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.
With the passing of Carl Maria Giulini (1913-2005) in June 2005, the music world lost one of its finest conductors. Among his legacy are some critical recordings, which represent the literature that Giulini chose to preserve.
Among those recordings is the release in February 2005 of a concert Giulini led on 2 August 1987 at the Salzburg Festspiel. According to the notes that accompany this CD, it is the last recording the conductor approved for release.
Because of its length performances of Mahler’s song cycle Das Lied von der Erde sometimes preclude the inclusion of other works with it either in concert or on recordings, and the pairing with Mozart’s Symphony no. 40 in G minor reflects the programming used in Salzburg. Yet it is what Giulini chose for the particular concert, a rare opportunity for the conductor to lead the Vienna Philharmonic. As a highly esteemed interpreter of both Mozart and Mahler, Giulini offers strong performances of the two works. At a time when Mozart’s works were being performed with a bow to historic practice, Giulini chose to use a fuller orchestra than other conductors might employ. This reflects tacitly the tradition in which Giulini worked, where an earlier composer like Mozart did not have to be rediscovered through reviving older performing traditions. Rather, Giulini had been performing Mozart’s work throughout his career, having played under such conductors as Toscanini. Mozart’s music was part of the living tradition of the day.
In approaching a familiar work by Mozart with a relatively large orchestra, Giulini used relatively slower tempos, particularly in the outer movements. Yet tempo is only one dimension of this music. The clarity of line that emerges in the first movement is characteristic of this particular recording. Giulini achieves this quality not only with a modest pacing, but he allows lines to end, with points of silence that help to delineate the phrasing. He allows the slow movement (Andante) to linger and in doing so brings out some of the ensemble passages that the Vienna Philharmonic executes well. With the third movement, Giulini’s pacing contributes an almost solemn character to the stylized minuet. Within the string textures that Giulini uses well in this performance, the winds are notable for the careful and delicate timbres they create. Details like these emerge in the final movement (Allegro assai), which is taken at a modest pace. Inflections of modality are clearly apparent in this recording, in which Giulini brings out sonorities that may be passed over when the movement is taken at faster tempos than those found in this dignified performance.
In interpreting Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Giulini’s tempos are similarly conservative in an evidently thoughtfully conceived interpretation of this monumental work. His soloists were the mezzo soprano Brigitte Fassbaender and the tenor Francisco Araiza, two fine singers who bring wonderful technique and facility to this demanding work. Both Fassbaender and Araiza offer compelling performances that complement Giulini’s leadership.
Araiza offers some fine performances of the three pieces for tenor and orchestra. As demanding as each can be, his makes maintains a fluid tone that conveys a sense of ease and comfort with the music. He delivers well the sustained opening piece “Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde” is engaging in the third song, “Von der Jugend.” With “Der Trunkene im Frühling” Araiza maintains the level of intensity that he used to excellent effect in first song, always evoking a fresh and ringing tone.
Fassbaender was at the height of her career for this performance, with a wonderful control of the various nuances required for expressing this piece effectively. With “Der Einsame im Herbst,” Fassbaender brings approaches the piece with a subtlety that brings out the details that are essential to the text. Her voice moves well within the orchestral accompaniment, which is Giulini has shaped well. Fassbaender maintains the intensity of this piece well, and the silence at its end is tribute to her command of the audience. With “Von der Schönheit,” Fassbaender colors her voice well, and Giulini’s pacing allows details to emerge comfortably. Some problems arise in the orchestra, though, when the tempo increases, and while the performers recover, it mars the result. Nevertheless Fassbaender never seems to lose her vocal composure in bringing the song to its conclusion.
“Der Abschied” is one of Mahler’s most demanding pieces, and this is a fine rendering of the music. The opening chimes resonate deeply to suggest to a break between the world of the first five songs and their counterpart in this single extended movement for voice and orchestra. The spacious tempos that Giulini chose for this performance create some extraordinarily moving passages that other conductors do not always achieve. From the start, Fassbaender is in good form as she shapes the vocal line with Giulini working well with her. The orchestral interlude before the second part, just prior to the passage “Ich stieg vom Pferd” is particularly effective, and from that point, the conductor and soloist never seem to relent in their intensity as they bring the music to its inevitably ambiguous conclusion. Fassbaender’s nuanced sound lingers on the repeated “ewig” at the end of “Der Abschied” and blends into the somewhat extended silence before the enthusiastic applause with which the recording ends.
All in all, the sound on this release is not as vibrant as can occur with studio recordings, and is reminiscent of some fine radio broadcasts. In addition to applause at the end of Mozart’s Symphony in G minor, some audience sounds occur at various points, although they are not entirely distracting. The voices benefit from the microphone placement, and while the orchestral sound is never blurred, at times the balance is off. As to the release itself, it is a rare live concert conducted by Giulini late in his career, and his masterful approach to both the Mozart Symphony and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde is laudable. Yet the existence of some gaffs in the orchestra show what can happen in live performances, even with such exceptional performers. Nevertheless, it is a fine souvenir of Giulini at the Salzburg Festspiel that captures both Fassbaender and Araiza at a fine time in their careers. While Das Lied von der Erde lends itself well to studio recordings, this is a memorable live performance.
James L. Zychowicz
Madison, Wisconsin