Vital Beethoven — languid Elgar

Press, 10 February 1988, Page 15

Vital Beethoven — languid Elgar

rr> i o J- „ Jxecords & discs ■■ ■ .

ALLAN FRANCIS

BEETHOVEN: Complete Piano Trios played by Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lynn Harrell and Itzhak Perlman. WORLD RECORD CLUB release from EMI 29 083 43, also Cassette and C.D.

Power is the keynote of these performances, crisp and vital throughout, all members extracting the various shades of colour and feeling to the maximum.

The only existing rival, the Beaux Arts version from 1983, is on the whole less striking, not so truly Beethoven as the new set. EMI have managed to successfully transfer the entire set onto 4 L.P.’s, as against seven from the Beaux Arts, with no loss whatever of sound quality. But what is totally captivating with the EMI set is the total dedication of the players, each member producing a truly complete performance. Each has brought his own characteristics to these beautifully balanced recordings, Harrell’s sensitivity, Ashkenazy’s allembracing character and Perlman his irresistable presence. The end result has that memorable quality that put Perlman’s Beethoven Violin Concerto on video from 1981 beyond criticism. These are performances to treasure for years to come; they contain a breadth of emotion seldom realised on record. I believe the C.D. is even more expressive.

ELGAR: Symphony No. 2 played by the LPO conducted by Brydon Thomson. WORLD RECORD CLUB release from CHANDOS ABRD 1162, 1986.

Brydon Thomson, alas, fails to capture the spirit of urgency in Elgar’s second symphony in his languid recording for Chandos, perhaps trying

in vain for the poetry that eludes him to the end. As against his slow tempos and at times dreary reading, the conductor gets a lovely, warm sound from the work and the L.P.O. strings are a delight, especially in the slow passages. This summery interpretation is totally suitable for certain occasions, or where one can conveniently overlook the composer’s demands for highlighting the climaxes. Brydon Thomson drifts into a pattern of sameness that fails to underline Elgar’s big moments, but it is nonetheless easy to listen to, without making too many demands on the listener.

That esentially is much of the problem here — there is simply not enough electricity to be a truly great Elgarian performance. Haitink’s 1984 accounts are far superior in almost every way. DELIUS: Opera, Irmelin. Norman De! Mar conducts the 8.8. C. Concert Orchestra and soloists. WORLD RECORD CLUB release from 8.8. C. 3002.

Despite Sir Thomas Beecham’s continual assertions that he sought to fully exploit Delius’ talents, he never produced a full-length Irmelin, and it has been left to Norman Del Mar and the Delius Trust to complete this section of Delius operas.

Delius’s rather fragile works are scarcely fullblooded enough for most modern listeners; Beecham’s apologies for lack of action in the operas possibly provide the very

reason for their tepid response.

Still, there is no doubting the spidery poetry of Irmelin, here given the best treatment it is likely to get now, with the lusty male voices firmly rooted in the past. The oldfashioned sopranos and the full understanding of the work from Norman Del Mar follow the Beecham style. GREGORIAN CHANTS: Wiener Hofburgkapelle, directed by Pater Hubert Dopf. PHILIPS CD 411 140-2. DDD. This hauntingly impressive performance was first recorded in 1983 on LP and Cassette, ostensibly to attract the widest possible audience at the time when the total digital recording process was new. Very few since then have surpassed these fine performances, and they are still likely to be demonstration quality in any collection. The melodies do not conform to the familiar major-minor key system, but to that of church tones or modes, each mode considered to have a different ethical and moral effect on the singers and congregation. THE DUKE STILL COUNTS DUKE ELLINGTON AND FRIENDS: 11 tracks featuring Ella Fitzgerald, Lawrence Brown, Ben Webster, Johnny Hodges. VERVE CD 833 291-2 AAD. Yet another “A Train” and other well-used pieces of Ellingtonia fail to dispel the ever-green attraction of the Duke’s

singular harmony and melody. As usual, the breathy quality of Hodges’ alto tends to dominate proceedings, as does Ben Webster’s tenor, but the star appeal comes from the vibrant trombone of the now seldom heard Lawrence Brown. Fortunately, there is little heard from Al Kibbler now horribly dated, but the others, including a competent solo from Ella Fitzgerald in “A Train” (and again in “It Don’t Mean a Thing”), are impressive in what the liner notes define as “Ellington’s resplendent tapestry” of the mid-50s. BUDDY RICH: Compact Jazz. VERVE CD 833 2952 AAD.

Jazz musicians were always the first to assist with emerging talent, and although Buddy Rich could scarcely be in that category at the time of this recording (19561961), he did have the added advantage of top musicians of the day. A few worthy of mention in these extended tracks are Jimmy Rowles, piano, the Max Roach Quintet, Harry Edison, trumpet, Dave McKenna, piano, and Ernie Wilkins, arranger. Rich does not overfill his numbers with brilliance as he sometimes does, the pace is generally leisurely and well controlled, with plenty of colour from everyone.

“Jumpin’ at the Woodside” has its moments, but the tension builds up through Charlie Parker’s “Yardbird Suite” to an all stops out “Toot, Toot, Tootsie Goodbye” with wild solos from Rich and Roach. Happily, Rich is tempted only once, to sing. “Let’s march without the noise of threatening drum.” — William Shakespeare, “Richard III.”