This is a well considered
pairing. Martucci was Respighi’s composition
teacher and the fruitful juxtaposition
of master and pupil is one that Arts
has explored in a comparable release
of works for violin
. This time the focus is on the cello
and the works are of a commensurately
higher level than the rather salon-inspired
examples to be heard in the sister volume.
The Cello Sonata is
a major Martucci chamber statement.
Written when he was twenty-four it has
formal limitations and an over-extended
first movement. It could have done with
enlightened revision but it also possesses
abundant lyricism and mid-century Romantic
engagement.
There’s no doubt that Schumann remained
an abiding influence but there’s a subtle
admixture here of the rhetoric of Brahmsian
passage-work and a smidgen at least
of Dvořák. One of the most distinctive
and appealing of its features is the
freewheeling and humorous Scherzo
with its marvellous drone-inflected
trio. But the lyrical and affectionate
Intermezzo is good too though the finale,
whilst forthright, is not especially
distinctive. The second of the Two Romances
is the better but it was the Tre Pezzi
that were amongst the composer’s own
favourite works. Like the similar works
for violin they can incline rather too
closely to the generic. However the
E minor is a little gem – moving with
real verve and colour and with a flexibility
and freedom that impress. These are
by no means mere morceaux – the B flat
minor lasts ten minutes.
Coupled with these
is the Respighi Adagio con variazioni
in its version for cello and piano,
a transcription made in 1921 in which
I always feel the lack of the orchestral
version – search out the Cassado Vox
Box for that version.
The recording level
is good. Soloist Arturo Bonucci has
a soft-grained tone that suits the more
relaxed patina of some of these pieces
but his intonation can wander now and
then. I’d have welcomed more athleticism
and colour in his playing. In the Sonata
Bacchelli is rather backward in the
balance and tends to be a mite brittle.
The notes are good and even take Martucci
to considerable task for formal and
other technical limitations and weaknesses.
That’s what friends are for!
Jonathan Woolf
see also
Giuseppe
MARTUCCI
(1856-1909) Sonata
for Violin and Piano Op.22 (1874) Tre
Pezzi Op.67 for Violin and Piano
Op.67 (1886) Melodia for Violin
and Piano (1890) Ottorino
RESPIGHI (1879-1936) Cinque
Pezzi for Violin and Piano * Sei
Pezzi for Violin and Piano (1901)
* 
Rodolfo Bonucci (violin)#Antonio Bacchelli
(piano) Pietro Spada (piano) * Recorded
in Rome, December 1991 (Respighi) and
October 1988 (Martucci)
ARTS 47138-2 [76.04] [JW]
Some
fairly lightweight things here played
with commitment and just the right kind
of discretion. An enjoyable, relaxing
recital. ... see Full
Review
