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Naxos

Britten: Piano Concerto, Etc / Macgregor, Bedford, Et Al

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Details

Composer
BRITTEN
Artist
Macgregor/Eco/Bedford
Format
CD
Discs
1
Label
Naxos
Released
Apr 19, 2005
Catalog #
8557197
UPC
747313219728

About


This is probably the finest version of the Britten Piano Concerto available, notwithstanding Britten's own justly revered rendition with Sviatoslav Richter on Decca. Certainly that is a wonderful performance, one that no one who loves the work should miss. But many years have come and gone. Although I do not subscribe to automatic assumptions of musical "progress", and even if Joanna MacGregor is no Richter, she certainly knows this work and plays it beautifully, and in any case the qualities that she and Steuart Bedford bring to the piece are quite different from what we find on the composer's own recording. In particular, Richter and Britten treat the work more in the Romantic virtuoso tradition, with a clear spotlight on the soloist, with the orchestra in a decidedly accompanying role.


MacGregor and Bedford work more as equals. Bedford's snappier rhythms and lighter textures combine with a less prominent piano to create an elegant, neo-classical atmosphere that's equally in keeping with Britten's idiom, as well as with the work's suite-like construction and formal patterning. The fact that MacGregor isn't as powerful a solo personality when compared to Richter does not mean that she is any less in command of Britten's flashy keyboard writing. Her finger-work in the opening Toccata is dazzling, her rhythmic acuity clearly superior to Richter's, while her sensitivity in the third-movement Impromptu and her give-and-take with the instrumentalists of the English Chamber Orchestra are wholly winning. She also brings plenty of spirit and a real "kick" to the concluding march, aided in no small degree by Bedford's alertness and the absolutely first-class sonics.


You also get the concerto's original third movement, a Recitative and Aria, as a thoughtful appendix. Ondine's recording, featuring Ralf Gothoni, also includes this movement but foolishly puts it in the middle of the work, meaning you have to skip over it (or the Impromptu) so as not to get stuck with a spurious, five-movement conflation of both versions. The couplings, both rarities, are just as brilliantly played. The Johnson Over Jordan Suite is especially entertaining, particularly its jazzy centerpiece, The Spider and the Fly. In short, I couldn't be happier that Naxos has been reissuing these excellent Collins Classics Britten recordings. They were and remain marvelous, almost as interpretively commanding as the composer's own, and they deserve a long life. [4/11/2005]
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Tracklist 12 tracks

  1. 1 Paul Bunyan, Op. 17: Overture (arr. C. Matthews) 05:07
    Track
    1
    Title
    Paul Bunyan, Op. 17: Overture (arr. C. Matthews)
    Duration
    05:07
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Ensemble
    London Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Steuart Bedford
  2. 2 I. Toccata: Allegro molto e con brio 12:31
    Track
    2
    Title
    I. Toccata: Allegro molto e con brio
    Duration
    12:31
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Joanna MacGregor
    Ensemble
    English Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Steuart Bedford
  3. 3 II. Waltz: Allegretto 04:54
    Track
    3
    Title
    II. Waltz: Allegretto
    Duration
    04:54
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Joanna MacGregor
    Ensemble
    English Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Steuart Bedford
  4. 4 III. Impromptu: Andante lento 07:16
    Track
    4
    Title
    III. Impromptu: Andante lento
    Duration
    07:16
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Joanna MacGregor
    Ensemble
    English Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Steuart Bedford
  5. 5 IV. March: Allegro moderato sempre a la marcia 08:30
    Track
    5
    Title
    IV. March: Allegro moderato sempre a la marcia
    Duration
    08:30
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Joanna MacGregor
    Ensemble
    English Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Steuart Bedford
  6. 6 Piano Concerto, Op. 13: III. Recitative and Aria (1938 original version) 09:43
    Track
    6
    Title
    Piano Concerto, Op. 13: III. Recitative and Aria (1938 original version)
    Duration
    09:43
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Joanna MacGregor
    Ensemble
    English Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Steuart Bedford
  7. 7 Overture 03:37
    Track
    7
    Title
    Overture
    Duration
    03:37
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Ensemble
    English Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Steuart Bedford
  8. 8 Introduction 01:41
    Track
    8
    Title
    Introduction
    Duration
    01:41
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Ensemble
    English Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Steuart Bedford
  9. 9 Incinerators' Ballet 03:01
    Track
    9
    Title
    Incinerators' Ballet
    Duration
    03:01
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Ensemble
    English Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Steuart Bedford
  10. 10 The Spider and the Fly 03:44
    Track
    10
    Title
    The Spider and the Fly
    Duration
    03:44
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Ensemble
    English Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Steuart Bedford
  11. 11 Approach of Death 01:01
    Track
    11
    Title
    Approach of Death
    Duration
    01:01
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Ensemble
    English Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Steuart Bedford
  12. 12 End Music 02:35
    Track
    12
    Title
    End Music
    Duration
    02:35
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Ensemble
    English Chamber Orchestra
    Conductor
    Steuart Bedford