RECORDING OF THE MONTH RECORDING OF THE MONTH BARGAIN OF THE MONTH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS A London Symphony Oboe Concerto £11 post free World-wide RACHMANINOV Elegy, Preludes, Piano concerto 3 £12 post free World-wide CHAUSSON, DEBUSSY RACHMANINOV TRios 2CDs £16 post free World-wide

BUY NOW  CANTILENA

Franz Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809) London Trios for two flutes and violoncello (1794) * Trio I (Hob. IV,1) [8:27]; Trio II (Hob. IV.2) [7:00]; Trio III (Hob. IV.3) [12:05]; Trio IV (Hob. IV.4) [4:37] Divertimentos for flute, violin and violoncello (1784) ** Divertimento I (Hob. IV,6) [7:33]; Divertimento II (Hob. IV,7) [9:28]; Divertimento III (Hob. IV.8) [7:29] *Laurel Zucker, Renée Siebert, (flutes), Samuel Magill (cello) **Laurel Zucker (flute), Shirien Taylor (violin), Samuel Magill (cello) Recorded Concordia College, California, 1997. CANTILENA 66013-2 [56:48]

The earliest music here is to be found in the three divertimentos for flute, violin and cello. These were published by William Forster in London, in 1784. There were actually six divertimentos, and they all went through several later editions, often with small changes. It is a syncretic version that is used here. These are pieces in which, somewhat unusually for him, Haydn extensively recycled earlier material; there are many debts to his opera Il mondo della luna, first performed a few years earlier in 1777. The so-called ‘London Trios’ were, it seems, written ten years later for some of Haydn’s London patrons, Lord Abingdon and Sir Walter Aston, both of whom were amateur flautists. The flute had, for some time, been a popular choice of instrument amongst amateur musicians, and it was an instrument for which Haydn had an evident fondness. These very attractive trios were, however, the last pieces of chamber music Haydn was to write for the flute. The two English aristocrats were obviously very competent musicians, for two flutes are given some quite difficult material to negotiate. The interplay between the two instruments is often intricate, as in the counterpoint in the first movement (marked ‘Spiritoso’) of Hob. IV.3. Laurel Zucker is a fine musician whose playing is characterised by intelligence, imagination and technical certainty. I have heard with pleasure a number of recordings by her – such as those of Claude Bolling’s Jazz Suites and the Handel Flute Sonatas. I am not sure, however, that this particular CD represents her at her best. Certainly it is technically assured at all points - some of the interweaving of lines with Renée Siebert in the London trios is very well handled, and Samuel Magill is reliability itself. But it all seems just a little cool, even a little bland, and is not helped by a recorded sound that isn’t of the very best. There are quite a few places where the music could bear a bit more characterisation. These are by no means bad performances, but they don’t make the most persuasive of cases for the music. For that one needs to look elsewhere – the London Trios, for example have had very different recordings by Camerata Köln (on cpo) and by Rampal, Stern and Rostropovich (on Sony). Most of this is lightweight Haydn, and these are pleasant, but unmemorable, performances of it. Glyn Pursglove     Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage There will be NO VAT Rises [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

Return to Index

Reviews from previous months Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.