This disc was of
interest to me for two reasons. One was the choice of works
recorded and the other was that it marked my first acquaintance
with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. On both counts the
disc comes out well.
Lalo is usually
known as the composer of one or two works: the eternally appearing
Symphonie
Espagnole and to a lesser degree, the Cello Concerto that
appears here. Actually he wrote more than fifty works in almost
every form and the Overture to
Le Roi d’Ys and Scherzo
for Orchestra used to also be in wide currency. Now his exposure
is limited to these one or two pieces. What is even more impressive
about Lalo is that almost all of his orchestral and stage works
date from after the Franco-Prussian War, when he was almost
fifty.
The Cello Concerto
is the only one of his pieces besides the
Symphonie Espagnole that
is still current. It has had many recordings, including excellent
ones by Navarra and Fournier. The soloist here, Torleif Thedéen,
excels in the lyrical center of the first movement, and he
ably handles some difficult passagework later in the movement.
Those who have heard his recording of the Dvořák concerto
with this same orchestra and conductor, will encounter much
the same combination of lyricism and rhythmic precision as
here. In the second movement Theden seemed to lose some of
his intensity and the orchestra followed suit. Everyone was
back on song for the last movement, which is powerfully done.
Unlike the Cello
Concerto, the ballet
Namouna has not had that many adherents.
Most notable recently has been Yondani Butt with the RPO. Lalo
made three suites (also known as
Rhapsodies) and a
Rhapsodie
de Concert for violin and orchestra for Sarasate from the
material. Yondani Butt recorded the first two suites, but the
excerpts here are drawn from the entirety of the original score.
It was in the
Prélude that the Malaysian Philharmonic
made their first good impression - the lower strings especially
played marvelously. Though I felt the conductor’s tempi were
too slow in the
Sérénade and
Pas des cymbals,
the orchestra itself did not disappoint. With the
Danses
marocaines and the
Dolce far niente I had no arguments
- Bakels had the orchestra playing with that rhythmic intensity
that is characteristic of Lalo. It all came together in the
grande finale -
Fête foraine - with Bakels driving the
orchestra to a thrilling conclusion.
Lalo’s Symphony
dates from 1886 and is an exact contemporary of the Franck
Symphony and the Saint-Saëns Third. Unfortunately, it has not
been as popular as either of these. Sir Thomas Beecham was
a great advocate of this symphony, but since his time it has
been left to Yondani Butt and now Kees Bakels. Bakels produces
a serious but driven rendition. The phrasing and tempi in the
exposition might appear slow but he ably presents the material
and sets the tone, aided by some incisive playing by the woodwinds.
The seriousness and slow pace of the development section might
appear questionable, but Bakels is saving the intensity for
a beautiful and well-measured recapitulation and coda. The
second movement is a scherzo and here Bakels seems a little
plodding, not providing enough contrast to the trio section
which he conducts as a mysterious interlude before the return
of the scherzo material, and again featuring beautiful playing
by the woodwinds. Bakels shows his poetic side in the adagio,
which I found more moving than Butt’s rendition of the same
movement. The last movement of the Symphony is frequently
considered the weakest, but Bakels makes it quite exciting,
although he
cannot hide the perfunctory use of material from the first
movement.
While the Malaysian
Philharmonic plays very excitingly for an orchestra created
in 1998, they still have to work out questions of ensemble. Some
of the wind instruments can sound quite scrappy. Another problem
is the hall they play in - the Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS Hall
- in Kuala Lumpur. This lies between the two Petronas towers
and is presumably funded by the oil giant. This room produces
a deadening effect on the higher strings while over-amplifying
the brass. Occasionally a sort of haze descends over the whole
orchestra. Soft passages are often completely lost. At least,
that is the impression I have derived from the discs I’ve
heard. Perhaps it can be improved, but it is certainly a
drawback
for an orchestra that has the potential for a bright future.
Because of the
hall, BIS’s recording expertise is somewhat compromised,
but that is not their fault. Overall though, this is a very
exciting
disc of music that should be heard more often.
William Kreindler
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Torleif Thedéen
(cello) (Concerto) 
