I ask you: really,
why do we buy CDs? "Why do you
ask?" you might ask. Hum - I might
ask you the same thing. Confused? Well,
so am I. Why? Because, of all the reasons
I can imagine, I can’t think of a single
one that explains the reasoning behind
this little lot! I can only guess that
some bright spark at Brilliant Classics,
I presume in the marketing department,
figured out that there is a Big Demand
for this sort of thing - hence an entire
series of "The Romantic X",
where "X" is anything that
you can conveniently rummage out of
your repertoire rag-bag. The problem
is, I can’t pin down exactly which niche
of the market-place he, or indeed she,
is aiming at.
Maybe I’m just being
thick, so let’s set aside such philosophical
profundities for the moment, and look
at what we have here. It would help
- you, that is, not me! - if
you had a peep at a review I did in
May 2003 of a similar production where,
in true algebraic fashion, X = "Harp".
Here’s the link:
www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/May03/BrillCl_6425_RomHarp.htm
Although there was
a certain amount of musical interest
there, the packaging and presentation
left something - almost everything
- to be desired. In that respect, this
production is better, though not by
much. The heft of the "old-fashioned"
double-CD case still lends a spurious
feeling of substance. You’ll still need
to protect the u-card with your life,
as again it’s custodian of the only
listing of the contents. Again, information
is sparse: some arrangements are credited
but others are not, whilst recording
details are given for CD1 only.
At least this time
there’s a booklet! Fronted by
a reproduction of the cover picture,
its remaining three pages are devoted
to monochrome photographs and brief
biographies, in unidiomatic English
only, of the performers on CD1. However,
there is not one word about the music,
nor about the four violinists, five
orchestras and five conductors featured
on CD2. I think we can strike from the
list of possible market niches anyone
with even the remotest of serious intent.
One thing seems fairly
obvious: this is the recorded equivalent
of a "cut and shut" job on
a car. The first CD is a recital and
ostensibly, given the recording date,
a first issue: certainly I haven’t been
able to trace any other release of this.
The second CD has been cobbled together
from diverse bits and pieces, in two
instances quite literally. The Bruch
movement has been lopped off its preceding
movement and the Mendelssohn carved
out of its bed of continuity - Tovey
must be turning in his grave. The really
daft thing is that, with a bit of juggling
there would have been room for both
concertos complete!
It seems as if the
more robust parts of these two concertos
would somehow have damaged the market
potential of this production, which
is wrapped up all cosy-like in that
ambiguous adjective "Romantic".
As in "The Romantic Harp",
but for different reasons, it doesn’t
really "add up". Are we talking
"romantic" as in "sitting
together on a settee in front of a real
coal fire, gazing longingly into one
another’s eyes over a glowing glass
of red wine"? If so, then what
are, say, the Beethoven, Gluck and Bruch
items - to say nothing of Dvorak’s Mazurek
- doing here? Are we talking "romantic"
as in " the Romantic Period in
music"? If so, then how can we
justify the presence of Rachmaninov,
Elgar, Kreisler, and again Gluck? Are
we talking "romantic" in the
sense of "idealistic, fantastic,
unrealistic, storylike"? Oh, what
the heck - you get the point!
It would have made
my job easier if they had filled the
CDs with lots of "romantic"
lollipops and "best of" samples,
then I could have dismissed the entire
shooting-match as "Classical Music
for people who don’t really like Classical
Music", or the sort of thing most
readily purchased from a store that
specialises in wallcoverings. But no!
They have to go and stick in something
not all that readily available elsewhere,
namely the Dvorak Mazurek, though
to what extent this will attract serious
collectors I leave to your fertile imaginations.
So much for the width,
what about the quality? The recital
on CD1 has the advantage of consistency,
at least as you progress from one track
to another. Sharon’s violin is clear
and sweet-toned, not too vibrant, with
plenty of body right through the spectrum.
Be warned, though: the microphones do
pick up his frequent sharp intakes of
breath! Zvi’s piano is relatively murky
and increasingly boomy as the notes
pile up. It sounds as if the sustaining
pedal is over-indulged, though this
could equally be due to the ambience
which, curiously, seems to affect only
the poor piano.
There is much to admire
in the performances, although I did
become aware that some pieces seemed
a bit relentless. The first two tracks
immediately illustrate this divergence.
Rachmaninov’s Vocalise doesn’t
seem to have translated to violin as
well as I’d expect. On the other hand,
having wondered what was the point of
burdening Debussy’s "Flaxen-haired
Maiden" with the addition of a
violin, I was pleasantly surprised by
how well it worked, tenderly expressed
and with an occasional touch of tasteful
portamento.
Contrariwise, Gluck’s
stately lines were undermined by undue
sentimentalising - well enough played,
but overcooked., whilst the Mendelssohn
returned us to relentlessness. But when
it is good, it is very good. The Dvorak
explodes into life, which is hardly
what you’d expect of "wallpaper"!
Its rugged dancing is punched home with
verve. This is, believe it or not, also
true of the Massenet, where Sharon and
Zvi enthusiastically winkle out a madly
passionate core. The Elgar, all bright-eyed
and bushy-tailed, forms an admirable
prelude to the Kreisler items where
the partnership seems especially alive
to the rhythmic undercurrents of the
otherwise soppy tunes.
Turn to CD2, and consistency
takes a vacation. This really is a rag-bag
- recording acoustics and balances vary
widely, as does sound quality, and be
warned that the recording levels have
not been "normalised"! The
performers in the Dvorak Romance
are set back in a large hall, which
suits the composer’s "pastoral
Bohemian" vein, although detail
and warmth are as swings and roundabouts.
Matousek’s violin "sings"
nicely, giving a good account of the
shifting but narrow range of moods,
whilst Lücker draws fine, atmospheric
playing from the orchestra.
The same performers
attack the Mazurek like tigers,
claws bared and teeth glinting. Maybe
the sound is a bit papery, maybe the
playing does get a bit scrappy, but
- other than our dewy-eyed lovers -
who cares? This is a scintillating,
savage romp. You will, however, find
it less easy to be tolerant of the Tchaikovsky.
Although quieter music, it is recorded
at a significantly higher level. That
I could live with, but the sound is
very hissy and "whooshy",
for all the world like a Dolby tape
with the Dolby off, and there’s an audience
that hasn’t yet settled in its seats.
Booren’s violin tone seems very scratchy,
and the orchestral sound tends to become
harsh when loud. This may be the recording,
as the playing itself is flexible, luxuriant,
and emotional - Tchaikovsky wearing
his heart on his sleeve, and proud of
it! What sounds like a wrong note at
the end of the first movement is quickly
forgotten when the second gets going,
delivered with bags of dash and drive,
whilst the finale is played with more
than half an eye on the composer’s balletic
credentials.
Of the Beethoven Romances,
the first seems a bit stilted and uninvolving,
whilst the more famous second is projected
with far greater conviction. The violin
sound, though, is very dry, feeling
spotlit and insulated from the orchestra’s
mellower acoustic. The Mendelssohn movement
is indeed faded in, on the bassoon’s
tenuto, and faded out - neatly! - just
before the bridge to the finale. Butchery
apart, this is very good: Verhey plays
sweetly, with a slightly penetrating
tone that nicely cleaves Mendelssohn’s
mellow orchestral backdrop. Moreover,
it’s not milked - the andante marking
is keenly observed! It’s lovely enough
to make your teeth grind in fury at
being denied the rest of the work.
The Bruch slides in
on the strings, a second or two before
the soloist enters. Grubert’s tone ranges
from velvet to strident, betraying -
I hope - some misguided spotlighting
at strenuous moments. The Soviet musicians
give us an unusual view of this music:
in avoiding the smooth suavity of many
Western readings, it brings out some
relatively gritty details that are usually
"smoothed out". It’s an interesting
slant that makes the music a lot less
comfortable, and definitely not for
the ears of "fireside romantics"!
How to sum up? Well,
quite a bit isn’t "romantic"
enough for "swinging lovers",
and some parts are too boisterous for
"wallpaper" aficionados. The
documentation, which at least exists,
is inadequate for "greenhorns",
and the bleeding torsos of the concerti
militate against the interests of seasoned
collectors. The sound will deter "hi-fi"
buffs, and the variable quality of playing
will not attract the performance enthusiast.
In spite of a number of items of genuine
interest, I can’t really recommend this
set - because, when all’s said and done,
I can’t really find anyone to recommend
it to, other than those cats
whose curiosity I may have inadvertently
aroused.
Paul Serotsky
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 92025 [CD1: 44'30, CD2:
70'09] 