Martin Slidel: Classical Music Reviews

Various composers Kyle Horch, saxophone; Yshani Perinpanayagam; Anya Fadina, piano Norwood Recordings (2021) October marked the release of ‘Fairy Tales’, a collection of recital music from Eastern Europe. It features Kyle Horch on alto and soprano saxophones. Twenty-four short – often very short – pieces.  Yshani Perinpanayagam plays piano on thirteen tracks. These commence with Tcherepnine’s ‘Sonatine Sportive’. ‘Lutte’, the first of three, instigates the terrific tonal and dynamic balance of the performances. I n ‘Mi-temps’ t here is an almost flute-like quality to the sax, a tincture of the music’s potency. The album offers world premiere recordings including Horch’s arrangements of Prokofiev’s ‘Cinq melodies’. ‘Andante’ is busy but unhurried  –  exemplifying the appealing dichotomies within each. ‘Lento, ma non troppo’ reveals elements of a Debussy- esque  refrain. ‘Animato, ma non allegro’ has a pleasing undercurrent of modernity. E xpansions of form v eer to s...

Pancho Vladigerov, composer; Etsuko Hirose, performer Mirare Records (2021) New on the Mirare label is ‘Impressions’ – Etsuko Hirose’s performances of piano works by the 20C Bulgarian composer and teacher Pancho Vladigerov. The album comprises of a set of ‘Impressions’ plus a Bulgarian-themed suite. ‘Langueur’ is immediately attractive, water rippling from Hirose’s hands, in gently descendant lines. These invert as the mood heightens before resolving with deeper undertones. ‘Étreinte’ conjures an image of silent movie stars. Its swirling colours infuse a downtime of a 1920s Parisian cocktail bar. ‘Valse-Caprice’ is an enchanting and thrilling waltz, with a pleasing variation in tempo. Again, Hirose contains an emotive response to affect a delicate balance. ‘Caresse’ offers an air of nostalgia. Its influences range from Late Romantic to early Music Hall. ‘Élégance’ also marks the intersection between Romantic and Modern. Another intimate recording: ‘clean’, effortless, and elegance inde...

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) ...