BEETHOVEN Cello Sonatas op.5; Variations on ‘Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen’ PLEYEL/BAUDIOT Nocturne (Souvenir de la flûte enchantée)

Raphaël Pidoux (cello)

Tanguy de Williencourt (piano)

HARMONIA MUNDI 902410

Stylish and capably executed cello sonatas, if missing some magic

First performed for Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia by the composer alongside one of the Duport cellist brothers in the king’s service, Beethoven’s pair of op.5 Cello Sonatas offer little challenge to cellists. Even still, though they are stylish enough and capably executed here, Raphaël Pidoux struggles to make his mark on the pieces. As well as being down to the writing itself, this may also be due to the instrument (a 1734 Guarneri) and the sound engineering (which could have lifted the cello more, in balance and in tonal bloom). Pidoux’s partner, Tanguy de Williencourt, plays an 1855 Carl Julius Gebauhr piano that post-dates these works by half a century, although its leatherlined hammers give sharper articulation than modern pianos, and its weaker damping leads to tangy resonances.

The variations on ‘Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen’ from The Magic Flute offer more opportunities to the cellist and even if Variation no.1 could be more playful, the central, minor-key fourth variation takes on an attractive dark colouring. The penultimate variation unveils a lyrical, wistful longing.

Drawing on themes from the same opera, the Nocturne by Camille Pleyel (son of the piano maker Ignace) and cellist Charles-Nicolas Baudiot is a charming confection.

EDWARD BHESANIA

THE BERLIN ALBUM BENDA Trio Sonata in E major GRAUN Trio Sonatas: in A major, G major KIRNBERGER Trio Sonata in D minor PRINCESS ANNA AMALIA OF PRUSSIA Fugue in D major SCHULZ Trio Sonata in A minor JANITSCH Trio Sonata in G major Ensemble Diderot

AUDAX RECORDS ADX13726

Flair and flamboyance characterise a musical collection from the German city

There are lots of good things in this collection of mid-18th-century trio sonatas, written in Berlin at a time when music was thriving in both courts and public concerts. Georg Benda and Johann Graun, both excellent violinists as well as composers, were leading figures of the time, fostering a distinctive theatrical and melodic style. Two of Graun’s trios appear on this CD, the first of which, in A major, requires the first violin to tune the bottom two strings up a tone. It has the hallmarks of a fine artist having fun, with rapid passagework, florid arpeggiation and a few cadenzas.

In several of these trios there is a technical flamboyance almost worthy of a concerto. The Ensemble Diderot violinists Johannes Pramsohler and Roldán Bernabé meet all the challenges with character and flair.

They dance in sprightly imitation in Benda’s E major Sonata. In Johann Kirnberger’s D minor Sonata they spring off the syncopations and weave through running passages with crisp, articulated playing and a real sense of dialogue, and indeed trialogue with the fine cellist Gulrim Choï.

Johann Schulz’s A minor Sonata brings melancholy dignity to a mostly jolly collection, and Johann Janitsch’s G major ends the disc with nimble Scottish snaps. Philippe Grisvard’s continuo keyboard playing is excellent. The recorded sound is clear and close.

TIM HOMFRAY

MYTHOLOGIES CLYNE Masquerade1 ; This Midnight Hour ; The Seamstress ; Night Ferry ; <

Jennifer Koh (violin) 3 Irene Buckley (voice) 3 BBC Symphony Orchestra/ Marin Alsop 1 Sakari Oramo 2 3

Andrew Litton 4 André de Ridder 5

AVIE AV2434

Contemporary composer symphonic showcase that’s full of electric energy

Anna Clyne’s zappy handling of the symphony orchestra, full of electroacoustic elasticity as the beautiful booklet note spells out, has made her a safe bet in the delivery of orchestral showpieces. For example, Masquerade – the work that opened the Last Night of the Proms in 2013, in the recording heard here. It’s good to hear this restless orchestral firework right next to The Midnight Hour, which has the same urgent drive but tempers it.

The two other orchestra-only works here, Night Ferry and <The Seamstress and the scaled storms of Night Ferry), while entire works can feel as though they’re missing something bigger – internal revelation or even external performance (a ballet, a film).