Which Compact Disc? August 1989
TACKLING A WAR HORSE
Julian Lloyd-Webber takes Dvorak’s Cello Concerto to Prague. DVORAK CELLO CONCERTO OP104/CARNIVAL OVERTURE OP921. Julian Lloyd Webber, cello; Czech PO/Vaclav Neumann. Philips 422 387-2. Over the years, Julian Lloyd Webber has come to be associated mainly with twentieth-century repertoire. His recording of Elgar’s Cello Concerto under Yehudi Menuhin won Best British Classical Recording of 1986. It was interesting to discover why it had taken so long for him to take on that other great war-horse, the Dvorak Concerto. The characteristic lean, silvery sound of the orchestra’s strings has been perfectly captured. Heroic gestures abound, but so do moments of great subtlety. JV
