The Copland gets the most striking performance here. Hosford's effective
rethinking points up the extent to which most other renditions
of this score, a relatively recent addition to the repertoire,
already conform to a standard interpretive paradigm.
At the outset, for example, most clarinetists, seduced perhaps by the
open, clear textures and harmonies, lapse into a sort of dreamy
fuzziness. Hosford, with gentle attacks, places each note of
these phrases precisely and rhythmically; the result is more
assertive, even plaintive, with the clarinet tone taking on
a sharp edge as it climbs above the stave. The violins' wistful
poise at 4:23 turns the theme into a French waltz, not inappropriately
given the composer's Boulanger training in Paris. As the clarinet
writing de-evolves into shorter bursts of notes at 7:03, Hosford
inflects each segment so as to lead on to the next - a logical
subtlety, but one frequently missed. The passage beginning at
9:16 - which I think of as jazzy, though it's barely syncopated
- with strongly marked rhythms, hints at some weight. The phrases
at 9:53 and again at 13:04 infuse the basic motor impulse with
a waltzy buoyancy. The closing sections are conventional in
spirit, but go nonetheless with energy and zest.
The Mozart is the same performance I reviewed, and enjoyed, as part
of an all-Mozart program (COE Records CD COE 814). Revisiting
it, I was further impressed by the overall sheen of the orchestral
textures, and by Hosford's nuanced shading of the Adagio's
long melodic phrases.
The Duett-Concertino, Strauss's own peculiar take on the sinfonia
concertante format, doesn't quite come off here. The opening
tempo is misjudged - it flows nicely, but could use more space
and serenity - and, in the first two movements, Matthew Wilkie's
unduly reticent bassoon throws off the interplay between the
two soloists. In the finale, Wilkie achieves a better parity
with Hosford, and this movement, at least, sounds cheerful and
appealing.
Thierry Fischer's name appears on COE's booklet and endpaper, but not
on the disc itself, nor is there any indication as to which piece(s)
he might have conducted. We already know from COE 814 that Schneider
conducts the Mozart; on the other hand, that release doesn't indicate
the recording venue, here identified as Barking Assembly Hall.
Stephen Francis Vasta
