This
disc comes into direct comparison with ASV's CD of the complete
music for piano and orchestra. These Claves tapes have been around
for years. They first came out on vinyl D8509 in 1986 and on CD
CD508509 in 1987. It represented the commercial world premiere
of the First Concerto. The Second Piano Concerto had already been
recorded by Paul Badura-Skoda (the dedicatee) on LP (Vox STGBY661)
then reissued by Jecklin on CD on JD632-2 in 1990. This Vox LP
also had the Szigeti-premiered Violin Concerto as its beautiful
coupling. There the soloist was Wolfgang Schneiderhan recording
it for the second time (his first had been for Decca with Ansermet).
The
pianist on the competing ASV disc, Sebastian Benda, takes the
concertos somewhat faster shaving seconds off Antonioli’s time
yet not unduly hurried. The ASV sound is better than the now eighteen
year old Claves. The other thing in ASVs favour is that it includes
a further work for piano and orchestra, the piece called simply
Peur. The presence of Benda lends special eminence to the
release. As early as 1974 Benda recorded on LP the Ballade
with Martin conducting (Vox STGBY669).
The
First Concerto is reputed to bear similarities with what are now
viewed as his classic works (Petite symphonie concertante and
Concerto for seven wind instruments). From the outset the work
had eminent advocates. Gieseking premiered the piece at a Suisse
Romande concert with Ansermet conducting. However real acclaim
came when it found its way onto the programme of the 1936 ISCM
in Barcelona. Antonioli seems to be well on top of the piece both
technically and spiritually. He is compromised however by an opaque
tendency of sound that can be attributed to a permutation of engineering,
acoustic and orchestra. The Second Concerto is rather lacklustre
as a piece by comparison with the brilliance of the First.
No
contest really. It has to be the Benda. Antonioli is a very fine
artist but the overall effect is noticeably at a disadvantage
against the even more generous ASV. In the present case I also
find against this particular Claves disc because it has been specially
produced as a presentation set in 2002 to mark Korea’s Independence
Day. The biographical notes and part of the cover are in Korean
with only the artist profile in English.
Rob
Barnett
Jean-François Antonioli
(piano)