Quick Takes: Batch #1 (Schubert, Fritze, Barraine, Bach)

I'm conscious that I post here infrequently. Holding down two jobs, writing for Classical Candor, and maintaining a research agenda doesn't leave much room for the long-form album reviews this blog has featured. So I've decided to supplement those occasional longer pieces with short "quick take" roundups — a way to stay present here and give readers more reason to keep coming back. (I'll always stick to four at a time so that I can fit more tags in.) Here is my first batch. 

1. Schubert 4 Hands. Bertrand Chamayou and Leif Ove Andsnes, pianists. Erato 2173296578.

Good recordings of the D. 940 Fantasia are nearly a dime a dozen, and the catalogue is filling up with the D. 947 Allegro and D. 957 Rondo as well. The decision to include the D. 952 Fugue — a less common companion piece — was a smart one. Of course Perahia and Lupu remain my benchmark in the Fantasia, but this is a strong alternative with a pleasingly brisk finale. The closest competition probably comes from the fairly recent Hyperion CDA67665 (Paul Lewis and Steven Osbourne), which overlaps significantly in repertoire. For my money Chamayou and Andsnes edge out the Brits in depth and polish, but you really can't go wrong with either. Verdict: Firmly Recommended. 

2. Gregory Fritze: Overtures and Symphonies. Rafael Sanz-Espert, conductor; London Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.559964. 

At least two of these works — A Day in Valencia and Sinfonia de Valencia — began as wind ensemble pieces, re-scored by Fritze in recent years and receiving their debut recordings here. The result is a mixed bag. Several movements of A Day in Valencia are wonderfully stirring and atmospheric, especially "Sunrise over the Mediterranean," and the finale of the Sinfonia — "Pastorale y las montañas" — is equally compelling. None of it will change the world, but these parts hold the attention. Less successful for me are the Sinfonia's first movement, most of the London Overture, and Waterplace Park. For the latter two think overlong Malcolm Arnold without the strong voice. For the former, think your garden-variety, dull 20th-century symphonic writing. Overall? One muted thumb up. Verdict: Mildly Recommended. 








3. Elsa Barraine: Symphonies 1 & 2; Song-Koï; Les tziganes. Cristian Măcelaru, conductor; Orchestre National de France. Warner Classics 2173255519.

Elsa Barraine was an excellent composer with a strong formal craft and sharp ear for instrumental sonority. The two symphonies are as well conceived as most you'll hear, and everything here comes off with admirable assurance. Really all that's missing is a distinguished stamp of personality — which means the music is arguably at its best in peppy, short bursts, as in the finale of the Second Symphony and Les tziganes. The other recent recording of these symphonies, by Elena Schwarz and the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln (CPO 555 704-2), is slightly preferable for its punchier approach. Still, this is a solid option, and the world premieres of the supplementary works make it a good buy for fans of quality neoclassical orchestral fare. Verdict: Recommended. 

4. J. S. Bach: Goldberg Variations. Yunchan Lim, pianist. Decca 487 151-7. 

There has been some ho-humming about Lim recording this work — "oh, another Goldberg Variations," or "the obligatory career-launching repertoire choice." (See here and here.) Which is understandable. But this is a terrific set, especially given that it's performed live. Lim has a beautiful tone and keen artistic judgment. Not every variation hits the same lofty spot, but more than a few are among the most satisfying you're going to hear. He does the fast ones well — in the tradition of Glenn Gould's classic 1955 issue, but with a much richer sound and sensitivity (compare their No. 5s). No. 17 is very fast, but also the bubbliest performance I've heard. He takes repeats, sometimes with fine results, as when he successfully shifts character the second time through No. 20 part 1. But Lim may be most himself in the slow numbers, where his gift for mood and atmosphere takes over. His No. 25 — Landowska's "Black Pearl" — won't be everyone's deepest ever, but it's nocturne-like in the best way. Would I like to see him tackle Kapustin or Bolcom some time? Sure. But there are Goldberg Variations a whole lot more boring and less competent than this set. Verdict: Highly Recommended. 

I've Won the 2026 Eva Judd O'Meara Prize!

 It is my honor to have been awarded the 2026 Eva Judd O'Meara prize by the Music Library Association (MLA)! This prize is awarded by the organization for their pick of best review in their organization's journal, Notes. Here is the text of the letter I received: 

"Dear Ryan, It is my great pleasure to inform you that you have been awarded the Music Library Association’s Eva Judd O’Meara Award for the best review published in MLA’s journal Notes for your review of Vaughan Williams and His World ed. by Byron Adams and Daniel M. Grimley. Notes 80, no. 4 (2024): 654-663. The Music Library Association’s Publications Awards Committee’s recommendation stated that your review presents a sophisticated and nuanced critique of the volume. They note that you thoughtfully challenge what [you identify] as several ahistorical and ideologically driven assumptions concerning both Vaughan Williams’s political outlook and his relationship to musical modernism. In terms of structure, the committee declares that it is substantial in both length and depth, distinguished by prose that is clear, elegant, and free from fashionable jargon. They write that your command of the field renders you an especially qualified commentator, enabling you to identify inaccuracies, omissions, and interpretive missteps that might elude a less knowledgeable critic. The O’Meara Award comes with a monetary award of $240.00. Congratulations and best regards! Bruce J. Evans President, Music Library Association"

You can see this item listed under my publications tab. I'll add that it is very gratifying to be recognized for the critical work I do, especially since it isn't always easy challenging what I consider to be myths and exaggerations in received musicological wisdom. I am grateful to the MLA and its staff for reading my review thoroughly and recognizing its merits. 

Recording Review #71: Malofeev's Melodies

Forgotten Melodies. [Featuring music by Glinka, Medtner, Rachmaninoff, and Glazunov.] Alexander Malofeev, pianist. Sony 19802936922. 2 CD. 

A pianist tells us many things about himself with a debut album. Especially if that debut album is named after one of its featured works. And especially if the composer of that featured work deserves to be a canon figure but isn't quite yet. Alexander Malofeev is 24 years old, and his inaugural recording is staking a claim with the music of....Nikolai Medtner. Yes, Nikolai Medtner. Ever heard of him? This is a composer whom Richard Taruskin once called "the poor man's Rachmaninoff" (Defining Russia Musically, pg. 318). Closer to my own experience, I remember the disdain with which a fellow graduate student reacted to the Medtner works I excitedly showed him. For long the consensus seems to have been that this music is well crafted but too introverted to really make wide impact. Medtner hasn't had the easiest time. 

But it has been kept alive by serious advocates going back many decades. Richter, Gilels, and Horowitz were earlier champions. Then Geoffrey Tozer and Marc-André Hamelin recorded their superb discs for Chandos and Hyperion respectively in the 90s. Then came Evgeny Kissin with his own rendition of the Sonata Reminiscenza (a work that Malofeev tackles here). Then I was thrilled to see Medtner featured in performances at the latest Van Cliburn competition. (Here is one example.) The verdict of such distinguished company is clear: there is much that is special in this music; it merits prominence and not just survival. And like Hamelin has said, it seeps into you with repeated exposure; eventually you're aware that you love it. Even Taruskin amended his opinion later (Russian Music at Home and Abroad: New Essays, pg. 125). 

Malofeev supplies a generous helping of Medtner here – all 8 pieces in the first set of Forgotten Melodies plus the second of the Op. 48 Fairy Tales. No empty advocacy is this: Malofeev feels Medtner's alternately breezy and saturnine moods to perfection. He brings out the composer's famous (infamous?) intricacies with smooth sensitivity. One savors how he adjusts to the main theme in all of its iterations across the Melodies. It's an absolute treat to the ears, and astonishing coming from one so young. 

The selections rounding out this bountiful release complement the Medtner quite consciously, and likewise accentuate Malofeev's gifts. It's extremely nice to see Glazunov's likewise underrated piano works getting more fine exposure. A highlight is the Op. 103 Iydlle. Its mixture of sun and melancholy make it an ideal companion to the Forgotten Melodies. Malofeev dispatches it with warm delicacy. Similar things could be said for the five Glinka pieces also included, my favorite of which isn't actually the somewhat-known Lark but rather the unassuming Farewell Waltz. 

Of course the best known music is the included Rachmaninoff assortment. But even here the repertoire is chosen wisely for consistency with its album-mates. There's the big Second Sonata: Malofeev meets its fierce virtuosic demands with enviable ease. But this sonata is even more characterized by its various shades of gloom and mystery, finding striking connections with the other pieces here. It shows that there is more in common between Rachmaninoff and Medtner, and that the more famous Russian composer's adoration of his friend's music was in earnest. If anything such connections prompt new ways to view the C-Sharp Minor Prelude and included Études-Tableaux. This kind of subtle awareness is wonderful to see. 

If I have a mild reservation it is that Malofeev sometimes overplays the faster and louder portions. They're breathtaking but occasionally obscure the details slightly. I imagine that much of this is a maturity thing and will improve with age. Certainly it does nothing to mar what is a beautiful and important project. If the survival of classical music partially depends upon creative programming like this, and I believe it does, Malofeev is certainly doing his part. 

Verdict: Highly Recommended