CD REVIEW
– JANINE
JANSEN
12 STRADIVARI
Antonio
Pappano
Decca 4851605
[59:24]
'
This is one
extraordinarily exciting release.
Although there is only a single
piece of pure light music –
Jerome Kern's Yesterdays,
arranged by Fritz Kreisler –
it should be of fascinating
interest to all lovers of the
violin. The album consists of 15
tracks played on a dozen
different instruments made by the
master Cremonan luthier* Antonio
Stradivari during the 17th and
18th centuries. These instruments
come from around the world and
total 3000 years in age with a
value of at least £200 million.
Jansen plays her normal
Shumsky-Rode Stradivarius from
1715 on the above track.
The individual
characteristics of each are well
captured by one of the great
violinists of our time, the Dutch
born (1978) Janine Jansen, who
has sold 850,000 units for Decca
and achieved over 100 million
streams. The conductor Paavo
Järvi has said of her, "She
plays like she is. She's a person
of genuine warmth, genuine
feeling, genuine
expression."
A carefully
curated collection of works by
Elgar, de Falla, Heuberger,
Kreisler, Rachmaninov, Ravel,
Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann,
Suk, Szymanowski, Tchaikovsky and
Vieuxtemps are all short, with
only two a tad over six minutes.
Tunes like Danse Espagnole,
Midnight Bells, Syncopation
and Liebesleid, will be
recognised by many.
Pleasing piano
accompaniment is provided by
Jansen's friend: no less than
Antonio Pappano, the Royal Opera
House's music director, who
becomes Chief Conductor Designate
of the London Symphony Orchestra
in September 2023.
Made in London's
Cadogan Hall, the meticulously
planned tightly time-limited
recording was nearly scuppered
when Jansen caught Covid-19. That
she was still recovering while
completing the disc makes the
finished product all the more
admirable.
This unique
recording is thought to be one of
the most expensive ever made
… imagine the instrument
transportation insurance costs
alone! Fiddle fans will be able
to add an historic album to their
shelves or on their computers.
* a maker of
stringed instruments
© Peter
Burt 2021
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