{"id":1347,"date":"2021-02-17T17:49:02","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T17:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/?page_id=1347"},"modified":"2024-08-21T12:34:36","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T12:34:36","slug":"review","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/index.php\/review\/","title":{"rendered":"reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For \u2018Alfredo Piatti: The Operatic Fantasies, Volumes One and Two\u2019 on Meridian:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AB-Piatti-R4-19.6.20-1-3.mp3<\/a> Interview for BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, 19 June 2020<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AB-R3-OD-Tribute.mp3<\/a> Interview for BBC Radio 3 “in Tune”, 22 July 2020<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cthe fun quotient here is enormous, with Bradbury\u2019s very vocal cello prancing up and down melodies, mostly by Donizetti, elaborated by Piatti close to the point where absurdity begins. [\u2026 a] life-enhancing album. Geoff Brown, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cvirtuosic (and how) bonbons, brilliantly imitating the bel canto vocal technique, beloved of fashionable drawing rooms, and a route to getting to know opera in a pre-gramophone age\u201d. Fiona Maddocks, Observer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBradbury makes a superb job of channelling Piatti\u2019s vocal style\u201d Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c… there\u2019s no disputing that Piatti can spin an altogether superior class of tinsel. [\u2026] Piatti crowns the Lucia Di Lamermoor<\/em> variations with eerie, whistling harmonics, and the cello makes a properly dramatic entrance in the Souvenir de Linda Di Chamounix<\/em>. Bradbury is wholly alive to these touches of colour and character, as is Oliver Davies [\u2026] His interpretations have a red-blooded, horsehair-and-rosin quality that gives them the immediacy of a live performance, nicely capturing the physical thrill of Piatti\u2019s often spectacular fireworks as well as the wholly fitting bel canto<\/em> warmth of Bradbury\u2019s more lyrical playing. The booklet notes, also by Bradbury, are excellent: if this is the sort of thing you like, you won\u2019t find it done with more conviction.\u201d Richard Bratby, Gramophone<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBradbury\u2019s technique is equally dazzling, yet however showy the pyrotechnics get, he always returns to a simple, warm tone for the lyrical melodies.[….] In these strange times, these beautiful melodies, decorated with such virtuosic abandon and performed so effortlessly, provide the perfect balm.\u201d Nick Boston, Gscene<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou always wanted to hear Malibran? Well you can. Thanks to Alfredo Piatti. The two discs of his operatic transcriptions are the one devastating echo of the superb vocalism of the primo Ottocento that has survived the gulf of years. Not the tinny disappointment of acoustic wax but the aching warmth of the human spirit in full vocal flight with its ornaments and cadenzas, its points d\u2019orgue<\/em>, vivid and moving with a clarity and authenticity that is a revelation. With the aid of Piatti\u2019s cello you can hear all of them \u201cJenny Lind, Grisi, Lablache, Tamburini and Rubini\u201d<\/em> be present with the same ears that once were those of the audience of his day – not as a poignant souvenir or forgotten relic but live – with the scale, ambiance and challenging physical presence of the amber instrument that more than any other enshrines the sorrows and joys of human existence. [\u2026] The fine scholarly programme notes (by Adrian Bradbury) are a complement to his fabulous technique – they leave identification of the artists to the listener but you find yourself in the theatre with them before your eyes – in their presence replete with trenchant preludes and a sweeping bel canto clutch to the heart whose unmanning import rings truer than ever before. While being works of art in their own right it is the wholly authentic impact of these transcriptions that traverses the years: the music falls gracefully just as it did when first heard with all its insidious discovery and novelty – poignant reverie – a virtuosic dream – melodies retrieved with an undermining truthfulness no revival can ever hope to echo. Often evoking an audience transfixed. If you would like to experience Puritani<\/em> or a Sonnambula<\/em> as first heard – as at first hand – here is your chance! [\u2026] The research for these discs included detailed examination of performance manuscripts with pencilled-in oppure<\/em> duly registered, but all such musicological propriety is complemented by a virtuosic command of the cello that is more than amazing – its challenges – superhuman at times – with the miraculously timed and tuned piano of Oliver Davies in wonderful support.[\u2026]My personal choice? I continue to be prostrate before the \u2018Theme and Variations\u2019 upon \u201cTu che a Dio spiegasti l\u2019ali\u201d from Lucia<\/em> – one of which variations is made to sound as if some eminent mezzo (a Malibran?) had got hold of the aria and was singing it as a concert aria with every possible expressive attenuation and cadenza to marvellously moving effect; and another variation – the last one – as if Lucia herself was singing her lover\u2019s wonderful adieu in heaven (in the upper strings of the cello). If you want to escape lockdown this is the way to go. Performance by a perfect symbiosis – a double essay in nostalgia and magic.\u201d Alexander Weatherson, Donizetti Society Newsletter<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cListening to Adrian and Oliver perform \u2018Souvenir de Beatrice Di Tenda\u2019 (Volume One) I am struck by the way Piatti fuses lyricism and drama, creating a sense that the melodic material is evolving organically and inevitably. And, I\u2019m sure the Morning Post critic would be just as impressed with Adrian\u2019s ability to sing with equal persuasiveness through the extensive melodic phrases, the energetic excursions to the cello\u2019s stratosphere and depths, and the delicate intricacies and ornaments, as he was when he applauded Piatti\u2019s \u2018vanquishing\u2019 of seemingly \u2018insuperable\u2019 difficulties – I certainly heard pitches at a frequency that I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve heard from a cello before, and beautifully sweet they were too! Moreover, there\u2019s a lovely spontaneity about Oliver\u2019s and Adrian\u2019s playing which seems to conjure the excitement of the opera house and live performance. It\u2019s impossible not to smile during the capricious episodes, or to be repeatedly impressed at how such lighter moods segue with deceptive ease into sweet sorrow, or troubled turmoil. Oliver\u2019s interjections are perceptive and sensitive, as if instruments in the pit were being coaxed in their turn to emerge from supportive accompaniments and join the singer in melody. [\u2026] The piano\u2019s dark, tense opening [of \u2018Introduction et Variations sur un th\u00e8me de Lucia Di Lammermoor<\/em>\u2019] resonates with the horrors and histories of the cemetery in which Edgardo sings his lament, and Adrian captures both the vulnerability and despair, tapering Piatti\u2019s drooping phrases beautifully, and the sudden, brief surges of pain and passion during which it seems as if Edgardo\u2019s heart will burst with anguish. Plunges and peaks, supported by rumbling, oscillating octaves, suddenly transmute from turbulence to tenderness, as the cello theme voices Edgardo\u2019s transfiguring memories of Lucia\u2019s purity and virtue. Adrian and Oliver persuasively guide the listener through the unfolding variations with an effortless lyricism and technical assurance: the cello\u2019s double-stopped octaves and racing scales of thirds are pinpoint-true, harmonics ring brightly and whisper softly, the athletic demands are understated – but no less impressive – and the melodising unwavering. [\u2026] Adrian\u2019s and Oliver\u2019s performance of Piatti\u2019s stylistic sleights of hand [in \u2018Impromptu on an air by Purcell in the Indian Queen<\/em>\u2019] is utterly magical\u201d. Claire Seymour, Opera Today<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c72 minutes of intense cello pyrotechnics, from challenging consecutive octaves to cascades of double-stops, false harmonics and stratospheric leaps [\u2026] Adrian Bradbury delivers a heroic feat of cello playing..\u201d. Joanne Talbot, The Strad<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c…double stops, harmonics and instrumental acrobatics. Adrian Bradbury deals with these with aplomb [\u2026] the tonal and rhythmic flexibility that the players bring to both the lyrical and playful aspects of the music is characterful and engaging [\u2026] There\u2019s charm throughout.\u201d Martin Cotton, BBC Music Magazine<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For ‘The Pre-Raphaelite Cello’ on Somm:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might be thought perverse to choose the shortest piece here as the defining example of the distinguished artistry epitomised within. Grainger\u2019s\u00a0Variations on Handel\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>\u2018The Harmonious Blacksmith<\/em>\u2019, which later blossomed into the more familiar\u00a0Handel in the Strand<\/em>, lasts just over one and half minutes.\u00a0Yet Adrian Bradbury\u2019s\u00a0cantabile<\/em>\u00a0is so refulgent, his intonation so impeccable, his phrasing so exquisite, that I played this miniature four times before moving on to the rest of the fascinating programme, in which all these qualities remain abundant.[…]The arrangement of solo art song for cello and piano is not new to CD (Julian Lloyd Webber transcribed Delius and Ireland for Naxos thirteen years ago); but this issue allows us to relish afresh several Quilter favourites:\u00a0Dream<\/em>\u00a0Valley<\/em>, two songs from\u00a0To<\/em>\u00a0Julia<\/em>, a\u00a0Slumber Song\u00a0<\/em>from the children\u2019s play,\u00a0Where the Rainbow Ends<\/em>, and his arrangements of the traditional\u00a0L\u2019amour de moy<\/em>, and Lully\u2019s\u00a0Bois \u00e9pais.\u00a0<\/em>Similarly encore-like is Grainger\u2019s lyrical\u00a0The Sussex<\/em>\u00a0Mummers\u2019 Christmas Carol<\/em>, which, no matter how it is \u2018dished-up\u2019, remains as spicily indulgent as a wassail-bowl. […] Some enthusiastic outpourings of Scott, his other pupil, compel greater attention, including\u00a0Vesperale<\/em>,and the op. 57\u00a0Lullaby. Pierrot<\/em>\u00a0amoureux<\/em>, dedicated to Harrison, is one of several pieces by Scott based on the\u00a0commedia<\/em>\u00a0dell\u2019arte.\u00a0<\/em>Further illustrations of his individuality are a substantial and powerful\u00a0Ballade,\u00a0<\/em>and an extraordinarily colourful\u00a0Pastoral and Reel<\/em>, scored for cello alone until the very last bars, but often sounding like two instruments at once.\u00a0<\/em>Bradbury is expertly accompanied by Andrew West, whose intelligent musicianship I have admired since his accounts of Howells\u2019 chamber music for Metier in 1992. All the composers have been finely served by this most rewarding partnership, and the recording quality, made in the Yehudi Menuhin School, is exemplary. Andrew Plant, British Music Society<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resultant album does indeed have its own particular, consistent aesthetic; one of melodic simplicity, long-lined lyricism and a sentimental, emotional directness, which in turn is realised by Bradbury and West with a nicely old-world, semi-sacred-feeling graceful dignity. Bradbury has a rich, attractive sound, and his sure-toned, snugly tucked portamentos feel just right for the period. L’amour de moy<\/em> is a find – tender, simple, subtly antique-y in its melodic and harmonic language. So too is Scott’s wistfully expressive Pierrot amoureux<\/em> of 1904, dedicated to Harrison. ‘Frage’ (Question) and ‘Antwort’ (Answer) from Becker’s six short cello pieces stand out for their singing optimism[…] Overall I’ve found this a surprisingly intense listen; that’s probably partly the repertoire itself, and partly the immediate capturing in The Menuhin Hall. Thoughtfully compiled, engagingly performed, it offers much to inspire any cellist after some lesser-known encore pieces. Charlotte Gardner, Gramophone<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all Adrian Bradbury’s rich seductive tone, stylistic sensitivity and evident affection for the music (not to mention pianist Andrew West’s illuminating rapport0, it’s with the Cyril Scott tracks the the album comes most vividly to life. Pierrot amoureux<\/em> ups the ambition; exotic pizzicatos and troubled arabesques launch the largely unaccompanied Pastoral and Reel<\/em>; and the duo modulates effortlessly between the introspection and muscular rousing of the Ballade. Paul Riley, BBC Music Magazine<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is certainly plenty of emotion in Grainger\u2019s well-named\u00a0Youthful Rapture<\/em>, and Bradbury, a seasoned chamber music performer, plays the high octaves and impassioned lines with great intensity, captured by the warm, full recorded sound. He plays\u00a0Liebesleben<\/em>, by Harrison\u2019s teacher Hugo Becker, with a full-bodied tone, using the bow expressively in a way the composer would have taught her.After a series of wistful, drooping short pieces by Quilter, given with sensitivity and well-chosen rubato, Scott\u2019s pieces feel rather revolutionary, using the cello in imaginative ways, including glissando double-stopped pizzicato and sul ponticello. Janet Banks, The Strad<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE PRE-RAPHAELITE CELLO \u2014 BRITISH GOLD […] Adrian Bradbury performs with a clear, warm tone. Many of these works want to sing, and Bradbury\u2019s instrument does so. Listen to his heart-melting performance of Roger Quilter\u2019s \u201cL\u2019Amour de moy.\u201d Cyrll Scott\u2019s compositions border on Debussy-like Impressionism. I especially recommend \u201cBallade,\u201d a 12-minute journey of exploration.\u00a0 Every track is a well-crafted miniature. And yes, there is a commonality to these works. Highly recommended for the music, the performances and, yes, even the title. Ralph Graves, WTJU FM<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bradbury’s richly melodic cello is ideal for this music, as is the intimate atmosphere of the Menuhin Hall. This quite offbeat release landed on classical best-seller lists in the spring of 2024. James Manheim, AllMusic Review<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hugo Becker\u2019s […]\u00a0Liebesleben<\/em>[…] traces a love affair in six short movements of which Adrian Bradbury and Andrew West play Nos. 5 and 6,\u00a0Question<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Answer,<\/em>\u00a0both ripely romantic.[…] The forward-looking\u00a0Pastoral<\/em>\u00a0[Cyril Scott] encodes some art deco pizzicati and note bending and ends with a lustily-voiced\u00a0Reel<\/em>. Still, bracing as this is, it doesn\u2019t quite prepare one for the 1934\u00a0Ballade.<\/em>\u00a0At 13 minutes this is […] the single most impressive work in the disc and is finely negotiated by Bradbury and West. […]\u00a0The envoi is that lovely piece\u00a0The Sussex Mummers\u2019 Christmas Carol<\/em>\u00a0[Percy Grainger] played here with a confiding intimacy. Jonathan Woolf, Music Web International<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For \u2018Alfredo Piatti: The Operatic Fantasies, Volumes One and Two\u2019 on Meridian: https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AB-Piatti-R4-19.6.20-1-3.mp3 Interview for BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, 19 June 2020 https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AB-R3-OD-Tribute.mp3 Interview for BBC Radio 3 “in Tune”, 22 July 2020 \u201cthe fun quotient here is enormous, with Bradbury\u2019s very vocal cello prancing up and down melodies, mostly by Donizetti, elaborated by …<\/p>\n

reviews<\/span> Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1347","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nreviews - ADRIAN BRADBURY cellist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/index.php\/review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"reviews - ADRIAN BRADBURY cellist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For \u2018Alfredo Piatti: The Operatic Fantasies, Volumes One and Two\u2019 on Meridian: https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AB-Piatti-R4-19.6.20-1-3.mp3 Interview for BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, 19 June 2020 https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AB-R3-OD-Tribute.mp3 Interview for BBC Radio 3 “in Tune”, 22 July 2020 \u201cthe fun quotient here is enormous, with Bradbury\u2019s very vocal cello prancing up and down melodies, mostly by Donizetti, elaborated by … reviews Read More \u00bb\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/index.php\/review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ADRIAN BRADBURY cellist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-21T12:34:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/index.php\/review\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/index.php\/review\/\",\"name\":\"reviews - 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ADRIAN BRADBURY cellist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/index.php\/review\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"reviews - ADRIAN BRADBURY cellist","og_description":"For \u2018Alfredo Piatti: The Operatic Fantasies, Volumes One and Two\u2019 on Meridian: https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AB-Piatti-R4-19.6.20-1-3.mp3 Interview for BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, 19 June 2020 https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/AB-R3-OD-Tribute.mp3 Interview for BBC Radio 3 “in Tune”, 22 July 2020 \u201cthe fun quotient here is enormous, with Bradbury\u2019s very vocal cello prancing up and down melodies, mostly by Donizetti, elaborated by … reviews Read More \u00bb","og_url":"https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/index.php\/review\/","og_site_name":"ADRIAN BRADBURY cellist","article_modified_time":"2024-08-21T12:34:36+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/index.php\/review\/","url":"https:\/\/www.musicianscience.org\/index.php\/review\/","name":"reviews - 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