Schumann, Lalo and Saint-Saens: Cello Concertos [Hybrid SACD, Import]

Janos Starker recorded the Schumann Concerto more than once: this performance, from the 1960s, was the second, and, of those I have heard, I think the best - in fact, I'd say it's about the best performance of the concerto I've heard altogether. Starker is never tempted to romanticize the music as some cellists are, and as a result it emerges stronger and can be appreciated for the masterwork it is. Stanislaw Skrowaczewski and the London Symphony Orchestra provide a similarly taut orchstral performance. Starker has composed a cadenza which comes just before the last movement - or should I say section as all three run together.

This performance has previously been issued on Philips coupled with the Dvorak concerto but this new issue has added attraction of being a hybrid SACD for those who can take advantage of it.

For the Schumann Concerto, this is an essential disc.

Neither of the other works is on the level of the Schumann, but they are also very well performed, and the Saint-Saens in particular is very enjoyable.

Since first writing these comments I've heard (on LP) a performance by Maurice Gendron with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christoph von Dohnanyi - also very good, and similar in style to the Starker and Skrowaczewski. I would still say that Starker / Skrowaczewski have the edge, both in performance and sound (though it is a bit earlier), and in any case so far as I can see Gendron's stereo performance is not yet available on CD.

When I first started collecting classical CDs, I only had a few Mercury Living Presence (MLP) titles. In my quest to get the absolute best, or at least a definitive recording, of the major works of the standard repertoire, MLP discs rarely topped the critics' lists. In fact, only three MLP recordings have been earmarked as "Essential Recordings" by amazon -- Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, Byron Janis performing Rachmaninov's 2nd & 3rd Piano Concertos, and Yehudi Menuhin performing Bartok's 2nd Violin Concerto, all three with Antal Dorati as conductor. It is also safe to say that three other titles are equally essential for their historical value alone. They are Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake by Dorati (the first recording of the complete ballet), Janis performing Liszt's Piano Concertos (the first recordings made in the Soviet Union by American technicians, musical staff and equipment), and Kubelik's Chicago Symphony performance of Pictures at an Exhibition (one of, if not the single best mono recording ever, and the one that led the New York Times critic to coin the phrase "Living Presence," from which the label named its series). But how does a CD line go from having a half-dozen must have recordings, to being this reviewer's all-time favorite classical label?

The answer: consistently magical performances, captured in brilliant golden-age stereo sound, that offer a slightly different take on your typical interpretation of the great works. While MLP titles may not offer the best standard account of a work, they always surprise you and open you up to all the possibilities that the music has to offer. For example, this performance of Schumann, Lalo and Saint-Saens (No. 1) Cello Concertos by Janos Staker may not be the consensus first choice recording, but I constantly come back to this disc for a different perspective, and its vibrancy and splendor never disappoint me. Maybe that is why collectors prize these recordings, because they are a breath of fresh air in a homogenized world of listening. Of course, collectors love a challenge too, and MLP CDs are becoming increasingly hard to find. It has taken years for me to finally find all of the MLP CDs released to date, and unfortunately I don't think there will be any new releases forthcoming. So collectors, and even those who aspire to be, should pick up as many Mercury Living Presence discs as possible now, before they all die.

You want a great soloist and a great orchestra to produce a great performance, and you want the engineers to capture it in great sound. It doesn't happen very often, but in the case of the three cello concertos on this Mercury SACD, recorded in 1962 and 1964, all the elements come together perfectly.

John J. Puccio
Classical Candor