Hi-Fi News & Record Review November 1997
Britten Cello Symphony
Walton Cello Concerto
BRITTEN: Symphony for Cello & Orchestra
WALTON: Cello Concerto
Julian Lloyd webber (vlc)/ASM/Marriner
Philips 454 442-2
Despite alternative versions, this is solo interpretation and orchestral collaboration par excellence. Lloyd Webber, whose cello tone reminds me of the long departed Beatrice Harrison’s, has a special affinity with British composers; and Marriner always comes up trumps in concerts and at sessions where great events are the order of the day. Since Rostropovich’s epic-making world premiere of the Britten, other artists have struggled to emulate the Russian’s visionary performances that we heard back in 1963. This one clarifies two things for me: what a fine work it really is, when the balance of instrumentation is so finely judged and the music is allowed to flow naturally; and just how advanced recording techniques can enhance your musical enjoyment. There are no top-heavy emphases in tuttis, or those solo spotlights that take attention away from the score, but a crystal-clear realization of all this complex work demands.
Lloyd Webber’s description of the Walton’s ‘Mediterranean warmth and sexuality’ became the subject of a three-way Radio 3 discussion recently. Although Harrell/Rattle [EMI] and Cohen/Litton [Decca] equate the solo cello’s sonorous beauties to Walton’s sumptuously rich orchestral textures, Lloyd Webber’s half-veiled tones balance perfectly with Marriner’s natural, warm-styled accompaniment. This is a glowing account of the work in which dynamics are scrupulously observed throughout, and with no sense of lingering during slower passages – for example, in the first of the three cello cadenzas, (ii) four before 19, Lloyd Webber alters his ‘rubato ad lib’ to an accelerando, in order to match the ‘poco meno mosso’ orchestral re-entry and the overall Allegro appassionato tempo direction.
An essential addition to the ever-growing British Music discography.
Newman
