Classic CD – British Music Vol.2 CD
CLASSIC CD (April 1993)
Bridge: Elegy (1905); Scherzetto (1902);
Ireland: Cello Sonata in G minor (1923);
Stanford: Cello sonata No. 2, Op. 39 (1893); String Quartet No. 2 (1907-13)
Julian Lloyd Webber (cello); John McCabe (piano)
Julian Llovd Webber and John McCabe continue their survey of British celio music, begun with an enterprising recital of works by Britten, Rawsthorne, Ireland, Amold and Walton (ASV DCA592). This second volume is notable above all for the worid premiere recordings of Stanford’s sonata and tbe Bridge Scherzzetto, both of which receive sympathetic and persuasive readings. Whether they’ll launch in to the active repertoire of other players remains to be seen. I rather suspect they won’t, though the Bridge makes a splendid encore piece.
The Stanford is an admirable, large-scale work with clear debts to Brahms, but without quite his intensity of characteristic ardour or melodic flair. Still, the cello repertoire isn’t yet so large that such works can be justifiably ignored. Lloyd Webber’s eloquence and commitment are matched by McCabe’s authority and verve, though both players could fruitfully adopt a wider range of dynamic and colours.
The recording quality is superior throughout, the remastered Ireland sonata – from 1979 – holding its own against the more recent Stanford and Bridge.
Jeremy Siepmann
