Raphael Wallfisch opted for Gallic froth with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in February, but his latest CD finds the British cellist in molto serioso mode.
Accompanied by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under Richard Dickins, he plays Elgar, Frank Bridge and Gustav Holst.
The Elgar Concerto may well bethe popular attraction, with the new Jonathan Del Mar edition meaning we finally have an appassionato in the slow movement that lives up to Elgar's directive.
From the stark, opening outburst, Wallfisch is ever the protagonist and, while waxing lyrical, he seems at pains to avoid any suggestion of the cloying or the lush.
The Nimbus engineers have done wonders - pizzicato cello chords come across like translucent guitar strums and when the orchestra marches in the Moderato, we can almost feel the grey war clouds clustering above.
Frank Bridge's 1930 Oration, like Elgar's Concerto, was also inspired by the horrors of the Great War.
Wallfisch is at his most persuasive as he traces the broad melodies of the opening Poco lento or steals into the closing Epilogue, weaving around violins, harp and an eerily sustained horn note.
The core of the work, in keeping with the year of its composition, is a gritty, urgent Allegro giusto, a far cry from the popular English pastoral style that, for me, severely limits the effectiveness of Holst's Invocation.
Back in February, Wallfisch, in recital, gave Auckland a disarmingly friendly account of Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata. Now this immensely tuneful piece turns up on an enterprising Harmonia Mundi recital by Jean-Guihen Queyras and pianist Alexandre Tharaud.
A philosophical thrust lies behind this programme. Queyras outlines a connecting thread of "desire, sensuality and death" and the two Frenchmen place Schubert's plein air melodiousness, effortlessly unfolded, between the denser beauties of Webern and Berg.
Webern's Three Little Pieces of Opus 11 take less than two minutes to startle and bewitch, second by second; Berg's Opus 5 has Queyras' cello bringing an emotional intensity that would be impossible on the clarinet they were written for.
After these, the closing transcription of Schubert's Nacht und Traume calms as never before.
* Raphael Wallfisch plays Elgar, Bridge & Holst (Nimbus NI 5763, through Ode Records)
* Jean-Guihen Queyras plays Schubert, Webern & Berg (Harmonia Mundi HMC 901930, through Ode Records)
