CLASSICAL
The unity of contrasts
Bold programme showcases a pair of concertos in radically different styles
- Published: 25 Dec 2012 at 00.00
- Newspaper section: Life
Decca takes a chance issuing a programme like this, which features a cellist whose name will be new to many listeners playing two concertos in radically different styles.
ELGAR: Cello Concerto CARTER: Cello Concerto BRUCH: Kol Nidrei Alisa Weilerstein (cello), Staatskapelle Berlin conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Decca CD or download.
Elgar's popular concerto is an elegiac heartbreaker composed in a late romantic manner that communicates its deep sadness to even a casual listener, while Elliott Carter's much happier and more playful work is written in a high modernist style that many find impossibly difficult. Years ago the label tried a similar approach with Christoph von Dohnanyi's recordings of Mozart's late symphonies, offered in pairings with works by Webern, and buyers largely gave the project a pass, despite the high quality of the performances.
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