The latest releases reviewed.
POLISH SPIRIT Nigel Kennedy (violin), Polish Chamber Orchestra/Jacek Kaspszyk EMI Classics 379 9342 ***
Polish Spirit, which comes with a cover photo of drinks, a burning cigarette and a miniature football jersey, couples two early 20th- century violin concertos by little- known Polish composers. Emil Mlynarski (1870-1935) was a violinist of note and a mover and shaker in his time (and also father-in-law of the pianist Arthur Rubinstein). The rather better- known Mieczyslaw Karlowicz (1876-1909) was developing into an interesting modernist when he died tragically in an avalanche. Karlowicz wrote his concerto in his mid-1920s, before he got fully into his stride, and, like the Mlynarski, it's rather too full of echoes of other composer's work. Kennedy plays both with romantic swagger and sensitivity (though not always ideal precision), and the Polish Chamber Orchestra offer sterling support. www.emiclassics.com MICHAEL DERVAN
TIPPETT: PIANO CONCERTO; HANDEL FANTASIA; PIANO SONATAS Steven Osborne (piano), BBC Scottish SO/Martyn Brabbins Hyperion CDA 67461/2 (2 CDs) ****
Michael Tippett's four piano sonatas, too long for a single CD, make a handy double CD with his music for piano and orchestra, tracing the evolution of his style from his first published work of 1938 (the First Sonata) up to 1984, when he wrote the Fourth. Steven Osborne attributes the "intellectual exuberance" of the music to the liberation Tippett experienced from being only a moderate pianist, although that also made the music "difficult and somewhat awkward to play". Osborne wears his virtuosity lightly through the blocky hammering and post- Hammerklavier trill-fests that Tippett enjoys. He easily tracks the composer through rumination, playfulness and exhilaration in a way that makes everything sound persuasively organic. www.hyperion-records.co.uk MICHAEL DERVAN
SALZEDO'S HARP Yolanda Kondonassis (harp), Kathryn Brown (piano) Telarc CD-80691 ****
You can't get far into the world of harp recitals without encountering the name of the French-born harpist and composer Carlos Salzedo (1885-1961). Salzedo documented and extended the art of what was possible on his instrument, and provided delectable virtuoso confectionery (here the Variations sur un thème dans le style ancien), colourful dances (Kondonassis offers four), as well as pieces of impressionist and modernist inclination - the best-known here is Chanson dans la nuit. The most unusual work is the 1922 Sonata for Harp and Piano, which even provides the occasional reminder that in the 1920s Salzedo was an important activist who collaborated with the radical Edgard Varèse in the promotion of new music. Yolanda Kondonassis's playing is of the highest skill and elegance. www.telarc.com MICHAEL DERVAN
BACH: BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS European Brandenburg Ensemble/ Trevor Pinnock Avie AV 2119 (2 CDs) ****
Trevor Pinnock celebrated his 60th birthday last year by performing the Brandenburg Concertos with his new European Brandenburg Ensemble; this is the recording which followed. The ensemble brings together players of different generations from around Europe, and the performances are among the smoothest and easiest- sounding you're likely to hear. The musical style is what you might call buoyantly unobtrusive, and focuses the listener firmly on the music.
The marketplace for recordings of the Brandenburgs is crowded, but Pinnock's has a unique selling point. He follows a line of thinking which leads to a bass line of the violone being an octave higher than usual in Concertos 2, 4, 5 and 6. www.avierecords.com MICHAEL DERVAN
