BOCCHERINI, L.: Cello Concertos - Nos. 1, 2, 3, 8 (Monighetti, Berlin Akademie fur Alte Musik)

Album review

Luigi Boccherini's early training as a cellist was to be a lifelong influence not only in his own solo playing, but in large amount of his compositional output. Adding to this was his close professional relationship with King Friedrich Wilhelm II, an amateur cellist himself, who funded with delight Boccherini's many compositions featuring the cello. This Berlin Classics Reference Gold album features four of Boccherini's 11 known cello concertos. Despite all of the superlative descriptors applied to the label, this recording is not as stunning as one might expect of hope. For its part, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin provides a well-refined, elegant backdrop throughout the four concertos. The group's sound is light without being timid; it plays with crisp articulation, good intonation, and well-balanced dynamics. Soloist Ivan Monighetti's sound, however, often runs contrary to the graceful background. He seems to struggle with trying to play with the same refined sound that the orchestra provides, but his heavy right arm sometimes gets the better of him. The result is a sound that is at times forced and unnecessarily musical. His left hand is quite deft and nimble getting around the instrument, but his intonation is not always as secure and pristine as the orchestra's. Monighetti also composed the cadenzas for the four concertos. Here again an apparent mismatch is perceived; Monighetti's cadenzas are a bit too showy and romanticized.

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