As with any CD set whose title begins with "The Great..." or "The Best...," many judgment calls must be made by the record company on behalf of the listener. In the case of EMI's three-disc collection of The Great Cello Concertos, someone had to decide which cello concertos are in fact the "great" ones and which performances of them most exemplify their musical attributes. In both regards, EMI is sometimes right on the mark and sometimes misses it by a long shot. Most of the concertos chosen for the album are indeed some of the great works written for the instrument: Dvorák,
Elgar, Haydn, Schumann, and even
Saint-Saëns. The inclusion of the Monn concerto and not one but two Vivaldi concertos, however, seems questionable in light of the fact that works by
Shostakovich, Barber, Lalo, Tchaikovsky, and others were overlooked.
Paul Tortelier's performances of the two Haydn concertos are the best match of musician and composition in the set. His execution is energetic, warm, and technically superior; the balance between cello and orchestra is clear and accommodating. The remainder of the performances are all technically proficient and well executed, but only sufficient musically.
Robert Cohen's bland interpretation of the
Elgar concerto pales in comparison to
du Pré's legendary performance. Instead,
du Pré is heard here performing the Monn concerto, a piece that, like the
Elgar, she championed during her short career but that certainly does not exemplify her talents.
Natalia Gutman's performances of the Schumann and Dvorák concertos are surprisingly bland and thin; listeners will frequently have to struggle to hear the cello over the orchestra throughout both performances. All together, listeners may yield a more enjoyable listening experience by seeking out a more well-balanced collection of cello concertos and matching them with truly great performances.