Urbane Before It Was Fashionable To Be Urban

It's fair to say that while Lonnie Johnson is not exactly neglected these days, he does not really have the stature in the blues hierarchy that he deserves. My guess as to why would be that he is a little too sophisticated, urbane before it was fashionable to be urban and willing to mix styles and genres outside of a strict twelve bar. The four disc box set "Lonnie Johnson The Original Guitar Wizard" is a real bargain. Johnson was a native New Orleanian who also spent much time in New York and Chicago during the musical part of his career. So he isn't in any way country blues, despite being an early exponent and playing largely acoustic guitar. There is much solo work here, the songs often have a misogynistic bent like much blues but the lyrics are clearly sung and easily understood. They return often to common themes like the cheating woman, the lazy woman, the venality of pimps and natural weather related disasters. The guitar fills and solos are jazz inflected and pre-shadow much of Django as well as later electric bluesmen like T-Bone Walker. Johnson's much more raw violin style features on a couple of tracks and he is often accompanied by piano. There are some songs backing lady masters of the double entendre such as Victoria Spivey and also sides which feature him as a member of Louis Armstrong's Hot Five era combo. Perhaps the most rewarding tracks are the duets with white jazz guitarist Eddie Lang which showcase masterful interplay. Towards the end of the final disk, Johnson has turned to an electric guitar in an early version of an r'n'b band though the amplification is used purely for volume and not to investigate any special effects. The box set doesn't feature anything from Lonnie Johnson's sixties re-discovery but it provides much enjoyment and justifies the title.

Distinctive Take On A Choral Tradition

The BBC Music magazine Christmas edition boasts a cover disk with seasonal connections, the main work being Britten's choral piece St Nicolas. This was a commission for Peter Pears's old school Lancing College and this recording is from a live concert given back in the chapel at that venue last year. The forces concerned are the BBC Singers, Choristers of St Paul's Cathedral and the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Paul Brough with tenor soloist Daniel Norman. The instrumental scoring is distinctive for strings, piano and percussion and creates an evocative sound world. Britten weaves small elements of exoticism in with spare characteristically spiky sections and settings of two familiar old style straight ahead hymn tunes. Apart from the traditional connection of St Nicolas with cuddly old Santa, there isn't anything particularly Christmassy here, the libretto seems to be based on the life story of the saint; his calling, works and death. There isn't a libretto with the booklet however ( well, it is a freebie after all )and the notoriously plummy intonation of the BBC Singers makes it difficult to discern what is being sung. That drawback also applies to the filler where Andrew Carwood directs them in Howells's Three Carol-Anthems. These are attractively tuneful but the singers might just as well be singing wordlessly, I could just make out the word lullaby in the second setting since it is repeated so often.

An Unearthed Premiere

An important archive recording on this month's BBC Music magazine cover disk. It is a vintage recording from 1936 of the British premiere of Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No 2 played by the French violinist for whom it was written, Robert Soetens, with the BBS Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Henry Wood. As would be expected the sound isn't great, the worst aspect being the balance with the orchestra playing somewhere in the middle distance while the soloist is up close and personal. But the main point of interest is Soetens's interpretation and this is heard to advantage. No longer a name that stands out in the recorded history of the music, he nevertheless shows the abilities that encouraged Prokofiev to dedicate the work to him. I have a contemporary version of the piece by Nickolaj Znaider in clear modern sound which I would turn to in future if I wanted to hear Prokofiev's Violin Conerto No 2 but I'm pleased to have heard this premiere. The disk also contains a recent Wigmnore Hall concert recording of Prokofiev's Violin Sonata No 2 by James Ehnes on violin and Andrew Armstrong on piano. This was a transcription that Prokofiev made of an earlier flute sonata and had stellar advocates in Oistrakh and Richter. Ehnes and Armstrong make a strong current case for the work in fine sound.

Live "Lied"

This month's BBC Music magazine cover disk is another that duplicates repertoire I already have and so limits what I can post about it. It features Mahler's Das Lied Von Der Erde and is a live recording from a Prom concert of 2008 given by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under new principle conductor Donald Runnicles with soloists mezzo Karen Cargill and tenor Johan Botha. The performance has rather a ragged and uncertain start with problems of tempo but gains in confidence and authority as it goes on. Whether Das Lied is a symphony in al but name or an orchestral song cycle is of secondary importance since it remains one of Mahler's great achievements and is to be considered at least the equal of his other output.

One Of The Major Piano Concertos

Brahms is the featured composer for this month's BBC Music magazine free cover cd. The main work is the Piano Concerto No 1 performed by Nelson Goerner with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christoph Konig. The makeweight is a performance by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Richard Hickox of the Academic Festival Overture. The overture is a genre that I find dificult to take seriously as great art, while recognising the fun and brio of many operatic ones. Despite the analysis of the sleeve notes, I can't see the Academic as more than a potboiler. Maybe I am out of sympathy with the source material of student drinking songs ! The piano concerto on the other hand is a fine work, full of subtexts surrounding the relationship with the Schumanns and reminiscent of the first symphony in the agonies that the composition caused Brahms and the length of time he took to complete it. A huge first movement, a moving slow movement and an energetic and ultimately triumphant finale are all given a fine reading by Goerner. at 40, he is adding maturity and experience to youthful promise and technical expertise.

Who Knows Where The Time Goes ?

This will only be a short post since the BBC music magazine cover disk for this month is a performance of Shostakovich's Symphony No 11, a work I have already blogged about. It is played here by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by new principle conductor Kirill Karabits. Perhaps the most noteworthy comparison to make with the commercial recording of the work I have by the LSO under Rostropovich is in the timings; Karabits completes the journey in a sprightly 60 minutes compared to the stately 72 minutes of Rostropovich. This reading doesn't feel in any way rushed though and is a respectable enough performance conveying the universality of the theme and not just the focus on the year 1905.

Surpassing My Expectations

The current edition of BBC Music magazine is their dedicated Proms issue but curiously, the cover disk bears no relation to any of the themes or performers at this years Proms, nor is it taken from a Proms broadcast though it is a live BBC orchestra performance. It is the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir adrian Boult playing Walton's Symphony No 1 from a 1975 concert, so almost considered vintage these days. Some have suggested that this isn't a particularly recommendable performance of the work but since it is a piece that I didn't previously know, I found the playing to be perfectly acceptable. Walton is not a composer for whom I have had much time, perhaps his biography shows a not particularly attractive character. But I was surprised to be very impressed with the first movement of this symphony in particular. Expressive, emotional, atmospheric with what seemed to me slightly Spanish flavours, it was a most compelling start. The work continues with an edgy presto and a fine slow movement. It was only in the finale that I felt things being written more for effect than from the heart. Walton famously took a long time over the gestation of this work, wanting to make an impact with his first foray into the symphonic world, and he struggled for a suitably triumphant resolution, seeming to me to fall back into ceremonial pomp in parts. All in all though, a fine symphony and memorable first movement that I wil look out for again.

Father Of The Symphony ?

The BBC is really going overboard this year with the anniversary concept. Of the four composers they have targeted, we have now had the BBC music magazine cover disk offerings for Handel and Mendelssohn and this month it is the turn of Haydn with Purcell no doubt due to make an appearance in the autumn. The Haydn disk has four symphonies, numbers 22, 26, 67 and 80. The performers are the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Nicholas Kraemer. These happen to be the only recordings of Haydn symphonies that I have, I suspect that the mere concept of someone having written over a hundred has put me off even attempting to get a perspective on their ouevre. So on that basis I was pleased to have the disk. I have read some criticism of the playing from other sources but to my inexpert ears it sounds perfectly acceptable, veering towards the historically informed end of modern instrument performances. The two earlier symphonies show a Bachian church influence with chorale developments while the sleeve notes eliablyy inform me that the later two symphonies owe something to the world of opera buffa and are edging towards the mature style shown in Paris and London. If I get the opportunity I shall progress to investigating these even later works, I'm pretty sure the upcoming Proms may provide chances for that !

It's Those Anniversaries Again

The BBC is now in full swing with its' "celebrations" of the composers it has deemed to be Composers of the Year based on death / birth anniversaries. This month's BBC Music magazine cover disk plays a part, featuring Mendelssohn. The work is one that I wasn't familiar with and this is the first recording that I have. It is his Symphony No 2, subtitled Lobgesang or Hymn of Praise. It also serves as a further nod towards the late Richard Hickox who is the conductor here of the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales. Soloists are Veronique Gens, soprano, Pamela Helen Stephen, mezzo and the tenor Robert Tear. As can be seen from the presence of chorus and soloists, this is a choral symphony taking the form of a substantial sinfonia as introduction and then an almost oratorio like final two thirds. There are both forward and backward influences apparent. It is clear that Mendelssohn had been influenced by exposure to the oratorio heritage of Handel. But the work also looks forward to the oratorio style that he pioneered himself with Elijah and which lead on to a genre in England pursued by Elgar and even Walton among others. This is not an area of mussic of which I am particularly fond but I found the disk more amenable on second hearing and am glad to have it. I was also struck by the use of leitmotif recurring throughout the work and ponder on who that may have influenced ( though such an influence would never have been admitted ! )

Youthful Take On Core Repertoire

The current monthly cover disk from BBC Music magazine features the young Czech players of the Pavel Haas Quartet, members of the BBC new Generation Artists scheme. They have already released commercial recordings of Czech repertoire which have been very well received and on this disk they play three Beethoven quartets, one each from his early, middle and late periods. The booklet notes make clear that in some ways these distinctions are arbitrary but the PHQ seem comfortable in each of them. These are not performances in aspic, they take some liberties with tempo and dynamics and these might not be "library" choices for the pieces performed ( Op 18 no 4, Op 135 and Op 95 Quartetto Serioso ) But since I already own a complete cycle of the quartets by the Takacs Quartet, I am happy to have these as an addition and look forward to hearing what repertoire they tackle next.

Enjoyed This More Than I Thought I Would

A complete opera offered as the BBC music magazine cover disk this month, albeit a one act opera that is part of a trilogy. The work in question is Il Tabarro by Puccini. The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Singers are conducted by Gianandrea Noseda and the soloists are Barbara Frittoli, Miro Dvorsky, Lado Ataneli, Jane Henschel, Barry Banks, Alastair Miles, Allan Clayton, Katherine Broderick and Edgaras Montvidas. It is a live recording taken from a preformance at the 2008 Proms. Puccini's not really my thing but I find the three one act operas of Il Trittico, of which this is one, easier to take than the famous cornerstones of the repertoire that get staged so much more frequently. The plot of Il Tabarro is straightforward; love gone bad, sexual betrayal, vengeful murder. The music doesn't really involve seperate scenes and isn't an aria, recitative, aria type structure. Instead it is built on a single span rather like a tone poem or lyric symphony in many ways. This suits the concert presentation here at the Proms. There are city sounds and car horn effects in some of the orchestration to remind that Puccini is a 20th century composer not immune to influences from the early decades of that century. There are fine performances from the main protaganists and if it is a cliche to assume that being Italian Noseda has an ear for opera, it is nevertheless born out by the conducting here.

A Souvenir But No More

This month's BBC Music magazine cover disk features vintage performances by Clifford Curzon of Mozart Piano Concertos Nos 21 and 23. No 21 is from 1976 and the accompaniment is provided by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Bernhard Klee, while No 23 is from 1963 with the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Hurst. To be honest, this is not really a major rediscovery of long lost electrifying performances. Curzon's playing is fine enough without being at his very best and it would be a perfectly fine radio broadcast or evening in the concert hall but it is not an essential document for posterity. These are probably the two most familiar of Mozart's piano concertos and the slow movements still show their magic despite the somewhat routine run throughs from the BBC orchestras. And it is churlish to be too critical of these free cover disks, rather be grateful for the occasional gems they throw up.

A Fitting Tribute

This month sees an excellent BBC Music magazine cover disk of music by Janacek. I already have recordings of the pieces featured ( multiple recordings in the case of the Sinfonietta ) but this is still a worthwhile addition. The disk is otherwise notable for the two conductors featured. The Sinfonietta is conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras with the BBC Philharmonic. A renowned specialist in Czech repertoire, this is a full blooded and spirited performance despite a few split notes from the brass in the most exposed parts of the fanfare. Both pieces were recorded live and so it is possible to live with the odd imperfection. The second piece on the disk is the Glagolitic Mass, played by the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales with the Bristol Choral Society and conducted by the late Richard Hickox. The disk has the subtitle "a tribute to Richard Hickox" and it is a fine performance that is entirely fitting to be viewed in that light Following his unexpected and untimely death. It certainly outshines a recent Prom performance under Boulez, although the latter was undermined by one notably appalling solo contribution and Hickox is much better served by his soprano Susan Bullock, together with mezzo Ameral Gunson, tenor Kim Begley and bass Matthew Best. Not to forget the important organ part played here by Adrian Partington.

The Anniveraries Start Here

The BBC love anniversaries and in 2009 they are plugging four "composers of the year" who all have anniversaries of some sort. One of the composers is Handel and the latest BBC Music magazine was a Handel special, including the cover disk. The works featured are two Concerti Grossi ( Op 3 Nos 1 and 2 ) and two Chandos Anthems ( As Pants The Hart and The Lord Is My Light ). The Concerti Grossi are taken from a forthcoming Harmonia Mundi release I believe and are played by the Academy of Ancient Music directed by Richard Egarr. Handel was a great recycler of material and these pieces were cobbled together from existing orchestral movements from various operas, oratorios and anthems in order to suit a passing fashion for Concert Grossi. That doesn't make the music any the less engaging and it is repertoire which ideally suits the AAM. The choral Chandos Anthems are performed by the BBC Singers and the Orchestra of the Sixteen under the direction of Harry Christophers. They are so called because they were written for the Duke of Chandos at a time when Handel had a brief period under his patronage. They are typical Handelian oratorio syle woks on a smaller scale and there are notable solo contributions from sopranos Eleanor Meynell and Elizabeth Poole, tenors Daniel Auchincloss and Andrew Murgatroyd, Anthony Robson on oboe and organist Laurence Cummings.