Gramophone – September 2019

58 GRAMOPHONE SEPTEMBER 2019 gramophone.co.uk

J Marx 3

RomantischesKlavierkonzert.Castelliromani
DavidLivelypf
BochumSymphonyOrchestra/ StevenSloane
NaxosB8 573834(73’• DDD)
FromASVCDDCA1174(12/05)

JosephMarxislittle
morethanafootnote
today,thoughNaxos
istryingtoputthat
right,bringingbacktothecatalogue
recordingsthatoriginallyappearedon
ASV.It’sstrikingthatCastelliromani,a
secondpianoconcertoinallbutname,
remainstheonlyversioninthecatalogue
even 15 yearson,despitethefactthatit
washighlypraisedbyWalterGieseking,
whopremieredthepiecein 1931 under
thebatonofKarlBöhm.Perhapsthefact
thatitwasstylisticallyatoddswithitstime
hasn’thelpedbutithasthegenerosity
ofcolourthatyoufindinRespighi’s
Romantrilogy,withoutnecessarilyhis
earformelody.
Inthefirstmovement,subtitled‘Villa
Hadriana’,theperformersarealivetoboth
itscinematicsweepanditsmoreplayful
elements,Marx’searfororchestration
gleefullybroughttolife,evendowntothe
occasionalmomentofdodgyorientalism.
Weenteradifferentworldintheslow
movement,‘Tusculum’,thesoloistand
theBochumplayersfiningthingsdownto
amerethreadofsoundinitsmanyethereal
moments.Thefinale,‘Frascati’,shimmers
anddanceswithvigour;it’spossibleto
imaginemoreeaseinsomeofthemost
overtlyvirtuosopassagesbutgenerally
Livelylivesuptohisname,leadingamerry
dancethroughthetown’sancientstreets,
andwithallconcernedrelishingthework’s
refulgentclosingmoments.
FromTechnicolortopureRomantic
ardourforthePianoConcertoitself;it
waswrittenin1918-19andisstylistically
anintriguingmixofRachmaninov,Richard
Strauss,earlyDebussy(hisFantaisiefor
pianoandorchestra)andeventheodd
momentofBergianharmony(hisPiano
Sonata).There’slotsofaffectionand
fluiditytoLively’sperformance,andsome
finesoloviolin-playing(from9'09"inthe
openingmovement).There’snodoubting
Marx’searfororchestrationwasavery
fineone.WhileLivelylingersoverthis
movement’sRomanticlushness,Marc-
AndréHamelinfavoursamoreenergetic
approach,makinglightofitsdemands.
Thesecondmovementisanunhurried
affair,withsometangyoboe-playinginthe
introduction,Sloanecoaxinglonglines

fromhisBochumplayers.ThoughLively

enterswithanappealinggentlenessIfeel

thatHamelinsustainsthelinebetter,the

ebbandflowsoundingmoreinevitablein

hishands,thoughLivelydoesoffersome

finewhisperedplaying.Bolet,incidentally,

isparticularlycharismaticinthismovement

inacurrentlyunavailablerecordingmade

in 1982 withMehta.

Thefinaleperhapsdragsitsheelsa

little–itismarkedSehrlebhaft(‘Very

lively’).Bothsoloistandorchestrarespond

toitsmanyimaginativecoloursandmoods,

thoughthemorevirtuosomoments

occasionallysoundstrenuous.Turnto

HamelinandtheBBCScottishSOand

youenteranaltogethermorefearlessand

thrillingsoundworld.HarrietSmith

PianoConcerto–selectedcomparison:

Hamelin,BBCScottishSO,Vänskä

(4/98)(HYPE)CDA66990

Mozart.Phibbs

MozartClarinetConcerto,K622a

PhibbsClarinetConcertob

MarkvandeWielcl

aLondonChamberOrchestra;bPhilharmonia

Orchestra/ ChristopherWarren-Green

SignumFSIGCD587(55’• DDD)

aRecordedliveatCadoganHall,London,

February23, 2013

MarkvandeWielis

principalclarinettistof

thePhilharmoniabut

herehestepsoutofhis

usualseattobecomesoloistinanewwork

composedforhim.TheClarinetConcerto

byJosephPhibbs(b1974)isanattractive,

well-arguedwork,demonstratingnotonly

Phibbs’sknowledgeofclarinettechnique

andmasterlycontroloforchestralforces

butalsotheversatilityandvirtuosityofits

dedicatee.Thelanguageismoderntonal,

therhythmicprofilestrongandclear.

There’safeelingofnocturnaltensionas

theexpectantopeninggiveswaytomore

athleticfigures–ratherlikeanupdated

WestSideStory,perhaps,althoughIfancy

morecontemporaryAmericanmusic

wasinfluentialinsomeofthepost-

minimaliststylesofthework’scentral

panel.Therepertoireishardlybursting

attheseamswith21st-centuryclarinet

(or,frankly,anywoodwind)concertos,

sothisisavaluableaddition.

Theperformance,too,istop-notch.The

Philharmoniaplaythisnewworkasifit

wereanoldfriend,andthesoundascaught

inHenryWoodHallhasaninvitingglow,

illuminatingthework’smeditativeopening

andthevocaliseofthethird-movement

Adagioaswellasthesparklingacrobatics

ofthefinale.

Mozart’sConcertoherecomesfroma

liveperformanceatCadoganHall.Vande

Wielswapshisstandardinstrumentfora

bassetclarinet–forwhichtheworkwas

originallyconceived–withitsextended

rangethatallowedMozarttoexplore

thelowerchalumeauregisterthatso

preoccupiedhiminhislatemusic.The

LondonChamberOrchestracan’tquite

matchthelustreofthePhilharmoniaand

somecoordinationbetweensoloandtutti

teetersattheedge.VandeWiel’splaying,

though,alwaysdisplayshiscustomary

assuranceoftechniqueandtone,even

ifcertainnoisesassociatedwiththe

physicalityofwoodwind-playingare

betrayedbythemicrophones.TheMozart

(withconcludingapplause)isneverless

thanpleasant;thePhibbs,however,is

essential.DavidThreasher

Poulenc.Saint-Saëns.

Widor

PoulencOrganConcertoa

Saint-SaënsSymphonyNo3,‘Organ’,Op 78 a

WidorSymphonyNo5,Op 42 No1 – Toccata

ChristopherJacobsonorg

aSuisseRomandeOrchestra/ KazukiYamada

PentatoneFÍPTC5186 638 (66’• DDD/DSD)

Saint-Saëns’s Organ

Symphony has long

been a showcase

both for engineering

prowess and for the capabilities of one’s

hi-fi kit. Charles Munch’s white-hot 1959

recording, for example, was emblazoned

with ‘A Stereo Spectacular’ on the LP

cover – and the sound really did live up

to the hype (RCA, 11/60). This new

Pentatone release takes us yet another

step closer to audiophile nirvana, providing

a natural concert-hall perspective that

balances clarity and atmosphere while

capturing the full power of organ and

orchestra with stunning, floor-rumbling

power. Yet it’s the score’s quieter passages

that impressed me most. Listen at 6'44" in

the Adagio, where Saint-Saëns combines

the organ part with both bowed and

pizzicato strings – like sunlight filtered

through stained glass – or, at 0'34" in the

finale, to the breathtakingly exquisite

texture of divided strings with arpeggiated

piano (four-hands).

The performance itself is very good,

although not in the same class as Munch’s.

Still, Kazuki Yamada’s tempos are close to

the composer’s metronome marks and he

keeps things moving without pushing too

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