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| Page 9 | Music Reviews - CD | April 2006 |
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Four CDs celebrate Mozart's 250th Anniversary of his birth
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By Alidë Kohlhaas This year is Mozart Year. He was born 250 years ago, on January 27, 1756. Consequently, for the first three months of year, this prolific composer has been swamping the airwaves on radio stations featuring classical music. At the time of writing this, the air waves have returned somewhat to a normal state, with Mozart being just one of many composers featured in radio programs. Still, countless CDs have been release featuring Mozart works, major and minor. One sometimes wonders whether so many of these works are really worth being recorded. So with Mozart on my brain, let me tell you about four Mozart CDs, two of them two-CD editions, that fans of the composer should not give a miss. They are all produced by CBC Records and tailored to a variety of tastes. For lovers of the piano, one of Canada's royal musical families came together to perform with the CBC Radio Orchestra under Mario Bernardi. Yes, you guessed it, the Parkers, brothers Jon Kimura and James, joined by cousin Ian, performed in their usual excellent manner three piano concertos. These are Concerto No. 21 for piano in C Major, K 467, Concerto No. 7 for three pianos in F Major, K. 242, Concerto No. 10 for two pianos in E Flat Major, K. 365/316a. The last two works mentioned are works of a young Mozart, barely having reached his 20s. Around this time he had discovered the newfangled piano, desperately trying to persuade his father to let him have such an instrument from the shop of Johann Andreas Stein of Augsburg. One cannot blame him. The harpsichord is not the most responsive of instruments, and its tone is quite inferior to that of the piano. But no luck. Papa Mozart nixed the idea at the time. As for the history of the piano, although first developed by Bartolomeo Cristoforo in 1704, and undergoing continued developed during the 18th century, it was not until 1768 that Johann Christian Bach gave one of the first public recitals on the instrument. Still, Mozart continued to compose for the piano. By 1785, now 29, he owned a fortepiano and came out with Concerto No. 21. This is, in its arrangement, obviously the work of a more mature composer than of the previous two works. Jon Kimura Parker gives it justice in a sensitive, but firm performance and with excellent support by the CBC Radio Orchestra. It, by the way, is the only radio orchestra left in North America. It was founded in 1938. The triple concerto, featuring all three pianists with support by the orchestra, is a work of some limitations. It is one of those works that makes one think he churned something out to please a patron. This, in fact, is the truth because he composed it for Countess Lodron and her two daughters, who had limited playing abilities. The Parkers played it with aplomb, obviously enjoying their performance together. My question is, "Was it worth it?" Judging by the applause on the track, the audience at the Chan Centre in Vancouver enjoyed every note. So, I leave it to be the final arbiter. The double concerto has a bit more meat to it. The two brothers Parker approach it with vigour, well supported by the orchestra. While Mozart made some later revisions to the work to embellish it, the performance on this CD is based on the original orchestration. This, I think, was an excellent choice on the part of the pianists because here one begins to sense that Mozart is maturing in his approach. A final comment about this CD. Despite being recorded live at the Chan Centre this January, it has very good sound quality. [SMCD 5240 - 76:26 min.] The next CD is a double CD, simply called 'Mozart?'. It features The Festival Winds during two performances at the Glenn Gould Studio in 2003, but the set was not released until this year. The question mark after Mozart implies the uncertain origin of the partitas The Festival Winds are playing; doubt exists that they are Mozart's. All of them are listed in the Appendix of the Köchel index because none can be authenticated. Still, they certainly carry an imprint of his style which, of course, could have been imitated. Yet, The Festival Winds take them seriously and give them their full attention. It must be mentioned here that the group consists of some of the finest wind instrument players performing in Canada. Of these, James Campbell (clarinet), James Sommerville (French horn) and Joel Quarrington (double bass) are perhaps the most well known to Canadian audiences. The others are James Mason (oboe), Brian James (oboe), David Bourque (bass clarinet), Neil Spalding (French horn), James McKay (bassoon) and Christian Sharp (bassoon). There is a certain jauntiness to the sound of this music that carries one along. Yet, after two hours of this wind music I found myself feeling a little weary and questioned the need for a double set. But, anyone who is an afficionado of wind music, should not feel in the least bit hesitate to acquire the set. [MVCD 1173-2 - CD1 65:10 min.; CD2 59:55 min.] There is always a sense of excitement when one finds a CD that features some of Canada's finest singers performing opera arias together. In this case it is the Canadian Opera Company (COC) Orchestra under the baton of Richard Bradshaw that has been joined by three of Canada's finest singers to celebrate Mozart's 250th birthday. In June 2005 soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, tenor Michael Schade and baritone Russell Braun sang arias and duets from Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, Abduction from the Seraglio, and La Nozze di Figaro. All three are internationally celebrated artists, and Schade is, without doubt, one of the leading Mozart tenors anywhere today. I cannot repeat often enough that it has been a pleasure for me to see the careers of these artists take off, and hear their voices mature. And, of course, to hear the news of their many successes abroad as recitalists and in opera productions. The COC Orchestra made an excellent choice in picking these singers to feature on their Mozart tribute. Also, its opening Overture from Die Zauberflöte puts you into the mood of what is to come. And what follows is Braun in a well-shaped performance of Der Vogelfäner bin ich ja (The bird catcher I am indeed) and then Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen (A Girl or a little wife). Braun is able to hover at the highest as well as the lowest range of his voice with such ease and comfort that one can believe the music had written for him. Schade follows with Dies Bildnes ist bezauberned schön (This portrait is enchantingly beautiful) in a somewhat more careful and controlled vocalization. I think Schade is one of the best we have, but sometimes I feel he has become a bit too 'Viennese' in his interpretation of Mozart, which is a little foreign to North American ears. Still, this is not so much a complaint as an observation. One feels when listening to him that he has to loosen up a little. The final track from Die Zauberflöte is the duet Bei Männern, welche Liege fühlen (In men who feel love) Bayrakdarian and Braun complement each other to perfection. I could go on in the same vein about Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Le Nozze di Figaro. They all are sung to perfection, with great expressiveness and a seeming sense of joyous co-operation among singers and orchestra. Do I have a complaint about this CD? No. This CD is 'the' Mozart CD for opera lovers, in which the orchestra and the artists give very balanced performances and the sound is excellent. It ranks high on my Mozart scale, at about 4.5 stars out of 5.[SMCD 5239 - 67:21 min.] Violinist James Ehnes is featured in the fourth CD in this series. Performing with the Mozart Anniversary Orchestra, Ehnes shines in this two-CD set, showing himself to be the master player he is. Recorded last August at Toronto's George Weston Recital Hall (as was the above COC CD), it is perhaps my favourite of the four Mozart CDs listed here, but it seems to depend on my mood — whether I prefer vocal or instrumental music at the time of listening. So, 4.5 stars at least. CD1 consists of Concerto No. 1 in B Flat Major, K. 207, the Concerto No. 2 in D Major, K. 211, the Adagio in E Major, K. 261, the Rondo in B Flat Major, K. 269 (261a) and the Rondo in C Major, K. 373. As those of you who read my reviews regularly already know, I am not a Mozart fan. Yet, here I am praising Ehnes for seducing me into listening closely to his fine playing, so ably supported by this small but perfectly arranged Mozart Anniversary Orchestra. Ehnes shares a birthday with Mozart. He turned 30 on January 27 of this year. So, it seems fitting that the young violinist, already well established in a great career, should play the music composed by a very young Mozart. The concertos are thought to have been written before he was 20. On this first CD, the two concerti, despite their gentleness, shall I say, are definitely thoughtful works worthy of performance. The Adagio and the Rondos each have very different characters so that at no time does one feel Mozarted out. CD2 consists of three Concerti, No. 3 in G Major, K 216, No. 4 in D Major Major, K. 218, and No. 5 in A Major, K. 219. All three are works of considerable length, the shortest — No. 3 — being 24:37 minutes. Their format is very much alike in that they have slow movements in the dominant key and final movements expressed in rondo format. Each is interrupted in the middle by a movement of contrasting, unrelated material. The overall tone of these three concerti is far darker than that of the first two recorded on CD1. Since they are complete works, with no extra snippets to lighten things, this CD makes one after a while long for a break despite the well-balanced performances of both soloist and orchestra. There came a moment when I felt I had too much Mozart and quickly aimed for a completely different piece of music. Still, I will stick to my earlier statement that this is a strong contender of being my favourite of the four CDs, battling it out with the Braun|Bayrakdarian|Schade CD. [SMCD 5238-2 - CD1 64:57 min.; CD2 78:14 min.] |
