Category Archives: Orchestral

On Record – Alessandro Marangoni, Orazio Sciortino, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano / Giuseppe Grazioli: Rieti: Piano Concertos (Naxos)

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Rieti
Piano Concerto no.1 (1926)
Piano Concerto no.2 (1937)
Piano Concerto no.3 (1955)
Concerto for Two Pianos (1951)

Alessandro Marangoni, Orazio Sciortino (pianos), Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano / Giuseppe Grazioli

Naxos 8.564505 [80’27”]
Producer Stefano Barzan Engineer Cinzia Guareschi

Dates: 21-22 August 2022, 17-20 August 2023 (Piano Concerto no.3, Concerto for Two Pianos) at Auditorium di Milano

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse

What’s the story?

Naxos continues its enterprising 20th Century Italian Classics with the concertante works for piano by Vittorio Rieti (1898-1994), the Egyptian-born Italian composer whose years in Paris then New York and Chicago afforded contact with a range of illustrious musicians and artists.

What’s the music like?

Dedicated to Poulenc and likely inspired by the success of Prokofiev’s Third Concerto earlier that decade, Rieti’s First Piano Concerto brings a deft touch to its ostensible neo-Classicism – whether in the martially-inflected playfulness of its initial Allegro, laconic but also beguiling ambivalence of its central Andantino, or the theatrical high-jinx of a final Allegro whose nod towards jazz rhythm marks this out as a piece decidedly yet always unaffectedly of its time. Seemingly forgotten following its premiere (by the composer?), its revival is well deserved.

Just over a decade on, the Second Piano Concerto emerged from material originally intended for a harpsichord concerto. On a similar scale to its predecessor, the opening Allegro has an impetus that denotes the uncertainty spreading throughout Europe at this time, and which is intensified by the central Adagio with its plangent discourse between soloist and orchestra; a quality the final Allegro (which follows with barely a pause) does not so much overcome as dismiss through an energetic repartee which brings about the nominally affirmative ending.

By the time of his Third Piano Concerto, Rieti was well established in the United States such that the present work is audibly in the lineage of American works for this medium of the post -war era. Any undue portentousness in the introductory Largo is dismissed with the vivacious Allegro that follows, then the central Andantino confirms that, while Rieti’s idiom might not have altered substantially over his career, it gained in subtlety and depth. Any more ominous expression is avoided in the final Allegro as it wends a capricious course to its decisive close.

Written in the wake of his relocation to the USA, the Two-Piano Concerto helped to establish Rieti’s reputation in a very different cultural climate. There is little moderate about either the tempo or character of the impetuous opening Allegro, then the central Allegretto comprises a set of variations’ which takes its unassuming theme through a diverse range of moods without losing focus on route to the pensive close. The final Allegro turns away from any encroaching inwardness with its energetic fugal interplay such as makes for an ending of pointed defiance.

Does it all work?

It does, provided one accepts Rieti as a product of his age rather than trailblazer or innovator. Stravinsky, Prokofiev and even Jean Françaix are prominent in the stylistic mix, with a more tensile aspect derived from Copland in the works of his American years. Not that this should offset enjoyment of music that feels never less than communicative and often engagingly so, particularly as regards the latter two pieces. Both of these were recorded way back in the LP era, but to have all four works rendered in such sympathetic readings is hardly to be gainsaid.

Is it recommended?

It is, not least when Alessandro Marangoni (alongside Orazio Sciortino) is so attuned to this music, while Giuseppe Grazioli obtains a committed response from the Milan orchestra. The succinct booklet notes are highly informative and further enhance the appeal of this release.

Listen & Buy

For purchase options, you can visit the Naxos website. For information on the performers, click on the names to read more about Alessandro Marangoni, Orazio Sciortino, Giuseppe Grazioli and the Orchestra Sinfonica Milano. An interview between Vittorio Rieti and Bruce Duffie can be read here

Published post no.2,492 – Wednesday 2 April 2025

Listening to Beethoven #224 – Leonore Overture no.3 Op.72b

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Beethoven’s Leonore as seen in a production by Buxton Opera, 2016

Leonore Overture no.2 Op.72b, used by Beethoven for a revision of his opera in three acts (1804-05, Beethoven aged 34)

Duration 14’30”

by Ben Hogwood

Background and Critical Reception

As the writer Herbert Glass points out, in program notes written for a concert by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, “Beethoven spent more time writing the overture to Fidelio than Rossini and Donizetti spent on entire operas, overture included”! He goes on to qualify this investment of time, asserting that “No. 3…distils the essence of the opera itself, transmitting its power in less than a quarter-hour’s playing time’.

No.3 – confusingly – is the second in order of composition, following no.2 which was used in the first performance of the opera. No.1 – a heavily trimmed version – would follow later, with the Fidelio overture itself a reinvented prelude to the finalised opera.

Robert Simpson, in an essay about Leonore and the resultant Fidelio, points out that the advantage of this overture over its predecessor is “its very accurate delineation of all these key relationships” – by which he means the conflict between the opera’s ‘home’ key of ‘C’ and the ‘prison’ key of B flat major, where the malevolent character Pizarro is found. He describes Beethoven using C major as “an open sky”, and B flat as “the oppressive atmosphere of the jail”, then discussing at length the key of Florestan (A flat major) and Leonore herself (E major). His conclusion is that “no-one will ever exhaust all this great music, surely the greatest ever written for the theatre”.

Thoughts

While listening to the Leonore Overture no.2 I noted that the orchestral dialogue ‘operates on the scope more of a symphonic poem than an overture’ – and that is even more a case in point with the third overture. As an orchestral piece it may be longer but it is a thrilling listen, especially when Beethoven’s ‘open sky’, as Simpson calls it, is found.

To get there we have to traverse the awful claustrophobia of the prison, but there are always shafts of light – the flute solo in Florestan’s key around two-thirds of the way through, and the offstage trumpets that set an incredibly vivid scene. After the uncertain groping in the dark, the blazing light of C major. On the way there we experience some trials, most noticeably a striking dischord right before the end – a wonderful dramatic touch that carries the deepest possible impact.

Recordings used

Berliner Philharmoniker / Herbert von Karajan (DG)
Cleveland Orchestra / George Szell (Sony)
Orchestre Lamoureux, Igor Markevitch (DG)
Chamber Orchestra of Europe / Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Teldec)
Philadelphia Orchestra / Riccardo Muti (EMI)

Once again Herbert von Karajan, with the silvery strings of his Berliner Philharmoniker machine, comes up trumps with a wholly satisfying version. Yet Igor Markevitch is arguably more dramatic still, his final pages a terrific release of tension built up earlier, in a reading that undercuts most others by a minute. Any of the other three serve as ideal guides, too.

You can listen on the links below:

Also written in 1805 Carafa Il Fantasma

Next up 32 Variations in C minor, WoO80

Listening to Beethoven #223 – Leonore Overture no.2 Op.72a

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Beethoven’s Leonore as seen in a production by Buxton Opera, 2016

Leonore Overture no.2 Op.72a, used by Beethoven for the first edition of his opera in three acts (1804-05, Beethoven aged 34)

Duration 13′

by Ben Hogwood

Background and Critical Reception

Beethoven’s struggles with writing his first opera extended to finding the right overture. In all he composed four overtures for Leonore / Fidelio – three for the former, and one for the latter.

Lindsay Kemp, writing booklet notes for LSO Live, explains how the problem was not one of musical quality, but one of function. Originally his idea was ‘to provide a programmatic prelude that would foreshadow the ensuing drama and its music in the manner of the overtures of contemporary French opera.’ He describes the results as ‘grand but architecturally loose’.

Confusingly this is known as ‘no.2’ – which was followed the next year by ‘no.3’, then a heavily trimmed ‘no.1’ and finally Fidelio.

Thoughts

Drama is to the fore in this overture, and it is immediately clear that Beethoven’s efforts to find a suitable prelude led to a great deal of invention.

The opening pages are redolent of a French overture; also more than a little reminiscent of the Representation of Chaos that begins Haydn’s Creation oratorio. The tension barely lets up, save for a softer episode where a tender love theme is aired. All too soon, though, we are back in stormy C minor – Fifth symphony territory – from which Beethoven navigates to the major key for an episode of power and precision.

This is a serious orchestral dialogue that operates on the scope more of a symphonic poem than an overture, and the final arguments are thrilling in their execution. The trumpet fanfares towards the end are a case in point, setting the scene perfectly for a triumphant final coda – and also for the action to follow.

Recordings used

Berliner Philharmoniker / Herbert von Karajan (DG)
Cleveland Orchestra / George Szell (Sony)
Chamber Orchestra of Europe / Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Teldec)
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique / Sir John Eliot Gardiner (DG Archiv)
Freiburger Barockorchester / René Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi)

There are some terrific versions of this overture. Maximum theatricality can be achieved by listening to any of Karajan, Szell, Harnoncourt and Gardiner – though the silky strings of Karajan’s version really do set the tension. René Jacobs, too, in his version of the complete opera, starts with high stakes.

You can listen on the links below:

Also written in 1805 James HookThe Soldier’s Return

Next up Leonore Overture no.2 Op.72a

Listening to Beethoven #215 – Triple Concerto in C major Op.56

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View of the Augarten Palace and Park, Vienna by Johann Ziegler

Triple Concerto in C major Op.56 for piano, violin, cello and orchestra (1803-4, Beethoven aged 33)

1 Allegro
2 Largo (attacca)
3 Rondo alla polacca

Dedication Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz
Duration 38′

Listen

written by Ben Hogwood

Background and Critical Reception

It is fashionable in recent times to look down on Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, but despite its perceived critical failings it was an innovative work for its time. Lewis Lockwood notes how, “We can readily connect the Triple Concerto with the symphonie concertante that had prospered in France and in French-influenced centres such as Bonn and Mannheim in the later eighteenth century, and which stayed alive until about 1810.”

Beethoven had performers in mind when writing the piece, too – the violinist Georg August Seidler, cellist Anton Kraft (the senior figure in the cello-playing family) and almost certainly Beethoven himself, at the piano. Jan Swafford traces the origins of Beethoven’s thinking to the baroque concerto grosso, describing the work as ‘gorgeous but peculiar, expensive and impractical to perform’. Commentators are united in drawing a link to Beethoven’s intentions at the time of composition, where he was looking to move to Paris and impress the musical hierarchy there. The concerto would have been in his arsenal for sure, but while staying put it quickly lost its allure – with no public performance until 1808, at the summer concerts in Augarten (above)

The Triple Concerto has a substantial structure, with a first movement almost 20 minutes in length – then a relatively brief Largo in A flat major which leads directly to a Rondo alla Polacca finale. The key choice is instructive, A flat having been used for the slow movements of the Pathetique sonata and the Piano Concerto no.1. Commentators have noted how prominent the cello in this piece – and in their excellent book Beethoven’s Cello, Marc D. Moskovitz and R. Larry Todd spend time examining its role.

Along with Lewis Lockwood, they see the Triple Concerto as a forebear to techniques used by Beethoven soon after in his third Cello Sonata, Op.69, with Lockwood going further to bring in the two piano trios Op.70.

Thoughts

Listening to the Triple Concerto is a pleasant if undemanding experience – and if the listener is in the right mood an enjoyable concert experience is in store. It certainly is a long first movement, its 20 minutes an extraordinary length of time for a concerto even when there are three soloists involved. Although it can seem very drawn out at times there is a very appealing warmth, especially when the cello is to the fore. Its themes are invested with a great deal of warmth, complemented by the violin and then trumped by the piano.

The second movement feels like a flash in the pan, for it is only 5 minutes in length (roughly 15% of the work) but it has an appealing tenderness and lyricism. The Rondo alla Polacca is a ‘safe’ C major, though there is some dancing as the soloists have fun together.

The musical language of the Triple Concerto feels relatively basic – back in C major as we were in the Piano Concerto no.1 – but the interplay between the soloists is where the chief interest lies. The language feels quite basic – we are in C major as we were for the first piano Concerto – and the length of the piece is considerable. Yet, in the right combination of soloists and orchestra, the Triple Concerto can still be an appealing proposition.

Recordings used and Spotify links

David Oistrakh (violin), Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), Sviatoslav Richter (piano), Berliner Philharmoniker / Herbert von Karajan (EMI)
Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff, Royal Northern Sinfonia / Lars Vogt (Ondine)
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Pierre Fournier, Géza Anda, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Ferenc Fricsay (Deutsche Grammophon)
Beaux Arts Trio, London Philharmonic Orchestra / Bernard Haitink (Philips)
Urban Svensson, Mats Rondin, Boris Berezovsky, Swedish Chamber Orchestra / Thomas Dausgaard (Simax)

The Triple Concerto discography is dripping with illustrious soloists, sometimes starry individuals in search of a winning trio showcase, or artists who have formed a genuine musical chemistry together. Of the versions listed above, there are some high voltage collisions that prove an intoxicating experience – none more so than the irresistible combination of Oistrakh, Rostropovich, Richter and Karajan.

You can chart the Arcana Beethoven playlist as it grows, with one recommended version of each piece we listen to. Catch up here!

Also written in 1804 Spohr Violin Concerto no.2 in D minor Op.2

Next up Piano Sonata no.23 in F minor Op.57 ‘Appassionata’

Listening to Beethoven – normal service will be resumed shortly!

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from Ben Hogwood

Regular readers of these pages may have wondered what has happened to Arcana’s Beethoven listening project. I am very pleased to say that it has not finished, merely been put on pause – and will resume with the mighty Eroica symphony very soon! To whet your appetite, here is a 2016 concert performance from the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada: