REVIEWS / CDS

theStradRECOMMENDS...

VIRTUOSO DOUBLE BASS VOL.2BOTTESIM Operatic fantasies &

arrangements of arias etc

Leon Bosch (doubie bass)Sung-Suk Kang (piano)

ERIDIAN CDE 8458

Leon Bosch

natural affinitywith Bottesiiii'sbravura style. His

performances combine sonorous,lyrical, exquisitely nuanced playingwith a remarkable command of theinstrument's bravura potential.

Bosch interprets four of Bottesini'sopera fantasias with drama, poetryand panache. His left-hand facilityrarely falters, his harmonics arecrystal clear, and he demonstratesabsolute mastery of the bow. Hisrubato in 'Gasta diva' and the poignant'Teneri, teneri figli' (Bellini's Norma)and his characterisation of thesextet'Chi mi frena in talmomento'(Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor)are especially effective, and hedispatches the variations on 'D'unpensiero' (Bellini's La sonnambula)with striking flair and imagination.

Bosch performs Bottesini'stranscriptions of arias by Rossini,

to its centrepiece, and they launch into

the sonata-rondo finale with real gusto,

dancing their way through to itstriumphant conclusion.

These players' polished, expansiveaccount of op.81 is bursting with dramatic

incident, fiery exuberance, expressive

subtlety and meticulous dynamic control.

They generate the requisite excitement for

the first movement's joyous, swaggeringcoda, capture the contrasting moods of

the lyrical Dumka with admirable flexibility

and spontaneity, and establish a persuasivesense of tranquil contemplation for the

middle section of the scherzo. Their finale

has all the requisite joie de vivre, yet takes

on a dramatic Beethovenian aspect in its

more forceful episodes, the fugato section

making a particularly powerful impact.

Leon Bosch: a naturalaffinity with Bottesini's

bravura style

Verdi and Donizetti with expansivelyricism, and he negotiates theperilous harmonics in the Final delaSomnambule with adept athleticism.His stylish, thoroughly committedaccounts of the balletic FantasiaCerritoand the 'Nel cor piu' variationsare well contrasted in mood andcharacter, and the poignant, lyricallines of Melodia nos.2 and 4 and theNocturne are intelligently shaped.

The recording is vivid andtrue. Sung-Suk Kang providessympathetically pliant and characterfulsupport throughout, even if she failsto match Bosch's extroversion whenassuming a solo role.

Frustratingly, Piers Lane's exemplary

pianism often seems too distant inthe overall balance.

ROBIN STOWELL

ELGAR Violin Concerto in B minor

op.61, Prelude to The Kingdom op.51,

Prelude & Angel's Farewell from

The Dream of Gerontius

Thomas Zehetmair (violin) Alice Coote(mezzo-soprano) Halle/Mark ElderHALLE CD HLL 7521

'It's good! Awfullyemotional! Too

emotional... but I love it,'

enthused Elgar abouthis Violin Concerto.

Delius, not one of Elgar's greatest admirersat the best of times, dryly commented:

'I found it a bit long and dull,' and for a

great many years, despite the teenage

Menuhin's profound advocacy, this was not

an uncommon view. Remarkably, it was notuntil the late 1970s and early 1980s, when

Zukerman, Perlman and Kennedy made

their various recordings, that the concerto

acquired a truly international status.With his probing musical intelligence

and lithe, silvery sound, Thomas Zehetmair

produces a version like no other.Avoiding any hint of cloying, Victorian

sentimentality, he uses expressive

portamentos to intensify Elgar's ripely

opulent melodies without sounding(as was Menuhin's wont) as though

he is virtually breathing his last with

every phrase. If the majority of players

tend (often suffocatingly) to place the

concerto squarely in the Brahmsiantradition, Zehetmair points up the

music's Mendelssohnian whimsy and

open-air freshness. This works wonders

in the finale's protracted cadenza, itsfine-honed, sinewy, darting emotional

reflexes a million miles away from the

almost apocalyptic trajectory so often

forced upon it. The Halle and Mark Elder

provide highly sympathetic and sensitivesupport, the engineering clarifies Elgar's

imposing textures magnificently, and thefillers are an absolute delight.

JULIAN HAYLOCK

FAURE Piano Quartets no.1 in C minor

op.15 & no.2 in G minor op.45, Nocturneno.4 in E flat major op.36

Hermitage String Trio, Kathryn Stott (piano.CHANDOSCHAN 10582

Gabriel Faure was an

emotionally reserved

figure of exquisite taste

and eloquence, and always

insisted that his musicshould be played absolutely straight if his

immaculately crafted scores were to achievetheir maximum effect. This is something that

Kathryn Stott, one of the most outstanding

of Faureans, demonstrates to skin-tingling

effect throughout this outstanding disc.She could hardly have wished for more

sympathetic and responsive partners than

the members of the outstanding HermitageString Trio. In the six years of its existence

- 1982 Paganini Competition winner and

100 THESTRAD MAY2010 www.thes:'5~ ;: ~