Gendron: Haydn & Boccherini Cello Concertos - Philips L. 02.0267 L, lovely copy

$

65

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ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This superb gatefold LP – a beautiful collector's copy – from Philips (L. 02.0267 L, French pressing, red/white Trésors Classiques label, mono, cloth spine) features great French cellist Maurice Gendron in supremely eloquent renditions of Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major Hob.VIIb: 2: II and Boccherini's Cello Concerto No. 9 in B-flat Major G. 482 (in the arrangement by Friedrich Grutzmacher).

In both he is partnered by the estimable Lamoureux Concerts Association Orchestra led by no less than Pablo Casals, who not suprisingly provides the most perceptive accompaniment. In both concertos, Gendron plays his own cadenzas. Both works were recorded in the fine acoustics of the Maison de la Mutualité, Paris in on 5 October 1960.

Wrote the critic D.S. in his October 1961 review for The Gramophone:

"This is a most welcome disc for three reasons. First, the beautifully clean, eternally reliable technique of Gendron is a joy to the ear. In so many records of 'cello concertos, with their inevitable profusion of passages well into the range of a violin, the listener is gradually drawn nearer to the edge of his chair, as if he were witnessing Blondin on a tight-rope above Niagara. One can hardly listen for sheer nervousness. Will he fall off that top F and drop into the C? With Gendron there is no need for nerves. He sounds absolutely secure and self-confident, producing a warm, golden tone at all altitudes, and the only occasions when his intonation slips is in an occasionally awkward piece of doublestopping. There are several of these in both the Haydn and Boccherini, and as those listeners know who have carefully watched 'cellists at play, extraordinary handpositions have to be adopted in order to "get round" certain bits of rudimentary polyphony.

"The second reason for welcoming this performance is the first engraving of Boccherini's original score. All the other versions have used a comic edition prepared by one GrUtzmacher, who was chambervirtuoso to the King of Saxony in the late nineteenth century. It really is odd, the way Germans love to violate Italian music: it's almost as if the very purity and luminosity of this music brings out their worst features. What Gratzmacher did was as follows: he found a manuscript in the Dresden State Library of a 'Cello Concerto in B flat by Boccherini. It was in a sketchy state, and later research has revealed that someone, presumably the composer himself, adapted it from one of his 'cello sonatas. Grtitzmacher then took the themes from the outer movements, fitted them into a framework of his own devising, and then orchestrated them. For a slow movement, he chose not the original one, but a G minor movement from one of Boccherini's Paris concertos. This farrago has since been played by 'cellists both great and obscure all over the world. Fournier, Starker, and Cassadci use it in their recordings. No wonder connoisseurs of eighteenth-century music, and Boccherini's in particular, weighed this piece in the balance and found it wanting.

"The Philips sleeve-note merely tells us that in this recording "the original manuscript was the source", but if it is true that the original was only in the form of a sketch, somebody must have worked very hard to produce the edition we can now hear. The cadenzas, according to the sleeve-note, are by Gendron: they are not too long, and he plays them with incomparable brilliance. 'Cellist and orchestra are perfectly balanced in the mono version, though I prefer the stereo disc for its excellent perspective and warmth of tone. This is in fact the only Haydn/Boccherini coupling in stereo, and I suppose that should be my third reason for recommending the record; but what I was really thinking of at the beginning of this review was the contribution of Pablo Casals, who conducts the Lamoureux Orchestra with the kind of mastery and precision that could only come from one who knew intimately the instrument responsible for the solo passages. I would unhesitatingly proclaim this disc as the finest so far of either concerto, quite apart from questions of authenticity. No devotee of 'cello music should miss it."

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And the composer Ned Rorem said of Gendron: "He was the most gifted, the most difficult, the most spiritual human being I ever met." He was certainly one of the last century's great cellists and these remarkable concerto performances remain discographic landmarks.

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The striking photos on the front cover and on the interior panels of the gatefold jacket were taken by Aubert et Wiezniak. The left interior panel of the gatefold jacket contains excellent liner notes by Jean Hamon of l'Academie du Disque Français. The right interior panel contains full-color reproductions of other titles from the Trésos Classiques catalog.

CONDITION:

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

The condition of the gatefold jacket is near-MINT. Really, there are no flaws to speak of and the jacket appears virtually as new. There are no seamsplits, owners' markings, bends, or other defects, and the jacket remains solid, bright, glossy, and extremely attractive – overall, this rates as a superb collector's copy.

The condition of the LP itself is EXCELLENT. Although the surfaces are not absolutely silent, this is a fine copy and the playback is quite superb. Those requiring flawless or NM surfaces are kindly advised to look elsewhere. Overall, this rates as an excellent collector's copy.