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By Geoffrey Burleson
Probably the most formidable difference between
the compact disc market of today and the ancient world of
vinyl LPs is the unbelievable glut of the former. The
price of producing a compact disc is but a small fraction of what it used to
cost to create a long-playing record album. Thus, a much larger proportion
of worthy releases on CD get "lost between the cracks." Although they’re
well distributed, they receive little or no promotional backing. What backing
they do receive is often minuscule compared with what is manifested by the ubiquitous,
life-sized, cardboard cutouts of The Three Tenors, Cecilia Bartoli, or Kenny
G. that one finds in the appropriate section of Tower Records. So, I thought
that it might be useful to highlight a few lesser-known CD releases of recent
years, one’s that have affected mew to the point that they seldom collect
any dust on my shelf.
Beethoven: 33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli,
Op. 120 (Audiofon CD 72001)
Leonard Shure, Piano
Some of the most powerful, transcendent piano music ever
written is performed with passion and deep insight by Leonard
Shure on this release. Diabelli was a prominent music publisher
who composed this waltz in part as a promotional gimmick
for his firm, Steiner. He delivered his little 32-bar composition
to every reputable composer in Europe that he could think
of, and asked each of them to compose a single variation
on it for a compilation (Liszt and Schubert, among other,
eventually responded). Beethoven, instead of writing a lone
variation, wrote the most massive set of variations on a
theme since Bach’s "Goldberg Variations," actually
eclipsing the latter in size and scope. The "Diabelli" Variations
is an odyssey through every conceivable mood that could possibly
stem from the musical materials of this waltz, and many inconceivable
one’s as well. References to the musical past (a double
figure, reflecting Beethoven’s preoccupation with Bach;
the 18th century minuet, now replaced by the 19th century
waltz as the predominant dance form) are combined with visionary
writing prescient of the musical future.
Clara Schumann: Soirées Musicales (Tudor 7007)
Clara Schumann: Piano Concerto, Piano Trio, 3 Romances (Tudor
788)
Veronica Jochum, piano (with the Bamberg Symphony; Joseph
Silverstein, conductor and violin; and Colin Carr, cello)
In
celebration of Holy Cross’ 25 anniversary as a
coeducational institution, I thought it appropriate to offer
some splendid works by one of the most dynamic, pioneering
(and until quite recently) underrated women in musical history.
Robert Schumann was certainly one of the greatest, most inventive,
and most imaginative composers/critics of the 19th century.
Plagued by mental illness, he died in an asylum at the age
of 46. Ironically, it was largely due to Clara’s efforts
that Robert’s music subsequently became a mainstay
of the piano repertoire. As one of the greatest concert pianists
of the 19th century, Clara performed Robert’s music
throughout Europe during numerous tours. She also introduced
several of Beethoven’s sonatas to Berlin, and is believed
to have codified the tradition of pianists playing solo programs
entirely by memory. Upon Robert’s death , her work
as a composer unfortunately ceased. She continued to perform,
however, for the next several decades. Veronica Jochum made
the first recording of the piano concerto in 1988. There
are now several in the catalog. The first movement features
effective contrasts between dramatic opening gestures and
tender, lyrical thematic material. The entirety of the second
movement is, in fact, a Romanze for cello (sensitively rendered
by Colin Carr) and pianio, with ethereal textures projecting
an air of melancholy and nocturnal solitude. This seagues
into an elegant yet resolute final movement. There are passages
of harmonic daring throughout that are even more auspicious
in the masterful Piano Trio on the same release. The all-solo
piano Soirées Musicales features some of Clara’s
charming (and relatively naïve) earlier works, as well
as her mature Scherzi, and her sublime Variations on a Theme
of Robert Schumann. Clara Schumann could not have a more
effective champion than Veronica Jochum, who performs with
virtuosic aplomb, a wide palette of color and nuance which
is always in service of the melodic lines, and absolute idiomatic
authenticity throughout these recordings. The Bamberg Symphony
and Jospeph Silverstein are furthermore exemplary collaborators
in all respects. Paul Robeson: Songs for Free Men (Pearl
- GEMM CD 9264)
Another neglected figure, but there the comparison
with Clara Schumann ends.
Robeson is undoubtedly best known for creating the role of Joe in Showboat,
and particularly for his signature tune "Ol’ Man River." A
pioneering and multi-talented African American artist, Robeson’s initial
fame was due to his athletic prowess (as a football star at Rutgers), then
as a stage and film actor. He was a sensation in Eugene O’Neill’s
All God’s Chillun Got Wings and The Emperor Jones, as well as Othello,
the last in the longest run of any Broadway production of Shakespeare – 296
performances. His most enduring legacy may nonetheless be the potent and
masterful artistry of his voice, and the effect it had on those who listened.
Alexander Woolcott may have summarized it most cogently when he described
it as "the best musical instrument wrought by nature in our time." Robeson’s
range as an actor was matched by his versatility as a singer. With his accompanist
Lawrence Brown, he revived interest in the spiritual with recitals throughout
Europe and the U.S. He also sang opera; Mussorgsky’s Boris Gudounov
was a central role. Robeson’s embrace of the worker’s movement
in the 1940s and ’50s allowed him to popularize repertoire associated
with anti-Fascist and pro-Union causes, as well as Chinese and Russian music,
but it also proved to be his undoing. A victim of McCarthyism, his passport
was confiscated. By the time it was restored, he was in terminally declining
health. Songs for Free Men is a fantastic compilation featuring representative
samplings from all genres of Robeson’s repertoire. Chinese folksongs
and Russian art songs intermingle with Earl Robinson’s "Ballad
for Americans"; spirituals co-exist with Mrc Blitzstein’s "The
Purest Kind of Guy." The ordering of the program is nonetheless quite
sensible, consisting of several blocks of songs related by genre. The recordings
themselves were made between 1940-45, and the digital transfer was astutely
manipulated; the magnificence of Robeson’s voice is vitally evident
throughout. Herbie Nichols Trio (Blue Note 1519)
Herbie Nichols Trio, Vol. 2 (Blue Note 1608)
(with Al McKibbon and Teddy Kotick, bass; and Max Roach,
drums)
Herbie Nichols: Love, Gloom, Cash, Love (Bethlehem 20-30112)
(with George Duvivier, bass; and Danny Richmond, drums)
One of the most underrated figures in jazz, Nichols was
a dynamic, iconoclastic performer of the post-bop era whose
career, unfortunately, never quite took
off. These three trio releases, recorded between 1955 and 1957, represent
his entire output as a leader. In the, one can hear a startlingly
original approach
to composition and improvisation. The cross-rhythms, pungent harmonies, and
quirky embellishments evoke the spirit of Thelonious Monk, but the complex
structures and unpredictable approaches to building solos re Nichols’ own.
Nichols died in impoverished obscurity of leukemia in 1963, at the age of 44.
Geoffrey Burleson is an Assistant Professor
of Music at Holy Cross. Burleson received his Bachelor
of Music degree from the Peabody conservatory in Baltimore,
and his Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory
in Boston. A pianist who has made solo appearances throughout
the U.S. and Europe, Burleson performs a wide range of
repertoire, featuring contemporary music and jazz, as well
as standard romantic, classical, and baroque works. Burleson
won a Special Commendations Medal in the 1985 International
Piano Recording Competition. He has made solo and chamber
music recordings for Vienna Modern Masters, Music & Arts,
CRI, and Neuma.
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