Comparison Recordings
Walton: Piatigorsky, Sargent, BBCSO.
EMI DVD DVA 4928409
Dvorak: Pierre Fournier, Hermann Scherchen,
RTSISO. Ermitage ERM 170-2 [ADD]
Dvorak: Lynn Harrell, James Levine,
LSO. [ADD] RCA/BMG 09026 68086-2
This recording of the
Walton Concerto by its dedicatee
was made three days following the premiere
of the work by these same forces. The
DVD was recorded in London sixteen days
later. The two recordings together,
one for sound and one for picture, give
the complete experience. Piatigorsky
plays the very difficult, very interesting
work beautifully and with great conviction.
By the time Piatigorsky
made this recording of the Dvořák
Concerto he was 57 years
old and had 19 years of life remaining.
The legendary series of chamber music
recordings with Heifetz, Primrose and
Rubinstein was in process and continued
for a few years more, to culminate in
a recording of the Brahms Cello Sonatas
with
Rubinstein in 1966. In this Dvořák
recording Piatigorsky plays with intelligence,
imagination, commitment, and great sensitivity;
when he can find a note and let it resonate,
he sounds very good. But at times his
tone drifts off pitch and into
the nasal, some rapid passages are scratchy,
he is not always on the beat or on pitch.
The orchestral accompaniment is magnificently,
boldly, richly played and recorded,
but the soloist only collaborates convincingly
during slower passages. There are moments
of exquisite beauty, you relax and float
on sensual waves of sound, then suddenly
you grit your teeth. With a work recorded
as often as this one is we can find
a more satisfactory overall version
...
Such as the Scherchen/Fournier
which is a gorgeous performance in every
way in remarkably good 1962 broadcast
stereo sound from Svizzera-Italiana
radio. Fournier’s tone is full, sweet,
warm and secure from the first note
to the last and Scherchen’s accompaniment
is as exciting an achievement as is
Munch’s. The Levine/Harrell, also excellent,
is a modern four channel studio recording,
which may appear on a surround sound
disk some day.
Both of these performances
are somewhat more extroverted in mood
than Piatigorsky’s. He sounds uncomfortable
with the very size of the work, as though
he would be more comfortable playing
to a piano accompaniment. But I can
easily imagine that on other occasions
Piatigorsky turned in performances that
were overwhelming, stunning in every
way. Pity we can’t be there.
Paul Shoemaker
see also
review by Jonathan Woolf
Gregor Piatigorsky, cello 
RCA
BMG 82876 66375-2 [71.22]
