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Recordings
Holiday
ear candy for a variety of tastes
Alternative/Indie
There’s
Grammy talk for this here Cat Power record. The
Greatest (Matador), released way back in January,
recently got re-upped in a “slipcase edition,” with three
different covers and all that nonsense. The label brought
the price way down too, which means they really want people
to hear this thing, not just hear about it—if you somehow
haven’t heard, it’s gotten some of the best reviews of the
year. The aforementioned Grammy buzz seems like the logical
next step; sure, the Cat Power album that should have been
nominated was You Are Free, but then this is the type
of record Grammy goes for every time: Chan Marshall teamed
up with a bunch of classic Memphis studio cats, the guys who
gave Al Green his sound back in the day, for this smoky, reflective
collection. It’s a recommended stocking-stuffer because it’s
the one Cat Power record your mom will probably dig.
The label that Death Cab built—Barsuk Records—had a strong
run this year, and one or more of the following should please
indie-pop fans of any stripe. Alabama-via-Portland husband-and-wife
duo Viva Voce’s Get Yr Blood Sucked Out simultaneously
evokes both Deadboy and the Elephantmen and Mazzy Star, and
features my favorite song title of the year: “We Do Not Fuck
Around.” British oddball Jim Noir is responsible for every
note on the charmingly quirky and playful Tower of Love,
a record that should appeal to fans of early-’70s Kinks, the
Zombies’ Odessey and Oracle, and Neutral Milk Hotel.
Teenage sisters Asya and Chloe—known collectively as Smoosh—bridge
the gap between Quasi and the Mickey Mouse Club on
Free to Stay, with some help from Death Cab’s
drummer, Jason McGerr. And the Long Winters’ Putting
the Days to Bed may just be the smartest, snarkiest
pop release of the year. Very highly recommended.
Speaking of smart and snarky, the Mountain Goats are back
with Get Lonely (4AD). It’s a bit of a come-down
from last year’s The Sunset Tree, but it’s still dead
lovely. And speaking of dead lovely, Yo La Tengo do that several
times over on I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat
Your Ass (Matador), the new, double-disc release that
Slant called “a bloated, overreaching long-player in
the tradition of bloated, overreaching long-players like Sign
O’ The Times, Exile on Main Street, and London
Calling.” Not bad company. At least they didn’t compare
it to Sandinista!
From the majors, two records that are actually worth their
salt: Beck’s The Information (Interscope) is
a groovy, organic affair, and one of his very best. At 15
tracks, it’s too long by half, but for the life of me I can’t
find any real filler here, and after last year’s disingenuous
Guero, it’s a monster return to form—which is a bizarre
thing to say about an artist who has sounded like nine different
people on nine different records. For those who prefer the
human-sounding Beck of Sea Change with a bit of the
Odelay quirk, this is it. Included is a DVD featuring
low-budget videos for all of the album tracks, including cameos
from Devendra Banhart and a lot of animal costumes. Also from
the bigs, the Decemberists’ The Crane Wife (Capitol)
is the year’s most ambitious release, complete with two songs
that break the 10-minute mark, one being a trilogy that recalls
both early Genesis and Jethro Tull. At times, the album is
deliberately obtuse; others, almost calculated in a major-label-debut
way (“The Perfect Crime” is what it says it is: a painstaking
ripoff of “Life During Wartime”). Overall, it’s the most interesting
and inviting record so far from a band who, four-or-so albums
in, continue to improve with each release.
A few guys who made some of the better music of the mid-1990s
are back with new projects. Multi-instrumentalist and producer
Matt Mahaffey (formerly of Self, and current Beck sideman)
has teamed up with Jeff Turzo (formerly of God Lives Underwater)
to form Wired All Wrong. Their debut, Break Out the
Battle Tapes (Nitrus), is a delicious mix of postindustrial
hard rock, hip-hop and pop, that should appeal to . . . well,
fans of Self and God Lives Underwater. Also, Greg Dulli’s
post-Afghan Whigs project the Twilight Singers lurched forward
with two releases this year—the full-length Powder Burns
and a new EP called A Stitch in Time, both on
the One Little Indian label. The latter teams the band with
the inimitable Mark Lanegan; and the two vocalists in tandem
make a menacing pair.
Finally, if you’re filling the stocking of someone who simply
cannot be bothered with “normal” music, try these: Wilco drummer
Glenn Kotche has released his debut solo record, Mobile
(Nonesuch), which lets the ace percussionist tinker away for
eight splendid tracks. A 12-minute “Monkey Chant for Solo
Drum Kit” could have been the most pretentious thing put to
tape all year had it not come from Kotche; his refusal to
recognize the boundaries of solo percussion is inspirational.
And Brooklyn’s Liars relocated to Berlin (as in Germany) last
year, where they recorded the 45-minute avant-weird opus
Drum’s Not Dead. It’s packaged with a DVD that features
three 45-minute films—one by each band member, each using
the entire album as a soundtrack.
—John
Brodeur
Beyond
Genre
Organizational
principles and the need for clarity in the marketplace have
dictated that music fall into particular categories. Here
follow an assortment of current titles which flaunt their
individualism and manage to straddle genres with aplomb.
The
Anthology of American Folk Music first appeared on the
Folkways label more than 50 years ago. Now Shout Factory has
brought forth The Harry Smith Project: The Anthology
of American Folk Music Revisited. As a citizen of
New York City by geography, and the world-at-large in his
outlook, Harry Smith was empowered by concerns aesthetic,
social and intellectual. He was the first to anthologize forgotten
78s from the ’20s and ’30s, basically spearheading the folk
movement that flourished into the ’60s. In 1999 and 2001,
Hal Willner produced a series of five concerts celebrating
Smith’s efforts. This box set offers up a pair each of CDs
and DVDs. The music bristles with passion and anger, celebrates
beauty and dissonance, and offers a spirited sense of community
as the remarkable list of performers join in with one another.
Where else are you going to hear David Thomas sing alongside
jazz bassist Percy Heath, as a small string section scored
by Van Dyke Parks glides them through “Fishing Blues”? Or
how about Lou Reed burrowing into “See That My Grave Is Kept
Clean”? Elvis Costello, Beth Orton, Ed Sanders, Beck, Roswell
Rudd with Sonic Youth, the list goes on. This is a party celebrating
Harry Smith, but really, it’s celebrating the bonds that tie
us all together.
The Dust-to-Digital label is the latest of what can justifiably
be called descendants of Harry Smith’s work. Only in operation
for a few years, their latest offering is a three-disc set
titled How Low Can You Go? This is a collection
devoted to the string bass and its role in music from 1925
to 1941. Amazingly annotated in a 96-page book filled with
photos and period advertisements, it’s perfect for curling
up with during the dark nights of winter. Pop the CDs in the
player, toss an extra log on the fire, and let this music
from 80 years ago make you wiser and hipper.
Good
God! A Gospel Funk Hymnal (Numero Group) is a set
of thematically gospel-fueled entreaties rolling forth from
delectably incessant grooves. The 18 tracks date mostly from
the ’70s and are drawn from obscure Midwestern labels. Many
of these records were pressed in small quantities and not
distributed very far from their source, some sold just to
a particular congregation. The performers range from hopped-up
James Brown-inspired singers to the more churchly bearing
of vibratoed tenors. “O Yes My Lord” by the Voices of Conquest
offers a choir singing a melodic chant over just drums, similar
to what Sun Ra was doing with his troupe around the same time.
Sam Taylor’s “Heaven on Their Minds” mixes in grand flourishes
(vibes, timpani) over a core combo that supports a ballad
punctuated by a chorus singing in a meter that defies the
uninitiated to jump on board. The song was from a cast recording
of a funky reinterpreted musical titled The Soul of Jesus
Christ Superstar. And absolutely not to be missed is the
raw-edged “That’s Enough” by Brother John Witherspoon. Throughout,
these songs are all so danceable, so funky, so honest and
committed that they dare not break the hypnotic grooves by
proselytizing. They just exhort listeners to dance, to move,
to hear and believe.
Plague
Songs (4AD) offers 10 artists performing songs, each
based on one of the 10 Biblical plagues described in the book
of Exodus. No strangers to the world of art songs, the participants
include Stephin Merritt, Brian Eno and Robert Wyatt, Laurie
Anderson, Scott Walker, and Rufus Wainwright. Originally commissioned
by a British arts organization, the recordings flow naturally.
Some of the artists involved are at their most subtle, eschewing
broad gestures and pomp for quieter circumstances.
Soft Machine’s Middle Earth Masters (Cuneiform)
is a recording of the band live in 1967 at the London venue
named in the title. This was after the departure of Daevid
Allen, when Kevin Ayers (guitar, bass) was doing the bulk
of the writing, sharing the vocals with drummer Robert Wyatt.
After the discovery of these tapes a decade ago, they sat
until a new generation of sonic-enhancement equipment made
it possible to repair the once-daunting list of audio problems
inherent in them. Though the recordings still are far from
perfect, it’s exhilarating to hear such early Soft Machine
staples as “Hope for Happiness” and “Why Are We Sleeping?”
be blasted by a very loud trio. The moment in the former when
Mike Ratledge’s organ enters at full bore is alone worth the
price of admission.
This
American Life Stories of Hope & Fear (Shout Factory)
is the third collection from this NPR program. The two discs
are loosely divided into the two conditions named in the title.
The emotionally varied highlights include “On Hold No One
Can Hear You Scream,” an interview with TAL staffer
Julie Snyder, who was having a nearly yearlong battle with
the phone company over incorrect charges. Also John Hodgman’s
story built around the Slingshot ride on the Boardwalk in
Ocean City, N.J. His cleanly delineated descriptions give
way to a metaphorical overlay for a quietly emotional piece,
made all the more so by his subtly bemused, near-deadpan voice.
(He’s also been seen and heard recently on the Apple vs. PC
television ads in which he plays the PC.)
The compositions on the new disc by alto saxophonist Rudresh
Mohanthappa, Codebook (Pi Recordings), are based
on ideas related to cryptography. His quartet features Vijay
Iyer on piano, Francois Moutin on bass, and Dan Weiss on drums.
The nine pieces are rich with a sense of detail that adheres
to the sensibility alluded to in the title, as arrangements
and improvisations take an initial frame of reference (i.e.,
melodic theme) and dissect it. Music is, in its way, a code
for a range of human emotions and experiences. It’s able to
traverse borders unhindered by language. The packaging was
designed to include a decoder ring (which can be used to decipher
some of the liner notes) to truly reflect the concepts within.
—David
Greenberger
 Box
Sets
There
are several great sets out this season, but none come
with a higher recommendation than Orphans: Brawlers,
Bawlers and Bastards (Anti), the new three-disc opus
from the mighty Tom Waits. Broken up into sets by, according
to Waits, the three types of songs he writes (brawlers, bawlers,
and bastards, natch), Orphans is easily the best work
Waits has done in a dog’s age, and that’s saying a lot coming
on the heels of his excellent 2004 release Real Gone.
This limited-edition collection includes 54 songs: 30 new
recordings and a treasure trove of lost Waits classics, many
culled from his years of outstanding film and theater work.
Waits has been compiled before in hits collections, and usually
by label, which meant entire discs composed strictly of his
holding-up-a-lamppost Asylum output, or Tom’s wild years at
Island. Orphans marks the first time the old and new
Waits have stood side-by-side, and it’s a wonder to hear.
The elasticity and theatricality of his voice continues to
impress, and with track after track, he reinforces his place
as one of America’s greatest storytellers and character actors.
Highlights, and there are dozens, include the strangest version
of “Sea of Love” you may ever hear, the jarringly current
“Road to Peace,” and the jewel of the Dead Man Walking
soundtrack, “The Fall of Troy.” There’s so much to say about
the music that it’s easy to overlook the packaging, which
includes a 94-page booklet that, reportedly (physical advance
copies were hard to come by), should provide enough reading
fodder to accompany the entire three-plus hours of listening.
With that out of the way, we move to another American treasure
of sorts: Sufjan Stevens. The indiest little Christian has
done gone and put together a box set—not surprising from a
guy who put out four records in the last three years, and
who plans on recording an album of material for each of the
50 United States. (Can’t wait for that box set.) Anyway,
his Songs for Christmas (Asthmatic Kitty) is
a collection of five EPs, all previously released (and available
online), of Stevens tackling traditional holiday tunes in
his own inimitable manner (read: lots of banjo and glockenspiel).
In addition, he presents a handful of exclamatory Yuletide
classics-to-be, including “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!”
and “Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day? (Well, You Deserved
It!)” The cutesy packaging includes all five discs (42 tracks,
all told), plus a “family portrait,” stickers, and a songbook
with lyrics and chords. It’s affordably priced on the Asthmatic
Kitty Web site, and would make a great gift for the Jesus-loving
hipsters on your list.
Andy Partridge, of XTC relative fame, doesn’t care for touring.
Instead he stays home and makes recordings all day, or so
it would seem—he’s released eight volumes of the Fuzzy
Warbles series so far, compiling more than 100 otherwise
unreleased recordings from his solo archives, as well as a
bunch of alternate versions of XTC tunes, and a few unfinished
numbers that he completed specifically for the series. All
eight discs are packaged for easy gifting in the Fuzzy
Warbles Collectors Album (Ape House/Ryko), which includes
a bonus (ninth!) disc of nine songs exclusive to the box.
Also included is an oversized booklet called “A Brief History
of Home Taping,” written by Partridge himself, and a sheet
of Fuzzy Warbles stamps, mimicking the cover art of the CDs.
The box is fashioned to resemble a stamp album (hence the
title), and looks to be the discerning pop fan’s best bet
this holiday season.
Whilst we’re getting exhaustive, Yep Roc Records completes
their series of Billy Bragg reissues with the Volume
Two box, compiling the four studio albums from the
second half of his career—Workers Playtime, Don’t
Try This at Home, William Bloke, and England,
Half English—plus a bonus disc of rare and unreleased
tracks for each. Over the 14-year span these releases cover,
Bragg gradually adds full-band arrangements to his guy-with-guitar
sound. Unfortunately, none of his excellent Mermaid Avenue
collaborations with Wilco are here (considering the loads
of outtakes that have gone around, a box set of those recordings
could very well be in the works), but a ninth disc—a DVD featuring
two full live performances—rounds out the set nicely.
On the short side: Xylophone-loving post-rock outfit Tortoise
have assembled a collection of tracks from foreign singles
and tour EPs, some unreleased material, and the entire, long-out-of-print
Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters remix record in
a three-CD/one-DVD set called A Lazarus Taxon
(Thrill Jockey), named after the “paleontological term
for a species that disappears, then reappears in the fossil
record.” Sony/Legacy has given the Byrds the big-box treatment
with There Is a Season, a comprehensive five-disc
set (four CDs and a DVD) featuring nearly 100 songs, plus
a bunch of unissued TV performances. Rhino dropped behemoth
sets from Björk (Surrounded) and Tori Amos (Piano)
this year—both well worth it if you can deal with the price
tag—as well as the Bee Gees’ The Studio Albums 1967-1968,
which compiles remastered and expanded versions of three of
the Gibbs’ finest early (that’s pre-disco) releases:
Bee Gees 1st, Horizontal, and Idea. And,
if the Jam fan on your list can’t wait for Yep Roc’s domestic
issue in January, you can still order an imported copy of
Paul Weller’s career-spanning Hit Parade; the
four-disc set is broken into one disc for the Jam, one for
the Style Council, and two for Weller’s remarkably consistent
solo career.
—John
Brodeur
Blues,
Bluegrass, Celtic and Folk
Shopping
for a folk Blues, Celtic or bluegrass fan? An impressive array
of top singers and musicians in all these genres just happened
to anticipate your holiday needs earlier this year, and obligingly
recorded several fine CDs for you to choose from. Here are
some good bets:
For the blueshound, one of the year’s hottest releases is
harmonica ace Charlie Musselwhite’s Delta Hardware
(Realworld). After forays into other genres in recent albums,
Musselwhite’s new offering is a sweet homecoming to the blues.
As a singer, he’s always been more of an earthy crooner than
a belter; his harp playing, here backed by a lean, electric
three-piece band, is fabulous. On top of all his mesmerizing
riffs and solos, Musselwhite also has penned some socially
conscious songs to boot.
Another prime blues choice is Junior Wells’ Live at
Theresa’s 1975 (Delmark), a CD culled from a two-night
stand at a once-famous bar on Chicago’s South Side. Wells
shines on the harmonica, and his singing is comparable to
James Brown’s. Buddy Guy’s brother Phil, former Muddy Waters
sideman Sammy Lawhorn, and Byther Smith, an undeservedly obscure
musician, all play guitar here. The record seems unedited,
as it contains Junior’s colorful banter with his responsive
audiences in between the songs.
Even though mandolinist and guitarist Ricky Skaggs is also
among the best tenors in bluegrass, he forgoes vocals altogether
in his latest release, Instrumentals (Skaggs
Family Records) and lets the collective strings of his band
Kentucky Thunder do the talking. You won’t find any familiar
fiddle tunes or old country standards here—Skaggs has written
11 new instrumentals for this record, ranging from jazzy and
Celtic-tinged pieces to the hardcore bluegrass fare you’d
expect from this acoustic master.
Of David Grisman’s two releases this year, The David
Grisman Bluegrass Experience (Acoustic Disc) is 14
tracks of real-deal bluegrass, replete with frenzied flurries
of flawless picking and clothespin-on-the-nose singing (the
other, Dawg’s Groove, explores the more eclectic
side of Grisman’s music). The track list, too, is solidly
in the bluegrass mainstream, including chestnuts from the
Carter Family, Ralph Stanley, and Flatt and Scruggs, as well
as traditional songs.
Irish singer Niamh Parsons grew up in the thick of the 1960s
Dublin folk music scene, hobnobbing with the Chieftains and
other Celtic luminaries. Her newest CD, The Old Simplicity
(Green Linnet), is deceptively titled, as the highly ornamented,
traditional vocal style she has mastered is anything but simple.
Capably accompanied by acoustic guitarist Graham Dunn, she
serves up a rich array of 14 Irish and Scottish songs in her
powerful alto.
The guitar is usually relegated to accompaniment in Celtic
music, so it’s gratifying when a fine musician makes it a
lead voice. Donal Clancy, formerly of the band Danu, has a
new instrumental acoustic guitar CD of traditional tunes,
Close to Home (Dara) that has drawn praise for
its superb fretwork. The dozen tracks here contain jigs, reels,
and slow airs, all beautifully played to the spare accompaniment
of bagpipe drones, bouzouki, and bodhran.
Pete Seeger got his props, and folk music a shot in the arm
last April when Bruce Springsteen released We Shall
Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (Columbia). Recorded
in three days with a dozen or so banjo, accordion, and fiddle-wielding
folkies at Springsteen’s New Jersey farmhouse, the record
is a worthy tribute to the rising singer who was blacklisted
by the music establishment in the early 1950s after
he bravely stood up to McCarthyism (his group, the Weavers,
had had a chart-topping hit in 1950 with Goodnight, Irene).
Most of the 15 tracks are traditional songs made famous by
Seeger and other postwar folksingers, but you’ll hear some
of his originals as well.
Lastly, it may be a stretch these days to call Bob Dylan’s
music folk, but that’s where he started and that where his
heart still seems to be. Critics have called his newest record,
Modern Times (Columbia), his best in
years. His voice is low and gravelly now, but his distinctive
vocal phrasing and songwriting genius remain sure. Even though
he set off a contretemps when some astute observers discovered
he’d apparently lifted some of the albums lines from a Civil
War-era Southern poet named Henry Timrod (adding to the mystery,
all the letters of “Timrod” can be found in the title Modern
Times, but Dylan’s been mum on this one), it’s a wonderful
and important record all the same.
—Glenn
Weiser
 Christmas
Music
Christmas
is gifts and parties and fun and joy to the world. Given all
that, you’re probably wondering why Aimee Mann, who has no
small reputation for creating beautifully gloomy, haunted
music, would release One More Drifter in the Snow
(SuperEgo). Well, Mann loves the holidays as much as the next
glum singer-songwriter. This atmospheric, rootsy, musically
spare album includes two worthwhile new songs, Mann’s “Calling
on Mary” and the catchy Michael Penn-Jon Brion collaboration
“Christmastime.” Along with lovely versions of “The Christmas
Song” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” Mann croons Jimmy
Webb’s lament “Whatever Happened to Christmas,” duets with
Grant Lee Phillips on a funny “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,”
and makes “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” sound like
an Aimee Mann song.
Let’s
shift from rootsy to funky—a very special holiday place we’ll
call Bootsyland. That’s right, Bootsy Collins has made a Christmas
album. Christmas Is 4 Ever (Shout Factory) is
a mix of seasonally themed originals and old-school favorites
transformed by this funkmaster general into grooves guaranteed
to make you move. So . . . “Jingle Bells” becomes “Jingle
Belz,” “Winter Wonderland” is now “Winterfunkyland,” and “Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is now “Boot-Off.” (Can you guess
what “Chestnutz” is?) Guests include MC Danny Ray, Bobby Womack,
Bernie Worrell and Snoop Dogg, who contributed “Happy Holidaze”
to the mix. Add some special Christmas messages from the likes
of George Clinton and Buckethead, and you have all the funky
elements to turn the mother out, Santa-style.
What is there to say about Johnny Mathis? The dude has been
Mr. Smooth for half a century, and, like Tony Bennett, still
sounds great. His new album Gold: A 50th Anniversary
Christmas Celebration (Columbia Legacy) is actually
a compilation of his favorite tracks from his numerous holiday
albums, but also includes a brand-new duet with Bette Midler.
Of course, the album begins with “Sleigh Ride”; Leroy Anderson
may have written it for the Boston Pops, but Mathis owns
the tune.
For everyone who misses Lilith Fair, and wishes maybe it would
come back for Christmas, soulful-for-Canada songstress Sarah
McLachlan offers up Wintersong (Arista). The
arrangements are lush, and the singing is classic McLachlan.
While she loses points for opening the disc with “Happy Xmas
(War Is Over)”—can we get a moratorium on this one?—she earns
’em back for ending the album with “Christmastime Is Here,”
the Peanuts-inspired standard.
Billy Idol is probably the last singer you would associate
with the holidays. (Well, aside from Ronnie James Dio.) After
you hear Happy Holidays (Unique), however, you
will think of the man with the sneer as Mr. Christmas. Unconvinced?
Hop on the Internets and shoot on over to Idol’s MySpace page,
where you can check out the video for “Jingle Bell Rock.”
He sings, swings, snaps his fingers—and almost keeps
a straight face. This music is boatloads of fun, and Idol
even has a go at “Silent Night.” With Happy Holidays,
it’s a nice day for a . . . “White Christmas.”
—Shawn
Stone
Classical
It’s
a mix of old and new, as usual, which pretty much defines
the classical-music world. Old pieces in new performances;
newer works suddenly seeming not so new by showing up on reissues
of old recordings. And recordings themselves suddenly an old
technology as Tower Records folds its tents and record labels
cut back drastically on releases.
With the merger of Sony and BMG, two of the most comprehensive
back catalogues remain elusive, but a raft of older opera
releases gave cause for hope: four by Mozart, including
Cosi fan tutte with Leontyne Price; Zubin Mehta
conducting a 1992 The Marriage of Figaro; James
Levine’s The Magic Flute from the Musikverein
in Vienna in 1980; and the Don Giovanni that
formed the soundtrack of Joseph Losey’s film. Also, there
are four classic BMG Living Stereo editions in SACD
form, Verdi’s La Traviata and Puccini’s La
Bohème with Moffo and Tucker, along with Puccini’s
Madame Butterfly and the Nilsson-Bjoerling Turandot.
All are libretto-free: you need to fetch ’em from a specified
Web site.
A new view of Mozart emerged in René Jacobs’s version
of La Clemenza di Tito (Harmonia Mundi). As
expected, the performance is brisk but sensibly so; mezzo
Bernarda Fink turns in a stunning performance as Sesto, along
with a cast including Alexandrina Pendatchanska as Vitellia
and Mark Padmore as Titus.
Bernarda Fink returned to her South American roots
with a recording titled Canciones Argentinas (Harmonia
Mundi), a collection of 26 songs that fall between art songs
and salon pieces, penned by nine composers who celebrated
the folk influences on formal music. Fink and her brother,
Marcos, trade off solos and share duets, with excellent piano
support by Carmen Piazzini. The underrated Carlos Guastavino
is one of the composers, along with Luis Gianneo and, of course,
Astor Piazzolla.
Another vocal marvel, this one going back some centuries,
is Thomas Tallis’s Spem in Alium (Signum), which
the King’s Singers recorded by overdubbing their six
voices into the 40-voice anthem. It’s another SACD-CD hybrid,
and really warrants the fancier gear so you can sink into
the amazing sounds of this piece.
While Monteverdi’s madrigals are less complicated,
they summon a timeless world of their own, excellently realized
by Rinaldo Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano as they tackle
Book VIII of the Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi
(Naïve). They bring a restless energy to music that deserves
such liveliness, even as they do tasteful justice to the songs.
(I singled out this group last year for their Brandenburg
Concertos.)
Staying in the older-music realm, the dynamic Andrew Manze
leads the English Concert in music by Bach’s most innovative
son, Carl Philip Emanuel on C.P.E. Bach: Symphonies
Nos. 1-4 (Harmonia Mundi); his far-ranging rhythms
and harmonies anticipated much of the classical era. His four
symphonies are marvels, always surprising, well-suited
by Manze’s careful though spirited approach. A bonus is one
of C.P.E.’s cello concertos.
 Virtuoso
playing at its finest spills forth from Hilary Hahn’s new
recording, Paganini and Spohr Concertos (DG).
Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 is a lightweight,
sometimes silly piece that’s nevertheless catchy enough to
remain in your brain, and she pairs it with a coeval work:
Spohr’s Violin Concerto No. 8, an episodic one-movement
piece previously championed by Heifetz. Eiji Oue leads the
Swedish Radio Symphony in a terrific-sounding CD.
One of my favorite younger composers is Lera Auerbach,
a Russian-born pianist-composer now living in New York and
Germany, and who is also acclaimed for her poetry. Two new
CDs of her haunting, Shostakovichian music are Preludes
and Dreams (BIS), solo piano works that include the
traditional 24 preludes, and Ten Dreams, Op. 45, which
take the melancholy nature of the Preludes even further. Ballet
for a Lonely Violinist (BIS) presents the violin-piano
team of Vadim Gluzman and Angela Yoffe; Auerbach’s Lonely
Suite, Op. 70, is a killer work that Gluzman easily accomplishes;
the disk also includes Shostakovich’s depressing Violin
Sonata, Op. 134, and an arrangement by the violinist’s
father of Shostakovich’s merrier Jazz Suite No. 1.
You can’t go wrong with chamber music performed by Martha
Argerich. A three-CD set from the 2005 Lugano Festival—Martha
Argerich and Friends Live From the Lugano Festival
(EMI)—is the latest of several such releases, with the elusive
pianist sharing the spotlight with the brothers Capuçon
(violinist Renaud, cellist Gautier), cellist Mischa Maisky,
pianist Gabriela Montero and others in works by Mendelssohn,
Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Brahms and my buddy Guastavino.
Check out the crazy Mozart piano sonata for which Grieg wrote
a second part!
Heading the list of impressive new orchestral recordings is,
as has been the case each of the past few years, a Mahler
symphony conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. As part of the
series he’s waxing with the San Francisco Symphony, the latest
must-have offering is the Symphony No. 5 (SFSO).
Like the aforementioned Eiji Oue, Paavo Jarvi is a
former conductor of the Empire State Youth Orchestra. He flexes
his conducting muscles with a fantastic-sounding Telarc recording
of two Concertos for Orchestra: those of Bartók
and Lutoslawski, both of which thrive in a setting
like this with an amazingly crisp Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
For the patriot on your shopping list, make the re-acquaintance
of Roy Harris, with Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4
(Naxos). Harris’ one-movement Symphony No. 3 is
one of his best—and a defining moment in American orchestral
writing—and the Symphony No. 4 is one of his
silliest, bursting into too-neat sounding folksong every so
often. But it grows on you, and, on this good-sounding disc,
the Colorado Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop does
both works proud.
—B.A.
Nilsson
2006
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