It’s an interesting idea for a CD; couple the well known (and original) orchestral version of Richard Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder with the less well known piano version (the first three songs are arranged by Max Wolff and Im Abendrot by John Gribben). It’s exactly the sort of bold, slightly off the wall idea one might expect from Asmik Grigorian. So how well does it work?
I’m just not convinced by the piano version; where Gregorian is partnered by Markus Hinterhäuser. The vocal part, especially when compared with Strauss’ other songs for voice and piano just seems to be written for singing with an orchestra. It’s not as intricate and subtle as some of the other songs and with piano it seems a bit one dimensional and over dramatic. It’s not helped on this record by very slow tempi (for example, the piano version of Im Abendrot here runs 8m44 versus 7m16 for the orchestral version) and a “boomy” acoustic. The singing is OK but the overall effect is ponderous.
What She Saw is a new album of vocal music by New York composer Douglas Anderson. There are two works on the record. There’s a cycle of eleven Cassandra Songs for mezzo-soprano and piano and a monodrama for mezzo-soprano, piano and percussion called Through/In.
Having been impressed by violist Matthew Lipman at the two OPUS IV concerts earlier this week I decided to check out his CD, Ascent, which consists of a number of works for viola and piano with pianist Henry Kramer (currently faculty at Université de Montréal).
Not so long ago if one wanted to do interesting electronic music things one needed a studio full of enormously expensive equipment, access to which was likely restricted to a fortunate few. Now with a few relatively inexpensive mikes, a laptop and some speakers one can create all kinds of cool stuff and perform it in almost any venue. The recording ‘m going to talk about here was made a few years ago but it’s good and pretty typical of what I’m talking about.
Problematica is an upcoming solo CD with some interesting twists from Canadian cellist+ India Gailey. I can’t call it a solo cello CD because Gailey contributes vocals as well as some truly virtuosic cello playing and there’s lots of electronics and electronic processing involved. There are also some unusual presentation options. There are seven works by younger Canadian composers on the disk and recording engineer John DS Adams of Stonehouse Sound makes a major contribution.
L’Étoile du Nord is an 1854 opera written by Meyerbeer for the Opéra-Comique. It follows on from a series of successful grand operas for L’Opéra de Paris. To some extent it’s an attempt to create something lighter than the early works but the composer doesn’t quite seem able to let go and the work combines comic and serious elements in a way I cannot describe as successful. Format wise it’s pretty much an opéra-comique with no ballet (though some folk/social dancing) and spoken dialogue. 
Michael Hersch is a very distinct musical voice. His subject matter tends to be disturbing and his musical style is abrasive. One of his most recent works is the one act opera Poppaea which is based on the life of historical Poppaea after the point at which the Monteverdi opera leaves off. Strictly, it’s not set in Nero’s Rome but rather in a time and place inspired by it. The very effective libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann includes a distinctly non-classical take on space and time. It’s an exploration of overweaning ambition and where it leads which is about as relevant to today’s world as any theme could be.
Unremembered is a cycle of thirteen songs by Sarah Kirkland Snider to poems by Nathaniel Bellows about his childhood in rural Massachusetts. But this is the darker side of childhood. There are ghosts, witches and houseguests freezing to death. It’s not Anne of Green Gables with baked beans!
Ecstatic Science is the fourth album from New York sextet yMusic. They are a young group of really excellent instrumentalists noted for their collaborations with composers who defy easy classification. There is plenty for a composer to work with in terms of palette. The group consists of Alex Sopp – flute, Mark Dover – clarinet, CJ Camerieri – trumpet and horn, Rob Moose – violin and guitar, Nadia Sirota – viola and Gabriel Cabezas – cello. The music on the record is all by young(ish) American composers noted for their eclectic styles. So everybody involved is a first rate classically trained musician who isn’t afraid to go to non-traditional places. 
Daron Hagen’s The Art of Song is a cycle of 24 songs for voices (various) and piano grouped thematically into four “seasons”. The texts are drawn from a wide variety of sources from Sappho to Donald Trump via, among others, Dante, Blake, Rossetti and Yeats plus various modern poets including members of the composer’s family.
operaramblings 