Recently in Recordings
Paul Dukas’ Ariane et Barbe-Bleue, first heard in 1907, once seemed important. Arturo Toscanini conducted the Met premiere in 1911 with Farrar and later arranged some of its music for a 1947 recording with his NBC Symphony.
The economics of the recording companies dictate much that is not ideal.
Wagner’s operas were not composed as they were in order to permit the
extraction of bleeding chunks, even on those occasions when strophic song forms
do occur.
Among the recent recordings of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, Valery Gergiev’s release on the LSO Live label is an excellent addition to the discography of this work.
While not unknown, the songs of Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942) deserve to be heard more frequently.
Recorded on 5 and 6 May 2008 and 17 and 18 January 2009 at the Lisztzentrum (Raiding, Austria), this recent Bridge release makes available the piano-vocal versions of three song cycles by Gustav Mahler, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Rückert-Lieder, and Kindertotenlieder performed by mezzo-soprano Hermine Haselböck, accompanied by Russell Ryan.
Contraltos rarely achieve the acclaim and renown of sopranos. Assigned few leading roles in opera, they are condemned to playing the villain or the grandmother, or to stealing the castrati’s trousers in en travesti roles.
Following their 2011 Decca recording of Striggio’s Mass in 40 Parts (1566), I Fagiolini continue their quest to unearth lost treasures of the High Renaissance and early Baroque, with this collection of world-premiere recordings, ‘reconstructions’ and ‘reconstitutions’ of music by Giovanni and Andrea Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Palestrina, and their less well-known compatriots Viadana, Barbarino and Soriano.
Eternal Echoes is an album of khazones [Jewish cantorial music] for cantorial soloist, solo violin and a blended instrumental ensemble comprising a small orchestra and the Klezmer Conservatory Band.
Michael Tilson Thomas’s recording of Mahler’s Third Symphony is an outstanding contribution to the composer’s discography.
Oliver Knussen burst into British music with an unprecedented flourish. In 1967, the London Symphony Orchestra premiered Knussen’s First Symphony, with István Kertész scheduled to conduct.
Based on performances given in Summer 2010 at the Lucerne Festival, this recording of Beethoven’s Fidelio is an admirable recording that captures the vitality of the work as conducted by Claudio Abbado.
Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872) was one of the most popular composers of his day in Poland, and of the many works he wrote for the stage, two are performed from time to time, Halka (1848) and Strazny dwór [The Haunted Manor] (1865).
The Polish alto Jadwiga Rappé is a familiar voice in various stage and concert works, and the recent release of a selection of songs by Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872) is an opportunity to hear her performing artsongs.
Originally released on multiple discs in 1981 this reissue on two CDs is a comprehensive collection of art songs by Italian and French composers from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
An exciting contribution to the discography of this popular opera, the live performance of Richard Strauss’s Salome from the Festspielhaus at Baden-Baden is a compelling DVD.
Released in late 2011, Deutsche Grammophon’s DVD of the new staging of Berg’s Lulu at the Gran Teatro del Liceu, Barcelona is an excellent contribution to the discography of this fascinating opera.
A recent release by the Metropolitan Opera, this two-disc set makes available on DVD the famous performance of Berg’s Lulu that was broadcast on 20 December 1980 as part of the PBS series “Live from the Met.”
The novels of Sinclair Lewis once shot across the American literary skies like comets, alarming and fascinating readers of that era, but their tails didn’t extend far behind them.
Once the province of only the most dedicated opera fanatics, mid-20th century recordings of privately taped live performances have become more widely available.
Flute players in opera orchestra around the world must look forward to the frequent appearances of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, knowing that while the stage spotlight in the mad scene will be on the soprano, the orchestral spotlight will be on their instrument.
Recordings
10 Jun 2005
HAYDN: Symphonies no. 91 & 92 (“Oxford”) and Scena di Berenice
This wonderful recording features two Haydn symphonies composed in the year 1789, which frame the short dramatic scena Berenice, premiered in London in 1795. The autograph scores of the two symphonies were dedicated and given to Claude-Francois-Marie Rigoley, Comte d’Ogny, cofounder and patron of the “Concert de la Loge Olympique,” an association for which Haydn had already written the so-called “Paris” symphonies in 1785/86.
Joseph Haydn: Symphonies no. 91 & 92 ("Oxford") and Scena di Berenice.
Freiburger Barockorchester, René Jacobs (cond.); Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano.
Harmonia Mundi HMC 901849 [CD]
This wonderful recording features two Haydn symphonies composed in the year 1789, which frame the short dramatic scena Berenice, premiered in London in 1795. The autograph scores of the two symphonies were dedicated and given to Claude-Francois-Marie Rigoley, Comte d'Ogny, cofounder and patron of the "Concert de la Loge Olympique," an association for which Haydn had already written the so-called "Paris" symphonies in 1785/86. A Swabian prince, Kraft Ernst von Oettingen-Wallerstein, who was an ardent admirer of Haydn works and wished to acquire autograph manuscripts of his symphonies himself, had asked Haydn to produce some symphonies for his personal collection in 1788 as well. Haydn, in a somewhat underhanded manner, sent the Swabian prince autographed copies of the orchestral parts for these two symphonies, so that the autograph scores are dedicated to a French count, and the orchestral parts are dedicated to a German prince. Talk about killing two birds with one stone, or rather fulfilling two commissions with one ingenious solution! In any case, the Freiburger Barockorchester's performance of these two symphonies is magnificent, with correct orchestral size and authentic instruments.
At the culmination of the London concert season of 1795, Haydn conducted perhaps his most significant vocal work, the dramatic scena "Berenice, che fai?" It was written specifically for the Italian soprano Brigida Giorgi Banti, who made her grand entrance at the end of the concert performing this work. It is based on the third act from Pietro Metastasio's Antigono. Beethoven would use Haydn's setting of this text as his model in 1796 for his scena "Ah! perfido," op. 65. The drama shows Berenice lamenting the death of her beloved Demetrio. She sees his ghost as it leaves for the underworld, and begs him in this arioso not to leave without her. After a short recitative, the scena ends with a dramatic aria in which Berenice wishes for her own death. The unconventional harmonic design of the scena mirrors Berenice's state of mind throughout the short drama. The benefit concert where this was performed netted Haydn high earnings, although he commented that Banti's performance was less than perfect. Bernarda Fink, the soloist on this recording, does a wonderful job of portraying Berenice's loss of sanity as she laments her dead lover. I highly recommend this recording.
Dr. Brad Eden
University of Nevada, Las Vegas