Hungaroton Classic's Dance of the Elves draws its name from a fiendishly difficult work for cello and piano by virtuoso performer and composer David Popper. The majority of the remaining 10 works on the program are in a similar vein: flashy show pieces designed to demonstrate the technical capabilities of the performer. Listeners do get a bit of a break from time to time with more lyrical works like "The Swan" from
Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals and
Cassadò's Requiebros. Still, the program is one largely lacking in any real meat of substance; the whole album clocks in at under 55 minutes. Performing these short character pieces is Hungarian-born cellist
Ildikó Szabó, who, if the liner notes are accurate, was only 15 years of age at the time of recording. For such a young age,
Szabó certainly has an abundance of technique, but she also has a lot of growing to do. The more overtly virtuosic pieces on the program still sound very difficult and labored. In particular, her right arm is quite heavy and gruff even in rapid passagework. In lyrical passages, this heavy bow arm noticeably diminishes any potential beauty of tone. Intonation is not always spotless, and
Szabó has a general tendency to play sharp to the piano. Still, if in fact she is only 15, she has a lot of talent with which to work; it would be interesting to hear her again in 10 years after her playing has had some time to mature.