This fine recording of Dvorák's Cello Concerto by Dutch cellist
Pieter Wispelwey with Hungarian conductor
Iván Fischer leading the
Budapest Festival Orchestra is as generous, honest, and compelling as the music itself.
Wispelwey has a rich, ringing tone that can ride over orchestral tutti fortes yet still sound fully present in intimate pianissimos. He also has an elegant technique that can accomplish anything the work asks without calling undue attention to itself. These qualities allow him to lean into the work's powerful drama and aching lyricism without dividing his attention. The commanding
Fischer leads the rich-toned
Budapest Festival Orchestra in an accompaniment as musically interesting and dramatically significant as the solo part. As a coupling,
Fischer and the
Budapest Festival Orchestra turn in a performance of Dvorák's infrequently programmed Symphonic Variations; it is as shapely as the venerable
István Kertész account with the
London Symphony. Recorded at a concert in Budapest's Palace of Arts in 2006, Channel Classics' super audio digital sound is extremely vivid and immediate. Though one might reasonably argue the considerable merits of the
Casals/
Szell or
Rostropovich/
Karajan recordings, for combination of performance and sound, this
Wispelwey/
Fischer recording could be the only one anyone would ever need.