Gramophone March 1974
Music for Cello and Piano
Julian Lloyd Webber (cello), Clifford Benson (piano).
Bach; Solo Cello Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV1009. Boccherini: String Quintet, Op. 37 No. 7—Rondo in C major.
Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major, op. 102 No. 1—first movement. Popper: Gavotte No. 2 in D major, Op. 23.
Saint-Saens: Allegro appasionata, Op. 43. Fauré: Elegie in C minor, Op. 24. Delius: Cello Sonata in one movement.
A welcome record on several counts. I imagine that I have been asked to comment on it because the longest single work it contains is Delius’s Sonata for cello and piano, and hearing the first-ever recording of that wonderful piece provided me with one of my major musical experiences at the age of sixteen. There have, been three other versions since then, but this is the one I prefer, and the one most worthy of a place beside that original recording by its dedicatee, Beatrice Harrison, with Harold Craxton (HMV Dl103-4, 8/26).
Setting aside any private contentment that a favourite work, still hardly known to the majority of professional cellists, should be included here among more familiar items of the cello repertoire, let me welcome the disc as a whole. What a splendid idea this “All about Music” Library seems: the “Voice of the Instrument” series has real informative and educational value. The accompanying booklet, modest though it is, gives a potted history of the instrument, a diagram showing how the cello works, and a succinct introduction to the music played. This certainly provides model examples of how to write for the cello, with the two Bourrées from Bach’s Solo Cello Suite and the first movement of Beethoven’s C major Cello Sonata representing the staple classic of the repertoire. Quite right that Popper should have his place: cello fodder, maybe, but of superior quality. The Saint-Saëns and Fauré pieces, too, have their deserved place, and, between them, the selected pieces provide scope for all kinds of cello playing: double-stopping, glissandi and harmonics are here, but I miss some typical pizzicato. Whether they seek cellistic enlightenment or not, all Delius lovers will have to acquire this record for the really beautiful and lovingly played account of the Delius Sonata. Two fine young players on the threshold of undoubtedly distinguished careers could hardly have offered a better carte de visite as proof of their musical sensitivity. And the recording has the right kind of resonance to enhance the superlative cello and piano tone they produce.
F.A.
