Romantic Dynamics

Jordi Savall releases his first Schubert album, following a recording of Beethoven’s complete symphonies which largely contributed to renew our vision of the early Romantic repertoire. The Catalan maestro delivers a recording freed from the weight of past traditions to underline the dynamics, the section balance and the timbres that are required in this repertoire. Jordi Savall decided to entitle this album Transfiguration, because, as he explains, we are always astonished at Schubert’s ability to reach this essentially internal and spiritual dimension, this kind of Transfiguration, which he simply sums up as follows in his diary in 1824: ‘My production is the result of my musical knowledge and my pain’ or, to quote a poem he wrote a little earlier: ‘When I wanted to sing love, it turned into pain. When I wanted to sing pain, it turned into love.’

This monumental work of French Romanticism is one of the essential landmarks in the career of any conductor. The quality of Berlioz’s orchestration and questions of timbre and the ideal instrumental forces lie at the core of the approach of Jos van Immerseel and Anima Eterna Brugge, who are increasingly drawn to French composers and especially to their precise, shimmering orchestral textures.

Intensity of feeling and drama, joy of playing and energy: on its second album Symphonic Dances, the Cologne-based Xenon Saxophone Quartet presents a rich palette of emotions and a different facet of musical expression with each work. In the eponymous Symphonic Dances by Rachmaninoff, in which the quartet is expanded to include the pianist Sergey Markin, the five play to the full the "Russian soul" of Rachmaninoff. Their recording of Franck's Prélude, Fugue et Variation brings the almost mystical character of the work to life, and in Ligeti's Six Bagatelles, their profound avant-garde modernity becomes clear.

Pollini's traversal of Chopin's 19 Nocturnes (he leaves out the pair of posthumous ones) is one of his finest recordings in years. His long-lined yet detailed performances are comparable to the very different ones that have long stood at the pinnacle of recorded sets. Not as serene as Artur Rubinstein's, not as philosophical as Claudio Arrau's, nor as warm as Ivan Moravec's, Pollini's interpretations have their own allure. One is the way he shapes the melodies with a natural flow enhanced by his tonal beauty, less lean and streamlined than his usual way with Romantic music.