Piatti: Capricci, Op. 22 & Op. 25 per Violoncello solo - Dallapiccola: Ciaccona, Intermezzo & Adagio

Albumbeschreibung

The 12 Piatti caprices of Op. 25 are one of the primary rites of passage for many if not all cellists studying at a high level of performance. As such, they have undoubtedly been subjected to countless mutilations and arduous performances. Yet the works themselves, though written to explore the full technical abilities of the cello, are still at their heart quite musical and charming. Their title -- caprices -- would seem to connote some level of light-hearted jocularity. On this CD by cellist Andrea Noferini, however, capriciousness is replaced gruffness, turning Piatti's compositions into nothing more than difficult-sounding etudes. Noferini's right arm is extremely heavy, almost as if he's trying to grind the sound from his instrument; it's difficult to be light when choking the string at the same time. His choice of tempo is often too conservative, which only exacerbates the pedantry of his performance. The militaristic eighth caprice, for example, is uncharacteristically laborious and pedantic. Further complicating matters is Noferini's intonation, which, when playing chords or octaves in the higher registers, is very questionable. There are certainly wonderful reference recordings of these staples of the cello repertoire -- Janos Starker and Erling Blondal Bengstton come immediately to mind -- but this is simply not one of them.
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