RESPIGHI Concerto Gregoriano
Poema Autumnale
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Takako Nishizaki (Violin)
Choo Hoey (Conductor)
Marco Polo 8.220152
Following the successful collaboration between the Singapore Symphony Orchestra led by music director Choo Hoey and Japanese violinist Takako Nishizaki in the Hung Hu Violin Concerto album, this was a logical follow-up. The Hong Kong-based Marco Polo label was mining little-recorded repertoire to fill gaping lacunae in the catalogue and Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, underrepresented on disc other than his Roman Trilogy, was a good choice.
Respighi’s Concerto Gregoriano (1921-22) is a sumptuously scored violin concerto in three movements based on Gregorian chant themes. The modal character of its melodies places it in the stylistic territory of concertante works like Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending (premiered 1921) and the much later Butterfly Lovers Concerto (1959) by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao. In fact, all three works make a splendid programme for a dreamily rhapsodic album.
The solo part is virtuosic which Nishizaki masters with aplomb, and SSO is a sympathetic partner which has substantial orchestral chunks of its own to chew on. The 31-minute concerto has a shorter companion in Respighi’s Poema Autunnale (Autumn Poem, 1925), a 14-minute long work with very similar inspirations, making it a virtual twin of The Lark Ascending.
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| The young Choo Hoey, looking stylish |
Recorded in May 1983, both performances have since been eclipsed by Lydia Mordkovitch / Edward Downes on Chandos (1993) and Vadim Brodsky / Francesco la Vecchia on Brilliant Classics (2009-10). This received a dismissive review on Gramophone but garnered 4 of 5 stars on Classic CD. Go figure. Nonetheless, this is an interesting look at how SSO accompanied its soloists, usually a prelude to recording more repertoire on its own.
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