New music of the week - Nov 14
Found Objects/Sound Objects — Marc-André Hamelin
Hamelin is one of my favourite musicians, and this may be his best album to date. It’s a wild programme, taking us from Frank Zappa through John Cage to Hamelin’s own writing, but there’s a through line of thoughtful exuberance that runs through the album. Highlights include a sparkling performance of Zappa’s “Ruth is Sleeping” and an uncompromising yet expressive take on Cage’s “The Perilous Night” — possibly the best recording of Cage’s early notated work for prepared piano. Stefan Wolpe’s “Passacaglia” is given a barnstorming performance as is Hamelin’s own “Hexensabbat”, which owes more to Liszt’s chromatic virtuosity than to the strict modernism of the rest of the album.
Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 2 — Chris Thile
The bluegrass musician’s first recording of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas came out in 2013, drawing praise from classical and non-classical listeners alike. The second volume is here at last, and it’s even bolder than the first: his flexible, intimate way with the music continues to highlight the folk origins of Bach’s dance forms, but this time he takes greater liberties with his transcriptions. The tremolo effect in the D minor Partita’s Allemande adds an unusual reverb, and the grace notes in the E major Partita’s Loure lend a distinctly country feel. But of course everyone will be listening for what he does with the D minor Partita’s Chaconne. It’s given a relatively straightforward transcription, and his way with the arpeggiated figures has a Vivaldi-esque flair that brings the album full circle.
Schoenberg: Variations for Orchestra — Kirill Petrenko, Berliner Philharmoniker
This recording comes as a part of Petrenko’s Schoenberg recording series celebrating the composer’s 150th anniversary. It’s one of the less buzzy pieces in the series, which includes the ambitious “Jakobsleiter” and his violin concerto with the ever-fascinating Patricia Kopatchinskaja, but Petrenko brings out an expressive, even sumptuous sound to this set of variations. Each variation, no matter how brief, is given its own distinct sound world, and the finale is appropriately thrilling.
“Dopamine” — Robyn
Absolute banger.
“House” — Charli XCX, John Cale
Absolute banger, but weird (complementary).
