My top five 2021 classical releases
Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn String Quartets Takács Quartet (Hyperion)
…a marvel of thoughtful interpretation and ensemble cohesion
Composer Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847) was overshadowed during her short career and in musical history by her younger brother Felix. Her oeuvre, like that of many women composers, is of mostly smaller works for piano and voice; her father and brother did not encourage exposure of her music and sadly this beautiful and moving string quartet was not published till 1988. This impeccable and lovingly Romantic performance by the brilliant Takács Quartet will fortunately offer for many a delightful discovery. Felix Mendelssohn's much more familiar quartets in A and F minor, the latter grief-laden after the death of Fanny, offer the full emotional gamut from lyrical grace to fiery passion and the whole album is a marvel of thoughtful interpretation and ensemble cohesion.
Available from Marbecks
Mahler Symphony No. 7 Bavarian State Orchestra, Kirill Petrenko (conductor) (Bayerische Staatsoper Recordings)
Is the 7th Mahler’s greatest Symphony?
Russian-Austrian Kirill Petrenko (no relation to Vasily Petrenko, better-known to New Zealand audiences) has been chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic since 2019, an appointment that originally surprised the classical music world. He recorded this album near the end of his eight previous years with the Bavarian State Opera and its Orchestra, and it displays the exceptional talents that won him the Berlin role. The complexity and contrasts of Mahler are all there amongst stirring horn calls, joyous naïve dances, ironic humour, poignant tragedy, hymn-like anthems and nocturnal serenades. Under Petrenko’s baton all timbral qualities from low strings to strident woodwind are emphasised and even the supposedly chaotic final Rondo makes perfect musical sense. The conductor invites the listener to revel in the glories of Mahler’s counterpoint but also, more importantly, in his humanity in a performance that could convince you the 7th Symphony is Mahler’s best.
Available from Marbecks
HOMECOMING Tony Yan Tong Chen (piano) (Rattle)
A beautiful recital from an exciting young piano virtuoso from New Zealand
In a pandemic-disrupted year that produced a bumper crop of solo piano albums, including from British keyboard luminaries Stephen Hough (‘Vida Breve’) and Benjamin Grosvenor (‘LISZT’), there are delights closer to home in this beautiful recital album from New Zealand pianist Tony Yan Tong Chen. He chose parts of Liszt’s masterwork Années de Pélerinage (Years of Pilgrimage), placing his selection in the context of his return to New Zealand after years away including a nod to his heritage with two charming pentatonic miniatures by Chinese composer Tan Dun and a splendid technical display in John Psathas’ percussive Jettatura.
Chen was a finalist for Best Classical Artist in the 2021 Aotearoa Music Awards with HOMECOMING. The warm poetic lyricism of his Liszt is balanced by a different virtuosity in Prokofiev’s fierce Piano Sonata No 7, subtitled “Stalingrad”. The Russian composer’s strong and bittersweet feelings for his homeland are met head-on by this exciting young virtuoso.
Available from Rattle
Mozart Così fan tutte from 2020 Salzburg Festival, Vienna Philharmonic, Joana Mallwitz (conductor) Christof Loy (director) DVD (Warner Classics/ERATO)
An insightful new look at a small ensemble frolic
Operatic plots are often skimpy and perhaps the silliest around is Mozart’s musically glorious opera buffa Così fan tutte (usually translated as “All women are like that”). For an insightful new look at this small-ensemble frolic check out the 2020 Salzburg Festival’s 100th birthday celebration version, unplanned and developed from scratch at speed for pandemic conditions. Stylish little black frocks and floral shirts are placed against a minimalist white-box set in Christof Loy’s sparkling modern-dress production. All attention is on singing and character, with new depths found in the usually farcical story, the women less naïve and gullible, the men less selfish and unkind. Singing and ensemble work from the young cast are superb, particularly the trio of soprano Elsa Dreisig and mezzo-sopranos Marianne Crebassa and Lea Desandre. And rising German star Joana Mallwitz, one of the most talented conductors of her generation, became the first woman to conduct a full opera series at Salzburg – did it take a pandemic?
Available from Marbecks
Fantasie Nègre: The Piano Music of Florence Price Samantha Ege (piano) (LORELT)
Pianist Samantha Ege - performing Florence Price’s music with beguiling expressive intensity
Composer Florence Price is often described as the first African-American woman to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra. The first of her four Symphonies was played by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1933. Although prolific, she never found ready acknowledgement for her music which is late-Romantic in style, formally accomplished and infused with the melodic flavour of spirituals. After her death in 1953 she and her music slipped into obscurity.
An energetic revival of Price’s music is currently underway in the US, led by scholar-musicians like pianist Samantha Ege, co-author of an upcoming book about Price and performer on Fantasie Nègre, a new album of the composer’s piano music. Much of this music was rescued from a dilapidated house where piles of Price’s manuscripts were discovered by renovators in 2009. The four substantial pieces named Fantasie Nègre, performed with beguiling expressive intensity by Ege, are the focus of the album and an intriguing addition to the canon.
Available from Amazon
This article was first published in the NZ Listener issue December 25, 2021