These days, many classical musicians would consider themselves fortunate to make one or two recordings a year. Marin Alsop has three discs coming out Tuesday alone.
Alsop has been one of the most prolific conductors in the recording studio for the past several years, working mainly with the remarkably successful budget label Naxos, which is releasing Tuesday's triple volley.
These new releases find the music director designate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra collaborating with two British ensembles - her other BSO, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, which named her principal conductor in 2002; and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. (There are plans for Alsop to start making recordings with her Maryland BSO for Naxos this year.)
The conductor covers a diverse sampling of repertoire in the trio of CDs - Brahms' Symphony No. 3, the third installment in a cycle of his symphonies with the London Philharmonic; Carl Orff's crowd-pleasing Carmina Burana and two big orchestral pieces by Philip Glass, with the Bournemouth Symphony.
The discs provide a timely reminder of the qualities and tastes that the conductor is bringing to the region as she settles more deeply into her Baltimore post (coincidentally, she leads an all-Glass program with the BSO next month). Here's a closer look at this week's abundance of Alsop:
Carl Orff: Carmina Burana (Naxos 8.570033)
Nothing is likely to diminish the popularity of Orff's cantata. Some terribly sophisticated musicians have been known to dismiss it because it doesn't sound, well, terribly sophisticated. Others hear the perfectly coordinated stomp of Nazi boots in it, simply because it made its premiere in Frankfurt in 1937 (Orff was no Third Reich toady). But most folks just surrender willingly to Carmina Burana, its celebration of pagan sensuality and medieval tension-release (the texts come from a 13th-century collection of anonymous Middle Ages poets and songsters), its simple tunefulness and bluntness.
Alsop, who invariably shines in music filled with rhythmic assertiveness and living-color instrumentation, taps into the earthy jolt of the well-worn score, keeping things taut and crisp. There's a nice bite to the aggressive passages, an unfussy lyricism to the sweeter ones.
The choral and orchestral forces of the Bournemouth Symphony respond impressively, nowhere more so than in the last movement of the "On the Green" section - 55 particularly incendiary seconds. Alsop has the men's voices building up terrific steam at the end of the "In the Tavern" section, and she likewise generates considerable propulsion in the orchestra-only "Round Dance."
A touch more snap and drive would be welcome in a few places, as in the recurring outbursts from the orchestra in "Wounded by Fortune," and the cantata's finale, which is nearly anticlimactic, missing the last ounce of exultation and abandon. But the performance clicks nonetheless, and also delivers a sizable sonic impact.
Of the soloists, baritone Markus Eiche is unfailingly expressive, giving words a lot of character, though his voice doesn't open up easily at the top end. Tom Randle tackles the single, thankless tenor aria - the lament of a slowly roasting swan - more or less effectively. Long-breathed soprano Claire Rutter does thoroughly enchanting work in "The Court of Love" section, though upper register constriction keeps her final solo from reaching an ethereal state.
Orff's celebration of medieval revels is already heavily represented on disc, but there should be room for one more, especially one this full of life.
Brahms: Symphony No. 3, Variations on a Theme of Haydn --(Naxos 8.557430)
Alsop's Brahms cycle with the London Philharmonic has given her a chance to document her ideas about the standard symphonic repertoire that still counts heavily in the evaluation of any conductor.
The first two products, Symphony No. 1 and No. 2, both released in 2005, were certainly respectable but rather ordinary in terms of interpretation and, especially in the finales, somewhat short on ear-grabbing electricity. With No. 3, however, Alsop seems to have moved into a higher gear.
The Third Symphony, which has something of the dark edge of the First and something of the tender poetry of the Second, can be an elusive work to conduct. Leonard Bernstein (one of Alsop's mentors) aimed for profundity by slowing down most of the piece to a crawl; some emphasize softer edges in the score, to the detriment of the power. Alsop opts for a middle ground but avoids a middle-of-the-road performance.
Right from the first measures, she has the music churning mightily, and the playing by the Londoners reveals real weight and vigor. Other approaches, particularly made by conductors from eras long past, have put extra emphasis on certain notes or stretched tempos a fraction to make a deeper, more drama-laden point in that first movement, but Alsop still gets the forcefulness of the music across.
She has the blood pumping just as strongly in the finale, complemented by a lyrical touch that makes the gradual slowing and quieting in the coda quite communicative. The two movements in between are warmly, if less interestingly, shaped.
The Philharmonic's polished efforts carry over into the Haydn Variations, sensitively molded by Alsop. The result is glowing music-making, rich in character and atmosphere.
Philip Glass: The Light, Heroes Symphony --(Naxos 8.559325)
Alsop has conducted at least a dozen entries in the valuable American Classics series on Naxos, including collections of Samuel Barber and Leonard Bernstein, Michael Daugherty and Michale Torke. Just two months ago, she and the Bournemouth Symphony added works by exceptional Peabody alum and faculty member Michael Hersch to the catalog.
Now comes a splendid Philip Glass disc, a follow-up to a 2004 Alsop/Bournemouth release devoted to his second and third symphonies. The players seem to have no trouble getting themselves comfortably and deeply into the minimalist groove, which they do here in two strongly appealing works, both delivered with consistent rhythmic tightness and clarity of articulation.
The Heroes Symphony, a 1996 score inspired by six tracks on the 1977 Heroes album by David Bowie and Brian Eno, is melodically active and colorfully orchestrated, traits that Alsop seizes on to great effect. The dark beauty in Sons of Silent Age is one example; the thrust of V2 Schneider is another (too bad Glass stuck such an oddly tacky ending on that movement).
The Light, from 1987, was inspired by the Michelson-Morley experiment in the 1880s to determine the speed of light. The result is one of the composer's most beguiling scores, so eventful and even joyous that to label it minimalist would be simplistic.
Alsop gauges the music's gradual increase and decrease deftly, all the while assuring that the orchestra makes something expressive out of the glimmers of melody and undulating chords.
If you've always been resistant to - or dismissive of - Philip Glass, this vital performance just might help you see The Light.
tim.smith@baltsun.com