Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings opus 35
Two Pieces opus 11
String Quartet No. 8 opus 110A
BT Scottish Ensemble
Sophia Rahman (piano)
John Wallace (trumpet)
Linn Records CKD 095
Previous new-music issues from this source have met with wide acclaim, but the BT Scottish Ensemble should expect to encounter some resistance with this Shostakovich album. While the playing as such is fresh and enthusiastic, the recording bright and true, the none-too-generous programme makes little sense. Naturally, Stephen Johnson's booklet-note tries hard to convince us otherwise, pointing up the hysteria behind the high jinks that may be felt throughout Shostakovich's oeuvre. It doesn't help that the works are played in reverse chronological order so that Rudolf Barshai's chamber-orchestra version of the Eighth String Quartet comes first, the original quota of players minimally boosted. There is plenty of character here, including some fashionably vibrato-less keening, but the intermediate size of the string group falls between stools. Where is the extra weight of tone to come from when there are only 12 players? Moreover, the music-making per se remains on the surface, the approach rather too extrovert for repeated listening.
Some will feel that the ensemble's small-scale approach pays greater dividends in the light-hearted Concerto. John Wallace is an experienced exponent of the trumpet part and he makes a strong enough impression from his location in the middle distance. The piano is (not-quite-comfortably) closer, and Sophia Rahman proves eminently competent. So long as you don't expect her to impose her own personality on events in the manner of Andre Previn or (an extreme example admittedly) Martha Argerich, you won't be disappointed.
Last up are the Two Pieces for String Octet, and might it just be that these are better suited to the slimline profile of the ensemble? In any event, they work best of all. For all I know, this CD may find its niche as a vivid memento of nimble live performances. And yet, few collectors will find it convenient. Remember too that, should you need both concertos, Alexeev has economy as well as logic on his side."
David Gutman
(From: Gramophone, May 2000)