Bel Canto for viola
R. Broadhead | Southwestern USA | 01/07/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Alessandro Rolla (1757-1841) was a professor of music, conductor at La Scala, and a composer whose life and career spanned those of both Mozart and Beethoven. Although he was a famous virtuoso performer on the violin, it was on the viola where he really left his mark. Composition took a backseat to the more pragmatic activities of teaching and conducting, but he still left behind almost 600 compositions, including numerous concertos for violin as well as viola. One of his main intents was to put the viola on equal footing with the violin as a solo instrument. From the 3 viola concertos presented on this CD, one could make the argument that he was successful.
Each of the 3 concertos empasizes the solo viola over the orchestra. For the most part, the orchestra plays full force only during an introduction to the concerto, the finale, and during interludes when the soloist is resting. When the soloist is playing, the orchestra is generally limited to providing a background harmony by the violins or by plucked basses. There is a bit more interaction between the soloist and the orchestra in the D major concerto than in the other two concertos.
These concertos remind me of miniature Bel Canto operas where the viola is the singer and the orchestra is, well, the orchestra. Each concerto consists of 3 movements in fast-slow-fast format. In the fast movements, the soloist has abundant opportunity to show off his skills with long runs of stopped notes, left-handed pizzicato, syncopated rhythms, etc. Melody is always favored over pyrotechics, although there are ample passages of the latter in this music. The fast movement are full of happy and delightful Italianate themes. The slow movements contain long and poignant emotional passages for the violist. The music is always lyrical and quite beautiful and reminds me in many places of Rossini and Donizetti.
The sound quality on this recording is excellent. It is bright and crystal clear and faithfully and truthfully reproduces the timber and tone of the instruments. All instruments are clearly distinguished from each other. There is nothing muddy or indistinct.
The soloist is Fabrizio Merlini who plays an excellent viola with style and grace. The orchestra of the La Spezia Conservatory under the direction of Giuseppe Bruno is also quite good. The recording has a good balance bewteen the soloist and the orchestra.
If you like late classical or early romantic concertos for string instruments, this CD will be a welcome addition to what is available. Maestro Rolla was eminently successful in putting the viola on an equal footing with the violin in these works. But most of all, these concertos represent beautiful Bel Canto singing for viola."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1