2010: Preview of Major Upcoming Releases
Despite the much ballyhooed “collapse” of the classical recording industry, new releases continue to pour out—just not as many from the so-called major labels as before. However, if you take into account downloads, independent labels, and artist-led productions, the total quantity of product available continues to increase. So as a service to our readers, here is a preview of ten intriguing projects due to be issued in 2010 that we believe are worth looking out for:
1. Huapango! Harnoncourt conducts Latin American Classics (RCA/BMG).
Harnoncourt’s discovery of America has to be the hottest thing to happen in the culturally deprived wasteland that is the New World since Columbus’ original voyage of 1492. He follows up his release of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with this new collection, featuring the same composer’s Cuban Overture, plus favorites by Chavez, Moncayo, Copland, and Revueltas. It’s rumored that Harnoncourt is also planning to record the complete operas of Ginastera, a project particularly close to his heart (he reportedly hums Bomarzo in the shower).
2. Quantz: Complete Flute Sonatas (Naxos).
Flutist Verena Fischer’s complete Quantz sonata cycle began this year, with Sonatas Nos. 272-277. The numbering is confusing: original pieces are mixed up with those actually composed by Frederick the Great, but at least 204 authentic works by Quantz survive. With approximately five sonatas per disc, and the projected release of one disc per year, the complete cycle should be finished by 2050. It will be interesting to see if the artists (not to mention the record industry) survive the entire process, or if Sharon Bezaly on BIS beats them to it.
3. Beecham in Seattle: The Complete Concerts (Music and Arts).
During the period 1941-44, Sir Thomas Beecham established a strong rapport with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Private recordings of these legendary concerts have been rumored to exist but were only recently rediscovered, and their provenance remains somewhat mysterious. The original source material is in remarkably poor condition, but Music and Arts, knowing that fans of historical recordings don’t especially care, is issuing them anyway on 37 very full CDs. Fans of Beecham will enjoy comparing numerous versions of some of his proprietary repertoire, including 14 performances of Sibelius’ Tapiola, 23 of Delius’ North Country Sketches, 3 complete cycles of Haydn’s “London” Symphonies, Beecham’s own suite from Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, and a whopping 42 encores of Chabrier’s España.
4. Argerich Plays the Same Music She Always Does (DG).
Legendary pianist and recluse Martha Argerich will continue to release live performances of music that she has recorded numerous times previously. Of course, none of it will be solo (she doesn’t do that anymore), but Deutsche Grammophon emphatically confirms that although her partners may change, the repertoire will feature no works that haven’t already been released several times over, either by the yellow label itself, EMI, or preferably both.
5. The Genital Mutilation Album: Bartoli Sings More Castrato Favorites (Decca).
Capitalizing on the huge success of “Sacrificium,” mezzo-soprano extraordinaire Cecilia Bartoli has put together another disc consisting of mindlessly virtuosic castrato arias by Baroque composers that no one cares about. “I’m not sure what appealed to people more about ‘Sacrificium,’” Bartoli mused, “the dazzling coloratura, or the fact that the music was sung by men with no testicles. I hope it’s the former.” So do we.
6. Mahler: Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”; Bernard Hatink conducts the Cleveland, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Staatskapelle Dresden, Philharmonia, Lahti, Berlin Philharmonic, St. Louis, St. Petersburg, Tokyo Metropolitan, Toronto, Warsaw, and European Youth orchestras (all proprietary labels).
Even though he has recorded this symphony four or five times already, Bernard Haitink has decided to take advantage of the recent trend of orchestras producing their own recordings. He has reportedly demanded as part of his contract that they release every performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony that he conducts. That means we should get at least 13 new versions in 2010. Haitink’s avowed goal is to “Let the music speak for itself,” and to ensure that every performance sounds as much like every other as possible. His motto: “Consistency through anonymity.” Mahlerians, take note.
7. Berlioz: The Damnation of Faust. Minkowski (Mirare).
The period instrument movement is in crisis. Just about everything has been tried: one person to a part, no vibrato, period and modern instruments in various combinations--you name it. Fortunately modern scholarship has come to the rescue with a new theory guaranteed to ensure that “authenticity” remains synonymous with “anything that sounds different, no matter how stupid.” The latest discovery: NO DYNAMICS. It turns out, according to Applied Musicologist Clive Brown at the University of Leeds, that all those pianissimi, fortissimi, and hairpin crescendo signs do not really mean to play louder or softer, any more than words like “cantabile,” “dolce,” “espressivo,” or “appassionato” mean that orchestral string players should vary their vibrato. “Dynamics were considered an ornament, to be applied sparingly only to solo playing—never to orchestral music,” Brown insists. Authenticity minded conductors such as Roger Norrington and Andrew Parrott are rushing to adjust their interpretations accordingly, but Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre set the pace with this very authentic recording, taken from live performances.
8. Paganini: Caprices. Anastasia Schuttenbach-Wugmeister (violin) ASW Recordings.
If the acronym for the label looks suspiciously like the initials of the artist’s name, it should. Does anyone know anything about Schuttenbach-Wugmeister, other than that she’s young, German or Austrian (or Swiss), and looks good in a strapless dress? Does anyone care? Do we need another recording of these not terribly interesting but inevitable virtuoso test-pieces? It doesn’t matter. Many artists today, the known and unknown, produce their own recordings—both on CD, as downloads, or both—and the number of them continues to increase. This production looks to be typical. Whether or not it will be listenable is another question.
9. DVD: The Making of the Making of The Creation (HM).
Some labels think that their artists are so interesting that they simply cannot release a major new production without including a self-congratulatory “making of” DVD, full of thrilling rehearsal clips and artists pontificating on the subject of how wonderful and important they are. Well, Harmonia Mundi has decided to take this process to its logical conclusion, offering not just the usual “making of” DVD, but yet another DVD exploring the making of the “making of” DVD. This new dual DVD package will be offered in a special deluxe edition of René Jacobs’ recent recording of Haydn’s The Creation.
10. Adams: Obama in Copenhagen (Nonesuch).
John Adams’ new opera, premiering in San Francisco in April, returns to his “Nixon in China” roots, while further ratifying his relentless determination to make art out of current events as speedily as possible. In this latest effort, President Obama and other world leaders gather tumultuously in Copenhagen to save the planet from the effects of global warming, Congress struggles to pass the contentious health care reform bill, and Michelle Obama frets about her upcoming appearance on the Food Network’s Iron Chef Ultimate Battle. Musical highlights include Obama’s lyrical “Greenhouse Gas” aria, a vigorous patter-chorus of disgruntled Republicans, and a contentious duet between Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, “Wither the Public Option?” Two countertenor “Joes,” Biden and Lieberman, provide comic relief.
Happy Listening!
David Hurwitz
