Lalo - Symphonie Espagnole [Mutter/ Ozawa-Orchestre National De France] 

One of my most favourite Violin 'Concertos', and an early disc for Mutter [1985 when she 22], is it a Violin Concerto or isn't it?, i guess it really doesn't matter, it certainly veers away from the established formula, with a five movement 'suite', playing dazzling music, Lalo composed the work for the Violinist Sarasate, and it's so good to hear this work again, it was just over a year ago that this disc appeared in my Blog [8th January 2012].

Anne-Sophie Mutter is German, she's now 49, and her half century beckons this year, she recorded this disc in 1985, and the front cover picture is by Christian Steiner, a pleasing enough portrait, but not incredibly clear, the supposed blacks are just dark brown.

The whole of this work is tremendous, every movement is different, a different mood and vibe, but the whole thing is tied together by Spanish idioms, and by a certain virtuosity, it was the third and fifth movements i liked the best, i guess over the years it's the third movement Intermezzo that has become my favourite, and it certainly hit the mark again today, it's a fairly 'angry' movement of music, at the start there's a stamping rhythm played by the strings, interspersed with a more serene echo by the flutes [0:00-0:57], the Violinist takes up this theme, but drifts away from the anger, and becomes more sweetly lyrical [1:32+], and then by turns more towards virtuosity [2:30+], and even though the orchestra try to bring back in the anger, Mutter keeps it lyrical, even though through a high level of virtuosity, i just like the many twists and turns the whole thing gives, the perfect middle movement.

Here's Anne-Sophie Mutter playing the third movement Intermezzo on YouTube.

Lalo - Symphonie Espagnole [Perlman/ Previn-London Symphony Orchestra] 

A real favourite of mine, along with the Sibelius and Bruch Concertos, for Lalo to dispense with a three movement Violin Concerto, and instead give us a five movement 'suite', all but in name it's a Violin Concerto, each and every movement is a delight, no duds here, and it certainly has a Spanish 'gypsy' element to it, plus it never outstays its welcome, being only 33 minutes long, there seems to be something for everyone in the five movements, each very different from the other, i played this same work / disc in the fairly early days of my Blog [9th April 2010].

Itzhak Perlman is now 67, born in Israel, but live in America, he recorded this work in 1966 when he was 21, now i must admit that the front cover is a peach, Perlman with a bright deep pink shirt, really stands out, the lettering is in a box to the right, but is opaque, and the background can be seen through it, i like the pose and the strong colours, a lovely front booklet [photo by Bette Marshall].

Wow what a thrill this was, both the first and third movements were real stunners, Perlman / Previn put some real fireworks in there, the recording is bright, maybe slightly brittle, not quite enough warmth [it is 1966 mind you], it's all nicely driven, with strong emphasis on fortes when needed, it was the third movement which i found to be the stronger, i must admit i soon got used to the age of the recording, the woodwind are nicely caught, easily being delineated in the orchestral melee, the orchestra start with an almost angry stamping theme, interspersed with the woodwind / high strings giving a soft reply [0:00-0:55], the violin comes in with a Gypsy melody, with the soft percussion / string pizzicato almost mimicking a strumming guitar [0:56+], i like the way the violin takes the tune up a notch [1:11+], and then comes out of staccato mode and plays more legato [1:26+], and then surely Perlman really does the Gypsy stuff, playing all sorts of whoops and fiddling [2:21-2:53], all the while the background keeps up the guitar rhythm, there's virtuoso aplenty [3:15+], all the while there's stamping rhythms that abound, the opening gambit of the violin returns [4:03+], and that's a lovely moment to hear the same tunes all over again, there's a sort of wistfulness in the cor anglais coda [5:31-5:49], and right at the end Perlman has quiet pizzicato notes, with the orchestra having the last word in the very last forte note [5:50-5:58], a superb movement of music.

Here's Silvia Markovici playing the third movement Intermezzo on YouTube.

Lalo - Cello Concerto [Rolland/Varga-BBC Philharmonic] 

This is a lovely disc, a well chosen programme, and a well thought out visual presentation, Cello Concerto's don't get the same rap as either their piano or violin counterparts, unless of course you're Dvorak or Elgar, and of course the 'theme' of this disc is French Composers, there are so many other Cello Concerto's out there i have yet to taste, but it's good to delve into these deeper, very rewarding indeed, the recording isn't great, it needs more transparency, it's too close and dull, there's a hint of mono-ness to it.

Sophie Rolland is Canadian, she's now 51, she recorded this disc in 1993, the booklet photograph [by Julian Easten] is what first brought my attention to this disc, a superb idea for a portrait, full body height shot showing the cello, the lovely wisp of movement shown in the trailing dress, and the back heel, the highlights in the wood of the cello and the polished floor really add some sheen to the shot, and the open draped windows looking out onto the decorative wall, topping it all is the light coloured box with the lettering in, which is opaque to see the background through, though the cello remains in bold over it, a very well thought out booklet indeed, and it just makes an excellent disc of music into something altogether greater.

Well it's the first movement which is full of dramatic intensity, the beginning sounds sinister, with strong orchestral forte exclamations throughout [0:00-0:29], it certainly has you on the edge of your seat, and one after another there's five of these forte 'full stops' in a row [1:16-1:20], however there's also hints of something more softer and sweeter trying to poke through the anger, and this takes on full blown proportions like a slow movement within the first movement [3:17-4:51], loads of tenderness and gentleness here, the music however much it tries to escape, keeps coming back to the opening phrases, the aching tender cello strains return [7:37+], the first movement is more like a Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra, it's like a love / hate relationship in a marriage, there's anger and sweetness interspersed, like a couple that have a blazing row, then kiss and make up, only to row and kiss again, and again and again, the movement ends on a serious note of dramatic yelling! [12:55-13:15], very powerful extremes of light and dark, i love it, oh, and it's in D Minor, my key of 'death'. 

Here's Rocco Filippini playing the first movement on YouTube.

Various Composers - 'Reverie Et Caprice' Violin Romances [Juillet/Dutoit-Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal] 

This is a nice recital of music for violin and orchestra, the difference between this and the many other similar discs that i have, is that this one includes some rarer and welcome items [tracks 1 and 7 for instance], plus instead of working around flamboyant showstoppers [like Saint-Saens and Sarasate], it concentrates more on pieces that have colour and atmosphere, Lalo and Faure get a good look in, of course the linking factor is also French / Belgian composers, this is not a collection that has made an immediate impact on me, i've had the disc since 2006, but it's a slow grower, plus there's a generous amount of music on the disc [75 minutes], i enjoyed listening to this while out for a walk today.

Chantel Juillet is Canadian, and now 51, she made this recording in 1996, in 2010 she married Charles Dutoit the conductor here, the front cover photography is by Julian Broad, the lettering is nicely laid out, pink on blue looks great, very well done.

Of all the pieces it was tracks 4 & 6 that i was really impressed with, the longest and shortest pieces on the disc [the timing for the Chausson piece is wrong, it's meant to be 16:20], the Chausson i love, and i've mentioned it before in my Blog, but the short Lalo piece Guitare was originally for voice and piano i believe, this is an orchestral transcription, and it's such a wonderful piece of music, it's a wonder that it's not more well known, it's obvious why it's called Guitare, mimicking the Guitar by the violin and the bubbling woodwind, and lots of pizzicato by the strings, the piece starts of with some fierce pizzicato from Juillet and the orchestra [i think a harp possibly], the sweet legato lines of the violin are nicely juxtaposed against the bubbly staccato woodwind and the jagged pizzicato of the strings, and what a lovely tune it is too [0:09-1:16] bowed superbly by Juillet, and given twice for effect, there's a middle section which sounds like it's in a different key [1:19-2:34], and it gives just the right amount of variety, you can certainly hear the sound of castanets being mimicked in there, the return of the main theme is masterly [2:35+], and in the background there's a clarinet bubbling away in its bass registers, once you hear the piece, it will lodge in your heart for ever.

Here's Ruggero Ricci playing Lalo's Guitare on YouTube.

Lalo - Cello Concerto [Chang/Pappano-Orchestra Dell Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia] 

A disc that's easy to miss in the plethora of discs on the market, this is another issue that makes its first appearance in my Blog, as well as its first appearance in my disc player, the major problem i find with this disc is, that it's neither a true recital disc, with say 10 concertante pieces, neither is it a Concerto disc, with possibly 3 Cello Concertos, it's a bit of one, and a part of the other, i like recital discs as you can slap them on random, and listen to the next piece that you're not sure what you're going to get next, with a Concerto in the mix, you can't really do that, but that aside, there's some great music to be had here.

Han-Na Chang is South Korean, she will be 30 this year, how quickly she has grown up, a child prodigy, she won the Fifth Rostropovich International Cello Competition when she was 11 years old, she made this live Concerto recording in 2006, the front cover photograph is cute [by Sheila Rock], the main lettering in light pink, while her dress is in dark pink, lovely colours, and just look at those dimples!.

Here's William Molina Cestari playing the first movement on YouTube, with Gustavo Dudamel conducting.

Lalo - Symphonie Espagnole [Mutter/ Ozawa-Orchestre National De France] 

Wow!, just loved this today, and it's good to hear Mutter's interpretation of this wonderful work, a disc that is quickly becoming a favourite of mine, it's good to have several versions to really get into the essence of what Lalo is trying to say, and i count eight discs of this work i now own.

Anne-Sophie Mutter is German, she's now 48, and she recorded this work in 1985 at the age of 22, the front booklet cover photograph is by Christian Steiner, a nice double portrait, though a bit unfocused, seems like a shot that's been through too many reprints.

Amazingly it was the first movement i liked the best, 

Here's Anne-Sophie Mutter playing the first movement Allegro Non Troppo on YouTube.

Lalo - Symphonie Espagnole [Bell/Dutoit] 

Here's the companion piece to Saint-Saens Violin Concerto 3 i played last month [30th May 2011], i'm not quite sure what my favourite Violin Concerto is, it's either out of Bruch 1, Sibelius, or this Lalo work, and this disc by Joshua Bell is an excellent coupling, last year this work featured in my Blog five times.

Joshua Bell is American, now 43 years old, he made this recording in 1988.

Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole is a wonderful work, 5 movements of extreme variety, each of the 5 pieces seems to explore the five opposite corners of the Spanish idiom, and each of them were terrific today, but again i seem to settle on that middle third movement, the 'Intermezzo', 

Here's Sylvia Marcovici playing the third movement on YouTube.