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Henri
DUTILLEUX (b. 1916)
CD 1 Le Loup – fragments symphoniques (1953) [15:54]
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts
du Conservatoire/Georges Prêtre
rec. September and October 1961, Salle Wagram, Paris Tout un monde lointain… (1970) [29:01]
Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), Orchestre de Paris/Serge
Baudo
rec. November 1974, Salle Wagram, Paris L’Arbre des songes (1985) [23:54]
Renaud Capuçon (violin), Orchestre Philharmonique de
Radio France/Myung-Whun Chung
rec. 8-11 February 2001, Salle Pleyel, Paris
CD 2 Métaboles (1964) [17:34] The Shadows of Time (1997) [22:47]
Symphony No. 2 ‘Le Double’ (1959) [30:43]
Timothée Collardot, Aude Guiral, Sarah Lecolle (children’s
voices) (Shadows)
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse/Michel Plasson
rec. 28-30 June 1998 (Symphony) and 3-6 January
2001 (Métaboles, Shadows), Halle-aux-grains,
Toulouse EMI
CLASSICS 2068792 [69:07 + 71:16]
EMI
has collected here some of the most important orchestral
works, including the concertos, of Henri Dutilleux, material
previously released on EMI and Virgin and now available
at rock-bottom prices. Conspicuous by its absence, though,
is Timbres, espace, mouvement inspired by Van
Gogh’s painting ‘La nuit étoilée’, that Dutilleux composed
in 1978/91 and that is one of his undisputed masterpieces. On
the other hand, this set includes the early Le Loup (The
Wolf) ballet suite, which the composer later disowned. I
know of no other recording of this three-movement suite
and so for the completist it is good to have it here,
even if it sounds little like the Dutilleux we know today. It
is rather a grab-bag of influences, from Ravel, Roussel,
Varèese, and Poulenc, among others. It is a colorful,
but rather noisy. If Dutilleux had continued in this
style, it is doubtful that he would be recognized as
the most important late twentieth-century French composer
after Messiaen. Le Loup receives here an appropriately
garish performance by Prêtre and the conservatory orchestra.
The
rest of the discs, though, contain mature compositions — not
only some of the greatest Dutilleux has written, but
also some of the most appealing composed by anyone during
the last half of the past century. Dutilleux is a wonderful
stylist and master orchestrator, following the line that
began with Debussy and Ravel. He has not composed as
much as Messiaen did, but what he has written has a concision
and internal logic that are most attractive. His works
may not be as big as Messiaen’s or have as many extra-musical
connotations, but they likely will have as much staying
power. One can listen to them many times over without
boredom or feel like you have taken on the whole world. Having
the majority of his orchestral works available on a two-disc
set at such prices is a real bargain. All of the performances
here are certainly more than adequate and two of them
are among the best available.
These
two are on the first CD. They are the Cello Concerto, Tout
un monde lointain…(which translates as A Whole World
Distant…), and the Violin Concerto, L’Arbre des songes (The
Tree of Dreams). EMI has selected the classic performance
by Mstislav Rostropovich, for whom the work was composed,
for the Cello Concerto. In many ways this one has never
been surpassed, although there are others that equal
or come near to equaling it. As in many of his other
recordings, Rostropovich seems larger than life. Some
of this may be due to the recording which places him
closer to the microphones than is customary now, but
it is also true that he tended to dominate in whatever
repertoire he performed. There is nothing wrong with
that when the results are as magnificent as they are
here. I would, though, have appreciated more involvement
from the orchestra at times. They have an important
part to play in this concerto. Again this may be due
to the recording more than the performance. At any rate,
when comparing this one to another made in the composer’s
presence in the early 1990s by Lynn Harrell and the Orchestre
National de France under Charles Dutoit for Decca, the
latter has the cello better integrated with the orchestra. Harrell
is also excellent, if not as commanding as Rostropovich,
and Dutoit accompanies superbly. EMI might instead have
chosen the original discmate with the Violin Concerto,
Truls Mørk’s, which also received excellent reviews and
which I have not heard. In any event Rostropovich’s
authority is unimpeachable.
I have no
reservations at all about Renaud Capuçon’s account of the
wonderful Violin Concerto. This is in many ways the greater
of the two concertos, which Dutilleux composed some fifteen
years after the Cello Concerto. It is in four movements
interspersed with three interludes. While the violin line
is sufficiently virtuosic, the orchestral part is on an
equal plane. Capuçon’s performance is all one could ask. He
has a big, warm sound, but Chung also brings out the important
orchestral role exceedingly well. The orchestration includes
the rather exotic cimbalom that adds interest to the texture. The
concerto is full of lyricism, but also contains moments
of high drama and ends with a typically Dutilleuxan percussion
outburst. Only at the very end, do I prefer Pierre Amoyal
and Dutoit, whose version is on the disc with the Cello
Concerto cited above. Their percussion is more incisive
and makes a greater impact at the end. Otherwise, Capuçon’s
performance is more commanding than Amoyal’s and Chung’s
orchestra is on a par with that of Dutoit. The work also
contains a bit of humor, with the third interlude’s mock
tuning of the orchestra.
If
only the second disc contained performances on the same
level as those on the first, I could consider this as
a “bargain of the month”. Unfortunately, that is not
the case. While all three works receive good accounts
and are accurately played, there are better ones to be
found elsewhere. Plasson has recorded excellent performances
of other twentieth-century music - two Milhaud symphonies
for DG come to mind. Here he rather skims the surfaces
of the Dutilleux works leaving an impression of blandness
with the listener. This is especially true of The
Shadows of Time, one of Dutilleux’s strongest recent
compositions. Ozawa and the Boston Symphony, for whom
the work was composed, produce an infinitely more exciting
account on a Warner Elatus CD. Plasson’s children’s
voices are perhaps sweeter than Ozawa’s, but they play
a rather minor role in the composition as a whole. The
dynamic range on Ozawa’s CD is also greater than on Plasson’s. Likewise, Métaboles,
one of Dutilleux’s more frequently performed compositions
is somewhat lacking in dynamism here. Comparing this
account with Rostropovich’s on the Warner CD cited above
or Saraste’s with the Toronto Symphony on Finlandia does
no favors to Plasson. Incidentally, Saraste’s disc,
also containing the Symphony No. 2 and the revised version
of Timbres, espace, mouvement did not receive
its due in the critical press when it was first released. This
I believe is because the disc was cut at a rather low
level and needs a considerable boost in volume to make
its effect. Once this is done, the resulting recordings
are as vibrant and exciting as any in the catalogue.
Finally,
the Symphony No. 2 has received more vital performances
by Saraste and by Yan Pascal Tortelier with the BBC Philharmonic. The
Chandos set conducted by Tortelier containing most of
Dutilleux’s major works is probably the safest way to
obtain a good cross-section of the composer, if you are
having only one set. However, the bargain-hunter could
do worse than purchase the EMI set under review. The
first CD itself is worth the modest price of the set
and you at least would have two of the greatest concerto
recordings and more than serviceable ones of the other
works. Now, we need a recording of Dutilleux’s song
cycle, Correspondances, that he composed for Dawn
Upshaw in 2003 and anything else he has written since.
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