Customer Reviews

Britten - Cello Suites

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There is an intimacy between Truls Mørk and his cello which effuses not only in the grand scheme of the music he plays, but in each phrase he breathes, and I would argue, in each note his instrument sings. I first heard Truls play in recital five years ago and was stunned by the incredible range of his technique, including unbelieveable variety of vibrato and bow control. And so much the more that it never approached idiosyncracy, but rather, all added to a musical quality in performance I have since rarely seen. (Evgeny Kissin at the piano gave me similar pause). Mr Mørk obviously has deep feeling for the Britten Suites, and they are a wonderful showcase for his prodigious talent. I am pleased that with his recent Grammy nomination, many more will come to know the musical vision Truls Mørk shares so generously.

I've heard just about every recording of these beautiful suites but Truls nails this like no one else. The combination of his execution which is phenomenal and the sound engineering done on this recording is rare. (i.e. The S/N ratio and soundstage is superb.) If you're a fan of these pieces, pick up the cd. i haven't heard these compressed but I highly recommend the cd.

Considering a five-star rating to be perfection/near-perfection, this recording deserves a rating just slightly below. Mr. Mork's virtuosity and musicality are quite evident, and his playing is amazingly smooth and legato when he so desires. My one point of difference with his playing is the occasional loss of rhythmic certainty: listening with the sheet music in front of me, I could not tell exactly how he was counting. The rubato seemed a bit much.

Despite this one difference of interpretation, I have greatly enjoyed listening to Mork's playing of what is a relatively unknown work--especially to non-cellists. But like the more popular suites of Bach, the solo suites of Britten are rich with thought, emotion, and a wonderful variety of sounds. As a cello performance major just beginning to work on the op.72 suite, I am able to appreciate the beauty of this work, and the validity that Mork's playing gives it. If you listen to this recording, I'm sure you will feel the same way.

Truls Mork: Britten --Cello Suites 1-3 (Virgin) (5*)

I bought this record because I've admired Truls Mork's cello playing, because I love the Bach unaccompanied cello sonatas, because I've heard little of Britten's music (although I did once almost freeze to death during a late-season performance of Britten's opera, A Midsummer Night's Dream, in the unheated Glimmerglass Opera House in Cooperstown, NY), and because the reviews on Amazon praised it highly.

They were right to praise it. It's exquisite music and Truls Mork is the right person to play it. His cello sound is deep and sonorous, appropriate for music as complex and evocative as this. The movements of the three suites, which were composed as unaccompanied cello suites with Britten's good colleague, Mstislav Rostropovich, in mind, vary in tempo, approach and mood, and they permit Mork to show off his considerable technique, which he does without loss of musical content.

At the same time as I bought this album, I bought the half-jazz, half-not-jazz album, Round About Weill (ECM), with Gianluigi Trovesi on clarinets and Gianni Coscia on Accordion. I then loaded both albums onto iTunes on my computer and interspersed them, first one tune from the one album, then one tune from the other, until all were in place in my music file. They fit amazingly well. To start with, both are superb albums by consummate musicians at the peak of their creative powers. More than that, though, they match in musicality and in evoking a mood, which is usually but not always melancholic.

Try it., Buy them both, not just one of them. But no matter what, if you want to listen to quality cello music performed by a superior artist, you'll relish this album by Truls Mork.

Mork's rendition of the Britten Suites is incredible! His may use a lot of rubato but it sounds good, right? His articulation and intonation is perfect! If you like cello, you'll like this!