Ofra Harnoy has caught a deal of unreasonable flak from certain quarters for herself ornamenting record front covers rather seductively. On this one she looks...

Ofra Harnoy has caught a deal of unreasonable flak from certain quarters for herself ornamenting record front covers rather seductively. On this one she looks pensively over the bridge of her cello and no one could deny she is glamorous. But she is also a fine cellist and sustains this collection of rather sombre concertante works with some distinction.

She opens Bloch's Schelomo imaginatively and immediately creates the improvisatory response to its changing moods and colour that is essential in this piece. Mackerras is obviously strongly involved, and I have not heard the work's big, climactic orchestral tutti played with more passion. Again in the Kol Nidrei, with its noble Hebrew theme very sensitively shaped, the ruminative style is thoughtfully spontaneous, and the character of the music is so indelibly conveyed that it is difficult to believe that Bruch was not Jewish.

The Adagio on Celtic Themes has something in common with the Scottish Fantasia for violin and orchestra, and the performance here fully reveals its charm; again Mackerras's introduction has considerable fervour. Bruch's Ave Maria, although it has a firm melodic cantilena, brings more variety than the usual setting, and the cello is able to embroider the tune, before the hushed recapitulation, which is very gentle and tender. Excellent sound, made in Watford Town Hall: the climax of Schelomo (which is heavily scored) is as spectacular as any on record.

-- Ivan March, Gramophone [12/1991]