Ives Songs, Vol. 1

Charles Ives, Songs, Vol. 1, Various Artists (released June 24, 2008) Naxos 8.559269

Charles Ives composed nearly 200 songs, with several left unpublished in addition to those collected together in 114 Songs. If you want more of those songs than just a single-disc compilation, like the recent one by Gerald Finley, this ongoing complete set by Naxos may be for you. The songs are arranged in alphabetical order, which will facilitate finding a specific piece in the set; stylistic or chronological order would be difficult considering the revisions Ives made to many of his works. The recordings were made at Yale University's Sprague Hall, and the various singers were grad students at Yale or had other connections there. When Ives provided parts in addition to the piano, which he did with some frequency, this recording again takes advantage of being made in a school of music, with felicitous results.

True, not all of the performances on the first volume are home runs. More or less known quantities include veteran bass David Pittsinger and baritone Patrick Carfizzi, a young singer who shows impressive range between the 34 laconic, quasi-Dadaist seconds of Ives's whimsical 1, 2, 3 and the homespun Charlie Rutlage. Soprano Jennifer Casey Cabot regrettably is heard only in one track, and mezzo-soprano Leah Wool has a comforting warmth in her selections. The regular drawback of the Naxos economy release is the skimpy booklet, with no room for the texts of the songs. One can read some of them at the Naxos Web site, but for some reason (copyright issues?) not all. Even so, this should be a pretty good complete set of the Ives songs, at an affordable price.

63'39"

Vol. 2

Vol. 3

Vol. 4

Ionarts at Large: Notes from the ARD International Music Competition (Day 7)

The first round of the string quartet competition came to a close with the Tailem, Heath, and Verus String Quartets from Australia, the UK/South Africa, and Japan. Founded in 2002 and with an average of 26 years just a little younger than most of the other participants, the Tailem Quartet vacillated between exquisitely controlled (especially first violinist Rachel Homburg) and a few, rare timid slip-ups in the Beethoven’s op.18/1. Generally they exceeded at soft tones, although a triple-pianissimo (Andante) could have been much softer, still.

Notes from the ARD Intl. Music Competition: Day 2: Viola Competition, Round 1 (2) (September 2) Day 3: Viola Competition, Round 1 (3) (September 3) Day 4: Viola Competition, Round 1 (4) (September 4) Day 5: String Quartet Competition, Round 1 (1) (September 5) Day 6: String QuartetCompetition, Round 1 (2) (September 6) Day 7: String QuartetCompetition, Round 1 (3) (September 7) Day 8: String QuartetCompetition, Round 2 (1) and Viola, Semi-Finals (September 8) Day 9: String QuartetCompetition, Round 2 (2) (September 9) Day 10: Viola, Final (September 10) Day 11: String Quartet, Semi-Finals (September 11) Day 12: Clarinet, Final (September 12) Days 13 & 14: String Quartet & Bassoon Finals (September 13 & 14)

There was so much to like here as well as in their Janáček’s Quartet No.1 (which also revealed just how impressively precise Apollon Musagetes from the night before really were), and yet it always felt as if they were playing right at the limit of their capacity, as if a small turn of events might reveal that they sound better than they actually are.

The Heath Quartet opted for Haydn op.76/5, which was filled with life, once they found their way into it -- which they certainly had, by the time the finale came around. More fun in the playing would not have hurt, or more precise intonation from the first violin (Oliver Heath) here and there, but sufficient zest for Haydn was present, at least. The Janáček, with extraordinarily violent sul ponticello interruptions from the viola (Gary Pomeroy), sounded pretty good in direct comparison to their Australian colleagues, but still not up to what the Polish quartet had achieved. (A random thought occurred: “Heath Quartet” being such a frightfully boring and unoriginal name, why not call themselves “The Heaves & Pomerray Quartet” which would be eccentric in a neatly British way, democratically incorporating the names of the violist Pomeroy, second violin Rebecca Eves, and cellist Christopher Murray.)

Finally, the four young gentlemen from Japan who form the Verus String Quartet plowed into Beethoven op.18/4 with great forward momentum and tight pressure from the first note. A very fine, detailed quartet sound from these players (only occasionally a bit of chirping form the first violin) who struck me as mature beyond their years.

Janáček’s quartet, with very pointed accentuations, was presented as music all cut from one cloth, despite its constant changes of meter. Their clear yet resonant sound benefited the modern-romantic Czech work as much as the classical Beethoven; their last movement of the former approaching this rounds’ highest standard in Janáček.

With the end of the first round of string quartets, there was a sense of ‘mission accomplished’ for this Sunday, but since I had not made it to hear any of the bassoonists Saturday night, there was some catching up and atuoning to do. At Studio 2 there was plenty opportunity as the first round of the bassoon competition went on until almost 8pm at night. I listened to three of them: Daniel Mohrmann and Christian Kunert from Germany and Ji-Myung Cho from Korea.

What can the bassoon-inexperienced ear ascertain from one, two, or three short bassoon recitals without the (dubious) advantage of having heard a substantial number of the 40 participants for comparison's sake? Only that the players get the notes right (or not), or not produce excessive hiss (or do), or don’t exhibit undue squeaking (or squeak). And that bassoonists are a decidedly more casual bunch than violists, for example. Jeans are part of the uniform; quite unthinkable with their string-colleagues.

Mohmann displayed those virtues in the Carl Maria von Weber, though one could not listen to it without imagining at least the possibility of a still cleaner sound in the undoubtedly challenging fast passages. The Dutilleux Sarabande et Cortége for bassoon and piano was a surprisingly beautiful, elegiac piece – but what to think of a work that may have been composed for no other realistic purpose than to serve as a mandatory conservatory admission hurdle or competition showcase (or variously stumbling block)?

Ji-Myung Cho also played the Dutilleux, with an even more lamenting tone. But her Bernhard Crusell Airs Suédois – a lesser and less challenging sounding work than the Weber – wastedious to ears that have not yet entirely warmed up to the bassoon outside its orchestral home environment. Christian Kunert nearly changed that. In front of the surprisingly large audience (nearly 100 people in Studio 2 for this first round), he produced scarcely any extra air in the very nicely played Weber, and then exploited Villa-Lobos’ Ciranda da sete notas for all its potential to show off an even and steady tone, beautiful throughout the entire register. That's bassoon one wants to listen to. And a good teaser for the bassoon semi-finals which is likely the next time I’ll hear the experts on this endearing but silly, elephantine instrument.

Results from day 6 and day 7:Lilli Maijala (Finland), Wen Xiao Zheng (China), Dimitri Murrath (Belgium), and Teng Li (China) are in the semi final for violin. Marcos Peréz Miranda is among the 15 clarinetists who made it into the second round, and all my favorite string quartets, except the EnAccord (of Schulhoff Quartet distinction) made it into the second round, as did the Amaryllis Quartett which I didn’t like but knew I underestimated. They will begin their next round tomorrow morning at 11am.

Recommended recordings of the string quartets played so far:

Beethoven, String Quartet op.18/1, Takács Quartet Janáček, String Quartet No.1, Pražák Quartet

Haydn, String Quartet op.76/5, Quatuor Mosaïques Beethoven, String Quartet op.18/4, Pražák Quartet

In Brief

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

• Alex Ross reviews some of the recent literature on how audience behavior in concerts has changed, commenting at one point that "the overarching problem of classical music is the tuxedo." Really? Outside of major symphony orchestras, is the tuxedo really that rigidly enforced? Isn't it true that if the musicians in those orchestras really wanted not to wear tuxedos, that this oddly hated convention (what is the big deal, anyway?) could be relaxed? [The New Yorker]


• The Hilliard Ensemble writes about the experience of leaving off reading dusty polyphonic scores, to work with composer Heiner Goebbels in the creation of a new theater piece, I Went to the House But Did Not Enter. [The Guardian]


• An American composer with a history at New York City Opera addresses an open letter to Gerard Mortier, that company's incoming director. [Mark Adamo]


• Edward Winkleman has some thoughts on artists' spouses, those long-suffering mates of brilliant writers, painters, composers. [Edward Winkleman]


• Thanks to the endlessly resourceful Matthew Guerrieri, we learn that several topographical features of the planet Mercury are named after classical composers. [Soho the Dog]


• Wondering about when to program your Sirius satellite radio to record the Metropolitan Opera live broadcasts? La Cieca has a guide to the Met season on the airwaves. [Parterre Box]


• September 5 is the feast day of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, one of the most remarkable and simply holy people of our generation. Rocca Palmo offers a remembrance of her life and the words she left to us. [Whispers in the Loggia]

Ionarts at Large: Notes from the ARD International Music Competition (Day 6)

With four instrumental categories taking part simultaneously, it is impossible to give due attention to all the participants of the ARD International Music Competition. But one can try, and so I did on day six – while still hearing all four string quartets at the Conservatory. This is the account of the day:

10am, Carl Orff Auditorium, Gasteig:

Under the ears of the jury, including Richard Stoltzman, Clarinetist Marcos Peréz Miranda (Spain) plays the first movement of the Stamitz Clarinet Concerto in B-flat (very beautifully, if a little heavy on ‘acting out’ the music with his body), Debussy’s Rhapsody for Clarinet and Piano no.1 (evocative), and Berio’s Sequenza IXa (the reoccurring fading notes played wonderfully softly and slowly). Beautiful stuff, but I haven’t time to stay and hear Claudia Mendel (Germany) play the same works.

10.45am, running a light:

Flaunting rules of traffic in a way most unbefitting my law-abiding, order-loving surroundings, I bike over to the Conservatory (formerly Hitler’s Office, called the Führerbau) to hear the German/Swiss Amaryllis Quartet (formed in 2000 and modified in 2006).

11.05am, Conservatory of Music, Main Auditorium:

Knowing that they are to record the string quartets of Friedrich Ernst Fesca for cpo, raises my hopes, which are then quickly dashed. I love the sound that Yves Sandoz produces on his cello, but find the upper strings distinctly un-lovely (especially the first violin). A fine Adagio and a very nimble finale of the Haydn Quartet op.77/1 show that the problem isn’t one of lacking technique, but the individual voices are too indistinctive for true joy to kick in.

Interestingly, perhaps ironically, it seems easier to shine in a work like Schoenberg “Three” or “Four”, than a Haydn quartet. Some cynical blackguard might argue that’s because the need for musical sensitivity, beauty, and humor are absent in the former, leaving the players able to concentrate on just the technical aspects. That might just be true as far as impressing is concerned, but not moving.

Schoenberg’s Quartet no.4 should be easier on the ears than no.3 (played by the Gémeaux Quartet on Friday), but at least to my ears, on this day, it isn’t: the Amaryllis Quartet’s performance, even with its several impeccably phrased moments, strikes me as lacking precisely that sense of beauty and phrasing that Schoenberg not only cannot not do without, but so desperately needs.

12.03pm:

The Brodowski Quartet (UK / Germany) also looked at the Schulhoff work and could not resist. Their performance is not as funky or humorous as the EnAccord, and places instead greater emphasis on mood. There’s plenty of that to be found, not just in the passages marked pppp (!). Schulhoff is moving into close proximity to Ligeti, under their eight hands. Haydn’s op.33/3 (“The Bird”) shows better balance, a much more prettier tone, and slightly less accuracy than their colleagues from before. They are more in touch with the music, displaying an inherent joy and no undue sincerity and play quite unlike one would expect at a competition: care free.

Notes from the ARD Intl. Music Competition: Day 2: Viola Competition, Round 1 (2) (September 2) Day 3: Viola Competition, Round 1 (3) (September 3) Day 4: Viola Competition, Round 1 (4) (September 4) Day 5: String Quartet Competition, Round 1 (1) (September 5) Day 6: String QuartetCompetition, Round 1 (2) (September 6) Day 7: String QuartetCompetition, Round 1 (3) (September 7) Day 8: String QuartetCompetition, Round 2 (1) and Viola, Semi-Finals (September 8) Day 9: String QuartetCompetition, Round 2 (2) (September 9) Day 10: Viola, Final (September 10) Day 11: String Quartet, Semi-Finals (September 11) Day 12: Clarinet, Final (September 12) Days 13 & 14: String Quartet & Bassoon Finals (September 13 & 14)

2.25pm, in bed, napping:

Who would have thought that listening to so much music and what is in essence a three-day marathon concert could be so exhausting?

4.00pm, Conservatory of Music, Main Auditorium:

On we go, with the Galatea Quartet (Switzerland/Japan) who opted for Beethoven’s op.18/6 and Berg’s Lyric Suite. The Afiara String Quartet has laid the bar high in the Berg… too high for the Galateas to meet it. This afternoon they are lacking the ease (not necessarily lightness, but something along those lines) that allows the ears to focus more on the music, rather than the process of making it. The smallest difference in the execution of this piece can make a vast difference in its reception. If there’s no melding and understanding of phrases and too much counting going on, it’s no longer a hyper-romantic composition of emotional extremes, it’s plain boring. Similar matters affect the Beethoven, though an interesting touch of breathy softness in the Andante brings a quality one would not necessarily associate with the old master.

5.17pm:

The all-Polish, all-male Apollon Musagete (averaging 28 years, like the Galatea Quartet) shows up with Haydn op.76/3, the “Emperor Quartet”, the slow movement of which could be interpreted as a little courtesy to the competition’s host country, after all, Germany culled its national anthem from it. Theirs’ is stealthy excellence: absolutely homogenous and lead by a very fine sounding first violin (Pawel Zalejski), but without bragging about it. When Haydn asks for it, Piotr Skweres’s cello buzzes about in ways befitting a Moravian dance (or, as my colleague points out, ways rather reminiscent of the opening of the Pippi Longstockings themesong.)

They follow it with Leos Janáček’s First String Quartet, the vaguely feminist “Kreutzer Quartet”, one of the 20^th century highlights in the genre. The three remaining groups who have also chosen to play this quartet on Sunday will have their work cut out for them, if they still want to impress: the ‘whiskey & chocolate’ tone of the Musagetes’ and their total commitment are a complete joy.

6.17pm, Bavarian Radio:

Had I pedaled a little harder, I might have caught Lola Decour’s first round bassoon performance at Studio 2. Instead, I catch a breath and promptly miss the door opening to slip into Wukun Zhu’s recital, too. This sabotages my attempt to hear all four categories in one day, because I can’t hear Julien Hardy without missing violist Ida Bryhn in her second round appearance.

7.35pm, Bavarian Radio, Studio 1:

Apart from Ligeti’s second movement (“Loop. Molto vivace, ritmico - with swing”) from his Solo Viola Sonata and the Hindemith “1939” Viola Sonata, I hear a neat Schubert Arpeggione Sonata from her. The beauty of the work is not in doubt, nor that it loses a little on the viola compared to the usual cello version. Without taking away from her achievement, the rendition does sound like more could me made of it. Much the same can be said for Barbara Buntrock who went before her. Brahms’ op.120/2 and Kurtag’s “Signs” for viola, op.5 merely proper and fun, but Rebecca Clarke’s sonata endowed with intensity on top of its natural beauty.

Recommended recordings of the string quartets played so far:

Haydn, String Quartet op.77/1, Quatuor Mosaïques Beethoven, String Quartet op.18/6, Quatuor Mosaïques

Schoenberg, String Quartet No.4, Psophos String Quartet Berg, Lyric Suite, Leipzig String Quartet

Haydn, String Quartet op.33/3, Quatuor Mosaïques Haydn, String Quartet op.76/3, Quatuor Mosaïques

Schulhoff, String Quartet No.1 (& Janáček), Quatuor Talich Janáček, String Quartet No.1, Pražák Quartet

Kermes Resurrects Kraus

J. M. Kraus, Cantatas for Soprano, S. Kermes, L'Arte del Mondo, W. Ehrhardt (released July 29, 2008) Phoenix Edition 101

The German soprano Simone Kermes has spent considerable energy bringing to light lesser-known showpieces for her kind of voice, a steely, scalpel-precise coloratura. Her 2007 CD of killer solo motets by Vivaldi, Amor Sacro, remains one of my favorite discs of the last few years. In its not unworthy but less striking sequel, Amor Profano (also with the altogether remarkable Venice Baroque Orchestra under Andrea Marcon), certain less pleasing idiosyncrasies of Kermes's voice (a middle-range stridency, odd vowel colors, scooping, occasionally sour intonation) came more to the edge of my ears, so a review never seemed worthwhile. In her other release this year, Kermes brings together four secular cantatas composed by Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792), the German-born whiz kid court composer of Sweden's King Gustav III, for the reportedly extraordinary coloratura voice of Lovisa Augusti, with whom Kraus worked in Stockholm.

The cantatas all use texts by Pietro Metastasio, including La gelosia and La pesca. One drawback of the booklet for this imported disc is that the Italian texts are translated only into German, although the liner notes (by Gerhart Darmstadt, president of the Joseph Martin Kraus-Gesellschaft) are fortunately translated in English. The melodic writing in the most spectacular movements is a natural fit for Kermes's athletic style, as in the dizzying runs of "Va, ma conserva i miei," with a cadenza that rockets up to a high A-flat (above the highest note of the Queen of the Night). The historically informed performance (HIP) ensemble L'Arte del Mondo has released only a handful of recordings in the last year or two, and this is the first one to cross my desk. It was founded by Werner Ehrhardt, former director of Concerto Köln, in 2004, and they have a muscular style of playing, with instruments that sound quite strong, especially the horns. The vocal selections are framed by movements of the incidental music composed by Kraus for a Swedish version of Voltaire's Olympie, presented in Stockholm in 1792.

76'02"

Ionarts at Large: Notes from the ARD International Music Competition (Day 5)

There is nothing duty-like about attending a competition for String Quartets. In fact, after the violish monotony of “All Reger, all the time”, it’s rather like taking a vacation. Apparently it's not just me who feels this way: Whereas only hardy enthusiasts, fellow violists, and their friends followed the viola competition in the sequestered Studio 1 of the Bavarian Broadcasting Service (BR), the auditorium of the Munich Conservatory was packed with listeners eager to be treated to the first of three free concerts by 11 promising young string quartets from around the world.

The opening salvo was fired by the Quartet Feruz from Uzbekistan. Dinara Sabitova and Feruza Normatova (violins), Aybek Ashirmatov (viola) and Oybek Imamov (cello) began with Haydn’s op.77, no.1, an experience that was akin to bathing in good music. But good music isn’t enough at a competition, it also needs to be played well. The four Uzbeks got credit for explosiveness and a catchy beat, which almost made up for the wayward intonation in the first two movements. Every movement of this rather densely played quartet emphasized that rhythm is their strong suit, not accuracy or transparency.

Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for String Quartet, with the Concertino for String Quartet tacked on as a last movement, only furthered that impression. Convenient, because the third movement (“Canticle”) apart, the work lends itself to that approach as much as the movement titles (“Dance” and “Eccentric”) suggest. A pity that the building's roof had to be fixed just then – because the repairman, apparently banging on metal pipes, only nearly got the syncopated rhythm right. A capable performance with exciting moments – but probably not competitive for its lack of intonation and clarity. Extra points for not even blinking during the unexpected percussion solo from above, though!

Notes from the ARD Intl. Music Competition: Day 2: Viola Competition, Round 1 (2) (September 2) Day 3: Viola Competition, Round 1 (3) (September 3) Day 4: Viola Competition, Round 1 (4) (September 4) Day 5: String Quartet Competition, Round 1 (1) (September 5) Day 6: String QuartetCompetition, Round 1 (2) (September 6) Day 7: String QuartetCompetition, Round 1 (3) (September 7) Day 8: String QuartetCompetition, Round 2 (1) and Viola, Semi-Finals (September 8) Day 9: String QuartetCompetition, Round 2 (2) (September 9) Day 10: Viola, Final (September 10) Day 11: String Quartet, Semi-Finals (September 11) Day 12: Clarinet, Final (September 12) Days 13 & 14: String Quartet & Bassoon Finals (September 13 & 14)

Next up was the two-year old Afiara String Quartet from Canada with a performance of the Beethoven op.18/1 [IMSPL score] every bit as professional sounding as their sleek website looks. Valerie Li, Yuri Cho (violins), David Samuel (viola), and Adrian Fung (cello) played the Beethoven swift and lean, finely spun to the point of thinness – suggesting something between extraordinary sophistication or timidity. Their understatement and clarity was in stark contrast to the previous quartet, and their ultra-sensitive touch (especially Fung and Mlle. Li with her sustained pianissimos) a delight. High speeds proved no problem in the Scherzo and while the fleet Allegro wasn’t particularly probing, it was satisfyingly ‘classical’.

But that was but the appetizer: Berg’s Lyric Suite [IMSPL link] followed, and this was just incredibly well done. Three pieces into the contest, and already time for gushing: More engaged than the Beethoven and more forceful, though still benefiting from the already displayed lean qualities, this had transparency and tenacity right next to each other. From the wispy opening of the third movement (like an electrical storm) to the fourth movement (coming in parts closest to what the general publics’ understanding of “lyric” is), the performance only got more and more involved. Hushed voices, shivers, and lots of spunk: The four performers dug deep and came up with the riches.

After such splendor, it would have been greedy to ask for more of the kind, but then that’s more or less what the Gémeaux Quartett (averaging 28 years and also with a stylish website) did. In Haydn’s all-too-rarely played op.50/2 [IMSPL score] they offered a homogeneous and very civilized sound from the first violin (Anne Schoenholtz) down to the cello (Uli Witteler). Very befitting a piece of music that is equally elegant. There were so many instances in which the ears delighted: wonderful key shifts in the Adagio: Cantabile, thankful passages for the first violin, the humorous Trio with its stop & go joviality… reminding even in the most minute parts why Haydn is such a great composer. That they loosened up a little over the course of the quartet enabled the Finale to be truly “Vivace assai”.

Their chosen 20^th century piece (from a list of 16) was Schoenberg’s Third, op.30, by all means a tough nut to crack for players and listeners alike. The psychology of ‘advanced music lovers’ is such that they will actually find a work like Schoenberg No.3 enjoyable, maybe even beautiful. It is, of course, no more beautiful than a bulldog or boxer – which is to say: ugly, by any sane, objective standard. But just ask any owner of such a dog and they will give you a lecture on how very beautiful their extraordinarily misunderstood little pooches are. Sort of the same with Schoenberg - despite the fact that it has considerably less obvious beauty than the (also difficult, though much more rewarding) Lyric Suite.

Being afflicted by the very same warping of aesthetic values, I am finding the Schoenberg String Quartets (and not just the bona fide romantic, dainty unnumbered ones!) more and more pleasurable, in a refreshing, tart way. The very committed and very detailed performance of the Gémeaux Quartett contributed significantly to that pleasure. As is the case with any expert rendition, the perfectly dissonant music suddenly becomes alive with rhythm and can even (very occasionally) wax poetically and indulge in accidental harmony. One ceases to ask the music to make sense in any conventional way and discovers its own, autarkic, sense. Beautiful, though, the quartets are not. And No.3 least of them. If the chaotic streak of the fourth movement made it a bit more difficult to be quite as on top of the music and the piece became tough going, after all, it wasn’t for lack of craftsmanship on part of the performers. The ears simply ran out of benevolence at some point.

Concluding the first day of string quartets, the all-female Belgian/Dutch EnAccord String Quartet (website with lots of pictures) first played Haydn’s op.33/1. A very, very delicate second violin (Helena Druwe) stood out, the trading of phrases was delectable, and only the ripped forte chords were a little off. Up until the Presto, the sound was of the ‘well behaved’ kind. But suddenly the entire quartet sounded different: Full bodied and with a rakish touch, taking some risks, laying it on thick. What a lovely flexibility from one bar to another instead of having ‘one sound’ per player that only changes along the lines of the dynamic markings. Again, this was good stuff.

But the best was yet to come, and it came in the form of Erwin Schulhoff’s String Quartet No.1. That the EnAccord was only one of two quartets to have chosen this work from the given options probably points to the fact that this 106 year young band (total, obviously, not average) were among the few who bothered to look at the score, and beyond the first page, too. It begins with an unisono assault on the listener, the first few pages inauspiciously black with notes. But things turn immediately to the charming, and then to unbridled fun. The music is very viola friendly (Rosalinde Kluck), there is lots of sul ponticello whispering, there are slides, tickles and spider-feet, pizzicato picking, au talon bowing, and col legno knocking… in short: it’s a whole bag of fun; frankly, it kicks ass. The only thing I wondered after the dreamy Andante molto sostenuto finale (where Ilka van der Plas demonstrated how to play perfect flageolet notes) was why I had not known this marvelous Schulhoff quartet already. It was nothing short of a revelation.

Three highlights of the kind I’d be lucky to hear played so well in any professional chamber series might make greedy. So I went back to Studio 1 where I would arrive in time to hear the last two violists of the first day in the second round of their competition. Just so that I wouldn’t forget the privilege of the quartet session, but also because those two last candidates included the stand-out performers from the second day of round one: Wen Xiao Zheng from China and the Russian Sergey Malov.

Brahms’ op.120/1 sonata in f-minor is not necessarily among the most pleasurable of his chamber works – especially in its viola arrangement. But after three viola-solo days I met it with some degree of gratitude. Since at least one movement of this work was required in the second round, everyone among the 18 participants left played it. (My gratitude would surely have declined considerably had I heard all nine on this day.) Wen Xiao’s reading of the first movement was good, but not special.

Sergey Malov, instead, played the whole work – and he knew why: Rarely have I heard this sonata tackled with such an intuitively right mix of attention to detail and comprehensive outline. Pleasurable Brahms, this, with all the necessary intensity and degree of schmaltz that makes the potentially dry music go down the ears smoothly. Malov’s other chosen works were the short Ligeti “Chaconne chromatique” and the Hindemith Sonata for Viola and Piano in F-major op.11/4. In the latter case you can observe the rare occasion of prettiness courtesy of Hindemith - but as so much of his music, this sonata, too, outstays its welcome. Especially when consumed after a day crammed full with so much other music.

Wen Xiao Zheng’s second piece was the Stravinsky Elegie, a work with many traps, not the least the soft double-stop studded beginning and the interval-jumping that follows. All needs to be played tenderly yet with great certainty and of course pin-point precision. As a piece of “music to listen to” it won’t likely become any more popular than it already isn’t. But for presenting one’s skill in handling the viola’s soft and light sides, it is very well suited. Consequently WXZ’s performance was not pleasurable due to some highlights, it was immensely impressive for mistakes not made.

But only in the Beethoven-laced Shostakovich Sonata for Viola and Piano op.147 did Wen Xiao Zheng deliver on the promise of his Tuesday performance: Calm beauty and an immensely tasteful vibrato, slow increases of intensity and immediate returns to gentleness, total control and total evenness of tone were all indicative of his merit not just as a violist, but as a musician. He is a player of character in possession of some of those intangible qualities that should point to a bright future, even if he were not to win a prize at this competition. Remember the name if you dig the viola.

Results from Day 3 and 4:Alexander Akimov (Russia), Benedikt Schneider (Germany), Julie Risbet (France), Dimitri Murrath (Belgium), Li Teng (China), and Lotem Beider (Israel) made it into this second round from day 3’s batch; Barbara Buntock (Germany), David Kim (USA), and Ida Bryhn (Norway) from day 4.

Recommended recordings of the string quartets played so far:

Haydn, String Quartet op.77/1, Quatuor Mosaïques Haydn, String Quartet op.50/2, The Lindsays

Stravinksy, 3 Pieces & Concertino for SQ4t, Chilingirian Quartet Schoenberg, String Quartet No.3, Aron SQ4t

Beethoven, String Quartet op.18/1, Takács Quartet Haydn, String Quartet op.33/1, Quatuor Ebène

Berg, Lyric Suite, Psophos String Quartet Schulhoff, String Quartet No.1, Quatuor Talich

Gerald Finley's Ives

Romanzo di Central Park (Ives songs), G. Finley, J. Drake (released February 12, 2008) Hyperion CDA67644

While Charles Ives is remembered for his more radical and experimental instrumental works, often in his songs he had a chameleonic tendency to mimic other styles. With such a varied palette of colors, the Ives songs have appealed to many singers recently in my ears, including Nathan Gunn, Susan Graham, Thomas Meglioranza, and Thomas Hampson. This set of thirty songs by the American composer pairs some of these almost sentimental, backward-looking songs with others featuring more of Ives's spikier harmonies. Schmaltzy parlor songs self-consciously recall the salon music of Ives's youth in Songs My Mother Taught Me and On the Counter. Ives also gives not unconvincing imitations of a Debussy mélodie (Mists), Hugo Wolf (Ilmenau, a setting of a Goethe poem), and revivalist Americana (his harmonization of At the River would make for a fascinating comparison with the much better-known version by Aaron Copland).

The voice of Canadian baritone Gerald Finley expands from a silky ribbon of mellow tone to a roar that can border on harshness without really crossing it. As noted of Christian Gerhaher singing German songs, Finley loves the details of language and displays the clearest diction of these texts, without spitting into the microphone or becoming affected. With sure intonation that hits the center of the pitch even against complicated harmonies, Finley polishes subtle, enigmatic songs like Evening, on an exquisite snippet from Paradise Lost, to a gem-like luster. Two songs have violin obbligati, played here by Magnus Johnston, including the odd ending of They Are There!, where the violin adds notes by itself that sound like a mistake. The song, first composed in 1917 for WWI, was then revised in 1942, with words altered to refer to Hitler, "this cursed war, / All started by a sneaking gouger, making slaves of men" (only one of a number of revision questions plaguing the Ives oeuvre).

The disc's charming title song, Romanzo (di Central Park), sets a text of merely twelve rhymed words, created by Leigh Hunt to illustrate a poem "of which we require no more than the rhymes to be acquainted with the whole" (in an essay called Rhyme and Reason, cited in the thorough liner notes by Calum Macdonald). The violin of Johnston has the real melody, a syrupy tribute to the now neglected composer Victor Herbert (according to John Kirkpatrick), which the voice joins with occasionally. At import prices this disc is not likely to fly off the shelves, but it is an excellent introduction to the songs of Charles Ives.

62'28"

Ionarts at Large: Notes from the ARD International Music Competition (Day 4)

The sense of accomplishment after a grueling cultural marathon can be most gratifying. I remember that after my first King Lear I felt even more pleased about my having made it all the way through without falling asleep than I did about the genius of Shakespeare. Having brought behind me the fourth and last day of the first round of the ARD International Music Competition’s viola contest without muttering obscenities under my breath at the very mention of a Max Reger Sonata for Solo Viola was perhaps an even greater accomplishment, and it took considerably longer, too.

A cocktail of masochism and loyalty to those endeavoring and sometimes even wonderful violists sent me back on day four, to listen to the last 13 candidates (of which I heard 12) try to get into the second round of the competition by playing more Reger, Vieuxtemps (Capriccio), and another work of their choice. First up was Barbara Buntrock (Germany) who surprised mightily by opting for the 8^th Étude of Maurice Vieux instead of the seemingly de rigeur Vieuxtemps. That so few other violists did, was partly explained by the performance. Instead of providing a lyrical or melodic contrast to the inevitable Reger, Vieux let more double stops rain down on us – a work undoubtedly more impressive to a fellow instrumentalist than it is pleasing to the innocent ear. But then that is true of nearly all Études.

Ysaÿe’s Third Solo Suite (for violin, transcribed) was a daring choice, and it needed some time before it sounded remotely as good as it does on the instrument it was intended for. In the Reger Suite – e-minor, here – Mlle. Buntrock went for grand expression, but also came up with some untidiness: this Reger-guy really knew how to compose uncomfortably for the viola, especially with those double stops over all kinds of intervals. Little wonder the jury selected his works as the first round requirement since it more or less separates the wheat from the chaff for them: All who remain standing after Regering for nearly 10 minutes march on.

Yuri Bondarev (Russia) wasn’t so lucky – neither his g-minor Suite nor the Vieuxtemps Capriccio was particularly successful. The chosen Glazunov Elegy for Viola was a pretty enough work, but neither exact nor clean enough to impress anyone with his command of the instrument. Anna Brugger (Germany), meanwhile, endeared herself to the ears with the Grieg Violin Sonata’s first movement, but that’s another work not native to the viola - and noticeably so, in this interpretation. A nondescript, if more or less faultless, performance of the Reger was followed by a fast and sloppy Capriccio.

More interesting, if not necessarily better, was Juraj Migaš (Slovakia) who for once offered some successful pianissimo double stops in his smoky toned g-minor Suite. But the Vieuxtemps was belabored and grim, the opening flustered. The Hindemith Trauermusik marked his playing as determined, but whether determined enough remains to be seen. Another German, Julia Neher, chose that beast of a Hindemith sonata, op.24, no.4 (movements 1-3), and she tamed it in a dramatic presentation with a pleasantly confident tone. Her Vieuxtemps meanwhile had little to no impact, and the memory slip in the last movement of an inconsequential Reger g-minor Suite along with some out-of-sync double stops didn’t make the best case for her advancement.

Adeliya Chamrina (Russia) took a fleet approach to the Reger (e-minor), befitting the work and especially appreciated after having heard it half a dozen times in three days. Fine work in the fast movements, but unnecessarily many errant notes in the Adagio. Apparently she prefers the fiery and fast over the expressive, because instead of the Vieuxtemps Capriccio, she chose the Campagnoli Caprice no.17. The strategy might have backfired: because even though her performance of a bravura piece originally for violin was less objectionable than most others, it still wasn’t very heartening stuff. At least the Rondo ungarese of Carl Maria von Weber’s op.35 showed the lyrical side she doth possess.

Adrien LaMarca (France) played his Reger with unexpected, pleasing aggression (Vivace), though not entirely cleanly. The Enescu Konzertstück had terrific moments (perhaps enough for another appearance?), giving way to hopes for a terrific, French, sensitive, and wistful Vieuxtemps Capriccio before Lunch break; hopes that were not quite fulfilled, though what we still got was deft and distinct.

Notes from the ARD Intl. Music Competition: Day 2: Viola Competition, Round 1 (2) (September 2) Day 3: Viola Competition, Round 1 (3) (September 3) Day 4: Viola Competition, Round 1 (4) (September 4) Day 5: String Quartet Competition, Round 1 (1) (September 5) Day 6: String QuartetCompetition, Round 1 (2) (September 6) Day 7: String QuartetCompetition, Round 1 (3) (September 7) Day 8: String QuartetCompetition, Round 2 (1) and Viola, Semi-Finals (September 8) Day 9: String QuartetCompetition, Round 2 (2) (September 9) Day 10: Viola, Final (September 10) Day 11: String Quartet, Semi-Finals (September 11) Day 12: Clarinet, Final (September 12) Days 13 & 14: String Quartet & Bassoon Finals (September 13 & 14)

David Kim from the USA opened his performance with the pleasing Telemann Fantasy (no.9 in b-minor) upon which one wondered why more Telemann had not been chosen instead of the more forbidding pieces (like the various Hindemiths). Had young Mr. Kim been told that the race doesn’t always go to the swift, the sonata might have been even more successful, but it was above average music making in any case. After a morning of less than astounding performances, it was good to hear him make the Reger e-minor sonata sound downright sensitive and kind: the result of a very skilled way in rounding the corners.

As for the Vieuxtemps: after hearing almost two dozen interpretations, I now have a ‘perfect amalgamate version’ in my head. And anyone who does not either conform or shows a compellingly different way with it, saddens my ears. Kim’s forceful take did disappoint in that regard, but only at the highest level. From the batches of day three and four, his performance should have been easily enough to advance to the next round.

Manuel Hofer (Austria) got the arch of the Vieuxtemps right, but not all the details – the impotent fury was there, the resignation not. Four pieces from Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet, somewhere between hard-pressed and virile, made me yearn for the original version, and his Reger sounded devoid of dynamic gradations and lacking contour. The Korean Eunice Min-kyung Sung presented a different Vieuxtemps for a change: The first movement of his sonata for viola and piano. Alas, a steady and clear pianissimo would have counted more than a particularly nice tone above mezzo forte which most players have the ability to muster. The Paganini Caprice no.20 was an unfortunate squeak-fest and not the virtuoso delight she might have wanted it to be; her Reger g-minor Suite precise and with merit, but more acrobatic than artistic.

The Norwegian Ida Bryhn, finally, was the highlight of a dour day. The in- and exhaling opening of the Penderecki Cadenza for Viola solo demonstrated excellent control and the Cadenza itself was an exciting, energetic piece (important, so late in the day). Its cumulative power and spiky relentlessness made this, perhaps surprisingly, a tonic of mood (if not sound) among the many other chosen works. Closing with whispers and whimpers, this was touching and merely marred by the amount of extraneous breathing noises of Mlle. Bryhn (themselves vaguely reminiscent of watching a ladies’ tennis tournament). Her Vieuxtemps was the most satisfying, most dramatic of the day, the double stops integrated in the musical flow, the small rises and falls accentuated just right, the tension ratcheted up effectively, the trills accurate, and the accelerando in the right places. And as if saying bye-bye to the Reger Suite in g-minor would not have been exciting enough, the qualities displayed in the Capriccio applied here, too. Elegant yet dramatic, accurate and with appropriate force, she didn’t hack the Suite into too many small bits. Only the hissing and heaving distracted. Antihistamines and a spot in the second round for Miss Bryhn, please.

The last candidate of the first round was Jérémy Pasquier from France. And for the duration of his Reger Suite in e-minor it seemed that the day had saved its best for last. Clean, round, sinuous, this was a way to make Reger listenable even after the last few days’ brutal overexposure. A sure-fire participant in the second round at this point, even if the following Vieuxtemps was already “un-special” (with a vibrato shaking like a lamb’s tail). But what did him in was the choice of the Paganini Caprice no.24. None of the Paganini works not composed for the viola had been very successful so far, and here the result was nearly a disaster. To struggle so direly (especially with the harmonics) in the work of his choice could hardly have been made up even with a fancy spiccato / left-hand pizzicato passage.

Now, with day five approaching, the joy of never having to hear the Reger Suite in g-minor again starts to mingle with the sweet anticipation of the String Quartet competition that starts tomorrow at 11AM. Quartets from Beethoven op.18 or Haydn op.74 await, as does the Lyric Suite of Berg. In short: real music, at last; and with the viola presented as God has intended it to be utilized – betwixt two violins and a cello.