just about anyone's. Well, okay, no one can compete with Mozart's same combination for violin and viola, but this one is close in quality if not ultimate profundity. The writing is lithe and clearly melodic, while the three-movement work in A (the B-flat has only two movements) has some clever harmonic twists that almost outdo Mozart himself.
Violin Concerto in D given here actually has two versions, the original from around 1780 and a revision made after he publicly repudiated the first, for reasons unknown. In the revised work he greatly shortened the first two movements and added a completely new rondo, quite different in tone from the original last movement. The folks here have chosen to keep the rondo, but have coupled it with the first version of the concerto, restoring much music that Pleyel discarded. Naxos is offering a download of the firstthoughts on the last movement free of charge if you buy this record, and if that interests you. To me the concerto, fairly long of its type in this guise (30 minutes) is still a superb example of Pleyel's art, and cannot be recommended too highly.
All the soloists and especially Mr Perry play with conviction and a keen sense of style. The Baltimorians are sufficiently attuned to the needs of Pleyel and to appropriate stylistic turns of phrase that make this a most rewarding release in excellent sound. At the price it cannot be beat.
-- Audiophile Audition, Steven Ritter
During my years as music director of a so-called “good music” station in Montreal, I was constantly on the lookout for recordings that while not of the hit-parade variety (Liszt's 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody, Rossini's William Tell Overture, et sim ad nauseam) still qualified as good classical fare, easily accesible and enjoyable by even novice listeners. Works of the 'Haydn-lite' variety such as these concertos by Pleyel were then worth their weight in gold. Even if tastes become jaded over time, there is enough melody, drama, humour and even excitement in them-qualities of which the performers in this case take full advantage-the whole recorded in excellent audio, and at just under 80 minutes, an outstanding value!
-- Cliffs Classics, The New Recordings, Give Cornfield
Ignaz Pleyel's life was a success story whether as a composer, conductor, piano manufacture or the proprietor of the most flourishing music publishing house of his time. As a composer he enjoyed more success than Haydn, who lived at much the same time, largely from his ability to promote his output though a chain of distribution outlets on both sides of the Atlantic. History would see that he was stylistically dated even when his music was being composed. To sample his uncomplicated character, turn to track 5, the jog-trot finale to the Symphonie Concertante in A major, and you will find early Haydn as the inspiration. In this genre he composed for a mixed selection of solo instruments-often offering alternatives-here played as a charming double violin concerto. Even in the Rondo finale, it is music at an unhurried pace and of easy-going attraction, the one in the earlier Concertante in B flat for violin and viola coming as a gentle dance. That work is in just two movements with a sturdy and more extended opening. So far as the Concerto is concerned, two versions exist and are enumerated in the enclosed booklet. I do find it strange that the recording links two movements from one with the finale of the other, but maybe I am missing something in the reasoning. Suffice it to say that it is a work of outgoing brilliance and impact, the American-born soloist, David Perry, revelling in the challenges offered. Victoria Chiang's viola and Isabella Lippi's second violin are admirable in the Concertantes, while the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra add a well balanced and cleanly detailed accompaniment.
-- David Denton
Purchase Pleyel CD
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