Alban Gerhardt’s first studio recording of the two most famous concertos in the entire cello repertoire represents the fruit of 35 years of kinship with these masterpieces.

Bolstered by the forces of the WDR Sinfonieorchester under Andrew Manze, Gerhardt offers interpretations which challenge inherited conventions and, in Gerhardt’s words, make a ‘return to the sources: the scores themselves’, prompting the question: should we consider anew what is the ‘correct’ approach of playing these works?

His adherence to the text often leads to tempos and proportions that differ noticeably from the norm, which Gerhardt says feel both more alive and closer to the detailed musical instructions left by each composer.

In this context, Gerhardt quotes Gustav Mahler: ‘Tradition must not be the adoration of ashes but the preservation of fire.’

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1. Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op 85 - 1 Adagio – Moderato –
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2. Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op 85 - 2 Lento – Allegro molto
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3. Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op 85 - 3 Adagio
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4. Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op 85 - 4 Allegro
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5. Dvorák Cello Concerto in B minor, Op 104 - 1 Allegro
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6. Dvorák Cello Concerto in B minor, Op 104 - 2 Adagio ma non troppo
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7. Dvorák Cello Concerto in B minor, Op 104 - 3 Allegro moderato

Europadisc Review

In his introductory note to this new Hyperion recording of concertos by Dvořák and Elgar, cellist Alban Gerhardt writes of ‘rediscovering the immediacy, clarity and emotional directness of the music as it stands on the page.’ In particular, he firmly rejects the common equation of slower speeds with added expressive depth, and with it an over-reliance on accrued performing traditions. Yet the listener need not fear any radical revisionism of the sort that (for example) made Patricia Kopatchinskaja’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto so controversial. Instead, Gerhardt, closely partnered by the WDR Sinfonieorchester of Cologne under the baton of Andrew Manze, brings sound musical judgement and a naturally flowing style to bear on these two perennial favourites of the cello repertoire.

The disc opens with the Elgar concerto, a work which can too often sound as if it’s creaking under the weight of tradition. No such danger here: Gerhardt and Manze shave some five minutes off the total timing compared with Jacqueline du Pré’s classic 1965 account with Barbirolli. Yet there is no sense in which the added momentum robs the music of its power or of that typically Elgarian elusiveness which characterises so much of the score. The orchestral tuttis are imposing but never lugubrious, and the same goes for the cello’s more rhetorical solos, which combine passion with eloquence.

The faltering, scherzo-like second movement has all the deftness one could wish for, Gerhardt’s tone featherlight without ever feeling skittish, and the WDR players are constantly alert under Manze’s sensitive direction. The Adagio flows but (crucially) also sings, and the carefully-placed rests are almost as eloquent as the notes themselves. When the solo line goes into the instrument’s upper register, there’s a penetrating clarity to Gerhardt’s playing which is totally convincing; the account of the movement as a whole is as touching as I’ve heard, and never in any danger of being ‘loved to death’.

Meanwhile, the give-and-take introduction to the concluding Allegro is wonderfully pliant, and Manze reveals both a string player’s sensitivity to nuance and the natural feel for quintessentially English repertoire that made his Vaughan Williams recordings on Onyx such a success with listeners. Again, Gerhardt and his colleagues bring a bold freshness to familiar music, and the ebb and flow of the music has rarely sounded so convincing. Coupled with a nicely balanced recording, it makes this new account of Elgar’s most popular work one of the most desirable now on disc.

No less impressive is the performance of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, which similarly exudes a freshness that it has arguably lost ever since the famous DG recording by Rostropovich and Karajan. Inflated speeds and textures may have become the norm since then, but Gerhardt’s performance harkens back to a slightly earlier tradition combining beauty with purpose, which arguably reached its apex with classic recordings by János Starker and Pierre Fournier.

There are fewer surprises here, and the WDR Sinfonieorchester may lack the character of the Czech Philharmonic in days of yore, yet its woodwind and horn soloists are never less than engaging, and the lengthy opening tutti sets up a performance to savour. As in the Elgar, Gerhardt is formidable in the passages of multiple-stopping, but while giving them plenty of gestural power he never lets them impede the music’s natural flow.

The tempo of the central Adagio ma non troppo is judged to a nicety, allowing the sunlight to emerge as much as the anguish (it was composed as Dvořák received news of the worsening heart condition of his beloved sister-in-law Josefina). Even in the more timbrally sombre passages, there’s a momentum to this performance that is highly persuasive. Just beyond the halfway point, the glorious passage for the three horns before the soloist’s ‘quasi cadenza’ deserves special mention, and the ensuing accompanied cadenza is delivered with what might best be described as ‘self-effacing eloquence’, with Gerhardt knowing exactly when to cede greater prominence to his orchestral partners.

The concluding Allegro moderato has great rhythmic poise (essential in Dvořák!) and a commanding gait, and yet again Gerhardt is particularly impressive in the higher-lying passages, to which he brings an unforced naturalness that belies their technical demands. He and Manze work as one in the switches from solo to tutti and back, and as throughout the disc one senses a complete meeting of minds. The movement’s final pages revisit themes (musical and metaphorical) from the slow movement, and it is not just in terms of register that the music here enters a higher sphere. Gerhardt, Manze and the orchestra accordingly raise their game still further, bringing to a moving conclusion one of the most consistently rewarding and touching accounts of this popular coupling now available. Fine, intelligent notes from Francis Pott and high production standards all make this a thoroughly recommendable release.

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Condition	Description
New	Brand new item, only ever sourced from the official UK distributor. Usually seal-wrapped, although a minority of labels do not use seal-wrap.
Used - Mint	Used item in excellent condition. Not usually seal-wrapped.
Used - Good	Used item with some minor signs of wear and tear. Never seal-wrapped.
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Condition	Description
New	Brand new item, only ever sourced from the official UK distributor. Usually seal-wrapped, although a minority of labels do not use seal-wrap.
Used - Mint	Used item in excellent condition. Not usually seal-wrapped.
Used - Good	Used item with some minor signs of wear and tear. Never seal-wrapped.
Used - Acceptable	Used item with obvious scuffs or cosmetic damage to the case or booklet. Never seal-wrapped.

Elgar & Dvorak: Cello Concertos

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