Classic CD: Concerti, Between Darkness and Light

CD cover: Concerti.

CD cover: Between Darkness and Light.

After last year's magnificent recording of the complete Beethoven Sonatas, Michael Houstoun deserves to relax, and clearly the pianist is having a ball on Concerti with the Rodger Fox Big Band.

There's no Beethoven here, although the longest track has the first movement of Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto, presented in a smooth big band arrangement by Bill Cunliffe.

The Russian original gets quite a work-over, with a chart that accommodates both a spruce solo on drums from Lauren Ellis and a pretty juicy trombone turn from Fox himself.

Some jaws may drop when Prokofiev's opening clarinets are usurped by saxophones, leading to the sort of lush blowsiness that one might associate with closing titles in the moviehouse.

Nevertheless, Cunliffe cleverly toys with our expectations.

Although the listener might feel like a delinquent teenager blowing bubblegum in a concert hall, Houstoun not only chisels away with his customary incisiveness, but also dishes out some pretty mean cocktail piano.

Cunliffe also provides an overture of sorts with a Jazz Rondo from his recent Piano Concerto. Mozartian echoes are deliberate, starting with a hint of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and this cute and witty musical entanglement bubbles away very agreeably for just over 11 minutes.

I wish I could be more enthusiastic about Cunliffe's original Warriors and Mike Nock's Raff Riff which do not quite register with the same individuality.

By all accounts, Houstoun and Jenny Wollerman's Between Darkness and Light, a recital of songs and piano pieces around the theme of night, worked well in concert.

On CD, alas, something is missing. Wollerman's intelligence and taste comes through in her chosen repertoire, from Brahms, Wolf and Prokofiev to curiosities from Andre Previn and Madeleine Dring.

Handsome packaging, with a cover by young Auckland artist Sholto Buck, includes thoughtful, idiomatic translations by the soprano herself.

However, too often these night visions register as rather chilly, with songs by Samuel Barber and Reynaldo Hahn requiring far more tonal warmth and richness.

Later, Faure and Strauss suffer from excessive vibrato, with the extremely stressed and exposed rendition of the well-known Morgen ushering in a rather bleak and cheerless sunrise.

Verdict: With Beethoven behind him, Michael Houstoun explores new territory, with mixed results

Concerti:

Between Darkness and Light: