Customer Reviews

Haydn: Cello Concertos

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

 

 

After Vivaldi and Boccherini - both of which who wrote a lot of music for the cello - there was not so much writing for the cello from the major composers until Beethoven's dramatic cello sonatas. But even Beethoven did not compose a cello concerto. Neither did Mozart or Schubert. However, in the late 18th century, Joseph Haydn wrote two very melodic and virtuostic cello concertos composed with his typical Vienesse good taste to give cello players and enthusiasts through the ages something to truly celebrate.

Are these recordings of the ASMF and Rostropovich deserving of the accolade of "Great Recording of the Century?" Maybe, I'm not sure what the measure is to get that title. But certainly listening to these concertos, you clearly get a sense of a great performance by both Rostro but equally from the ASMF orchestra whose beautiful tone, tempos and interaction with the soloist all seem to be well judged and well-suited to Haydn - whose music always seemed to be composed with such finesse and fine taste. The EMI sound also is really excellent - full and balanced.

These cello concertos feature very attractive and lyrical cello parts but also difficult technical passages that should particularly delight the cello enthusiasts. Mr. Rostropovich blazes through these sections with deft and confidence that is impressive to hear. While his style may seem at times to be "heavy," it does not mean it is all wrong or that he is incapable of exuding a lyrical smoothness. His style is his style - which is one of a dramatic and powerful tone (coming from his deep and powerful Stradivarius cello). Other cellists may convey more of a "sweeter" style, but Mr. Rostropovich's precise and bold playing here combined with the superb ASMF performance and vivid sound is a winner to me.

Rostropovich plays with such panache and good humor in both these Haydn concertos that there's no room for complaint--he's brilliant technically and is backed by alert, sprightly accompaniments from Iona Brown and the ASMF. At 50 min., this CD isn't much of a bargain, however. You can get the First Concerto from Rostropovich two other ways. One is a Decca performance with Benjamin Britten making twice as much of the orchestral part as Brown does. The finale is taken faster, too, which allows Rostropovich to astound us even more. But that CD only has him in this piece, the rest being filled out with other Haydn concerti for winds.

There is also a DG recording of both concertos under Paul Sacher that I remember from the Sixties. It's as brilliant as this CD but not as well recorded. The plus side is that DG's budget reissue contains cello concertos by Boccherini, so the timing is much more generous. These are just random thoughts about various Rostropovich versions--this one is certainly appealing on its own and delivers the goods on all counts..

This is one of the most inspired peformances I have ever heard. Rostrpovich seems to play from the heart, and he plays every note with such warmth and expressive tenderness unmatched by other players. A truly great recording!

As an admirer of Haydn, I have collected approximately 95% of his music. As for this CD, it is a must for any Haydn admirers or 18th century music collectors. These compositions demostrate Haydn's elegance, beauty, and precision. Haydn, not being a prolific concerto writer as Mozart, however did an excellent job with these pieces.

These pieces, I believe were written and then stuffed in drawer and possibly were never played during Haydn's life. Once they were unarchived years later, the musical world was astounded by them. Rostro, being the virtuoso, made these pieces his own. His playing is sublimely excellent and unmatched. Yo-Yo and Jackie don't even come close. If you want the best, go with ROSTRO.

A great recording of the Haydn C, displaying Slava's wonderful boisterous qualities with the cello. However, with the D major concerto having so many smooth melodic lines, it does not in my opinion go well with this heavy style of playing. The Yo-Yo Ma recording of the Haydn D is very beautiful. Buy this for the C, and Yo Yo for the D.

I'd recommend this recording overall, for Slava's glowing tone and impeccable technique. But the conducting is just adequate and a bit unanimous. Still, the price is right, the sound is great, and this is a worthwhile CD, though "Great Recording of the Century" is a bit much. I also agree with those who say you should also get Ma/English Chamber Orchestra (Sony), which is better overall.

Rostropovich may be playing himself, but I don't think it is nearly as good as Haydn intended. Try Feuermann's and give yourself a real treat!

There is a DVD version of the pieces showing exactly how he played and conducted the two pieces. Likewise there is a DVD for his Dvorak which is, surprisingly enough, very good indeed--the best among the three pieces.

One would expect Haydn to be a bit more classical. Rostropovich is indeed too heavy-handed here, that is exactly one of the reasons why I prefer, as far as his Beethoven is concerned, the primitive recording of Casals to his 24 bit recording with Richter. But that was Beethoven where more romanticism is permissible or even appropriate. More so for Dvorak where more intensity and more drama is justified.

Perhaps the Russian conductor got it right: the artists there and then had so much anger and sorrow that they either take to the wine or spit it out in their playing. Go for his Dvorak instead of his Haydn. But to be fair, he played the second concerto better.

In terms of technique especially in it's narrow sense, Rostropovich is hard to surpass. But that doesn't include Casals and Feuermann or even Shafran. But is it necessary to have one's technique developed that way? Piatigorsky didn't have that kind of technique, but he had much more musicality and showmanship. Horowitz ranked Piatigorsky higher than Rostropovich. Oistrakh, Rostropovich's idol, had disputedly a "better command" of the violin than Menuhin ( Menuhin's own word which is of course, more a matter of semantics ), but Perlman said Menuhin had such layers of palette which are not equally apparent from Oistrakh.

Like Horowitz at the piano, both Russians are so tense when playing music. To apply Arrau's theory, how could music flow from one's heart and soul and gets it's way to the instrument if one is so tense: it's all blocked! Well, not altogether so with Rostropovich. But still, he is too heavy-handed and unnecessarily tense at times.

Fournier didn't play like that, nor did Piatigorsky. Shafran, who shared the gold medel of two world competitions with Rostropovich, didn't. There was an eminent cellist who commented that it's a pity that Yoyo learned from Rostropovich, otherwise Ma might play even better. True in every sense of the his word.