Webber on the way up

Press, 10 January 1983, Page 18

Webber on the way up

Classical records review

ALLAN FRANCIS

JULIAN LLOYD WEBBER. The Romantic Cello. Nine pieces played by Julian Lloyd Webber, cello, accompanied by Yitkin Seow, piano. WORLD RECORDS WR 4821.

Those who thought that this cellist’s first recording for RCA (VRLI 7447) was simply the rather successful whim on the part of an erstwhile pop musician may think after this one that Webber is here to stay. As one friend of mine remarked, Webber grows on one after a few playings and his mixture of well-known and remote pieces commands attention. Rodrigo has selected Webber to launch his Cello Concerto and this is certainly a mark of respect for any newcomer. There is a feeling that the cellist is leading the listener gently along a path of relatively unknown works, cushioned by Saint-Saens’ “The Swan" and "Allegro Appassionato” and Elgar’s "Salut d’Amour” but the object of the exercise is to prove the worth of some obscure pieces of Delius and Popper.

Webber carefully put forward two pieces of these latter composers in his first album and followed up with the “Romance” and “Elfentanz” respectively, a cunning move indeed. “Elfentanz" is no romantic work — more of a dancing cello — but the rest of the disc is taken up with true-to-label selections.

The recorded sound by WEA is forward and very clear while the pianist slips easily from a supportive role to equal partners in the Rachmaninov Sonata Andante with remarkable ease.

G. F. HANDEL. Organ Concertos 14, 15 and 16 played by the Concerto Amsterdam conducted by Jaap Schroder with Daniel Chorzempa, organ. WORLD RECORDS issue from Phillips 9502 007.

At the opening of these concertos there is an unmistakeable air. of uncompromising solemnity and the foreboding quality of Concerto No. 14 is one of unsmiling, if authentic, melancholy. This is soon dispelled, however. and it is not too long before the delightful Handelian touches emerge and the sun peeps out from

the clouds. The authentic attribute is added by the organ, which is a two-manual instrument dating from about 1780 made by J. P. Kunckel. The root cause of the morose quality of some of the movements is that Chorzempa plays the slow sections far too slowly so that they almost lose way and certainly lose the listener's attention in the process. This - one is part of a massive five-disc set of the Concertos which unfortunately came out at the same time as a rival Argo set with George -Malcolm and the Academy, of St Martins directed by Neville Marriner. I suspect that Marriner gets through the works with a little more zip than Schroder: his set covers the ground within four records and includes an extra.

Without hearing the Marriner version I have the

feeling that on the grounds of circumstantial evidence only I may prefer it.

BRAHMS. Violin Concerto in D major Op. 77 played by David Oistrakh, violin, with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted bv George Szell. WORLD RECORDS R 4390 from HMV ASD 2525 and SLS 786 (1970). I do have grave doubts about the issuing (or reissuing) of this version — even for the delight of those tardy Oistrakh fans who will never yield to the possibility that better versions are available, and certainly better recorded ones.

Technicians have improved the quality somewhat; the muddiness is gone from the opening passages and ■some of the distortion from the climaxes, but even taking this into account I would happily settle for Perlman. Zukerman. Stern or Accardo in later, and to my mind, better readings.

WRC issued this not too long ago with the Double Concerto and Rostropovich and I see little merit in grinding it out again.

CORELLI. Six Sonatas Opus 5 for Recorder and Harpsichord. Hans-Martin Linde, recorder, with Rudolph Scheidegger. harpsichord, and Michael Jappe, viola da gamba. WORLD RECORDS WE 4684.

With the increasing upsurge of interest in the world of ancient music this will undoubtedly please many. All the wistful remoteness of a world long since gone, regretfully, is recaptured by these fine examples of the clarity of melodic and harmonic writing. Several concessions in arrangements have been made in these sonatas to accommodate the recorder, not to mention some rough patches in the writing of the works. The end result is a model batch of works in the Italian style as vet not handicapped by the stiffness of later compositions.