TheFullScore

TheFullScore

MUSIC TO MY EARS

1980s on long car journeys. Its quite repetitive and

slow moving and the music blends with the different
kinds of scenery you get when you go on long tours.
Its brought back a lot of memories, with images of
concrete, fields, clouds and all the wires that go by.
Tommy Smith appears as a soloist on Modern
Jacobite, with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra,
on Spartacus Records STS 022

What the classical world has been listening to this month

The BBC Music teams
current favourites
Oliver Condy
Editor

major feelings:

Beyoncs Lemonade fizzes

with personal thoughts

ELIZABETH JOY ROE piano

I recently dusted off the classic
recording of Elgars Cello Concerto
performed by Jacqueline du Pr and
the London Symphony Orchestra,
under Sir John Barbirolli. When I first
heard this recording as a child I was riveted by
du Prs genius and beauty, and the sad poignancy of
her life. She had this amazing intensity to her playing,
married to a soulfulness and generosity of spirit,
which is perfect for the darkness of this concerto.
n Barbara Hannigan is a master of the music of
our time. The sopranos recent recording of Hans
Abrahamsens new song cycle Let me tell you is
extraordinary. Abrahamsen was inspired by the words
of Ophelia, from Shakespeares Hamlet, and absolutely
captures her fragility and passion. The music is
haunting, ethereal and mesmerising, and Hannigan
brings this luminosity to her performance with Andris
Nelsons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
It sent chills down my spine.
n Thomas Ads is one of the
foremost composers of our time,
particularly with his chamber works.
I know him personally, and have
become intimately acquainted with
his style and unique voice. I think it
is always useful to hear composers
perform their own works: it bears their signature.
There is a wonderful recording of Ads playing his

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BBC M USIC M AG A Z I N E

A thrilling
recording of
Bachs Second
Partita on the Willowhayne
Records label landed on my
desk a few weeks back. British
pianist Yasmin Rowe has a
keen sense of line and voicing,
particularly in the final
movement Capriccio. The rest
of the disc is an imaginative
selection of works by Chopin,
Janek and a concert tude
by the jazz-inspired Russian
composer Nikolai Kapustin.

Rebecca Franks
Acting
deputy editor

When Vaughan
Williamss
Fantasia on a Theme of
Thomas Tallis was premiered
in Gloucester Cathedral in
1910, Howells and Gurney
were so overwhelmed by
what they heard that they
walked the streets until the
small hours. If it was anything
like the performance by
the Royal College of Music
Symphony Orchestra in
the Cathedral this summer,
Iwould have joined them.
The music seemed to well
up from the building itself.

Elinor Cooper
Editorial
assistant

Having been
blown away by
Barbara Hannigans recording
of Abrahamsens Let me tell
you (as was Elizabeth Joy Roe,
left), Ive been investigating
more of his work. The
Ensemble MidtVests disc of
his works for wind quintet
has been a wonderful place to
start. Alongside Abrahamsens
stark Wind Quintets Nos 1
& 2 are two arrangements
of works by Schumann and
Ravel, which the quintet
perform charmingly.

own Piano Quintet with the Calder Quartet. There is

a visceral stretching outwards, and yet an absolutely
incredible detail to the piece, which I find fascinating.
n Beyonc (left) is such an icon. Her new album
Lemonade is remarkable: it has such vulnerability,
yet at the same time reclaims power. It speaks to
women and humanity in terms of human experience,
whether it be heartbreak or justice. She uses music as
a channel to express her own experience, one of the
more profound ways one can approach an album. She
has such a thorough vision, something I absolutely
admire and aspire to.
Elizabeth Joy Roes disc of Field Nocturnes is reviewed
on p97

HANNU LINTU conductor

I usually listen to music Im not
involved with that much, which I
cant ruin myself. Recently my
greatest discovery has been
16th-century Spanish vocal polyphony
by Victoria, Guerrero and Lobo. I was aware of Italian
counter-Reformation music but not so much
Spanish. I heard the Tallis Scholarss CD of Victorias
Tenebrae Responsories, and I was surprised by the
beauty of this music and how Romantic it sounds.
Itreally opened an entirely new world to me.
n I recently bought all of Schuberts songs the
huge Hyperion box of 40 CDs. Thats really a
pleasure. I have it all on my laptop now and when
Itravel I listen, sometimes to just one or two songs.
There are some great performers sopranos
Lucia Popp and Elly Ameling, for
instance. This set is such
a huge achievement.
It brings a lot of joy,
although I imagine it
will take a few more
years to get through it.
Its a journey.

TOMMY SMITH saxophone

Ive been listening a lot to violinist
Nicola Benedetti. I particularly like the
way she plays any melody. I recently
heard Ravels Tzigane on her record
Fantasie. In this gypsy piece the
playing at the beginning is incredible. When Ive seen
her live its quite mesmerising the way she deals
with the themes, her sound and the projection and
the emotion behind it. I try and learn from that and I
imitate some of her stuff.
n Im Prokofievs number one fan. Im sure hes got
many but Ive been a fan
for 30 years. Recently Ive
been listening to his Second
Symphony. Its not often
played but I think its the
best of his symphonies,
even if most people would
disagree. Every time I listen
to it I hear something new.
I know it wasnt particularly well received at the
time by anybody, even the composer himself, but I
really like it.
n Ive been listening a lot to Arvo Prt, to his St John
Passion and the Berlin Mass. The album thats been
on my phone while Ive been touring is Serenity. Its a
collection of his pieces, with a variety of performers,
including a chamber orchestra and a couple of choirs.
I love Summa, the first piece. His counterpoint is
unusual, each line seems to have its own life and they
all meet in points. Its simple and pure and its great
to listen to on the road.
n Theres a record by bassist Eberhard Weber called
Chorus, from 1985, which I bought on cassette. I have
it now on CD and on my phone. I used to play it in the

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Its hard to keep up with

the latest orchestra
works by rising, young
composers on recording, but Ive been
catching archival streams by UK-born

Ive been
listening to an
atmospheric piece, The Crazed
Moon (1997), by UK composer
Julian Anderson. Conductor
Vladimir Jurowski creates
an unsettling mood from
the outset with the London
Philharmonic. Based on a
WBYeats poem it opens with
a stuttering trumpet fanfare,
before gathering momentum.
Dissonant brass and pounding
percussion underpin a creepy
nocturnal vision.

Alice Pearson

CD editor

During a
recent coffee
break, I spent
time listening to a CD of
music by the 16th-century
composer Orlando di Lasso.
The Cantiones Duarum
Vocum are deeply expressive
pieces, evident from both
the vocal and instrumental
versions. Recorded in Italy
by the dulcian players Paolo
Tognon and Claudio Verh and
vocal group Gruppo Vocale
Armoniosoincanto, this disc
took me into another world.

Anna Clyne and American Hannah

Lash (below), both in their mid-30s,
on their websites. Lashs otherworldly
music has hints of delicate chimes
and tintinnabulations with gauzy,
atmospheric strings and woodwinds
in Hush, This Ease and Music for Loss.
Clynes is muscular and eclectic,
drawing widely from madrigal, folk,
Baroque to minimalist styles. Her
kinetic <<rewind<< is an exhilarating
rush, and Night Ferry is faintly exotic.

Michael Thorn
Helston, Cornwall

ethereal: composer Hannah Lash

composer Selim Palmgren

looked to Rachmaninov

Neil McKim
Production
editor

You tell us what youve been enjoying on disc and in the concert hall
Byrwec Ellison
Fort Worth, Texas, US

romantic finn:

The BBC Music teams

current favourites

AND MUSIC TO YOUR EARS

GETTY, COLIN ROBERTSON, VEIKKO KHKNEN, BOB HANDELMAN

OUR CHOICES

OUR CHOICES

A recent concert in
St Marys Church,
Penzance, featured
the small-scale chamber music of
Messiaen, which was revelation to
those of us more familiar with the
large-scale works. It was enhanced by
the inclusion of an ondes Martenot

n Fabrizio De Andr was an Italian songwriter who

died in 1999. His songs are a mixture of pop, Italian
canzone, even a little bit of opera, and they are very
political. He was very left wing. He wanted to point
out the rotten side of society. I dont care much
about the political side as Im Finnish and he was
Italian, but theres an incredible beauty in his music. I
recently bought all 12 of his CDs. Its very special.
n Theres a recent recording by Alba Records of Selim
Palmgrens (above) piano concertos, and especially
interesting is his concerto called The River. Palmgren
is a very interesting link in Finnish history. He was
affected by Rachmaninov and Busoni at a time when
composers were influenced by Finnish folk music and
the roots of Finnishness. He was more international
and a great pianist himself. This disc in a beautiful
way brings out the Romantic side of Finnish music.
Hannu Lintus Prokofiev with the Finnish Radio
Symphony Orchestra is out on Ondine in September

expertly played by Malcolm Ball a

rare opportunity to see and hear the
ethereal sound of this bizarre modern
keyboard instrument live in concert.
Messiaen was revealed in different
moods: delightful and accessible music
that rarely appears in programmes.

Nathan Gould
Bradford, Yorkshire

I was lucky enough to

attend Opera Norths
recent Ring cycle at
Leeds Town Hall. What a stupendous
piece of dramatic music-making. In
particular Gtterdmmerung was
spellbinding. Act III built to such an
epic finale that I was left speechless
and emotionally drained.
The thunderous standing
ovation was much
deserved. I believe
Radio3 is recording
the cycle in Gateshead.
Do listen in you wont
be disappointed!

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Paul Rottenberg
Florida, US

Bruno Walter
recorded the Brahms
Symphonies in mono
with the New York Philharmonic in
the early 1950s. The First gets a great
performance, up there with Klemperer
and Szell. The orchestra plays well,
and the strings and horns come in for
special praise. I think it was recorded
in one take, and sounds it the high
level of inspiration holds. The Second
is almost as good, but it lacks the
charm of the stereo recording, and
the coda of the finale is surprisingly
rushed at presto or beyond but the
orchestra follows perfectly and is very
good overall. The Fourth
is the oldest recording,
but hardly sounds it.
Tell us what concerts or
recordings youve been
enjoying by emailing
us at musictomyears@
classical-music.com

BBC M USIC M AG A Z I N E

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