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Re: Spohr concerto 1

Author: John Peacock
Date: 2014-10-06 01:26

I agree that Paul Meyer is too fast. Not so much for the reason than Norman Smale gives: it's all very clear even at that speed. But it just sounds superficial, as if he doesn't care about the piece as music.

But I don't find Leister's approach that great either, as it's not varied enough. The issue is not whether the speed is right, but he's just a bit steady about it: too predictable (and not enough dynamic contrast). You can overdo the tempo variations: Ottensamer approaches Meyer's speeds at times, but is much slower overall (5:59 vs 5:36). The most satisfying performances balance exciting but not trivialised semiquavers with a tasteful amount of rubato. Michael Collins has rightly been praised in this piece, but my favourite is Gervase de Peyer. His 1961 version caught him at his peak, and I think it's one of the best things he ever committed to disc (having a clarinettist conductor in Colin Davis probably helped).

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