1.01. - 1.03. Johann Sebastian Bach - Concerto in D minor for Keyboard and Strings, BWV,1052 [22'11]
with Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Eivind Aadland [2012 live]
1.04. - 1.06. Joseph Haydn - Concerto for Violin and Organ in F major, Hob.XVIII:6 * [19'43]
with Wanda Wilkomirska- violin, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Niklaus Wyss [1982 live]
2.07. - 2.09. Frederic Chopin - Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, op.11 [40'31]
with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Werner Andreas Albert [1982]
3.10. - 3.12. Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, op.58 [33'36]
with Queensland Theatre Orchestra, George Tintner [1982 live]
3.13. - 3.15. Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, op.37 [34'42]
with West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Albert Rosen [1982 live]
4.16. - 4.18. Sergei Prokofiev - Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, op.26 [28'25]
4.19. - 4.21. Alexander Scriabin - Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor, op.20 [25'45]
4.22. - 4.25. Arnold Schoenberg - Piano Concerto, op.42 [22'33]
with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Edo de Waart [between 1997 & 2000 live]
A Concerto Collection. Vol.II
5.26. - 5.28. Sergei Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, op.18 [33'04]
with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Charles Dutoit [2003 live]
5.29. Qu Xiao-song - Huan, for piano and 40-part strings [15'27]
with Camerata Australia, Diego Masson [1997?, live]
5.30. Alexander Scriabin - Prometheus. The Poem of Fire, op.60 # [24'15]
with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Diego Masson [1997 live]
6.31. - 6.52. Larry Sitsky - Piano Concerto 'The Twenty-Two Paths of the Tarot' [26'44]
with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, David Porcelijn [1997]
6.53. - 6.57. Barry Conyngham - Southern Cross. Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra ^ [32'47]
with Wanda Wilkomirska- violin, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Niklaus Wyss [1982 live]
7.58. Iannis Xenakis - Kraanerg [70'47]
Alpha Centauri Ensemble conducted by Roger Woodward [1988]
ABC Classics 4819182 [recorded from 1982 to 2012; this CD set issued 2014]
[digital download; flacs, cover and back scan only - no booklet]
The release of this intelligently selected 7-CD set coincided with the launch of Roger Woodward’s autobiography Beyond Black and White: My Life in Music and it amply demonstrates the extraordinary range and sensitivity of the pianist and, in the case of the Haydn - organist - and the Xenakis - conductor - ranging from baroque, standard classics through to radical modernism. Many composers have written works specifically for Woodward - including the Sitsky and Conyngham works on this issue.
Most of these recordings had not appeared commercially before - exceptions being the Scriabin and Rachmaninov concertos and the Sitsky which have appeared on individual ABC Classics issues and, although recorded by the ABC, the Conyngham was originally issued as part of an EMI Australia LP ASD270403 in 1986 and the Xenakis was issued on a Dutch Etcetera label CD KTC1075 in 1989.
For me, the standout performances are the two Beethoven, Prokofiev, Sciabin, Schoenberg and Rachmaninov concertos. In particular, Edo de Waart's accompaniments with the Sydney Symphony are outstanding. Woodward and de Waart make the Schoenberg concerto as clear, dramatic and understandable as I have heard. The download files of the Chopin indicate that it is played in Balakirev's arrangement but there is nothing in the documentation that I have seen for the original CD release to verify that.
Of the modern works, all championed by Woodward, I particularly enjoyed Huan by the little-known Chinese composer, Qu Xiao-song. Roger Woodward, describes his music as "crystal clear, and conveying the tenderness of a magical chamber music of the kind one finds in Feldman, Takemitsu, Messiaen, Debussy, Chopin, Schubert and Mozart." I agree completely and find it a great example of the accessible avant-garde.
Larry Sitsky's large-scale concerto from 1991 The Twenty-Two Paths of the Tarot has 22 short movements, one for each tarot card of the major arcana. The piano part switches rapidly from celestial lyricism to towering infernos of sound and Woodward does his very best to bring the work together as a whole. But, to me, it remains diffuse and less than a major achievement. Barry Conyngham’s Southern Cross: Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, written in 1981, is a more powerful work from another less than well-known composer - although he is a student of Peter Sculthorpe. There are occasional homages to Sculthorpe in the writing and it has been suggested that the composer was also influenced by Xenakis.
Forgoing the piano for the conductor's baton, this was the world-premiere recording of Iannis Xenakis'Kraanerg. A 70 minute ballet score - all in just one movement. According to the Gramophone reviewer - "the music has ‘active energy’. This music is more concerned with atmosphere than character; with auras rather than individuals. The performance is dazzling, and I come firmly into the ‘bowled over’ rather than ‘baffled’ category." According to the Stereophile reviewer: "Almost defying description, this performance features Xenakis at his most probing, radical and intellectual. The surprise is how he always infuses the music with such emotional power. I am always moved in a different way when I experience this piece." So there you have it. I have to confess that I failed to sit through the whole 70 minutes. I have included the booklet from the Etcetera release in the download folder.
Surprisingly, the most recent recording, the Bach Keyboard concerto from 2012, is the only one that sounds at all old-fashioned. This is mainly due to the orchestral playing. Although using a modern piano, Woodward's playing is very stylish. Wanda Wilkomirska is also out of her comfort zone in the Haydn concerto but Woodward is spectacular on the chamber organ. The orchestra also sounds under rehearsed in the Haydn. This was recorded at the same concert as the Conyngham and it seems that almost all the rehearsal time went on that work. Understandable, I suppose, as it was being recorded for commercial release and it is fiendishly difficult. Wilkomirska excels in this work.
Some of the breaks between works are ridiculously short, so it will often be worthwhile setting your playback to stop at the end of a work. Going straight from the Scriabin Concerto into Schoenberg is fairly mind bending.
Discographic information, apart from the Xenakis, is fairly limited without access to the detailed booklet included with the CD set. As usual with ABC Classics, nothing apart from the cover scan came with the digital download. What information I do have is included in the 'comments' of the file tags and in the download folder.
Morton Feldman:
1.01. Flute and Orchestra (1977/78) [32'35]
1.02. Cello and Orchestra (1972) [18'41]
2.03. Oboe and Orchestra (1976) [21'10]
2.04. Piano and Orchestra (1975) [26'37]
Roswitha Staege- flute, Siegfried Palm- cello, Armin Aussem- oboe, Roger Woodward- piano, Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hans Zender.
CPO 999438-2 [recorded May 1978, June 1973, June 1977 and November 1975; CD released 1997]
[digital download; flacs, cover and inlay scans - no booklet]