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THIS MONTH’S RECOMMENDED RECORDINGS

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Edgar Moreau: Jewish musical celebration PAGE 86

Telemann concertos from Antoine Tamestit PAGE 90

From Brighton to Brooklyn: 20th-century recital PAGE 91

Live stream

Music at home: Rachel Barton Pine and Matthew Hagle

COURTESY RACHEL BARTON PINE

RACHEL BARTON PINE (VIOLIN) MATTHEW HAGLE (PIANO) 14 DECEMBER 2021

The first pleasure of Rachel Barton Pine’s livestreamed recital with pianist Matthew Hagle was its sense of intimacy, from the insight they proffered on the works as they went, to the acoustic of Pine’s condo which, while slightly dry and unforgiving, allowed her to drop dynamics down to the most fragile whisper. There was also the resonance of hearing Brahms’s first and third violin sonatas on Pine’s 1742 ‘ex-Bazzini, ex-Soldat’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ which was once owned by Brahms’s protegée, violinist Marie Soldat, and chosen for her by Brahms himself.

Those two sonatas, Brahms’s Lullaby (a wonderful vehicle for the Guarneri’s velvety depths) and Clara Schumann’s Three Romances all had their pleasures, but the greatest treat was the 1878 Violin Sonata in B minor by Brahms’s and the Schumanns’ mutual friend, violinist–composer Amanda Maier. Long before Pine’s and Hagle’s flair-filled final Allegro molto vivace I was wondering why we don’t hear it more. This was down to their strong conversational interplay, the sophisticatedly rendered passion they brought to its fiery moments and their delicacy in its softer ones.

Added intrigue came via its occasional similarities of mood and contour to the preceding Brahms First Violin Sonata – written concurrently but completed in 1879. The evening was intimate and fascinating.

CHARLOTTE GARDNER

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New York

ENSEMBLE RARO WEILL RECITAL HALL 2 DECEMBER 2021

In an evening hosted by the Romanian Cultural Institute and celebrating Great Union Day (1 December, one of the country’s national holidays), four expert musicians focused on Enescu, including two substantial works. His youthful Sérénade lointaine (1903) for piano trio, written when he was just 21, is a charming, five-minute ray of sunshine. With violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky, cellist Bernhard Naoki Hedenborg and pianist Diana Ketler, the trio made the best case for hearing it in the concert hall more often.

Perhaps the curiosity of the night came last: the famous Romanian Rhapsody no.1, arranged for piano quartet by Thomas Wally. Violist Razvan Popovici joined the trio for Wally’s ingenious reduction of the original, scored for a lavish orchestra. With much of the giddiness intact – buoyed by a lot of hair-raising fingerwork from all – one hardly missed the other instruments.

In between came the Piano Quartet no.1 in C minor op.15 by Fauré, one of Enescu’s teachers, and it was done with sensuous aplomb. A substantial, energetic reading of Dvořák’s Piano Quartet in E flat major op.87 seemed like a benevolent bonus and only added to the celebratory atmosphere.

BRUCE HODGES

RANDALL GOOSBY (VIOLIN) ZHU WANG (PIANO) 92Y LINCOLN HALL 9 DECEMBER 2021

After hearing Randall Goosby in an online performance in 2020, my first experience seeing him live did not disappoint. His beautiful lines in the opening Largo of Mozart’s B flat major Violin Sonata K454 immediately grabbed the ear, and the Allegro was effortlessly sparkling and lithe. The following movements were well shaped and extremely enjoyable, with lovely piano playing from Zhu Wang and great ensemble, especially in the second movement, and while Mozart is often difficult to master, Goosby played with elegance and beauty. His string-crossings were always clean, and spiccato passages tossed off with deceptive ease.

A set of three Florence Price pieces followed. Fantasy no.1 opened with a deep, soulful sound, which gave way to a whimsical second theme, played with aplomb and character. Here it felt like Goosby played with more abandon and joy than in the Mozart. Fantasy no.2 was even more virtuosic and Goosby played with confidence and beauty in spite the work’s quirkiness.

Originally written for the organ, Price’s Adoration was an introspective piece, performed with great tenderness from both musicians.

The programme ended with Franck’s Violin Sonata in A major. The opening Recitativo was captivating and Goosby played with an intensity that immediately attracted the ear. The simplicity of his phrasing paired with the ease of his spinning sound was very elegant. The final Allegretto ended the evening with flair, fervour and exuberance.

LEAH HOLLINGSWORTH

CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER ALICE TULLY HALL 10 DECEMBER 2021

Baroque Bach, a programme of six solo Bach works postponed from December 2020, seemed almost more powerful now: windows into the inner worlds of six musicians coming out of a time of introspection, ready to share the most personal music of faith and hope.

It strikes me that although a solo work seems to be the opposite of chamber music, solo Bach, with its polyphony and intricate voicing, is the ultimate chamber music for one. It was sublime to hear the programme open with the Lute Suite in G minor: what an intimate and exquisite instrument it is. Bach’s Violin Partita in E major followed. Bella Hristova opened with a breathtakingly quick tempo but played with beauty, clarity and incredible dynamic contrasts despite her fast pace. I wondered what could be left for the Gigue while marvelling at her immaculate playing. I appreciated the minimal but thoughtful vibrato in the Loure and the wonderful character of her Gavotte. The Menuets were sophisticated and played with elegant simplicity – my favourite movements. I was wowed by her sparkling execution and fast tempos in the final two movements.

Intimate Bach from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

TRISTAN COOK

Following superb performances of Bach’s French Suite in B minor for keyboard by Gilles Vonsattel and nine organ partitas on ‘O Gott, du frommer Gott’ by Stephen Tharp on the Alice Tully Hall organ, Colin Carr took the stage with Bach’s Sixth Cello Suite. Although he struggled with intonation in the Prelude, the movement had a beautiful flow. I appreciated his thoughtful approach to voicing and pacing in the Allemande and his understanding of the music’s structure was evident in the Sarabande, which was poised and almost meditative. The Gavottes were the best movements of the suite – expertly played, beautifully executed, and filled with charm and sophistication. The Gigue was wonderfully played with appropriate abandon to finish in high spirits.

LEAH HOLLINGSWORTH

GRACE PARK (VIOLIN) JOSEPH LICCARDO (PIANO) WEILL RECITAL HALL 13 DECEMBER 2021

Introducing this all-French recital, presented by the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation, violinist Grace Park noted ‘The arc of this programme is Heaven to Earth’. The heavenly portion began with Messiaen’s Thème et Variations, its sweet theme escalating in intensity. Park’s lustrous instrument – made in 1739 by Montagnana – only added to the pleasure.

Park (who won the Naumburg Award in 2018) and her superb pianist Joseph Liccardo then plunged attacca into Fauré’s Violin Sonata in A major op.13. With Liccardo as an ultra-attentive collaborator, myriad details bubbled over, emphasising delicacy and attention to dynamic levels.

Heavenly French recital by Grace Park

MARCO BORGGREVE

Precise ornaments and double-stops characterised Jean-Marie Leclair’s Violin Sonata in D major op.9 no.1. Effervescence was everywhere, especially in the final Tambourin: Presto, taken at quite a gallop. To close came Saint-Saëns’s Violin Sonata no.1, packed with challenges. From the broadly rhapsodic main theme to the finale (taken at a blistering pace), Park and Liccardo found nostalgia and even a little wit.

After the fireworks, an encore seemed slightly superfluous, but Park had one ready with a touch of humour, adding, ‘We thought we would play something... French.’ Debussy’s La plus que lente – originally for piano solo and arranged by Léon Roques – ended the evening with a gentle, wistful mood.

BRUCE HODGES

London

ROMAN SIMOVIC (VIOLIN) LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA/KIRILL KARABITS BARBICAN HALL 9 DECEMBER 2021

There were no downsides to the LSO casting its leader Roman Simovic as soloist in Miklós Rózsa’s Violin Concerto, written in 1953 for Heifetz and adapted for Billy Wilder’s 1970 film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.

Super-prepared and able to make light of the part’s difficulties, Simovic proved a passionate advocate for the concerto, which combines the rhythmic verve of Walton with the lush tunespinning of Korngold. If there was a hint of slightly muted exuberance in the first movement, this could be because soloist, orchestra and conductor also had an eye ahead to the numerous tight corners to be turned together, all as it happened cleanly negotiated by Kirill Karabits, who stood in at short notice to replace Simon Rattle, who was self-isolating after contracting Covid-19.

Simovic found a vein of reverie in the lambent second movement, which ends with the soloist disappearing into stratospheric heights, and he had power in reserve for the taxing, folk music-inflected finale. To boot, Simovic was visibly thrilled to be on stage with his colleagues, and the camaraderie clearly went both ways.

The orchestra was again on fine form in the second half, with Karabits leading a performance of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra notable for its freshness and suppleness as well as its colour and precision.

The Zoffany Ensemble plays Schubert’s Octet

GOULD PHOTO COURTESY JAKE MORLEY

EDWARD BHESANIA

ZOFFANY ENSEMBLE CONWAY HALL 12 DECEMBER 2021

There were many good things in this performance of Schubert’s Octet, slightly marred by the sense that players were not entirely comfortable: intonation and ensemble were both a little off in places.

Nevertheless, there was a happy sweep to the first movement and great lyricism in the following Adagio, with fine playing from violinist Manon Derome and cellist Anthony Pleeth.

Pleeth provided a fine walking bass in the trio of the jaunty third movement, at once busy and insouciant, and Derome produced fine, filigree playing in the variations of the fourth. A touch of ponticello added menace to the opening of the finale, which went on to be lively and easy-going. It wasn’t perfect, but it had the feeling of music making among friends.

Those odd lapses still appeared occasionally in Beethoven’s Septet, which had open-hearted and engaging playing, with some neat contributions from the strings in the fourth-movement theme and variations, and heady drama in the finale. Derome skipped a chunk of her cadenza, but the highspirited finish had the audience cheering.

TIM HOMFRAY

GOULD PIANO TRIO WIGMORE HALL 29 DECEMBER 2021

This concert was an emotional journey that ended in the grieving depths of Shostakovich but began with happy Mozart. The first movement of his E major Trio K542 was both forthright and delicate, and after the somewhat melancholy central Andante, with vivid dynamic contrasts, the Allegro third movement sparkled, with lively passagework from violinist Lucy Gould and pianist Benjamin Frith.

The opening of Mendelssohn’s C minor Trio op.66 was dramatic, surging and restless, with the second theme expansive and later grand as they drove energetically to the close of the movement. The constant melody of the Andante ebbed and flowed genially; in the light and scurrying Scherzo some dark shadows fell. Cellist Richard Lester launched vigorously into the Allegro appassionato finale, which developed steadily to majestic valediction.

The bleakness of the Andante opening of Shostakovich’s E minor Second Piano Trio op.67 was emphasised by white, vibratoless notes from Gould, who later played with strength and bite and some fine swoops.

The second-movement Allegro non troppo was mechanical and sinister, with bulging hairpins to round it off, and the Largo that followed was plaintive and spellbinding. The harrowing progress of the final Allegretto was played with relentless rhythmic precision.

TIM HOMFRAY

An emotional journey for the Gould Piano Trio