Search - Carl Maria von Weber, Neeme Järvi, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra :: Janet Hilton Plays Weber

Lush, Gorgeous, & Driving

Joseph Barbarie | new haven, CT | 07/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, I must confess to at least one of my motives in writing this review. When I found this item, I was surprised to see the average rating was one star, and then I found that there was only one customer review, which had awarded that one-star rating.



The review, penned by a tone-deaf microcephalic in need of a thorough otolaryngological exam, made the claim that Hilton's playing was "unfocused and unmusical," "good only for a laugh." In part, then, this is a response to that judgment (although the noun "judgment" is a charitable one for the rantings of a non-rational animal).



We'll return to Hilton herself in a moment, but let us start with the orchestral playing. The Birmingham Orchestra is not one I am familiar with, although I assume they must be of some repute, to be recording for a boutique label such as Chandos. They are led by the venerable Neeme Jarvi, whose name alone is a warranty of timbral quality and precision of attack.



Jarvi and the Birminghamians manage to make Weber's orchestral writing sound like early Beethoven, particularly in the Eb concerto. If you doubt that, compare the much-thinner (albeit very well-crafted and detailed) version recorded by the ASMF under Marriner (with his son Andrew Marriner as the soloist). Marriner's orchestra plays Weber as a sort of beefed-up Mozart, with a lot of dainty passage-work, and subtle detail in the orchestral winds. Jarvi's orchestra, while losing none of the detail, builds its tuttis out of fieldstone, or granite.



There is another version, by Oskar Michalik/Karl Leister (and an orchestra whom I am forgetting now) which tries for a similarly massive approach, but winds up sounding un-rhythmic, flat-footed, and just plain boring.



The dynamic range of the recording is something to be marveled at. One specific example of this will suffice -- listen to the very beginning of the F minor concerto, where that loping bassline is barely audible (perhaps almost too quiet), until the first fortissimo C Major chord, which leaps out of the speakers, rattles your windowpanes and rearranges your bric-a-brac. In all, this is one of the most beautifully engineered and balanced recordings in my (thousands-strong) collection.



The chief virtue of the recording, however, is Hilton herself. Her timbral range is unique among clarinettists. In its chalumeau register, her instrument is velvety and almost subacqueous; at its top, trumpety-clear and hard, gem-like. She is comfortable with Weber's sprung rhythms (in the finales) and Jarvi's tempi. She is particularly spectacular at the close of the E-flat concerto's first and last movements, which combine huge leaps and blistering runs.



Unlike, say, a Dieter Klocker or even Andrew Marriner, Hilton's approach to these pieces is that of a servant to the music. Her personality does not show through quite like Klocker's (who allows himself all manner of textual liberty), but that is a virtue in the context of these pieces, which are minor masterpieces. They need a "humble" sort of touch, as Hilton's is -- they are brilliant enough works to stand on their own feet, without much assistance from the players.



In the final analysis, the quality of the recording may be judged from the fact that Chandos has issued it in vinyl and CD, and licensed it to the Musical Heritage Society. In addition, this recording has been re-released and re-packaged with Weber's chambers works recorded by Hilton, just this year (2007). A classic, such as this, stands the test of time."