Kabalevsky: Concertos

The quirky fun music of Kabalevsky.

Kabalevsky's Violin concerto is a jaunty affair full of the same vibrant energy that characterizes his ballet music--particularly the finale, which in its rollicking gaiety is reminiscent of the composer's ever-popular The Comedians. The solo part is playful and virtuosic, with rapid runs that require substantial agility and dexterity, of which Lydia Mordkovitch provides both in ample measure. Neeme Järvi leads the Scottish National Symphony in a boisterously rendered accompaniment.

Cello Concerto No. 2 comes from another world entirely, opening in a dark and somber atmosphere not dissimilar to the first movement of Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1. The cello offers a grim pizzicato statement of the work's main melody, a plangent tune touched by intimations of the Dies Irae. The music becomes brighter and more frenzied for the bristling scherzo, only to darken again for the powerful finale, which ends with resigned restatement of the opening melody. Raphael Wallfisch launches boldly into Kabalevsky's challenging solo writing, and his vivid projection of the music's troubled emotions is skillfully aided by Bryden Thomson and the London Philharmonic. Chandos provides sonorous, dynamically realistic recordings for both works. --Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com