I was prompted to hunt down this
disc for review following two recent London concerts that featured music
by conductor/pianist/composer Constantin Silvestri. His Three Pieces for
Strings is his only composition currently available in the catalogue.
The opening Pesante brims
with life after a short and sober introduction. The middle piece – Cantabile – offers
a true singing line, particularly to the middle and lower strings. This displays
the inventiveness of Silvestri’s orchestration in that he avoids orchestral
deployment that might be expected with such a marking: although the violins
do contribute they do not take the lead. The cello line in particular is
notable for its sensitivity of phrasing, bringing out a sense of nostalgia
in the writing. The closing Veloce is entirely different. It is shorter
and quietly rousing, for the most part, It also offers opportunities to bring
characterful pizzicato playing out to underline a top line of some character.
Malcolm Williamson wrote his
second symphony for Silvestri and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Williamson’s
works presented here are of rather shorter duration than a symphony: the Lento
for Strings is plushly upholstered in the rich and sonorous playing of
the London Schubert Players. Of the Camargue Scenes, the final one
is the most extensive and involved in composition terms. Alan Tongue paces
the work sensitively allowing the layers of string writing to be captured
with clarity.
The Mozart concerto, recorded
live in Bucharest, is upbeat from the first with Anastasescu setting a lively
tempo and securing playing of clarity from the orchestra prior to her solo
entry. Her playing carries a freshness about it that is brought about through
cleanness of articulation and a careful shaping of phrases. The piano seems
caught at a slight distance from the orchestra, although both forces integrate
well during ensemble passages. The middle movement andante is notable for
capturing a sense of space in the reading that never cloys, and in this respect
the voicing of the piano line is of key importance. The brass come to the
fore, though not unobtrusively so, in the last movement and the performance
continues in its lightly-sprung vein until an ending that is most naturally
arrived at.
Turina’s Rapsodia Sinfonica is
a somewhat different work in character, noticeably Spanish, and here the
feeling for the idiom of the music comes through as strongly as before, as
does the strength of interpretation. Anastasescu’s playing of the solo part
again is noteworthy for the quality of execution, as indeed the London Schubert
Players are for their spirited support under Alan Tongue’s direction.
This CD brings a disparate quartet
of works together with an innovative approach to programming, and as a result
offers listeners the chance to enjoy the familiar alongside lesser known
works that nonetheless demonstrate they are worthy of wider public circulation.
The playing too is entirely to be recommended.
Evan Dickerson
London Schubert
Players/Alan Tongue
(conductor)* 
