John-Henry Crawford: Dvorák & Tchaikovsky
Orchid Classics
The release of John-Henry Crawford's fourth album is significant not only for further cementing his status as one of today's premiere cellists but for being the first featuring him with an orchestra. Yet while the earlier Dialogo (2021), Corazón: The Music of Latin America (2022), and Voice of Rachmaninoff (2023) paired him with pianist Victor Santiago Asunción, Crawford sounds as comfortable partnering with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and conductor Martin West for renditions of Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op.33 and Dvorák's Concerto in B minor for cello and orchestra, Op.104.
In hindsight, it was inevitable that the Louisiana-born Crawford would record the pieces. His first exposure to Tchaikovsky's came when he was eleven and attending a concert by his hometown Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, and the experience was so powerful he begged his mother for a recording of the piece. It turns out she had one on her shelf, which featured Mstislav Rostropovich performing both Rococo Variations and the Dvorák concerto and as Crawford devoured them a dream about one day performing both pieces began to take hold.
It's worth noting that each piece assumed its final character through the involvement of a particular cellist scheduled to premiere the work. That's particularly relevant in the case of Rococo Variations for the fact that Wilhelm Fitzhagen, a frequent Tchaikovsky collaborator who had been selected by the composer for the first performance, applied extensive cuts and alterations to the work and even deleted one variation altogether. Despite the fact that the composer and his publisher were uncomfortable with the changes, the Fitzhagen version was the one published and is now the standard treatment performed. It's also the one Crawford presents, even though other cellists, Steven Isserlis among them, have recorded the composer's earlier version. In liner notes, Crawford argues diplomatically for the validity of both, though other cellists and music historians are less charitably disposed towards the Fitzhagen.
Composed in 1876, the Tchaikovsky work follows its thematic statement with seven variations and while certain passages might suggest the influence of predecessors the composer's signature is vividly present. Conversational to-and-fro between soloist and orchestra is abundant regardless of the dramatic shifts in tempo and mood that occur throughout. The performance, about twenty minutes in total, advances seamlessly from one part to the next, with Crawford playing with authority and illuminating the composer's writing with one lyrical expression after another. It's especially challenging material for the cellist in the way it grows progressively more difficult until culminating in a final variation that's particularly demanding. A lustrous intro of strings, woodwinds, and French horn sets a lovely stage for the cello's entrance and Crawford's heartfelt voicing of the pretty theme. After his dexterity is called upon by the scales-heavy second variation, the wistful third seduces with tender outpourings and the soloist's tremulous expression. The playful fourth restates the theme with youthful charm, the fifth engages for its expertly executed double-stops, trills, and pizzicato, the sixth for its graceful melancholy and singing cello part, and the finale for Crawford's impressive handling of its furious tempo.
Less drama attended the cellist's involvement in the case of Dvorák's Cello Concerto in B minor, which was composed specifically for a close friend of the composer's, Czech cellist Hanuš Wihan, and who was supposed to deliver its premiere. That plan changed when the date set for the performance was one for which he was unavailable, so British cellist Leo Stern ended up doing the honours and, by all accounts, did so splendidly. Though the forty-minute duration allows for a more patient unfolding than the Tchaikovsky work, Dvorák's wastes little time making an impact when the “Allegro” escalates from a quiet intro to a declamatory pitch only forty seconds into the movement. Contrast is evident between the works when the brevity of the eight movements in the Rococo Variations is compared to the wide-ranging expansiveness of the three long ones constituting Dvorák's; common to both, however, are sweeping episodes of impassioned drama and lyrical intimacy. Crawford seems to bask in the splendour of Dvorák's writing during the opening movement; consider the beauty of his playing when the music takes a turn into folk-tinged yearning. After the first movement ends with a muscular conclusion worthy of Beethoven, the hushed, song-like adagio acts as a wonderful showcase for Crawford's estimable artistry. Romantic longing and tempestuous drama operate side-by-side until it's supplanted by the aggressive exuberance of the oft-joyful finale. Don't be surprised if your thoughts turn to Copland and Vaughan Williams as the work makes its final laps.
Aware that the recording was to be Crawford's first with an orchestra, West no doubt wanted to ensure the cellist would feel comfortable playing alongside the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. That said, there's no coddling of the soloist in either performance. The conductor's overriding concern has to do with honouring the integrity of the work by crafting as authentic an interpretation as possible, and the tacit expectation is that the soloist is capable of performing to that standard too. Without question Crawford meets the considerable technical challenges of the pieces and enriches both performances with consummate bow control and a polished attack that bears his personal signature. Vibrato is tastefully utilized, clarity is achieved through precise articulation, and the instrument's vocal quality is exploited to powerful effect in the slower passages. Crawford's as adept at managing a furious episode as a lyrical one, and both are plentiful in the two works. While the release's hour-long running-time would have allowed for the inclusion of an extra piece or two on the CD, to these ears the sixty-minute total feels just right and the contents of the release substantial. No additional material is required when the two pieces presented provide a thoroughly satisfying and rewarding listen.August 2024