Records To Die For

Grieg: Homeland: Piano Concerto In A Minor, Op.16
De Falla: Noches En Los Jardines De España
Judith Jáuregui (piano), Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Kaspar Zehnder (cond.).
Eudora Records EUD-SACD-2405 SACD (auditioned via a 5.0 channel, 24/192 download from NativeDSD). 2023. Martin Rust, artistic prod.; Gonzalo Noqué, eng., prod.; Tom Caulfield, DSD mastering.

It has been decades since the Grieg Piano Concerto was a concert staple, but Jáuregui and Zehnder give it new life. The opening Allegro is brilliant but not blatant, the Adagio is passionate but not extravagant, and the Allegro finale builds steadily to a powerful climax. As anticipated from these performers, de Falla's "Nights in the Gardens of Spain" is self-assured and delightfully aromatic. Jáuregui is assured and insightful, and the (new to me) orchestra performs well. Overall, these are perfectly proportioned classical renditions. What sets them apart is Eudora's extraordinary DSD256 recording, which is balanced and clear. In stereo, listeners will enjoy the broad and deep soundstage, but in 5.0, it will also embrace them.

Brahms: The Complete Sonatas For Piano And Violin
Julian Reynolds (piano), Johannes Leertouwer (violin)
Challenge Records CC 72964, SACD (auditioned via 5.1 24/352.8 download from spiritofturtle.com). 2023. Bert van der Wolf and Oude Avenhuis, prod., eng., editing & mastering.

This glorious recording is a consequence of Leertouwer's doctoral thesis on historically informed performance practice (Brahms.johannesleertouwer.nl), and the performers employ an 1857 Blüthner grand piano and a 1619 Amati violin. This is, however, not an academic exercise but a deep embrace of Brahms's Romantic style. The opening of the first Sonata immediately recalled to me the classic Grumiaux/Sebök (1976) recording, but Reynolds and Leertouwer are, throughout the sonatas, more subtly inflected and dynamic. They engage the mind and take hold of the emotions. The sound quality is, in equal measures, warm and transparent and presents a friendly, intimate "they are here" perspective.

David Gilmour: Luck And Strange
Sony Music 19802804602 (CD). 2024. Charlie Andrew, David Gilmour, prods.; Charlie Andrew, Damon Iddins, David Gilmour, Matt Glasbey, Dick Beetham, engs.

David Gilmour's Luck and Strange is a breath of fresh air. I've made it a R2L4 for a couple of reasons, not least because I think Gilmour is maturing like a fine wine—and I mean that in a creative as well as behavioral way. The music on this well-recorded release may not be breaking new ground creatively, but there's something to be said about hearing an old pro sounding more comfortable playing his instrument than he has in decades. Besides, Gilmour was always about melody and atmosphere before attitude and rebelliousness, the latter of which were more the province of his Pink Floyd band mate Roger Waters. But while the album is bursting with Gilmour's soaring, lyrical guitar playing, there are catchy riffs here as well, such as on "A Single Spark" and the title track. On the latter, when Gilmour's voice seems to strain as it scales the chorus's high notes, there's a vulnerable authenticity that pierces through. Another standout is Gilmour's song with his daughter Romany, whose voice is delicately sweet and pure-toned. What I initially feared would be a case of optimistic nepotism instead feels more like a passing of the torch. Luck and Strange is not a perfect album, but there are moments of life-affirming beauty here.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Live At The Fillmore East, 1969
Rhino Records R1 695026 (2 LP). 2024. David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Neil Young, prods.; Chris Bellman, Jon Hanlon, engs.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Rhino's 2024 two-LP album Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Live at the Fillmore East, 1969, is an absolute stunner musically and sonically and may be the easiest R2L(D)4 recommendation I've ever given. Recorded a month after CSNY's performance at Woodstock and six months before the band would release its classic debut with Young, Déjà Vu, the performances captured here and spread out over two LPs, one with acoustic material, the other electric, pop with a spontaneity, immediacy, and creative freshness that's rare nowadays—they just don't make music like this anymore, nor do they tend to release musical treasures from the past like this anymore. Far from sounding like a bootleg or compilation of B-stock leftover material, this set, compiled by Stephen Stills and Neil Young from the recently unearthed original eight-track tape recordings, offers a pristinely preserved snapshot in time of a band in peak form joyfully harmonizing heartfelt renditions of "Blackbird," "Helplessly Hoping," "Wooden Ships," and belting out an inspired 16-minute-long "Down by the River" to a rapt crowd—Joni Mitchell among them. This AAA, Chris Bellman–mastered production, dedicated on the album's back cover to David Crosby, is one of my favorite records in my collection, both for its music and sound, and one of the best $50 I ever spent.

Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin
(1) Konstantin Krimmel, baritone; Daniel Heide, piano.
Alpha 929, CD/24/96, 2023. Martin Frommen, prod., eng.

(2) Julien Prégardien, tenor; Kristian Bezuidenhout, fortepiano
Harmonia Mundi HMM 902739, CD/24/48, 2024. Stefan Antonin, prod.; Volker Newmann, Myriam Müller, eng.

These two recordings of Schubert's first great song cycle, Die schöne Müllerin (The Fair Maid of the Mill or, in contemporary terms, The Miller's Lovely Daughter), represent a dramatic departure from the acceptable vocal performance practices of the 20th century. From the late 19th century's Lilli Lehmann through the great crop of recent century baritones headed by Matthias Goerne, artists have stuck to the notes Schubert set down by hand. Now, however, both baritone Konstantin Krimmel and tenor Julien Prégardien take their lead from period practice scholarship and not only embellish the vocal line, but also take far more liberties with tempo than even Elisabeth Schumann and Lotte Lehmann dared do.

These recordings are as fascinating as they are compelling. Krimmel has one of the most beautiful warm baritones I've ever heard. His voice is fresh and fluid, and his basic sound youthful and innocent. Combined with rock-solid technique—he exhibits no strain while negotiating the wide range of "Ungeduld," for example—Krimmel's sound conveys all the inherent beauty and wonder of life itself. Daniel Heide's accompaniment, on a modern grand piano, provides him with the support he needs to sing many of the songs at an unusually slow pace. Lesser artists might not be able to command attention, but Krimmel's sincerity, beauty of tone, thoughtful improvisations, and perfect technique are mesmerizing.

Save for a bit of effort at the top of his range, tenor Prégardien is almost as secure. Perhaps because his accompanist, Kristian Bezuidenhout, plays Christoph Kern's 2019 copy of a Conrad Graf forte piano from Vienna 1825 that has a much shorter sustain time and sounds notes in a more clipped manner, he sings most of the songs faster. Bezuidenhout, in turn, is far more prone than Heide to add marvelously inventive, consistently complementary accents of his own. Schubert's ability to express humankind's deepest emotions through some of the most beautiful and inventive melodies ever composed remains unparalleled in the history of song. I urge you to compare these recordings with outstanding accounts by Hans Hotter, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Peter Schreier, Prégardien's father Julien, Aksel Schiotz, Gerhard Hüsch, and (yes) Lotte Lehmann and Nathalie Stutzmann. As they follow the love-smitten miller's journey from initial infatuation to heartbroken suicide, each artist brings different insights and a different range of emotion to these 18 songs. The more you listen, the deeper you go and the more you learn.

Gidon Kremer: Songs Of Fate
Works by Šerkšnytė, Kuprevičius, Weinberg, and Jančevskis Kremerata Baltica, Gidon Kremer, violin; Vida Miknevičiūtė, soprano
ECM 2745, CD/24/96, 2024. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Vilius Keras, Aleksandra Keriene, eng. (Weinberg, Kuprevičius); Peter Laenger, eng. (Šerkšnytė, Jančevskis)

This vital recording has grown even more poignant since its release. Filled with sorrow, stillness, and beauty, Songs of Fate is a personal testament to the life of Gidon Kremer (b. 1947), who has spent many decades as a virtually homeless, peripatetic Russian/Latvian/Jewish artist whose national identity has been frequently under question. The fabled ECM sonics—remarkably transparent, spacious, and abundant in air— help shine light on Kremer's unusually rich musical choices. A special bonus is the remarkably vibrant, emotionally rich voice of Vida Miknevičiūtė, whom I heard as Elisabeth in Tannhäuser in Munich in 2024. This is very much a recording of our times, whose oldest composition dates from 1942 and newest from 2021. Every piece speaks to the soul of humanity.