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Stamitz: Viola Concertos / Peruska, Belohlavek
C. STAMITZ Viola Concerto in D, op. 1. J. V. STAMIC Viola Concerto in G. A. STAMITZ Viola Concerto in B? ā¢ Jan P?ruÅ”ka (va); Ji?Ć B?lohlĆ”vek, cond; Prague Philharmonia ā¢ SUPRAPHON 3929 (57:51)
Jan P?ruÅ”kaās survey of the Stamitz (Stamic is the Czech spelling) familyās works for viola and orchestra sandwiches Jan VĆ”clav Stamicās Concerto between two by his sons, Carl and Anton. If viola jokes circulated as widely in the composersā era as they do today, they didnāt inhibit the composition of brilliant solo works for an instrument that seems at least subsequently to have acquired the reputation of being played by failed violinists (the difference between an onion and a viola being that nobody cries when you cut a viola, and so on). Carlās Concerto features imposing tuttis and brilliant passagework (some of it almost Baroque in its dogged reliance on bariolages and arpeggios) built on ingratiating thematic material and strutting its fashionable style in textures that set the virtuosic solo in high relief, especially in the final movement. P?ruÅ”ka plays warmly in the slow movement and commandingly in the outer ones, roughing up his tone only in the very highest registers; in his hands, the viola seems even at this date fully worthy of the Concerto that Walton later wrote for it. The engineers place his viola center stage in very clear and lifelike recorded sound. And even if the Concerto canāt quite maintain musical interest throughout, the textures and gestures almost sufficeāafter all, works in a new genre (think of early color or wide-screen movies) often depend for their effect more than later critics might prefer on the medium rather than on the message. And in this case, the medium still makes a striking impression.
Janās Concerto sounds older, and in the context of the other works, arguably stodgier, than Carlās, though it still cuts a dashing figure. The strings donāt back off so far during the tuttis, and the solo part, fighting for attention, doesnāt sound generally so brilliant as it does in the concertos of Stamitz fils ; but the prominent continuo by itself isnāt a sign of age: even Haydn employed a sort of figured bass.
Antonās Concerto, like his brotherās, comes from an era farther removed stylistically than chronologically than that of his father. Itās more restrained in the brilliance of its display, however, than Carlās Concerto, perhaps because, as in his fatherās works, the strings donāt provide such a springboard from which the soloist can vaultāor perhaps because of the more subdued key in which itās written.
Collectively these pieces, played with such aplomb by both soloist and orchestra and so brightly recorded, make a very appealing showcase for the solo viola. They make a case that violists and lovers of string instruments might wish had been decided more favorably by succeeding musical judges. But, as the recording proves, itās not too late. Strongly recommended.
FANFARE: Robert Maxham
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Stamitz: Viola Concertos / Peruska, Belohlavek
Stamitz: Viola Concertos / Peruska, Belohlavek
C. STAMITZ Viola Concerto in D, op. 1. J. V. STAMIC Viola Concerto in G. A. STAMITZ Viola Concerto in B? ā¢ Jan P?ruÅ”ka (va); Ji?Ć B?lohlĆ”vek, cond; Prague Philharmonia ā¢ SUPRAPHON 3929 (57:51)
Jan P?ruÅ”kaās survey of the Stamitz (Stamic is the Czech spelling) familyās works for viola and orchestra sandwiches Jan VĆ”clav Stamicās Concerto between two by his sons, Carl and Anton. If viola jokes circulated as widely in the composersā era as they do today, they didnāt inhibit the composition of brilliant solo works for an instrument that seems at least subsequently to have acquired the reputation of being played by failed violinists (the difference between an onion and a viola being that nobody cries when you cut a viola, and so on). Carlās Concerto features imposing tuttis and brilliant passagework (some of it almost Baroque in its dogged reliance on bariolages and arpeggios) built on ingratiating thematic material and strutting its fashionable style in textures that set the virtuosic solo in high relief, especially in the final movement. P?ruÅ”ka plays warmly in the slow movement and commandingly in the outer ones, roughing up his tone only in the very highest registers; in his hands, the viola seems even at this date fully worthy of the Concerto that Walton later wrote for it. The engineers place his viola center stage in very clear and lifelike recorded sound. And even if the Concerto canāt quite maintain musical interest throughout, the textures and gestures almost sufficeāafter all, works in a new genre (think of early color or wide-screen movies) often depend for their effect more than later critics might prefer on the medium rather than on the message. And in this case, the medium still makes a striking impression.
Janās Concerto sounds older, and in the context of the other works, arguably stodgier, than Carlās, though it still cuts a dashing figure. The strings donāt back off so far during the tuttis, and the solo part, fighting for attention, doesnāt sound generally so brilliant as it does in the concertos of Stamitz fils ; but the prominent continuo by itself isnāt a sign of age: even Haydn employed a sort of figured bass.
Antonās Concerto, like his brotherās, comes from an era farther removed stylistically than chronologically than that of his father. Itās more restrained in the brilliance of its display, however, than Carlās Concerto, perhaps because, as in his fatherās works, the strings donāt provide such a springboard from which the soloist can vaultāor perhaps because of the more subdued key in which itās written.
Collectively these pieces, played with such aplomb by both soloist and orchestra and so brightly recorded, make a very appealing showcase for the solo viola. They make a case that violists and lovers of string instruments might wish had been decided more favorably by succeeding musical judges. But, as the recording proves, itās not too late. Strongly recommended.
FANFARE: Robert Maxham
$20.99
Stamitz: Viola Concertos / Peruska, Belohlavekā
$20.99
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Description
C. STAMITZ Viola Concerto in D, op. 1. J. V. STAMIC Viola Concerto in G. A. STAMITZ Viola Concerto in B? ā¢ Jan P?ruÅ”ka (va); Ji?Ć B?lohlĆ”vek, cond; Prague Philharmonia ā¢ SUPRAPHON 3929 (57:51)
Jan P?ruÅ”kaās survey of the Stamitz (Stamic is the Czech spelling) familyās works for viola and orchestra sandwiches Jan VĆ”clav Stamicās Concerto between two by his sons, Carl and Anton. If viola jokes circulated as widely in the composersā era as they do today, they didnāt inhibit the composition of brilliant solo works for an instrument that seems at least subsequently to have acquired the reputation of being played by failed violinists (the difference between an onion and a viola being that nobody cries when you cut a viola, and so on). Carlās Concerto features imposing tuttis and brilliant passagework (some of it almost Baroque in its dogged reliance on bariolages and arpeggios) built on ingratiating thematic material and strutting its fashionable style in textures that set the virtuosic solo in high relief, especially in the final movement. P?ruÅ”ka plays warmly in the slow movement and commandingly in the outer ones, roughing up his tone only in the very highest registers; in his hands, the viola seems even at this date fully worthy of the Concerto that Walton later wrote for it. The engineers place his viola center stage in very clear and lifelike recorded sound. And even if the Concerto canāt quite maintain musical interest throughout, the textures and gestures almost sufficeāafter all, works in a new genre (think of early color or wide-screen movies) often depend for their effect more than later critics might prefer on the medium rather than on the message. And in this case, the medium still makes a striking impression.
Janās Concerto sounds older, and in the context of the other works, arguably stodgier, than Carlās, though it still cuts a dashing figure. The strings donāt back off so far during the tuttis, and the solo part, fighting for attention, doesnāt sound generally so brilliant as it does in the concertos of Stamitz fils ; but the prominent continuo by itself isnāt a sign of age: even Haydn employed a sort of figured bass.
Antonās Concerto, like his brotherās, comes from an era farther removed stylistically than chronologically than that of his father. Itās more restrained in the brilliance of its display, however, than Carlās Concerto, perhaps because, as in his fatherās works, the strings donāt provide such a springboard from which the soloist can vaultāor perhaps because of the more subdued key in which itās written.
Collectively these pieces, played with such aplomb by both soloist and orchestra and so brightly recorded, make a very appealing showcase for the solo viola. They make a case that violists and lovers of string instruments might wish had been decided more favorably by succeeding musical judges. But, as the recording proves, itās not too late. Strongly recommended.
FANFARE: Robert Maxham
