01. - 04. Cello Concerto in E minor, op.85 [28'25]
Edward Elgar (arr. Julian Milone):
05. In Moonlight - Canto popolare from 'In the South, op.50' [3'16]
06. La Capricieuse [4'46]
07. Romance op.62 [5'47]
08. Salut d'Amour [2'58]
09. Chanson de Matin [3'16]
10. Sospiri [3'51]
Natalie Clein- cello, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vernon Handley
EMI 5014092 (recorded May 2007; this CD issued 2007)
(CD-rip, flacs, booklet, cover and inlay scans)
Recording venue: Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
Recording engineer: Simon Eadon; Producer: Andrew Keener
This recording made when the cellist was beginning her career (13 years after winning BBC Young Musician of the Year with the Elgar concerto) and the conductor was nearing the end of his (he died in September the following year) attracted little attention when it appeared in 2007, and seems to have disappeared again at least as far as companies deigning to allow downloads to New Zealand are concerned. This may have been due to short measure, a very ungenerous 52 minutes, but certainly not as far as quality of performance and recording quality are concerned.
Vernon Handley, of course, needs no introduction as one of the world's leading Elgar conductors and he is here in his element. I can find no other example of him conducting for the cello concerto other than for Rivka Golani's recording of the Lionel Tertis arrangement for viola. Clein and Handley adopt fairly swift tempi throughout not dissimilar to Jacqueline du Pre with Malcolm Sargent in her first (and I think best) recording of the work (BBC Legends). Otherwise it is quite straight forward, not pulled around or sentimentalised at all. I place it with my two other favourite recordings - Robert Cohen with Norman Del Mar on EMI/CfP and Sol Gabetta with Mario Venzago (RCA).
The fill-ups of short pieces by Elgar are well arranged by Julian Milone and In Moonlight is particularly lovely. (Watch our for Elgar's vocal arrangement which is coming soon in another post here on MIMIC.)
Whilst the recorded sound is very fine, the actual transfer to CD has been made at quite a low level so an increase over your normal amplifier setting may be required for full impact.
Download from MEGA.