Rodion Shchedrin - Cello Concerto; Seagull Suite (Marko Ylönen; Olli Mustonen)

Information

Composer: Rodion Shchedrin

1. Cello Concerto "sotto voce concerto": I. Sostenuto
2. Cello Concerto "sotto voce concerto": II. Allegretto moderato
3. Cello Concerto "sotto voce concerto": III. Scherzo - cadenza
4. Cello Concerto "sotto voce concerto": IV. Finale
5. Seagull Suite: I. Moderato appassionato
6. Seagull Suite: Interlude
7. Seagull Suite: II. Andante, sempre rubato
8. Seagull Suite: III. L'istesso tempo
9. Seagull Suite: Interlude
10. Seagull Suite: IV. Moderato statico
11. Seagull Suite: V. Moderato appassionato

Marko Ylönen, cello
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Olli Mustonen, conductor

Date: 2000
Label: Ondine
https://ondine.net/index.php?lid=en&cid=2.2&oid=2547

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Review

Best known for his ballet after Bizet, Shchedrin’s two works here communicate in a plethora of styles and languages

Shostakovich chose to work within the Soviet Union establishment’s ‘liberal’ wing. So, too, did Shchedrin. But Shchedrin’s problem is that he isn’t dead and so hasn’t been forgiven for criticising Edison Denisov in the 1960s or for signing that infamous Pravda denunciation of Sakharov in 1973 – the one Shostakovich also put his name to. He is not the only composer of our time who might be described as an eclectic – far from it, yet he is often accused of a certain slipperiness or worse.

What of the music itself? The Cello Concerto, Sotto Voce, was composed for and was previously recorded by Mstislav Rostropovich with the LSO under Ozawa (Teldec, 6/96 – nla). It is a fascinating, often haunting work, one that strikes deeper than the conceptually related Concerto Cantabile in which Shchedrin showcases the talents of Maxim Vengerov (EMI, 6/00). The opening approaches the ecstatic/contemplative Tavener of The Protecting Veil; the more rebarbative passages are closer to Kancheli. The potentially cliched childhood memory of shepherds piping across fields is put to strikingly original use. The finale, in particular, is a (sometimes Brittenish) commentary on the fragility of innocence, but it is also ‘green’, lamenting the loss of pastoral simplicity to the ravages of the modern age in the manner of Elem Klimov’s (Schnittke-scored) film Farewell (1981). If the surprise deployment of recorders momentarily recalls Ligeti’s use of ocarinas, Shchedrin’s remains the simpler – some would say cruder – art. He wants above all to communicate and in this he surely succeeds. The piece still feels over-long.

The coupling offers highlights from one of Shchedrin’s many ballets on Russian literary classics – he is married to the ballerina Maya Plisetskaya and was responsible for the celebrated dance version of Carmen. A Bolshoi recording of The Seagull was briefly available through Russian Disc. Here, though, the personality is harder to pin down. The composer scores wonderfully well, but his slapstick circus interludes and expressionistic melodramas seem more purely illustrative, less fresh. Fortunately, as so often from this source, Ondine’s warm, wide-ranging Finlandia Hall recordings are a source of pleasure in themselves. Olli Mustonen, best known for the edgy individualism of his piano playing, secures an excellent response from the Helsinki Philharmonic, while Marko Ylonen, in the Concerto, seems not one whit overawed by Rostropovich’s example.

The copious notes are at once helpful and off-putting: only time will tell whether this music is quite as significant as the composer imagines it to be. I was reminded of what Mark Lubotsky had to say about Shostakovich’s funeral: ‘In Shchedrin’s speech every word was in its proper place. One only wished for a bit less self- assertion and a bit more of the grief felt by the people outside the Hall.’ Recommended – with reservations.

-- David Gutman, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: ***** / SOUND:*****
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/Apr01/shchedrin.htm

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Rodion Shchedrin (born 16 December 1932 in Moscow) is a Russian composer and pianist. He is also a citizen of Lithuania and Spain. Shchedrin studied at the Moscow Choral School and Moscow Conservatory under Yuri Shaporin and Yakov Flier. Shchedrin's early music is tonal, colourfully orchestrated and often includes snatches of folk music, while some later pieces use aleatoric and serial techniques. In the west the music of Shchedrin has won popularity mainly through the work of Mstislav Rostropovich who has made several successful recordings. Shchedrin is a virtuoso pianist and organist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodion_Shchedrin

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Marko Ylönen was born in Rantasalmi, Finland, on June 11, 1966. He was a student of Csaba Szilvay at the East Helsinki Music Institute and of Heikki Rautasalo and Erkki Rautio at the Helsinki-based Sibelius Academy. From 1985-1989 Ylönen had further studies in Basel, Switzerland, with cello virtuoso Heinrich Schiff. Ylönen has performed in as many different roles as soloist, orchestral player and principal, string quartet member, freelance player in duos and trios, and teacher. He has also been a prizewinner in major competitions. He has recorded for several labels, including Ondine, Finlandia, and BIS.
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/marko-yl%C3%B6nen-mn0000679452

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Olli Mustonen (born 7 June 1967 in Vantaa, Finland) is a Finnish pianist, conductor and composer. Mustonen studied harpsichord and piano with Ralf Gothóni and then Eero Heinonen. He also studied composition with Einojuhani Rautavaara. Mustonen's debut solo piano recording is for Decca, of the cycles of preludes by Shostakovich and Charles-Valentin Alkan, won both the Gramophone and Edison awards. He has also made recordings for RCA and Ondine. He is co-founder and director of the Helsinki Festival Orchestra, and since 2003 has conducted the chamber orchestra Tapiola Sinfonietta.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olli_Mustonen

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