Alfred 2

Liszt’s sonata is regarded by many as his ultimate masterpiece and it ranks alongside other “greats” in the pantheon of piano repertoire. This was not always the case, however, and in the 19th century it was met with extreme reactions, from admiration to suspicion and envy. The critic Eduard Hanslick declared “Anyone who has heard this and finds it beautiful is beyond help”, while Wagner heaped praised upon it (perhaps unsurprisingly). Alfred Brendel has called it “the most original, powerful and intelligent sonata composed after Beethoven and Schubert”.

This gargantuan 35-disc set of Alfred Brendel's complete Vox, Turnabout, and Vanguard recordings released in late 2008, concurrent with his retirement from concert life, will be mandatory listening for anyone who reveres the Austrian virtuoso. When these recordings were made between 1955 and 1975, Brendel was at the start of his international career, and his performances here have a fire, energy, and a drama that his later recordings sometimes lack. Brendel devotees, however, may also find his performances lack the intellectual rigor of his middle period recordings and the poetic depths of his later recordings. Compare his demonic account of Mozart's Twentieth Concerto here, for instance, with his more elegant later account. The difference is clear.

The Masque of Alfred - apart of course from its finale "Rule Britannia" - has in the 1990s reached CD. Just two years ago a version was issued with the BBC Music Magazine and now we have this more complete account (though there were several variants in Arne's own day) from Nicholas McGegan, an experienced exponent of 18th Century music, recorded in America and using mainly American performers. And very welcome is it. If offers 76 minutes of music, 25 minutes more than the BBC CD and if the OAE's playing on the latter under Nicholas Kraemer often seems rather superior, the Philharmonic Baroque Orchestra are fully equal to Arne's demands which include often atmospheric parts for oboes, horns and flute as well as the basic strings. McGegan uses only four solo singers against the BBC's six.

The early opera of Antonín Dvorák recorded here definitely falls into the historical oddity category. It's in German, not Czech, set to a libretto by a poet long dead by 1870, when the work was composed, and it is unknown why Dvorák would have undertaken such a sizable project. The subject is a British king, Alfred the Great, who also inspired the opera by Thomas Arne that contains Rule, Brittania, and even shows up in the Vikings television miniseries.

Though some musicians rerecord the same repertoire, refining the same concept over time, Alfred Brendel's Beethoven concertos change significantly with every go-around. One of the defining influences in this latest go-around is conductor Simon Rattle. He's one of the stronger minded and truly collaborative conductors that Brendel has ever had, and his bent toward historically informed performance inspires the pianist to a radical reevaluation, resulting in interpretations that achieve a new level of cogency over his previous take.

Every work here is a delight for different reasons, and three of them are more than that: the sonatas #s 40 and 52 and the Andante con Variazioni. Two are brief: #37 (10:33) and #40 (12:14). #37 is a charmer,with a brief Largo amidst two an open Allegro con Brio and a closing Presto-ma non Troppo. The outer movements are effervescent and quite memorable-the Finale slightly more than the first movement. #40 is divided between a nine minute first movement (Allegro e Innocente) and a three minute Presto.

Alfred Schnittke - String Quartets Nos. 1-3 (1990) {BIS Schnittke Edition, BIS-467} (Item #5)
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© 1990 Grammofon AB BIS | BIS-CD-467
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Chamber Music

I have seen the Tale's performance of these quartets described as "too on edge"; I cannot agree, and believe that this young quartet brings out the subtle beauty and nuances of Schnittke's music perfectly. There is real violence and grief in these quartets, certainly - especially the remarkable Second Quartet. But there are tender stretches of music, too; and the Tales have more than the musical wit needed to negotiate their way around and through Schnittke's strong contrasts in tone and mood.