Classical
Beethoven: Symphonies 1-9; Orchestre de la Francophonie, conducted by Jean-Philippe Tremblay (Analekta)
The French-Canadian invasion of classical music is no joke. Besides Yannick Nezet-Seguin in Philadelphia, Jacques Lacombe is being installed at the New Jersey Symphony, while conductors Jean-Marie Zeitouni and Jean-Philippe Tremblay frequently cross the border.
Tremblay just issued a complete Beethoven symphony cycle, and it is excellent.
With Tremblay's lean textures, little vibrato and zippy tempos, the period-instrument movement is a basic point of reference, which partly accounts for the consistency of quality. But he brings to that his brand of crisp rhythms, endlessly lilting melodic phrasing and aggressive momentum (particularly in Symphony No. 4) that never lapses into bullying.
Recorded live, the performances are rarely without a strong electrical current. Although the recording quality is mostly dry and the singing in the Symphony No. 9 final movement becomes a screamfest, this five-disc set is a fine secondary addition to any Beethoven symphony collection.
Scott Johnson:
"Americans" (Tzadik)
After decades of building guitar-based chamber works around prerecorded voices, composer Scott Johnson reaches a level of artistic consolidation that perhaps even his greatest admirers couldn't have anticipated. Thanks partly to breakthroughs in electronic technology, his three-movement "Americans" emerges with an intricacy, sophistication and fluidity that leave little question as to what it all means.
