RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Concerto for Piano, Violin,
Cello and Orchestra in C major, Op. 56 [36:41]
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra
in A minor, Op. 102 [32:45]
Trio Poseidon: Sara Trobäck Hesselink (violin); Claes Gunnarsson (cello);
Per Lundberg (piano)
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (The National Orchestra of Sweden)/Neeme Järvi
rec. Concert Hall, Gothenburg, Sweden, 19-20 August 2004 (Brahms); 22-23 February
2007 (Beethoven)
CHANDOS CHAN 10564 [69:41]
My earliest days with classical music - a mission that continues - were marked
by a series of discoveries: delights and disasters, fascination and revulsion
or indifference. A friend at college introduced me to classical music via his
collection of LPs of Stravinsky, Janacek, Martinu, Sibelius and Vaughan Williams.
In parallel I was listening to BBC Radio 3 and adding mainstream classical-romantic
works. Radio and TV drama serials - which in those days (1960s and 1970s) made
plentiful use of classical music - also left their mark. I heard the Beethoven
Triple Concerto one day and was quite bowled over by it. I am fairly sure it
was the classic Karajan, Oistrakh, Richter, Rostropovich on EMI. I read that
it was amongst the more modest of the Beethoven scores but it quickly took
hold of my affections well beyond the grip of the symphonies. It was much the
same with the Brahms Double Concerto though its mastery is more acknowledged
among the four symphonies than Beethoven’s Triple among the Nine. With
the Brahms Double revelation came via the Stern/Rose/Ormandy recording on CBS rather
than the sanctified Oistrakh/Rostropovich/Szell on EMI. I revelled in Rose’s
sumptuous no holds-barred-tone which flowed like a warming wave. No doubt the
effect was accentuated by microphone array decisions but that was of no concern.
The Stern/Rose/Ormandy was part of a box of 3 Brahms LPs where CBS had shoe-horned
the Double with Stern’s Violin Concerto and Serkin’s two piano
concertos. The CBS version of the Double rather spoilt me for later versions
so when I snapped up a cassette (remember those) of some 1959 recordings of
Brahms Double (Galliera Philharmonia Oistrakh Fournier) and Beethoven Triple
(Sargent, Philharmonia, Oistrakh, Oborin, Knushevitsky) TC-EMX2035 I was disappointed.
It was all too uniform, civilised and collegiate.
I wondered, when I picked
up this disc, whether I was in for the same experience. Not a bit of it. This
new recording is a joyous affair. From it the allegedly modest Beethoven rises
above its reputation and the Brahms stands proud. It differs from my early
reference versions in that the soloists have for years played as part of the
Poseidon Trio and therefore know each other from the sustained intimacy of
chamber music playing. Their musical equivalent of conversation, symposium
and badinage benefits from that familiarity with each other and is not dissipated
by the interaction with an orchestra. Interestingly the Brahms has had to wait
six years before release and the Beethoven three years. The Chandos team have
clearly bided their time before having the effrontery to challenge the other
majors. Their decision was well made. Just because the names of the soloists
are not internationally known is no reason to pass this by. You will lose out
if you do. In terms of modern sound blended with artistic insight, poignancy
and exciting performance values this is a version to have. That the recordings
were made from live concerts creates no problems at all. The Brahms may not
have quite the scorching calorific value of the Rose and Stern on CBS-Sony
but it is not far off. The Beethoven has rarely if ever sounded as good - try
the Polacca finale. Congratulations all-round. This deserves to do very well
indeed.
Rob Barnett