Search - Martin, Haitink, Decroos :: Cello Concerto

Outstanding Live Recordings of 2 Strong Martin Works

Nicholas A. Deutsch | New York, NY USA | 01/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These live performances of 2 works by the great Swiss composer Frank Martin (1890-1974) are not only of historical importance - both bear the imprimatur of "composer supervised" - but superb versions by any standard, & very well recorded too. Dating from 1965 ("The 4 Elements") & 1970 (Cello Concerto), they find conductor Bernard Haitink & the Concertgebouw Orchestra in top form, with Jean DeCroos, the orchestra's principal cellist, a fine advocate for the concerto.
Martin's orchestral works of the 1960s are much less well known than those of the 1940s, such as his masterpiece the "Petite Symphonie Concertante" or the "Concerto for 7 Wind Instruments." More's the pity. "The 4 Elements" (1963-64) shows him for once exploring the coloristic possibilities of a full symphony orchestra: the work, in which each movement explores one of the 4 elements, was written to celebrate the 80th birthday of Martin's champion, the conductor Ernest Anserment, & specifically to honor Ansermet's performances of Debussy & Ravel with his Suisse Romande Orchestra. The music evokes the "influence [of nature] on our mind, the emotion it awakes in us.[...] these feelings are very special: all those who love nature will understand." It's one of Martin's most colorful yet subtle scores, beautifully realized here; perhaps not his most profound, but showing another attractive side of his musical personality.
The Cello Concerto (1965-66), composed for Pierre Fournier, is a more intimate work, with solo opportunities for piano, harp & saxophone as well as powerful passages which use the full weight of the orchestra. The first movement is built on a broad, folk-like modal melody, introduced by solo cello, which Martin then subjects to imaginative harmonization. The second movement is a tragic sarabande, one of Martin's most powerful & affecting inspirations. The third, with its nervous, quirky syncopations, brings the concerto to an exciting close.
Alternative performances are few. Matthias Bamert recorded "The Four Elements" with the London Philharmonic as part of his fine Martin series (Chandos CHAN 9465, with the oratorio "In Terra Pax")): the playing & sound are suitably lush, even spectacular, though I marginally prefer Haitink's reading. The 1967 performance of the Cello Concerto with Fournier (Cascavelle VEL 2001), recorded live a week after he had given the premiere (with another conductor & orchestra) is disappointing, not for Fournier's contribution but for Ansermet & the Suisse Romande's uncharacteristically unsettled performance - it sounds as though they hadn't had enough rehearsal to get the piece "under their belts." Here Haitink & DeCroos must be first choice. [Update: First Edition Music has released the Louisville Orchestra's pioneering 1973 studio version of the Cello Concerto (FECD-0020) with Stephen Kates, cello and Jorge Mester conducting, a very fine performance which furthermore appears to incorporate Martin's final revisions, notably to the very last chord of the work. Coupled with a sensitive 1963 version of the earlier (1950) Violin Concerto, this is a worthwhile disc.] Strongly recommended."