Ann Hobson Pilot, English CO, Isaiah Jackson - William Mathias & Alberto Ginastera: Harp Concertos (1994)

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Ann Hobson Pilot, English CO, Isaiah Jackson - William Mathias & Alberto Ginastera: Harp Concertos (1994)

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The connection between Wales and the harp is a long-standing one, and Mathias's part in it began 12 years before his Harp Concerto was written, with Improvisations for harp solo; even a Welshman has to learn how to cope with such an idiosyncratic instrument. He learned his lessons well—even using semitone pedal glissandos in the second movement, and he keeps the harp audible by alternating its solo passages with orchestral ones or, when the two are working together treating the orchestra with a light touch (the celesta is used as a particularly effective companion to the harp), at other times resorting to the more familiar across-the-strings sweep. Two movements have declared Welsh associations: the first juxtaposes but does not develop three themes the second is a 'bardic' elegy; the last is simply ''joyful and rhythmic''. The whole makes pleasing listening appealing to the emotions and imagination rather than the intellect.

Ginastera also took a long time to become properly acquainted with the harp—eight years, his concerto is a much grittier and purposeful affair rather a mixture of styles but not one that allows you to forget his South American roots. Of the available recordings of it (Zabaleta's, DG, 1/71, no longer is) this is arguably the best. Ann Hobson Pilot's name is new to me, though not to the Boston Symphony Orchestra whose Principal Harpist she is, an addition to the long list of outstanding women harpists, here matched in every good respect by the ECO in a most enjoyable and well-engineered recording.'

Review by John Duarte, Gramophone

This disc is a delightful discovery. My previous encounters with William Mathias's music led me to classify it as pleasant enough but not encouraging of repetition. Now I need to go back to those Nimbus recordings to find out whether my taste has matured, or whether this harp concerto really does stand out among his works. First performed in 1970 by Osian Ellis, a Welshman like the composer, it is an economically and transparently scored work which avoids tired harp clichés in its impressionistic depiction of the Welsh countryside and psyche. The harp frequently is combined with the celesta and other pitched percussion instruments in an appealing way. The first two movements seem like night pieces—the first delicate, and the second tougher with its repeated motive for timpani—and the final movement is a reticent jig that never quite comes out into the broad daylight.

I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't encountered Ginastera's concerto until now. It's a hotly exotic foil for the Mathias, and a sizzling tour de force on its own. Ginastera purposely wrote an outrageously difficult solo part; chewing on the strings and throwing the harp fifty yards down the auditorium aisles are practically the only things that the harpist isn't asked to do (they might make a neat sound, though). The South American influence is strong, and where I find Villa-Lobos a little too self-consciously picturesque at times, Ginastera pumps this concerto up with uninhibited sweat and sex. Imagine Prokofiev's Scythian Suite gone Latin.

I'm anxious to hear Nicanor Zabaleta's DG recording of the Ginastera—he gave the work's first performance—but it still isn't on CD. I can't imagine how he could be significantly more persuasive than Ann Hobson Pilot, who has been the principal harpist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1980, and is a faculty member of the New England Conservatory of Music. Her teachers included Mary Ann Castaldo, Marilyn Costello, Edna Phillips (who commissioned the Ginastera), and Alice Chalifoux. She sounds comfortable with the technical demands of both works. Luminous in the Mathias and low-down in the Ginastera, she contrasts the two works nicely. I can imagine a more authentic accompaniment than that provided by Jackson and the ECO, but they hold up their end of the bargain. Finally, the recording is dry and realistic. It must have been tempting to create a sonic boom in these scores, but Fine and engineer Antony Howell are to be commended for the natural sound that comes out of this disc.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm enthusiastic about this CD! (If only it were longer.)

Review by Raymond Tuttle, FANFARE

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Ann Hobson Pilot, English CO, Isaiah Jackson - William Mathias & Alberto Ginastera: Harp Concertos (1994)

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Ann Hobson Pilot, English CO, Isaiah Jackson - William Mathias & Alberto Ginastera: Harp Concertos (1994)

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