Page 102 - The Strad (February 2020)

RECORDINGS

Augustin Dumay on occasion – and
the no-holds-barred sensitivity and
commitment of the nine-piece
Musica Fiorita under harpsichordist
and director Daniela Dolci, that any
potential reservations virtually
dissolve into inconsequence.
A ‘safe’ library version this may not
be – the couplings are less overtly
colourful – yet I found it an at-times
gripping and enchanting experience.
JULIAN HAYLOCK
&8!1!ধ$ !6683!$,
(831
£ 313 &Z 83

Music by Vaughan Williams, and gentle espressivo inˆections fuse is questionable, as there is much that
!='£T <ধ££'<? and Hesketh beguilingly in the sonata and VW is extravagantly theatrical and well
!2'; <2+ l=-3£-2m -132 !££!+,!2 Concerto, whose tantalising, sensual beyond the bounds of historical
l6-!23m 8-ħ'2 -2(32-!c !$ =!2 ;''2 cool is captured in sound of gently veracity. Dynamic extremes,
SOMM CD 275 cushioned radiance by Ben muscular, quasi-percussive attack,
!6;<8-2+ ;,' $3£3<8 3( -2)2-;@ -2 ;,-9 Connellan and Siva Oke. Hesketh’s ercely accented articulations and
>'££f6£!22'&T ;,3<+,Ĥ<£ 683+8!11' inspired 2014 orchestral realisation abundant vibrato are the order of the
of his teacher Dutilleux’s early piano day and the sound of Sinkovsky’s
Inspired by a passage from Wassily work Au gré des ondes (‘At the whim 1675 Francesco Rugeri, in ‘period’
Kandinsky’s Concerning the Spiritual of waves’), which like Ravel’s set-up and closely recorded, has been
in Art – ‘ƒe deeper the blue becomes, Le Tombeau de Couperin provides the engineered to approximate that of an
the more strongly it calls one towards musical icing on the cake. electric violin!
the in nite’ – and, as Michael Quinn JULIAN HAYLOCK ƒere is no doubting Sinkovsky’s
points out in his insightful note, virtuosity throughout his concertante
featuring two pairs of teacher– tour of Europe, however, whether
students, this enterprising programme

measured by his precision in the
focuses intentionally on music more
Violin Concerto in D major stratospheres of the outer movements
celebrated (rightly or wrongly) for op.3 no.1
Violin Concerto of Locatelli’s op.3 no.1, his
its stylistic ˆavours and colours than in G minor (junp I.1)
Violin exhilarating, athletic delivery of their
for its architectural rigour. Indeed, it is Concerto in D major op.7 no.2

capriccios, or his stunning bowing
Janet Sung’s deft ability to sound Violin Concerto in A minor ‘a lunardo facility in the demanding solo
equally at home in the modal neo- venier’ (D115) Violin passagework in the fast movements
Classicisms of Vaughan Williams’s 32$'8;3 -2 *!; 1!/38 l V m of these concertos. He also ˆoats a
Violin Concerto, the heady gypsy
£ 313 &Z 83c 1-;8@ -203=90@ l=-3£-2m beautifully lyrical cantabile, especially
incense of Ravel’s Tzigane and NAÏVE OP 30576 in the slow movements, and adds
kaleidoscopic invention of Kenneth <99-!2 !8ধ9; 1'';9
;!£-!2 !837<' imaginative extempore ornamentation
Hesketh’s Inscription-Transformation !2& ;,' 8'9<£; ,!9 ;,8-££-2+ 131'2;9 without loss of melodic ˆow.
that is so compelling here. Other nods in the right direction
Sung’s c.1600 Maggini violin ƒe booklet description of Dmitry towards bona de historical
sounds especially ravishing in Ravel’s Sinkovsky as a ‘rare meeting of performance are the colourful
1927 Sonata, with its emotionally Russian virtuosity and Italian palette of continuo instrumentarium
ambivalent central Blues movement cantabilità with profound employed and the sheer energy,
– one is never quite sure whether philological competence, ˆavoured albeit overblown here, with which
Ravel is merely fascinated by the by energy and romanticism’, ttingly movements such as the action-packed
popular idiom or really ‘feels’ it. summarises these performances. nales of these concertos are driven. JULIEN MOGNOT
Sung’s narrow, medium-fast vibrato ƒe descriptor ‘profound’, though, ROBIN STOWELL
100 THE STRAD FEBRUARY 2020 www.thestrad.com