ELGAR; FINZI Violin Concertos (Ning Feng)
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Gerald (Raphael) Finzi, Edward Elgar
Genre:
Orchestral
Label: Channel Classics
Magazine Review Date: 01/2019
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 71
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CCS40218
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra |
Edward Elgar, Composer
Carlos Miguel Prieto, Conductor Edward Elgar, Composer Ning Feng, Violin Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra |
Concerto for Violin and Small Orchestra |
Gerald (Raphael) Finzi, Composer
Carlos Miguel Prieto, Conductor Gerald (Raphael) Finzi, Composer Ning Feng, Violin Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra |
Author: Andrew Farach-Colton
Vulnerability is an essential element in this concerto, and its lack here is perhaps most glaring in passages Elgar marks dolcissimo, as at 6'14" in the Andante, and especially in the exquisitely tender phrase at 6'42", where Elgar writes dolcissimo a second time, just to make sure. As always, Feng’s tone is beautiful, but it needs to be more than just that.
I also wish he and conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto had studied Elgar’s flexible pacing and the nervous energy it generates, as their interpretation is simply far too comfortable. Even the nobilmente section in the finale (at 8'40") needs more urgency. Then, in the cadenza, Feng’s interpretation suddenly snaps into focus. He plays it ardently, evoking a rapt atmosphere that stands out from this otherwise overly sedate interpretation.
I very much like the delicate, tightly focused sound Feng brings to Finzi’s early Violin Concerto, but this music requires a bit more intervention than he and Prieto provide, particularly in the meandering outer movements. Tasmin Little and Richard Hickox (Chandos, 5/01), at slightly slower tempos, dig deeper and find some much-needed grit; Feng seems to hover dreamily over the music’s surface.
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