Tag Archives: classical-music

On Record – Julia Kogan, Britten Sinfonia / Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez – Britten: Les Illuminations – en français and in English; Barber (First Hand Records)

Posted on by
Reply

Julia Kogan (soprano), Britten Sinfonia / Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez

Barber Knoxville: Summer of 1915 Op. 24 (1947)
Britten Les Illuminations Op.18 (1939) – French and English versions

First Hand Records FHR150 [60’04’’]
English/French texts and English translation included
Producer Andrew Walton Engineer Debs Spanton

Recorded 8-10 October 2023 at Henry Wood Hall, London

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse

What’s the story?

First Hand Records releases a recording of Britten’s Les Illuminations with a difference – this reading of its original French version being heard alongside one of a new English translation, and with Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 included as far more than a mere makeweight.

What’s the music like?

Second of Britten’s song-cycles, Les Illuminations sets poems from the eponymous collection by Arthur Rimbaud and was among the earliest works written during his three years in North America. Although most often performed with tenor, this was conceived for soprano and Julia Kogan amply underlines the emotional frisson possible when sung thus. Such is immediately evident from the simmering anticipation of Fanfare, its single-line setting recurring midway as the sensuous Interlude then as impetuous conclusion to the sardonic Parade. Elsewhere, the feverish excitement of Villes, knowing elegance of Antique and rapt longing of Being Beauteous are tangibly rendered – as is the inherent fatalism of Départ which evanesces into sombre repose. If not Britten’s defining vocal work, this is surely among his most engrossing.

All the more surprising, then, it should never have received an English translation – until now. Long established as translator and poet, Timothy Adès has come up with one that is idiomatic and conveys the essence of each setting to often startling degree. That said, these translations read arguably as explications of the poem at hand rather than as linguistic equivalents for the purpose of singing, which is not to deny the conviction that Kogan puts into their realization. Whether or not this establishes itself as a viable alternative is for future exponents to decide.

Cannily interspersed between these performances, Knoxville: Summer of 1915 finds Barber setting extracts from James Agee’s prose-poem as a ‘lyric rhapsody’ that offsets its evoking of idyllic contentment with a bittersweet acknowledgement of what can arise in the light of experience. Interesting to recall Agee was barely a decade older than Rambaud at his death, and that the trajectory of his life moved in something of an opposite direction as regards its unfolding from outward security to inner upheaval. There have been memorable recordings of this work across the decades, and that by Kogan is surely set to join them in terms of the imaginative insight she wrests out of Barber’s setting along with its undoubted vocal allure. Whatever their virtues, few earlier accounts get to the heart of this matter with such acuity.

Does it all work?

Pretty much always and not forgetting the contribution of Britten Sinfonia (whose association with its namesake’s song-cycles goes back to recordings from John-Mark Ainsley some three decades ago) – all directed here with no lack of perception by Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez, whose discography features worthwhile accounts of Shostakovich’s Sixth and Ninth Symphonies for FHR. The balance of voice and orchestra – whether with or without wind instruments – could hardly have been bettered, while Kogan contributes a succinct though revealing booklet note.

Is it recommended?

Indeed. Kogan has previously recorded a collection by Isabelle Aboulker for FHR, and it is to be hoped her association with the label will continue. Certainly there is much in the repertoire of English and French orchestral song to which her distinctive response would be well suited.

Listen / Buy

You can read more about the album at the First Hand Records website, and explore purchase options at the Presto Music website, and click on the names for more information on soprano Julie Kogan, the Britten Sinfonia and conductor Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez

Published post no.2,807 – Monday 23 February 2026

In Concert – Sir Stephen Hough, Soloists, CBSO Chorus, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Omer Meir Wellber: Beethoven & Haydn

Posted on by
Reply

Sir Stephen Hough (piano, below), Lauren Urquhart (soprano), Georgia Mae Ellis (mezzo-soprano), Luis Gomes (tenor), Alexander Grassauer (bass), CBSO Chorus (above), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Omer Meir Wellber (conductor & harpsichord/director)

Beethoven (/Hough) Piano Concerto no.3 in C minor Op.37 (1800, rev. 1803)
Haydn Missa in Angustiis, Hob.XXII/11 (‘Nelson Mass’) (1798)

Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Thursday 19 February 2026

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse

That tonight’s concert from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra featured music by Beethoven and Haydn might have been indicative of a straight-ahead or mainstream concert but, as things turned out, neither programme nor music-making could be deemed predictable.

Sir Stephen Hough has no doubt played Beethoven’s Third Concerto many times with, moreover, his take on the outer movements not far removed from his much-praised Hyperion recording. The initial Allegro was lithe and impetuous if at times a touch hectoring (and Matthew Hardy was uncharacteristically reticent in that spellbinding passage after the cadenza), with the final Rondo treading a fine line between humour and irony at its most distinctive in the modulatory transition to the main theme, or that improvisatory solo flourish prior to the nonchalant coda.

Interest naturally centred on the slow movement – a Largo designated Con gran espressione in its ‘re-imagining’ by Hough (above). Itself part of a project instigated by this evening’s conductor, Omer Meir Wellber, to re-examine works in the core repertoire, this duly retains Beethoven’s instrumentation but renders the main theme, introduced by the soloist, as a hushed chorale for strings which pervades what follows. All well and good had that chorale become more than a static backdrop, against which Hough’s welter of skittish figuration sounded overly confined to the upper register. Neither was the climactic return of the first movement’s principal theme other than an affectation, nor the upsurge leading directly into the finale without contrivance. One respected Hough’s following of his muse, even if the outcome felt less than convincing.

Having not unreasonably given Hough the benefit of any doubt, the audience was nonplussed with his encore – the last of Schoenberg’s Six Little Pieces that, written after Mahler’s funeral on 17th June 1911, yields a rapt eloquence even at less than the ‘very slow’ tempo prescribed.

As searching products of his late maturity, the six ‘name day’ Masses that Haydn wrote around the turn of the 19th century remain too little heard at orchestral concerts; save for the ‘Nelson Mass’ whose actual title, Mass in Troubled Times, makes explicit the cultural turmoil from of which it arose. This must also have occasioned its unyielding orchestration with trumpets and timpani but no woodwind, plus a dextrous continuo part allotted here to harpsichord and from which Wellber directed with a sure sense of where this most combative of masses was headed.

Vocally the solo writing favours soprano and bass, with Alexander Grassauer making the most of his mellifluous contributions and those of Lauren Urquhart impassioned yet tonally uneven in more animated passages. Georgia Mae Ellis and Luis Gomes handled their secondary roles with real finesse, while chorus-master David Young drew a laudable response from the CBSO Chorus (arrayed on stage with what might be felt the choral equivalent of ‘free bowing’). Taut and incisive, the epithet ‘symphonic’ as applied to this work can rarely have been so apposite.

The performance certainly set the seal on a concert which rightly encouraged a reassessment of both works and, by so doing, underlined Wellber’s own interpretative convictions. Having last appeared with the CBSO almost six years before, his return should be so long in coming.

To read more about the CBSO’s 2025/26 season, visit the CBSO website. Click on the names for more on conductor Omar Meir Wellber, pianist Sir Stephen Hough and soloists Lauren Urquhart, Georgia Mae Ellis, Luis Gomes and Alexander Grassauer.

Published post no.2,804 – Friday 20 February 2026

On Record – Ensemble Arcadiana – Eleanor Alberga: Works for Chamber Orchestra (Lyrita)

Posted on by
Reply

Ensemble Arcadiana / Thomas Kemp

Alberga
Dancing with the Shadow (1990, rev. 2021)
On a Bat’s Back I do Fly (2000)
Langvad (2006).

Lyrita SRCD446 [53’36”]
Producer/Engineer Stephen Frost

Recorded 11-12 October 2021 at Wyastone Concert Hall, Wyastone Leys, Monmouth

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse

What’s the story?

Lyrita issues a further release of music by Eleanor Alberga, featuring three sizable works for chamber ensemble played by Ensemble Arcadiana and which between them amply underline this composer’s flexible while imaginative response when writing for this particular medium.

What’s the music like?

Now in her mid-70s, Alberga came from her native Jamaica to study in London and enjoyed early success as a concert pianist before joining London Contemporary Dance Theatre where she latterly became music director. This past quarter-century has seen her focus increasingly on composition – creating a substantial output as includes a symphony, two violin concertos (both released on Lyrita SRCD405), three string quartets plus a range of other works across the major genres – in an idiom which is contemporary without being obscure or inaccessible.

The earliest and largest of these three works, Dancing with the Shadow started out as music for dance and was commissioned by the ensemble Lontano, which also recorded two of the movements on the second volume of its series British Women Composers (Lorelt LNT103). Taking as its starting-point the Jungian concept of exploring the individual’s darker side or ‘shadow self’, these five movements variously combine the six musicians as part of a steady accumulation taking in the simmering anticipation of a Duo and lilting elegance of a Trio; then the animated interplay of a Quartet, enfolding eloquence of a Quintet (the emotional heart in all senses) and the heady excitement of a Sextet that affords a close as decisive as it is infectious – whether, or not, those competing halves of the psyche have been reconciled.

Each playing continuously, the remaining pieces are no less individual or engaging. Written for the Bournemouth mew-music ensemble Kokoro, On a Bat’s Back I Do Fly takes its cue from Ariel’s song in the final act of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and appealingly tackled by Thomas Arne, whose 1740s song-setting is alluded to over the course of music that proves as dextrous though ultimately as elusive as the text implies. Its title the Danish for ‘length’, Langvad is also a rural hamlet in Denmark as well as the setting for a summer festival run by the composer and her husband. Here the ongoing narrative (if, indeed, there is one) feels as elusive as the sound-world conjured from quintets of wind and strings – one, moreover, likely to prove as personal for each listener as it must no doubt be for the composer herself.

Does it all work?

Very much so. This is ensemble music that, informed and frequently permeated with dance rhythms, makes considerable demands on the technique of its exponents, who duly respond with conviction and audible enjoyment throughout. A pity, perhaps, that another of Alberga’s ensemble works could not have been included, though the programme as it stands can hardly be faulted as a representative overview. Neither does the dance component make these pieces other than self-sufficient in abstract terms and make for an engaging listen in their own right.

Is it recommended?

Indeed it is. The recording is as spacious yet immediate as expected from the acoustics of Wyastone Concert Hall, and there are informative annotations by Donald Sturrock. Those who acquired that previous Lyrita album should not hesitate to investigate this new release.

Listen / Buy

You can hear excerpts from the album and explore purchase options at the Presto Music website, and click on the names for more information on composer Eleanor Alberga, Ensemble Arcadiana and conductor Thomas Kemp

Published post no.2,803 – Thursday 19 February 2026

On Record – Berkeley Ensemble: Beauty Veil’d (EM Records)

Posted on by
Reply

Berkeley Ensemble [Sophie McQueen, Francesca Barritt (violins), Dan Shilladay (viola), Gemma Wareham (cello)] with Tom Wraith (cello, Dare), Simon Callaghan (piano – Dare, Howell Adagio and Caprice, Matthay)

Dare Phantasy Quintet (1933-4)
Howell Adagio and Caprice (1955); String Quartet in D minor (1933)
Matthay Piano Quartet in C major Op.20 (1882, rev.1905)
McEwan Nugae (1912)

EM Records EMRCD091 [58’13”]
Producer Matthew Bennett Engineer Dave Rowell

Recorded 28-30 August 2024 at St John the Evangelist, Oxford

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse

What’s the story?

EM Records continues its in-depth exploration of neglected music with these first recordings by proceeding generations of British composers, superbly realized by the Berkeley Ensemble which has made it its mission to revive such works for the enjoyment of present-day listeners.

What’s the music like?

Remembered mainly for miniatures still featuring on Associated Board examinations, Marie Dare (1902-76) wrote several larger chamber works. The (not quite) symmetrical form of her Phantasy Quintet is adeptly handled, and if this piece does not quite maintain the expressive intensity of its initial section, the elaboration of its themes ensures a satisfying overall design. The presence of two cellos yields a burnished eloquence to the musical textures, and interest is sufficiently aroused to make a hearing of her String Quartet in G minor worth considering.

More striking are the two works by Dorothy Howell (1898-1982), the revival of whose music has centred on her orchestral output. Deftly scored for violin and piano, Adagio and Caprice moves between reticence and impulsiveness with a seamless cohesion. If the String Quartet is slightly less well integrated, it is also more questing harmonically with its opening section distilling a keen atmosphere that persists right through to a lively close. A pity Howell never wrote a full-length quartet, but the present pieces deserves their place on recital programmes.

His not uncontroversial reputation as piano pedagogue having overshadowed his legacy as a composer, Tobias Matthay (1958-1945) left a handful of chamber works of which the Piano Quartet prefigures the ‘phantasy’ concept in its single movement of interrelated sections that, between them, outline a formal design whose thematic elements are evolving right up to the resolute close. Worth hearing, but a complete recording of 31 Variations and Derivations on an Original Theme for piano is needed for a fuller reassessment of Matthay’s creative worth.

Ironic that Matthay’s Piano Quartet should have been dedicated to John Blackwood McEwan, whose subsequent condemnation of his teaching led to the former’s departure from the Royal Academy. Subtitled Seven Bagatelles and actually the fifth of his 17 string quartets, Nugae evokes various aspects of that Scottish landscape central to his thinking (notably the Solway Symphony) – its characterful alternation between brooding and animated vignettes making a cohesive sequence whose components would be equally worth hearing as separate encores.

Does it all work?

Pretty much always. There are no overlooked masterpieces here, though the works by Howell and McEwan certainly warrant regular hearings. That these are all premiere recordings makes this release a mandatory purchase for anyone interested in British music of the period and the Berkeley Ensemble, alongside Tom Wraith and Simon Callaghan, do them proud. The sound could hardly be improved on for clarity and definition, while Dan Shilladay’s annotations are informative and not unduly partisan in their making a case for the dissemination of this music.

Is it recommended?

It is indeed. Those who have the Chilingirian Quartet’s three volumes of McEwan’s quartets (Chandos) will welcome acquiring the present piece as a supplement, and one looks forward to further recordings of chamber works by Dare and Howell from these inquiring musicians.

Listen / Buy

You can hear excerpts from the album at the EM Records website, and explore purchase options at the Presto website. Click on the names to read more about the Berkeley Ensemble, Simon Callaghan and Tim Wraith, and composers Marie Dare, Dorothy Howell, Tobias Matthay and John Blackwood McEwan

Published post no.2,801 – Tuesday 17 February 2026

In Appreciation: Helmuth Rilling

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood picture courtesy of Opus Artists

Last week we learned the sad news of the death of conductor Helmuth Rilling, at the age of 92. An obituary can be found at the New York Times website

Rilling will forever be closely associated with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, becoming the first conductor to record all of his cantatas in a project begun in October 1969 and completed on the occasion of Bach’s 300th anniversary in 1985. The results were released on the German label Hänssler, and immediately won the ‘Grand Prix du Disque’.

In honour of Rilling’s achievements, this Tidal playlist comprises his recordings of three Bach cantatas written for the Sunday before Lent – falling today – and excerpts from works he commissioned for Passion 2000, marking the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death, from the composers Tan Dun, Osvaldo Golijov, Wolfgang Rihm and Sofia Gubaidulina

Published post no.2,799 – Sunday 15 February 2026