SACDs - Dutilleux

“...there's something refreshingly straightforward and robust about the approach that Poltéra and van Steen adopt. They trust the solidity of the work's construction, and vividly bring out its internal drama as a result...the energy and ebullience about [Poltera's] playing in both works is very engaging.” The Guardian, 28th January 2010 ****

“…Christian Poltéra inevitably courts comparison with the 1975 EMI disc of Rostropovich, for whom both works were written. …in technique there's nothing to choose between them. …the most notable point of difference is the more leisurely reading here of 'Miroirs', the fourth movement of the Dutilleux piece. For me this works wonderfully, and after it Rostropovich's version comes to sound slightly impatient (even though both recordings take the movement slower than the metronome mark).” BBC Music Magazine, February 2010 ****

“Unity in the Dutilleux comes from a subtle eliding between animation and suspense...something Poltéra realises in full measure...In the Lutoslawski, interplay between an initially impassive soloist and an increasingly agitated orchestra unifies one of his most lucid formal designs” Gramophone Magazine, April 2010

“Poltéra, a soloist of consummate artistry, will more than satisfy the discerning listener. The BIS recording has characteristic presence and definition” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“[Sitkovetsky] cuts an assertive line through [Dutilleux's L'arbre des Songes]' dark dissonance like a Gallic philosopher illuming the absurd. Jansons's orchestra is delicious in swarming, weightless textures. On either side, more solid works appear. Debussy's heaving, salty La Mer surges vividly, although not always with the threatening undercurrents that awed the non-swimming composer. Ravel's La Valse careers deliriously with grotesque steps neatly played, a rumbustious contrast to Dutilleux's contemporary scintillations.” The Times, 17th May 2008 ****

“With excellent performances of Debussy's La mer, Ravel's La valse, and Henri Dutilleux' violin concerto L'arbre des songes, Jansons demonstrates that he can also hold his own in French repertoire.This is actually an understatement, since in La mer the briny seawater splashes in your face and you feel the swelling of the waves, the ebb and flow, and the thrusting flow of the tide in a way that rarely happens in other recordings. In La valse it is immediately the suggestive, secret mysterious opening bars that under Jansons' direction imperceptibly and gradually lead, first carefully but shortly thereafter irresisibtly, to a dancing waltz. The progression to the sinister dance of death in the last section becomes inevitable. Dmitry Sitkovetsky is the first-class soloist in Dutilleux' fantastic violin concerto-a modern masterpiece for which the strongest possible case is made. RCO 08001 is a high point in the entire catalog.” Erik Voermans, Parool, 4th March 2008

“...Jansons has the courage to explore the darkness behind the Gallic sophistication. So the fierceness of the spray is almost palpable in Debussy's La Mer, and there is menace in the way Ravel's La Valse whirls towards its conclusion. The Concertgebouw Orchestra has the subtlety of colouring to bring something of its own to the music, from the pastel-edged tints of its solo woodwind to the velvety warmth of its strings and the edge of its brass. Last but not least, Dmitry Sitkovetsky explores the dreamland of Dutilleux's "violin concerto" with insight to match the composer's glistening orchestral writing.” The Telegraph, 26th April 2008

“The magic of Jansons's conducting with the orchestra of which he is chief conductor could not be more compelling.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2008

“The glowing richness of Sharon Bezaly's tone is immediately striking. It may be something of an acquired taste compared to the greater coolness of many of her contemporaries but it proves seductive in this enterprising programme. The Schubert Variations take as their theme the tragic 'Trockne Blumen' from Die schöne Müllerin.
Outwardly this is an unlikely choice for a set of virtuoso variations but it's far from the vapid fripperies beloved of many a third-rate 19th-century composer, with Schubert brilliantly transforming his original, to end in a triumphant blaze of light. Bezaly is most persuasive, avoiding the sense that this is a mere technical showpiece in even the most noteheavy variations.
The Prokofiev Sonata, here reclaimed for the flute, is light and fast on its feet. There are more dramatically contrasted readings around but none that offers more scintillating brilliance.
Bezaly is particularly effective in the Scherzo, taken at lightning speed, with the upward glissandi impeccably played, while she makes much of the exoticism of the sinuous middle section.
In the Andante she plays the throaty seductress to perfection. Throughout, Brautigam is an unobtrusively supportive partner.
The Dutilleux Sonatina dates from the same year (1943) and is a tightly knit three-movement structure originally designed as a test piece for the Paris Conservatoire. The composer has long dismissed it but it's easy to hear why it remains so popular among flautists, especially in this intensely felt performance, Bezaly darting from bar to bar in the animé finale, as if eluding capture.
Jolivet's Chant de Linos has a simple beauty in Bezaly's hands. Overall, a fine disc, matched by ideally warm SACD sound.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“The glowing richness of Sharon Bezaly's tone is immediately striking. The Prokofiev Sonata, here reclaimed for the flute, is light and fast on its feet. The Dutilleux Sonatina… is a tightly knit three-movement structure… it's easy to hear why it remains so popular among flautists, especially in this intensely felt performance, Bezaly darting from bar to bar in the animé finale, as if eluding capture.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2006