Ramble with Sonatas for Sunday and California

Grant Chu Covell

[June 2026.]

“Complete Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 2.” Rued LANGGAARD: Violin Sonata No. 1, “Viole” (1915; rev. 1945)¹; Andante religioso (1950)²; Søndagssonate (“Sunday Sonata”) (1949-50)³. Gunvor Sihm^1,2,3 (vln), Berit Johansen Tange^1,2,3 (pno), Per Salo³ (org), Danish National Symphony Orchestra³, Thomas Søndergård³ (cond.). Dacapo 8.226131 (1 CD) (www.dacapo-records.dk).

I’m picking out the second of three volumes in this series, because of the unusualness of the Sunday Sonata, which starts in one place and finishes so absolutely elsewhere. But before we get there, Langgaard’s First Sonata for violin and piano is a gushing fountain of tonality, penned in an astonishing four days the notes inform. I’d like to associate the sonata’s passionate energy with what I’ll characterize as Langgaard’s eventual idiosyncratic worldview. Andante religioso is an anodyne trifle, arranged from a violin and organ original. The violin takes the melodic lead over the piano’s dutiful accompaniment.

The Sunday Sonata starts as a perky violin and piano sonata. But right from the opening, the violin is secondary, as the piano pushes and pulls unexpected modulations and perverse harmonies above a Brahmsian foundation. This opening movement is more akin to a Scherzo or Finale. The second movement is a stately harmonization which fizzles away into a another stately harmonization / quasi-improvisation for solo organ, a third movement which completely disregards violin and piano. The last movement opens with trombone and timpani blasts which introduce an organ solo before a full orchestra coda. Little if anything the violin and piano offer at the Sonata’s start prepare for organ or orchestra. The first time through, you might think the wrong movements had been combined. Repeated listening might note the weak left-hand writing for the piano in the second movement, or the theatric low-string glissandos in the last movement coda. The Sunday Sonata is as good a piece as any to cement Langgaard’s reputation as a bizarre visionary.

“Love and Loss.” Dmitri SMIRNOV: Abel (1991)¹; to be or not to be… (2018-19)². Elena FIRSOVA: Piano Quartet No. 2, “Four Seasons” (2018-19)³; Quartet for the Time of Grief (2023)⁴. Rudersal Chamber Players: Jonas Frølund^1,4 (clar), Christine Pryn^1,2,3,4 (vln), Marie Stockmarr Becker^2,3 (vla), John Ende^1,2,3,4 (vlc), Manuel Esperilla^1,2,3,4 (pno). Our Recordings 8.226932 (1 CD) (www.ourrecordings.com).

Honestly, this lovingly constructed recording is tricky to consider, because it is so personal to the composers and performers. Partners in life since their Moscow school days, Smirnov and Firsova started to work with the Rudersal Chamber Players in 2019: to be or not to be… and Four Seasons were written for the Danish ensemble. Then came the pandemic, and Smirnov died in 2020. Firsova wrote Quartet for the Time of Grief honoring her husband and for the Rudersal group.

The clarinet in Abel and in the concluding Quartet adds necessary color to a sober program. The cornerstone is the concluding Quartet for the Time of Grief, a weighty memorial. A Blake drawing sparked Smirnov’s Abel, each instrument taking on a character seen in the image. In to be or not to be… the viola takes up (musically) Hamlet’s soliloquy. Firsova’s Four Seasons is far from Vivaldi: The couple emigrated to just outside of London in 1991, and the piano quartet reflects English weather. Quartet for the Time of Grief pulls in material from Smirnov’s Abel as well as Messiaen’s Quatuor.

“Parlando.” Igor SANTOS: parlando (2016; rev. 2023)*. Anthony DONOFRIO: Meditation on Italo Calvino’s “The Castle of Crossed Destinies” (2016). Barbara MONK FELDMAN: Glockenspiel (2004). Thomas DELIO: jeu de timbres (2010). Michael PISARO-LIU: The narrow path (2020). Shaoai Ashley Zhang* (synth), Christopher Clarino (perc). Neuma Records 221 (1 CD) (www.neumarecords.org).

Clarino’s “Parlando” lively release emphasizes extremes and contrasts. Santos’ title piece pairs vibraphone and synthesizer in woozy unison. With pedal plus motor, and microtonal keyboard tuning, the duet proceeds in tandem, wriggling in and out of pitch. In jeu de timbres, DeLio balances non-pitched percussion (drums, rattles, cymbals, etc.), resonant bells and silence. Likewise, at under three minutes, the very brief Glockenspiel alternates fast notes and pauses. Donofrio and Pisaro-Liu contribute long, slowly progressing works. Meditation repeats its small cells as if reshuffling the tarot cards found in Calvino’s story. The narrow path responds to a scroll painting, the vibraphone pedal smudging notes and chords into excruciating dissonance which builds and resolves, much like a mountain climb through mist.

“Music In Exile: Chamber Works by Ernest Kanitz.” Ernest KANITZ: Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 10 (1921)¹; String Quartet (1945)²; Sonata for solo cello (1955)³; Concertino for five players (1956-57)⁴; Sonata Californiana (1948)⁵. ARC Ensemble: Joaquin Valdepeñas⁴ (clar), Wallace Halladay⁵ (sax), Kevin Ahfat^1,4,5 (pno), Anna Štube¹, Erika Raum², Marie Berard^2,4 (vln), Steven Dann^2,4 (vla), Thomas Wiebe^2,3 (vlc), Joel Quarrington⁴ (cbs). Chandos CHAN 20374 (1 CD) (www.chandos.net).

Written in Vienna, the Violin Sonata balances strong melody and harmony with Debussy’s sweetness and a touch of Poulenc’s irony. From these premiere recordings, it’s hard to detect a stylistic shift after Kanitz came to America. Dedicated to fellow emigree Toch, perhaps the Quartet is whimsical, from its moody start, through a light Rondino and a set of variations on a Viennese tune. The three-movement solo cello Sonata continues in the same vein, but the Concertino (clarinet, violin, viola, contrabass, piano) is most interesting, even if Kanitz considered more modern timbres in the sax and piano Sonata Californiana. As always, ARC Ensemble and Chandos’ “Music In Exile” series delivers and informs.

“Orchestral Works.” Oscar STRASNOY: The End (Sum No. 4) (2006)¹; Y (Sum No. 2) (2008; rev. 2011)²; Trois Caprices de Paganini (2011)³; Incipit (Sum No. 1) (2008; rev. 2011)⁴; Scherzo (Sum No. 3) (2005; rev. 2011)⁵. Latica Honda-Rosenberg³ (vln), Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Susanna Mälkki^1,2, Dima Slobodeniouk^3,4,5 (cond.). Aeon AECD 1331 (1 CD) (www.outhere-music.com).

I had been on the fence about considering this release. There was a time when I would have thought these pieces the cleverest music ever, tickled I could recognize some quotes. Then decades later, I would have questioned how Strasnoy’s pleasing pastiche isn’t really advancing the cause. Nowadays I find myself chuckling when spying a previously unnoticed allusion. I listen to this intently now, wondering if I would make similar choices (which is a game we lapsed composers play).

This disc presents an anti-concerto and an anti-symphony. The four parts of Sum could be sequenced as a symphony, but we’re meant to resist that impulse. The End, (Sum No. 4), starts with Beethoven’s most drawn-out coda. Y, (Sum No. 2), is something like a slow movement, which embeds a clever materialization of a Petroushka moment. Incipit, (Sum No. 1), loosely stirs the opening trumpet fanfare from Mahler’s Fifth with the somber strings that kick off Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra. Remarkably, it’s possible not to realize the three-note tattoo in Incipit ties back to Mahler. Scherzo, (Sum No. 3), is self-explanatory, yet possibly the hardest to bring off as we expect humor. The Scherzo in Schubert’s Sonata, D. 960 makes a cameo.

Stepping back, Strasnoy achieves a remarkable balance, to spoof beginnings, middles and ends without overdoing quotations. I suspect, but can’t prove, that what we hear has been meticulously planned, that Strasnoy’s final versions are the result of labor and variation. His orchestrations reflect close study of Berlioz through Boulez and all in between, with clever rhythmic grooves and sometimes cimbalom, sprinkled around.

Sum Nos. 4 and 2, then Nos. 1 and 3 wrap whimsical orchestrations of three Paganini Caprices. Strasnoy enhances Paganini’s Nos. 1, 6 and 24 with orchestral commentary. As if a concerto, the three caprices form a natural fast-slow-fast shape. The added instruments do not provide traditional accompaniment as they interpolate different rhythms and styles. I haven’t pulled out the original, but I suspect the solo violin part is wholly Paganini’s original. It’s a tough act for Honda-Rosenberg who never really gets the chance to dazzle as Strasnoy’s command of the orchestra enables the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France to overstep and shine.

“Gonzalo de Olavide: Música orquestal y sinfónico-vocal.” Gonzalo de OLAVIDE: Índices (1964)¹; Sine die (1973)²; Clamor II (1975)³; Sinfónica “Homenaje a Falla” (1976)⁴; Cante In Memoriam García Lorca (1979)⁵; Estigma (1982)⁶; Oda II (1985)⁷; Orbe-Variations (1988)⁸; Tránsito (1992)⁹; Concertante-Divides (2001)¹⁰. Carole Sidney Louis⁶ (sop), Magdalena Llamas^5,6,10 (m-sop), Richard Rittelmann^6,7 (bar), José Manuel Montero⁶ (ten), Coro de RTVE^5,6,10, Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE, Arturo Tamayo (cond.). Verso VRS 2128 (3 CDs) (o/p) (www.verso.es).

Olavide (1934-2005) hung out with the 20th-century’s biggest names: Boulez and Berio at Darmstadt and then later Stockhausen and Pousseur at Cologne. This substantial set collects Olavide’s largest works. The earliest items (Índices, Sine die, Clamor II, Sinfónica “Homenaje a Falla) reflect mid-century flavors and to my ear are the most adventurous and interesting. If you had to experience just one, I’d suggest the gargantuan Clamor II for orchestra and tape, at 42 minutes. The tape may alternate with the orchestra (like Varèse’s Déserts) or it may overlap (as in Gerhard’s Third). The pre-recorded sounds are relatively quaint, whirring sine waves, whooshing noise, probably cutting edge in 1975 but wonderful period examples today. Towards the end, we hear an insistent pulsing raspberry, quietly around 35:00 but then delightfully prominent from 36:25 to 40:00 or so.

Even though they’re shorter than Clamor II, the vocal settings are not diminutive, even if stylistically less avant-garde: Cante In Memoriam García Lorca includes chorus and mezzo soprano, Estigma for soloists, chorus sets words by Santa Teresa de Ávila whom the work commemorates, Oda II with baritone sets Machado and Concertante-Divides with mezzo and chorus sets the composers own words.