Martin Slidel: Classical Music Reviews

Chabuka Amiranashvili, composer; performer Memo Music (2021) Chabuka Amiranashvili’s new collection for Memo Music commences with ‘We Will Survive’ akin a John Williams score with whirring brass and droplets of ‘purer’ electronic sound. ‘In Past’ offers restful piano motifs accompanied by a gentle pattering of drum pads. These elements shift in timbre and dynamic range, conjoined by the echoing rasp of a pan flute. I would have also enjoyed it without it being ‘pinned down’ melodically.  ‘Bao Bao’ is warm synth clusters and sparkling chimes, reminiscent of a 1980s Vangelis soundtrack. In exposition, intervals descend,  very satisfyingly,  on electric piano. And again, those warm synth clusters in ‘Svani’ with a simple piano tune floating above. T he forces intertwine, i n a dual narration, becoming part of the other. Its structural balance consistent, it is one of the best compositions on the album. ‘Small’ seems an easy styling of a wordless Soul ballad, employing attrac...

New on Willowhayne Records is ‘The King’s Alchemist – British String Trios’ performed by the Eblana String Trio comprising Lucy Nolan on viola, Jonathan Martindale on violin, and Peggy Nolan on cello. First is Finzi’s ‘Prelude and Fugue’. The piece is gently contemporary, melodic and familiar, in debt as it is to Bach (though to this listener hinting towards Handel). The strings are soulful, yearning, plaintive. ‘Prelude’ is led by a repetitive melancholic air which near close takes on slightly more force. ‘Fugue’ offers deeper tones sensitively related by the performers. The high sweep of the violin echoes what it is underpinned by. The aspect of forcefulness mounts in a masterfully restrained execution, maintaining resonance and balance. Second is a world premiere recording of Hugh Wood’s ‘Ithaka.’ Eblana’s almost-breathy playing complements aspects of airiness, to further open a range of timbres. The explorative and engaging nature of the piece, if at phases lacking consistency, pre...

Jesper Sivebæk, guitar OUR Recordings (2021) New from OUR Recordings is ‘Ta’ Mig Med (Take Me Along)’ – a collection of ‘classical’ arrangements of songs by the late Danish musician Kim Larsen which translate very well. As the supremely gifted guitarist Jesper Sivebæk explains, “The arrangements… are a tribute to Kim Larsen’s melodies, but also to my instrument – the classical/Spanish guitar.” Its opening track (using English titles for this review) ‘Lady Oh Lady’ sets the tone: faintly contemporary and faintly lyrical, and resting upon the pillow of tradition. ‘If Your Dad Says OK’ has a Bluesier edge yet in transcription could pass for a European folk song. ‘Lots of Success’ has the slower-paced melancholic air of an Italian film score, gradually building to (granted, Spanish) Albéniz-style riffs. ‘The Narrow Road’ proffers a chant-like journey, its melodic line blending into the accompaniment seamlessly. ‘Heaven’ offers an increase of rhythm, motion, and tempo not expected from its ...

Released this month on Nimbus Alliance Records, Mozart’s intimate ‘quattro’ versions of his three Vienna piano concerti arranged for quartet or string orchestra (though never written for full orchestra). This album features the unsurprisingly award-winning Czech pianist Matyáš Novák alongside compatriots the Wihan Quartet. Photo: Lenka Hatašová Performed in a natural and fluid style, and without sentimentality, the studio production is as crystal-clear as to be invigorating. Novák’s playing is in turns crisp and gently assured, and always in perfect balance with the full-bodied strings. And yet, this is a warm and intimate recording. The second movement of Concerto No. 11 is both melodious and mellifluous, the performers’ exacting balance never overplayed. Its closing minuet belies an artful variation of tone. Similarly enlivened, and thus reenergised, it seems as if Concerto No. 12 could have been written yesterday. A welcome lightness of touch compliments its compositional structur...

‘Territorial Songs’, a new CD of works for recorder by Faroese composer Sunleif Rasmussen, may not be everyone’s cup of tea presenting as it does the wonders of contemporary practice, performed with jaw-dropping skill by Michala Petri, pushing the envelope to extend a range of tones and approaches. The collection kicks-off with ‘Flow’ for recorder and string trio, and featuring the Esbjerg Ensemble. Its strikingly fresh and contemporary sound seems akin to a reformed Baroque, short sharp string stokes complementing the breathiness of Petri’s technique. The central ‘Tranquillo’, however, affords a gentler unison between the solo and the strings, accompanied by a pitter-patter of pizzicato. The closing ‘Rondeau’ is brighter and rhythmic, Keystone Cops chasing tails around a carousel. ‘I’ is a setting of a poem by Inger Christensen in which recorder and chamber choir are at times astonishingly similar in tone. The vocalisation (Stephen Layton leading the Danish National Vocal Ensemble) ...

Jasmin Seidl, piano Cugate Classics (2021) New from Cugate Classics is a restful collection of original piano pieces by Jasmin Seidl. Gently Minimalist, these offer Glass-like strains although nod to Classical structure and melodicism. Commencing with ‘Sea’, pleasingly underplayed, a glock picks out higher ranges with the percussive aspect of a triangle. If you enjoy Elena Kats-Chernin, you’ll love this: peaceful, calm, serene. The pieces sustain a carillon quality. ‘Sunday Sarabande’ lilts and drifts, with slight shifts of cadence and tempo. ‘Mourning’ proffers slow and ponderous trails in between sets of descendant chords. ‘Lullaby Talk’ repeats its echoey refrain of rising and falling minor thirds – again reminiscent of bells. With ‘Wings’, simple phrases attain tonal height to airily meander. I confess to expecting contrast with ‘Valse Triste’, being in fact a slow stroll in 4/4. Its ‘waltz’ element is a repeating motif in the left hand. ‘Melting’ is indeed so: fluid and dreamy, a ...

Violeta Vicci, violin; viola; voice Aldilà Records (2020) ‘Mirror Images’ is a mesmerising collection of short works for violin, viola, and voice. A tonic for our times, it comprises truly exceptional performances by Spanish-Swiss performer Violeta Vicci . The album opens with Söderlind’s ‘Elegia II’. Sonorous, melancholy, and graceful, it seems familiar-yet-new. A carefully measured violin recording executed with engaging dynamic contrast. ‘Improvisation I’ is the first of Vicci’s imaginative and personal statements. These intersperse the selection. ‘Improvisation II’ combines ancient and modern dance elements, its gentle cadences strumming like a guitar. ‘Improvisation III’ is wistful, exquisite, whilst ‘Improvisation IV’ draws upon traditional idioms as if an unhinged sea shanty. ‘Improvisation V’ features Vicci’s fluid soprano, echoing the resonance of a bowed string. ‘Improvisation VI’ brings vocal and instrument together, the string seeming to reference a hurdy-gurdy. Bach’s ‘Par...