A surfeit of good things on record

Press, 25 February 1981, Page 19

A surfeit of good things on record

Classical records review

ALLAN FRANCIS

SCHUBERT — Piano Duets. C. Eschenbach and J. Frantz. Divertissements francais and hongrpise, Allegro in A, Grand Rondeau in A, Fantasie in F. World Records' WE 3567-2 from HMV SLS 5138 (1978); Booklet included. The Fantagie alone warrants an essay of praise in this set, let alone the. treasure house of riches from the mature Schubert’s. pen, the Grand Rondeau' being not far away -in ifnpbrtance and ranks very. high?, ly indeed. in 'piano duets, many of which; are by more high ranking com.posers than the self-effac-ing Schubert-. This excellent "recital introduces the French and Hungarian Divertissements to the catalogue per. medium .of four hands, two of which belong to Christopher Esenbach, a protege of Karajan, who persuaded the pianist to try his hand at conducting, a feat which he did . extra-, ordinarily, well. The other pianist is Justus Frantz, a younger though no less accomplished artist,,; who has complete rapport with his more famous partner but both are so finely tuned to each other’s thoughts that the listener is scarcely aware "of two separate entities at work.

But back to the Fantasie. Happilj’ the piano sound is warm, though purists may contest this factor on the grounds that such sonorous tones would never have? ‘existed? in Schubert’s, time, when the instruments would ... be sharper and debatably clearer.

The Fantasie is ideally suited to the modern piano and the technicians have made no effort to get back to harsh reality. The playing of these excellent pieces is quite exceptional, the little decorative touches done with a delightfully delicate grace; and, over all, Schubertians will accept this recital with eagerness that goes hand in hand with constant pleasure to come from the continued playing which it warrants.

MOZART — Oboe Concertos in C K 314 and E Flat, K Anh. 2948. Han de Vries, oboe with - the Prague Chamber Orchestra conducted by Anton Kersjes on World Records WI 3561 from HMV (SQ) ASD 3553.

It is apparent, before reading the liner notes, that these two works are world apart; the C major concerto is full, satisfying and all that is good from the pen of the composer. The E Flat fails miserably to reach similar expectations, being thin and

sounding more like water-ed-down Mozart, a pale imitation of what . could reasonably be expected as a mature work.

It is, in fact, not a mature work, nor indeed is it Mozart. It is a curiosity attributed to the master, bearing .the supersciption, “Oboe Jprincipale von W. A. ■ Mozart,’’ .. but it is obviously’.too thin and predictable/to be .an origi nal, more likely to be a work in’?-the- Mozart manner, which sprung :up like mushrooms in the nineteenth 'century.;- "f ' ■

The ;C, major is a- - delightfut .--recording, ■ : with d e-l-i ci o u s-l y sprung rhythms ,: (Leonard Bernstein, please note)/? and sparkling string passages to . which: the Prague Chamber; group - play ‘ with such authority.? The soloist is an extremely capable artist, favouring the warm, English type oboe instead of the sweet-sour Europe a n . instrument which the. Frehph and Germans find more to' their taste.

< The result js a lighter sound, though equally as expressive as that of Holliger ; who 'is yet another master of the Dutch school of oboe players. The recorded sound is sensitively handled by the now apparently' dated SQ quadraphonic system, enhancing the bright, alert playing of the group and soloist.

Feelings of disappointment with the E Fiat on. Side . Two may partially be- overcome by treating the work as a mildly pleasant excursion

by some unknown nineteenth century composer. Don’t expect brilliance, for there is none, but the C major is worth the price alone.

flazunov 8 The Seasons (complete ballet). Concert Waltzes 1 and. 2. The Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Yevgeny Svetlanov on World Records WE 3265 from HMV (SQ) 3601.

While Glazunov was never world-shatering as a composer he did . produce many works of the colourful, romantic Russian school and his Seasons Ballet typified that genre perfectly. It is full of vitality and good tunes and the rich sound of EMI at the peak of quadrophony in 1978 does full justice to the attractive score.

I remember being drawn to this work very early in my listening career, perhaps because of the nature of the “easy listening” type work. Come to that, Glazunov is one of those composers who turn out endless series of pleasant compositions, without warts or jarring notes of any kind.

The Seasons is no exception. Ansermet was a

master with this and other pieces whose subject centred around nature and outdoor settings. If anything, Ansermet may still have a few pointers over Svetlanov, especially in the Bacchanale and perhaps in the question of tempos generally.

Svetlanov favours leisurely paces throughout, and quite rightly so,. for many modernists are apt to sacrifice elegance for dramatically fast speeds. No such criticism could be levelled at the review disc on the account, while the Philharmonia strings are simply silken in texture. Both the Ansermet and this one are good, but the sound of the HMV recording is so good that it must have a significant influence on the buyer’s preferences. Don’t be too surprised to heal some of your favourite TV tunes popping up from time' to time in it.