Gramophone’s guide to the classical scene in the US and Canada Sounds of America L A N E J O N A T H A N : P H O T O G R A P H Y Reviews New recordings from Massachusetts, Colorado and Canada » The Scene Live highlights – page VII JS Bach Toccata, BWV914. Fantasia and Fugue, ‘Chromatic’, BWV903. Fantasia, BWV906. Musikalisches Opfer, BWV1079 – Ricercar a 3. Overture in the French Style, BWV831 Hank Knox hpd early-music.com M D EMCCD7775 (57’ • DDD) The treasure chest of keyboard works by JS Bach is so deep that musicians face the challenge of choosing which pieces to perform. On his new disc, harpsichordist Hank Knox solves this pleasurable dilemma by playing works from different periods of the master’s career. The programme celebrates both Bach’s extraordinary compositional skills and his instrumental wizardry. The harpsichord, by technical nature, isn’t capable of much variation in dynamics or nuance but Knox is such a sensitive and articulate musician that he brings shapely finesse to each selection. Through subtle alteration of tempo and phrasing, as well as stylish application of ornaments, he reflects the blazing brilliance Bach was said to have achieved in performance. With the harpsichord recorded up close so that you even hear every sound of the mechanical action, listening to Knox is something akin to sitting next to him. He unfolds the Toccata in E minor, BWV914, with bold intensity, especially the cascading fugue. The improvisational aspects of the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, BWV903, receive vibrant and malleable treatment, the fugue again buoyant and finely textured (as in his account of the Ricercar from the Musical Offering and the second section of the Fantasia in C minor, BWV906). Along with fugal intricacies, Knox savours Bach’s dance rhythms. The many movements of the Overture in the French Style that closes the disc are opportunities for the harpsichordist to exult in the lilting and extravagant creativity once at the tip of the composer’s own fingertips. Donald Rosenberg talks to... Kirsten Johnson The American-born pianist on recording the piano music of compatriot Arthur Foote What attracted you to Arthur Foote? I first encountered him when I was a student in the States – he’s well established as part of the Second New England School. Then, a couple of years ago, I’d finished recording a survey of the piano music of Amy Beach – who was, like Foote, one of the ‘Boston Six’ – and was looking for a follow-on project. I couldn’t believe no one had recorded his complete piano music before. I wanted to find an American record label, because this repertoire has ramifications for the US scene, and so I approached Delos. Most of the pieces on this disc are world-premiere recordings. There are two substantial study cycles… They are like the Chopin Etudes in a sense – they include exercises in thirds, arpeggios, octaves…They require an advanced technique but they’re very playable – you can tell Foote was a pianist. Corigliano Conjurera. Vocaliseb b Hila Plitmann sop aDame Evelyn Glennie perc Albany Symphony Orchestra / David Alan Miller Naxos American Classics S 8 559757 (58’ • DDD) Did John Corigliano protest too much? For someone who admitted he couldn’t fathom the idea of writing a percussion concerto, the composer came up with a beguiling one in Conjurer (2007), which Dame Evelyn Glennie performs on this disc of world-premiere recordings that includes Corigliano’s Vocalise. Chopin isn’t the only European influence… The first movement of the Second Suite was very influenced by Beethoven, and there are also hints of Mendelssohn and Schumann. But I think Foote was more subconsciously influenced by these composers than trying to copy them directly. So with the studies, you might hear Schubert here, Chopin there, but they’re still typically American and unique. What does this recording say about Foote? It establishes him even more as a significant American composer. People may say a lot of it is pedagogical music but I would argue that it’s core repertoire that should be taken seriously. Visit kirstenjohnsonpiano.com To solve his aversion to the genre of the percussion concerto, Corigliano devised a structure that would allow him to write actual melodies that could converse with the orchestra. He structured three movements titled for materials used in the various instruments (‘Wood’, ‘Metal’, ‘Skin’) and preceded each with a cadenza. As depicted in Corigliano’s haunting and animated settings, the soloist is indeed a conjurer who evokes a spectrum of moods, colours and textures in tandem with the orchestra, which serves as glistening partner and support system. The range of sonorities is vast and the drama that Corigliano achieves both in the cadenzas and the movements themselves keeps the ear entranced. Glennie draws magical www.gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE JANUARY 2014 I