Julius Eastman’s (1940-90) once-forgotten composition is as adaptable as they are strong.You can be a “gay guerrilla” 4 original pianos, Or 11 electric guitars, or various quintets — and voice! Or something completely different. In the second installment of Eastman’s series of recordings, the Los Angeles ensemble Wild Up emphasizes this flexibility in two versions, “Buddha” and “Touch Him When,” in addition to “Joy Boy” and “Stay On It.” is included.
“Buddha (Field)” is a magnificent 10-minute exhalation with a gloomy undercurrent and creeping tension. The three-minute short “Buddha (Pass)” is initially a horrifying scream, gradually settling into a sensual swirl solo, ending with an ominous growl. That score was lost, and “Touch Him When” survived the gloomy recording of piano duet. The “light” version, transcribed for the guitar here and played by Gigi, is patient, spare and reverberant. “Heavy” is blurry and distorted.
Similar to Wild Up’s “Femenine” recording released last year, “Joy Boy” is almost tactile, with clear details such as saxophone key clicks and flute breathing.Fine-tuning the vocalization of “yah, yah” (“nah”) of the fanfare atmosphere and the excited group chant Quiet 1974 live recording). “Stay On It” is a bright party that goes back and forth between accuracy and lush chaos.Zachary Wolf
Still: Orchestral work
Zina Schiff, Violin; Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Avrana Eisenberg, Conductor (Naxos)
Even an avid fan of William Grant Still (1895-1978), once known as the “Department of African-American Composers,” came across a new album that consisted entirely of the world’s first recordings. You may be surprised. How is it still possible?
Rare arrangements provide the answer. For example, the three movements of the violin suite on this album, conducted by Avrana Eisenberg by the Scottish National Orchestra, is an orchestra adaptation of the composer’s familiar suite for violin and piano.
Hearing Stills Orchestration version It’s not a small thing. The performance of the first movement “African Dancer” has become a trend as a duet to the tempo of flashy and masters, but the full ensemble edition is dazzling at a slow pace. In the first minute here, you’ll find pulsing woodwinds, a soothing brass stride touch, and the quick percussive accents behind soloist Gina Schiff. Similarly, the California tribute Pastorela, previously recorded in the chamber version, is Still’s fascinating and textured orchestral language, making it more profound and dramatic.
The set hangs down a little in the middle, and there are short and hard-to-remember works. One of them is “American Suite”, which I still write when I was a student. However, it can be attractive as an antique from a fast-growing talent. After that, mature works such as “Serenade” and “Slenodi: In Memory of Jean Sibelius” conclude a fun program that should arouse the composer’s curiosity.Seth Colter Walls
Richard Strauss: Symphonic Poem
Cleveland Orchestra; Franz Welser-Mest, Conductor (Cleveland Orchestra)
Last month, the anthology of Strauss’s orchestra by Andris Nelsons, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Deutsche Grammophon’s Leipzig Gewandhaus struck me as everything this composer shouldn’t do.
A breathtaking record from Franz Welser Mest and the Cleveland Orchestra. This is the exact opposite. Sure, it’s an ensemble showcase, but it’s not the only one. Like the composer himself, this is a drama-centric Strauss conductor that quickly raises and tightens the score.
Indeed, there are few descriptions of “Macbeth” — probably not one of the standard-tone poems for good reason — in line with the consistency and tragedy of this. Can “Don Juan” seduce that passion more stimulatingly, or can he stride with a little more personality? Can “Till Eulenspiegel” make you laugh a little more?
They are possible and Welsermest’s approach is, for example, Manfred Honeck’s With the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra 10 years ago George Szell’s With Cleveland long ago. But it’s a bargain with Welsermest, exchanging lack of self-esteem and playing with a pristine nimble touch — the woodwind here is truly extraordinary — the last palpitation of the heart, the last of the back. Of the hair neck. Sometimes it’s a deal I’m willing to take.David Allen
BLKBOK, an artist alias for Charles Wilson III, Call his music It’s a neoclassical, but you probably call it a distinctive classic. It’s a classical performance in tuning, decoration, and style, but it’s not a classic by duty. His music directly points to a great composer. This album nods to Rachmaninoff, Debussy, the King of Waltz, and Chopin, but the look and feel of the institutions that include them are different.
This recent release, “Black Book DLUX,” an expanded version of BLKBOK’s debut album, features a poem by Lauren de la Pena. “(Poetry) Cookie Waltz” talks about a Sunday afternoon dance between Wilson and his mother. “If you do a really good dance, Mozart may appear,” he said. This is the only track entitled Waltz, but most of the albums are reminiscent of style. “I Made Her Breakfast” is looser than dancing with cookies. Sometimes it’s just a melancholic, 3 meter canvas for monochromatic paintings.
De La Pena’s wording has a sharp edge, cutting the staccato phrase “(poetry) Hustle is real” and telling a chaotic day at the speed of Wilson’s childhood favorite Busta Rhymes. .. The piano follows her words, not only with fast sounds, but also with decorations surrounding the five descending sounds of the melody. The pace settles in the tranquility of staring at the moon. Bach on the left and Debussy on the right. DONNA LEE DAVIDSON
Verdi: “La Traviata”
Rizet Oropesa, Soprano; Rene Barbera, Tenor; Lester Lynch, Baritone; Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra; Dresden State Opera Choir Dresden; Daniel Oren, Conductor (Pentatone)
At the fourth (unplanned) encore at the recital in Italy last fall, Rizet Oropesa sang “Sempre Rivera” from Verdy’s “La Traviata” and the audience performed a short tenor part. With her visibly delight, she improvised “Oh Grazie!”. In reply. A fascinating exchange was later seen by tens of thousands of people online.
This new studio recording of “La Traviata”, with Daniel Oren conducting the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra and featuring Rene Barbera (luxury Alfredo), Lester Lynch (rich-colored Gelmont) and Olopesa, is at the moment. It’s like spontaneity. There’s a more spectacular recording, but it feels fresh — and not so impressed by its human scale.
Olopesa creates a lovely vibrato with a quick, touching and fragile vibrato and a jewel-like voice that captures light in a beautiful way. She runs through High D’s apartment as a prostitute who hates steel-like love in Act 1, and sheds solo oboe in Act 3, “Adio del Passat.”
Interested in gestures that are smaller than gleaming sounds, Oren begins the first scene with bumpy brass and a breakneck tempo that spins the room, bringing disaster to Verdi’s hard party Demi Mondyne. Unwritten prosperity — here Crescendo, where some rubato — adds to the impulsive atmosphere.
Not all choices work, and the chorus’s most prominent ensemble problems occasionally occur. However, “Tsubakihime” goes up and down by the power of the heroine, and this soars. OUSSAMA ZAHR
