tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-144300802024-03-16T14:53:06.479-04:00INFODAD.COM: Family-Focused ReviewsAt INFODAD, we rank everything we review with plus signs, on a scale from one (+) [disappointing] to four (++++) [definitely worth considering]. We mostly review (+++) or better items. Very rarely, we give an exceptional item a fifth plus. We are independent reviewers and, as parents, want to help families learn which books, music, and computer-related items we and our children love...or hate. INFODAD is a service of TransCentury Communications, Inc., Fort Myers, Florida, infodad@gmail.com.The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.comBlogger4563125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-52998857369714908152024-03-14T08:50:00.002-04:002024-03-14T08:51:51.260-04:00(++++) SCALING THE HEIGHTS<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Bach:
Cello Suites (complete).</span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Ailbhe
McDonagh, cello. Steinway & Sons. $21.99 (2 CDs). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bach’s six suites for solo cello are more than a rite of passage for
cellists. They are an invitation to sublimity, a chance not only to interpret
the music but also to put one’s own stamp on it – frequently multiple times
during one’s performing career, since the suites’ meaning and significance seem
to change considerably over time as a performer gains familiarity with the
music plus his or her own maturity and mastery. The same happens to be true for
audiences: no matter how many cellists one hears in this music, there is always
something new to discover, some way in which the tripartite experience
(composer + performer + instrument) differs from all others and sheds new light
on a listener’s perception. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just as Bach’s religious music transcends the Lutheran tradition in
which it was created, so the cello suites and other instrumental works are
unbound by time or geography – a reality further documented in the new Steinway
& Sons recording featuring Ailbhe McDonagh, whose status as the first Irish
cellist to record all six suites is a matter that is both of justifiable pride
and wholly irrelevant to the music. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>McDonagh’s personal vision of the suites is a restrained Romantic one
rather than one that is historically focused or determined to play the music as
Bach and his contemporaries would have heard it. She does not hesitate to use
crescendos and diminuendos, swells, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rubato</i>
and other techniques of emphasis in order to bring out the underlying emotional
connective tissue of the suites. This means that their foundational structure
tends to be somewhat diminished: notably, the dancelike rhythmic elements of
the majority of movements are lessened here, although scarcely absent. It also
means that these performances are strongest in the slower and more-emotive
portions of the suites: the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sarabande</i>
movements are deeply felt and very moving, with the unusual and profound one in
Suite No. 5 – a movement wholly lacking in double stops and thus having an
inherent purity of single-string sound – being a highlight of McDonagh’s cycle. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Actually, there are highlights aplenty here. McDonagh plays an 1833
cello by Andrea Postacchini (1781-1862), who is far better known for his
violins but whose larger string instruments (including violas, basses and guitars)
also show remarkable, almost buttery smoothness of tone and evenness of sound
production in all ranges. Certainly that is the case with McDonagh’s cello,
which does not have quite the sonorous depth of a few other instruments in its lowest
range but which is exceptionally consistent in sound all the way to its top
notes – a distinct advantage for the Bach cello suites. McDonagh plays as if
the cello is an extension of her thinking as well as her body: there is a sense
of unity of player and played that gives the suites a wholly pleasurable sense
of cohesion. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>McDonagh handles the suites’ technical demands with apparent ease: the
complexities throughout No. 4, for example, and the string crossings in the
first minuet of No. 2. Her cello’s sound works as well in Suite No. 5
(originally written for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">scordatura</i>
tuning) and Suite No. 6 (most likely composed for a five-stringed instrument
and frequently played on one) as it does in the first four suites. The elegance
and warmth of the performances come through as well in the few movements with a
single melodic line (not only the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sarabande</i>
of Suite No. 5 but also the second minuets of Suites Nos. 1 and 2, the second
bourrée of Suite No. 3, and the concluding gigue of Suite No. 4) as in the
much-more-frequent movements employing double stops. Those same characteristics
are actually evident in every movement of every suite – and they tend to
overshadow individual movements’ lighter and brighter elements. The French
overture that starts Suite No. 5, for example, is deeply emotional at the
beginning but somewhat less convincing in the speedy fugue used for the latter
part of the movement. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is always possible, of course, to nitpick any performance of these
suites – and it is almost always unfair to do so. The best cellists make these
works their own through a strong and consistent commitment to the music and a
willingness to share that devotion (which does take on almost spiritual
connotations) with listeners. McDonagh’s recording is clearly that of a
performer at once highly skilled from a technical standpoint and highly
thoughtful from an expressive one. Her rendition of the suites is quite
convincing on its own terms – and certainly compares favorably with the many
other first-rate recordings of these unsurpassed works.</span></p>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-5712542228391025582024-03-14T08:47:00.003-04:002024-03-16T08:28:05.406-04:00(++++) TWO ENDS AND A BEGINNING<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Mozart: Complete Piano Sonatas, Volume 5—Nos. 7, 9
and 10; Volume 6—Nos.14 and 15.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Orli Shaham, piano. Canary Classics. $29.98 (2
CDs). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Ravel: Complete Works for Solo Piano, Volume 1—Miroirs;
Jeux d’eau; Valses nobles et sentimentales; Sonatine; Pavane pour une infante
défunte.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">
Vincent Larderet, piano. AVIE. $19.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">George Crumb: Complete Music, Volume
21—Processional; Kronos-Kryptos; Sonata for Solo Violoncello.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Gilbert Kalish and
Marcantonio Barone, piano; Curtis Institute of Music Ensemble 20/21; Timothy
Eddy, cello. Bridge Records. $16.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Orli Shaham’s Mozart sonata cycle concludes with the same consistency it
has shown throughout: lithe and limpid playing with a mild Romantic veneer, with
the sonatas presented in no discernible order – and with a dollop of numbering
confusion, carried over from an earlier volume, that thankfully does not affect enjoyment
of the performances. The numbering issue lies in identifying the D major
sonata, K. 311, as “No. 8” in the latest Shaham release, although it is most often referred to as No. 9 – while K. 310 in A minor, most often designated No. 8, was performed in Shaham’s
Volume 2, where it was identified as No. 9. It happens to be true that K. 311 was written some months before K. 310, and some other pianists use Shaham's designations, including Malcolm Bilson and Anthony Newman, whose renditions on fortepiano show more concern for historical accuracy than does Shaham's on a modern concert grand. And it is certainly true that the numbering peculiarity has no
impact whatsoever on the quality of Shaham’s performances. But it does provide
additional evidence, if any is needed, that in producing a complete cycle of
these sonatas, it would be helpful to have some rationale for the sequencing on
the CDs. In any case, Shaham’s performance of K. 311 is one of her more
Romantic-leaning ones, with the central <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Andante
con espressione</i> having considerable warmth and with her pedal use in the
concluding <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rondeau</i> giving the
movement some extra weight. K. 311 is offered between two C major works. The
first of these, No. 7, K. 309, gets one of Shaham’s best readings: fleet and
delicate, with a piano sound that is close to that of the fortepianos of
Mozart’s time – Shaham makes no attempt to provide historically informed
performances, but this sonata has some of that feeling, even in a central <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Andante un poco adagio</i> that proffers
courtly elegance rather than deep emotion. The CD designated as Volume 5
concludes with the popular Sonata No. 10, K. 330, which is better heard as part
of the three-work cycle in which it appears (K. 330-332) but which sounds fine
anytime. Shaham’s interpretation is expansive, thanks to her careful tempo
choices and her observance of repeats. This sonata’s three movements are quite
close in tempo indication: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Allegro
moderato, Andante cantabile, Allegretto.</i> Shaham keeps them distinctive by
making the slow movement a bit overly slow and, more significantly, by making
the finale quite speedy – an approach that works in its own right even if it
somewhat changes the balance among the movements. The last CD in Shaham’s
cycle, designated Volume 6, contains just two sonatas. Sonata No. 14, K. 457,
gets a broadly conceived performance consistent with its large scale and the
unusually emotive thematic material befitting its home key of C minor. Shaham’s
sensitivity to the mood of the first movement is welcome; the contrasting
gentleness she brings to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adagio</i>
is well-considered; and the unusually intense finale comes across particularly
well, from its quiet opening to the chords that interrupt its headlong drama.
This performance and that of K. 309 are two of the best in Shaham’s entire cycle.
The last sonata offered in Volume 6 is No. 15, K. 533, an F major work that can
sound somewhat standoffish, although perhaps Olympian is a better and
more-positive adjective. Shaham spins it out at very considerable length – the
performance lasts a full half-hour, more because of the welcome attention to
repeats than because of the tempos, which are judiciously chosen and not
unusually slow. This is a sonata that is more pretty than profound, being very
well-made but a trifle on the cool side. Shaham’s tendency to bring small
Romantic touches to Mozart is actually absent here, with the result that her
performance is stately and elegant without being particularly moving.
Throughout her Mozart cycle, Shaham has shown herself to be a thoughtful
interpreter with a close personal relationship with the music – making her set
of the Mozart sonatas one to which listeners will find themselves returning
with pleasure again and again. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is too early to know for sure whether Vincent Larderet’s planned
four-disc cycle of Ravel’s complete solo piano music will be a must-have, but
certainly the first of these AVIE discs points in a very positive direction.
All the music on the CD will be quite familiar to Ravel aficionados – but not
necessarily in the form in which it is heard here. In particular, Larderet
offers the original solo-piano versions of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Valses
nobles et sentimentales</i> (1911) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pavane
pour une infante défunte</i> (1899). There is an angularity and insistence,
rather than the typical underlying delicacy, to Larderet’s handling of the
opening of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Valses nobles et sentimentales,</i>
which gives his altogether gentler approach to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Assez lent</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Modéré</i> a
greater-than-usual contrast. The dissonances of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Presque lent</i> come through quite clearly here, and the overall
impression of the entire work is of a not-altogether-fond set of reminiscences
of a bygone age, with the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Épilogue</i>
having something of a funereal cast about it. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pavane pour une infante défunte,</i> on the other hand, is pervaded by
gentleness and a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">berceuse</i>-like sense
of relaxation. The other works on this CD receive equally personalized and
equally convincing readings. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Miroirs</i>
(1904-05) is the longest, its five movements lasting more than half an hour.
The very carefully considered pauses at the start of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oiseaux tristes</i> show just how sensitive Larderet is to the nuances
of Ravel’s style, while the rhythmic vitality of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alborada del gracioso</i> is particularly notable. Larderet plays <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jeux d’eau</i> (1901) with exceptional grace
and fluidity, and the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sonatine</i>
(1903-05) comes across with easy elegance and a pervasive touch of foundational
sweetness that conveys a strong sense of Impressionism even without any
specific scene-painting. Throughout this release, Larderet demonstrates
impeccable pianistic technique combined with an unusual level of sensitivity to
Ravel’s tonal colors and his free and variable treatment of rhythm and harmony.
If the remaining recordings in this planned cycle are performed as tastefully
and with as much style and understanding as this one, Larderet will have
established himself as an absolutely top-of-the-line interpreter of Ravel’s
works for solo piano. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The six-volume and projected four-volume sets by Shaham and Larderet
certainly represent respectable-size versions of complete cycles of their
respective works. But they do not hold a candle, in terms of completeness, to
some sets of CDs that aim to encompass a truly enormous amount of music. The
ongoing Vivaldi Project on Naïve, at 69 releases and counting (and counting and
counting!), is the champion for sheer enormity and ambition – but it has been
in process only since 2000, and in terms of sheer longevity, it does not
measure up to Bridge Records’ truly amazing commitment to recording and
releasing the complete music of George Crumb (1929-2022), which has been an
ongoing project since 1982. The final volume in this amazingly extended series,
No. 21, is now available, and while nothing on it will likely bring a new
audience to Crumb’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">oeuvre,</i> the works
on this (+++) CD can serve as an excellent introduction to elements of Crumb’s
style for those who do want to explore it – and a confirmation of his
importance for those who are already aficionados. What is interesting is that
Volume 21 includes Crumb’s second acknowledged composition and his
second-to-last: </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Sonata for Solo Violoncello</span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> (1955) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kronos-Kryptos</i> (2019-2020),
respectively. Crumb’s mother was a cellist with the Charleston Symphony
Orchestra, so his three-movement solo cello work must have had personal
resonance for him, but what is most evident in it is the extent of Webern’s
influence and some early instances of Crumb’s preoccupation with unusual ways
of playing standard instruments – most evidently here in the concluding <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Toccata,</i> which Timothy Eddy performs
particularly enthusiastically. As for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kronos-Kryptos,</i>
whose title means “Time-Secret,” it is subtitled “Four Tableaux for Percussion
Quintet” and is done to a turn by the Curtis Institute of Music Ensemble 20/21
(Yoonseo Kang, Tae McLoughlin, Hamza Able, Griffin Harrison, and guest artist
Andrew Malonis – the work is intended for four players but played here by five).
This piece is an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In Memoriam</i> for
Crumb’s daughter, Ann, who had recorded some of his music and who died at
Crumb’s home in 2019. The four movements’ titles are typical of contemporary
works (not just Crumb’s) and relate at best marginally to the music: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Easter Dawning, A Ghostly Barcarolle,
Drummers of the Apocalypse,</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Appalachian
Echoes (Look Homeward, Angel).</i> The personal connection here is certainly clearer
and deeper than any in the solo-cello sonata. The music itself, though, evinces
no notable personal elements and does not sound especially different from other
Crumb works in its focus on timbre and instrumental color, and on the creation
of a sound world to envelop the audience. The third and shortest movement, with
its vocal interjections amid a cascade of pounded intensity, is the most
effective; the fourth, which is surely meant to be the most heartfelt, comes
across mostly as a kind of lukewarm “cosmos music” in the Ligeti mode, almost
as if Crumb is deliberately holding back some of his strongly felt emotions. In
addition to the early and late works on this CD, there are two separate
versions of a piece from the middle of Crumb’s compositional career: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Processional</i> for solo piano, which dates
to 1983. The disc opens with this work in its keyboard version, played
stylishly and sensitively by Gilbert Kalish; the CD ends with Marcantonio
Barone’s performance of an extended-piano version that includes
inside-the-piano touches that add nothing to the music except the sense that it
is trying to be more avant-garde than it actually is. Crumb was an intelligent
and well-respected composer who is certainly honored by the posthumous completion
of the monumental effort to make all his works available on CD. Nevertheless,
his music remains highly variable in effect and effectiveness. It is an
acquired taste that listeners not already committed to it are unlikely to wish
to acquire based on the final disc in this impressive four-decade recording
project.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></p>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-59059296357170813662024-03-07T08:49:00.001-05:002024-03-07T08:49:00.131-05:00(++++) EXCEEDING ALL EXPECTATIONS<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Monteverdi:
Madrigals, Books I-IX (complete).</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">
Concerto Italiano conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini. Naïve. $42.99 (11 CDs). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The madrigal is one of those classical-music forms with which listeners
tend to think they are quite familiar: through-composed secular music for three
to six voices dating to the Renaissance and early Baroque periods, and
perfected above all by Monteverdi. Indeed, the madrigal form was considered so
clearly identifiable that composers of much later time periods liked to use it
for specific sorts of scene-setting – think of the madrigals in Gilbert and
Sullivan’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Mikado</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ruddigore,</i> and for that matter of Anna
Russell’s creation of a madrigal as part of her parodistic tribute to Gilbert
and Sullivan! But as so often with things that “everyone knows,” it turns out
that the matter of the madrigal is not so straightforward as tends to be
believed – and that although Monteverdi certainly brought the traditional form
to a pinnacle of expressiveness, he was far from its champion: he was actually
responsible for hastening its demise by transforming elements of the madrigal
into dramatic scenes and multi-voice or single-voice works (often with
instruments) comparable to those in his operas. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The true story of Monteverdi and the madrigal comes through with
brilliant effectiveness in Naïve’s 11-disc release of all nine books of
Monteverdi’s madrigals, performed with enormous skill, understanding and flair
by Concerto Italiano under Rinaldo Alessandrini. The eight sets of madrigals
published during Monteverdi’s lifetime appeared over more than half a century
(1587-1638), with the ninth book (1651) being a posthumous collection of
miscellany titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Madrigali e Canzonette</i>;
the recordings gathered for this superb release were made during more than a
quarter of a century (1993-2021). Calling Monteverdi’s and Alessandrini’s
productions prodigious and monumental is equally apt in both cases. There is
simply no better ensemble in Monteverdi’s music than Concerto Italiano, and
although the specific singers and instrumentalists changed significantly over
time – wading through the details of just who performed what and when in this
release is time-consuming and difficult, despite a presentation that, under the
circumstances, makes it as easy as possible to do so (which is to say, not very
easy) – the uniformly high quality of every single performance shows the tremendous
knowledge and care that Alessandrini has always brought to performances by the
group that he founded in 1984. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Alessandrini is not only a superb <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">musical</i>
guide to the Monteverdi madrigals but also an excellent <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">verbal</i> guide, offering a 21-page booklet essay on this repertoire
that is at once erudite and deeply knowledgeable – and chatty and informal, as
if Alessandrini is discussing a good friend (which, on one level, he is). The
writing traces the changes that Monteverdi brought to the madrigal form and
explains how he expanded and then went beyond it, rendering it archaic (if not
obsolete) almost if not quite single-handedly. It also delves into the underlying
characteristics of madrigal expressiveness – most importantly, keeping a
compositional and performance focus on the words and their meaning and not
allowing the musical settings to undermine or interfere with the verbiage. And
Alessandrini points out some pitfalls associated with this very extended
recording project – noting, for instance, that using native Italian speakers as
singers can be a disadvantage as well as an advantage, since deep familiarity
with everyday use of the language can result in de-emphasizing certain elements
of the poetry that should not be glossed over. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The importance of seeing and hearing madrigals as text-focused
productions is further emphasized by a second booklet essay, a seven-page one
by Renzo Bragantini that discusses the specific texts chosen by Monteverdi and
some of the differences among the poets whose works he chose to set. This
writeup also makes some fascinating points, showing how the choice of poetry
changed as the nature of the madrigal itself did, with Monteverdi selecting
different poets over time based on how he wanted his music to develop (and also,
as is noted in passing, based on some political considerations involving the
Italian city-states of his time). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The strong focus on the madrigals’ texts by both Alessandrini and
Bragantini points to the only serious flaw in this otherwise exemplary release:
it contains no texts at all, so that when Alessandrini points to specific
settings of specific words in specific pieces – as he often does – any reader
who is not thoroughly familiar with the Italian language and with the specific
writings set by Monteverdi will be well out of his or her depth. The omission
of the texts – there is not even a link that would lead listeners to them
online – is disappointing and deeply unsettling in light of the cogency of the
arguments by Alessandrini and Bragantini about the words’ importance not only
in madrigals but also in the more-operatic pieces into which they eventually
changed (indeed, all of Italian opera evolved in the direction of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">prima le parole,</i> notwithstanding
Salieri’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prima la musica e poi le parole</i>
– it was the German school that put the music first, and the French that kept
both in balance). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Despite the obscurity of some of the learned commentary within this
boxed set as a result of the absence of texts, there is nothing obscure
whatsoever in the performances. They simply glow. The first three books of
madrigals (1587, 1590, 1592) adhere closely to what most listeners will expect
in the form, although even in these earlier works there is a mixture of
homophony and counterpoint that was somewhat at odds with the approach of older
pieces in the form. The fourth and fifth books (1603, 1605) include a shift
toward poetry of a more personal type and settings of increasing emotional
heft. The sixth book (1614) contains elements that appear to be highly
personal, and its madrigals often alternate solo vocal passages with polyphony.
And then the seventh and eighth books (1619, 1638) move far beyond the
traditional dimensions of the madrigal, bringing in settings for one, two,
three, four and six voices and including scenes of high drama that are clearly
and explicitly operatic in their emotional intensity and that, indeed, are
frequently heard without any reference to their origin within sets of works
that are now only nominally madrigals in the original sense: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, Il
Ballo della Ingrate.</i> <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The incomparable richness of Monteverdi’s madrigals and
madrigals-in-name-only is beautifully matched to the sensitivity and stylistic
understanding of Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano. There has never been a
survey of this music like this one: so self-assured, so carefully assembled, so
sensitively sung and played, so beautifully recorded. Monteverdi’s importance
in classical music can scarcely be overstated: his role as creator of the first
opera recognizable as such (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">L’Orfeo,</i>
1607) is commonly considered his greatest achievement, especially when added to
his later composition of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Il ritorno
d'Ulisse in patria</i> (1640) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">L'incoronazione
di Poppea</i> (1643). This collection shows how, in transforming the polyphonic
madrigal of the 15<sup>th</sup> and 16<sup>th</sup> centuries into a work of
broader scope and considerably more emotional power, Monteverdi paved the way
for his and others’ operatic works while producing pieces that, on their own
merits, are wonderfully conceived and – as performed by Alessandrini and
Concerto Italiano – impeccable in their elegance and beauty.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-45023110271907657082024-03-07T08:46:00.001-05:002024-03-07T08:46:00.142-05:00(++++) DASHING AND DRAMATIC<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Suppé:
Fantasia Symphonica; Overtures—Poet and Peasant; Morning, Noon and Night in
Vienna; The Sailor’s Homecoming—excerpts; Exhibition at the
Carltheater—Präludium.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">
Tonkünstler-Orchester conducted by Ola Rudner. Naxos. $13.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Rachmaninoff:
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; Respighi: Toccata for Piano and Orchestra;
Alfredo Casella: Partita for Piano and Orchestra.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Joshua Pierce, piano; RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Anton Nanüt. MSR Classics. $14.95. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is always a pleasant surprise to discover that a composer is a lot
more substantive than he or she is generally thought to be – as is certainly
the case with Franz von Suppé, who is going through a bit of a revival
nowadays. Deservedly well-known for his strikingly ebullient overtures, a
mainstay of “light classics” for many decades, Suppé turns out to have been
quite skilled in works beyond those programmatic stage and concert pieces – and
even beyond the Viennese operettas for which he is also well-known (indeed, he
wrote the very first such work, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Das
Pensionat,</i> in 1860). A new and exceptionally well-played Naxos CD combines
two of Suppé’s best-known pieces with some little-known music and two outright
world premières – one of which is both serious and significant. This is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fantasia Symphonica</i> (1859), which turns
out, its title notwithstanding, to be a full-scale symphony, and a very
well-wrought one at that. Suppé had an intriguing musical style whose blend of
German, French and Italian elements is not always apparent in his overtures but
is very much in evidence in this impressive four-movement work. The piece –
which Ola Rudner rediscovered – manages to combine Viennese lilt with thematic
seriousness and suitably symphonic structure that includes well-handled sonata
form, fugato elements, and convincing use of a large orchestra in ways that are
always apt and sometimes genuinely impressive. Among the work’s notable
elements are the solemnity of the early part of the first movement, the
second-movement dialogue between winds and lower strings, the use of trombones
in the third movement, and the transformation in the finale of a march-like
theme into a lyrical one. The Tonkünstler-Orchester treats the work with all
the respect due to a significant mid-Romantic symphony, and Rudner pays careful
attention to the frequently clever instrumental touches that show the extent to
which Suppé’s theatrical skills extend as well to this large-scale exercise in
pure music. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fantastic Symphonica</i> is
quite a find, and one that deserves to be heard much more often. The other
world première heard here is an overture from the early 1870s, written for an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Exhibition at the Carltheater,</i> a
once-famous operetta venue where Suppé himself was musical director for a time
and where works by him and many other famous Viennese operetta composers
(including Johann Strauss Jr., Oscar Straus, Franz Lehár, Carl Zeller and
others) were first heard. The piece is melodically similar to familiar Suppé
overtures, with a well-balanced differentiation of solemn, lyrical and
lighthearted material, but it has some distinctions of its own, including a
virtuoso flute solo and an ending that, uncharacteristically for Suppé, fades
away to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pianissimo.</i> Two of the three
remaining pieces on this disc are ones that are highly familiar even to people
who have no idea who composed them. Both are overtures written by Suppé in his
20s: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Poet and Peasant</i> (1846) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna</i>
(1843-44). Both get the sort of rousingly lyrical (or lyrically rousing)
performances that show Suppé at his best and most familiar, making it clear just
why some of his music is so well-known. Also on the disc are two brief excerpts
from one of Suppé’s later and more-serious works, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sailor’s Homecoming</i> (1885). These are the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Präludium</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dance of the
Cabin Boys</i> – the former notable for its depiction of a storm at sea, the
latter for its ebullience. As fine as are all the pieces on this CD, the release
is mainly a pleasure for helping audiences discover that Suppé’s music can be
enjoyed not only for a handful of lighter works but also for altogether
more-serious ones such as his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fantasia
Symphonica.</i> <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Another very-well-played CD that balances the lighter side with a veneer
of seriousness, and the well-known with the less-known, is an MSR Classics
release of piano-and-orchestra display pieces performed by Joshua Pierce with
the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anton Nanüt. This is a
remastering and reissue of a recording that originally appeared in 2006, with
performances that date back all the way to 1991 – yet have lost none of their
verve and vitality. Pierce and Nanüt do an absolutely bang-up job with the
best-known work here, Rachmaninoff’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rhapsody
on a Theme of Paganini.</i> Taken at a very fast pace that it seems unlikely
pianist and orchestra will be able to sustain – but that they do, after all,
manage to present without faltering – the recording crackles with intensity,
the variations flowing along seamlessly with, toward the end, a sense of
gathering excitement that eventually leads to a really rousing conclusion. Pierce
and Nanüt bring the same freshness and vivacity to the much less familiar <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Toccata for Piano and Orchestra</i> by
Respighi. This work is an interesting amalgam of styles and time periods, using
motifs and embellishments associated with toccatas of the 17<sup>th</sup> and
18<sup>th</sup> centuries, concluding with a sort-of gigue that also has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cantabile</i> elements, and pervaded by the
influence of Vivaldi and Frescobaldi – all packed within identifiably Romantic
sensibilities. The curious mixture, which also includes a dark central section
and some <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">obbligato</i> cello material,
helps explain why this work is not heard more frequently. But this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Toccata</i> certainly offers plenty of
opportunities for piano display and sensitive orchestral accompaniment, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> mixture is exactly what it receives
in this recording. Even less-known that the Respighi is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Partita for Piano and Orchestra</i> by Alfredo Casella (1883-1947). Dating
to 1925, the same decade as the Respighi work (1928) but earlier than
Rachmaninoff’s popular piece (1934), Casella’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Partita</i> is a three-movement concerto-in-all-but-name whose movement
titles hark back to earlier times but whose structure does not incorporate
older approaches in the way that Respighi does. Casella’s longest movement, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Passacaglia,</i> is the middle one, and it
proffers some depth of feeling and warmth of sound. It is, however,
overshadowed by the bright and forthright (and rather repetitive) opening <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sinfonia</i> and the thoroughly overdone but
quite delightful concluding <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Burlesca,</i>
which sounds as if it should accompany a cartoon satirizing the pomposity and
seriousness of military maneuvers and the bands that celebrate them. Pierce and
Nanüt really revel in this thoroughly surface-level <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Partita;</i> indeed, the disc as a whole is something of a testimony to
the enjoyable nature of material that is scarcely great music but is definitely
great fun.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-58636258048880408622024-02-29T08:51:00.001-05:002024-02-29T08:51:00.143-05:00(++++) SONGFULNESS AND SONATAS<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Richard
Strauss: Sonata for Violin and Piano; Franz Waxman: Tristan and Isolde—Love
Music; Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Marietta’s Lied from “Der Tote Stadt”; Four
Pieces for Shakespeare’s “Much Ado about Nothing”; Fritz Kreisler: Alt-Wiener
Tanzweisen; Wagner/Leopold Auer: “Träume” from Wesendonck-Lieder.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Svetlin Roussev, violin; Yeol Eum Son, piano. Naïve.
$16.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Sergei
Bortkiewicz: Violin Sonata, Op. 26; Viktor Kosenko: Violin Sonata, Op. 18;
Myroslav Skoryk: Violin Sonata No. 2.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">
Solomiya Ivakhiv, violin; Steven Beck, piano. Naxos. $13.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A curious collation of substantial music with encore-like material, a new
Naïve CD featuring Svetlin Roussev and Yeol Eum Son seems to have no right to
come across as well as it does. The material it offers is simply too different,
coming from composers of widely varying strengths at widely varying times in
their careers. Making it all fit together appears, at best, highly unlikely.
But Roussev and Son bring the whole thing off remarkably successfully, transforming
what could have been a mishmash of marginally related material into a solid,
well-performed collection of pieces that turn out to have a great deal in
common both emotionally and musically. The most significant work on the disc is
the violin sonata in E-flat by the young Richard Strauss, who composed the
piece in 1887, when he was 23. It is a very Brahmsian piece, and it would be
exaggerating to say that Strauss already asserts his own voice in it. But it is
a substantial and highly emotional sonata, well-structured and very deeply
Romantic – as well as small-r romantic, having been written to express the
composer’s love for his soon-to-be wife. The central <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Andante cantabile</i> is simply gorgeous, a love song in every sense of
the term, and Roussev and Son play it with great sensitivity and understanding.
This is neither the first work presented on the disc nor the last, however – although
its emotional heft certainly ties it into a release bearing the overall title
of “Love Music.” The opening and concluding pieces on the CD both draw on music
by Richard Wagner. The first work is essentially a lovely meditation on
Wagner’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Liebestod</i> from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tristan und Isolde,</i> written for Jascha
Heifetz by Franz Waxman (1906-1967). It is almost achingly beautiful and is
played here for all it is worth. The CD’s other bookend, appearing at the end,
is a Leopold Auer arrangement for violin and piano of one of Wagner’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wesendonck-Lieder</i> – specifically <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Träume, </i>which actually quotes <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tristan</i> and which Roussev and Son play
in A-flat, the same key used by Waxman (Auer’s version is in A). Like other
elements of this CD, this transposition is a chancy undertaking that could
easily misfire, but the performers’ sensitivity to the music and its underlying
emotions lead to an effective and affecting performance in which the
Wagner/Auer material does indeed tie neatly to the Wagner/Waxman work. Neither
of those pieces really relates directly to the Strauss sonata from a musical
standpoint, although both share in its intense emotionalism. And the remaining
works on the disc share similar sensibilities. These include two pieces by
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957), like Waxman a talented composer best known
for film music; and the three little <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alt-Wiener
Tanzweisen</i> by Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) – and although Korngold, Kreisler
and Waxman are all thought of as 20<sup>th</sup>-century figures, their
approaches as heard here are as clearly in the Romantic vein as are those of
Wagner and the young Richard Strauss. The violin-and-piano arrangement of the
aria from Korngold’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Die Tote Stadt</i>
speaks as eloquently as does the vocal original, while the four <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Much Ado about Nothing</i> vignettes are
lighter but still mostly sweet, albeit with a touch of Mahlerian acerbity in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">March of the Watch</i> and some suitable
scurrying in the concluding <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hornpipe.</i>
As for Kreisler’s three little dances, the extremely well-known <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Liebesfreud</i> is as Viennese as it can be,
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Liebeslied</i> that follows is more
softspoken and wistful, and the concluding <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Schön
Rosmarin</i> is bright, elegant and pithy (lasting just two minutes). There is
a certain magic to this CD in the way it unites disparate music so the
combination of material makes more sense to the ear than it makes when
considered objectively by the brain. Love may not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">conquer</i> all, but in this case it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">connects</i> all the parts surprisingly well. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The connections among the three Ukrainian composers heard on a new Naxos
CD are ones of geography, of course, but they are also ones more of sensibility
than of time period. All three are heard in 20<sup>th</sup>-century works, but
these violin-and-piano pieces date to very different times in the century even
though they share sensibilities to a surprising extent. The disc includes two
pieces from the 1920s framing one from the 1990s – an interesting arrangement.
The CD opens with the two-movement sonata by Viktor Kosenko (1896-1938), which
has as strong a Romantic temperament as does Richard Strauss’ early
violin-and-piano sonata. Kosenko’s A minor piece, which dates to 1927, is so
strongly redolent of its time and of emotional expressiveness that it is
somewhat surprising to realize that this reading by Solomiya Ivakhiv and Steven
Beck is its world premiѐre recording. The performance is thoroughly convincing,
neatly highlighting the differences between the two movements while also
drawing attention to their underlying emotional parallels. This is followed by
a three-movement sonata from 1991 by Myroslav Skoryk (1938-2020) – a work that,
unsurprisingly, is considerably more pointed and dissonant than Kosenko’s, but
that also insists on an underlying lyricism in the violin line even though its
tonal language is less than soothing. The gently rocking piano in the second
movement, marked <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Andante con moto,</i>
makes an especially effective contrast to the thoughtful and rather melancholic
violin line, while the brief finale lives up to its title of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Burlesque</i> with a kind of caustic
post-Shostakovich determination. After this, it is more than a bit jolting to
listen to the 1922 sonata in G minor by Sergei Bortkiewicz (1877-1952), the
longest work on the disc and the one whose composer is best-known (although
scarcely a household name). Here Ivakhiv and Beck take listeners back to
Romantic-era warmth, to a violin line at times plaintive, at others pointed,
with a near-operatic first movement followed by a broadly conceived and
crepuscular <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Andante</i> and a bright and
bouncy finale that barely seems to come from the same sound world as the first
two movements – and that serves as a sort of self-contained encore to the
sonata and to this impressively played CD as a whole. The ability of
violin-and-piano works to convey a very wide range of feelings and emotions is
everywhere apparent both on this CD and on the one featuring Roussev and Son,
despite the very different provenance of the specific pieces presented on both
discs.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-60651966056803037452024-02-29T08:48:00.004-05:002024-02-29T09:35:32.511-05:00(+++) FLAWED BUT FASCINATING<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Tchaikovsky:
Symphonies Nos. 1-6; Manfred Symphony; Original version of Symphony No. 2’s first movement; Capriccio
Italien; Coronation March; Francesca da Rimini; Romeo and Juliet
Fantasy-Overture; Marche Slave. </span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Russian
National Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Pletnev. Brilliant Classics. $42.99 (7
CDs). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is a very peculiar release indeed – or rather a very peculiar
re-release. The seven-CD Brilliant Classics Tchaikovsky cycle led by Mikhail
Pletnev originally appeared as a boxed set of Pentatone SACDs in 2015;
individual symphonies had previously been released between 2011 and 2014. The
complete set consists of readings from 2010 and 2011, except that the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Manfred Symphony</i> was recorded in 2013.
And this grouping is about as quirkily personal a set of interpretations of
Tchaikovsky’s symphonic <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">oeuvre</i> as any
listener is likely to hear. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pletnev conducts an outstanding ensemble: the Russian National
Orchestra, which Pletnev founded in 1990, vaulted rapidly to the top ranks of
ensembles in Russia, placing it very high in the European and worldwide
orchestral pantheon. Indeed, the orchestra’s first recording, of Tchaikovsky’s
Sixth, was one of the work’s best recorded performances ever, so beautifully
articulated, perfectly played and nuanced in interpretation that a full
Tchaikovsky cycle at the same level would have been one for the ages.
Unfortunately, that is not this grouping, which is decidedly uneven. Although
the orchestral playing is uniformly excellent, many of Pletnev’s
interpretations are just too unfocused to be fully convincing. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pletnev’s ideas can be simply bizarre. For example, he changes tempo
repeatedly and confusingly in the four-minute slow introduction to the first
movement of Symphony No. 1 – but wait! <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">There
is no slow introduction to this movement.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pletnev simply invents one, turning the start of this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Allegro tranquillo</i> opening into
something sleepy and dreamlike, likely because Tchaikovsky called the movement
“Dreams [or Daydreams] of a Winter Journey.” Then Pletnev leads the next
section of the movement at such a breakneck pace that a lesser orchestra would
have had real difficulty avoiding sloppiness. Later in the movement, we get
further speedups and slowdowns placed here and there, producing a disjointed,
mixed-up performance. In the lovely second movement, Pletnev again starts
slowly, speeds up (but thankfully not so much), and manages to bring out the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cantabile</i> in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adagio cantabile ma non tanto</i> tempo designation only because of the
great warmth and beauty of the orchestra’s strings. At the end of the movement,
though, Pletnev slows down the proceedings so much that listeners may find
themselves nodding off: it is the orchestra that makes this recording worth
hearing, not the conductor’s view of the music. The much-better third and
fourth movements do not make up for the odd first two. Symphony No. 2, heard as
usual in its 1879-80 version, is also very well played, and there is a wealth
of fine detail in the first three movements. But the fourth movement is
peculiar: it is taken unusually quickly, albeit convincingly, at first – until
the gong that heralds the final section, which here leads to complete stoppage
of the forward impetus, then a very slow <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">accelerando,</i>
and then eventually a conclusion so fast that even this first-class orchestra
barely keeps up. Also included on this disc is the original (1872) version of
the first movement – an intriguing addition that points to one of the release’s
real strengths: its ancillary, supplementary material, which tends to come off
better than do some of the symphonies that are the primary focus here. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The first two symphonies’ lacks do not extend to the very fine Third.
Here the tempos are well chosen, the balletic elements so important to this
symphony are well communicated and thoroughly understood, the lighter moments
are nicely contrasted with the more-serious ones, and the overall effect is of
a substantial work with considerable drive, brightness and elegance. The only
disappointment is the third of the fifth movements, the central <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Andante</i>, which Pletnev takes too slowly
and deliberately, so that it somewhat drags down the rest of the symphony. The
interpretation is justifiable, but in light of the mostly jaunty tempos
elsewhere, the movement seems a bit overthought and overdone. In all, though,
this is a well-done interpretation – and as well-played as are all the works in
this Pletnev cycle. The Fourth fares very well, too. From the opening
proclamation of the “fate” motif on burnished brass, through a first movement
handled with tone-poem flair so its length does not seem ungainly and its
episodic nature makes perfect sense, Pletnev shows his clear understanding of
and empathy for Tchaikovsky’s music – more so here than elsewhere. A second
movement that nicely balances the first, rocking gently and not wallowing in
the emotionalism of the lengthy opening, is followed by a quicksilver pizzicato
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scherzo</i> that flits and dances about
and enfolds a rollicking <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trio</i> in
which the woodwind playing is outstanding. Then the finale bursts like thunder
onto the scene, with Pletnev’s pacing and – yet again – the excellent playing
of the orchestra combining to produce a thrilling and highly dramatic
conclusion. If Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 are mannered and fussy in Pletnev’s
readings, Nos. 3 and 4 are well-thought-out and well-managed. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The problem is that when Pletnev fails, he does so on a large scale –
and his Tchaikovsky Fifth is, not to mince words, a failure. It is an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">odd</i> failure, a throwback to the days
when the conductor mattered more than the composer, when Tchaikovsky’s deep
emotionalism (over-emotionalism to some) invited swooning on the podium and a
level of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rubato</i> that, far from
bringing out the inner workings and feelings of the music, inevitably imposed
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">conductor’s</i> feelings on it, and
on the audience. This is simply unforgivable today, even when the conductor is
Pletnev. His Tchaikovsky Fifth is well-nigh incoherent, the tempos varying so
much in the first and final movements that listeners will be whipsawed rather
than pulled along through this most carefully structured of Tchaikovsky’s
symphonic works. The finale is little short of a disaster, slowing down so much
that the rhythm flags, then speeding up to such a point that the beauties and
the musical lines themselves are simply lost. And the coda, which always hangs
uneasily onto this otherwise profound symphony, is a mess, so perfunctory that
it seems as if Pletnev had simply had enough of the symphony and wanted to get
it over with. The orchestra’s still-superb playing is not nearly enough to
compensate for all the conductor’s quirks, which result in an inelegant and
ill-considered interpretation. But just when it is tempting to give up on
Pletnev’s Tchaikovsky sequence, something comes along to redeem it: Symphony
No. 6. Although the reading included here lacks the elegance and some of the
interpretative nuances of Pletnev’s 1991 recording of the work for Virgin
Classics, this 2010 version is amazingly well-played, exceptionally
well-recorded (much better than the older one), and filled with highly
sensitive touches. The opening bassoon, for example, sounds particularly gloomy
here, while the gorgeous main theme of the first movement has a yearning
wistfulness that is deeply felt without being mawkish or overdone. Pletnev
clearly broadened his view of the symphony in the decades after the 1991
recording: the first and last movements in this later version are both longer
than on Virgin Classics, where they were already expansive. But nothing in them
feels stretched; nor do the middle movements sound rushed. The second movement
flows with considerable beauty and elegance, while the scurrying, speedy
opening of the third effectively introduces a movement whose increasingly
frenetic tone makes the depressive start of the finale all the more <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">path</i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">é</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">tique.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> The last movement starts almost languidly, moving
more deeply into despair as it progresses, and eventually fading into
nothingness with a very moving sigh of resignation. This performance reaffirms both
the symphony’s place in the classical-music canon and Pletnev’s expertise with
the work. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Manfred Symphony,</i>
written between Nos. 4 and 5, Pletnev’s performance is one of the best in this
set, allowing the often-gorgeous themes to flow freely while not engaging in
the sort of overdone <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rubato</i> that mars
Nos. 1, 2 and 5. The beautiful second theme of the first movement and the whole
of the third come across particularly appealingly here, and Pletnev does not
hesitate to pull out all the stops in the somewhat over-the-top finale, in
which the organ (played by Norbert Gembaczka) fits very well. The performance
is involving and flows elegantly, and the sound is first-rate. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The bonus elements that help lift this set above mediocrity are all
handled very well, with little evidence of the sort of overthinking that mars
some of the symphonic readings. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Marche
Slave</i> (on disc #1) is a jaunty quickstep, with light and bright winds, and
has a concluding section that is quite speedy – far too fast to march to – but
very well played. The brass is outstanding in a performance that makes this
definitely a piece for the concert hall, not the parade ground. The less-known <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Concert March</i> (on disc #3) is all
bombast at the start, very proclamatory – with the strings sounding lovely in
the contrasting central section, which also features much lighter wind
highlights. Then the return of the brass, in chorale form, heralds a powerful
recapitulation that includes some of the same material as heard in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Marche Slave.</i> <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Romeo and Juliet</i> (on disc #4)
opens with quiet delicacy, followed by a main section that is very fast, almost
hectic – but the strings, as always, manage to keep up. There is a substantial
slowdown into the famous “love theme,” which is handled with considerable
delicacy. The intermingling of themes thereafter is managed very skillfully,
although Pletnev favors speed and drama over emotional evocation. The work’s last
three minutes, however, are very affecting, especially the extended harp
passages. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Francesca da Rimini</i> (on
disc #5) features a very dramatic opening, the sound of eternal winds
impressively conveyed by the excellent strings. The brass interjections are
very forceful, to the point of overwhelming some of the main thematic material
in the strings – making this a somewhat divisive interpretation of what is
arguably Tchaikovsky’s greatest tone poem. The central section, in which
Francesca tells her tale, brings woodwinds to the fore and is expansively
handled, sounding plaintive for a time, then sweet. It mounts to a moving
climax, after which the sound of the eternal winds starts to sneak back in, the
music quickly becoming dramatic again as those winds become intense and the
brass highlights and interjections resume, leading to a very strong close.
Finally, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Capriccio Italien</i> (on disc
#6) is strongly rhythmic and well-balanced, with the first-rate brass brought
to the fore. After the first five minutes, as the pace picks up, there is a
nice lilt to the sunny thematic material, and the percussion is particularly well-handled.
This is, all in all, a bright and jaunty performance with emphatic rhythms and
fine highlighting of orchestral sections. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is difficult to sum up the effect of this important but decidedly odd
Tchaikovsky cycle. Some of it is outstanding, some astonishingly
ill-considered: it is hard to grasp the reality that performances of such
extremes all come from the same conductor. The cycle is such an odd mixture of
excellence and ineptitude that Tchaikovsky aficionados will definitely want to
think twice, or maybe three or four times, before committing to a purchase.</span></p>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-72100583035951902862024-02-22T08:50:00.001-05:002024-02-22T08:50:00.145-05:00(++++) OLD VOICES AND NEW<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Nicola
Porpora: Il trionfo della divina Giustizia ne' tormente e morte di Gesù Cristo;
Leonardo Vinci: Oratorio Maria dolorata—Sinfonia; Oratorio a 4 voci; Pasquale
Anfossi: Salve Regina; Pergolesi: Violin Concerto in B-flat; Vivaldi: Stabat
Mater, RV 621.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Andreas Scholl,
countertenor; Accademia Bizantina conducted by Alessandro Tampieri. Naïve.
$16.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">James
Weeks: Primo Libro; Zosha Di Castri: We live the opposite daring; Hannah
Kendall: this is but an oration of loss; Shawn Jaeger: love is; Jeffrey Gavett:
Waves; Erin Gee: Mouthpiece 36.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">
Ekmeles (Charlotte Mundy, soprano; Elisa Sutherland, mezzo-soprano; Timothy
Parsons, countertenor; Tomás Cruz, tenor; Jeffrey Gavett, baritone; Steven
Hrycelak, bass). New Focus Recordings. $16.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Barbara
Harbach: Choral Music I—Sacred Music; Advent and Christmas; Lent and Easter;
Spirituals; Secular Music.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Apollo
Voices of London conducted by Genevieve Ellis; Timothy End, piano. MSR
Classics. $14.95. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A thoroughly winning mixture of well-known and nearly unknown works for
countertenor, the new Naïve CD featuring Andreas Scholl clearly shows, and
showcases, the attraction of the highest male voice – which is roughly
equivalent in vocal range to that of a female contralto or mezzo-soprano. Only
one composer featured on the disc, Vivaldi, is heard in a vocal work that
audiences favoring Baroque music will know: the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stabat Mater, RV 621,</i> in F minor, which Scholl sings with unerring
pitch and considerable emotional heft. The sensitivity of presentation of the
thoughts of the sorrowing Mary Magdalene comes through clearly throughout the
performance, with Accademia Bizantina under Alessandro Tampieri unerringly
supporting Scholl to just the right emotional as well as musical degree. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quis non posset contristari</i> (“Who could
not be saddened?”) is especially moving here, while the instrumental opening of
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eia Mater, fons amoris</i> (“Here is the
Mother, the source of love”) is exceptional for its mood-setting. The work as a
whole is thoroughly moving even in our much-more-secular age. Interestingly,
the other well-known composer here, Pergolesi, is represented not by a vocal
work but by a violin concerto (with fine solo playing by Tampieri). This is
placed on the CD immediately before the Vivaldi, which concludes the disc, and
the contrast between the brightness and enthusiasm of Pergolesi and the dark
seriousness of Vivaldi is pronounced and highly effective. The earlier part of
the CD offers well-played, well-sung material from three less-known composers.
The overture and two arias from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Il
trionfo della divina Giustizia ne' tormente e morte di Gesù Cristo</i> by
Nicola Porpora (1686-1768) are just as strongly emotive as the music of
Vivaldi, and Scholl’s presentation of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Per
pietà, turba feroce</i> (“For pity’s sake, ferocious crowd”) is positively
operatic in its effect. The two works by Leonardo Vinci (1690-1730) are also
exceptionally well-made, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sinfonia</i>
well-balanced and carefully structured and the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oratorio a 4 voci</i> especially noteworthy for the contrast between
its extensive instrumental passages and its finely developed vocal ones. And <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Salve Regina</i> by Pasquale Anfossi
(1727-1797) shows how much expressiveness can be packed into six short
movements: there is an ethereality about the vocal settings here that Scholl
brings out highly effectively, and the instrumental accompaniment not only
supports the voice but also presents scene-setting and emotional context for
the words. This is a first-rate disc both for the quality of the music offered
and for the very high vocal and instrumental standards brought to bear in all
the performances. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The countertenor voice has gone through something of a revival since the
late 20<sup>th</sup> century, with modern composers increasingly willing to
explore it in new works – even as specialists in Baroque music have used it
more frequently for historically informed performances. The vocal ensemble
Ekmeles includes a countertenor among its six members, and the mixture and
contrast between the high male voice and that of the group’s mezzo-soprano is
one element of the performers’ carefully honed sound. A (+++) New Focus
Recordings release featuring Ekmeles is of considerable interest for the
quality of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a cappella</i>
performances, but the six contemporary works on the disc are more of a mixed
bag and will be attractive only to a limited audience. The longest piece, the
18-minute <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Primo Libro</i> by James Weeks,
uses an old form – that of the madrigal – in modern guise, including 16 short
pieces composed using 31-division equal temperament. As challenging to hear as
it is to perform, the work is effectively scored – for one, two, three or four
voices – but seems more of a sonic experiment than a piece designed to connect
emotionally with an audience. Zosha Di Castri looks to the past from a modern
perspective as well: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We live the opposite
daring</i> harks back to Sappho for inspiration. Its four movements treat the
singers both as vocalists and as percussion instruments – they steadily slap
their thighs in parts of the work and make meaningless repetitive sounds
elsewhere. The actual words sung are largely inaudible, treated as component
parts of a sonic world rather than a method of communicating meaning. The other
pieces on the CD make no attempt to reach into the distant past. Hannah
Kendall’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this is but an oration of loss</i>
(one of those works titled without capital letters) is based on a work by
Canadian poet M. NourbeSe Philip and uses massed harmonicas to introduce a
series of fragmentary verbal passages, many spoken or whispered rather than sung.
Shawn Jaeger’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">love is</i> (again, a
title without capital letters) uses similar vocal delivery, here in service of
a feminist text. Jeffrey Gavett’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Waves</i>
treats voices strictly as instruments – its three movements are all wordless –
in what is clearly an intellectual exercise that explores singers’ ability to
create an aural environment without expressing anything specific. Similarly,
Erin Gee’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mouthpiece 36,</i> which is in
four parts, focuses on vocal sound production, the performers voicing (or
subvocalizing, as the case may be) whistles and clicks, breath sounds and vocal
vibrations, individual letters and diphthongs, and other elements of which the
human voice is capable when not being used to express any particular kind of
meaning. The experimental nature of all the works on this disc will be of
interest to those with a strong attraction to avant-garde music, while the
skill of Ekmeles in rendering the pieces will be impressive to listeners
interested in vocal skill – even if the material as presented neither connects
with a wide audience nor attempts to do so. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One modern composer who does want to reach out widely is Barbara Harbach
(born 1946), whose works continue to appear in a very extended series of
releases from MSR Classics. The 17<sup>th</sup> volume in the series is the
first featuring Harbach’s choral works – and all of those on the CD are world
premiѐre recordings. There are 21 tracks in all, grouped somewhat arbitrarily under
five headings, and all are given forthright and carefully considered performances
by Apollo Voices of London under Genevieve Ellis – with solid piano support
from Timothy End. Clarity of presentation, a hallmark of Harbach’s instrumental
music, is clearly present in her choral works as well: there is nothing
confusing, unclear or experimental in her use of voices, with the words of all
these pieces being paramount. This does not mean that Harbach’s harmonies are
old-fashioned: the dissonances that open <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Praise
Him with the Trumpet,</i> one of the four works brought together as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sacred Music,</i> are one example among many
of her knowledgeable handling of sound – while the very next work in the same group,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sing, Alleluia,</i> shows just how
sweetly Harbach can handle harmony when she so chooses. There are three works
listed under <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Advent and Christmas,</i>
with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This Night in Bethlehem</i> – with
its soaring soprano line – being especially affecting. Among the five <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lent and Easter</i> works, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Of Christ’s Dark Cup</i> is noteworthy for
its moody piano, while <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mary’s Joyful
Shout</i> has something of the revival about it. The four <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spirituals</i> offered here are the most straightforward settings on
the CD, all being pleasant although none is particularly distinctive. The disc
concludes with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Secular Music,</i> five
pieces that provide a welcome contrast to the rest of the material here. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Intoxicated by the Wine of Love</i> has a
pleasant lilt, while <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sunset St. Louis</i>
has some of the character of the sacred pieces in its choral declamations.
There is no overriding theme to this (+++) CD, and no particular sense of
organization beyond the rather haphazard assignment of pieces to one
designation or another. There is differentiation enough among the settings to
make the disc a pleasant listening experience for listeners already familiar
with Harbach’s music, although nothing here will likely lead an audience
unfamiliar with her works to search eagerly for more of her vocal productions.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-86476105233676306012024-02-22T08:47:00.000-05:002024-02-22T08:47:00.388-05:00(+++) GENTLY, GENTLY<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Schubert:
Arpeggione Sonata; Lied der Mignon III; Nachtstück, D. 672; Piano Trio No.
2—Andante con moto.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Anja Linder,
harp; Julie Sévilla-Fraysse, cello; Laurent Korcia, violin. Naïve. $16.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Tessa
Brinckman: Taniwha; A Cracticus Fancie; Todd Barton and Tessa Brinckman: Sonus
Redux—And the Wave Rolled Back; Andile Khumalo and Tessa Brinckman: Wade
Through Water; Cara Stacey and Tessa Brinckman: You Never Come Out the Same; Norio
Fukushi: Dawn Brightens the Day of Mortals Robed in Purple; Andile Khumalo:
Zeuze; Shirish Korde: Tenderness of Cranes.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Tessa Brinckman, flutes and prepared piano; Caroline Delume, guitar;
Kathleen Supové, piano and prepared piano; Todd Barton, Buchla; Horomona Horo,
taonga pūoro. New Focus Recordings. $16.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some musical instruments naturally lend themselves to sounds of
delicacy, even evanescence, and the harp is certainly one of them. That makes
harp arrangements of works originally written for other instruments inherently
interesting, since even the most accurate transcription changes the overall
impression of a piece originally created to be played on something other than
the harp. This all gets even more intriguing when it comes to harpist Anja
Linder’s adaptation of Schubert’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arpeggione
Sonata,</i> since that work is almost always heard in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">some</i> sort of adaptation – given that the arpeggione (a six-stringed
bowed instrument the size of a cello, fretted and tuned like a guitar) was only
popular for about a decade in the early 19<sup>th</sup> century and is very
rarely used for this sonata nowadays (which is actually a shame, but that’s
another story). Few modern ears know what this Schubert sonata was supposed to
sound like, so Linder’s harp version is as worthy in its way as are the
more-usual ones for stringed instruments (generally viola or cello). In fact,
Linder’s design is fascinating: she performs on the harp and is partnered (that
is, not just “accompanied”) by Julie Sévilla-Fraysse on cello. There is an
almost otherworldly beauty to the sonata in this guise: its expansive first
movement is filled with wavelets of sound, its brief second one is quietly
expressive, and its finale is almost achingly lovely. This Naïve recording is
focused mostly on Linder (as both performer and arranger), but in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arpeggione Sonata,</i> the inescapable
intertwining of voices produces a sound that mounts quickly to the heights of
beauty and remains there throughout. The other works on the CD function more as
“framing tales” or encores. Linder and violinist Laurent Korcia are suitably
emotive in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lied der Mignon III (So lasst
mich scheinen)</i> and the quiet, almost hesitant <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nachtstück, D. 672,</i> whose emotionalism is actually somewhat
overdone here. The very short CD – only 42 minutes – concludes with the second
movement from Schubert’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Piano Trio No.
2,</i> in which the harp’s plucking is a bit too much at variance with the
original for the arrangement to be wholly successful. Given the brief duration
of the disc and the reality that only one work on it is wholly successful as
arranged for performance here, the CD will be of only limited appeal – but that
appeal will be very strong indeed to listeners who are already fascinated by
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arpeggione Sonata</i> in all its
manifestations, and would like to hear it in yet another guise (and a very
worthy one at that). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just as Linder is the primary focus on her CD, so Tessa Brinckman is the
main reason-for-being of hers for New Focus Recordings. But although listeners
may expect the natural delicacy of the flute to be in the forefront here, that
is not the case. Indeed, this is a disc that will be of far greater interest to
those who know or have a strong wish to discover Brinckman’s compositions and
performances than to anyone else. In addition to playing multiple flutes
(including alto, bass, contrabass, and piccolo) and prepared piano, Brinckman
is either composer or co-creator of most of the music on the disc. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Taniwha</i> (2023), despite using piccolo
and several different flutes, is a mostly percussive work that makes
considerable use of Māori musical instruments. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Cracticus Fancie</i> (2017) is for solo piccolo (live and processed)
and combines poetry with, again, percussive elements, all within a rather
complex narrative whose bounds are not clear from the music itself but need to
be studied by listeners who want to get the full intended effect of the
material. Those two works are by Brinckman herself; she is also co-creator of
three others on the disc. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sonus Redux</i>
(2020, with Todd Barton) is sonically interesting in its mixing of Baroque
flutes with prepared piano and Buchla synthesizer. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wade Through Water</i> (2023, with Andile Khumalo) effectively
contrasts the alto flute with piano exclamations and, at a length of just three
minutes, makes its points without belaboring them. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You Never Come Out the Same</i> (2023, with Cara Stacey) is much more
about percussion (played by both Brinckman and Kathleen Supové) than it is
focused on Brinckman’s piccolo, which mostly produces punctuation points. Also
on the CD are three works for which Brinckman is performer but not
composer/creator. Norio Fukushi’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dawn
Brightens the Day of Mortals Robed in Purple</i> (1992) is the longest piece on
the disc (more than 12 minutes). Written for flute and guitar, it includes some
sections in which the instruments build on each other’s differing sounds and
means of sound production, and others in which they are strongly contrasted.
Khumalo’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zeuze</i> (2014) is the
shortest piece offered here (less than two-and-a-half minutes) and one of the
few allowing the flute expressiveness in accord with its more-typical sound –
giving the piano the contrasting percussive material. And Shirish Korde’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tenderness of Cranes</i> (1990) is not only
the oldest work presented on the disc but also one of the most challenging: an
11-minute work for solo flute that gives Brinckman plenty of opportunities to
showcase the many techniques with which the instrument can be played and the
many sounds it can produce. Unfortunately, the piece is not particularly
compelling in its own right – it is something of an esoteric offering that
Brinckman’s fellow flautists will find more interesting than will people who
play other instruments or none at all. Still, if this CD reaches out only to a
limited audience by virtue of the music itself and the performances, it is more
than satisfactory in displaying both the compositions and the interpretations
for those with a strong interest in contemporary flute music – and even more so
for those fascinated by Brinckman’s personal thoughtfulness and creativity.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-54657994978873447092024-02-15T08:49:00.002-05:002024-02-15T08:50:51.821-05:00(+++) ONCE UPON SOME TIMES<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The
Birds of Dog: An Historical Novel Based on Mostly True Events.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> By Ann B. Parson. Luminaire Press. $20. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A work of historical fiction with extensive reference footnotes is, if
not unique, certainly highly unusual. Ann B. Parson structures <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Birds of Dog</i> that way to establish
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bona fides</i> on which she bases the
novel, in an attempt to show that its fictional meet-and-greet elements and its
anachronistic modern sensibilities do fit, more or less, into the time period in
which it is set. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is a curious and intermittently fascinating book that tries a bit too
hard to establish itself as in some sense significant, beginning with its
hard-to-fathom title, which turns out to refer to birds on the small South
Pacific locale of Dog Island. The book is in large part cast as an epistolary
novel, a wonderful form (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dracula, The
Screwtape Letters, Up the Down Staircase, Carrie, The Color Purple</i> and so
many others) now suffering a long slow death in an age where instantaneous
communication is so pervasive that the underlying premise of time, distance and
the exigencies of delivery being interrelated and germane to a plot borders on
the absurd. Structurally, Parson builds her book around the founding in 1830 of
the Boston Society of Natural History, interweaving that event with the
real-world voyage to the South Seas of naturalist Charles Pickering and
Pickering’s ongoing communication with his voluble, modern-sounding and
fictional cousin, Catharine – who, in a mild version of the sort of romance
that so often appears in historical fiction, becomes involved with James
Ambrose Cutting, in real life the inventor of an early form of photography and
the co-founder of the first public aquarium in Boston. Cutting eventually died
in an insane asylum, and Parson has Catharine note that in passing, but her
main interest is in Cutting’s involvement with scientific display of wildlife –
in contrast to the approach of P.T. Barnum, another historical character who
appears in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Birds of Dog</i> and who,
in fact, eventually purchased the Boston Aquarial Gardens and thus may have
precipitated Cutting’s mental collapse. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Clearly there was much ado about something, or a series of somethings,
when it came to scientific research on and display of the natural world in the
United States of the 19<sup>th</sup> century. Thus, there was clearly a wealth
of information on which Parson, whose focus before this book was on writing
nonfiction, could draw. And indeed her research into the novel’s background
shines through in ways that the story itself does not. Her inclusion in the
book of people including John James Audubon, Charles Dickens, Henry Thoreau, and
Junius Brutus Booth (father of tragedian Edwin Booth and presidential assassin
John Wilkes Booth) goes beyond name-dropping (although there is certainly some
of that) into the exploration of things that the characters – well-known and
little-known, real and fictional – find or could have found important. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are, however, some difficulties with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Birds of Dog, </i>partly in presentation and more significantly in a
major thematic element. The presentation material involves Parson’s propensity
for placing comparatively modern thinking and speaking in the brains and mouths
of historical figures – a common failing of historical novels, to be sure, but
a disappointing one in such a well-researched work. For example, during a
discussion of Europeans arriving in the New World and observing moose, Parson
has one character make an observation and then back it up with a quote from a
Native American: “[T]heir weapons cancelled out any chance of loving the
animals they shared the forest with. As Chief Metacom observed, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You can’t keep love and a gun in the same
pouch.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Historically, Metacom was
sachem of the Wampanoag in the 17<sup>th</sup> century, but he never said the
words that Parson has attributed to him (she does footnote that fact) and he
was scarcely an objective or benign figure where Europeans were concerned: he
started an anti-settler war and was killed by a Native American on the other
side of the conflict, and his head was mounted on a pike at the entrance to
Plymouth, Massachusetts. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>History of that sort is not Parson’s concern in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Birds of Dog,</i> however. More to the point, a major narrative
theme in the book is one that at best twists history into a more-modern,
more-appealing-to-certain-audiences guise. That is Parson’s hatred of guns – a
viewpoint that she suggests ran far deeper in the time period of her novel than
was really the case. Certainly there were some pacifists opposed to gun use in
19<sup>th</sup>-century America, but equally certainly this was not the
majority opinion. And certainly there were some people who deeply regretted the
killing of birds (and other wildlife) for purposes of scientific study – but,
again, this attitude was by no means as pervasive and wide-ranging as Parson
wishes it had been. To the extent that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Birds of Dog</i> comes across as just another anti-gun screed, albeit one set
in the past rather than the present, it becomes just another
preaching-to-the-converted presentation – in which the characters happen to
wear bustles and sport handlebar mustaches instead of possessing a more-modern
appearance. Thankfully, Parson’s novel is not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">entirely</i> devoted to guns and gun control, but the portions that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do</i> have that focus are weaker and more
argumentative than the parts that explore character relationships (both real
and imagined) and scientific discovery. Although cast as a kind of “advocacy novel,”
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Birds of Dog</i> turns out to be most
interesting when it is least cause-focused and least novelistic – and most
concerned with the fascinating development of scientific research, presentation
and display in the earlier days of the United States.</span></p>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-3486447200369091952024-02-15T08:46:00.000-05:002024-02-15T08:46:00.141-05:00(++++) THE SERIOUS SIDE<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Miklós
Rózsa: Overture to a Symphony Concert; Hungarian Serenade; Tripartita.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz conducted
by Gregor Bühl. Capriccio. $16.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The continuing perception that writing film music is somehow lesser than
writing music for the concert hall is gradually eroding, thanks in large part
to contemporary composers such as John Williams. But it was very much a factor
in the careers of numerous high-quality, classically trained composers in the
20<sup>th</sup> century: once they became established in the movie world, they
were no longer deemed as “serious,” in some sense, as contemporaries who
remained focused on standard classical-music venues. To be sure, this was not
the case for 100% of film composers: Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Vaughan Williams
and others continued to be deemed “classical” in traditional mode despite
making contributions, some of them substantial, to the film world. But for many
composers, it was necessary to maintain their reputation for serious
music-making by keeping their work for movies as separate from their
concert-hall production as possible. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Miklós Rózsa (1907-1995) felt this dichotomy of expectation and
reputation more intensely than most, to such an extent that he created the
pseudonym Nic Tomay for his film music and, when he eventually wrote his
autobiography, titled it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Double Life.</i>
Sure enough, Rózsa is nowadays thought of almost entirely as a film composer,
and his more-traditional classical works – which attracted considerable
interest from other composers and were conducted by Bruno Walter, Leonard
Bernstein, Hans Swarowsky, Karl Böhm and other podium notables – are largely
neglected. There is therefore something salutary in hearing, on a new Capriccio
CD, three Rózsa works unconnected to the film world, all very well performed by
Gregor Bühl and the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, and all certainly
able to stand unapologetically on their own. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Overture to a Symphony Concert</i>
(1956/1963) is a celebratory concert overture that opens with a bright fanfare
and is pervaded throughout by heroism and grandeur. Although unconnected with
films, it has an altogether positive sound that could go with triumphal scenes
in any number of movies (Rózsa became famous as the composer of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ben Hur, Spellbound</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Thief of Baghdad</i>). There are some
"chase" elements midway through the overture, but by and large it is
stately and elegant. Its contrasting slower sections constitute a slowdown or
pause in the activity rather than an entirely different episode. At each slower
or quieter point the music seems eager to resume in stronger and more emphatic
guise, making for a very effective and thoroughly upbeat work. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The version of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hungarian Serenade</i>
heard here is Rózsa’s Op. 25 of 1952 (misidentified on the recording as
1956/1963). The work was originally Op. 10 of 1932 and was initially designed
to start with a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Marcia</i> and bring the
same music back at the end in a fadeout. But at the suggestion of no less than
Ernő Dohnányi and Richard Strauss, Rózsa revised and expanded the work and had
it conclude with a strongly accented <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Danza.</i>
In this form, the suite is quite successful. It uses single wind instruments
particularly effectively, starting with a bouncy bassoon solo in the opening <i>Marcia,</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> a movement that is suitably martial and
upbeat. The second movement, a </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Serenata</i>
for strings only, is the longest section of the suite, opening with the flavor
of a lullaby, then meandering gently as it progresses. It is a quiet movement
with a certain wistful quality. More crepuscular than dark, it projects a
gentle flowing motion throughout, like wavelets on a lake. Flute, oboe and
bassoon are featured in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scherzo,</i>
which is light and jaunty from the start, with nice rhythmic bounce and
well-placed percussion emphases. A contrasting slower section recalls some of
the mood and flow of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Serenata</i> and
is more spun-out than might be expected – after which the initial bounce sneaks
back in to conclude the movement. Then a solo clarinet opens the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Notturno,</i> a gently dreamy piece without
strongly stated themes: it sounds as if it is all ornamentation. It is not
especially nocturnal, but does convey a pleasantly drifting quality. The concluding
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Danza</i> skitters along enthusiastically
with emphatic rhythms and good balance between ensemble and solo instruments.
It is the most overtly Hungarian of the suite’s movements, featuring
distinctively Magyar rhythms, and leads to a rousing conclusion. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The latest and most-substantive work on this CD is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tripartita,</i> which dates to 1972. As the title indicates, it is a
set of three movements but is not symphonic in structure (think of Schumann’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Overture, Scherzo and Finale</i>). The
opening <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Intrada</i> starts with a march,
but this is more of a concert work than one for the parade ground, written in
5/4 time and definitely not foursquare. It clearly announces the seriousness of
the overall work from the beginning. Emphatic chords contrast with more-lyrical
flowing passages, with dissonances lending an air of piquancy to the
proceedings. The writing for brass vs. strings is especially well-contrasted.
Next comes an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Intermezzo arioso</i>,
which emerges from the lower depths – above which wind themes float – to become
a moderately paced movement that seems vaguely evocative of specific scenes,
perhaps a wide and largely barren landscape within which flickers of activity
emerge periodically. A solo violin adds a touch of yearning and warmth before a
broader passage for full orchestra provides a contrast like that of the plains
with the mountains. An air of mystery and uncertainty pervades the last part of
this movement, accentuated in the higher violin register before fading out. And
then the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Finale</i> opens with proclamatory
strength bordering on bombast, strongly colored by percussion. This starts as a
display piece with insistent rhythms, but there comes a strongly contrasted
section, one-third of the way through, in which the pace slows, individual
instruments become thoughtful, and delicacy (including harp touches) is allowed
to flow. This atmospheric transformation does not continue, though, and the
interlude soon gives way to further drama and speed as the percussion focus
returns amid a proclamatory full-orchestral rush to a suitably intense
conclusion. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It would be overstating Rózsa’s compositional stature to deem any of
these works a forgotten or mislaid masterpiece, but it would be understating
the value of his legacy to continue to deem him solely a composer of film
scores. In truth, his film music has long been justifiably admired for
enhancing, not just complementing, the movies for which it was created. This
disc clearly shows that there is a great deal to admire as well in the other
portion of Rózsa’s creative “double life.”</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-83949432728557124182024-02-08T08:51:00.001-05:002024-02-08T11:20:48.098-05:00(++++) IT’S ALL RELATIVE<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Are
You BIG?</span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> By Mo Willems. Union Square
Kids. $17.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The incomparable silliness of Mo Willems meets the everyday realities of
size comparisons in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Are You BIG?</i> And when
that happens, it turns out that “everyday” isn’t so everyday after all. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The book’s idea is simple and has been done many times before: what do
“big” and “small” really mean, and when it comes to comparisons, what about
“bigger” and “smaller”? This is a never-ending topic of fascination for young
children – and their parents, who often have a habit of wondering, say, whose
house is bigger or smaller than whose. There is nothing mundane about Willems’
way of handling the topic, though. In fact, his considerations go so far beyond
mundane that they become positively celestial. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The book starts simply enough, with the question of its title
accompanying a cute illustration of a child whose arms, hands, legs and feet
are drawn onto a body and head that look like paper cutouts. The smiling child
fills almost the whole page, but on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">next</i>
page is frowning and looking thoughtful as something <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">else</i> created in the same drawing-plus-collage style appears: “A hot
air balloon is big,” writes Willems, as the smiling (and eyeglasses-wearing)
balloon floats above the much smaller child – who is not so big after all. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is obvious where this is going, but far from obvious how it will get
there. The next page shows a much-shrunken version of the balloon, no longer
smiling, looking up at a still larger figure: “A cloud is big.” Oh yes, it is,
as it walks along on its very long legs (Willems’ perpetual illustrative
silliness is a big part of this book’s charm). One page later, the cloud is
much, much smaller as a whole group of dark, lightning-filled clouds appears:
“A storm is big.” It is, indeed, very much bigger than the cloud – and even
larger than the hot air balloon (shown wide-eyed and quite small next to the
cloud) and the child (shown almost invisibly small next to the balloon). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The unspoken message here – adults may want to speak it when reading the
book with children – is that the notion of “big” depends on circumstances, on
what is being compared with what else. And after the storm shows up, Willems
starts on flights of fancy that just don’t appear in other big-and-small books
for kids. You think a storm is big? “AUSTRALIA is big,” Willems states, as the
entire continent (trailing Tasmania) strides along, wearing a bigger smile than
any other participant in the book has sported so far. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And now matters become increasingly absurd, increasingly silly, and
equally accurate. A bemused Australia finds itself looking at the moon…which is
only big when not compared with the Earth (whose nose is the continent of
Africa in Willems’ clever portrayal)…which is certainly not big compared with
the sun. And how much bigger can things get? Willems reaches out astronomically
far for the remainder of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Are You BIG?</i>
The sun is shown to be very small indeed compared to the star Pollux, which
wears sunglasses (Polluxglasses?) and has a tongue sticking out of its enormous
mouth as its two hands give the “number one” sign. Number one? Oh, please. Poor
Pollux is vastly overshadowed by the Milky Way, which barely holds a candle (or
a blazing star) to the M100 galaxy, which is certainly not big when compared
with a galaxy cluster, and – well, things have to stop somewhere, and this is
where they do, as Willems reintroduces the start of the book by asking, “So,
are YOU big?” And the answer, thoughtfully provided by a friendly ant, is, “You
are to ME!” And there you have the bigger-and-smaller topic done to a turn –
the Willems turn, which is full of twists and turns and is delightful to
follow. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But wait – there’s more. Willems is determined to cram some actual
science into this book, and he does so very entertainingly on the inside back
cover – where he explains that the book’s illustrations are not true to scale,
but it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> possible to measure how
much bigger some things are than others. And thus he reveals the true size measurements
of everything so amusingly shown in the book, informing kids (and
knowledge-questing adults) that, for example, the moon is five times larger in
surface area than Australia; the sun is 1,300,000 times larger in volume than
our planet; the star Pollux is 593 times bigger than the sun; and so forth. Oh
– and “an average kid is 430 times taller than an ant.” And now you know. And
so do all the kids and adults destined to be thoroughly charmed and
educationally enhanced thanks to Willems’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Are
You BIG?</i></span></p>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-22856371071042361572024-02-08T08:48:00.000-05:002024-02-08T08:48:00.135-05:00(++++) MUSICAL MYTHMAKING<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Prokofiev:
Alexander Nevsky (cantata); Lieutenant Kijé Suite.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Claudine Carlson, mezzo-soprano; Arnold Voketaitis,
bass; St. Louis Symphony Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin.
Vox. $16.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Prokofiev was scarcely the first great composer to write music for film
– that honor belongs, surprisingly, to Saint-Saëns, who at the age of 73 wrote
music to be performed to accompany <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">L’Assassinat
du Duc de Guise</i> (1908). “Film music,” scarcely a distinct category in the
early 20<sup>th</sup> century, essentially underlined and accentuated the
emotional and action points of silent movies, functioning much as music already
had for many years with otherwise silent, visually oriented performances – such
as ballet. As the century progressed, more and more concert-hall composers
tried their hand at film music, while an entire subgenre of music for the
movies attracted classically trained composers who ended up specializing in
works for the visual medium and established themselves (although they did not
always wish to do so) as being film composers above all. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Film music developed along with the film medium itself, with a few
directors understanding intuitively that music could be more than an
accompaniment to visuals and could be used as a sort of character in its own
right, pulling movies in new directions and heightening their effect on
audiences. Prokofiev was fortunate to have the chance to work with one of the
most-perceptive directors of the silent-film era, Sergei Eisenstein – for whom
the composer ended up engaged in an amazing instance of mythic storytelling for
the film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alexander Nevsky.</i> The movie
is Eisenstein’s retelling of a battle from the year 1242, in which forces led
by the title character – who was awarded the honorific “Nevsky” after a
previous triumph in 1240 – beat back an attack on Novgorod by the Knights of
the Teutonic Order. Eisenstein created a work of grand sweep and strong
emotionalism, with an extended climactic battle on a frozen lake through which
the enemy invaders eventually fall to their doom. Triumphalism and moving
tributes to the heroic Russian dead frame the climactic scene – and Prokofiev
rose brilliantly to the occasion, producing music of power and emotional heft
that complemented the visualization of the battle and skillfully drew the
audience into the reimagined time period of the 13<sup>th</sup> century.
Careful later scholarship has determined that the battle in 1242 was neither as
significant nor as decisive as Eisenstein made it, and that the grand
falling-through-the-ice demise of the Teutonic cavalry never happened – but all
of that scarcely matters for a film that is a rousing success on its own terms
and that was designed, in the Soviet Union of 1938, to rehabilitate a military figure
of Old Russia in such a way as to boost Stalin’s regime. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Prokofiev knew that the scale and emotion of his music fitted it well
for concert performance, and he created from it a cantata that encapsulates the
story while very effectively highlighting its grand, even grandiose elements.
Leonard Slatkin took the full measure of this cantata for mezzo-soprano, chorus
and orchestra in a 1977 recording for Vox that has now been very well
remastered and re-released on CD. Slatkin, a fine conductor of “pops” as well
as the classical canon, builds each of the seven sections of the cantata very
well, as the chorus and mezzo-soprano Claudine Carlson sing with strength and
clarity about Nevsky himself, his grand triumph, and the greatness of Russia.
Yes, the work is bombastic, but it is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">effectively</i>
bombastic, fitting its theme quite well and standing on its own to very good
effect – familiarity with Eisenstein’s film is not necessary to obtain the full
impact of Prokofiev’s well-thought-out musical canvas. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alexander Nevsky</i> showed only one portion of Prokofiev’s cleverness
and adaptability to the film medium. Back in 1934, just a year after returning
to the Soviet Union from the West, Prokofiev created his very first film score,
for a work directed by Aleksandr Feinzimmer called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Czar Wants to Sleep.</i> No one knows the movie by that name
anymore – instead, it is known by the name that Prokofiev gave to the suite he
extracted from his music for it, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lieutenant
Kijé.</i> As heavy (almost heavy-handed) as the music for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alexander Nevsky</i> was to be, that for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lieutenant Kijé</i> was light to the point of frothiness – remaining a
delight to this day. The entire film is based on the mis-hearing of a phrase by
Tsar Nicholas I around 1830 – in which the Tsar, who of course could not be
corrected or contradicted in any way, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thinks</i>
he hears the name “Lieutenant Kijé” even though that is not what has been said.
This forces everyone involved to create an entirely fictional lieutenant whose
exploits can be presented to the Tsar in response to his demand to see the
man’s dossier. This story could easily have been a biting satire and commentary
on the depredations of the tsars – indeed, it is somewhat surprising that this
was not the approach of Feinzimmer and Prokofiev, given what was going on in
the Soviet Union at the time the movie was made. Instead, director and composer
chose a light, fairy-tale-like approach to the material that resulted in the
spinning of a tale including romantic and heroic elements in equal measure, all
tied together by music that never rises above levity and that remains wry and
witty rather than in any way sarcastic. A much later filmmaker, Woody Allen,
focused his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Love and Death</i> (1976) on
this fairy-tale approach to an exceptional effect, with his film’s music
entirely taken from Prokofiev’s works and the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lieutenant Kijé</i> material being especially noteworthy in the
entirely new context. Slatkin shows <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">his</i>
versatility in the 1979 performance included on this CD, handling the material
with a light touch that brings forth the piquancy and occasional elegance of
Prokofiev’s scoring while keeping the tone of the material always light and
always surface-level – a strong contrast to the seriousness of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alexander Nevsky.</i> The pairing of these
two Prokofiev film-score-derived works is by no means unusual, but it is
especially well-done on this re-release, showcasing Slatkin’s skill with
interpreting and presenting the material just as neatly as it shows Prokofiev’s
in creating the music in the first place.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-172637563805377342024-02-01T08:50:00.002-05:002024-02-03T10:39:00.677-05:00(++++) EARLY AND ALREADY DISTINCTIVE<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Bruckner:
Symphony No. 1 (1868 version).</span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">
Bruckner Orchester Linz conducted by Markus Poschner. Capriccio. $16.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One of the pleasures of the huge amount of attention being paid to
Bruckner during the bicentennial of his birth is the chance to hear much-less-familiar
versions of his symphonies. Capriccio continues to release excellent
recordings, conducted by Markus Poschner, that will eventually result in making
available 18 versions of the composer’s 11 symphonies – a totality that the
producers of the series argue includes all actual variations of Bruckner’s
symphonic production even as it omits “versions” that are in fact simply
works-in-progress between authentically different symphonies. Arguments about
this sort of thing are perpetual and will surely not end when the Poschner readings
are all available. What is not arguable is that these are first-rate performances
that take a genuinely fresh look at Bruckner the symphonist, shorn of much of
the “cathedral-like monumentality” with which he is usually associated and
instead giving him a clear place in the symphonic canon while highlighting ways
in which he channeled the musical approaches of other composers (Schubert comes
immediately to mind). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In addition to clear-headed rethinkings of well-known versions of
Bruckner’s best-known symphonies, Poschner has been recording some rarely heard
material, such as the 1868 “Linz” version of Symphony No. 1. This symphony has
the longest time span between versions of any by Bruckner: the later version,
not yet released in the Poschner cycle, dates to 1891. And while the earlier
version has occasionally appeared on disc before, for example in Georg
Tintner’s justly renowned Bruckner cycle for Naxos, it is very much a rarity
compared with the later iteration. Poschner makes a strong case for it in his
conducting of the Bruckner Orchester Linz. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although Bruckner revised Symphony No. 1 in significant ways, he seems
always to have had some affection for this early work, which he nicknamed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Das kecke Beserl</i> – literally “cheeky
little broom,” but in this context something like “cheeky [or saucy] little
maid.” The 1868 version, modest in scale at 45 minutes, neatly encapsulates the
way Bruckner, early in his symphonic career, was channeling existing models
while also finding his own way. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Poschner handles the work, the first
movement has an immediate sense of forward propulsion that connects it strongly
with existing Romantic symphonic models. The movement is not yet propelled by
the three-against-two rhythms for which Bruckner would later become known, but is
presented with a gentle, somewhat pastoral feeling and with slower sections
that contrast well with the speedier ones. Much of the material is songful,
with alternating dramatic elements that make the movement an exploration of
contrasts. Intriguingly, already Bruckner does not hesitate to bring matters to
a full stop before beginning a new section – a characteristic he will later
explore much more fully. This tactic is especially notable just before the very
end of the movement, which Poschner takes very quickly and decisively. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second movement has a fragmentary
opening, without the broad sweep that would later become common in Bruckner's
slow movements, but the lovely wind writing and the playing off of violin eighths
against viola sixteenths provide hints of what would later emerge – and these
elements are effective on their own. The brass entries do seem somewhat
intrusive here, and the movement as a whole comes across as a collection of
lovely parts although it does not, in totality, hang together especially well.
In fact, structurally it is ambiguous, containing elements of sonata form and
others of ternary form. Bruckner here seems to be straining toward a new
expressive model while staying within the confines of the symphonic structure
of his time. Poschner keeps the movement pace rather quick for an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adagio</i>, especially a Bruckner <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adagio</i>, but he still brings forth the
especially lovely aspects of the writing for strings.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The third movement is simply marked <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Schnell,</i> and Poschner makes it very fast
indeed: that descriptive word is often downplayed, if not ignored, by Bruckner
conductors, but Poschner takes it very much to heart. The rhythmic emphasis of
this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scherzo</i> is already quite
"Brucknerian," emphatic and strongly accented: indeed, Bruckner never
wrote a disappointing Scherzo. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trio</i>
contrasts strongly and has especially beautiful writing for the woodwinds. Poschner
makes it considerably slower than the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scherzo</i>,
and as a result the movement as a whole gains expansiveness. The resumption of the
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scherzo</i> material comes as a genuine
surprise, and the coda is quite forceful.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the finale, the strong opening fanfare gives the movement intensity
at the start, but it soon becomes softer and gentler. Poschner nicely captures
the movement's contrasts between drama and lyricism, and the playing of the
woodwinds and brass is particularly strong. Although abrupt and unexpected
pauses heighten the contrasting elements of the structure, Poschner manages to
keep the movement from becoming disjointed by preserving the differing rhythmic
impetus of its sections. There are bucolic intervals that are almost
Schubertian, mixed with marchlike material and strong rhythms – including
additional references to the fanfare-like opening. Again and again there is a
sense of headlong motion that soon turns into something slower and gentler when
it does not stop altogether. In truth, this is a difficult movement to present
cohesively, but Poschner handles it well – the numerous timpani emphases are
especially effective – and at the very end, he builds the symphony to a bright
and rousing conclusion in an insistent C major. This is a highly convincing
performance of a symphony that places Bruckner firmly – but not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">too</i> firmly – within the context of other
Romantic composers of large-scale works. More than the 1891 version of Symphony
No. 1, the 1868 one gives a sense both of what Bruckner learned from other
composers of his time and what he was determined to set forth in his own way
and on his own terms.</span></p>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-14928351182388747452024-02-01T08:47:00.000-05:002024-02-01T08:47:00.170-05:00(++++) DUALITIES<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Chopin:
Piano Concerto No. 1; Fantasy on Polish Airs; Andante spianato and Grand
Polonaise brillante.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Abbey Simon,
piano; Hamburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Heribert Beissel. Vox. $16.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Yu-Hui
Chang: In Thin Air; Germinate; Mind Like Water; Alter Ego.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble; Composers Conference
Ensemble; Lydian String Quartet; Rhonda Rider, cello. New Focus Recordings.
$16.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The notion of playing one instrument against another, or against several
others, or of producing contrasting themes, harmonies, rhythms and tempos to be
juxtaposed with the aim of working out their similarities and differences, is
an essential building block of a great deal of music – and, as a result, is
handled very differently by various composers in different time periods. This
posed an interesting issue for Chopin, whose only real interest was the piano
but who lived at a time when works setting the piano against the orchestra were
highly popular and expected by audiences. Chopin duly tried his hand at the
piano-and-orchestra approach, but produced only six works in that form before
devoting himself 100% to piano-only composition. All of Chopin’s
piano-and-orchestra works have become repertoire standards, and it is easy to
understand why in light of their tunefulness, elegance, and the ways in which
Chopin keeps the piano dominant while still allowing it to merge and contrast
with other instruments. An excellent digital remastering of a release from the
Vox catalog of the 1970s includes three of these Chopin delights in poised,
elegant performances by Abbey Simon (1920-2019) with the Hamburg Symphony
Orchestra under Heribert Beissel (1933-2021). Although both Simon and Beissel
lived until quite recently, their handling of Chopin is in an older, refined
and sophisticated style that fits the music exceptionally well while allowing
plenty of opportunities for pianistic grace as well as fireworks when
appropriate. Simon approaches the first-published of Chopin’s two piano
concertos (actually written in 1830, shortly after No. 2 of 1829) with dash and
élan, giving the first movement – which is as long as the other two put
together – considerable scale, warmth and beauty. The central <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Romanza</i> functions here as a
comparatively extended interlude, flowing well and with touches that are more
dainty than profound. It is perhaps more pretty than beautiful, but it
certainly glows with sincerity. And the finale is all bounce and enthusiasm,
with Simon and Beissel neatly showcasing the ways in which Chopin keeps the
piano front-and-center even when the orchestra is at its most dynamic. The
sound of this 1972 recording is warm and well-balanced and fits the very Romantic
approach to the material well. And the two additional works on the CD
complement the concerto quite nicely. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fantasy
on Polish Airs</i> (1828), which incorporates three folk songs between an
extended introduction and brilliant coda, is bright and quick in this reading –
a very effective display piece. And <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Andante
spianato and Grand Polonaise brillante</i> (1835) is equally captivating, the
gentle rippling of its earlier portion (“spianato” means “level,” “even,” or
“smooth”) contrasting very effectively with the bright and outgoing dance
material. It is arguable whether this version of the work or the one for solo
piano that Chopin published at the same time is more engaging – but the fact
that there <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> a solo piano version of
a piece that fits so well in piano-and-orchestra guise certainly underlines
Chopin’s compositional preferences. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The chamber works by Taiwanese composer Yu-Hui Chang (born 1970) on a
New Focus Recordings CD use dialogue of a very different sort, in a musical
idiom quite far removed from Chopin’s – showing how contemporary composers
continue to have an interest in forms of contrast, within modern compositional
styles. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In Thin Air,</i> for violin,
piano and percussion, is mostly a percussion work – using the piano in its
percussive guise rather than in Chopin’s lyrical and expressive one (which
Chopin actually produced in his determination <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> to have the piano sound percussive). Still, there are emotive
elements in the second and longest of the three movements of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In Thin Air,</i> contrasting expressiveness
in the violin with more-pointed percussive material; while the finale produces
a kind of sound cloud anchored by piano chords that are contrasted with the
more-evanescent material from the other instruments. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Germinate</i> is a single movement for winds, strings, piano and
percussion, in which the main contrasts are between very small snippets of tunes
and fractured sounds at the work’s start and lengthier treatment of aural
material as the piece progresses. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mind
Like Water,</i> another single-movement work, is for string quartet and,
instead of distinctions among instruments, revolves largely around contrasts
between sound of any type and silence: the instruments emerge briefly, subside
quickly, return in differing guise, and so forth. The three-movement <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alter Ego,</i> being for solo cello, has no
choice but to eschew instrumental disparity as a tool, so here the intended
duality involves the performer and the instrument – as indicated in the
movement titles, “Affectionate,” “Expressive, Yet Somewhat Distant,” and
“Methodical.” The first of these is largely a series of fragments; the second
is comparatively lyrical, but within a modern tonal landscape that remains
mostly remote from warmth of feeling; and the third is strongly accented and
underlined by ostinato passages. This is a (+++) CD that will appeal mostly to
listeners who enjoy hearing some up-to-date ways in which contemporary
composers continue to explore the notion of musical contrast within soundscapes
that differ substantially from those that earlier creators explored.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-44290172126082251462024-01-25T08:49:00.001-05:002024-01-28T11:01:57.754-05:00(++++) GOING TO THE DOGS<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Dogphabet.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Illustrations by Meredith Jensen. Harper by Design.
$16.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This book is as notable for what it does <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> do as for what it does. What it does <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> do is take the expected approach to an alphabet book built
around dogs – as in “A is for Afghan, B is for Beagle, C is for Cocker Spaniel,
D is for Dachshund,” and so forth. Instead, each letter of the alphabet goes
with a descriptive word that applies to a certain type of dog – and then there
are additional words explaining <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">why</i>
the description is appropriate. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Exactly who wrote the descriptions is a bit of a mystery – no author is
credited, although there is an editor (Madeleine James). As for the illustrations
(which <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are</i> credited, to Meredith
Jensen), they manage to convey what various breeds really look like while at
the same time cleverly reflecting the words describing each breed’s behavior as
outlined in the words. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For example, “E is for Edgy” leads to a paragraph about Boxers, “alert
guard dogs that like to protect their families and homes.” The illustration
shows a Boxer wearing an official-looking cap and holding a flashlight in its
mouth. “H is for Hypoallergenic” discusses Labradoodles, “used around the world
as hypoallergenic assistance and therapy dogs,” and shows three people cuddling
a happy pup and burying their faces in its coat. “P is for Personality”
features Chihuahuas, “curious and bold, and demanding if overindulged,” and shows
one sitting on a throne and wearing a suitably tiny crown. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This clever approach to the letters makes it possible for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dogphabet</i> to introduce some
less-than-ideal aspects of certain breeds – as in the comment on the Chihuahua
– while still showcasing each dog’s special charms. “S is for Stubborn” shows a
French Bulldog refusing to be pulled along by a leash and notes that these dogs
are “equal parts frustrating and delightful.” And “D is for Digging” notes that
Border Terriers, “given a lack of supervision and enough time alone,” will “dig
under, climb over or even through a fence in order to explore.” <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Despite any negatives associated with specific breeds, all the dogs <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">shown</i> in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dogphabet</i> look like a lot of fun to have around. The Jack Russell
Terrier, a dog well-known to be “full of boundless energy,” is on display eight
times, bouncing around in a circle, because “J is for Jumping.” The Great Dane,
suitably placed at “M is for Massive,” not only towers over two people holding
its very long and strong leash but also looms over the tops of buildings shown
in the background. Bichon Frisés, “resembling a fluffy child’s toy,” are
described as “the cheerleaders of the dog world” and shown piled atop one
another in a cheerleader-style pyramid – 21 of them in all, the one on top
waving two pennants saying “Yay!” <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In fact, “yay!” is a pretty good word for the entirety of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dogphabet,</i> which manages to take the
scarcely unusual concept of merging the letters of the alphabet with a variety
of dog breeds and turn the combination into something amusing and quite
delightful, from A (Aloof = Dalmatian) to Z (Zany = Pug). And for readers who
really do want the dogs in alphabetical order, there is a treat at the end of
the book, where all the pups from the preceding pages are presented
alphabetically and described in a few suitable and accurate words in terms of
life span, likes and dislikes. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dogphabet</i>
is not intended to urge readers to seek out any specific breed of dog, but for
those who are already doing exactly that, it just might tip the scales in one adorable
direction or another.</span></p>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-15290023783296939702024-01-25T08:46:00.001-05:002024-01-25T08:46:00.149-05:00(++++) THE PLEASURES OF REDISCOVERY<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Luigi
Perrachio: Piano Quintet; Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Piano Quintet No. 1.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> David Korevaar, piano; Carpe Diem String Quartet (Amy
Galluzzo and Marisa Ishikawa, violins; Korine Fujiwara, viola; Ariana Nelson,
cello). Da Vinci Classics. $16.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The focus and immense success of opera as the dominant form of Italian
classical music in the 19<sup>th</sup> century led, inevitably, to a
pendulum-swing reaction in the early 20<sup>th</sup> by Italian composers
determined to chart a new, purely instrumental course that was beholden neither
to the stage nor to the approach of the Germanic compositional school. Perhaps
the best-known composer advocating new Italian instrumental music was Respighi,
who turned decidedly to the past in seeking the future – finding forms and
structures from older times that could be adapted with modern harmonies while
retaining much of their original rhythmic and expressive charm. Respighi (1879-1936)
managed to meld a certain degree of Russian orchestral color with some of the
opulence of Richard Strauss into forms derived from earlier periods, producing
music of genuine originality. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And Respighi was scarcely the only Italian of his era seeking to reinvigorate
the Italian instrumental genre. Others with similar aims were Respighi’s almost
completely forgotten contemporary, Luigi Perrachio (1883-1966), and the
somewhat later and better-known Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968). A fascinating
new Da Vinci Classics CD provides an unusual opportunity to hear a
juxtaposition of piano quintets by these two composers, including the world
première recording of Perrachio’s. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perrachio’s Quintet, which dates to 1919, is a stylistic amalgam that
mixes elements of neoclassicism with post-Romantic gestural sweep, pastoral
material and outright playfulness – including multiple references to the
opening of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Its pervasive dissonance contrasts with
the richness of the instrumentation – the unison passages have particular
force, especially in the very extended first movement (longer than the third
and fourth combined). The second, shortest movement is a puckish and ebullient
Scherzo with sparer instrumentation and delicacy that contrasts strongly with
the rather massive sound of the opening movement; this is where the reference
to Beethoven’s Fifth first appears. This quintet lacks a genuinely slow
movement of the type associated with Romanticism: the third movement is marked <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Allegretto semplice</i> and has a rather
pretty pastoral flavor and the sense of being an interlude or intermezzo. The
finale is the opposite of profound: joyous and lithe, it has a perky ebullience
that repeatedly dips into the realm of folk dances. The strong and serious
unison material of the coda comes as something rather unexpected and brings this
fascinating – if somewhat disconnected-sounding – work to a forceful
conclusion. David Korevaar, under whose supervision the work was published (as
recently as 2022!), integrates the piano sound very effectively with that of
the Carpe Diem String Quartet, and the performance as a whole evinces
sincerity, understanding, and a deep respect for the music and the composer. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The first of Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s two Piano Quintets is a later work
than Perrachio’s, dating to 1932. Castelnuovo-Tedesco was well-known and
well-thought-of in the 1920s, but was forced into exile after Mussolini matched
Italy’s anti-Semitic laws to Hitler’s. In exile, Castelnuovo-Tedesco wrote
music in Hollywood, was the teacher of John Williams and Henry Mancini (among
others), and became well-known for the guitar pieces he began composing after
meeting Andrés Segovia in 1932 – the year of this Quintet. This work is in many
ways more Romantic (or post-Romantic) than Perrachio’s, drawing on
Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Jewish roots and his memories of his native Tuscany (his
second Quintet, which dates to 1951, is actually subtitled “Memories of the
Tuscan Countryside”). Like Perrachio’s work, Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s is
front-weighted, but it is overall a more-balanced piece: the finale is almost
as long as the first movement. There is a sense of expansiveness in this Quintet
from its first notes, and Castelnuovo-Tedesco sticks to traditional form and
tonality to a greater extent than does Perrachio – but Castelnuovo-Tedesco uses
tonality in an interesting way, moving the Quintet from a start in F to a
conclusion in D while fully exploiting the differing color characteristics of
those and other keys as the piece progresses. The work is pervasively tender
and lyrical, its moderately slow second-movement <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Andante</i> being more emotive than Perrachio’s third-movement <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Allegretto semplice.</i> Castelnuovo-Tedesco
neatly produces a third-movement <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scherzo:
Leggero e danzante</i> that would be quite awkward to dance with its constant
rhythmic changes, but that retains considerable verve and spirit throughout.
The Quintet concludes with a dark, passionate movement that hints – at least to
an audience hearing it retrospectively – of the societal upheavals occurring
when the work was written. In all, this piece feels more thoroughly integrated and
emotionally pointed than Perrachio’s somewhat more discursive Quintet. The
performers, to their credit, explore Castelnuovo-Tedesco with the same sense of
engagement and understanding that they bring to Perrachio – the result being a
thoroughly appealing CD featuring two pieces that certainly confirm their
composers’ success in helping to re-establish the importance of pure instrumental
music with a distinct Italian flair.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-73936719726305640472024-01-18T08:51:00.001-05:002024-01-18T08:51:00.138-05:00(++++) ALL UNHALLOWS’ EVE<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Bad
Magic: A Skulduggery Pleasant Graphic Novel.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> By Derek Landy with P.J. Holden, artist; Matt Soffe, colourist; Rob
Jones, letterer; Pye Parr, designer. HarperCollins. $17.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Derek Landy’s genre-bending Skulduggery Pleasant novels – fantasy books
that mix horror, humor, crime, the supernatural and a few other oddments here
and there – are so clearly descriptive of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bon
mots</i> and mayhem that they are naturals for graphic-novel adaptation. The
surprising thing is that it has taken so long for such an adaptation to appear:
the series began in 2007. And what shows up in graphic-novel form as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bad Magic</i> is not part of the main
Skulduggery Pleasant sequence (actually sequences; there are several) – it is a
standalone story (within which Landy, with his usual aplomb, sets up a sequel). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All this is just fine. The world of Skulduggery Pleasant – who is a
nattily dressed reanimated skeleton who, together with his family, was killed
by an evil sorcerer in a war 400 years ago – has plenty of room for further
growth. It has already blossomed into two extended series of novels, the start
of a third, a batch of short stories and novellas, a choose-your-adventure
tale, a reference guidebook, and more. Landy has a habit, in the novels that
still make up the primary elements of the various series, of starting with
books of reasonable length (around 400 pages, sometimes less) and producing
longer and longer novels (600+ pages) as matters progress. So having a work as
compressed as a self-contained graphic novel is something of a pleasure. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bad Magic</i> provides no
backstory on Skulduggery and his partner, Valkyrie Cain (who has been just as
crucial to the sequence since she originally appeared in the first book as
Stephanie Edgley, before discovering her own supernatural powers). Instead of
trying to lay any sort of foundation, the graphic novel plunges immediately
into the mystery of the town of Termoncara, “the murder capital of Ireland” (as
one minor character blithely puts it). For her part, Valkyrie neatly
encapsulates what she and Skulduggery are doing there: “We’re sent in to figure
out who needs punching and then punch them.” And there is plenty of punching in
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bad Magic,</i> along with lots of the
trademark dialogue that leavens the violence – as when Valkyrie, in the midst
of a huge battle and appearing nearly explosive in her anger, loudly demands,
“WHO INTERRUPTED OUR BANTER?” (This is right after someone takes Skulduggery’s
hat – a major no-no.) <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The visualizations of the characters are well-done, if somewhat
exaggerated. Skulduggery’s appearance is excellent, not only as a skeleton but
also when he puts on human faces whose exact appearance he is never quite able
to see. But Valkyrie is somewhat too chiseled-looking: a panel in which she is
in an exercise pose on the floor, supported only by her toes and one finger of
one hand, makes her look borderline grotesque. The renderings of the Termoncara
residents are quite fine, if formulaic; and the appearances of the many and varied
mostly-invisible-to-the-residents monstrosities that abound in the town are
finer still – clearly Landy and his artistic supporters lavished more care on
them than on the mere humans. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The plot of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bad Magic</i> is
fairly thin and not the main point: there have been 20 years of murders of
various “undesirables” in Termoncara, the reason being that a super-baddie that
goes by “Mr. Friendly” is getting the town ready to be massacred because “as
soon as I kill enough teenagers, I’ll be free to wander the world, just like he
wants me to.” That makes no sense, but it is the setup for a followup, as in
“who is this ‘he’?” In any case, Skulduggery and Valkyrie eventually mop up the
mess at Termoncara, create a suitably unbelievable cover story that of course
will be believed by outsiders because the truth would be far less credible, and
prepare to move on to the next town in need of saving. What will stay with
readers is none of that – what matters here are the numerous action scenes, the
chance actually to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">see</i> Skulduggery
and Valkyrie using their physical and supernatural powers on grotesqueries of
all sorts, and the ongoing sallies and ripostes in which the two protagonists
constantly indulge. “Violence is not always the answer, Valkyrie,” comments
Skulduggery at one point; to which Valkyrie replies, “What? Since when?” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That</i> is what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bad Magic</i> is all about. And it’s not bad at all.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-18791881361898485882024-01-18T08:48:00.000-05:002024-01-18T08:48:00.132-05:00(++++) ADMIRABLE CONTINUATIONS<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Bruckner:
Symphony No. 8, 1890 version, transcribed for organ by Eberhard Klotz; Fanfare
“Ecce sacerdos magnus” | Motet WAB 13, transcribed for organ by Hansjörg
Albrecht; Thomas Daniel Schlee: “In Nomine” | Window on Bruckner’s 8<sup>th</sup>
Symphony.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Hansjörg Albrecht, organ.
Oehms. $23.99 (2 CDs). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Heinrich
Marschner: Overtures and Stage Music, Volume 2.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by
Dario Salvi. Naxos. $13.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is a fair bet that 2024, the bicentennial of Bruckner’s birth, will
be less fraught with worldwide dislocation and near-panic than the 250<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, for which celebrations and acknowledgments
were largely derailed by the depredations of the COVID-19 pandemic. The
Bruckner bicentennial will surely include trouble spots and doom-laden
predictions aplenty, those being a feature of every year – but one can at least
hope that no worldwide catastrophe akin to the pandemic of 2020 will undermine
the many plans to honor Bruckner. A great number of those plans have been in
the making for years, including the quixotic but fascinating releases on Oehms
of organ transcriptions of Bruckner’s symphonies, performed with tremendous
stylistic attentiveness by Hansjörg Albrecht. The latest of them, featuring the
monumental Eighth Symphony that was Bruckner’s final completed work in the
form, is in fact climactic in its expansiveness and its confirmation that these
recordings, although perhaps objectively wrong-headed, can and do shed enormous
light on the “Bruckner sound” and the ability of the organ to elucidate
elements of the symphonies that do not always come through with equal clarity
when the works are played, as intended, by an orchestra. Like other recordings
in this fascinating series, this one includes a couple of musical appetizers
before getting to the symphonic main course. The first is Albrecht’s own organ
transcription of Bruckner’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fanfare “Ecce
sacerdos magnus” | Motet WAB 13,</i> originally written for choir, three trombones
and organ – a very interesting work in its own right, and one whose solemnity
and sense of anticipation translate well to the organ in Albrecht’s version.
Next is the latest “Bruckner Window”: these symphonies-on-the-organ CDs all
feature contemporary composers’ tributes to or musical comments on Bruckner.
The one by Thomas Daniel Schlee (born 1957) is extended – 12 minutes long – and
structurally ties interestingly to the finale of Bruckner’s Eighth in its
rhythms and counterpoint. It is more a fantasy <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">on</i> the symphony than an introduction <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to</i> it, but it serves effectively as a modern commentary on some
elements of Bruckner’s music. And then Albrecht begins a very broadly
conceived, spacious and elegant performance of the symphony itself, stretching
the work out to a full 92 minutes – one of the longest modern recordings of
this symphony. Yet if the pacing is deliberate, it is never plodding: Albrecht
has clearly thought in considerable depth about the intricacies of this score,
and Eberhard Klotz’s transcription does a truly excellent job of highlighting
not only the main thematic groups but also the middle voices and subsidiary
elements. In fact, although it might seem that performing this symphony on a
single instrument, even a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">grand</i> single
instrument, would significantly compromise Bruckner’s sense of orchestral
coloration and his attentiveness to detail within the work’s very broad canvas.
Surprisingly, though, the combination of Klotz’s work and Albrecht’s
performance produces a feeling of sonic balance among sections (thanks to
Albrecht’s highly skillful selection of registrations); and while combinations
of and contrasts among strings, winds and brass are inevitably missing, the
overall sound world of the symphony comes through with considerable clarity.
Klotz arranged the second (1890) version of the symphony, which has tended to
fall out of favor in recent years as more conductors have gravitated to the
original version of 1887. Given the inauthenticity of any organ transcription
of a Bruckner symphony, this is less important than it might otherwise be: what
matters here is that Albrecht fully explores the sprawling majesty of the work
– the 32-minute <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adagio</i> is simply
outstanding – and that Klotz shows great understanding of Bruckner’s music and,
as a result, creates a transcription that, strictly on its own terms (which are
not exactly Bruckner’s), is highly convincing. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dario Salvi’s exploration of the stage music of Heinrich August
Marschner (1795-1861) has many points of interest as well, but the second
volume in this Naxos series is a (+++) release simply because – like the first
disc led by Salvi – the music itself is of less interest and less consequence
than the conceptualization of a series highlighting it. Marschner was the most
important German opera composer between Weber and Wagner, and a significant
influence on the latter, whose first opera, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Die
Feen,</i> is essentially Wagner’s “take” on the Marschner operatic world.
Marschner’s use of melodrama, his creation of powerful antiheroic central
characters, his expansion of the lower range of the orchestra, and his
development of supernatural protagonists with mortal failings, all influenced
Wagner to a considerable degree; and two Marschner operas – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Der Vampyr</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hans Heiling</i> – remain impressive in their own right. But Salvi’s
main interest in this recording, as in the previous one, is to unearth Marschner
works that are thoroughly unfamiliar: everything in Volume 2 is a world première
recording. Everything is also, unfortunately, rather prosaic, more so than the
best of Marschner’s stage music. The four works represented on this CD cover a
30-year period: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prinz Friedrich von
Homburg</i> dates to 1821, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Klänge aus
Osten</i> to 1842, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kaiser Adolph von
Nassau</i> to 1845, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Austin</i> to
1850-51. The specific selections heard here are nicely enough played by the
Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra (although the Czech Chamber Philharmonic
Orchestra Pardubice, used for the prior CD, is a somewhat more-polished
ensemble); but there simply is not much musical meat to these small selections.
From <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prinz Friedrich von Homburg,</i> for
example, Salvi offers the four entr’actes and the concluding <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Schluss Symphonie,</i> while the
more-extended pieces from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kaiser Adolph
von Nassau</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Austin</i> are ballets
that are scarcely germane to the works’ action or their primary focuses. The
most-interesting piece here is the overture to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Klänge aus Osten</i> – the only music Salvi offers from that work,
which is a dramatic cantata rather than an opera. Occasional hints of
Marschner’s innovations do appear in some of the pieces here: for instance, his
use of and contrast between lower strings and brass is a recurrent element that
produces some effective moments. As a whole, though, the music heard on this
release is rather thin gruel – interesting because it has not previously been
recorded, but in no way indicative of the importance of Marschner as a composer
for the stage and an influence on Wagner and others. Hopefully there will be
more-interesting Marschner to come as this series progresses.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-38043632017904465042024-01-11T08:50:00.001-05:002024-01-11T08:50:00.144-05:00(++++) BIRTHDAY BLUES<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Only
You Can Be You: A Blue Penguin Tale.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">
By Judy Petersen-Fleming and Suzy Spafford. Illustrations by Suzy Spafford. San
Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Press. $17.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Since penguins are black-and-white, it is obvious from the start – that
is, from the subtitle – that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Only You Can
Be You</i> is purely a work of fantasy. Except…well, it sort of is and sort of
isn’t. There <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> a blue penguin, the
smallest penguin in the world, which weighs no more than three pounds and lives
in Australia. So featuring one in a nature-focused book is not altogether
absurd. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As for featuring one in a book in which penguins of just about all types
join together to celebrate a birthday, speaking to each other and wearing
clothes and jewelry and traveling via albatross – well, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> is purely fantasy, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i>
is what happens in terms of plot in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Only
You Can Be You.</i> Yet the book goes a bit beyond traditional anthropomorphic
depictions of nonhuman creatures by being so <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">very</i> inclusive (in penguin terms) and by depicting accurately, in
its illustrations, the basic appearance of the various types of penguins and
the animals with which the book’s penguins interact, from A (albatross) to W
(whale). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Given the book’s provenance as a work from San Diego Zoo Wildlife
Alliance Press, the care in animal depiction should not be a surprise, but the
melding of accurate portrayals with a charming (if rather thin) plot creates a
picture book that manages to entertain very young children (it is aimed at ages
4-8) while also subtly providing them with some educational value. The story,
in fact, is not really the point: Periwinkle, the little blue penguin, is
invited to the birthday of one of her cousins, and so has to travel to
Antarctica for a grand penguin gathering that includes one apiece of multiple
penguin types. Periwinkle is the smallest attendee and the only
not-black-and-white penguin, and becomes briefly self-conscious until everyone
assures her that being different is just fine and that “only you can be you!” <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And that’s it. Well, there is also a brief moment of uncertainty when
Periwinkle realizes she forgot to bring Cousin Crystal a birthday gift; but
then she takes off the shell necklace that her mother made for her, presents it
to Crystal, and all is well. To the extent that there is any sort of conflict
or worry within these pages, that is indeed it. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The “you be you” and “differences are great things” messages are
formulaic (which is not a problem for the target age range), but the book’s
more-lasting value is likely to be in its scientific information. Although
albatrosses do not actually wear flight helmets and goggles or transport
penguins atop a swinglike construction attached by a cord around their necks,
they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are</i> the birds with the longest
wingspan in the world – one of several fascinating facts offered on the inside
back cover and facing page. Although the cousins’ decision to “huddle together
like emperor penguins” seems like just a cute plot element, it is interesting
to learn that emperor penguins <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do</i>
huddle together “to keep warm in the cold temperatures of Antarctica,” again as
explained at the very back of the book. The way <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Only You Can Be You</i> brings in and uses various penguin facts is
non-intrusive and well-integrated with the story, making the book into more
than just a super-simple tale of a penguin birthday party – although, certainly
for the youngest children, it will be just fine on its most-superficial level. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The final pages of the book itself – that is, before the inside back
cover and facing page – are the ones with the most-direct educational and
admonitory messages, telling kids how to “help your local wildlife and plants”
and offering some photographs of real-life penguins of various types. The
pictures (one of which, yes, does show blue penguins) take the simple,
entertaining story up a notch and may get young children interested in finding
out more about penguins from other sources – which would be a lasting benefit
of a book that is, on the surface, a typically sweet kids’ story about
friendship and self-acceptance.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-81296270627304224262024-01-11T08:47:00.002-05:002024-01-11T08:57:34.496-05:00(++++) EXTINCTION’S ERROR<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Footprints
of Schizophrenia: The Evolutionary Roots of Mental Illness.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> By Steven Lesk, M.D. Prometheus Books. $28.95. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is a medical book that is even more interesting for the way it says
things than for the things that it says – although those are intriguing enough.
Psychiatrist Steven Lesk is interested in exploring why a condition that is
thoroughly maladaptive, schizophrenia, has not been evolutionarily eliminated
but instead has persisted into contemporary times – and has proved remarkably
resilient, despite modern medicines and various therapeutic approaches. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The “classic symptoms of schizophrenia,” as Lesk lists them at one
point, include “visual and auditory hallucinations, tactile hallucinations,
delusions of a religious and sexual nature, catatonic staring, and bizarre
behavior.” Clearly these impede the functioning of sufferers and should, from
an evolutionary perspective, reduce the likelihood that they will reproduce and
pass on whatever predisposition to the condition they possess. But matters are
not so simple, as Lesk shows through an extended and sometimes Ouroboros-like
set of examples drawn from a wide variety of disciplines. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clinical and interpretative
matters aside, Lesk constantly reaches for clever and sometimes revelatory ways
of involving readers in his arguments. For instance, he says there is “a
phenomenon that I call the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">on-the-way-to-psychosis
reaction,</i> which means, essentially, that someone who is getting an inkling
that their mind is about to be taken over by a powerful force reacts to this
knowledge with an illness. It is the stuff of science fiction weaving its way
into real life.” Elsewhere, discussing medications used in treating
schizophrenia, he comments that “the psychiatrist has a vast array of cards to
choose from[,] all vying to recoup their staggering production costs for their
patent, and all of them, like the characters in a Cagney movie, imperfect. The goal
is to find the one that fits the patient like a comfy suit, affably informal,
reducing symptoms maximally with as few side effects as we can get away with.” <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This sort of prose, itself affably informal, can trip over itself when
overused, and that does happen here from time to time. One single paragraph
about stimulants, for example, includes multiple two-word assertive emphases.
There is “…of course controlled substances…” There is “And, big finale.” There
is “Bottom line, things.” And there is “And of course schizophrenia…” All
within 13 lines. It is a bit breathless. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nevertheless, most of the time, the style carries readers through some
heady and complex topics, sprinkling revelatory tidbits willy-nilly here and
there. “It is known that congenitally blind people are immune to
schizophrenia,” Lesk writes, and immediately sets about<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tying this scarcely well-known oddity to a
theory of schizophrenia, discussing language acquisition, sight templates, and
dopamine. “The conceptual reality [language] provides replaces the behemoth
sensory input from the eyes, and therefore any insidious takeover of their
conceptualizing ways would be defended against with the vigor of an ogre.”
Actually, this statement barely scratches the surface of an utterly fascinating
phenomenon that could itself be the basis of a theory of schizophrenia – a
theory developed by beginning with those who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do not</i> develop the condition and reasoning outward from there. The
matter is ancillary to Lesk, however, which is fine – he has other fish to fry
(one of his many metaphors has to do with catching fish and then cooking or
discarding them). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Footprints of
Schizophrenia</i> requires a willingness to board a roller coaster of
comparisons and analogies sprinkled with references to various
technical/analytical studies and frequent references to Freud, Darwin, brain
chemistry, and literature. The whole thing can get somewhat heady: “As if Alice
could be in that wonderland but still be oblivious to the change in locale, the
trait of self-observation that may be strained in the best of us dissolves
completely into dust for many schizophrenics who tend to be uncritical of the
warp in their demeanor.” This is a book whose style sweeps the reader headlong
into fast-paced, often very erudite discussions, while its content requires
frequent pauses for contemplation, evaluation, and further elucidation. It is a
decidedly odd oil-and-water-like mixture (or non-mixture); but then, so is
schizophrenia itself, and so is its treatment, in which Lesk has been engaged
for decades. The mixture of anthropology, neurochemistry and psychoanalytic
analysis and terminology here is scarcely simple to unravel, and is made rather
more so (not less so) by the pervasive breeziness of the style. Nevertheless,
and sometimes in spite of itself, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Footprints
of Schizophrenia</i> is an exhilarating journey through both theory and medical
practice. It is hard <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> to be mentally
engaged and stimulated by a book that says, on one page, “Evolution had no idea
what it was in for,” and on the very next one, “And of course the atomic bomb
is a perfect example of what we were capable of once our language birthed
contemplation.”</span></p>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-47160725228360206272024-01-11T08:44:00.001-05:002024-01-11T08:44:00.140-05:00(+++) THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Medieval
Song from Aristotle to Opera.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">
Concordian Dawn conducted by Christopher Preston Thompson. MSR Classics.
$14.95. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Jake
Heggie: Song Settings of Emily Dickinson.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Melissa Davis, soprano; Jerry Wong, piano. MSR Classics. $14.95. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The title of the second MSR Classics release from the medieval-music
ensemble called Concordian Dawn is a bit of a puzzlement, given that neither
Aristotle nor opera can be deemed medieval. The group’s first release, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Medieval Songs of Fate, Fortune and
Fin’amor,</i> was clearer in its focus, provided that listeners understood that
“Fin’amor” is a dialect term (Occitan) for “courtly love.” The second CD is in
fact similar in some ways, all of them positive, including its painstaking and
thoughtful approach to the work of composers who will likely be wholly
unfamiliar to most modern audiences. The performers, as before, include
Christopher Preston Thompson as conductor, tenor, and instrumentalist on the
medieval harp; soprano Karin Weston; not one but two countertenors (Clifton
Massey and David Dickey, with Dickey also playing recorder); bass Andrew
Padgett; and Niccolo Seligmann playing vielle, a precursor of the violin that,
as both the recordings show, has a very different but still clearly related
sound. Of the 10 pieces on the new recording, three are anonymous, including
one from the 11<sup>th</sup> century – a truly remarkable distance in musical
terms. Four works here are by Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377); there is one
from Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361); one from Bernart de Ventadorn (fl.
1147-1180); and one three-minute piece with elements credited to four separate
composers. And how do all these works relate to or explain the disc’s title? The
“Aristotle” reference has to do with Aristotelian notions with which some of
the songs are imbued; the word “opera” turns out not to mean what modern
audiences think it means, but to refer to the overall operatic – that is,
multimedia – nature of the performances and the reconstruction of the music.
This is all a bit rarefied and abstruse, having to do with the academic study
of medieval music and the impossibility of truly re-creating it in modern times
– because even if we could know for sure how it was supposed to sound (and we
do not), the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">context</i> in which it was
produced and was intended to be heard was so different from our own that there
is no way to bring it into our own time. That is, we cannot <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hear</i> the music as it was meant to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">heard,</i> even if we can approximate (imperfectly)
the way it was meant to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sound.</i> Very,
very few listeners are likely to find the intricacy of this sort of thinking
interesting or more than slightly meaningful. Thankfully, however, it is not
necessary to delve into the underlying issues facing re-creation and
performance of works of this time period in order to enjoy those performances.
The members of Concordian Dawn may have no way to bridge the musical time span
of nearly a thousand years, but the transcriptions and reconstructions
performed here all have considerable power and considerable beauty on their own
terms – or, rather, on the terms that modern scholars, performers and listeners
bring to them in attempting to reproduce as many elements as possible of their
original creation. These are works of beauty, of delicacy, that maintain
communicative power even if one does not speak the languages they use or live
within the culture and time period in which they were created. Some of the solo
voices sound angelic, as if elevated beyond mere earthly concerns; others are warmer
and more emotional; the grouped voices come through with considerable clarity
and expressiveness; and the instrumental sounds serve as transport to a world
very different from ours. If we cannot possibly re-create that world or know
its intricacies, we can at least receive, through this music, hints of what
used to be – and a reminder that in all times and places, music has served to
express, to elevate, to emphasize, to emote, to evince an understanding of the
human condition, whatever it is or may once have been. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>More-recent times are certainly more readily comprehensible to
contemporary audiences – or at any rate those audiences, and those who perform
for them, like to think so. It is the perplexing and inward-looking elements of
the poetry of Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) that continue to make her words so
attractive to composers of much later times, including Jake Heggie (born 1961).
There are no fewer than 19 Dickinson-based songs for soprano and piano on an
MSR Classics disc featuring Melissa Davis and Jerry Wong, and all the words are
set with care, utilizing Heggie’s understanding of what he thinks Dickinson was
trying to express (although it is worth pointing out that here too there are
ongoing academic studies and arguments about the poems’ meanings). Heggie finds
many ways to use Dickinson’s words: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Faces of Love</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Newer Every Day,</i>
for example, are five-song cycles; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Rose Did Caper on Her Cheek,</i> a world première recording, is a single song;
there is also a two-song group, another world première, called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Could It Be Madness – This?</i> Heggie
organizes the groups around similar (or at least analogous) themes, according
to his understanding of the words; the cycles then contrast with individual
songs, even when some of the material is nominally related – for instance, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Road to Bethlehem</i> is a single song,
while <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Faces of Love</i> contains the
song <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">As Well as Jesus?</i> Davis and Wong
make a fine, sensitive and committed interpretative pair, and when given the
chance to shine as an individual, Wong goes beyond accompaniment to add in
significant ways to a song’s emotional heft – as, for instance, in the openings
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Silence</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The First Day’s Night Had Come.</i> Most of the songs are short – the
entire CD runs just 47 minutes – but all have a feeling of compression. It is
as if their meaning has been squeezed into a limited number of words (as poetry
generally does) and the words have then been mixed with illustrative musical
material that underlines Dickinson’s thoughts without attempting to expand or comment
on them. If there is a flaw in this approach, it is that Heggie’s consistency
of interpretative handling of the words results in a good deal of musical sameness:
the actual sound of the songs is similar throughout the CD, despite the
differences of the words and the emotions they convey. Some listeners will
justifiably feel that this shows how thoroughly Heggie has absorbed the poetic
world of Dickinson, or at least his interpretation of it; others, however, may
wish for a somewhat greater variety of approaches to the verbiage, given the
fact that while Dickinson does have a clear style, the feelings she evokes and
the words she uses come in more guises than are apparent from their
accompaniment here.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-33005187732126909622024-01-04T08:49:00.001-05:002024-01-04T08:49:00.128-05:00(++++) SMALL SUCCESSES<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Mabel
and the Mountain.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> By Kim Hillyard.
Penguin Workshop. $14.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A sweet, simple, silly little story with an uplifting moral and a
distinctly peculiar central flaw (or at least oddity) that young children will
notice immediately – but that will not reduce their enjoyment of the book – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mabel and the Mountain</i> is, as the cover
directly states, “A Story about Believing in Yourself.” That “yourself” of the
title is Mabel, who is – a fly. This unlikely protagonist is, of course, a
perfect surrogate for the very young children at whom the book is aimed: she is
so small that pretty much anything she wants to do will seem large by
comparison. So when she decides she wants to do <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">big</i> things, well, they are certain to seem to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">very</i> big things indeed. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Kim Hillyard draws Mabel adorably and quite unrealistically: she is almost
completely circular, with huge eyes and tiny wings. And of course she is packed
with anthropomorphic thoughts and expressions. She has <u>BIG PLANS</u>, as
Hillyard points out in underlined capital letters. Specifically, she intends to
climb a mountain, host a dinner party, and make friends with a shark. Never
mind that the second of those is modest compared to the first and third – there
is a reason it is there, as Hillyard eventually shows. However, the book is
almost entirely about the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">first</i> of
Mabel’s plans: climbing a mountain. “It is important to get started right
away,” Mabel thinks, but first she has to confront the naysaying of her
friends, who are equally round and equally big-eyed flies sporting a bandana in
one case, a helmet in another, a handlebar mustache and bushy eyebrows in a
third – in other words, thoroughly non-fly-like characters drawn very amusingly
indeed. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mabel hears her friends’ warnings and concerns, but says she knows only
to “listen to those who say YOU CAN” accomplish things. This is not entirely
realistic – parents reading with young children may need to remind them that
there’s nothing wrong with listening to cautionary words – but it fits the
book’s approach well. So off goes Mabel to find an appropriate mountain to
climb, rejecting a human’s long nose as too easy and a cherry-topped, Jello-like
food concoction as too wobbly. She sets her sights on a real,
honest-to-goodness, tremendously tall, snow-capped mountain, starts climbing,
and soon discovers that “this is hard.” Furthermore, she is passed on her upward
quest by faster and stronger climbers (including a mountain goat – well, duh)
and considers altering her big-plans list to “climb a tree, eat dinner” and
“make friends with a sheep.” But no! Mabel is determined, heeding her inner
voice and singing words of encouragement to herself! And eventually, yes, she
reaches the top of the mountain! <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now at this point, any young children reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mabel and the Mountain</i> or having it read to them will ask, if they
haven’t already done so, “But why couldn’t she just fly up the mountain?” That
is a very good question indeed, and is the central difficulty with this
otherwise charming book. A more-experienced author than Hillyard, who is a
first-timer, would have anticipated the question and provided a simple in-book
explanation, for instance by having Mabel say flying would be too easy and she
is determined to use her teeny-tiny legs to climb. After all, she is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fly,</i> and even the youngest children know
that flies, umm, fly. Adults reading with kids should anticipate being asked
about this no-flying approach and should come up with their own reason
(attributed to Mabel, of course) for what Mabel does and does not do. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, by the time Mabel comes back down the mountain – and she
apparently <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">does</i> fly down, since the
next page shows her flying to greet her now-admiring friends – all the former
naysayers are complimenting her and discussing their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">own</i> big plans, such as writing a book and building a robot. Mabel
greets all of them at, of course, a dinner party – thereby fulfilling her <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">second</i> big-plans plan. And the book ends
happily, with Mabel near the seashore, shark fins projecting from the water
behind her, determined to start on her <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">third</i>
big plan. Be careful, if reading with kids, not to suggest that this time she
might be biting off more than she can chew. Or might be bitten and chewed
herself. After all, the whole point of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mabel
and the Mountain</i> is “never say die.” Or “never say nay.”</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-26657895342343014642024-01-04T08:46:00.000-05:002024-01-04T08:46:00.127-05:00(+++) A BIT OF A GIFT<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Wise
Words from Bookish Women.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Harper by
Design. $14.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What exactly is that word “bookish” supposed to mean in this little
gift-book-size hardcover volume, which is offered without author attribution
(although the illustrator, Nicole Cicak, does get a credit)? If the word means
the quoted women appear in a book, well, that’s pretty obvious, since this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> a book. If, however, the word’s implication
has anything to do with “book learning,” education, authorship or other
intellectual things, then the title is misleading: this is merely a brief
collection of mostly celebrity-originating comments, often from Americans even
though the book was originally published in Australia. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In fact, the emphasis on U.S. women’s comments is somewhat surprising: American
politicians Hillary Clinton, Michele Obama, Kamala Harris and Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez, none of whom is known to be particularly intellectual, appear
here, as do U.S. media celebrities Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon. Their
provenance, however, matters less than the quality of what they have to say – but
much of what is quoted here is far from revelatory or inspiring. Still, the
material appears <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">intended</i> to be inspirational.
One of the better remarks comes from Amy Poehler (yet another American
celebrity-type): “People who read are people who dream, and we connect through
the stories we live and tell and read.” That is worth thinking about, and it
even qualifies as a “bookish” thought – or certainly a book-related one. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are a few other gems, at least semi-precious ones, here, such as
the comment by former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern: “If you sit
and wait to feel like you are the most confident person in the room, you are
probably going to be left by yourself.” That is especially interesting in light
of Ardern’s own political career – but readers of this book need to know about
that career already, and indeed need to know exactly who Ardern is, because the
book does not explain who anyone quoted is and gives no background or otherwise
relevant information on anybody. The underlying assumption is that readers are
already quite familiar with Min Jin Lee, Ali Wong, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and
the other women quoted herein, so none of the women needs any introduction. But
the notion that readers will in fact know all those who are included is at best
a bit naïve. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maya Angelou, another American quoted in the book, offers one of the
most-telling comments here: “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be
defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter defeats, so we can know who
the hell we are.” In the complete absence of context for the remark, though,
readers may find themselves puzzled even as they admire the way Angelou
expresses herself. And in fact this is a misquotation, and a partial one at
that: Angelou actually said, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not
be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can
know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of
it." Complete accuracy is not this book’s strong point. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Still, former Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel here offers thoughts
well worth contemplating: “Fear has never been a good adviser, neither in our
personal lives nor in our society. Cultures and societies that are shaped by
fear will without doubt not get a grip on the future.” And another former
leader, Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain, has a comment that sheds
considerable light on the well-known staunchness of her personality: “If you
want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.” <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On the other hand, there are remarks in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wise Words from Bookish Women</i> that are scarcely revelatory, to the
point of being trite (even though obviously well-meant). For instance, Leigh
Sales – one of the very few Australians in the book – says, “I’ve come to
believe that amongst all the good human qualities, there is none greater than
kindness.” And the longest quotation in the whole book comes from American
rapper Lizzo; it says, in part, “Think about how you can make the world a better
place in the real world.” <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is really no surprise that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wise
Words from Bookish Women</i> is a mixed bag – collections of quotations
inevitably are. But the selection of these specific women to quote, and these
specific quotations to include, is somewhat on the odd side, and it is
difficult to know for whom the book would really be appropriate as a gift. It
contains a few substantive and interesting comments mixed with a good deal of
blandness, from women who have little in common either intellectually or
bookishly – whatever specific meaning may be attached to that word.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-34257074226258805582024-01-04T08:43:00.001-05:002024-01-04T08:43:00.260-05:00(++++) SCALING THE HEIGHTS<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Mahler:
Symphony No. 8 (“Symphony of a Thousand”).</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Carolyn Sampson and Jacquelyn Wagner, sopranos; Sasha Cooke and Jess
Dandy, altos; Barry Banks, tenor; Julian Orlishausen, baritone; Christian
Immler, bass; Minnesota Chorale, National Lutheran Choir, Minnesota Boychoir,
Angelica Cantanti Youth Choir and Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vänskä.
BIS. $19.99 (SACD). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Mahler:
Symphony No. 9.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Minnesota Orchestra
conducted by Osmo Vänskä. BIS. $19.99 (SACD). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Mahler:
Symphony No. 10 (version by Deryck Cooke).</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vänskä. BIS. $19.99 (SACD). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Osmo Vänskä’s nearly two-decade term at the helm of the Minnesota
Orchestra had the sort of turbulence, and ultimate triumph, that only a
composer such as Mahler could capture in music. A 16-month contract dispute
between musicians and management midway through Vänskä’s tenure led him to
resign as the orchestra’s 10<sup>th</sup> music director – only to return after
the musicians accepted a pay cut (deemed necessary to avoid dissolving the
orchestra altogether) and gained greater artistic input and control. Before the
lockout started in 2012, Vänskä had already spent a decade honing the orchestra
into one that could stand at the pinnacle of American ensembles and rival many
of the best in Europe. After the interregnum, Vänskä and the musicians plunged
back into their work with the strongest of wills, and the result was – among
other things – one of the best Mahler symphony cycles ever recorded. A few of
the earlier performances had their slightly tentative moments: the orchestra
coalesced around Vänskä’s exceptionally well-thought-through interpretations
despite a few missteps here and there. But as the Mahler series continued,
conductor and ensemble produced recording after recording of rare scope, power
and intensity – most clearly in their readings of Mahler’s last three
symphonies. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This cycle on BIS has not been released in the symphonies’ actual
sequence: the most-recent recording is of Symphony No. 8. And what a recording
it is! The sound of these SACDs has been exemplary throughout, and never more
so than here, where astonishing clarity allows perfect audibility of everything
from the remarkably quiet passages to those that gave the work its nickname of
“Symphony of a Thousand.” The clarity and intensity of Vänskä’s approach are
apparent from the very start, where conductors must make a choice as to how the
chorus sings the words, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veni creator
spiritus</i> – are the words a prayer, imploring the Holy Spirit to enter, or
are they more of a command? Vänskä opts decisively for the latter interpretation
as the movement strides forth boldly. The quick initial pacing conveys a sense
of enthusiasm plus expectation. <i>Imple superna</i> is strongly contrasted in
tempo, with very fine vocal blending in this expansive section. Orchestral
elements and interludes are especially strong, with the excellent audio quality
notably highlighting the bells and the first-rate brass – while chamber-music
elements (such as the solo violin) balance the huge masses of sound to good
effect. Dissonance is emphasized at the start of <i>Accende lumen sensibus,</i>
and this whole section is delivered with tremendous power and enthusiasm – with
the words obviously being of special significance to Mahler. The sweetness of <i>Pacem
dones protinus</i> is also notable. In its totality, this is a jubilant
performance, with the re-entry of the organ near the end cementing the
instrumental component. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the symphony’s second part, the concluding scenes of Part II of Goethe’s
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Faust,</i> the opening <i>Poco adagio</i>
re-sets the scene immediately and very impressively. Although the work is
essentially a grand cantata with a strong vocal focus, Vänskä is highly
sensitive to the instrumental elements that serve to tie the whole thing
together. Mahler's scene-painting here is exquisite, and Vänskä's pacing is just
right. So is his attentiveness to the thematic material, as when Mahler in this
transition introduces the music that will eventually conclude the whole work,
presenting it repeatedly and insistently – although its full significance
becomes known only at the very end of the symphony. Quiet and a sense of wonder
blend when the chorus enters, and tremendous sincerity is projected by the
soloists in what is admittedly some rather abstruse/mystical verbiage. Vänskä,
the singers and orchestra do an exceptional job of differentiating the sound of
the various sections – Mahler's use of multiple choruses is beautifully
highlighted, with the glowing strength of the instrumental material holding
everything together and underlining the amazingly variegated vocal writing.
There is exceptional sweetness in the instrumental material before <i>Dir, der
Unberührbaren</i>, which like all the solos is sung with deep reverence and
conviction. It is doubtful that the boys' and youth choirs fully
understand the meaning and philosophical implications of what they are singing,
but it is a credit to Vänskä and choir directors Mark S. Johnson and Elizabeth
Egger that the lines are delivered with such sincerity as well as such an
appealingly pure sound. Although all the solo singers are excellent, Carolyn
Sampson is especially outstanding in two separate roles. Her pure ethereality
as Mater Gloriosa is wonderfully contrasted with her comparatively earthy Magna
Peccatrix – she has a marvelously adaptable voice. The final chorus' swelling
from extreme quiet to overwhelming sound is extraordinarily well paced,
bringing this exceptional performance to an exceptional end. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mahler did not so much “top” each symphony with the next as take each in
a different direction from its predecessor – yet with some structural elements
remaining distinctly “Mahlerian” to tie together the entire symphonic cycle. In
the first movement of Vänskä’s reading of the Ninth, there is slight hesitancy
at the open, which sounds just right; then the music strives for lyricism and
finds it in the strings. There is a pervasive sense of struggle from the start,
a yearning for peace and acceptance/resignation that is not to be found until
the end of the fourth movement. The faster material ups the emotional ante:
Vänskä keeps the pacing strong, and sometimes headlong, the rhythms carefully
articulated, the swelling and subsiding of sound managed carefully, even
elegantly. The emotional conviction of this performance is what stands out.
Then, just when the energy seems about to flag midway through the movement,
Vänskä pulls the music forward into a passage of heightened tension and drama.
The brass section is a standout here: both warm and precise, it sounds much
like the brass in a first-rate European orchestra – unusual for an American
ensemble. The chorale three minutes before the end is elegantly played and
almost unbearably sweet, and the conclusion evaporates into evanescence that
sounds fraught with meaning. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the second movement, the rhythmically emphatic opening – again with
outstanding brass contributions above the strings – brings strength but not
heaviness. There are elements of awkward dance reminiscent of the third
movement of Beethoven's Sixth, but the scope here is larger and more personal,
more internalized. The dissonance of the contrasting second section stands out –
this is heavy-handed (or heavy-footed) music that remains determinedly
earthbound, as if in contrast to the ethereality of much of the first movement.
The return of the initial section lightens matters a bit; but there is a level
of twisted humor, almost sarcasm, underlying it. The final five minutes
heighten that sense as the music becomes increasingly frenetic, more insistent
on its dissonances; and then there is a sudden slowdown to something
approximating the movement's opening – but the context is different, paving the
way for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rondo-Burleske</i>. The solo
instruments toward the second movement’s end are suitably pointed and played
with strong rhythmic assurance. And then, in the third movement, the sarcasm is
made explicit, Vänskä seeing to it that the music takes on a frantic quality
from the start, sweeping and swooping – led by brass but with especially
pointed woodwinds, which come into their own in this movement. The nonstop
activity envelops all sections of the orchestra, which tumble over one another
in what often sounds chaotic but in fact is very carefully controlled and
structured. Vänskä gets this duality just right, juxtaposing a sense of
burgeoning chaos with close attentiveness to the movement's underlying form. It
is a wild ride, interrupted at its center by somewhat strained (and restrained)
lyricism that seeks to find order in the apparent chaos – only to fall back,
first reluctantly/tentatively and then enthusiastically/almost orgiastically,
into the earlier chaotic realm. The essential weirdness of the movement is
allowed to flower fully here in a truly breathless conclusion. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is left for the finale to bring closure to the apparently
incompatible complexities of the first three movements. Vänskä understands this
from the movement's start, setting a very broad <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adagio</i> tempo that strongly emphasizes the warmth of strings rather
than the acerbity of the other orchestral sections as heard in the previous
movement. Mahler's unusual indication for this movement is not always observed.
It is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sehr langsam und noch zurückhaltend</i>
– "very slow and still reserved." In what sense "reserved"
is meant is a matter for each conductor to decide. Vänskä takes it to mean that
the undeniable emotionalism of the movement must not be so over-the-top as to
become cloying. He focuses on extracting gorgeous sound, especially from the
strings, and keeping the movement's pace regular enough to carry listeners
along with its emotional expressiveness – which he does not emphasize to the
point of overdoing either its sweetness or its pervasive sense of resignation.
Even knowing that there is a Mahler Tenth, it can be hard at the end of the
Ninth to imagine what more the composer could possibly have to say: there is a
glowing beauty to this movement that seems to sum up so much of what the
symphony has been expressing – indeed, what all the symphonies, individually
and collectively, express. Unlike the slow conclusion of the Third, which is
equally extended, the finale of the Ninth does not seem to look outward to God
but inward to a kind of self-awareness melded with acceptance of mortality, of
the evanescence of consciousness. It is a huge credit to this performance that
it inspires thoughts of just that sort of meaning and meaningfulness, solving
nothing but pointing toward a solution both specific to Mahler and universal
for all those experiencing his music. Thus, the exceptional quiet at the end
comes across as a kind of peace that passeth all understanding. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Where could Mahler possibly go from here? The unfinished Tenth Symphony,
which would certainly have undergone changes had Mahler lived to complete it,
nevertheless does take matters several steps further than the Ninth – as is
made clear by the Deryck Cooke performing version of 1976/1989 that is used by
Vänskä (and that is still the best, although there are now at least half a
dozen others). Vänskä has clearly studied Cooke’s realization with extreme
care. In the first movement, there is exceptional delicacy at the open, after
which the odd and eerie dancelike lyricism comes through particularly well.
There is a sense of unending expansion and striving through the first third of
the movement. Then it becomes more exploratory, wandering musically but still
firmly centered emotionally – and always exceptionally well-played. There is a
tremendous contrast between the quiet just before the famous eruption of a
nine-note dissonant chord, which comes as a genuine shock and seems impossible
to follow – yet Mahler does follow it, just as he followed his Ninth Symphony with
this movement. The quiet portions are exceptional, almost inaudible yet
piercingly clear in their delicacy and careful emphasis. The very end is a
perfect example of Mahler’s skill at writing chamber music for large orchestra.
Then comes the second movement and first <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scherzo,</i>
producing a notable structural parallel with Mahler’s Seventh, but with
dissonance more pronounced. The whole is a somewhat off-kilter dance. In the
third movement, again, the delicacy is notable, and Vänskä shows an excellent
sense of rhythmic vitality. This is a very short movement, but it is packed
with thematic materials that will reappear later. The fourth movement and
second <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scherzo</i> opens intensely, its
jagged rhythms hinting at anguish. The sense here is of a constant threat that
can erupt anytime. Again, dissonance is a crucial component of the music: the
movement seems to argue with itself, with lyrical/quiet passages contrasted
with intense/louder ones, all within a kind of stop-and-go structure. The sound
world here is deliberately odd; for example, Mahler combines “oompah” rhythms
with muted trumpet sounds. The use of solo instruments and timpani at the end,
and the very quiet conclusion, are highly impressive in this reading. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then the finale appears <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">attacca,</i>
and again strangeness of sound is front-and-center: the muffled drum that
Mahler heard in a funeral procession comes as a shock, after which the movement
seems to grow organically above its cortège elements. The strings evince a
lyricism here beyond that of prior movements. The sense of yearning familiar
from earlier symphonies develops here as well, but is interrupted by further
muffled drum strokes and reminiscences of earlier movements. It is, all in all,
a strange and expansive movement. Unlike Bruckner's finales, which have an
inevitability about them even if that becomes clear only in retrospect, this
conclusion never fully clarifies where it is going emotionally or structurally
– until, in its second half, it unites all the disparate elements of the
symphony (including a recurrence of the nine-note dissonant chord) to produce a
wholly satisfying sense of summation. The ending manages to be heartfelt,
uplifting and foundationally sad at the same time – a remarkable emotional
combination to which Vänskä pays precise attention. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is a remaining irony to Vänskä’s excellent presentation of
Mahler’s last three symphonies, in that these recordings are not in fact the
conclusion of his Mahler cycle with the Minnesota Orchestra – despite the fact
that he has now left the ensemble. The gigantic Third Symphony remains unrecorded,
a victim, like so much else, of scheduling issues associated with the COVID-19
pandemic. Surely Vänskä will return as conductor emeritus for that final
capstone of what has proved to be a thoroughly remarkable Mahler cycle. This is
a sequence that is fully deserving of the attention, and the accolades, of
every Mahler aficionado.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14430080.post-46124819976520039792023-12-28T08:51:00.001-05:002023-12-28T08:51:00.132-05:00(++++) IN THE SMELLY BEGINNING<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Monster
Hunting for Beginners.</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> By Ian Mark. Illustrated
by Louis Ghibault. Farshore. $9.99. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It all started with odor. Well, not exactly, but it got to the smelly
stuff soon enough. You see, ogres really stink, even when one of them “dropped
down dead backwards, which meant that he landed on top of the house.” <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Oh, wait. It started a little before that, when Aunt Prudence showed up.
That was after Dad disappeared mysteriously. Dad “wasn’t bad, as dads go,” but
“just wasn’t very adventurous.” It turns out that this matters. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monster Hunting for Beginners</i>
is one of those books whose title is also the title of a book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">within</i> the book. This matters, too. A
lot, in fact. The book’s narrator, Jack, encounters a very small and crotchety
man named Stoop who tricks Jack into becoming an apprentice monster hunter and
gives Jack a book that, in suitable magical fashion, takes on the title <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monster Hunting for Beginners</i> and
answers any questions that Jack may have about the topic. The answers are
usually useless (when not misleading), but this is not a high-intellect book.
In fact, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monster Hunting for Beginners</i>
(the one by Ian Mark) is not a high-intellect book either, but it does not have
to be: it is strictly for fun, and there is plenty of fun in it. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The book – that is, the one by Ian Mark, which is the first of a planned
series – explains how Jack gradually discovers his monster-hunting prowess, of
which he does not have much, but luckily doesn’t actually need much. In line
with modern notions of being kind and gentle to all things at all times, even
ones that are trying to eat you, it turns out that the days of finding and
killing monsters, or even beating them up, are gone: monsters are now a
protected species (or multiple species) and have to be gently prevented from
causing mayhem and then released back into whatever environment is most
conducive to coddling them. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This makes Jack’s training even harder than it would otherwise have
been. Most of the training takes place in a town called King’s Nooze, whose
citizens are largely oblivious to the threat of a nearby gathering of
ogres-bent-on-mayhem-but-never-actually-committing-any. The town’s mayor is
nasty, arrogant, self-important, and constantly mocking of Jack and pretty much
everyone else, thereby becoming the most realistic character in the book, or at
least the most realistic politician. When Jack and Stoop get to King’s Nooze,
they meet not only the mayor but also a girl named Nancy who is a lot more adventurous
(and smarter) than Jack and Stoop and the ogres put together, and who soon
joins Jack in the ogre fight – sorry, the ogre
please-don’t-fight-and-please-don’t-eat-people-either event. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The book’s pervasive silliness, complete with footnotes on many pages
that enhance the ridiculousness of the main narrative – and really delightful
illustrations by Louis Ghibault – includes adventures with seven-league boots,
expandable clothing (the boots included), references to the Endangered Monsters
Act, the use of Berserker Brew, the rediscovery of the largest and most
terrifying ogre of all time (who turns out to be a pretty good guy…err, thing),
and lots and lots of stinkiness (since ogres pride themselves on smelling
really, really bad, and there are a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lot</i>
of them in and around King’s Nooze). <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Examples of the writing, with footnotes: “The Mayor snorted scornfully.
*It’s impossible to snort any other way.” “…driving for hours to a tumbledown
house in the Middle of Nowhere… *Or it may have been slightly north of the
Middle of Nowhere. He wasn’t sure. Everywhere looks the same in Nowhere.” And,
let’s see, there is a whole subplot, or maybe it’s part of the same plot, about
dragons not existing until it turns out that one does. And another subplot, or
maybe part of the same plot, about a bear named Humbert who is displaced from
his cave by the gathering of ogres but eventually helps save the day by joining
the townspeople in a cabbage-pelting scene. And there are notes here and there
from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monster Hunting for Beginners</i> (the
book-within-the-book one) about zomblings and anticores and crusted hairy snot
nibblers. And there is much more, all of it equally ridiculous and most of it
equally funny, and the only way to wade through all of it is to wade through
the entirety of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monster Hunting for
Beginners</i> (the book itself, not the one within itself) – a slog that is
thoroughly enjoyable even though it does tend to become sort of messy and
smelly after a while, at least if you are reading it after having joined Jack and
Nancy by temporarily turning into an ogre. But that’s another story – or, well,
actually part of this one.</span>The Infodad Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05488937304837145011noreply@blogger.com0