Search - Victor Evald, Victor Ewald, Stockholm Chamber Brass :: Sounds of St. Petersburg

A substantial collection for fans of brass music

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 01/14/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"An Internet friend turned me onto Victor Ewald (1860-1935), the kind of composer that's made Naxos famous. Almost no one knows him and, on the basis of this recording, he possessed substantial compositional gifts. Not having the notes to this issue avaiable to me when I listened, I did an Internet search on Evald. He has no profile in the All Music Guide or any other easily located musical dictionary ( I don't subscribe to Groves). I found an online Scriabin biography that listed Evald as a professor at a St. Petersburg engineering school, a cellist, and a permanent member of a string quartet in that city.



Regardless of whether or not the composer is well-known, I assume brass quintet enthusiasts must have heard of him for several reasons: 1) This recording lists the Schirmer publishing house as the source for two of these quintets. 2) This is certainly music of high quality, far better than the average noisy blather that passes for brass quintet music.



I found the construction of the four pieces on this recording universally interesting and satisfying, both intellectually and emotionally. Two of the quintets are written in four movements and the other pair each has three movements. These compositions -- one of which is a transcription of a string quartet Evald composed -- all have both the elements of sonata form and an improvisational quality that retains listener interest. Some tutti sections begin to approach cinematic spectacle, if such a thing is possible for five brass players that always keep things under control.



Perhaps best of all is the Brass Quintet No.2, Op.6 second movement, identifed as Tema con variazioni (theme and variations for the Italian-impaired), a near-7 minute exploration beginning with a melancholy theme introduced by the quintet that, in its first variation, manifests to a more upbeat but still thoughtful phrase in the trumpet and trombone, then becomes a playful, dancing tune first heard in tuba, then trombone, then trumpet. This intellectually stimulating section is clearly modeled after some of history's greatest variations including Bach's Goldberg. It is a metaphor for the entire CD.



The Stockholm Chamber Brass are exceptionally sensitive to the ever-changing moods of each piece and are attentive to the adventure that awaits every succeeding page turn. There is none of the simplistic, high lung power blasting we are oft-confronted by in this type of recording. To the contrary, the players appear to have made a concerted effort to keep the volume down, the counterpoint clean and visible, the rubato and vibrato respectable, and almost never can you detect the ringing bell of an instrument. This is some of the most tasteful brass playing I've ever heard.



My search for Evald's discography turned up only a couple recordings and, in one of them, he shared billing with a number of composers. I am confident saying this is the probably the greatest currently available exposition of this almost unknown composer's art. I don't know if the composer transcribed this music to brass quintet or composed the others. The title, "Sounds of St. Petersburg", doesn't help.



For those that wonder, I would not call this music very Russian sounding. The low brass do not dominate, there is no excess of extroverted emotions, and the chromatic nature of these compositions suggests Bruckner and Wagner rather than Tchaikovsky as a principal influence. A far cry from the typical Canadian Brass offering, this is brass music for people that enjoy dignity, even temperament and sophistication in their musicmaking.



The recording, made in a Swedish grammar school in 1993, is also excellent. The only demerit for me -- and this is a personal issue -- is this is a bit too much of a good thing all at one time. I will probably listen to this one piece at a time, not all at once. If you enjoy brass music, or any form of chamber music, you may feel differently. If so, don't hesitate to acquire this even though the price seems high."