Offenbach the romantic...is a lot of fun!
Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 08/04/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This delightful CD captures the charm, wit and romance of French composer Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) who, as a cellist, sometimes played with Liszt. He wrote the "Concerto Militaire" to exploit his virtuosity. Among the first composers of operetta and one of Europe's more influential 19th century romantics, Offenbach is best known for his fantastic opera "The Tales of Hoffmann", his most frequently performed opus. His next most popular work is the ballet "Gaîté Parisienne" from 1938, which comprises Offenbach melodies arranged and orchestrated by Manuel Rosenthal. The music shows up on a lot of CDs that mix and match famous ballet excerpts.
This recording, with informative notes from Jean-Christoper Keck, editor of the Offenbach Edition, Berlin, says in its title it represents
"Offenbach the Romantic". The main course is the concerto, composed in 1847, a virtuosic piece that, the notes tell us, is performed intact for the first time here. Canadian cellist Ofra Harnoy recorded it some years back; that account is NLA but investigative purchasers can still find used copies through Amazon.
I owned that recording and don't remember it too well. What I can tell you, without reservation, is I don't remember it being any fun and the current recording, made in concert in Grenoble with Marc Minkowski direting Les Musiciens du Louvre of Grenoble and Jerome Pernoo in the solo role, is a lot of fun and is quite an improvement over my memory of Harnoy's version.
Fact is, this concert is a tremendous amount of fun from beginning to end. Kicking things off is the Gilbert & Sullivan-ish overture to "Orpheus in the Underwold" that begin slowly, soon gets motoring, and really kicks up its skirt at the end. Much the same can be said the for concerto...except it starts closer to high gear and moves forward from there.
What separates this collaboration from the Harnoy version is the heightened fun quotient and a different score. The notes say this is the authentic music from the composer rescued from sources in Paris and Cologne, with the signature page coming from Richard Bonynge's personal collection. Harnoy played a truncated version based on Offenbach's original first movement and piano scores of the other two movements that were edited by cellist Jean-Max Clement. The concerto clocks in at about 43 minutes in three movements -- Allegro maestoso, Andante and Allegretto -- with cadenzas by the soloist.
The concert concludes with three orchestral excerpts from Offenbach's opera "The Rhine Nixies" and extracts from "Ballet of the Snowflakes". Coming from later in life, these intersperse drama and high spirits with toe-tapping melodies and moments of reflection. Many of these popular excerpts will be familiar to listeners that don't know Offenbach well, especially the overture from "The Rhine Nixies", which many will know as the famous Barcarolle, and the Galop finale from "Snowflakes".
The production is first class, played in keeping with jolly romantic spirits and conducted with sensitivity to the composer and vigor of the period. The recording is pretty good, not great by current standards but good, with some outstanding sections -- especially in the finale of the concerto where blaring brass and snare drum gives it its martial military affectation.
Conductor Mark Minkowski -- a bassoonist and former member of the harmoniemusik band Octophoros -- does everything possible to make this concert memorable and fantastic. Never one to linger, Minkowski keeps everything moving and isn't afraid to accelerate when necessary. His band is a bit vanilla but nevertheless plays with Gallic character and style suitable to Offenbach's mid-century brand of romance.
Archiv's stuffy reputation for Baroque music gets an upgrade with this production. DG offers this in a sturdy plastic case with a 24-page booklet in three languages fitted in four tabs on the front cover. There's nothing about this production that smacks of cheapness, superficiality or decadence.
Not being much of an oprea listener, I own no version of "Tales of Hoffman" although I have seen selections from Beecham's film version. I've owned one or two copies of "Gaite Parisienne" but never held interest in them. My first go-round with the Concerto Militaire was not very satisfying. This recording gives me everything I've missed elsewhere and is the first Offenbach keeper in my library. It could be yours, too, and it will reward anyone looking for a romantic French concert out of the mainstream."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1