From: rtut@troi.cc.rochester.edu (Raymond Tuttle)
Subject: Two new discs with Igor Kipnis on Chesky - reviews
Organization: University of Rochester (Rochester, NY)
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 92 00:38:27 GMT

I don't think that the world has been screaming for still more
recordings of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," but a new one from Chesky
Records (CD78) has enough interesting features to escape redundancy
and excel in a crowded marketplace. 

The performers are an ensemble from the Connecticut Early Music
Festival, led from the keyboard by harpsichordist Igor Kipnis.  The
violin solos are played by Jorg-Michael Schwarz.  They play Vivaldi's
work on antique instruments, or their replicas, with just one person
per part.   

Now, I know that many people, including myself, are tired of anemic
"original instruments" butchering music from the Baroque, Classical,
and even the Romantic eras, as if the existence of the instruments
were sufficient justification for listless and uninspired performances
or recordings (usually from England).  It's a pleasure to report that
Kipnis and Co. have recorded a "Four Seasons" with guts, and I don't just 
mean violin strings.   

The booklet reproduces the four sonnets that Vivaldi wrote to
accompany his four concertos, and even lets the listener know, by
means of timings, which specific parts of the music illustrate which
specific portions of the text.  Zephyrs breathe, brooks murmur, dogs
bay, storms rage and drunkards snore with an uncannily pictorial
vividness, thanks to Kipnis and the Connecticut Early Music Festival
Ensemble.  This, after all, is program music, and they don't shirk their
illustrative duties. 

Technically, the musicians sound like they are playing the hell out of
their instruments - people who want a merely pretty "Four Seasons"
should look elsewhere.  These performances are gritty, giddy and very
exciting.  The relatively small size of the ensemble does nothing to
lessen the music's impact; in fact, it is a bonus to hear each of
Vivaldi's parts in such bold relief. 

The disc is brought to a total timing of over 62 minutes with two more
concertos by Vivaldi; his Flute Concerto in D, Op. 10, No. 3 ("Il
Gardellino," or "The Goldfinch") sings happily under the fingers of
soloist and CEMF co-founder John Solum, and his Harpsichord Concerto
in A, RV 780, receives its first recording here.  This latter work is
actually the composer's adaptation of a concerto for violin and cello
(RV546).  It's a hard-driven little concerto, and Kipnis and the CEMF do
it to a turn. 

Chesky's recording was made in Harkness Chapel at Connecticut College
and it sounds great.  Much as I appreciate Chesky's work reissuing great
performances from the past, I applaud their new recordings even more
strongly.  Of all the "Four Seasons" that I have heard, I would
recommend this one for the excellence of both the performance and the
recording.  I hope that Chesky has the opportunity to record more with
these artists. 

Kipnis solos on another recent Chesky release (CD75), this one
containing 15 harpsichord sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti.  Mr. Kipnis
plays a total of five different Hubbard & Broekman instruments
designed after historical Flemish, German, Italian, English and French
models.  Each has its own timbre, as is made clear by Chesky's
recording, which eschews the very close miking typical of so many
harpsichord discs. In fact, Chesky cautions listeners not to play this
disc too loudly in order to appreciate the differences between models. 

With Kipnis' selection of Scarlatti sonatas on an Angel CD apparently
out of print,  this disc is especially welcome.  Kipnis is an intelligent
player, and knows how to present this music in all its charm and
variety.  The faster sonatas display his crackling virtuosity, and the
mellower ones have plenty of sensitivity.  Both the pairing of sonatas
and the alternation between different instruments make this disc very
easy to listen to in one sitting, even for those who normally don't
respond to the harpsichord. 

The informative program notes to both of these releases are a huge
improvement over what Chesky has offered in the past.  Could it be that
Chesky is launching a strike against Dorian Records to claim the status
of America's best audiophile label?  This should be fun. 








--
****************************************   Raymond S. Tuttle
"Dunkel ist das Leben, ist der Tod,"       University of Rochester
but it's nothing to get depressed about!   (still with his two little 
****************************************   white mice).
Xref: sparky rec.music.classical:19243 rec.music.misc:29695