In the booklet notes, Robert Matthew-Walker opens with a huge
understatement:
"In the history of European concert music, one occasionally encounters works
of
a similar nature which are associated with composers from a particular
country
or region." On the contrary, thanks to recordings like this, the
21st-century
music-lover does not even have to search out such similarities: every week
brings
several new releases drawing attention to neglected composers linked up by
the
performers and producers on the basis of shared nationality, era, work type
or
any number of obscure notions.
The four composers on this disc deserve better than to languish in
obscurity. Robert Casadesus is one of the great French
pianists, but
how many who know his interpretations of Ravel or Mozart even knew he was a
composer, let alone the creator of seven symphonies, a variety of concertos
- including one for three pianos, which he subsequently recorded with his
wife and son (still available on the internet, though not widely - see
review) - four string quartets, four piano sonatas and much else
besides? His Capriccio op.49, a piano concerto to all intents and purposes,
is a memorable work of considerable substance - not to mention a huge
quantity of notes. Two of the other works on this enterprising disc were
composed at almost the same time. Jacques Castérède wrote his
Concerto right at the beginning of a career which is still current, a
remarkable sixty years later. The long, languorous third movement in
particular is very French and very
agréable. Jean Rivier's
Concerto Brève is probably the most 'modern'-sounding of the four,
although its neo-classical idiom and concision ensure it remains attractive
to more tradition-oriented audiences.
Rather embarrassingly, Jean Wiener's name is repeatedly misspelt (as
'Weiner') by Matthew-Walker, even with reference to the "Weiner-Doucet" jazz
duo, a fact which may leave the reader wondering how reliable the rest of
his information is. Ironically, the translator spotted the mistake for the
German notes and corrected it - although the German half is not entirely
error-free. At any rate, Wiener's love of jazz and friendship with Gershwin
give some indication of what to expect in his 'Franco-American' concerto,
which even ends with an extended and quite infectious 'music hall' movement,
or what the notes curiously refer to as "a simple streetwise theme".
Soloist Timon Altwegg, though not in the slightest French, is
formidable in this would-be-should-be repertoire. His biography goes
into too much detail - who cares if his concerts have been broadcast "live
in Ecuador" or that he is "musical advisor" for musicaneo.com, which many
will be surprised to learn is "today [...] regarded as one of the most
important sites worldwide for classical music". The important thing is he
gives a convincing account of these, as advertised, virtuosic works, stoutly
sub-served by the Toulouse Chamber Orchestra under Gilles Colliard. Colliard
is also a fine violinist and he and Altwegg have already teamed up once
before for Guild, to record the violin sonatas of Hans Huber (GMCD 7371).
Sound quality here is good, without being outstanding in terms of
depth and clarity. Matthew-Walker's informative notes are in English and
German only - rather surprisingly for a Swiss label. Now that these
composers have had their profiles raised a little by this release, the next
logical step for Guild - or any other label, for that matter - is to release
a monograph or two for each of them.
Byzantion
Contact at artmusicreviews.co.uk
