Sharon Bezaly, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Neeme Jarvi - Great Works for Flute and Orchestra (2013)

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Sharon Bezaly, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Neeme Jarvi - Great Works for Flute and Orchestra (2013)

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The recordings on Sweden's BIS label by Israeli-born flutist Sharon Bezaly have exposed a great deal of neglected and often highly virtuosic repertory, much of its brought within reach by Bezaly's unusual circular breathing technique. She's a remarkable flutist, but it's her repertory selection that really sets her apart from the crowd. She actually throws in some chestnuts, like Cécile Chaminade's Concertino for flute and orchestra, Op. 107, this time around, but the highlight is a really nifty and unknown little work: the Flute Concert in D major, Op. 283, of Carl Reinecke, composed in 1908. Its three movements reduce Wagnerian language to a compact concerto in all kinds of ingenious ways. Sample the first movement, where the flute provides a charming pastoral element against a varying backdrop. The other works are each characteristic of their composer, even including the very early Largo and Allegro for flute and strings of Tchaikovsky. This was a student work originally for two flutes and orchestra, and it's a bit frustrating to find out in the booklet not about the arrangement heard here, but about a different one. The Lennox Berkeley arrangement of Poulenc's Flute Sonata, not an easy work to transfer to orchestra, is more satisfactorily explained, and veteran conductor Neeme Järvi, leading the Residentie Orkest den Haag, catches its many subtle details. This is a thoroughly enjoyable program of flute music of the early 20th century, of the sort that has become Bezaly's fortunate trademark.

Review by James Manheim, Allmusic.com

One has to question the marketing mind who chose the title Great works for flute and orchestra. There can be no question that the Nielsen concerto is a great work. The rest are enjoyable but essentially more than a rung or two down the ladder from Nielsen.

What is great about this disc is the startling playing of Sharon Bezaly. It is not that she grandstands in any way, she is just a phenomenally gifted flautist. She has already recorded a substantial number of significant works for her chosen instrument and by recording Nielsen's masterwork she has filled a glaring gap in the list. The Nielsen, it goes without saying, is extraordinarily well played. The detailed recording has real impact and presence. My only doubts must be placed at the door of the conductor Neeme Järvi. He seems to play down the more disruptive elements of this remarkable score. The trombone never, as Robert Simpson once put it, 'spreads himself all over the score with a grotesque and aimless blether' as it does in other recordings, and the timpani are surely too restrained. However, it must be admitted that Bezaly is so good at the lyrical elements that all has to be forgiven. The work has never been better recorded technically: that at least is certain.

For the rest: the Griffes' Poem surprises by its imagination and quality. It has a pensive opening and continues as quite a sad piece. Whatever the 'poem' was about it was not a happy tale. The first climax has a sinister feel and draws one's attention to the date of the work, 1918. Perhaps this is some sort of post-war elegy . About half way through things become more upbeat and there are hints of a country dance but even here the flute line is unsettled by the orchestra. After a brief moment of exoticism - Griffes did compose The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan - the opening mood returns. Reinecke's concerto demands that one ignores the date of composition (1908) because it is firmly in the mould of Schumann and Brahms. It is nonetheless a tuneful and attractive work. There is a lovely slow movement and an amiable finale. Bezaly displays complete control even in the final virtuoso moments. This, after the Nielsen and Griffes, may be the third reason to own the disc. Cécile Chaminade's Concertino is music for a warm summer afternoon and attractive in its way. Tchaikovsky's tiny Largo was an early piece and never published. It is no more than a pretty chip off the work bench. Poulenc's sonata is not untypical of the composer's lesser pieces in being only craftsmanlike. There is none of the tunefulness of the Concert Champêtre or Les Biches. As for the Rimsky, it is just one minute of virtuoso fun.

Review by Dave Billinge, MusicWeb-International.com

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Sharon Bezaly, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Neeme Jarvi - Great Works for Flute and Orchestra (2013)

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Sharon Bezaly, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Neeme Jarvi - Great Works for Flute and Orchestra (2013)

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Sharon Bezaly, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Neeme Jarvi - Great Works for Flute and Orchestra (2013)

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