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.

Fantastical Tales

This month's BBC Music magazine cover disk goes under the title of An Enchanted Christmas with music by Ravel, Prokofiev and Suk. In truth, there isn't much that is inherantly Christmassy about the pieces, it is just that they are based on folk / fairy tales that for some reason are looked upon as being seasonal. The Ravel and Prokofiev pieces are familiar enough and I have both in other commercial recordings. They both get perfectly serviceable workouts; Ravel's Mother Goose Suite from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Ilan Volkov and Prokofiev's The Love For Three Oranges ( Symphonic Suite )from the BBC Philharmonic under Sir Edward Downes. Incidentally, the accompanying notes claim that the march from the Three Oranges suite is Prokofiev's most famous melody. Really ? The troika from Lt Kije ? The Montagues and Capulets ? Peter and the Wolf ? Whatever, the work which I didn't know is the one by Suk, Pohadka - A Fairy Tale. This is championed here by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jakub Hrusa. It is a symphonic poem telling the tale of an ill starred love affair, powerful curses and unfortunate transformations and ultimate redemption and happy ending. Because of his family connection it is easy to think of Suk in terms of his father in law Dvorak but the melodic and folk influenced writing and orchestration prefigures Strauss and has more in common with the 19th century Russian school.

France and French Influence

The BBC Music Magazine offering this time around has a French theme with music by Poulenc, Messiaen and Stravinsky. Stravinsky ? Well, the excuse is that he was resident in Paris when the work concerned was composed. That work is the Symphony of Psalms performed here by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Sir Andrew Davis. I already own two other recordings of this work but hearing it in the context here reveals certain connections with the sound world of Messiaen that had previously not occured to me. Stravinsky had magpie tendencies but which way any influence may have gone I am not expert enough to suggest. The Poulenc piece is his Gloria, also played by the BBCSO and Chorus under Davis and with soprano Christine Brewer taking the solo part. Poulenc had ambiguous relations with his religious beliefs and that is reflected by the less than reverent settings of some of the texts here. Not really my cup of tea but given a decent performance. The most compelling performance on the disk however is reserved for the instrumental piece by Messiaen, L'Ascension, performed by the BBC scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. Some of Messaien's indiosyncracies are evident, such as bird song interludes, but the piece has a sober relentless drive that is most impressive.

Quintessentially English ?

Another new BBC Music magazine cover cd, this one going under the title Visions Of England and featuring music by Vaughan Williams, Delius, Butterworth and Finzi. Largely familiar fare presented in decent enough performances and hanging together quite well as a programme without being in any way essential. The disk commences with Delius's orchestral setting of the folk tune Brigg Fair played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis, quintessential English pastoralism but more to do with the source material than with Delius. There follows song settings of the verse of A E Houseman by respectively Vaughan Williams and George Butterworth. The VW is On Wenlock Edge sung by tenor Andrew Kennedy accomnpanied by the Royal String Quartet and pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips, while the Butterworth settings are also from A Shropshire Lad sung by baritone Jonathan Lemalu accompanied by pianist Iain Burnside. Both of these suites seem to be rights of passage for any rising English ( or English speaking ) singer. The disk concludes with a collection of Finzi orchestral songs Let Us Garlands Bring, also sung by Lemalu with The BBCSO under conductor Jac van Steen. Finzi isnb't exactly neglected but is perhaps under performed when compared with the other works on this disk. He does not suffer in any comparison that might be made.

Rising Mezzo

I'm a bit late posting about the latest BBC music magazine cover disk which features mezzo soprano Christianne Stotijn. The works featured are Brahms's Alto Rhapsody with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Jac van Steen, Mahler's Ruckert-Lieder with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Yasuo Shinozaki and Mahler Songs accompanied by pianist Julius Drake, the latter items extracted from a commercial release. There are no texts supplied in the booklet for obvious reasons of room in such a free giveaway but Stotijn sings expressively throughout. Brahms famously never wrote an opera but there is an operatic intensity to the Rhapsody that makes a very effective work. The Ruckert-Lieder fit into Mahler's Knaben Wunderhorn sound world and that of several of the symphonies. Certain recurring themes and motifs also crop up in the piano accompaniment. All in all, this is a worthwhile release and another of the superior magazine offerings.