Modern Cello Works
Julian Lloyd Webber (cello), John McCabe (piano).
L’Oiseau-Lyre DSLO18
Fricker: Cello Sonata, Op. 28. Berkeley: Duo.
McCabe: Partita for solo cello. Dalby: Variations.
This is a happy grouping of four representative works by notable British composers. Lennox Berkeley the doyen makes the briefest contribution, a well-wrought piece of 1971 that makes an impression beyond the number of its notes. Fricker’s 1956 sonata was first sketched on Ischia and pays tribute to the Walton of its dedication in some spiky rhythms and music of broad lyrical span; it is taut and characterful. McCabe’s unaccompanied partita of 1956 makes an effective mosaic with a preponderance of sombre, passionate movements, closely linked thematically but of wide emotional range. Martin Dalby’s variations date from the same year (he was 24) and are one of the fruits of his Italian experience. The music is lean and imaginative, with a fantastic pierrot quality that finely exploits the gamut of the cello. Julian Lloyd Webber has all the musicality of his astonishing family, an enviable technique, and will doubtless soon develop the breadth of vision to tap the resources of his instrument to the full. John McCabe makes an ideal partner, with problems of balance solved before they occur.
ROBERT ANDERSON
