Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon
Year: 2010
Artist: Alice Sara Ott

There are probably several hundred recordings of Chopin’s body of work, ranging from the truly atrocious to the sublime. Associated as he is with the Romantic era, many artists of the modern attempt to infuse their interpretations with pathos and melodrama by taking vast liberties with phrasing, pedalling, and tempo. Other performers take a more impressionistic view to the score: if Chopin spent weeks labouring over each and every bar, maybe he made a mistake, leaving in some of those horrible notes in the long runs or massive chords. Volume and speed are equated with passion, not a fussy insistence upon hitting the right notes in the right way: wasn’t that what Romantic era music about?

Ms. Ott does not so much play these waltzes as allow them to unfold. Each overlapping voice is enunciated clearly; the pedal is restrained and is never allowed to become muddy and indistinct. She has a peculiar ability to make each chord sound perfectly natural and easy; there is no hint of any finger-busting struggle to cover distance on the keyboard. Every phrase is rounded and given its moment to sing. She allows both the harmonies and dissonances to work their own particular magic, without having to resort to cheap dynamic tricks. Even the most delicate notes are played with poise and attention. Occasionally she offers a different voicing (such as in the supporting left-hand line towards the end of Op 64 No 2) to keep the music lively and fresh; Chopin’s endless repetitions do not seem quite so laboured. Most of her tempi reflect the heritage of these Waltzes, and move at a reasonable clip. The inclusion of the posthumous Nocturne (No. 20, in C-sharp minor) is a welcome surprise, a lovely dessert for this feast of music.

In short, there is much to recommend this mature, balanced recording that will bear repeated scrutiny, and it shines in comparison to other contemporary recordings. I think even Chopin would have approved of it.

Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon
Year: 2010
Artists: Hilary Hahn, Matthias Goerne, Christine Schäfer, Münchener Kammerorchester & Alexander Liebreich

First, the good news: Hilary Hahn is featured in this collection of Bach cantatas and choral works. For the most part, her playing is as composed, clear and thoughtful as always; her violin sings, laughs and sparkles.

Now, the bad news. Although one might expect otherwise from a record whose title implies balance between instrument and voice, these recordings are weighed down by the two vocalists. The nature of baroque music is contrapuntal and bright; Mr. Goerne’s fruity vibrato overpowers all distinctions, and lack of expression lends a leaden quality to his pieces. What may be lovely in the concert hall translates into loud mush. Ms. Schäfer, on the other hand, prefers to skip half of her notes and manages to miss the rest, rather like a hurdler who decides that it is quicker to barrel down the course than to attempt those athletic jumps. Furthermore, both vocalists lack the pleasing subtlety and cooperation that Bach demands of his performers. Perhaps it is not entirely their fault; these two vocalists seem to have preferred Romantic leider to Lutheran liturgy in their past work, and these have different vocal techniques and requirements.

Other little indignities are present in this package. The cover art is atrocious. Who picked that font? Why is it purple? Why is a disembodied bust of old Bach hovering, god-like, in the corner? Why do the artists look photoshopped onto the generic white of an indeterminate church hall? Why do they look like they are guilty of a great secret? Why is the violinist separated from the vocalists? Why is everyone in black? Why are there no artist biographies? And if they are so famous, why are there no promotional covers for the other two artists?

One of your esteemed reviewers believes that this CD is palatable in the right historical context. The other reviewer finds this a difficult recording to digest.

Released 2009 by EMI music

The trumpet has largely played a supporting role in most classical music, blaring the occasional brassy fanfare. More often it is associated with jazz and brass bands. So when this recording by Alison Balsom appeared, my curiosity was piqued. How could a brass instrument with only three ‘buttons’ produce such round tender notes spanning a three-octave range?

And yet it does. Miss Balsom’s playing is dexterous and nuanced, and easily steals the show. Trills and octave jumps are surefooted, rhythms precisely delineated and dynamics entirely within context. The occasional intake of breath is audible, but does not detract from the record. The orchestra (the Deutsche Kammerphilharmoniker) is well balanced, enough to support but never so loud as to overwhelm, and is spare enough to reflect the early classical/baroque origins of these works. The technical aspects of the recording have resulted in a rich full sound, in which even the harpsichord can be heard in its rightful place.

The compositions are very typical of their time of composition, brightly glossed and easy to digest. Overall a highly satisfactory purchase.

Here’s a nice site that discusses how the trumpet makes all those notes with only three valves.

I picked up 2007 release from Deutsche Grammophon with great excitement earlier this year. As the first Polish native in 30 years to win the 2005 International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition, Mr. Blechacz caused great excitement, both in his native country and around the world. He followed this up with several well-reviewed recitals and signed a recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon.

My initial impression was highly favourable. Mr. Blechacz shines in the more rapid passages and technically he sounds competent. However, somewhat to my own astonishment, towards the end of the disc, my attention wandered away from the music.

Repeat screenings have diminished my pleasure in this recording, and I have not made it through the entire disc at a single sitting. Largely this stems from a difference in my interpretation of Chopin’s works. To me, Chopin should be fluid and lyrical, at times passionate, vital or pensive. Percussive is not a word I associate with Chopin, and yet many of these Preludes have a grating, forced quality to them (Prelude 4, 9, 20, 22, 24).

The slower Preludes have a lugubrious character, the result of a muddiness from the lower registers (Prelude 2), and missing notes in some of the higher chords (Prelude 6). I found it difficult to distinguish the details of the chord progressions and lower voices, and in other areas, the music loses its forward impetus, bogging down in a haze of sound. I cannot tell if the piano and recording setup was to Mr. Blechacz’s satisfaction, but the sound and voicing is audibly uneven. I disagree with some of the tempi chosen, particularly 4, 6 and 15.

That said, many Preludes continue to enthrall (1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 16), and there is much to appreciate in this new musician. Hopefully his interpretive skills will grow alongside the technical promise that this recording shows.

On a more practical note: I would download this CD from any vendor of your choosing (Deutsche Grammophon, iTunes, what have you), but the flaws in at least a third of the tracks prevent me from recommending a purchase of this in CD format. While it is worth the time to listen to these tracks, and is a fine debut effort, I do not consider this a definitive recording of the Preludes.

Last night (Thursday, April 20, 2006) Hilary Hahn performed the second concert of her debut with the National Arts Center (NAC) Orchestra. She was in town to perform the Glazunov Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 82 along-side conductor Arild Remmereit also making his NAC debut (filling in for Pinchas Zukerman who is currently on leave). The orchestra seemed quite comfortable with Remmereit at the helm despite this being their second performance together. Southam Hall certainly wasn’t a full house but there was a good crowd on hand.

The Glazunov concerto is quite a demanding work for the soloist and while rarely included in the repertoire of many orchestras of late this performance was a pleasure. In all I am finding it difficult to classify Ms. Hahn’s interpretation of the work given the relative lack of reference points I have, though I would say that she took a rather conservative approach. Given the nature of this work on this night her approach was dead on.

There is something about her 1864 Vuillaume violin that produces what I find to be the most pleasing sound of any violin I have every heard in person. Its pure warm tone is truly amazing and holds perfectly into the higher registers of the instrument. That said, if there was anything lacking about the performance it was the presence of a more-pronounced-than-usual difference in the sound quality of the soloist’s violin to that of the string section.

The work was played straight through without a pause as expected. The moderato first movement was rhapsodic with both the orchestra and Ms. Hahn in perfect alignment. Remmereit was in solid control and maintained the orchestra at a complementary volume throughout. I love the romanticism of this piece and I found the associated lyricism conveyed in this performance to be quite moving - something that was enhanced by Hahn’s graceful movements. In this light I was struck with the way, during her breaks, she looked around at each section of the orchestra as they were highlighted in the score seemingly enjoying the music, and then resumed her playing quickly and with flawless timing.

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