#morninglistening: Hartmann by Committee

#morninglistening #Hartmann @challengerec @JamesGaffigan... http://t.co/aKHkikTHNx pic.twitter.com/tBFYrsizCr

— Jens F. Laurson (@ClassicalCritic) January 22, 2015

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Perchance to Stream: Folle Journée de Nantes Edition

Here is your regular Sunday selection of links to online audio and online video from the week gone by. After clicking to an audio or video stream, you may need to press the "Play" button to start the broadcast. Some of these streams become unavailable after a few days.

• Leonard Slatkin conducts Mahler's sixth symphony with the Orchestre National de Lyon, plus Mozart's fifth violin concerto with Vilde Frang as soloist. [France Musique]


• The Munich Radio Orchestra gives a concert performance of Benjamin Godard's opera Dante, recorded at the Prinzregententheater. [BR-Klassik]


• Listen to Giovanni Simone Mayr's opera Medea in Corinto (Naples, 1813), conducted last July by Fabio Luisi at the Festival della Valle d'Itria. [ORF]


• From the Wigmore Hall in London, the Takács Quartet plays music by Haydn and Shostakovich. [BBC3]


• Elise Caluwaerts and Wiard Witholt star in Sydney Chamber Opera's staging of Pascal Dusapin's Passion. [ABC Classic]


• In a concert recorded at the Church of Saint-Roch in Paris, Philippe Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent perform Bach cantatas for Christmas. [France Musique]


• The BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Alexander Vedernikov perform Shostakovich's 6th Symphony and Schnittke's Viola Concerto with Lawrence Power, recorded at the Barbican Hall. [BBC3]


• Ophélie Gaillard leads soprano Claire Lefilliâtre and the Ensemble Pulcinella in sacred music by Purcell, Monteverdi, Rossi, Sanses, Merula, and other, recorded in the Cathédrale Saint-Macou in Pontoise. [France Musique]


• Watch many of the concerts from the Folle Journée de Nantes. [ARTE]


• Watch Mariss Jansons, violinist Leonidas Kavakos, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus perform Korngold's violin concerto and Rachmaninov's The Bells. [BR-Klassik]


• Watch La Belle et la Bête, a new choreography by Thierry Malandain, recorded in San Sebastián. [ARTE]


• From the Salzburg Mozartwoche, Tugan Sokhiev leads a concert by the Vienna Philharmonic with violinist Renaud Capucon, in music of Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Dutilleux. [ORF | Part 2]


• Watch organists Bernard Foccroulle, Philippe Lefébvre, Camille Baslé, Nicolas Martynciow, Olivier Latry, and Wayne Marshall perform on the organ at the Philharmonie de Paris. [Philharmonie de Paris]


• From the Barbican Hall in London, soprano Renée Fleming joins the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Sakari Oramo for music by Debussy, Anders Hillborg, and Ravel. [BBC3]


• Christian Zacharias conducts and serves as piano soloist with the Orchestre National de France, in music by Schubert (eighth symphony) and Beethoven (third piano concerto). [France Musique]


• Watch young dancers compete in the competition for the 44ème Prix de Lausanne. [ARTE]


• Ilan Volkov leads the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall in music by Roslavets, Ravel, and Shostakovich, with pianist Ingrid Fliter. [BBC3]


• Pianist Fazil Say joins the Camerata Salzburg for a concert at the Salzburg Mozartwoche, playing three Mozart piano concertos, plus music by Mendelssohn. [ORF]


• Giovanni Antonini leads the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg in symphonies of Mozart at the Salzburg Mozartwoche. [ORF]


• Violinist Olivier Charlier and pianist Anne Queffélec play music by Beethoven and Brahms, recorded at the Salle de La Quintinie in Nantes. [France Musique]


• Adam Laloum and Stacey Watton join members of the Modigliani Quartet for Schubert's "Trout" Quintet, recorded in Nantes. [France Musique]


• Music by Johann and Joseph Strauss performed by the Johann Strauss Ensemble. [France Musique]


• The Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire performs Strauss's Alpine Symphony, with Pascal Rophé at the podium. [France Musique]


• Four Seasons by Vivaldi and Piazzolla performed by the Richard Galliano Sextet. [France Musique]


• Abdel Rahman El Bacha plays music of Beethoven at the Salle de La Quintinie in Nantes. [France Musique]


• Listen to Holst's The Planets performed by the Orchestre National des Pays de Loire and conductor Pascal Rophé. [France Musique]


• New music by Italian composers Luca Francesconi and Fausto Romitelli at the opening concert of the Présences Festival with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Mikko Franck. [France Musique]


• From the Folle Journée de Nantes, a performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons with violinist Sayaka Shoji and the Polish Chamber Orchestra. [France Musique]


• Viola da gambist Laurence Dreyfus leads Phantasm in music by William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, Matthew Locke, Henry Purcell, and others, recorded at the Wiener Konzerthaus. [ORF]


• Enrique Mazzola, bass-baritone Markus Werba, and the Orchestre National de l'Ile de France perform selections from Des Knaben Wunderhorn by Mahler, Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, and Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, recorded at the Philharmonie de Paris. [France Musique]


• A recital by pianist Alexander Ghindin at the Musée d'Orsay, with music by Prokofiev, Debussy, Offenbach, Saint-Saëns, Bizet, and Richard Strauss. [France Musique]


• Concerts from 2014 and 2015 with Ludovic Morlot and Cristian Macelaru conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in music of Stravinsky, Ravel, and others. [CSO]


• Listen to the 1970 recording of Vincenzo Bellini's Il Pirata, starring Piero Cappuccilli (Ernesto), Montserrat Caballé (Imogene), Bernabe Marti (Gualtiero), and Ruggero Raimondi (Goffredo), conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni in Rome. [ORF]

Venzago, Watts with the BSO

O. Schoeck, Sommernacht (inter alia), Berner Symphonieorchester, M. Venzago (Musiques Suisses, 2015)

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is approaching the celebration of its 100th anniversary this Thursday. For the last program before that event, conductor Mario Venzago returned to the podium, with a pleasing selection of music that was full of surprises, heard on Thursday night in the Music Center at Strathmore. Opening with Gluck, some odd selections from the marvelous opera Armide, was an inspired choice, music that few BSO listeners are likely to have heard, at least from the BSO.

The Gluck set included the overture and several dances, plus a chaconne and finale, with a concentrated number of players, including a harpsichord for the continuo part and, somewhat mysteriously, a part for harp. The modern brass instruments had to play in a rather contained way, so as not to overwhelm the ensemble, revealing many delightful sounds, especially the hypnotic Elysium number and an ornately beautiful flute solo in the Siciliana. Gluck premiered this opera in Paris in 1777, the same year that Mozart composed his ninth piano concerto, K. 27, in Salzburg for Victoire Jenamy, the daughter of dancer and choreographer Jean-Georges Noverre. It is a jewel of a piece, given a pretty if not always easily flowing account by pianist André Watts. Venzago kept the orchestra at just the right levels to allow his soloist to come to the fore, making many little adjustments to realign the ensemble. Watts performed the cadenzas and other solo moments with some panache, but this was not exactly a rendition to be remembered, although the third movement had a daring spirit.

Other Reviews: Tim Smith, BSO welcomes back Andre Watts, Mario Venzago (Baltimore Sun, February 6)

Schumann's symphonies often bore me, but good conductors know how to fix balances to make the best of the composer's sometimes dull orchestration. Venzago did just that in this performance of Schumann's fourth symphony, in D minor, reigning in the string and brass sound to reveal the winds more and applying generous rubato to bring out the Romantic nature of Schumann's phrases. The second movement was delicate and wistful, with some tuning issues when the oboe and cello section shared a melody (not a good combination), but a lovely violin solo in the middle section. The scherzo felt plenty fast but was limber and lively than just forceful, and a trio of charming, murmuring sounds that Venzago's rubato touch brought to life. Venzago's earlier restraint of the brass now paid off, as he finally gave that section its head, driving an exciting finale to its conclusion.

This concert repeats this evening, at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore.

CD Review: Eschenbach's Hindemith

Hindemith, Symphonie 'Mathis der Maler' / Symphonie in Es, NDR Sinfonieorchester, C. Eschenbach (released on October 9, 2015) ODE 1275-2 | 67'32"

Charles T. Downey, Hindemith, Symphonies, NDR Symphony Orchestra
Washington Post, February 5

When Christoph Eschenbach began his tenure with the National Symphony Orchestra in 2010, he arrived with a recording contract with the Finnish recording label Ondine. He has recorded only one disc with the NSO to date, in 2011 — the orchestra’s first recording since 2001 — which inauspiciously paired some slightly sloppy Gershwin and Bernstein with the premiere of the instantly forgettable “Remembering JFK” by Peter Lieberson.

Eschenbach may not have released any more recordings with the NSO since then, but he has done so with two of his former bands: the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Orchestra and the NDR Symphony Orchestra in Hamburg. With the latter orchestra, he made two Hindemith discs, both recorded live around the 50th anniversary of Hindemith’s death in 2013, slightly after which the NSO programmed the composer’s “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d"... [Continue reading]

Hindemith, Symphonie 'Mathis der Maler' / Symphonie in Es
NDR Sinfonieorchester, Christoph Eschenbach

#morninglistening: Hashtag Jean Muton

#morninglistening to #JeanMouton, who is rarely used as a hash tag.
With the ensembles Dia… http://t.co/grNFdP4Zlg pic.twitter.com/xPwameN9H5

— Jens F. Laurson (@ClassicalCritic) October 12, 2015

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CD Review: Divine Redeemer

Divine Redeemer (music by Bach, Franck, Gounod, Reger, et al.), C. Brewer, P. Jacobs (released on September 11, 2015) Naxos 8.573524 | 61'22"

Charles T. Downey, Divine Redeemer: Christine Brewer, Paul Jacobs
Washington Post, February 3

A new album of Christian devotional pieces by a major opera singer, while part of a long tradition, might turn off some listeners. On her new disc, “Divine Redeemer,” the celebrated soprano Christine Brewer, together with the equally celebrated organist Paul Jacobs, moves beyond cliche with a varied selection of music that she approaches with a sincerity that reflects her start singing in church in her Illinois home town.

There are only a couple of pieces that might set off chestnut alarms. César Franck’s “Panis angelicus” is offered, thankfully, in a version closer to its original form, in the “Messe à 3 voix,” than the schmaltzy arrangements with oohing chorus often heard now. Jacobs plays the organ arrangement in a way that recalls Franck’s original scoring for cello, harp, and organ, with the cello melody on a solo stop and the closing arpeggios rendered in a harp-like way... [Continue reading]

Divine Redeemer (music by Bach, Franck, Gounod, Reger, et al.)
Christine Brewer (soprano) and Paul Jacobs (organ)

Something Missing from 'Une éducation manquée'

(L to R) Sopranos Amel Brahim-Djelloul and Sophie Junker in Une Éducation Manquée, Opera Lafayette (photo by Louis Forget)

People should perform the music of Emmanuel Chabrier more than they do. The good folks at Opera Lafayette have done their part, adding Chabrier to their list of revivals of 19th-century operas. On Tuesday evening in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, the company presented a staged version of Chabrier's Une éducation manquée, a charming one-act operetta composed two years after L'étoile. On the basis of what I have heard so far, put me down for any performances of Chabrier's other comic operas or his serious work Gwendoline.

The libretto, by Eugène Leterrier and Albert Vanloo, recounts the dilemma of a young married couple, played by two sopranos, who have reached their wedding night without really knowing about what they are supposed to do with each other when the lights are out. The husband, Gontran, calls back his drunken tutor, Master Pausanias, to berate him on account of this deficiency in his education, but the elderly abbé is not much help. Only when lightning and thunder strike, driving the wife, Hélène, into her husband's arms, does the hapless couple figure things out.

Soprano Sophie Junker was a wide-eyed Hélène, with some bell-like top notes and a beautiful overall tone, with soprano Amel Brahim-Djelloul a little more tested at the high end but showing a charming boyishness in the trouser role of Gontran. Baritone Dominique Côté had smart comic timing as Pausanias, if some tentative qualities on the high parts of the role. Opera Lafayette extended the short work to about an hour of music by introducing the opera with four of Chabrier's charming animal-themed songs (Villanelle des petits canards, Pastorale des cochons roses, Les Cigales, and the hilarious Cocodette et Cocorico, in which a hen and rooster find each other). For these scenes director Bertrand Deletré created little vignettes showing the charmed youth of the two leads, played by an adorable group of child supernumeraries.

Other Reviews: Anne Midgette, An evanescent French rarity by Chabrier returns to the stage (Washington Post, February 4)

Chabrier debuted the opera, in a semi-private performance, in his own piano reduction, but that does not seem like a sufficient reason to forego the composer's orchestral version of the score. Pianist Jeffrey Watson did the piano version justice, with probably unnecessary direction from conductor Ryan Brown, creating an intimate ambiance as heard from the close rows. Perhaps a future project could focus instead on Darius Milhaud's expanded version of this opera, created for Sergei Diaghilev in 1924, with Milhaud's recitatives and new number (Couplets de Mariette) for Hélène.

This performance repeats Friday and Saturday, at the French Institute Alliance Française in New York.

#morninglistening: Musorgksy / Bare Mountain Pictures & Gergiev

#morninglistening #mussorgsky @mariinskyen @ValeryGergiev... http://t.co/e9URrPHDBp pic.twitter.com/iBKUjArwyy

— Jens F. Laurson (@ClassicalCritic) January 21, 2015

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