Edouard LALO (1823-1892)
Symphonie espagnole, Op. 24 (1874) [34:06]
Rapsodie norvégienne (1879) [11:41]
Devy Erlih (violin)
London Philharmonic Orchestra/Désiré-Émile
Inghelbrecht
rec. October 1956, Théâtre des Champs Elysees, Paris
FORGOTTEN RECORDS FR 132 [45:47]
If your yen is for, say, Aaron Rosand or for another violinist who
has given us such valuable repertoire in performances of vitality,
personalised brilliance and nuance - let’s take Louis Kaufman - then
you can go to a number of reissuing labels. But if you want recordings by
Devy Erlih, a ‘cult’ fiddler less well known than they, then you
must go to Forgotten Records.
I’ve reviewed his recordings on the label before and now
it’s an opportunity to listen to his Lalo. In October 1956 the London
Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Désiré-Émile
Inghelbrecht, assembled in the Théâtre des Champs
Elysées, Paris, to record the Symphonie espagnole with the
young Erlih. By now recordings of the four movement version, usually
undertaken by Russian violinists and particularly by pupils of Leopold Auer,
were becoming mercifully rare. Erlih, naturally, plays the five movement
version. His tonal ethos is not really Gallic in the way that
Thibaud’s or Henry Merckel’s was. There was a more cosmopolitan
cut about him, and he didn’t sound much like Zino Francescatti either.
His musical personality, though buoyant, wasn’t as projective as
theirs; it was often exciting, frequently elastically phrased, but not
always tonally seductive.
He plays with lightness and wristy elegance in the
Scherzando. Inghelbrecht sets quite a dour tempo for the ensuing
Intermezzo (the movement the Russians often cut) though this does
allow Erlih to spin a provocative dance in the contrasting central section.
The Andante lacks the sheer warmth that Coppola provided for Merckel
in their pre-war 78 set, but its austerity is not unattractive in its own
way. Quick slides animate the Rondo finale, which, again, is not
over-pressed tempo-wise. In terms of the recording, the LPO play decently
though the winds are recessed in the balance.
As a makeweight we get conductor and orchestra alone in the
charmingly coloured snapshot that is Rapsodie norvégienne.
This excellently transferred disc faithfully reproduces
Ducretet-Thomson 320-C124, which means that the playing time is short. But
if Erlih is your priority, which it assuredly has to be here, then you will
find here more evidence of his always interesting playing.
Jonathan Woolf
Often exciting, frequently elastically phrased, but not always tonally seductive.