CD REVIEWS: SOL GABETTA, BAIBA SKRIDE
posted by James Reel
Evidence that the major labels have not gone completely down the drain: two fine new concerto discs from Sony/BMG. Now, it’s true that the soloists—cellist Sol Gabetta and violinist Baiba Skride—are tremendously photogenic, but their appeal is more than skin-deep. I just sent in a very brief review of each disc to a magazine you probably don’t read and which rarely posts CD reviews at its Web site, so I’ll share them with you here.
Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme; Andante Cantabile; Pezo Capriccioso; Nocturne. Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1. Ginastera: Pampana No. 2. Sol Gabetta, cello; Ari Rasilainen conducts the Munich Radio Orchestra (RCA 82876759512).
Argentine cellist Sol Gabetta introduces herself on disc with the more-or-less complete music for cello and orchestra by Tchaikovsky (a couple of song arrangements are missing), naturally mated with the Saint-Saëns First Concerto, plus the rarely (if ever) recorded orchestral version of Ginastera’s Pampeana No. 2. Best comes first: a fabulous performance of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations. This isn’t for people who prefer big, loud, fast, beefy versions of the work; Gabetta’s way with it is quietly teasing. She tends to operate at a relatively low volume, but makes lots of little dynamic adjustments from bar to bar and stretches out phrases to romantic effect; her rubato in the fourth variation is especially impish, and the cadenza built into the fifth variation is full of personality. Overall, the work has rarely sounded so balletic.
The rest of the disc comes off well, but with less individuality than the Rococo Variations. The outer movements of the Saint-Saëns are impassioned, and the central Allegretto is especially elegant. The other items respond well to Gabetta’s light touch and impeccable intonation.
Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1; Janácek: Violin Concerto. Baiba Skride, violin; Mikko Franck conducts the Munich Philharmonic; Marek Janowski conducts the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (Sony 82876-73146-2).
For her third Sony recording, Baiba Skride takes up what has apparently become a rite of passage for all young violinists: Shostakovich’s First Concerto. Her way with the opening Nocturne is patient and dark; from the beginning, there’s a subtle sense of menace. The Scherzo is properly frantic, the Passacaglia warm and lyrical—not the dry meander it can become—and a fervent cadenza leads to a stunning Burlesque: The intepretation is gritty, but the intonation is pure, even in this concert performance. True, Skride’s tone sometimes does become wiry in high passages, but this happens in spots where it may be a conscious color decision.
The filler is a welcome bonus, Janácek’s Violin Concerto, “The Wandering of a Little Soul.” There’s more than one reconstruction of this unfinished work, which shares material with the overture to Janácek’s prison-camp opera From the House of the Dead; this version is by Leos Faltus and Milos Stedron. Skide’s approach is as mercurial as it should be.
This Latvian laureate of the Queen Elisabeth International Competition clearly knows how to execute a keen conception of challenging, unhackneyed music; her earlier disc devoted to Mozart and the Haydn brothers should also be worth seeking out.
