- Edward Elgar
Viola Concert
Cello concerto (transcription by Lionel Tertis). Suite for viola and orchestra by Ernest Bloch. Timothy Ridout (viola), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins (conductor).
Java, Sumatra, Borneo, the countries of the Far East dreamed up by Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) draw the Suite for viola which the composer dedicated to one of his favorite instruments (he played it himself). Timothy Ridout’s poet viola moves with agility and naturalness in these moving landscapes irrigated by the marvels of tales. Colour, phrasing, expressiveness: the virtuoso’s bow deploys depth and volubility within an abundant orchestral framework whose paroxysmal radiance he exalts. Interpret the superb cello concerto, by Edward Elgar (1857-1934), in the version transcribed by his compatriot Lionel Tertis (1876-1975) is not to frighten the young British prodigy (the solo parts are played an octave higher, except the “Adagio”, remained true to the original). From this powerful twilight elegy, delicately darkened by the naturally melancholic sound of the viola, Timothy Ridout offers a magnificent, inspired and thrilling version, backed by a BBC symphony orchestra playing in his native land. Marie Aude Roux
1 CD Harmonia Mundi/PIAS.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The Symphonies – The Beginning and the End
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphonies No. 1, K.16, and No. 41 “Jupiter”, K.551. Piano Concerto No. 23, K. Il Pomo d’Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev (piano and conductor).
Maxim Emelyanychev decided to record the complete Mozart symphonies starting from the extremes. The inaugural volume therefore brings together the composer’s first and last contribution to the subject. The coquetry of a conductor or an instructive confrontation? Probably a bit of both. Be that as it may, at age 8 (in 1764, when the Symphony No. 1 was born) as at 32 (in 1788, when the n° 41 is written in just two weeks!), Mozart shows an innate sense of the theater. Paradoxically, the score of the man who has reached the peak of his art is more “playful” than that of the child prodigy. Prone to virtuosity, the Il Pomo d’Oro ensemble delights in youthful effervescence (K.16) and surpasses itself in the power of “Jupiter” (K.551), which, despite certain aspects almost Beethovenians, may pass for the supreme of Mozartian expression. Between these two essays of contrasting dramaturgy, Emelyanychev offers an extraordinarily deep and personal reading of the Concerto pour piano n° 23 on an instrument (a copy of a pianoforte from 1823) with infinite resources (especially in the slow movement). If each future volume is accompanied by a “bonus” of such quality, the integral promises to be a milestone. Pierre Gervasoni
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