In concert – Paul Lewis, CBSO / Chloé van Soeterstède: Mozart, Beethoven & Mendelssohn

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Paul Lewis (piano), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Chloé van Soeterstède (above)

Mozart Don Giovanni K527: Overture (1787)
Beethoven Piano Concerto no.2 in B flat major Op.19 (1787-9, rev. 1795)
Mendelssohn Symphony no.5 in D minor Op.107 ‘Reformation’ (1830)

Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Wednesday 2 June 2pm

Written by Richard Whitehouse

Photos from Symphony Hall by Hannah Blake-Fathers

‘Heaven and Hell’ might have been too histrionic a title for this latest concert by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, yet it indicated the trajectory of a programme featuring Mozart at his most Romantic, Beethoven at his most Classical then Mendelssohn at his most Baroque.

Making her debut with this orchestra, French conductor Chloé van Soeterstède played down the rhetoric in those indelible opening chords of the overture to Mozart’s Don Giovanni but maintained impetus throughout the deftly modified sonata design as it sets out the tone if not content of what follows. In its theatrical context the music continues directly into the opening scene, but – despite (or even because?) of its emotional terseness – the ‘concert ending’ is by no means un-effective in its propelling the dramatic focus on towards a decisive conclusion.

Paul Lewis then joined the CBSO for Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto – actually, the first in chronological terms and easy to underestimate in terms of its stylistic antecedents. Yet, as Lewis demonstrated in engaging terms, this is only incrementally less then characteristic and such as the close of the first movement’s initial tutti and transition into the reprise could only be by Beethoven. Lewis now feels the composer’s 1809 cadenza involves too great a stylistic disparity, and his own solution is formally and expressively consistent with what went before.

The highlight of this performance was nonetheless the Adagio (probably the earliest music in what was a lengthy gestation), limpid and poetic while never cloying – the closing interplay between soloist and orchestra unerringly well judged. Lewis then set a swift if not headlong tempo for the ensuing Rondo which gave full rein to the music’s bracing vigour but also its deftly ironic asides. Not least those tonal sideslips near the outset of the coda, with pianist and conductor at one in projecting an ebullience right through to the spirited final pay-off.

Good to see Mendelssohn’s Reformation reasserting its place in the repertoire after decades at the periphery. With controversies over a Jewish-born composer commemorating a Protestant anniversary (and quoting the ‘Dresden Amen’ of Catholic liturgy) now consigned to history, the innate power of the initial Allegro can readily be appreciated and not least in so assured a reading as this. Van Soeterstède brought out its inexorable onward motion in full measure, the scherzo providing an ideal foil in its infectious gaiety and the whimsical guile of its trio.

Eloquently rendered as a soulful ‘song without words’, the third movement thus balanced the work’s introduction as a searching contrast to what follows – here, a finale which unfolds as an extended paraphrase on the Lutheran chorale Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott, its heady if sometimes overbearing emotional force adroitly channelled toward a fervent apotheosis. The CBSO woodwind made a felicitous contribution, not least Marie-Christine Zupanic with the flute’s gentle intoning of that chorale – Mendelssohn’s devotion to Bach here made manifest.

An auspicious showing for Van Soeterstède, who will hopefully be returning in due course. Next week sees a very different programme of Britten’s Nocturne and Malcolm Arnold’s Fifth Symphony, doubly welcome in view of his centenary and its close association with the CBSO.

For further information about the CBSO’s current series of concerts, head to the orchestra’s website

For further information about the next concert on Wednesday 2 June, click here, and for more on conductor Chloé van Soeterstède you can visit her website

Switched On – Loscil: Clara (Kranky)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

‘Clara’ is the Latin word for ‘bright’. It is employed by Vancouver’s Scott Morgan to describe his latest album under the Loscil moniker. Morgan is a highly productive musician known for making minimal material stretch a long way, but with Clara he has outdone himself.

Taking a three-minute piece for a 22-piece string orchestra, Morgan recorded the output but then subjected the recording to heavy treatment. The master was purposefully damaged, introducing surface noise to give the impression of recordings made outside in the field, with gravelly scratches and frissons of white noise.

To match this, Morgan took snapshots of the score, stretching them into almost unrecognisable, broad canvases – rather like the detail you would find on a set of micro-models. The effect, as he says, is that “shadows are amplified and bright spots dimmed.”

What’s the music like?

Too often music is described as immersive, but the music of Loscil cannot be seen as anything else. As it unfolds, Clara has the reassuring regularity of a tidal system, its rich colours mixed together in a slowly moving but utterly compelling cycle. The tracks work on their own terms but are best experienced as part of the whole, as material from the original three-minute track stretches out to 70 minutes.

Although this is the first time Loscil has explicitly taken the orchestra for his inspiration, his music has always had suitable dimensions for these large-scale arrangements, and so Clara represents more of a shift in colour than a change in textural depth. With this in mind, Lucida paints pastel shades while a single chime tolls, but while that track has a metronomic regularity, Stella reaches a beautiful stillness, the ebb and flow of just two repeated chords providing the ultimate ambience over a ten-minute structure. From here Loscil naturally segues into Vespera, where a regularly turning mechanism sounds like the onward motion of a boat. Aura exhibits a more remote beauty, looking farther afield after the slowly bubbling Sol. Darker tones are used for the title track, in spite of its Latin meaning, a rich chord building with purpose from the bass strings before we glimpse the light in the violins. Eventually it fades over the horizon like the setting sun.

Does it all work?

Emphatically. Morgan makes ever-more meaningful and powerful music, which remains by turns simple and incredibly pictorial. His music gives the listener a wider perspective, a grasp of the earth’s vast spaces from their own little corner of the world. It reminds us how, in an age of technology that moves faster than ever before, nature has not quickened its pace to follow suit, proceeding where possible with its same sure-footed and inevitable progress.

As Loscil, Morgan gives us the reassurance that despite those supposed human advances, the progress of geology and nature is unlikely to ever be fully checked.

Is it recommended?

Yes. Clara is another very strong addition to the remarkably consistent Loscil canon, which continues to evolve and develop without repeating itself. It provides another reminder of just how far Scott Morgan is able to stretch the barest of musical material, resulting in an album of awesome depth and presence.

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Switched On – Georgia Anne Muldrow: VWETO III (Foreseen Entertainment / Epistrophik Peach Sound)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

“VWETO III is intended for movement”, writes Georgia Anne Muldrow on her Bandcamp page. “It’s to be played when you birth yourself back outside after a long introspective period to get the things you need.”

‘Vweto’ is a word in the Congolese Kikongo language meaning ‘gravity’ – and it suits Muldrow’s grounded approach, as she draws on hip hop, jazz, funk and soul for her inspirations.

Most of the album’s 17 tracks are instrumental, but space is allowed for vocals, “like DIY songs that people can have for themselves”, she writes. “I want to see the sisters rapping up a storm.”

What’s the music like?

Very much ‘alive’. Muldrow’s refusal to process her music too much leads right to the human heart of the music, with irregularities welcome in both pitch and rhythm. Just a few seconds of Old Jack Swings are what’s required, the low slung beats and grubby bass line combining in an earthy sound.

Georgia’s music is spaced out but with a firm sense of direction too, so the lovely wide-screen synth trappings and psychedelic loops are given solid, bassbin-bothering beats. Slave Revoltalleyway Boom has a great combination of squelchy bass, cool keyboard and a rhythm purposefully dragging its feet, while throwback baps gets its winding piano into a circular loop.

Meanwhile Slow Drag gives musical signposts towards one of Georgia’s mentors, Alice Coltrane, with its spiritually rich organ sound. Alternatively Grungepiece shreds its guitar against a sprinkling of piano dust.

The vocals are good, too – Love Call Groove has a sultry air, while the rapping on Ayun Vegas Session 1 matches Georgia’s rich alto

 

It is difficult to know where the analogue stops and the digital starts on VWETO III – proof of Muldrow’s successful fusion of past, present and future.

Does it all work?

Yes. As she did in the previous two volumes of this series, Georgia operates an extremely open musical policy, and the fresh improvisation on a lot of these tracks gives them a freshly minted feel.

Is it recommended?

It is. VWETO III achieves its aim of looking outwards and upwards, celebrating the likely return to the outdoors and positive living. Its freedom is at odds with the closed environments of the last year and a half, and its stylistic blends and inventions are invigorating. More power to her elbows!

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Switched On – Leon Vynehall: Rare, Forever (Ninja Tune)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Thus is the first album of Leon Vynehall‘s thirties, a response to the nagging inner voice asking where he was going artistically. The response is predictably varied, a creative line in the sand showing off what a versatile producer he has become.

What’s the music like?

Because of the variety of music here, Rare, Forever hangs together extremely well as an album. There are strong undercurrents running through it too- Vynehall’s ear for richly coloured sounds is always apparent, as is a strong affinity with elements of rave from the late 1980s. These are revealed in the quicker tracks, but the atmospheric slower material is equally effective.

From the off, a strong melody winds upwards before cutting to loping beats as Ecce! Ego! takes shape. Mothra features probing electronic riffs, flickering against a white foamy backdrop. Alichea Vella Amor takes a thoughtful tenor sax solo and winds it around a metronomic backing, while on Snakeskin ∞ Has-Been the beats cut loose.

The ambitious beats and chopped up rhythms are a strong feature of the album as it gets into its stride. Worm (& Closer & Closer) is a particularly good track, with a dislocated vocal and big, wide open loops. An Exhale has splashes of colour over the bumpy beats, while Dumbo also hits a jagged groove, the rave elements up top. The air hangs thick and heavy for the elegiac Farewell! Magnus Gabbro, while All I See Is You, Velvet Brown gives us an atmospheric close.

Does it all work?

Yes. A very different album to his previous acclaimed long player Nothing Is Still, but one that shows Leon Vynehall has capacity to master a number of different styles and speeds. Nothing Is Still was achingly cinematic at times, but Rare, Forever has a wide range of approaches, and hits a powerful set of grooves as it progresses.

Is it recommended?

Very much so. Rare, Forever is a portrait of an artist at a fascinating point in his career. The multi-talented Leon Vynehall still has enormous potential, and it will be fascinating to see where it takes him next.

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On Record – Sarah Neufeld: Detritus (One Little Independent)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Violinist Sarah Neufeld adds to her solo canon with Detritus, her third album. It is a substantial piece of work dating back to 2015, when Neufeld met and collaborated with choreographer Peggy Baker. The two struck up an intense understanding, but the short time working together was ultimately unfulfilling. This led to a reunion in 2019, where Arcade Fire member and Bell Orchestre co-founder Neufeld effectively faced off in improvisation with Baker, and the seeds of Detritus were sown.

What’s the music like?

As striking as the cover art. This is a powerfully affecting piece of work in which the violin is only a part of the story. Although it is a lead character, Neufeld has plenty going on around the loops and cells of the stringed instrument, with wide open effects and textures and a substantial body of percussion, inspired and executed by Arcade Fire bandmate Jeremy Gara. Bell Orchestre‘s Pietro Amato brings rich horn textures, while flautist Stuart Bogie adds deep woodwind colour.

The violin is played with the poise of a dancer, with an airborne feeling to the instrument’s commentary on Stories. With Love And Blindness has impressive depth and again a tension between the slow moving vocals and the urgency of Neufeld’s melodic cells. The Top is propulsive, flickering figures dancing up and down. Tumble Down The Undecided is a very impressive piece of work, the violin dancing across the strings as long, noble notes go across the music like tracers, all to the accompaniment of rolling percussion and the swell of cymbals. Shed Your Dear Heart is also a substantial structure, with the violin looping constantly while rolling drums march forward, more than a little ominously.

Does it all work?

Yes – and the more you listen, especially on headphones, the more you appreciate the expert layering of parts and intersection of the musical motifs.

Is it recommended?

Yes, enthusiastically. It is great to have Miller and Jones committing their friendship to record in this way, and the musical chemistry between them is clear. Hopefully this will lead to further installments!

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