Search - Lynn Harrell, Gerard Schwarz, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic :: Dmitri Shostakovich / Prokofiev: Cello Concerto No.2 / Symphony-Concerto for Cello and Orchestra

Superb performance of one of Shostakovich's most elusive wor

Mr. Louis Blois | New York | 05/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gerard Schwarz has been an occasional Shostakovich interpreter with an imperfect track record. But when he gets it right, as in the Execution of Stepan Razin and the October tone poem (both on Naxos), he is outstanding. Count this rendition of Shostakovich's Second Cello Concerto among that elite company. There are too few performances of this elusive work that manage to embrace the work's overall floorplan while giving it the personal expression that it calls for. Russian performances tend to be aggressive with a focus on the former at the expense of the latter. A number of Western perfromances have done the opposite. Harrell manages to personalize the cello part with intelligence and pathos while being aware of the long-term ratcheting of tension toward the all-important climactic landmarks. Schwarz has not made the best choice of collaborating soloists the Shostakovich arena, and by that I refer to his recordings of the Violin Cto #1 and the 13th Symphony. In this Cello Cto #2, however, we have a winning combination. Highly recommended."