Ives: Concord Sonata; Songs

Pierre-Laurent Aimard (Artist), Susan Graham (Artist), Charles Ives (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 11, 2004)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Teldec
• ASIN: B0001HZ6MO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,113 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #36 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > Composers > Ives, Charles

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Ives' Second Sonata is one of the toughest, but it holds no fears for Aimard, a noted interpreter of Messiaen, Ligetti, and other moderns who require virtuoso technique and idiomatic expertise. Each of its four movements is titled for New England luminaries: Emerson, Hawthorne, the Alcotts, and Thoreau. The longest, "Emerson," is knotty and energetic, bristling with a minefield of cluster chords. "Hawthorne" is a genial scherzo exhibiting a wider palette, while "The Alcotts" is a lyrical paean to domestic tranquility. "Thoreau" embraces the mysteries of nature, played with intensity by Aimard. There's an abundance of power in his playing, but also ravishing effects like the startling diminuendo in "Thoreau" and the array of marches, hymns, and parlor songs Ives threw into the mix. His terrific "Concord" Sonata is matched by the survey of Ives' inventive songs, 17 of them superbly sung by Susan Graham with Aimard superb as her piano partner. Graham captures every nuance of a mind-boggling variety of idioms, from nostalgia, tenderness, and hilarious miniatures like "Ann Street" and the sendup of opera in "Memories – A," among many other highlights. This one's a must for Ivesians, fans of musical eccentricity, modern music enthusiasts, and anyone in search of musical surprises, which abound on almost every track. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It takes a Frenchman to capture an American masterpiece!, May 18, 2004

By 

Jeff Abell (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ives: Concord Sonata; Songs (Audio CD)

The "Concord Sonata" of Charles Ives has been described as "the greatest work written by an American." It's a big sprawling, glorious mess of a thing, inspired by the Transcendental writers Emerson, Hawthorne, Alcott and Thoreau. I first heard the ground-breaking version by John Kirkpatrick, and have long cherished the powerful account by Gilbert Kalish (recorded in the '70s). But hearing Pierre-Laurent Aimard play this piece makes me forget all about those earlier recordings. A specialist in Messian and Ligeti, Aimard plays Ives like one to the manner born. Forget any preconceived notions of what it means to be a "French pianist," and let this astonishing performance carry you away. The Alcotts movement has never felt so tender, and the Thoreau movement is likewise exquisitely balanced. Perhaps most enthralling is how he manages to give shape and sense to Emerson, and Hawthorne, the fiendishly hard scherzo, has never had a reading like this. I'd have been content with the sonata, but the disk also holds the gorgeous mezzo Susan Graham singing 17 Ives songs, with Aimard's brilliant accompaniments. A fabulous recording no serious American music collection should be without!

23 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a fresh take on sonata no. 2, July 28, 2004

By 

J. Shapiro "kodok_gembira" (Holland, OH United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ives: Concord Sonata; Songs (Audio CD)

I have a slightly different view than with the previous review, as well as the Davis review. If you are a fan of Ives (you probably are if you are interested in this cd), then you may not need to bother with half of this cd. Messo Susan Graham is quite out of touch with the character studies of these wonderful songs. When she isn't yodelling many times louder than she ought to on some high notes to demonstrate her vocal command, she becomes the epitomy of boredom and banality. I imagine Ben Stein could give a more lifelike reading of 'The Circus Band'. The jovial cheer "hear the trombones!" sounds more akin to a yawn on this version. Since when did shear vocal power and sonic richness take such high precedence over interpretive skills? Have you really forgotten Jan de Gaetani's wonderous versions? I feel Graham has done a disservice to this music, and should probably go back to singing French arias which apparently she is quite good at.

The Concord Sonata is definetly the reason you may want to own this disc. Aimard is outstanding as per usual. Emerson does really come alive here, as does Hawthorne with it's dramtic tempo shifts. My main concern lies in the 3rd movement 'the Alcotts'. It is clearly a pastorale movement with a touch of sweet nostalgia. Aimard plays a little too deliberately here- not loose enough with the tempo or lively enough with the rhythms. That really is the only disadvantage. I don't think Aimard played the folk elements strongly enough.
I guess the main question is: if I own the Kalish recording of the Sonata, do I need this one too? Probably again, you are an Ives believer and this version has great insights- why not. Like the Kalish version, this one includes the optional viola line on Emerson and the flute part of Thoreau. They appear better realised with more dramatic impact on the Kalish recording- a minor point. Movement for movement Aimard has the first and seccond, but I prefer 3 and 4 on the Kalish. The 3rd mentioned above, and the fourth seems to have more gravity with Kalish, bringing more of a closure to the tempestuous nature of the work. Aimard shows a more whispy, impressionistic take as he also does at the start of Hawthorne, reminding of Debussy. Not inappropriate stylistically speaking, but definetly a matter of taste. Aimard is a winner and I love what he does for Ligeti and Messiaen. Overall a very successful Ives sonata, and a questionably performed set of songs, well-chosen as they might be. If you are new to Ives this should be enough to get you into further explorations.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A European modernist embraces Ives, January 7, 2007

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ives: Concord Sonata; Songs (Audio CD)

Chalres Ives was 46 when he published his "Concord" Sonata, and as the liner notes tell us, its sprawling shape and diverse styles are the result of gathering a lot of music previously composed (none of it for solo piano) and needing a single dwelling. Ives always had his own ideas about how music is held together or flies apart. He wasn't afraid to have it fly apart, and often his notion of coherence was so private, rooted in personal memories, that an outside listener can't be expected to penetrate the associations.

Aimard goes a long way toward penetrating the privacy and quirkiness of Ives's idiom by drawing the sonata into the mainstream of European modernism, giving it the same clean, detailed, accurate, and impressionistic style that he might give to other individualists like Ligeti and Messiaen. (It's also nice to have the viola addition to the first movement and the flute in the fourth.) The "Concord" Sonata becomes a virtuosic event in his hands, no longer a purely "American" sport. (At 17 min., the first movement is almost 4 min. slower than on John Kirkpatrick's premiere recording.) I do find that listening to this vast work is better in concert, where its appearance is always a special occasion. But one has to be grateful for Aimard's quantum leap in execution compared to several earlier recordings.

Ives gathered his large output of 114 songs into a collection two years after the sonata. Susan Graham picks 15 of them, adding two more that followed after 1922. These songs ask for a vocal chameleon who can shift instantly from Victorian parlor style to patriotic exuberance, folk song, whimsy, rapt nostaliga, and more. No one to date has been able to encompass this enormous range of expression, but Susan Graham comes as close as any. I would rank her with Jan De Gaetani, Thomas Hampson, and William Sharp among the singers I know who excel in Ives, and above the too-classical, somewhat congested renditions by Marilyn Horne and Jennifer Lamore. Aimard's accompaniment may miss the Yankee flavor of the marches and patriotic snatches, but in its modernist way his style is as effective as in the sonata. Highly recommended for lovers of this music.