Vanguard Classics recordings
tend to flit in and out of the catalogue, as the fortunes
of the company wax and wane. Their original appearance
in Europe was courtesy of the Philips label. The present
recording was made in a Philips studio in that company’s
home town of Eindhoven. Now Regis and Alto are offering
some of their recordings of operas and oratorios and Challenge
Classics are reissuing some of their recordings of chamber
music.
The title of this recording,
made by Vanguard in 1995, is a pun on the name of the instrument
and that of the final piece – take out the italicised letters
oe to
form the word
Obsession. Three very different works
by French composers open the recital, which is completed
by pieces by composers whom I must confess not to have
heard of before, though Mihalovici has found his way into
the latest
Oxford Companion to Music: the notes
about these in the booklet are very welcome.
The Saint-Saëns piece
makes an attractive opening to the programme, a blend of
late romanticism with neo-classicism immediate in its appeal
but hardly memorable. The Dutilleux and Poulenc Sonatas
are more substantial pieces; though neither could claim
to be the most important of its composer’s works they are
both well worth hearing. More importantly, if you don’t
yet know Dutilleux, I urge you to try his Cello Concerto,
tout
un monde lointain
The Poulenc is dedicated
to Prokofiev and there are echoes of his music here, but
it was with Benjamin Britten’s chamber music for oboe that
I felt the greatest affinity. The central
scherzo movement
is most entertaining music in what might be described as
the almost generic French 20
th-century style – by
which I don’t mean to be disparaging, since it’s a style
which I find very appealing. The finale, though marked
Déploration,
is saved for me from being “grey and deathly”, as the notes
describe it, by the “flowing melodies” to which those same
notes also refer. Otherwise, those notes, by Ronald Vermeulen,
are very helpful and the English translation is idiomatic.
The Mihalovici work, though
described as a Sonatina, is actually the second most substantial
piece here. Attractive as it is, especially the lively
rondo finale
(
vivo e gioccoso), I thought at times that it out-stayed
its welcome; it is not a piece to which I shall return
very often.
The final piece by Shinohara
rounds off the programme very well. Though he was a student
of Messiaen and Stockhausen, this is not particularly avant-garde
music, perhaps because it was written as a competition
piece. It’s hardly any more angular than Messiaen – much
as I like Messiaen’s music, I can think of several of his
pieces from which the faint-hearted would have more need
to be warned off – and it’s certainly not in the league
of Stockhausen, of whose music I have to admit that I’m
not a fan. The piano writing is certainly reminiscent of
Messiaen. It ends very powerfully. Ultimately, however,
it doesn’t ‘go’ anywhere for me in the same way that Messiaen’s
music does, though it might make a good film score.
I had previously come
across Pauline Oostenrijk only as a performer in baroque
music – her deleted Vanguard recording of concertos by
members of the Bach family was well received – but she
seems equally at home in this 20
th-century repertoire.
She has received acclaim for her performance of some of
the music of Alexander Voormolen for Chandos – see appreciative
reviews by
JQ and
JP – and
her playing here is also excellent. She is very ably supported
by Ivo Janssen and the recording does them both full justice.
The impressive CVs of both performers are given in the
booklet, including the information about Janssen’s own
label, Void Classics.
An attractive recording,
then, which I enjoyed hearing, but hardly essential listening.
I applaud Challenge Classics for reissuing it, but I can’t
imagine that it’s going to have huge sales potential, despite
the perky photograph of Pauline Oostenrijk on the cover.
There’s just so much more out there that I’d recommend
ahead of this. The perceived lack of widespread appeal
is my only reason for withholding the otherwise deserved ‘thumbs
up’ accolade.
Brian Wilson
Pauline
Oostenrijk (oboe)
