Franco Alfano: Complete String Quartets

Elmira Darvarova, Mary Ann Mumm, Craig Mumm, Samuel Magill

String Quartet No. 1 in D major (1924 version)

String Quartet No. 2 in Tre Tempi Collegati in C major

String Quartet No. 3 in G minor

Frano Alfano is unfortunately best known for his much maligned completion of Puccini's Turandot. This completion, however, is not representative of Alfano's compositional talents (his first completion was rejected by Ricordi and Toscanini for not sounded like Puccini). Additionally, it's well known that Puccini himself didn't know how to satisfyingly finish the opera, the completion heard today is with additional cuts from Toscanini, and Berio's much later completion isn't much better. Nevertheless, at one point in the 20th Century Alfano was one of Italy's most popular living opera composers, with his most popular opera Risurrezione (1904) having been performed 1000 times by 1950.

This disc showcases another side to the composer, presenting the world premiere recordings of his three string quartets, all written between the two world wars. Whilst they don't invent the wheel, they demonstrate a unique compositional voice in the late-romantic idiom, with some interesting structural designs. The quartet plays these pieces with enough gusto and don't downplay any of the music, exhibiting this a music that needs (once in a while) to be heard.

String Quartet No. 1 (written during the First World War) is a dissonant work, with substantial areas of motivic counterpoint. If you are not aware of his other music, the opening Vivacissimo will come as something of a shock. There are some moments where the texture becomes slightly cluttered, but the trajectory of the movement leads to a satisfying climax. Written at the same time as his opera La leggenda di Sakùntala, the quartet shares the opera's plethora of exotic effects, and the quartet writing comes across similarly large-scale (almost orchestral).

The second movement, a gorgeous Calmo, is believed to be written in memory of Alfano's son, Herbert. In contrast to the first movement, this is written minimally, with Alfano not being afraid to give the instruments and structures space. Harmonically, little of this bares any resemblance to Puccini or his verismo contemporaries. The striking use of pizzicato arpeggios toward the end of the movement recalls some of Haydn's string quartets, and the movement concludes with some strikingly funereal octaves. That being said, Alfano's occasional meandering reluctance to present his materials in a more direct way rarely does the work any favours, despite the performer's strong advocation to the music.

The final movement, a fiery Allegro deciso, shows most clearly the parallels between the quartet and Sakùntala. Distinct to this movement is its frequent changes of mood, with a barrage of dance rhythms before relaxing to a sumptuous central episode. After much rhythmic development, the work ends with a strong D major cadence.

The much shorter and more tonal String Quartet No. 2, opens with a contrapuntal Largo assai, somewhat reminiscent of the music of Roy Harris and William Schuman, although with influences of Medieval, Eastern European and Roma folk music rather than Americana, in a style that recalls various Italian opera intermezzi of the verisimo movement, particularly Leoncavallo and Cilea. The second movement, marked Allegretto semplice (come una canzoncina per bimbi), meaning 'like a children's song', is played particularly poignantly by the quartet, and once again pizzicato is used to great effect. Meanwhile, the Bartók-ian final movement, inspired by Romanian village dances, is played idiomatically without overplaying any of folk allusions.

In contrast, his String Quartet No. 3 opens with a vast Largo, a tribute to his wife who died the same year. The quartet play with the right balance of sentimentalism and nostalgia, however, as with many of the longer movements here, the structure often lacks direction and tension. The second movement, a South-Eastern European Dance in asymmetrical metres, is one of the more characterful moments of Alfano's oeuvre, with the A section in the phrygian mode whilst the B section is Aeolian. The final movement, a Beethoven-ian monothematic march is a tribute to Ancient Rome. Whilst not on the level of Respighi's Roman Trilogy, the movement provides plenty of interesting motivic and rhythmic developments, and is successful as a conclusion to the work.

Overall, this is a well played set of string quartets which, although well-written, are far from essential. Nevertheless, the quartet make a great case for these works to be heard, and it places greater context on a style of Italian composers largely left to history.

Allan Pettersson: Concerto for Violin and String Quartet, String Trio & Works for Violin and Piano – Ulf Wallin

 

 Allan Pettersson: Concerto for Violin and String Quartet, String Trio & Works for Violin and Piano

Ulf Wallin

Pettersson:

Concerto for Violin and String Quartet

Two Elegies 

Andante espressivo

Romanza

Lamento

Four Improvisations

Despite being treated very kindly on disc in the 21st Century, Allan Pettersson's music is still seldom heard in concert, despite possessing on of the most personal compositional voices of the 20th Century. Best known for his 17 symphonies, this album features works written before and of the symphonies, and studied in Paris with the likes of Leibowitz, Honegger, Messiaen and Milhaud.

The most substantial work, the Concerto for Violin and String Quartet, already displays Pettersson's post-Mahlerian compositional style, with its 30+ minutes showcasing an array of creative devices, forming a violin concerto that is surely one of the most striking and tempestuous of the first half of the 20th Century. The first movement, the shortest of the three showcases the influence of Berg, and indeed Ulf Wallin certainly places an emphasis on the more "romantic" aspects of Pettersson's writing. Interestingly, the  string quartet rarely strays from the accompanying role, a welcome breath of fresh air in a work so motivically dense, and somewhat recalling the role of the strings in Haydn's wonderful Piano Trios.

The slow second movement contrasts the first movement brilliantly, with Straussian counterpoint and a striking sense of scope. However, what sets this performance apart from previous recordings is its careful attention to rhythm, never feeling overly mechanical but allowing the music to possess a greater sense of drive and direction. Furthermore, the incorporation of extended techniques (nothing too crazy, but some striking use of glissando, sul ponticello and left-hand pizzicato) never feel gimmicky or out of place. The concluding chorale, which will return to greater prominence in the final movement, again recalls Berg, but never feels derivative of that work.

The third movement (the longest of the three at 18 minutes) immediately follows the second, with some harmonies recalling Hindemith. Despite being at first formally perplexing (as are much of Peterson's symphonies), Wallin and co masterfully hold the tension through the Allegro and Cadenza sections, which the returning chorale building to a truly beautiful climax, surely something too lush and sentimental for any of his modernist contemporaries. The final Allegro furioso is taken slower that usual, though I am sold on this decision, for it allows the players to place a greater emphasis on articulation, and ultimately coming across more satisfying than previous, faster recordings. This builds to the extremely dissonant final chorale statement, a moment which is genuinely terrifying, with Wallin bringing out the eerie nihilism the music demands.

Whilst the remaining works are on a much smaller scale, they are no less interesting, showing another side to a composer with perhaps too many stereotypes surrounding his music. The Two Elegies, written when the composer was 17, are charming little miniatures which allude to harmonies as early as Schubert. Even better is the Andante espressivo and the Romanza, which remind one of the chromatic chamber music of Reger, though not sounding as overtly academic. While the works are not necessarily groundbreaking, they are exceptionally fine pieces of romantic violin music, and written very idiomatically for its respective instruments. The Lamento, Pettersson's only work for solo piano, is particularly evocative and minimal, somehow reminiscing on Chopin yet looking forward to Pärt. Finally, the Four Improvisitions for String Trio come across as pure Bartók. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, although the complex rhythms and driven ostinatos are a far cry from the deeply expressive music Pettersson is most notable for.

Being recorded by BIS, the sonics are fantastic, with moments of reflection feeling almost uncomfortably intimate, whilst you can feel the rosin flying of Wallin's bow at the most turbulent moments. He has managed to collect a fine group of players, to wonderfully display these early Pettersson works, which at their worst are an interesting curiosity, and at their best showcase one of the most creative, yet still neglected musical minds of the 20th Century.

Musa Italiana - Chailly

 Musa Italiana

Riccardo Chailly - Filarmonica della Scala

Mendelssohn
Symphony No 4 in A major, Op.90 (“Italian”); 1883/84 version
i. Allegro vivace
ii. Andante con moto
iii. Menuetto - Con moto grazioso
iv. Saltarello. Allegro di moto

Schubert
Overture in the Italian Style in D major, D.590
Overture in the Italian Style in C major, D.591

Mozart
Mitridate, re di Ponto, K.87 (74a) Overture
Ascania in Alba, K.111 Overture
Mozart Lucio Silla, K.135 Overture

With this release, Chailly continues his recording series with the Filarmonica della Scala, this being his sixth recording with them. The previous sets have all focused solely on Italian composers, and on the whole have been successful. The compilation of Overtures, Preludes & Intermezzi is one of the most interesting and rewarding of its type and his Respighi disc, while worthwhile for its rarities, is ultimately too pleasant and smoothly played, particularly at the climaxes; it lacked the smoking intensity found in Toscanini, Reiner and Tortelier's recordings.

With this disc, the focus now lies on the (so-called) "Italian" music from Germanic composers. Of course it had to feature Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony, a work so popular that it is not even Chailly's first recording of it. This is at least in much less popular 'revised' version, which has previously been recorded, rather soulessly, by John Eliot Gardiner and the Vienna Philharmonic. The revisions are mostly in terms of orchestration, and in fact the first movement remains completely unchanged. Much like his recent Brahms cycle, the symphony is characterised by fast tempos, very smooth string textures and a greater focus on woodwind timbre. Whilst the playing is perfect, the performance ultimately lacks the breath and flexibility and is so often missed in Mendelssohn.

The first movement starts promisingly, with bubbly woodwinds and flying tempos, but there is a lack of dynamic contrast in the counterstatement of the main theme, and the moto perpetuo development is somewhat lacking in tension. The second movement is not as fast as some, but it still feels like it lacks space, and the big Italian tune just doesn't sing the way they do in Abbado's Berlin recording. The main portion of the third movement is excellent, flowing and beautifully lyrical. But when we reach the trio, Chailly decides to add pointless crescendos in the horn part, which means that when Mendelssohn actually writes for a crescendo, the horns seem to simply meander around dynamics, ruining the phrasing of one of the symphony's most iconic moments. The finale is where we hear the most substantial of Mendelssohn's revisions. I don't think anyone would argue that this version is superior to Mendelssohn's original, but Chailly appears much more inspired and carries out a fresh and taut performance.

The Schubert Overtures are superb, and some of the best recordings of these works. Whilst it seems that Chailly is interpreting these works as if they were Rossini, it clearly works well for these pieces, and it would be interesting to hear how he would interpret some of his symphonies, particularly the 2nd and the 9th. The final three Mozart Overtures are even more of a rarity. The first two are fine, if not slight flat, but Lucio Silla is thrillingly played, and clearly a precursor to the overture from Don Giovanni. 

Overall, this is a disc that so desperately wants to be unconventional, that much of the music suffers. The overtures are on the whole brilliant, but are unlikely to be a revelation to anyone. Furthermore, if you are desperate to hear Mendelssohn's revision of the symphony, this performance is clearly preferred over Gardiner's.