The Daily Mail

20 August 2010

GAL: VIOLIN CONCERTOS, ETC. (AVIE AV 2146)

HANS GAL’S Violin Concerto, written in 1931-32, when he was head of the conservatory in Mainz, is beautifully performed by young German soloist Annette-Barbara Vogel.

By the time Gal wrote his Concertino, in 1939, he was a refugee here from Nazi Germany. This is all lyrical, romantic music in a conservative modern idiom. Kenneth Woods conducts the Northern Sinfonia.

TULLY POTTER

****

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Gramophone Magazine

September 2010

Orchestral reviews

Gál

Violin Concerto, Op 39. Violin Concertino, Op 52. Triptych, Op 100

Annette-Barbara Vogel vn

Northern Sinfonia/Kenneth Woods

Avie ® AV2146 (70’ DDD)

Premiere recordings of three gloriously tuneful late-Romantic masterworks

Hard on the heels of Gil’s violin sonatas and Suite (8/10) comes this superb new disc featuring the pre-war Concerto and Concertino, separated by the invigorating late Triptych (1970) written in his 80th year. Annette-Barbara Vogel is once again the nimble-fingered and sweet-toned soloist, ably supported throughout by the Northern Sinfonia and Kenneth Woods.

Vogel’s knowledge of and sympathy for Gál’s music is manifest from her first entry in the Concerto (1931-32) following the exposition of the lovely opening theme (given to the oboe). The Concerto, scored throughout with chamber-musical clarity, is lyrical from first bar to last but no mere parade of tunes: Gál’s succession of Fantasia, Arioso and Rondo are tightly organised, no matter how relaxed or light-hearted they sound. The same attributes can be heard in the Concertino (1939), written after Gál’s protracted flight from the Nazi menace to Britain via Vienna. Scored for violin and string orchestra, its lightness of texture is a model of balance and its sense of inner calm in extreme contrast to the uncertainty of his personal circumstances at the time of its composition. While the Triptych is audibly the product of the same mind as the concertos, it does have the feel of a late work. Its spontaneity of invention was matched by its speed of composition: five weeks from sketch to full score in January-February 1970. The energetic outer movements (the concluding Comedy is a particular delight) frame a more sober central Lament in the form of a pavane and stylistically seems closer to Franz Schmidt than the Concerto. Woods directs a highly polished account but the orchestral playing throughout is most assured. Avie’s sound is excellent but it is the music that compels attention. Strongly recommended.

Guy Rickards

GRAMOPHONE SEPTEMBER 2010 p.57

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From Classical Music Magazine, 31 July 2010

RECORDING OF THE FORTNIGHT

Gal: Violin Concerto and Concertino, Triptych for Orchestra
Annette-Barbara Vogel, Northern Sinfonia/Kenneth Woods
Avie 2146

Add to the rhapsodic glow of Strauss or Korngold flecks of virtuosic humour and, in the case of the Concertino of 1939, darker hues, and you have Hans Gal’s music. No wonder Vogel has recorded two discs of his muisc, it is enormously rewarding for performer and listener. Finely detailed playing, particularly of the Triptych, gives overdue credit to a composer whose genial genius was obscured by Nazism, illness and the British establishment’s neglect.

(p 43)

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From the Surrey Advertiser

July 9, 2010

Ambitious programme draws Surrey Mozart Players’ season to a close.

The Surrey Mozart Players concluded their 2009/10 season and their run of Schumann’s orchestrals works with a most ambitious programme in the Electric Theatre.

Under their charismatic conductor Kenneth Woods, they gave an inspired performance of  one of Schumann’s fines works for orchestra, his Manfred Overture. The composer, mentally disturbed himself, was ideally placed to portray Byron’s tragic hero.

The performance was deliberately nervy and fevered, with plenty of dramatic tension, and the frenetic string playing contrasted sharply with the chorale-like wind chords towards the end.

Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, written in the wake of his disastrous marriage, is so difficult that Leopold Auer pronounced it unplayable, even if it has now become very popular.

Its difficulties were exquisitely surmounted by the young Russian-born violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky, who throughout produced a wonderful, warm tone from his eighteenth-century instrument.

If the long first movement and its astonishing cadenza were technically proficient, the central Canzonetta, with its touching main theme, took off emotionally, with some lovely duetting between soloist and the wind instruments.

The Finale, full of Russian folk-like themes, was driven forward with a thrilling sense of momentum.

The soloist galvanized the orchestra into their best playing of the evening, while his own part reached to the very top registers of the violin, and he drew a tremendous ovation from the audience.

Notwithstanding the dry and “toppy” acoustic of the Electric Theatre, the orchestra exuded warmth in their rendering of Brahms’ Fourth Symphony.

Described by Kenneth Woods as one of the few “tragic” symphonies in the repertoire, it is full of good tunes and fascinating harmonies, particularly in the modally inflected Andante. The descending motives of the opening, echoed near the end of the great passacaglia Finale were beautifully shaped. The bumptious Scherzo movement, with its jolly interjections from the triangle was fluent, yet exciting.

The Finale itself was imbued with some lovely phrasing, a careful pointing out of the contrapuntal niceties, and, after some effective tension and release in dynamics, concluded with a great climax.

Shelagh  Goodwin

From the August 2010 issue of The Strad

Gál Violin Concerto op 39, Vioin Concertino op 52, Triptych op 100

Annette Barbara Vogel, violin

Northern Sinfonia/Kenneth Woods

Here’s a real treat: a pair of long-list violin concertos from that most fecund decade for the medium, the 1930’s.

Hans Gál (1890-1987) was a Viennese-Jewish composer who managed to flee his homeland for the UK at the time of the Anschluss and spent the rest of his life as a musicologist in Edinburgh. The songful Violin Concerto was written in 1932 when he was at the height of his fame as a composer in Austro-Germany and musically falls very much within the central European tradition with hints of Bartok, Mahler and neo-Classical Strauss. The Concertino (with string orchestra) was written in London in 1939, but its lyrical ease belies the times and his precarious circumstances. German violinist, Annette-Barbara Vogel, who has already recorded Gál’s chamber music for Avie gives committed performances of both pieces and revels in the honesty of this music. She brings a winning presence to her tone and delivery, and maintains a perceptively fluid relationship with the accompanying forces of the Northern Sinfonia.

The symphonic-scale Triptych for orchestra dates from 1970, but is written in a style that seems unchanged from the time of Mahler and Korngold, whose music the pieces resemble at times. The Sage Gateshead recording is warm and supportive.

MATTHEW RYE

There is a new and perceptive review of the new Gal CD at Classical CD Reviews by critic Gavin Dixon here-

….Gál’s aesthetic is inherited directly from the tail-end of the Austro-German Romantic tradition. His musicbears many similarities with that of Franz Schmidt, although not the long, lyrical melodic lines that characterise so much of Schmidt’s orchestral music. Franz Schreker is another similar Viennese voice, although Gál (thankfully) avoids the excesses of Schreker’s neurotic Expressionism. In fact, it is difficult to deduce much about Gál’s personality or temperament from this music. He was presumably a very calm, centred man, for whom music came from within, rather than through conscious reactions to external stimuli. How else to explain the stylistic similarities of these three works, the Concerto written before his flight from the Nazi’s, the Concertino written in London during the war, and the Triptych written towards the end of his life, in Edinburgh in 1970….

….the lightness of the composer’s touch combines yet again with a rock-solid compositional technique, with very listenable results. The performances and the recording are of a consistently high standard. The Northern Sinfonia …… are probably better than anything he ever heard in this country. But most importantly, both orchestra and conductor Kenneth Woods are sensitive to the lightness of the textures and always elegantly balance the soloist. Annette-Barbara Vogel is about the most ideal exponent a composer could hope to have. She, too, maintains that delicate balance between thematic rigour and lightness of touch, often through very gradual changes of tone colour and a coherent approach to phrasing. Her low register is particularly impressive, a rich, immediate sound, but never overpowering or unduly woody. These works all border on the textures of chamber music at times, and the intimacy that Vogel achieves brings those quiet textures up close. This is her second Hans Gál project; her first was a disc of Violin Sonatas, also on Avie (AV2182). If you’ve heard that and were impressed, and I understand most were, then buy this. You won’t be disappointed.

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Peter Grahame Woolf writing for Musical Pointers

Han Gal: Violin Concerto, Violin Concertino & Triptych for Orchestra.

Annette-Barbara Vogel,
Northern Sinfonia / Kenneth Woods

…….The two concertante works for violin from the ’30s, excellently played and recorded, are delightful, provided you accept that Gál was one of his generation not caught up in the European modernist trends. They both merit consideration by up-coming violinists seeking out repertoire.

Like a Franz Schmidt, Gál was content to compose within the tradition of late romanticism, and it served him well for a large catalogue of music which merits thorough investigation and live performance.

The Op 100 orchestral work is substantial and could well have been put out as a Symphony. A splendid CD which should give pleasure and satisfaction to collectors and which deserves to feature on radio programmes everywhere.

Now available from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Orchestra of the Swan’s recording of Finzi and Copland Clarinet Concertos, the Finzi Romance for Strings and the 13 Instrument version of Appalachian Spring on Somm Records is Classic FM’s CD of the Week.

Tune in on Saturday, June 26 to “The New CD Show” at 5PM as  David Mellor reviews the best of the latest classical releases, and plays excerpts from the new OOTS CD.

Other reviews–

Norman Lebrecht’s CD of the Week

17 May 2010 by Norman Lebrecht

Copland, Finzsi: Clarinet concertos (Somm) ****

Odd that this pair does not get coupled more often. Both composers were jews in self-denial who sought identity in rustic folklore.n But roots will out. The opening of Copland’s concerto is reminiscent of Mahler, while Finzi’s has a touch of the Bloch. Soloist Sarah Williamson plays with poise and verve; David Curtis conducts the supple Orchestra of the Swan. Appalachian Spring and a Finzi Romance are the fillers in this unassumingly glorious summer pudding

Colin Anderson writing in today’s Classical Source-

….There is something deceptive about Hans Gál’s music, the work of the long-lived (1890-1987), from Vienna to Edinburgh composer, whose output has been so well served by Avie. Gál’s other violin concerto, from 1939, with string orchestra accompaniment, this time in two movements instead of three, the first elegiac and of endless melody suggestive of circumstance but not indulging it, and ultimately a pure musical statement, and a finale (linked to by a cadenza) that looks back to an earlier epoch and to the terpsichorean point of the Rigaudon that is here interspersed by poignant musings.

Moving ahead to 1970, Hans Gál reached his ‘opus 100’ with Triptych, a set of three movements for orchestra, the opening ‘Impromptu’ energetically if severely introduced, every note significant, the contrasting mellower invention sometimes suggesting Richard Strauss’s late-in-life autumnal music (specifically “Capriccio”), but with an independence of thought and a timelessness of invention that is at once Mozartean yet also crisply contemporary. The central ‘Lament’ is sparse if tellingly personal; and the final ‘Comedy’ is joyous and inviting, and not without a flourish or two.

Gál’s art has the enviable ability to say so much without being tempted to decorate, augment and make denser. Such transparent and highly-crafted scores are given superbly prepared performances here. I had a few reservations over Annette-Barbara Vogel’s playing on the Gál violin-and-piano release, but her playing here is first-class, so too the quick-witted response of Northern Sinfonia under Kenneth Woods. Both the recording and the booklet’s annotation are excellent.

Read the whole thing here.

Monday, June 14, 2010

The Stradivari Trust presents a charity concert in support of Motor Neurone Disease research.

Chamber works including the Mendelssoh Octet and Trout Quintet and string orchestra selections including Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro and the Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis.

An all-star orchestra of leading soloists, concermasters and quartet musicians from around the world, playing on a priceless collection of great instruments including Stradivari, Guarneri, Guadagnini, Gofriller, Amati, Bergonzi, Brenzi and Ceruti.

Musicians performing include:

Conductor
Kenneth Woods

Violin
Matthew Trusler, Stephen Bryant, Krysia Osostowicz, Margaret Faultless, Alda Dizdari, Lorraine McAslan, Jacqueline Ross, Gaby Lester , Florence Cooke, Charles Siem, Mary Hofman, Gabrielle Sutcliffe, Priya Mitchell, Alicja Smietana

Viola
Lawrence Power, John Metcalfe, Rosalind Ventris

Cello
Matthew Barley, Natalie Clein, Jamie Walton, Guy Johnston,
Kate Gould, Jessica Hayes

Double Bass
Graham Mitchell

Piano
Clare Hammond, Mateusz Borowiak

Plus…
The Endellion String Quartet
The Fitzwilliam String Quartet

Dear Colleagues

Just a quick reminder that today is the final application deadline for the 2010 Rose City International Conductor’s Workshop in Portland, Oregon, July 5-11 on the beautiful campus of Concordia University. The musicians of the Rose City Chamber Orchestra will again be hosting this workshop with artist faculty David Hoose, Christopher Zimmerman and Kenneth Woods.

In addition to working with the RCCO, students conduct our team of professional soloists in concerto and opera sessions. This year’s guest artists are Brennen Guillory- tenor, Esther Mae Moses- soprano and Neal Kurz- piano.

Please visit our website for more information about the course and for complete application details – http://www.rosecityworkshop.org/

If you feel you can’t complete all the application requirements today but still wish to apply, please email our office at admin@rosecityworkshop.org to let us know of your interest.

Emerging Artists Program
An intense professional workshop for conductors in the advanced stages of their studies, entering the field, or already active as professionals

Invited participants will have the opportunity to work intensively with all three mentors and the musicians of the Rose City Chamber Orchestra. Each participant will conduct in five teaching sessions and a final mock concert.

Teaching sessions include

• Opera Masterclass with full orchestra and professional singers
• String Orchestra
• Concerto accompanying
• Wind Ensemble
• Symphonic Masterclass

Repertoire-
Verdi- excerpts from Otello
Beethoven- Symphony no. 6
Strauss- Metamorphosen
Stravinsky- Symphonies of Wind
Instruments
Schumann- Piano Concerto in A minor
Neal Kurz, piano solo

Discovery Program
A perfect opportunity for younger conductors to get started, for educators and teachers to refresh their technique, choral conductors to get time in orchestral repertoire, and for amateurs to test their mettle Invited participants will take part in all classes and discussions, will receive personal coaching on basic technique and score preparation and will have 3 opportunities to conduct-

Conducting sessions include

• Piano reduction session
• String Ensemble session
• Full Orchestra session

and-

• Classes in score preparation
• Stick technique
• Movement, breathing and posture

Repertoire-
Beethoven- Symphony no. 6
Strauss- Metamorphosen
Mozart- Symphony no. 39 in E flat Major, Mvt. I (piano reduction with Neal Kurz)

My first concert as principal guest conductor of Orchestra of the Swan is a wonderful and daring program, pairing Walton’s Facade with a sparkling and wildly inventive new work by Joanna Lee. Classical Music Magazine has pegged this as the Premier of the Fortnight in the May 22nd issue.

Coming up next Monday, the 31st of May at 3:15 PM at Compton Verney, as the final concert of the Spring Sounds Festival

More information on the concert here.

There is a nice interview with me in the Birmingham Post today. Chief critic Chris Morley managed to take the conversation to a few places I’d  never been asked about, particularly my affection for the music of William Walton, whose Facade I’m conducting with Orchestra of the Swan on May 31st in Compton Verney as part of the  Spring Sounds festival.

“I’ve always loved Walton’s music. He and Elgar have held a special place in the pantheon for me since I was very young.

‘‘I doubt you would find many people who listened to the Walton Cello Concerto (composed in Ischia) more times between the ages of 14 and 18 than I did.When my cello teacher finally told me he would work with me on it, I was overjoyed.

‘‘The only tragedy with Walton is that there isn’t a huge output, and most of the works are both very difficult and written for quite a large orchestra. That makes his music a tough sell in America, where he’s not well known.

“Still, I adore the three concertos, the First Symphony is an absolute masterpiece, and so are the Variations on a Theme of Hindemith, which I’m conducting for the first time this summer. I’ve been trying to programme that piece for 15 years,” Kenneth adds.

“Facade really stands apart from the rest of his output because of the extremely witty and colourful poems, which he sets with incredible sharpness and fantasy. You wouldn’t expect the man who wrote the last movement of the Cello Concerto to be so good at comedy, but genius is like that.

‘‘It’s a pity he didn’t get more commissions that would have pointed him towards other unexpected paths during his life – he was one of those rare talents who could just compose whatever a situation demands.

Read the whole thing here.

Details on Orchestra of the Swan Spring Sounds Festival and my concert on the 31st.

Date : Monday, 31 May 2010

The final orchestral concert of Spring Sounds 2010, join us at this beautiful Palladian house set in the rolling Warwickshire countryside.

Walton’s Facade
Monday 31st May 2010, 3pm
Compton Verney

Joanna Lee: The Chronicles of Archy – world premiere
Walton: Facade – an entertainment

Sarah Leonard: soprano
Ken Woods: conductor

A pre concert talk will take place at 2.15pm

Tickets: £15 – includes gallery admission
Compton Verney Members: £5 - includes gallery admission
Available at www.comptonverney.org.uk or 01926 645500

A few places remain for the 2010 Orchestral Summer School at Harlech College in North Wales. We’re working on an astounding collection of repertoire in a truly idyllic setting, complete with castle and the most beautiful beach in Britain.

See below for registration details and course information. The workshop is open to advanced students over the age of 18 (or those accompanied by a guardian), young professionals and amateurs of high standard.

Orchestral Summer School – course details

August 7th – 14th 2010

Conductor: Kenneth Woods
Course Organiser: Janet Minot

How to Apply

Book and Pay Online

Application forms should be returned as soon as possible along with the appropriate non refundable deposit (£25 resident, £10 non resident) to Julie Roberts, Student Admissions Officer at Coleg Harlech. If you prefer to pay by cheque you can download an application form here.
Please note the minimum standard required for wind and brass is Grade 8, for all other players Grade 7.

Applicants should be 18 or over, unless accompanied by an appropriate adult. The closing date for applications is 30th April 2010, and those who are accepted will be notified soon after this date. Late applications may be accepted if there are still vacancies in the relevant section. Acknowledgement of a deposit does not necessarily mean acceptance.

The Orchestra

The symphony orchestra usually has over 80 players. The age range is wide and many different occupations and backgrounds are represented. Over the years this established orchestral summer school has been host to a number of distinguished conductors, such as, Baldur Brönnimann, Michael Lloyd, Gareth Jones, Vilem Tausky, John Pryce Jones and Wyn Davies. This year we are delighted to welcome Kenneth Woods with whom the orchestra will be meeting twice daily.

Daily Sectionals

In addition to the full orchestra rehearsals, the specialist tutors take the daily sectionals.

Chamber Music

A wide selection of musical groups meet each day, such as chamber, string and wind orchestra, and brass ensemble. Some of the items rehearsed are performed in the concerts. There is also the opportunity to play chamber music informally (participants should bring their own chamber music). If you play more than one instrument, you may be able to play in both string and wind orchestras so bring as many as you can carry! A pianist will be available to play trios, piano quartets etc. These sessions are not officially timetabled and afternoons are often free for relaxation and exploring the beach and the fascinating village of Harlech itself.

Repertoire August 2010

The repertoire for full orchestra will include the following works:

• Arnold- The Inn of Sixth Happiness
• Hoddinott – Investiture Dances
• Janacek- Taras Bulba
• Mahler – Symphony No 5
• Nicolai- Overture to the Merry Wives of Windsor
• Prokofiev- Selections from Romeo and Juliet Suite no.2
• Rachmaninov – Isle of the Dead
• Ravel – La Valse
• Rozsa – Suite from Ben Hur
• Shostakovich – Symphony No 6
• Walton- Variations on a Theme of Paul Hindemith

There will also be a wide selection of music for Chamber, String and Wind orchestras and brass ensemble.

Wind Orchestra
Amongst the varied repertoire for the week will be a specially commissioned item by Duncan Stubbs.

String Orchestra
There will be the opportunity to play a number of pieces including Variations on a theme by Tchaikovsky (Arensky) and Five variants of Dives and Lazarus (Vaughan Williams).

Chamber Orchestra
The two main works will be Czech Suite (Dvorak) and Pelleas and Melisande (Fauré).

Concerts

There will be two public concerts during the week:
a Chamber concert on the Wednesday, performed by the professional tutors with some items from students, and a symphony concert on the Friday evening.

What to bring with you?

Please note that participants are required to bring their own music stands. Cello and double bass players must also bring end-pin rests. Evening dress is not required for the concerts. Dress code is smart casual. Please remember to bring a bath towel. Hand towels are provided.

Accommodation

Accommodation for all residential guests will be in the Hall of Residence. All rooms have washbasins and there are bath and shower facilities on each floor. Launderette facilities are also available.
There is a communal lounge in the halls of residence, which is available to short course guests this has an occasional residents’ bar subject to demand. If you prefer to look for alternative accommodation details can be found on www.secretsnowdonia.co.uk.

For more information about the following tutors follow the links below

• Return to booking page
• Conductor – Kenneth Woods
• Course Director – Janet Minot
• Violin 1 – Nic Fallowfield
• Violin 2 – Peter Lilley
• Viola – Philip Heyman
• Cello – Dale Culliford
• Double Bass – Mary Condliffe
• Woodwind – Chris Swann
• Brass – Bob Hughes
• Deputy Course Director and Co-Librarian – Fiona Hughes
• Co-Librarian – Huw Hughes
• Alexander Technique – Patrick Grundy-White

VFTP readers who have been following my current Mahler in Manchester series may interested to listen in tomorrow, Saturday the 27th of Feb at 8:20 AM GMT to Today on BBC Radio 4.

We will be discussing my recent post, “Mahler 5, a tempo,” and the whole question of tempo, character and form. What sorts of considerations go into finding the “right” tempo for a piece of music? Is it just what sounds good or feels comfortable, or are there other issues? Should we ever intentionally choose a tempo that feels uncomfortable? Why would we do such a thing? Joining me in the discussion will be Sir Mark Elder. Nicholas Kenyon will be the host for the discussion.

For those of you without access to Radio 4 on FM, you can listen live on line, or on demand via the Radio 4 website. When the archive recording is posted to their website, we’ll update listening details here.