Elgar: Cello Concerto

I'm moved to review this performance less because of its own qualities than that reading the reviews here you might think the only other performance worth a consideration is du Pre's. First, Clein: this is indeed a fine performance, refined, subtle, her tone and technique gentle and expressive, never lacking emotional depth, if in places a little more reserved. In the first movement Clein begins gently and wistfully, perhaps too much so - there were indeed times when I was half expecting the bow to fall off the strings- but it grows in emotional weight. In fact that is true of the whole performance. The tone, expression and shaping of the slow movement are sublime and Handley is a most sympathetic accompanist, utterly at home in this music. The moment at the end of the piece when the opening chords intrude on the reflective mood of the slow movement material, as if the composer is saying "pull yourself together Edward", grip the heart strings and pull the structure together superbly.

So the question I'm left with is: would I choose this over du Pre? Well, perhaps I might, but there are other places worth looking also. Forgetting the awful recording she made with her husband, Daniel Barenboim, the performance we all know best, made with that greatest of Elgarians, Sir John Barbirolli (by the way, a fine cellist himself), remains extraordinary, emotional, gritty, intense, but utterly unrelenting, constantly heart on sleeve. But sometimes I want a little more restraint to balance the emotive outpouring. After all, this is Elgar, a product of Victorian/Edwardian England. In fact my first choice for this work would be either Navarra, also with Barbirolli, although the sound quality precludes it as a `building a library' recommendation, or Fournier, in perhaps an unlikely partnership with the great American conductor, Alfred Wallenstein. He balances emotional depth with Gallic restraint, in a performance that has all the wistfulness of Clein, the emotion of du Pre but a greater wisdom than either; that of one who, like Elgar when composing the work, can look back on life and put the subjective, emotional side of this work into a bigger, even spiritual, context, so that amidst the angst there is something more ...something I can only describe as transcendent.

On a practical note, at this price, this performance is worth having as well as du Pre. It's also worth listening to Beatrice Harrison, who recorded with Elgar himself, but only if you can listen through the historic recording. Clein is a wonderful cellist and I wish she would record more. If I were to choose one performance, however, this would not be it. But then, for me, heretical though I know that is with most music lovers, it wouldn't be du Pre either and I would urge anyone who loves this music, or who wants to explore it for the first time, not to fall in the trap of assuming that du Pre is definitive: in the opinion of this reviewer, she is not.

After seeing Natalie Clein perform the Elgar Cello Concerto live at the Royal Albert Hall earlier this year (Classic FM's 15th Birthday Concert 27th September 2007) I felt sure this recording would be exciting.

Seeing Natalie perform was to witness a musician truly dedicated to her art, from the flamboyantly long and flowing dress to the confident manner and easy relationship with the orchestra, and no doubt many in that audience were already drawing comparisons with Jacqueline du Pre even before the first notes were played.

Natalie's comments in the CD sleeve notes hint at the legacy which du Pre has left to this piece of music:

'It has taken me ten years to get to the point of feeling 'ready' to put down an interpretation of this beloved piece onto disc'.

I was pleased with this interpretation, for it has a light, agile feeling which is in contrast to the familiar (1965) du Pre recording which at times is so full of emotion that it becomes almost overbearingly tragic. I think this version, while still retaining those sensitive emotions, puts back into the music a little of that Elgarian 'typically English' characteristic.

It's a lovely version of the concerto, and one which should stand Natalie in good stead for future recordings with the EMI Classics label.

In complete contrast the remainder of the CD offers six short lighter-hearted pieces, all by Elgar, transcribed from their various original instruments to the cello. These works put the finishing touches on a very satisfactory 'all Elgar' CD.

I own several recordings of this, surely the greatest of all cello concertos, including those by Beatrice Harrison (with the composer), Andre Navarra (with Barbirolli) Paul Tortelier (with Sargent and also with Boult), Jacqueline Du Pre (with Barbirolli and also with Barenboim), but this version by Natalie Clein is, in my view, not in the same class. To my ears it sounds rather superficial and lightweight. The opening movement is typical, with the main theme sounding bland and almost totally lacking in the passion and emotional gravitas it always conveys in the performances of cellists who really understand and get to the heart of this wonderful music.
As for the shorter pieces, Miss Clein makes them sound like salon music, even Sospiri, which is a minor masterpiece of profound emotional depth (compare this performance to Barbirolli's account of the original and you will see what I mean). Elgar's shorter and lighter pieces are not salon music. They contain and express almost everything that his large scale works have within them, only on a smaller scale.
I don't like EMI's presentation either. Is it really necessary to have five large pictures of Natalie Clein? And Michael Kennedy's notes are about as lightweight as the performances, not characteristic of him at all. But then perhaps he was asked to be less authoritative than usual!