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Sergei Prokofiev
Piano Concerto No. 1-3

Martha Argerich, piano
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor



Samuel Barber
Orchestral Works and Concertos
Leonard Slatkin, Charles Munch



Rimsky-Korsakov
Evgeny Svetlanov


Beethoven
Symphony No.9
Piano Transcription by Franz Liszt
Konstantin Scherbakov, Piano



Kronos Caravan

French harpsichordist-conductor Emmanuelle Haim’s kinetic interpretations, glamorous appearance and ability to attract big name collaborators have made her the early music movement’s “It Girl.”  With this L’Orfeo, she gives a strong, if at times over-the-top, account of the world’s first true opera – a work that already has been essayed by a “Who’s who” of the historically informed, including John Eliot Gardiner, Christopher Hogwood and Haim’s mentor, Rene Jacobs.

Written in 1607 for the Gonzaga court, L’Orfeo was supposed to cater to Renaissance Florentines’ taste for the classics and their desire to explore the boundaries of drama.  There are extreme shifts of mood, such as in Act 2, when Orfeo, in the throes of married bliss, suddenly learns that his Euridice has succumbed to a poisonous snakebite.  Monteverdi uses speech-song to convey much of the dramatic action, and the score is filled with, what for the period, were novel dissonances and counterpoint.  But as musicologist Tim Carter writes in the program notes, this work is essentially an intimate chamber piece, written for nine or ten singers doubling up the solo roles.  Because Monteverdi did not leave elaborate directions about instrumental combinations, it is left to Haim to arrange, transpose and balance the accompaniment. The orchestral forces only combine at the end, in a bracing Ritornello.

Haim’s excellent 18-member group, Le Concert d’Astrée, plays with energy and precise articulation from the opening Toccata.  The recitatives are accompanied by an 11-member continuo consisting of cello, violone, two viola de gambas, lirone, lute, two therobos, harpsichord and organ.  Adding to the period authenticity are Les Sacqueboutiers, an eight-member brass band under the direction of Jean-Pierre Canihac and Daniel Lassalle that is especially effective in passages when Orfeo journeys to the underworld.

Tenor Ian Bostridge, who excelled in Haim’s recording of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, brings gentle, fluid phrasing to the title role, particularly in the showpiece aria “Possente spirto.” Also notable is Veronique Gens as Proserpina, the wife of Pluto, who tenderly pleads that Orfeo be allowed to bring Euridice back to life at the beginning of Act 4.

Haim has said in interviews that “mainstream” classical artists can easily make the transition to early music if they possess enough passion.  Natalie Dessay puts this notion to the test in the role of La Musica, squalling through the Prologue in a manner that puts one on edge.  When she orders the birds and the wind to be still while the story unfolds, she means it.  Lorenzo Regazzo similarly brings too much to the role of Pluto; ditto Alice Coote as Messagiera.  Patrizia Ciofi only has a couple of opportunities to show off her gleaming sound in the relatively small role of Euridice.

Though perhaps not as refined as some of the earlier accounts, this L’Orfeo brims with excitement and real emotions and may be the best introduction to Monteverdi for the uninitiated.   

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