Latest releases reviewed

VILLA-LOBOS: BACHIANAS BRASILEIRAS (COMPLETE) Rosana Lamosa (soprano), José Feghali (piano), Nashville SO/Kenneth Schermer- horn Naxos 8557460-62 (3 CDs) ***

Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) forged a highly individual path as a Brazilian composer. His most celebrated achievement is his series of nine Bachianas brasileiras, written between 1930 and 1945 for a diversity of forces, from solo piano (No 4, heard here in its orchestral guise), flute and bassoon (No 6), up to large orchestra, and orchestra with soloist (No 3 with piano). These works are unique fusions of the composer's passion for the music of his own country and the contrapuntal mastery of Bach. The Aria from No 5, for voice and eight cellos, is popular enough to be known to many, but most of the others (including No 1 for "an orchestra of cellos") are altogether less well known. Kenneth Schermerhorn is an amiable guide (with Andrew Mogrelia conducting No 1) to a style which ranges from the picturesque (a depiction of a country train struggling up a mountain) to the weightily contrapuntal. www.naxos.com Michael Dervan

CAGE: MUSIC OF CHANGES; SEVEN HAIKU; SUITE FOR TOY PIANO Martine Jost (piano, toy piano) mode 147  ****

This 29th instalment in mode's John Cage edition presents the composer as chameleon. The 45-minute Music of Changes (1952) marked an important step in his use of chance operations - the title is a reference to the I Ching, the Book of Changes. In spite of that, the music shares a surprising number of characteristics with the serial music coming out of Darmstadt at that time. Martine Joste's approach comes with the composer's imprimatur. The Seven Haiku (1952) are delicate miniatures, all under 20 seconds in length. The Suite for Toy Piano (1948) - rather too hefty-sounding in this recording - is as simple and outgoing as its title suggests. www.uk.hmboutique.com Michael Dervan

BEETHOVEN: STRING TRIOS Itzhak Perlman (violin), Pinchas Zukerman (viola), Lynn Harrell (cello) EMI Classics Gemini 476 9092 (2 CDs) ***

These recordings were made at concerts in the 92nd Street Y in New York in 1989 and 1990 and have now been reissued in EMI's attractive Gemini series at rock-bottom price. The delivery is taut, the ensemble tight, the accentuation sharp. The emotional manner focuses on Beethoven as a young composer breaking out of the patterns of existing moulds. All of his string trios were written in the 1790s, and the intent of these performances seems to be to highlight the gap that had already opened up between the worlds of the young Beethoven and those of Haydn and Mozart. The toughness of the approach is highlighted by the tight sound as recorded in a dryish acoustic. www.emiclassics.com Michael Dervan