Paul Bowles, Complete Piano Music 2, The Invencia Piano Duo

Before Paul Bowles (1910-1999) was known as a major creator in the literary field he was gaining a reputation as a classical composer of promise. His migration to Morocco and turn to writing more or less put a halt to the composer part of his creative life, yet his compositions are special and original. The Invencia Piano Duo brings to us the playful brilliance of his one- and two-piano works on the first and now the follow-up volume Complete Piano Works 2 (Naxos 8.559787).

I covered the first volume several months ago (see index search box above) and was taken by it. Volume 2 shows no drop off. The mostly miniatures, two arranged for two pianos by Gold and Fitsdale and Invencia member Andrey Kasparov, respectively, all have a special neo-classical modern, sometimes folkish charm that evokes middle-period Stravinsky and the piano music of Milhaud and Honegger, but then reasserts an "Americana" feel at times too, with occasional ventures into local vernacular and early jazz influences.

The performances are beautifully idiomatic, capturing the brittle character, whimsicality and subtle power of the music.

At the Naxos price, you probably should get both volumes, if you have even a passing interest in 20th century modernism in the USA. Bowles might well have become a fixture in the music had he not gone on to develop his other brilliance as a creative writer. Nonetheless these works show a full maturity of outlook and a special charm that puts them in a category of one. Bravo!

Granados, Dante Symphonic Poem, etc., Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Pablo Gonzalez

As far as Spanish masters go, Granados (1867-1916) will sneak up on you. Sure, there are the "Goyescas," but there is a good deal of his music worth hearing that is not often making the circuits these days. Naxos' second volume of his orchestral works will be a nice surprise for those of us not previously exposed to it all. In fact there are three world premiere recordings here and they are worth the wait. Dante Symphonic Poem, etc. (Naxos 8.573264) spotlights some fine performances of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra under Pablo Gonzalez--plus soloists--that will be manna for all who appreciate the composer.

We get the orchestral version of the "Intermezzo" from "Goyescas" plus "Dance of the Green Eyes" (1916) and "Gypsy Dance" (1915) for that irresistible Spanish tinge, the latter two in first recordings.

Then "Sign of the Dead Man" (1897) (First Recording) and the "Dante--Symphonic Poem" (1908) give us a bit of late romantic-early impressionistic charm and bite.

This may not be indispensable unless you focus on the Spanish 20th century, but it is very enjoyable and at times brilliant. Nice one!

Beethoven, Missa Solemnis, Harnoncourt, Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Concentus Musicus Wien

Many years ago when I was still young I received a couple of tickets to hear Beethoven's Missa Solemnis as performed by a reputable organization at Carnegie Hall. I invited a young lady to accompany me and we listened carefully through to the end. "Well," I asked after the last bars and applause were over, "did you like it?" "No," she said matter-of-factly. "Come to think of it," I said to myself, "I didn't much like it either." I had a number of recordings of it but never seemed to connect. Years later, looking back, I realize now that it is one of the more difficult Beethoven works, like an endless version of the finale to his 9th, only lacking in an abundance of the sort of riveting thematic material that Beethoven thrived upon. There is much to appreciate, regardless, but only a performance of absolute perfection convinces.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt didn't come to mind as one of the potentially great "Solemnis" conductors in the past. But somehow he overshadowed most everybody else in July 2015 in a live performance at the Styriarte Festival in Graz. With him were a distinguished cast of soloists, the Arnold Schoenberg Choir and Concentus Musicus Wien. Luckily it was well recorded, and we now have it out on CD (SONY Classical 88985313592). It was to be Harnoncourt's very last recording.

Every phrase seems hand-sculpted, designed sonically to express Beethoven's intent. The choir rings out ecstatically, the soloists are dedicated, the orchestra neither fades away nor is overly dominant.

It is a live recording, so that one might imagine a second take on some passages, not many though.

It is a wonderful tribute to one of the prime musical masters of our times. It is neither bloated nor overly lean in sound. It is a moving farewell to the Maestro, and it may make a Missa Solemnis convert out of you. I think it managed to confirm that for me!

Strongly recommended.

Rudolf Haken, Romancing the Viola, with Rachel Jensen

If a bit of stirring modern neoclassical-neoromantic chamber music for viola sounds like something you'd appreciate, there is Rudolf Haken (b.1965) and his album of compositions entitled Romancing the Viola (MSR 1069). Rudolf plays the viola quite well and Rachel Jensen seconds him nicely on the piano for those works (four of five) that are scored for viola and piano.

This is well-crafted, well-played music that has some of the expression and passion of early last century, yet also sometimes is modern neo-classical in a way that has something of the sophistication of Hindemith but remains original nonetheless.

The viola-piano nexus is nicely represented with "Polonaise" (1990), "Fur Fritz" (1980), "Fantasia in F-Sharp Minor" (1981), and the "Sonata in D Minor" (1981). The program is rounded out with a solo viola work "Suite in A Minor" (1981).

These are works with memorable thematics, well constructed compositional form and a touch of virtuoso kinetics.

I found after listening several times that Haken wears well on the ears. He may not be destined to be inscribed in the stars, but he has his own voice that brings complexities into the mix yet has an appealing lyric panash.

This is early Haken, music written while still in his teens for the most part--and that is rather wonderful given the maturity of the music.

Try this one out and you may well find it quite worthwhile. Refreshing!

Michael Haydn, Symphonies 1, Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice, Patrick Gallois

When you think of Haydn and symphonies, the mind generally zeroes in on Joseph Haydn and his hundred-odd beauties. We sometimes forget about his younger brother Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806) who was in his day much admired and composed prolifically in the symphonic mode, with more than 40 Sinfonias to his credit. Naxos has begun a series of them with the inaugural Symphonies 1 (Naxos 8.573497), as played with a good amount of zest and brio by the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice under Patrick Gallois.

The four works represented here were composed for the Salzburg Court in the 1780s, where Haydn served as Konzertmeister for most of his life, much to the consternation of Leopold Mozart, who never got the position as a result. Young Wolfgang Mozart developed a great appreciation of the composer and modelled some of his works after him, so much so that several of Michael's sinfonias were for a time thought to be by Mozart, including the "Sinfonia in G" (Perger 16) which begins this program.

The works in volume one have that rococco energy and charm that prevailed in the era. They were meant to be played by a smaller orchestra typical of Salzburg and the Czech organization appropriately sizes its orchestra to fit the performance practice of the time, including a harpsichord in the basso continuo mode.

You should not expect the proto-romantic dramatics of Mozart and Joseph's last works. These are perky and slightly less involved in terms of part writing and thematic complexity, but that was indeed the way things were then and he was very much an important exponent of the earlier style. The music has great appeal in any event. All but one (the "Sinfonia in A major," Perger 15, which has four movements) are conceived on in the three-movement form that prevailed (the A major sinfonia adds a minueto 3rd movement, which of course eventually became standard).

The works are on the whole nicely inventive, rich in orchestral detail, and very spirited. Those who already know and love early Mozart, Joseph Haydn, and CPE Bach's works of the period will take to these readily.

Compositions and performances are well matched for a very stimulating and pleasurable program. A promising start to a series that should enlighten us significantly.

Recommended!

The Sixteen, Harry Christophers, The Deer's Cry, Choral Music of Part and Byrd

The old-in-the-new? The perennial newness of the classic old? That combination hits home with the superlative vocal ensemble the Sixteen under Harry Christophers and their new album of the music of William Byrd and Arvo Part, The Deer's Cry (CORO 16140). Part of course is our contemporary. William Byrd wrote his music some 400 years ago. The brief, mostly sacred choral music represented here has a timelessness born of eternal verities, of sonically profound emanations.

And the sheer beauty of it all is brought out maximally thanks to the Sixteen and their unmatched sonaric expressiveness.

Arvo Part comes to our ears in three short but moving works--"The Deer's Cry," "The Woman with the Alabaster Box," and "Nunc Dimittis," all choice choral works that remind us how rooted Part is in past-present juxtapositions, and indeed, how magical the results are, nearly always.

The William Byrd works are gems from his Cantiones Sacrae series, plus one work now thought to be a collaboration between Byrd and Thomas Tallis. A brief additional Tallis work rounds out the program.

These are works you expect The Sixteen to excel at and they most certainly do. The combination of Byrd and Part is not a typical one--but there is the logic of the similarities-in-difference at work that changes how you listen to both composers in the end.

This is a program you will want to come back to frequently, if you are like me and revel in how the Sixteen handles such music.

Heartily recommended.

Rautavaara, Rubiyat, Balada, Canto V, Four Songs from Rasputin, Helsinki Music Center Choir, Helsinki Philharmonic, John Storgards, etc.

Einojuhani Rautavaara no longer lives. 1928-2016 will forever be put in parenthesis now, after his name. He was one of the world's original voices; sadly he will speak to us now only in the past tense.

I happen to be listening to a new one of his, a vocal-choral-orchestral compilation that includes Rubaiyat, Balada, Canto V, Four Songs From Rasputin (Ondine 1274-2). All are recent works, 2012-2015, and so a modern lyrical tonality prevails with pronounced modern touches now and again. The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under John Storgards prevails in very good form. The Helsinki Music Centre Choir hold forth convincingly on "Balada" and "Four Songs from the Opera Rasputin." Baritone Gerald Finley makes a wonderful showing on "Rubaiyat," for which the piece was commissioned, and Mika Pohjonen is very effective as the tenor soloist on "Balada."

All the works have the Rautavaara touch. The four songs from "Rasputin" have something of a folk feel, but also the melodic periodicity of Rautavaara in his later period.

"Canto V, Into the Heart of Light" is a purely orchestral work, rhapsodic and rather impressionistic-modern in Rautavaara's own way.

The "Rubaiyat" is based on FitzGerald's English translation of the ancient Persian poem. It dramatically accentuates the mystical content with both exuberant melodic declamations and more subdued mystical touches. Finley has just the right mix of dramatic and lyrical. The music has a searching quality fitting to the poem's introspective reflections.

"Balada"  was originally intended to be an opera, "Ballada Lorca." The composer was not able to complete it due to illness, but this scene happily survives.

It is music that comes alive on close listening, well performed, perhaps not among Rautavaara's primary masterworks, but a valuable addition to our knowledge and appreciation of the last period.

RIP Einojuhani Rautuvaara.

Recommended.