Haydn; Monn Concertos for Cello and Orchestra
More ingratiating sound would aid the cause of these skilful performers
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Joseph Haydn, Matthias Georg Monn
Genre:
Orchestral
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Magazine Review Date: 10/2004
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 69
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: HMC901816
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 1 |
Joseph Haydn, Composer
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Jean-Guihen Queyras, Cello Joseph Haydn, Composer Petra Müllejans, Conductor |
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 2 |
Joseph Haydn, Composer
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Jean-Guihen Queyras, Cello Joseph Haydn, Composer Petra Müllejans, Conductor |
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra |
Matthias Georg Monn, Composer
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Jean-Guihen Queyras, Cello Matthias Georg Monn, Composer Petra Müllejans, Conductor |
Author: Nalen Anthoni
Whining violins and a tight treble make for a raw sound. Moreover, the miking has done Jean-Guihen Queyras no favours either. Undoubtedly, both concertos are taxing but the effort, so graphically caught, is an annoying distraction. He is, in fact, an accomplished musician – who, with one exception, appears to be playing his own cadenzas – and his adroit Allegro molto finale of the C major Concerto shows him to be an accomplished cellist as well. The period instrument orchestra is of similar calibre, uninhibitedly bounding along in this movement. But the preceding Adagio (where Queyras uses Haydn’s cadenza) is sluggish, and a foursquare rhythm that sometimes characterises conductor-less bands clogs the flow of phrases.
All artists respond better to the D major work and only occasionally do they lapse into rigidity. Again, the finale brings out their best as they allow themselves to be carried along by the gait of compound time. The impression of physical strenuousness is also reduced. It helps the music, and is a factor that Steven Isserlis and Roger Norrington consider in their recording of these concertos. Buoyancy and seriousness are satisfactorily balanced though the last movement of the C major coasts along too comfortably. It is the only miscalculation on an otherwise excellent all-Haydn disc, credibly recorded, that also includes the slow movement from Symphony No 13 and the substantial Sinfonia Concertante. In comparison, Monn’s concerto is small beer though Queyras and the Freiburg Orchestra play it well, if rather earnestly.
All artists respond better to the D major work and only occasionally do they lapse into rigidity. Again, the finale brings out their best as they allow themselves to be carried along by the gait of compound time. The impression of physical strenuousness is also reduced. It helps the music, and is a factor that Steven Isserlis and Roger Norrington consider in their recording of these concertos. Buoyancy and seriousness are satisfactorily balanced though the last movement of the C major coasts along too comfortably. It is the only miscalculation on an otherwise excellent all-Haydn disc, credibly recorded, that also includes the slow movement from Symphony No 13 and the substantial Sinfonia Concertante. In comparison, Monn’s concerto is small beer though Queyras and the Freiburg Orchestra play it well, if rather earnestly.
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