Edouard Lalo - Works for Violin and Orchestra - Kantorow, Bakels, Granada Orchestra

 

Release Date: 04/28/2009 Label: BIS Number of discs: 1 Composer: Edouard Lalo Performer: Kantorow, Granada City Orchestra cd info/ buy

Review:

"The disc contains three works by Édouard Lalo for violin and orchestra - all written in the 1870s. Two of them are small and virtually unknown but deserve more prominence. The third is a staple of the romantic repertoire, receiving a fresh interpretation, quite different from what we might be used to. Lalo did not enjoy much success in his lifetime, although his melodic gift was admired by some of his fellow composers. The works on this disc testify to his talent. The music stores no hidden depths, it is not contrapuntal or forward-looking in any way. Let's be honest, it is also fairly predictable and sweet-toothed. On the good side it is pleasant, melodic, and is a good vehicle for violinists’ virtuosity. In fact, all three pieces were created for the great Sarasate, and he paid back generously by making Lalo's name internationally known. It is nice to have concertos written by a skilled violinist for a great violinist: the composer both can and may express himself as he wants. The recording is clear, the listener is put in a concert-hall perspective: the soloist is perceptibly closer, and the orchestra sounds two-dimensional. Together with the lightweight approach taken by the soloist and the conductor, this makes the symphony sound fresh and young, as opposed to more ripe, meaty, probably more expressive but also more mannered interpretations."

 

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