MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2023
Approaching 60,000 reviews
and more.. and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger


Support us financially by purchasing this from

Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809)
Concerto for 2 Lire Organizzate (Flute and Oboe) and Orchestra, No.1 in C Major, Hob. VIIh: 1 (1786) [14.35]
Carl STAMITZ (1745-1801)
Concerto for Flute, Oboe and Orchestra in G Major [17.53]
Concerto for Flute and Orchestra in D Major [16.59]
Joseph HAYDN
Concerto for 2 Lire Organizzate (Flute and Oboe) and Orchestra, No.3 in G Major, Hob. VIIh: 3 (1786) [15.11]
Ana de la Vega (flute), Ramón Ortega Quero (oboe), Trondheim Soloists
rec. 2019, Selbu Kirke, Trondheim, Norway
PENTATONE PTC5186823 [64.38]

This is an interesting release, despite a few reservations. The two players, the Australian Ana de la Vega and the Spanish Ramón Ortega Quero, are very accomplished players, and, more than that, work wonderfully well together. The question is whether the CD is principally about repertoire or primarily about the blend of oboe and flute. The subtly different timbres of the instrumentsare more significant than the differences in range.

Significant also is the choice of the two concertos by Stamitz. The double concerto is a lovely work, with some quirky orchestration and overall a sense of invention. It is well worth exploring. It has not been much recorded, but there is a valuable alternative, played by Aurčle Nicolet and the incomparable Heinz Holliger, with the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, coupled with works by Cimarosa and Salieri (Philips 4163592, 2006). The new recording has the benefit of superior sound, but – and this is my reservation – the Trondheim Soloists accompany dutifully but lack the sparkle of the Academy, or the liveliness shown in all the Trondheim recordings I have heard. It is as if the focus in the recording has been too much on the soloists, with incomplete attention to orchestral detail. The Trondheim Soloists have previously shown themselves superb performers. Perhaps this was a bad day at the office, but something is missing. The booklet photograph does not make it clear whether they are directed by the leader: it shows the soloists on a dais in front of the orchestra, but the players (undivided strings) appear just to be following along.

The Stamitz Concerto for Flute is a lovely and neglected piece. In this recording, more might have been of the orchestral contribution, but the performance has some of the necessary energy, and the gentle slow movement is lovely – a real highlight of the disc.

It has become common to play the Concertos for 2 Lire Organizzate (from around 1786) of Haydn on flute and oboe, as here. The notes describe the Lira Organizzate, a kind of combination of hurdy-gurdy with added strings (played not with a bow but with wooden wheels) as ‘basically extinct’. Haydn wrote 6 concertos for the instrument (of which 5 are extant) as well as 9 notturnos (8 survive) all commissioned by King Ferdinand of Naples, who liked to duet with his music teacher. There is an interesting YouTube performance of the C major concerto on the original instruments, and great stuff it is (complete with a barking dog – presumably not one of Haydn’s jokes …. ) in the first movement. I suspect the lire lacked the carrying power for a larger modern venue, but, to be blunt, the sound is more characterful than oboe and flute, however beautifully played. On its own terms, however, the concertos on the disc are characteristic middle-period Haydn, and attractive listening.

There is much that will give pleasure here. The Pentatone recording is good, the booklet informative – and the two soloists are players to follow.

Michael Wilkinson



Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing