Reviews for Shostakovich Cello Concerto No 1/Kodaly Solo Cello Sonata op8
Classic CD of the Month April 2000 - 'No one matches the mesmerising atmosphere of this recording...'
As ever Wispelwey provides an interesting combination of works, linking the solo Kodaly Sonata to the extended cadenza in the Shostakovich. In fact it is precisely in the cadenza where Wispelwey really shines, making the transition from the poignant and poetic Moderato to the fiery Allegro really convincing.
He owes much to the legendary Rostropovich recording in his searingly intense delivery of line in the first movement, but the leaner forces of the Australian Chamber Orchestra (performing remarkably without a conductor) create a greyer and more menacing mood. Pieter Wispelwey is particularly distinguished for the poetic quality in his playing - evident in the second movement of the Shostakovich, but equally so in the Kodaly sonata. This is a remarkable performance which immediately draws the listener into the tortuously difficult score. He has really grasped what rubato the solo line can take, no more than in the folk-infused Allegro Molto Vivace which has tremendous vitality.
The Adagio is particularly subtle and expressive, Wispelwey generating a compelling narrative through the complex sequence of monodic lines, Jano Starker's many recordings of this work also reflect an instinctive sense of rubato, and empathy with the assimilated folk music, but no one matches the mesmerising atmosphere of this recording.
Gramophone April 2000 by Rob Cowan - 'He's a musician through and through, someone you can always trust to get the message right..'
'The solo cadenza....bears witness to Wispelwey's brilliant technique and the finale, his close rapport with the orchestra...'
Note that the Concerto involves a chamber orchestra, which means that the more acerbic elements in Shostakovich's scoring register with an unusual degree of intimacy. In the first movement, the woodwinds become carping protesters, the timpani are gunshots and Pieter Wispelwey's cello is like the cry - or laughter - of a perceptive poetic commentator. Darrly Poulsen's horn solos are forceful, almost abrasive, whereas the violin tutti have a lacerating edge. Only occasionally do the string sound a trifle under-nourished.
The solo cadenza - which is separately tracked on the CD - bears witness to Wispelwey's brilliant technique (not least his seamless bowing) and the finale, his close rapport with the orchestra. Like most top-grade soloists, he is primus inter pares, a team player with a keen sense of the whole story.
Most recordings of the First Concerto have the Second for a companion, but Wispelwey couples another 'predator in the zoological garden of the cello repertoire' ( to quote his own booklet-note). Its just as well I'm not the zoo keeper for , if I were, I'd be funning to the nearest exit. Kodaly's op 8 Sonata is a huge, soul-bearing beast, impulsive (witness the emotive eruption 5'29" into the central movement), consistently outspoken and with a tendency to break into wild dancing at any given moment. Some passages call for simultaneous bowing and pizzicato, while others have the cellist play perilously near the bridge, strum chords like a guitarist or set off at a tremendous speed. Wispelwey manages all the tricks but keeps both soul and spirit well within the frame. He's a musician through and through, someone you can always trust to get the message right. And to cap it all the sound is extraordinarily lifelike.