Liya Petrova and the RPO deliver musical fireworks but don’t forget core emotions,
says Terry Blain
CONCERTO CHOICE
Liya Petrova proves herself to be a spectacular virtuoso
Respighi • Walton
Walton: Violin Concerto; Respighi: Violin Sonata
Liya Petrova (violin), Adam Laloum (piano); Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Duncan Ward
Mirare MIR 670 60:26 mins
Liya Petrova’s new recording of Walton’s Violin Concerto grips you from the outset. Her phrasing of the opening material ideally combines singing tone with subtle inflections of pulse and dynamic, the phrasing supple and pleasingly coherent. A sense of mystery is present, as well as unmistakable intimations of yearning.
Her virtuosity in the central Presto is spectacular, its super-tricky mix of harmonics, pizzicatos and jittery tarantella rhythms dispatched with bounding athleticism and pinpoint intonation. More importantly, Petrova brings sharply into focus the borderline disturbing emotional instabilities beneath the surface fireworks. The finale’s lyrical episodes highlight Petrova’s probing sense of poetry, and her intelligently modulated use of vibrato. Conductor Duncan Ward and the Royal Philharmonic play a major part in the success of the interpretation. The playing is palpably edge-of-seat, closely mirroring Petrova’s mercurial shifts of mood and emphasis, and there’s not a dead bar of ‘accompaniment’ in the entire performance. The Mike Hatch-engineered recording is outstandingly impactful, and perfectly balanced between soloist and orchestra.
Respighi’s Violin Sonata is a refreshingly unusual coupling. Petrova and French pianist Adam Laloum make a memorable impression in the central Andante espressivo movement, building organically from muted beginnings to an impassioned peroration. Both these performances mark Petrova out as an exceptional talent.
PERFORMANCE
RECORDING
You can access thousands of reviews from our extensive archive on the BBC Music Magazine website at www.classical-music.com
Czerny
Piano Concertinos, Opp 78 & 650; Fantaisie et Variations brillantes sur une Romance de Blangini, Op. 3
Rosemary Tuck (piano); English Chamber Orchestra/ Richard Bonynge
Naxos 8.574458 75:41 mins
Amateur pianists d’un certain age may know Carl Czerny (1791-1857) as the author of those dry-as-dust keyboard exercises they used to avoid if humanly possible. Yet attentive recent listeners may have registered the fact that pianist Rosemary Tuck and conductor Richard Bonynge have released four recordings of his piano-and-orchestra music – this new one is their fifth.
Czerny was, in fact, a prodigy who could play all Mozart’s piano works an
