Café Zimmermann

Café Zimmermann: C. P. E. Bach, Symphonies and Cello Concertos J. S. Bach, Concertos, Vol. 1 J. S. Bach, Concertos, Vol. 2 J. S. Bach, Concertos, Vol. 3 Goldberg Variations/Canons, C. Frisch

Café Zimmermann presented an excellent concert at the Library of Congress on Saturday night. The European historically informed performance (HIP) ensemble, named for Gottfried Zimmermann's coffeehouse in Leipzig (where Telemann and Bach led concerts by the town's Collegium Musicum), played a delectable program of concertos by J. S. Bach and his son C. P. E. Bach. Seven of the group's core members participated, with the third violin playing only on the opening piece. There were a few surprising infelicities of tuning throughout the evening, but especially in the opening work, in spite of lengthy attempts to tune the instruments before each piece -- violinist Pablo Valetti ascribed these difficulties to the Library's forced air heating system. Those minor problems did little, however, to detract from an archly conceived and impressively executed performance.

Pablo Valetti opened as soloist in the A minor violin concerto by Bach père, BWV 1041. The languidly paced, luscious-toned Andante was the centerpiece, framed by a restrained first movement and a brisk third movement. The high point of the concert was at the end of the first half, the D minor harpsichord concerto, BWV 1052, with Céline Frisch as soloist. I have praised her recording of the Goldberg Variations before, and she dispatched the virtuosic demands of this part with ease, especially with her tension-free crossed hands technique. The rigidly maintained pulse of the first movement never flagged, with only a few slight adjustments during the opening and closing unison. Her embellishments were tastefully chosen, especially in the enigmatic harmonic changes of the strange slow movement. One hopes the group records this concerto soon. You can hear for yourself on the ensemble's first volume of Bach concerti.

Other Reviews: Joe Banno, Café Zimmermann (Washington Post, November 5)

The second half, devoted to C. P. E. Bach, was no less pleasing. In the Sinfonia V in B minor, Wq 182/5, the two violins played off one another imitatively in the first movement, sometimes with the viola in a small group. Most beautifully, the Presto third movement wove together contrapuntally complex textures over an excited running bass part. Shaggy-haired cellist Petr Skalka had his turn as soloist in the A major cello concerto, Wq 172, which showcased his formidable technique in the outer movements and his melancholy A string playing in the stunning Largo at the center. An extended cadenza displayed the vocal, expressive power of the instrument, which was reprised in the welcome encore from Skalka, the sarabande from the D minor cello suite by J. S. Bach.

This was the Bachs as one would always like to hear them played, and one hopes that local early music players were there taking notes. Unfortunately, this concert was part of a very limited set of appearances in the United States this fall, with only one other stop to play the same program, at St. John's College in Annapolis on November 2. Even more disappointing, the group's next concert tour, with Gustav Leonhardt directing, will present a program taken from their upcoming release of secular cantatas by J. S. Bach, but only at a handful of concerts around France.

The next free concert in the Library of Congress series is the MacDowell Colony Centennial Concert this Friday (November 9, 8 pm).

In Brief: November Edition

Here is your regular Sunday selection of links to good things in Blogville and Beyond.

• The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is showing a privately owned Van Gogh painting, Strolling Couple, never before exhibited to the public. [Associated Press]


• Marc Geelhoed interviews Arabella Steinbacher. [Time Out Chicago]


• It's official, the Historically Informed Performance movement has arrived: Juilliard is going to create a HIP degree program, with the help of William Christie. [Playbill Arts]


• Musical Blogville, if your ears were burning on Thursday, that is because Phil Ford was lecturing about you. At the AMS National Meeting in Quebec City. [Dial M for Musicology]


• Fred Himebaugh takes Richard Taruskin's article and settles on a strategy: "if only we lock the rubes in a cage for a few days and force them to listen to Berio and Boulez over and over and over, eventually they would get it." I'm pretty sure that would violate the Geneva Conventions. Not that that really matters anymore. [The Fredösphere]


• Brian finally answers the question that has been bugging me as I have read the adoring reviews of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra and Gustavo Dudamel. Although it may be heresy, enthusiasm is one thing and subtlety another. [Out West Arts]


• Zombies take over the Washington Metro, then head back to their homes in Vienna, Va. [DCist]


• The Centre Pompidou has this new exhibit on Alberto Giacometti, located in a recreation of the artist's studio, complete with his doodle-filled walls. [The Guardian]


• Maurizio Pollini plays Schoenberg, Berg, Luigi Nono. Oh, London, why do you have all the luck? [Financial Times]


• Classical music can be fun and TRULY AWFUL, as the Really Terrible Orchestra has demonstrated. [Playbill Arts]

Reflexio

Available at Amazon: Bach, Flute Sonatas, L'Ensemble Baroque de Limoges (released on May 29, 2007)

Ionarts is a long-time fan of the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, and Jens has recommended some of the recordings released on their personal label, Laborie (distributed by Naïve), Brossard's grands motets and Lalande's Les Folies de Cardenio. Unfortunately, the group had to cancel its last scheduled appearance in Washington, back in April 2005, at the Library of Congress. This recent EBL release is also worthy listening, with the delicate sounds of the group's featured soloists, Maria Tecla Andreotti (traverso), Jan-Willem Jansen (harpsichord), Christophe Coin (cello), and Sergio Azzolini (bassoon).

The program, the Bach flute sonatas, is hardly rare or unknown, which added to the appeal of some of EBL's earlier releases. There are too many recordings of these pieces to make any sort of assessment of their relative merits. For these pieces, as for most of Bach to these ears, the best account will be on historical instruments, in this case Coin's late 17th-century German viola da gamba, as well as modern copies of 18th-century instruments for the others. The breathy whistle of the traverso recorded here is probably close to what Bach had at his disposal at Cöthen, when most of this music was written. The same is true of the Lautenwerk heard on two of the sonatas, two examples of which Bach owned. If you already own these pieces in another good version, it would be hard to justify adding this to your collection, but if you are looking for a first copy and you like the HIP sound, take a listen to this disc.

Laborie LC04

Classical Month in Washington (January)

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Classical Month in Washington is a monthly feature. If there are concerts you would like to see included on our schedule, send your suggestions by e-mail (ionarts at gmail dot com). Happy listening!

January 5, 2008 (Sat)
11 am, 1 pm, and 3:30 pm
NSO Teddy Bear Concert: Imagination Duo
Kennedy Center Family Theater
Review -- Charles T. Downey and Miss Ionarts (Ionarts, January 7)

January 5, 2008 (Sat)
3 pm
Humperdinck, Hansel and Gretel
Opera Bel Cantanti
Randolph Road Theater (Silver Spring, Md.)

January 5, 2008 (Sat)
5 pm
Armonia Nova: Twelfth Night
Our Savior Lutheran (Arlington, Va.)

January 6, 2008 (Sun)
1 and 3 pm
NSO Ensemble Concert: Math and Music
Kennedy Center Family Theater
Review -- Ronni Reich (Washington Post, January 8)

January 6, 2008 (Sun)
4 pm
ArcoVoce [FREE]
Phillips Collection

January 6, 2008 (Sun)
6 pm
NSO Young Soloists' Finals
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

January 6, 2008 (Sun)
6 pm
Armonia Nova: Twelfth Night
Christ Church (Alexandria, Va.)

January 6, 2008 (Sun)
6:30 pm
New York Chamber Soloists [FREE]
National Gallery of Art
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, January 8)

January 7, 2008 (Mon)
6 pm
Jessica Krash, lecture
Kennedy Center Terrace Gallery

January 10, 2008 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Guarneri String Quartet
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
Review -- Michael Lodico (Ionarts, January 12)

January 10, 2008 (Thu)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, January 14)

January 11, 2008 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Artis Quarttet-Wien
WPAS
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
Review -- Daniel Ginsberg (Washington Post, January 14)

January 11, 2008 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

January 11, 2008 (Fri)
8 pm
Victoria's Requiem
Folger Consort
Washington National Cathedral
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Washington Post, January 13)

January 11, 2008 (Fri)
8 pm
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
With Pinchas Zukerman
George Mason University Center for the Arts
Review -- Robert Battey (Washington Post, January 14)

January 12, 2008 (Sat)
2 pm
Adam Neiman, piano
WPAS
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, January 14)

January 12, 2008 (Sat)
3 and 7:30 pm
National Philharmonic Piano Trio
Music Center at Strathmore

January 12, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin
Music Center at Strathmore

January 12, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
Eclipse Chamber Orchestra
Includes Dominik Maican, Solaris
Dumbarton Concert Series

January 12, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
Victoria's Requiem
Folger Consort
Washington National Cathedral

January 13, 2008 (Sun)
1, 3 and 6 pm
NSO Kinderkonzert: Strings and Stories
Kennedy Center Family Theater

January 13, 2008 (Sun)
2 pm
Left Bank Concert Society: Darkness and Light
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
Review -- Michael Lodico (Ionarts, January 15)

January 13, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

January 13, 2008 (Sun)
4 pm
Eric Himy (piano) and Friends [FREE]
Phillips Collection

January 13, 2008 (Sun)
5:30 pm
Nathan Gunn, baritone
Shriver Hall (Baltimore, Md.)
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, January 15)

January 13, 2008 (Sun)
6:30 pm
Vilnius String Quartet [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

January 13, 2008 (Sun)
7 pm
Choral Arts Society: MLK Tribute
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
Review -- Daniel Ginsberg (Washington Post, January 16)

January 13, 2008 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Masterworks of Four Centuries
Music of Gade, Schumann, Mendelssohn
Smithsonian Chamber Players
Smithsonian Castle

January 13, 2008 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Emmanuel Ceysson, harp
Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington

January 14, 2008 (Mon)
6 pm
Jessica Krash, lecture
Kennedy Center Terrace Gallery

January 16, 2008 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Christine Schäfer (soprano) and Eric Schneider (piano)
Schubert, Winterreise
Vocal Arts Society
Embassy of Austria
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, January 18)

January 17, 2008 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Sarah Chang, violin (Brahms concerto, Corigliano 2nd symphony)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
Review -- Michael Lodico (Ionarts, January 18)

January 18, 2008 (Fri)
1:30 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Sarah Chang, violin (Brahms concerto, Corigliano 2nd symphony)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

January 18, 2008 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Countertop Quartet
Christ Church (Kensington, Md.)
Review -- Joan Reinthaler (Washington Post, January 21)

January 19, 2008 (Sat)
6 pm
Emerson Quartet
Smithsonian Resident Associates
National Museum of Natural History
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, January 21)

January 19, 2008 (Sat)
7:30 pm
Christina Nassif (soprano), Benjamin Warschawski (tenor), George Peachey (piano)
Embassy Series
Austrian Embassy
Review -- Mark J. Estren (Washington Post, January 21)

January 19, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Sarah Chang, violin (Brahms concerto, Corigliano 2nd symphony)
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

January 20, 2008 (Sun)
2 pm
Kennedy Center Chamber Players
All-Brahms program
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
Review -- Anne Midgette (Washington Post, January 22)

January 20, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Washington Bach Consort
Concertos for violin, harpsichord
Harman Center for the Arts
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, January 22)

January 20, 2008 (Sun)
4 pm
Michelle Makarski, violin [FREE]
Phillips Collection

January 20, 2008 (Sun)
6:30 pm
Jeni Slotchiver, piano [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

January 22, 2008 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Kirov Ballet: La Bayadère
Kennedy Center Opera House
Review -- Sarah Kaufman (Washington Post, January 24)

January 23, 2008 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Dawn Upshaw, soprano
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, January 25)

January 23, 2008 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Ensemble Salzburg [FREE]
Austrian Cultural Forum
Embassy of Austria

January 23, 2008 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Kirov Ballet: La Bayadère
Kennedy Center Opera House

January 24, 2008 (Thu)
7 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
Review -- Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, January 26)

January 24, 2008 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Metropolitan Opera National Council Middle Atlantic Auditions
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

January 24, 2008 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Emmanuel Ceysson, harp
Embassy Series
La Maison Française
Review -- Daniel Ginsberg (Washington Post, January 26)

January 24, 2008 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Kirov Ballet: La Bayadère
Kennedy Center Opera House

January 25, 2008 (Fri)
7:30 pm
Kirov Ballet: La Bayadère
Kennedy Center Opera House

January 25, 2008 (Fri)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

January 25, 2008 (Fri)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Kirill Gerstein, piano
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)
Review -- Daniel Ginsberg (Washington Post, January 28)

January 26, 2008 (Sat)
1:30 and 7:30 pm
Kirov Ballet: La Bayadère
Kennedy Center Opera House

January 26, 2008 (Sat)
2 pm
Yuja Wang, piano
WPAS
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
Review -- Michael Lodico (Ionarts, January 28)

January 26, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
National Symphony Orchestra
With Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Kennedy Center Concert Hall

January 26, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Kirill Gerstein, piano
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

January 26, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
Axelrod Quartet
Smithsonian Resident Associates
Grand Salon, Renwick Gallery
Review -- Ronni Reich (Washington Post, January 28)

January 26, 2008 (Sat)
8 pm
National Philharmonic
With Jody Gatwood, violin
Music Center at Strathmore

January 27, 2008 (Sun)
1:30 pm
Kirov Ballet: La Bayadère
Kennedy Center Opera House

January 27, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
With Kirill Gerstein, piano
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore, Md.)

January 27, 2008 (Sun)
3 pm
Ensō String Quartet with soprano Rosa Lamoreaux [FREE]
National Academy of Sciences

January 27, 2008 (Sun)
4 pm
Leonid Sushansky (violin) and Carlos Rodriguez (piano) [FREE]
Phillips Collection

January 27, 2008 (Sun)
6:30 pm
Central Bucks County High School Choir [FREE]
National Gallery of Art

January 27, 2008 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Members of National Symphony Orchestra
Mozart and Stravinsky: Search for Perfection
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

January 27, 2008 (Sun)
7:30 pm
Axelrod Quartet
Smithsonian Resident Associates
Grand Salon, Renwick Gallery

January 27, 2008 (Sun)
8 pm
Amit Peled (cello) and Alon Goldstein (piano)
Friends of Music Series
Dumbarton Oaks

January 28, 2008 (Mon)
6 pm
Jessica Krash, piano
Kennedy Center Theater Lab

January 28, 2008 (Mon)
7:30 pm
Merlin Ensemble [FREE]
Music by Zemlinsky, Schoenberg, and others
Austrian Cultural Forum
Embassy of Austria

January 28, 2008 (Mon)
8 pm
Amit Peled (cello) and Alon Goldstein (piano)
Friends of Music Series
Dumbarton Oaks

January 29, 2008 (Tue)
7:30 pm
Tchaikovsky, Sleeping Beauty
American Ballet Theater
Kennedy Center Opera House

January 30, 2008 (Wed)
7:30 pm
Tchaikovsky, Sleeping Beauty
American Ballet Theater
Kennedy Center Opera House

January 31, 2008 (Thu)
7:30 pm
Tchaikovsky, Sleeping Beauty
American Ballet Theater
Kennedy Center Opera House

Fischer, Znaider, Beethoven, and the NSO

Other Reviews: Tim Page, NSO Makes Beethoven Sound Like a New Man (Washington Post, November 2) Charles T. Downey, DCist Goes to the Symphony (DCist, November 5)

Principal Guest Conductor Iván Fischer is in town this weekend to lead the National Symphony Orchestra in the works of Beethoven. With a dramatic stick technique and exuding a trustworthy confidence, Fischer put the NSO to work. The evening seemed like a first date between orchestra and conductor due to many misinterpretations of each other, including the first chord of the Egmont Overture, which found the horns playing too soon, before everyone else. Like a first date, both parties were keen to please the other: thus some moments were good, such as in the noble Coriolan Overture, which opens with a dramatic long, low note that is countered with a powerful accented chord in the upper range. It is a pity the program did not open with this work.

Nikolaj Znaider provided a good rendition of Beethoven's Violin Concerto -- which he recorded a couple years ago and which Ionarts heard on the same stage from Julia Fischer just last week -- by phrasing soft sections beautifully and having exceptional bow control. Znaider had to work too hard on faster passages and long trills while seemingly having less intensity than Julia Fisher, whereas the darker tone of Fritz Kreisler’s former Guarneri, now used by Znaider, was appealing. Znaider’s arpeggios in the first movement cadenza were nicely blurred as a larger gesture, in contrast to Julia Fischer’s neat and notey approach, while Znaider’s double- and triple-stops were often rawly out-of-tune and strained. What misfortune for Znaider to have had Fisher on the same stage a week prior playing the same piece.

Regarding Symphony No. 5: if the NSO is too sluggish to cleanly play the first four notes (this reviewer heard more than four), why bother with the rest? Apparently the New York Philharmonic also could not pull off this work under a guest conductor, Christoph von Dohnányi (see the review by Martin Bernheimer for the Financial Times). Iván Fischer is the person, once a relationship is cultivated, to raise the bar.

This concert will repeat tonight (November 2, 8 pm) and Saturday night (November 3, 8 pm). The soloist for next week's NSO concerts will be flutist Emmanuel Pahud.

Alarm Will Sound at the LOC

Other Reviews: Daniel Ginsberg, Alarm Scores as a Master Of Rhythm and Genres (Washington Post, November 1)

This year’s Library of Congress Founder’s Day Concert featured the dynamic ensemble Alarm Will Sound, an ensemble able to successfully package and promote contemporary music. Titled arrhythmia, Tuesday’s program explored the outcome of layering a basic pulse with distorted or conflicting pulses such as “the flashing turn signals on a line of cars waiting to cross traffic.” The concert fittingly opened with a groovy transcription of Conlon Nancarrow’s Player Piano Study 2A (also heard on a recent program at La Maison Française), featuring musicians playing from memory and standing in un-uniform dress. Furthermore, the work was gently choreographed so that some instrumentalists entered the stage only during their first entrances mid-work, while solo instruments (or combinations thereof) repositioned themselves to center stage when playing more interesting lines.

Available at Amazon: Acoustica, Alarm Will Sound (2005) Download this album in MP3 format

The most formally compelling work on the program was Harrison Birtwistle’s Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Perpetuum – for piccolo, piano, vibraphone, string quintet, oboe, clarinet, and some brass – that depicts the rhythmic songs of a mechanical bird. This superbly orchestrated, angular work was executed with stellar virtuosity and was a challenging delight for the ear. Other works supporting the theme of arrhythmia included bizarre transcriptions of Josquin Des Prez (c. 1450-1521) and Johannes Ciconia (c. 1370-1412), with Josquin's Agnus Dei II from Missa L'homme armé set for piano, percussion, brass; movement III of Ligeti’s Chamber Concerto, which incorporates his work for 100 ticking metronomes; and The Philosophy of the World by the Shaggs, a group labeled the “the most horrible” rock band by the New York Times, apparently afflicted with distinct rhythmic inability. A recording of arrhythmia is forthcoming.

One might wonder why Nancarrow and Ligeti would compose for player piano and 100 metronomes, respectively, which is simply due to the limitations imposed by human facility and the virtues of a machine's ability to process complexity. That Alarm Will Sound takes pleasure in going further by tackling works and transcriptions of commercial computer-generated “electronica” music – see their recording Acoustica – is a testament to the group's ambition and capability. How often does one see a medium-sized ensemble with each player seemingly counting in a different time signature? The IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) electronica works of Aphex Twin and Mochipet were fascinating, especially Mochipet’s Dessert Search 4 Techno Baklava, the final work on the program, featuring Arab tunes and scales played extremely quickly with big percussion.

Alarm Will Sound will present this program again, at Stanford University (November 30) and at Carnegie Hall (February 28), both times combined with the new chamber symphony by John Adams (apparently really called Son of Chamber Symphony, as he joked he would do at an appearance in Baltimore).

Kim Kashkashian

Available at Amazon: Asturiana: Songs from Spain and Argentina, K. Kashkashian, R. Levin (released on September 18, 2007) Download this album in MP3 format

Armenian-American violist Kim Kashkashian has released a string of excellent recordings with ECM over the years. She is on the faculty at New England Conservatory of Music and collaborates regularly, including on her latest disc, with Robert Levin, who teaches at Harvard. As a preview of her highly anticipated Washington area recital later this month -- with pianist Lydia Artymiw, at Congregation Beth-El in Bethesda, sponsored by the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences, on November 18 at 4 pm -- one could do worse than this lovely little bon-bon of folk-influenced songs from Spain and Argentina, arranged by the artists for Kashkashian's mellifluous and declamatory viola.

Named for the lead song, by Manuel de Falla, this survey of sultry and earthy music also includes pieces by Granados, Ginastera, Montsalvatge, and two lesser-knowns named Carlos Guastavino and Carlos López Buchardo. We last reviewed some of the songs by Falla and Montsalvatge on a recital by Stephanie Blythe, and they continue to be, in my estimation, some of the best adaptations of Hispanic folk sounds into something much more interesting than their sources (especially Falla's set Siete Canciones Populares Españolas). The musical appeal of the sound needs no further explanation: if you have an aversion to the viola as the violin's clutzy cousin, this disc may cure you, at least temporarily. The translations of the source poems, printed out of order and without their Spanish originals, will provide some background, but as with most fine examples of the "song without words" genre, they are probably not necessary. If you can make it to the FAES recital on November 18, you may hear a piece or two from this album on the program or as an encore.

ECM New Series 1975

Pahud's Vivaldi

Available at Amazon: Vivaldi, Flute Concertos, Australian Chamber Orchestra, R. Tognetti (released on January 24, 2006)

Emmanuel Pahud: Reinecke, Undine Sonata, with Y. Bronfman (2007) Widor, Franck, Strauss, with E. Le Sage (2004) Mozart, Flute Concertos, Berlin Philharmonic (1997)

Emmanuel Pahud, one of the leading flutists of the younger generation (b. 1970), has made some spectacular recordings (we have reviewed him only tangentially, playing the flute part on Pierre-Laurent Aimard's recording of the Ives Concord Sonata) and played extraordinarily with the Berlin Philharmonic before embarking on a solo career. As part of a brief U.S. tour, Pahud will be in Washington next week, to play a recital with pianist Eric Le Sage, his regular artistic collaborator (the program of Reinecke, Strauss, Widor, and Franck drawn from recent CDs), at the Phillips Collection next Wednesday (November 7, 7:30 pm) and to appear as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra (November 8 to 10). Do flute soloists always have to play Mozart with the NSO? James Galway played no. 2 (K. 314) last year, and Pahud will play no. 1 (K. 313). Pahud's Web schedule, out of date in other ways, lists him playing the Carl Reinecke concerto with the NSO! What happened?

Pahud's recording of the Mozart concertos is exceptional, so no one should complain too much. Still, it might be nice to hear something different. Pahud's bravura recording of eight Vivaldi concerti makes one think of Vivaldi, but the NSO would not sound anything like the superlative Australian Chamber Orchestra (reviewed earlier this year). Pahud's tone is clear, with minimal vibrato, always at the center of the pitch, almost too glossy and wan at times (like translucent porcelain in the slow movement of RV 434). His technique is always impressive, as in the third movement of RV 433 ("La tempesta di mare," the sea storm), with its bubbling, flutter-tongued upward runs. Vivaldi adapted many of these concerti for the traverso from previous pieces, and Pahud makes the most of the idiomatic shift from other instruments, as in RV 428 ("Il gardellino," the goldfinch), with its dialogue of avian calls with Richard Tognetti's solo violin. The articulation and embellishment are crisp and diverse, like the contrast of legato arpeggios with perfect staccato ones in the fourth movement of RV 439 ("La notte," the night). Put this on the shelf with other worthy Vivaldi recent releases, like the cello concerti, the operas Griselda, Bajazet, and Motezuma, and the motets.

EMI Classics 0946 3 47212 2 6