There are listeners who swear cellist
Yo-Yo Ma is at his best in the English repertoire. They may disregard his
Bach,
Beethoven, and
Brahms, and even dismiss his
Haydn,
Dvorák, and
Shostakovich, but they'll solemnly declare
Ma's recordings of
Elgar,
Walton, and Gerald Finzi as the best things he's ever done. To listeners who know
Ma only as the big-toned, sweet-hearted super-virtuoso who recorded Appalachia Waltz, Silk Road Journeys, and Obrigado Brazil, the notion that he ever even recorded Finzi's Cello Concerto will be news. Yet, as this Lyrita disc proves, way back in 1979
Ma did indeed record the work with
Vernon Handley and the
Royal Philharmonic.
And it is a honey of a performance.
Ma's in top form -- he never misses a note and his tone is ravishing -- he's hungry -- he never misses a chance to make the most of every opportunity for demonstrating his prowess -- but best of all he's dedicated -- listen to him dig into the opening Allegro moderato's coda, or soar with the central Andante quieto's big tunes, or swing into the closing Allegro giocoso's rollicking rhythms. Combined with the deeply idiomatic and supremely soulful accompaniment of
Handley and the
RPO,
Ma's performance makes a powerful case for Finzi's concerto ranking with
Elgar and
Walton's as the peaks of the English repertoire. Anyone who likes English music or
Ma should hear this disc.
As a generous coupling to Finzi's 41-minute long Cello Concerto, Lyrita has included Finzi's 29-minute-long Clarinet Concerto recorded in 1977 by soloist John Denman with the
New Philharmonia Orchestra led by
Bernard Partridge. Another essentially lyrical three-movement work with a particularly expansive central Adagio, Finzi's Clarinet Concerto is easily in the same league as his Cello Concerto and Denman makes as persuasive a case for it as
Ma does with the Cello Concerto. Lyrita's late stereo recording is warm, cool, deep, and colorful.