Tchaikovsky concerto—young contenders and older masters

Press, 25 February 1987, Page 11

Tchaikovsky concerto —young contenders and older masters

de discs

ALLAN FRANCIS

TCHAIKOVSKY/ MENDELSSOHN. Violin Concertos played by Nathan Milstein, { violin, with the VPO conducted by Claudio Abbado. DG GALLERIA 419 067-1. TCHAIKOVSKY. Violin Concerto. CHAUSSON. Poeme Op. 25, played by Nigel Kennedy, violin, with the LPO conducted by Okko Kamu. EMI EMINENCE EMX 2100.

At the time Milstein recorded the Tchaikovsky “Concerto” most violinists tended to be eclipsed by Heifetz; younger players today have to contend with Itzhak Perlman, aside from those who have already brought a special brand of magic to the work in the past few years.

It is interesting, though, to compare one of the youngest contenders with one of the older masters. Milstein dashes off the first movement five seconds short of 17 minutes, Kennedy three minutes slower.

The dashing brilliance of the older violinists followed Heifetz and Oistrakh. The sweet-toned versions now prevailing stem from Chung, Mutter and Perlman. The filler may be incidental; in the case ot Kennedy, Chausson’s famous “Poeme” against the more substantial masterpiece of the Mendelssohn “Violin Concerto” from Milstein. All other considerations apart, there remains an indefinable magic from the older man, which no amount* of care from Kennedy can completely dispel. Personally, I would be content with either of these — perhaps the sumptuous sound of the new recording just nudges the odds in favour of Kennedy.

HANDEL. Royal Fireworks, t. Amaryllis and Water Music Suites played by the RPO conducted by Yehudi Menuhin. WORLD RECORD CLUB WR 10228 from ASV.

It is especially appro-

priate that the Royal Philharmonic records these suites, one of which (“Amaryllis”) was arranged by Sir Thomas Beecham, the orchestra’s founder. f Yehudi Menuhin still has to establish himself as a top-line conductor, but these mid-road versions will go a long way to that end. The authentic brigade will still claim they do not go far enough into the heart of Handel — quite rightly, but they form what have become generally accepted interpretations of baroque pieces from modem instruments. As such, they are perfectly acceptable to all but those who vehemently oppose this practice.

The “Amaryllis” music is charming, making even more use of instruments that were unheard of in Handel’s time. These are pieces taken from various operas, dances and light instrumental works. TCHAIKOVSKY/

SUK. String Serenades played by the Radio Chamber Orchestra of Poland directed by Agnieszka Duczmal. WORLD RECORD CLUB issue from ASV (1986).

Charm is the keynote here, too — smiling performances from an unsmiling group of players. The Tchaikovsky piece comes up practically every month, but the Suk is largely ignored. This makes the issue particularly valuable. Both works depend almost entirely on the nature of the strings they feature and it seems that Polish orchestras have special qualifications in this department. Similar works were recorded by the Polish Chamber Orchestra (no relation to the review group).

Both groups have ventured into the Suk “Serenade,” and both are successful, but once again the Duczmal group has received the benefit of ASV rich sound quality. Its tempos are better, too. MOZART. Four Horn Concertos played by Hermann Baumann, horn, with the St Paul Chamber Orchestra conducted by Pinchas Zukerman. PHILIPS DIGITAL 412 737-1 — also CD and Cassette.

Hermann Baumann staggered the Mozart horn buffs in 1974 with his first versions of the horn concertos; up to that stage the focus of attention was still with Brain and Tuckwell, but Baumann reached into another dimension with his hand-held horn (natural). This instrument is closely related to the human voice in range and quality. The warmth is apparent in the early recording and even more so in this 1984 version. Never has the debatable case in favour of authentic instruments been more convincing than here. The first recording with Nikolaus Harnoncourt was superb, but this is the last word on the subject. One need seek no further, these are unquestionably the definitive versions.

WOODY HERMAN: 50th ANNIVERSARY TOUR. CONCORD RECORDS COMPACT DISC CCD--4302, also LP and Cassette (1986).

Woody Herman may have lost his power as a soloist — he was never the greatest in that department — but as a general he still ranks among the top few that have survived from the thirties. How he manages to assemble yet another team of convincing swingers remains one of today’s mysteries, and this is his 1986 line-up.

Few names are generally well known, but the hallmarks of the Herman sound are intact: another Bill Harris trombone

sound from Paul McKee, the powerful brass figurations that steam steadily toward climax, the everpresent ingredient of irrepressible nonsense from the leader. There are uneven moments which are not unexpected. Originals and standard rub shoulders — a dash of Monk, a touch of Ellington and Bob Haggart’s “What’s New,” plus a carefree “Conga.”

LOUIS ARMSTRONG. Jazz Classics in Digital Stereo. 16 tracks recorded between 1923 and 1931. ABC RECORDS COMPACT DISC CD38335.

This batch of classics are reviewed on LP last year, and the CD version is marginally more attractive: The first time around extracted rave reviews, and there is no reason to alter that stance after the lapse of time. This records the glowing era of the Hot Fives and Sevens: the remarkable virtuosity of pianists Earl Hines, Lil Armstrong, Loe Sullivan and Luis Russell; the drum skills of Baby Dodds and Zutty Singeiion; and the illustrious presence of King Oliver, Johnny Dodds, Kid Ory and others. Performances of “West End Blues,” “St James Infirmary” and the various blues prevalent at the time bear witness of the genius that faded after 1931 (Armstrong) and the current revival skills of Robert Parker, whobrought these tracks up “better than new.”