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Michael TIPPETT (1905-1998)
Concerto for Double String Orchestra (1938-39) [25:02] Alban BERG (1885-1935)
Concerto for violin and orchestra (1935) [28:29]* Leoš JANÂČEK (1854-1928)
Sinfonietta (1924) [24:12]
Edith Peinemann
(violin) *
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Rudolf Kempe
rec. Royal Festival Hall, 18 February 1976 (Tippett and Berg);
Fairfield Hall, Croydon, 12 October 1975 (Janáček) BBC LEGENDS
BBCL 4215-2 [78:03]
With
Kempe at the helm we can be assured of elevated and noble
performances. The BBC Legends issue captures him in two concerts
given four months apart. The February 1976 concert was given
at the Royal Festival Hall and gives us not unexpected fare – Berg – and
decidedly unusual repertoire for Kempe in the form of Tippett’s
Concerto for Double String Orchestra.
This
positively crackles with rhythmic energy and dynamism, the
strings responding with admirable precision and unanimity
of attack. The result is a performance of real standing and
a precious surviving example of Kempe’s small repertoire
of British works. I think most listeners would find the Adagio
cantabile the most arresting and remarkable of the three
movements in this performance. It’s not just the palpable
warmth of the phrasing; it’s the sheer depth of the warmth,
the unusual tenderness and lyric freedom that Kempe locates
at its heart. This is freely and fully sustained over ten
and a half remarkable minutes, as the music ebbs and flows,
buoyed by sure dynamics and a tremendous ear for balance
and the peak of a phrase. But nothing in this performance
should be underestimated. The finale too has buoyancy and
admirable flexibility. And it’s a magnificent performance
all round.
Kempe
partners Edith Peinemann in the Berg Concerto. She plays
with true architectural awareness and with a chamber intimacy
that ensures that the concerto is projected with sympathetic
and moving directness. This is not to imply that it’s too
pliant a performance; far from it. She has plenty of grit
in her Guarneri and she’s not afraid to coarsen the tone
when necessary. It brings a multi-dimensionary quality to
the performance. And nowhere is this more apparent than in
the Chorale statement, which is lucid, calming and gentle.
This is a potent survival and augments Peinemann’s sparse
discography excellently. Due to misunderstandings with agents
early in her career she wasn’t given the opportunities to
record that should have come her way, given her excellence
as a player. She is seventy at the time of writing and this
is a valuable and lasting example of her art.
Kempe
made a well regarded recording of the Glagolitic Mass and
he was no stranger to Janáček. At the Fairfield Halls
he leads a highly effective reading. If I sound equivocal
I probably shouldn’t but a small detail bothers me. He’s
rather ponderous in the central movement – maybe he’s projecting
a specifically military tone and timbre here but it sounds
to me rather staid at the selected tempo. And post-Bakala
and Mackerras as Janáček proponents of this work Kempe’s
instincts in the finale are perhaps rather too composed for
real ascendancy.
There
is good sound quality and minimal audience noise. Marshalled
by Kempe this trio of performances has much to offer. The
Berg and the Tippett are the most noteworthy and elevated;
the latter remarkably so.
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