Gilbert Kalish Performs Old Favorites

Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert
Gilbert Kalish, piano
Bridge Records

In this recording, Gilbert Kalish presents an appealing program of works he knows well. The opening and closing works are the final piano sonatas of their respective composers -- Haydn and Schubert, with a selection of short works by Beethoven in the middle.

Haydn's Sonata No. 62 in E-flat (Hob.XVI:52)  was composed for a gifted performer, and is one of Haydn's more complex piano works. Nonetheless, Kalish keeps things light and elegant. His well-rounded phrasing and subtle emphasis captures Haydn's reserved elegance perfectly.

Kalish also plays Franz Schubert's Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-flat, D. 960 in a slightly reserved fashion -- but it works. Rather than overwhelming the listener with emotion, Kalish's performance reveals the beautiful construction of the work. One hears the intricate patterns and lines of the sonata, rather than a furious rush of notes.

The Bagatelles, Op. 119 of Beethoven balance nicely with the two sonatas. These are short, relatively simple works (by Beethoven standards). Each bagatelle is lovingly performed by Kalish, turned into miniature gems by his musicianship.

Kalish plays with the fluid assurance that comes from a lifetime of music-making. He isn't trying to prove anything, or even assert his personality. He just plays, and it sounds like he's enjoying every moment. As did I.

Lowenthal Delivers a Potent Post-Modern Program

Jerome Lowenthal: Rochberg, Chihara & Rorem
Jereome Lowenthal, piano
Bridge Records

Pianist Jerome Lowenthal presents an attractive program of works that he has some kind of direct connection to. And that connection makes these not just informed, but exciting and insightful performances.

George Rochberg's compositions make up the bulk of the release, with three works that are similar in construction, yet yield different results. "Carnival Music" (composed for Lowenthal) is a wild mix of academic atonality and commonplace blues, tangos, and marches -- filtered through a fun-house mirror. "Nach Bach" a work Lowenthal champions, is more aggressively atonal, with snatches of Bach interspersed, like sunshine glimpsed through roiling clouds.

"The Partita Variations" features a number of pastiches (again, mixed with atonal elements) that culminate in a decidedly tonal three-part fugue.

Lowenthal easily sails through the sudden shifts in style -- one moment playing heart-on-your-sleeve Tchaikovsky, the next icily stabbing disjunct notes across the keyboard.

Paul Chihara's work, "Twice Seven Haiku for Piano," is the result of a suggestion made by Lowenthal to the composer. It's a set of quite short characteristic pieces that cover a wide range of styles and genres. These are fun little musical vignettes that Lowenthal plays with relish. The album concludes with Ned Rorem's "75 Notes for Jerry," written for Lowenthal's 75th birthday. Lowenthal's tender performance makes the work sound very close to Debussy, a fitting end to this post-modern program.

Mary Kathleen Ernst: Keeping Time

Mary Kathleen Ernst
Keeping Time
Fung, Higdon, Hoover, Shatin, de Kenessey, Deussen
Innova

Pianist Mary Kathleen Ernst turns in a strong program of solo piano works with equally strong performances. Yes, all the works were written by women, but that's about the only thing they have in common.

Vivan Fung's "Keeping Time" uses the piano as a percussion instrument. This work is all about rhythm, and Ernst delivers an energetic and (in my opinion) very cool performance.

By contrast, Jennifer Higdon's "Secret And Glass Gardens" sounds shimmering and ethereal, almost suspended in time and space. It's almost a companion piece to Debussy's "La cathédrale engloutie"

The "Dream Dances" of Katherine Hoover is a somewhat mysterious-sounding work, with slow-moving passages suddenly bursting forth with up-tempo angular melodies.

Judith Shatin used the I Ching to guide her compositional process, and the resulting music is fasciniating. This 26-minute work is comprised of very short sections, sounding almost like aphorisims. Shatin sometimes has the piano sound very mechanistic, almost like an electronic instrument.

I somethimes think Stefania de Kenessey writes the music others wish they had the courage to. "Spontaneous D-Combustion" has catchy, tonal melodies, supported by full, rich chords and a rhythmic pulse that has more than hint of pop sensibilities.

Nancy Bloomer Deussen's "A Recollection" is a wistful and quiet little work that calms down the listener and makes a peaceful close to the program.

Bernard Rands: Piano Music 1960-2010

Bernard Rands 
Piano Music (1960-2010) 
Ursula Oppens, Robert Levin, piano
Bridge Records 

By presenting a selection of piano works spanning 40 years, Bridge makes it easy to hear how Bernard Rands matured as a composer, from strict serialist to a more intuitive (albeit still non-tonal) style.

The release opens with his 1960 composition, "Tre Espressioni." This is an early work, and to my ears, the pointillist atonality sounds a little to academic and emotionless. "Espressione IV," written just four years later for two pianos seems more fully developed. In this case, the two pianos start off with completely contrasting material and gradually work towards a confluence by the end.

In "Memo 5," composed in 1975, I thought I could detect a little bit of humor amid the disjunct tone clusters and rapid passage work. According to the liner notes, Rands wrote it to express his displeasure with "PPP -- pretty piano pieces." His displeasure is made quite clear.

The largest work on the album is Rands' 2007 "Preludes." This collection of 12 preludes was dedicated to composer and pianist Robert D. Levin, and the first letter of each prelude spells out his name (Ricecare, Ostinato, Bordone, Elegia, Ritornello, Toccata, etc.).  Collectively, the set has a greater range of musical expression than the earlier pieces on the album. Some are just as spiky as "Tre Espressioni," but the writing seems more sophisticated and authentic, somehow. Some of the preludes are even somewhat lyrical (but never sentimental).

"Impromptu," finished in 2010 concludes the program in a satisfying fashion. In contrast to the opening work, the contour is smoother, the dissonance less aggressive, and the overall tone more amiable. To me, it sounded like Rands had completely internalized his compositional process, and the work had a naturalness to it that the early piano pieces lacked.

Ursula Oppens and Robert Leven do excellent work bringing Rands music to life. The technical requirements are steep, but both artists never lose sight of the overarching musical organization of the works.

American Grace: Orli Shaham's album of connections

American Grace
Piano music from Steven Mackey/John Adams
Orlie Shaham, piano
Los Angeles Philharmonic; David Robertson, conductor
Jon Kimura Parker, piano
Canary Classics

This album is all about connections -- and those connections help make this release such a strong program of contemporary piano music. Orli Shaham and Steven Mackey are close personal friends. His piano concerto "Stumbling to Grace" was composed for her, and in this recording, the performance is conducted by David Robertson, Orli's husband. These close connections facilitate communication, and to my ears, translate into a superior composition and performance.

The music is well-suited to Shaham's technique, and she plays with a deep understanding of the material. And the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by Robertson, is right there with her. This concerto, as the name implies, is one with a destination in mind. Disjointed themes gradually coalesce over the course of the 26-minute work, stumbling towards a satisfying finale that pulls all the pieces together. Without a deep understanding of the structure and purpose of all these seemingly unrelated bits, the concerto could come off as rambling mess. In this case, though, composer, soloist, and conductor all seem to be of one mind, And the result is phenomenal.

The John Adams works included are also worth the price of admission. Shaham breezes through "China Gates" with metronomic precision tempered by an expressive delicacy. Hallelujah Junction, a work for two pianos, is another outstanding performance. Jon Kimura Parker and Orli Shaham are perfectly matched, sounding like a single uber-pianist.

Karis plays Webern, Wolpe & Feldman: connection and context

Webern, Wolpe & Feldman
Aleck Karis, piano
Bridge Records

Atonal music -- just like tonal music -- is all about the relationships between notes. This new recording by Aleck Karis is also about relationships.

In this case, the one between three composers. Anton Webern, who distilled the essence of Schoenberg's dodecaphonic theories, taught Stephen Wolpe. Wolpe, in turn, taught Morton Feldman.

While the works presented on this album by these three men have the same overall sound, placed side-by-side one can hear the subtle differences between their compositional voices.

Webern's "variations, Op. 27" is almost epigrammatic; a concise and precise working out of 12-tone motifs. Wolpe's "Form" and "Form IV: Broken Sequences" are also short, but of a totally different character. There is an underlying lyricism in these works, which make them sound somehow warmer and less purely intellectual than Webern's work.

Morton Feldman's works are the longest in the program. "Piano" and "Palais de Mari" each run over 20 minutes. Feldman slowly and carefully builds his soundscapes. In context, one can hear how Felman's music grows out of the same theoretical basis as Webern's and Wolpe's. And one can hear how Feldman further shaped those theories to conform to his unique musical vision.

Aleck Karis performs admirably, bringing out the expressive qualities of each work. This album isn't for everyone. But if you're a fan of 20th Century music, I highly recommend this release.

Martin Perry scores big with American composers

Martin Perry Performs Binkerd & Ives
Gordon Binkerd: Essays for the Piano
Charles Ives: "Concord" Sonata
Martin Perry, piano
Bridge Records

Both works on this new release are first recordings, but for different reasons. Gordon Binkerd isn't a composer who's often performed, which is why his Essays get a recording premier here. Charles Ives' "Concord" Sonata has enjoyed several recordings, but this oft-revised work exists in many different versions -- this is the premier recording of one of them.

Gordon Binkerd was a Midwesterner who was active in the mid-Twentieth century. His music has a deliberately homespun roughness to it, which Binkerd used to express the inherent Americaness of his work. Whether the stance was authentic or not, Binkerd never received the attention of Copland and Barber, and his work has been sadly neglected.

I say sadly, because the three Essays for the Piano played here are well-crafted works that deserve a hearing. These works sound "American" without any affectation, and have real expressive power. The Essays are in a somewhat dissonant style, but still full of interesting and engaging melodies and harmonies.

Ives continually revised his Second Piano Sonata even after he had it published. So there are a lot of different -- and sometimes conflicting -- versions of the work in existence. Pianist John Kirkpatrick (who would in time become the curator of the Charles Ives Archive at Yale) pulled together all of these variant versions and created a definitive, final edition of the work. That's the version Perry plays in this release.

As played by Perry, the sonata is very expressive, with some of the quieter sections sounding almost sweetly sentimental. Even during the roaring climaxes, Perry plays with taste and musicality. The music gets loud, but it's always under control -- not a mean feat with the maelstrom of notes and tune snippets Ives throws at the player. Perry delivers a very distinctive -- and faithful, I think -- interpretation of this complex work. And one that provides additional insights when compared to other performances.

Martin Perry plays Carter, Bartók, Rózsa

Martin Perry plays Carter, Bartók, Rózsa
Martin Perry, piano
Bridge Records

Martin Perry presents works by three composers that aren't often grouped together: Bela Bartok, Mikos Rózsa, and Elliot Carter. And yet the three works on this disc form a cohesive and intriguing program.

Bartok used folk songs as the basis for his Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, Op. 20. But as the title suggests, he didn't simply present the folk songs intact. He works with his material, often taking it in unexpected directions. The overall effect is that we're hearing both something old and something new -- which we are.

Miklos Rózsa is best remembered for his film scores, but he started his career as a classical composer, and remained so throughout his life. His Piano Sonata, Op. 20  has the some of the post-romantic gestures of his movie music, but there's more to it than that. Rózsa's composition is densely textured and complex in structure. Perry rises to the challenge, articulating the intricate lines that weave in and out of each other.

The 1945 piano sonata of Elliot Carter is something of a transitional work. Carter was still writing in a neoclasical style in the 1940's, but one can hear the move towards what would become his highly personal form of serialism. Martin Perry plays with clarity, and illuminates the overarching organization of the work. His phrasing makes connections between the various motivic elements, so that the music builds logically rather than sound like a series of isolated incidents. Despite being devilishly difficult, Perry makes the piece flow, and even plays with elan.