I am in something of a quandary regarding this CD set. It is
released to celebrate twenty years of the hugely successful partnership
between the Australian Chamber Orchestra and their talented and
charismatic leader and artistic director Richard Tognetti. The
dilemma is this; there is a wealth of fine music on these two
generous discs, reasonably recorded and sparklingly performed
but, with the exception of a few stand-alone works these are
all excerpts from larger compositions. Who apart from ACO/Tognetti
groupies wants just one movement of a Beethoven Symphony
or a Bach Concerto? For me it added to the frustration, a brilliant
performance promised more to come but instead we have a lurch
to a completely different work. Likewise, the programming veers
from period to period in a seemingly random fashion. Clearly
this is meant to reflect the laudable diversity of the ACO’s
programming but here it feels like a rag-bag. I would have
preferred a set with twice the number of discs but half the
amount of repertoire
(perhaps there are licensing issues at work here) organised
either chronologically by composition or more interestingly
by performance
date - that way the blossoming of the partnership could have
been traced.
The performances are taken in the main from live concerts of
the last decade coupled with commercial CD releases which are
not dated. It is impossible therefore to ascertain quite how
many of the twenty years of the association is covered here.
According to the liner notes the ACO consists of 17 permanent
string members who are augmented as the repertoire demands. Clearly
the Symphonies here are played by considerably larger numbers
of performers but there is a very consistent stylistic approach
across all the music. Technically the orchestra are beyond reproach
and play with the highest distinction; ensemble, intonation and
attack are superb. Take for example track 3 - the 3rd Movement
Allegro from Bach’s Double Violin Concerto. Tognetti
is brilliantly partnered by Helena Rathbone as they toss off
the tricky finger-snagging passages which a clarity and élan
rarely achieved at the tempo they choose. But therein lies my
other main problem with this disc. Tognetti clearly has a preference
for a driven style which I feel underlines the undoubted virtuosity
of himself and his colleagues but at the price of rarely letting
the music breath or smile. No doubt it makes for some adrenalin
fuelled concerts and I can imagine it is very exciting live but
on CD the result is unrelenting. Also, once you strip this away
as a defining characteristic I’m not sure that I heard
much in the way of subtle musicianship. Track 9 on CD 1 - Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir
de Florence - Allegro con brio is a good example of what
I mean. This piece was written originally for a String Sextet
and then adapted later by the composer for a symphonic string
section. The liner notes do not make it clear if this is played
by a sextet or the expanded 17 players of the ACO (it sounds
like the latter). Either way they attack it ferociously - technically
superb this does not sound like a Florentine souvenir - all sunshine
and mellow warmth - to me. There is a marvellous sextet version
by the Camerata Lysy on Claves (now deleted) that was the technical
equal of the ACO but with added Mediterranean glow. Likewise,
the Siegfried Idyll - track 5 CD 1 - starts beautifully
but once the tempo ups it feels frenetic. As mentioned the
programming does not help with this impression of driven music-making.
The
first four tracks are of “quick” movements. The
fourth track - the Vivace from The Scottish Symphony by
Mendelssohn is an interesting example. In purely timing terms
alone Tognetti is only a shade on the faster side of average.
But somehow the result feels brusque and unforgiving - the music
does not bubble and charm.
Part of the blame must lie with the
recording which is detailed but tends towards the glassy and
harsh once dynamics build. As live recordings they are acceptable
but in no way demonstration class. Interestingly some of the
most successful performances are the two slow movements taken
from violin concertos which are studio recordings. Here Tognetti’s
flowing tempi and unmannered phrasing allows the music to be
simple and lyrical as it is surely meant to be and is aided by
a considerably mellower recorded balance. Not surprisingly, the
ACO have taken on board current trends in authentic performance
practice. Although they play on modern instruments textures are
kept clean and light, vibrato used judiciously but again this
feels more that it is a stylistic coat being worn for that moment
rather than being a defining characteristic of the band. The
two contemporary works are of greater interest simply because
of their unfamiliarity. Certainly Smalley’s Footwork
(Birthday Tango) suits the robust ACO approach although
it feels as if the music cannot make up its mind whether it
wants
to be a fun encore or something altogether more serious. Sculthorpe’s Irkanda
IV again benefits from a studio recording and is altogether
more atmospheric (this recording has been released by Chandos
as part of an all-Sculthorpe disc CHAN 10063) - certainly one
of the most convincing overall performances on these discs.
Irkanda is an Australian native word meaning “remote and lonely” and
was written in 1961 in memory of Sculthorpe’s father. The
bleak lamenting quality of the music is well caught and Tognetti’s
playing of the solo line is superb. Altogether more convincing
music making than on much of the rest of this set. The Grainger
that completes the second CD is seriously comic in the way that
only Grainger can be. Hickox on Chandos with the BBC Philharmonic
Orchestra go for a more chaste version but I rather like the
ACO’s primary colour performance which underlines the eccentricity
of Grainger’s “ramble”. Likewise the encore
at the end of the first CD literally plays to the strengths
of the orchestra and their director.
Recent years have seen an upsurge in this type of small orchestra/large
chamber group. They tend to be characterised by the fusion
of a chamber group co-operative sense of music making while
the
greater number of players allows them to widen the range of
music they play. It is a little disingenuous for the liner
notes to
imply that it was a “Tognetti innovation” for the
players to stand - the Guildhall Strings were doing that from
their foundation a good nine years before Tognetti joined the
ACO in 1989! - or that they are particularly unique as an ensemble.
Do not get me wrong the ACO is very very good indeed and their
commitment to touring and varied programming is beyond reproach.
But I suspect most people buying this set are converts already.
As a promotional tool I can see it has its uses, for the dedicated
collector it serves no function and for the occasional dipper
into classical music the programme has no shape or overall
theme to tempt them.
Only for Australian Chamber Orchestra aficionados.
Nick Barnard
Track details
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770 - 1827)
Symphony No.5 in C minor - Allegro con brio [6:23]
Antonio VIVALDI (1678 - 1741)
Concerto in B minor for 4 violins Op.3 No.10 - Allegro [3:36]
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685 - 1750)
Concerto in D minor for 2 violins BWV1043 [4:19]
Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809 - 1847)
Symphony No.3 “Scottish” - Vivace non troppo [4:26]
Richard WAGNER (1813 - 1883)
Siegfried Idyll [17:46]
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770 - 1827)
Violin Concerto in D major Op.61 - Rondo [9:34]
Johannes BRAHMS (1833 - 1897)
Chorale Prelude Op.122 No.7 “O Gott, du frommer Gott” [6:04]
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685 - 1750)
Violin Concerto in A minor BWV1041 - Andante [6:01]
Pyotr Il’ych TCHAIKOVSKY (1840 - 1893)
Souvenir de Florence - Allegro con brio e vivace [7:13]
TRAD
Cuckold, Come Out of the Amery [3:06]
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756 - 1791)
Symphony No.40 in G minor KV550 - Molto Allegro [7:27]
Franz SCHUBERT (1797 - 1828)
String Quintet in C major D956 [15:22]
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685 - 1750)
St John Passion BWV245 - “Ach. Herr, lass dein lieb Engelein” [1:46]
Joseph HAYDN (1732 - 1809)
Violin Concerto in C major Hob.VIIa:1 [5:22]
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770 - 1827)
Symphony No.8 in F major Op.93 - Allegro vivace [6:43]
Roger SMALLEY (b. 1943)
Footwork (Birthday Tango) [8:24]
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685 - 1750)
Sonata No.2 in A minor for solo violin BWV1003 - Andante [5:49]
Peter SCULTHORPE (b. 1929)
Irkanda IV [10:41]
Percy GRAINGER (1882 - 1961)
Blithe Bells (A free ramble on Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze”)
[4:19]
Richard Tognetti (Artistic Director and Lead Violin); Helena
Rathbone ( violin
- CD1: track 2 & 3); Satu Vänskä & Elizabeth Jones (violins
- CD1: track 2); Anthony Halstead (conductor - CD1: track 6); ACO Voices (CD2:
track 3); Australian Chamber Orchestra
Recorded: CD 1: 1 - The Arts Centre Hamer Hall, Melbourne 18 September 2006
/ 2 - City Recital Hall Angel Place Sydney 17 November 2004 / 3 - no details
given
/ 4 - Huntingdon Music Festival Mudgee 4 December 2002 / 5 - The Arts Centre
Hamer Hall, Melbourne 18 September 2006 / 6 - no details given / 7 - Huntingdon
Music Festival Mudgee 4 December 2004 / 8 - no details given / 9 - Perth Concert
Hall 5 July 2006 / 10 - Perth Concert Hall 15 November 2006 / CD 2: 1 - Perth
Concert Hall 1998 / 2 - Sydney Opera House 27 May 2002 / 3 - City Recital Hall
Angel Place Sydney March 2000 / 4 - no details given / 5 - City Recital Hall
Angel Place Sydney 15 November 2008 / 6 - Perth Concert Hall 15 November 2006
/ 7 - no details given / 8 - no details given / 9 - Huntingdon Music Festival
Mudgee 1 December 2004
Australian Chamber Orchestra/Richard
Tognetti (violin, director)
