Reviews of classical CDs

Ivanovs: Symphonies Nos. 8 and 20. Moscow Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dmitry Yablonsky – Naxos 8.555740 (60 minutes).

One of Latvia’s greatest musical sons, Janis Ivanovs was born in 1906 in the small town of Preili. Aged 25, he graduated from the State Conservatory in Riga and later, while continuing postgraduate studies in composition, he began a long association with Latvian Radio, eventually becoming artistic director of the Latvian Radio Committee.

In 1944 he was integrated in the faculty of the Latvian State Conservatory, a post which 11 years later helped him to be named professor of composition.

By 1953 Ivanovs had distinguished himself as a composer of mainly symphonic works, and he already had seven symphonies to his name. By the time of his death in 1983 the number would rise to 21.

Often drawing on the folk music of the Latgale district in eastern Latvia, this large corpus of symphonic works is permeated by pathos, colour, intensity and an expressive musical language. His powerfully dramatic voice is a constant reminder of this nation’s suffering at the hands of many a despotic ruler.

Strangely enough, his music was hailed by Soviet and Latvian authorities, and both sang his praises as the composer celebrated his 50th birthday on October 9, 1956.

The works on this disc are vintage Ivanovs. The Eighth Symphony, which incidentally dates from 1956, is one of the composer’s strongest pieces, and in the words of Margers Zarins, a compatriot critic and composer, “the music is like thunder and lightning cleansing the air with its Luciferic sounds.”

Ivanovs wrote his Symphony No. 20 two years before his death. It is a deeply tragic work and considered to be his most personal, the ‘song of songs’ of his soul.

Although he had yet to write his last symphony, this penultimate work in the genre is the summation of the composer’s ideas and feelings, representing the struggle between a mournful past and optimistic future.

Yablonsky and his Moscow forces get under the skin of this very exciting yet intimate music, and performances have a consistently epic flavour that mirrors Ivanovs’s deep yearning for total freedom. A wonderful disc, highlighting the work of a still emerging composer who deserves much wider appreciation.

Haydn: Piano Concertinos, Hob. 12, F2, 13 and 11; String Trios, Hob. 11 and 16. Sabine Vatin, fortepiano, Ensemble d’Arco – Naxos 8.557660 (74 minutes).

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was, with the exception of maybe Mozart and Beethoven, the greatest composer of his age. Born of humble stock, his genius allowed him to stand with princes and kings, while the common folk adored and loved his humility.

He was an excellent teacher as well, and he was always patient with his pupils and had a word of encouragement for everyone, although it is reported that when he met Beethoven in the early 1790s, the two did not see eye to eye.

Haydn was a great innovator and his output is almost unending; 104 symphonies, over 80 string quartets, 80-plus piano sonatas, 14 Masses, eight operas, many short concert pieces and songs, and above all a broad range of chamber music in its different genres.

This issue incorporates four piano concertinos that Haydn specifically wrote for the harpsichord during the 1760s, and two string trios from the same period.

The concertinos are not in their original form, but in a transcription for keyboard and an accompaniment of two violins and a cello, making them available for performance either as chamber music or in a more intimate environment. With their modest technical demands they are also ideal for beginners who are aspiring to a concert career.

The two string trios, with their fresh breezy melodies and transparent sounds, make ideal companions to the concertinos. Performances have a strong sense of playfulness, and the perky nature is consistently delightful. Notes are average, but sound quality is first-rate.

Bernstein: Mass. Jubilant Sykes, celebrant, Asher Edward Wulfman, boy soprano, Morgan State University Choir, Peabody Children’s Chorus, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop – Naxos 8.559622.23 (104 minutes).

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) had an outstanding career as a composer, conductor and many other things as well, but he has gone down in American musical history as one of the most enigmatic and controversial figures ever. In 1969 Bernstein had completed 11 years at the helm of the New York Philharmonic and was anxious to get back to the thing he loved most: composing.

The opportunity presented itself in the form of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who tempted the composer with an irresistible commission to write an inaugural piece for the opening of the newly constructed Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington. After much deliberation, and in accordance with Bernstein’s theatrical leanings, Mass was the final result.

Premiered on September 8, 1971, Mass is a unique and remarkable composition. What is singular about this most Catholic of Masses is that despite the kaleidoscopic mixture of styles – blues, rock, pop, Broadway, Middle Eastern dance, symphonic, marching band, avant-garde atonality, solemn hymn and dissonant counterpoint – Mass gels together as a unified piece.

Being the visionary that he was, it is no surprise to find Bernstein fusing together the sacred and profane, the traditional with the modern, and on repeated hearings one can discern the composer creating a sort of musical theology.

Mass is not only a deeply personal attestation of faith lost and found, but also a completely different creation from the traditional Latin Mass.

Highly original and uniquely imaginative, it will not go down well with purists, but those who are willing to explore different ways of exalting God will certainly find much to stimulate the heart and spirit.

Marin Alsop is a fine advocate of it, and her mercurial conducting brings out all the stylistic variety of this compelling masterpiece. Volatile and explosive at times, Mass is also a vehicle for praise and prayer. There is more to Bernstein than West Side Story after all.

These CDs were made available for review by D’Amato Record Shop of 98/99 St John Street, Valletta.