Franz Xaver DUSSEK (1731-1799)
Sinfonia in G Major (Altner G4) [9:54]
Sinfonia in B-flat Major (Altner Bb2) [10:53]
Sinfonia in A Major (Altner A3) [11:16]
Sinfonia in B-flat Major (Altner Bb3) [21:11]
Helsinki Baroque Orchestra/Aapo Häkkinen
rec. 1-3 October 2010, Sello Concert Hall, Espoo, Finland
NAXOS 8.572683 [53:53]
By way of an introduction to Dussek I hope I will be forgiven for quoting
this text directly from the Naxos CD tray:
Mozart’s friend Franz Xaver Dussek (in whose summer villa he completed
‘Don Giovanni’) was a pianist, celebrated teacher and the leading
composer of instrumental music in Prague. Like his compatriot Wanhal, Dussek
completed his musical training in Vienna and, unsurprisingly, his works reflect
the strong influence of composers such as Hofmann, Haydn and Dittersdorf.
Dussek’s symphonies, most of which appear to have been composed in the
1760s and 1770s, are works of great charm and vivacity, cleverly orchestrated
and full of striking melodic ideas.
My only previous encounterwith Dussek was a collection of his keyboard
sonatas that I used to hack my way through on the piano as a teenager and
these pieces always struck me as melodious, well written, huge fun to play
and easy to listen to. Was the music quite in the Haydn or Mozart class? Certainly
not but then again how many composers are? This recording of four of the Dussek
Sinfonias further cements my thoughts from all those years ago in a very positive
way. The music is a breath of fresh air and there’s hardly a dull moment
to be heard in the 53 minutes worth of music on this CD. Dussek was a tunesmith.
All four symphonies are crammed full of melodies but there’s more to
it than that. The orchestration is the work of a true craftsman and the musical
ideas are allowed to develop in a true symphonic sense.
The Helsinki Baroque Orchestra sounds much bigger than its role call of 18
players would suggest. The string sound is deep and rich and the forward recording
captures the buzz of the cellos and the bright violin timbre that one has
come to expect from an ensemble playing on period instruments. Personally
I don’t enjoy period performances of large scale orchestral music but
for this Dussek set it sounds just right. There’s real fire a sparkle
to the playing. In such a string dominated texture the 2 oboes and single
bassoon could have done with a little help from the engineer by bringing them
into sharper focus - they are somewhat lost. The horns don’t suffer
in this way. They have tremendous bite and a delightful authentic ring to
their tone.
There’s some fine musicianship on display here with a full range of
dynamics. The quieter, slower passages ebb and flow. The phrasing is elastic
and everything is allowed time to breathe. There is a tangible sense of communication
taking place between the players (as, of course it should). The louder passages
are thrown off with great zest and bravura and it’s hard not be swept
away with the sheer enthusiasm of it all. The allegros are immaculate in terms
of precise articulation and intonation.
When listening to this disc I was reminded of those exciting times in the
1970s when Marriner and the ASMF were setting the recorded music scene alight
with their fabulous Argo LPs, especially their set of Rossini sonatas. That
sense of discovery allied to superb musicianship was something rather special.
From the very first entry this Dussek disc grabs your attention. It’s
rather special and at bargain price it needs to be snapped up.
John Whitmore
Tuneful music brilliantly performed.
see also review by David McConnell