Title : Paris: La Belle Époque
Author : Massenet, Jules
Release Date : 20030429
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $17.98
Amazon.com Price : $13.49
(25
%) VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE
Editorial Reviews : The cello has often been called the king of string instruments because its range encompasses all four vocal registers. Nevertheless, cellists are always complaining of the comparative paucity of their literature, and feel justified in raiding more fertile fields. Even Yo-Yo Ma, who has enriched the repertoire by commissioning a considerable number of new works and exploring the native music of different continents, cannot resist the temptation to engage in a little poaching. On this record, he performs four staples of the violin literature in transcriptions for cello, three of them his own. They are linked by their supposed influence on the French writer Marcel Proust and his famous novel, In Search of Lost Time, and take us to early 20th-century Paris, where Ma was born of Chinese parents five decades later. Naturally, the transcriptions do not work equally well. All retain the original keys and leave the piano parts intact; perhaps in an effort to reproduce the violin's bright tone-color, they also retain the original pitch for long stretches. This exploits the cello's 'soprano' voice, but though Ma handles the stratospheric register masterfully, even he cannot make it sound natural, so it always comes as a relief when he lets his instrument sound like a real cello in its 'tenor' or 'bass' voice. Highlights are the Fauré A-major Sonata and the Saint-Saëns Havanaise: charming and elegant, the former is thoroughly romantic, exuberant and sunny; the latter captures the atmosphere and Spanish idiom brilliantly. You probably have to be a cellist to like the famous, nameless transcription of the Franck Sonata; the performance is a bit excessive in tempo, dynamics and rhythmic freedom. Throughout, pianist Kathryn Stott is a tower of strength and a model of empathy. --Edith Eisler
Buyer Reviews : Yo-Yo Ma is unquestionably one of the most fascinating performers of classical music active today. He is possessed of a ferocious technique, innate musicality and a vast imagination. From his Silk Road project to his collaborations with artists from Bobby McFerrin to Tan Dun, he always seeks new and fascinating ventures. Consisting of four French pieces from the late Nineteenth Century, La Belle Epoque is not as unique as some of his undertakings but it does have its own special twist. These pieces were originally written for violin-and for Ma to perform them flawlessly on cello with its much larger fingerboard, thicker strings, and more difficult technique is amazing. That he does so in a way that is so convincing throughout is nearly miraculous.
Sonatas by Gabriel Faure and Cesar Frank are the most substantial works on the disc. The Faure in particular is a delight, with its exuberant third movement and introspective second. Complementing these sonatas are the Meditation from Jules Massenet's opera Thais and Camille Saint-Saens' Havanaise. Ma's interpretation of the Massenet work is truly intense and Romantic, but not always meditative. His control of the line, in every aspect, from dynamics to tempo to vibrato shows him a master of the musical phrase. Pianist Kathryn Stott matches Ma superbly throughout every turn. But it is in the Saint-Saens, a delightful and almost comic Spanish dance alternating with virtuoso showpiece, that Ma really shines. His obvious joy in the music, coupled with his astonishing ability, makes this disc a real pleasure.
