Fanfare Review: "Superb debut recording" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A highly auspicious recording debut

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

REVIEW / Fanfare Magazine

by Ken Meltzer

Transatlantic is the superb debut recording by the Berlin Academy of American Music (BAAM). Garrett Keast, an American conductor now based in Berlin, founded and organized the chamber orchestra during the winter of 2021, when the Coronavirus pandemic was still at its height. BAAM focuses on performing the music of “American and American immigrant composers.” For this CD, Keast included pieces by such composers, “and even to those who wrote works based upon American ideals or stories.” Transatlantic opens with a scintillating rendition of Stravinsky’s “Dumbarton Oaks” Concerto. It’s a performance that represents an ideal balance of the work’s elegant Classical era roots, and Stravinsky’s modernist piquant twists and turns of harmony and instrumental colors. The playing is breathtaking in its bracing precision, balance of instrumental voices, and tonal beauty. This is a rendition of “Dumbarton Oaks” that may take its place among the best on recordings. The same may be said of Anne Truelove’s scene, “No word from Tom” from Stravinsky’s neoclassical opera The Rake’s Progress. Once again, execution and pacing are spot on. Soprano Chen Reiss brings vocal radiance, elegance, compelling emotional commitment, and stunning technique to Stravinsky’s magical (but also fiendish) vocal writing.

Transatlantic includes two world premiere recordings. First is Craig Urquhart’s Lamentation, in its version for Flute and String Orchestra.  Urquhart composed the work in memory of a dear friend. It’s a hushed, elegiac piece that showcases the flute’s vocal qualities. Flutist Stathis Karapanos plays the work in exquisite fashion. Also receiving its world premiere is Avner Dorman’s Nofim (Sights), four songs for soprano, flute, violin, percussion, and piano. The Hebrew texts are by Yuval Rapaport. Dorman and Rapaport are dear friends who grew up in the same Tel Aviv neighborhood. The songs are monologues reflecting on issues of life and its transitory nature. The influence of Stravinsky, especially The Soldier’s Tale, is readily apparent, particularly in the second movement, an instrumental piece entitled Demon dance. The remaining three movements include voice (“O, the heart shrivels”, “I was waiting for the sun”, and Funeral) also incorporate Middle Eastern folk elements, along with jazz, and traditional classical voices. Dorman’s writing for the soprano and instrumental ensemble is colorful and highly expressive. Chen Reiss shines once again. Her gorgeous vocalism and committed delivery of the Hebrew text are exemplary. The marvelous instrumentalists include Karapanos, violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley (Concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic), percussionist Lukas Böhm, and pianist Chelsey Padilla.

Photo Credit: Kiran West

If hints of Stravinsky and his neoclassical works may be heard in Dorman’s Nofim, Tōru Takemitsu’s Toward the Sea II is in part homage to Debussy. The scoring for alto flute, harp, and string orchestra inhabits a sonic world recalling Prelude to “The Afternoon of a Faun. And Debussy’s La mer serves as a predecessor to Takemitsu’s exploration of images associated with the sea; The Night, Moby Dick, and Cape Cod. It’s a haunting, evocative work, played with the utmost beauty and sensitivity by Karapanos, harpist Marie-Pierre Langlamet, and the BAAM strings. A radiant performance of Copland’s Appalachian Spring, in its original version for 13 instruments, closes the disc. As in the case of the Stravinsky “Dumbarton Oaks”, the Copland holds its place against the finest recorded competition. Keast is the author of the booklet notes, reproduced in English and German. There are full texts and translations (Dorman) for the vocal works. A highly auspicious recording debut. I look forward to hearing more collaborations by BAAM and Garrett Keast.

Review originally published in Fanfare Magazine, April 2022.