Music reviews

Craig Sheppard: Bach Keyboard Partitas (Romeo Records, available at www.romeorecords.comorwww.craigsheppard.net)

This is a two-CDs-for-the-price-of-one set that was recorded live at Craig Sheppard's piano recital last November when he played the six keyboard Partitas of J.S. Bach in Meany Theater. The Partitas, or keyboard suites, contain movements that are based on those of the Baroque-era dance suite, with titles such as "Praeludium," "Sarabande," "Gigue." Sheppard's performances preserve the dancelike character of the music, giving each piece its own personality through details of articulation, dynamics, rhythmic precision and all the expressive devices in the piano's arsenal. The Partitas, of course, originally were written for harpsichord, but Sheppard never tries to make the modern piano sound like the earlier instrument; instead, he plumbs every sonority available to the modern piano. His playing is remarkable both for its songlike lyricism and its engaging energy, which never flags throughout this long and complex program. It's hard to imagine Bach Partitas played better.

John Cerminaro: "A Life of Music," Historic Live Performances (NSS Music, www.nssmusic.com)

The "NSS" label stands for Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, the famed violinist who launched her own recording label in the fall of 2005. She produced this disc, engineered by Seattle's Al Swanson, as a tribute to John Cerminaro, the Seattle Symphony's principal horn, with four live performances that span 25 years of Cerminaro's career. Included on this set are Glière's Horn Concerto in B-Flat, Op. 91 (from a 1991 Aspen concert), Richard Strauss' Horn Concerto No. 2 in E-flat (performed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1974) and the Mozart Horn Concerto in E-flat, K. 417 (with the Toho Symphony in Nagano, Japan, in 1989), plus a little-known but very fine David Amram Concerto for Horn and Wind Symphony (from a 1967 performance). These recordings came from a collection stashed away in Cerminaro's closet and, not surprisingly, the sound quality is a little variable (especially on the oldest of the recordings, the 1967 Amram Concerto). Recording engineer Swanson has worked his usual magic with restoration and sound engineering. What isn't variable is the superb playing on every level — technique, tone, interpretation — in a set that underscores Cerminaro's reputation as one of the finest horn players of our time.

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg: Tchaikovsky and Assad Concertos (NSS Music, www.nssmusic.com)

Although the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto has been a staple of Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg's repertoire for more than 20 years, she has never recorded it before this high-powered disc with conductor Marin Alsop and the Colorado Symphony. (Alsop was that orchestra's music director; she now heads the Baltimore Symphony.) The arch-romantic lines of this masterpiece have always suited the violinist's flamboyant style and incisive technique — never more than here, where the live performance has an air of freedom and abandon, along with Salerno-Sonnenberg's characteristic fiery energy.

The Tchaikovsky is paired with a new concerto of the young Clarice Assad, daughter and niece of Brazilian guitarists Sergio and Adair Assad, with whom Salerno-Sonnenberg has often toured and recorded. The Assad talent has definitely reached the younger generation. The concerto, written as a master's thesis for the University of Michigan, is a breath of excitingly fresh air, never more so than in the furious finale (appropriately called "con fuoco," or "with fire"). Both performances showcase Salerno-Sonnenberg's absolute mastery of the works.

Helen Callus: Walton Viola Concerto (ASV; www.sanctuaryclassics.com).

The British-born violist Helen Callus, formerly a faculty member at the University of Washington School of Music, returns to her roots for this new disc of music from the British Isles: Vaughan Williams' Suite for Viola and Orchestra, Herbert Howells' "Elegy" and viola concertos by William Walton and York Bowen. All products of the early 20th century, these works were composed between 1907 and 1934, and in most respects they sound quintessentially English (a style easier to recognize than to describe, though English folksong is usually an element lurking somewhere in the background).

The viola is one of the less common concerto instruments, and it is a treat to hear this lineup of seldom-heard works with their wide range of emotional temperatures (from the jolly "Christmas Dance" in the Vaughan Williams Suite to the poignant mourning of the Howells "Elegy"). Callus' deep, beautiful tone is her strong suit, along with a strong bow arm and a remarkable technical fluency, and she makes the most of the expressive opportunities here.

Melinda Bargreen: mbargreen@seattletimes.com