This is a reissue of a reissue, the programme having appeared in a Brilliant
Classics box set (see
review),
which was ‘strongly recommended’ by Terry Barfoot. Indeed, this is a
classic EMI recording (ASD3081), and seen by many as something of a
reference. My own musical DNA has been pre-programmed by that Classics
for Pleasure Dmitri Alexeev and mixed artists version which we wore
out in its briefer cassette form, but has been available with an expanded
programme on CD for a while now (see
review).
The Ortiz/Berglund performances are vibrantly recorded, and you can
pretty much ignore the 1975 vintage as regards sound quality. Perhaps
the strings aren’t quite as glossy or the stereo separation quite as
wide and transparent as some digital recordings, but with these pieces
it’s all about the sense of life behind the notes, and the musicians
here are as eloquent an impassioned as you could wish for.
If I was standing in the record shop and you were humming and hawing
about which version to choose, then my advice would be to take Alexeev
et al. There are two main reasons for this, and one or two
minor ones. If you check the timings of the movements in the piano concertos,
you’ll see Alexeev is shorter in most, and this is reflected in tighter
and generally more exciting all-round performances. Philip Jones as
solo trumpet in the
Piano Concerto No. 1 is also not to be
ignored, the poor soloist with Ortiz doesn’t even get a mention. Despite
a gorgeous
Andante in the
Piano Concerto No. 2, the
slow movements are just that much more atmospheric with the CfP album
which has the edge in terms of absolute recording quality. The filler
Fantastic Dances Op. 5 are intriguing little early pieces,
but you have so much more music at 72:49 that the choice is, alas, what
the ‘cool folks’ these days are calling a ‘no brainer’.
Of the minor points, the transition between the
Lento and finale
of the
Piano Concerto No. 1 includes a wee break which shouldn’t
be there. This is like the gap you get between tracks when listening
on some MP3 players, and while it might seem a small point it does disturb
the flow of the music and is certainly annoying and unnecessary here.
There is also only about a 5 second gap between the two concerti, which
could easily have been just a little longer.
Cristina Ortiz and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra play their socks
off throughout in this recording, and as a budget choice it has much
to recommend it. In the same price bracket I’m afraid it is however
beaten by Dmitri Alexeev by every measure and standard, though I have
to admit it is nice to have Cristina Ortiz’s performances available
once again as a single disc.
Dominy Clements
Footnote We are grateful to John
Shand has written to add some further background about the trumpeter
featured in this recording:
The review says that the 'poor
trumpeter' in the 1st concerto is not named. I guess DC's use of the
word 'poor' in this context is a reference to his not being named,
because the playing is superb. He is, of course, the legendary
Rodney Senior, Principal Trumpet of the Bournemouth Symphony
Orchestra for thirty-five years. He died quite recently. A
magnificent player. I lived in Poole for a couple of years in the
mid-1980s, so got to see and hear the BSO - and unwittingly at the
time, Rodney Senior. I have a friend who played trombone with the
LSO under Previn in the 1970s and later the Boston Symphony
Orchestra under Ozawa, and it was clear when I mentioned Rodney
Senior's name to him, how highly he was thought of in the
profession.
