The latest releases reviewed.
VIVALDI: DOUBLE CONCERTOS Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin/ Georg Kallweit, Midori Seiler Harmonia Mundi HMC 901975 *****
The work which opens this "double concerto" CD is not a double concerto at all. But there's a strutting quality behind Midori Seiler's direction of the strumming opening of Vivaldi's Concerto in G minor, RV156, that sets the feelgood atmosphere for the disc as a whole. The other works are all directed by Georg Kallweit, whose almost giddy solo playing in the finale of the Violin Concerto in E, RV265, is in the same spirit of extravagance. The actual double concertos here are for two oboes (RV535, Xenia Löffler, Michael Bosch), two cellos (RV531, Jan Freiheit, Werner Matzke), and two violins (RV522, Kallweit, Seiler), all delivered with enough spring and sensitivity to leave one with a lasting smile. www.uk.hmboutique.com MICHAEL DERVAN
BEETHOVEN: THE NINE SYMPHONIES Russian National Orchestra/ Mikhail P letnev Deutsche Grammophon 477 6409 (5 CDs) ****
The good news is that this is not just another recorded Beethoven cycle. "With Beethoven," explains Mikhail Pletnev, "you have to have the courage to take liberties." He has, and he does. These performances are full of unusual emphases and unexpected, unpredictable speed changes. Pletnev turns up his nose at period performance practices, but his approach often shows a briskness of tempo and a transparency of texture that period aficionados will appreciate. The test case for interpretative wilfulness is probably the swerving tempo in first movement of the Pastoral. Yet, in spite of the sometimes extraordinary idiosyncrasies, there are abundant rewards for the risks taken. And sometimes the surprise is that there are no surprises. www.deutschegrammophon.com MICHAEL DERVAN
THE BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES Scottish CO, Philharmonia Orchestra/Charles Mackerras Hyperion CDS 44301/5 (5 CDs) ***
Charles Mackerras's Beethoven cycle (his second on CD) was recorded live by the BBC at the Edinburgh Festival last year. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra played the first eight symphonies and the Philharmonia the Ninth. Mackerras's Beethoven is focused, to the point, lean and spare in sound, with no loose flesh. The playing, sharp-edged as it is, seems at times almost plain by comparison with the rushes and dallies of Mikhail Pletnev. Mackerras, 80 at the time of the concerts, is no slouch. These readings bring urgency and concentration to what is essentially a plain-speaking style of music-making. Taking liberties was the last thing on this particular conductor's mind. www.hyperion-records.co.uk MICHAEL DERVAN
BEETHOVEN: COMPLETE SYMPHONIES; SELECTED OVERTURE NBC Symphony Orchestra/Arturo Toscanini Music & Arts CD-1203 (5) (5 CDs for the price of four) ****
Toscanini was a seminal figure in the history of Beethoven performance. His 1939 live Beethoven symphony cycle with the NBC Symphony Orchestra is full of fire and fury, as if the intention is to overwhelm the listener at all costs. Yet there's also a sinewy lyricism in the playing which attenuates some of the ferocity while enabling the music-making to be kept at an extraordinarily high voltage. The sound, in the notoriously dry acoustic of Studio 8-H, is tight almost to the point of being cramped. But it's also quite remarkable for its time, and the new Music & Arts transfers make it easy to adjust to the rawness and lack of acoustic bloom. www.uk.hmboutique.com MICHAEL DERVAN
